Wild Knight (Midnight Empire: The Tower #1)(41)

Kami seemed to read my mind. “Be careful. Don’t go throwing debris around. Peter’s down there now. He could get hurt.”

I looked at her askance. “I didn’t think you liked him.”

“I don’t, but that would be some seriously bad juju if he dies on a date with me. I don’t want a reputation.”

I suppressed a smile. “Too late for that.” Rubbing my hands together in anticipation, I pivoted back to the dragon as he soared past the building.

“Missed him,” Kami said.

I wiped off the sweat of my palms on my sides. “I wasn’t ready.”

“What’s the problem? You’ve jumped on a dragon before. Remember that ice dragon with the shiny blue scales?”

“That was one time and I got lucky.”

“You make your own luck, London. Always have.”

She was right. And crazy.

But mostly right.

She motioned dramatically to the dragon. “After you.”

“You say that as though you intend to jump after me.”

“In this outfit? Absolutely not.” Kami motioned to the outside. “It’s your time to shine, Lady London. Want a boost or not?”

“It would make things easier.”

She slotted her fingers together and held her hands at knee level. I backed up and waited for the right moment.

The dragon swung around and flew past the open window.

“Now!” Kami said.

I ran toward the window, jumped to her hands, and let her catapult me into the air as the dragon passed by. I missed his back and grabbed one of the spikes on his tail.

Oops.

My legs flailed helplessly as I struggled to get a firm grip on the dragon’s tail. The dragon shook his tail in an effort to dislodge me. I managed to pull myself onto the tail and climb the spikes like the rungs of a ladder until I reached his back. I stayed flat on my belly and inched toward the neck. The dragon struggled to throw me but to no avail. I concentrated on sending him soothing thoughts. If I hoped to gain access, I needed to calm his racing mind first.

The wizard had emerged from the shadows but his face remained shrouded by the hood. The cloak was brown not green. Not my Green Wizard from yesterday. Could still be one of his cronies though. The fact that he was still there meant he wasn’t giving up yet. Whatever he hoped to achieve with the dragon, he was still committed.

Good day, Mr. Dragon. My name is London and I’ll be your flight attendant today.

I’d never actually been on an airplane. They were another product of a bygone era. A metal tube in the sky filled with people was too risky now. Too many flying monsters and not enough fuel.

I shimmied along the dragon’s back until I reached his neck and wrapped my arms around it. I made another attempt to tap into his thoughts.

Fire.

Fire.

The wizard seemed to be demanding the dragon breathe fire, but the dragon was resisting. Interesting.

Why would the wizard want to destroy a fabled building like the Gherkin? Was he trying to root out the stone?

As gently as I could, I poked and prodded the dragon’s mind but met with resistance.

The wind blew past us, threatening to unseat me from the dragon’s back. I tried again, increasing the pressure. I had to tread carefully. If I pushed too hard and the dragon snapped, I could end up causing mass destruction. When I was sixteen, I attempted to take over a giant squid in the English Channel. I pushed too hard too fast and the monster snapped. It knocked over an entire ship with its tentacles. Thankfully nobody was onboard at the time but there was property damage which I had to repay by performing jobs on behalf of the owner until the debt was paid. Lesson learned.

Come on, wee beastie. You and I are going to be best buddies.

I felt the dragon weaken and seized the opportunity. I clamped onto his mind and held it firmly in my grip until I felt his resolve melt away.

There you go. Nice and easy.

I relaxed my hold and steered him toward the opposite building where the wizard watched us. I couldn’t see his expression from here, but I had to imagine he looked rather shocked.

Once he realized I was headed his way, he turned and fled.

“Not so fast.”

I aimed the dragon at the rooftop. Ready. Aim. Fire!

The dragon opened his enormous jaws and breathed. Flames streaked from his mouth and I steered him in a circle to form a ring of fire around the wizard.

Gotcha.

I swooped lower and landed the dragon on the rooftop. Thanks to an unexpected gust of wind on the approach, the landing was a little bumpier than I would’ve liked.

I climbed down and patted his head. “Stay.”

I sucked in a breath and approached the flames. They were taller than me which meant I couldn’t see the wizard.

I focused on a section of flames and carved a doorway for myself.

“Separatum.”

Latin. The forbidden tongue. Good thing I had a license to use it, not that anyone was within earshot. Knowing the Lord of Shadows, he’d followed me onto the dragon’s back and was observing me right now. The thought made me laugh.

I was still laughing when the doorway of fire dissolved and I stepped through the gap. Heat blasted my skin and I was pretty sure I lost a few eyebrow hairs. Never mind. They were in need of tweezing anyway.

Once inside the circle, I swiveled left to right in search of the wizard, but there was no sign of him.