Tickle the Dragon's Tail Read online

  Alistair had been caught. Alex had his hero complex fed—joy—and none of the circumstantial evidence Ben and I had collected was needed. I was satisfied that justice had at least partially been done. Alistair had been outed for the big ol’ liar pants that he was, Marge had been saved from the false justice the vamp horde would have demanded, and the eggling was safe.

  Or the eggling had been safe last we looked in on Marge and her nest. I glanced at the clock on the wall.

  “Should be soon, but not quite yet.” Natalie, the moody teenager, had been surprisingly helpful during this tense time. Her significantly improved attitude might have something to do with the once in a lifetime invitation she’d received. An egg-hatching event could make the grumpiest of souls a little brighter.

  Natalie wasn’t the only one thrilled to here. Alex, Cornelius, Bernard, CeeCee, Natalie, Ben, and I made up the welcoming committee.

  I was glad Marge had found a way to ask us to invite Natalie. That had been a serious bunch of charades. After that, adding the rest of the crew to the list hadn’t been nearly so cumbersome.

  This was a happy occasion, but not all of the pieces to this story had been solved and not everyone got their happy ending.

  My fingers tensed. No, not everyone.

  Ben stopped and pulled me into his arms. “We’ll figure out who he is.”

  I looked up into his kind eyes. “Sorry. This should be a day of happiness. I can’t believe that I’m about to see a baby dragon.” We had to wait until the little baby had fully imprinted on Momma Marge. She’d threatened to singe the door if anyone cracked it open too soon.

  “You can be happy and sad at the same time. It’s absolutely allowed.”

  “Yeah.” And I was both. Because someone had died. Some unnamed vampire, probably newly turned, and Alistair hadn’t faced any consequences for that death. Well, not yet. He’d made it onto Alex’s black list. That was not a place anyone wanted to be, so maybe there’d be some justice for Alistair after all.

  And with that dark yet reassuring thought, the door to the warehouse went up in a puff of smoke.

  Rather than shouts of concern, there were whoops of excitement, mostly from Natalie. Mamma Marge wouldn’t accidentally incinerate a door, but Natalie had told us that the baby’s first breath would be a ball of fire.

  “Should be all clear,” she hollered.

  “You’re certain?” Bernard asked. “I read that they can get two or three out before they calm down.”

  Supposedly, baby dragons let loose that little burst of flame when they hatched, but then didn’t have any fire for days after. Or so Natalie said.

  I kissed Ben on the cheek and gave him a smile that was filled with all the joy I was feeling. The darkness had been chased away by a birth, and that was where it would stay today, far, far away. “Come on. Let’s go meet a baby dragon.”

  * * *

  Want to read about Star’s adventure pet-sitting Twinkles? Keep an eye out for Twinkles Takes a Holiday, or join my email list to make sure you receive new release announcements!

  Also by Cate Lawley

  NIGHT SHIFT WITCH

  Night Shift Witch

  Star of the Party

  Tickle the Dragon’s Tail

  * * *

  VEGAN VAMP

  Adventures of a Vegan Vamp

  The Client’s Conundrum

  The Elvis Enigma

  The Nefarious Necklace

  The Halloween Haunting

  The Selection Shenanigans coming in 2018

  * * *

  DEATH RETIRED

  Death Retires

  * * *

  THE GOODE WITCH MATCHMAKER

  Timely Love

  Ghostly Love

  Deathly Love

  Forgotten Love

  The Goode Witch Matchmaker Collection

  LUCKY MAGIC

  Lucky Magic

  Luck of the Devil

  Luck of the Draw coming 2018

  * * *

  Writing as Kate Baray

  LOST LIBRARY

  Lost Library

  Spirited Legacy

  Defensive Magic

  Witch’s Diary

  Necromancy coming 2018

  Lost Library Collection: Books 1-3

  Lost Library Shorts Collection

  The Covered Mirror: A Lost Library Halloween Short

  Krampus Gone Wild: A Lost Library Christmas Short

  SPIRELLI PARANORMAL INVESTIGATIONS

  Spirelli Paranormal Investigations: Episodes 1-3

  Spirelli Paranormal Investigations: Episodes 4-6

  Entombed: A Spirelli Investigations Novel

  * * *

  Writing as K.D. Baray

  BEAUREGARD

  Mistaken: A Seth Beauregard Short

  About the Author

  Cate Lawley is the pen name for Kate Baray's sweet romances and cozy mysteries, including The Goode Witch Matchmaker and Vegan Vamp series. When she's not tapping away at her keyboard or in deep contemplation of her next fanciful writing project, she's sweeping up hairy dust bunnies and watching British mysteries with her pointers and hounds.

  Cate also writes urban and paranormal fantasy as Kate Baray and thrillers as K.D. Baray.

  For more information:

  www.catelawley.com