Playing with Fire

Chapter Fifteen

I have no idea how much time had gone by since Tej had deposited me back in my airless, barren cell of a room. For that matter, I had no concept of how much time had passed while I was in the shadow world- evidently enough to conduct a trial, although why no one bothered to bring me around during that was a question I very much wanted to ask. I suspected the answer would not be complimentary.

Time did pass, enough that Tej brought me a plate of food for which I had no appetite. Since my room had no windows, I couldn’t even tell if it was day or night. I considered slipping back into the shadow world, but I knew that was no solution to my problem.

By my best guess, about four hours later, the door to my room was suddenly opened. I’d curled up on my side, figuring I might as well rest in case the opportunity to escape presented itself, and I looked up with surprise at the person who was shoved into the room.

‘‘-know who I am? I’m a naiad, you idiot! A member of the Sisterhood of Hydriades! You can’t arrest me!’’

The door slammed shut behind Cyrene.

‘‘What on earth did you do?’’ I asked, getting to my feet as she pounded on the door.

‘‘Shhh,’’ she said over her shoulder, before turning back to the door and yelling, ‘‘I demand to speak to the committee! You can’t treat me this way! I’m a water elemental! I have rights!’’

‘‘Cy?’’

She gave the door one last slam of her fist before turning a delighted face upon me. ‘‘This is fabulous! I’m sorry, Mayling, you know I love you dearly, but this is ever so much more fun than hiding in a tree watching in case of intruders. I sounded very convincing, didn’t I? I knew I should have stayed in Hollywood after you were created, but Magoth was being so unpleasant, and… well, you know. But this! I’m a natural at this, don’t you think?’’

I leaned back against the wall, my arms crossed over my chest. ‘‘I take it you have some sort of plan going? Something that calls for you to be arrested?’’

‘‘There, now, you see? I told Drake you’d grasp the gist of things right away, but he had his doubts.’’

‘‘Drake?’’ I straightened up. ‘‘Is Gabriel with him? Did he get my message?’’

‘‘Of course he got your message. That’s why I’m here. Is there no chair?’’ she asked, frowning around the empty room.

‘‘No. I hate to let down the team and all, but what exactly are you doing here? Is Gabriel going to be able to get me out of being sent to the Akasha? Is he going to appeal the conviction?’’

‘‘Better than that,’’ she said with smile, glancing around quickly before leaning in closely, her voice dropped to almost a whisper. ‘‘We’re going to bust you out of here.’’

‘‘Bust me…’’ I closed my eyes for a moment. ‘‘You’ve been watching too many old westerns. No one conducts jailbreaks these days. Especially not when the jailers are the L’au-delà committee.’’

‘‘That’s why this plan is so incredibly cunning,’’ she said, giving my arm a little squeeze. ‘‘They’re all expecting you to try to escape-they’ll never expect us to break you out of here.’’

‘‘Oy,’’ I said, sliding down the wall to the floor. ‘‘This has ‘doomed from the start’ written all over it. You didn’t think up this plan yourself, did you?’’ I asked suspiciously.

She looked offended. ‘‘No, I didn’t, and you can stop being such a negative Nelly. Gabriel thought up the plan, and Drake and I are helping. I’m the decoy, you see.’’

‘‘Of course you are. What, exactly, is this grandiose escape plan?’’

Her mouth set in a prim manner. ‘‘I can’t tell you.’’

‘‘Why not?’’

‘‘There could be bugs. We don’t want them to know our plans.’’

‘‘If they were listening in, you just told them there’s a plan, so they’ll be expecting something to happen,’’ I pointed out.

‘‘Yes, but they won’t know what,’’ she said, pulling off her jacket. Her shirt followed almost immediately, as did her jeans, shoes, and the sparkly pink socks that she was so prone to wearing despite the fact they would look more at home on a twelve-year-old.

I watched her striptease with confusion for a moment before a thought struck me.

‘‘You don’t mean-’’

‘‘Shhh,’’ she said, waving a vague hand around as she pulled off the scarf she wore to confine her bangs. ‘‘Bugs, remember?’’

I bit back an obvious reply, thought for a moment, then decided that although the plan Gabriel had come up with was too I Love Lucy for words, I didn’t have any alternative. I stripped.

A half hour later the door opened to Tej. ‘‘Cyrene Northcott? You may see the committee now.’’

I turned from where I was pacing back and forth across the small room, ignoring Cyrene dressed in my clothing as she sat in a corner hunched over her knees.

I wasn’t sure that our trick would fool anyone, especially since Cyrene’s hair was a bit longer than mine, but Tej didn’t give me a second glance as I marched out the door. ‘‘It’s about time,’’ I said, adopting Cyrene’s light, fluty voice. ‘‘I’ve been in there forever! You don’t have any right to hold me! I haven’t done anything wrong!’’

Tej said nothing, just opened a door and gestured for me to go in.

My stomach quailed for a moment as I saw that one of the three men who sat at a long table was Dr. Kostich, but I remembered that Cyrene, as a naiad, had no special fear of him. Chin high, I stormed forward in my best impression of her at her most outraged. ‘‘This is an obscene injustice! I demand to be released immediately. If you do not, I will alert the sisterhood to this travesty, and then you’ll all be sorry!’’

The man at the end of the table, a dark-skinned man with lovely brown eyes, grimaced as he glanced at the papers before him. ‘‘I am Monish Lakshmanan, currently acting head of the watch. You are Cyrene Northcott?’’

‘‘I certainly am!’’

‘‘I am pleased to inform you that the charge against you of assault has been dropped due to lack of evidence.’’

‘‘And rightly so, since I never did assault… er… that person.’’ I backed out of the corner from which I found myself with as much aplomb as was possible, which admittedly wasn’t a whole lot.

‘‘The dragon in question,’’ Monish said with a slight emphasis, his eyes watchful, ‘‘refused to make a statement, and in fact, left the building rather hurriedly.’’

‘‘He was a liar,’’ I said, tossing my head in a trademark Cyrene gesture.

‘‘She did not say much to allow us to make an assessment either way,’’ he said.

I forced a light, lilting laugh. ‘‘You fell for that cross-dressing act? I would have thought someone in the watch had more sense. You can take it from me, Mr. Lakshmanan-that dragon was no lady.’’

The moment of silence that followed was pregnant with unspoken words.

Monish cleared his throat and slid a glance toward the mage next to him. ‘‘Indeed. We cannot help but find your presence here somewhat of a coincidence, Miss Northcott. Your sister is arrested and tried for crimes against a number of individuals, and that very same day you are brought in on an assault charge that is mysteriously dropped.’’

I tried to school the surprise I felt at his words from showing on my face, arranging my features to display vague indifference, instead. Sister? Monish had said sister, not twin. The word ‘‘sister’’ was never used to indicate a doppelganger, except occasionally by the originating twin as a form of affection. But everyone else always referred to the two people as twins, not sisters-which could only mean that Monish and the others did not realize the truth of our relationship. Savian knew I was a doppelganger, as did Porter. Why did neither of them tell the committee? I gave a mental head shake-the whys weren’t really important now. What did matter was that the two thief takers and Cyrene had managed to keep my origins quiet, and that, I saw, was the key to Gabriel’s plan for my escape.

‘‘Well, of course it’s not a coincidence,’’ I said, thinking as quickly as I could. I allowed outrage to fill my voice. ‘‘She’s my sister! Do you think I’m going to stand around and let you guys do who knows what with her? This whole thing about poor May being a thief is ridiculous. Ridiculous! She’s as innocent as I am!’’

The second the words left my lips, hindsight pointed out that that claim wasn’t, perhaps, the most judicious to make at the moment.

‘‘Indeed,’’ Dr. Kostich said, speaking up for the first time since I’d marched into the room. He gave me an appraising glance that I had a horrible feeling saw much more than I would have liked. ‘‘I find that statement difficult to believe.’’

I lifted my chin in haughty scorn, allowing a slight sneer to enter my voice. Mages and elemental beings had a long history of disagreement, and I knew that Cyrene was no fonder of him than I was. ‘‘Do you question my word, mage?’’

‘‘It is not your word I question, naiad,’’ he answered smoothly. ‘‘It is, perhaps, your identity that I wonder at.’’

‘‘My identity?’’ I scoffed, throwing as much disbelief as I could into the word. ‘‘You don’t believe that I am a naiad?’’

‘‘You are very much like your sister,’’ Monish said slowly as both men eyed me. ‘‘Are you twins?’’

I couldn’t lie. Both men looked too savvy to not sense an outright untruth when spoken. Subterfuge was one thing-that was natural to a doppelganger. But I seldom spoke lies simply because I didn’t do it well. ‘‘Yes, we’re twins. But there are obvious differences between us!’’ Such as the fact that I was a doppelganger, while Cyrene was an elemental being.

‘‘In that case, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind proving you are who you say you are?’’ Dr. Kostich said with a slight smile.

‘‘Oh, for the love of the twelve gods… you question me? Me, the ninth sister of the house of Hydriades? I am a naiad, a daughter of Tethys, and you have the audacity to question me? I have never been so insulted!’’

‘‘It is not meant as an insult,’’ Kostich said, the belligerent look easing as I slammed my hands down on the table in front of him. ‘‘More as a way to verify-’’

‘‘Fine!’’ I bellowed, my voice echoing off the walls. ‘‘You want to verify I am a naiad? You wish for me to summon water to prove to you, a mage, one who knows nothing of the ways of the elements, my worth? You want me to prove it?’’ I pushed up my sleeves and spread my hands out, palms down. ‘‘Fine! I’ll summon water. I’ll summon enough water to flood this ridiculous room, and you with it! And when your head is pressed up against the ceiling with two inches of air left, then perhaps you’ll believe me!’’

‘‘Wait!’’ Monish interrupted, looking nervously from me to Kostich. ‘‘Er… with all due respect, sir, I believe such an extreme act might have repercussions. This room has not been warded to contain the contents.’’

Kostich’s eyes narrowed, but before he could reply, the doors behind me slammed open. My stomach did an odd little flip-flop at the sight of Gabriel storming into the room, accompanied by Drake and his two bodyguards.

‘‘I demand the release of my mate,’’ Gabriel snarled, his gaze impassive as it passed over me. For a moment, I thought he didn’t recognize me, but I shook that thought away.

‘‘It’s about time you got here,’’ I told him, tossing my head again.

‘‘Be quiet, woman,’’ he snapped at me, not moving his gaze from where it bore into Dr. Kostich.

I was shocked for a moment by the anger in his voice, trying to keep a step ahead of him. What role was I supposed to take as Cyrene? Submissive? Should I leave all the talking to him? No, that wasn’t Cyrene. When she was outraged about something, she let the world know about it.

I snatched up the stack of papers on the table in front of me and threw them at Gabriel. ‘‘Be quiet? Be quiet? I’m the only one here who cares enough about May to get her released, you big… big… dragon! Don’t you ‘be quiet’ me! I demand that you listen to me and not him,’’ I said, turning to Monish.

He made a tching sound, gesturing to a clerk, who scurried over to pick up the papers that had fluttered all over the floor.

‘‘You will not speak to me that way!’’ Gabriel roared, grabbing my arm and jerking me back, his eyes blazing.

I grabbed another handful of papers and threw them at his head. ‘‘I’ll speak to you any way I want to! You’re not my mate, thank the gods! You’re nothing but trouble! I blame you for letting poor May be arrested in the first place!’’

‘‘And you’re a danger to yourself and others! You are hereby banned from seeing May unless in my company!’’

‘‘Oh!’’ I screamed, and grabbed for the pitcher of water in front of Dr. Kostich.

‘‘Cease!’’ Kostich yelled, his face red with anger as I stood with the pitcher over my head, poised to throw it at Gabriel. ‘‘This behavior is unacceptable. Bailiff, remove that woman from our presence.’’

‘‘I will not be treated in this manner!’’ I yelled, tossing the water onto the small man who had been picking up papers. ‘‘And you have not heard the last of me, mage. The sisterhood will hear of this treatment, as will the Council of Elementalists! I will have justice!’’

I turned on my heel as the now-sopping clerk headed for me, marching out of the room with my head held high. Drake, a silent figure with his two men, raised an eyebrow as I passed them. I gave him a head toss and strode angrily from the room.

‘‘As for your demands, Tauhou-’’ Kostich said, but I didn’t hear any more. The clerk didn’t touch me, but herded me unceremoniously downstairs and out of the building with a murmured request to not return unless summoned.

‘‘Hrmph,’’ I snorted at him as he went back into the building, heaving a sigh of relief at my freedom.

I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to do once freed, but I didn’t have long to wait. Before I’d taken a couple of steps, the dragons burst from the building, Gabriel yelling curses at Monish as he stood with the little clerk barring the door.

Gabriel stormed by me, Drake and the two others hot on his heels. None of them looked at me as they passed. ‘‘Hey!’’ I yelled, running after them. ‘‘I’m not finished with you, either!’’

The men stopped at a sleek black 1930s limo. I didn’t wait for an invitation; I pushed Gabriel aside to get into the backseat, praying someone wasn’t going to run out of the building calling for my immediate arrest.

It wasn’t until the car turned the corner and headed down a busy Paris street that I slumped back in the seat, but my slumpage was short-lived. Gabriel wrapped one arm around me and pulled me onto his lap, his lips finding mine in a way I could only applaud.

‘‘You make a hell of an actress,’’ he murmured against my mouth.

I smiled and bit his lower lip, my heart beating wildly. Part of it was from the adrenaline generated by the scene with Kostich, but most of it was due to the man from whose lap I was gently pushed.

I made a little noise of unhappiness as Gabriel’s mouth parted from mine.

‘‘I appreciate your enthusiasm, little bird, but now is not the time,’’ he said, nodding toward where Drake sat opposite us.

I pinched his hand. ‘‘You can’t kiss your own mate in front of another wyvern?’’

‘‘It is not fitting,’’ Drake answered, his face passive, although I could have sworn he was fighting a smile.

‘‘Fitting?’’

‘‘Dragon etiquette demands that mates be treated with the utmost respect in public,’’ Gabriel said solemnly. ‘‘Excessive shows of affection are frowned on when in the company of other dragons.’’

Gabriel’s words might have been staid, but his eyes were downright molten with desire.

‘‘Screw etiquette,’’ I said, grabbing his head and pulling him over to me. I groaned into his mouth as his tongue immediately twined itself around mine, sliding with sinuous, teasing movements that made me want to crawl on top of Gabriel.

‘‘Fire,’’ I whispered, tugging on his hair, and I felt his lips curve as I was bathed in dragon fire, filled with it, consumed by it. I reveled in its heat, in his heat, returning it to him with a joy that threatened to set my very soul on fire.

‘‘I hesitate to point out that the upholstery, while fireproofed, does have its limits, but this car is a favorite of Aisling’s, and I would hate for it to be out of commission.’’

Drake’s voice acted as water on the flames of our desire.

‘‘I should chastise you for such a breach of etiquette,’’ Gabriel said, his lovely voice husky with all sorts of sensual promises.

‘‘It won’t do any good,’’ Drake said, sighing. ‘‘I have tried many times to school Aisling, but she refuses to listen. It’s a very annoying trait in American women, I’ve found. Perhaps you will have better luck with May.’’

I snorted, giving Gabriel a gimlet eye. ‘‘Don’t even think about going there.’’

He grinned. I melted.

‘‘American women,’’ Drake said, shaking his head.

‘‘What’s going to happen to Cy?’’ I asked Gabriel as the gravity of the moment returned. ‘‘Does this plan of yours that she couldn’t tell me about include her rescue, as well?’’

‘‘She will rescue herself in about’’-he consulted his watch-‘‘two hours. Enough time for us to get you safely to England. Then she will reveal herself as the true naiad, claiming you drugged her in order to escape.’’

‘‘Won’t they notice that she hasn’t, in fact, been drugged.’’

‘‘She will be,’’ he answered cheerfully, his fingers stroking my leg. ‘‘She has a small vial containing a sleeping draught, which she most likely took as soon as you left the cell. Once she wakes up, she will no doubt make a demonstration of her naiad abilities, and since the committee has nothing with which they can charge her, she will be released.’’

‘‘That is pretty smart,’’ I said, giving him an admiring glance before doubt returned to worry the edges of my mind.

‘‘We thought so. And now that you are free, perhaps you would tell us how it is you came to be there in the first place?’’ Drake asked.

I hesitated a moment, unwilling to tell them about the blackmailer and amulet, but knowing the connection to Kostya might have some importance. As succinctly as possible, I told them about Cyrene’s blackmailer, and how he’d sent me to retrieve an amulet.

‘‘From Kostya?’’ Drake’s expression was thoughtful.

‘‘What amulet was it, did the blackmailer say?’’ Gabriel asked.

‘‘No. He didn’t tell me anything at all about it, not what it was, why he wanted it, or even how Kostya came to have it.’’ At the thought of the amulet, a question arose. ‘‘What will happen to my things the committee took when I was arrested?’’

He considered the question. ‘‘They’ll remain locked up with them, I suppose. It would be rather awkward to request them to be returned now.’’

‘‘Yes, but…’’ I bit my lip.

‘‘Did you have something of value?’’ Drake asked, his eyes glittering as he sniffed the air a couple of times.

‘‘Not really, although I will be in a world of hurt if I don’t get my passports back,’’ I said slowly. ‘‘I use them when I don’t wish to be recognized.’’

‘‘We will have another made for you,’’ Gabriel said.

Drake sniffed the air again, then suddenly lunged forward, his face pressed into my breasts. I squawked and threw myself backward at the same time Gabriel snarled something.

‘‘I meant no disrespect,’’ Drake said as Gabriel shoved him back into his seat. ‘‘Your mate has been wearing gold. Recently.’’

Both dragons turned thoughtful gazes upon me. ‘‘Gold?’’ Gabriel asked, the pupils of his eyes narrowing. ‘‘You have gold?’’

‘‘No, I don’t have gold,’’ I said, amused at both of their reactions. ‘‘I touched a few of Kostya’s things when I was going through his chest-he has gold.’’

‘‘What sort of gold?’’ Drake asked, an avid light in his eyes.

‘‘Was the amulet made of gold?’’ Gabriel asked at the same time.

‘‘I think so. I don’t know anything about the quality of gold, so I’m afraid I can’t give you an estimate of its purity. It looked like Kostya had a lot of things, and almost certainly the phylactery was in one of the locked chests. There were three chests in all, two bound and locked. I didn’t have time to look at them. I found the amulet at the bottom of the unlocked chest.’’

‘‘Unlocked,’’ Drake said, sitting back with a dismissive gesture. ‘‘He wouldn’t keep anything valuable in an unlocked chest. This amulet must not be worth much.’’

‘‘But it was gold,’’ Gabriel said. ‘‘What else did you find in the lair?’’

I couldn’t help but smile at him. ‘‘I knew dragons liked gold-I didn’t know it was a borderline obsession with you.’’

‘‘It’s not an obsession… well, a little one… but we do find gold incredibly…’’ He lifted my hand to his lips, his tongue painting my fingertips with fire.

‘‘Expensive?’’ I asked, wondering that men who obviously had so much wealth could pant after a few bits of gold. ‘‘Precious?’’

‘‘Desirable,’’ Drake said, his face aglow with avidity.

‘‘Arousing,’’ Gabriel corrected him, the sensual velvet tones of his voice affected not in the least by the fact that he was nibbling on my fingertips. I shivered as his tongue made little circles at the tip of one of my fingers.

‘‘Yes, arousing. Very, very arousing.’’ Drake frowned for a moment and whipped out his cell phone. ‘‘I must call Aisling.’’

I turned to Gabriel to give Drake a little privacy during his phone call.

‘‘And what about you?’’ I asked, another shiver sweeping over me as Gabriel bit the pad of my thumb. ‘‘Does gold have an erotic effect on you, too?’’

His quicksilver eyes scorched me. ‘‘Most definitely. I look forward to seeing you wear some of my gold pieces… and nothing else.’’

I was perilously close to flinging myself on him, so it was a feat of strength to drag my mind from the promise he so temptingly offered back to the present.

‘‘Um… what was it you asked me?’’

It took him a moment to gather his thoughts, as well, a fact that pleased me to no end. ‘‘Er… what you found in Kostya’s lair?’’

‘‘Oh, yes, that.’’ I thought for a few moments. ‘‘There wasn’t much else in the unlocked chest. Some necklaces, the amulet, a couple of old-looking pieces of tapestry, and that’s about it.’’

‘‘You had no difficulty getting into his lair, then?’’ Drake asked, putting away his phone. ‘‘Did the blackmailer let you in?’’

‘‘On the contrary, he said it was going to be difficult to get in. But… well, there’s a bit of a story about that. Someone was there ahead of me.’’ I explained about the dragon’s bane on the door, and how I’d gone around to the window to find it open.

‘‘Kostya came in as I was going through one of the chests, the unbound one. Judging by his surprise, he wasn’t expecting anyone there, which means someone else must have opened that window and disarmed the security system.’’

Drake glanced at Gabriel.

‘‘I was with you all day trying to find out what happened to Maata and Tipene,’’ the latter pointed out.

Guilt prodded me painfully. ‘‘I’m sorry, I’ve been so caught up in my own troubles, I didn’t ask you about them. Did you find out anything?’’

Gabriel shook his head. ‘‘No. They have just disappeared.’’

‘‘And someone has broken into Kostya’s lair,’’ Drake said thoughtfully.

Gabriel’s handsome face grew cold at the mention of the black dragon. ‘‘Fiat?’’

‘‘Possibly. Or one of the red dragons,’’ Drake answered. ‘‘It could be that Chuan Ren has been released from Abaddon. Although I believe she’d first come after Aisling and me.’’

‘‘It must be Fiat. He would stop at nothing to regain control of the blue dragons.’’ Gabriel’s hand was warm as it took mine. ‘‘Just as Kostya has nothing to lose but everything to gain by keeping Maata and Tipene from me.’’

‘‘You don’t think he’ll hurt them?’’ I asked, a sick feeling making my gorge rise.

He didn’t dismiss that idea nearly as quickly as I would have liked. ‘‘To do so would bring an all-out war against him, not only by the silver dragons, but by others as well.’’ He sent an inquisitive glance to Drake.

The latter nodded. ‘‘Killing your guards would constitute an act of war against a sept of the weyr. The members would be obligated to uphold the terms of the treaty and destroy him in return.’’

‘‘You know, Porter looked surprised when I asked him what demon lord he worked for,’’ I said slowly as I mused over the facts. ‘‘I wonder if Cyrene heard correctly when he said he was working for a dreadlord.’’

‘‘Dreadlord?’’ Drake asked, pouncing on the word. ‘‘He said that specifically?’’

I nodded. ‘‘What’s the significance of that? It’s just another word for demon lord, isn’t it?’’

Drake and Gabriel exchanged glances. ‘‘In modern usage, yes, but in centuries past, it meant many things… including a wyvern,’’ the latter said.

‘‘Oh. You think Porter was working for a dragon? One of the ones you mentioned?’’

‘‘I don’t know,’’ he said, his eyes dulling slightly. ‘‘It is an interesting thought nonetheless.’’

‘‘So what are we going to do?’’ I asked, suddenly swamped with exhaustion. I tried to remember the last time I’d slept, and couldn’t.

Gabriel pulled me up against his side. I leaned into him, feeling warm, safe, and cherished. ‘‘First we get you out of the country.’’

‘‘You are welcome to stay with Aisling and me,’’ Drake offered. ‘‘The thief takers evidently have found your house, Gabriel.’’

The latter nodded. ‘‘Then I think we will need to have a look into Kostya’s locked chests. The phylactery must be contained in one of them.’’

‘‘And the amulet?’’ I asked.

‘‘It poses many questions, but I do not see that it is of much importance,’’ Gabriel said after a few moments’ thought. ‘‘It was kept in an unlocked chest, and Kostya would never put it there if it held value. It is possible that the thief taker was deliberately trying to mislead you into believing he was not in the employ of a demon lord.’’

‘‘Or he could be operating for purposes of his own,’’ Drake said.

Gabriel nodded.

‘‘What if it turns out that he’s working for a dragon after all?’’ I had to ask.

Gabriel pulled me tighter against him. ‘‘Then we will deal with that situation, too. But of first importance is the phylactery. It is the only thing I can use to barter for the release of my guards. I must have it.’’

‘‘Agreed,’’ Drake said, hesitating a moment. ‘‘He will in all likelihood be expecting such a move, you know.’’

Gabriel didn’t answer, but the smile that curled his lips left me shivering again… this time with cold.