mesh behind him. Even if Her Thumbleness had come to drag him back to one of her games, Gazen would probably toss him back in here as soon as she got tired of him again. He could hear the footsteps approaching.
'Jack?' a familiar voice called. 'Are you in there?'
He felt Draycos twitch. So the dragon was surprised, too. 'Yes, I'm here, Lisssa,' Jack called back. 'What are you doing here?'
'What do you think I'm doing?' Lisssa countered disgustedly. 'I'm Her Thumbleness's newest art project.'
Jack winced. 'I'm sorry,' he said, and meant it. Bad enough to be dressed up in a clown suit and made to perform magic tricks. Having to stand there while Her Thumbleness gleefully ran a paintbrush over your body would be ten times worse.
'When did you get here?'
'They came and got me this morning,' Lisssa said. 'That Wistawk—Heetoorieef—told me they'd put you in here.'
'They did it twice, actually,' Jack said, rubbing at the bruises on his ribs.
'You'd better get back before she misses you.'
'Not a problem,' Lisssa said. 'Her Thumbleness is having a long bath in that swamp off her room. Are you hungry or anything?'
Actually, he was starving, now that she mentioned it. 'I'm okay,' he said.
'Yeah, right,' she said. 'Here, I brought you this.'
There was the sound of something scraping against the wood beneath the door.
Jack tensed; but before he could move, Draycos's rear legs bulged out from his ankle to press against the wooden slab and hold it firmly in place. 'I swiped a
few of these from the kitchen,' Lisssa added as something round and thin slid faintly into sight. 'They're cold, and they didn't taste all that good hot.
But they're probably better than what you've got.'
'Grilled sand would be better than what I've got,' Jack grunted, prying up the copper mesh and pulling the round thing all the way in. It was some kind of pancake, he decided as he lifted it to his nose. It smelled odd, but no worse than some of the things he'd eaten in his travels around the Orion Arm.
'Thanks.'
'Hang on, I've got three more,' Lisssa said. 'Catch.'
She passed the rest of the pancakes through the narrow gap. 'Hope that'll tide you over,' she said as Jack pulled the last one in. 'It's getting chilly out here. You going to need a blanket or anything?'
'I'm fine,' Jack said. 'I don't want to sound ungrateful, but you'd better get out of here before one of the patrols sees you. I don't want your beating on my conscience.'
'Oh, that's right,' she said with an audible sniff. 'You still have a conscience. I forgot.'
'So humor it already,' Jack said. 'Thanks for the food. Now get lost.'
'What about that blanket?' she persisted. 'I've been in hotboxes before.
They're pretty miserable at night. And you don't even have scales to keep you warm.'
'I'll be okay,' Jack insisted. 'Besides, you'll never get a blanket in through that gap.'
'I suppose,' she agreed reluctantly. 'Look, I'll see what I can do. Don't go anywhere, okay?'
Jack grunted. 'Funny.'
'I try. See you later.'
The footsteps moved off. 'To the wall,' Draycos whispered.
Jack pressed his back against the wall behind him. Draycos shifted, paused for a
minute, then shifted again. 'She has returned inside,' he reported. 'I saw no patrols that might have noticed her.'
'Good,' Jack said. The last thing he wanted right now was to draw curious Brummgan eyes in this direction. 'Well, that was different.'
'What do you mean?'
'Lisssa sticking her neck out for me,' Jack said. 'Or for anyone, for that matter.'
'Yes,' Draycos said thoughtfully. 'Perhaps the experience of being one of Her Thumbleness's playthings has given her a new view of life.'
'I think that only works with K'da,' Jack said dryly. 'But we can ask her about it later. Right now, we need to get moving.'
'That may not be easy,' Draycos warned. 'She implied she would return with a blanket.'
Jack hissed between his teeth. He was right, blast it. 'And if she strolls by when we're not here...?'
'Then we shall be burned cinnamon bagels,' Draycos said solemnly.
Jack grimaced. 'Toast, Draycos,' he corrected. 'We'll be burned cinnamon toast.'
'My error,' Draycos said. 'Still, the point remains. What do you suggest we do?'
'You got me, buddy,' Jack said. Blast it, and blast Lisssa, too. 'I guess we wait.'
'And if she does not return, or does not return soon?' Draycos asked. 'What, then, about Noy?'
'We don't have a choice,' Jack bit out irritably. 'I don't like it any better than you do. But if she comes and tries to stuff a blanket under the door, she's going to push that slab inside. She wouldn't be able to get it back out, even if she wanted to. And the first Brummga who saw it...' He shook his head.
'Burned cinnamon toast, all right. Butter side down.'
There was a moment of silence. 'There is one alternative,' Draycos said. 'You could stay here while I tend to Noy.'
'Right,' Jack said with a snort. 'He's lying in bed when a gold dragon pops in to have tea and scones with him. Nothing strange about that. Definitely nothing he'd think to mention to anyone else.'
'He will not see me,' Draycos promised. 'I can deliver the food and juices without him noticing.'
'No,' Jack said firmly. 'We can't risk it.'
The dragon seemed to sigh. 'Then Noy will have no help. From anyone.'
Jack bit down hard on his lip in frustration. But Draycos was right. 'Fine,' he growled. 'So go. Just be careful.'
'I will,' Draycos said. He lengthened his stretch off of Jack's ankle, pushing the wooden slab outside.
Jack stuck his hand through the gap; and with a surge of weight, Draycos was out. 'I will be back soon,' the dragon promised softly through the door as he pushed the slab back into place. 'Do not go anywhere.'
Jack rolled his eyes. 'Everybody's a comedian,' he muttered under his breath.
But Draycos was already gone. Settling himself as comfortably as he could in the cramped space, Jack began nibbling on the cold pancakes Lisssa had brought.
And tried hard not to think about the danger out there. To Draycos, and to Noy.
It was going to be a very long night.
CHAPTER 25
Draycos didn't see, hear, or smell anyone as he made his way across the starlit ground toward the kitchen door Lisssa had used a few minutes earlier. From the way she had made sure to leave it open when she left the building, he suspected he would find it locked. It was.
Jack, of course, would have simply picked the lock. A highly useful skill, and one that Draycos had practiced hard during their travels between planets aboard the Essenay. But his paws were not as nimble as Jack's, and he was not yet good enough to manage such a feat. Certainly not in the dark. Certainly not with a Brummgan patrol due to appear around the corner at any moment.
Fortunately, there were other ways. The Chookoock family had built their mansion with broken-edged stonework all across the outer walls. Very decorative. Also very easy to climb.
He had reached the third floor when he heard the sounds of the approaching Brummgan patrol on the ground below. By the time they actually appeared, he was crouched motionless in the shadow of a stubby smoke vent. They passed by without so much as breaking stride and disappeared around the corner of the building.
Shifting his grip on the stones, Draycos continued on his way.
In warfare, he had long ago learned, it was usually impractical to make detailed preparations before a battle.
