“That’s me,” I said with a shrug, using the motion to hide my pointing finger as I directed my smoke father into the shadows under the wooden playset. “Brat Yong-ae, at your service.”
“Don’t be cute,” the dragon growled, though not deep enough to make me wince. Whoever this guy was, he was too young to give off the predatory terror my father radiated off like heat. Malice, sure, but no more than the average murderous human stalking you through the night. Very young, then, maybe not even older than the mid-twenties he appeared. Not that that meant he wasn’t dangerous—all dragons were dangerous—but when you were used to dealing with wyrms in their thousands, a whelp was a welcome change.
“Everyone’s saying Yong of Korea is dead,” the young dragon went on, his silver eyes narrowing. “But I can smell him on you.” His nostrils quivered, and a hungry smile spread over his face. “Tell me where he is, and maybe I’ll let you live.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “No.”
The dragon jerked in surprise, and I rolled my eyes. “Those lines might work on a normal human, but if you know who I am, then you should also know that I was raised in a dragon’s household. I’ve understood since I was a kid that anyone who says ‘Do X and maybe I’ll let you live’ has absolutely no intention of actually letting you live. If you want to threaten me, you’ll have to do better than that.”
“Fine,” the dragon snarled, raising his fists, which were the size of my head. “Tell me where Yong is, or I’ll kill you right here.”
“If you do, you’ll die next,” I warned him, digging down deep to summon all the bravado I had. “This is the Peacemaker’s city, and ‘no murdering humans’ is his number one rule. You won’t like what happens if you bring the Peacemaker’s Edict down on your head.”
That was enough to give the dragon pause. I kept my glare locked on him, clenching my fists to show I wasn’t afraid. It was a total act. Young or not, being threatened by a magical predator who could roast you in one breath was terrifying. If my father hadn’t been here, I probably would have been shaking in my boots, but he was. Yong of Korea was watching me from the shadows, and I’d rather be eaten by a random dragon in the street than give him any ammunition to call me weak.
“I could take you to Canada,” the dragon said at last, his bushy eyebrows shooting up in excitement. “No one will care if I kill you there!”
“You’re missing the point,” I told him flatly. “It doesn’t matter where you threaten to kill me because I don’t know where Yong is. I haven’t seen him in two months.”
“Lies! You were seen riding on his back when the city swallowed him!”
“Yeah, two months ago, like I just said, but that doesn’t mean I’ve seen him since,” I explained patiently. “The DFZ took him because I begged her to save his life, and I’ve been working for her ever since to pay back that debt. Today’s the first day I’ve had off in eight weeks. I don’t even know what’s going on in the outside world, much less where my dad is, so tough luck, buddy.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my father step closer, but I didn’t dare look straight at him or shake my head. I was lying through my teeth, mixing in just enough of the truth to make it believable. But while dragons couldn’t smell lies, they could smell fear, and despite best efforts, mine was starting to leak through.
“If you really don’t know where he is,” the dragon said, moving closer, “why are you so afraid?”
“Because you’re threatening to kill me,” I replied, stepping back. “Helpless mortal, remember?”
The dragon shook his head. “The Dragon of Korea wouldn’t claim a coward as his child.” He took another step, closing the distance I’d just made. “I think you need to be taught a lesson about what happens to liars.” His silvery eyes dropped to my clenched fists. “The Peacemaker won’t mind if I take off a few fingers.”
“Maybe, but the DFZ will,” I warned, stepping back again. “Did you miss the part where I belong to the spirit of the city? She’s going to hit the roof if you damage me, and then the roof will hit you.”
“Perhaps,” he purred. “But the DFZ isn’t here.”
Frightened as I was, that was too stupid to let slide. “Not here?” I snorted. “Where do you think we are? This is the living city. The DFZ is everywhere, and she’s always watching.” I took a big step back, putting several feet between us this time as I raised my hands defensively in front of me. “Last chance to be smart and leave.”
He didn’t. Of course he didn’t. Dragons never thought humans could hurt them, and I didn’t exactly look like a mighty dragon hunter. I was, however, a Shaman and priestess of the DFZ. If he thought I was going to stand here and let him torture information out of me, he was sadly—and soon to be painfully—mistaken.
With that, I forced myself to stop shaking and concentrate. The dragon was stalking toward me across the grass. I had maybe five steps before he grabbed me, which wasn’t a lot of time given how fast dragons moved. But while I’d never tried this particular trick before, it was basically the same thing I’d
