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following the woman. She‟d have bled out if I hadn‟t stopped.” Morgan‟s hand stilled

again and he gave her an irritated glance. Her face was unnaturally pale like some

vampire had drained her. “What‟s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “I just didn‟t know that you were the Good

Samaritan.”

Balor laughed again. “It‟s probably the only time in my life I‟ve been called that.

I only did it because we need her alive. Somehow, she‟s tied into finding the sword.

Until that happens it behooves all of us to make sure no harm comes to her.” He gave

Morgan a calculating look. “Don‟t let your jealousy for the warlock get in the way of

your good sense, my pet.”

If anything, Morgan turned paler. “I won‟t,” she whispered and then bent down

to take his thickened rod into her mouth. She sucked him hard, the way he liked it, and he allowed himself the moment of bliss to release his seed deep in her throat. She

swallowed without so much as a gag.

“Ah, you always please me.” Balor pulled her back on his lap and reached to fast-

forward the video. “And this pleases me almost as much. Do you know who the man is

sitting on her couch?”

Morgan looked at the screen. “Yeah. That‟s her ex-husband. He calls at the

office. I think he wants to get back with her.”

“Well, the sound isn‟t good on this, but it seems she‟s not all that agreeable. It

seems he‟s threatened to expose her little secret.” Balor clicked the video off. “Perhaps if he had the dragon, he‟d have a little more leverage. You can help with that, pet.”

Morgan frowned slightly. “You want me to go to Sophie‟s house and get the

dragon?”

Balor shook his head. “No. Pendragon is far stronger than he looks, even in his

small size. As you could see from the webcam, the dragon is very protective of the

woman. I want you to accompany the ex over there. No doubt Pendragon will emerge to

defend her again. I‟ll have you slip a magic lure over his head. Once that‟s done, the dragon is ours.”

She gave him a quizzical look. “Ours?”

“Figuratively speaking. The ex can use the dragon as blackmail to woo his wife

back.” Balor looked at Morgan. He was almost fond of her, but there certainly was no

SWORD OF FIRE Cynthia Breeding 84

reason to tell any mortal why he wanted the dragon captured. With the Pendragon

capture and killed—perhaps he‟d let Sigurd help with that—it would be another obstacle

out of the way.

And he‟d be one step closer to achieving ultimate power.

* * * *

“If you‟ll let me return to my original form, I can hunt for her,” Pendragon

grumbled as Michael opened the door of his apartment for them to enter.

“Too risky,” Michael replied. “We don‟t need to be attracting media attention

right now. Besides, I plan to have Sophie back here before Balor finds out she‟s gone.”

The dragon snorted. “How do you plan to do that since you don‟t know where

she went?”

As much as he didn‟t want to admit it, he suspected she was housed at Robert‟s

place. “I‟ve got an idea,” he said.

“Take me with you then.”

“Nope. I can hardly be seen walking the streets with you,” Michael said.

“I‟m supposed to protect her.” Pendragon puffed smoke. “If something happens

to her, Tanio will never let me return to my full size.”

Michael studied him. The dragon had really been pretty complacent all things

considered. “Tell you what,” he said. “Let me do a little surveillance on my own for

today. If I‟m lucky, Sophie will be back home tonight. If not, you can come with me

tomorrow.” As the dragon started to protest with another whiff of smoke, Michael added,

“She might try to call. You‟d be here to answer the phone.” He lifted the handheld off its cradle and laid it down. “You can press the green button with your claw, can‟t you?”

“Of course I can. Dragon claws are very flexible.” Pendragon glared at him,

momentarily distracted from the conversation. “But…”

“Then it‟s settled,” Michael interrupted. “Just for today. Stay home. I‟ll be back

as soon as I can.”

The dragon wasn‟t happy, but Michael‟s thoughts were already on how he‟d get

Sophie back from Robert as he sped along I-30 toward north Dallas in the rented car he‟d used to bring Sophie home earlier.

Half an hour later, he parked down the street from a stately two-story brick home

that was worth millions in the suburb of Highland Park. Thankfully, most of the

residents here were Old Money and not Nouveau Riche. Security systems were

undoubtedly in place everywhere, but nothing so mundane or obvious a s gates or armed

security.

Michael rolled down the windows to allow the air in and closed his eyes. He

opened his brow chakra, sending web- like tentacles of light toward the house. He picked up no trace of Sophie‟s essence, but then her own magic unwittingly kept her shields up.

She was one of the very few humans he‟d ever encountered who could totally block him.

Not that she‟d believe that, of course. She still thought he‟d manipulated her thoughts and sent her that erotic dream. For a fleeting mome nt, he allowed himself to remember

the silky texture of her skin and the salty musk taste of her juices as he‟d lapped them eagerly as a thirsty dog.

He shook his head in frustration as he opened his eyes. Ironically, he could have

used the help of Lucas Ramsey right now. The man was a werewolf and not only would

have a keener scent, but would be able to trot right up to the building in dog- form,

SWORD OF FIRE Cynthia Breeding 85

undetected, and peer in the windows. But Lucas and Sara were stuck in Merlin‟s cave, if Nimue told the truth.

By the Goddess, he‟d welcome the faerie right now! She could easily float by

each window and no one would notice. He closed his eyes again, summoning her.

Nothing. All he felt was his will vibrating from the nearby ancient oaks where tree

dryads‟ silent laughter gently rustled the leaves. They‟d be no help either.

Fickle faeries.

He could simply approach and ring the bell. With luck, Robert would be his

office downtown and Michael could mesmerize the butler—or whoever answered the

door—into letting him in. It was worth a try.

Michael gathered his energy, concentrating on the spell that would allow him to

bend the butler‟s will to his for a few moments. It was a particularly dangerous spell to cast since it was often used with black magic for personal gain. The gods would not be

pleased if it went awry. No doubt he would have to pay some penance for even using it in this situation, but Sophie was worth it.

He was about to get out of his car when a red sports car he recognized as

Morgan‟s pulled directly into the driveway of Robert‟s house. Michael frowned,

gathering his spell inward quickly and cloaking his presence. What in the name of Holy

Avalon was
she
doing here?

* * * *

As Morgan walked up to the door of Robert‟s home, she caught a whiff of magic.

Her head snapped up, nostrils flaring, trying to catch its direction. Nothing. Yet, she could have sworn she felt the metallic tingle in the air… She narrowed her eyes and

looked around. Next door, a yardman clipped a hedge, but she detected no magic from

him. Across the street, a young woman, probably a nanny, walked with a small child.

No magic there either. Down the street, a dark sedan was parked and she hesitated. Was there a slight crystalline vibration surrounding it? The air seemed to shimmer like a desert heat wave, but even as she watched, it dissipated to nothing.

Morgan sighed. She wished she were a more experienced witch, but the

Sisterhood Circle had not deemed her ready for initiation into truly powerful spe lls.

Damn them. She was getting a little fed- up with playing the whore. Sex was a tool—and a powerful one to use with black magic—if she could just learn the spells. She wanted

the power to stand up to Adam Baylor. One day she would make him pay for not

respecting her.

Not just yet though. She could sense the evil the exuded from him. It was

intoxicating. Every time he came inside her, she captured a little more of its essence.

She smiled. The man was a fool if he thought
he
was using
her.
But she was wise enough not to test him. Yet.

She rang the doorbell, glad that she had called ahead and Robert had arranged for

her to meet him here. She hated driving through the mess of Stemmons and Thornton

where his office was.

“We‟ll take the Hummer,” he said as he stepped out and eyed her small car. “The

dragon will never fit in that.” He snapped his fingers and a few minutes later, a servant brought the big vehicle around.

As Morgan settled into its luxuriously padded leather seat, she hiked up her skirt

to mid-thigh and gave Robert a seductive smile. It never hurt to gather a bit of power

SWORD OF FIRE Cynthia Breeding 86

from wealthy, successful men. Besides, the guy was Sophie‟s, ex, and there was a certain amount of satisfaction in taking what had belonged to another woma n. Especially that

bitch who had Michael enthralled.

Robert glanced at her and then away. “I appreciate the invitation,” he said in a

dry tone, “but this is strictly business. I want to capture that dragon.”

Morgan thrust her lower lip out, but kept her skirt hiked. “Don‟t worry. You

will. I explained the plan to you on the phone.” Adam had gone over it with her in detail while he wove dark threads of sorcery into the garrote she had in her purse. “But what‟s the harm in a little romp in celebration? You‟re a really awesome- looking guy and I‟ve never had any complaints about my skills.”

“I‟m sure you haven‟t,” he said in that same dry voice and then turned up the

volume on the CD that had started to play.

They drove in near silence toward Arlington. Morgan studied his profile. He was

tense, square jaw clenched, the muscles in his forearms rippling as he gripped the steering wheel, weaving in and out of traffic. An all-together very pleasing specimen. The fact that he had actually denied her p iqued her interest as well. Except for Michael, no man turned her down. It might be interesting to wear him down…

“Here we are,” he said, jolting her out of her thoughts as he turned into a quiet

side street. Morgan hadn‟t even noticed when they‟d exited the freeway. “It shouldn‟t

take long to get Sophie fired up,” he said as he knocked on her door. “You‟ve got the

rope ready as soon as the dragon charges in?”

“Right here.” She patted her purse. “Just let me get in and a short distance away

from you so I can come up behind him.”

“Got it.”

They waited. He knocked again. No answer.

Robert pounded the door. “Hell, where could she be? She‟s got a broken leg!”

“She has crutches. Maybe she‟s outside in the back.”

As they rounded the house, Morgan crossed the patio and tried the French doors.

They swung open. She glanced at Robert and took out the garrote. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

They were met with silence. Ten minutes later, after a thorough search of the

house, Robert cursed. “I thought you said they‟d be here!”

“They were!” She couldn‟t very well tell Robert that the dragon key-ring held a

GPS and that there had been no signal that it had moved from here.

“Well, they didn‟t disappear into thin air!” he said. “I god-damn want that

dragon. It‟ll be the leverage I need to get Sophie back.”

Morgan stared at him. The stupid man actually loved that bitch? Like that was an

important thing? But she had a bigger concern than that.

Adam wanted the dragon and he had counted on her to get it. She‟d managed to

elude his finding out about the herbs she‟d put in Sophie‟s drink that caused the accident.

And now, no dragon.

She shuddered, a chill like ice running through her veins. Unfortunately, she

knew what happened to people who let Adam Baylor down.

* * * *

“You must know something,” Michael said to Allison the next morning at the

clinic. “Has she called you?”

SWORD OF FIRE Cynthia Breeding 87

“Why should she? I‟d already told her while she was still in the hospital that I‟d

have one of the other vets who works with us at Palo Pinto come in if I needed more help.

The last time I heard from Sophie was just before she was dismissed from the hospital.”

“I thought you took her home,” Janie said.

“I did. I went to get some groceries and when I got back, she was gone.”

Michael looked over at Morgan who was busying herself with files. “Have you seen her

or talked to her?”

Morgan shook her head, a little too quickly. “Not me.”

It seemed her hands shook a little as she opened the filing cabinet. Michael

watched her. He‟d followed the Hummer yesterday, not totally surprised that they had

headed for Sophie‟s. At first, he‟d assumed they were picking up extra clothes for

Sophie, although that didn‟t explain why Morgan would be with Robert. When they‟d

left the house empty- handed though, he realized that they had probably come for the

dragon. Robert had seen Pendragon. Had Sophie asked her ex to pick up the dragon?