Free Jake's Justice, Book Three of Wizards by John Booth

always very good,” Esmeralda growled as she got to her feet and dragged me to her bed. When I put my hand on her tummy our baby drummed his approval through her flesh.
     
    A long time later my wife kissed me on the cheek and then shook me to make sure I was awake.
    “How did these people find you?”
    “My image is posted in the Temple of Representatives . It’s a good enough image to let any magic user find me provided they have enough power.”
    My wife sat up.
    “Wonderful. My Lord Wizard Husband should remember that he has two pregnant wives who are not supposed to be stressed in their final months of pregnancy.” The last five words were punctuated by her fist bouncing on my chest. It hurt.
    “You knew who I was before you married me.”
    She thumped me lower down and knocked the wind out of me.
    “Don’t try using logic, your brain might explode.”
    I held her arms. That only left her legs as dangerous weapons. And her head, I avoided the head butt by inches.
    “We could do it again. You’d be one up on Jenny,” I whispered seductively. She relaxed against me.
    Saved by an offer of sex. I held my tigress and did my duty as a husband. I hoped my bits would take the wear and tear. They’d had a hard day. As had the clothes I was wearing as she hadn’t given me time to disrobe.
    Half a satisfying hour later, a meal of royal proportions arrived. Apparently a result of the rope pull Esmeralda had made some time ago. That reminded me I‘d done nothing to solve the food problem facing our people. Not so long ago the only thing I had to decide was whether to visit the woodyard to see if there was any work, ah those were happy days.
    However, I was too tired to think of anything that might solve that particular problem. As I drifted to sleep in my wife’s arms I hoped that those who wanted to kill me would wait until a civilized time in the morning to attack. I’d hate to wake up with my throat cut.
     
    Salice has nothing much in the way of noisy technology. They do have steam engines which they use to power water pumps, but they haven’t got the idea of putting wheels on the things and driving them on roads or rail. This means that you don’t get woken by traffic, but there are plenty of noises like cocks crowing and donkeys braying to wake you up. However, being a bit of a country boy at heart, I’d soon got used to such things and slept like a log despite them.
    What woke me that morning was the sound of a dragon shouting in my mind.
    [Jake, wake up now.]
    “Wha…”
    I opened my eyes to a bedroom empty of dragon, but I wasn’t fooled. Just because you can’t see one doesn’t mean there isn’t one there.
    I whispered to avoid waking Esmeralda who was snoring quietly beside me. She’s cute when she does that. “Fluffy?”
    [Get up and let us get away from here.]
    “Why, exactly?”
    [Someone is watching us. I felt it in my lair and it is stronger here. Best we not confront our enemies in your wife’s bed.]
    That got me up and I started pulling clothes on. Esmeralda muttered something and threw an arm over where I’d been a moment before. She woke instantly when her arm landed on nothing but bed.
    “Jake. Where are you going?”
    “I forgot about something and have to take care of it.”
    My wife gave me a look that showed she wasn’t in the slightest bit fooled.
    “I’ll come with you.” She began to get out of bed.
    “Look after our child.”
    I grabbed Fluffy’s neck as his head came out of Glim and swung onto his back.
    “You come right back here, Jake Morrissey,” were the last words I heard as we vanished.

10.        Night Knights
     
    Fluffy brought us out in the Bat Cave . I dismounted and took the time to fasten my shoe laces.
    [You could have put on clean clothes.]
    I sniffed my tee-shirt. He was right.
    “If we hadn’t gone when we did, you would have had to explain to Esmeralda why we were going and why she couldn’t come.”
    [Good point. Best we left