Chapter Six #2
“Sporting,” Yrian corrected, one arm around her, making me smile to myself.
I leaned into Drake’s side, pleased that Becket and Yrian had found each other.
It was a bit uncanny how much Yrian looked like his dad, the progenitor of all dragons, but the former’s personality was definitely all his own, and much quirkier than that of the First Dragon.
“The word is ‘sporting.’ We will have starlight sporting where lights will be at a minimum. There are some beams wrapped with padding so as to avoid serious injury, and occasional laser lights to confuse and distract. We can make two teams of two, or I suggest going solo.”
“Oooh, laser tag dragon-style?” Jim said, snuffling one of the plates that was a bit too close to the edge of the table. I nudged my furry demon with my knee. It rolled its eyes in response. “Can I play, too?”
All the dragons considered Jim. Yrian moved off without a comment, heading for where Christian stood at the edge of the patio.
“I wouldn’t want you getting hurt,” I told Jim, hesitant to ruin something it might find fun.
“Eh,” it answered with a bit of its old cocky grin. “They’d have to catch me to do that.”
I looked at Drake. He thought for a few seconds, then said, “With the changes Yrian has arranged due to our numbers, I do not see a problem if Jim wishes to join, but I would remind it that dragons can be very fast when we so desire.”
It wasn’t the way he said it, but the fact that he cracked his knuckles while doing so, that had me stifling another laugh.
Jim, knowing full well that Drake would never harm it, curled a lip at him. “Yeah, yeah, but do you know how fast a demon in fear of its magnificent coat can move? Faster than any dragon in human skin.”
“And that’s enough with the trash-talking each other,” I said, stopping Drake before he could respond. “The evening event sounds like fun, Becket, and I’m sure everyone will enjoy it. Do we get to watch?”
“Yup. We decorated the entire barn for the holidays, so the pillars are wrapped like candy canes, and there are foam truncheons in the shape of festive gnomes. Yrian is particularly looking forward to dual wielding gnomes against his brother.” Becket turned when Christian, who had his phone out and was consulting with Yrian, hurried over to where the rest of us were clustered.
He stopped next to Allie, his silver eyes glittering with what I assumed was excitement.
“I am pleased to tell you all that I’ve received word from Finch that he and Tatiana have not only returned to the mortal world, but their lives have been restored.”
“Whoa,” Ysolde said, a crab-and-cheese-stuffed mini pepper halfway to her mouth. “How did they pull off that miracle?”
“They were removed from the Hour by its previous lord,” Christian answered, moving aside when Allie reached for white cheddar and apple gougères that instantly had me salivating.
“That sounds both annoying in that they set the place up the way they wanted and then got the boot, but on the other hand ... yeah. Life and back to reality. That’s hard to beat.
” I took a second Parmesan and pesto twist, since I’d gobbled down the first, broke up into smaller chunks one of the plain cheese twists that Becket had made for Jim, and placed it on the plate it was happily cleaning.
We spent a pleasant (if nippy on the nose despite the roaring fire in the pit) ten minutes while Finch and Tatiana’s recent adventure was recounted.
“And I have further good news,” Christian said, bowing his head to Yrian. “They will be joining us shortly, thanks to Yrian’s invitation, and a portal shop in Cardiff.”
Becket froze midway through chewing a small thumbprint chorizo pizza, her eyes calculating.
“Of course your nephew and his wife are welcome.” Her gaze met that of Yrian for a few seconds.
“Thank god we had all the bedrooms renovated when we did the rest of the house. I’ll go mention it to Ayo and will check that the yellow room has linens on the bed. ”
My phone dinged at me when she hustled into the house. “May is calling. No doubt to see if we all survived two days of excited children hopped-up on sugar. Hello, May.” I moved off a short distance in order to speak with her.
“Are you at Becket’s place?” she asked, her voice sounding both excited and breathless, as if she was running while speaking.
“Yes, we’re all here. Well, all as in Ysolde and Baltic, and Allie and Christian. Evidently, Christian’s nephew Finch and his wife are on the way, as well. They’re out of their Hour.”
“Oh, good, that’s going to make things so much easier. No, I gave the passports to Maata. Should I close up the safe?”
I gathered from the male rumble barely audible in my phone, and the fact that May was obviously speaking to someone else, that Gabriel was with her.
“Are you guys leaving? I thought you were spending Christmas with Kawaa and your nieces?”
“We are. We will. But we’re heading to the airport to fly to England. I hate to be so fast, but we’re in a rush to close up the house since Maata and Tipene are coming with us. We’ve heard from Savian.”
“OK,” I said, not sure what had her and Gabriel in such a fuss, but a cold, clammy feeling started to grow in my stomach. “Is something wrong? Should I warn Drake?”
“Gabriel is texting the wyverns as soon as we are in the car,” she said, now definitely short of breath.
She murmured something about that being the last of the luggage.
“Savian called to wish us a happy holiday, and to thank us for the presents for him and Maura and the kids, and mentioned that his cousin has taken on the job of thief taker for Dr. Kostich. Oh, coats!”
“Coats to you, too,” I said, half startled, and more than a little confused.
“Gabriel, we need coats! It’s cold in England now. Aisling, apologize for me to Becket for foisting two more people on her, but there really was nothing else to be done. Where? Oh, hell’s bells. No, I’ll get them.”
“You mean Finch and Tatiana?” I asked, turning to look back at everyone. “I think that’s cool with Yrian and Becket.”
“No, Savian’s cousin. Sorry, I know I’m being incoherent, but there’s a storm rolling in, and we’re trying to get to Gabriel’s shiny new plane before we get grounded for a few hours.
Savian’s cousin Berry is a thief taker, and she was hired by the vampire thanes’ mom to find him.
The guy who Finch let out of the Hour. The dangerous guy that Christian and all the vampires are worried about. ”
“Holy merde,” I said, my eyebrows rising as I tried to piece together her explanation. “So, this cousin is coming here? Did she find the thane?”
“Yes, he’s with her. From what Savian said, he’s not evil, but they are being pursued, and worse, they are insisting they get Desi’s blood moon.”
“Oh, lord,” I said, smiling broadly at Drake when he cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at me.
Unfortunately, our time together gave the man annoyingly accurate perception into my attempts to defuse his suspicions, and he instantly set down his plate of snacks and started toward me.
“Gabriel says we need to be there to help the weyr with the thane, since we promised to help Christian, as well as a feeling he says he has that the thane has something to do with the dragons. And before you ask, he doesn’t know what, exactly—he just says it’s a feeling that’s getting stronger each day.
Ready? Yes, I have everyone’s coats.” Murmured voices and the thumping of car doors told me the silver dragons were on the move.
“I’m going to hop off the call, Aisling.
Gabriel is texting the wyverns now. We should be in England sometime tomorrow afternoon.
If we’re needed sooner, let me know and we’ll stop somewhere and take a portal. ”
Drake, about ten feet from me, paused when his phone pinged, followed shortly by Baltic’s and Yrian’s phones also alerting them to an incoming text.
“Christian, I think I have potentially some more good news for you vampires,” I said, tucking away my phone as the men simultaneously looked up from their respective phones and over to him.
“Dark Ones,” he corrected automatically, looking curious. “What news is it you have?”
“May says Savian Bartholomew’s cousin—he’s a thief taker, now married to a dragon—is on her way here with your missing thane.”
“What?” The word shot out of him with the velocity of a bullet. “How is this possible?”
“Holy cow,” Allie said, tucking her hand into Christian’s. “Is he OK? Is the cousin OK? How did she find him?”
“According to Gabriel, the thane’s mother hired her.” Drake read out the pertinent points from Gabriel’s text as Becket returned from domestic duties.
“Is the room with the blue flowers still available?” Yrian asked her.
“The small one? Yes, although I didn’t finish decorating in there, so it’s just the basic furniture. Why?” she asked, her expression turning to one of suspicion. “Don’t tell me someone else is staying?”
We briefly explained the situation while Christian sent what I assumed were texts to his people.
“Sure, another demigod will be fun to have around the house,” Becket said when we finished taking turns filling her in. Her voice was rich with irony, although I thought she was secretly amused by the situation.
“I don’t know that he’s all that. I mean, if he was a demigod, he probably could have gotten himself out of the Seventh Hour—” I started to say, but Jim snorted at the same time Yrian shook his head.
“Thanes are not demigods, but they are similar in nature. They simply draw their abilities from mortal beings rather than the elements, as we do,” he said, his expression thoughtful.
“I believe I met one of them in battle, although I have little memory of our interaction. Regardless, we have sworn to aid you with your thane, Christian, so it is good he is coming here, where we may subdue him if he is not as the silver wyvern claims.”
“Good lord, is that them already?” Ysolde asked, shielding her eyes against the frosty sunlight, watching as an SUV appeared at the top of a hill to the north, dipping down as the road headed into the small valley in which the farm was located.
She asked Baltic, “Should we do something to meet the thane? You have the light sword with you, yes?”
“Gabriel may be many things, but he has yet to prove himself a bad judge of character,” Baltic answered somewhat cryptically, and also, I noticed, ignoring Ysolde’s question about whether he had a magic sword concealed somewhere about his person.
“If he says the thane is not a threat, then I don’t see we need to protect ourselves beyond normal measures. ”
“I think that’s Finch and Tat,” Allie said, leaning into Christian to read his phone. “Yes, they texted that they see the farm.”
We moved into the warmth of the big house once Finch had arrived, and introductions were made all around.
“I don’t know about all this,” I said from in front of a massive stone fireplace.
Ysolde and Allie were with me as we warmed our butts while watching the interaction of the others.
Becket had taken Tatiana upstairs with their luggage while Finch remained in close consultation with his uncle and the wyverns. “Something seems ...”
“Off?” Allie asked, shooting a glance at her husband. “Christian basically just said the same thing. Our Horsemen—the vamps’ version of the Watch—are insisting they portal out here immediately so they can help Christian, but I don’t think he’s really worried about that.”
“I’m with him, there,” I said, rubbing my arms, feeling chilled even though the house was warm and comfy. “It feels like something that looks one way is really another.”
“Something?” Ysolde asked, shifting to the side when Becket and Tatiana returned. Becket stayed with us while Tatiana peeled off to join Finch. “A person, place, or thing?”
“I don’t know.” I studied Jim for a few seconds. It was flaked out on the dog bed I brought with us when we went visiting, but it was clearly listening to the men as they spoke. “I wish I could pin it down, but I can’t.”
“I can’t help but think that every time we seem to come to an easy resolution of a problem, things get worse,” Ysolde commented. “It all started with Xavier and the bad dragons, then Bael and his crazy mom, and now Jim’s dad is insisting we locate and give him a majorly powerful relic.”
“I share that feeling,” I said, and would have tried to pinpoint the origin of the worry that seemed to prickle along my skin, but at that moment, the sound of a car arriving could be heard, and everyone turned to look out the large windows at the parking area.
“Thane incoming,” I said, and gestured Jim over to my side. If this Owain person thought he could fool us, I’d be ready.