Playing With Fire

The members of the Otherworld, in general, get along well with the mortal world. We all have to live in it, after all, so it makes sense we've learned to adapt to mortal foibles and whims, but the people of the Otherworld who bear an official capacity tend to take the time and effort to make sure that the mortal world sees them in an appropriate light.

"I don't suppose it would do me the least bit of good to yell?" I asked as Savian the thief taker flashed an official-looking card at an airport official.

"None whatsoever. I have the diplomatic authority to take prisoners in and out of this and seventeen other countries, so I'm afraid that any protests you make would fall upon deaf ears. Ah. I see we are to have the first three rows to ourselves. Excellent. Do you need to use the loo?" he asked politely, stopping before a bank of tiny airplane bathrooms.

I shook my head, clutching my now-sodden blanket around myself, my spirits as damp as the rest of me.

"All right, then. If you'd sit there, please."

I glanced around the section of the plane that he'd evidently managed to keep clear, but there was no hope for it. The lights were too bright-I'd never be able to get away by shadow walking. I plopped down in the seat he indicated, furiously trying to think of a way out of this horrible dilemma. "No handcuffs?" I asked acidly as he reached for my seat belt. I slapped his hands and buckled it together myself, glaring at him as he chuckled again.

He took his seat, drawing a binding ward on me. "I don't need them, Mei Ling. It took me some time to come up with a ward that would hold a doppelganger, but as you can see, it's quite effective."

Horror crept up my spine as I realized he was right-I couldn't move from the seat. I slumped back defeated, wondering what the L'au-dela committee was going to do when Savian the sexy thief taker handed me over.

"At least I know now why you are so familiar," I grumbled to myself as the plane took off.

He looked curious. "Did you catch me tailing you this evening?"

"No, I'm ashamed to say I didn't know there was anyone watching me," I said with much regret. "I heard you at Dr. Kostich's house last night."

"Ahh," he said, enlightenment dawning in his eyes. "You were there? I wondered at the time what the dragon was doing there, and why he was so interested in you. I thought perhaps he was trying to smuggle the quintessence back into the case. But obviously you did that."

"Yes." My poor abused head throbbed, but I sternly ordered it to sort through the facts and come up with a plan of action. "What I'd really like to know is how you found me to begin with. If you didn't see me at Dr. Kostich's, how did you know where to find me?"

"Well, you see, it's like this," he said, getting comfortable after signaling the flight attendant. He waited until she served him a glass of wine before continuing. "Kostich hired me to find you and his quintessence. I thought it was a bit odd that the silver wyvern should be interested in apparently the same thing, so I followed him. He went to earth in a hotel, and didn't appear until this morning."

A sudden flash of memory had me sitting up straight. "You were the man outside the hotel. The one who stared so rudely at Cyrene and me."

"If I was staring, it was in astonishment, and meant no offense," he said with a warm smile. "Picture the scene: a dashing, roguish hero-that's yours truly- has been hunkered down all night, waiting for his prey to emerge from what was evidently quite the love nest."

I refused to blush. I kept my face unmoving, my expression placid.

He just grinned. "And then all of a sudden, whoosh! The hotel starts to burn, people pour out, including a dragon and his luscious bit o' fun."

"If you think that's going to get a rise out of me, you're going to be very disappointed," I said tonelessly.

His grin deepened. "I had a feeling you'd be good at this."

"That explains how you found me, but not how you know about my connection with the thefts," I said, lowering my voice.

"That's where the story gets good," he assured me. "There I was, faced with not only the man I've been following, but also a lovely woman. Imagine my surprise when the lovely woman is joined by an identical twin. Imagine that surprise turning to complete and utter astonishment when, as I was strolling past in an attempt to identify the ladies, I heard the name of one of the most sought-after criminals in the history of the Otherworld."

I cast my mind back to the morning, groaning to myself. "Cyrene called me Mayling."

"Right out in the open, where anyone could hear," he said with cheerful agreement. "Once I got over the shock of hearing her say the name of Mei Ling, I did a little bit of investigating, and found out that the woman with the loose lips was twin to one May Northcott. Two and two and two... well, they make six, May."

I shook my head, disgusted with myself for being so distracted by Gabriel that I hadn't been aware of Savian. "And you simply followed us to London, and then later on, tracked me down at the warehouse. I can't believe I didn't see you."

"I'm very good at following people," he said with no pretense of modesty. "It's my specialty, if the truth be known."

I digested all of that on the flight to Paris, ignoring his further attempts at conversation, preferring to dwell in the horrible inky pit of despair that wrapped me firmly in its embrace.

"Don't think that there's any chance you're going to get away from me," Savian said as we deplaned at Orly Airport.

He waited until everyone else had left the plane but the flight attendants, all of whom watched me with interested eyes. I had no idea what story he'd concocted to tell them; to be honest, I didn't care. I just wanted to get away to somewhere dark, somewhere I could make my escape.

"Do you know, I'm almost sorry I caught you," he continued in a conversational voice as we walked up the long ramp to the concourse. "It's been rather exciting trying to keep up with you. Are you really mated to the silver wyvern?"

I stopped to give him an astonished look.

"Word gets around fast," he explained, giving me a little push to get me going again.

"You are a very strange man," I told him, thrown off guard by his entire demeanor. I expected the thief takers to be harsh, ugly little men with no souls and less humanity. But Savian was... well, charming. And handsome. And judging by the glint in his eye, probably also quite the ladies' man.

"I've been told that. I consider it a compliment, actually. Wouldn't want life to become boring and staid, now, would we?" he asked, gesturing me toward a room marked with a private notice. I entered the small room, most likely used for interviews of suspicious people by customs officials, and tipped my head as I watched Savian gesture to someone at a desk. He came into the room, closing the door behind him. "Won't be but a minute, and we'll be through customs. I expect you're anxious to be through all this, hmm?"

"I don't suppose you're open to bribes?" I asked, ignoring the charm he was so clearly trying to wield upon me.

That took him by surprise for a few seconds. "What did you have in mind?"

I ran a mental accounting of my checkbook, disregarding both it and my credit cards-Magoth didn't mind paying my travel expenses when necessary, but he certainly didn't pay well for the rest of my services-then musing for a few moments on the amulet, which was tucked away under my left breast in the inner pocket of my leather bodice, but I dismissed the thought almost immediately. I hadn't been strafed by lasers and given myself a concussion just to hand over the amulet to the first thief taker who managed to grab me.

Which left only one thing I had with which to barter my freedom. I toyed with the leather laces of my bodice. "What about me?"

His eyes opened wide at that, his gaze turning calculating as he examined me thoroughly from my toes to my crown. "What would your wyvern say to that offer?"

I swallowed back the bile that rose in my throat at the thought of having sex with Savian. "This has nothing to do with him. It's between you and me."

"Indeed it is," he said, taking a couple of steps closer to me. I forced myself to stand where I was, lifting my chin to meet his gaze.

"You're positively rank, woman. You reek of things I don't really want to name."

"Thank you. There's just nothing like being told you smell like a sewer to make a woman feel wanted."

He laughed. "Hmm. Despite your current state, I have to admit I'm very tempted. Beneath all that muck you're really quite lovely, in a silent movie sort of way." He reached out to touch my hair. I had to steel my arms to stay at my side, not flinching when he trailed a finger down my jawline. "Very tempted. Oh, what the hell, you only live once."

He turned back to the door, opening it to call something out to the official who was approaching with a clipboard.

I tried to calm the gorge rising within me, but my repulsion must have been evident, for when Savian turned back around he burst into laughter. "Good lord, woman, you look like you've been asked to do the most heinous things imaginable to babies. I take it you've had a change of heart about your offer?"

I slumped into one of the three wooden chairs, which, along with a small table, were the room's only furnishings. "I'm sorry. I thought I could do it, but I just can't."

Savian looked thoughtful for a moment. "Is it me? Or are you in love with the wyvern?"

"I'm not in love with anyone," I muttered, my forehead resting on my hands as I hunched over the table, unsure of whether I should cry or laugh at the ludicrous situation I found myself in.

"Then it's me? You don't find me... dashing? Attractive, in a roguish sort of way? Kind of a cross between Han Solo and MacGyver?" Savian asked, a note of worry in his voice.

I looked up, a smile twitching my lips. He looked almost devastated. "No, you're very Han Solo. It's just... well, I did promise to be Gabriel's mate, and I know it's silly to take fidelity seriously these days, but I guess I'm just one of those people who is faithful whether they want to be or not."

He was silent for a moment, then nodded. "He's a lucky dragon. Was there anything else you wanted to try to bribe me with? Or was that it?"

"That's it," I said, wiping back a few tears of hilarity that had squeezed out of my eyes.

"Ah, well. Perhaps another time you might have a priceless gold treasure hidden upon your lovely person."

My gaze shot to his, but he was already back at the door, calling for the official.

"This won't take-"

Suddenly he was jerked out of the door. I leaped up, racing for freedom, but shrieked when the doorway was suddenly filled with a large, hulking man with dirty dark hair, shrewd eyes, and a wicked-looking scar that started beneath his eye and curved down to his earlobe. "-long," the man said, his lips curling up in a smile as he clamped one hand around my wrist, my bones protesting as he yanked me out the door after him.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, trying desperately to free myself. To the right I saw a small group of people bent over a prone form, one person on a radio obviously calling for medical aid. "And what did you do to Savian?"

The surly man tightened his hold on my wrist until I howled my protest, beating on his arm to let go of me. "Stop your bitching or I'll stop it for you! Here." He thrust an identification card at a customs official who hurriedly backed out of the way.

"Help!" I yelled, trying to simultaneously claw the man's grip off my wrist and twist myself free. "I'm being kidnapped! Someone help me! He-"

The last thing I remember before a white pain exploded in my head was the man turning toward me, his fist raised. After that, blissful darkness claimed me, welcoming me with a familiar comfort. I wandered the pathways of the shadow world for a bit, that place between realities that few can reach, and fewer can leave once they get there. It was a dreamworld, a place of sanctuary for those for whom reality had become too much, and I was tempted for a few moments to just remain there, safe from the pain and strife that made up my world. But the image of Gabriel's bright eyes rose in my mind, the memory of his burning kisses stirring the slumbering embers of my desire.

A cold shock of water dragged me out of the shadow world and back into my body. I sputtered and choked, rolling off my back and into a sitting position as I wiped water from my face. "Agathos daimon!"

"You will please to come to the chamber," a voice said with a complete lack of emotion. I shook the water from my eyes well enough to see the slight young man speaking.

"Who are you? And where am I?"

"I am Tej, apprentice to Monish Lakshmanan. This is Paris."

"Paris," I groaned, getting painfully to my feet. The laser burns had long since healed, but my wrist was still sore and discolored. The scene with the thief taker and the dark-haired brutish man rushed back. "What happened to the thief taker?"

"Porter? He's claiming his reward. You must please to come this way."

I staggered out of the small room, taking quick glances around me to look for an escape. Our footsteps echoed down a long hallway dotted with occasional chairs and small tables. "Where exactly in Paris?" I asked my escort.

"Suffrage House," he answered.

My spirits dropped. Suffrage House was the mansion of a long-dead suffragette, bought by the L'au-dela, and now used as their headquarters. Although I'd been locked in a small, dark room that was clearly used as a holding cell since it contained no furniture whatsoever, I had to admit that I'd been in much worse places.

"Who's Monish Lakshmanan?" I asked, sliding an appraising glance at Tej. He appeared to be Indian, his soft brown eyes watching me warily as we walked down a long gold and white hallway.

"Monish is an oracle, and a member of the watch."

Oh, wonderful. The watch was the police force of the L'au-dela, and their members were not people with whom I ever desired to cross paths. "I hate to do nothing but ask questions, but where are we going?"

"The almoner's chamber. You must make a phone call, yes?"

He threw open a door to what appeared to be an office containing four desks, three of which were occupied by women who bore all the appearances of secretaries.

In front of the nearest one, a familiar man stood arguing. "-after which he stole her from me. Porter has no right to claim the reward when I did all the hard work and caught her to begin with."

"Stop your bellyachin'," the nasty dark-haired man snarled from where he stood to the side. I followed Tej into the room and took the chair at the empty desk that he indicated. "You know the rules as well as I do-he who brings in the suspect gets the reward. I'll take that voucher for the benefaction now."

"That only applies if the suspect escapes one thief taker, a fact you know very well," Savian said, slamming down his hand on the table. "The fact is that you stole her from me. You didn't pick her up after I left her; you stole her from me. As if that wasn't enough to disqualify your claim on her, there's the little fact that you were about to conduct an illegal search upon her person when I found you."

"An illegal search?" The woman at the desk frowned.

"What sort of illegal search?" I asked, sick to my stomach at the thought of the man named Porter touching me while I was unconscious.

"You keep your nose out of what doesn't concern you," the nasty man (evidently named Porter) snarled.

The words echoed horribly in my head. I took a step back, surprise overwhelming the repugnance he had generated. I'd heard something very like those words before, only a few hours ago. Cyrene's blackmailer was a thief taker? What on earth was all that about? And why had he all but kidnapped me from his colleague?

"He was about to strip-search you, my dear. You may thank me later for saving you from that particular indignity," Savian told me with a little wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Strip-search me? Why?" I asked, my mind reeling as I tried to sort out the confusion.

Porter's expression turned sly as he picked his ear. "Your word against mine that I did any such thing."

I gave a mental shake of my head. Why would he want to search me? The only thing of value I held was the amulet he sent me to get. It didn't make sense for him to kidnap me in order to get what he'd sent me to retrieve. Not unless he knew that I wasn't about to hand it over without knowing exactly what it was.

"This is a problem." The secretary frowned again, shuffling some paperwork on her desk. "I'm afraid I can't disburse the reward if it is being contested. Both your claims will have to go before the committee for settling."

Porter swore loudly and extremely profanely, sending me a look that, by rights, should have struck me dead.

"There's nothing to be settled," Savian started to say, but the secretary cut him off by a lengthy recitation of the rules regarding claims.

Porter swore again and started stomping his way from the room. I moved quickly to intercept him, speaking in a tone low enough that it couldn't be overheard by the others. "Just exactly what game are you playing at?"

His eyes were hooded and wary. "What're you talking about?'

"Let's try the fact that you blackmailed me into taking a dragon's amulet, and yet you're supposed to be upholding the laws of the L'au-dela. You're a thief taker, but at the same time you're working for a demon lord stealing who knows what."

For a moment, his eyes held a startled look. "You're crazy."

I leaned closer, tamping down the sick feeling in my gut that being so near him generated. "It wouldn't be that hard, you know, to ask around and find out which demon lord you work for. I can't imagine whoever it is would be happy to know you hold a position in the L'au-dela. Nor would the committee be happy to find out one of their own works for a prince of Abaddon."

To my surprise, a slow, ugly smile split his face. He grabbed my arm in a grip that made me yelp, pulling me up against his body until his breath stung my face. "You think you're so smart, but you're not even close. You breathe one word about that amulet to anyone, and you're dead. You got that? If I don't kill you myself, the dreadlord will."

"If you kill me, you won't get the amulet," I pointed out, keeping mum about the fact that I already had the item in question.

He snarled something anatomically impossible. "You'll get it."

"And if I don't?" I asked. "You can hardly expect me to steal something for someone who treats me this way. Frankly, at this point, I'd almost rather deal with the repercussions if you exposed Cyrene's actions in Nova Scotia."

His breath was foul. "Get the amulet back, or you won't have a twin to protect."

I stared at him in openmouthed horror, but before I could rally a response to his threat, he pushed me away, storming out of the room. Savian reached my side, frowning after Porter. "Are you all right? I saw him grab you. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," I said, rubbing my arm. "Just a little confused."

He gave me a long, considering look. "I suspect you're not the only one in that state. I don't suppose you'd like to tell me what all that was about?"

I shook my head and returned to the desk where Tej stood watching with bright, interested eyes. "Exactly who am I supposed to be calling?"

The young man looked vaguely surprised. "You are to make a call. It is the rules."

"The rules? What rules?"

The woman at the desk behind me dropped a couple of sheets of paper on the desk before me. "Would you mind signing this receipt for your personal effects, Miss Ling? You were unconscious during the sentencing, or I would have had you sign it then."

I stared down at a piece of paper listing the items I'd had on my person: wallet, three passports, cell phone, assorted money, cinnamon gum, two keys, and a small golden figurine.

The last object leaped to mind as I hurriedly checked the inner pocket of my bodice. The lumpy gold dragon amulet was gone. I thought it was odd they got that and not the small knife I wore strapped to my ankle, but I wasn't about to point out their omission.

"Where are my things being kept?" I asked the secretary, worried that Porter might have figured out I was bluffing and was even now on the way to get the amulet.

"All effects of prisoners are kept in the vault, naturally," she answered, twitching the paper at me.

"And is the vault secure? I mean, really secure?"

"It is the L'au-dela vault!" she answered indignantly. "It has not been violated in at least a century."

Somewhat relieved, I signed my name where she indicated.

"Convicted persons may petition for the return of those items not deemed to be dangerous," she added.

"Convicted?" A headache suddenly blossomed to life. I rubbed my forehead, trying to figure out just what was going on. "I was convicted?"

"Oh, yes," the secretary said. "Earlier, when you were brought before the committee. You were charged, tried, and sentenced, and now if you would just sign these forms as well, I can initiate your transfer to the Akasha."

"The Akasha?" I felt like some sort of deranged parrot repeating things the woman was saying, but I was beyond confused. My blood turned to ice at the thought of the Akasha-it was what mortals sometimes thought of as limbo, a place where demons and others who had been banished were sent. It meant an eternity of nonexistence, a perpetual torment, a punishment so heinous, it was reserved for only the most serious of crimes... or people who sufficiently pissed off the heads of the committee.

And this woman wanted me to sign papers that would send me there? "I don't think so," I said aloud, snatching up the phone. I didn't have to think about who to call; I pulled out the small card with Gabriel's cell phone number, and punched in the appropriate country code and number.

"It would be my utmost delight to speak with you," Gabriel's smooth voice assured me. "But unfortunately, I am unable to take your call at this time. Please leave a message."

I wanted to cry right there in front of everyone, but as I've mentioned, I'm not a weepy sort of person. "It's me. Er... May. I'm in Paris, and apparently was unconscious when I was charged by the L'au-dela committee to be banished to the Akasha. I'd really appreciate it if you could do something about it before they send me there." I gave the phone number that was printed on the phone and hung up, despair welling up inside me.

"Do I take it you refuse to sign the forms?" the secretary asked, her mouth thin with irritation.

"That is absolutely correct. I won't sign anything until my... er... wyvern checks it out."

She snatched the papers back and marched to her desk, muttering about unreasonable people who had no concept of the amount of work she had to do.

Tej watched me for a moment with sad eyes before escorting me back to my cell, allowing me to make a bathroom stop on the way.

"The windows have been barred," he pointed out as I was about to enter the bathroom, and sure enough, they had been. The air duct was too small to climb through, the ceiling was made of solid plaster, not tiles with access to a ventilation shaft, and there was no exit other than the door that led straight to Tej.

I sighed, made use of the facilities, and prayed to as many gods as I could name that Gabriel checked his voice mail in time to keep me from being sent to the Akasha.