Dragon Around (3 page)

The evening’s activities happened around him as he held up his side of the bar. It was fascinating to watch the slow courtship of certain species and the fast collision of others. Predator usually bonded to predator, prey to prey, but there were a few exceptions.

He loved watching the exceptions. They both looked so surprised, but they were drawn to each other.

That was what he was feeling right now. Surrounded by women, he wanted no one but Dira and she wouldn’t tell him what she was. He knew it was powerful and suspected that it was mythical, but her species was not one he had ever run into in his long and diverse life.

His family ran a clothing and accessories line, and all members took their turn being involved in modelling their product. His turn had come a decade ago, and now, he pretended to age by wearing more sober clothing and changing his hairstyle every few months. His parents were retired and his two siblings ran other portions of the company.

When he finished yet another shot, he looked around and noticed that the bar was nearing empty. “Chuck? Can you call Dira over at the Crossed Heart and ask her to come and retrieve her very drunk guest?”

Chuck paused while putting away a tray of cleaned glasses. “She won’t like that.”

Mak smiled brightly. “I am counting on it.”

* * * *

Dira stalked out of her B and B and walked the four minutes to the Crossed Star. The bar was almost empty, but since dawn was arriving in two hours, she wasn’t surprised. Her unicorn was sitting at the corner of the bar, and he beamed at her as she came through the door.

“Dira! Nothing like an obliging hostess to help one get from bar to bed.” He smiled, and the wattage from his grin was almost blinding.

“Chuck, how much has he had to drink?”

Chuck was working to tidy up his domain. “More than anyone I have ever met. Impressive really, he should be unconscious. If you could get him home and keep an eye on him, it would be appreciated.”

Mak dismounted from the barstool and staggered. “Uh, little help, fair lady?”

Dira gave him a black look and headed toward him. She wrinkled her nose at the scent of the varieties of alcohol that had been absorbed by his system. She put his arm around her shoulders and led him out of the Crossed Star.

Outside the bar, she waited until they were clear of any ears that could overhear. “Stop faking it, Mak. No unicorn can get drunk with alcohol. You all get your kicks elsewhere.”

His hand tightened on her shoulder, and he whispered in her ear. “How close were you with unicorns in your past, Dira?”

“None of your business.” She continued to walk slowly at his side, ignoring the feel of heat coming off his skin. She loved being warm.

“I was just wondering, because my family and I are only aware of a dozen more unicorns on earth, and they are all of different races and on other continents, not to mention over two hundred years old.”

“You don’t say. I must have read it somewhere.” She was relieved when she saw the familiar door of the Open Heart.

“I doubt it. Only other mythical beings recognize another, and they are the only ones to know all the lore.”

Dira snorted, and the alcohol swirling around them ignited into a bright flash.

Mak jumped. “What was that?”

“Will-o-the-wisp.” She batted out the last flicker of flame and kept them on their path.

“I don’t think so.”

“What do you know, you’re drunk.” Dira chuckled and eased him up the front stairs to the porch.

“Not that drunk. I have already gotten rid of most of the alcohol.” He leaned on her a little as they entered the entry hall.

She hoisted him up the stairs and to his room. In the doorway, he leaned forward and whispered, “What do I get if I guess what you are?”

“You get to go to bed, alone.” She shoved at him, but his grip tightened and he pulled her inside.

He closed the door and pressed her back against it. “I believe that I deserve some reward for figuring it out.”

She blinked up into his deep brown gaze. “Tell me what I am and I will give you a single kiss.”

He whispered, “Phoenix.”

Her laughter cut through his smugness. “Incorrect. But here is something for trying.”

She went up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, inhaling the intoxicating scent of him. Before he could turn his head, she shoved him back and opened the door, closing it gently behind her.

Dira walked downstairs and leaned on her desk, getting her racing pulse under control. Once she stopped fantasizing about what it would have been like if he had guessed correctly, she got back to her preparations for breakfast. She had to get back to bed and then up in a few hours to make breakfast for the early risers.

Muffins didn’t make themselves. Not without a kitchen fey anyway, and it had been three hundred years since Dira had a magical maid.

Life back then had been simple, but she had stayed away from humans because the scent of filth and disease had not been particularly attractive to her. The fey were cleaner than humans, but ever since they had outed themselves to humanity in the time of Queen Victoria, they had become insufferable.

It was amusing to her that not one of the shifters that she had met over the years had run into a fey, but she supposed that one sort of magic repelled the others.

Shifters walked through the human world but rarely engaged with them. They preferred to work around the human world and socialize with their own kind for the most part.

There were exceptions to every rule, but as far as Dira was concerned, most humans could not deal with shifters on an equal basis. They lacked the instinct for it.

Shaking her head to reassemble her concentration, she walked into her kitchen and assembled the dry ingredients for fresh blueberry muffins. Her pans were standing ready, the blueberries she had picked that afternoon were in a bowl, and she was off to bed.

Dira yawned as she opened the door to the cellar and headed down to her private quarters.

Mak could take care of himself.

* * * *

He had guessed wrong. Mak couldn’t believe it. If she wasn’t a phoenix, what was she? He was going to have to make a call, but he was going to get to the bottom of this.

Mak looked out at the false dawn lightening the sky. He may as well get a few hours of sleep before trying to find a way to contact the one person he knew who might have an idea about other mythical species, his mother.

If there was one being in the universe that knew things she shouldn’t, it was Mikhela Norwin.

Chapter Five

Last night had been lucky for three of her five guests. They would be moving out in a matter of hours.

While the average transporter could only move someone to the Crossroads during specific alignments, Teal and Tony could deposit a new couple back in a safe area any time day or night.

It was one of the reasons that the candidates had to provide hair or tissue samples from themselves and a few family members. It assisted in the triangulation for the correct area. From there, the specifics could be determined.

Dira went back and made another batch of muffins a moment before she crisped up a pound of bacon with a flick of her fingers.

She had six people eating in her dining room and two more still asleep. The muffin and bacon combo was a winner this morning. It usually was.

She brought out the fifth platter of muffins and slid it into the feeding frenzy. Refreshing the coffee carafe took a few seconds, and then, she was free to do dishes and listen to the conversations of people who were in the early stages of falling in love.

When Mak’s voice entered the conversation, she brought out a new place setting and slid it in front of him. “You are up early.”

Mak smiled and grabbed a muffin. “I have a few errands to run this morning. I need to get fortified.”

The other six at the table smiled at him, and Dira wanted to roll her eyes. Unicorns. Everybody loved freakin’ unicorns.

He ate and chatted with the other guests, congratulating them on finding their mates and wishing them joy and luck for the future.

Back around the corner, she smiled as he wished them luck. When one of his kind wished something, it usually came true.

The clatter of plates, the clink of knives on china and the slurping noises slowly faded. She retrieved the plates as her guests took their leave, hugged two lionesses who had been shy but eventually relaxed enough to leave the Open Heart and left Mak alone as she washed the dishes.

He spoke to her quietly from the doorway. “So, what does one do here in the daytime?”

She chuckled and rinsed the china plate she was washing. “We go for runs in our other forms, have coffee, go to the restaurant, do some shopping and return to the bar. If you live here, you socialize with the other permanent inhabitants.”

Mak stepped into the kitchen, looked around and then started helping her dry the dishes. “Are you a permanent inhabitant?”

“I am. I can’t really adapt to the modern world, so living here is my best option.” She continued washing and tried not to notice the way his t-shirt clung to his muscles as he dried her dishes and put them away after exploring her cupboards.

“Why can’t you adapt?”

“I keep trying to use magic, and it draws attention. Also, humans really annoy me and that is not a good thing.” She wrinkled her nose.

He laughed. “They are useful. If not for humans, my family would not have carved out a niche in fashion that made us all very wealthy.”

She laughed. “Your kind can have humans bring you money on platters and no one would complain. Having them extract the funds and offer them to you in exchange for a product indicates the evolution of your people, not the humans.”

Mak shrugged, not denying the power that his kind held. “Our effect on humans is as marked as it is when we run into the fey. They hate us.”

Dira drained the sink and dried her hands. “I know. They can stand normal shifters, but put a mythical one in front of them and they get all combative.”

Mak chuckled. “Exactly. How close have you been to aggressive fey in your time?”

Memories of battles with fey magic users trying to tie her down to drain her power suddenly came to her. “Pretty close.”

“Where can I make a call?” His prosaic question rattled her out of her thoughts.

“Go to the Meditation Centre. They can set you up with an exterior call.” She tried to remain perky, but it was difficult.

Upstairs, her guests had left destroyed bedding and strewn mattresses. She applied her mind to changing the rooms around while she finished cleaning up the crumbs from breakfast. It was a reflex born of long practice and not something that most of her guests witnessed. Her mind only worked its magic in unoccupied rooms, but she could turn one over in five minutes if the bed hadn’t been clawed into fluff. That would take an extra few minutes as she opened the cupboard in the hall and levitated the new one in and the old one out into the drop chute in the floor. Dragging them up and down the stairs just wasn’t practical, so she always kept a few spares on hand for emergencies.

The morning diners had been a little on the sloppy side, so she folded up the tablecloth and dropped it into the laundry pile. That was her afternoon all arranged.

Mak watched her for a moment before he left her alone.

Dira breathed easy when he exited her territory. Having him at close range was pressure on her self-control. She wanted him, there was no doubt about that, but his interest was overwhelming.

Part of her wanted him to sweep her away with his hair ruffling in the breeze and the other part of her was dead set against leaving her territory, her horde and her life.

Her horde was her collection of her favourite items. It was filled with gold, paintings of herself and lovely, embroidered fabrics that had stopped being manufactured hundreds of years earlier.

The fascination with her own image was not something she was proud of. She had asked another dragon about it once, and she had informed Dira that it was natural. They could see their own magnificence in every image, and it raised their heads high. They had a lot to be proud of.

Dira hummed as she went about her tasks, got the laundry going and incinerated the destroyed mattress. Controlled burns were now her speciality. The constant baking helped immensely. She loved being able to hold a temperature long enough to properly cook muffins, bread, biscuits and even bacon.

With an eye to afternoon visitors, she made a batch of scones and warmed a pot of strawberry preserves. Her clotted cream was ready, as always, and she put out the teapot, ready to go.

She had no sooner prepped everything than she heard a familiar voice. “Dira? Are you up for a visitor?”

“Of course. Come on in.” She took out a starched and folded tablecloth and flicked it over the round table that monopolised her dining room.

The morning shift from the café was gathered, and they all wanted to sit and giggle about the unicorn in their midst. Most of the girls were beavers, and they really enjoyed their time at the B and B. Dira brought in the scones, the jam and the fresh pot of tea while one of the girls headed to the kitchen to get the teacups and saucers.

When they were all settled, every female face turned toward Dira, and Kayla the hummingbird asked, “So, what do you know about Mak?”

* * * *

It wasn’t an emergency, but Tony let Mak use his private line to call his mother. The whole situation was ridiculous, and it got worse when his mother squealed with excitement. “Do I have a new daughter-in-law?”

“Mom, calm down. No. Not yet. I have found a woman I am interested in, but there is a problem.”

“What is it? Can’t you just charm her?”

“No, I can’t. That is why I want her. She doesn’t put up with anything. The problem is that I don’t know what she is and that seems to be a barrier to courtship.”

His mother was suddenly all business. “Is she a standard shifter?”

“No, she is powerful, very, very powerful.”