How to Make a Sinner Sleep

128 | bystander; dear gentle sun

Niklas felt ashamed that he hadn't taken advantage of such a good resource earlier as the wise organizer of many underground meetings.

He wrapped his arm in an almost strangling grip around the gloomy dragon who aspired to make it as rough as a ride as possible, shuffling wildly as his unwelcome passenger clung to his neck.

Holly ran beside them, her curly hair flying free. "You know, for such a depressing dragon, I'm surprised you agreed to carry that burden."

Wisteria gritted his teeth, slamming onto the ground as Niklas almost flew off. "My brother...Noah requested that I aid you."

"Of course," Niklas smiled, resting his chin on the pointy shoulders. Wisteria had retracted his wings, revealing a smooth, gloomy back. "My dear friend cares so deeply for me."

"It wouldn't matter if you died," sneered the dragon, sniffing the air as he felt a disturbance enter the lands. "He only cares for that ugly human."

"Precisely. It is that friend who cares for me."

"I hope you die."

"I would hope I don't, actually. I rather value my life. Come on, little buddy, don't tell me you won't miss me?"

"I am not my brother." Wisteria's eyes drooped, narrowing into the vast forest. "I would not long for something I once despised."

"And it is there you lack understanding, my dragon comrade. I didn't know Noah, back then, but I'm certain. He wouldn't have tolerated Kaden for so many years if what he felt was despise."

The bones along Wisteria's back shifted, a shoulder blade protruding slightly and stabbing Niklas in the chest.

He wheezed. "Kindly allow me to breathe comfortably."

"I'm already carrying you to conserve energy. What right do you have to make demands, human?"

Holly snickered, leaping over an arching root that curved in the span of two trees. It was a perfect habitat for her, able to leap and run as she pleased. In her wildest dreams, she hoped to run freely with the wind for many years to come.

"He makes a fair point, Niklas."

Niklas groped Wistera's shoulder blade, forcing the dragon to retract it with a disgusted growl. The 'burden' smiled triumphetly and squinted at the woman. "My lovely partner of many years, Holly–are you seriously abandoning my side?"

Holly coughed, winking. "An investigator must remain objective. I believe that the cutie carrying you is objectively correct."

Wisteria's face crumpled in a mixture of disgust and deep disdain. If it weren't for his brother, he would never follow such rowdy and talkative humans.

"Alright Wisteria, enough joking around."

"I was not joking around—"

"We have to be serious, alright?" Niklas patted the dragon's back reassuringly and the shoulder blades stabbed him again. "Ugh—seriously, that's kind of disturbing when I feel the shifts of your bones underneath your skin."

Wisteria ignored his complaints. He looked around the emptiness, frowning. "They've entered. A group—" He paused, furrowing his eyebrows. "Two groups."

"Two? Did Reed's group split up?"

"No. There is a large group that entered together. The other group is small, with several people. I can't determine more than that."

Niklas frowned, listening keenly. It was best to avoid Reed's group until they split off into the forest. Their goal was Nicola, not to defeat Reed and partake in senseless killing.