before we get hit with anything too big to handle.”
Griffen sighed and nodded. He had already planned to go see Mose soon. Now he had better questions.
Conclave pushed aside for the moment, Griffen’s head was beginning to clear.
Fourteen
Mai was bored.
She was sitting in her apartment, staring out the window into her semiprivate courtyard. Her apartment was opulent, one of the higher-end condos in the Quarter. Fully furnished, secure, in the heart of the action. It even came with off-the-street parking, which she wasn’t using because she rarely enjoyed driving. She enjoyed being driven.
Her gaze kept drifting to the phone. She should call someone, check on… things. Yet every time she picked the phone up, she would stare at it for a few moments and invariably put it down. She knew what answers she would hear. Positive responses. Positive, but predictable. There just didn’t seem to be any point.
She stared out the window.
She just couldn’t help herself. She was simply used to a more active lifestyle than she was finding in the Quarter. Oh, the nightlife was good, and the shopping okay, but she didn’t know what to do with herself. Mai had always thought of herself as a big-city girl, and in so many ways the Quarter and those in it had a small-town mentality. Oh, there was a city wrapped around it, but it was just another city, nothing special.
Looking back on things, she realized she had started to grow listless and that the boredom had been creeping up on her for quite some time. Back before Griffen had known about being a dragon even. Michigan had just not been her style, though she had gone for more day trips than Griffen would ever realize. Her family’s money had made a jaunt to New York or even farther no problem. Sometimes those trips had just been for fun, sometimes to report in.
That was the real kicker. Back then she had felt more active, more involved with her little espionage role. Her family might have seen it as a lesser post for a somewhat difficult girl-child, but she had seen potential in Griffen even then. She had had a lot of fun plotting and planning for possible contingencies. Now that her plans were set in motion, she was in waiting mode. So much had to simmer and stew, so much had yet to come to a head.
The other dragons of the East, young and old, were moving into position. She didn’t have to do anything, not at the moment. No prod necessary, no strings to pull. Of course she was pleased that things were going so well, but it left her with little to occupy her mind or time.
And Griffen… So different now, so new. She found herself drawn to his new confidence, his new power. Attracted to the man he had become and the potential he had yet to tap. At the same time, she missed the boy. The naive young dragon who hadn’t a clue about the world. No ambition, no cares. Easy.
For little stretches of time, she could wrap herself up in him. In enjoying the Quarter as he saw it. Helping and guiding him as he learned what it was to be a dragon. Pulling subtle strings, showing him choice bits and pieces of a much larger world. That was even more fun than what they shared in bed. Though Fox Lisa had proved a surprising and interesting diversion.
She had no intention of rushing Griffen’s progress. He already seemed to be growing so fast; any faster, and it might upset everything. He was drawing enough attention as it was. Besides, despite her current boredom, Mai was nothing if not patient.
He was just so wrapped up in this conclave of his. That was her one regret so far. She would have steered him away from this whole mess if she could have. Not only did it keep him distracted and growing more distant, but she had no way to predict or try to control the influences he would encounter once it got under way.
Like so many dragons, she barely bothered with other supernatural creatures. They weren’t in her class, within her sphere of influence. Oh, she had dabbled when she was younger. Her family often tended to disregard her, so she made it a habit to track others who were disregarded. She even remembered the boyfriend she brought home one day who claimed to be a tengu. Her parents really gave her hell for that one. Though she had never been quite clear if they were more upset that he wasn’t a dragon or that he was Japanese.
What would Griffen meet? Who would he be drawn to? What would be drawn to him? How could she make it all work for her?
She left the phone and window behind. It was about time she got off her ass and got back to work.
A short walk took her from her place to Griffen’s. He had given her a key to his security gate a while ago. A move that Val had seemed to disapprove of at the time. Not to mention Jerome. Mai was afraid she might have to do something about that weakblood soon.
Of course, Griffen didn’t know she had taken the liberty of making up a key for his apartment. Nor did she really feel any need to tell him. No sense bothering him with little details.
From the look of things, both he and Val were out. Mai knew that Val was scheduled to work that day, but Griffen’s habits were more unreliable. Just to be safe, she knocked at his door. When no answer came, she slipped inside. She always moved with natural grace, but when she wanted to move silently, cats would die from sheer jealousy.
She had only a little hope of finding what she was looking for. She had no idea how long it would be till Griffen returned, and didn’t want him to know that she had rifled his apartment. Still, a quick look though his drawers and desk should be safe enough. She started to move toward his bedroom.
And stopped when she saw exactly what she was looking for, haphazardly dropped on his couch. Right next to his TV remote and a DVD case for some movie she had never heard of. She rolled her eyes and picked up the little notebook Griffen had been carrying around for a few days. If she wanted to know what Griffen was encountering in this damn conclave, she would find out the easy way. His own private notes.
She sat on the arm of his couch, careful not to disturb anything, and flipped through the notebook. Her lips pursed, and her foot twitched idly, as if her toes tapped to some unheard music. She was a bit disappointed by how little Griffen seemed to know. She couldn’t help but feel he was setting himself up for a big fall.
Then she flipped the page, and her eyes widened in surprise. She ran a finger over the words at the top, a great bold heading underlined several times. She tapped a manicured nail against the heading.
Flynn’s Thoughts.
She scanned the page, a list of advice and suggestions that she knew at once weren’t Griffen’s own thoughts. Nor the comments of anyone in his immediate circle. Mai read the page twice and looked back at the heading.
“Flynn,” she whispered to herself.
Very carefully she put the notebook back exactly as she had found it. Despite the apparent lack of care it had been set down with, Mai took no chances. She left as silently as she had entered, locking the door behind her. Her lips began to slip into a smile, one that slowly spread as she walked back to her apartment. Her eyes lit up with a spark of anticipation that they hadn’t held in months.
Once back in her apartment, she picked up her phone. This time there was no hesitation, no thoughtful stare. She dialed a special number, one Griffen would never be told about. Just as he would never see this side of her. Not if she had anything to say about it.
There was no greeting when the phone picked up on the other end. Just silence, empty and waiting. Mai smiled just a bit more.
“I need a full check on a Western dragon. Flynn, Earl. Primary focus, current whereabouts and activities. Include rumor,” Mai said.
“One hour,” a flat, monotone voice answered. The phone went dead.
Mai put it back in its receiver and sat. She didn’t spare a glance for the window behind her. She could wait, she was very good at waiting. And suddenly, she was no longer bored.
