34
" I leaned against my car and sighed, rubbing a hand over my eyes. “It’s been a long day, James. A long, somewhat odd day. Let’s not cap it off with me sitting in the yard talking to a cat, okay?”
James gave a derisive snort—strangely suiting his feline persona—and shifted into his dragon form, which is about the size of a schnauzer. He flapped his wings once and settled in, puffing a ring of smoke at me while he did.
I tried not to sigh in exasperation. “Yes, that’s much better
. Talking to a cat was weird, but speaking to a miniature dragon completely fulfills my desire for normalcy.” He blew a thin jet of fire at my shoes. I jumped up with a yelp, and he snickered.
“Cute...”
James had three forms: cat, small schnauzer-sized dragon, and human. The third had been a surprise until I moved in and asked him how he’d managed to do all of Douglas’s errands with no opposable thumbs. He’d morphed, poked me on the head with one of said opposable thumbs, and finished by stealing my yogurt. I still hadn’t quite figured James out. "
― Lish McBride , Necromancing the Stone (Necromancer, #2)
37
" Things were tense with me, James, and Haley in the kitchen. I was trying to be normal and lighthearted, but there were several elephants in the room—my guilt over Douglas’s death and James’s guilt over threatening Haley being the two biggest metaphorical pachyderms in the bunch. I wasn’t sure how to resolve it. Do I apologize to him? Does he apologize to me?
Then Haley put silverware in front of us and made us set the table. As she placed a big pile of butter knives in the center of the table she fixed me with a gimlet eye. “Try to not kill anyone while you’re setting the table.” Then she poked James. “And I don’t want to find these in any doors. Knives next to spoons, boys. Not in people or furniture—once is a slipup. Twice is impolite. Three times is downright rude.” She turned and went back to cooking breakfast.
For a long, drawn-out breath, no one said anything. The only sound was the snap of butter on a hot skillet. Then James picked up a handful of knives and placed one carefully by a spoon. He nudged it with one finger until it sat perfect and straight. He stepped back and examined his handiwork, leaning so Haley could see.
She nodded, pleased. “Very good. Baby steps. Keep this up, and I’ll tell you where I hid the steak knives.”
I couldn’t help it then—I collapsed into a chair, laughing. James didn’t laugh—but I could see the beginnings of a smile twisting at the edges of his lips. Haley was right. Baby steps. Leave it to my little sister to settle a complicated issue with place settings. "
― Lish McBride , Necromancing the Stone (Necromancer, #2)
40
" So,” Haley said around a mouthful of Danish. She took a sip of her coffee to wash it down. “What you’re saying is that on top of Brannoc being murdered, the pack is a mess, they’re seemingly angry with you, Brid dumped you, you’ve been drugged with magic or something, and there’s an insurrection at your house?” She ticked these things off on her fingers. “My, you have been busy. No wonder you were late.”
I threw my straw wrapper at her head, which she dodged. “No reminder of transgression after consumption of apology coffee.”
She held up her hands. “Fair enough.” She gazed thoughtfully out into the café for a few moments. “Well, it sounds like the insurrection has been quelled for now, yes?”
“If by quelled you mean they aren’t openly trying to bite my face off, then yes, it has. "
― Lish McBride , Necromancing the Stone (Necromancer, #2)
