“It’s in Zilant,” I said, deciphering with some difficulty the handwriting on the parchment.
“Yes. You speak that, don’t you?”
“I’ve picked up a little over the last century.” I read silently for a moment. “All right, shall we try?”
“I would prefer that you succeed rather than merely try,” Kostya said, his face grim. “There will be no black dragons left if we do not stop your mate.”
Guilt weighed heavily on me. “I’ve tried to stop him, I truly have.”
“This war is not your doing,” Drake said, his arms crossed over his chest as he knelt across from me. His eyes were almost like a cat’s, so brilliant were they.
“I did not start it, no, but it continues because . . .” I hesitated, wanting them to know the truth, but wary lest they use that information against Baltic somehow. Drake and Allesander said their respective septs desired peace, but could I trust that? The dragons had been warring for over a hundred years, and I was no longer sure whom I could trust.
“It continues because Constantine, Baltic, and Chuan Ren will not be happy until there are no dragons left but their own,” Kostya said bitterly, making a sharp gesture.
“That’s not true. Baltic does not desire the elimination of other septs. . . .” Their expressions told me it was useless to continue. I sighed and placed the shards before me. “The sooner we do this, the sooner we can have peace. Let us begin.”
The Zilant words were unfamiliar on my tongue as I spoke them, awkward and jarring to the ear as I made an invocation to the dragon heart. The air grew thick and heavy over the shards as they started to vibrate, a hum coming from them that grew louder as I spoke. I watched them with some wariness, not sure what would happen when the heart re-formed, and wanting to be ready to wield it.
As the last word fell heavily from my lips, the hum from the shards ceased, and all was silent for two beats of my heart. We held our respective breaths as the shards seemed to emit a light that twirled and spun around itself, taking the phylacteries with it. It grew brighter and brighter until it blinded me. I turned my head to avoid looking at it, but was compelled to turn back when a face began to form in it, the face of a dragon, one who was as brilliant as the light itself. The dragon’s eyes were filled with the knowledge of all times, as old as the earth itself, the past, present, and future all mingling together in their depths. I knew without a doubt in my mind that I was looking at the First Dragon, he who formed the septs and weyr, the creator, the father of every dragon who lived, and who would ever live.
The First Dragon looked at me, searing a path straight down to my soul, his eyes closing slowly, but not before I saw a profound sadness in them that made me want to fling myself forward and weep until I had no more tears.
The spinning mass of shards exploded in a nova of blue-white light that seemed to pierce us, passing through our bodies and minds and souls until it was the only thing that existed, and we were no more.
Two hours later I stood at the inn and watched as the small band of five black dragons I had brought as guards saddled our horses. Kostya stood next to me, watching silently.
Female squeals of delight came from the inn. I glanced over my shoulder. Drake had his arms around the three women who had waited so patiently for him at the bog, escorting them upstairs to a room where he would no doubt partake of their wares. I had already bid him farewell, as I had Allesander.
“What would you like me to tell Baltic?” I asked Kostya, returning my gaze to the yard.
“About the shard?” He glanced at my chest.
I touched the spot about two inches below my breastbone where a small diamond mark now resided. Inside me, the shard that had once belonged to the First Dragon thrummed with a life of its own, the shard mourning with me for the future that I feared would come to pass. “No, although I don’t understand how you can be so sure that the shard’s rightful owner will not be distressed that I am now the phylactery for it. I would be happy to explain to whoever it is, if you give me the name—”
“I told you the responsibility was mine,” he said, a flicker of something in his eyes causing me to wonder. “I will deal with the owner. You have no need to fear that she—”
“She?” I asked as he bit off the word and looked suddenly furious. “By the rood! This shard belongs to Chuan Ren?”
“Belonged,” he said, shooting me an annoyed glance before turning his glare onto the courtyard.
“Why would she give you both shards?” I asked, shaking my head.
His jaw worked for a few seconds; then he said, “She didn’t.”
“The green dragons are renowned thieves,” I said, as a few facts slid into place. “Your brother is a green dragon. You had Drake steal the shards from Chuan Ren, didn’t you?”
His shoulder twitched. “The Song Phylactery will be returned to her.”
“But not the Choate Phylactery,” I pointed out, amused despite the situation. Chuan Ren would be livid when she found out. I would have to warn Baltic that she would likely wish to reclaim the shard.
“That can’t be helped.” Kostya took a deep breath and turned to me, his face hard and unyielding. “I wish things were different, Ysolde, but you must realize that I cannot stand alongside Baltic any longer. You must see that.”
Sadness gripped me at his words. “You of all people know why he is continuing the war. You are his oldest friend, his most trusted guard. If we could reason with him together, if we could make him see that Constantine is not really a threat—”
“But he is,” Kostya interrupted. “In that I wholeheartedly agree with Baltic. The silver dragons are a threat to every black dragon. They must return to us, or we will face an eternity of destruction.”
“You said earlier today that Baltic was unduly perpetuating the war, and now you insist that he continue to do so? You don’t make any sense, Kostya.”
“There is a difference between trying to retake what is ours, and attempting to control the entire weyr.”
“You know full well that Baltic has no desire to take over all the septs,” I said, disgusted with his stubborn refusal to admit the truth.
“No?” He gave me a long look. “Ask yourself why he does not simply kill Constantine and bring the silver dragons back into the weyr.”
“I will not argue about this anymore; we’ve both said everything there is to say.” I sighed. “My concern is for the immediate future. Are you sure you don’t wish to return with me? Surely peace would be worth trying to reason with Baltic again.”
“He is past the point of listening to reason, and I will not have the last few black dragons slaughtered for no purpose. Ysolde—” He bit off what he was going to say, hesitating before finally saying, “You must be aware of what is in my heart. I loved Baltic as a brother, but I cannot let him destroy our world. Either he will stop, or I must stop him, by whatever means possible.”
Fear gripped my stomach at the deadness in his eyes. “You would destroy us,” I said simply.
“If that’s what it takes to stop him, yes.” Kostya took my hand and bowed over it. “You will be well enough to travel?”
“Yes,” I said, the world suddenly bleak and lifeless.
“What will you tell Baltic?”
“The truth.” I met his gaze and carefully pulled my fingers from his. “I will tell him the truth.”
Chapter Eleven
“Good morning. Suzanne, isn’t it? I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Tully Sullivan. I’ve come to fetch my son, Brom.”
“I could not easily forget you, Ysolde,” the green dragon said as she smiled and stood aside so I could enter Drake’s house.
I glanced down the street to where a sleek black BMW sat. It had been all I could do to keep Baltic in the car, having to swear to him that I wouldn’t go into the house by myself.
“My car is double-parked, so I think I’ll just stay out here in case the police come,” I said, waving a vague hand toward Baltic’s car. “If yo
u could just tell Brom to get his things together, I’ll take him out of your hair.”
“He’s been no problem,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I must shut the door. Drake would have my hide if I were to leave the door open. He’s a bit crazy over security just now. Are you sure you don’t want to come inside?”
“No, it’s no problem. I’ll just wait out here for Brom,” I said, leaning against the white stone railing.
She gave me an odd look, but closed the door. Two minutes later, when I was trying to think how to broach a difficult subject with Baltic, the door opened. I straightened up, expecting to see my son, but instead a furry black demon in dog form marched out. “Heya, Solders! Oooh, sexy top, babe, very sexy top. I like how your boobies are kind of smooshed up over the neckline.”
I looked down at the black stretch corset-style lace-up top I’d bought an hour earlier. My boobs did seem to be a bit more pronounced than was normal, but Baltic had expressed nothing but approval for my choice, going so far as snake his tongue down into the valley between my breasts. I put a stop to that, naturally . . . after an appropriate amount of time. “I just bought it at a small boutique this morning. It was on sale. Do you think it’s too risqué?”
“No,” Jim said, eyeing my boobs with glee. “If you bend over, will you pop out?”
I gave it a dirty look. “You are a demon. You aren’t supposed to even notice things like uplifted breasts.”
It rolled its eyes. “I may be a demon, but I’m a boy demon, and I’d have to be stuck in the deepest, darkest, most heinous of all of Bael’s dungeon cells, suffering the worst torture imaginable, not to notice a fine pair of tatas when they passed by, and even then, I’d be thinking about them the whole time.”
I mumbled something rude, turned to face the door, and did an experimental bow to make sure nothing untoward happened. “It’s fine; you can suck your tongue back in,” I told the demon when I turned around to face it.
“You take all the fun out of ogling. Hey, what’s that on your left boob?”
I glanced down and edged the neckline over to better cover the sept mark. “None of your business. Where’s Brom?”
“Packing his things. You’re taking him away? Aisling said he was going to stay a couple of days because your crazy boyfriend was going to blow up Gabriel again.”
“My crazy boyfriend will do nothing of the—” I stopped myself, getting a grip on my temper. “I don’t have a crazy boyfriend, and no one that I know of is going to blow up Gabriel’s house. Thus, yes, I am here to get my son. I hope to heaven you haven’t been filling Brom’s head with all sorts of inappropriate breast and Baltic talk. He is only nine.”
“Naw, he’s a good kid, and besides, Aisling told me if I showed him my collection of Breasticles Monthly, she’d have my noogies nailed to the wall. We’ve been good. Well, we did sit up until two in the morning watching old Hammer horror films because Ash and Drake took the spawns out to the country for a couple of days, but I promised to help watch Brom. And what’s sitting up until two in the morning if not watching, eh?”
“I shall be sure to speak to him about staying up so late,” I said with a mom frown.
The demon grinned. “You gotta let him have some fun. That’s why I let him see pictures of my girlfriend, Cecile.”
My jaw sagged just a smidgen. “You have a girlfriend?”
“Yeah. Black Welsh corgi with a fluffy white belly, and ears that beg to be sucked on. She’s the cutest thing on four legs. She’s getting up there in years, but that’s OK; I’m over three thousand years old, myself. Who’s that in the car?” it asked, peering around me toward Baltic.
“Just a friend giving me a ride.” I moved to block its view. I was about to distract the demon with something, anything, when the door opened again, this time disgorging Brom and his backpack.
“Sullivan, can we go to the British Museum again?”
“Good morning to you, too,” I said, hugging him.
“Morning. Can we? Maata said she’d take me again if Gabriel and you said it was OK.”
“Er . . .” I glanced back toward the car. Baltic’s silhouette could be seen in it, moving in an impatient manner. I’d agreed to stay with him in his house, but I didn’t want to break that bit of news to Brom with Jim standing right there, ready to carry the information straight back to Drake.
Momentarily distracted, I gave a little mental chuckle, realizing why Drake had seemed vaguely familiar to me when I saw him at the sárkány. The memory of Drake with the three women draped around him at the tavern in Paris left me wondering if he’d really changed from the womanizing tomcat he had once been.
“Sullivan?” Brom nudged me.
“We’ll talk about it later, OK? Right now I want to get going. Nice to see you again, Jim.”
“Kid’s got mummies on the brain,” Jim said to me, suddenly lunging to the side, hurrying past me toward the car. “Hey, is that who I think it is?”
“By the rood!” I swore, dashing after him, Brom on my heels. “Jim! Come back here! Heel!”
“That only works if you’re my demon lord or duly appointed representative thereof, neither of which you are,” it said as it came to a stop by the car. “Holy cheese and tiny little crackers! That’s—”
I clamped my hand around its muzzle with one hand, glancing back to the house. The door opened, and Suzanne stepped out, obviously looking for Jim.
“Of all the . . .” I jerked open the car’s back door, telling Brom, “Get in the front!”
“What are you doing to Jim?” he asked, standing there frowning at me as I heaved the demon halfway into the car.
“Why is it all I seem to do lately is shove people into cars? Just get in, Brom! Jim, so help me god, if you bite me, I’ll bite you back!”
The demon’s eyes widened as I grasped it firmly around the rib cage and shoved the last bit of it into the car, more or less tumbling in after it. We fell in a tangle of arms and furry legs onto the floor of the car.
“Get going!” I yelled to Baltic, struggling to get free of dog legs.
“What is this?” Baltic said, glaring over the seat at us. “Why are you bringing a demon with you? We have no need of a demon, mate. Release it.”
“Heeel!” Jim wailed, its teeth clenched shut due to my grip around its muzzle.
“Wow, you’re the guy who came after Sullivan,” Brom said, getting into the front seat. He and Baltic regarded each other for a moment.
“Som-un heeell ee!”
“You should have been my son,” Baltic told Brom.
Jim kicked with both its back legs, loosening my hold on its mouth.
“I’m being demon-napped!”
“OK,” Brom said to Baltic after a moment’s thought. The two nodded, just as if that settled the matter.
“Aisliiiing!”
“Be quiet, you pestilent little furball!” I yelled, wrestling it to the floor of the car as Baltic, finally noticing Suzanne, who now stood with her hands on her hips calling for Jim, put his foot on the gas and shot out into traffic, pulling a U-turn that narrowly missed sideswiping a Harrods van. “You brought this on yourself! If you hadn’t been so nosy, I wouldn’t have had to do this!”
“Aisling is going to go nutso-cuckoo on your butt when she finds out what you’re doing!” Jim said, deliberately wiping its slobbery lips on me as I got onto the seat, leaving long, slimy tendrils of drool on my arm.
“You think so? Well, maybe your precious Aisling just needs to watch out, because I’m not some pushover, you know. I’m a mage, and mated to the baddest ass in the dragon world,” I said as I looked around for something to wipe off the slobber.
Brom looked speculatively at Baltic. “That’s you?”
“Yes. If you were my son, as you should have been, you, too, would have a badass.”
“Hmm,” Brom said, still thoughtful.
There was nothing in the back of the car, no tissue, no towel, no napkin. Nothing. I eyed the demon’s fur.
&nb
sp; “You wouldn’t!” it gasped.
“If you give me any more grief, I’ll do a whole lot more than smear you with your own saliva!” I threatened, bending down to wipe my hand on the floor mat.
It sucked in its breath. “Geez, and I thought Ash was mean! You ever want a job as a demon lord, you’d fit right in. Hey, is that your nipple?”
I eeped and jerked upright, tucking my breast back into my shirt. Evidently it did not pass the bending-over test after all.
“Keep your eyes to yourself, and—Baltic!” I screamed and pointed at the side of a building we were about to hit because he had turned to look back at Jim’s comment about my nipple. “Eyes on the road, mister!”
“I specifically asked you not to bare your breasts to others,” he said gruffly, casting angry little glances at me in the rearview mirror.
“Jim isn’t a person, and I didn’t exactly bare myself—oh, it doesn’t matter. Just keep your eyes on the road.”
“It is difficult. These people do not drive properly,” he said, transferring his glare to a young man on a scooter who flipped him off as he zoomed past us.
“City traffic is always bad . . . wait a minute. What do you mean they don’t know how to drive properly? You do know how to drive, don’t you?”
“Of course I know how to drive. I am doing it now, am I not?”
“Oh, man,” Jim said, covering its eyes with its paw. “We’re all gonna die.”
“Yes, you are driving,” I said, “but since I’m the one who drove us into town this mor—red light!”
Baltic slammed on the brakes, sending us fishtailing into the middle of the intersection. Luckily, the light had just changed, so the cross traffic had time to avoid hitting us.
“Will you stop distracting me with irrelevant things?” Baltic said, irritation dripping off each syllable.
“A red light is not irrelevant. Do you have a driver’s license?” I demanded.