The House in the Cerulean Sea(23)

“Well?” Talia asked.

“Well, what?” Linus croaked out, wondering if it was rude to try to kick the wyvern away. The tail was tightening around his leg, and Theodore’s fangs were awfully big.

“He’s asking you for a coin,” Talia said, as if it were obvious.

“A … coin?”

“For his hoard,” Talia said, as if he were daft. “He’ll help you, but you have to pay him.”

“That’s not … I don’t…”

“Ohhhh,” Talia said. “Do you not have a coin? That isn’t good.”

He looked up at her frantically. “What? Why?”

“Perhaps I’ll have human fertilizer after all,” she said ominously.

Linus immediately reached for his pockets. Surely he had—there had to be something—

Aha!

He pulled his hand out triumphantly.

“There!” he crowed. “I have a … button?”

Yes, a button. It was small and made of brass, and for the life of him, Linus couldn’t remember where it’d come from. It wasn’t really his style. Linus tended toward muted colors, and this was bright and shiny and—

Theodore clicked in the back of his throat. He almost sounded as if he were purring.

Linus looked down again to see Theodore picking himself up from the floor. He seemed to have a bit of trouble; his wings were far too big for something of his size. His legs kept getting caught in them, causing him to stumble. Theodore chirped angrily, before using his tail wrapped around Linus’s calf as support. He managed to right himself before letting Linus go, never taking his eyes off the button. As soon as he was upright, he began to bounce on his legs around Linus, opening and closing his jaws.

“Well, give it to him,” Talia said. “You can’t just offer a wyvern a gift and then keep it from him. The last time someone did that, he lit them on fire.”

Linus looked up at her sharply. “Wyverns can’t breathe fire.”

She grinned again. “You’re not as gullible as you look. And you look really gullible. I’ll have to remember that.”

Theodore was jumping higher and higher, trying to get his attention, wings fluttering. He was chirping loudly, and his eyes were blazing.

“All right, all right,” Linus said. “You’ll get it, but I won’t have you making a scene. Patience is a virtue.”

Theodore landed on the ground and spun himself in a circle before arching his neck up toward Linus. He opened his mouth and waited.

His fangs were very big. And very sharp.

“You have to put it in his mouth,” Talia whispered. “Quite possibly your whole hand.”

Linus ignored her. Swallowing thickly, he reached down and set the tip of the button in Theodore’s mouth. The wyvern bit down slowly, taking the button. Linus pulled his hand away as Theodore fell onto his back, wings spreading out on the floor. His stomach was pale and looked soft. He raised his back legs to his mouth until he could clutch the button. Holding it in his claws, he lifted the button toward his head, studying it carefully, spinning it around to see either side. He chirped loudly as he flipped himself over. He glanced back at Linus before spreading his wings and clumsily taking off. He almost tripped, but at the last moment, managed to fly off toward the house.

“Where’s he going?” Linus asked faintly.

“To put it with the rest of his hoard,” Talia said. “Something you’ll never find, so don’t even think about it. A wyvern is very protective over his hoard and will maim anyone who tries to take it from him.” She paused, considering. “It’s underneath the sofa in the living room. You should go check it out.”

“But you just said— Ah. I see.”

She stared innocently at him.

“He was supposed to help us find Calliope,” he reminded her.

“He was? I never said that. I just wanted to see what you’d give him. Why do you have buttons in your pocket? That’s not where they go.” She squinted at him. “Do you not know that?”

“I know where—” He shook his head. “No. I won’t. I am going to find my cat with or without your help. And if I have to tromp through your garden to do it, I will.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t I?”

She sniffed. “Phee.”

“Bless you,” Linus said.

“What? I didn’t sneeze. I was— Phee!”

“Yeah, yeah,” another voice said. “I heard you the first time.”

Linus whirled around.

There was a dirty girl of perhaps ten years of age standing behind them. She had smudges of dirt on her face that almost covered the bright freckles dotting her pale skin. She blew out a breath, and a lock of fire-red hair fluttered off her forehead. She was wearing shorts and a tank top. She was barefoot, and her toenails had grime underneath them.

But it was the thin wings that rose from her back that caught Linus’s attention the most. They were translucent, lined with veins, and they curled around her shoulders, much larger than he would expect from one her size.

A sprite, like Ms. Chapelwhite, though there were marked differences. There was an earthy sent emanating from her that reminded Linus of the drive through the trees to get to the house, dense and thick. He thought it was possible they were her doing.