Magic and Mayhem: How To Date A Dragon (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Baba Yaga Saga Book 2) (13 page)

Carol and Hildy were walking back from the dining hall when the air shimmered in front of them and turned to molten silver. A tall white bird with an Egyptian headdress appeared. They drew in breaths and let them out again as the bird morphed smoothly into Emeritus.

“Wow,” Hildy said on a sigh. “You were a beautiful bird. What form was that?”

Emeritus bowed. “It was a Bennu, Hildy. The Bennu is my natural form. This human one you see, I emulate for the sake of my lovely Goddess.”

Carol swallowed hard. “I think I know why you’re here. You’ve come to say goodbye to us.”

Emeritus nodded. “Yes, but I will be leaving you in good hands, Carol. Your new familiar should be coming along shortly.”

Carol nodded. “Okay,” she said, her voice quivering. A ragged breath escaped before she could prevent her body from revealing her emotional state.

“Is that sadness for my leaving making your voice shake? You’re not going to weep, are you?” Emeritus asked.

Carol huffed. “No. Of course not. I’m just…”

She paused her denial and then remembered what the Jezibaba had said about it being alright to miss him. Her sigh of resignation was long and loud. She couldn’t help what she was feeling so she wasn’t going to fight a losing battle. Instead, she swallowed hard and lifted her gaze to the being who had been far better to her than she’d been to him over the years.

“I think this might be my first humble moment. Goddess, I hate this, but it needs to be said. I know I was not an easy witch to work with, but I will never forget how good you were to me. Never… absolutely never. And I will miss you, Emeritus.”

Beside her, she heard Hildy sniffling. She reached out a hand without looking and slapped her arm. “Stop blubbering,” she ordered her friend. “I can’t cry right now. It’s undignified for someone with our power to do that. No wonder people aren’t afraid of you.”

Emeritus laughed at their fighting, and then he smiled when Carol dropped to one knee in front of him. Hildy squeaked at what Carol was doing, blinked fast, and bit her trembling lip.

Emeritus bowed to them. “You are both fine witches. You’ll soon be amazing forces for good in the world.

Carol bowed her head. “Thank you for serving me, Great Emeritus.”

“It has been an honor to serve the Baba Yaga. Morgana is also proud of you both. She asked me to pass along her good wishes to you for your continued success.”

Hildy squealed then and Carol looked up and glared. “Could you please control yourself, Hildy? I’m having a serious moment here talking to Goddess Morgana’s main squeeze.”

“No, Carol… you need to look,” Hildy insisted, pointing to a large tan camel running across the grounds to them. It zigged and zagged and shifted as it ran. Awkward didn’t begin to describe its loping gait.

Carol climbed to her feet when Emeritus started laughing. “I wish you could see your face right now,” he said.

“A camel? My new familiar is a camel?” Carol said in shock. The camel brayed in greeting and trotted now in a straight line to her. “I’m surprised the Jezibaba’s not here laughing herself. I’m sure she’s been waiting impatiently for the last eight years just for the pleasure of informing me I was getting a camel for a familiar.”

“Well, he’s a bit more than a camel,” Emeritus said dryly, struggling not to laugh again.

Carol glared in his direction. “If he looks like a camel… he’s a freaking camel,” she declared.

The tan camel skidded to a halt about three feet in front of her. Then it morphed into a small, blond, yapping dog. It had on four blue leg warmers, a blue sweater, and had a blue bow on each ear. The well-dressed little dog danced excitedly at her feet.

Carol snickered. “Thank the Goddess. I see you’re mega talented. Are you going to be mad at me if I ask you to keep the dog form when you’re around me? Love the outfit by the way. I’m an eighties fan myself. I think I might even have a matching workout suit.”

The dog barked twice and scratched at the dirt sending it flying behind his back feet. He spun in a circle and yapped several more times.

“Okay then. What’s your name?” she asked.

“Ahmed,” Emeritus supplied. “He’s a reformed jinn out of Saudi Arabia. At the moment, he’s not allowed to do anything but morph from animal to animal. A former master of his denied him human form and speech. The Jezibaba refuses to give those powers back to Ahmed until he’s proven his worth to you. Apparently, he took an unsavory animal form and bit her once. The Jezibaba does not forgive easily.”

“Yes, I know,” Carol said, grinning. “How will we communicate if he can’t talk to me?”

Emeritus chuckled. “You see the lack of speech as a negative? How surprising. I thought you’d like working with someone who listened to your every word and never argued back.”

Carol laughed. “You’re right. That has an enormous appeal,” she teased. The dog yapped and danced. Carol bent to pick it up. It licked the side of her face and made her laugh harder. The dog laid its head on her shoulder and sighed contentedly.

“Oh. My. Goddess. He’s so stinking cute!” Hildy burst out, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. Sorry. Your big moment… not mine. Zipping my lip now.”

Carol laughed again. “It’s okay, Hildy. He is stinking cute. And the eighties outfit is to die for, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It looks great on him. Do you think Ahmed would care if I bought him some more clothes? The cats won’t even let me put collars on them.” Hildy giggled when the dog licked her hand.

“Thank you, Emeritus.” Carol said, smiling at the second most amazing being she’d met in her training so far. No one rivaled the Jezibaba.

“Ahmed, watch her back,” Emeritus ordered. “It has been a pleasure, Carol. I have to go now. Hildy, I’ll be back in two years to discuss your shifter training.”

The smile instantly left Hildy’s face. “
Two years?
I have to wait two years? Why?”

Emeritus shrugged and then nodded. “You must focus on your magic training until that time.”

“Six months,” Hildy insisted. “I promise you I’ll be done in six months.”

His answer was a smile and a wave goodbye.

Hildy turned back to Carol when Emeritus disappeared. “Six months,” she said firmly.

Carol laughed as her new familiar growled low in disapproval. “Ahmed says you’re dreaming. You know, I think my new familiar is going to work out fine. I swear… the Jezibaba is
always
right.”

Hildy giggled and nodded. They laughed and played with the dog all the way back to their room.

***

So tired she couldn’t even transport herself, Jezibaba trudged down two long hallways to get to her room. Nathaniel had been fitful and woken many times. She’d managed to soothe him back to sleep except for the last one. Nature had called loudly and he’d finally gotten a look at himself in the bathroom mirror. His scream of surprise would have been heard all over the building if she hadn’t kept his room silenced. It had cost her dearly in depleted magic, but at least the worst of Nathaniel’s epiphany was now over. She left him in bed staring at the ceiling fighting the rest his body still desperately needed.

Zenos, on the other hand, had completely disappeared. The returning warlocks had reported the mage was not in his room. But she had to have some rest before she could puzzle out the reason for the rogue mage’s absence.

Her door was unguarded for once which had her slipping the big wand from its holster in case she needed defense. Gripping it like a baton she proceeded into the moon lit room. A sexy sleeping dragon took up all the space in her small dormitory bed.

Sighing, she carried her wand to a windowsill where a long amethyst cluster bathed in moonlight. She laid her big wand on it, then pulled the other two out of her bra. She’d used all three today and had needed them. Tonight they would be cleansed, so hopefully tomorrow they would be restored.

Jezibaba let out a tired breath and hung her head. It had been a long tiring day, and a demanding night. She had no energy to deal with Damien. When a wave of heat hit her back, she instinctively straightened. It only had the effect of lining up her body even better with his.

Familiar arms came around her. She couldn’t prevent herself from drooping wearily while he held her up. His lips grazed the back of her neck before dropping a light kiss on her ear.

“How’s Nathaniel?” Damien whispered.

“Not dying anymore. I think he is recovering at last,” Jezibaba answered.

“Good,” Damien said. “I know you’ve been worried.”

She nodded and tried to decide if she had the spiritual strength to push him away.

“Come to bed before you drop to the floor,” Damien whispered, slipping the elasticized skirt down over her hips.

He knelt and deftly undid the wand holster. It joined the skirt on the floor. The blouse she’d been wearing was soon unbuttoned and discarded as well. The bra joined the pile last, but he left her panties in place.

Damien pulled her nearly naked body into his arms, kissed trails over her face, and moved her backwards until they reached the small bed that didn’t fit either of them. She’d not wanted to waste her dwindling magic changing furniture out. And she’d been right. She’d exhausted herself fixing Zenos’s room for him.

No one was surprised more than she was when Damien tucked her under the covers and brushed her hair from her face.

“I’m sorry I added to your stress these last few days. It was never my intention to do that, even though I genuinely thought you were wrong in your assumptions.”

“Do you still think I’m wrong?” Jezibaba asked hoarsely.

“Yes, but I’m less sure of my conclusions. I agree now something is amiss, but I’m reserving my judgment about the source of the danger.”

Jezibaba snorted. “Arrogant bastard.”

“Arrogant dragon,” Damien corrected. “I promise you my mother and father were mated.”

“I’m not wrong, Professor. I may not be completely right, but I’m not wrong.”

A large hand swept back her hair. A loving, non-demanding kiss landed by her eye. Damien’s masculine scent filled her senses. Goddess, she’d missed this. She’d missed him. But… Damien interrupted her thoughts with a shushing sound.

“Nothing can be debated tonight. All I want at the moment is to stay until you sleep. I should have been by your side these last few days. I know how much Nathaniel means to you. You should never have had to face his potential death alone. I was being prideful. Our argument was no reason to leave you unsupported when you needed help.”

An unwanted tear fell from the corner of her eye and hit a pillow. “Death has left him alone for now. The mage Nathaniel found to train the girls healed him. I don’t understand how. I’m choosing only to be grateful.”

“Mage? I’ve felt no new magic on campus. Are you sure he’s powerful enough to heal your warlock?”

Jezibaba fought back a sniffle. “Can we discuss your lack of faith in me in the morning? I’m too exhausted right now to defend myself.”

Damien rose from the bed and moved into a chair he pulled up next her. “Yes. I’m sorry. Sleep, my love.”

Swallowing her hurt, and her anger over her need of him, Jezibaba squeezed her eyes tight. “Stay,” she whispered.

Damien said nothing as he undressed. He lifted her into his arms and slid under her, draping her tired body over his.

Another tear leaked out but she caught it before it left her face. She curled herself over him, enjoying his warmth.

She finally fell asleep while the dragon she both loved and hated was stroking her hair.

“I ran through the remnants of a conjuring circle on the way here. Did you call someone magical to kill the witches?” Thane demanded.

The dragon spoke normally, but glared at him in disgust. Nigel knew he looked ridiculous in this body. For one thing, high neck collars had gone out of fashion years ago. He wanted to stop mimicking this form and get back to his own much younger one. More bad news was not helping his patience with the situation.

Nigel shook his head, his sagging jowls swinging as he did. “No. I bet all my coin on you, Sir Puffs-A-Lot. What dismal failures have you to report this time?”

Thane huffed until gray smoke billowed around his human head. “Nothing I’ve done has driven them apart. Males mean little next to the glory of their magic. They are too much like the self-centered witch who trained them. I even tried to kill them discreetly, but the effort failed because of some new mage on campus. I don’t know where in the seven hells their saviors keep coming from.”

“I thought Professor Brainiac had warded every inch of the school grounds.”

“He has,” Thane insisted. Snorting in agitation, he puffed out more smoke. “The bastard somehow got around Damien’s protection magic. Of course, so have I. Frankly, it doesn’t take much to break the old dragon’s wards. He never uses his true form to support any of it. Instead, he goes around as a human all of the time. I don’t know how Damien stands it. My dragon claws every day to get out.”

“I understand that quite well. I’m clawing to get out of this form as well,” Nigel murmured. He rubbed his old chin. “What did the mage look like? Did you get his name?”

“I only saw him from my perch in the library. He was flame-haired, like the Jezibaba. They’re probably related.”

Nigel shook his head. “No. Her family died out a century ago. I think there might be a great-great niece or two running around. No males. And she was the only ginger in her group.”

“I know only two things I overheard some boys saying. He chants in Latin and curses Morgana every chance he gets.”

Nigel chuckled. “Maybe he does work for our side.”

Thane shook his head. “Then why save them? They were refusing to hurt the animals I had ordered to attack them. If he had not intervened, they’d likely be dead. The Jezibaba has been busy taking care of her dying warlock.”

“Dying warlock? Which one?”

Thane nodded. “The one she calls Nathaniel.”

“She hasn’t reported that to the council.”

“Well, he’s not dead yet. He’s just in the process.”

Nigel nodded. “Right. Right. Well, we’ll have to keep that in mind for a backup plan. If Nathaniel kicks off, maybe the council can replace him with someone a little less loyal to my lovey. He’ll have to be crafty though. She insists on choosing new posse members herself.”