Dragon Thief Box Set

Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

My heart gave a leap, and I spun around to face the chairs. A handsome man sat in the one to my right with a bemused smile on his face. He had short, dirty blond hair and wore a gray suit with a white undershirt. His legs were crossed one over the other, and he showed off a pair of elegant black Oxford shoes. He leaned back comfortably in the seat with his bare hands clasped in his lap.

His bright blue eyes shimmered with a teasing glint as he inclined his head to me. “Good evening.”

My mouth opened and shut a couple of times before I got a hold of myself. “H-hi. I, um, this guy invited me here…”

The man raised one hand. “I know the details of your coming, miss, though I’m afraid my acquaintance neglected to ask your name.”

“It’s Millie. Millie Lucas.”

He gestured to the empty seat beside him. “Please take a seat, Miss Lucas. You look exhausted from your unusual travel this evening.”

I slipped over to the chair and eased myself onto the cushioned pad. “So, um, who are you? And who was that guy who brought me here?”

He twined his fingers together with his elbows on his legs as he smiled at me. “My name is Count Benjamin Castle, and this,” He opened his hands to gesture to the room, “is my humble abode inherited from a rather long and, if I may say, illustrious line of eccentrics.”

I blinked at him. “Eccentrics?”

He chuckled. “Is that word not familiar to you? My acquaintance did mention you were not of this world.”

I shook my head. “Oh no, I understood it. It’s just, well, people don’t usually brag about that kind of stuff.”

He chuckled. “One must make what they can of their heritage, but you asked about the gentleman who brought you here. The man you met is the Dragon Thief, as he is colloquially known in the city. A rather dapper figure in the underworld. He’s scorned by the city guards and is an animated character among the gossips.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “So, he steals things?”

The man dropped his gaze to the broom which I had laid across my legs. “Yes, but none so valuable as what you hold there, Miss Lucas.”

I followed his eyes and pursed my lips as I studied the worn wood. “Why is this thing so special?”

He held out one hand. “May I?”

I shrugged and passed the stick to him. He studied the adornments on the handle with great intensity and length until I could stand it no longer. “Are those ant lines important?”

The count lifted his bemused eyes to me. “What you describe as ‘ant lines’ are, in actuality, ancient runes carved into the wood by a sorcerer of great renown. The founder of this city, in fact, who ruled over it some eight hundred years ago.”

My mouth dropped open. “It’s that old?”

He nodded as he admired the shiny woodwork. “Yes. The craftsmanship is superb, and it’s been kept well hidden from weather and light in the treasuries of the emperor. That is,” He lifted his curious eyes to me, “until last evening when it went missing.”

I blinked at him. “But I only picked it up a couple of hours ago.”

He furrowed his brow. “How very unusual. I myself can’t explain the discrepancy, but I have an acquaintance who may have an answer for us.”

A smile touched my lips. “The one studying magical portals?”

He nodded. “Just the one. My friend who escorted you told you a great deal.”

I sighed and looked at the fire. “Everything except how to get back, and what I’m supposed to do here.”

The count leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. The firelight illuminated his stately brow, and I could well believe that many generations of aristocrats had helped shape that handsome face. “Yes, that is rather an important one, isn’t it? And the commander of the city guards knows your face, or well enough that he may recognize you. That would preclude your leaving these walls.”

My face fell as I thought about having to stay in hiding. With the soft fading of my fear, I felt a sense of curiosity in this strange and unfamiliar metropolis.

The man studied me for a long moment before a smile slipped onto his lips. “I may have a solution to that problem, but first some refreshment.” He took up the tumbler and poured the red liquid into the glass. The pungent scent of wine tickled my nose as he held the cup out to me. “Here. This will freshen those pale cheeks.”

I accepted the drink and studied the clear contents. “Is it called wine here, too?”

He inclined his head. “Yes. How very strange that so many of our words would be similar, but perhaps the walls between worlds are thinner than any of us know.”

I took a sip of the wine and found it to have a sweet berry flavor. A few drops fell on my lips, and I flicked my tongue out to slurp them up. As I did, I noticed my host watching me with amusement, but there was some deeper emotion in those bright blue eyes.

He noticed my staring and his smile widened. “Does my lady approve?”

I nodded. “It’s very good.”

“I will have to introduce you to the fields where the ancient canes once grew,” he mused as he moved over to a cord that hung from the ceiling beside the hearth.

The count pulled on the thick, elegant rope, and a moment later the door opened. I turned around and saw that the older gentleman stood in the doorway.

My host used a hand to gesture to the platter. “Another glass, Tully.” The man bowed his head and slipped away, shutting the door behind himself again. Castle turned back to me with that teasing smile on his face. “Your face shows all your emotions, my dear lady. You wonder at my manservant.”

I winced. “I, well, he doesn’t talk, does he?”

Castle returned to his seat and shook his head. “No. An accident a few years ago took away his voice. His wit and hearing, however, are as sharp as they were when he was half his current age, and I would be quite lost without him.”

The door opened again, and Tully entered the room with the quiet stealth of a cat. He set the glass down and gave a pointed look at Castle. His master shook his head as he took up the glass. “That will be all, Tully, though if you would prepare a room for our lovely guest here.” Tully bowed his head and left as silently as he had entered.

I looked down at the broom in my lap. “You mentioned you had some way for me to go outside.”

Castle poured himself a half glass and took a sip. “Yes. It’s an heirloom of my house, but I believe it will suit you perfectly.”

I winced. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to break it…”

He chuckled. “There’s no harm in that. The cloth is quite sturdy for its age, and Tully is quite proficient in sewing.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Cloth?”

My host downed the rest of his glass and set it on the tray. He stood and offered me his hand. “Allow me to show you.”

I followed his lead in drinking the rest of my wine and set the glass on the platter before I accepted his hand. He helped me to my feet and led me to the door. I regretted leaving the warmth of the fireplace, but my curiosity was piqued by this offer.

We stepped out into the hall where he traded my arm for a lit candelabra. All was quiet but for the soft ticking of a clock somewhere at the front of the house. Castle led me down the hall and I had time to study more portraits and paintings.

“Your family must be pretty wealthy,” I mused.

He turned his head slightly to one side so I could catch a glimpse of his sly smile. “Our bankers have rarely complained.”

“What do people use for money here?” I asked him.

“Coins of the realm are accepted, along with notes from one’s bank assuring the funds are present,” he explained as we reached near the end of the hall.

I caught sight of a large open foyer and a pair of heavy wooden doors that led out onto the street. However, Castle stopped us at a wide staircase on the left that was divided from the entrance hall by a pair of doors about fifty feet further down the corridor. He led me up those flights and past a large landing, the wide window of which allowed me to see an elegant house next door, and up to the second floor.

A narrow corridor stretched from one end of the house to the other and crisscrossed with another hallway that ran from the other exterior walls to one another. The wood floors were carpeted, but the rich history of portraits and statues was absent. There were only doors set at uneven spaces, and the level of the floor itself was slightly off where new house additions joined older ones. The flight of stairs continued upward to the third floor, but the landing prevented me from seeing that location.

Castle guided me down the hall some twenty feet before he stopped in front of one of the doors. He opened the door and turned to me with that devilish smile before he swept his arm toward the interior. “Ladies first.”