Bride Of The Dragon (8 page)

The next day at the jewelry store, Gabriel found himself pacing the floor irritably as a gem empath named Christopher surveyed their inventory in one of the back rooms. They’d had to bribe him an enormous amount just to sneak in for the day, and he’d refused to stay beyond that. Too risky; he’d lose his license and face prison if he were caught.

Christopher’s extortionate rates weren’t the reason that he was irritable, though. It was his fiancée, who was still stubbornly pretending that she wasn’t meant to be with him.

Kelly had refused his thoroughly charming attempts at seduction the night before. It simply defied common sense. She wanted him, he wanted her, he was damn good at sex; why was she letting a silly thing like principles get in the way of a night of screaming, back-clawing pleasure?

Humans. He just didn’t understand them.

“Excuse me.” Marvin stalked up to him and gestured at the closed door where Christopher was looking over their inventory.

“You have a problem?” Gabriel snapped. He was not in the mood right now.

Marvin glared at him. “There’s an empath here. Why is he here?”

“That’s not your concern.”

“I’d say it is my concern.” Marvin’s eyes flashed with fury. “You only called him in after Kelly Henderson visited the store.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“She’s been bad-mouthing me.”

“Why, what could she possibly have to say about you? Is there anything you forgot to tell us when you applied for work here?”

Marvin went pale.

“You’ve seen proof of my abilities,” he whined. “I’ve identified numerous power gems for you.”

“Several,” Gabriel corrected him. “You’ve identified several.”

Marvin’s tone turned wheedling. “It’s not like you can get rid of me. You need me to find you healing gems.”

Well, they needed someone for that purpose. They’d never told Marvin why they had a particular interest in healing gems, and it wasn’t his business. But they did need someone to identify any gems that might have healing powers. So far, none of them had worked, and it had turned out that the Dragonsblood’s powers did not involve healing.

And time was running out.

Which made it more crucial than ever that they found the kind of gem they were looking for. They’d almost had the right kind of gem, and then… Damn Calder. Self-righteous bastard.

“Yes, we need healing gems – and there are apparently several in the store that you’ve missed. Who knows what else you may have missed, if that’s true?” Gabriel felt anger flowing through him at the thought. Had the solution to their problem already slipped through their fingers because they’d misplaced their trust in Marvin?

Marvin gave him an offended look. “If you don’t trust me, then there’s no reason for me to continue working here. I’m handing in my resignation effective immediately.”

“So you’re quitting before the auditor gets a chance to tell us what he’s found.” Gabriel fixed Marvin with a hard, angry gaze.

Marvin turned and stalked out of the store, and let the door slam behind him.

* * * * *

Back in her room, Kelly logged on to her laptop. She was curious about Gabriel’s snide comment about the Rossi family, so she started searching for information about them. She knew that they’d owned the Dragonsblood since the early 1940s, and that her family’s firm had insured it, but she hadn’t bothered to do much research into the family themselves other than to run a criminal background check to ensure that they’d never been accused or convicted of any felonies, especially insurance scams.

A regular Google, Bing and Yahoo search turned up nothing. They didn’t have social media accounts, and they didn’t own any businesses that she could find. Not surprising; they were an obscure, independently wealthy family. Not every rich person lived their life in public like reality TV stars.

She turned to a news archive database that she had access to. To her surprise and dismay, she saw that the Rossis had collaborated with the fascists in World War II and had been accused of stealing the belongings of political prisoners. Unfortunately, the Rossis had only stolen from people whose entire families had been wiped out, so there had been no one left to reclaim their looted goods or press charges against the Rossi family after the war was over.

They’d been poor before the war, and then after the war they’d been rich – with stolen paintings, jewels, antiques and money.

Well, now she just felt gross. She was trying to get a jewel back for a bunch of slimebags – or their descendants, granted, but still. They were living off looted and pillaged wealth that should never have been theirs.
Treasured family heirloom, my ass
, she thought. It had been
somebody’s
treasured family heirloom, and now they were dead.

Glumly, she closed her laptop, and spent the rest of the afternoon casually wandering through the areas of the castle where she was allowed to go and concentrating on mentally scanning for power gems until her head hurt so badly she wanted to cry. She found a few when she wheedled an excuse to visit Tabitha’s room, and Tabitha cheerfully showed off some of her jewelry collection. Her collection was enormous, and the power jewels that she owned were very mild. There were garnets that would make a dragon shifter mildly sleepy, and there was some ebony that could cause nausea.

Kelly finally gave up and went to take some more aspirin. If this case didn’t give her an ulcer and a permanent migraine, nothing would. She’d never had to spend this much time using her powers before; it was getting to the point where as soon as she started scanning, her head started throbbing right away. She was going to have to take a break from it.

She was probably wasting her time searching the entire castle anyway. She was pretty sure that the ruby was in the south tower, but until she could get close to it, she figured she might as well eliminate all the other possibilities.

Teresa had gone off to sulk; when Kelly checked on her, she was sitting outside in the rose garden berating Winthrop about how terrible the Kingsleys were, and he was gloomily agreeing.

When Teresa finally finished with her tantrum, Kelly called her over.

“Did you get anything useful from him?” she asked.

Teresa scowled at her in annoyance. “What are you talking about?”

“He’s complaining about the Kingsleys. Did he give you any useful information?”

“They have no respect for tradition; Tabitha actually wants to wear cream to the wedding, which is far too close to white; they drink cocktails before noon; they use appallingly bad language—”

Kelly waved her hand impatiently to cut off the verbal torrent. “No. Did you get any useful information about their history as jewel thieves? Anything about the Dragonsblood?”

“Of course not. Why would he tell me anything like that?”

“Did you even try? You’re the one who’s desperate to wrap this up and get home to her fiancé.”

“No, I did not try. There wouldn’t have been any point. He’s too loyal to them.” But Teresa looked guilty as she said that.

“You mean you were too busy enjoying the excuse to sit there and complain to someone who doesn’t get up and walk away when you go off on your tirades,” Kelly said irritably. “Because he can’t. Because it’s his job to sit there and keep an eye on you. So stop abusing him.” She turned around and stalked off.

Going several days without sex with Gabriel was making her surprisingly itchy and irritable.

“For your information, Winthrop actually agrees with everything I say!” Teresa yelled after her. Always had to have the last word.

Fine,
Kelly thought wearily, it wasn’t worth arguing with Teresa about this. She was starting to get another headache without even using her powers.

That night, the whole family went out to dinner at a North Lyndvale restaurant called the North Pole. North Lyndvale featured restaurants and entertainment that was ice-themed, since the ice dragons lived there. There were skating rinks that were open year round, there were ice dragon ice-hockey teams, and there was a snow park where children could go and make snow forts and throw snowballs at each other.

The North Pole featured an ice-sculpture dinner show, in which ice dragon sculptors on a stage created gorgeous crystal structures and juggled ice bubbles and tossed ice spears at each other. The stage had a North Pole theme, with icicles dripping from the ceiling. The ice dragons were in human form, wearing white-and-blue spandex costumes with sparkly scales on them.

Emerson had gotten permission from his probation officer to leave the castle grounds for the evening, as long as he was home before 10 p.m.

“Tabitha,” Kelly said, as they looked over the menu.

“Yes, dear?”

“Some of the silverware seems to have accidentally fallen into your purse.”

“I’m sure it didn’t,” Tabitha said, blinking innocently.

Kelly looked up from the menu with an expression of polite disbelief. “Put it back, so Gabriel doesn’t have to waste his time coming back here with the silverware tomorrow,” she said, and kept staring at Tabitha until she finally reached into her purse with a martyred sigh and put the silverware back on the table.

Gabriel had his hand over his mouth and was laughing so hard that tears filled his eyes and leaked down his cheeks. Emerson was making strangling noises and hiding behind his menu, but his shoulders were shaking with merriment.

“And what do you think is so funny?” Tabitha asked Gabriel furiously. “You’re not too old for me to whip your tail, young man.” And then she shot out a small jet of flame and burned Emerson’s menu right out of his hands. Emerson didn’t try to hide it; he threw back his head and roared with laughter.

“Oh, mother. I haven’t seen anyone hand you your butt in ages. This is even better than the dinner show.”

“Rotten filthy pig swill!” Tabitha cursed, and her eyes turned bright red.

Gabriel and Kelly both looked up and stared at her, surprised by the vehemence in her voice. “Well, that’s a little strong,” Gabriel said mildly.

“Not you, although it certainly applies.
Them.
What on earth are they doing here?” Tabitha said, glancing towards the front of the stage. The Maplethorpes were there, glaring daggers at the Kingsley family.

Gabriel shrugged. “Who cares?” he said. “Maybe Pandora’s looking for a new victim. I mean fiancé.”

Pandora ignored her food and stared at Kelly without blinking, a ferocious scowl puckering her small, pretty face.

“Wow, I can literally feel the hatred rays burning my flesh,” Kelly said, sipping on a glass of red wine. “It’s kind of nice. The air’s a little chilly in here.”

Dinner arrived a short time later. The dragons all had steak, and Kelly had pasta. Pandora and her family kept glaring steadily at them as they tucked into their dinner.

“Would it be a bad idea to say, ‘Careful or your face will freeze like that’?” Gabriel grinned and shoved a hunk of steak into his mouth. “Get it? Because we’re in ice dragon territory?”

“Your comedy routine needs work,” Kelly mused. “You should stick to jewel thieving. I mean jewelry sales.”

Evangeline took a few bites, looking sullen and annoyed. “This is kid stuff. This is stupid,” she complained, glaring at the ice dragons on the stage. “My friends are outside at the park across the street. Why can’t I go hang out with them?”

“You’re speaking to your schoolmates again?” Gabriel asked her. Kelly remembered how the girls had snubbed Evangeline on the day of the fair.

“Who cares? I’m bored.” She narrowed her eyes.

“If you’re going to have that attitude, please, do leave,” Tabitha said with annoyance.

Evangeline took on a wounded look. “Great. My own family doesn’t even want me. What a surprise,” she said. She stood up with a dramatic flourish. “Nobody wants me. When I turn eighteen, I’m going to go be a hermit and live in the desert by myself.”

“Don’t forget to write,” Gabriel said.

Evangeline responded by kicking him in the shin and stalking out of the restaurant.

Gabriel glanced at Kelly. “I’m hoping we have boys,” he said to her.

“I’m hoping you seek professional help,” she informed him. “But dinner is delicious, thanks.”

“I like her,” Tabitha observed drily. “It’s exhausting being the only one in the family who abuses you. I definitely needed reinforcements.” Apparently she’d already forgiven Kelly for the silverware incident.

Gabriel shook his head. “With a mother like that,” he said to Kelly, “How could I possibly have been expected to grow up normal?”

As they pushed their plates away, an attractive dragon couple who appeared to be in their late twenties strode up to them and greeted Gabriel.

“Kelly, this is my cousin Orion Garrison, and this is his much-too-good-for-him wife, Cadence,” Gabriel said. “Orion, Cadence, this is the woman I hoodwinked into getting engaged to me.”

Cadence rolled her eyes in sympathy. “I know how that goes,” she said, sliding into the seat next to Kelly.

“You do?”

Cadence laughed. “Kind of. I heard about the Fair Maiden thing. That was brilliant. My engagement wasn’t quite that dramatic; basically, I just hid out at Orion’s castle to avoid an arranged marriage, and then whoops, next thing you know I’m engaged, then I’m married and there’s four dragonlings.”

At Kelly’s startled look, she added, “Don’t worry, I’m apparently freakishly fertile. You probably won’t have multiple babies.”

Kelly glanced nervously at Gabriel and scooted her chair away from him. “Four?” she echoed faintly.

Gabriel shot Cadence a reproachful look. “You aren’t being particularly helpful,” he informed her. “I’m trying to convince her not to flee my castle, change her name and go in the Federal Witness Protection Program.”

“She’s known you for a few days and she’s still here.” Cadence shrugged. “I’d say she has a strong constitution. Or terrible taste. Either way, I think you’re good.”

“So other than basically kidnapping a bride, are you staying out of trouble, cousin?” Orion asked Gabriel.

Kelly snorted, halfway hiding it behind her hand.

Orion grinned at Gabriel. “So is that a no? You’ll never change, will you? Well, we’ll leave you to dinner. And congratulations.”

“Call me if you need help with the wedding planning,” Cadence said, handing Kelly a card with a phone number on it. Kelly thanked her and tucked it into her purse.

A few minutes later, a murmur ran through the crowd. Kelly looked up. Everyone was staring at the stage.

The ice dragons had stopped performing. They stalked over to the edge of the stage. The expression on their faces had changed; their eyes were blazing blue with anger.

“Is this part of the show?” Kelly whispered to Gabriel.

Before he could answer, the dragons began blasting Pandora’s family with streams of icy air.

The Maplethorpes leapt to their feet, screaming. Their chairs went flying. Their hair was frozen and dripping with icicles, their faces rimed with frost as they pushed through the crowd and ran for the door.

The ice dragons jumped off the stage, running after them, but the dragons in the crowd, already on their feet, rushed over and blocked them. There were fire dragons, there were ice dragons, there were clouds of steam and screams of rage.

Gabriel grabbed Kelly. “We need to get you out of here,” he said. “You’re not fireproof.” He quickly hustled her out of the front door, keeping a firm grip on her, protecting her from the screaming, hysterical crowd and from blasts of fire and ice. His family was close behind him.

When they got outside and crossed the street, they saw the Maplethorpes were out there, shivering, frantically combing icicles from their hair with their fingers.

“Where’s Evangeline?” Tabitha asked, looking around, worried.

They all looked around, and Kelly spotted her, walking out of the park towards them, alone. Her friends must have run off when everyone had run out of the restaurant screaming. If she had even been with anyone; she’d seemed like she just wanted to get out of the restaurant and sulk.

“Is she really safe out here by herself at night?” Kelly wondered. “What if someone tried to mug her?”

Gabriel snorted. “Please. I’d worry more about the muggers than I would Evangeline. She’d roast them like a pig on a spit.”

The Maplethorpes spotted Kelly and stormed over to her, only to be held back by several centurions who’d just arrived at the scene.

“You did this!” Pandora’s father shouted at Kelly as he pulled icicles from his hair. “You have powers! I’ve heard about you! You’re a witch!”

“I’m an empath, not a witch, and I most certainly did not,” Kelly protested.

Gabriel put his arm around her shoulders. “We should go home right now,” he said to her, and they all piled into their limousine, driven by one of his servants, and headed back to the castle.