Roman blinked again and smacked Aspid’s nose with his hand. “What did I say about kisses? No kisses unless invited.”

Aspid’s tongue contracted. He pulled Roman into his mouth.

I sprinted.

“Yes, I love you, too,” Roman said from inside the forest of teeth. “I need to go now. Come on.”

The dragon opened his mouth and put Roman back into the mud. The massive serpent looked at me, hissed, and slid into the forest, his obsidian body going and going . . . It would be comical if it weren’t so damn scary. I glanced behind me. Sirin was gone.

“Happens every time,” Roman said. “He misses his father. I’m a substitute until he sees Chernobog in the next flare.”

“You have a weird life.”

“Look who’s talking.” He shrugged. “It’s not that I’m that evil, really. I’m just beloved by evil things.”

A sword wrapped in black canvas rose from within the bog hilt up, like some strange flower. I gripped the hilt. It was cool to the touch. Huh. The last time I’d used it, I’d had to get special gloves and wrap the hilt in three layers of cloth. I pulled the sword free. Some people pulled swords out of stones and went on to rule Britannia. I pulled a sword out of the mud and tried not to think about what I had done.

“This way.” Roman started through the woods. “Well, that was fun.”

“I did the best I could,” I told him.

“Not questioning that.” He dragged his hand over his face. “My uncle will have to be told. Professional courtesy. This is going to really upset the power apple cart. That’s why the Dark God didn’t use me.”

“Why?”

“Because if I had known what he wanted, I would’ve talked him out of it. You have no idea the shit I’ve stopped.”

“He wanted the whole battlefield dedicated to him.”

Roman grimaced. “I know.”

“At least this way, once he is on the battlefield, he won’t be claiming human sacrifices.”

“It won’t be him,” Roman said. “It will be me on the battlefield channeling his power.” He grinned. “I will be a battle volhv. This will be my first time. I’m excited.”

“I didn’t mean to rope you into this.”

“I didn’t mean to bring you into a scary swamp. Things happen.”

“How often are Sirin’s predictions wrong, Roman?”

“Do you want the true answer or the one you can live with?”

“That often, huh?”

He nodded.

The trees parted. Teddy Jo stood in the middle of the road, looking confused. The sun was to our right. We’d lost a few hours somehow.

He saw us and shook his head. “I’ve tried going through the woods twice. I keep ending up on this road.”