CHAPTER 89

Quetzalli.

There was yet another problem with no clear answer. For whatever reason, Quetzalli was now Beth's eternal shadow, and while the dragon meant no harm, it was very much like babysitting an adult child capable of shorting out anything she touched.

Beth's phone had been the first victim. A curious peek, a loud zap, and the screen went dark forever. Her computer was spared, but Mike's was not, and while Tink was ordering what she needed to replace the electrical system, Quetzalli had pointed at the screen in wonder and a series of electrical arcs jumped from her fingers to the laptop, turning it into a paperweight.

After emitting a string of curses that sounded like an entire rap album in fast forward, Tink had dropped everything to make Quetzalli a horn cap. The shiny metal horn the dragon now wore twisted into place and had the appearance of a unicorn's horn, and she shocked everyone and everything far less frequently now. By then, it was bedtime, and she had crawled onto Beth's mattress and fallen asleep right away, leaving Beth to sleep on the couch in the living room.

That was when she discovered that Jenny and the fairies liked to stay up late and play tag in the dark.

In the morning, she made sure to make a nice, big pot of coffee before Quetzalli could short that out, too. When the dragon had failed to show for breakfast, Beth went upstairs to discover that Quetzalli had opened all of her drawers and tried on most of her clothes. Even worse, her clothes now stuck to each other, which meant that she would need to run them through the laundry again with copious amounts of fabric softener.

What was going to be a sexual interlude to take her mind off of things was now just a picnic by the river, and Beth sighed when Olivia buzzed up, leaving a trail of sparkling lights behind her.

"They're all done!" The green fairy announced, and then shot off like a rocket, leaving a floating glitter trail behind her. The fairies seemed to have recovered nicely from their ordeal, and had more energy than ever before.

"Take me back, please," Beth said, and Asterion rose.

Together, they rolled up the blanket, and she picked up the small basket of snacks to carry it back. It was still a fifteen minute walk back to Ratu's lair, and when they arrived, Ratu and Quetzalli were in the middle of an animated discussion at one of the tables.

"Oh!" Ratu saw them, and set down her tea. "You're back already, I figured you would still be busy. Come, sit with us." A small feast had been laid out, and when Beth sat, she grabbed a few grapes off of a nearby plate. Asterion wandered off to put the blanket away and then stood guard at the edge of the table.

"So what did you learn?" Beth asked.

"Not much." The naga sipped at her tea. "We actually wrapped up an hour ago but got to talking. Sorry about that, but I assumed you were enjoying your visit."

"Mmhmm." Not really, but there was no polite way to say it. "So is the spell reversible?"

"Fascinating thing about faerie magic. How do I put this?" Ratu set her chin on her hand for a couple of seconds in contemplation. "It's one of the earliest kinds of magic, therefore making it among the most powerful. Not much came before the fae, so we are talking about one of the first languages, in a way."

"I think I follow, but that doesn't tell me much."

"Oh, I'm getting there. It's interesting actually, because I just spent so much time studying Kisa only a couple of days ago. In her case, she has been changed on a cellular level that grants her properties similar to a cat. Her body no longer knows the difference between being a human or a cat, it just is what it is."

"Okay?" Beth thought about Kisa. The cat girl had been scarce since her emergence the other day, and she knew nothing about her yet. There had simply been too much going on in the house to make any sort of real effort to even meet with the newcomer.

Quetzalli spoke up. "Humans and dragons are very different. Obviously, the queen was unable to convert me completely, meaning I am still part dragon. Dragons like me are a physical manifestation of magic that is just as old as the fae, which puts my biology on par with the enchantment I have been afflicted with."

"Meaning?"

"The transformation is temporary." Ratu set down her tea and moved to sit next to Quetzalli. "I'm sure you've already noticed the scale patterns on her body, yes?"

Beth nodded in interest. She had gotten a close peek at them a few times and had been fascinated by how they caught the light. The patches rested on top of Quetzalli's skin and looked like pieces of scale-mail that had been glued to her.

"Without examining her innards, we already know that a small part of her body is still that of a dragon. The enchantment that transformed her is fighting to keep her in this form, but over time, her cells will feast on that magic and enable her to revert to her previous form."

"Wow, okay, so...any idea how long that will take?"

"I did some math." Ratu held up a sheet of parchment that had been on the table in front of her. "Based on the limited data I have, I predict the spell will likely break itself in a few hundred years."

"Years?!?" She looked to Quetzalli, and then back. "You're talking centuries!"

"For creatures like us, a few centuries really isn't that long," Quetzalli said with a shrug. "Though inconvenient, I feel like it could be a great learning experience. I am already enjoying the many kinds of meals that Sofia makes, and am very interested in some of those clothes you had in your...dresser? Is that the right word?"

"Please stay out of my dresser." Beth had no idea what clothes Quetzalli meant, but didn't need a repeat of yesterday morning. "We can get you some clothes of your own."

"Ah, an outing!" Quetzalli slammed her fist on the table in excitement. "Yes, I would love to see more of the human world."