Chương 60: Another Mouth to Feed

But looking at Ignis, this arrogant, scared, baby dragon who'd made a stupid impulsive decision and was now stranded in an unfamiliar world, I couldn't just turn him away. Damn it, I said, motioning him to follow me back in the cabin.

"So, how powerful are your parents? Exactly?"

"Oh, incredibly powerful," Ignis said proudly, but he tagged along meekly behind us as we walked back in.

"My father is Aurelion the Golden. An ancient wyrm. He's killed gods before. Minor ones, mostly, but still. Very impressive." What wasn't impressive was Ignis trying to fit through the door. The already cracked door fell off its hinges and the doorframe bucked when Ignis stumbled and fell. Fudge me, I thought. Just him falling down did more damage in a second than all the Wild People did when they attacked. What the frick can his parents do? I made a mental note to call Derek and update him about the new damage.

Great, where's he going to sleep?

"He's killed gods?" Shelly's voice went up, especially after seeing the casual damage he'd done. Now I was regretting letting him come inside. However, the damage was already literally done.

"And my mother is Solara the Wise." Ignis's tail swished.

"They're amazing. And terrifying. And they're definitely going to be very upset that I ran away. Stupid brothers and sisters." I sighed, wondering just what type of family drama had been dropped at my door. It had literally been dropped at my doorstep. Someone's definitely screwing with me, I thought. My thoughts were interrupted by another roar that echoed through the portal. We all froze. Ignis's head whipped toward the sound, his ears pressing flat.

"That's... that's my dad." There it was again, that massive presence. It was still blocked by Gaia's defenses but trying to push through while calling for his lost child. Then the portal faded away, taking with it the roars of anger. However, I knew that a father wouldn't let a little thing like that stop him. It was just a matter of time.

"And when he does break through Gaia's defenses," I said slowly, "he's going to come looking for you."

"Probably," Ignis admitted.

"Though it might take a while. This world is really good at keeping things out, apparently." I reached out with my spiritual senses, feeling the threads of the ley lines. And there, faint but present, I sensed it. The massive presence I'd felt earlier. It was still there, and was still pushing, trying to find a way through. Ignis's parents. Ancient dragons. God-killers. Trying to reach their lost child. Perfect. Just perfect.

"You said this world looked weak," I said, changing the subject.

"Low mana saturation. Primitive. Easy to conquer."

"Well, yes. Obviously." Ignis looked around dismissively.

"I mean, look at it. Barely any magical creatures. The ley lines are thin. The mana tide only just started returning. This world will probably be overrun within a decade by any reasonably organized planar invasion force."

"Wanna bet?" Pierre asked, obviously annoyed at his planet being called weak. Ignis blinked.

"Bet?" Pierre grabbed the remote and started clicking on videos, videos about incursions. Then he found one and said, "Let me show you something." The video showed a news channel's coverage of the military dealing with one of the incursions. Tanks rolled through city streets and helicopters circling overhead. A horde of zombies was systematically mowed down by machine gun fire. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Then Pierre switched to a different video.

In this one, goblins were scattered and broken by artillery strikes. In another, something with tentacles being hit by what looked like a missile. Ignis watched, his golden eyes tracking the explosions. His tail had gone very still.

"Those are just mortals," he said slowly.

"With metal tubes."

"Those metal tubes," Pierre said from where he'd followed us in, "can kill you from a mile away. Before you even know they're there."

"I… dragons are immune to most physical damage. Our scales…" Ignis started to say. I smiled, pleased at being right. Yep, that 'ow' from earlier was because of the portal, not the fall.

"Are probably magic-resistant," Pierre interrupted.

"Which is great. But a. 50 caliber armor-piercing round doesn't care about your magical resistance. It just cares about mass and velocity. Physics." On screen, a news reporter was explaining military tactics. Showing footage of successful defensive operations. Interviewing a general who was calmly discussing how they'd adapted to fighting supernatural threats. It looked like the military was trying to calm down the public with their victories. However, I strongly suspected that they were showing the easy victories.

More than likely, there were a lot of defeats out there too that were being quietly swept under the rug.

"This world has been preparing for war for thousands of years," Pierre continued.

"We might not have much magic yet, but we have other tools. Tools we've refined over millennia of finding new ways to kill each other." I had to nod at that. Mankind really was good at killing. Ignis swallowed audibly.

"My scales are very tough."

"Great. You might survive the first shot," I said, not wanting Ignis to think he could do whatever he wanted in our world without consequences.

"Maybe even the second. But can you survive a sustained barrage? Can you outfly a fighter jet? Can you tank a bunker buster?"

"I don't know what any of those words mean," Ignis admitted quietly.

"Exactly." I turned off the television.

"This world is dangerous. Not because of magic but because of what we built without it." For the first time since arriving, Ignis looked genuinely uncertain. His wings were pressed tight against his body. His tail had curled around his feet.

"But it doesn't matter," he said, but his voice lacked conviction.

"My parents will come get me soon. They'll figure out a way through. And then you'll all see how powerful real dragons are. Ancient dragons. Not like me. Like... really powerful ones."

"Your parents," Tala said gently, "who tried to come through and failed?"

"They'll find a way!" Ignis insisted. Then hesitantly, he added, "Anyway, I guess I can wait here until they arrive." He curled up slightly, his tail wrapping around himself. Suddenly, he looked less like a terrifying monster and more like a scared kid far from home. I looked at this golden dragon, this impulsive, arrogant, terrified teenage dragon who'd made one stupid decision and was now stranded in an unfamiliar world, surrounded by beings he'd been taught to look down on.

He was probably realizing for the first time that he was completely out of his depth. Welcome to the club, kid, I thought.

"Okay," I said.

"Here's what's going to happen. You're going to stay here. With us. Until we figure out how to either get you home or until your parents find a way through."

"Stay here? In this tiny wooden box?" Ignis looked around at the cabin.

"Where would I even sleep?"

"We'll figure something out," I said tiredly while thinking about how long of a night it was going to be. Ignis huffed, small wisps of smoke escaping his nostrils.

"You'd better, otherwise I'm going to tell them how poorly I was treated."

"Now," Tala continued, "some ground rules. One: no eating the local wildlife without permission. Two: no burning things. Three: no terrorizing the neighbors. Four…"

"I don't take orders from anyone!" Ignis interrupted.

"I'm a dragon! A superior being! I—" He stopped because Tala had hopped onto his snout.

"Listen, sparkles," she said, looking him dead in the eye.

"You're in a strange world. You can't get home. You're surrounded by beings with weapons you don't understand. And the local god, that's Abe, is offering you shelter and protection. So you're going to shut up, listen, and be grateful. Understood?" Ignis went very still. His eyes crossed trying to look at Tala.

"You're just a spirit squirrel. I don't have to listen to what you say."

"I'm also his wife," Tala said, pointing at me.

"You're married to a god?" Ignis's voice went up.

"But you're so small!" He looked at me with eyes that, if I had to guess, meant something like, 'Why do I have to listen to her?' I ignored the look and let Tala deal with him. Ignis continued to look at me with those gold eyes, and for just a moment, he looked like exactly what he was, a scared kid who'd made a mistake and wanted to go home. I muttered, "Just listen to her. You're one of us now, so you'll have to deal with her the same way the rest of us do."

Then I winced when I saw Tala grabbing a nut and crushing it into dust. Before I could think about how much trouble I had just brought on myself, a notification appeared. GAIA SYSTEM ACTIVATED. Local Announcement. Extraplanar Invasion Repelled Threat Assessment: High mana level creature neutralized MESSAGE FROM GAIA. He's your problem now. Thanks, Gaia. Thanks a lot. Then I looked at Tala and realized I was probably worrying about the wrong person.