As irritating as it was, Benaki was no idiot. Word of my and Savitri’s argument, and the reasons for it, must have made its way to his ears. I’d been locked out of the meeting.
The dragon was still chuckling at his own joke, but I barely even registered his amusement. My mind was still on Trian, and what his presence meant for me.
It really wasn’t much of a decision at all. If I stayed here, and followed Benaki’s rules, I was dead. But if I turned myself in to Trian, it was possible he could put a stop to Benaki’s coup and save the lives of Savitri’s staff.
Sure, I’d probably end up dying for Richard’s idiocy anyway—most likely at the end of a very long and public trial—but right now, the way I saw it, my chances were better with Trian.
All I had to do was figure out how to get to him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Benaki certainly didn’t make it easy for me. The dragon hadn’t been kidding about my “quarantine.” I’d been marched straight to the break room and told to sit.
For the rest of the morning, I tried every excuse in the book, from bathroom breaks to fainting spells, and hadn’t gotten anywhere near the room where the dragon council representatives—Trian included—were ensconced.
I’d just about decided to take my chances and see whether I could outrun a dragon and get through Savitri’s office doors when they cracked open and Krishnan slipped through.
He walked across the room and, when he saw me, his eyes widened for a moment as he realized I’d been placed under guard.
“I was trying to help, you know.”
When he didn’t respond, I tried again. “You know the odds of Eriel being alive are infinitesimal.”
He paused, his forehead pressed against the wooden door. “Of course I know that.” The words were said in a low murmur, but I could hear his pain, his feelings of helplessness in every syllable.
He faced me. “But Savitri—she’s different. Kind. When I was a boy, she visited my school. It was just after she’d chosen Bangalore as her new capital, and there were a lot of humans who were terrified by the thought of a dragon-ruled city. A few of the children got brave, and started throwing sticks and rocks at her. She could have taken off all their heads. But do you know what she did?”
Krishnan smiled at the memory. “She turned to the leader of the group, a boy well-known for bullying, and asked him to tell her why he was afraid of dragons. The boy didn’t understand her, of course, but she waited patiently while her translator rephrased the question. I still don’t know how she did it, but by the end of their conversation, she had the boy sitting on her neck, whooping for joy as they sailed over the roof of the schoolhouse.”
I nodded. I’d come to India terrified of dragons, with good reason. She’d put me at ease almost immediately. “You don’t want to hurt her.”
“The death of her mate would kill her. I can’t stand by and let that happen to Savitri. Even though I know it’s hopeless...I just can’t do nothing.”
I looked behind me for my guard. He was still there, calm but far too alert. I couldn’t say more for fear he would overhear.
So I played my American card, and ignored the bounds of Indian custom.
Krishnan jolted when I wrapped my arms around him in a fierce hug, his body stiff with shock and discomfort. “Let me help her. Tell Mr. Chobardan that Carol is waiting for him outside the boardroom.” I whispered the words in his ear before stepped quickly away.
Krishnan stared at me for several moments without speaking. Then, with an ever-so-slight dip of his chin, he acquiesced. As I watched from the break room, Krishnan crossed the room dotted with cubicles and slipped back into the dragon lord’s office without using the door mechanism.
I stood, biting my nails, and watched as a long line of live goats were led into the room for lunch.
* * *
I didn’t have long to wait before Trian came striding from the office, his dark eyes scanning the room until they locked with mine. With almost casual grace, he crossed the room so swiftly my guard barely had a chance to notice him before Trian bowed before me in the typical Indian greeting.
“Pardon me.” Trian said, placing a casual hand on my shoulder. “Would you be able to help me with something in the garden?”
My guard, who understood enough English that he’d correctly interpreted Trian’s request, tried to step between us, almost knocking me to the ground in the process.
“I’m sorry, sir, but she is unavailable at the moment. Perhaps I can find a serving girl to assist you with your needs.”
I fought the urge for hysterical laughter when Trian turned to the dragon, a look of confusion on his face as he addressed me yet again. “By God, I think this dragon just tried to talk to me. What did he say?” Trian’s voice and manner matched that of Myrna’s old boss, Emory.
The dragon, unsure of how to respond, hesitated.
Trian took instant advantage and grabbed my arm, half dragging me toward the garden entrance.
My guard, shocked, did nothing but hop around me, claws out, like a distressed chicken. He obviously had no idea how to handle a disobedient human guest. Benaki had given specific orders that they were to be treated like royalty.
“Why look,” Trian’s Oklahoma drawl had returned at the same time he increased his speed until I was having to half run, half hop to keep up with him. The dragon did the same, his wings flapping at his sides as he tried to gain control of the situation. But he was obviously flustered by Trian’s act of complete incomprehension and pushy manners.
Trian pretended not to notice the dragon’s growing panic. “I think he’s dancing. Do all the Indian dragons dance?”
I felt the sunlight on my head as we stepped over the threshold and into Savitri’s garden. Trian headed straight for the copse of sandalwood trees near the fountain, keeping up a brisk patter of rude comments the entire time.
In the time it took me to come up with an appropriately ridiculous reply, Trian turned and drew the thin deadly sword strapped to his hip. With one tight motion, he stabbed my guard through the eye, felling the giant animal immediately, and with an efficiency that was scary. The dragon’s body fell neatly into the space under the trees, safe from the eyes of any in-sky observers.
“Carol. What the hell happened to your hair?”
I tore my eyes from the dead dragon to stare blankly at Trian. He must have asked me a question, but I hadn’t heard a thing.
Comprehension and sympathy clouded his gaze, and he grabbed me into a tight embrace before gently pushing me away with a hand on each of my shoulders so he could see my face. “I’m sorry honey, but I need you to think. Myrna still hasn’t managed to get Relobu to budge on the fugitive thing, and Richard is still selling the story that you were the mastermind behind the plan to blow up Tulsa. I’m relatively certain that your life wouldn’t be immediately in danger if you came back with me to Tulsa, but I can’t promise the same long-term. It’s your choice. You want to come with me, you come. But I’ll look the other way if you want to slip back inside.”
Trian’s eyes were solemn, and it warmed my heart to see that he’d be willing to defy Lord Relobu’s orders for the sake of Myrna’s feelings.
But I’d already given my decision all the thought it warranted.
“I’m ready to go. But only if you promise you’ll help Savitri.”
Trian’s lips thinned. “Krishnan filled me in on most of the situation, and I’ve figured out the rest with my own research. Never fear, Benaki doesn’t know it yet, but he will not be sitting on any thrones, now or in the future. I give you my word that we will rescue Eriel.”
I believed him. Because I knew who—and what—he was. Trian was just like Daniel. And when Daniel made a promise, he kept it.
“Take me home.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Trian nodded once, then proceeded to unfasten the row of buttons running down the center of his shirt. Handing me the soft, finely woven material, he told me to put it on ov
er my Indian “uniform” before disappearing back into the building.
Moments later he was back, his arms filled with silken saris taken from who knows where.
“It’s going to be a little chilly, but these should keep you from freezing to death.” Using the saris, he bundled me into a strange semblance of a winter coat before handing me his sword and stepping a few paces away.
“Watch the door. There will be a few moments when I’d prefer not to be attacked.”
He turned to face the stone wall, but I saw him grimace slightly before his back rippled with the unmistakable signs of impending dragon wings.
When Trian had first morphed in front of Myrna, I hadn’t been around, but her descriptions didn’t hold a candle to experiencing the sight firsthand.
Bones seemed to pop out of nowhere, reforming into the shape of a massive dragon. The hair on Trian’s head seemed to disappear completely, replaced with sleek black scales perfectly designed for covert nighttime flight.
He’d kicked his shoes off in the grass, and I watched, fascinated, as toenails morphed into four-inch long talons, and the structure of his foot stretched, elongated, until all signs of Trian the man had disappeared, replaced with a two-ton reptile with fierce but intelligent amber eyes.
“I don’t have a saddle, so you’ll need to tell me when you have to take a break.” His mouth now unable to form English words, Trian gave me the orders in dragonspeak.
I nodded.
Tucking his now-scaled legs until his body lay flat on the ground, Trian extended a wing to assist me onto the space between his shoulder blades.
“Last chance to change your mind.”
“Nope. This is what I need to do.”
He nodded his approval, giving me a final nudge. Once I was settled, Trian hopped sideways until he had a clear shot from under the trees to the sky above.
Craning his neck, Trian watched until the dragon on security duty dipped into a lazy turn before shooting into the sky with a furious burst of speed.
As I left India behind, it was to the delighted laughter of children who’d witnessed our escape from the other side of the stone wall.
Though it was the middle of the day, Trian seemed to have no trouble avoiding the guards circling Savitri Enterprises.
In fact, Trian made it look like child’s play as we dipped and darted into every available shadow, flying low as we used the trees for additional cover.
Forgetting for the moment what awaited me in Tulsa, and circumstances of the people I’d left behind, I sat back and allowed myself to enjoy the most delicious taste of freedom.
* * *
Other than the obvious fact that I was riding dragonback, the trip back to Tulsa was relatively uneventful. When my teeth had started to chatter from the cold, Trian landed, stopping only long enough to morph back into his human form so he could buy me a thicker coat and find some food to fuel him for the long flight home.
Within twelve hours, Trian had deposited me on American soil, morphed back into his human form, donned his Relobu uniform, and somberly escorted me into a holding cell at a downtown police station. The officer on duty, a young lieutenant with barely enough facial hair to qualify as a grown-up, took one look at Trian with his professional attire and obvious air of command agreed to Trian’s every request.
I’d half hoped that the police station would refuse to hold me—technically, Lord Relobu held no sway over the human legal system. But Tulsa, being the capital city of Relobu’s territory, not to mention the dragon lord’s home, had long held a reputation for allowing the dragons leeway when dealing with the rare human-committed crimes against dragons.
It didn’t bode well that not one of those humans was still living.
“I’ll see what I can do about getting you a visit from Myrna.”
Trian gave my hand a quick squeeze and left, the sound of the key turning in the lock the last sound I heard for a while.
I paced in my small cell, wishing someone could tell me the fate of my Indian friends. Had Trian arranged a painless reversal of power in the office building, or had more been lost to unnecessary violence?
I had no doubt that Trian, with the full force of Relobu’s armies behind him, would have no problem retrieving Savitri’s mate, should he still be living. I peeled my eyes open once again, the images of a dead Daniel appearing on the inside of my eyelids too much for my already raw emotions.
It felt like hours before the scrape of metal signaled that I had a visitor. I stood, hoping to see the familiar face of my roommate, come to tell me that Richard had decided to be a decent excuse for a human being and confess to his own crimes.
But the person who walked through the cold metal door of my cell had my heart trying to jump out of my chest with joy. I pushed both arms through the bars of my cage as if I could somehow convince myself I wasn’t dreaming.
“Daniel!”
So overjoyed that he was still alive, it took me a couple of beats to notice that he didn’t seem happy to see me.
“What the hell were you thinking!” He stalked across the room and grabbed me, despite his angry words, squeezing until I was sure I’d have imprints of metal bars on my face for the rest of my life.
“Oh my God. I thought you were dead.” I leaned into his embrace, awkward as it was, and reveled in the familiar smell of his cologne. The cage rattled with our movement, and I reluctantly let go of Daniel’s shirt, pulling back so I could memorize his face.
He did the same, and for several moments, with no words, we drank in the sight of each other.
Finally, he sighed. “Tell me why you lost your mind and turned yourself in to Relobu.”
“I had to. Benaki killed all of Savitri’s dragons, and he planned to get rid of us all as soon as the delegation left. I needed to ensure everyone was safe.”
Daniel scowled. “I told you not to worry about it. Jovan’s contacts came through. We had more than enough dragonpower to free Eriel. I came back to the Bangalore offices, only to have Krishnan tell me you’d flown off in the sunset with Trian not ten minutes earlier.”
I blinked as his words sank in. “You rescued Eriel? Well what the hell took you so long?”
He grunted when my fist hit his shoulder, but he grinned.
“Nice to see the slammer hasn’t broken your spirit. It took me a while to get Jovan on the line, and another couple of hours before we’d contacted the generals still loyal to Savitri. Benaki had only managed to turn one of the commanders, but it was enough to ensure that none of Savitri’s letters were being delivered, and that Benaki’s were substituted in their place.
“Savitri’s commanders had no trouble understanding my English, but I had no idea how to decode their responses. By the time I’d found someone who could translate for me, the dragons were deep in an argument on the best way to take the house with the least amount of damage.”
His lips kicked into a grin. “Apparently Savitri is pretty particular about her furnishings, and her soldiers weren’t too keen on facing her if they accidentally broke one of her marble busts. They seemed to be split on whether the life of her mate would keep them out of trouble for messing with her breakables.”
He opened his mouth to tell me more but the wide double doors opened, revealing Myrna. A man carrying a rather impressive ring weighted down with what appeared to be almost one hundred keys trailed behind her. He seemed familiar with the set, however, because it took him only a moment to locate the one that opened my cell.
“Carol!” Myrna almost knocked me down in her excitement. “I am so glad you’re okay.”
Grinning, I gave her a tight hug before moving to step from the barred room.
The man with the keys stepped forward to block the exit. “Ma’am, I need you to stay where you are. Until Lord Relobu gives the word, I’m afraid we need to keep you here.”
I turned to look at Myrna. Her face was twisted in displeasure, but she confirmed his statement. “The old lizard still refuses to believe Richard was t
he man behind the bombing.”
Daniel turned to Myrna, shock in his eyes. “How did DRACIM allow that to happen?” His lips had tightened in anger.
I knew the feeling, but my anger wasn’t directed at DRACIM. Or even the dragon lord. Relobu seemed to have chosen sides, and he’d picked the poster child for dragon relations. On paper, I did look like the one more likely to hate dragons. Richard’s father had basically founded DRACIM, so I couldn’t really blame the dragon lord for thinking it was crazy for Richard to be the mastermind behind a plot to mass murder the very creatures he worked with on a daily basis.
It was understandable that the dragon lord would finger Emory and me for the crime, especially considering my obvious unease around dragons while preparing for the China trip. It had taken me a full day to be comfortable around the old dragon Trian had tasked to help with my combat lessons. And that dragon had been half-lame and practically toothless.
In contrast, Richard had worked for Relobu since he was a young man. Since I was first introduced to Richard Green, he’d been polite, well-spoken, and infinitely gracious to humans and dragons alike.
In fact, when his attention had turned my way, I’d been understandably flattered. I thought I’d finally gotten over my horrendous luck with men. Here was a man who seemed to have it all together.
His dad had been permanently injured by dragons, but Richard still interacted with them every day.
During our mission in China, I’d spent most of the time in the throes of a panic attack. Richard had remained unnaturally calm.
Funny, I’d really admired Richard’s capacity to remain unruffled. What I was only now beginning to realize was Richard’s anger wasn’t gone, it was burning deep beneath the surface. To everyone else Richard was professional, meticulous, and even-tempered.
I looked to Daniel. His hair was mussed, his shirt wrinkled, and he was currently shouting at my friend for not doing more to get me out of here.
And somehow, this time, I realized I had a keeper.
Too bad I wouldn’t be around long enough to prove it.
Dancing with Dragons Page 21
