Free In the Shadow of the Dragon King by J. Keller Ford Page B

growling stomach, he made his way to the dark kitchen and gulped two glasses of orange juice and inhaled a donut. Heading back to his room, he passed the library and remembered the thick book with the black leather cover. After verifying he was alone, he slipped inside and closed the door. He withdrew a flashlight from the bottom desk drawer and shone it on the shelves. Finding nothing on the first floor, he crept up the winding staircase to the second. His fingers brushed the colorful bindings as he passed by them—Dahl, Dante, Defoe, Dickens —he’d read them all. If only he could find the one that mattered.
    Overhead, footsteps moved across the floor. His heart skipped a beat.
    Lily!
    He shut off the light and listened. The front door opened. A male voice resonated in the darkness. “Hello, Lysbeth.”
    David’s heart snapped into this throat.
    “Thank you for coming, Mangus,” Lily said, her voice low. “Please. This way.”
    David’s heart plummeted. Mangus? Who the hell is Mangus?
    The library doors opened. David pressed flat to the hardwood floor.
    Lily stood in the middle of the room in a floor-length nightgown, a tall, clean-shaven man with plaited black hair beside her.
    “I apologize for arriving so late,” he said, stripping off his gloves. “I was detained.”
    David peered through the iron railing.
    The man removed a full-length, black coat. His blood-red shirt shifted across his broad shoulders, accentuating a sheathed sword strapped to his hip.
    David wrinkled his nose. What the hell? Who is the Renaissance Faire reject?
    “I assumed as much,” Lily replied, fingering the lapis pendant around her neck. “I had hoped you wanted to see me because you had good news, but I can see by the look in your eyes that is not the case.”
    He gestured toward an overstuffed chair. “Perhaps you wish to sit down?”
    She shook her head.
    Mangus perched on the edge of the desk. His leather boots squeaked as his ankles crossed. “I won’t waste your time. The situation is grim. Murders and ill deeds are on the rise. The latest victims are from Falcon’s Hollow and Brindle Greens. Seven little ones abducted in one night alone.”
    “No!” Lily’s hand sprang to her lips. “Please tell me they were found!”
    David knitted his brow. Falcon’s Hollow? Brindle Greens?
    The man shook his head.
    “I don’t understand,” Lily said. “How can this person, this thing, wander about and no one witness a thing?”
    “The shime have dispatched more guards. They are increasing their patrols as we speak, but that is not why I’ve come.” Mangus hesitated for a moment, his arms splayed beside him on the desk. “I’m here to talk to you about the boy. He cannot remain here, Lysbeth.”
    David gulped.
    “And just where is he supposed to go?” Their gazes met. Lily’s mouth opened, and she shook her head. “No! I will not allow it!”
    “It is out of your hands, my lady. The orders have been issued.”
    “I don’t give a damn about your orders!” She cut the air with her hands. “He’s not going anywhere!”
    Go, Lily! David smiled against the rising panic.
    Mangus slid from the desk and took her elbow in his hand. “Lysbeth, he must. If what you have told us is true, his location has been discovered. His life is in danger if he stays.”
    Lily jerked away. “His life will be in more danger if he goes back with you!” She shot him a vehement look as she walked past.
    “I refuse to argue. I know you love him, but there is no time for hesitation.”
    “Do not patronize me, Mangus!”
    “I would never do such a thing, milady,” he replied in a measured voice.
    “You have no idea what this will do!” she snapped. “There is far more at stake here than you know. The ramifications will be devastating.”
    “It will be devastating if we do nothing. This enemy must be stopped. The boy’s time is nigh.”
    David’s heart thumped against the floor.
    Lily pulled her arms tight across her chest. “The