'Til Dragons Do Us Part (Never Deal with Dragons)

by Lorenda Christensen

  We turned toward the mansion. With the preparations officially in full swing, the crowd was growing exponentially.

  “By ceremony time, this place is going to be packed full of people. I hope Amanda took the dragons into account. Relobu has so many scaly visitors planning to watch from the roof, they might block the sun.”

  I laughed. “Funny you should say that, because Amanda made me ask one of the dragons to take some lights up and install them along the eaves.”

  Cameron looked at me askance. “And what did the dragon say?”

  I gave him a conciliatory pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, he very politely declined, saying they might interfere with the cameras you installed.”

  He nodded, satisfied.

  Since the bombing at Bridal Visions, Cameron was taking no chances. Every inch of the mansion was covered in a camera feed, and all of his team—including the dragons—wore two—way radios clipped to their person. Even in a pair of casual pants and a short-sleeved shirt, he looked ready to take on the world.

  “I’ve had a heck of a time putting together descriptions of the dragons for the security team. There were so many of them who’ve never allowed their picture to be taken, we had nothing to check against the guest lists but their names.”

  The rush of affection I felt at hearing him describe the lengths he’d gone to to ensure his friend’s wedding went off without a hitch made me more confident than ever that we were making the right choice by putting the painting back. Glad that I had the right to do it, I pulled his mouth down for a quick kiss.

  A large shadow passed overhead, and I looked up.

  “Looks like Trian is here.” We watched as he landed gracefully on the newly manicured lawn, just outside the seating area for the ceremony. “I’m going over tonight’s security game plan with him since he’s been out of pocket lately. Have you been officially introduced?”

  “Not officially, no. But I did run into him while I was in dragon form the other night. I’d mistakenly trespassed on DRACIM’s pastureland during one of my outings.” I told Cameron about the misstep that had me in desperate need for a foot bath, and Trian’s help in teaching me to morph more effectively.

  “I’m sure Sara is happy that you’re a fast learner.” He looked at my arms, the ones I’d kept in human form to cradle Myrna’s assistant after the bomb.

  I grinned and held them in front of me, and then focused my attention until they were both covered in a thin layer of scales. “I’ve been practicing. You know, just in case this DRACIM thing doesn’t work out and I have to join the circus.”

  “Hey, don’t knock a life in the circus. I’d be perfectly happy with an endless supply of peanuts and cotton candy.”

  “Yeah, but clowns totally freak me out.”

  “Have you had a chance to speak to Myrna about the job?”

  “Not yet. I figured I’d wait until after the ceremony. Or better yet, let them have a honeymoon first.”

  Trian’s black dragon form head appeared just behind Cameron’s, his eyes gleaming with humor. “I believe you and I have already met.” His voice, though not loud by a dragon’s standards, nevertheless had most of the television crews scrambling to capture some footage.

  Allowing my arms to return to full human form, I responded in dragonspeak. “I believe we have. Savannah Cavenaugh. Pleased to finally meet you, and apologies for not sharing my name earlier. I’ve had a recent...” I looked to Cameron, “...change of heart about hiding my abilities.”

  “Well, Savannah Cavenaugh, it is a pleasure. And I hope that after we finish up with this circus—” he jerked his head in the direction of the camera crews, “—that you’ll have some time to chat.”

  “I’d enjoy that.” Glancing at my watch, I gave Cameron and Trian one more smile. “Unfortunately, right now, I have an appointment with a gift room, a dining hall, and then a stylist before it’s off to find the ladies’ bower and get into my borrowed dress.”

  “See you after?” Cameron asked.

  I nodded and gave his hand a squeeze.

  As I turned back to the main house, I caught a glimpse of Simon as he slipped from the gardener’s cottage.

  The painting was back in its frame, and I was officially just a wedding planner’s assistant.

  So help me, God.

  * * *

  The actual ceremony was completely gorgeous—exactly as Amanda had planned—and Trian and Myrna were married with the maximum amount of fanfare and good wishes. I smiled as Simon and Jeanie gave me a discreet wave from their seats as I walked up the aisle and took my place next to Carol at the front.

  Lord Relobu was a perfect mix of good humor and grandeur, and Isiwyth and Doeho’s acrobatic feat drew applause from the human audience, and roars of pleasure from the dragons.

  But while Amanda almost passed out over the ruined tuxedo, I had to admit that Trian’s unscripted transformation into a dragon just before he literally swooped his new bride away into the sunset was the best part of the show. My boss calmed down somewhat when Glenda told her Trian had ordered a change of clothing just for that purpose, and the evening proceeded as scheduled.

  Cameron, playing double duty as security expert and model-quality groomsman, escorted me from the stage, gave me a quick kiss, and then hurried off to do whatever it was that he had to do, promising that he’d find me again at the reception.

  Smiling, I scurried over to help Glenda check on the last-minute arrangements for the game. Myrna and Trian had elected to do photos after the ceremony, but instead of the usual awkward small talk in the reception hall with strangers while the family members posed for pictures, Amanda had consulted with Bill for ideas on dragon entertainment. They’d settled on a game resembling dragon-style rugby, and judging by the way the dragons reacted when they noticed the prepared field, it was going to be a huge success.

  In the true dragon version of the game, a piece of meat was used as the ball, but Amanda wouldn’t countenance forcing the human crowd to watch as a dead duck was tossed back and forth. So the ball was determined to be an over-sized and half-filled water bottle. The dragons didn’t seem to mind, and after a few minutes, they were having a blast pummeling one another mid-air while attempting to get the ball across the opposing team’s goal line.

  The humans served as a willing audience, waving flags of red or purple that we’d handed out, depending upon the team they’d picked as a favorite. We were out there for quite a while, and the purple team had just scored the latest goal when the announcement was made that the reception was ready to start.

  As the crowd slowly started to move to the area that was serving as the reception hall, I grabbed my satchel and slipped into the bathroom to change. It took what seemed like forever to get all the buttons on my dress unhooked, but soon I was stepping into a pair of black trouser pants and a matching jacket. My duties as a bridesmaid complete, Amanda wanted me in my server’s uniform, just in case I needed to step in for the meal.

  I went to the sink and washed a bit of the makeup from around my eyes, noting that I looked just as flushed and happy as the bride, now that all of the stress and uncertainty of the last few weeks was officially over. I was looking forward to finishing up the wedding-assistant gig, and hopefully manage to sneak in a dance or two with Cameron.

  I’d just stepped back into the hall when a man in a crisp gray suit walked by, probably on his way to find a table at the reception. We continued down the hall together.

  He gave me a polite smile. “That was quite a wedding.”

  “It was, wasn’t it? Bridal Visions did a truly excellent job.” I snickered inside, realizing that all my time with April, the consummate sales lady, had started to take a toll.

  The man lifted his arm to take in all the artwork hanging from the wall. “Can you believe all this stuff? I remember seeing several of these pieces in my art history textbook. And here they are, just waiting for someone to look at them.”

  I thought back to my first day in the house
and had to stifle a laugh. “It is a bit overwhelming, isn’t it?”

  He reached down to smooth his bright red tie before looking back to me. “It can be, sometimes. I don’t think we’ve ever met, but my name is David. I saw that you were one of the bridesmaids. How do you know Myrna?”

  “Actually, I was just filling in for one of her friends. I’m actually the wedding planner’s assistant.”

  “Ah. I see. Well, it’s nice to meet you anyway.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you, David. I’m Savannah Cavenaugh.” I shook his hand.

  “Savannah Cavenaugh, hmm? I think we may have a friend in common.”

  I ran through the list of people I counted as friend—a pretty short list, all things considered—but came up blank. “Oh yes?”

  “Big guy, loves to eat, and is the worst pool player on the face of the planet?”

  I had to grin. “You’re a friend of Bernie’s.”

  David returned my smile, his hand slipping into the pocket of his suit coat. “As a matter of fact, I am. He mentioned that I could probably find you here. You’re working as a wedding planner? Pardon me for saying so, but usually Bernie’s friends tend to stray to the other side of the law.”

  I laughed. “Yes, many of them do. But no, I’m just a plain old wedding planner. Well, an assistant, really. I haven’t decided whether I want to stick with it long enough to do much else.”

  A lie. I knew without a doubt that wedding planning was absolutely not for me. In fact, I’d already talked to Amanda about the possibility of allowing Jeanie to take my place during seasons when she needed an extra set of hands. An eye for beauty just wasn’t something that could be taught. Jeanie had it, I did not.

  “Arranging flowers, picking out cakes, and helping to choose wedding music—that sounds like a really cool job.”

  I smiled. “It can be.”

  We’d just rounded the corner, and I was about to excuse myself to go get my marching orders when David spoke.

  “I’m really sorry to bother you, but I thought maybe you could help me out.”

  “Sure. Anything. That’s what I’m here for.”

  David spent another moment rummaging around in his pocket, and my smile faded when I saw what he’d been fishing for. A tiny gun, barely bigger than Emma’s teapot, rested comfortably between his elegant fingers. I met his gaze, and he gave me a small shrug, as if to say, “Yeah, being held up at gunpoint isn’t that much fun, is it?”

  I had to say, it had never been on my list of fun things to experience.

  I watched the barrel, wondering whether I’d have a chance to morph into my dragon form before he could manage to get a shot off.

  “Prometheus.”

  The man inclined his head.

  “I could have sworn you’d be taller.” An old line, but truth be told, I was having a little trouble thinking at all at the moment. I wondered just how long it would take me to get a layer of scales between me and his gun.

  “If you’re thinking about shielding yourself with your scales, I’d recommend against it. Even if you manage to block my shot, I’d still have Emma, and then we’d be right back where we started. I want you to tell me where Bright Seasons has been moved.”

  “What do you mean you have Emma? What did you do with her?”

  “That’s nothing you need to concern yourself with right now. I need to get that painting, and I need to do it with the least amount of attention possible. My credibility, you know.”

  I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Yeah, holding a gun on someone is the surefire way to avoid attracting suspicion. Especially at a wedding that screened everyone for weapons on their way in. How did you manage that, by the way?”

  He tapped the side of the gun with a free hand. “Plastic. Every piece of it is plastic. True, it’s only good for a single shot, but really, at this distance, I think that will be sufficient.”

  “You know, if you’d just waited one more week before you poached our client, we would have just given him to you. We’re retiring.”

  “I seem to have overheard that when I patched into the Manor’s audio. But where’s the fun in that? You don’t remain the number one art thief in the world by being passive. You two were starting to encroach upon my territory. I couldn’t just sit back and let that happen.”

  “You mean Simon and I had the gall to show people that you didn’t need a lot of fancy tools—” I nodded toward the gun, “—to get the job done? You charge almost twice as much as we do just because you need additional help.”

  “As much fun as it is swapping trade secrets with the girl on the wrong side of the gun, I’m afraid I’m on a schedule here. So how about you go find the canvas, roll it up neatly, and meet me in the south delivery bay? I have a van waiting for me there. If you’re back in ten minutes with the painting, I’ll send word that Emma is to be taken right back to her tea set. If you’re not...well, we’ll have to come up with another plan, and I’m going to take a wild guess that you won’t like it as much.”

  David clicked the safety on the gun, and slid it back inside his pocket. Without a backward glance, he strolled back down the hall, completely convinced that he’d see me in ten minutes, painting in hand.

  I gritted my teeth in frustration, but really, what choice did I have? Bending down, I removed the four-inch heels I’d paired with my reception uniform. There was no way I’d manage the trip to the cottage with them on.

  The only break I had was that the reception was being held on the other side of the house, in the large field near the pond. It allowed the dragons and humans a chance to mingle without everyone feeling too crowded, and it allowed me to slip out of the house without drawing attention to myself.

  I once again jimmied the cottage’s lock—this time with a hairpin instead of my normal tools—and had just managed to locate the painting and remove the canvas from the frame once again when I looked up to find Cameron staring down at me, a look of horror on his face.

  A girl just can’t catch a break.

  “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “It looks to me like you’ve just removed a priceless painting from its frame, and have plans to walk out of here with it.”

  I took a deep breath. “Okay, it’s exactly what it looks like. But let me explain.”

  I saw the instant that Cameron decided not to give me that chance. His lips thinned, and my heart cracked inside my chest when the light in his eyes went out, leaving them cold and expressionless.

  “Savannah. Put the painting down.”

  I felt a fat drop of moisture fall from my eye and run down the side of my cheek. “Cameron, please. He has Emma.”

  The abrupt change in topic made him frown. “Simon? No he doesn’t. She’s with April. They were in the kitchen making pastries about an hour ago.”

  “No, David. Prometheus. I don’t know what his real name is. He has Emma, and if I don’t bring him this painting, he’s going to hurt her. This guy is one of the most successful art thieves in the world. But he’s also one of the most ruthless in the business. He’s not bluffing when he threatens somebody. I have to get this to the south loading dock. Now.”

  Cameron ignored my panicked babbling. Instead, he asked the most damning question of all. “How did you get in this building?”

  I considered lying. I really did. But I couldn’t go through that again, not with this man.

  I felt my shoulders slump. “I broke in. With a hairpin.”

  “To take the painting.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why? I mean—” He ran a hand through his hair as he paced the room. “You know how crazy this story sounds, don’t you? I mean, why would a world-renowned art thief kidnap your niece, only to force you to get the painting for him? Why wouldn’t he do it himself instead of sending the wedding planner out to find it?”

  His tone was angry, but his gaze begged me to have a good answer to his question. Something that would help him believe that what he’d just seen with his own eye
s wasn’t really what was happening. I ran my answer over in my head at least a dozen times, and finally admitted that no matter how I told him, my words wouldn’t satisfy.

  “He wants me to get the painting because I knew where it was stored and he knows that I likely have things in place to make the retrieval easier.”

  I couldn’t face him, couldn’t look into his eyes when I told him the rest. Instead, I stared at my bare toes, covered in mud from my walk down here. “He wants me to do it because when I first showed up here, it was because I’d been contracted to steal the same painting. Prometheus? He was my competitor. I’d changed my mind about taking the painting. I was just going to walk away from it all, find a job, and stay here with you.”

  I took a deep breath, and almost choked on the sob that hung in my throat.

  “But now, I need this painting. Because if I’m not in the kitchen delivery bay in two minutes, Prometheus is going to hurt Emma.”

  I waited for his questions, but there weren’t any. And that’s when I realized that I’d hurt him in the worst possible way.

  “Savannah, I’m sorry. I can’t let you leave with this painting.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Cameron? I could take it from you right now, and there wouldn’t be anything you could do about it. But I’m choosing not to. I don’t want to hurt you. I need you to trust me.”

  He snorted, making it very clear that was the last thing he planned on doing. I allowed him to take the painting and stayed docile when he cuffed my wrists. Despite my bravado, it wouldn’t be a good idea to morph. If I did that, I’d have the entire flock of Relobu’s airborne security force down here to stop me.

  And Emma would get hurt.

  “Simon. Does he know about this?”

  “Not about my run-in with Prometheus.”

  “But the art theft?”

  I nodded. “He was my handler.”

  Cameron pushed the button on his two-way radio. “Jeremy? Yeah. Can you do me a favor and find a Simon and Jeanie Cavenaugh? They should be mingling with the wedding guests. I need you to escort them to the kitchen and wait until I get there. There’s also a little girl, Emma. She should already be in the kitchen, but if not, I need you to send someone out to look for her.”