Katie MacAlister - Playing with Fire

Pounding on the other side of the door slowly returned awareness to me. I pulled my face from the crook of Gabriel’s neck, smugly pleased that he was breathing just as heavily as I was.

‘‘That was…’’ Words failed me. He slowly slid me down his body until I was standing on my own again. ‘‘That was…’’

‘‘That was something to remember me by while you’re shadow walking,’’ he said, his eyes as molten as mercury as he bent to retrieve my clothes.

By the time I finally stood in front of a small office tucked away in a dark street of used bookstores near the British Museum, two hours had passed, I’d been spotted by-and successfully escaped from-three thief takers, and nimbly avoided a demon that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and tried to grab me.

‘‘The demon left after I slipped into the shadow world. Thank the gods demons can’t go there. I’m hiding in the alley behind the portal shop right now. I think I’ve given everyone else the slip. How fast can you get here?’’ I asked Gabriel.

‘‘With the afternoon traffic? Probably half an hour,’’ he answered, the sourness in his voice evident even through the cell phone. ‘‘Stay in the Dreaming, Mayling. You are safest there.’’

‘‘The thief takers can follow me if they know how,’’ I reminded him.

A muted sound of conversation followed before Gabriel’s voice spoke into my ear again. ‘‘Savian is with me. He does not know how to access it, so it is quite likely the others will not as well. It is an uncommon thing for a mortal to be able to enter the beyond.’’

‘‘Uncommon, but not unknown. I’ll go back there as soon as I hang up. What happened with Porter’s body? Did Savian tell the watch about us being there?’’

‘‘Unfortunately, he had to, yes.’’

I made a face at the blank cement wall of the building against which I was crouched. ‘‘I suppose it couldn’t be helped. Do you trust him, Gabriel? Savian, I mean?’’

The silence that followed was hard to interpret. ‘‘As a matter of fact, I think I do.’’

‘‘All right. We’re counting a lot on him not setting us up for a big fall. I just wish I knew why Cyrene went to a portal shop. What if she wasn’t taking a portal to Paris? What if someone else grabbed her and forced her to who knows where?’’

‘‘You have no reason to believe that anyone else is with her, although I agree with your assessment that she was not responsible for the death of the thief taker. Someone else must have done it, but it doesn’t follow that he or she coerced your twin into leaving.’’

I glanced down at my hand. ‘‘Well… there’s actually something I need to tell you about that. When I followed Cy’s tracks to the portal place, I slipped inside to have a look around. Her tracks led right up to the portal room, so I know she took one. But there was something else there…’’

Gabriel waited for me to continue.

‘‘Her trail was dusted with dragon scales, Gabriel.’’

I heard a brief intake of his breath. ‘‘You are certain?’’

‘‘Yes. I thought dragons didn’t like to use portals.’’

‘‘We don’t. We will if it is absolutely necessary, as it is now, but if at all possible, we prefer to use alternate means of travel. Go into the Dreaming, little bird. I will be there as soon as I can.’’

The portal shop Cyrene had visited was one of two located in England. Portals offered individuals with large amounts of money at hand the ability to travel across the fabric of reality in the blink of an eye. Portals were quirky things, however, and even the best of the portal masters had only a tenuous ability to predict exactly where the summoned portal would open.

I remained hidden in the shadow world until Gabriel arrived, Savian in tow. We wasted no time in querying the portalist, a weaver by the name of Jarilith, about Cyrene, but true to his kind, he refused to shed any light on where she’d gone.

‘‘Can you at least tell us if she was being forced to go somewhere?’’ I asked Jarilith, exasperated with his refusal to answer our questions.

‘‘It is illegal to portal anyone while they are under duress,’’ he said with a pointed look. ‘‘I could lose my license if I were to do so.’’

‘‘You’re going to lose a lot more than that if you don’t tell me where my twin went,’’ I said in a low, mean voice.

‘‘Mayling, please. I must insist that you allow me to be the bad cop,’’ Gabriel said as I slid the dagger at my ankle out of its sheath.

‘‘I have never subscribed to the sexist belief that women have to be good cop,’’ I said, twirling the dagger around one finger.

Jarilith’s eyes were riveted to it. He didn’t look unduly worried about me being armed, but his condescending expression had slipped just a little.

‘‘Nonetheless, you are far more suited to the good cop role,’’ Gabriel insisted.

‘‘I’m going to have to go against popular opinion and side with Mei Ling on this,’’ Savian said, watching us with a delighted twinkle in his eye. ‘‘She looks like she knows how to use that blade. What is that, a stiletto?’’

‘‘Sicilian castrating knife,’’ I said with a smile at the portal man.

‘‘She wins,’’ Savian told Gabriel.

‘‘Er…’’ Jarilith said, his expression starting to slide into worry.

‘‘I am a wyvern! I can do far more to this man than merely remove his genitalia,’’ Gabriel answered in an outraged tone, a little tendril of smoke emerging from between his lips as he spoke.

‘‘Eh…’’ Jarilith said, taking a step backward.

‘‘Hmm. He’s a weaver,’’ Savian said thoughtfully as he examined the portalist. ‘‘Those are immortal, aren’t they? So he could survive a castration, but the question is would a dragon barbeque be enough to finish him off?’’

‘‘Absolutely,’’ Gabriel said. He smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile.

‘‘Threatening a weaver is strictly prohibited by law,’’ Jarilith said indignantly, but the fight had gone out of him. His gaze was flickering back and forth from Gabriel to Savian to the dagger I held casually. ‘‘I could have the watch on you for what you’re saying!’’

‘‘Oh, please,’’ I said with a dramatic roll of my eyes.

‘‘Just about every thief taker in this hemisphere is after me. I’ve already been sentenced to banishment to the Akasha. You think one little murder is going to make that any worse? Not likely.’’

Jarilith’s eyes widened.

‘‘It’s true,’’ Savian said. ‘‘The price on her head has already gone over six figures.’’

The color washed out of the portalist’s face. ‘‘Erm…’’

‘‘Mate,’’ Gabriel said sternly. ‘‘I must insist that you refrain from slicing and dicing this man.’’

Jarilith nodded quickly. ‘‘Listen to the dragon.’’

‘‘It is my place to destroy those who stand in your way,’’ Gabriel continued, the pupils in his eyes narrowing as he turned to the now hastily backing away Jarilith.

‘‘Let’s not lose our heads, here,’’ the latter said in a rush.

‘‘I don’t think it’s your head the lady has in mind,’’ Savian said as he looked pointedly at the portalist’s crotch.

Jarilith’s hands hovered protectively over his fly. ‘‘Such an atrocity would constitute torture. You wouldn’t do that to an innocent man, would you?’’

‘‘What makes you think I’d stop at the castration?’’ I twirled the knife around my fingers again. ‘‘This little jobby fillets, as well.’’

‘‘She went to Paris,’’ Jarilith said quickly as he dashed for a door to a back room. ‘‘I don’t see the harm in telling you that as you are related to the lady. Your portal is ready in room number three. Have a pleasant journey…’’