Kissed by Ice (3 page)

Finn shrugged. "Easy." He grabbed me around the waist and tossed me up onto Drago's back like I was a rag doll. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I was doing. My hands slipped against smooth scales, and I slid down Drago's side like I was on one of those giant amusement park slides. I had visualized myself crashing to the ground and breaking a leg when Finn snatched me out of midair.

"When I throw you up, take hold of one of his scales," Finn snapped. "Get your fingers underneath it and use it as a handhold."

Without waiting to see if I was ready, he tossed me up again. This time I grabbed hold of one of Drago's plate-like scales, barely managing to avoid sliding off the other side and onto the cobblestone courtyard, possibly landing on my head.

I glared down at Finn. "Next time give me a warning, why don't you?" He shrugged again and ambled back inside the castle. With a sigh, I heaved myself up and onto Drago's back, using his scales to pull myself along. I seated myself just behind his shoulder ridge. Someone had threaded a tether through the scales. Once I snapped myself in, I hollered down at Drago. "Okay. Ready when you are."

If it had been Inigo, he'd have been able to mind speak, but either Drago couldn't do it with me or didn't want to. He let out a large grunt and gathered his haunches beneath him. I felt the thick muscles gather beneath my thighs, the shift and slide of scales, and then in one leap, he was in the air, wings spreading to catch the updraft off the mountainside.

Up he surged, higher and higher into the atmosphere until we were so far above the earth, the thin air turned nearly to ice. Or at least it seemed so to me. Despite my borrowed riding gear, I was turning numb from the cold. Even the thick, fur-lined gloves did little to dispel the chill. I was pretty sure my ears were going to fall off at any moment.

And then the chill was gone, replaced with a tingling warmth. The air grew thicker, easier to breath. I glanced around to see that both Drago and I were surrounded by a shimmering bubble. Inigo had thrown up one of those bubbles, too. Not only did it keep us warm and help us breathe, though Drago didn't need it nearly as much as I did, but it prevented pesky things like airplanes and radar from seeing us. The last thing we needed was the Royal Air Force freaking out about a giant dragon invading their air space. I couldn't even imagine the tabloid response to such a thing.

The other thing the bubble did was allow him to travel at full speed without turning me into a blender full of goo. The flight that should have taken something like fifteen hours by plane only took about two by dragon. My butt was just getting numb when Drago began circling, spiraling down slowly toward the sparkling blue ocean below. As we flew lower, the air grew increasingly humid and hot until I was sweating like a pig under my heavy layers of clothing.

At first I wasn't sure where Drago was headed, but then I saw the tiny little speck of white in the middle of the vast ocean between two tiny green islands. As we drew closer, the ship got bigger and bigger until I could clearly see the helo pad beneath us, rushing up fast. I opened my mouth to warn Drago, but it was too late. He landed with a thump hard enough to send me sliding off his side. Only the tether kept me from slamming into the deck. I dangled in midair for a moment before managing to unclip the tether. I fell the rest of the way to the deck, hitting hard enough to jar bone.

"Holy shit, Drago." I glanced around to see if anyone had seen us. Apparently no one had noticed a giant dragon landing on the ship as everyone was going about their business. I guess Drago still had the bubble up. I staggered to my feet, expecting to find a massive dragon on the deck. Instead he was standing there in human form, dressed in the jeans and cable knit sweater he'd been wearing at the castle.

"Damn, it's warm here," he said, pulling off the sweater to reveal a tight, black T-shirt beneath. Poor thing was stretched to the limit trying to contain his rippling chest muscles. I was kind of glad Inigo hadn't inherited his brother's size. I liked my men on the lean side.

"I thought you liked it warm," I said, shucking my flight clothes. I wished I'd had shorts or something. Boots and jeans weren't exactly meant for the tropics.

"Warm and dry. This humidity is bullshit."

Couldn't argue with him there. "We need to find Kabita, if she's here, and Eddie." I pulled out my cell phone.

He laid his hand on mine. "Won't work until I lower my shields."

What was he? A freaking starship? "Uh, okay. So lower them."

"Not here. Don't you think people would be a bit surprised to suddenly find two strangers standing in their midst?"

Frankly, I doubted it. Most people couldn't see two feet in front of their noses. "Fine." I tucked the heavy flight clothes under my arm, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into a stairwell. "Okay, this ought to be safe enough."

He nodded. There was a slight shimmer in the air. "We can be seen and heard now."

I glanced at my phone, selecting Kabita's number first. There was no answer.

"She may still be on her way," Drago pointed out. "After all, it would have taken her awhile to convince someone to give her the ship's location and then find a means of transport."

He had a point. I dialed Eddie next. Again no answer. I was starting to feel that sick queasiness in the pit of my stomach. I wasn't sure if I should chalk it up to a sudden onset of seasickness or my sixth sense telling me something was wrong. Based on past experience, I was going with the latter. Although I really wished I'd thought to bring along some Dramamine.

"Surely there is someone on board who can tell us where Eddie is staying," Drago suggested.

"The head concierge," I said. "If I can find him. Probably has an office below decks somewhere. Don't you need to get back to the castle?"

"And leave you alone to face the unknown? I don't think so. At least not until Kabita arrives and we discover what is going on. Inigo would have my scales if I let anything happen to you."

I wasn't so sure about that. "Sure. Great."

I admit I was kind of relieved he was sticking around. Normally I didn't mind being on my own, but I'd never been on a cruise ship before, and I had no idea what I was facing. Going in without any sort of backup was just plain stupid. At least I had weapons now. Back at the castle, Drago had loaned me a boot dagger and a wrist sheath knife. He'd then made arrangements for my weapons to be shipped from Paris to the castle with a promise to have Finn deliver them either to me on the ship or to my house in Portland, depending on what went down during our visit.

I had no idea where on earth to begin looking for the concierge, or if the place had a front desk like hotels. Fortunately we came across a map on the wall indicating the location of guest services.

"That's it," I said, tapping the location on the map. "They should be able to tell us how to find Eddie. I hope."

Drago nodded and took off in the direction indicated with me hurrying along in his wake. Dragons had an unerring sense of direction, one that put my inborn Hunter abilities to shame. Although the deck was fairly busy, the crowd seemed to part for Drago with ease. No one appeared conscious of it, but as he approached, people veered away, leaving a clear shot toward his goal: the elevators.

"Did you do that on purpose?" I asked as we stepped on board.

Drago punched the button for the correct deck. "Do what?" He seemed genuinely confused by my question.

"Never mind."

We rode the elevator in silence. It stopped with a ping, and the doors slid open, revealing an enormous lobby with soaring ceilings and marble floors. At one end was a long desk of polished dark wood like in those snazzy hotels. Above one end of the desk was a sign that said Guest Services.

I wasn't sure exactly how to handle this. They'd realize pretty quickly we weren't legitimate guests, and it wasn't like we could make up some random excuse for how we'd just happened to wander aboard. All I could do was play my role and hope they didn't ask me any awkward questions.

I strode across the lobby with Drago hot on my heels. The young woman behind the desk looked up at my approach, a pleasant smile plastered on her face. The smile grew wider the minute she spotted Drago. So that was how the land lay. I gave him a subtle nudge in the ribs. He wasn't stupid. He took the hint.

"Fair lady," he said, putting a little extra Highland burr into his voice and giving her a slight bow, "I would beg of you a great favor." I had to refrain from rolling my eyes.

The girl giggled and tittered. "Of course," she gushed. "I am always here to help. What can I do for you?" She eyed him like she might dive across the desk and rip his clothes off. I barely bit back a laugh.

"My sister and I are supposed to meet a friend of ours. However, she has forgotten where we are to meet." He gave her a conspiratorial look that spoke volumes about my supposed mental state. "I was wondering, could you kindly ring his room and ask him?"

There was a courtesy phone not ten steps away. I half expected her to tell him to go use it. Instead, she giggled again and said, "Of course. Do you know his room number?"

"Alas, she left it, in our room, and it is a long hike back."

They exchanged another conspiratorial look. "No worries, sir. It happens. Just give me his name, and I'll look it up for you."

He gave her a wide smile, and I thought she was going to faint dead away. "Eddie Mulligan. Although he may be booked under Edward Mulligan."

She tapped away at her keyboard. "Ah, here he is. Let me call the room." She picked up her phone and dialed. After a moment she hung up. The look she gave Drago was so mournful, I thought she might burst into tears. "I'm so sorry. He's not answering. Would you like me to leave him a message? Or perhaps I could page him?"

I stiffened. Blasting Eddie's name all over the ship was the last thing we needed. It could put him in even more danger.

"No worries, my dear," Drago said, reaching over to squeeze her hand. "You have been incredibly helpful. We will simply have to meet up with Eddie later. Come along, sister." With a little wave at the desk clerk, he ushered me back onto the elevator.

"How exactly was she helpful?" I hissed. "And does your wife know you're a mad flirt?"

"She won't if you don't tell her," Drago said. "Besides, it was for a good cause. When the girl dialed, I saw the room number."

I grinned. "I guess you're not just a pretty face after all."

"Be careful, or my wife will kick your ass."

Chapter Three

We found Eddie's room without much problem, and Drago "convinced" the reluctant steward to let us in. Probably he could have broken down the door just as easily, but it would have left a mess. The room was empty, and there was no sign of Eddie, only a vast amount of cravats and linen shirts littering the small space.

"Looks like the place was tossed," Drago growled.

"Uh, no. This is just Eddie. He's not exactly organized."

"Huh." He prowled the small space as if looking for clues or maybe trying to pick up a scent.

I turned to the steward, who was still dithering in the doorway. He looked like he wasn't sure whether to call security or run for his life. "Do you know where Eddie is?" I asked him.

He shook his head so hard, his glasses nearly slid off his nose. "No, ma'am. I haven't seen Mr. Mulligan in the last two days."

My eyebrows went up. "And you didn't think to tell anyone?"

"Ah, no, ma'am. You see, it's not unusual for guests not to sleep in their, ah, quarters." His tone was one of imparting a delicate piece of information. It took me a moment to get it.

"You think Eddie is shacked up with some steampunk chick?" I almost laughed at the thought. And then I remembered the crowd of women around him the last time I'd been to one of his steampunk events. Like bees to honey. Maybe it wasn't so crazy. "He never said where'd he be?"

"Madam. I am not in the habit of keeping tabs on our guests." He tugged on his uniform and gave a supercilious sniff. "Except, of course, when it concerns the execution of my duties."

"Listen," I said, stepping right up into his personal space. I could smell garlic on his breath. I was half tempted to offer him a mint. "Eddie called me. He said there was a problem. Something about death."

I watched him closely, but other than paling slightly as one would expect when death is mentioned, there was no other reaction. "Madam. There have been no deaths aboard that I am aware of, and certainly Mr. Mulligan would be in no danger aboard our ship." There was a hint of pride in his voice, as if this ship were superior to all other ships in the matter of passenger safety. He looked me up and down. "I cannot imagine why Mr. Mulligan would have called you. Perhaps it was his idea of a joke."

That did it. I clenched my hands into fists and started to open my mouth, but Drago caught my arm before I could let the jackass have it. "Thank you. You've been very helpful," Drago said, interrupting my pending tirade. He handed the steward a folded bill. It looked like maybe a twenty-pound note.

"Certainly, sir." The steward snatched the note and shoved it into his jacket pocket. He gave Drago a nod, me a suspicious glare, and ushered us both from the room before locking the door.

"Are there any major events today?" Drago asked.

"Major events, sir?"

"Steampunk events. Parties and whatnot."

The steward smiled. "Why, yes, sir. There is currently a costume contest. If you would come with me, I will happily give you the location."

After getting directions from the steward, Drago and I took another silent ride on the elevator. As we stepped off the elevator car, half a dozen people dressed in various states of steampunkery crowded in after us. One man wore a top hat so tall, I wondered he could get it through the elevator doors.

"We must be close," I muttered.

Drago lifted an eye brow and kept walking.

At the door to the function room, we were stopped by an overlarge man in a cowboy outfit complete with Stetson and shit-kicker boots. Only instead of a six-shooter, he had a brass and copper ray gun.