The Knight of Her Dreams (Dragons and Dreamphasers) (45 page)

Julianna glanced up at his
eyes.  “You wouldn’t deceive a bride-to-be, would you?” she whispered back.

The man laughed with a
shake of his head.  “No, fair maiden, and certainly not in your case.  In fact,
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you’re removed from this party a few hours
early, if your future husband has any say in the matter.”  That did brighten
her mood, and she smiled warmly.  “Feel like dancing now?”

“With stars at my feet,”
she replied, earning the pleased cheers of her friends.

All in all, it proved to be
a most enjoyable evening.  The men, while boisterous, turned out to be much
like the first man, making her laugh as they danced.  Jarissa and the girls—not
to be left out, of course—fairly leaped from their table to join her at the
invitation of one of the men, and thus, Julianna learned a whole new definition
of what bridal showers could be like.

Not that Dominick didn’t
indeed show up to rescue her halfway through it, cleverly sneaking them both
out to find time alone...

Unknown to her, this action
—when realized by the guys and the gals—incited a major ruckus among the separate
groups who then sought each other out, arguing that the groom and bride-to-be
weren’t supposed to
disappear
from their own celebration parties.

It was a pointless argument
though, since the groom and bride-to-be had cleverly gone to a place other than
their dream castle, and were nowhere to be found.

As to what they’d done in
their seclusion...

Julianna smiled at the
memory as she went about her work, feeling that nothing could remove her from
the wave of happiness she was floating on.

At first she thought she
was imagining Roger’s voice behind her, now talking with Almira, but as the
voices grew louder, her face drained of color and she stopped typing.

“Our company has always
admired the way you do business,” he said.  “Which is why they’ve sent me as a
representative to settle the details of the account you’re proposing.  I hope
we can come to a mutual compromise.”

“Oh, I’m sure we will,”
Almira replied with enthusiasm.  “Mr. Collins... or may I call you Roger?”

“Roger would be fine,” he
agreed, folding his arms with a smile.

“You’re kidding me…”
whispered Julianna, shutting her eyes in frustration as her suspicions were
confirmed.  Roger had business ties
here
now?  Maybe she could
arrange for a transfer.

Wait a second!
her angry thoughts
interrupted. 
If Roger is working with this company, he’ll be dealing with
Almira alone.  I have nothing to worry about, so what do I care what he does?

Not one damn bit
, she decided, typing more
briskly.

As if sensing her
agitation, Roger glanced in Julianna’s direction, a smile curling across his
mouth.  Ah, so she knew he was here, he surmised.  Good.  Then maybe she wasn’t
as immune to him as she seemed to think.

He strode towards her,
while Almira kept pace with him, looking ahead curiously to follow his stare. 
Miss Sherborne? she thought, surprised.  What would he want with the likes of
her
? 
Now if he wanted a
real
businesswoman... she herself was more
than available.

“And who is this
enterprising lady?” he asked, surprised when Julianna refused to turn towards him.

“That’s Miss Sherborne,”
Almira fairly hissed.

“Rather efficient I see,”
said Roger, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.  “Are all your workers too busy to
speak for a brief moment?”

“Busy doesn’t describe this
one most of the time,” murmured Almira. 
Too busy daydreaming, if anything!
she thought.  “Miss Sherborne, if you can interrupt what you’re doing, we have
a visitor from...”  Noting the girl’s ignorance as she continued typing,
seeming unusually preoccupied, Almira’s eyebrows sharpened.  In a much louder
tone, she continued, “Miss Sherborne, would you mind paying attention to a
prospective client of our firm?”

Julianna sighed once,
ceasing her typing, and prayed for inner strength.  Replacing her dismayed look
with a plastic smile, she lifted her head to turn towards the pair.  “I’m
listening,” she said quietly.

Clearly forcing a smile,
Almira gestured towards Roger, who was now grinning knowingly.  “This is Mr.
Collins, who’s going to be working with us for the next several months, as soon
as a contract can be worked out and signed...”

“Ah,” interrupted Roger,
raising one finger.  “That’s only
if
we can come to a final
agreement on terms,” he reminded her.  Julianna was surprised to see Almira
displaying a cowed look. 
No
one ever cowed that woman!  Either
she
really
wanted this deal... or perhaps Roger?

That thought almost had her
laughing.  Roger and Almira?  In some ways, it certainly seemed fitting.

Somehow though, she doubted
that match was on Roger’s agenda.

“Yes, of course,” murmured
Almira.  “If we could return to my office, perhaps we can work out the
details.”

Ignoring her, Roger turned
towards Julianna again with a broad smile.  Extending his hand, he said gently,
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sherborne.”  Unable to refuse in front of Almira,
she shook his hand, finding it difficult to get him to release hers afterward.

“And most
interesting
to meet you here too, Mr. Collins,” she replied, aiming thinly veiled sarcasm
at him.  “Now if you’ll excuse me, this is an office, and I have work to
finish.”

Before she could turn
again, he moved to stand in front of her.  “You seem quite efficient already,
Miss Sherborne.  “Perhaps a little change of scenery over lunch could provide a
break from this workload you seem to have.”

“Knowing Miss Sherborne,
she’ll be too busy spending lunch with her co-worker Ms. O’Neill,” protested
Almira.  “You see, she always meets with her, and I’m sure they wouldn’t like a
sudden change from the norm.”

“Well then, in this case
they can make an exception,” replied Roger, almost icily.  Almira nodded
mutely, catching sight of an odd pleading look in Julianna’s eyes.  It seemed
almost as if she didn’t want to go to lunch with Roger any more than Almira
wanted her to.

A moment of rare agreement
between the pair.

“Mr. Collins, we’ve made it
a policy that our workers don’t associate in the dealings with our clients.”

“Not even when some
constructive feedback would be appreciated from the secretaries in this
division?” he asked.  Before she could reply, he continued, “After all,
Almira... I can call you Almira, can’t I?”  She nodded.  “If we’re to be doing
business, it would be in the interest of my company to know whom we’ll be
working with.  Less than that, and I’d think we should be looking elsewhere,
and advise our other business clients similarly.”

Almira’s eyes widened at
the negative possibility, while knowing where this was leading, Julianna
instantly spoke up.  “
Mr.
Collins, my job description doesn’t say
anything about owing my lunch hour to the company.  What I do with that time is
of my own choosing.  If you need assistance, one of the other secretaries can
help you.”

Roger smiled at her, but
she didn’t miss the underlying challenge in it.  Turning from her, he started
to walk away, nodding once to Almira.  “It’s been a pleasure meeting with you. 
Perhaps some other time our two companies can be more agreeable with each
other.”

Going beyond the niceties,
Almira grabbed his arm, flashing an angry look at Julianna.  “Miss Sherborne,
considering your questionable job performance lately, I’d say this business
lunch would only begin to make up for it.  If you value your job, you’d best
reconsider your decision.”

Julianna frowned silently
at the implication.

There’s
no
justice
in the work world these days.

*****

Still less justice existed
in Dark Haven, a bar on the opposite coast of Barokka, equally known, but more
often avoided.  While Lost Limbo had scattered patrons from the whole spectrum,
Dark Haven catered to the darker and shadier inhabitants of the island.  If an
innocent unfortunate wanderer came here—not knowing its reputation—that
wanderer could find himself subject to much more than trouble, and might never
be able to leave.

Dual merely smiled when he
entered the building.  Ah yes, Dark Haven was just like a second home to him.

In moments, he’d found the
one he sought, beckoning towards a cloaked man across the room.  Like the
shadows he was named for, the man Shade slithered towards him, his black cape
swishing along his equally black boots.  Somewhat older and rail thin, though
strong, Shade had the highest agility and dexterity, and the special boots and
cape he wore masked all sound of his movement.  While one might first cast him
off as insignificant, in truth, he was one of the most deadly assassins in
Barokka, although he often roamed in outer Chavernos as well.

An assassin who used his
knife to pry secrets from people’s minds.

Not that he always did the
actual killing.  More often, he waited amidst the shadows to collect
information that his clients would need to finish the job themselves.  His most
deadly ability was akin to Kiri’s ability to mind-read.  Except, he could also
delve beyond a person’s mere surface thoughts to pick out a person’s fears, or
seek out information that was thought to be carefully hidden from all others.

Under different
circumstances, this ability could have brought him great renown and done great
services for the wronged individuals of the world to see justice done, but
Shade chose to serve darker purposes instead, as mercenary as anything else.

“Dual,” his sharp voice
hissed, reaching out a slender hand to clasp the other’s.  “Been awhile since
you’ve graced us with your presence.  How did your search for the map go?”

“We recovered it, of
course,” Dual replied offhandedly, toying with his dagger, “and I was hoping I
could pay you a small sum of the treasures to carry out a favor for me.”

Shade smiled eerily.  “For
an ally, a small sum is all I’d require.  What information do you seek?”

“Something simple really,”
he replied, leaning forward.  “I need for you to search Dominick Westbrooke’s
thoughts for the location of a certain woman’s residence.  You see, due to the
dreamphasing bond we all share, I was able to meet this woman in the
dream-state the same as everyone else the other night, when he used the bond to
draw his friends together.  But unfortunately, in order to find her myself, I
need to know exactly where she resides.”

“I see,” agreed Shade, with
a nod.  “Give me the woman’s name, and I’ll get the information before
nightfall.”

“Her name is Julianna
Sherborne, and she’s currently Dominick’s betrothed.  Is this enough to go on?”

“I would imagine so, since
his thoughts must be with her often.”  Leaning back in his chair, he smiled
thoughtfully.  “So tell me, what do you have planned for this woman when you
find her, as if I need to ask?”

Dual laughed slightly. 
“Very astute.  Tonight, I have a plan to separate them, since a threesome is
out of the question.  After that, I intend to use this Julianna to prove to
that idiot Westbrooke once and for all just what I’ll do in reality if he keeps
meddling in my affairs.  I imagine afterwards, he’ll steer clear of me for her
sake... if, of course, he still wants her after I’m through with her.”  Taking
a deep draught of ale, he slammed it to the table.  “It’s about time he feels
the same pain of love shattered with the woman
he’s
betrothed
to.”

Shade’s eyes glittered,
remembering the incident with Dual’s late fiancée Caralei well.  Nothing could
fuel an assassin’s wrath more than to lose what was most important to him, and
Dual’s dark future was solidified that evening.

“Ah, yes,” Shade said
knowingly through a short laugh, raising his drinking glass.  “To the sweet
taste of revenge.”

“Something my former,
trusted
friend
earned years ago,” hissed Dual, staring ahead
blankly while taking another long drink.  Shade stared at him coolly, keeping
his glass where it was until Dual finally noticed.  “To
revenge
,”
he agreed, lifting his own glass to clink against the other man’s with
finality.

*****

“Since when have you become
a murderer?” barked a sharp voice, causing Dominick to whirl about in shocked
surprise.  “Dragons got your tongue, son, or would you care to answer me?”

“Dad... Mother... what are
you doing here?” he asked.

The man known as Discord
turned to his wife with a slight sneer.  “He’s been living with Riff too long
obviously, since he can’t seem to answer a question without silence or another
question.”

His wife Warp seemed to
agree, casting a worried smile at their son.  Some argued that she didn’t look
old enough to be Dominick’s mother, since her fair hair was still gold with no
hints of gray, and her striking deep blue eyes—similar to her son’s—were still
warm and youthful as ever.