The Queen's Wings

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  “Do you have a villa in Provence?” I asked.

  “No, but if you want I could buy you one.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “It would have to be a vacation home, though. Lerisse wouldn’t like sharing her territory with you and we’d have to get permission for you to visit.”

  “Is Lerisse like your mother?”

  “She’s a Chinese dragon, so no.”

  “I mean in personality.”

  “She’s a Queen, so yes.”

  “Does she have a lot of sons?”

  “Why?” Reed asked, finally glancing up at me. “Do you find me lacking in companionship that you would seek another so soon?”

  “Not anymore,” I said and snatched his ereader away from him. “This is soulless.” I shook it at him.

  “It holds over two hundred novels.”

  I slid it into my purse. “I didn’t say it wasn’t useful. I said it had no soul.”

  “Electronic devices rarely do.” He rested his hand on my knee, tickled the back of it with one finger.

  I shifted closer to him. “Exactly. A book, on the other hand, has a history you can feel in its cover and weight and smell in its paper. You never know who else has held on to that book before you. Could a bride have read it on her wedding day? Could a pregnant woman have read it the day of her child’s birth?”

  “It’s a book, Carolyn. Merely paper and cardboard.” Reed trailed a finger down my cheek.

  “What do you treasure?” I grabbed his finger and pretended I was going to bite it.

  “My sanity. So can we please stop with the personification of a bunch of papyrus?”

  He pulled me in for a kiss.

  Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques, Dormez-vous?

  “What’s your hoard?” I said, after a soft kiss that was worth the earworm.

  “That’s an extremely sensitive topic for a dragon.”

  “I had your dick down my throat. How’s that for sensitive?”

  “And poetic.” He grinned and kissed the tip of my nose.

  Barf, Arianna said.

  “I bet Jack’s is human women.”

  “What?” Reed said.

  What? Arianna asked and my vision tinged with red for a moment.

  “He collects them. I bet he keeps only the loveliest, the most intelligent—”

  “I’m sure that’s not a qualification.”

  “Oh, he just can’t have sex with them all the time.”

  “This is not a proper conversation. I have no idea if Jack even has a hoard. He’s not that old, and it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for him not to have found his niche yet.”

  Reed was a little bent out of shape that I brought up Jack. I only did it to get back at Arianna. But it was nice to see him a little jealous. Maybe he did care for me and wasn’t following his mother’s orders.

  “I bet he has a sumptuous hotel like yours, where he keeps his harem. They’re all pampered and protected and they wait for him to visit.”

  “You’ve read Arabian Nights, too many times.”

  You’re being mean, Arianna said.

  “Come on, we’ve exchanged bodily functions I think that entitles me to some intimacy. What’s your hoard?”

  Reed flicked a switch and the privacy windshield separated us from the driver. “I will not have inappropriate conversations with you in front of the humans.”

  I bristled at the humans remark, but persisted. “What makes your eyes gleam with avarice? You already know mine is books.”

  “Gold,” he sighed.

  “How boring,” I said, oddly deflated.

  “It was gold that bought that hotel we stayed in last night,” he pointed out.

  If he truly loved you, he would give you a gold trinket, Arianna said nastily. A gold watch, a ring, a bracelet. Even a pair of earrings would show you his regard.

  It’s too soon, I told her. It hasn’t even been a week yet.

  I know dragons, Arianna said.

  In your few years among them? I mocked.

  That’s longer than you have had.

  The car passed by Versailles, and I pressed myself against the window. “Oh, Reed, can we stop by and see the Hall of Mirrors? I want to see what made Napoleon weep.”

  The car pulled over.

  “I didn’t mean now,” I said. “I want to see the Queen.”

  “And so you shall.” Reed stepped out of the car and opened my door for me.

  We went to the head of the lines, and he flashed a badge at the gate that let us through.

  “Follow me, we must be quick,” he told me, and I eagerly followed him past the illustrious gardens and the fountains until we came to a lovely cottage in the shadow of the great castle.

  “Marie Antoinette’s,” Reed said.

  “She was a dragon?”

  “No, she lost her head if you recall.”

  “There’s a Queen around here?”

  “She was Queen,” Reed said.

  It took me a moment. I actually searched for a dragon. “You tricked me, you asshole. That’s not nice.” My gorge bubbled up, but I was damned if I was going to ruin these beautiful lawns no matter how much I wanted to hurt Reed right now.

  He shrugged. “I needed to get you out of a dangerous situation quickly. You accepted my terms—”

  “You gave your word.”

  “And I have kept my promise. The Queen lies anon,” he said dramatically. “Now, I must return to my business. The car will take you to Niall once you’re done sightseeing. You’re perfectly safe here. I have people at all entrances and exits watching out for you. Besides, you’re in Lerisse’s territory. No rogue would risk her anger to start trouble. Give them a few days to bribe her, though, and this will be impossible. So enjoy yourself while you can. The driver has a museum pass and some Euros for you that will allow you to explore Paris when you’re done here. I’ll collect you after dinner.”

  “You’re not even going to take me out to dinner?” I said, more to myself than to Reed. There was a hurt stabbing into my chest that wasn’t helping with Arianna’s I-told-you-so smugness aura.

  “There will be other dinners. I need to make sure to send out red herrings to cloud our trail.”

  “What am I to you?” I said, dreading the answer.

  “You are my Queen,” he said simply and before all the gawkers shifted into his dragon form.

  “I absolve you of your bond,” I said, mimicking his mother’s words.

  I couldn’t read the dragon’s expressions, but he didn’t seem upset when he said, “I never gave you my bond.” And then he flew away. At least Arianna’s smugness disappeared and was replaced by a burning anger that matched mine.

  I sent him off with a two-middle-figure salute. Dick.

  Another woman might have marched right back into the car and had the driver drive down to the Champs-Élysées and spend a lot of a certain dragon’s gold. But there was too much history I wanted to see, so I spent the rest of the day walking the grounds and feeling a little sorry for myself.

  I was still in a funk when I got back to the entrance and saw the car waiting for me. The driver was different. I don’t think I would have noticed except this one was a warrior not a driver. He was built like a dragon, but he was definitely human.

  He crossed his arms and leaned against the car. “Please don’t run,” he said when he realized I knew something was up. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “Are you a cultist?”

  “No.” He cocked his head quizzically, and I noticed he had a long, wide scar on his face that trailed down his neck and into his shirt. “What cult were you expecting?”

  “Where’s the driver?”

  “He was given the night off.” The man said with a half grin.

  “Will he be all right?”

  “He’ll have a headache, but Reed will take care of him.”

  I thought about it. I didn’t have a lot of options. “All right. What do you want?”

  “Doe
s this mean anything to you?” He slid off his jacket and unbuttoned his sleeve to reveal a tattoo of a broadsword.

  Order of the Dragon Slayer! Arianna screeched in my head, when she recognized the tattoo.

  “Not so loud,” the man said. “My name is Joachim. Here, get in the car so we can talk without attracting a crowd. I promise not to slay you.”

  He’ll kill Niall and Reed! Arianna babbled.

  “You have to promise not to kill my father and brother,” I said or rather tried to, but Arianna took over the pronouns. I wasn’t going to step a foot in that car until I was sure.

  “I will only act in self-defense,” he said. “This is my vow. Now, please, ride up front with me and I’ll take you to a gourmet French restaurant.”

  “That’s all you want? To take me to dinner? The last guy who tried to force me into a car got his face burned off.”

  “I’m not forcing you. I’m requesting your presence. I’d like to ask you a few questions,” he said. “I would have called to schedule an appointment, but I didn’t have your number.”

  I searched to see if anyone was looking at us funny or coming to stop him from taking me. “What happened to the dragons Reed had on guard at the gates? Didn’t they see you take out the driver? Why didn’t they come out when I freaked about you being with the Order of the Dragon Slayers?”

  Joachim smirked. “The Order has ways to hide from dragons. They saw nothing amiss and probably still think you’re touring the gardens.”

  “How?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

  He waggled his fingers at me. “Magic.”

  “Reed probably has the car bugged or LoJacked or something,” I said, forcing bravado into my voice.

  Joachim jerked his thumb at the backseat where a bunch of wires and metal bits had been tossed.

  Well, there goes that idea.

  “Why do you kill dragons?” I asked.

  “We no longer hunt the dragons for glory or to ransack their hoards. We are the judge, jury, and executioner of those dragons who design to take over the world.”

  “The last time an evil overlord cackled about world domination, it was a human.” I told him about the cult’s plan for Nidhogg and he cursed a long time in Spanish. “So I’m not sure I can trust you.”

  “Call Niall and let him know you’re all right. Tell him you’re with me. He’ll vouch for my intentions.” He handed me his cell phone.

  I had to search for Niall’s number in my phone’s address book because all I normally had to do was press 1.

  “Yes, Joachim, what is it?” Niall’s voice sounded tinny and distracted.

  “Niall, it’s Carolyn. Joachim is going to give me a lift back to Paris.”

  “Paris?” Niall asked. “Where are you?”

  “Visiting a Queen.” I gave him the rundown of the past twenty-four hours—glossing over the sex part.

  “You shouldn’t be in Paris.” Niall lowered his voice. “Lerisse is very territorial. I think it’s best that you stay with Joachim. She won’t risk the Order’s disapproval by demanding they turn you over to her. Try to keep a low profile dear.” He hung up.

  Handing the phone back to Joachim, I shook my head. “It’s odd that a dragon and a Dragon Slayer are friends.”

  “I wouldn’t say we were drinking buddies.”

  “But he trusts you,” I said. “And that’s good enough for me. I don’t want to go back to Reed’s hotel. I’m hella pissed at him right now.”

  He held the car door open for me and shut it when I was settled.

  “I have a room at the George Cinque on the Champs-Élysées.”

  “Is there another room at George Sank?”

  “Let’s see.” He dialed while driving, accelerating and passing cars with laissez-faire that only an experienced European driver could achieve.

  I gripped the door and winced as he left maybe a foot of clearance on each pass.

  By the time we arrived in Paris, it was around nine at night. Joachim steered through to the Marais district and we had a wonderful Moroccan meal.

  “So,” I said over my fourth glass of wine. “What does a Dragon Slayer have to talk to me about? How long have you been following me?”

  “We keep tabs on Reed, and when it was confirmed he had brought a human to his suite, we were intrigued. You see, he has little use for humans.”

  “So I’ve noticed. Do you keep tabs on Reed because he’s slated to be slain?” I was slurring my words a bit.

  “No,” Joachim said. “He’s a big shot and tends to have his tail in some very important things. Anyway,” he continued. “We had intelligence reports a female claiming to be Arianna was sighted in Mexico. I wanted to confirm the rumors that you are Arianna come back to life.”

  “Nope,” I said. I puttered around inside my brain, but it seemed alcohol dimmed her presence. That was worth remembering if I ever forgave Reed enough to fuck him again.

  “Then I wanted to see if you were a shifted dragon.”

  “Not yet.” I supported my heavy head on my palm and tried to concentrate on what he was saying.

  “There’s still time,” he said.

  “Time for what?” I was hoping I hadn’t zoned out during an important conversation point.

  “Time to stop the transformation.”

  “I don’t want to stop the transformation. Can that even been done?” Who on earth would want to not become a dragon?

  Joachim nodded. “Do you truly want to be a Brood Mother?”

  Oh yeah, the forced-baby thing.

  “No. I mean, it might be nice for a while—if it wasn’t for the laying eggs part.”

  “Being a female dragon is no better than a prison sentence—for life.”

  “I think that’s a little harsh.” Reed wouldn’t let me live like I was in jail—would he?

  “You’ll be in a gilded cage that’s for sure,” he acknowledged. “But you’ll be manipulated by older dragons who have a mastered the art of deception and double speak.”

  That fit Reed to a tee. Joachim’s words rang true.

  “Carolyn, if I thought you would retain your humanity, your freedom, and your rights when you become a dragon, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  “Have you done this to others? Other females?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Then you are helping to keep the other Brood Mothers in the same prison you are talking about. The less Queens, the more the Brood Mothers need to…well breed.” Jeez, men sucked. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that ten Queens would do double the work that five could. Wait. I crossed my eyes. It wasn’t a good time to do math. I would just be pissed and not explain myself. Batting my hand on the table, I said. “Yeah!”

  He shook his head. “We’ve only stopped a few transformations.”

  “How did you find the female shifters?” Craigslist? Single, Latino warrior seeks vulnerable women about to shift into a baby-making machine…

  “The majority of the women came from China. We regularly scan the orphanages for the signs.”

  “What signs?” I leaned forward. This was better than talking to a Queen. I needed to lay off the wine. I signaled to the waiter, who ignored me.

  “It’s a bit mystical, but you have blue-tinged auras around your chests.”

  “If we walk around the Louvre tomorrow, can you see if we can spot any other Queens?”

  “We could,” Joachim said. “But I think time would be better spent perusing the masterpieces.” Joachim snapped his fingers and ordered in French. I had my coffee tout de suite.

  “We can do both.” I decided, finishing my cup of coffee.

  “Fine by me,” he said. “Just don’t get your hopes up. Anyway, when we recognize a Queen, we adopt her. And we give her a choice.”

  There was no choice. How could you give up that side of you?

  “What happens if she decides to change into a dragon?”

  “It only happened once, a few years ago.”

 
; I racked my brain. “I would have heard about that. There isn’t a new Queen.”

  He nodded sadly. “She was taken from us before we could instruct her on how to defend herself.”

  “What happened?” Cold fingers of dread clutched at my heart. I didn’t want to hear what he said next.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “The fact she hasn’t been heard of makes me think the worst. That she is being abused.”

  Arianna stirred. Anger seemed to give her a passage back to the forefront of my mind. “You must have some leads. Who took her?”

  “It was a large force of ten dragons and five drakes. We killed some. The ones we captured as prisoners went into the weave to avoid questioning.”

  Cowards, Arianna said. She was getting on board with this.

  “It’s getting late. Shall we go back to the hotel?” He dropped some Euros on the table, and we walked back to the car.

  What happens to the dragon essence for the girls who don’t want to become monsters? Arianna asked and I frowned at her sarcasm.

  “The blue band is dissipated.”

  “Does it go back to the weave?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so.”

  How many dragons have you killed trying to get back your friend? Arianna asked.

  Joachim smiled grimly. “Quite a few.”

  “Are you any closer than you were a few years ago?”

  He shook his head. “I think she is dead. I hope she is dead.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “Not when you consider the alternative.”

  My wonderful dinner threatened to come up.

  “Come on,” Joachim said. “If you choose to shift, you already have some powerful dragons to protect you. I can accelerate the process, but it will hurt. The Order will protect you as well.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Why indeed?” Reed’s icy tones hit us just as we exited the restaurant.

  “How did you track us?” Joachim asked, more with curiosity than anything else. I really thought he should be more concerned.

  “Carolyn has something of mine.” Reed’s eyes were completely dragon black, no whites showing.

  The ereader, I thought and wondered if he had known I’d snatch it from him. All the spy games were getting to be a little much.

  “Do you want it back?” I dug in my purse for it.

  “No matter,” Reed said. “Since you and it will be coming with me.”