Page 48 of Knight of the Sword

“Exactly,” Balor said and set the empty brandy snifter down. “And one dragon can scent another. It’s time to unleash Sigurd.”

Lucifer lifted his glass in mock toast. “And may the white dragon win again.”

****

“Where are you taking me now?” Pendragon griped as he tried to curl himself into a ball that would fit the sports seat in Michael’s car. “I kind of liked that lady Stephanie.”

Michael glanced over at him as they headed back to his condo. “I thought you didn’t like humans.”

The dragon rattled his scales. “Well, this one was nice, once I convinced her I wasn’t going to burn her alive.”

“You spoke to her? I told you—”

“I didn’t speak to her.” He pulled his lips back in a dragon smile. “I put my head in her lap and rubbed.”

Michael almost lost control of the car. “You gave her a hand-job?”

“A head job, warlock. My claws would have torn her skin.” Pendragon looked quite pleased with himself. “She squirmed around and liked it.”

The idea of plump, middle-aged, looks-like-a-grandma Stephanie in the throes of passion was almost more than Michael could imagine. Pendragon had it all wrong. “More likely she was trying to get away from you. Are you sure you didn’t just scare her half to death?”

He blinked his cobalt eyes. “She let me do it more than once, and she made all those funny noises humans make. And afterwards,” he added with a thump of his tail that threatened to shred the leather on the dashboard, “she fed me ice cream. Chocolate ice cream. When did humans invent that wonderful concoction? I love ice cream.”

“Forget ice cream. If I let you stay with her, she’d be in danger. Somehow, Balor found out you’ve been downsized, and he wants to capture you while you’re in that state.”

Pendragon sobered. “If I returned to my full size—”

“No. He’d find you for sure then. I can’t split my power trying to protect you and Sophie too. Once I find her, that is.”

“She’s at that Smith man’s mansion.”

Michael gave him a quick look. “Smith was one of the first people I called. The butler said she wasn’t there.”

Pendragon lifted a leathery wing in what seemed to be the equivalent of a human shrug. “He lied.”

“And what makes you think that?”

“Because,” he said smugly, “that other vet told Stephanie last night on the phone.”

Michael pulled over to the side of the road. “She what?”

“Last night on the phone,” the dragon said in a pseudo-patient voice, “Stephanie called the vet to ask her what to feed a…a Gila monster, and then she asked if there was any news about Sophie. Allison said Sophie had called her.” His lips curled back again. “They didn’t think I understood English.”

Michael started the car and slipped back into traffic. “I was planning to keep you at my place since it’s already been burglarized, but I think now we’ll just stop in so I can pack some clothes, and we’ll head to Smith’s. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”

Moments later they pulled into his parking lot. Michael paused at the door. The wards he’d reconstructed were still in place, so no one had returned. “We’re okay,” he said and opened the door.

Pendragon slipped past him and headed to the kitchen. “Do you have any ice cream?” he asked.

“No.”

“I love ice cream,” the dragon said in a hurtful tone. “Don’t I deserve a reward for finding Sophie for you?”

Michael shook his head as he headed toward his bedroom. “Mr. Smith’s kitchens probably have all kinds of flavors. Just let me pull a few things together.”

“Well, hurry, then.”

Michael pulled a backpack out of the closet and threw some toiletries along with jeans and T-shirts into it. He glanced at the Templar cross lying on his dresser. He usually left it home because it had tracking qualities that another Immortal could use to find him, but it could also be protective—and Lucas had left it behind for him. Wrapping it in a strip of white silk that he used for rituals, he laid it in the backpack and returned to the living room.