Chapter Fourteen

Sarah

"W hich one do you think I'll be like the most, Mommy?"

Jake's tugging at my hand pulled my focus away from the stairs and over to the giant wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that made up one side of Levi's condo.

"I don't know, baby," I said, watching his little face dart left and right as he watched all the dragons in the sky.

"Maybe that one? He's blue!" Jake's eyes lit up with excitement as he watched the dragon in question turn lazily through the air high above the crowd on the streets below.

I watched those orange-brown circles. They were the eyes of his father.

Again, I looked over to the stairs. He wasn't there. I knew the sounds of dragons on the roof had to be someone arriving. It couldn't have been him leaving.

Could it?

"Mom, look! Purple dragon!"

I followed his finger, nodding. "Yes, it is, dear."

"Do you think I'm purple?"

"I'm not sure, baby. If your dad is a red dragon, that could mean you're a red dragon. Like that one there!"

I pointed at one headed away from us, toward the thickest congregation of people in the streets below. My eyes narrowed. I was no expert in telling dragons apart, but that one looked oddly familiar.

It couldn't be him … Could it?

"When can I change into a dragon, Mom? Can I go do it now? Can I? Can I? Can I?"

I laughed. "Darling, I don't know how you do that. I'm not a dragon."

"You're not?"

"Do I look like one?"

"Umm. No. I guess not. But …"

His little brain was working furiously, likely trying to point out they could shapeshift. Then again, with a four-year-old's brain, sometimes it was impossible to predict what they were thinking.

That distinction didn't seem to matter whether a dragon child or human. Or did it? Levi had been raised around human children. What was it like to raise dragons? Did they have "dragon school"? Practice their flying and fire breathing? Were they thrown into a pit for the strongest to survive?

I crossed that idea off right away. Levi would have mentioned that. I hoped.

"What's that, Mom?"

My ears were already attuning me to the newfound noise, but my distraction with the fact I'd birthed a dragon child meant I hadn't noticed the movement below.

"A parade, by the looks of it," I said, watching the organized marchers appear from between two buildings and turn to our right.

There were streamers and flags and signs all decked out in wild patterns of color that made no sense to my eye. People lined the streets. I even noticed a number of children with their parents, clapping and cheering, smiles on every face as they celebrated the parade marchers.

Next came a double handful of dragons playing some sort of musical instrument. Not a saxophone, not a tuba, it was a wild combination of both, but the crowd loved it. Dancers and acrobats cavorted down the street next, followed by men and women in tight leotards with their dragon wings out, building moving pyramids of bodies.

"So cool! Can we go watch, Mom? Can we? Can we? Can we?"

I laughed at his enthusiasm.

"Sure, babe. Let me just go get Levi, okay?"

We had been out and walked many of the nearby streets the past few days. My mind had begun to memorize the layout of the town, main streets, side streets, and alleys. It was strongest centered around the condo building, of course, and grew fuzzier the farther away I got.

But it was probably best to bring him along, just in case.

I hurried up the stairs and pushed open the door.

A part of me knew what I would find. As I stood there, though, staring at the empty flat rooftop with no sign of Levi, I couldn't help but be disappointed and angry. All that talk about being an absentee father and of changing, and he just disappeared?

I tempered the anger growing inside me. It was important to remember he had just discovered he was a father. That he'd missed the first half-decade of Jakub's life. That wasn't an easy pill to swallow. Could I truly be mad if he needed some time alone to process what a humungous change his life was about to undergo?

As it turned out, yes, I could. I had to stifle the anger as I returned to the condo alone. The lack of notice was what pissed me off the most, but I tried to remain calm as Jakub and I took the stairs down.

Twice now, Levi had run out on me without saying where he was going. It was getting old.

" Wow ! Look at all the people, Mom. This is awesome!"

Jakub didn't seem to care. We threaded our way through the crowds, trying to get ahead of the parade and into a spot we could view it in from up close. The dragons were all so tall , even the women. It was worse than normal. I was tall for a woman, but they were something else entirely.

Imposing.

I started to look around a little more uneasily at the abrupt reminder of just how strong these people were. Any one of them could overpower me without even trying.

But smiles were everywhere, and nobody seemed to notice us or care. We wormed our way through the crowd, but everywhere was blocked off.

"Mom! Over there!" Jake shouted, pointing through a momentary gap in the crowd.

Up ahead was a plaza with some empty spots available.

"Let's go!" I said, and we hurried forward, away from the main street.

We made it just in time. The parade moved through, and the square grew packed with the press of people around us. Jake watched with wide eyes. At one point, I hoisted him to my shoulders. Even with the added height, most of the other crowd-goers could watch over him. Score one for the little guys.

When the tail end of the parade moved through, the crowd followed, making it near impossible to go anywhere. But it didn't matter. Jake was busy clapping his hands and regaling me with what he saw. With him thoroughly occupied, I could wait out the press of people as the minutes passed one after another.

A chorus of shouts from one corner of the plaza echoed out over the general buzz of hundreds of conversations going on at once. I glanced in that direction, noting the growing attention of the crowd.

Not to mention, I realized suddenly, the souring mood. Something had shifted while I was waiting.

"Mom?" Jake could sense it, too.

"We're going, babe," I said, hauling him from my shoulders and starting to work my way through the crowd, away from the shouting and anger.

There were fewer smiles and grimmer faces. People pressing in tight, giving each other looks of support but also looks of anger.

What the hell was going on?

A fresh shouted chant went up from in front of us. The crowd shifted, and those closest turned to face it. Someone was up on a box, fiery words spewing from their mouth as they gesticulated wildly with their arms.

Shit.

I recognized the look and the actions of someone trying to fan the flames of their audience. Someone who wanted to instigate violence.

Getting Jakub to safety immediately became my top priority. I pulled him close and started shoving my way through the tight press of flesh. I no longer cared if I offended someone. My focus was simple.

Leave the plaza now .

We almost made it.

The speaker had the crowd up in arms, and he finished his speech with a call to action. People pushed forward. Shouts went up from around the crowd. Very angry shouts. My mind noted how they were nice and spread out.

Plants. Whatever was going on, it was organized, and that was bad .

Someone slammed into me, rocking me sideways. I held onto Jakub fiercely, my arm stretched out as he was dragged the other way. Motherly instincts kicked in, locking my grip down with the force of steel. I was not letting go.

Then someone rushing forward split right through our arms, breaking the grip as I was whirled around and tossed to the ground.

"Mommy!" Jakub shouted as he was borne away by the press of the massed bodies.

Scrambling to my feet, I looked around wildly, trying to find him.

" JAKUB!" I screamed.

My only answer was a cry from the mob as they surged.