Warning: Book Is Reluctant

A hot hand shook gently at his shoulder with restrained power that feared breaking him. He felt the claws dig past his hoodie and into his skin anyway. Forehead rolled slightly over the warm sturdy metal. His sideways glance followed Maratana’s server uniform to the collar. She’s always had a nice sturdy figure. Her claws shone with natural polish.

He shifted back to sit up.

She bent her knees to recover the MukChicken from the floor. Scales around her snout glistened brighter than usual. Whiskers twirled upwards slightly before relaxing. Purple mane slightly darker than her scales flowed over her shoulders. Four hands clasped together behind her back as she set the box on the table.

“Would you like us to take it off the bone for you?”

Jorseph frowned instinctively, “I’m not a baby!”

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t implying you were. I’m very sorry,” She glanced over to the manager glaring at her, “We have menus for other kin as well. I’m sorry for not informing you.”

Maratana glanced toward the manager. He nodded back before returning to his office. She’d served foreigners plenty of times before. But she’d never served a foreigner who wasn’t a dragon. This was the first time she had a customer like this and she’d failed. Her tail drug on the floor behind her.

“We can desalt the Muktators if you’d like. It looked as if you were having an issue with the salt.”

Jorseph looked out the window as a blush crept up his cheeks, “They’re too salty. If you could take the salt off that would be great. The rest of the food is fine. I’ll be more careful eating it. Maybe I’m not used to bones in my food.”

I’m not used to being unable to even chew bones.

“Okay, let me get that for you,” she reached down and left him a fork and a knife, “These are for you. To help you get the meat off the bone. Sorry about not providing them earlier.”

“It’s Okay, fine really.”

Jorseph lifted the fork. It twirled around in his fingers before falling. He swooped his arm to pick it up but his fingers only swiped it. His other hand pressed the table as he bent to grab the fork. He wrapped the handle in his palms. The prongs aimed at the chicken but stabbed his other palm enough to sting. The fork went back on the table. He pushed it away.

Napkins were good enough to hold a MukChicken by the bones. This time, Jorseph took care to take soft bites. Whatever he was now, he didn’t have a jaw strong enough to break, crush, and chew bones into a gritty paste. Little bites went around the bones.

The chicken tasted saltier than usual. At least it wasn’t bland. The MukFizz burned his sinuses even when he took small sips. He’d been here half an hour and had barely eaten half.

Finely scraped potato sticks returned to the table. Maratan gave him a cute bow as bursts of hot air escaped from her nostrils. Three pairs of hands clasped together as she practiced her most polite expression.

“Is there anything else I can do for you mam?”

“Sir.”

“Sorry, sir. You have a very pretty voice; there’s no growl to it at all and it’s so soft that I couldn’t help-”

She glanced over to see the manager behind the counter with six arms akimbo as he glared at her, “I’m sorry. Feel free to come to the counter if you need anything.”

Jorseph leaned back with a sigh as she left. He took another potato stick. The reduced salt made it endurable. He took careful, tiny, sips of the MukFizz. The clock in the center of the restaurant reached twelve. It was already lunch?

The meal remained half finished. Jorseph stared wide-eyed at the overabundance of meat and potato sticks. The tall drink hid him from the other table. His stomach looked like a balloon stuffed under his hoodie. It hurt to move. A massive belch released as Jorseph relaxed on the bench. How could a creature this weak even manage to survive a day?

A few paper towels wiped grease off his hands before he returned to the book. The meal had been meant to get his thoughts together and give him energy. Instead, he felt too heavy to think. He took another careful sip of the MukFizz. Bubbles curled at the back of his throat.

His finger gently slid down the spine of the spellbook. The moon on the cover lit brightly the last time that figure showed itself. Was it a good idea to try and talk to it here? Other dragons were watching him. He didn’t have to talk to it yet. It couldn’t hurt to take a closer look. He touched the ruby. The remaining grease on his skin left a smudge.

He wiped his fingers on his hoodie. A paper towel absorbed sweat as it pushed across his forehead. He clasped his fingers around the edges of the cover and pulled.

The book opened.

Jorseph thought it might resist being opened. The gem remained embedded into the back cover. Once opened, there was a hole in the front cover and any of the pages pressed against it.

Odd symbols filled the pages. Incomprehensible diagrams accompanied charts. He had no idea what any of the lines referenced. The line of the chart on the lower left corner moved as if he watched a video. It formed sharp jagged lines that peaked every few seconds.

He decided to turn the page but the book snapped shut. It pinched his index finger. Toes curled and back tensed as he managed not to cry out in protest. He carefully pulled his finger from the pages and rubbed it. He set the spell tome on the table in front of his half-eaten meal. A cleaned hand rested gently on the cover. He whispered.

“I need you to change me back to how I was, you know, when I first found you.”

The book didn’t respond.

“C’mon. I can’t even eat a dragon meal anymore. Mr. Grabberson is going to find me eventually. He always does.”

The book didn’t care.

“I know you have a name. Your name is Lilly. It says it right here,” he pointed to the name.

A slight glow registered from the crescent moon, “Lilly,” it whispered.

“C’mon Lilly. You’re not being fair. I’m only fourteen. I have a mom who’s going to be worried about me. I have friends at school who depend on me. You can’t just leave me like this and be silent.”

He heard a soft sobbing from inside.

“Work with me then! I want to be a dragon and you don’t want to be a book. I get it. You want to be whatever you were. Probably what I am now, right? Well, if you can make me this way, maybe you can do the same thing to yourself. And didn’t you say you had a friend who needs saving?”

The sobbing grew louder. Water ran from the stars on the cover. It splashed on the table when Jorseph raised the book. A red glow poured forth from the ruby embedded in the center. The moon shone slightly. The book forced itself out of his hands. It floated a few centimeters above the table. The sobbing increased in volume as water dripped over the table.

Other dragons were looking their way. Jorseph clutched the spellbook and hugged it tight against his chest despite the warm dampness spreading across the front of its hoodie as he muffled the sobs.

Jorseph hopped off the seat, “I need to use the restroom!”

He scurried from his seat to the hall toward the back. A forcefield barred his entry. Forehead smacked into a wall after he opened the door. A wave of vibrations spread from the impact of his fist.

The spellbook’s voice was muffled by his damp hoodie, “I’m not going in a men’s bathroom with you!”

He hugged the book tight against his chest.

“Lilly, please, don’t make a scene. I’m sorry. Not here! If you get caught it might be really bad for both of us. Let’s go somewhere safe and talk. I want to know what’s going on. I want to help. Not just because I look like this weird hairless mammal. Let me try.”

He pulled the satchel out of his hoodie.

The book gained a red aura, “Please don’t, please. Not the darkness again. I’ll behave. Don’t make it dark again.”

“Fine, fine, no bag. Will you talk to me?”

A dragon with a brown rimmed hat in a matching suit walked into the hall. He considered Jorseph, then spoke loudly, clearly, and enunciated every word, “Do you need help? What language do you speak?”

Jorseph stiffened, “No sir. I’m fine. I just finished here. Sorry for loitering, I was lost in thought.”

The dragon’s eyes widened in astonishment, “Wow, you’re really skilled at Sunese. Great job!”