Lars did not even turn his head. “You can look all you want,” he said casually. “But just so you know, it makes me hot.” One of the dragon’s golden eyes winked.
A deep guttural cry of longing issued from her throat. She turned around and began her change. She glanced over one shoulder as she was struggling into her underwear. Lars still had not put on his shirt. Wisps of smoke had replaced the fire coming from his dragon tattoo. She was all thumbs as she crammed jeans and T-shirt back on.
“Have you ever set your clothes on fire?” she asked when she was completely dressed and they were heading back towards the house.
“Not since I was a lad,” Lars said.
“Were you born like that?”
He laughed. “No, when I came into my talent at puberty, the tat developed. Most of the time it just looks like ordinary ink, but when I’m roused, let’s just say I’ve always got someone watching my back.”
“And you really were looking at me?”
“I certainly was. And a very pretty sight it was too, Mrs. Lindorm.”
“I’m fat.”
Lars stopped dead in his tracks. He put out a brawny hand and captured her arm. “I already told you that’s not so. You’re beautiful. Soft and round and luscious. I’m going to have a hard time going to sleep tonight thinking of all that honey-colored skin, and wondering if those nipples of yours go a deeper shade of brown when you’re aroused, or if they flush crimson when they pucker up.”
“Stop it,” Nicole protested. She could feel her face flaming.
“Why? You should know that I find you desirable. Doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything you don’t want me to.”
“Why are you saying things like that to me? Are you trying to seduce me?”
They walked along in silence for a bit. “I speak pretty good English,” Lars said eventually, “But it’s not my mother tongue. Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t seduced imply that I’m trying to take advantage of you? You might as well say that you are trying to seduce me with the scent of your arousal.”
“What scent?” Nicole demanded.
Lars reached for her hand and gave it a little squeeze. He kept it in his as they continued strolling back towards the house. “You smell like a woman who is hungry.” He shrugged. “I’m sure that you can smell that I too am aroused. It’s one of the great pleasures of being a dragon.”
“I’m not sure I like that,” muttered Nicole.
“Being able to smell? Or that I can smell you?”
“Both.”
He chuckled. “You can’t dance as we danced tonight, and think that I wouldn’t know your blood was fizzing in your veins.”
He reached around her and opened the back door and they walked into the kitchen together. Theo was standing at the counter making himself a sandwich.
“Where’s Matt?” Lars asked.
“In bed,” Theo said. He took a large bite of pickled mackerel and bread.
“Already?” Nicole asked.
Theo swallowed. “Well, sure, he said he goes to bed at eight. It’s five past eight. Certainly, he’s in bed.”
“And asleep?” Lars asked.
“Now that I can’t say for sure. But his lights are out, and I think he’s pretty tired, so probably.” Theo finished the last piece of his snack.
“Did he brush his teeth?” Nicole asked.
“Of course.”
“I usually read him a bedtime story,” Nicole said.
“I told him the tale of Bujold the One-Eyed clearing the Gulf of Bothnia of pirates to secure the archipelago for the House of Lindorm.”
“It’s a good story,” Lars said. “But don’t you think it’s just a little exciting for a fireling at bedtime? You’ll give the sprat nightmares”
“I doubt it. That boy is pretty robust. And interested in his heritage.”
Nicole disappeared down the hall to check on her son. He was fast asleep, dressed in his pajamas. His terrarium of hermit crabs had been moved to the table beside his bed. She peeked through the glass. She thought there were now three, up only one. She checked the bathroom, but the sink was empty and his towel was hung up neatly on the rack.
The men were talking when she came back into the kitchen. Lars had gotten out more pickled fish, and was making himself a snack with crackers and sour cream. There was beer in tall glasses, and they were laughing and talking like old friends. Theo broke off in the middle of whatever he was saying when she came in.
“No, Theo, Nicole’s a part of this. She has to hear what you have to report. Keep going,” Lars said.
Theodor Lindorm turned his blue eyes to her. They searched hers as if they were seeking some knowledge of her soul. And then his shaggy head nodded as if he was satisfied. “Sit down, cousin,” he said. “This may take some time.”
“Would you like a beer, Nicole?” Lars asked.
She shook her head.
“We’ve heard from Argentina,” Theo said. “Your house in Santa Rosa del Pampas burned to the ground. Despite what you told us, the authorities found nothing resembling human bodies. That must be quite a blast you have there, Nicole. Or those dragons managed to fly away. The authorities are still trying to find out how the blaze started so fast, and spread so quickly. They are looking for you and Matteo and questioning Alberto Bernal.”
“Oh my goodness,” Nicole said. “What should I do? That house was all I had in the world. But I can’t claim insurance unless I prove I’m still alive? And Alberto shouldn’t be under suspicion. He’s a jerk, but he didn’t set that fire. I did.”
“The Villa may have been all you had in the world last week,” said Lars. “But this week you are under the protection of the House of Lindorm, and money is not going to be an issue for you ever again.”
Nicole looked between the two big men with exasperation. She knew the military was not a generous employer. She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have accepted even as much as I have. I can’t continue indefinitely to mooch off of you.”
Theo put his big shaggy yellow head back and roared. For a brief moment Nicole thought he might go head over ears at the table. But he recovered his composure enough to smack Lars on the back with a hand like a ham. “Haven’t you told her?”
The tips of Lars’ ears were glowing. “It hasn’t come up.” He turned to her. “Dragons are naturally acquisitive. We hang on to what we have, generation after generation. The House of Lindorm is wealthy beyond your wildest imaginings.” He shrugged. “Supporting you and Matteo in the style to which we would like you to be accustomed, wouldn’t put the smallest dent in our hoard.”
“If you’re rich, why are you and your cousin in the Navy?” She demanded.
The men exchanged identical blue glances. Two pairs of broad shoulders shrugged. Theo waggled his bushy eyebrows at Lars. “She is your wife, you explain it.”
“Part of being a dragon is a restless quest for adventure. In bygone days, the men of our house engaged in raids, and became pirates. But these days, we channel our restlessness into military service. It works out well for everyone, and makes the world a safer place.”
“Pirates?” Nicole asked.
Lars nodded. “Viking raiders. Dutch privateers. Buccaneers. We were pretty much into raping and pillaging.”
“Good God.”
“I can assure you, he had very little to do with it,” Theo said dryly. “But I was going to tell you of the news from Argentina. We knew of six Russians. Two were probably killed in the Villa. That left four, plus Landor. Rongo reports that Landor is dead.”
“Who is Landor?” Nicole asked.
Lars took up the story. “Prince Maximilian of Landor is an outlaw exiled from Dragonry for his crimes against the Guild of Dragons. He is also our cousin.”
“Another Lindorm, you mean?” Nicole asked.
Theo shook his head. “No. His house and ours are related maternally. Some long ago Lady Lindorm, and some Grand Duchess of Landor, were sisters, or first cousins. I can’t remember.”
“So how do you mean he is an outlaw?” Nicole looked between the two cousins. Their pleasant jovial expressions had stiffened. They looked like dangerous warriors, as she supposed they were.
“I told you that the European dragons are governed by the Council of the Guild of Dragons, didn’t I?” Lars said.
Nicole nodded.
“Last year Landor tried to steal the Countess Sarkany. A few months later, he was part of a raiding party that attacked the High Marshal of the Council and his bride. For these crimes, he deserved death. But since we couldn’t get our hands on him, the Council settled for stripping him of his hoard and throwing him out of the Guild. He has been on the run ever since.”
“I don’t understand,” she looked between them feeling horror. “Are you saying, that your Guild takes the law into its own hands and kills people it doesn’t like?”
“Only dragons,” Theo said. He leaned across the table and spoke directly to her. “It’s not like mortals have the firepower to take down a rogue dragon. What sort of prison do you think you could be kept in?”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Nicole admitted. “But it doesn’t really matter in this case, because this guy Landor is dead. Right?”
Theo looked across at Lars. “What do you think, cousin? Do you think the ID is good?”
“Even if he had plastic surgery, as we believe, he couldn’t have changed his smell. The Maoris were perfectly aware of what he smelled like. Yes, I think their intelligence is good. Apparently, Landor died of sepsis after being tortured by those Russians.”
Nicole gasped. “Are you serious?”
Lars sighed and reached for her hand. “Yes. As serious as death.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“Who are these Russians anyway?” Nicole demanded. “Are you dragons fighting some kind of Civil War?”
“Sort of,” Lars said reluctantly. “We’ve had some trouble in the last year, and it all seems to be coming out of Russia. Only we don’t really understand how or why or who or what or where. We suspected your late husband was in bed with the Russian mafia. And there are rumors about a dragon shifter who’s a Mafia boss. But how Vladimir the Enforcer connects up with Felipe Balcazar Mendez and Maximilian of Landor, we just don’t know.”
“Well,” Theo said, “I wouldn’t quite say that. I think we can make an educated guess now. Based on the fact that those Russian dragons wound up in Santa Rosa del Pampas after torturing Landor. They came to Argentina looking for Landor. And he must have had information they wanted, or they wouldn’t have bothered. They would just have gone straight to Nicole.” He scrutinized her face until she felt quite exposed.
“I can assure you,” she said, “that I don’t know anything about Felipe. We lived together on and off for a few months until I ran away, that’s all. It wasn’t like a real relationship. He did not tell me things. And I never met this Prince Maximilian, or any Russians that I know of.”
“I think Landor went hunting for you because he thought Felipe had left a fortune with you.” Theo drained the last of his beer and leaned back in his chair. “Landor had two problems after the Council sanctioned him. One, he had no means of getting himself a wife. And two, he had no money. I think he knew about Felipe’s widow, and he thought that if he had a little plastic surgery done he could make a fresh start in Argentina. He might’ve gotten away with it too, if the Russians hadn’t come after him.”
“But why would this Max guy think I had any money?” Nicole looked between the two Lindorms. “Felipe didn’t give me anything – ever.”
“I believe you,” Theo said. “At least I believe he gave you nothing you realized was a treasure. Did he give you any jewelry?”
She rolled her eyes. “A wedding ring. That’s it.”
“May I see it?” Theo held out his hand. His eyes were on her left hand.
“This isn’t his ring,” she said quickly. “This is Lars’ ring.”
“Of course. But Felipe did give you a ring?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have it with you? Here?”
“In my room. I’ll get it if you want.”
“It would set my mind at ease,” Theo said.
Lars shrugged. “It could be,” he said.
Nicole didn’t know what they could be talking about. The ring that Felipe had given her was quite old. But it wasn’t valuable. After Felipe’s death, she had wanted to know if it was worth pawning. Old Señor Johnston, who ran the pawn shop, had examined it and handed it back with a regretful shake of his head. He hadn’t made her an offer, explaining in his polite way, that to do so would only have been to insult her.
She had looked at it herself with the strongest magnifying glass she could find. It had no hallmark. So it wasn’t even pure gold. It was too red to really be gold. But it was the only tangible evidence that she was a respectable married woman, so she had continued to wear it, until Lars had taken it off her hand so he could replace it with his own.
She put Felipe’s ring into Theo’s hand. “It’s not even real gold,” she said apologetically.
His big hand closed over it and he turned incredulously to Lars. “You won’t believe it,” he said. He opened his fist and let the ring drop onto Lars’ palm.
“Oh, it’s gold all right,” Lars told her. “I recognized that when I pulled it off Nicole’s hand. But other than that.” He broke off and bounced the little circle on his palm. “I got nothing for you, cousin.”
“Don’t you recognize one of the Scales of Dragonera?” Theo asked raising his eyebrows.
* * *
Nicole’s ring was burning his palm. The little circle was just big enough for her finger. Lars picked it up with thumb and forefinger and looked through it. It was perfectly plain. No engraving. No hallmark. It wasn’t even scratched. “Did you wear it all the time?” he asked Nicole.
“Right up until you pulled it off my hand. It was the only way that I could show the good people of Santa Rosa that I wasn’t an unmarried mother.” Nicole’s voice was bitter. “Not that they believed I had ever been married.”
“And it just came off when you wanted it to?” Theo asked skeptically.
“It’s funny you should say that,” Nicole said. “Right after Felipe and I were married I wanted desperately to remove it. But nothing I did would budge it. I tried everything, soap, butter, olive oil. It would spin on my finger, and it didn’t feel too tight, but it wouldn’t come off.”
“What did Felipe say when he put it on your hand?” asked Theo.
Nicole shook her head and her damp and tangled curls bounced. “Something flowery in Spanish. Something about our hearts beating as one and this being his pledge. Something about only death dissolving our bond. It was all crap and I didn’t memorize it.”
“It certainly feels like one of the scales,” Lars said. “Now that I am taking the time to hold it, it’s trying to burn a hole in my hand.” He rested it on the table.
“Let me see.” Theo picked it up and stuck it on the tip of one finger. “I see what you mean. Hot and getting hotter. Probably it was made from one of the scales. They say that for five hundred years, the Balcazars have sealed every promise with one. And it certainly sounds as though Felipe sealed it to Nicole’s finger.”
“Do you remember the first time you could pull it off?” Lars asked.
“It was in late April,” Nicole said. “By then I’d been wearing it for a long time. But I fiddled with it every morning. A sort of futile ritual. And then without warning, it came off like any other ring. I thought I had lost weight or something. I was awfully busy when Tia Evita was failing. She was bedridden for a long time.”
“Right after Felipe died,” said Lars. “Which makes sense.”
“But you kept wearing it?” Theo checked.
“In Santa Rosa, taking it off would have sent a signal that I wanted to take a lover. And with Tia Luisa dead, I already had more offers than I wanted.”
Lars felt a growl forming in his throa
t. He swallowed. This was no time for displays of possessiveness.
“May I keep this?” Theo asked Nicole.
“If you wish, it’s not worth anything.”
“They say that any of the scales of the Estremaura is the key to their treasure stores.” Lars shrugged. “It’s probably just a legend.”
“Probably.” Theo rolled the ring carefully into a scrap of paper he pulled out of his pants pocket. He tucked it equally carefully into the breast pocket of his shirt. “It seems strange that Felipe would have given his bride the key to his family’s hoard, and then let her escape.”
“Not if he knew she couldn’t take it off,” countered Lars. “And not if he was afraid of her. Maybe he knew exactly where she was. It wouldn’t have been hard to trace a girl with no resources. Maybe he reasoned that leaving her and the boy safely in Santa Rosa del Pampas was safer than having her blast him into oblivion.”
“I can assure you, Felipe wasn’t the least bit frightened of me.” Nicole shuddered.
“Your dragoness is beyond measure powerful,” Lars corrected her. “Felipe probably realized he had forged his own doom when he transformed you. But I’m only speculating, we can’t know for sure. He didn’t leave a record of his thoughts.”
“I don’t even understand why you think that my ring would unlock anything. It’s just a ring. And I can’t see how you can transform a dragon scale into gold.”
“Dragon legends have a way of being true,” Lars said. “They get passed around, and changed, but often underneath there is a core of truth. The scales are really coins minted from South American gold by the Spanish. They date from the time of the conquistadors. The House of Estremaura boarded many a galleon full of gold and claimed it for their own.”
“Perhaps Vladimir the Enforcer knows one of these legends,” Theo said. “The Guild Archivist, Lord Spyridon, has been researching the histories of the Russian dragons. Perhaps he will know something about how the Estremauras relate to one of the possible houses of Vladimir.”
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