11
And, as it turned out, Jay. Archibald wrapped one set of claws around my shrinking middle, and the other around Jay, and took off with both of us in tow. We watched, helpless, as Mabyn and Jenifry Redclover receded beneath us — and Jory the kennel-keeper, too, with our pup still in his arms.
‘Inconvenient,’ observed Jay, the word emerging as a squeak.
Archibald’s grip was a bit tight, at that. I was feeling breathless myself, and I felt like I had an iron band vice-tight around my ribs. ‘Archie,’ I called. ‘You couldn’t squeeze a bit less, by any chance? We are fragile creatures, prone to breakage.’
The dragon expelled a whistle of air through his nostrils, and to my surprise, huffed out a clear No.
‘Oh,’ I said.
‘You might fall,’ the dragon explained.
‘That would make for some s
