Playing with Fire

‘‘Yes, but you could have made more of an effort to participate in a little polite conversation,’’ she told him, pinching his thigh. ‘‘Please forgive him, May. Dragons normally have the most exquisite manners, but for some reason, tonight Drake seems to have misplaced his.’’

I avoided looking at Istvan. I wasn’t feeling guilty about biting him-he had done far, far worse to Cyrene-but that was clearly not going to be a welcome subject of discussion.

‘‘I’m sure you’re all tired, so why don’t I save everyone from dancing around the issue,’’ I said, wincing at the abruptness of my tone. My eyes went over to where Gabriel had resumed his position. He seemed relaxed enough, but there was a sense of tension surrounding him that seemed oddly out of place, despite the events of the evening. ‘‘You want me to do something for you. Why don’t you just tell me what it is?’’

The humor that seemed so comfortable in Gabriel’s eyes faded, the gray in them dulling. He glanced toward Drake. ‘‘There is a… situation.’’

Drake’s eyes narrowed on me.

Jim pursed its lips.

‘‘What sort of a situation?’’ I asked, not really wanting to know.

Cicadas chirped in the silence that followed.

Aisling looked from one dragon to the other, sighing and heaving herself over a bit on the couch so she could lean toward me. ‘‘Honestly, dragons! Here’s the deal, May-Drake is the wyvern of the green dragons.’’

I nodded.

‘‘His brother was the wyvern-in-training of the black dragons.’’

‘‘His brother? I didn’t think families could be split like that,’’ I said slowly.

‘‘It’s a long story, but basically, Drake was claimed by his grandmother’s green dragon family, while Kostya, his brother, was in line to take over as wyvern of the black dragons. Only there was a problem with Baltic, the wyvern at the time. You see, the silver dragons were once part of the black dragon family, but they left to form their own sept.’’

‘‘After several hundred years of abuse by Baltic,’’ Gabriel said, his eyes still dull.

‘‘Baltic didn’t want them to be off on their own, and he basically destroyed his own sept trying to get the silver dragons back.’’

‘‘I see.’’ I wondered what all this had to do with me.

‘‘The few existing black dragons who survived-how many, sweetie?’’ she interrupted herself to ask Drake.

‘‘Less than ten,’’ he answered, his hand stroking gently on her back.

‘‘The few existing black dragons who survived went into hiding, Drake’s brother Kostya included. Because he’d sworn to uphold Baltic’s plan to bring the silver dragons back into the fold, you see.’’

I didn’t see, but I wasn’t about to slow down the information dump.

‘‘So, long story short-’’

‘‘There isn’t anything short about your stories,’’ Jim muttered.

‘‘Long story short,’’ Aisling repeated in a louder voice, ‘‘Baltic was killed by Kostya, but it was too late-the damage had been done and the sept was destroyed. Kostya went to ground. Later he was kidnapped and held prisoner, although no one seems to know by whom. Drake found him and we rescued him a couple of months ago.’’

Unbidden, my gaze went to Gabriel. He took a long pull on his drink, then strolled across the room, setting his glass down on the table next to me. His face was shuttered and absolutely expressionless as he looked down on me.

‘‘I take it that this Kostya is making your life hell?’’ I asked him, dread building within me. I began to see what it was he wanted me for.

‘‘That would be an understatement,’’ he said, turning to look out into the darkness.

I set down my own glass carefully lest I end up snapping the thin stem. ‘‘I think I should tell you all that I am not a hit man. I will not kill anyone, let alone a dragon.’’

‘‘Oh, we don’t want you to kill Kostya! He’s Drake’s brother, no matter how annoying he may be,’’ Aisling said quickly. ‘‘It’s the phylactery. We want you to steal it back from him.’’

‘‘What phylactery?’’ I asked, my heart sinking. Why was it that people saw me only for my talent, and never for who I truly was?

‘‘Kostya took a phylactery from me. He intends on using it against the silver dragons in an attempt to annex them,’’ Drake said.

‘‘I see,’’ I said again.

‘‘You’re Mei Ling, the cat burglar everyone is talking about,’’ Aisling said, her face worried. ‘‘You can get the phylactery back for us, can’t you?’’

I lifted my hand in a vague gesture, unsure of what I wanted to say. With the intention of stalling for a few seconds, I snatched up my glass instead, but the moment the wine hit my tongue, I realized I’d taken Gabriel’s glass instead. It was as if I was drinking liquid hellfire.

‘‘Agathos daimon!’’ I yelped, dropping the glass and jumping to my feet as flames burst out around my feet.

‘‘Not me,’’ Aisling said when Drake looked at her. ‘‘That fire isn’t mine.’’

Gabriel spun around, his eyes glowing with a sudden light as he watched me stamp out the flames that licked my toes.

‘‘Holy cow,’’ Aisling said, watching me with openmouthed amazement. ‘‘Did she just drink what I think she did?’’

Gabriel picked the glass up off the floor, running his finger around the now-empty glass, tasting the remnants with an indescribable look as I put out the last of the flames. ‘‘Yes.’’

‘‘Oh, man, two in one year?’’ Jim asked, an odd expression on its face. ‘‘What’re the odds?’’

‘‘I’m sorry about the rug,’’ I told Aisling, grabbing a couple of napkins to try to soak up the spilled wine. ‘‘I must have grabbed the wrong glass. That’s a heck of a drink. What is it?’’

I could still taste the heady beverage on my lips, a spicy mix that had a hint of cloves and cinnamon, and a heavy red wine that was blended with something indefinable.

‘‘It’s called dragon’s blood,’’ Gabriel answered, his eyes glittering brightly as he took a step nearer to me. ‘‘Would you like more?’’

The man in black who was sitting behind me jumped up and said something in a language I didn’t recognize.

Gabriel ignored him, watching me with close attention that left me feeling somewhat flustered. ‘‘Um… sure. That would be nice.’’

No one spoke a word as Gabriel took a dusty bottle out from behind the bar, pouring out a glass of wine.

‘‘Thank you,’’ I said, accepting it, uncomfortable with the way everyone was watching me so closely. With nothing else to do, I took a sip of the drink. I was ready for it this time, but even so, the drink roared through me, setting my blood afire with its heat.

‘‘Would you mind if I tried a quick experiment?’’ Gabriel asked, breaking the silence.

‘‘I suppose not,’’ I said, looking around nervously. Everyone in the room, everyone from the demon dog on down to the two people who sat behind me, watched me with an intensity that made my palms sweat. What on earth was wrong with them all?

‘‘Good.’’ Gabriel held out his hand for me. I accepted it, but rather than releasing me as I expected, he pulled me into an embrace, his body hard against mine as he suddenly kissed me.

I stiffened for a moment, unsure of what I should do. My first instinct was to shadow and break his grip on me, but the feeling of his mouth on mine had a curiously numbing effect on my brain. I couldn’t seem to think as his tongue licked the corner of my mouth, urging my lips to part. Without conscious thought, they did so, allowing him entrance. He tasted like the drink, spicy, but with a faint woodsy note that I found very pleasing. His tongue twined around mine for a moment, then suddenly, I was filled with fire-his fire! Instinctively, I shadowed, but the fire still filled me, overspilling to spiral around me, its intensity building and building until finally, it burst out of me and spun back around him. It was an exhilarating feeling, one that left me both stunned and incredibly aroused.

‘‘Holy cow!’’ I heard Aisling exclaim. ‘‘She’s OK! She’s… she’s…’’

‘‘A wyvern’s mate,’’ Drake said, a note of wonder in his voice.