Fire Me Up

by Katie MacAlister

  "You defy sept laws?" he growled into my mouth, pinning me against the side of the limo, his body hard against me.

  "No. I just want to drive you wild for a change. Come here, dragon, and let me feel your fire."

  We both still had our clothes on when the limo stopped at the hotel, although Drake's hand was beneath my blouse, his finger teasing my breast while I had both hands on his rear end, trying to pull him closer to the part of me that was all but sending up flares in order to attract his attention.

  Neither one of us noticed that the car had stopped. We did notice, however, when Pal, unable to see into the limo through the tinted windows, opened the door and we spilled out onto the pavement.

  "'Oomph," I grunted when Drake landed on top of me, knocking the breath out of me and causing me to bite his tongue. A pair of shoes stopped beside my head. Drake heaved himself off me, touching his mouth and pulling away a finger red with blood.

  "You will be seen in an inappropriate state by many people." The dispassionate voice drifted down to me.

  "Dammit," I snarled, grabbing Drake's arm to haul myself to my feet. 'That's it. I've had it with you! You are so on my list! Come back here, you coward!"

  Drake stopped me from going after the deranged Diviner. "Aisling, do not. You will just embarrass yourself."

  "I don't care. He's deliberately tormenting me, and it's going to stop now," I said, fighting the restraining arm he'd wrapped around me for a second, then realized that indeed, the people who'd been silting outside the hotel were all watching us avidly. I stopped struggling, straightened my shirt, and tried to look like I hadn't just been indulging in a makeout session. "Sorry about your tongue. How bad is it? Let me see."

  He refused to stick out his tongue so I could determine how badly Td bitten him, ushering me into the hotel instead, ignoring all the titters and giggles from the people who'd seen our memorable arrival.

  The people at the front desk acted like I was some sort of Typhoid Mary. "'Hi, I'm Aisling Grey, and I was wondering—"

  "I am very well aware of who you are, madam," a starchy man with graying hair and a shiny navy blue suit said. He looked unhappy, angry even. I searched my mind for reasons the hotel staff would be angry at me and came up blank. "It is good you stopped here. It will save me the trouble of visiting you. The management of the Thermal Hotel Danu wishes to respectfully suggest that you seek lodgings in another hotel."

  I goggled at the man. He wanted me to leave? "I beg your pardon? If this is about the spot on the carpet, I can promise you it wasn't my dog. That spot was there when we first got to the room—"

  'The management's objection to your presence is not due to a spot on the carpet," the man said, speaking carefully, as if he had a mouthful of marbles and was afraid of swallowing one of them.

  "But—why?"

  "It has been drawn to the management's attention that you have been personally involved in the two recent tragedies that have blighted the good name of the Thermal Hotel Danu. This hotel has been in this location for one hundred and twenty-seven years. We would like to remain for one hundred and twenty-seven more, and I highly doubt that will be possible if customers continue to drop dead while in the hotel. It is for the good of the hotel that we request that you seek lodgings elsewhere."

  "You can't possibly believe I had anything to do with the deaths of those two women? I barely knew them!"

  The man tidied an already tidy penholder. "You have, I believe, been detained not once but twice by officials regarding the deaths?"

  "Yes, but that was just routine questioning—"

  "Nonetheless, the staff are beginning to talk. They say you are the angel of death. They say that all those people whom you meet with end up dead. Such things are foolishness, naturally, but the fact remains that you are connected to the deaths. We wish to avoid any more, thus we politely but adamantly request that you remove yourself and your belongings from the hotel. We realize that you must be allowed access to the premises during the hours of the GODTAM conference, but beyond that, we ask-that you locate yourself elsewhere."

  "Is there a problem?"

  I straightened up as Drake's voice rolled around me. I debated handling the situation myself, explaining to the hotel man that despite a couple of odd coincidences, L had nothing to do with the Guardians' deaths, but decided that one of the perks of having a boyfriend who was arrogant, bossy, and rich was leaving such petty details to him.

  "This guy is trying to throw me out of the hotel," I said, and gave Drake a questioning look.

  "Is he?" Drake's eyes considered me carefully.

  "Yes, he is." I waited for a moment, but Drake didn't do anything but look at me expectantly. I prodded him. "Aren't you going to do something about it?"

  "That depends. What will you give me to help you?"

  My jaw dropped. "What? I'm your mate—you can't ask me that anymore!"

  "It seems to me I just did."

  "Drake!"

  Laughter lit his eyes. He was teasing me, the great big lizard. I almost pinched him, I was so irritated.

  Drake turned to the hotel man, the amusement in his eyes quickly changing into something a whole lot less pleasant. I thought the guy was going to swallow his tongue. His whole body panicked, his hands suddenly trembling as they clutched the penholder while he stammered out an excuse.

  "Mr. Vireo, I had no idea this lady was connected with you. She has been involved in two recent deaths—"

  'The lady is my fiancee," Drake said smoothly, but beneath his velvet voice menace hung heavi ly in the air. The man's ringers spasmed, dropping the penholder. "She is therefore under my protection. You will accord her every respect you do me. Is that understood?"

  "Yes, sir. Of course, sir. But the bodies ..."

  "Do not concern me. I trust she will not be bothered further."

  "Of course not, sir. My felicitations to you both. The hotel is delighted to have Miss Grey continue her stay with us."

  Drake gave the man another dragon-eyed look, then gave me a gentle shove toward the bank of elevators.

  "Fiancee?" I asked him through my teeth, trying to hold on to my tight smile in case anyone was looking at us. "I don't remember agreeing to marry you."

  "It is the closest mortal equivalent to being a mate," he answered.

  "Oh. I suppose so. And thanks for bailing me out there, although I could have done with a little less teasing. Why didn't you tell the man that I didn't have anything to do with the murders? He probably thinks you're covering up for me."

  He stopped in front of the elevator that Pal and IstvSn were holding for him. "Are you coming with me to the room?"

  I glanced at my watch. "Damn, the wildlife park will be closed in twenty minutes. I had hoped I could run back out there and give Gyorgy his amulet, but there's not enough time right now. I want to call the vet's office and then try to make it to at least one workshop. And then there's the evening dinner. I've had to miss so much of the conference, I'd like to try to socialize and meet a few more Guardians."

  "Do not forget our appointment later," he said, stepping into the elevator.

  "Right. Seven. How fancy is this shindig?" "Fancy?" His gaze burned green. "I would suggest that you wear something ... washable."

  The elevator doors closed on my confused "Huh?" It was only when I had the lobby phone in my hand that I realized he had never answered my question about why he didn't tell the man at reception that I wasn't involved with the murders.

  Drake, I found out later, didn't lie unless he felt it was absolutely necessary.

  16

  Two hours after I hung up the phone to the vet's office, relieved to hear that Jim had regained consciousness and, although groggy, seemed to have suffered no permanent effects of its misadventures, I almost wept at the sight of a familiar—and more to the point, friendly—face.

  "Nora, thank heavens for you. Um. That is, unless you don't want to sit with me?"

  Nora looked at me sitting all by my lonesome
at the big round table in a ballroom that was packed solid with GODTAM participants. "Why wouldn't I want to sit with you?"

  I lipped my head to indicate the nearby tables. They were all full. "Word has gotten around. Evidently I have become some sort of a social pariah."

  "Ah. Because of the Guardian deaths, you mean?" she asked as she pulled out a chair and sat. I was so pathetically grateful that I wasn't going to have to sit by myself for dinner,,I didn't even flinch when she mentioned me and the deaths in the same breath.

  "Yes. Notihat I had anything to do with them. You've heard what everyone is saying, I'm sure. No one's accused me of outright murder, but they're saying that I'm cursed, that Guardians who make an appointment with me stand a chance of dying in their sleep, just like Moa and Theodora."

  Her eyes were dark, all-seeing behind the garish red glasses. "I have not died in my sleep, and I had an appointment with you."

  "You're one of the lucky ones," I said grumpily, then immediately apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, but things just seemed to have gone to hell in a handbasket for me lately. Most of it. Some is good. But a lot has been difficult."

  "You're new to this world," she said, nodding her understanding. "It can be overwhelming at first, but you're struggling against what is, rather than accepting it. You should meditate, be at one with who you are, and with your new vision of the world. It will help you cope."

  "I think it's going to take a whole lot more than a little meditation to fix my life, but I'll try. Oh, no, not the gruesome twosome!" I ducked my head and pretended fascinated interest in a loose thread on the cuff of my sleeve.

  "What? Oh."

  Nora's polite interest as she looked behind her shamed me. I might feet that because she had written me off her list of potential apprentices I didn't have to maintain a dignified appearance with her, but it didn't mean I had to let her see the catty side of me.

  "Sorry," I said quietly, a fake smile of welcome plastered on my lips. "I'm just tired. I didn't mean to say that. They're nice." In a horrible, cruel sort of way.

  "Well! All alone, are we?" Marvabelle asked in a voice loud enough to guarantee attention would be drawn to us.

  I held on to my smile, biting back the urge to tell her it was too late, everyone already knew rhat I was there. They had to know—people avoided me like I was a plague-bearing, oozing-sored leper. With an STD. "Hank, just look who's here—it's that Ashley who keeps gettin' herself arrested, And Nora! You two wouldn't be"—her pale gray eyes took on a sly cast—"workin' together, would you?"

  "I wish we were, but I'm afraid Nora has had a lot of better-qualified applicants for the spot of apprentice/' I said politely, sharing my smile with the ever-silent Hank as he sat down next to Nora.

  "Is that so? Well, I just hope that she counts her blessin's that your meeting went off without her endin' up dead like all the others." Marvabelle picked up her napkin and waved it toward a waiter. I braced myself, hoping against hope that our table had one of the local Other-world denizens who had been drafted into service. I'd been told earlier, by a chatty Mage, that the conference folk tried to fill the ranks of meal servers with people who would not be startled to see demons sitting amongst all the other guests. Luck, for once, was with me. The waiter didn't so much as bat an eyelash at me. I waited until Marvabelle demanded water from the waiter (he hadn't bothered to bring water when it was just me sitting here) before inquiring politely of Hank how he was enjoying the conference.

  "We're having a great time, aren't we. Mother?" he answered, opening his mouth to say more, but his wife wasn't one to sit around and let someone else have the limelight.

  "Yes, we are, for the most part. The conference people might have picked a nicer-quality hotel," she said with an irritated sniff. "Hank and I are used to the best hotels, naturally. And the prices they charge for a simple sandwich! Scandalous! But the workshops are good—some of them—although they don't really have enough ad-dressinI the needs of oracles. So much of what they offer is geared for Diviners, too, and you and I both know they're just not the same thing. The two panels I was on were standin' room only, of course. There were many people who came up afterwards to tell me how much they appreciated my plan to license all Olherworld practitioners. It's to keep the riffraff out," she said to NoraT with a meaningful look my way. "As it is now, anyone can call themselves a Guardian without havirT any form of trainin'."

  "Oh, speaking of that," I said, determined not to let her bait me into responding, "I was told that you're the person to talk to about undergoing the ritual to officially be recognized as an apprentice."

  Her smile, which had never left her lips, brightened significantly. A little shiver of worry rippled down my back. "Ye-es," she drawled. "I am, but I had no idea that you hadn't undergone the ritual. They shouldn't have allowed you to register for the conference. Only accepted apprentices are entitled to approach mentors. I shall have to report this oversight to the appropriate officials, naturally. They will no doubt ask you to leave the conference."

  Oh, great. Kicked out of a hotel and a conference, all in one day. My star certainly was rising.

  "There's no need to do that," Nora said thoughtfully. "If you allow Aisling to undergo the ritual tonight, she will be officially recognized and can enjoy the rest of the conference."

  "Aw, what a shame—I'm busy tonight," Marvabelle replied, her shark-toothed smile getting even sharkier as she turned it on me. "In fact, I'm busy the whole rest of the conference!"

  "That's not a problem," Nora said quickly, stopping me from grinding my teeth. Her face was placid, but there was a little spark in her eyes that told me she didn't appreciate Marvabelle's attitude any more than I did. "I will oversee the ritual. I can rearrange my appointments this evening to accommodate Aisling."

  Marvabelle's smile faded. "'Only people with special traininI can do that. You know that as well as I do."

  Nora pulled the snowy white linen napkin from her water glass as the waiter approached with a pitcher. "I am a class three mentor now, Marvabelle. I've had a lot of training since the days when we both studied under the same mentor. I can train, evaluate, and administer proxy tests as required." She looked at me. "I can be free at nine tonight, if that is good with you."

  I flashed her a look of pure appreciation. She might not think I was apprentice material, but she was obviously a woman of honor. "I wish I could take you up on iu but I have a dragon thing I have to go to later, and I doubt if it will be over by then."

  Marvabelle wasn't going to stand for anyone doing her out of a chance to get rid of me. "I'm afraid that if Ashley here doesn't pass the ritual tonight, I'll have to report her to the committee. You know the rules as well as I do, Guardian. She'll have to go if she's not recognized."

  "Would eleven-thirty work for you?" Nora asked, ignoring Marvabelle's near-gloating.

  "I'll make it work," I answered, making a mental note to explain to Drake that I had to leave the green dragon party no later than eleven, 'Thank you, Nora. I really appreciate you going to all this trouble on my behalf."

  She murmured something about it being an interesting experience.

  We managed to pass the remainder of the meal in polite conversation even though Marvabelle baited me as often as she could. I, hoping there might be a chance Nora would overlook the poor impression I'd made on her and still consider me as an apprentice, was on my very best behavior.

  Hank contributed little to the conversation, confining himself to opening his mouth only to shovel a forkful of food into it. Whenever Nora and I tried to draw him out, Marvabelle would answer for him, drowning out any reply he might make. He didn't seem to be upset or even bothered by her, so I assumed he was so downtrodden that he didn't even notice anymore.

  Dinner ended, the evening's speakers did their thing, and a number of awards were given out to outstanding Mages, Theurgists, Guardians, and so on. I hadn't the slightest idea what the awards of excellence were for, but I applauded with the rest of the
audience. Nora scooted over to sit next to me, softly giving me a brief resume on each winner, and by the end of the banquet I felt a little more as if I was getting a handle on the whole Other-world thing.

  That feeling withered into a dusty little ball and blew away with the arrival of the Otherworld police force—in the form of Monish and my friend the happy Diviner.

  "Aisling, it is with much regret that I must act in my official capacity as Uau-dela officer of the watch and speak with you regarding the deaths of two Guardians," Monish said as everyone in the ballroom gathered up their things to leave. "If you have a short amount of time now, we can conduct the necessary interview."

  Marvabelle snickered. Monish's chocolate-brown eyes flickered to her before returning to me.

  "Oh," I said, feeling less than brilliant. "You're the watch? That's like police?"

  Monish nodded and gestured toward a silent (but smug-looking) Paolo. "There are seven of us. Paolo and I were asked to take this detail since we had met you earlier. The L'au-dela committee felt it was to your benefit to be questioned by someone you knew."

  "That was nice of them," I said, suddenly nervous. I hadn't done anything wrong, and heaven knew I'd been grilled by the real police for hours concerning my rela-. tionship with both Guardians, but the worst the police could do was detain me. I had a feeling the immortal version of the police had a lot worse things they could do. Sure, we can talk now, although I'd appreciate it if you can keep it as short as possible. I have an important function to go to in a little less than an hour,"

  Under Nora's watchful—and Marvabelle's anticipato-riry gleeful—eyes, the two men escorted me to a small Meeting room off the main conference hall. I was half expecting Paolo to trot forth some comment about my threat I0 take care of him earlier, but he said nothing about that. In fact, he said nothing to me at all, merely nodding whenever Monish explained something or made a pertinent point. It was a bit of a letdown, to be honest. I figured he would hit me with at least one "You will find yourself in deep, deep trouble" prediction.