I sensed a presence behind well before I heard the footstep. Strong arms wrapped around and pulled me back against a rock-hard body. One hand opened in front of me, to show me the packet of crystal dust.
“Hope you are right about this, Wiley,” Marcus said. “Or I’ll be holding your hand in detox.”
“I am not a coyote,” I protested.
He offered a lop-sided smile. “Do coyotes scream when they have sex?”
I blushed. “I have no idea.”
“Hmm, until we find out, Wiley stands.”
I raised an eyebrow as I took the packet, but it was much better than Dreambitch, even if Havoc had shortened it to Dreambit. And Rafael didn’t call me anything at all. He wouldn’t even look at me.
I leaned back into Marcus as I opened the packet and downed its contents. Again, it tingled, but it didn’t give me that burst of wild euphoria. My Dragon must be growing stronger.
“You good?” His voice was a deep rumble.
“Yeah. Are they ready?”
“Almost. I want you to come with me.” He took my hand, and pulled me to the stairs.
We crossed over to the other treehouse, and he took me down to a room that was clearly a weapon cache.
“I don’t know how to use this stuff,” I protested.
“Going into this without a blade would not be smart,” he said. “So I’m going to find you a stinger.” He prowled the neat rows of weapons. “Or maybe two…”
I frowned at him when he presented me with two thin swords. “You’ve got to be kidding. I’ll stab myself in the foot, or worse.”
He ignored me, pulling a harness off the shelf. “This is one of my designs. Keeping swords on your back means they are out of the way until needed. But scabbards for mounting them there are problematic. I designed this one for a bottom release.” He moved around me, slipping the straps on and then tightening them. “There. Now, the swords slip in upside down. A little tricky until you get a feel for where the guides are.”
I snorted a laugh. “If I need to use them, putting them away will be the least of my troubles.”
“Take one in each hand, and reverse them so the blades are up,” he instructed. “The tips go in halfway up the sheath.” When I did so, he showed me how to find the guides by feel. “Push them toward you first, and then up.”
I did so, surprised it was as easy as it was.
“Feel the click? That locks them in. The scabbards cross between your shoulders. You should be able to move freely.” He checked that the fit was correct. “To pull them out, push the button near the hilt with your thumb.” He showed me, and I yanked the swords down and out to get them free. When they were halfway out, the scabbard did something odd. I could feel it, just not see it.
“It has to release them at that point, or they’ll get stuck,” he explained. “And you look so sexy with those on.”
Our eyes met, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Then I managed, “You know your stuff, Sasquatch.”
“Sas what?”
“It’s a mythical giant furry humanoid in my home realm.”
He drew himself up. “I am not furry.”
I pointedly looked at his hair, which, at the moment, stood in a hundred different directions.
“That is hair, not fur,” he insisted.
“If you can call me Wiley, I can call you Sasquatch.”
“Fair enough.” And he smiled. Which made me feel like I could tackle Isobel’s army all on my own.
Lucas came in, and stopped, staring at the swords. “Those are cool. Do you know how to use them?”
