They heard a roar right outside the door and Lucy quickly hugged the Oracle before Amos grabbed her around the waist and launched them through the blackhole.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
This time was decidedly not as bad, Lucy realized. She was snuggled up against Amos’s chest and she didn’t think she was coming face to face with death. She was going home, back to earth. And the thought was enough to comfort her through the debilitating nothingness of going through the portal.
They landed with a thud on the floor of the abandoned subway station. Amos shielded her body with his. But as soon as they landed he was transforming back into his dragon form to summon the fire that was going to destroy the portal. Right before he opened his mighty mouth, a small little bundle flew through, hitting Lucy gently on the belly.
Then Amos was roaring and lighting up the long dingy track with a fireball that trumped his first. The inky black portal exploded like an oil fire over the ocean. For a second, it almost looked like the portal was going to consume the fire, but Amos kept it coming. Suddenly, the portal collapsed in on itself.
And then air was just the air. Dingy and singed from the fire. Lucy looked down at the bundle in her arms and chuckled when she realized what it was. Amos transformed back into his human form and came to help her stand.
“What are you laughing at?” he asked.
“The Oracle threw his shoes and pants through the portal for you.”
Confusedly Amos looked down at his naked body. “Wow, that was actually pretty nice of him.” He grabbed the pants and tugged them on. “Wait, did I run through the fortress completely naked just now?”
Lucy bit her lip and tried not to smile. “Yup.”
He tied on the shoes and took Lucy’s hand. This time she led the way.
“Are you gonna teach me how to be human?” he asked, overwhelmed with the thought of trying to fit in to the human world until the Oracle came to retrieve them.
“Never,” she said, looking back at him through the dark. “I love your dragon way too much.”
EPILOGUE
Lucy rolled her eyes as she heard the downstairs broomstick bang against her floor again. She knew it would only be a matter of minutes before Ms. Tisdale came stomping up the stairs to yell again. They used to be such good friends before Lucy ever went to the dragon realm. But now…
Bang. Bang. Bang. Ms. Tisdale rattled the door on the hinges and Lucy shot Amos a meaningful look over her shoulder. He gingerly gathered up the tiny dragon making all the noise and carried him to their bedroom, shutting the door.
Lucy opened the door to their apartment. “Yes, Ms. Tisdale?”
“Lucy, you know I like children,” she started without preamble. “And god knows I like that husband of yours. So helpful around here with all the repairs.”
Lucy struggled not to roll her eyes. Ms. Tisdale certainly liked to WATCH Amos do repairs. “Uh huh,” she said, already knowing what came next.
“But your boy is just too loud. He bangs my ceiling day and night. And that yell! Goodness, it’s like a lion roaring up here.”
“A dragon,” Lucy corrected.
“Excuse me?”
“When he’s roaring it’s because he’s being a dragon.”
“Sure, of course, I’m sure he has a beautiful imagination. Dear, I say this from the bottom of my heart. But sometimes he’s such a little monster.”
Lucy sucked her lips in and tried not to laugh. “Ms. Tisdale, you have no idea.”
Lucy said goodbye and shut the door on Ms. Tisdale. She went back and flung open the door to their bedroom. Two year old Drake came barreling across the hardwood floors straight to his mama’s arms.
Predictably not in control of his shift at age two, everything from head to toe was human except for the little baby dragon tail sprouting from his rump.
“Yowza,” Lucy said, giving her boy a squeeze and then sending him skittering back toward his Papa. “His scales are starting to get prickly.”
“They won’t get full sharpness until he’s five,” Amos said.
“That’s just cruel. Can you imagine a five year old who can’t fully control his shift with sharp scales? That seems like a serious design flaw, dragonkind.”
“Nah, the sharpness helps you learn how to control your shift when you’re a kid. You get tired of scraping yourself.” Amos reached up and pulled his wife down on his lap. “You need more rest. And food. And water. And juice.”
“We’re doing fine,” Lucy said, pressing a hand to her rounding belly. They’d found out a month ago that they had another on the way. “What I really need is to make love with my husband.”