CHAPTER 215

And no matter where they went, Queztalli had assured Dana that another agreement could be made with the resident thunderbird. It was frustrating to realize all of this time that the fluctuating electrical fields inside of the greenhouse had been caused by a mythical being with territorial issues, but Quetzalli had smoothed things over between them. As long as a suitable offering was made by the centaurs, the thunderbird would give them a full day of clear skies to do their surveillance.

Dana plopped down on Tick Tock, who was currently a chair. The mimic shifted slightly, allowing her to recline a bit. Lying there in wait, she stared up at the ceiling of the yurt and let her thoughts drift to Quetzalli.

Ever since the night everything had gone crazy, Quetzalli had moved into Dana's room. The dragon had developed a fascination with sex, and was always eager to assist Dana after her feedings. For a bit, Dana had been concerned that Quetzalli had somehow fallen for her. Even if she wasn't still in love with Alex, the idea of an actual relationship just felt like it would be too much work. So many of the emotions that would make a relationship exciting simply weren't there anymore.

When the dragon insisted on asking questions about Mike's cock all the time, Dana realized that the current status of their relationship was more like friends with benefits. She got to get laid after feedings, and Quetzalli got to explore how her own body worked.

Dana pulled out her phone and turned on her Chinese language program. If she worked hard, she might have six languages done by the end of the year.

There was a rustling at the tent flaps, and Zel appeared.

"Sorry about the wait, it's always something when you're in charge." Zel gave Dana a head bow in greeting. "So what do you have for me?"

They spent the next forty minutes going over Dana's maps. Half of this time was spent listening to Zel mutter to herself and then draw lines and diagrams on the maps themselves. Finally, she tapped her pencil along the edges of one of the maps.

"This is wonderful, but I'm wondering if you could help us get some more info from over here. I've got a good feeling about the terrain, I would love to see some cave-type structures that we could use for storage as the temperature underground is fairly stable."

Dana looked at the map, then traced her fingers back to where the village was. "I think I can do that, but I'll need to find a good place to launch the drones. I would like somewhere with a good vantage point to make sure they actually go the right direction."

"Hmm. Okay, I think I know a good spot, but it'll take some time to get there. Come, let's move."

They gathered up the maps, and Tick Tock transformed into a hiking bag to help her transport them. When she opened the bag, she pushed the Grimoire out of the way to make room for the maps. Ratu firmly believed that the key to resurrection was written somewhere in its pages, but wasn't well enough to look yet. Dana had taken it upon herself to monitor the book, and had given Tick Tock firm instructions to swallow the cursed thing if anyone tried to take it from them.

She picked up the bag and followed Zel out of the yurt and then to the edge of the village. Once they were away from the others, Zel allowed Dana to mount her back and then ran into the jungle. The trails in this part had been recently cleared, but were only wide enough for a single centaur, and Dana held tight to Zel's waist as the two of them began the slow climb up a hill.

Once at the top, she realized that it was a rocky outcrop with good visibility of the horizon. She sat down and pulled out her own version of the map and tried to locate it.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll be right back." Zel vanished into the underbrush behind some trees, and Dana focused on trying to find the trails they had taken to get there. It was easy enough to replay the ride in her head, and it was only a few moments before she spotted their location on the drone map.

The tangy scent of urine hit her nostrils, and she sniffed out of reflex, inhaling the acrid aroma. Deep within the recesses of the odor, she caught just a whiff of something that smelled like depleted ozone and rose petals. It was the scent of magic and not just any kind.

"Mike?"

She stood and looked around the jungle. As far as she knew, Mike was supposed to be at home, doing god knows what these days. The faerie queen had been nice enough to rebuild the outside, but her helpers hadn't been allowed entry, which meant that the bulk of redecorating had fallen on the denizens of the house. Not one to overlook the opportunity, Dana had snuck off to start work in the observatory. There was a rather large telescope there that needed rebuilding, and she couldn't wait to look through it when she was done.

The leaves rustled, and Zel stepped through them, a curious look on her face. "Did you say something to me?"

Dana looked at Zel, then out at the jungle. The scent of Mike's magic was gone, and if not for the fact that her memory was infallible, she would assume she had imagined it.

"No, I didn't. Thought I smelled something."

Zel shrugged, then pulled a snack from one of her bags. "Mind if I eat? I've been nauseous all morning, but it feels like I can finally keep something down now."

"Not at all." Dana turned her attention back to the map once more. She wasn't certain why she had sensed Mike's magic out in the middle of nowhere, but assumed it was nothing she needed to worry about. After marking the spot on her map, she found somewhere to relax while Zel ate her snack and sucked down a bunch of water. Hopefully, the centaur would be feeling well enough soon to make the long trek back, and Dana could get to work on one of her other projects.

But maybe she would look for Quetzalli first.