He shook his head. "Since she works at the Wayfarer and is aligned with the OIA, chances are she probably has a tree somewhere near Seattle. No, this magic is too powerful for her. The music makes me think of Pan, but it's rumored that Old Shag has been staying close to home in Greece."
I took a step closer, and we locked eyes. Morio held out his arms, and I stepped into his embrace. He kissed me, long and slow, tender without the fury that had spurred us on earlier.
"We're going to have to discuss this later," I said. Thoughts of Trillian filled my mind, but even as I worried over his life, my body had a will of its own and I'd responded so strongly to the fox demon that it made me afraid. And I liked Morio. Trillian thrilled me to the core. I loved him and I hated him. But I really didn't like him. Whatever came out of this mix was going to be interesting, that was for sure.
"I know." Morio let out a long sigh. "But right now we need to focus on matters at hand and avoid being caught up by that whimsy spell again."
"Excuse me," Delilah piped up. "But what the hell are you two doing?"
I broke away from Morio and jerked my head toward the mound. "While you decided to take a kitten break, we ended up in a lip-lock that would hit a tripleX rating. Didn't you notice the nice layer of mud I decided to add to my outfit?" Unfortunately, that wasn't a joke. Thanks to Mr. Fox's wild ride, the back of my jacket and skirt were soaked with dew and mud and soggy leaves.
"I was wondering but was too polite to ask," Delilah said with a cough. "Uh-oh. I can't wait to see the fallout on this one," she said, a snarky grin creeping across her face. "Well, I'm just glad you guys caught me before I took off into the woods and got myself lost."
"Thanks, wild child. Back to the matter at hand. If this isn't Wisteria's doing, then whose? It's Sidhe magic, but linked to Earth, not to OW."
Morio knelt to examine the toadstools. "Camille's right. This is very powerful magic and dangerous to leave unattended."
With a frown, Delilah stared at the barrow. "Then the question is, how do we break the illusion? I want to know what's under there."
I studied the mound. "I can probably break through, but there's a very real chance that when my magic comes into contact with the barriers, I might cause some sort of an implosion. I'm not sure it's worth the risk. Maybe we can just go around it?"
Morio cocked his head to one side. "I can try to banish the force field, but I don't know if I'm strong enough. This isn't just illusion. What about if we try it together? Maybe I can deflect any misfire from your magic, Camille."
"Brave, aren't you?" I rubbed my backside. I'd really taken a pounding. Morio was stronger than I'd given him credit for. It was going to take a lot of stretching to work out the knots in my inner thighs. "You sure you want to chance it? If something goes wrong, I can't guarantee your safety."
He noticed my discomfort. "Need a little massage there to straighten out the kinks?" he said, winking. As I sputtered, he added, "Don't sweat it. I think I can protect myself from anything you can manage to botch up."
"Gee, thanks, I love you, too." I frowned. My back felt like it was being pricked by a hot needle. "What the hell? Delilah, do I have anything under my shirt?" I lifted the cami so she could take a look. Morio stared with an unabashed leer. I stuck my tongue out at him while Delilah checked my back.
"Yeah, you managed to get a blackberry bramble under there." With a quick jerk, she yanked, and I let out a yelp as the thorn dislodged itself from my skin. "So much for sex in the woods," I muttered. Except for the wild places of Otherworld, brambles stayed in nice, tidy patches at home.
"Okay, let's get back to business. Chase is going to be wondering where the hell we are if we don't hurry up." I studied the barrow. "I'll focus on disrupting the barrier, you focus on sweeping aside any illusions that might be linked to it. You stand over there, a good arm's length away."
We took up position, with Delilah guarding the rear. As I raised my arms and summoned the Moon Mother's power, the energy of the lea shimmered. The rain stopped as a cold wind blew up, shaking the trees. I focused my concentration on boring a hole through the force field, turning myself into a magical power drill. Morio worked alongside me, dispersing the illusions that bound the area, breaking their hold on the land.
As the barrier began to weaken and we drove a wedge in it, a low rumble began to vibrate through the air, and the earth shook, waves rippling beneath our feet. I swayed, trying to keep my footing, but the quake magnified and sent both Morio and me sprawling. The force field cracked, shattering into a thousand invisible shards and then the lea was silent once more.
"Talk about shake, rattle, and roll," I said as I staggered to my feet.
"What the hell? Are we in the middle of a war zone?" Delilah asked.
The lovely grassland was now a blackened mound in the center of a ring of sickly trees that murmured dark thoughts and desires. The ground had been scorched, and tree trunks charred into carbon lay scattered around the area.
"Holy crap. Look at this place." Delilah sucked in a deep breath, her eyes wide.
"That about says it all." I looked around for Morio, who was rubbing his shoulder from where the quake had tossed him. "What happened here?"
"Look," he said, pointing to a darkened hole against the mound. It led deep within the earth. "Is that a cave?"
As I squinted through the rain—which was once again pounding the area—I saw that he was right. It was a cave. The cave. And I knew that somewhere within, Tom Lane was hiding.
"That's where we want to go. This is it, folks. Let's move." But as I moved forward, the rustle of wings caught my attention. Before we could take another step, a shadow rose up from behind the mound. There, snaky and huge and milky white, hovered a dragon. And he looked hungry.
* * *
CHAPTER 14
"Dragon!" Delilah fell back, a terrified look on her face."Stop shouting. I see it." What the hell were we going to do now? The pastoral woodland setting had suddenly become a field full of land mines, and any residual urge to dance had turned into an even stronger urge to turn tail and run. But that wouldn't help matters. Dragons were big. Dragons were strong. Dragons were fast. And most of all—dragons made lunch out of witches like me.
The wyrm was a blend of Asian and Western heritage. His body was long and snakelike, and his wings were large but ornamental; he didn't need them to fly. What looked like horns but were really antennae graced the beast's forehead. The reptilian grace hovered above us, milky and pearlescent, shimmering between pale pink and ivory.
As I stared into his icy gray eyes that were ringed with black and held twin diamonds in the center of each pupil, I couldn't help but wonder at how beautiful he was. It had been many years since I'd seen a dragon, and never this close. Part of me just wanted to stand in awe, but I shook myself out of my trance. Dragons were notorious for being able to hypnotize their prey—it made for an easier time of preparing crispy critters for lunch.
Actually, maybe I was doing him a disservice. After all, not all dragons breathed fire, but by the looks of the surrounding countryside I wouldn't put it past him. The meadow had been razed, and the perfect circle of debris convinced me that a forest fire hadn't been responsible for the damage.
I carefully stepped back, one foot at a time, my gaze fastened on the face of the dragon as I prepared to run or freeze-frame, whichever my gut told me would save my life.
The dragon let out a low rumble that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. An ominous laugh. Dragon jokes were usually at the expense of the listener, and little good could come out of a dragon's mirth, except for his own amusement.
I glanced briefly at Morio. He, too, was playing statue. Delilah was nowhere to be seen, and I hoped she'd had the chance to duck behind a tree. Out of sight, out of mind, out of stomach.
"So, should I eat you here or save you for later?" His voice was lower than any bass I'd ever heard. "You've had your last feast—each other—so now it's my turn."
I struggled to remember everything I knew about the beasts. What had I told Chase? Don't try to outshine a dragon, don't puff up in his face. Dragons were so arrogant that they'd make quick work of anybody who challenged their superiority. Yada yada yada. On the other hand, some seemed to value courage. Cowards weren't known for their luck in walking away from a dragon-fest, at least not with all their parts still intact. I cleared my throat.
"We apologize. We had no idea we were intruding in your territory. Please, if you let us go, we'll leave and never return." Compromise—that might just be the ticket. We made a mistake, we screwed up, take mercy on us, and let us go about our business. Grovel, grovel, beg, beg.
The dragon snorted, and puffs of steam flared out from his nostrils. "You expect me to believe that, little witch? You're one of those pesky Sidhe, aren't you?" His luminous eyes whirled, and once again, I found myself staring into them, but as his mind touched my own, I jerked away.
He laughed again. "Not full-blooded Sidhe after all. Half-breed. Human and Faerie… delicious combination. Dessert, that's what you are. But tell me, Witchling, what are you doing here? You're not earthbound, unlike your companion." The winding neck swerved in Morio's direction.
I let my breath out. I'd been holding it so tightly I felt like I'd just busted out of a corset. Morio casually slid his hands in his pockets and gave the dragon a nod. He was going for the buddy-buddy routine. I silently wished him luck.
"Greetings, Ancient One. We're truly sorry for the interruption. We were searching for someone and were led astray." Morio's voice was smooth and silken. He couldn't be trying to use his illusion to deceive the wyrm, could he? Dragons were immune to most charm. I forced myself to keep my mouth shut. Morio knew what he was doing. At least I hoped so.
The dragon hiccupped, and another cloud of smoke emerged, smelling decidedly like roast meat. Definitely, I did not want to meet his last meal on a face-to-face basis. I just prayed that Tom Lane wasn't down there in his belly, along with the spirit seal. Gutting a deer was hard enough; gutting a dragon was a full-blown expedition into monster surgery, and first we'd have to kill him.
After another moment's pause, the dragon said, "Fox-man, you'd better cease your attempts to enchant me, or I'll start with your head and pick my teeth with your bones. Now, tell me the truth, why are you in my territory?"
Morio glanced at me, a question on his face. We had all of about three minutes before old Smoky here was going to start blasting. If the dragon was in league with the demons, we were dead. If the dragon was out for himself—a distinct possibility—then who knew? What I did know was that dragons were terribly clever at sniffing out liars.
I finally shrugged and said, "We're looking for a man named Tom Lane. We need to talk to him."
Smoky's eyes lit up. "You want to talk to that meddlesome idiot?"
Uh-oh. By the tone of his voice, it was obvious he wasn't Tom's friend, but I didn't sense a demonic aura around the dragon. Maybe he and Tom just had issues. But why hadn't Smoky already resolved them with a puff of fire? I couldn't be sure, and I didn't think it was diplomatic to ask.
"We need to find him," I said. Then a stroke of genius hit me. "If you tell us where he is, we'll take him away, and he'll never bother you again."
The dragon shifted, hunkering down on the mound. His neck bobbed like a king cobra in a snake charmer's basket before stretching out to zero in on my face. Those glittering, glacial eyes were about ten feet away, the dragon's head huge in comparison to me. He was scrutinizing me. I did my best to appear wide-eyed and innocent.
"Witchling, what's your name?"
Another no-no. Never give a dragon your real name. Not a good idea. I shook my head. "I'm not that stupid. You know I'm not going to give you my name, so don't even bother."
A deep rumble filled the air as he huffed and then laughed. "I like you. Funny and brave, a rare combination. Your quarry ran into the cave early in the day. I chased him as far as I could, but he got away. If you take him with you, I'll let you live and walk in my forest. If you fail, then I'll eat you for breakfast."
I sighed. I was starting to feel like the universal stooge on the end of the baddeal train. Bring me a demon's finger bone, or I'll take one of yours. Terminate the demons, or they'll destroy the world. Get Tom Lane out of my sight, or I'll eat you for breakfast.
"I guess that's our only choice. It's a deal." What more could I say? "But you have to let us into the cave so we can go find him. And no scaring him off while we're trying to catch him. And no funny business."
Morio suppressed a snort, and I knew what he was thinking. We'd really dug ourselves in with this one. I still couldn't sense where Delilah was.
The dragon gave his best imitation of a shrug. "My word of honor, on my smokestacks and whiskers, little witch."
Word of honor indeed. Dragons were good at twisting words, and I didn't trust Smoky's jovial nature. But it was the best we were going to get, barring the protection of a wizard or a witch far stronger than I.
He dipped his head and pointed toward the cave in the mound. "I chased him in there. Just get busy and find him. I'm feeling irritable today."
As Morio and I cautiously approached the cave, I forced myself to stare straight ahead. I wanted to look for Delilah, but the dragon would suspect something. We were at the mouth of the dark tunnel when I glanced back.