Wild Knight (Midnight Empire: The Tower #1)(40)

I peered at the sky. “What on earth is he doing?”

“No clue. It isn’t normal behavior.”

“Has he breathed fire?”

“Not yet.”

The dragon jerked his wings. He seemed agitated. I scanned the skyline and my gaze landed on a hooded figure at the top of a building across from the Gherkin. Lost in the gloaming, he was barely perceptible.

“I think I found our agitator. Look high on your left,” I told Kami.

She followed my gaze. “Wizard?”

“I can’t think of anyone else who could drive a dragon to distraction.”

“What kind of spell?”

“Don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” I looked at the Gherkin. “You said everyone cleared out?”

“Someone pulled the alarm when they saw the dragon.”

It was typical for any high-rise building to be equipped with an alarm, not only in the event of a fire but also an attack from flying creatures like dragons.

“Come with me,” I said.

Together we pushed our way to the lobby. Security stopped us before we reached the elevator.

“No one in or out,” the bulky woman said.

I showed her my badge. Kami shot me a helpless look. No room for a badge in a dress that skimpy.

I inclined my head toward Kami. “She’s with me.”

The security guard waved us through. We sprinted for the elevator and I smacked the button for the top floor.

“Hitting it hard like that doesn’t make it move any faster, you know,” Kami said.

“What about you? Will you move faster?”

She glowered at me.

The elevator door opened and we spilled onto the top floor. Chairs were overturned and glasses knocked to the floor. Drinks pooled together in a liquid mess.

“Looks like everyone remained super calm in a crisis,” I said.

I caught sight of a man crouched underneath a table on his hands and knees. His whole body was trembling.

I bent over to address him. “Sir, you might want to clear out. We have a dragon situation.”

“No shit,” he said. “Why do you think I’m hiding?”

“I promise you’ll be safer at ground level. That dragon could come crashing in here at any moment. He seems pretty agitated.”

Kami lowered herself to the floor and gasped. “Peter, what are you still doing here?”

I raised my eyebrows. “This is your date?”

“Yes,” Kami admitted, although she didn’t sound pleased about it.

“Not the knight then.” In a pale blue collared shirt and pressed trousers, Peter looked like a financial consultant. He also looked like he might have wet himself.

“Nope. Not a knight.” She resumed a standing position. “He said he was adept with a blade.”

Peter crawled out from under the table. “I am. I’m a pastry chef.”

Kami licked her lips. “He makes strudel.”

I raised my hand. “I like strudel.”

“And I like badass women,” Peter said. “What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is…” Kami was cut off mid-sentence by the shattering of the window. Shards of glass flew toward us and the three of us dove under the table, banging legs and elbows in the process.

The roar of an angry dragon shook the floor and I heard Peter whimper as he covered his head with his arms.

“Is this really what you do?” he asked, unmoving.

“Depends on the day,” Kami said.

I had to get closer and figure out what was going on. Dragons sometimes went berserk but not like this. Something was off about the behavior. He seemed calm one minute and then flying in a crazed loop the next. It wasn’t consistent. And why hadn’t he spewed fire yet? If a fire-breathing dragon was throwing a hissy fit, you generally felt the heat.

“Stay here,” I ordered.

Peter’s eyes grew round. “Like right here?”

“No. You should evacuate like everybody else,” Kami urged. “The adults have work to do.”

Peter hurried away, tripping over a chair leg and stumbling toward the elevator.

I shook my head at Kami before striding to the window, careful not to step on any glass. I liked these boots and good cobblers were expensive.

“Can you convert him?” Kami asked.

“He’s not Catholic.”

She pulled a face. “You know what I mean. Can you win him over? Use your animal mojo.”

I reached out and tried to tap into his psyche. A cacophony of sound reverberated in my head.

Yikes. No thanks.

“I have to calm him first.”

“Okay. How do we do that? No lullabies. I’ve heard you sing.”

I scrunched my face at her. “That was one time and I was drunk at a karaoke bar.”

“Once was enough.”

I ignored her. “I need to break the connection to that wizard. Whatever he’s doing seems designed to upset the dragon.”

“But why?” Kami craned her neck to see the hooded figure still lurking on the roof of the neighboring building. He was lower down because the Gherkin was taller, and his attention seemed fixed on the dragon rather than what was happening in the cocktail bar.

“Good question. Let’s see if I can find out.” Unfortunately, that meant getting up close and personal with Mr. Dragon.