by Alicia Wolfe
I swallowed past the lump and my throat, then knocked.
The door, without me or anyone else touching it, swung open. I gasped at seeing what lay on the other side.
A gorgeous and half-naked Fae Lord played a violin with intense concentration, leaping on long, nimble legs from the carpeted floor to a sort of dais or stage, then spinning about to his audience, which was composed of two more Fae with more clothes on, one male and one female. I knew they were Fae instantly from their grace and power—I could sense it from where I stood. The man with the violin played on. Long, dark hair framed his eerily familiar face, and instantly I knew this was Nevos. He resembled Davril closely with his strong jaw and chiseled cheekbones, but his face was a bit leaner, more artistic, and his hair was long, shadowy and flowing over broad, naked shoulders. Clear sweat glistened on his hairless pecs and trickled down over his taut abs. He had broad shoulders that tapered down to a lean, narrow waist, and long graceful legs clad in black silk pants. His feet were bare.
He didn’t stop playing when I opened the door. Eyes still closed, he sawed harder. Strange colors floated in the space around him, and belatedly I realized this was magic created from his music. His audience of two gasped appreciatively. He danced and pirouetted, clean sweat flying.
I stared, transfixed, my belly going flip-flop. Man, he looked so much like Davril! But so different, too. I didn’t know what I had expected—some hideous monster, maybe—but it wasn’t this.
At last he finished playing. Breathing heavily, he bowed to his audience, and they nodded their heads back to him. They didn’t clap, they nodded. Maybe Fae didn’t clap, I couldn’t remember. I could barely remember my own name.
Nevos unfolded and turned to me. For the first time I saw his eyes. My core turned molten as those crystal green orbs pierced me.
“Yes?” he said, his voice smooth and deep. He didn’t comment on my cat burglar outfit or the fact that I didn’t look like one of his staff.
Get a grip, Jade.
Sucking it up, I stepped over the threshold and what must be a modified bedroom or playroom, occupied by lovely couches and expensive art. I patted the small velvet bag at my side.
“I have what you wanted,” I said, speaking past the lump in my throat. I cast a glance at the other Fae, not sure how much I should reveal.
“You can speak openly,” Nevos said.
Of course. These must be the two Fae that had come with him through the portal. They were his staunch loyalists, who had allowed themselves to be suspended in time and transported to another dimension in order to serve him. They watched me with curious but inscrutable expressions.
“I have the item stolen from the zeppelin,” I said.
He nodded and stepped toward me. I had the urge to shrink away but managed to stand my ground. When he neared, my inner dragon stirred restlessly at his smell of sweat and power. Those brilliant green eyes drank me in, almost drowning me. I wanted to look away even more than I’d wanted to pull back, but I made myself return his gaze.
His eyes raked me up and down, and I shifted in discomfort.
“I’d expected a goblin,” he said. One side of his mouth lifted. “I work with goblins quite a bit, and I would venture to say that you are not one.”
My mouth was very dry. “I … you can call me Jade.” I wondered if he could see past my glamour. Those wizard guards could see through Lux’s shadow-spell, so maybe they’d been able to see through my glamour, too. If they could, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nevos could, too. Not that it mattered. He wouldn’t have recognized me anyway. I’d only seen him for the merest instant the night of the stadium battle, and I hadn’t recognized him.
“You can call me Nevos,” he said. Bowing to me, he seemed to be waiting for something.
Feeling like a dolt, I realized what it was. I lifted my hand to him. Fluidly, he grasped it firmly but lightly at the same time, brought it to his lips and kissed it. His lips were hot and soft, and very full and kissable. He grinned at me as he kissed me, and my belly squirmed. I wished it would quit doing that.
I cast an annoyed glance at the other two Fae. Nevos was obviously powerful, and I was going to have my hands full (Watch it, Jade) dealing with him, let alone these other two. Somehow I needed to get rid of them, then subdue Nevos.
The impish part of me said, Get him in bed and tie him up. Better tire him out first before I call in the Fae Knights.
Down, girl!
“Well?” said Nevos, and I realized he must be staring at me. Had I zoned out? Sheesh!
The other two Fae were watching me with open amusement.
“Well what?” I said, annoyed.
Nevos’s eyes flicked to the velvet bag. “I believe you came here to give me something.”
“Oh. Right.” My hand went to the bag. Paused. “I came here to sell you something, actually.”
“Gavin assured me that all payment went through him.”
“Oh. Yeah. That. Never mind.”
He studied me. “Where is Hela? Also, why are you unaccompanied?”
“Er … your majordomo gave me the creeps. I told him I could find you on my own.”
“Interesting …”
“And Hela got sick.”
“Right after the burglary?” he said.
“Uh, I guess. That happens sometimes. Some people can’t take the stress and get the squirts.” My cheeks burned. “I mean, they get sick.”
The other two Fae tittered. I was beginning to hate those assholes.
Nevos visibly shook it off. “Well, if that will be all, Mistress Jade, I believe I will take that now.”
No putting this off anymore. Slowly I reached to the bag, unclipped it, then lifted it toward him. “It’s on the inside,” I said.
“I figured.”
“I mean, the bag is magical. There’s more space on the inside than it looks.”
“I had assumed so.”
Man, I was really botching this. And I was no closer to subduing Nevos or the dynamic duo. Oh well, that had only been Plan A. Plan B was to get the hell out of here now that I knew where he was and summon the cavalry. But was this place really his? How long would he stay here? I had a lot of questions. Unfortunately now wasn’t the time to ask them.
But I really hated to leave him with that bag. He’d come to our world to take it over for his Master, and he needed whatever was in that bag to do it. Not only had I helped him get it, but I’d brought it to him. The very idea made me nauseous.
“Actually,” I said, “there’s more stuff in that bag. At least I think so.”
“You don’t remember putting it in there?”
“It’s been a long week. Besides, that bag’s valuable, and giving it over wasn’t in the price Gavin and I agreed on.” I snatched the bag back, and Nevos arched his eyebrows.
“Very well,” he said. “Then shall we simply extract the item from the bag?”
“Er …”
Before I could clumsily begin doing this, a senior-looking guard in a nice suit burst into the room, his face red.
“My lord!” he said, and gave a hasty bow. “There’s something you should see! Quickly!”
He ran past us, then the other two Fae, reached the balcony door and flung it open. Rushing onto the balcony, he stared up at something, then swore loudly. Gesturing back to us, he said, “Well?”
Such was the desperation on his face that we all emerged onto the balcony. A hot wind was blowing from somewhere, and I smelled fire. Then I glanced up to where the guard was pointing. Instantly I felt all the blood drain from my face, and my legs turned to rubber, but this time not from a long ride.
Above us, barreling toward the mansion with smoke trailing from its scaly mouth, was a dragon.
Chapter 9
“Holy shit,” I said. “It’s him.”
Indeed, it was my arch-nemesis, Vincent Walsh, the owner of whatever was in the velvet bag that was bigger on the inside that the outside, and he looked pissed. His dragon form was not
his usual shape, but it was impressive, huge and red, with wide batlike wings and ridges running down from his horned head all the way to his spiky tail.
“You know him?” Nevos asked me. He’d dropped his violin somewhere on the way to the balcony.
I patted the bag. “He’s the owner of this.”
Nevos’s jaw bulged. “Walsh.”
“Right.”
As we watched, several police officers on griffons, aided by several police witches and wizards, were flying up to greet the dragon. Magical blasts sizzled out from police-issue wands, and red lightning leapt from the hands of a witch in a dark blue uniform. Vincent Walsh drove on through, rage boiling off him, and the police scattered to get out of his way.
“Can you hold him off?” I asked Nevos.
“Not from here. This is just a rental.”
He whistled, then nodded to the other two Fae. Nodding back, they whistled loudly. Moments later three large winged forms swept in out of the darkness. Maybe they’d been on the roof or somewhere, I didn’t know, but suddenly I was watching three dinosaur-like creatures flapping their wings in a holding position right below the balcony.
“Pterodactyls?” I said, feigning astonishment. Okay, I only had to fake it a little. I’d seen Nevos riding one during the battle of the mirror, but that had been a distant look, not an up-close-and-personal viewing like this. I could see the little hairs sticking out from the leathery skin of the beasts, and the mucous in their huge eyes.
“Tarons,” Nevos corrected me. So saying, he leapt into the saddle of the central creature, and his two compatriots jumped into the saddles of theirs. To the guard, Nevos said, “Get clear and tell all the troops to pull back. We’ll draw the worm away and contact you later.”
“Do you think it will follow?” the guard said. His face was tight as a drum.
Nevos held up a palm. The velvet bag ripped out of my hand and flew into his.
“Hey!” I said.
“He’s after this,” Nevos told the guard. “He must be able to sense it. That’s how he found us. He’ll follow me to get it back, I’m sure of it.”
“Thank you, sir.”
I was impressed. Nevos wasn’t a coward, and he wasn’t going to use his men to shield him from the oncoming doom. He would shield them, even use himself as bait to draw Walsh away. Traitor and evil though he may have been, he was downright heroic in his own way.
Just the same, I swore. Walsh had done much the same thing to me—that is, using telekinesis to rip a prized object from my possession. Well, I wasn’t going to take it this time. I whistled, too, and in seconds Chromecat screamed out of the darkness, engines throbbing, feathery black wings pumping.
Walsh was very close now. In seconds he would be near enough to set the mansion on fire.
I jumped astride Chromecat and glared at Nevos. “I’m not leaving your side until I get that bag back,” I said. “Either that or you pay me for it!”
Eyes flinty, he jerked the reins of his taron and flew it up into the night. His riders flanked him. Pressing my thighs into Chromecat’s sighs, and praying I was making the right decision, I followed. The mansion receded below, and the cold winds of night enfolded me, streaming my hair out behind me. I said a spell to lessen the effects of the wind and glanced behind us.
Walsh had veered away from the mansion, just like Nevos had predicted. Unfortunately, he was streaking right for us. Again, just like Nevos had said. I’d been pursued once by Walsh in dragon form, and that hadn’t gone well at all. It had taken the Queen of the Fae herself to drive the bastard off. Nevos was obviously powerful and brave, but how could he defeat the likes of Vincent Walsh?
Walsh drove on, fire licking his lips. One of the Fae riders turned back to blast him with a bolt of light from his palm. The light struck Walsh on one of his horns and bounced off.
The other rider tried, then Nevos. Nothing.
Walsh was upon us. The four of us circled him, blasting him with beams of energy and the various spells we could conjure. I hit him with a freezing blast and a broiling wind, but he didn’t even seem to feel them. A dozen policemen and –women swirled around him, too. We must have been a hell of a sight, all of us aerial magic-users sweeping and dodging the snapping jaws and plumes of fire of that great primordial, almost elemental beast as he tore through the skies, smoke issuing from his nostrils, eyes flashing with hate. It felt weird to be fighting alongside both the police and Nevos, who was the enemy of mankind, as far as I could tell, against Walsh, but life is weird that way.
At last Walsh broke away from us, scattering us with his wings and fire, then flying a short distance away, wheeling about, and driving straight at us again. Fire erupted from his mouth in a long, bright column, aimed right at the center of our numbers. Desperately we flew out of the way, each going in a separate direction.
Realizing that force couldn’t defeat Walsh, Nevos said, “To me!” and flew west. His two riders fell in behind him.
“Not without me!” I said.
Gunning Chromecat, I raced to catch up with him. Nevos threw me an annoyed look but didn’t dispute the issue.
I heard the crackle of fire. Glancing back, I saw a spear of flame racing toward me. Suppressing a scream, I jerked the handlebars, veering to the right. I felt the heat of the flames as they whoosed past. Eyes wide, I rejoined the others, who all looked just as grim as I felt.
“We’ve got to get rid of him,” said one of the riders, the male one. I wondered if they were renegade Fae Knights like those that served Prince Jereth.
“I have an idea,” called the female rider. Concentrating, she gestured at the bag Nevos had strapped to his belt. He was still shirtless and barefooted. He was an amazing sight, bare-chested and dashingly handsome, riding that dinosaur while a dragon chased him. As the female rider worked her magic, a magical glow emanated from the bag and flew into her hands. Then another glow materialized and flew into the hands of the other rider. They were replicas of the velvet bag.
“Well done!” said Nevos. “But are you sure?”
“We’ll do what we can, my lord.”
She jerked the reins of her taron and veered to the right. The male rider jerked the reins of his and veered to the left.
Behind us Walsh roared in anger. I glanced over my shoulder to see him pursue the male rider.
Coming alongside Nevos, I said, “What just happened?”
“Lyra made a copy of the magical signature of the item,” Nevos said. “Two copies. She took one and Tae took the other. Now Walsh doesn’t know who has what he’s looking for.”
I whistled. “Lyra and Tae might have gotten themselves killed.”
“No. The magical construct will only exist for a few minutes. When it dissipates, he’ll come back after us. After me,” he corrected himself. He frowned. “Can you please leave now? You’re safe to go.”
I made my voice firm. “I still don’t have my bag back.”
He let out a sigh. “Very well. Ra!”
He gave his ride his heels and it shot forward. I was amazed by how fast the creature could go. Then again, it was no mere animal, I knew. Like Chromecat and Lady Kay, it was magically augmented.
“Where are we going?” I said.
“You mean where am I going?”
“Whatever. Back to the mansion?”
“No, I must get somewhere secure. There’s only one place I know to escape a dragon of that power. Luckily, it’s the place I would have been headed to anyway. It’s where I have to go to use this.” He batted the velvet bag. Just what was in there? And why did Walsh and Nevos need the same thing?
“Too bad,” I said. “I liked that place.” The truth was I was very happy not to go back to the mansion in the Hamptons. Hela would be waking up soon, and I didn’t want her to know it had been me that clocked her.
Still, I allowed myself to feel a pang at missed opportunities as I turned back to see the Hamptons begin to recede behind me. Someday, I thought. Someday I’ll come back here and ex
plore you more thoroughly. I would get onboard a yacht someday if it killed me.
I turned back around. The skyscrapers of New York City drew closer. We were returning home. But where could we be headed that would stand up to a dragon? Where would a dragon not want to enter?
Shit.
“Not there,” I muttered. I thought I knew where we were going.
Damn it all, why does it have to be THERE?
Manhattan approached, maddeningly swiftly. Were we traveling faster than before? It sure as hell seemed like it. It was always the places you wanted to go to least that you headed to fastest. Some sort of natural law, I guess.
As we went, I traded sidelong glances with Nevos. Or at least I studied him out of the corner of my eye, and I could sense him studying me out of the corner of his. Fuck, but Davril had one hot brother. I mean, he wasn’t hotter than Davril, that would be hard, but he did the Stormguard name proud, I can tell you that. A shame he was evil.
Maybe he’s not, I thought. Maybe it was all a hilarious misunderstanding. I could taste the hilarity on my lips.
No, that was bugs. I renewed the spell that kept out wind and bugs.
Spitting occasionally, I kept looking over my shoulder to see if Vincent Walsh had found us yet. Sure enough, just as we were passing over the first spires of New York City, a monstrous winged form slipped down out of the clouds above, fire licking at its lips.
“Walsh!” I said, unconsciously driving closer to Nevos.
He grinned at me. “I’ll protect you.”
“Hey!” Cheeks burning, I drove further away. Damned if I’d be protected from scorching, burning dragonfire by the likes of him!
I looked in my rearview. Fire was building up in the back of Walsh’s throat.
“He’s preparing another blast,” I said, and started to split away from him so that we could divide around it.