I Dream of Dragons (Boston Dragons) (2 page)

What was that about?

A woman in a crisp business suit joined them and stood next to Brandee. She seemed happy to see her. It wasn’t unusual for travelers to bump into people they knew at the airport, so Amber didn’t think anything of it until…

“I might have a candidate for you,” Brandee whispered to the businesswoman, who gave Brandee a smile.

“Do you now?”

Brandee tipped her head in Amber’s direction, but she was already on her way to a stall. When she turned to close the door, she saw the woman pat Brandee on the head and say, “Good girl. I’ll take it from here.”

Brandee didn’t seem to mind the businesswoman’s condescending behavior. She simply smiled and then addressed her child. “Is it time for a diaper change, honey?” The toddler nodded.

When Amber exited the stall, Brandee and Nikki were gone and the businesswoman was washing her hands…again.
Must be a germophobe.

She observed the flight attendant until Amber glanced at her and smiled. She was about to tell the woman to have a good day when suddenly she wasn’t there. The whole restroom wasn’t there!
She
wasn’t there. She was surrounded by fog and couldn’t see a thing.
Where the hell am I?
Suddenly the fog cleared and she was alone. What. Just. Happened?

* * *

By some miracle, Rory and his sisters made it to Iceland. They stood on the shore, shivering.

“I need a coat and a place to get out of this wind,” Shannon said.

“We’re
all
freezin’ our arses off,” Chloe snapped.

“At least the leprechauns gave us our clothes,” Rory said. “Jeans and sweaters are better than your nighties.”

Chloe snorted. “To be sure. That was so feckin’ nice of them.”

Rory’s teeth chattered. “I spotted a cave off the south coast. We have our own source of heat. If the place is private, we’ll be safe. But as far as coats are concerned, if either of you have a suggestion, let me know.”

Chloe withdrew a credit card from her pocket. “I think Molly wants to go shopping.”

“You can’t!” Shannon said. “That doesn’t belong to you.”

“These are desperate times, Shannon,” Chloe hissed out between her teeth.

“Look,” Rory said. “The credit card company will reimburse Molly. I’ll take Shannon to the cave I saw, and we’ll get a fire going. Then I’ll come looking for you. Where do you think you’ll be, Chloe?”

Chloe bit out some kind of oath. “Sure. Baby our baby sister some more. That’ll really help her get along in the real world.”

Rory set his hands on his hips. “If we split the chores, we’ll be comfortable that much sooner. We can stand here and freeze to death while we argue, or you can give me a direction so I can come find you in an hour or so.”

“Fine,” Chloe said. “I’m headin’ northwest.” She pointed a long, un-manicured finger at a building right off the dock. The place looked like a clothing store with all sorts of outerwear in the window. “What size do you wear?”

Rory rolled his eyes. “Just buy me somethin’ extra large and extra warm.”

“You can send Molly whatever-her-surname-is a check to cover it later,” Shannon said.

Chloe laughed. “Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll be sure to give the police our return address too.”

Rory grabbed Shannon’s wrist before he started swearing and marched off in the opposite direction.

“You don’t have to drag me, Brother. I’ll come willin’ly.”

He sighed and let go. “Thank the gods. At least one of you can be reasoned with.”

Although she had to run to keep up with his long-legged strides, she caught him. “Chloe’s not really upset. It’s just her way.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re not that way. Otherwise I’d probably be an only child by now.”

Shannon laughed.

It was the first smile he’d seen from her since they’d left Ireland. He knew she hadn’t accepted their lot. It was just a tiny truce until the next hissy fit. He also knew better than to bring up the name Finn Kelley or she’d begin to weep again.

How had he wound up in these circumstances? They hadn’t done a thing. The leprechauns had hidden their castle from humans for centuries, and for the last several years, while the castle crumbled, they’d lived quietly in a cottage on the property far down the dead-end road, away from prying eyes. Suddenly they had been dragged from their beds and marched against their will to the castle, which was no longer hidden but standing—albeit crumbling—on the cliffs in plain sight of the ocean.

When the leprechauns demanded that the Arishes produce the gold that was missing from their coffers, Rory had thought they were daft. Apparently Clancy had discovered the loss and had convinced his cronies that the dragons’ love of treasure had finally gotten the better of them.

When Rory and Shannon reached a deserted part of the coast, they found a large cave in which they could make a temporary home. Dragons weren’t seafaring creatures, and he was glad to be on solid ground.

Shannon’s face screwed up and tears glistened in her eyes.

Oh no. Here we go again.

“What it is, luv?” he asked, dreading the answer.

“Is this what we’ve come to? Livin’ in some hard, dank cave? I miss our peat fire and our lovely flowered sofa. There’s not a comfortable spot anywhere.”

Rory patted her shoulder. “I need you to make it as homey as you can. Just start a small fire and keep it goin’. I have to fetch Chloe and show her where we are. The three of us will put our heads together and come up with a better plan soon.”

Shannon’s gaze dropped to her feet. Not long after, he saw shivers rack her body and a fat teardrop fall from her chin. “I hope Chloe gets us some warm boots—I mean Molly.”

He thought he’d pull out every last hair on his head if he had to put up with his soggy sister much longer. “Come now. How can you start a fire if you’re just goin’ to put it out with tears?”

She took a few deep breaths, and he could see her trying to wrestle herself under control.

“That’s a good lass. I’m sure you can warm the place a bit while I’m gone. Just don’t move so Chloe and I can find you again.”

“What am I supposed to keep burnin’, Brother? Rock?”

Do I have to think of everything?
“We’ll bring some newspapers and branches back as fuel and give you a break. For now, just heat the rocks with your breath. That may produce a bit of steam, but it’ll warm the air.”

Shannon sighed, then took a deep breath and blew out a stream of fire aimed at the cave walls.

“Perfect. Thank you, luv. I’m off to fetch our surly sister.” Before Shannon could think of anything else to complain about, he rushed out the cave’s entrance and picked his way over the rocks toward town.

* * *

When Amber finally reappeared in the airport bathroom, she mumbled, “I need a vacation,” and went straight home to her apartment building. She thought she must be losing her mind and just wanted to lie down—after having a much-needed drink. She ignored the sign on the elevator door. It was in small print and official looking. Probably a notice that the landlord would be spraying for bugs or something. She spied the same notice on each tenant’s door as she fumbled with her keys. At last she let herself into her apartment and grabbed the notice, intending to look at it later.

Dropping her flight bags outside the kitchen, she took a mini wine bottle out of the fridge. She glanced at the notice on her way to the living room and almost dropped the bottle of Chardonnay.
An eviction notice?

“Holy mother!”

“I’m right behind you,” a woman said.

That caused Amber to whirl around and repeat herself loudly.

“I said, I’m right here!” The white-robed woman slapped her hands over her ears. She had long, thick, white hair. Her robe was belted with a vine of ivy.

“Hey, aren’t you the woman from the bathroom? Brandee’s friend?”

“Sheesh. Have a seat, girlie. We need to talk.”

Amber hesitated. The woman wasn’t carrying a weapon, although something about her seemed ultimately threatening. As if to affirm the feeling, thunder rolled and the sky outside the window darkened. Amber stumbled backward and sat down hard on her beige linen sofa.

“That’s better,” the woman said. “I’m aware you don’t know who I am, so I’ll introduce myself. I don’t have time for your disbelief, so save me the trouble and just go with it. Okay?”

Amber nodded woodenly.

“Good. The truth is, I’m Mother Nature. Those who know me call me either Goddess or Gaia. That’s my title and my name. You should begin by calling me Mother Nature just to drive the point home.”

Amber heard herself say, “Okaaay,” in a little girl’s voice.

“Here’s the good news. You won’t have to worry about that eviction notice. I have a job for you, and it won’t matter where you live. I know you’re getting disenchanted with your job as a flight attendant.”

“How do you know that?”

The woman smirked. “Really? I’m Mother freakin’ Nature. I know just about everything. If people were meant to fly, I’d have given them wings.” She cocked her head. “Why did you become a flight attendant anyway?”

“I—uh. I wanted to see the world.”

“You mean you wanted to meet a rich businessman and do a little traveling before you settled down. How’s that working out for you?”

Her back went up. “He doesn’t have to be rich.”

“But relationships with men in general aren’t working out. Right?”

She sighed. “Not so much. Every guy I get close to assumes I’m cheating when I’m out of the country and eventually finds a ‘backup,’ or he’s just pissed because I’m not around much. And don’t even get me started on the pilots.”

“So, how much of the world have you actually seen?”

Amber grimaced. “Pretty much the same routes over and over again.”

“So…nothing but the same foreign airports and hotels.”

“You may have a point.”

“Of course I have a point. I always have a point. I don’t chat with mortals for my health. Speaking of my health, spreading all that noxious jet fuel so close to my ozone layer is the most harmful thing you can possibly do to me. Did you know that?”

“Um…not really. Is it?”

“Sheesh. How dumb can you be? You blow a hole in my sunscreen, and you think I won’t get burned?”

“I…I don’t really make those decisions.”

Mother Nature—or whoever she was—rolled her eyes and sat down on the chair across from Amber. “Well, you may be able to make those decisions in the future. I want you to be my muse of air travel.”

Amber’s brows shot up. “Huh? You’re offering me a job? As a…what?”

Mother Nature sighed. “I knew you’d have a hard time believing all of this. I gave you a trusting nature but also let you develop some healthy skepticism. Look, I don’t have time for a lot of chitchat. I’m in desperate need of some modern muses. You’ve met one of them. Brandee is my muse of photography.”

“I thought muses took care of poetry, dance, and other ancient arts.”

The woman let out a groan. “Exactly. The original nine are useless in this modern age. I tried to get them to reeducate themselves in new areas, but it’s been a disaster. I can’t even get the muse of epic poetry to rap—or the muse of dance to crunk. And forget music videos! Technology is way beyond them, and I can’t wait any longer for my muses to catch up. Your world is growing too fast. Therefore, I’ve begun the task of finding a few modern muses. Any questions so far?”

“Um, yeah. A few hundred…”

“Well, hold your questions for the end. I’ll pair you with someone who’ll have the patience to answer them. In other words, not me.”

Amber wanted to throw her hands in the air and say something sarcastic, but she still wasn’t sure how crazy this woman was—or
she
was, so she just waited.

“Good. Let’s see now…” Gaia tapped her chin as if deep in thought. “I know. I’ll pair you with Brandee since you’ve already met and she’s the one who recommended you. That way if she doesn’t answer your questions thoroughly and you screw up, it’ll be all her fault.”

This insulting woman was trying Amber’s patience. How could she get the woman out of her apartment? Playing along with her was getting old.

“Why don’t you give me Brandee’s phone number? I’ll give her a call sometime.”

Mother Nature frowned. “You still doubt me, glitter tits?”

“What did you call me?”

“Look down.”

Amber was bare to the midriff and indeed her breasts were covered in glitter. She gasped and tried to cover herself with her hands.

“Relax. I’ve seen them before. Heck, I made them.”

Amber was struck dumb. If she protested, who knew what the woman…or goddess would do. “I—I…”

“Mother Nature” waved her hand and Amber was wearing her uniform blouse again. Then the self-proclaimed deity shouted at the ceiling. “Brandee, I need you.”

To Amber’s shock, the redheaded passenger from her latest flight appeared in her living room.

“Yes, Gaia. How may I be of service?”

“This is the woman you recommended for the muse of air travel, correct?”

Brandee turned to Amber and offered a friendly smile. “Yes. I liked her immediately and thought she’d fit in with the others. As you know, I can sense people’s innate goodness and I’m a very good judge of character.”

“Well, she needs to talk to someone like you or Bliss. One of my modern muses. She has questions, and I don’t have the time or patience to answer them.”

“Understood,” was all Brandee said.

The woman looked relieved and smiled. “Thank you. As a reward for your help, I’ll send an influential customer to visit your gallery tomorrow.”

Brandee grinned. “Thanks! We’re doing quite well, but I can always use more—”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mother Nature disappeared into thin air and Amber let out the breath she’d been holding in a whoosh.

“Where did she go?”

Brandee shrugged. “Who knows? She likes to hang out in her office building on State Street, but she could be creating natural disasters like floods or earthquakes. You just never know with her.”

“Is she really…”

“Mother freakin’ Nature? Yeah, she is.” Brandee chuckled. “You probably pictured someone wearing rainbows as a halo and patting kittens, didn’t you?”