“Do you mind if I take just a short time to eat and drink?”
“If you must. Hurry, Daughter. I miss you.”
“She said yes.” Aislinn quirked a brow at Fionn. “Gee, she’s nearly as possessive as you are.”
“Mayhap we’ll be duking it out one day.”
“Ha! She already said she’d like to fuck you.”
“That,” Fionn said, an odd light in his blue eyes, “would be verra interesting. I could spin you a tale of one of my ancestors who lay with a dragon—”
“Later.” She made a chopping motion with one hand. “I need to eat. It’s a long way past dinnertime.” Aislinn stood over the stove and stuffed leftovers into her mouth, not bothering to heat them. Nearly everything they’d cooked was gone, so she ate dried meat and fruit to fill in once the pot was empty.
Footsteps sounded outside the door. She figured it was Arawn or one of them, so she didn’t even look up until she heard a muted snarl from Rune, who stood guard nearby. Fionn flowed between her and the doorway. She couldn’t see through him, so she took a couple of steps to the side.
“Arguments are breaking out,” a red-haired man with green eyes said. He was about five foot ten and looked like a tired, worn thirty-something.
“About what?” Aislinn asked, chewing.
“Whether we should throw in our lot with anyone who’s not completely human.”
“How do you feel?” Fionn asked softly.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” the man asked defensively. “Figured if you knew, maybe you could do something before a bunch of us leave.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aislinn looked at Fionn. Asking for advice went against the grain, but he had far more experience in battle tactics. “What should we do?”
He raked a hand through his hair. “I think you should get on Dewi’s back and give them a pyrotechnics display,” he said with a flawless American intonation. She wondered how he kept how to talk to whom straight.
Explosives, my ass. “What am I, fucking Joan of Arc?” she demanded and wiped the remains of her meal off her mouth with the back of one hand.
Fionn smirked. “If you could channel that one, our problems would be over. Get moving.”
“Who’s Dewi?” The man sounded confused.
“The dragon.” Aislinn sprinted for the door. She’d no sooner yanked it open when the buzz of angry voices reached her. The man’s laughter followed her down the steps. What the hell is so funny?
Sending her Mage gift spinning outward, she heard snippets of conversation. People thought she wasn’t what she’d told them. She’d disappeared, for God’s sake. Maybe it was because she needed to replenish her magic so she’d look human again…
She eyed the crowd. Fionn was right. By the time she wove through the mass of humans and tried to settle them down, many would have already left. She needed something dramatic to stop them in their tracks. Aislinn raced to Dewi’s side. “Okay,” she said, panting. “I’m ready. We have to do something to keep all of them”—she gestured behind her—“from leaving.”
“What did you have in mind?” Understated humor ran beneath Dewi’s words as she lifted Aislinn to shoulder height.
“Mostly fire from you.”
The dragon laughed, puffing smoke. “That can be arranged. Shall we?” Her powerful wings caught air under them, and she flew in slow, lazy circles. Her aim was incredible as she shot gouts of flame into the middle of small groups. It didn’t take long before everyone was looking up, pointing. Unbelievably, someone—probably a Hunter—attacked.
Aislinn flattened herself against Dewi’s neck, shock registering as a killing blow zinged toward them. The dragon evaded it easily. Once the danger was past, she didn’t hesitate. Fire spewed from her. Someone on the ground turned into a pillar of flame. “That should take care of anyone else who seeks to harm us.” An exultant note ran beneath the dragon’s words.
Grief for the unknown human filled Aislinn and left a bitter taste. Dewi was just so…casual about taking life. Then she thought of Fionn. He’d meant what he said about killing Travis.
Shouts rose from the crowd. Raised fists shook their way, and she knew she had to do something. Focusing her Mage gift to make herself heard, Aislinn cried, “There is an enemy out there. It is not me, or any here. You waste time in paranoia. It would be more productive for you to gather others to help in our effort.”
“You killed Richard,” someone shouted.
“He tried to kill me,” she countered. “What was I supposed to do? Deliver myself up to him?”