โ Scribed by Macalister, Katie
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
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Ysolde Bouchier is still coming to terms with the dragon part of her, while at the same time trying to free a friend of Baltic-her Black Dragon lover-from the weyr, get Baltic to meet with the dragons who want him dead, rescue a half-dragon damsel in over her head, raise the shade of the man everyone says killed her, and once and for all clear Baltic's name of the murder charges that continue to plague him.
For Ysolde, being a dragon is starting to bite.
Katie MacAlister lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and dogs, and can often be found lurking around online game sites.
Chapter One
Lady.
Blinking at the sudden sound of a male voice, I turned to see who was speaking, at the same time taking in the noxious smells that wafted around me. I appeared to be in some sort of a dark, rough alleyway that lay between two rows of tall, narrow houses, the overhangs of which blocked out any streams of sunlight that might try to make it down to the ground. Not that there was any sun to be seen now, since it was nighttime, but I was willing to bet that even on the hottest day of the year, the alley would remain dank and unwelcoming.
A crude wooden door next to me bore an almost illegible plaque informing unwary visitors that one Master Bertram would mix pigments for a small fee.
Painters shop, I murmured to myself, my nose wrinkling at the smell. I was used to the scent of items commonly used to make paintplants, ore, and suchbut the odors that assailed me had their origins with humans and animals. I eyed an open barrel next to me that made my eyes burn. Urine, no doubt, collected for the purposes of making paint. Just my luckI havent had a vision for a month, and when I get one, it has a great big barrel of pee in it.
Dragon.
The womans voice called my attention back from where I was trying to avoid stepping in any of the refuse that clogged the close alley. Skirting the urine barrel, I took a few steps toward the dark figures that stood almost invisible in the deep shadows cast by the buildings, faint light from a couple of sputtering torches the only means of illumination.
The distant sound of voices raised in song reached my ears as in front of me two figures approached each other.
Why have you summoned me to Rothenburg? the man demanded to know in an arrogant, somehow familiar voice.
I took a couple of steps closer until I could see the face of the speaker, dimly lit by a torch that leaned drunkenly from a nearby iron sconce.
The womans form moved, blocking my view for a moment before she shifted to the side. You ignored the warnings. You were told what would happen if you continued. Now you must pay.
I moved to the left, my eyes widening as I watched Constantine Norka, once a black dragon and rival heir to the wyvern of that sept, laugh first at the woman, then at the two men who emerged from the darkness behind him. Do you think to frighten me? I am afraid of no dragon alive, and certainly not of you and your friends.
The womans jaw tightened. The two guys behind Constantine closed in, although they kept a respectable distance from him.
It will be our pleasure to teach you how wrong youve been, she said with a wholly unpleasant smile. You thought I did not mean what I said? Then you are foolish as well as wrong.
Constantine laughed again, shaking his head as if in dismay when the womans hands started moving in an intricate pattern that I knew cast a harmful spell. You are here to chastise me, I suppose? Im not the one who is foolish, then. You have not heard that your precious Baltic is no longer in the sept of the black dragons?
What the hell? Was Constantine insane, or was I? Sometimes it was hard to know the truth, since my memory of the last five hundred years had been more or less wiped out. But some of that had returned since Id found Baltic two months past, and I didnt remember a thing about this little bombshell.
The woman checked, a frown between her brows as she said quickly, What nonsense is this?
It is the truth. Constantine leaned casually against a battered wooden door. He was declared ouroboros at the command of the First Dragon for crimes committed against dragonkin. So not even you, who have Baltic in your pocket, can change the fact that I will be named wyvern.
The woman looked stunned for a few seconds, blinking rapidly as she digested this information. I knew exactly how she feltif what Constantine said was true, when had it happened? And why on earth hadnt Baltic or someone told me about it?
I do not believe you, she said in a somewhat faltering voice. Baltic would not . . . What crime did he commit?
Constantine shrugged. It is of no matter to me whether you believe me. I do not discuss sept business with those outside the weyr, so if you wish to know more, you will need to ask your pet himself. A little sneer crept over his face. Ive long said Baltic was a weakling; that he hides behind a womans skirts proves the fact that he is the basest of cowards, as well. How much did he pay you to threaten me?
Her hands fisted. He did not send me, if that is what you mean. I came of my own accord, as a friend to Baltic, because I know well that you have done your best to usurp his rightful position.
Constantine snorted. I am the heir to the wyvern of the black dragons, mage, not Baltic. He did his best to undermine that fact with Alexei, but it is I who am victorious, while he is no longer even recognized as a dragon.
Alexei? That name rang a bell in the dim recesses of my memory. He was the wyvern before Baltic. Which meant that the time this vision was presenting must also be before Baltic was wyvernbut that couldnt be.
The woman swore under her breath. This is some trickery of yours, I am bound to believe. You said the dragon ancestor was involved. How did you manage that?
Her words came out with the velocity of bullets. I stepped back, not wanting to get within range of eye contact with her.
I am well-known to the First Dragon, Constantine bragged with an easy smile. The two men behind him, evidently hearing the confidence in his voice, moved back as well. But you are mistaken in thinking I had anything to do with Baltics fall from grace. He managed that himself.
The woman took a deep breath, her hands still fisted. I will investigate your claims, dragon. If they prove as false as you are, then your suffering at my hands will treble.
Something wasnt right. How could I be having a vision of this time? I shook my head at the thought. I couldnt. It just wasnt possible.
Yet more threats. How I will live in fear, Constantine answered with obvious amusement.
This doesnt make any sense, I said as I moved forward until I was next to him. I wasnt even born until Baltic had been wyvern for almost a hundred years. Constantine, what is happening?
The woman smiled again, and it was just as unpleasant as the previous time. I look forward to proving to you that I am not to be taken lightly.
Hello? Can anyone hear me? I waved my hand in front of the womans face, but obviously neither she nor Constantine registered my presence, which made sense, seeing as I hadnt been alive at this time. But why was I seeing this moment in the past? And who on earth was this woman that she felt comfortable speaking in such a threatening manner to a powerful dragon?
This conversation is putting me to sleep. If you are done with your empty threats, I will leave you to practice your vainglorious speeches.
A little corona of blue-white light crackled around her at Constantines words. I frowned at it, trying to remember where Id seen something similar, shaking my head when my brain refused to cooperate.
The day will come when you will regret those words, she warned.
I regret only the amount of time Ive wasted on you. You lured me into your grasp by telling me you could aid me, when all along it was Baltic you championed. I knew that, of course, for despite your opinion, I am no fool. But it amused me nonetheless to watch you cavort in your attempts to promote his cause while hindering mine. Your antics are no longer entertaining, however. Quite simply, Lady Antonia, you bore me.
The woman reached right through me to slap Constantine. Both of us jumped. I stared at her in stark surprise, examining her face. Lady Antonia. She had to be Antonia von Endres, the famous archimage, and once Baltics lover.
I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering if that was why I had been given the visionto engage my jealousy? Enrage was more like it. . . .
All right, Im willing to admit that Im lost, I told the pair. The only other visions Ive had have been memories of my past that the dragon inside me used to try to get me to remember who I am. Ive never once seen one where I wasnt there in person. But assuming this is a really pathetic attempt to incite jealousy, I have to tell you guys that its failed. Im not jealous of Baltics relationships before he met me. Not in the least. They dont matter at all. Not even the fact that you would give him your infamous light sword just because he was so incredible between the sheets matters to me. A little belch of fire erupted around Antonias feet. I pretended I didnt see it.
Without another word, Antonianot seeing the fire any more than she had seen meexecuted a one-eighty turn and marched off into the darkness, her two bully boys following with only brief smoldering glances at Constantine as they passed him.
I watched until they all disappeared into the shadows, then turned my gaze to Constantine. Youre not going to take that, are you?...
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Overview: Katie MacAlister is a Seattle-area author of fiction and non-fiction. Her most popular titles are historical, contemporary, and paranormal romance. She also writes young-adult books under the pseudonym Katie Maxwell and mysteries under the pseudonym Kate Marsh.
Overview: Katie MacAlister is a Seattle-area author of fiction and non-fiction. Her most popular titles are historical, contemporary, and paranormal romance. She also writes young-adult books under the pseudonym Katie Maxwell and mysteries under the pseudonym Kate Marsh.
EVEN AN ANCIENT DRAGON CAN LEARN HOW TO MUTLITASK . . . Ysolde Bouchier is a woman beset with trails. The dragon part of her, which was buried deep for centuries, is still making itself known, but in ways that just don't make sense. She's continuing to have visions, but now they involve events she