Uncle Damian held up his cell phone. I used to tease him about his obsession with the latest electronic gadget, but I had to admit that now was a time when it came in handy. “GPS?”

“Yes,” he replied, punching in a few buttons. “We’re not far out of London.”

My butt was numb from sitting on the hard brick planter by the time Rene toodled out from town and tracked us down thanks to the global positioning device. It didn’t take that long to make up my mind, however. By the time we were back home, I’d come to a decision.

“Uh-oh,” Jim said as I marched into the house, throwing my purse on a chair and heading straight for Drake’s office. “Warning, warning! Danger, Will Robinson!”

“What are you going on about?” I heard Uncle Damian ask from the hall.

“She’s got that look on her face. The one that says she’s been watching too many William Holden movies again.”

“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more!” I shouted at no one in particular as the three of them followed after me. “Traci, I summon thee.”

The demon appeared, its arms curled around something that wasn’t there, spinning blithely on one foot until it stumbled to a stop.

“Were you…dancing?” I asked, momentarily distracted by the thought of a dancing demon.

It narrowed its eyes and dropped its arms. “Is there anything in the rules that says I can’t take dance lessons?”

“No, but why…oh, never mind. Here.” I pulled out the handkerchief my uncle had given me earlier and dumped the piece of flesh into Traci’s hand. “Read this, then report back to me on any loopholes you can find to get out of paying some sort of homage to Bael.”

The demon’s eyes widened as it stared at the repulsive bit of flesh, prodding it with the tip of one finger. “Is this…is this the Doctrine?”

“Yes. Bael says I have to pay homage. He mentioned a sacrifice.”

Traci nodded. “Six innocent souls must be paid to the ruling prince.”

“Only six? Lovely.” I snatched up the phone, punched Drake’s cell phone number, listened for a minute as he did not answer, then slammed down the receiver and started out of the room. “Find me a loophole. Put every single demon in my legions onto the problem, but find me a way to get out of it!”

“Where are you going now?” Uncle Damian asked as I ran up the curved stairs to the floor above.

“To bed. If a dream is the only way Drake wants to talk to me, then by god, I’m going to have a dream he’ll never forget!”

12

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

My voice echoed along the long, dark room as I lazily swam into deeper shadows. This dreamscape was familiar—a stone swimming pool filled with warm, scented water that was one of Drake’s favorite places. Columns lined either side of the pool, their shadowy fingers stretching across the surface of the water like inky tendrils. It was impossible to see anything beyond the columns, although I knew that at the far end of the room, a scarlet fainting couch resided. Usually we never made it as far as the couch, Drake preferring to make love in the water, but as I swam slowly down the length of the pool, I searched the shadows for signs of my errant lover.

“I know you’re here, sweetie. I can feel your presence. Are you teasing me with your dragon form?”

I waited for a flash of green scales in the dim light or flicker of a tail in my peripheral vision. Nothing moved but the water. I swam on, briefly admiring the white mosaic of a leaping horse on the bottom of the pool.

“You’re not in the least bit shy, which means you’re teasing me. Normally I’d be up for that, but I’ve had a day from Abaddon—literally—and I could really use the benefit of your oh-so-sexy self. Why don’t you come out here and make mad, passionate dragon love to me, and then we can play hide-and-go-seek in the shadows, hmm?”

There was no answer, no sound from even the darkest depths of the shadows. I paused, treading water as I listened intently. The only sound was of me in the water, and yet I knew Drake was here. I could feel him nearby, feel the heat that always accompanied him, my body reacting to his nearness just as it always did. And yet…something wasn’t right.

I opened the door in my mind that gave me access to my powers, using my improved vision to look deeper into the shadows surrounding me.

A flash of white caught the corner of my eye. I spun around in the water, watching with openmouthed surprise as a white lion padded out from the blackness to the edge of the pool. The animal simply looked at me for a moment before turning around and fading into the darkness.

“Um…OK. Is this some sort of game? Am I supposed to guess the meaning of a white lion?”

A fluttering sound overhead drew my attention to a great bird the size of an eagle that soared over me. It, too, disappeared into the shadows.

“Right. White lion and big eagle. Er…nope. Not getting it.”

Behind me, a low growl rumbled. I twisted around in the water, backpedaling madly as a huge tiger crouched at the edge of the pool, its muscles bunched as if it was about to spring. Before I could back up more than a few feet, it launched itself into the air. I shrieked and instinctively ducked, but the animal simply dissolved into nothing directly over my head.

“Ten out of ten for style, but I’m going to have to seriously dock you for the frustration factor, not to mention just about scaring the crap out of me,” I called out, swimming somewhat shakily to the steps and climbing out of the pool. Before me, one end of the fainting couch lay half-hidden in shadows, a large green cloth draped over one end. It was covered in symbols and what looked to be writing in Hindi, a springing horse in the center bearing some sort of fire on its back. I squinted at it for a moment, then realized it was the same pattern as was on the bottom of the pool. I wrapped the cloth around me, trying to hold on to the tattered edges of my patience. “Enough of the funny animals. When does the sexy, naked dragon show up?”

A man stepped out of the shadows at the far end of the pool, looking around him curiously.

“Gabriel?”

He turned around to face me, confusion written all over his face. “Aisling?”

“What are you doing in my dream?” I asked him, clutching the cloth tighter around myself.

“I don’t know,” he answered, stepping backwards until he disappeared into the shadows. I ran down the length of the pool, but by the time I made it to his end, he was gone.