“Let’s introduce my … eccentric cast of characters,” I say.
“Eccentric?!” cries the dragon. “I, Milorth the Great, the immortal and all-powerful Sea Dragon, am not eccentric.” He waves his hand, which is actually glowing with green light, and a jewel-encrusted throne appears in my workspace.
My cats arch their backs at the sudden appearance and hiss at the humanoid dragon.
His sea-green gaze settles on them as if they are insects beneath his feet and they bolt, clearly deciding the time for bravery is over.
But I am gaping at the sparkling throne. It is every bit as gaudy as I described in my books.
Someone snickers over my shoulder. “She’s calling your throne gaudy, Dragon.”
I look up and there is Sinnafain, the fae warrior, smirking at Milorth.
“Can’t say that I disagree with the …” red eyes linger on me and I suddenly feel a tad unsafe. “—the mortal, Milorth,” the vampire, Lothaire, comments.
Sinnafain bares her teeth at him and I let out a sigh of relief. I am okay as long as Sinnafain is nearby. And as long as I don’t look him directly in the eye.
I quickly focus back on my monitor, documenting everything that is happening around me.
“Then none of you have any taste!” Milorth accuses, pointing at the three of us.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” I say quietly, hoping to make things go more smoothly.
Milorth beams at me. “See, the mortal gets it. Amazing, considering how tiny their intellect is.”
I narrow my eyes and say nothing.
“I don’t know,” Lothaire states, hungry red eyes gazing at me again, “I wouldn’t discount her completely.”
“Ugh, stop it, vampire, or I’ll rip out your throat,” Sinnafain warns.
Lothaire glares at her and goes silent.
The fae warrior returns to reading my writing over my shoulder. She snickers to herself and makes no comment.
The room falls into silence as all three immortals are crammed into this tiny space with me. “Um,” I say, voice wavering slightly, “I think that should do it for introductions for now—“
Milorth bursts into laughter. “Yes, there’s no need to introduce anyone else. We’re the most important and interesting characters you’ve ever created.”
I give him a dubious look—Lumina, Tullica, Soleil, the unicorns and Periolos are all interesting characters in my perspective.
Sinnafain chuckles. “Nope,” she says to the dragon, “the mortal disagrees. In fact, you’re at the bottom of her list of interesting characters.”
“What?” I protest. “I didn’t write that!”
“You didn’t have to. I can see it in your eyes.”
“But, no! I was looking at the monitor. How can you tell when I’m not even looking at you?”
“She’s got you there, Fae,” Lothaire points out.
Sinnafain bares her teeth in response to Lothaire, then focuses back on me. “I’m a fae, I know more about human nature than you do.”
“Really?” I ask. “I would have thought—“
“No, you don’t!” Lothaire growls. “By their very nature, humans know more about humans than you do. I was a human, so I can vouch for that!”
“One more word, vampire, and it’ll be your last.”
I shrink into my chair.
The air goes still.
Milorth’s jovial gaze turns deadly. “Make a move, Fae, and I’ll also be your opponent.”
I look between the three extremely powerful immortals and know this interview has to end soon. Not only is my life in danger, but all my possessions are too (Nooooo! Not my precious hard drive! It holds all my unpublished books!)
“Well, this was great. I’ve got some good content for my website,” I say quickly and maybe with a bit of forced cheer. “Thank you all very much for stopping by, but I really do need to get back to work now.”
The tension eases.
“Work?” Lothaire snickers. “You haven’t edited anything in days.”
How dare my own creation point out the flaw in my excuse! “W-well,” I stutter, reaching for something else to help me end this. “I’m very busy and I need to go and this room is too small for all of you, so thank you and goodbye,” I say all in one breath.
Luckily, the immortals comply and leave peacefully. I hunch over my desk and question if this really was such a good idea.
Surely, someone will find value in this, right?
Right?
