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A gentle tap came from the front door. We all turned to see Sable standing there, looking at us nervously. That might have something to do with my sister and the undies, Jez was still warbling and simulating sex, Merlin still plonked in the middle of the shop and her eyes falling to my dragon tattoo. Flea shook his head and went over, hastily rescheduled the session. He flipped the sign to closed and pulled out his phone.
“Gabe? Yeah, I’m at the shop.” He looked over at us, then moved over to the front counter. “So did you know about— And the dog? Right, so the portal? Uh huh, OK. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Wow, so you’ve known the whole time? Yeah, y’think? I thought we were partners. Uh huh. Well, yeah, I think that’s what was gonna happen today. So you know they’re talking about going back through for another ‘adventure’? No? Well, now you know how it feels. I’ll let her know she should expect to hear from you.” Flea ended the call and turned to Ash. “Gabe’s gonna call you.”
She slingshotted my discarded underwear at me as Jez cried, “Watch out, they’ll stick!”
I caught them one-handed, looked down at Merlin and said, “Thanks for this. You’ve been a great help.”
He got to his feet, the chair disappearing. “You have to tap, tap, tap at that egg you’re stuck in, Tess.” His knuckles doing just that on my scalp. “No growth without breaking a few things.”
“Including me?”
Of course, that was the moment a group of four Aravisian dragon riders strode into the shop, obviously having come through the portal. They shouldn’t have been able to, not without one of us opening it for them. I was especially unhappy to see each carrying a plasma spear. “Therese McKinnon?” one said, reading from an honest to goodness scroll. The other riders flicked on their blades, the faint hum filling the air. I nodded. “You’ve been summoned to appear before the Great Council. You must appear with the unnamed and unregistered dragon.”
“His name is Miazydar.”
“You are to come with us. Any attempt to resist will be met with extreme force.”
“Now hang on a minute, mate,” Flea said.
“The fate of you and the unregistered dragon will be decided,” the man said, then rolled the scroll back up.
“What the fuck?” Flea said. He patted his pocket and jerked out a cigarette and lit it, despite the fact we didn’t allow smoking inside. “Who..?” he stabbed a finger at the door between our shops. “What…?”
“I’m not going with you,” I snapped. I turned around and said, “Merlin?” Surely the age-old sorcerer of untold power would come to our aid, right? Instead, he just smiled, then shrugged before disappearing with a wink.
What will we do? What does ‘deciding your fate’ mean? How are we—? I said.
M looked at me with his golden-brown eyes. This is it, the call to action, Tess.
Pretty sure Luke Skywalker and Frodo didn’t start their heroic journeys by being arrested!
We’ll go to this trial, see what these jumped up fools think they can do to me. It’ll be fine.
“I’m getting Gabe,” Ash said, the dragon riders’ spears snapping up as she pulled her phone out.
“You’re not going, Tess. No way, not through that bloody portal again,” Flea said.
“What do you care?” I said. I watched his face, looking for it, some sort of sign that last night meant more than just a repeat performance. His expressions were too confusing to follow, but that didn’t matter I realised. He could say anything right now; that he was worried for me as a friend, that he felt something more, but he didn’t. I looked past him and saw a big burly bloke standing there, looking at the Closed sign with a frown. “You’ve got a customer,” I said.
“I have to go,” I said to Ash, jerking my head in the direction of the people-splitting spears. “Reschedule the Selessians for the morning. They’re tired and more likely to give you a good deal then.”
“I’m coming with you. You’re not facing a bloody firing squad without me,” Ash said.
“You have to stay. You promised Gabe you wouldn’t go haring off after me again without him. Anyway, you’d have to go via dragon back,” I said, watching her wince at the thought of it.
“Riding on the back of a dragon? Count me in! I mean, I’ve ridden some damn huge pieces of meat,” Jez said.
If she simulates sex while riding me, I will toss her off, M said.
The bells on the shop door rattled as it was shoved open. Gabe stood in the doorway, face like a thundercloud. “What’s this I hear about an adventure through the portal? We talked about this. You promised, only business.”
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The dragon riders followed me into the storeroom as Gabe read Ash the riot act, which she actually listened to. They were curiously patient as I pulled my go-bag from the cupboard. There was no way I was going adventuring without deodorant and tampons again. I counted out some gold nuggets from the safe and bagged them.
“Ash is actually listening to Gabe,” Jez said.
“I know, I think she loves him. Anyone would’ve been told to get fucked quite some time ago. What’s that you’re grabbing?” I said.
