Chapter 20: Dragon God Attack

Daji clings to my arm. "Stay back!"

"What's happening? Is this another test?"

"NO! I wouldn't plan a test when I want you all to myself!"

I accept the logic of that statement and slam the door shut. "What is that?"

Daji quivers beneath me. "Well, it's not our wyvern."

"I knew that!"

The smell of the bitter smoke seeps through the door, and I can hear the flames eating the building. Oh my God, the inn!

"Who is it? We've got to save the inn! I know none of you can die, but—"

"Not exactly true," she mutters. "In any case, you don't want this inn reduced to a smoking ruin, and that's going to happen any second. Don't worry about me! I can look after myself."

Right.

She's a goddess.

Nerving myself, I open the door again, prepared for the inferno. The roar of the flames is deafening. I have no water. "Daji, do you have water powers?"

She shakes her head. "Sorry."

I smack my head. "But I know who does! Go and get Waverly, now!"

"What about you?"

In answer, I walk right into the fire.

The heat is terrible, and it's as if I've strolled straight into h*ll.

The dragon that crouches in front of me definitely looks cosmic and other-worldly. Upper human body, black and green lower body. He's breathing fire, setting the roof ablaze.

"You can't do this to the Wendigo Inn," I yell. "This is my home! Who are you?'

His voice sounds like he's using the world's most powerful megaphone. "I am Fuxi!"

The Emperor God of China, and the Dragon King. Legend has it that he lived for 168 years and became immortal.

Maybe bowing will make him back off. At least it'll keep me from being barbecued. I bow low, staring at the scorched roof. "Fuxi. I didn't know you were coming. Please accept my apologies. If we'd known—"

"I'm not interested in your excuses, mortal!"

I summon up my courage. "You may not realize that the Wendigo Inn is under new management- My grandparents—"

The dragon's eyes narrow. "What happened to them?"

Seriously? Didn't these god-type beings get the memo? Do they have their own god version of LinkedIn?

Risking being crispy-fried, I straighten up and look the big, scary dragon in the eye. "It's true. Adelle and James Thomas died three months ago. I'm Van Thomas, their grandson."

"Van? What kind of a name is that?"

I sigh. "It's Dutch."

"A van is something humans ride in," Fuxi informs me.

"That's true. Say, what is it like to fly?" I ask.

He sniffs. "Maybe someday you will find out."

"Maybe so, but in the meantime, you just set fire to the inn," I inform him. "If you could please just…"

WHOOSH.

A wall of water hits me at the same time that an ocean covers the roof. Water gets in my eyes, and I struggle to open them. When I finally pry them open, I see Waverly Leviathan standing hip-deep in water. Except he looks completely different.

Instead of thick, wild brown hair, his mane is completely white, and he has a long. thick beard. He holds up a gleaming golden jewel-encrusted trident and stands proudly, wearing what looks like a golden loincloth. "Mr. Thomas," he booms. "I think the flames are out."

"Now get rid of the water, if you please," I call out.

Waverly whirls on Fuxi, the Dragon God. "If HE cooperates, I will," he retorts.

Fuxi laughs. "Do you think a little water can frighten me?"

Little? It looks like the whole Colorado River is flowing off the rooftop. But Fuxi doesn't seem to want to start another fire.

"I invented the trigrams," he says "Long before the I Ching. I invented the guqin. The Instrument of the Sages."

He holds out a shimmering seven-stringed instrument, from which the most heavenly music lays. He's not even touching the strings, and the music still flows. I'm hypnotized.

The water dries up around me, leaving a blackened roof, and people downstairs on the ground and standing on their balconies on each floor are complaining about the flood. Loudly. I run over to the edge of the roof and shout, "Sorry, there was a fire, it's out now!"

The sweet music of the gujin pulls me back, and brings me face to face with Fuxi, who stares down at me. He looks regal with his long, thin mustaches and flowing beard.

I sense Daji right beside me, and Fuxi looks unimpressed by her presence. Or, at least, he tries to look nonchalant. "Fox-woman. You're always here. Did you know that Van's grandparents had died?"

She bares her fangs. "What do you think?"

"I think you like to hoard information," he says in a smoky voice. "I think understanding and interpreting the trigrams is less complicated than trying to predict what you will do next."

She puffs out her chest. "Thank you."

"But you should have told me that his grandparents were dead," he growls. "I thought I was being ignored."

"And did it never occur to you to use the front door?" she shoots back.

Gentlemanly, Fuxi bows and hands me the glowing guqin. "For you. A gift to repay you for the damage to the roof."

The minute my hands touch the strings, the purest, sweetest note echoes around us, and Daji gasps, awed. "You can play the Heavenly Guqin?"

"No. Never played in my life. I can play guitar."

Fuxi smiles, and it's frightening. "You have gifts you don't know. Only someone powerful could make music with the Heavenly Guqin."

"Well, I'm not going to give any concerts. It's going in the inn's collection of mystical artifacts right now."

"NO." Fuxi clamps his hand on my arm.

"Excuse me?" Daji snarls. "Take your hand off him."

"Fine. But unless he keeps the Heavenly Guqin with him and plays it every day, I WILL burn down this inn, killing everyone." Fuxi's eyes are full of fire. "Do we have a deal?"