‘‘I am,’’ he said, nodding acknowledgment.
‘‘Gabriel is not just a dragon,’’ the nasty man who stepped on my arm said in a deep voice heavy with an Australian accent. ‘‘He is the dragon. The silver wyvern.’’
Wyverns, I knew, were leaders of dragon septs. Great. Now we had gotten ourselves tangled up with not one wyvern, but two. And a demon lord, a demon, and a couple of homicidal bodyguards.
My expression must have shown my feelings, for Gabriel shot me a little smile, saying, ‘‘You needn’t look quite so wary. I won’t bite. Unless you ask me to, of course.’’
I blinked at him in surprise.
‘‘Did you just flirt with her?’’ Aisling asked, an interested light in her eyes as her gaze rested on me. ‘‘Would you mind… I hate to be rude… er… May, is it?’’
I nodded.
‘‘This is always so awkward, but there’s really no way around it. What exactly are you? I’ve never seen anyone who can get out of my binding wards, but you just-poof! Disappeared. Then suddenly you were a few feet away.’’
‘‘Oh, geez, Ash,’’ Jim said, covering its eyes with one paw. ‘‘I just can’t take you anywhere, can I?’’
‘‘What?’’ she asked, turning to her wyvern. ‘‘Stop looking like you all know what May is! You do, don’t you? Admit it-you all know, except me! I hate that!’’
‘‘You’ve seen her type before, Ash,’’ Jim said, pushing itself forward to look at Cyrene. I shoved it back, not wanting anything else to disturb Gabriel.
‘‘I have? Where? No, wait, let me think…’’ She sat when Drake gently moved her toward a chair, her face scrunched up as she thought. ‘‘Immortal, definitely. But not a naiad, like the woman on the chaise- she’s got a definite glimmer to her that May doesn’t have. Hmm. She’s not bound by wards, and can do that disappearing thing…’’
‘‘It’s called shadow walking,’’ I said, unable to stand any more of her scrutiny. ‘‘It is a trait common to doppelgangers.’’
‘‘Doppelganger!’’ Aisling said, her eyes wide in surprise. ‘‘Wow. I thought you guys were really rare.’’
‘‘We are,’’ I said, turning back to Cyrene.
‘‘But… shadow walking? I’ve never heard of that. What exactly… er…’’
I stifled a sigh, not really irritated with the woman so much as I was with the whole situation. I hated having to explain my origins. ‘‘Doppelgangers are created from their twin. We are identical in every way, but individual beings, and wholly separate from our twins. Because we are literally created from the twin’s shadow, we can slip into that form and move amongst people without being seen-except in brightly lit places. We cast no shadow ourselves, and have no reflection. Here endeth the lesson. Is my twin going to live or will she be in a coma?’’ I asked the question of Gabriel as he sat back on his heels, his eyes intent on Cyrene ’s face.
Cyrene ’s chest rose in a deep breath as her eyelids fluttered, a long exhalation of her breath bringing joy to my heart. Her eyes opened, puzzlement evident as she looked first at Gabriel, then at me. ‘‘Mayling?’’ she asked, her voice reedy.
I grasped her hands and squeezed her fingers, relief swamping me as I smiled down at her. ‘‘I’m here.’’
‘‘Mei Ling?’’ Drake asked, and I froze, my fingers tightening around Cyrene ’s until she made a noise of protest. ‘‘Mei Ling the cat burglar?’’
‘‘Mei Ling?’’ Gabriel said as well, his warm voice filled with speculation as he considered me with those lovely quicksilver eyes. A smile spread slowly, his dimples becoming evident as amusement filled his eyes. ‘‘How propitious.’’
I released Cyrene ’s hands, edging away from him. I wanted to bolt, to get us out of there, but Cyrene wasn’t in any condition to move yet. ‘‘How so?’’
His dimples deepened. ‘‘You’re just the woman I’ve been looking for.’’
Chapter Five
‘‘… think you’ll be just fine here. Jim, get off the bed and let Cyrene have some rest.’’
‘‘Hey! Belly scratches happenin’ here!’’ the demon protested, its back legs kicking as Cyrene obediently scratched at the hairy stomach.
‘‘Off!’’ Aisling ordered, pointing to the door. She gave me an apologetic smile as the demon left, muttering under its breath. ‘‘You’ll have to forgive Jim. I think its nose is a bit out of joint because of all the attention focused on the baby. Is there anything else you need?’’
Cyrene, reclining against a mountain of pillows, waved a wan, pale hand. ‘‘No, thank you. I’m comfortable, but tired, very, very tired.’’ She punctuated her sentence with a gigantic yawn.
‘‘All right, then. Shout out if you need anything,’’ Aisling said, glancing across the room to where her wyvern stood leaning against the wall, silently watching us. ‘‘Drake?’’
‘‘We would like to see you downstairs when your twin can spare you,’’ he said to me before walking over to his wife, holding the door open for her.
I didn’t bother replying since he clearly was issuing an order, not a request. I simply waited for the door to close behind them before hurrying over to the two windows in the room.
‘‘Agathos daimon,’’ I swore as I tried to open them. They were both warded against dark beings, which meant I wouldn’t be able to get out of them.
‘‘What’s wrong? Mayling! You’re not thinking of leaving?’’ Cyrene asked.
‘‘Well, I’m not thinking about staying, if that’s what’s on your mind. We have to get out of here, Cy.’’ I spun around, eyeing the room to consider possible avenues of escape. There wasn’t much in the room but a bed, two chairs, a couple of dressers, and two doors-one that led to the hallway, the other to a shared bathroom.
The bathroom!
‘‘Why?’’ Cyrene asked as I hurried toward it. The window inside it was too small to climb through, but there was another room on the other side of it. Obviously Aisling had warded the windows to this room with the intention of keeping me prisoner, but hope rose within me that she might have forgotten the connecting room’s windows.
‘‘Mayling?’’ Cy’s voice followed me as I persuaded the lock on the door to the other room to release, swinging open the door to find myself face-to-face with the healer named Gabriel, who was tending to a shirtless Istvàn.
‘‘Oh! I’m… sorry. Just… uh… carry on,’’ I said lamely, quickly retreating through the bathroom to Cyrene ’s room before either man could say anything.
I was extremely aware of an amused silver-eyed gaze on me as I backed out.
‘‘May?’’ Cyrene ’s brow furrowed. ‘‘Whatever is the matter with you? You’re beet red!’’
‘‘Nothing,’’ I said, locking her door to the bathroom. ‘‘Er… what was it you asked me a minute ago?’’
‘‘Why?’’ she repeated.
‘‘Why what?’’
‘‘Why do we have to get out of here so quickly? That Aisling seems very nice, not like a demon lord at all. I can’t wait to tell the sisters that I met her- they’ll be thrilled. Do you think she’d give me her autograph?’’
‘‘I have no idea, but as nice as she is, those dragons are nothing but trouble. I’ll feel much better when we’re out of here.’’
‘‘Oh, I don’t know,’’ she said with a dreamy note to her voice, a little smile on her lips as she smoothed out the blanket covering her. ‘‘That silver dragon Gabriel is absolutely stunning, don’t you think? He has such a nice voice, and those dimples just make me want to pounce on him.’’