A Destiny of Dragons (Tales From Verania #2)(113)

“Yes.”

“And obviously she left out the part where they were large scary monsters.”

“Have you seen real mermaids before?”

I nodded. “Once. It involved lesbian pirates who tied me to the front of their ship to use my magic to get to the mermaid treasure.”

“Oh, right,” Gary said. “I remember that. What was that song they sang again?”

“If you use your fingers to scissor,” Tiggy sang, “you best put your mouth up and kiss her.”

“Gods, I had that in my head for days,” I said. “And also, I was sufficiently scarred because mermaids are terrifying creatures.”

“The sand mermaids are even worse,” Ruv said. “Or so I’ve heard. Twice the size of traditional mermaids. Four rows of teeth—needle sharp. They have little pockets in the back of their throats like a water skin. It holds poison that paralyzes the prey. They like it when you’re alive when they start to eat you. Something about the blood tasting different than off a rotting carcass.”

“Well shit on my chest and call me kinky,” Gary said. “Let me guess. There’s no other way to yonder rockopolis aside from straight through this little sand ocean.”

“You’re into scat play?” Kevin said. “That is not something I would have expected.”

“What?” Gary said. “Gross. Of course not. Don’t be stupid. It’s a common expression.”

“No one says that,” I told him. “Absolutely no one.”

“And besides,” Gary said, ignoring me completely, “it’s not like you know everything about me.”

“Bullshit,” Kevin said. “I knew you inside and out. And in again. And then out again—”

“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered. I glanced back at Ruv. “The middle stone. There’s a path?”

He nodded. “Any deviation from it will… be less than ideal.”

“How the hell did you figure that out?”

“Trial and error.”

If that wasn’t chilling, I didn’t know what was. “How many died?”

“Figuring out the path? Sixteen. The sand mermaids were… quite vicious.”

“Why doesn’t Kevin just fly us across?” Ryan asked. “He’s got wings. One at a time, and we wouldn’t even have to worry about them.”

“Hey! I’m not some kind of pack mule—”

“The vibrations from the wings,” Ruv said. “They’ll move across the surface of the sand. The creatures can sense them. And they can jump out of the sand higher than one would think. Kevin will have to stay here. Tiggy and Gary too. We must move with lightness under our feet.”

“Did he just call me fat?” Gary said, sounding outraged. “Bitch, I ain’t fat. I am motherfucking jolly—”

“And you know the path?” I asked, looking out at the sand. Tiggy had been spot-on. I had a bad feeling about this.

Ruv nodded.

“Shit,” I said. “This isn’t going to go well, is it?”

“Sam,” Gary said. “You can’t possibly be considering listening to him. We can’t trust him.”

“Gary’s right,” Kevin said. “There has to be another way. Can’t I just roar like the manly dragon I am and call him out?”

“And risk the sand mermaids?” Ruv said.

“Everything risks sand mermaids,” Tiggy said.

“He’s got a point,” Ryan said. “We have Sam’s magic. He can just, you know. Do his finger-zappy thing and turn them to stone or something.”

“My finger-zappy thing,” I repeated. “Gosh, babe. Way to make me sound so awesome.”

He flushed. “You know….” He glanced at the others and flushed deeper before continuing. “You know what I meant. And you know how I feel about the… finger. Zappy thing.”

“Damn right I do.” I leered at him.

“Ryan gets a boner when Sam does magic,” Gary told Ruv. “It’s sweet. And really fucking awful for the rest of us.”

“How lovely for him,” Ruv said wryly. “And magic wouldn’t be the best idea. They’re drawn to it. Like bugs to firelight. It calls to them. It’s why they stay here, around the dragon.”

“So what you’re saying is that I’m effectively neutered,” I said. “This… isn’t going to go very well, is it?”

Ryan scowled. “What happens when we get over to the island or whatever it is? Will the dragon wake? What then?”

“It’s why I’m here,” Ruv said. “I’m the distraction.”

“What?” That wasn’t what I expected to hear. “Vadoma sent you here to be the bait?”

“Oh no,” Ryan said. “That’s so sad. Gods, I really hope nothing happens to you.”

“I forget how bitchy Knight Delicious Face can be sometimes,” Gary whispered to Tiggy. “Makes me want to lick his face.”

“We lick him later,” Tiggy said.

“Oooh,” Gary said. “Deal.”

“I could get in on that,” Kevin agreed. “Have him spread out like some big ol’ knight buffet and just gorge ourselves—”