“Yeees,” I said again, slower. “I don’t see where this is going.”
“You want our help to free her.”
“Am I supposed to be seeing something?” I asked, confused.
“I’m a silver dragon,” May pointed out. “And what do the silver dragons have to do with Baltic?”
I shook my head. “I still don’t—Oh! The curse!”
“Yup.” Aisling nodded. “We were going to ask your help with that anyway, but this is the perfect opportunity to get both things done at once. May and I will help you break out Thala, and in return Baltic lifts the curse that he put on the silver dragons when you died.” She paused for a few seconds. “You’d think he’d let the silver dragons find mates now that you’re alive.”
“You’d think,” I said, sighing. “He does like his grudges, though. He still feels that since a silver dragon killed me, it’s only right that none of them should have any mates born to them.”
“Dragons can be so stubborn sometimes,” Aisling agreed. “Where were we? If you get Baltic to take off the curse, then when Drake and Gabriel find out what we’ve done, they won’t be able to be all pissy, because the curse will be lifted. Kind of a ‘you scratch our back and we scratch yours’ situation, only with dragon claws and stubborn wyverns.”
“I’ve asked him a couple of times about lifting it, and he seems pretty adamant that it’s not going to happen,” I said with deliberation. “So I can’t promise you he will lift the curse, but I can swear to do everything in my power to make that so.”
“We need that curse removed,” May said warningly.
“I know you do, and I promise I’ll move heaven and earth to make it happen, but it might take a bit of time, more time than we have right now. Baltic is going to Riga for a few days to start the reclamation work on Dauva, which means it’s the perfect moment to deal with the situation concerning Thala. I can’t guarantee he will lift the curse in the next day or so, but I know that if I have some time to work on it, eventually I can make him see reason.”
May looked skeptical, but after exchanging yet another pregnant glance with Aisling, she acquiesced. “I don’t like it, but I guess that’s the best we’re going to get. We’ll consider your word as your bond on it, though.”
“Thank you. And I will start working on Baltic right away. I’ll talk to him before he leaves for Latvia, and after he’s gone, I’ll summon the First Dragon.”
“I wish I could be there,” May said with a sigh. “But Gabriel would never allow it.”
“This might help with the weyr situation as well,” I pointed out. “If we get Thala out, she’s likely to talk about what happened during the time Baltic was in France when all those dragons were killed.”
“Then again, she might have been the one to kill them,” Aisling said.
“I don’t think it’s likely she’d do something against Baltic’s wishes, and he had no reason to want the deaths of those dragons. His involvement with Fiat was simply an arrangement dating back to Baltic’s resurrection.”
“There will have to be some terms, you know,” May said, sipping a glass of white wine. “Such as prohibitions against attack by Thala.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I think we can get her to agree to anything in order to get out of her prison,” I said, filled with confidence.
“You don’t know that for sure,” May said. “We are at war, after all.”
“Yes, but she takes orders from Baltic, and he doesn’t have any desire to attack anyone now that he and I are together. The war was declared against us, remember. Unless you guys can get them to call it off?”
“I wish it was that easy.” May shook her head. “Every time I talk to Gabriel about it, he tells me it’s weyr law, and no matter how he may feel personally, he is duty bound to uphold weyr law.”
“Drake more or less said the same thing. Honestly, if they weren’t sexy to the tips of their toes, I’d be completely fed up with dragon stubbornness,” Aisling said, moving her plate away from Jim’s covetous stare.
“What we need is to get everyone together in a nice quiet place—the wyverns, and Thala, and even Fiat. I just know if we could get them all together, we could clear Baltic’s name.”
“I don’t think Drake would go for that,” Aisling said, chewing thoughtfully on her lunch.
“Gabriel might, if the curse was lifted.” May’s expression showed there wasn’t much hope otherwise.
“Baltic is going to be a bit sticky,” I said hesitantly. “He’s bending over backward now to make me happy because . . . well, to be honest, because he’s so grateful we found each other again. But he’s still rather hard to persuade about some things, and the weyr is definitely one of them. But . . . hmm . . . if we add meeting the wyverns to the conditions for freeing Thala, in addition to lifting the curse, it might be possible to get him there.”
“Are you sure?” May asked somewhat skeptically. “That seems like a lot of concessions for him to make, and even since you showed up, he doesn’t strike me as the sort of man who makes concessions easily.”
“No, he isn’t, but really, does he have a choice?” I set down my fork and ticked off items on my fingers. “You won’t help free Thala unless he lifts the curse on the silver dragons. I won’t rally you both into helping with Thala unless he agrees to meet with the weyr. And Gabriel won’t agree to a weyr meeting to end all this ridiculousness unless the curse is lifted. Therefore, in order to free Thala, he’s going to have to agree to meet with the weyr and to lift the curse. It’s just that simple.”
Aisling laughed. “I doubt he’s going to see it that way.”
I had my doubts as well, but I kept them to myself.
“So how are we going to get Thala out, assuming all goes according to plan?” May asked. “There’s no way you’re going to convince the weyr to release her just because he lifts the silver curse. No one really cares about that but us.”
“I care,” Aisling pointed out. “Ysolde cares.”
“That’s because you’re two sane women, and not stubborn wyverns.” May gave a little grimace. “Drake would probably agree to her release because he and Gabriel are friends, but Bastian and Jian have no reason to want Thala loose, and I doubt if even Kostya would sanction letting her go.”
“We’re simply going to have to get her out ourselves,” Aisling said with a cheerful smile.
“Oh, man, not another one of your plans from Abaddon?” Jim grumbled, perusing the menu again. “We gettin’ dessert? I could go for some tiramisu right about now.”
“Hush, demonic annoyance. I’m not a professional Guardian for nothing, you know. I got Drake and Kostya out of that aerie prison, so there’ll be no trouble getting Thala out.”
May looked as doubtful as I felt.
“Yeah, you and your professional Guardian skills did . . . and Gabriel and Maata and Tipene and me, but we’re just little bits of squashed egg beneath your august toes, huh?”
Aisling shot it a narrow-eyed look.
I considered the matter for a moment, then said, “I’m simply going to have to use some magic. With my magic, and Aisling’s Guardian skills, and May’s . . . er . . .”
“She’s a master thief,” Aisling said with a smile at May. “She’s even better than Drake.”
“You can imagine how thrilled I am with that praise,” May answered with a grimace. “But Aisling’s right—I can get into places unseen, and given the agreement we have been discussing, I would be happy to do whatever I can to free Thala.”
“But your magic is kind of odd because of the interdict,” Aisling pointed out.
I sighed. “Yes, it is, which means I’m going to have to go see Dr. Kostich and insist that he lift the interdict. I haven’t really pushed him about it before, but I think it’s time to strip off the kid gloves and make him do it.”
“Oooh,” Jim said, its lips an O. “Can I watch when he melts you into a puddle of goo?”
“Ignore it,” Aisling said, throwing her nap
kin at the demon. “I have faith in you, Ysolde.”
Silence fell for a few minutes as we all considered what had to be done.
“There’s no sense in delaying,” Aisling said abruptly. “The sooner we get this done, the better for everyone. I’ll talk to Drake tonight about a big sárkány with Fiat and Thala, and you and Baltic.”
“And I’ll explain it all to Gabriel,” May agreed.
“I’ll tackle Baltic tonight as well.”
“Yeah, but are you going to talk to him, too?” Jim asked with a lascivious wink. “Or will you have time to talk with all that tackling going on?”
“Honest to Pete, I can’t take you anywhere. Stop being such a rude demon.” Aisling smiled at us both. “So, we’re agreed?”
“Agreed,” I said, nodding.
“Me, too,” May said.
“Excellent. Mmm, this roast pork is really outstanding. Would anyone like a bite?”
Jim lifted up its head hopefully. “Yeah, I—”
“Anyone human want a bite?” she corrected with a meaningful look at it.
May pursed her lips.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot you’re not . . . never mind. Ysolde, would you . . . no, you’re not, either. Er . . . moving on. I believe that’s taken care of all the business at hand, so if there are no other issues to deal with, I move we call this meeting officially over.”
I smiled and lifted my wine. “To the successful completion of whatever it is the First Dragon wants of me.”
“To no curse on the silver dragons,” May said, lifting her glass.
“To peace amongst the dragons,” Aisling said, clinking our glasses with hers.
“To sexy little Corgis with the fuzziest butts imaginable,” Jim added, slurping loudly out of its water bowl.
Chapter Four
“ You are being ridiculously obstinate.”
“And you are being unrealistic.” Baltic jammed a few articles of clothing into a small bag. “I am the wyvern, Ysolde. You are the mate. I have yielded to you on more occasions than I like, but about this I will not.”
It came as no surprise that he outright refused to lift the silver dragon curse. What did take me aback was his flat refusal to even consider the idea of meeting with the other wyverns.
“If you don’t agree to meet with the weyr, then the whole thing is off.” I couldn’t help the note of pleading in my voice as I followed him when he went from the closet to the bed with a few more items of clothing. “Thala will remain a prisoner, and we’ll remain at war.”
“The war doesn’t matter to me, and Pavel and I will effect Thala’s release when we return.”
“At the cost of how many dragons?” I asked, slapping my hands on my legs as he zipped up the bag. “You said yourself that there was far more protection around her than you imagined. You can’t just waltz in and get her—you would have to fight, just the two of you against Drake’s huge army of men intent on keeping her prisoner. And much as you annoy me at times, I don’t want you killed!”
“I will not be the one to die,” he said with brash arrogance.
“By the rood, man! I don’t want anyone to die!”
He dropped the bag onto a chair next to the bedroom door. “I have decided, mate.”
Tears of frustration sprang to my eyes. My throat worked for a moment as I watched him gather up his keys, wallet, and cell phone. “Please,” was all I could get out, but the word was imbued with emotion.
He turned slowly toward me, his face dark. “You ask too much, Ysolde.”
“I know. But I have to. Don’t you see? I want you safe, but I also want to have a future. You keep saying I’m a dragon, but you’re denying me the chance to have roots. I want to explore my dragon self, but I can’t so long as we’re outside of the weyr.”
“The two things are not mutually exclusive,” he said, taking my hands in his and gently pulling me against him.
“They are for me. We did a war once, Baltic, and it ended in unthinkable misery. I will not go through that again.”
His eyes closed for a moment, his face twisted with the same pain I felt so deep inside me.
“Please,” I whispered against his mouth, allowing myself to melt against him. “Talk to the weyr again. With Thala and Fiat cooperating, we can get all of the issues straightened out, and then we can be happy.”
“I have you. I am happy.”
I melted a little more, reveling in the taste and scent and feel of him, my hands drawing intricate patterns on his back. “Meet with the wyverns, give serious thought about lifting the silver dragon’s curse, and I swear that Aisling, May, and I will have Thala free by the time you return from Dauva.”
He was still and silent for so long that I was about to give in to despair, but at last he swore under his breath, and kissed me swiftly. “I will do this one last thing for you, mate, but this is it! There will be no more boons! It is the absolute last one—do you understand?”
“I understand,” I said, smiling up at him.
His gaze slid toward the bed, but before I could do so much as kiss him, he sighed and gently put me away from him. “I will miss my flight if I allow you to thank me properly. I do not like this plan you have to free Thala, but I am aware that it is not you the wyverns want dead, so you may proceed with it despite my misgivings. You will not put yourself in any danger, however.”
“So bossy,” I said, giving in to my desire and kissing him. “Fire. Please.”
He bathed me in his dragon fire as he took charge of the kiss, allowing me to feel both his passion and his love.
“Farewell, my heart,” I said as he picked up his bag. “Come back to me safe.”
He paused for a minute at the door, a curious look on his face. “You said the exact same thing to me three hundred years ago.”
“But then you were going out to battle Constantine. You won’t be doing that this time,” I said, smiling a little at the bittersweet memory.
“Perhaps. Perhaps not,” was all he said before leaving.
I stared at the door for a few minutes wondering what the hell that meant, but chalked it up to Baltic’s indulging in a little mystery. He liked to do that, claiming it was his way to bring back all the many missing gaps in my memory. To be honest, I thought it was more his way of teasing me, but since I enjoyed puzzling out a good mystery, I didn’t quibble.
Two hours later I watched the sun begin its descent into the gentle hills to the west before considering the chair that sat before me. I stood in a back corner of the velvety green lawn, well away from the house and anything that might accidentally get in the path of my sometimes wonky magic.
The frog that sat on the chair in a glass jar looked back at me with shiny black eyes.
“Just in case something goes wrong and I turn you into a banana, I want to apologize now. I don’t think it will, but I feel obligated to warn you that with the interdict on me, my magic doesn’t quite do what I intend it to do. Also, in case the banishing does work, please note that I have fixed in mind a location two miles from here next to a stream, so you should be able to find a new home there. I hope you won’t mind relocating. Are you ready? Good. So am I.” I closed my eyes for a moment to gather my thoughts, and remember exactly what I had said two months ago when I inadvertently summoned the First Dragon by means of a banishing spell.
“Taken with sorrow, all I cast from me,” I said, taking strength from Baltic’s dragon fire, which still mingled with my own deep inside me. “Devoured with rage, banished so you will be.”
I opened my eyes, but nothing happened. The air didn’t shimmer; no dragon formed out of nothing; the frog wasn’t even gone. He belched at me and ran his tongue over his left eyeball, clearly not the least bit impressed.
“Maybe I didn’t concentrate hard enough. Let’s try it again.” I took another deep breath, focused my attention on thoughts of the First Dragon, and repeated the spell.
All was silent around me except for the chatter of birds in the distance and the
subdued hum of a couple of bumblebees as they flitted amongst three scraggly wild rosebushes.
“Right,” I told the frog. “I see what the problem is. The first time I did this, I wasn’t trying to summon the First Dragon—I was trying to banish everyone else. So I’ll focus on that instead. You ready for a little journey? Here we go.”
I recited the spell a third time. The frog fell asleep.
“Stars and stripes forever,” I snapped, storming around the chair. I tried it four more times, but I didn’t banish so much as a blade of grass. “And I didn’t even get a banana.” The now-freed frog made an unsympathetic noise as it hopped away into the garden.
I was about to return to the house when a sort of fog swept over me . . . a cold, biting, familiar sort of fog.
“I will let you live only because you are my godson and namesake.” The man’s voice, deep and rich with sorrow, pierced the blinding whiteness.
I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself as I tried to peer through the wind and snow that were storming around me.
“I ought to kill you where you stand,” another man’s voice answered, and like the first, it was familiar. I moved toward them until two figures were visible in the nearly blinding storm. “You drove Baltic to this, drove him mad, and now he is dead. I may have killed him, but the blood is on your hands, Constantine Norka.”
“Flee while you can, Kostya,” Constantine answered, his shoulders slumped in weariness. “Go far away and hide until the remaining black dragons are no longer sought.”
“I am not afraid of you! I am not afraid of battle!”
“It would not be a battle; it would be a slaughter. Flee, I tell you. You are Toldi’s son, and I can do no less, but do not try me further. Go now, before we bring down the castle.”
“You don’t have to destroy Dauva,” Kostya said, his face dark with anger. “For god’s sake, I know you hate us, but there are innocent women and children who have sought protection inside its walls!”
Constantine shook his head, the flakes of white snow standing stark against the rich honey blond of his hair. “Ysolde sent them away. She herself told me that there was no reason to attack, since only Baltic and she remained with a handful of men.”
The Unbearable Lightness of Dragons ld-2 Page 5
