How to Lose Your Dragon (The Immortality Curse Book 1) by Peter Glenn (beach read TXT) 📕

“Never mind, Rick buddy.”

I looked at the message. Damian, I’ve been practicing my clairvoyance.

Nice. I was proud of him.

Good 4 u, I wrote back.

“So, what were we talking about, Rick?” I asked him.

“The runes on your piece of fabric, Damian. The inscription on it just plain doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Uh huh. Well what do you want me to do about it?”

New words popped up on my phone screen. I think I’m getting better.

All well and good, but why was he bothering me with this now? Great, Sevin.

I turned my attention back to Rick. “You’re the ancient culture specialist. That’s why I hired you, remember?”

Rick sighed. “Yes, I know that, Damian. Now, will you listen to me for a moment? What are you doing over there, anyway?”

Sevin again. Do you know a man named Richard?

My fingers started to twitch. That was uncanny. How did Sevin know that? Maybe his powers were better than I gave him credit for.

Yes. Why?

Rick was prattling on about something, and I’d missed the whole thing. “Okay, I’m listening, Rick, really I am,” I told him, interrupting his spiel. “Just… repeat the whole last bit again, okay?”

“Ugh. I can call back later if you want,” Rick practically yelled. I was glad the phone wasn’t on my ear anymore. That would have hurt.

“No, no, I’m listening, I swear! This is important to me. You’ve got my full attention this time. Promise.”

“Good. Now, as I was saying…”

Another text popped up. I think he’s in trouble. Right now.

My fingers trembled so bad I ended up dropping the phone onto the floor and swore in my native tongue. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge as my eyes darted toward my TV screen.

Two big, floating words, written in red text greeted me. “Game Over.”

I didn’t need a clairvoyant to tell me what that meant.

Game over, indeed.

6

“Rick?” I shouted into my phone, picking it back up off the floor.

“Yes, Damian?” He sounded even more angry than before.

“Are you still at your office?”

I heard him scoff. “What, I can work late if I want to. Who are you, my mother?”

“No, it’s not that.” I shook my head. “It’s just… stay where you are, okay. I’m coming to get you.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

I didn’t have much time. Sevin wouldn’t have texted me if he hadn’t been certain about his premonition. He was a serious type of person, in spite of everything. Besides, the creeping feeling in my gut told me he was dead on.

“Just stay where you are. I’ll be there as soon as I can. And don’t do anything stupid.”

“Whatever, Damian. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

The line went dead.

“Damn it!”

I wanted to hurl my phone at the TV, but that wouldn’t have done me any good. I slipped it into the pocket of my jacket and went into the bedroom. Both Grax’thor and my family’s katana hung there on the wall, looking unassuming. I hesitated for just a moment, then grabbed both of them.

One could never be too careful.

I strapped Grax’thor into a sheath on my back and buckled the katana around my waist, then went into my closet to grab a handful of magic trinkets. I didn’t have much to work with; a flash-bang charm, a muting charm, and a minor illusion charm, but it would have to do. I scooped them up along with my keys and trudged out the door, bringing up my Ryde app as I sped down the stairs.

Rick’s office wasn’t too far away - maybe ten minutes by car. I couldn’t walk it in time, though.

Fortunately, there were several Ryde cars in my area. One of them responded to my request almost immediately. I stood there on the corner of the street, rocking back and forth on my heels in the warm night air. It was maybe seventy out, which wasn’t bad, considering it had been mid-eighties all week.

It didn’t take long for the car to show up. I piled into the back of the dark sedan.

“Take me to Sixth and Olive, please! On the double!” I told the driver.

“Yes, sir,” the Ryde operator said, giving me a quick salute. “Just as soon as you buckle your seat belt.”

“Oh, of course.” I flashed her a grin.

My hands were still shaking pretty badly, and I fumbled with the buckle for what felt like a solid minute before I managed to get it to latch with a loud click, then I placed Grax’thor on the seat beside me.

To the Ryde driver’s credit - her name was Erin, according to the app - she didn’t even blink at the fact that a man with two swords had climbed into her back seat. I’d have to remember to leave a generous tip.

“Let’s get going, please!”

Erin shook her head. “Whatever you say.”

She sped off, merging into traffic like a pro. One of these days, I swore to myself, I’d get an actual license and a car of my own, but obtaining documents like that raised questions like where your birth certificate was. And those were a tricky forgery, especially with today’s protections in place.

Several streets passed by in a blur as the car sped on. Traffic seemed to be particularly light tonight, which worked well for me. I glanced at the app to see how long I had until I reached Rick, counting down the seconds as it went.

Five minutes. Now four. Three. We were getting closer.

I looked out the window when I spotted a particularly well-dressed man walking down the street on the other side of us. He was wearing a dark brown jacket with a briefcase and a ruffle of papers underneath one arm.

You probably caught on before I did - it was Rick! He’d left his office! And after I’d told him so nicely not to move and everything.

The nerve!

“Erin!” I barked at the driver.

She turned her head slightly to look at me. “Yes?”

“Let me off here.”

“But you’re not at your destination. The app