Fire Me Up (23 page)

"Mr. Vireo, I had no idea this lady was connected with you.
She has been involved in two recent deaths—"

"The lady is my fiancee," Drake said smoothly, but beneath
his velvet voice menace hung heavi ly in the air. The man's ringers spasmed,
dropping the penholder. "She is therefore under my protection. You will accord
her every respect you do me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir. Of course, sir. But the bodies ..."

"Do not concern me. I trust she will not be bothered
further."

"Of course not, sir. My felicitations to you both. The hotel
is delighted to have Miss Grey continue her stay with us."

Drake gave the man another dragon-eyed look, then gave me a
gentle shove toward the bank of elevators.

"Fiancee?" I asked him through my teeth, trying to hold on to
my tight smile in case anyone was looking at us. "I don't remember agreeing to
marry you."

"It is the closest mortal equivalent to being a mate," he
answered.

"Oh. I suppose so. And thanks for bailing me out there,
although I could have done with a little less teasing. Why didn't you tell the
man that I didn't have anything to do with the murders? He probably thinks
you're covering up for me."

He stopped in front of the elevator that Pal and IstvSn were
holding for him. "Are you coming with me to the room?"

I glanced at my watch. "Damn, the wildlife park will be
closed in twenty minutes. I had hoped I could run back out there and give Gyorgy
his amulet, but there's not enough time right now. I want to call the vet's
office and then try to make it to at least one workshop. And then there's the
evening dinner. I've had to miss so much of the conference, I'd like to try to
socialize and meet a few more Guardians."

"Do not forget our appointment later," he said, stepping into
the elevator.

"Right. Seven. How fancy is this shindig?" "Fancy?" His gaze
burned green. "I would suggest that you wear something ... washable."

The elevator doors closed on my confused "Huh?" It was only
when I had the lobby phone in my hand that I realized he had never answered my
question about why he didn't tell the man at reception that I wasn't involved
with the murders.

Drake, I found out later, didn't lie unless he felt it was
absolutely necessary.

Two hours after I hung up the phone to the vet's office,
relieved to hear that Jim had regained consciousness and, although groggy,
seemed to have suffered no permanent effects of its misadventures, I almost wept
at the sight of a familiar—and more to the point, friendly—face.

"Nora, thank heavens for you. Um. That is, unless you don't
want to sit with me?"

Nora looked at me sitting all by my lonesome at the big round
table in a ballroom that was packed solid with GODTAM participants. "Why
wouldn't I want to sit with you?"

I lipped my head to indicate the nearby tables. They were all
full. "Word has gotten around. Evidently I have become some sort of a social
pariah."

"Ah. Because of the Guardian deaths, you mean?" she asked as
she pulled out a chair and sat. I was so pathetically grateful that I wasn't
going to have to sit by myself for dinner. I didn't even flinch when she
mentioned me and the deaths in the same breath.

"Yes. Nothing I had anything to do with them. You've heard
what everyone is saying, I'm sure. No one's accused me of outright murder, but
they're saying that I'm cursed, that Guardians who make an appointment with me
stand a chance of dying in their sleep, just like Moa and Theodora."

Her eyes were dark, all-seeing behind the garish red glasses.
"I have not died in my sleep, and I had an appointment with you."

"You're one of the lucky ones," I said grumpily, then
immediately apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, but things just
seemed to have gone to hell in a handbasket for me lately. Most of it. Some is
good. But a lot has been difficult."

"You're new to this world," she said, nodding her
understanding. "It can be overwhelming at first, but you're struggling against
what is, rather than accepting it. You should meditate, be at one with who you
are, and with your new vision of the world. It will help you cope."

"I think it's going to take a whole lot more than a little
meditation to fix my life, but I'll try. Oh, no, not the gruesome twosome!" I
ducked my head and pretended fascinated interest in a loose thread on the cuff
of my sleeve.

"What? Oh."

Nora's polite interest as she looked behind her shamed me. I
might feet that because she had written me off her list of potential apprentices
I didn't have to maintain a dignified appearance with her, but it didn't mean I
had to let her see the catty side of me.

"Sorry," I said quietly, a fake smile of welcome plastered on
my lips. "I'm just tired. I didn't mean to say that. They're nice." In a
horrible, cruel sort of way.

"Well! All alone, are we?" Marvabelle asked in a voice loud
enough to guarantee attention would be drawn to us.

I held on to my smile, biting back the urge to tell her it
was too late, everyone already knew rhat I was there. They had to know—people
avoided me like I was a plague-bearing, oozing-sored leper. With an STD. "Hank,
just look who's here—it's that Ashley who keeps gettin' herself arrested, And
Nora! You two wouldn't be"—her pale gray eyes took on a sly cast—"workin'
together, would you?"

"I wish we were, but I'm afraid Nora has had a lot of
better-qualified applicants for the spot of apprentice." I said politely,
sharing my smile with the ever-silent Hank as he sat down next to Nora.

"Is that so? Well, I just hope that she counts her blessin's
that your meeting went off without her endin' up dead like all the others."
Marvabelle picked up her napkin and waved it toward a waiter. I braced myself,
hoping against hope that our table had one of the local Other-world denizens who
had been drafted into service. I'd been told earlier, by a chatty Mage, that the
conference folk tried to fill the ranks of meal servers with people who would
not be startled to see demons sitting amongst all the other guests. Luck, for
once, was with me. The waiter didn't so much as bat an eyelash at me. I waited
until Marvabelle demanded water from the waiter (he hadn't bothered to bring
water when it was just me sitting here) before inquiring politely of Hank how he
was enjoying the conference.

"We're having a great time, aren't we. Mother?" he answered,
opening his mouth to say more, but his wife wasn't one to sit around and let
someone else have the limelight.

"Yes, we are, for the most part. The conference people might
have picked a nicer-quality hotel," she said with an irritated sniff. "Hank and
I are used to the best hotels, naturally. And the prices they charge for a
simple sandwich! Scandalous! But the workshops are good—some of them—although
they don't really have enough ad-dressinI the needs of oracles. So much of what
they offer is geared for Diviners, too, and you and I both know they're just not
the same thing. The two panels I was on were standin' room only, of course.
There were many people who came up afterwards to tell me how much they
appreciated my plan to license all Olherworld practitioners. It's to keep the
riffraff out," she said to Nora with a meaningful look my way. "As it is
now, anyone can call themselves a Guardian without having any form of trainin'."

"Oh, speaking of that," I said, determined not to let her
bait me into responding, "I was told that you're the person to talk to about
undergoing the ritual to officially be recognized as an apprentice."

Her smile, which had never left her lips, brightened
significantly. A little shiver of worry rippled down my back. "Ye-es," she
drawled. "I am, but I had no idea that you hadn't undergone the ritual. They
shouldn't have allowed you to register for the conference. Only accepted
apprentices are entitled to approach mentors. I shall have to report this
oversight to the appropriate officials, naturally. They will no doubt ask you to
leave the conference."

Oh, great. Kicked out of a hotel and a conference, all in one
day. My star certainly was rising.

"There's no need to do that," Nora said thoughtfully. "If you
allow Aisling to undergo the ritual tonight, she will be officially recognized
and can enjoy the rest of the conference."

"Aw, what a shame—I'm busy tonight," Marvabelle replied, her
shark-toothed smile getting even sharkier as she turned it on me. "In fact, I'm
busy the whole rest of the conference!"

"That's not a problem," Nora said quickly, stopping me from
grinding my teeth. Her face was placid, but there was a little spark in her eyes
that told me she didn't appreciate Marvabelle's attitude any more than I did. "I
will oversee the ritual. I can rearrange my appointments this evening to
accommodate Aisling."

Marvabelle's smile faded. "Only people with special traininI
can do that. You know that as well as I do."

Nora pulled the snowy white linen napkin from her water glass
as the waiter approached with a pitcher. "I am a class three mentor now,
Marvabelle. I've had a lot of training since the days when we both studied under
the same mentor. I can train, evaluate, and administer proxy tests as required."
She looked at me. "I can be free at nine tonight, if that is good with you."

I flashed her a look of pure appreciation. She might not
think I was apprentice material, but she was obviously a woman of honor. "I wish
I could take you up on it but I have a dragon thing I have to go to later, and I
doubt if it will be over by then."

Marvabelle wasn't going to stand for anyone doing her out of
a chance to get rid of me. "I'm afraid that if Ashley here doesn't pass the
ritual tonight, I'll have to report her to the committee. You know the rules as
well as I do, Guardian. She'll have to go if she's not recognized."

"Would eleven-thirty work for you?" Nora asked, ignoring
Marvabelle's near-gloating.

"I'll make it work," I answered, making a mental note to
explain to Drake that I had to leave the green dragon party no later than
eleven, "Thank you, Nora. I really appreciate you going to all this trouble on
my behalf."

She murmured something about it being an interesting
experience.

We managed to pass the remainder of the meal in polite
conversation even though Marvabelle baited me as often as she could. I, hoping
there might be a chance Nora would overlook the poor impression I'd made on her
and still consider me as an apprentice, was on my very best behavior.

Hank contributed little to the conversation, confining
himself to opening his mouth only to shovel a forkful of food into it. Whenever
Nora and I tried to draw him out, Marvabelle would answer for him, drowning out
any reply he might make. He didn't seem to be upset or even bothered by her, so
I assumed he was so downtrodden that he didn't even notice anymore.

Dinner ended, the evening's speakers did their thing, and a
number of awards were given out to outstanding Mages, Theurgists, Guardians, and
so on. I hadn't the slightest idea what the awards of excellence were for, but I
applauded with the rest of the audience. Nora scooted over to sit next to me,
softly giving me a brief resume on each winner, and by the end of the banquet I
felt a little more as if I was getting a handle on the whole Other-world thing.

That feeling withered into a dusty little ball and blew away
with the arrival of the Otherworld police force—in the form of Monish and my
friend the happy Diviner.

"Aisling, it is with much regret that I must act in my
official capacity as Uau-dela officer of the watch and speak with you regarding
the deaths of two Guardians," Monish said as everyone in the ballroom gathered
up their things to leave. "If you have a short amount of time now, we can
conduct the necessary interview."

Marvabelle snickered. Monish's chocolate-brown eyes flickered
to her before returning to me.

"Oh," I said, feeling less than brilliant. "You're the watch?
That's like police?"

Monish nodded and gestured toward a silent (but smug-looking)
Paolo. "There are seven of us. Paolo and I were asked to take this detail since
we had met you earlier. The L'au-dela committee felt it was to your benefit to
be questioned by someone you knew."

"That was nice of them," I said, suddenly nervous. I hadn't
done anything wrong, and heaven knew I'd been grilled by the real police for
hours concerning my relationship with both Guardians, but the worst the
police could do was detain me. I had a feeling the immortal version of the
police had a lot worse things they could do. Sure, we can talk now, although I'd
appreciate it if you can keep it as short as possible. I have an important
function to go to in a little less than an hour,"

Under Nora's watchful—and Marvabelle's anticipatoriry
gleeful—eyes, the two men escorted me to a small Meeting room off the main
conference hall. I was half expecting Paolo to trot forth some comment about my
threat to take care of him earlier, but he said nothing about that. In fact, he
said nothing to me at all, merely nodding whenever Monish explained something or
made a pertinent point. It was a bit of a letdown, to be honest. I figured he
would hit me with at least one "You will find yourself in deep, deep trouble"
prediction.