Book 5: Chapter 48 (1/2)

Tafel stared at Vur’s face. It was unchanging. His eyes stared straight ahead at the tablet on the table, and a snot bubble steadily rose and fell from his nostril. Tafel leaned to the side and picked up the tablet, keeping her eyes on Vur’s. She moved the tablet to the left, and Vur’s eyes followed. She moved the tablet to the right, and Vur’s eyes shifted to the right. She moved the tablet up, and Vur’s eyes went upwards. She placed the tablet back down, and Vur’s eyes returned to their original position.

“Are you really asleep?” Tafel asked, her expression darkening. She glanced at Vur’s chest when she didn’t get a response. “You’re not controlling his eyes like some kind of meat puppet, are you, Stella?”

Stella’s voice came out of Vur’s tattoo. “No. I’m gardening.”

“What? How?” Tafel’s brow furrowed. “What are you growing in Vur’s body?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Stella’s voice replied.

“Yes, I would very much like to know!”

“That’s just too bad.”

Tafel could practically hear the fairy sticking her tongue out. She was about to say something else, but heavy footsteps from the hall caught her attention. A black dragon’s head appeared, and Grimmy’s mom gave Tafel a nod. “May I come in?”

“Of course,” Tafel said. What else could she say? No? Other than the fact that this was Grimmy’s mom’s home, Tafel also had no plans to refuse any dragons’ demands. “What’s the matter?”

Grimmy’s mom didn’t say anything. Instead, she stared at Vur for a moment before pointing at him. “Is he sleeping?” she asked Tafel.

Tafel’s expression darkened. “Yes.”

“Interesting,” Grimmy’s mom said and walked in a large circle around Vur and Tafel. She stopped behind the table with the tablet, evidently having noticed Vur’s eyes were trained on it. She moved the tablet around and made the same discovery as Tafel. Vur’s eyes would follow the tablet. Grimmy’s mom knocked the tablet over, and Vur’s eyes seemed to glaze over. She took out a different tablet and placed it on the table. The light reappeared in Vur’s eyes. “He’s not conscious at all?”

Tafel waved her hand in front of Vur’s face, but there was no response. “If you want to know more about it, you can always wake him up and ask. Did Ramon fall asleep during your class?”

Grimmy’s mom nodded. She extended her paw and tapped on Vur’s shoulder. When he didn’t wake up, she nudged him a little harder.

“Let me help,” Tafel said. Her horns glowed blue, and an icy needle materialized in her palm. She picked it up and poked Vur’s snot bubble.

Vur blinked and looked around before waving at Grimmy’s mom. “Hi, Gren. What are you doing here?”

Grimmy’s mom scratched her head. It was strange hearing her nickname come out of a human’s mouth—even if the human was technically a dragon. Usually, when humans worshipped her, they used her full name and title. “I had a few questions I wanted to ask you about the technique you taught Ramon.”

Vur tilted his head. “I taught Ramon a technique?”

“Didn’t you?” Grimmy’s mom asked and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes narrowed. “Did Ramon lie to me?”