Michael didn’t react to the dragon’s mean comment. It was as if he hadn’t even heard them. All I could think about was the desperate hope that I wouldn’t be devoured with a single bite, so I couldn’t bother to be offended. The way I stood there, with my mouth hanging open, had to look stupid and strange. The dragon didn’t address me directly. He led us into a cavernous room. A young woman was sitting behind a desk by the window. She had diamond-shaped scales on her forehead, just like Rebekka. Our host’s attention was focused on Michael. “Kadeijosch should be back soon. He wants us to start without him. I suggest we sit down in my office and deal with any open questions.” Michael crossed the room after him and entered a hallway at the other end. I wanted to follow them, but Michael turned around. “Melanie, you need to stay here.”
The dragon turned to the young woman. “You look after her!” The woman was anything but thrilled. “I don’t have time to play babysitter for Michael’s bimbo. She’s totally daft; what am I supposed to talk about?”
He laughed. “No need to have a conversation. Just watch over her so she doesn’t break anything, or hurt herself.”
Well, now I knew what they thought of me. I was shocked. I could have taken it if they’d merely thought I wasn’t on the same level as them, but to know that they thought I was an utter moron was another matter. It piqued my ego.
Alone in the large room with the woman who thought I was stupidity incarnate – well, great! When I had swallowed the unfair blow to my ego, I slowly sauntered in her direction. I snuck a glance of her shoulder, curious what was keeping her busy. She was doing some calculations, nothing too difficult, maybe first or second semester level. She noticed me looking, threw me an angry glare and hissed: “You’d need an actual brain to understand any of this.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now that we’ve settled that, you should expand by one. Works like a charm.”
“Oh, because you have any idea what this is about? Leave me alone.”
Because I did have more than an idea, I was bold enough to sit down next to her and take the pen from her hand, explaining: “If you divide this term by itself and then multiply, it’s the same as if you multiplied by one.”
She scowled at the solved problem. I didn’t wait for her okay, but solved the next one. A sonorous laugh came from behind us. “Adlen, don’t be offended now. You’re not stupid, even if she’s quicker to solve your homework. Maybe we’ve underestimated her after all.” I recognized the voice with a shiver. The turquoise dragon loomed behind us. I was scared all over again, but I turned around to face him. The dragon studied me with his large eyes, and if felt as if they were looking straight into my soul. “Why are you so afraid of me?” Incredulous, I opened my eyes wide, because wasn’t that obvious? I couldn’t answer; I didn’t trust my voice. He cocked his head to one side, thinking. “And why do you never look into my eyes?”
What? But I did, I was practically hypnotized by them! His next question sounded irritated: “Can you speak at all?” I nodded, still petrified. I saw that he was getting impatient, so I swallowed and said what was foremost on my mind: “You’re not planning on feeding on me, are you?” The dragon looked as if he was knitting his brows, only he didn’t have any. “Pardon me? What makes you say a thing like that?”
“Well, you can’t deny you are an eighty-feet long dragon, Sir. You wouldn’t even need to chew I suppose.”
He started laughing, and Adlen joined in. “It seems that Michael was a naughty boy. He told her what we are.” I was surprised that they spoke in German amongst each other. Was it politeness? I would have understood their English well enough.
I wanted to reassure them that Michael had not breached their covenant: “If Michael had told me we were going to visit a dragon’s lair, I would have stayed in Salzburg. I know you’re a dragon because I have eyes, Sir.”
The two of them stared at me, their expressions perplexed. The turquoise dragon looked down at his massive body. “But I’m in my human form right now, and have been since you arrived.”
I finally understood what was going on. “Oh, so it’s almost the same as with the werewolves. I can’t see their wolf form; I see them as humans all the time. Probably I can see dragons only as dragons, you know?” I explained, ready to smile with relief.
“If you don’t want to end up as food, never compare a dragon to a werewolf again.” The phrase ‘end up as food’ echoed through my head and pushed everything else aside, so my answer was a frightened nod.
“I’m not going to eat you,” he assured me, shaking his head at my ideas. Yeah, until he would change his mind! “Why do you speak German amongst each other? Aren’t you British?” I asked, not wanting to provoke him further.
“Do we? Does it sound like German to you? Poor Rebekka; I’m sure you made her look like a fool in Salzburg.”
Embarrassed, I tried to avoid his penetrating eyes.
“So what does Adlen look like? To you, I mean?” he asked, genuinely curious. I was beginning to think more clearly again, now that I had managed to rein in my fear. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to tell him everything so frankly. I was silent. He realized that my mood had changed, so he opened his mouth and gave me an authoritative look.
I shook my head and bluffed. “You promised you’re not going to devour me, and you know what? I trust you.”
A woman appeared next to the dragon. It was Rebekka. She ignored me and nodded at the turquoise dragon: “Hello, Ryoko.” Then she inclined her head slightly. “Adlen,” she said.
Ryoko returned her greeting. “How did it go? Did the girl find favor with Kadeijosch?”
“No, he seemed bored by her. Nobody present showed even the slightest spark of interest. I sent her home.”
“She was one eighth dragon, correct?”
“Yes … Where is my husband? I need to talk to him, it’s urgent. Today I was–”
She was interrupted by Ryoko, who alerted her: “You should know that Melanie understands us. She understands every word we’re saying,” he declared with a meaningful look. Rebekka grew pale and left the room quickly.
“Is everything okay? I hope Melanie didn’t cause trouble,” Michael said, coming in from the hallway. He crossed the room, put an arm around me, and kissed me on the forehead. “We have to leave now, and you’re coming with us. I might need your help.”
I was surprised, because he’d never depended on me. “How can I help you?” He was amused by my question and explained: “Our task today will be very demanding. We’re going to need lots of energy. The others have brought their own humans.” Oh, so I was the only human who had the honor of visiting the dragons in their lair. I could have done without the honor of fearing for my life.
The same limousine that had brought us to the mansion was waiting to take us to our new destination. I was sitting next to the driver once again. When we reached an intersection with a flower shop and a hardware store, we made a turn and stopped in a large square. The surrounding houses were well-maintained. On the far side, a round tower made from rough-hewn rock loomed, higher than the roofs. Its entrance was a gigantic, ancient-looking, iron portal with a heavy padlock, probably landmarked – or as they called it in Britain, listed. I stood next to Michael. “So what are we doing here?” I whispered.
He pointed at the portal. “We’re breaking and entering.”
The whole fuss was about picking an ancient padlock? Was he being serious? “How about using a bolt cutter?” He reacted by ruffling my hair. “If it was that easy, would they have asked us to come all the way to London, do you think?”
Michael’s men started setting up something, moving with superhuman speed. They had quickly laid out a circle of thick cushions, with a large wooden disk about eight inches thick in the center. On the disk, I spotted a small bunch of blue saffron, various other herbs, a few dubious-looking pouches, a knife with a white blade and golden symbols on the hilt, and a large metal pot embossed with all manner of flourishes. The symbols and flourishes reminded me of th
e curlicue decorations I had seen on the double doors that led to the conference room in Martellius’ manor house. “You camouflaged everything that’s going to happen here from the people living in the area?” I asked just to make sure. He nodded quickly and then joined the others in the circle.
Bianca, Annette, and a few other friends of Tanja’s had gathered in the square, but she wasn’t with them. I regretted that, since I liked her better than the rest of the bunch. They immediately flocked around me. They treated me differently now that they knew I was not simply human: The women showed more respect and the men seemed interested in me. Now all of them were talking to me at the same time. I couldn’t distinguish who asked which question, but it sounded a little like this: “I heard you control people’s will. What else are you capable of? – Yeah, I’ve heard about that, too. You didn’t even need a spell to do it, is that true? – So what are you? – Would you like to go out with me next week? – If you need anything, just let me know. – Can you teach me a few tricks?” I was grateful that after their first rush of curiosity, they reverted to swooning over Peris again. I cringed at some of their phrasings, because I felt that they were sounding perverted and primitive. It was all about sex, sex, and more sex. I’d rather not have heard most of what they told me.
The turquoise and the yellow dragon were standing off to the left, chuckling about the prattle of the humans around me. They were also making fun of the Peris, which honestly they had every reason to do: Michael and his people were now dressed in azure-colored ceremonial robes, busy mixing ingredients in the large pot and getting back into a neat circle. Michael was kneeling in the center. It was like a scene from a Hollywood B-movie featuring witches and wizards. What did they call these ominous gatherings? Covens? What didn’t fit with the fantasy flick imagery were the many video cameras they had set up. Without noticing, I had drifted closer to the dragons and was now laughing along with them. Maybe that hadn’t been my best idea ever, since the orange eyes of the yellow dragon were looking down at me sternly now. I felt the fear creeping back up my spine. I stepped back with an apologetic smile and asked shyly: “Have the Peris started to break the lock yet, or is this still part of the preparations?” For the first time he looked at me with genuine curiosity. His eyes widened and he threw his fellow dragon a baffled look.
“Right, I haven’t found the time to tell you yet. She can hear us. When Rebekka was in Salzburg and spoke to you on the phone, she heard every word,” the turquoise one explained. The yellow one studied me with unblinking eyes. “How much did Stefan and Michael want to offer before you interfered?” Embarrassed, I lowered my head. It felt uncomfortable to face the person I had stabbed in the back with my loyalty to Michael. “Four point eight million, if I remember correctly.”
“I see. You played us like a fiddle.” I avoided his eyes and glanced over at Michael and his men. They didn’t appear so funny in their robes anymore, but rather formidable. They had probably begun their ritual or whatever it was. My eyes flitted back to the dragon. He looked annoyed. A change of subject seemed in order. I didn’t want to end up as their next meal after all. “Do you have any idea how long this will take?”
“Presumably a day or two,” he answered, sounding friendlier than I’d expected.
“Just to pick this lock, really?” I asked, incredulous. He nodded and I sat down on one of the benches at the edge of the square, feeling frustrated. I was supposed to spend one or two days in London, stuck in this admittedly pretty square? We had enough picturesque corners in Salzburg, thank you very much. I felt like a lion with trimmed claws and a muzzle put into a cage filled with gazelles. You get the picture. I quickly lost patience, got up and left the square. I headed for the hardware store at the street corner. Behind the counter I spied an old gentleman in blue coveralls, who greeted me in a friendly manner. His eyes were bright and benevolent, his chin stubbly, and there was a pipe stuck between his lips. I asked politely whether he had any bolt cutters. He had two different ones, a cheap tool and a large, sturdy one that cost the equivalent of 210 Euros. Naturally I was inclined to take the cheaper model, but when he pointed out that it would take a lot of physical strength to wield that one, I decided to get the expensive one. It was huge and heavy. I lifted it with both hands and hefted it on top of my shoulder, already panting. I hauled the thing back to the square and headed straight for the portal. I took it off my shoulder, bending forward with the weight of the immense tool. I was really a weakling, Halfling or not. I put the cutters to the metal chain and pressed the levers together, using every ounce of strength my body possessed. I needed to put in my full weight, but I successfully severed the chain, and the lock fell to the ground with a loud clang. Mission accomplished. Wasn’t even that hard. I hefted the bolt cutter back onto my shoulder, feeling smug and happy until I turned around. Maybe there would be time for some sightseeing after all? But one look at Michael wiped the smile from my face. Was he debating whether to snap my neck or not? I plodded over and handed him both the bolt cutter and the receipt from the store. “So we’re still not going sightseeing?” He forced out an angry “No” from between clenched teeth, but I knew how to persuade a Peri. I gave him a seductive smile and ramped up my energy. “I put together a plan with the most important sights. It’s all in my backpack.” The purse I was carrying looked like a tiny backpack.
His frown deepened and he narrowed his eyes at me, his lips a thin angry line. “Stop it; that’s not going to work this time. We will talk about this later.” I swallowed, somewhat stunned. Michael had never been this angry with me.
The dragons approached us. His manner changed from furious to cordial in the blink of an eye. “It seems that my team was able to take care of the problem more quickly than we expected. I hope you are satisfied with the result.” The yellow dragon nodded gravely, but he was clearly amused. The two dragons and Michael stepped away from me and the other Peris, engrossed in pleasantries and who knows what else.
Phillipe patted my shoulder encouragingly. “Don’t mind the boss. You saved us a lot of work. We wanted to employ you from the start, but he wouldn’t have it.” The other Peris agreed, nodding and grinning, but their encouragement did nothing for me while Michael was still angry. I paused, analyzing my feelings. I was feeling insecure, offended, and a little clueless why he would take it the wrong way like this. I was in London, so what was I doing here? I decided that Michael could hardly get any madder with me, so I slowly snuck away from the square. The turquoise dragon was watching me. I put a finger to my lips and gave me a beseeching look. He chuckled and I knew he wouldn’t tell on me. Soon I was out of sight. I had Michael’s number. I would simply call him once I felt that I had seen enough of London. I asked the first person that crossed my path where the next tube station was. It wasn’t far away; I was in luck. I had written down the tube and bus stations for the major attractions. In the subterranean tube station I studied the map and quickly saw which line I needed. The place was packed with people, which made me feel safe. I was on my way to Tower Bridge, when Michael called. “What’s up?” I asked innocently.
“Melanie, where are you?”
“I give you three guesses.”
“You’re coming back this minute, do you hear me?”
“Why would I do that, since you’re angry with me anyway? I’ll call you once I’m done sightseeing for the day.” I was extremely glad I wasn’t anywhere near him, because I could hear a crumbling sound and then my phone speaker told me with a crunch that Michael had just turned his phone to dust in his hand. Only a second later I got a call from Stefan.
“Hello, Michael, it would be nice if you could save Stefan’s phone, for otherwise it will be difficult for me to call you later,” I said when I picked up. It was obvious that Michael had grabbed his son’s phone.
“Melanie!” he threatened.
“The connection is wonky; I can’t hear you anymore,” I said quickly and hung up. I didn’t want him to destroy Stefan’s handy. Maybe I should look
for a place to stay for tonight. I was determined to enjoy my day anyway, and headed for Tower Bridge. Like lots of other people, I stood on the North shore and took in the famous bridge. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, and the two towers of the bridge looked as if they were painted into the blue sky. I was surrounded by tourists chattering in a variety of foreign languages. There was a Japanese family next to me, and an Austrian one on the other side. I could hear Spanish and French, and I even spied a bunch of Buddhist monks in orange robes. I was fascinated by this gathering of different cultures in one place. And just when I was ready to move on, the bridge began to open. This only happened a thousand times a year, three times a day, but at undetermined times. I was thrilled and couldn’t believe my luck, watching the spectacle with a grin on my face. Then I walked past the actual Tower of London, taking in the ramparts and turrets. A small contingent of the Spanish group had followed me there. Since time was flying, I decided to head to Madame Tusseaud’s, the next place on my list. I walked to the London Bridge tube station. One of the monks had left his coven and entered a clothing store right when I’d passed it. I took the tube to Baker Street, asked two people for the way, and arrived at my destination a few minutes later. I accidentally bumped into a young man by the entrance to Madame Tusseaud’s. I apologized in English several times over and took an embarrassed step backwards. He had light brown hair, a shadow of stubble on his cheeks, and very bright blue eyes. He was obviously amused by my profuse apologies and assured me that he wasn’t injured. He was very attractive, but also seemed scatterbrained, since his dark blue jeans were still sporting their price tag. The same went for his light blue down jacket. I politely pointed out that he might want to take them off. He laughed, and I helped him get rid of the tags.
I was admiring Elvis when my phone buzzed. Apparently Michael had gotten a new phone. “Hello, Michael, you won’t believe my luck, but I’ve seen Tower Bridge open just an hour ago. Isn’t that awesome?”
Peris Night: Terakon (Secret Language) Page 29
