"But why kill him? His desertion was months ago."
"I did not kill him," Jordan said. She could not tell from the shadow of his face if he was lying. He was too good a poker player. "You must ask those who performed the deed. I would see to it that they are well rewarded." He smirked. "You do not care about others. I assume he meant something to Griffen McCandles."
"I do care what became of this child!" Mai exclaimed. Jordan waved away her protest. He treated her as if she did not matter. She resented it. "Why are you here?" she repeated. "What are you doing invading poker games?"
"Do you have any authority to ask?"
"Don't you know who I am?"
"If you must ask me that, then you must know I do not care," Jordan said, with a supercilious smile her claws itched to tear off his jaws.
"Then enlighten me. You will enjoy dangling that little bit of knowledge that you possess."
"The elders are tired of waiting for you to perform the task for which you were sent. You have been making excuses all this time. They are displeased."
"My arrangements are intricate," Mai said. "They want influence over Griffen McCandles. I cannot engineer that in a crude fashion. He is not a fool. He will rebel against blunt force."
Jordan flipped a hand. "The Lee sprout died very easily. It would be as simple to dispose of McCandles if he does not comply."
Mai felt panic rising in her belly. He would not think of trying to kill Griffen? "But the elders want him alive. They have a purpose for him. I am here to steer him to that purpose."
"You are not acting swiftly enough. They think that you have become soft. You prove their thesis, as you are upset over the death of a mere card dealer. You are becoming attached to the subject of your maneuverings. Instead, McCandles has power over you. The elders have warned you before, but you have shown no signs that you heed them. It is time for others to step in. You have become ineffective."
Ineffective? Mai felt her tail grow behind her. Her claws emerged, smooth and sharp as a machete. Mai leaped for Jordan, claws out. She raked her talons across his chest. They ripped open his jacket and shirt, and drew tiny lines of blood.
He took moments longer than she to transform. With longer arms and legs, he had the advantage of reach. He paused as she struck again, then wrapped her in his limbs. She struggled in his grasp. He bent his jaws to the back of her neck. One bite, and she would be eliminated as a nuisance. But she snaked her head back, and breathed.
Fire did not destroy a dragon as it did a lesser mortal, but it hurt. Jordan's muscles contracted. He squeezed. Mai gasped. He was not as powerful as she, but he was strong. He crushed her in his grasp. Her head snaked wildly on its long neck. She bit at him again and again.
"Ow!" he bellowed. He snapped back, and she bit his flickering tongue. Jordan lost his focus. What a dirty fighter the little female was! He dropped forward, still holding her. The floor boomed under their combined weight. Furniture went flying.
"Oof!" Mai grunted. She had landed on her back. She scrabbled at his belly with all four legs until he spread his wings and lifted off her just to get away. He fled to the bedroom, heading for the full-length glass doors that led to the balcony. She gathered herself and sprang.
She crushed his wings to his back. He fell to the floor again. Mai bared her sharp teeth and went for the nape of his neck. Jordan twisted in her grasp. Suddenly, she lost hold of him. She found herself flying through the air. Glass splintered as she crashed into the long mirror on the wall. Mai recovered in the time it took her to fall to the floor. Jordan had the French doors open and stood on the wrought-iron balustrade, ready to spring into space. She shot forward on all fours, and fastened herself around his ankles. He toppled backward and twisted to bite her. Mai slapped his head sideways and hissed at him.
"Is that all you have?" she asked. "Tell me your purpose here! Tell me!"
Jordan's eyes blazed. He snapped at her nose. Mai recoiled in pain. Now she wanted to kill him. She dug her talons into his side.
Jordan bellowed. He clamped his teeth on her shoulder. They rolled on the floor.
The delicate sound of a wind chime tinkled in Mai's ear. Jordan's glowing eyes dampened for a moment. Mai realized it was his cell phone ringing. He used Gilbert and Sullivan's "Three Little Maids from School" as a ring tone? What a wimp! She knocked his chin upward with the top of her head and bit his throat.
With difficulty, he turned on his belly and tried to crawl toward the bedside table. Mai hung on to him, clawing and biting. He must not reach it. He would not reach it. He was no match for her!
The telephone tittered on through the verse and on into the chorus. Abruptly, the noise stopped. Jordan halted and dropped to his belly. Mai was almost thrown off. He took advantage of her loss of balance to snake a claw up and grab the joint of her wing. He yanked downward. Wings were delicate and prone to breakage. Mai had to follow where hers went. Jordan flipped her over so her throat faced up.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over both of them, blocking the light from the window.
"Jordan, you didn't answer your phone. . . ."
Jordan looked up.
A woman, a plump, short one with curly hair, stood on the edge of the balcony. Mai rolled back on her flexible spine, kicked Jordan in the face, tumbled across the room, and came up on her feet.
The woman on the balcony was a dragon, too. It took her much longer than Jordan to change shape. Mai went on guard against both of them. So, this must be the woman Griffen had complained about. She was much younger and clumsier than Jordan. She was no challenge to one such as Mai. Mai could finish them both off!
She edged sideways. The newcomer was fresh and full of energy. Mai must disable her first. The young woman bared her claws. Mai brandished hers in response. Jordan sidestepped so he was just out of sight behind the tip of Mai's wing. She spun to face him. As she did, the other woman sprang. Mai was borne to her knees. She clamped her claws on the newcomer's leg and dug in.
"Ow!" the woman howled. She hopped back. Mai was already moving. She ducked between Jordan's legs, then swatted the backs of his knees with her tail. He fell forward. She leaped onto his back and wrapped her arm around his neck. She bore down on his throat, hoping to render him unconscious. He stood up, lifting her bodily. The other woman rushed in to help. Mai turned into a miniature whirlwind, striking and clawing at both of them. They struck out at her in return. She ducked, protecting her eyes from a backward blow by Jordan, only to have her ear and wing chewed by the female. Slowly, gradually, she felt herself being shoved backward. Light flooded over her shoulder until she could see their outline on the floor. They were in front of the window. Jordan bent his head and chomped each of her wrists in turn. The other female grabbed her around the waist, spun, and dropped her out the window.
Mai shrieked as the wind flew upward around her. She spread her injured wings, fluttering desperately. The narrow thread of Royal Street grew wider and wider. At last, she managed to open them and catch the air in their sails a split second before she landed on the street. She hung in the air, catching her breath. Two drunks tottering along the sidewalk gawked at her. They pointed and laughed. Furiously, she exhaled a stream of fire at them and fled upward. They backed up, but they were still laughing.
Funny, am I? Mai fumed, soaring up into the clouds. The frigid upper atmosphere would help to cool off her temper. Ineffective? I will see about that!
She flew back to her hotel and landed on the roof, where there were no security cameras. The exercise of a small thread of power caused the heavy fire door to open. She stalked down two flights of stairs to her suite. The door of the room refused to slam. She was frustrated enough to scream, but she did not want hotel security coming to the door in the predawn.
Her own cell phone was in the bottom of her handbag. She dumped the contents of the purse on the bed and pawed through it until she came up with the tiny silver handset. Only then did she restore herself to human appearance. She swiped at her messy hair in
the bedroom mirror while waiting for the other end to answer.
"Honored elder, I am glad to find you in," she said.
"Where else would I be at this hour?" the peevish male voice quavered at the other end. "To what do I owe the honor of a call, Mai?"
"I have just spoken to Jordan Ma," she said.
"Ah. Is he still alive?"
"For now," Mai said. "Honored father, why is he here?"
"Why do you think that he is there?"
It was just like the elder one to turn her back with a question.
"He says I am too slow to fulfill your wishes."
"And have you fulfilled them?"
"Well, no! I have told you my plans. You have to remove Jordan Ma and his associates! He will spoil everything! Give me the power to halt him."
"And are you ready to move on your own plans that we have discussed?"
She was torn as to what to say. Elder Father would know if she was lying.
"No," she said, frustrated but unwilling to burst out in protests. Elder Father would find it disrespectful. "I have a few arrangements that need to fall into place before I can move. It will take a few more months, but Griffen McCandles will be in my control after that."
"But we elders wish to move now, over the course of weeks, not months. Can you say that you will be ready soon enough that we must call back the hounds we have put on the trail?"
"I need more time," she said tightly.
"It is too late to allow you to go your own way alone," Elder Father said. "Griffen McCandles will become a threat to our operation sooner than you will be ready. Jordan Ma will at the least hinder him, if not destroy his power base completely. He will do what you have been unable, or unwilling, to do."
"But what is he doing?" Mai demanded. She paced back and forth in her dressing room.
"You do not need to know that. His plans do not cross yours in any way. Do not fear. We will leave you in place. We will need you to continue, particularly if Jordan's scheme does not work. Will you cooperate? Must we question your loyalty? It sounds as if you are experiencing a fit of pique. Or is it something deeper? Do you choose to turn your loyalty to the young dragon instead of your clan?"
Mai was torn. She cared about Griffen the person. She admired his idealism. He always felt that benefit could be found for all. The other part of her, that which served the Eastern dragons, could not condone such an outlook. It knew that, like any commodity, power was limited, and that one must take whatever one could so one was not left without. She could not say for certain that he wouldn't become a threat to her later on. The potential he represented had too many variables for the future. She felt lost and alone. And angry.
"So you condone Jordan's actions?"
"We sanctioned them," Elder Father said. "You still have the support of your family in your aims. Should you accomplish them first, we will cause Jordan Ma and his three colleagues to withdraw."
"Three?" she asked. Griffen had only mentioned three Eastern dragons interfering in his card games. Was there a third dragon waiting to strike?"
"I will say nothing more," Elder Father said. "It was good of you to call an old man and brighten the middle of his sleepless night. Perhaps you will telephone again when you have good news. We all hope to hear from you then."
Mai hung up and threw the phone down on the bed. She now had a secret, one she did not wish to keep, but she had no choice. She couldn't tell Griffen what she knew because she didn't really know anything. Jordan had been cagey, laughing at her ignorance. She must find out about their plot. She could not warn Griffen until she did. Any guess she made as to their motive would almost certainly be wrong. He would be guarding against the wrong thing. She also could not take direct action against the Eastern dragons, not when her elders had condoned their actions, but she had to help Griffen.
She would have to steer him to protect himself. That was one of the things she did better than anyone else. She would manipulate from the shadows. And, she vowed, catching a glimpse of her bruises and scratches in the looking glass, she would get even with Jordan Ma. No one threw her out the window and lived to smirk about it. Not for long.
Winston Long and Peter Sing came to Jordan's suite in answer to Rebecca's frantic call. Jordan slumped in his leather armchair in the middle of the wrecked room. His elegant clothes had been torn to rags.
"Will you live, or do you need medical care?" Winston asked.
"They are just surface injuries," Jordan said. It hurt to talk. Mai's headbutt had knocked his jaw out of alignment. The joint was swollen. He held the bag from the ice bucket to it.
"You are covered with bruises," Peter said. "Mai did all of this? Little Mai?"
"Do not denigrate one for her size," Rebecca warned him. "She is a wily opponent. It took both of us to vanquish her."
"Where is she now?" Winston asked.
"Gone. That is all that I care about."
"Didn't the elders warn her not to interfere with us?"
"From her babble, I think they have not told her anything about us," Jordan said, willing the cold to numb the pain. "They will now. She will demand answers. She tried to get them from me. I do not know if she will get them from the elders."
"I hope they tell her to fall down a pit," Peter said.
"She is too dangerous," Winston said. "She must be removed from the scene."
"Mai will never leave," Jordan said. "And the elders want her here."
"She interferes with our mission. I will send her a warning," Winston said, lowering his eyelids dangerously. "If she does not take it, it will kill her."
Twenty
Christmas seemed strange without snow. The French Quarter had gone all out for holiday decorations. Every doorway and lamppost was decked out in red and green tinsel. Statues of Santa, the elves, and the reindeer glowed in store windows and in parks. The dreadlocked contortionist in Jackson Square who folded himself into a small plastic box was wearing a BAH, HUMBUG! T-shirt. Even Salvation Army bell-ringers clanged away in their stocking caps on street corners, but Griffen couldn't feel the holiday spirit when it was still over sixty degrees. He put a dollar in the bucket. The ringer stopped tolling the bell to say thank you. At least that custom was the same all over.
Griffen had gone to the krewe meeting to catch up with the committees, but to Lucinda's disappointment, he didn't stay for dinner. Val, Mai, and Fox Lisa had told him to save the evening. They wanted to hold a small celebration. He had promised to meet them at the Irish bar.
He was a little uneasy having to face all three of them, especially after having just been with the Krewe of Fafnir. None of the three was satisfied with his explanation about the queenship. Griffen had no more news than before. He had asked about who the queen would be. Etienne had laughed and told him if he really wanted to know, he could buy a copy of the Arthur Hardy Guide, which ought to be out in a day or two. Griffen knew that would be no answer for the girls. He patted the opaque, white plastic bag in his arm. He might be able to buy a little peace with the contents.
Val looked up as he came in from Burgundy. She waved him over. The bar, which normally had a string of Christmas lights wound around its upper section, had been adorned with more lights, tinsel wreaths, and cardboard cutouts of reindeer. Griffen slid onto an empty stool. The bartender set out a whisky and water on a bright red napkin and pushed it toward him.
"We went for our costume fittings today," Val said. "They look gorgeous!"
"They look like bags," Mai complained.
"No, they don't. And you look adorable in yours. Green's a great color for you," Fox Lisa said.
"But of course," Mai agreed. "Green is a good dragon color."
"What's in the bag?" Fox Lisa wanted to know.
"Aha," Griffen said, mysteriously. He plunged his hand into it and drew out strings of glittering color. They were samples of the throws the krewe had on order. Jacob had let him take a few of the premium throws to give as gifts. The girls dove for the necklaces, yanking the ones
they wanted away from one another. The regulars on the family side watched with great amusement and not a little envy as the three women divided the treasure up among them. Mai tried to take the lion's share, gathering them in her small hands.
"Oh, no, you don't," Val said, untangling the hanks of beads. "You've got more than a dozen there. I want one of those." She pulled loose a string of the giant gold dragon heads.
"Look what it does," Griffen said. He flicked the miniature switch in the clasp, and the eyes flickered.
"Ooh, I want that one!" Fox Lisa said, taking the purple dragons away from Mai from the other side.
"Hey, at least leave me my share!" Mai wailed. She put on the remaining necklaces, including the green dragon beads. "There. Beautiful!"
"I thought you said they'd be tacky," Val teased her.
"Well, I have changed my mind," Mai said. "I didn't know how nice they could be."
"They are good," Fox Lisa said, examining the throws with a critical eye. "Fafnir's picked out some fine things."
"Come on, folks, it's too early for Mardi Gras!" Rustic protested. He was another regular.
"They're Christmas gifts," Griffen said. He put a couple of bills down on the bar. "Fred, drinks for everyone on me, and one for yourself. Merry Christmas, everyone."
The bartender gave him a wink. "Thanks, Griffen."
Word of free drinks spread through the room in a heartbeat. Everyone raised his or her glass to Griffen as Fred served them.
"I hope that is not all you have for us," Mai said, with a lift of her eyebrow. "Some plastic necklaces and a drink."
"Of course it isn't." Griffen patted his bag. "They're staying in Santa's knapsack until our party."
The buzz of conversation died away. Griffen looked up as Detective Harrison swaggered into the bar. He made his way over to Griffen. Rustic and the others made room.
"You asked me to come by here, McCandles?"
"Yes, I did," Griffen said. "Merry Christmas, by the way."
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