"You get off bridge."
I counted to five. "You put me on that damned bridge."
He nodded. "Is good you got off."
"I will never understand you," I told him, then went in to
take a shower and get dressed for the day. Drake was up and about as well,
having showered and dressed, and apparently just finished shaving with a
wickedly sharp-looking straightedge razor.
"How is Nora?"
"Asleep. No nocturnal visitors. Not that I expected any, but
there weren't, in case you were going to ask."
Drake caught me as I reached in to turn on the shower,
turning me so I faced the lights above the mirror. "You need more sleep, mate.
You should go back to bed. Forget your appointments this morning."
I rallied a smile and kissed his now stubbleless chin.
"Thanks for the concern, but I can't. Too much to do, especially now."
His brows pulled together as his fingers slid along the chain
to the amulet. "I do not like you wearing this."
"
That's one of the things I'm going to be taking care of
today. What lime did you say the afternoon gig is?"
His fingers caressed my lips for a moment. "'Gig.' You speak
English, and yet sometimes I have difficulty understanding you. Four o'clock."
"Gotcha. Good luck with Fiat and the others."
News of the attack on Nora had evidently gotten out. The
people I saw in the hallways and conference rooms were quiet and subdued, many
of them watching me, some covertly, from the corners of their eyes, others
openly. I avoided the buffet setup, grabbing only a cup of coffee and a muffin,
scanning the ballroom for the face I wanted to see. I found him in the corner,
in consultation with a white-haired middle-aged man in a colorful red suit.
"Good morning, Monish." I set my coffee and muffin at his
table, smiling at the third occupant. "I hope you got some sleep."
"Ah, Aisling. I was speaking to Dr. Kostich about you. This
is Aisling Grey, sir."
The man rose, bowing over my hand in an old-fashioned way.
"Monish Lakshmanan has informed me of the happenings earlier this morning. He
assures me that he has the matter well in hand and that there will be no further
attacks on any woman." The man's eyes, a pale blue that reminded me of Easter
eggs, narrowed as his hands traced a symbol in the air before me. I realized
with horror that whatever he had done had frozen me into a block, leaving me
unable to move, unable to blink or draw a breath, stopping even my heart. "I
trust he does not speak false, Aisling Grey."
Panic burst through me, a black, deathly sort of panic as I
struggled against the spell he had so easily woven around me. My heart fought to
beat, my lungs strained in their attempt to breathe, my brain started to die,
and still I stood there, a statue, my eyes locked on those of the man in front
of me. With an annoyed sound, he waved his hand at me, turning to stride away as
I collapsed onto the chair, gasping for air, my heart racing with the sudden
release.
"Who the ... heck... was that?" I asked between gasps,
watching the man as he moved through the ballroom. People seemed to melt away
before him, no one standing in his path. "He almost killed me!"
"He is one of the few people who could," Monish said, handing
me a glass of water. I drank half of it, my hands shaking. I could still feel
the horrible frozen sensation. "He is an archimage, a high priest among the
mages. He is also on the committee that rules the L'au-dela."
I shuddered. If that was an example of the sort of thing the
committee would do to me, there was no way I was going to go against them. "Why
do I get the feeling he doesn't like me?"
Monish shook his head slowly, his eyes solemn. "You have not
made a friend there, Aisling."
"Great. Just what I need, someone else after my blood." I
took another deep breath, just for the joy of feeling my lungs inflate, and
carefully set down the glass of water, pushing away the muffin. I had lost my
appetite. "Listen, I've been thinking about what Nora said last night. There's
no way I could summon an incubus and not know it. There just isn't. I think
someone's using me as a red herring to pull our attention away from what's
really important."
"What would that be?" Monish's frown matched my own.
"I don't know. That's the problem. But there has to be
something that will connect the two women who died, and now Nora. They were all
Guardians—maybe they went to school together, or had the same mentor, or had
something else in common."
Monish sighed. "I have looked deep into the pasts of both
women who died, Aisling. There was no connection. They did not know each other.
They were from different areas of the world. I will question Nora today, but
when I spoke to her before, she did not mention knowing them."
"You spoke to Nora about the two Guardians?" Monish was
silent, his gaze steady and unrepentant. "Oh. You spoke to her about me."
"I had to determine just how powerful you were," he said, a
slight apology in his voice. "No one knew you. It was difficult for me to assess
the situation. I had to take Nora into my confidence. She was most helpful."
"She's a nice woman. I'm sure she was," I said softly, then
caught sight of my watch. "I'm sorry, I have to run to pick up my demon and then
hunt down a hermit. I'm supposed to give him his amulet, but if it has something
to do with what's going on ..."
Monish's eyes dropped to my fingers, fiddling with the
amulet's chain. "I am not convinced that it does, but perhaps the owner would
allow you to keep it for another day or two."
"I'll ask. He seemed pretty laid-back." I stood and collected
my purse. "I have to go for a bit, but I hope you and your men will keep an eye
peeled for Nora. Drake promised to leave one of his bodyguards behind until she
wakes up, but I'd feel better knowing someone was watching out for her."
He nodded and stood as well, offering me his hand to shake.
"It will be done."
"
Thanks. I'll be back as soon as I can to try to figure out
what's going on."
To my great surprise, a familiar figure was lounging around
the lobby as I passed through it on the way to wait for Rene.
"Hi, Gabriel. Seems like forever since I last had a chance to
talk to you." I waved at Maata and Tipene, who were sitting in the coffee
lounge. They nodded at me.
"Aisling, I had hoped I would see you. Do you have the time
to talk with me?" He gestured toward a chair. I glanced out through the big
glass doors and didn't see Rene's taxi anywhere on the hotel drive.
"Never could resist a man with dimples," I said lightly,
seating myself across from him. "Where have you been? I haven't seen any dragons
around the hotel the last two days other than Drake's men."
"The negotiations have been delayed for a few days while
tempers cool. I have been in Germany, seeking enlightenment- I understand Fiat
flew home to Paris, but he is expected back. Chuan Ren has remained in
residence."
"Hmm, I haven't seen her, but I've been kind of busy. I'm
sorry to hear that the negotiations aren't going too well. I'd hate to think it
was because of me that things are stalemated."
"You?" Gabriel asked, crossing one elegant leg over the
other, his dimples blaring away like mad. I couldn't help but smile in return,
despite being fully aware that he was purposely turning on the charm. "Why do
you think you are the cause of the problems in the weyr?"
"That depends—what's a weyr?"
A wicked sparkle danced in his silver eyes. "It means a
gathering of dragons."
"Ah. In that case, the answer to your question can be summed
up in a couple of words: Chuan Ren."
I expected him to laugh, or smile, or at the very least shake
his head and reassure me that nothing so absurd was happening, but instead his
dimples disappeared as he considered what I said.
"Er... aren't you going to tell me that I'm imagining things?"
I finally asked, squirming in my seat. "Or over exaggarating my importance to
the summit?"
"You are important to the summit," he said, his brows pulling
down slightly. "And I would tell you what you want to hear if it was true, but I
do not think you would appreciate a mate who lies to you."
"I don't, and he doesn't," I answered, wondering what Gabriel
was up to. "As for being so important—I'm just a wyvern's mate. I don't see how
that could make or break the negotiations. I know Chuan Ren doesn't like me, but
surely that's not going to hold things up?"
He avoided my question to ask one of his own (a dragon trait,
I'd found). "Drake has told you of the role a mate plays in weyr politics?"
"Yes," I answered, uncomfortable with the feeling that
perhaps Drake hadn't told me everything.
Gabriel's hands rested on his leg, his long fingers toying
with the dark fabric of his pants. At my words his hand twitched slightly. "Then
you have the answer to your question."
Why is it that even when dragons answered a question, it was
as cryptic as possible? "You don't have a mate," I pointed out. "Neither does
Fiat. Yet that doesn't seem to be harming your ability to negotiate."
"A mate is a rare find," he answered smoothly, his voice rich
and warm and alive with unspoken laughter. "Most wyverns are content to wait
until they find theirs."
"Most?" I couldn't help but ask. "But not all?"
He leaned forward, his fingers brushing my knee. "Some of us
prefer to have some say in our lives. Some of us refuse to allow fate to dictate
its terms, and we make our own path."
I watched him for a few seconds, unsure if he was really
saying what I thought he was saying. "I don't play mind games with people,
Gabriel," I said finally. "I prefer people say what they mean and don't hide
behind a bunch of hyperbole. Are you hinting that you intend to challenge Drake
for me? Because if you are, I'm telling you right here and now that there's no
way you can lure me away from him. I like you, I think you're nice, but at the
risk of sounding conceited I would like to point out that you are not my
mate—Drake is."
He stood up. A brief smile flickered across his lips, his
eyes alight with secret amusement, "For now, perhaps. But who can say what the
future holds?"
He left while I was still trying to formulate a smart answer.
I spent a few moments going back over what he'd said, looking for an instance
when he had come right out and told me he was going to try to steal me from
Drake, but I couldn't come up with a single one. Had I read something into his
manner that wasn't intended?
"Just one more mystery for me to solve," I groaned to myself
as I gathered up my things and exited the lobby.
Tiffany was waiting near a bench outside. "Good morning,
Aisling. Is this not a beautiful day? The sun is shining golden showers of
happiness and joy down upon the happy faces of all the little flowers."
"Uh . . . very poetic."
She slipped her arm through mine as we waited for Rene, who
was just turning onto the hotel property. "You look terrible. There is darkness
beneath your eyes, and your skin looks unhealthy, and your hair is as a
concubine's."
There's just nothing like a perky virgin to make you feel
ancient and unlovely. Not to mention trampish. "I beg your pardon?"
She made a spiky gesture with her free hand. "Sticking out in
points."
"Oh. Porcupine. Yeah. Well, it's been a long night."
"Ah," she said, nodding her head sagely. "Yes, the attack on
the Guardian Nora. I heard of this. It is said you are summoning the bad spirits
to attack the Guardians who reject you."
"What?" I shrieked, pulling away from her. "People are saying
that?"
"Yes. Didn't you know?" She looked shocked for a moment, then
waved at someone behind me and beamed. "Carlos! Do I not look muy bonita chica
in this? Yes? I knew you would like it. That is Carlos," she said, turning back
to me. "He enjoys much my look Innocent Eyes."
"As do we all, Tiffany, but if you don't mind, can you tell
me where you heard the rumor that I was offing Guardians who turned me down?"
"Offing?"
"Killing. Murdering."
"Offing," she said, testing the word carefully. "It is good
to learn new things. You will tell me more words I do not.know, and I, in turn,
will teach you how to be an ice princess, and if you study hard, I will teach
you Shy Eyes."
Rene pulled up halfway down the drive behind a line of
vehicles, giving a little toot on the horn. I waved to let him know I saw him.
"I'll teach you as much slang as you like, but first, please, who told you about
me summoning bad spirits?"
Her head tipped to the side as she considered me. "You have
sad eyes. You should smile more and share it with peoples. It will make you
happier."
I counted to ten, I really did, but I wasn't any less
frustrated by the time I got there. I spoke through clenched teeth, enunciating
each word carefully. "Who ... told ... you ... I... was ... killing ...
Guardians?"