A Fifth Daughter [Book 2: The Dragon Warrior]

Chapter ~ 15

~ Chapter 15: I Kidnap a Dragon, Wake the Dead, and Plan to Take Over the World ~

I find that glaring is the best way to express how you feel about something horrible. So, it's become one of my most used expressions. I glare at the Dragnork, at the old, crazy man for his insistent humming and random giggles, I glare at Mom for glaring at me, I glare at the person in the doorway because I'm annoyed and he's the cause of it.

Of course Mom goes all high pitched; 'oh, my gosh, are you okay?' on him and doesn't even spare me anything but that dark look. It's not like Damitri can't take care of himself, but I guess he is Mom's younger brother – who she tried to kill... twice. I frown and shake my head. Nothing makes sense anymore. My dad is actually dead – that, that does makes sense. There was a Demon in the form of his body – that does not make sense. Neither does the humming man. What's with him? I feel like whacking him with my bow, maybe it'll jar his head back to the weird circumstance around us. Or maybe he'll hit me back and I'll become just as crazy. That sounds like an awesome idea.

"I should have known." Damitri says, standing over the dead Demon. He shakes his head. "I even trusted him to take my daughter home through the portal and he's been with Darcy this whole time."

"So, that's why he was on Echo Island," I muse, everything in my head piecing together. The puzzle seems to have stopped growing and is now filling in. "He was going to Portal Manor."

Damitri nods. "I found Grey and tried to send her home, but when I came to visit you in Woodmoor, I realized she was still here. So, I suspected, but I should have known."

Grey must be his daughter Echo, didn't the Kelp say her middle name was Grey, or something like that? I frown. "She was at the castle?"

Damitri nods. "Darcy convinced her that her name was Kip van Del and that she was a heartless thief."

I blink. "She..." I nearly laugh. Of course she was the archer that stole my Jade. Of course... with how life is going and things are turning out, of course she was the culprit. Which would explain Nyt's reaction to her name. I shake my head and change the subject. "What power does Ani have?"

He sags, his shoulders slumping and eyes drooping. "Nyt's mother, Jyn, is my wife's mother." I blink. Whoa! That swerved around. "So, with Em's half Vin'tery blood and my pale dragon power, Ani is pretty powerful, maybe not more so than you, but he's yet to come into his abilities. He is only fourteen after all."

"Grey pretty." The old man says, his pale, grey eyes fixed on Damitri's face. "She speaks softly and is strong, but also pretty."

A small, sad smile tugs Damitri's lips up. "Yes, Dad, she is all of those things, and plenty more."

And now everything comes crashing down, and then flips up again, only to become a little more confusing and I understand just a little more. My grandfather is not how I imagined him. He's older, more wary... loonier is a nice way to put it. In need of being in an asylum is the not-so-nice way.

"Esston," the word escapes from my head and over my tongue, cutting into the air and making me tense.

He turns at his name and inclines his head. "I know my name, it's the one thing I'm sure of, who are you?" He starts humming again.

"I'm Smoke."

"The one that gets away." He says quickly, as if already knowing my answer.

"Uh..."

"Smoke runs through fingers, even trapped in a jar it escapes. Smoke is uncatchable. What a perfect name for the Dragon Warrior."

That's the second time someone has said that to me. Like father like son, I guess.