“Now you’re all red,” it said, giving its shoulder a lick. “You don’t remember me?” “I don’t remember anything,” I said with more honesty than I liked.
“Yeah?” Its eyes narrowed on me. “That looks like an interdiction on you. Kostich kick you out of mage’s camp?” I looked down to my chest where a faint blue swirly pattern glowed. “I’m not even going to ask how you know that, because frankly, if I have to listen to one more bizarre thing today, I’m just going to curl up in a little ball and pretend I’m a hedgehog, and then where would Brom be?” “Who’s Brom?”
“My son.”
“Oh, man! You have a son? Does Baltic know about it? If he doesn’t, promise me I can be there when you tell him, because he’s going to go totally psycho dragon. Well, more psycho dragon than he already is, which I gotta tell you is pretty wacked out.” I took a deep, cleansing breath of the grass-scented air. “For the sake of my sanity and my son, I shall now pretend you aren’t saying anything. In fact, you’re not even here. I’m all alone. And now I’m going home.” “Where’s home?” the demon asked, getting up as I gathered up my purse and started off toward what I hoped was the street. It didn’t seem to take the slightest offense to my comments, but on the other hand, it also didn’t seem inclined to leave me alone.
“Barcelona.”
“That’s gonna be a hell of a walk.”
“I’m staying with some people in town.” “May and Gabriel, yeah, I heard Ash dumped you off on them because you’re Baltic’s long-lost love. What’s it like doing the humpy-jump with a crazy dragon?” I glanced down at it as I walked. “You are the single most strangest demon I have ever met.” “Face it, babe — I’m the best, aren’t I?” it asked, cocking a furry eyebrow at me. Catching sight of someone, it yelled, “Hey, Suzanne! Look who I found!” A small blond woman hurried over, a leash and a plastic bag in her hand. “Jim! There you are! I thought I’d lost you. Oh, you’re Ysolde, aren’t you? Hello.” “My name is Tully,” I said. “Although to be honest, I’m about ready to give up and change my name because no one listens to me.” “Ysolde’s feeling crappy,” Jim told her. “I think we should take her home. Wouldn’t want her to turn into road pizza because no one was here to watch her.” Suzanne glanced at her watch, but agreed.
“That’s not necessary. I’m quite fine on my own. I’m just a little insane, not bad enough I would do something crazy like take off all my clothes and dance on Nelson’s Column.” “Damn,” Jim said, looking disappointed.
“I think perhaps we should accompany you,” Suzanne said, giving me an astute look. “You seem somewhat distraught.” “Distraught… insane… it’s really a moot point by now.” They came with me as I strolled toward Gabriel’s house, my thoughts a jumbled mess that I didn’t want to examine. Jim chatted nonstop all the way, insisting on accompanying me inside.
“If you want to pay back my chivalry with belly scratches, go right ahead,” it said, rolling over onto its back at my feet when I collapsed bonelessly onto a leather couch in a green-and-brown-toned study.
I complied silently, my thoughts still tangled around the vision, Gareth’s cruelty, and my newly granted membership in the Club of the Mentally Bewildered.
“Suzanne says you’re not feeling well?” May said, coming into the library with Gabriel on her heels. “Jim, really! Do we need to see that?” “Can’t have belly scritches without barin’ Jupiter, Mars, and the really Big Dipper,” Jim answered, its back leg kicking slightly in the air as my fingers found a particularly itchy spot on its stomach. “Oh, yeah, baby. I really dig chicks with long nails.” “Time to go,” May said, prodding the demon with the toe of her shoe. “Thanks for bringing Ysolde back, Suzanne. We’ll take it from here.” “But I want to stay!” Jim complained as it followed Suzanne out of the room. “I never get any excitement anymore, what with Drake not letting anyone in the house unless he has five references and a comprehensive background check… ” The door closed on the demon’s voice. Gabriel knelt next to me, tipping my chin up to look into my eyes. I let him look, feeling mentally battered. “What has happened to you?” I hesitated for a moment, remembering Gareth’s words. “They will kill you,” he had warned, but that didn’t make sense, not on an intellectual or an emotional level. The only vibe I was getting from May and Gabriel was one of sympathy and concern.
“Baltic,” I said, licking my lips, my thoughts finally stopping their endless spinning to coalesce into one solid thought. My voice was rough, my lips dry, as if I’d been exposed to the elements for a very long time.
May murmured something and moved over to pour me a drink. It was spicy, very spicy, redolent of cloves and ginger and cinnamon, and it burned as it went down my throat, but it was a good burn. It filled me with energy as it pooled in my belly, allowing me to focus my thoughts.
“What about him?” Gabriel asked.
I took another sip, enjoying the burn. “Is Baltic here? In London?” Gabriel and May exchanged glances. He said, “He was here the day you collapsed. After that, we believe he returned to Russia.” “To lick his wounds, most likely,” May added. “He was soundly defeated by Gabriel, Kostya, and Drake. Three of his guards died, and we captured his lieutenant, a woman named Thala.” “Well, unless I really am going insane, I think he’s returned. I believe I saw him in Green Park.” I explained about seeing the two men, and the vision that followed, although I left out specific details. “There’s just one thing that confuses me — the man I saw in the park does not look like the man I’ve seen in my dreams. If it’s Baltic I’ve really been dreaming about, then he couldn’t be the man in the park.” “Yes, he could,” Gabriel said slowly, getting to his feet. “I think something happened when Baltic was reborn. I think it changed his appearance, both dragon and human.” “He was reborn?” I asked.
“Of course — you don’t know. Or rather, you don’t remember,” Gabriel said. “Baltic was killed three hundred years ago.” Well, that was a bit of a kicker. “Who killed him?” “His right-hand man. Kostya Fekete.” “Kostya?” I gaped at him, truly gaped. “Tall, black hair and eyes, little cleft in his chin, square jaw — that Kostya?” “Yes. You’ve seen him?”
“In my dreams, yes, but he is Baltic’s friend.” “Was. He was Baltic’s friend,” Gabriel said. “The day came when Kostya realized that Baltic’s mad plan to rule the septs was destroying the black dragons, and he put an end to it by killing Baltic, but not before the damage was done. The black dragons were all but exterminated.” “By who?” I asked, my voice a whisper.
“Constantine Norka, the wyvern of the silver dragons.” I slumped back, my brain reeling. It was just too much to take in, especially since I realized with a shock that, cling as I might to the idea that I was insane, I was beginning to believe that they could all be right, and I really was a freak of nature, a dragon trapped in a human body.
How sad is it that insanity was preferable to that?
Three hours later I sat surrounded by dragons. Evidently a sárkány was a big deal, being held in a large conference room of a very chic hotel, and attended by a number of people who looked perfectly ordinary. A long center table that would seat about twenty dominated the room, while chairs lined the walls. A podium stood at one end of the room, and at the other end a huge white screen was lowered, indicating there was going to be some sort of visual display.