The Queen's Wings: Book 1 of The Emerging Queens Series

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  “Then how will I eat? I can’t stay at Jane’s house forever.”

  Is that a dig against me? I told you that you could have any house you desired.”

  “No, it wasn’t a dig against you.” I yanked my hand free so I could cross my arms over my chest.

  “Rathin will offer you a palace and set you up with an allowance.”

  “What am I ten years old? I don’t need an allowance. I’m a PhD candidate for Chrissakes!”

  “You’re getting upset. I just want to prepare you. I think you should take Rathin up on his offer of the palace. It will be well guarded.”

  “I’m not sleeping with Rathin. Jane will never forgive me.”

  “Jane is human.”

  “What does that have to do with anything, you speciesist?” It was hard not to slur the last word, but I managed it.

  “Jane will never get a chance to have Rathin.”

  “You don’t know that. And why are you trying to talk me into bed with Rathin?”

  Reed ground his teeth. “I am not. I’m merely letting you know that . . .”

  “That Rathin will offer me money to sleep with him.”

  “No.”

  “All right have sex with him. Carry his children.”

  Reed didn’t say anything.

  “Can we just table all this dragon baby daddy nonsense until I actually shift?”

  “Fine," he bit out.

  “Fine,” I mimicked passive aggressively.

  “I’m just trying to make this easier for you. This will all seem very normal once you become familiar with being a dragon.”

  “If you say so,” I said and rubbed my forehead where it felt that someone was jabbing me with an ice pick.

  “You’re awfully quiet.” I thought at Arianna but she didn’t respond. It was just as well. I wanted to be alone with my thoughts for the moment.

  When we got to the hotel, Reed let the valet park his car and held my arm, escorting me through the gilded doors of the swankiest dragon hotel in the state. If I wasn’t still seething about Reed trying to pimp me out to Rathin, I would have let myself gawk at my surroundings. But as it was, the marble statues and hand painted masterpieces only dimly registered.

  My eyes caught on the gleam of real gold accenting the lobby furniture and lamps. I recalled Arianna’s words. “If he truly loved you, he would give you a gold trinket. A gold watch, a ring, a bracelet. Even a pair of earrings would show you his regard.”

  So far all I got was a magical time in Paris – before he blinded me, promises of a house after he destroyed mine, and a grudging admission that he wouldn’t share me happily with other dragons. It wasn’t enough. He could keep the gold. I just wanted him – the jerk.

  Once we were in the elevator, Reed pulled out a key and we rocketed up to the penthouse. It seems we were expected, although I hadn’t seen Reed call anyone. Lovely young women in pink and yellow saris bowed at us as we entered main room.

  Rathin, resembling a Bollywood superhero, rose up from brightly colored pillows on the floor. “Reed, so good of you to bring our newest Queen for me.” He held out his hands as if he was waiting for me to run into them.

  “We’ve met before, actually,” I said. “I’m Carolyn. Jane’s friend from the Embassy?”

  Rathin glanced at Reed for help, but Reed’s face was as expressive as a slab of granite.

  “I’m afraid I don’t remember you, Carolyn.”

  “That’s all right. We’re not here to talk about dowry or mating or doing the horizontal mambo.”

  Rathin looked at Reed again and still came up empty.

  “You reported that your sculpture of the seven pagodas was stolen.”

  “Yes, but I have already made my report to the authorities.”

  “We’re trying to work another angle,” I said. “Can I sit?”

  “Of course!” Rathin guided me to an exquisitely carved calamander chair with a coral upholstered cushion.

  I flinched before sitting in it. It probably cost more than my house. Rathin pushed me down on it and I leaned back. It was elegant and comfortable. I felt a little like a Queen.

  “Can I get you some tea?” he asked.

  “That would be nice.”

  I jumped when he clapped his hands twice. A servant in a white uniform rolled out a tea trolley. I accepted a cup with milk and sugar and inhaled the brisk scent. Reed stood like a secret service agent, grim and silent. Rathin knelt at my feet and stared up at me in adoration.

  “He’s no Jack,” Arianna said contemptuously. “This is boring and pointless. Who cares if he was too lax to protect his horde?”

  “I care. There could be a pattern we’re missing. It might lead us to the cultists!” I thought back at her.

  “My Queen?” Rathin said, placing his hand on my knee. I swatted it off.

  “Can you describe the piece that was stolen? I know it’s in the report, but I want to hear it from you.”

  “As my Queen desires,” he purred, staring up at me with those soulful brown eyes. I could definitely see what Jane saw in him, even if he was a little handsy. “It was a bronze sculpture of the seven pagodas of Mahabalipuram. It was crafted by an artisan from the 6th century, shortly before the tsunami obliterated the temples.”

  “Was anything else stolen?”

  “No, it was most strange. I had many more pieces that would be easier to sell for a quick profit.”

  “How did the thief get in?”

  “There weren’t any signs of a break in,” Rathin said. “But the door is never unlocked unless I am inside the vault.”

  “When did you notice it was gone?”

  Rathin’s face grew hard. “Immediately. I check my horde daily. I knew as soon as I walked into the vault that my treasure had been stolen.”

  “Surely, you have security cameras or guards?”

  “The guards saw nothing and the camera backs up their statements.”

  I was stumped. I ignored Reed’s “I told you so” expression. “Do you have any suspects?”

  Rathin shook his head. “No. As I said, the piece is more museum quality and sentimental value rather than the resale. Although the bronze would catch a great amount, I just can’t see anyone selling or buying it for that purpose.”

  I drank my tea and tried to ignore Rathin’s attempts to seduce me with his eyes. I would have thought better of him, if he had recognized Jane’s name. He was just another dragon who thought humans were beneath him.

  “And there’s no other collector that you know of that has expressed an interest in this piece?”

  “Not really, no. The pagodas were thought to be a myth by humans until recently when the 2004 tsunami washed up proof of buried temples.”

  “It wasn’t a myth?” I asked.

  Rathin shrugged. “We all become myths over time. You’ll see.”

  I finished my tea and tried to climb out of the chair with some semblance of grace. Rathin assisted me, but his hands lingered too long. He was leaning down for a kiss, when I freaked.

  “No,” I said and wrenched out of his arms to cower behind Reed.

  “My Queen,” Rathin said, his face stricken. “I meant no offense. I have displeased you. Please accept my greatest apologies.”

  “No,” I backed towards the elevator. “It’s not you it’s me. I’m still getting used to the Queen thing. You’ve been very helpful. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

  Rathin gasped.

  Reed saved the situation by leading me into the elevator. “We’ll be in touch if we find out anything.”

  I let out a huge sigh of relief when the doors closed and we descended back to normality or at least what was passing as normal these days. I let Reed open the car door for me. When he pulled onto the highway, I broke the silence between us.

  “Did you find out anything new?”

  “No.”

  “So this was a colossal waste of time.”

  “It is your time to waste.”

  “So it is,�
�� I said. “What time is the Casimiro concert?”

  “It starts 10 p.m. in Manhattan. We should leave here by six if you want to have dinner in the city first. I’ve hired a limousine. Will that be sufficient?”

  “Uh yeah, how many tickets?”

  “How many do you want?”

  “One for me and Jane and Joachim.”

  Reed inclined his head. “As my Queen commands.”

  “Are you coming too?”

  “No. I have work to do. Is it all right if I drop you off at Jane’s?”

  “Actually, take me back to work. My car is there and I’ll drive to Jane’s tonight myself. Have the limo pick us up there.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Have you ever seen the movie The Princess Bride?”

  “No.”

  “Oh,” I said feeling crushed.

  “Why?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  When two or more Queen’s gather, triple the security.

  “Is this the first time you’ve been in a limo?” Joachim asked me.

  I stopped playing with the moon roof. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you haven’t sat still since we left New Haven,” Jane retorted. She was dressed in a hot little number, a red sequined sheath with shoes that were going to have her limping by the end of the night.

  As usual, she made me feel a bit dowdy in comparison, but I didn’t dress up. The last thing I needed was another dragon offering me his house, even if that dragon was a multi-platinum recording artist. I fiddled with the radio until one of Casimiro’s songs came on. It didn’t take long.

  “Carolyn, I don’t want you to get your hopes up. The population here is not going to be as dense as we would like. There’s a very good chance that there won’t be any unshifted Queens at this gathering. You’d get a better chance if you came with me to China.”

  “Ugh, no thank you. I’ve had enough of foreign travel in the past couple of weeks.” I smoothed my hands down my black jeans and wiggled my toes in my comfortable leather boots. Comfortable, as in they had arch support and a low heel. To me, that was sexy.

  I did put on the silk blouse that Rathin had sent over. It was in a shimmering green. To match my eyes, the card said. I crumpled the card before Jane could see it, letting her think it was from Reed. She pumped me for all the details about my meeting with Rathin. I didn’t have the heart to tell her he could be one of my benefactors and that he was a real jerk.

  The thought of sleeping with anyone but Reed was frankly nauseating. I didn’t know how Esmeralda did it. I caught a glimpse of myself in the limo’s window and stuck my tongue out at my reflection. The sunglasses I wore to mask my eyes made me feel like a world class poser. My fingers itched for a book, but the only thing I had was Reed’s e-reader. I thumbed it on, realizing that the buttons were gold. I had better not lose it.

  It took me most of the journey, to scroll through all the books Reed had downloaded. While I played around with the features, Jane drank most of the champagne, while Joachim napped. Every genre was represented and the e-reader was my new best friend by the time we pulled into Serpentine Theatre. It was about twice the size of Carnegie Hall and its more modern architecture allowed them to put more seats in the place. Even thought it was still early, the crowds were lined up to get inside. I reluctantly put it in my purse as we were ushered into the VIP hospitality room.

  Jane nearly fell off her stilts, when we realized we were alone in the room with Casimiro and a few of his staff. Where Rathin was a Bollywood superhero, with all the pageantry and pomp that implies, Casimiro was all Spanish soap opera with the dramatic bad boy good looks and flawless hair. His eyelashes were twice the size of mine. The sheer charisma made my throat dry. Rathin was a sophisticated businessman. Casimiro was more primitive. His scent was sex. I leaned into my swoon.

  “Hello,” he said. His soft voice was itself a song.

  Joachim snorted and it felt like a bubble burst in my head. Jane actually staggered.

  “What was that?” I asked, shaking my head like I had just emerged from being underwater.

  “Shaman.” Joachim nodded to Casimiro. “It was a low level seduction spell. Anything greater and I would have been obligated to kill him.”

  “You tried to seduce me with magic?” I was appalled.

  “Honey, you seriously didn’t need the magic,” Jane said.

  Casimiro got to his feet and sauntered over to us. I saw Joachim’s hand twitch towards the baton that I knew became an expandable trident.

  “My apologies.” He bowed and reached for my hand. I let him kiss the back of it, but snatched it away when he tried for a more intimate buss on my palm. “It has become a habit. I weave it into my words and songs for the humans.”

  “What other spells can you do? Can you cast fireballs and call down lightning?”

  He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “My magic is more subtle. I am a lover, not a fighter. I am so very pleased you have sought me out.”

  I let him remove my sunglasses and his smile at seeing my eyes made me slide a glance at Joachim – just to make sure he wasn’t trying the seduction magic again. But no, it was all him. He was potent. But he didn’t make me yearn for things I couldn’t have. No, that was Reed and only Reed.

  “Why are you so sad, little Queen?”

  “Love problems,” I said.

  “Do you need me to slay a dragon for you?”

  “That’s my job,” Joachim said, ignoring the foul look Casimiro shot his way.

  “I need you to find a dragon. Or dragons for me. Can you see my aura?”

  He shook his head. “That is not one of the shamanic skills. Another Queen may be able to help you.”

  “Well, that’s why we’re here. We’re searching for more Queens.”

  “Do you think you can find them in my audience?” He was baffled.

  “I think they’re in greater number, but their shifting has been repressed because of a spell. Joachim’s here to help me find any other women with a blue aura like mine.”

  “I’m just here for the music,” Jane waved and tried unsuccessfully to get his attention.

  “Of course, if there is anything I can do for you. Please let me know.”

  “Just keep singing. We’ll be investigating in the crowd.”

  “If you find a woman such as yourself, bring her here. I’ll leave instructions with my people that you are to be granted all access to my private rooms.”

  “That’s very kind,” I said.

  “No, it is the very least I could do. In fact, I would like to make you a proposition.”

  I held up a hand. “I’ve been propositioned a lot lately. How about I give you a definite maybe? My heart belongs to someone else.”

  “Yes, but your body belongs to all of us.”

  “I’m not on board with that. Not at all.”

  Casimiro nodded. “Still too human.”

  “And proud of it,” I said.

  “Sing it sister!” Jane echoed.

  “Still, I have acquired a great deal of popularity. I could keep you safe without having you sequestered into a dusty old palace or a military compound. My security is top notch.”

  “Have you had anything stolen from your horde recently?”

  Casimiro shook his head. “No. And I won’t. My horde is too precious to leave in a vault. I carry it with me always.”

  “Your horde is here?”

  “It is all around us. I am a shaman. I cannot work my magic without the weave.”

  “The weave is your horde?” I crinkled my brow.

  “In a way,” he nodded. “Power feeds the weave and that is what I hoard. Come with me.” He held my elbow and guided me out of the hospitality suite.

  I looked over at Joachim, who gave a small nod. He and Jane followed as Casimiro led me to the backstage area. The crowd was chanting his name. The hairs on my arm stood up and electricity crackled around us.

  He raised
his hand and I saw a bracelet around his wrist made up of feathers and bone beads. I remembered that he was a Quetzalcoatl, like Bernardo and family and wondered idly if they were related somehow.

  “You’re siphoning energy from the crowd in order to do your spells,” Joachim said.

  “I am harming none and giving back far more than I’m taking. With the weave being so weakened from having our yin reduced, this helps me from having to take too much.”

  “So, your horde is intangible?” I said.

  “You can’t feel that?” He moved his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. I felt the crowd in the beat of my heart and in each breath that I took. I felt stronger and clarity descended on me. Basking in the glow of the energy, I realized that Casimiro needed this like a drug addict needed his next fix. I broke away from him before I joined him in the almost physical need.

  “Magic,” I whispered.

  “You can get the same feeling from certain relics and ancient artifacts. But it’s more refined at its source.”

  I thought again of the items that were stolen from the hordes. Maybe another shaman was trying to up their power level. “How many dragon shamans are there?”

  “Not as many as there used to be.” Casimiro pressed a kiss to my forehead. It burned for a moment like a brand, but it was cool to the touch.

  “What did you do?” Joachim said. His voice was fierce and deadly.

  “I bestowed upon her a mark of protection.”

  “A mark of ownership,” Joachim snarled.

  Casimiro shrugged. “She is mine to protect now.”

  I had a sinking feeling that Reed wasn’t going to like this. Or hell, maybe he wouldn’t give a dragon’s fingernail. “What does that mean?”

  “It means, my Queen, you have powerful allies. Come, it’s time for me to go on. I would like for you to enjoy yourselves. And know that every love song I sing, I sing for you.”

  He kissed my hand again and then allowed his handlers to scurry around him like bees as they made the last preparations for the concert.

  “He’s sex on two legs.”

  “With a tail,” I agreed with Jane.

  Joachim merely grunted.

  “Niall is a shaman as well, isn’t he?” Jane said. “He doesn’t blast his power around like that.”