Dragon Game

by Alicia Wolfe

  Lord Gleamstone moved off to oversee the transportation of the succubi. Already they were being placed in a metal cage drawn by six pegasi. They would be taken to the Adjudicator of the Realms and, if found guilty of being on this plane illegally, or of violating the rules of this plane, they would be sent back to hell. Good riddance, I thought.

  Madam Mara hissed and sputtered from inside the black cage, but she did it weakly. She was still pretty dopey.

  A crowd was forming. Already a few reporters snapped pictures or spoke before rolling cameras. I made sure to keep my face lowered. The last thing I needed was for any of my old cronies to see me working with the Fae Lords on live TV.

  “We really need to get me a disguise or something,” I said.

  “We will,” Davril said. “Next time we go out I’ll give you a glamour. It will mask your real identity, just in case.”

  “Like, I’ll have someone else’s face?”

  “Exactly.”

  I tapped my chin. “Anyone’s? I mean, I could be Jennifer Lopez?”

  “That’s a celebrity? I would advise against it.”

  I batted my eyelashes at him. “Who would you like me to look like?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps … your sister?”

  I punched his arm. “Bastard!”

  He laughed, and I felt heat spread through me. Laughing a little, too, I said, “Well, I’ll think about it. I guess it should really just be a random face. I’d like it to be a not-bad one, though.”

  The humor drained away from him as he scanned the horizon. He must be thinking about Nevos. Talk about a mood killer.

  He gestured to Lady Kay. “Shall we?”

  He’d attached a rack on the back just for my motorcycle, and together we strapped my ride to his, then climbed into Lady Kay, him behind the wheel and me in the passenger seat. He hit the gas and we shot up into the sky, leaving New Jersey behind. We were bound for Manhattan and the Palace of Lady Calista, queen of the Fae-in-exile. Wind whipped my hair out behind me and I had to fight the urge not to throw my feet up on the dash. Davril hated that. The sun warmed my skin, and I was still flushed from battle.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Davril being all broody and frowny. I wished I could find some way to bring us back to that flirty, randy place we’d just been. We both loved action, and it always got us going. Sooner or later I kept hoping it would get us all the way. And if it hadn’t been for Commander Gleamstone’s mention of Nevos, I felt we might have gotten there today. Damn it all.

  “That was some fight,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

  Davril just grunted. “Yeah.”

  “That madam almost had me there for a moment. Thanks for the rescue, by the way.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I hate to be the maiden in distress, but I do love a knight in shining armor.”

  “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Excuse me?”

  I sighed. “Nothing.”

  Soon we entered Manhattan, and its brilliant skyscrapers surrounded us. The castles of the Fae Lords topped many of them, with gorgeous towers and walls, intricate statues and fountains spurting from their courtyards. Some were light and airy, some were harsh and intimidating, but the largest and most beautiful of them all was the Palace, which erupted from the tallest skyscraper in New York. White and dazzling, its towers and walls shone with an inner radiance. We made straight for it.

  As always, it was a hive of activity, with Fae coming and going on pegasi or other steeds. A human delegation was just leaving from one of the towers on a dirigible, and when I pointed it out to Davril he said, “Yes. Queen Calista regularly meets with politicians and officials of your world. That could be the Governor or perhaps the chief of police. The President even visits occasionally.”

  “I’d love to be a fly on that wall. Well, if flies weren’t gross and disgusting. Maybe a butterfly? Someone really needs to change that expression.”

  Davril brought Lady Kay into the hangar that the Fae Knights used, and we each saw to our separate steeds, washed and dressed in our uniforms, then met back up. As we made our way through the halls of the Palace toward the Throne Room, I said, “Wonder why she wants to meet with both of us?”

  “It’s not your first time to meet with Her Highness.”

  “I know, it’s just that … well, it’s your brother. I know all things related to him are considered top secret.”

  “Jade, you underestimate yourself. You’ve proven worthy in the past, so why not now?”

  “Maybe. But I think something’s up.”

  “Up?”

  I shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

  Lord Greenleaf met us at an intersection. Tall and severe, he was the Grand Vizier. Frosty as a winter ocean, he’d never taken a liking to me, but he seemed competent and loyal enough.

  “I’m to take you to Her Majesty,” he said, and led the way deeper into the Palace.

  We passed a wall made of waterfalls, then passed down a corridor seemingly fashioned completely of exotic blossoms that gave off heady and intoxicating scents. The whole thing was baked in Fae magic, and it only grew stronger as we neared the Throne Room. I was pleasantly unsteady on my feet. I’d been here many times before, of course, but I never quite got used to it.

  That was a good thing, though. It meant I never took it for granted. If I ever did, that would be a sad day indeed.

  “So anything you can tell us?” I asked Greenleaf.

  “Regarding?”

  “The meeting,” I said, as though it were obvious. It probably was, too. But Greenleaf was catty that way.

  “I have nothing to impart,” he said loftily.

  I rolled my eyes at Davril. He pretended to ignore me.

  Greenleaf led us past the royal guards and into the massive Throne Room with its crystal dome overhead and virtual forest below. Sunlight shone down through the crystal onto the beautiful trees and exotic animals that darted among them. The forest had completely grown back after the troll attack several months ago, but the devastation was still fresh in my mind. Mistress Angela had killed many of the Fae that day. She’d nearly killed the Queen, too.

  Greenleaf ushered us through the forest and up the grand crystal stairs to the crystal throne high above. Queen Calista was just finishing up speaking with a group of nobles. Seeing us, she said her goodbyes to them, and they bowed and left.

  “My lady, may I present Lord Stormguard and Lady Jade?” Greenleaf said.

  “Shouldn’t it be Lord Davril and Lady Jade?” I said. “Or Lord Stormguard and Lady McClaren?”

  Greenleaf frowned at me.

  “What?” I said. “I mean, that makes sense, right? If you’re going by last names with the whole lord and lady thing, then do that. Or use first names. But different treatment just because I’m a woman isn’t cool.”

  “Is this really necessary?” Davril muttered.

  “I’m inclined to agree,” Queen Calista said.

  Greenleaf visibly repressed a rebuke at me. “Very well, Jade McClaren,” he said. “Do you want me to refer to you as Lady McClaren?”

  “Hell no,” I said. “I love being called Lady Jade!”

  He narrowed his eyes at me. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. I loved nettling him. It was so easy.

  It was the Queen’s turn to sigh. “Can we move this along, please? Lord Greenleaf, I would like to speak with these two alone.”

  The Grand Vizier bowed and withdrew. Davril and I turned to the Queen.

  “I heard about your raid on the succubus nest,” Her Majesty said. “That was well done.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” Davril said.

  “It’s all in the wrist,” I said.

  “I’m sure.” Calista studied Davril. In a more gentle, personal tone of voice, she said, “Your brother has been spotted.”

  Davril’s face didn’t betray any emotion. “May I ask where?”

  “The Guild of Thieves.”

  H
is brows drew together. “What would he want with them?”

  “I can’t imagine.” The Queen shifted her attention to me. “Jade, what do you know of the Thieves Guild?”

  “Well, they tried to recruit me a few years ago,” I said.

  “You said no?”

  I nodded. “They were small-time then, and they demanded a cut of any job I’d pull in exchange for membership.”

  “What would you have gotten out of it?” Davril said.

  “Contacts, mainly. People to hook up with who were looking to plan a heist. You know, sometimes there’s someone who has a way into a certain place, but he needs muscle, or a codebreaker, or a witch, or whatever. So the Guild is kind of like a dating service for thieves.”

  “Evidently you didn’t require their services,” the Queen said.

  “Ruby and I were already getting referrals by then. We didn’t need them. Also …” I grimaced, suddenly uncomfortable.

  “Yes?”

  I debated with myself, then said, “They wanted Ruby.”

  “Excuse me?” Davril said.

  “They said that since we were partners I couldn’t join without Ruby also joining, because then she’d be receiving the benefits of joining without the cost. They wouldn’t allow that, and I didn’t want to drag Rubes deeper into my pit, so I said no. Like I said, we didn’t need them. Lately, though …”

  Queen Calista leaned forward. “Yes?”

  “Well, they’ve been getting more powerful. More aggressive. More and more of the underworld are in league with them. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that Nevos would seek them out. I mean, Angela’s hip deep in the underworld, and Nevos is in with her, so why not?”

  Davril regarded me, then the Queen. “Your Grace, is this why you requested Jade’s presence?”

  Calista was silent a long moment. “Yes, I wanted her insight on the Guild, but … there’s something more.”

  I felt a shudder work down my spine. “More?”

  One of her hands reached out to grab the armrest of her throne. “Jade, you know I only want good things for you. I want you to be safe, and I would never put you in harm’s way if I could avoid it.”

  The but in that sentence was about a mile wide.

  “But?” I said.

  “Lord Nevos has indeed made contact with the Thieves Guild, and he seems to be spending some time there. For what purpose, we don’t know. But we do know that Angela’s failsafe plan, after failing to kill me, was to liberate Nevos from that mirror so that he could lead his army to destroy us.”

  “The army’s toast,” I said.

  “Yes, and thank you both for that,” Calista said graciously. “Unfortunately, Nevos is not. And he is a high servant of our arch-foe, Lord Vorkoth.”

  Davril’s hands bunched into fists at his side, then unclenched. “I’ve told her the story, my lady.”

  “Then you understand how deadly Nevos is, Jade. He’s the one who literally opened the door for the Shadow before.”

  That cold shudder was starting to spread throughout my body. “You’re afraid he’s going to open another door.”

  Again, she nodded. “The final one, this time. There’s nowhere else for us to run. And if the Shadow comes for us here …”

  “The whole earth will suffer,” I finished.

  “Exactly.”

  Davril watched her, then me, then the Queen again. “Your Grace, are you saying what I think you are?”

  Calista’s vibrant green eyes fixed on me. “Lady Jade … my friend … I will not give you this order. I know how dangerous it will be. This will be a volunteer mission only.”

  I groaned inwardly. As if I could really refuse after all that. What was more, she was right.

  “I know you’ve given up thieving,” Calista went on, and I tried not to grimace. The truth was I hadn’t, not exactly. But she didn’t know that. “I’m asking you to take up the mantle again, however, or at least to pretend to show some interest in it.”

  “You want me to infiltrate them, don’t you? The Thieves Guild?”

  “Yes, Jade. I want you to join them, and through them find out what Nevos and Angela are up to. And stop them.”

  * * *

  Gorgeous pink blooms sprouted from the thick vines that grew along the white walls, filling the hallway with the smells of citrus and lavender, but I barely noticed. My mind churned, and so did my guts. Davril strode at my side, lost in his own thoughts. Doubtless he was imaging coming to grips with his brother.

  “She doesn’t ask for small favors, does she?” I said, trying to make light of it.

  “No. She doesn’t.” He seemed to shake himself out of his funk. “But you didn’t have to say yes.”

  “You know I did. Shit, it’s the right thing to do. What else could I have said?”

  “You responded as a Fae Knight, Jade. I’m proud of you.”

  We entered the Tower of the Shield, where the knights were quartered. Normally I might ascend to the records room and resume going through the Fae archives in order to find my own nemesis, Vincent Walsh, the man who’d stolen my fire and killed my father and grandmother. But today I was in no mood to concentrate on that. My revenge could wait, at least a little.

  Davril walked with me to the door of my room. I opened it and passed inside, then turned on the threshold to face him. We stared at each other. A few knights passed in the hall, but our eyes didn’t waver from each other. The knights disappeared. Davril stayed where he was. My heart beat against my ribs in a staccato rhythm. Bu-DUMP bu-DUMP.

  “Davril,” I managed.

  “Jade.”

  That heat I’d felt during the battle returned. His face was tense, but his eyes burned, and I swear I could see a pearl of sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.

  “I’m sorry you had to lie,” I said.

  He cleared his throat. “Pardon?”

  “I mean, about my thieving.” He was the only Fae that knew I was still a cat burglar when I wasn’t policing the infractions of the city’s supernatural criminals. Having to keep that secret vexed him, I knew, but for me he was willing to do it—and also because it made me better at what I did.

  He gently pushed me forward, coming into my apartment, then closed the door behind him.

  “We shouldn’t talk about that in public,” he said.

  “Right. Sorry.”

  But not that sorry. We were all alone in my little set of rooms, and my blood buzzed with adrenaline.

  For a long moment, we just stood there, about an inch apart, staring at each other.

  “I should go,” he said. But he didn’t move.

  “Uh-huh,” I said.

  Slowly, hardly daring to believe my own courage, I reached out and grabbed his hand. Jade, what the hell are you doing? part of my mind screamed. Why did you wait so long? screamed another.

  “Jade,” Davril said. “I’m not sure …”

  “I’m not either.”

  My skin was hot. As if in a dream, he took his arm and wrapped it around my waist. His firm hand pressed into the small of my back, bringing me in closer to him. Gulp.

  I tilted my face up toward him.

  He bent his head down. His lips came toward mine. Right as they began to touch, brushing mine briefly, so that I could feel the warmth of his skin, he wrenched himself backward.

  “No,” he said, his voice coarse.

  My cheeks burned. “I’m sorry. I-it was a mistake.”

  “It … wasn’t a mistake, Jade.”

  My pulse spiked. “No?”

  His square-jawed head swung back and forth. “No.”

  I swallowed. I couldn’t speak.

  “But it can never happen,” he added.

  I reached out toward him, but he turned away. In moments he was out the door. It closed softly behind him, and I stared at it, my heart pounding wildly. Tears welled behind my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them out. Frustration mounted in me. We’d come so close! Why had he stopped? Was there something wrong with me? Was
it because I was a criminal? Because I’d made him break his vows? Damn!

  I sucked in a great big breath. It was probably for the best, I told myself. That’s why he’d stopped. It would have made things too complicated. We were partners, and that’s all we could be.

  Right?

  But It can never happen? That sounded monstrously dire. That sounded like he was closing a door, and I couldn’t accept that.

  I swore, took a cold shower and had dinner by myself. When I could concentrate, I climbed the tower and pored over the records for a few hours. Still no sign of Walsh. You can’t hide from me forever, you bastard. After I’d exhausted myself, I went to bed, but sleep proved difficult. I knew that tomorrow I would have to infiltrate the Thieves Guild. And seek out Nevos.

  So why did I keep dreaming about Davril?

  It was only in the morning that I realized something that I’d missed, or that I hadn’t allowed myself to think about. The Thieves Guild had demanded that Ruby and I join up together last time. They wouldn’t take me without her. Did they still have the same policy? I cycled through the numbers on my phone, finding the recruiter that had contacted me back then, and dialed him. The connection failed, as it often did inside the Palace—something to do with magic and modern technology not always jiving—so I went out onto a balcony and tried again. That worked.

  “Yeah, you’ll both have to sign up together,” said Mailon, the recruiter, after I’d posed my question. “I mean, if you’re still working together, that is.”

  “Well, we work together sometimes,” I said. Maybe there was still a way I could keep Ruby out of this.

  Mailon chuckled. “Don’t lie to me, Jade. In the Guild, we don’t fool around. If you tell us you don’t work with her and sign up alone, then later we find out you lied, you know what happens.”

  I knew. The Guild was developing a fairly sinister reputation lately, and part of that came from things like this. They didn’t tolerate disrespect or lies—kind of funny coming from an organization composed entirely of criminals.

  “Death,” I said.

  “That’s right, Jade. So tell me true: are you still working with Ruby?”

  Chapter 3