“Thala won’t be pleased?” I asked Gareth as awareness returned to me. “What does she have to do with the price of tea in China?”
“The price of what?” he asked, looking more irritated than usual.
“It’s an expression. Why would Thala care if you and Ruth took me in after I was—” I sucked in a huge amount of oxygen as realization struck me. “She’s the one who killed me, isn’t she?”
For a moment, I could swear I saw fear flicker in his eyes, but that emotion was soon replaced with familiar belligerence. “I don’t know anything about who killed you, and I don’t give a damn who did the job. All I care about is getting what’s owed to me, and your high-and-mighty dragon had better get his dread wyvern ass in gear and come up with the gold, or he’s going to be missing his bit of tail. And I don’t mean the one in his dragon form.”
I glared at him, wanting to say so many things, but determined to keep as much of it from Brom as was possible. “So what happened after you brainwashed me outside of Dauva? You took me to Paris?”
“How long does it take to get a few guards?” Gareth grumbled to himself as he peered out through the open door toward the stairs. “I could have gone to Seville and back by the time she stirs her stumps. What? Yes, we took you to Paris, fat lot of good that it did us. It turned out that anyone we could have ransomed you to was dead, so we were stuck with you. Ruth was ready to drop you in the Seine, but then you went into one of your funks and started manifesting gold, and we knew we were set for the rest of our lives.”
“The fugues,” I said, rubbing my forehead before glancing back at Brom. He had gotten dressed, and was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching with silent interest. “They started all the way back then?”
“Why else do you think we’d keep you around?” Gareth answered with another of his unpleasant smiles. “Every six months you’d drop to the floor and go to sleep for a few weeks, changing lead to gold in the process. Everything was fine until you decided you wanted to have a husband and a kid.”
I straightened up, ready to leap on him if he said anything unkind toward Brom, and since I didn’t want him to pursue that line of thought, I said with a nonchalance I knew would goad him, “It seems to me, then, that I’ve more than paid you for supporting me, and later Brom. This particular goose will not be laying any more golden eggs.”
“How do you know?” He looked me up and down. “You didn’t manifest during your last fugue, when you were with the silver dragons, but that was because they didn’t put lead in the room with you, right?”
“No, they didn’t, but that doesn’t mean anything. The dragon inside me is waking up, Gareth. Slowly, but it’s waking up. And that means that whatever weird circumstance that caused me to alchemize gold is no longer there.”
“You don’t know that. In another few months, we’ll know, but until then, we want what’s due us.” He cocked his head to listen. “Finally. Where the hell have you been, Ruth? It’s not enough that Sullivan has to make me get up at this ungodly hour, now you’re dragging your feet and keeping me from going back to—what are you doing here?”
“I’ve been asking myself that for weeks, now,” a female voice answered, and to my utter surprise, a buxom woman, who was a little bit taller than me appeared in the doorway.
“Maura?” I said, a little spurt of anger following the word. “I imagined you’d be in Nepal with your boss. If you’ve come here to kidnap or shoot us again like you did in Latvia—”
She raised her hands in a gesture of peace. “I wouldn’t dream of doing either, and even if I wanted to—and I assure you I’ve learned my lesson when it comes to shooting anyone—I couldn’t.”
“Why?” I asked, my curiosity (as always) getting the better of me.
A man answered. “Because I wouldn’t let her.”
“Who the hell are you?” Gareth demanded to know as Savian loomed up behind him, a gun in his hand. Before he could answer, Gareth narrowed his beady-eyed gaze on me and added, “Just how many people did you bring with you?”
I reached behind me for Brom, pulling him tight against my side. “As many as it takes to ensure my son is safe.”
“Sullivan!” Brom protested, his face filled with embarrassment.
I loosened my hold on him a little, watching Maura carefully.
“Hullo,” she said to Brom.
“Hi,” he responded, giving her a thorough once-over. “You shot Baltic?”
“My men did, but I didn’t mean for them to do so.”
I glared at her.
She coughed and looked away. “It was all very unfortunate. I was extremely upset about everything, and still regret that things turned out the way they did.”
“How did things turn out?” Brom asked.
“It’s not important,” I said, transferring my glare from the untrustworthy Maura to Gareth, who was sidling around her to get out of Savian’s line of sight. “What is important is what on earth you’re doing here. Or, wait, are you still doing Thala’s dirty work? Or are you now out for hire, and Gareth has hired you to help him kidnap an innocent child?”
“I do not kidnap children,” she said, straightening her shoulders, giving her long brown hair an annoyed flick over her shoulder. “Dragons do not war against children. Everyone knows that.”
“Gareth doesn’t,” I said somewhat acidly. “Where’s Baltic?”
“At the foot of the tower, beating back a handful of dragons who showed up with a woman. Where are the others?” Savian asked.
“Baltic?” Gareth ran toward the door. “God damn it, Sullivan, you brought that wyvern here? He’s just supposed to bring gold, not come into the fortress himself!”
I listened as hard as I could but didn’t hear any sounds of fighting. Nonetheless, I was worried. Baltic was perfectly capable of handling a few dragons on his own, but I didn’t want him hurt. “Of course Baltic came with me; he loves Brom. Nico and Holland are upstairs one floor, Savian. Can you let them out? Baltic probably doesn’t need any help taking down whatever dragons Ruth found, but I’d hate for him to get carried away and kill them rather than just disable them.”
Gareth’s eyes widened with panic.
“Here, you take this, and keep her highness covered,” Savian said, handing the gun to me after gesturing with it toward Maura.
“Why? I admit there’re a few things I’d like to say to her about her actions of the past, and more important, about how her family is worried sick over her, but really, I don’t think we need her.”
“We do,” Savian said, pushing Maura farther into the room. “She knows the secret way out.”
“Which, if you will recall, Bart, or whatever your name is, I offered to show to you, so you can stop treating me like a prisoner.”
“The name is Savian Bartholomew, and you’re definitely a prisoner. Don’t let her get away, Ysolde.”
“You’re making it very difficult for me to do what’s right, you know!” Maura yelled after him as he left the room and ran up the stairs to the floor above.
“You offered to help us?” I asked Maura. “Why? You’re Thala’s second-in-command. And before you say anything, I should mention that the last time I spoke with your mother, she was very concerned about your being so involved with this outlaw tribe that you tried to kidnap me a few months ago, not to mention all the other nefarious things you’ve done.”
“Yes, because I’m so very much the queen of nefarious,” Maura said, looking strangely drawn. “I offered to help your wyvern when he jumped me outside because I do not happen to agree with using children in this manner. And yes, I was Thala’s lieutenant, but—”
A sudden explosion outside gave us all a moment of pause.
“That sounded like an arcane compression blast,” I said thoughtfully. “One of your tribe must have pissed off Baltic enough that he’s using magic.”
“Right, that’s it. I’ve had enough of you and your insanity,” Gareth said, shoving Maura hard into me, sending us backwa
rd until we tripped over a wooden chair and went down in a tumble of arms and legs. “You still owe me gold, Sullivan! I expect it to be delivered.”
“By the rood, get off me—thank you. Brom?” I struggled out from under Maura, worried sick for a moment that Gareth had grabbed Brom as he escaped, but luck was once again with me.
“I’m here. You OK?” he asked when I got to my feet and limped hurriedly to the door, rubbing my shin as I did so.
“I’m fine, but your father has escaped, dammit. I hope he runs smack-dab into Baltic.”
“I’m fine, too, not that anyone asked,” Maura said as she got to her feet. “You dropped your gun, Ysolde.”
I took it when she held it out to me, thanking her. “I do appreciate your offering to help us get Brom out, even if it seems otherwise. In fact, it more than makes up for shooting Baltic and trying to kidnap us, so I suppose really, we’re even on that score.”
“I truly am sorry about all of that,” she said, wringing her hands. “At the time, it seemed like the wisest thing to do, but I see now that what we were told about you was all wrong.”
“Who told you—” I started to ask, but stopped when Nico, Savian, and Holland thundered down the stairs.
“Brom! You’re all right?” Nico asked, coming forward to clap his hand on Brom’s shoulder, their approved method of showing affection.
“Of course. I’m not a baby,” Brom said with a scathing look.
“You’re far from that,” Nico agreed. “I’m proud of you for not being frightened by the situation. I know you must have been worried.”
Brom shrugged. “I knew Baltic wouldn’t let Gareth and the dragons do anything to me. Is Baltic going to beat up Gareth? Do we get to watch when he does?”
“Our first priority is going to be to get you to safety, my bloodthirsty child,” I said.
“Baltic says I get that from you. He says you’re the most bloodthirsty person he ever met,” Brom said with a rare grin.
“He is utterly and completely wrong.” I was unable to keep from hugging him just one more time, ignoring his protest. “I haven’t a violent bone in my body. Now, someone needs to go help Baltic.”
“Holland and I will go,” Nico said as he moved toward the door. “The thief-taker will stay to protect you and the other dragon.”
“My cup runneth over with joy,” Maura said somewhat acidly.
Savian gave her a sour look. “I’m not thrilled with the job, either, princess, but it’s what I get paid to do.”
“Mercenary and violent—what a charming personality you have,” Maura answered, looking at her fingernails with apparent fascination.
“Better than traitorous and trigger-happy,” Savian snapped back, glowering at her.
“I didn’t shoot Baltic, you horrible man; the dragons who were with me shot him!”
I ignored them both, bit my lip, and glanced at Brom. Now that I knew he was safe, I itched to help Baltic, sure that my presence would have a steadying influence on him, not to mention I might be able to avert potential disaster with my own—admittedly sometimes wonky—magic abilities. “Savian, I think you should stay here to protect Brom. And keep an eye on Maura, of course.”
Savian, in the middle of responding to yet another of Maura’s insults, frowned at me. “I don’t think Baltic would like you in the midst of any sort of battle, Ysolde.”
“Nonetheless, it’s where I’m going. Brom, I want you to stay with Savian, no matter what, all right?”
He started to shrug off my hands on his shoulders, but stopped when he got a good look at my face. “All right. But I’m not helpless, you know. I can make stink bombs. I read about it in the chemistry book I found downstairs.” He gestured toward the dusty and worn Spanish textbook that sat on the edge of his bed. “Those would be useful.”
“Of course they would, and if you have anything lying around up here to make them, then you have my full approval to do so, and drop them out the window at any of Maura’s tribe you see.”
“They’re not my tribe in the sense you mean,” she corrected. “I don’t lead them. I never did. I was just in charge of a small espionage team, one of whom you evidently turned into a rock, and the other two of whom abandoned me the moment your wyvern got pissed, so really, calling them my tribe is completely incorrect.”
“Espionage,” Savian said with a disbelieving snort.
Her nostrils flared at him. “I happen to be quite good at it, just as I am quite good at escaping tight situations.”
“Really?” He looked thoughtful for a moment, then whisked out a pair of handcuffs, and before Maura could do so much as squawk, slapped one over her wrist, and the other on his own. “There. That will ensure that you don’t escape before Ysolde is through with you.”
“What the—you can’t do this to me!” Maura wailed, struggling to get free from the handcuffs.
“I just did,” he answered with grim finality.
“Ysolde!” Maura appealed to me. “This is intolerable! Make him take them off. He can’t do this to me! I have things I must do, and I can’t do them tied up to this self-aggrandized, puffed-up policeman!”
“Puffed-up policeman!” Savian was clearly outraged. “I’ll have you know I’ve received three commendations from Dr. Kostich himself for my work with the L’au-dela. Three commendations!”
“Bully for you. And while we’re on the subject of bullies—”
“Can we argue about this later?” I interrupted, heading for the door. “Savian, you should probably take off the handcuffs.”
“I will. Later,” he said with a dark look toward Maura.
She growled at him.
“Brom, stay with Savian. Savian, I expect you to protect him with your life.”
“Of course,” Savian answered, and I read absolute sincerity in his face.
“Oh, this is just what I need,” Maura said, sighing. “For the last time, will you let me go?”
“Not until Baltic says we’re done with you. You’re just going to have to stay with me while I protect Brom and Ysolde.”
“I don’t mind helping with that. I like them. Ysolde, I will be happy to protect your son, too,” Maura said, an annoyed expression on her face as she glared at Savian, jerking the arm connected to his. “I did, after all, go against everyone here to offer to show you where the bolt-hole is hidden, so that you could take him out without anyone being hurt.”
“And I appreciate your help. We’ll talk later about your mother and grandfather and everything,” I told her, and giving Brom a steely look that warned him what would happen should he disobey me, I hurried down the stairs toward the ground floor.
I burst out of the building, braced and fully expecting to find Baltic, Nico, and Holland in full battle with the ouroboros dragons, but I saw…nothing.
“Well, this is anticlimactic,” I said aloud, looking at a whole lot of empty courtyard. To my left was a smaller tower, while behind me was the tower I’d just left. To my right, the silhouette of the partial remains of a third tower lurched drunkenly against the pinkish orange morning sky. Behind the semicircle made up of the three towers were two small stone outbuildings, the entire area composed of towers and buildings surrounded by the tall stone inner bailey wall.
The air was crisp and cold, and smelled fresh despite the reddish brown dust that lay thickly over everything in sight. The faintest whiff of pine drifted down from the alpine trees that grew on the slopes behind the fortress complex, making me think of clean mountain streams and brisk hikes into the forest. Birdsong rose thinly overhead, peppered occasionally by the cry from a hawk no doubt out hunting for his breakfast.
A scream of absolute rage had me moving before I was aware of it, pelting down a beaten track in the red dirt toward the main gate we’d been escorted through by the ouroboros guards. The gate, an anachronism of metal plate, was closed. It hadn’t been when we arrived, which meant someone had closed it. Baltic? Gareth? One of the ouroboros dragons? I hesitated for a moment, unsure
if I should open it to allow an easy exit, or leave it closed. Another scream from beyond the gate had me running for it, twisting hard at the intricate sliding lock, and pulling with all my strength to open it up.
A wave of brown beings, approximately four feet in height, with garish clothing and long, thin fingers, washed up the road, a few of the little beings darting out to grab an unwary hare or other small furry animal.
“Negret!” I swore under my breath, and, with superhuman strength, slammed shut the door and jammed home the lock. “Negret!” I yelled, spinning on my heel and running back toward the tower where Brom was located.
At that same moment, a familiar voice bellowed, “Ysolde!”
“Negrets are at the gate!” I bolted into the tower and ran straight into a large, hard object that I grabbed with both hands to keep from falling. “Baltic, negrets!”
“I know; we saw them.” He frowned down at me. “What are you doing inside the fortress? You were supposed to remain outside, drawing away the guards. I was to locate our son.”
“It’s not a contest,” I said, annoyed by his attitude enough to leave my main concern for a few seconds.
“No, but if we make a plan, we should all follow it.” He pulled me after him as he exited the tower, Brom immediately behind us. “You must take Brom and escape, mate. I will keep the attention of the attackers until you are well away from the area.”
“Are you crazy?” I shook him as best I could, which wasn’t easy because he was built like the steel gate out front. “I’m not leaving you here with those little monsters! They’re vicious, and cruel, and have an appalling fashion sense.”
Savian, Maura, and Holland gathered around us as I tried to reason with Baltic, but he was adamant.
“The half dragon knows of the location of the bolt-hole,” he said, nodding toward Maura. “You will take Brom, and go with Savian and her. We will stay here and draw the attention of all the others.”
“I have a name, you know,” Maura said. “It’s only two syllables, and not that difficult to remember.”
Sparks Fly: A Novel of the Light Dragons Page 11
