Page 19 of Song of the Dragon Rider
“You…!” She stepped forward with an accusatory finger pointed at me, but one of her vampire friends held her back.
I felt Garrick and Maeve stiffen beside me, but I only grinned. “Look, I’m not here to stir up drama. I’m only here to give you the painting from last month and the one due this month.Andto collect my payment, of course. Everything else? Well, let bygones be bygones, is what I say.”
“How magnanimous of you,” their vampire spokesperson said.
I waved away his words and shrugged one shoulder. “I like to consider myself a philanthropist of sorts. Truly, one with the people.” I winked.
He scoffed. “You’re different, my lady. I can see this… accident of yours left its mark.”
I smirked. “Yes, it has. You could say I’m practically a different person.” Garrick cleared his throat behind me in warning. I took heed and shifted the conversation back to the matter at hand. “Anyway, do you want the paintings or not?”
“Of course we do,” the head vampire answered. Though his face remained impassive, he raised a brow and nodded toward the wrapped paintings. “Can we take a look?”
I waved for Garrick to step forward and he carefully unwrapped the landscape paintings. Forgery or not, they were beautiful. The canvases swirled with vibrant colors and skilled brushstrokes, depicting strange Elarian places I’d never seen before.
“Excellent!” The vampire grinned and snapped his fingers at the mute vampires standing behind him.
Two of them surged forward, each holding one side of a trunk, and dropped it at my feet, then whirled and snatchedthe paintings from Garrick. I tentatively opened the trunk, half expecting something to jump out at me, and was pleasantly surprised to find it filled with gold coins. Mimicking what I’d seen in countless movies, I selected one coin and bit it to make sure it was real. There was a strained pause as everyone watched with mounting confusion.
I looked at them and shrugged. “What? I had to make sure it was real. You’re not the only one who doesn’t want to be played!” I tossed the coin back into the trunk and closed the latch. “Well, boys, it’s a pleasure doing business with you. Until next month.” I gave a snappy salute and motioned for Garrick and Maeve to take the trunk so we could leave.
The vampire spokesperson cleared his throat and we all froze in our tracks. “Not so fast there, little human.”
I blew out a raspberry, unable to hide my annoyance. “What now? Do I have to pay taxes or something? Because I’ve already given Uncle Sam quite enough of my time and money.”
Wearing an enigmatic smile, the vampire motioned to the witch. “Mirabel has some grievances with you. My friends and I are here to mediate and ensure we reach a … mutually satisfactory conclusion.”
I barked out a laugh. “Is that so? I didn’t realize we needed a mediator to sever our ties to one another.”
The eerily beautiful vampire nodded, his Mona Lisa smile firmly fixed in place. “She claims that the last time she saw you, there were two very powerful individuals protecting you, one of whom was fae. And well,weare well connected with the fae, so if someone isn’t toeing the line, we wish to quickly rectify that,” the vampire said, raising his arms to encompass Faelight Forest.
He was talking about Klaus. Klaus, as in the grandson of the last fae king. If this vampire only knew who he was talking about, he’d shit his pants. Obviously, Mirabel didn’t know, or else she wouldn’t have caused all this hoopla.
I sighed. “May I ask what your name is?”
The vampire tilted his head to the side, the movement predatory. “Horatio. It seems you have forgotten.”
“Accident.” I pointed to my head. “Remember?”
His eyes glimmered. “Ah, right.”
“Well, Horatio, it seems that Mirabel isn’t well versed on the fae, because I’m a bit well connected with them, myself,” I calmly stated. “Your subtle threats don’t work on me. And honestly, they’ll cause more trouble for you than me. Trust me.”
“You?” he asked disbelievingly. “A mere human who barely remembers who she is, has connections with the higher fae?”
I shrugged. “Not to brag, but yeah. I try not to name drop, though. It’s distasteful.”
When Horatio laughed, I knew he didn’t believe a single word I said. And I sort of liked it that way. This way, the surprise would be even more satisfying.
I peered over my shoulder at Garrick and Maeve. “Take the trunk back to the carriage and stay there. I won’t be long.”
Maeve’s face tightened in fear. “But my lady—”
“Go,” I pushed. “I promise everything will be okay.”
“Come on, Maeve.” Garrick urged her to help him lift the trunk. My shoulders relaxed fractionally when they disappeared behind the carriage, and I turned to face the four vampires and Mirabel.
Horatio grinned, though it was an unsettling sight. “Leaving so soon?”
