Dragon Soul

  Dignity would be my watchword, I decided, covertly sliding my hand up Rowan’s thigh. Dignity and circumspection.

  “I understand you had a visit from our friends at the tea shop,” Gabriel said as Akbar pulled into traffic and immediately slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a car that cut him off. He muttered under his breath, shot a look to the side where Mrs. P sat, and we started forward again.

  “Yes, we did. They were more obnoxious than ever, but we took care of the matter,” Rowan answered in a distracted tone.

  I stopped wondering how I could cop a quick grope of Rowan without the other two (unwanted) occupants seeing and leaned forward to say in a low tone, “I will ask Akbar to pull over if you continue such shenanigans, Mrs. P.”

  She shot me an injured look that melted into a high-pitched cackle. “Your man wouldn’t like that at all.”

  “This isn’t about Rowan. It’s about you behaving yourself when we are in a moving vehicle capable of killing us or others. No shenanigans, please.”

  “Shenanigans,” she repeated, rolling the word around in her mouth. “I like that. Would you care to engage in some shenanigans later, young man?”

  Akbar, luckily, was too focused on the hellish nightmare that was traffic streaming from the airport into Cairo proper and didn’t answer.

  “Hands to yourself,” I reminded her and sat back in my seat, smooshing myself against Rowan. I tried to tell myself it was silly to get so worked up over a little innocent contact, but the girly part of my mind was squealing softly to itself, and wondering if it was too soon to ask him to spend the night in my hotel room.

  “There were three others who arrived in the small hours of the morning, but we handled them, as well,” Gabriel said, pulling my attention from the pleasant (if smutty) thoughts about Rowan.

  “Three other who?” I asked, throwing grammar to the wind. “Or should I say what?”

  Gabriel glanced toward the driver, but as Akbar was now providing a running commentary to Mrs. P on the various buildings we were passing, Gabriel evidently felt it was safe to speak. “Our friends from Bael are more what than who, but as they were once our kin, I shall refrain from saying more.”

  Rowan’s hand brushed my leg again, causing heat to pool low inside of me. Just how long was this cab ride going to take? I began to speculate how much time it would take to get Mrs. P settled before I could pounce on Rowan.

  “We should be safe enough for a few hours,” Gabriel continued.

  That pulled my attention from my plan to seduce Rowan. “Really? Rowan said that the… uh… guys who attacked us weren’t really… you know… but that they just had to re-form, so to speak.”

  “He’s correct,” Gabriel said with a little nod.

  Rowan felt nice and solid next to me. He turned his head to face Gabriel, which meant his breath teased my hair when he spoke. I might have leaned a bit into him.

  “I’ve heard that the re-forming takes time,” he said, “unless the being in question is summoned to a new form. Is that true?”

  “Absolutely,” May answered. “Which should give us just enough time to transact our business once we get to the hotel before the baddies get themselves back here.”

  “Business?” I asked somewhat suspiciously. I was getting a bit tired of being so paranoid as to suspect everyone I met, but given the experiences that Mrs. P and I had had during the last twenty-four hours, I figured it was allowed. “What sort of business?”

  Gabriel’s silver gaze flickered toward the driver, but he said nothing. Apropos of nothing, I decided that I liked Rowan’s eyes better. Rather than just one color, there was depth to the greenish gray of Rowan’s. One moment they were downright verdant, and the next they looked like clear water over a mossy rock. Mind you, I liked the dream version best of all, but that was just a fantasy, and I was more than happy to settle for reality.

  “Wait a minute.” A thought intruded on my contemplation of Rowan’s eyes. “Our kin? You’re talking about…” I made claw hands and said softly, “Rawr?”

  Gabriel looked startled for a moment.

  “Gabriel is the wyvern of the silver sept,” May said, giving him a look that beamed with pride.

  “Are you indeed. How nice.” I wondered what the hell a wyvern was, not to mention a silver sept, and made a mental note to Google both once we were at the Cairo hotel.

  “Yes. Although he doesn’t get very… rawry… often.”

  “Only when there is room for a proper chase,” he said with a solemnity that was ruined by a glint in his eyes that had May leaning in to whisper something in his ear.

  I glanced at Rowan to see how he was taking this banter and whether he might like to do a little whispering of his own, but he was leaning back in the seat with his eyes closed. I “accidentally” jostled him with my arm, causing him to jerk and open his eyes.

  “Hmm?” he said.

  “Didn’t you get any sleep?” I asked, concerned for his welfare, and not just because I had plans for him that night.

  “Not really, no.”

  “But it wasn’t even midnight when I fetched Mrs. P back from her assignation with the unwilling Edvard.”

  “He had nice thighs,” Mrs. P piped up from the front seat. “Horseman’s thighs. Like your man’s. Too bad you interrupted us before Edvard had time to demonstrate his riding abilities.”

  “Mrs. P!” I said, scandalized at her innuendo.

  She cackled to herself and edged closer to Akbar.

  “I’m going to be so glad to hand her over to whoever is here to pick her up,” I told Rowan sotto voce. “And speaking of that, I know we had a heck of an evening, but the rest of last night was pretty quiet.”

  “Yes. But I didn’t know it was going to be so uneventful, or I would have gone back to my room and gotten some sleep.”

  I twisted around to look him full in the face, noticing the darkness under his eyes and the little lines of strain around his mouth. He also had a light stubble that made my fingers itch to touch it. “What do you mean? You didn’t sleep at all?”

  “No.” He leaned back and closed his eyes again. “I watched your room all night in case others came to disturb you.”

  Something inside me warmed at his words. “That… I had no idea… oh, Rowan, I wish you’d told me. I would have sat up with you.”

  The corner of his mouth that I liked so much quirked upward for a few seconds. “That would have been counterproductive. My goal was to ensure you two rested uninterrupted, and if you had been with me… well, I doubt if you’d have gotten rest.”

  I cleared my throat in a meaningful manner and slid a look toward May and Gabriel. They were conversing softly and didn’t appear to be listening, but you never knew. With a neutral voice, I said, “At the cost of your own sleep. Well, at least you’ll be able to sleep well tonight. Mrs. P is due to get on a river cruise this evening, so you can relax and not worry about her being pestered by those guys again.”

  “Mmmhmm.” His face softened and I had the worst urge to snuggle into him and keep watch while he took some much-needed rest.

  But before he drifted off completely, I leaned into him and whispered very softly, “What’s a wyvern?”

  “Dragon leader,” he mumbled, and wiggled his shoulders to get more comfortable against the seat, his head turning toward the window.

  I fought the urge to brush back a strand of hair that had fallen down over his eyebrow and told myself that despite our assignation the night before, he was not my man to fuss over. We had just gotten together to scratch a couple of mutual itches. Despite my propensity for falling for men without waiting to know them well, I couldn’t count on him feeling the same way about me as I felt about him. Men just didn’t dive into emotions like that.

  Besides, there was the Jian factor to be thought of. What if I was cursed? What if Rowan risked his life to be with me? Four days was all it had taken before Jian and I marched down the steps of city hall, and already I’d known Rowan for two days.
What if he left tomorrow to go back to his Amazonian rain forest, leaving me to return to L.A. alone?

  A familiar sense of loneliness swept over me, one that had beset me ever since Jian was killed.

  To stop myself from dwelling on the many ways my life was messed up, I turned to Gabriel and May, and with a quick check of Akbar (now telling Mrs. P about how he was happy to escort her through a Cairo museum to better understand the exhibits), I asked quietly, “So you’re both dragons?”

  An odd look crossed May’s face. “Gabriel is, of course, although to be strictly accurate, I wasn’t born a dragon. First I was his mate, and then due to an interaction with the First Dragon, I became… more.”

  “The who now?” I asked.

  “The First Dragon is the progenitor of all dragonkin,” Gabriel answered. “All dragons who ever were and ever will be are descended from him.”

  “And he made you one, too?” I asked May, feeling a whole lot less special, which was stupid because I was a dragon’s mate, too. I was almost a mythical being, and how many people could say that?

  “I guess he did,” she said after a few seconds of significant looks exchanged with Gabriel. “Although I never thought about it in that light. It’s not like he just bopped me on the head and made me that way, though. I’m not sure he can do that, to be honest.”

  “He can do anything he desires,” Gabriel said drily.

  “Including damning innocent men for acts beyond their control,” Rowan said, his voice muffled since his chin was wedged into his shoulder.

  Gabriel was silent for the count of five. “I don’t know about that, but I do know that we owe our existence to the First Dragon. And he was good to May, which I will be thankful for to the end of my time.”

  “He can’t be that good of a dad to you guys if he has children like Mr. Kim running around,” I said, remembering the glint of the knife Mr. Kim had used to threaten us.

  “Ah, but that is not the First Dragon’s fault. That is the doing of Bael.”

  “Sure it is,” I agreed, wondering if I should go to the trouble of nudging Rowan and asking him who Bael was or if I should just let it go.

  Just get Mrs. P to the hotel, I told myself. Then you can hand her over to the cruise people and go home, where life is normal, and there are no dragons and demons and people trying to steal other people’s possessions, and no heartbreakingly handsome men with gray-green eyes to lust after, and worry about, and wonder if he’ll last longer than four days.

  A tiny little voice told me how sad it would be to live a normal life without Rowan to spice it up, but I ignored it.

  I fell silent at that point, paying little attention to the discussion that May and Gabriel held about whether or not more demonic dragons would show up in Cairo or if they’d give up the attempt now that they knew the dragons were protecting Mrs. P.

  The Hotel Cleopatra wasn’t at all what I was expecting, but then, what had been on this trip? “Well, that’s… interesting,” I said as we got out of the car. A giant bust of Cleopatra loomed over the entrance, much like a figurehead sat on the prow of a ship. On each side of her were twin half-naked Nubian slaves, each with a palm in hand that jutted out over the entrance, providing shade from the merciless Egyptian sun. “It kind of reminds me of Disney.”

  Rowan glanced up at Cleopatra, his eyes widening when he took in her impressive bust barely encased by what surely was a teenage boy’s idea of historic costume appropriate to Cleopatra’s era.

  “Unusual, to be sure,” Rowan said before taking his rucksack from Akbar.

  “Especially in a mostly Muslim country. Oh well, we won’t see her from inside,” I said, grabbing Mrs. P as she started after Akbar. “Come on, let’s get checked in for the few hours it’ll be before we have to get you to your cruise.”

  “You are checking into the hotel just for a few hours?” May asked.

  “Mrs. P will be here just for a few hours, yes. I figured we can do a little sightseeing if she’s up to it, and if she’s not, she can rest. Then she’ll go on to the cruise and I’ll spend the night here and leave in the morning.” A little pang of sadness hit me at my words.

  “Bye bye, sweet cheeks,” Mrs. P told Akbar, blowing him a kiss. “I’ll tell my beau how knowledgeable about his life you are. He will be appreciative to know his time is remembered so well.”

  “We’re going to see him in a couple of hours if you’re up to the tour of the pyramids, so you needn’t make a dramatic farewell scene yet. And what on earth was all that about?” I asked her as we entered the hotel. “All I heard Akbar talking about was Egyptian myths and what life was like back then and stuff like that.”

  “He is a nice lad. As polite as your man, but not so stuffy. Probably has more stamina in bed, though. Stamina is such a waste on the young. I want some tea.”

  “All righty. Let me just get us checked in, and I’ll get us a late lunch, okay? Hello. I’m Sophea Long, and this is Mrs. Papadopolous. We have reservations.”

  We finished checking in and I scooted to the side while Rowan acquired a room of his own (he didn’t book ahead) before asking him, “We’re going to have some lunch in a short bit. Did you want to join us? It’ll be our treat for you sitting up all night making sure we were safe.”

  He looked like he was going to say no, but just then his stomach growled audibly, and he gave an apologetic little laugh. “I believe that is answer enough.”

  May and Gabriel were now at the reception desk, obviously getting a room. I knew I should extend the offer of lunch to them, since they clearly had some role in keeping the demon dragons at bay, but a wave of selfishness had me steering Mrs. P toward the elevator with one hand while grasping Rowan’s arm with the other. “Tell you what, I’ll order room service so you won’t have to face sitting in a restaurant surrounded by tourists. Then you can go have a nap.”

  He turned when we reached the elevator and nodded toward May and Gabriel. “What about them?”

  “They can find their own lunch, I’m sure.” I immediately felt guilty at the flash of surprise in his eyes. “I’m sorry. That’s catty of me. If you would like them to join us, I’ll ask them.”

  A little frown pulled his eyebrows together. “I get the feeling that you don’t care for Gabriel and May.”

  “I don’t. Rather, I don’t trust them.”

  “Why not? They are your own kind, after all.”

  “They don’t look like dragons,” I said, glancing past him at the people in question.

  “Neither do you.”

  “No, but I clearly am dragonish,” I said with a complacence that I realized was fully at odds with the fact that less than a day before, I refused to accept the fact that there even were such things as dragons in human form, let alone that Jian was one of them. “Did you see the way I kicked Elton out of the window? That was a serious dragon move going on there.”

  He gave a little chuckle and escorted us into the empty elevator when the doors opened. “It was indeed, but I believe you’re judging Gabriel unfairly because he wasn’t there to help us fight the demons. I have no doubt he’s capable of equally impressive dragon moves, as you call them.”

  I kept the door from closing and nodded toward the reception desk. “Maybe. Do you want me to invite them or not?”

  Rowan shrugged. “I’m sure you’re right and they can find their own lunch. I just thought you’d like someone relatable that you could talk to.”

  “Another time, perhaps,” I said, knowing full well that I’d be on a plane heading back home the following day.

  By myself.

  Without Rowan.

  And worse, without the likelihood of ever seeing him again.

  I grew morose at that thought, a feeling that stayed with me while I bustled Mrs. P into the room we would share for a few hours until she went off to her cruise and made her a cup of tea while trying to keep her from confiscating everything she could see.

  Finally, I got her to relax on the bed with her feet up for
a little bit. “I told Rowan to meet us here in half an hour, which gives me to time to call the tour company in Cairo and make sure everything is copacetic for your trip. No, you can’t take that. The Gideon people put it there for others to use… oh, what the hell. Knock yourself out. You might want to read up on the bit about thou shalt not steal, though.”

  It took a good fifteen minutes, but at last I worked my way through to someone at the cruise company who spoke English. “Hello. I’m confirming the arrival of Mrs. Papadopolous for the Duat River Cruise leaving tonight at eight p.m. Am I correct in the assumption that she’ll need to be to the ship an hour before sailing?”

  “Yes, that is very correct,” answered a man in lyrical English. “Let me check the records. Papadopolous, you say? I do not have anyone by that name.”

  Panic hit me. I hadn’t even thought about what I’d do if something was munged up with Mrs. P’s reservation. “Uh… are you sure? Her grandson told me he booked her reservation himself. Maybe you could look again?”

  “Does Madame have another name? I do not see Papadopolous.”

  Unreasonably, I felt the urge to burst into tears. We’d come such a long way and been through so much in the last twenty-four hours. “She doesn’t have another name, no.”

  “I do,” Mrs. P said, looking up from the TV where she’d put on a channel of Middle Eastern music videos. “I am known by many names.”

  “I doubt very much if your grandson would have booked you under your hoochie-coo dancer name,” I told her, my hand over the mouthpiece. “Did he book it under your maiden name or something?”

  “I have never been married,” she said with a sniff, and turned up the music video. “My beau gives me much leeway in this world, but he wouldn’t allow me to bind myself to another.”

  “What is your maiden name?” I asked, more than a little desperate now.

  “My name when I was a maiden?” She smiled. Oddly, it made her faded eyes look brighter. “Aset.”

  “Asset?” I asked, confusion now adding to my frustration. “Like something a company has?”

  “No, Aset.” She spelled it for me, putting the stress on the first letter of the word. “It is my child-name.”