Page 6 of Desired By the Dragon

My stomach growled, probably mad that I didn’t eat my pastry earlier. Maybe it was my instincts being out of whack with the heat’s impending presence, but I’d been fantasizing about sheep lately. My dragon wanted to hunt. Still, beef would do. “You know the way to my heart, Tazmin Thunderstone.”

She laughed and several passersby stopped to stare. Taz had that effect on people.

The Kraken’s Keep wasn’t too far from my parent’s apartment, and it was nicer than I’d expected to walk the familiar streets of the town I’d grown up in. Rather than cloying, it felt sweet. Nostalgic. Even the smell of the breeze, slightly salty with a hint of citrus, put me at ease.

Taz rummaged in the pocket of her long brown coat, the style more for fashion than the weather, and I shook my head when she pulled out a cigarette that she lit with the tip of her finger.

“What? It’s only dandelion.”

A likely story. “I thought you quit those.”

She shrugged. “And I thought my best friend would tell me when she got back in town. I guess we were both wrong.”

I nudged her with my hip. “First round’s on me?”

A slow smile spread across her face. “I guess I can forgive you.”

* * *

As much as I loved Tazmin, it was undeniable that I was a bad influence on her.

We’d arrived at Kraken’s Keep a little after lunch and I immediately wolfed down two double cheeseburgers with extra fries, pickles, and their new signature bacon brisket. It had been delicious, and the look on some tourist guy’s face as he’d watched me consume both burgers with gusto, and then washed it down with a strawberry shake, had been equally satisfying.

Indigo Cove was always rife with tourists around Halloween. Luckily, the magical barrier that surrounded the town stopped the humans from noticing too many magical occurrences, anything they saw would be magically forgotten within moments or explained away by a more ‘reasonable’ explanation. Still, it made for an amusing time for most of the townsfolk and the tourism was great for the local businesses. A surprisingly small amount of casualties occurred each year — humans caught in a dragon landing or snacked on by a hungry vampire, and a fair few had fallen prey to Kennie the kraken who lived in the cove. Some say the reason the town existed at all was because of Kennie, the innate magic that drifted off of him luring other supes to town, but it was the witches that maintained the glamour magic of the barrier.

But it was fun to mess with the humans a bit, harmless and silly but all in good faith. For the most part, anyway.

I nudged Tazmin again, urging her on, and she chuckled before looking the tourist right in the eye as she lit the cigarette in her mouth with a flame-lit finger.

His mouth dropped open and I cackled, even as the town’s magic smoothed away his shock and he smiled, assuming it was just another of the town’s famed ‘magic tricks’.

“Never gets old,” Tazmin said around giggles and I couldn’t disagree — mostly because my mouth was busy sucking on a lemon, courtesy of the tequila slammer a guy on the other side of the bar had sent my way. I raised the empty glass to him, enjoying the burning warmth of the tequila, and Tazmin tutted as she pushed my arm back to my side. “You could find trouble in a church,” she muttered and I blinked.

“But we’re in a bar.”

She pursed her lips. “So?”

“You really expect me to buy my own drinks?”

Her lips twitched and then we were laughing until another round of shots was pushed toward us. This time Tazmin was the one grinning at the blond guy across the way.

Like I said: bad influence.

The inside of Kraken’s Keep looked like a more upscale Pirates of the Caribbean theme, with tentacle light fixtures that gave the bar a moody glow and aged appliances that were just shiny enough to appear tasteful. The gimmick was equally enjoyed by the locals and tourists alike.

It felt like I blinked and suddenly it was three hours later and a lot more tequila had been consumed. But hey, it was free. That had to count for something. Plus, it was a nice little ego boost to know that even in my sweats and a baggy tee, I could catch the eye of a guy or two in the bar.

Or maybe I just looked desperate — but I was going to choose to believe it was the former.

A large crowd pushed through the doors and Tazmin stood up, eyes on the blond shifter who was eyeing her like she was his next meal. “I’m gonna head out. You okay here by yourself?”

“Yes, Mom,” I teased and she rolled her eyes. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” I sing-songed and she flipped me off. Already the tequila was wearing off. Our dragon metabolisms didn’t allow for much of a buzz after an hour or so. That was why free drinks were so fundamental, though dragons did have plenty of their own, more specialized, drinks I could have chosen from. But it was a weekday, I was making good choices, and there was no need to get fucked up on moonshine alone. Yet, anyway.

The night was young.

Tazmin threaded her arm through the shifter’s and promptly vanished amidst the crowd of newcomers. I signaled to the bartender and thanked him when he passed the cherry soda my way. One thing I’d forgotten about Indigo Cove was how nice the atmosphere always was, especially during tourist season when it felt like the townsfolk were in on a big joke that went right over the humans’ heads.

A large body sat down next to me and I looked up, offering the reedy looking guy a nod. He didn’t seem familiar, though that wasn’t necessarily surprising given that it had been a while since I’d been back in Indigo Cove. He smelled like vampire though, and I couldn’t hide my curiosity as he sipped a dark red drink. I sniffed slightly and was disappointed when I pinpointed the smell as the bar’s sherry cocktail from the Halloween menu, designed to look like a bloody beverage. Though it was possible the vamp had asked for a shot of blood in there, the bars kept such things on hand for townsfolk.