The Blue Mage Raised by Dragons

Book 3: Chapter 4

Alice sighed as she and Mr. Skelly stood outside of the cave that the dragons had entered. She flinched when Mr. Skelly poked her ribs. She glared at him, but Mr. Skelly grinned in response and asked, Are you sure you dont want to go inside?

I wont, Alice said and snorted. Im an outsider, and dragons dont exactly see eye to eye with humans, you know?

Yeah, Mr. Skelly said. Humans are too short for that.

Alice stamped her foot. Im not short!

I didnt say you were short, Mr. Skelly said and chuckled. I just said humans, in general, are short.

Then what? Im not a human?

Mr. Skelly rubbed his chin and made a humming sound. Never mind. Youre short. He collapsed into a heap as Alice slammed her shield against his spine, shattering him into pieces. A sigh escaped from the pile of bones as it reformed itself. You know Im spending your mana to rebuild myself, right?

Its worth it, Alice said as her shield shrank.

Arent you supposed to be in love with me? Mr. Skelly asked, his skull contorting as his brow rose. You dont hit someone you love.

Theyre love taps, Alice said. Besides, you cant feel it anyway.

Nonsense, skeletons can feel pain, Mr. Skelly said with a sigh.

Wait, really? Alice asked, her eyes widening. How? You dont have nerves! Or a brain! Theres no way you can feel any pain.

I can speak without vocal cords, cant I? Mr. Skelly brought his hand to his chest. Whenever you hit me, I feel painhe tapped to the left of his sternumright here. In my poor, poor broken heart.

Alice shattered Mr. Skelly again with her shield. She snorted as she dusted bone powder off of her hands before snapping her head to the side as something drew her attention: a walking ball of meat. Is that a person?

The ball of meat flinched and froze. A second later, a childish head popped out of a hole at the top. The meat-persons eyes were large and round, pooling with tears. Like a penguin, it waddled over and tackled Alice, hugging her thighs while sobbing.

You never fail to see new things while traveling in different lands, Mr. Skelly said as he grabbed his spine and reattached it to his pelvic bone.

Alice lifted the little girl up and held her out with her arms extended. Hey. Whats wrong?

Thats not how youre supposed to hold a crying child, Mr. Skelly said. He held his arms out towards the girl. Let me show you.

The little girl wiped away her tears and turned her head to the side. Mr. Skellys grinning face appeared in her vision and seemed to grow larger and larger as her eyes widened to the size of saucers. An ear-piercing scream split the air as the girl thrashed around before twitching once and passing out, her head dropping forwards.

Mr. Skelly scratched the back of his head. Or not. I forgot how excited kids could get when they meet someone they admire. Its not every day you see someone as charming as me, eh?

Alice sighed. Youre terrible.

***

Did someone just scream? Alora asked, turning her head towards the exit of the cavern. The gaggle of dragonsand Tafelwere sitting in two rows: one row with Vur and his parents, the other row with his cousins and their parents. Vurs grandmother had wandered off to do something that she insisted on keeping a secret while her descendants chatted. I swear I heard someone scream.

It was the wind, Sera said. She nudged Vurs shoulder before gesturing towards the dragons across from them. Thats my sister and her husband, your aunt and uncle. You can ignore them.

Youre pleasant as always, Big Sister, Vurs aunt said and rolled her eyes. Its nice to meet you, Nephew! Call me Aunt Emma. This is Uncle Will. Emma gestured towards her husband. There was no response. She turned her head to face him. Uncle Will?

A snot bubble extended from one of Uncle Wills nostrils, inflating and deflating in time with his breaths. He was sitting upright with perfect posture, and his eyes were wide open, but they were glazed over like the surface of a frozen pond. Emma frowned and popped the snot bubble with the tip of her claw, but there was no reaction. She sighed and smiled at Vur. Seras right. You can ignore him.

Sera nodded and gestured at Vurs cousins. And these are your cousins: Alora, Ju? Jane? Sera shrugged and patted Vurs shoulder. I forgot the rest of their names, but Im sure youll learn them in time.

Aunt Sera, you cant be like that!

Thats right! Thats right!

Grandma! Aunt Seras playing favorites again!

Alora lifted her snout into the air and snorted. You three are just jealous of me. She crossed over to Vurs side and sat beside him, wrapping one wing around his back. You can call them the annoying trio. Im the only important dragon on this side of the family. Theyre just there to add commentary when necessary.

Rude!

Aloras so mean.

Thats right, thats right.

Vur tilted his head before asking Alora, Is that really alright?

Yeah, totally, Alora said, her head bobbing up and down. Im the oldest too. Which means Im the favorite child and most important. Theyre a triplet born fifty years ago, and that means theyre practically babies and completely uncool to hang around with. I used a genie to wish for a friend my age, and you appeared! I didnt think the effect would happen so soon.

Genie? Tafel asked, sitting up straight on Vurs head. Genies are real?

Alora made a strange face as she pointed at Tafel. So, uh, what exactly is this featherless phoenix? A pet?

Shes my wife, Vur said. Her names Tafel.

Thats not important right now, Tafel said, her eyes gleaming. You said you used a genie to make a wish, right? Do they actually grant wishes?

Uh, yeah? Alora asked, raising an eyebrow. But they have limits, you know. You cant make impossible wishes like wishing for the world to explode or wishing for your favorite author to write faster or things of that sort.

Tafel lowered her head to meet Vurs gaze. We have to go genie hunting, Vur.

Before Vur could respond, his grandmothers voice echoed through the cavern. Who wants cookies? A large mithril tray with hundreds of plate-sized cookies on top of it came into view from a tunnel in the back. Vurs grandmothers head poked out from behind the monstrous pile, a wide smile on her face. You want some, dont you, Vur? Grandmas cookies always taste the best. Come try some; I wont take no for an answer.