Sparks Fly: A Novel of the Light Dragons (9 page)

“Aisling, do not attack Drake. I assure you it’s not necessary,” Gabriel said, chuckling. “I am not offended by his request for payment. It is perfectly understandable that he should desire payment for what will be a difficult and risky venture. However, I am willing to assist Ysolde if she needs financial help, since she has not had the resources of a sept behind her.”

“Oh no,” I said, straightening up and lifting my chin. “This was originally my bargain with May for her help in getting Thala free, and although I greatly appreciate your offer, I will pay Drake. Somehow. Er…how much were you thinking, Drake?”

“I have money,” Drake said, ignoring Aisling when she continued to glare at him. “What do you have to barter?”

“What do you want?” I countered, feeling it was better to have the upper hand when negotiating with a dragon.

“Dauva,” he said simply.

“You’re kidding, right?” I asked.

He shook his head.

I sighed. “Dauva is not mine to give. What else do you want?”

“What do you have that is valuable?”

“We’ve just been through this,” I said, running my hands through my hair in agitation as I frantically ran over my meager belongings. What I needed was something similar to the light blade, something that had belonged to Baltic and the black dragons, but that had been taken away from us. Dragonwood and Dauva were out. Baltic’s talisman was out of the question, even if I knew where it was. The only other thing I could think of having been stolen from the black dragons was the Modana Phylactery, the one-fifth of the dragon heart Baltic had kept in his lair until Kostya had filched it a few months before.

“She thought of something else,” Jim said, plopping its big butt down on my foot and leaning on me. “Ear rubbles?”

“Jim, leave Ysolde alone while she’s thinking,” Aisling said, ceasing muttering at Drake long enough to glance at me. “
Did
you think of something?”

I eyed Drake. I couldn’t ask him to steal his brother’s shard as payment for stealing the light blade—that would just rack up another debt to be settled, not to mention the fact that Drake probably wouldn’t do it. Which meant I had to steal the thing myself. I wondered how hard it would be to get into Kostya’s lair. “Yes, I think I have—”

“I knew it! I knew you would be here! You thought to have meetings to find ways to destroy me, did you not? But I have found you out, and now, in front of these witnesses, you will accept my challenge!” A man’s voice rolled out across the room before he stalked through the closed door, stopping in front of Gabriel. “You, my godson’s brother, you will be my witness that this one, unworthy of bearing the title of wyvern, has accepted my
challenge at last and will give back to me the sept I, myself, created.”

“Constantine,” I said with a sigh, causing the man in question to spin around, a delighted expression chasing away his scowl.

“Ysolde! You are here? How fortunate, since I had not finished speaking to you when you left the shop.”

Drake glared at his mate. “I thought you warded the house.”

“I did!” She looked as surprised as Gabriel was exasperated. “Those wards were supposed to keep out all spirits.”

“I am not an ordinary shade. I am a dragon, a wyvern, and we are not governed by those laws relating to lesser beings,” he answered with aplomb before taking my hand and pressing wet kisses to it. “My adorable one, as always, perhaps we could continue our conversation in private?”

I was about to tell him that I would talk to him later, when a thought occurred to me. “You got through Aisling’s wards?”

“I believe we’ve just established that fact.” He relinquished my hand when I pulled on it. “My poor darling. All those centuries spent with Baltic have weakened your mind.”

If Constantine’s shadehood allowed him to get through Aisling’s wards, then perhaps he could do the same with any protection that Kostya had on his lair. If so, that would solve my problem of how to get the shard.

I smiled at Constantine until his words penetrated my brain. “By the rood! Did you just call me stupid?”

“Oooh, so not the way to woo the babes, Connie,” Jim said, giving his shoes a quick once-over before cocking a furry eyebrow at the former wyvern.

Constantine, who was obviously about to placate me, glared instead at Jim and said in a thoroughly outraged
tone that had Aisling and May both giggling, “
Connie?
Did that…that…what the hell is that thing?”

“It’s a demon, and its name is Jim, and it’s a friend,” I said, my hands on my hips as I flared my nostrils at him. I wasn’t normally the sort of woman who went around flinging her nostrils willy-nilly at people, but this was clearly one of those moments when such action was called for. I half wished for Baltic to be here, just so he could punch Constantine in the face and shut him up…but then I remembered not only my agreement with Constantine, but the new idea that had just struck me, and instead I kept my tongue behind my teeth.

“Hiya,” Jim said, allowing a little tendril of drool to coil down onto Constantine’s shoe. “I’m with Aisling, in case you’re wondering.”

“I wasn’t,” Constantine snapped. “And you will not refer to me by that appalling appellation again.”

“Nice alliteration,” Jim said before yelping when Constantine set fire to its head. It ran toward her, yelling, “Ash!”

“Stop it right now,” Aisling said, beating the demon on the head with a pillow to put out the flames.

“Do not give me orders, woman,” Constantine said grandly, flicking more fire toward her.

“Oh!” she gasped before starting forward toward him, but Drake was instantly there, his eyes glittering with ire as he shoved Constantine against the wall.

“You would dare lift a hand to me?” Constantine asked him, outraged. “Recall who I am, wyvern. Your father was my friend!”

“My father was a deranged madman,” Drake snarled with such menace that I stepped forward, angling myself between the two men. “Not that I ever believed the day would come when I would speak these words, but I begin to believe that Baltic was correct about you all along.”

“I think that’s one for team Soldy,” Jim told May.

“I think that’s two for her,” May answered.

“All right, boys, that’s enough,” I said loudly, pushing my way even farther between the two posturing dragons, one hand on each of their chests as I shoved Drake back a step. “Drake, back down. Constantine, you may have been dead for four hundred years, but you used to have better manners than would allow you to act so rudely to a wyvern’s mate in his own home. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for setting fire to Aisling’s personal demon like that, not to mention trying to pick a fight with Drake. Now just simmer down, both of you! We have plans to make, and I don’t have the time or inclination to witness a pissing match, especially one involving fire.”

Aisling applauded lightly. “Well put, Ysolde. Hackles down, Drake.”

Her husband shot her a look that would have scared the tar out of me, but he moved over to sit when she patted the spot next to her on the couch.

“Plans?” Constantine asked me. “Something to do with what we talked about?”

“No,” I said hurriedly, smiling widely at everyone. “Not exactly.”

“What—” Aisling started to ask.

“We were making some plans about having Drake find an arcane object,” I told Constantine, hoping to distract both him and Aisling at the same time.

“Ah.” He made a bored gesture. “I have no interest in such plans unless they concern that usurper of my sept.”

I bit back the response that no one had invited him there to begin with, reminding myself that antagonizing him would serve none of us well. I eyed Drake for a moment before speaking. “If I promise to pay you with an item that would be ample compensation for the work you’ll undertake for me, will you do it?”

“What item?” he countered, just as I knew he would, blast his dragon hide.

“I’d rather not say right now.”

Interest chased away the remnants of ire in his eyes. “I must be reassured that what you have to offer me is suitably valuable.”

“Oh, it’s valuable. It’s so valuable that by giving it to you, I’ll have no end of trouble with Baltic.”

He narrowed his eyes on me, then nodded. “Very well. I have no reason to distrust your word, but be warned that if the payment is not all that you swear it is, you will hand over Dauva.”

My eyes widened at his audacity even as Aisling protested with a gasped, “Drake!”

“I just got done telling you that Dauva wasn’t mine to give.”

“Nonetheless, an agreement made by a mate must be honored by her wyvern. Do you agree to my terms?” he said smoothly, ignoring Aisling when she continued to voice her opinion of his underhanded tactics.

I bit my lip, imagining what it would do to Baltic if I had to force him to give up his beloved Dauva. I had no choice, however. There was simply no other way, nothing else I had up my sleeve. “I agree,” I said slowly, praying that Constantine would be able to do the impossible, and take the shard from Kostya.

“What is this arcane object you seek that requires a large payment?” the man himself asked me, looking somewhat bored by the conversation. “What agreement are you making with Toldi’s son?”

“I’ll tell you that on the way to my car,” I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him after me as I moved toward the door. Constantine, who had been starting to fade into a semitranslucent (and thus incorporeal) state, solidified again with a besotted look on his face.

“Er…just a second, Constantine. Aisling, could I have a quick word with you?”

“Of course,” she said, gesturing toward a side door. “Private, I assume?”

“Yes. It’s…er…mate business. Constantine, please do not try to challenge Gabriel. I’ll be back in a minute.”

May and I followed Aisling into a small sitting room.

“Ysolde does not command me. About my sept, Tauhou—” Constantine was saying as I closed the door.

“What’s up?” Aisling asked, propping one hip against a small table.

“I want to ask you a strange question,” I said carefully.

“Whoa! Sex talk in private?”

Aisling rolled her eyes at the demon as it entered the room. “Hush, you. What sort of strange question?”

“It’s about Drake.” I considered how best to phrase my question.

Aisling made a face. “You’ve known him a lot longer than I have, judging by the vision you had a few months ago.”

“I knew him, but didn’t
know
him, if you know what I mean. Ugh. That sentence was confusing. What I want to know is whether you trust him.”

She blinked at me.

“OK, that one didn’t come out right, either.” I thought for a moment, trying to find the words that would not offend, yet make it clear what I was after. “If you weren’t Drake’s mate, and you had something very valuable that could possibly be misused, would you trust him to hold it without abusing it?”

She laughed, to my surprise. “That’s an easy question. I did, and I did.”

“You did?”

May looked as confused as I felt. “What did you trust Drake with that was so valuable?”

“Have you ever heard of the Tools of Bael?”

May’s eyes widened. “You didn’t have one of them!”

Aisling nodded. “I did. That was how I met Drake, as a matter of fact. He stole the aquamanile I was sent to Paris to deliver. It turned out to be one of the Tools of Bael.”

“I’m not familiar with that. What exactly are the Tools of Bael?” I asked.

“You don’t get to Abaddon much, do you?” Jim asked, snuffling me.

“I have enough things going on in my life that fortunately, no, I don’t.”

“The Tools of Bael are three gold objects that individually allow the bearer to tap into the power of Bael. Or they did. I heard from the Guardians’ Guild that they were destroyed shortly before Bael was banished. But before he was, they were objects of great power, and the three of them together had basically limitless power. Enough to topple the mortal world itself.”

“And you gave one of those to Drake?” I shook my head. “Before you were his mate? How did you know he wasn’t going to use it?”

“Because I knew by then that Drake might be many things, but he has never been power hungry. And he could have done a whole lot more damage than you know—you see, he already had possession of the other two Tools. He had to give them over to Bael a few years ago, but never once did he consider using them. So in answer to your question, yes, absolutely I would trust him with an object of great importance. Were you planning on giving him one, perhaps in payment for a certain task?”

“That’s what I’m thinking, yes. It just depends…”

“Depends on what?” she asked.

I smiled. “On some things that haven’t quite come together. Thanks for the honesty.”

“Any time,” she said, escorting us back into the library.

“And thank you for the wonderful lunch. My compliments to Suzanne. May, Gabriel—it was a delight to see you again, and just as soon as Baltic and I get settled in a home while Dauva’s being rebuilt, I’ll have you all over for dinner. In the meantime, Drake, consider yourself employed. I’ll be in contact about…er…things.”

Aisling hurried after us as I all but dragged Constantine to the door while saying the necessary polite things, but avoiding the penetrative look Aisling bent upon me.

“Where are you taking me, my forceful one?” Constantine said as one of Drake’s redheaded guards opened the front door. “I am not done with the silver pretender—”

“Yes, you are. Thanks, István. It was nice seeing you again. Pavel sends his best to you and Pál. Constantine, stop digging in your feet. I have something I want to say to you.”

“Something private regarding our plans?” he asked, following me when I exited the house. “Or something intimate? You wish for me to destroy Baltic once and for all, so that we might be together as one?”

“That is going to get old so quickly…. No, I lie; it already
is
old.” I scanned up and down the street, spotting Ludovic’s car a block away. “Just be quiet for a few minutes and let me talk. I don’t have much time, because Ludovic is convinced that every second on the street is a second where Thala is lying in wait to smash me to a pulp, so we’re going to have to make this quick.”