Dancing with Dragons

by Lorenda Christensen

  “So we’re it, huh? The stars of the show once the dragon council representatives arrive.”

  I got a wry smile in return. “Now you know why we were so excited to find you for the job. Your job skills are rare. Very rare. Only a small percentage of the population even gets the opportunity to attend school at all, much less study something as specialized as dragonspeak. Considering Savitri Enterprises is the only corporate employer of dragonspeakers in the country, it’s not exactly a large job market. But we don’t see many people who can read and write the dragon language, especially with your level of skill. I can assure you, there are always projects needing your type of expertise.”

  So Savitri Enterprises thought I was an irreplaceable resource, and basically promised me lifelong job security. That would make me feel a lot better if I thought I had any chance of surviving my current position. Maybe I should have asked about the life insurance policy.

  Krishnan must have been following the same line of thought. “We’re not getting out of here, are we?”

  I met his eyes. “No. No we’re not.”

  With Benaki blocking all communication with the outside world, and the odds of notifying the dragon council representatives of our plight without drawing the attention of Benaki’s dragons close to nil, I didn’t see an option where Savitri’s humans, myself included, would be allowed to go back to our homes. We knew too much. And when Savitri died in a convenient accident—as she inevitably would—we would be the only proof left of his treason. So it was inevitable we’d find our own accidents shortly thereafter.

  Krishnan sighed.

  “Mr. Venkat?” A slim man touched Krishnan on the shoulder, and peered nervously toward the main office doors. “I believe that dragon needs something.”

  I turned toward the exit and located the dragon in question. He was indeed gesturing in our direction.

  Krishnan patted his sweating temple with an already damp handkerchief. “I hope that’s the pizza.”

  “Me too.” Though I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat a bite. My stomach hadn’t stopped churning since this morning. We were all feeling the stress.

  Krishnan disappeared through the doors, only to reappear moments later balancing a large stack of greasy cardboard boxes. I walked over and took them.

  He murmured his thanks, and then waved over a male coworker to help him go back and get the remaining food. We cobbled together a buffet station using half a conference table and some torn cubicle walls. After a few minutes, most of the humans had gathered loosely around the dinner. A few even grabbed a slice or two of pizza, but it appeared to be less about hunger and more about keeping their hands busy.

  Krishnan gently escorted a still shell-shocked Neetha into a waiting chair. He whispered something in her ear, and she nodded. He must have been persuading her to eat something, because he straightened and snagged a plate before striding with purpose toward the vegetarian offerings at the far end of the spread.

  I’d already adjusted my attention, and was engaged in conversation with one of the men who’d shared a cube wall with me, pre-dragon, when Krishnan called my name.

  “Julie.” He stood, looking just as stunned as Neetha. I hurried over. “I believe this is for you.”

  A small white envelope had been taped to the inside lid of the box containing a mushroom and spinach pie. My name—my fake name—was scrawled across the face, and I felt my heart thud hard in my chest when I recognized Daniel’s familiar scribbles.

  “Keep an eye on the dragons, will you?” I asked Krishnan as I stepped as far out of their line of sight as possible without arousing undue suspicion. I slid the note out and started to read.

  I’ve seen the press release, and I received your message. Planning a visit to Uncle Moneybags tomorrow morning with some friends of mine. If all goes well, I’ll be up one significant other. Tell your dragon to play along, and I’ll get word to you on the outcome as soon as possible.

  Stay safe, or I’ll think of something worse than chicken poop to drop you in.

  BTW, There’s a red sari here I’m dying to see you wear.

  —Daniel

  Chapter Twenty

  “Krishnan?” Though I was striving to stay calm, I couldn’t help the small tremor in my voice. “Can you get me in to see Lady Savitri?”

  His eyes sharpened as he glanced at the paper in my hand. “I think so. Since they have her mate, she’s not really a threat. They haven’t restricted access to her.”

  “Good. We need to see her, now. I might possibly have some good news.”

  With a quick glance to the guards—after a full day’s worth of watching us do nothing but mill about the building’s rooms aimlessly, we barely got a head turned in our direction—Krishnan and I made our way to Savitri’s office door, and pushed the button to engage the pulley system that helped lift the thick wood.

  I waited for a roar from one of the dragons, but they stayed silent.

  “Lady Savitri?” Krishnan stepped into the room.

  We found the dragon lord outside in her garden, curled up near a copse of sandalwood trees.

  She scowled when she saw us approach.

  “Leave me. I am in no condition for company.” Her words were punctuated by a low growl, and the flesh collar just under her jaw trembled in warning.

  Krishnan hadn’t been kidding about the danger of cranky dragons.

  I couldn’t just blurt out the fact that a super-secret rescue mission was being mounted to obtain her mate, so I cautiously approached. I heard a snap and a crack just before one of the sandalwoods came crashing to the ground only inches from where I stood.

  Okay, then. This would be close enough.

  I took a quick glance around the garden to make sure Benaki didn’t have dragons listening in on our conversation. But apparently Savitri’s current state didn’t just scare humans, because the only soldiers I could see flew a hundred feet above us. They were watching, but they weren’t stupid enough to come near the dragon lord.

  My gaze moved back to Savitri. I wasn’t exactly sure where to start. The news that Daniel planned a rescue attempt wouldn’t make sense unless I told her how Daniel had contacts willing and able to successfully attack a hoard of dragons. But revealing to the dragon lord that my “husband” was, in fact, not my husband but a reporter who’d sneaked a wanted criminal into her country to spy on her activities might not be the best approach either, considering Savitri’s mood. At this point, announcing I had lied to her would cause her to assume I’d been in cahoots with Benaki all along.

  When we’d been in China trying to negotiate a deal with Hian-puo, Trian had warned me that some dragons could smell lies. I’d never gotten a chance to ask him how humans could tell the difference between dragons with this talent and those without.

  Odds were good that Savitri did not possess this particular skill. I’d told her my name was Julie when we first met, and she’d barely blinked.

  But if Richard had taught me one thing, it was how easily lies got ugly. I sucked in a deep breath. It was time to tell the truth.

  That didn’t mean I couldn’t start with the good news first.

  “Lady Savitri, there’s a chance we can rescue your mate.”

  The dragon’s head rose from the ground and swiveled in my direction. I fought the urge to turn tail and run. Her pupils had contracted to slits, and she bared her teeth.

  “Tell me.”

  Stumbling a bit over my words, I started from the beginning, telling the dragon lord of my involvement with Tulsa’s DRACIM team in China, how my less than stellar choice in men had directly contributed to my outlaw status, and the reasons behind my acceptance of the job with Savitri Enterprises. Only after I’d bared my soul did I explain the note I’d managed to sneak to Daniel and the message we’d just received with our dinner.

  The dragon listened silently while I finished my story. Krishnan, too, remained silent. I wasn’t brave enough to face him and see his reaction. Instead, I fiddled with the pallu of
my sari, adjusting the cloth across my chest and shoulders to avoid meeting his eyes.

  Savitri rolled to her feet, and I tried not to cringe as she placed her snout directly in front of my face. “Can you get a message to your reporter?” The dragon lord’s eyes were clear and sharp with intent, and while she didn’t look happy, she also hadn’t ripped me to shreds.

  In my book, that was a very good sign.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I’m not even sure what the plan is. This is all I have.”

  Pulling the note from my skirt, I unfolded the paper and read back the message. When I was finished, I looked to the dragon. It was her mate. Her territory.

  “What do you want us to do?”

  Savitri looked to the sky. “We’ll do the only thing we can do. Be ready for a fight when the proper time comes.” She looked to me, a clear warning in her eyes. “But until then, we will not try to contact anyone else. Not DRACIM, and not the press. I will not put my husband in further danger. Is that understood?”

  I wanted to balk at her order—what if I had another chance to reach Daniel—but couldn’t drum up the courage for the attempt. “Understood.”

  Even if I didn’t like it.

  * * *

  With Savitri re-energized by new hope that her mate may survive his kidnapping, the dragon lord asked us to communicate her wishes with the rest of the staff. We were to do everything Benaki asked of us. We were to be docile, eager-to-please humans with no real personalities. We were to make Benaki believe he’d won our loyalty with his show of force. If there were any guards watching, we were to disregard Savitri’s orders completely.

  For her part, the dragon lord planned to be disagreeable and unnerved by her staff’s sudden abandonment. She planned to rant and rail enough to keep Benaki convinced of her fury, but ultimately allow him to do as he wished. Until, of course, her mate was safe. I doubted Benaki would be alive much past that point.

  But for now, we were to wait. And none of us were doing it very well at all.

  With the help of the men, the cubicle walls that were still somewhat functional had been rearranged into sleeping quarters, and cardboard boxes we’d found in a closet spread on the floor for bedding. I lay on the women’s side of the divider, trying to force myself to sleep.

  There was plenty of pizza left from lunch, though Krishnan had managed to hide most of it for an excuse to order more. The dragons probably thought we were starving from the way we ripped open every single box. But there had been no note. I had no way of knowing whether Daniel even managed to confirm the position of Savitri’s mate, or if he had, whether whatever plan he’d had for freeing the dragon had been successful. Or even if he survived.

  Benaki announced that the dragon council representatives would arrive tomorrow shortly before noon. Which left Daniel and his “friends” very little time before Savitri would have to select Benaki for China’s new dragon lord, or call the general’s bluff and hope her mate was still alive when the dust settled.

  The first thing I’d done after speaking to Savitri was to address the guards about our clothing. Granted, we’d only been detained one day so far, but with the stress and constant Bangalore heat, I was less than my best in the smell department. I assumed the others felt the same way.

  I’d made my case to the dragons at the door, telling them that if Benaki hoped to pull off the appearance of normalcy in Savitri’s territory, it wouldn’t do for us to look tired, bruised and bloody when the dragon council arrived. The guards had shrugged at my request and shooed me away from the exits, but they must have taken it to someone in charge, because folded stacks of clothing appeared a few hours later. Pressed slacks and dress shirts for the men, and color-coordinated saris for the women. Our new Savitri Enterprises uniforms, I guess.

  I wasn’t fond of the idea of clean clothes on a not-so-clean body. Krishnan and I had again managed to get the dragons to see our point of view, and we were allowed to visit the guest floors in groups of five at a time to use the showers. The announcement came with a great deal of rejoicing, and soon there were even some quiet giggles from my female companions as the elevator slowly climbed to the proper floor.

  My coworkers seemed to have acclimated relatively well to their newfound captivity. With each hour the dragons stuck to their promise of no harm, Savitri’s human employees relaxed just a fraction more. By the time we’d all bathed and congregated down on the main office floor, most of my bunk mates were either whispering quietly to each other, or were already sound asleep.

  But I couldn’t seem to do the same. I rearranged the wad of clothing that served as my pillow and stared at the ceiling while I mentally recited Daniel’s message word for word.

  Why hadn’t he sent another note? If Daniel had contacts powerful enough to rescue Savitri’s mate, certainly he could manage to sneak in another status update.

  Unless, of course, they had failed, and he was injured. Or dead.

  The thought made my heart stutter. If Daniel failed, we had no hope of survival. We’d be chopped up and thrown away, just like Savitri’s dragons.

  But that wasn’t what was really bothering me.

  My entire life, I’d been attracted to jerks. The boyfriend in high school who’d left me at a convenience store when the scantily dressed senior was suddenly single. The guy in college who lived in my dorm room for five months because he couldn’t be bothered to pay his own rent. Or Richard Green, who’d tried to kill a city full of dragons, and put the blame on me when it didn’t work out.

  That last one was a doozy. And now, here I was, realizing that I’d finally managed to find a man that wasn’t a jerk. Daniel was kind and caring, and possessed sense of humor that perfectly matched mine. I thought back to our lovemaking. When had I ever laughed so hard with a man, while feeling incredibly cherished at the same time?

  In my mind, I saw Daniel’s easy smile, and the twinkle in his eyes the day he’d threatened to toss me from the car. So he was brusque. And focused. And more than a little annoying at times. But he was also patient, and loyal, and a truly magnificent kisser.

  He was the first man that cared for me not because of my looks, or for what I could do for him, but because he clicked with the real me. Not just the spiky-haired, fashion-loving linguaphile parts of me, but the insecure and sarcastic sides as well.

  Daniel had seen all my flaws—some I hadn’t even realized I possessed—and liked me anyway.

  And there, in the middle of a cold tile floor, I admitted I loved him.

  And that I might have been the one to lead him to his death.

  A sob tore from my chest before I even realized I’d started crying.

  In the dark, I saw Neetha’s head came up from her place on the floor. “Julie?”

  I waved her back, sniffling. “Go back to sleep. I’m fine.” I tried to wipe the tears from my face, but they kept running down my cheeks. So when Neetha rose silently and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, I hugged her back as we both cried for lost loved ones.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I woke to a thin stream of moonlight shining through the un-shuttered window. For a brief moment, I forgot where I was, and spent a precious few seconds admiring the beauty of an Indian night sky. And then reality came crashing back. I closed my eyes, wishing I could fall back into oblivion if only for a few more seconds.

  But there would be no more sleep for me. I checked the door, as if our guards might have miraculously disappeared and I’d find Daniel and the white horse brigade riding in with trumpets.

  I had no such luck. In fact, I found the source of my midnight wake-up call. A sandy-scaled dragon leaned against the wall near the main entrance, snoring like a freight train. On second thought, I’m not even sure a freight train could achieve the sheer earth-shaking volume of the dragon’s inhalations.

  Deep vibrations echoed through the room with each breath he took, sending the desks and chairs we’d piled in a spare corne
r skittering across the floor from the vibrations. Dear Lord, the dragon was loud.

  His partner was one of the more fashion forward of Benaki’s dragons. In a practice usually associated with those of Adelaida’s ilk—she was widely recognized as the world’s first dragon fashionista—this dragon wore almost an entire bolt of red silk draped around his ample neck. He, unlike his partner, was fully awake. And amused. When he noticed my attention, he laughed—short huffing snorts that added to the room’s relentless clamor.

  Most of the staff had given up on sleeping. More than a few women sat against the wall staring blindly at the floor. I checked to make sure none of them were frightened—I imagine it would be an even more terrifying experience to be surrounded by dragons and not understand their words.

  When I was sure they were merely irritated, I rolled over and moved to lie back on my cardboard pallet. Instead, my gaze was drawn to a blinking red light in a nearby executive office. I shot into a sitting position.

  It was a telephone! And it was working! I swung my gaze back to the guards. Mr. Sandman was still asleep, and Mr. Cape had lost interest in our misery and was busy...whistling, I think?

  Lady Savitri’s orders—no contact with anyone outside these walls—rang in my ears. But when I’d made the promise, it had never occurred to me that I would have a chance to speak with someone directly, without fear that a note would be intercepted before it even left the building.

  I scooted slowly across the floor, until I was blocked from their view by the cubicle walls. Only then did I dart into the office and grab the receiver.

  “Hello?” I kept my voice at a low whisper.

  The connection was filled with static, and there was a slight pause before I heard a woman speak.

  “Yes, hello? Is this Savitri Enterprises?” The girl’s voice was terribly young and uncertain in response to my less-than-professional greeting, but before I could answer, she pushed on. “My name is Fatima and I’m calling from Bangalore Telecommunications Customer Service department. We wanted you to know that we discovered a massive break in your line and have taken steps to repair the issue. Would you be willing to participate in a brief survey about your recent experience with Bangalore Telecommunications? Also, we’d like to fill you in on some of the new offerings for our platinum level customers.”