The Dragon's Wing: A Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance Read online

“Finally,” said Brendan as they moved forward again. “Remind me to call somebody about fixing that gate, will you Nathan? It really shouldn’t take that long to get inside.”

  “Yes, sir,” he said with a nod. Soon they pulled up in front of the main house. Brendan felt soothed by the sight of the ancient stones, and ran his fingertips over a brick as he stepped up the stone stairs that led inside.

  “Have a pleasant evening, Mr. Drake,” Nathan called after him as he prepared to park the car in the garage. “I’ll have your belongings brought in straight away.”

  “Very good, Nathan. Thanks for the ride.”

  ***

  Rory’s reason for remaining near the Fresno airport hadn’t been a total lie. He really did need to hire three workers to replace the aides who had abandoned ship after the incident with the overhead lights. However, he also held the confirmation number for his sister Rhiannon’s flight to California in the pocket of his coat.

  She was due to come in the day after them, and so he needed to be there so he could collect her at the airport. Plus, he had already been making other inquiries, and he’d scheduled a couple interviews with the intentions of hiring a few more people to bring back to Drake Manor at the same time. He didn’t want Rhi’s arrival to stand out in Brendan’s mind.

  He was seriously considering making the other three people into bodyguards while he was at it so that he could offer even more protection to his boss and friend. The stubborn man would be none the wiser, after all. Brendan Drake needed some protection whether he wanted it or not.

  *

  The morning interviews had yielded three men who Rory had already briefed completely. They had already agreed to collect their things and now waited for him in the car as he stepped inside the terminal to collect Rhiannon.

  Six months of abject misery seemed to have done wonders for his little sister. She had finally transformed from a girl who had not quite lost all her baby fat to a fully matured young woman who was looking fantastic. Her straight, strawberry hair, which she usually pulled up into a ponytail, was worn down, and cascaded over her shoulders in impressively long waves.

  Rory felt a pang of worry that she looked so good, she might get more attention than he’d hoped. Even Brendan Drake had eyes—and he was known to notice much more than anyone else, using that third eye of his, too. However, since he didn’t have a better plan and Rhi had already arrived, there was nothing he could do but follow things through.

  “There she is—the girl who’s really going to help me out,” he said with his most wheedling smile, which he knew worked on her every time. “Come on, get your cases. I’ll fill you in on the way to Drake Manor.”

  “Wait a minute, how do I even know I want to go?” Rhi protested. “You still haven’t told me what’s really going on. You said you think your boss is in trouble, but you still need to tell me why.”

  “You’re already here, aren’t you?” Rory pointed out. “Regardless of your final decision about all of this, you’re still going to need a place to spend the night.”

  “You make a good point,” she sighed, following along behind.

  ***

  Rhiannon watched the scenery go by as the car drove from the deep city to the desolate desert and then onward up into the foothills of the Sierra-Nevada mountains. The different landscapes, seen in such a short amount of time, seemed more fascinating to her than the three men her brother had also brought along for this ride.

  The men in question, all burly looking types who clearly were not simply aides as they’d been introduced to her, seemed much more likely to be bodyguards than anything else. And when her brother told her about how a huge lighting fixture on one of his employer’s sets had nearly crushed the popular spiritualist during a speaking engagement in France, she easily figured out that’s precisely what they were. Rory was about as subtle as a rattlesnake in a hen house.

  But it wouldn’t surprise Rhi if her brother’s easy readability was one of the things Brendan Drake liked about him. Nothing about Rory was hidden, so there would be nothing about him to fear. He was an open book, and therefore completely trustworthy. At least, that’s what Rhi tended to think.

  Not having met Mr. Drake for herself, however, she could only get glimpses of what he must be like from the energy traces he’d left behind on her brother and on the man who was driving. She liked the energy that she could feel, but she really needed to meet the man himself to be sure.

  Nothing about the energy traces gave a clue as to why somebody would want to harm the spiritualist, though. From what she could sense, he was kind, hardworking, and his main desire in life was to be of help. Just like he told people about himself all the time. She doubted he would have anything to hide.

  Really, who went around openly admitting to an ability to shape shift into a dragon, and then proving it right there on the stage? It was unheard of, and there were plenty of people who actually thought it was some kind of a hoax. Rhi knew better, though. She had met some unusual folks during her time with the agency, including a shape shifter or two, so she knew it could easily be the truth.

  “ I’m guessing you’ve brought me here to try to sense out whether or not Brendan Drake is under some sort of a psychic or magical attack,” she said to her brother as the drive continued. “Is that right?”

  “I did,” Rory agreed. “The trouble is, as I’ve said I’m very worried about my friend. Brendan refuses to believe that anybody would want to cause him harm, and that even if they did it was unlikely they’d opt for a psychic attack.”

  “While I do agree that most people need not concern themselves with such things, a man like Drake really ought to know better,” Rhi replied. “He really should know that since he is, himself, dabbling in spiritual and psychic matters, that a psychic retaliation would actually make a whole lot of sense.”

  “I agree,” said Rory with a nod. “But it remains his attitude just the same. For this plan of mine to work, he needs to believe the four of you are simply the replacement aides. Three of his assistants up and walked out on him after Brendan was almost killed by that falling light. And to tell the truth, I can hardly blame them. After all, they’re not dedicated to the Craft like Brendan is himself, and don’t possess nearly the same degree of skill to foresee the danger before it arrives.”

  “He’s alive because he knew the light would fall before it actually did?”

  “Yes, that’s the long and the short of it,” Rory replied. “I may not have the All-seeing Eye, like the two of you, but I know an attempt on my employer’s life when I see one. Whoever did this must have the ability to move objects with their mind. And possibly the ability to do so remotely, too. Either that, or they were in the audience on the day the attack occurred. But Brendan insists nobody tampered with or moved that light, and my imagination is working on overtime.”

  “It’s too bad I can’t get my hands on a piece of the fallen equipment,” Rhi said with a sigh.

  “Actually, you can. I knew you might want to try something like that, so I’ve brought along a piece of the glass.”

  “Rory, you know me so well!” she said with an excited smile.

  Rory fished a kerchief from his pocket and set it into Rhiannon’s hand.

  “Is this kerchief Brendan’s?” she asked, her senses reeling just from touching the bit of fabric which had once been in contact with the man himself. Little butterflies in her belly took flight—a curious reaction to be sure. She couldn’t remember ever feeling anything like it before.

  “Yeah, it’s his. He had it in his pocket when the light came down.”

  “You were in Paris?” she asked, but only to clarify. It felt obvious from her sensations exactly where they had been.

  “Correct,” Rory supplied.

  Rhi opened up the cloth and tentatively touched the little piece of glass. Dark energy radiated from her fingertip up into her palm, making her shudder. “This object was tampered with, all right. Whoever did this is a very powerful man, indeed.
Strangely enough he feels somehow familiar to me, though I can’t quite put a finger on why.”

  “So, you think somebody did drop the fixture on purpose?” Rory asked. “I’m not very good at using my ability like you use yours, but I did get it right. I know there’s more to this thing than simply meets the eye. Maybe some sort of dark mage or something. Is that what you get, too?”

  “This feels very personal in nature,” Rhi commented. “Whoever did this, he is very angry inside. Something Brendan said or did must have somehow set this action into motion. I can’t get a face from this object, but I definitely get an intention. This was more than somebody just trying to scare the man. The attacker truly hoped to end his life.”

  “Then you’ll help me?” asked Rory hopefully. “You’ll help to figure out who is doing this, and to save my boss’s life?”

  “I’ll do what I can during the time I have here,” Rhi decided. “I like to think I have this gift to do something good in the world, much like Mr. Drake cites is his desire. The least I could do is help another psychic out for once in my life.”

  “Glad to hear it,” said Rory with a relieved sigh. “So, you are going to be placed in charge of carrying things out of the kitchen and such. But that’s just your cover. Your real purpose is to make sure none of the people who are currently working directly with Drake had anything to do with dropping that light. If we have to start somewhere, it may as well be there.”

  “All right, fine. Whatever I can do to help while I have my vacation time, I’ll do my best. I hate to see people persecuted just for making use of their gift. And all I have is time.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Brendan was at his computer, busily typing away, when Rory sent him a text informing him that he and the new employees had arrived. He texted him back, saying he should get them all settled into their rooms and explain their jobs to them, and he’d be available to meet them around dinner time while they were busy doing what they’d come there to do.

  Then he poked his nose right back into his work, uninterested in the machinations of the external world for a time. When he’d gotten his site back the way he wanted it, he changed the password to something else in the hope that whoever had been fiddling with it would not be able to get in again.

  Having finished with the bulk of the work, Brendan stood and stretched, then headed for the door. It was only four in the afternoon, but he was sure if he went down to the sitting room he could at least get someone to bring him a cup of coffee. After all the work he’d just done, he needed either that or a really long snooze.

  ***

  When they pulled in through the wrought-iron gates, Rhiannon’s last expectation was to see a castle lying beyond them in the distance, but she could also see the energy coming off of the stones. She could appreciate fully why Drake would have chosen to import such a place of power, set far apart from the rest of the little village and invisible from the open road.

  Rory led the four new employees in through one of the servants’ doors at the back of the castle proper, sending the three men off with a valet, while finding someone female to assist Rhi. Though she smiled warmly at the older maid, Mary, the woman did not seem to return her regard.

  “I am told you’re to be the new coffee girl,” said the maid in a superior tone as she walked briskly up a steep set of newel stairs.

  “Yes, that’s what Mr. Duncan has said.”

  “That job is about the lowest station in the whole castle,” she informed her with a slight sneer. “It’s mostly reserved for people who are not expected to last very long. I can only wish you good luck on rising about the station soon.”

  “Thanks for your concern,” said Rhi, finding her behavior thoroughly distasteful. But since she was certain she wouldn’t have to put up with Mary or her superiority long she managed to hold her tongue.

  Discovering who was playing around with some seriously bad energy was paramount in Rhi’s mind as she set her bags down. Her brother had completely briefed her about the attack in Paris, and she’d agreed to help, so she was determined to do a good job. She set her suitcases down on the bed with a sigh. As she glanced around, she realized her companion had not left her alone.

  “Was there something else?”

  “I’m to show you to the kitchen now,” she said as she glanced at her watch. “It won’t be too much longer before Mr. Drake completes whatever he’s working on and makes his was downstairs. You’re to get there before him, making certain the coffee is prepared.”

  “I see,” Rhi said, turning to follow her once again.

  “Everything in this place is run like a well-oiled machine, with every person knowing their job, and making certain to do it well,” she went on as they headed down some stairs into the back of the old stone structure where Drake made his home. “Once you have learned more about your new master, you should be better able to anticipate his needs.”

  “He’s not the bossy sort, is he? I never would have guessed, if so.”

  “Not him,” she smirked. “Heavens, no. It’s the housekeeper, Mrs. Cummings, who keeps everyone on their toes. The less you’re under her radar, the better off you will be. Here we are, now. Stand straight and proud, and don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. All right?”

  “Yes,” Rhi said with a nod. “Thanks for your advice.”

  The other woman stood briefly at attention at Rhi’s side.

  “Thank you, Mary, that will be all,” said the woman who stepped over to them.

  Rhi stood straighter, avoiding looking the woman in her eyes. The harridan circled around her a few times, then said, “There’s a couple of uniforms hanging in the little closet just there. I’m sure one of them must be your size. I will start the coffee brewing this time while you put the clothes on, but this will be the only time, mind. Everyone here is expected to hold their own.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Rhi replied. She went quickly over to the closet and found a size sixteen uniform. It was a serviceable shirt and a loose-fitting pair of pants. A selection of aprons also hung along the wall. She asked, “One of these as well?”

  “Yes, I think so,” said the housekeeper with a nod. “It should make you look more like you’ve come from the kitchen that way.”

  “What am I to call you, ma’am?” asked Rhi uncertainly then. “I don’t think ‘hey you’ would be right.”

  Amused, the woman cast her another assessing eye. “You know, maids and servants generally are not required to have such a keen brain. From here on, you must attempt to stifle yours. You do only what I ask you to do, all right? Mrs. Cummings will do for now.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she nodded, casting her a smile.

  “There’s the bell now, child,” she said, sudden urgency in her tone. “I’ll show you how he likes his tray, and next time you can have it ready yourself.”

  The pair quickly prepared a silver tray with a large carafe of piping hot coffee, a pitcher full of cream, and a large bowl filled with cubes of sugar. Mrs. Cummings also dropped four thin chocolate mints and a large mug onto the tray.

  “That should do nicely,” she said. “Now just take that tray on out through there and set it down. If he wants anything more, Drake will tell you so without delay.”

  “Thank you for your help, Mrs. Cummings,” said Rhi as she lifted the tray up and started for the swinging double doors the woman had indicated. She was not feeling overly confident about her hold, but she didn’t want the woman to notice her dismay.

  The doors, too, were heavier than they had at first appeared. Rhi had to put her back into it to get them to move. Unfortunately, this had the bad side-effect of making them open up too fast instead.

  “Oh no!” she gasped as she hurtled right through. She lost her balance and the tray went flying as her hands come up to protect her face as she went tumbling toward the floor. However, before she hit, she suddenly felt herself caught securely in a warm, masculine pair of arms.

  “Well, my goodness, what have we here?” said a
deep, sensual voice as she was summarily turned to face its owner. “What on earth is going on?”

  “The d-door,” said Rhi, her face turning bright red as she turned it away. “It doesn’t appear as though it likes me.”

  “Well, it might not like you, my dear, but I myself find you rather appealing,” said the man with some amusement.

  Incensed now, Rhi glared up into his face. “It’s not funny,” she complained. “My first and only command here was to give Drake his coffee, and I couldn’t even do that.”

  He let her go and wiped coffee stains off of his thoroughly wet down clothes. “No, actually, it looks like you managed to succeed.”

  Rhi’s face fell as she gazed at the tall, golden-haired man with the amused green eyes. “Oh gods, that just makes it even worse. I give up completely. I’ll simply go retrieve my things and leave. I’m sure now I won’t be allowed to stay.”

  Brendan laughed delightedly. “No, don’t go on my account. You’re about the most excitement this old place has had in years. I won’t fire you just yet, as long as we summarily take you off coffee. I don’t think it’s where your talents lay.”

  Looking at him like she must have bumped into his head, Rhi asked, “Then what exactly do you have in mind?”

  “This may sound a bit strange since we’ve only just met, and I haven’t even read your resume, but can you possibly take on the job of secretary?”

  “Secretary?” Rhi gasped. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve just decided I’d like to write a book to help me spread my teachings,” he said. “My publicist has been worrying about my personal safety, and while I would never give him the satisfaction of knowing I agree, I have been trying to sort out some way to avoid putting myself in danger until we’re sure what’s really going on. You, my dear, could be just the remedy I need.”

  “So, you want me to help you write a book?”

  “Exactly,” he said with a nod. “Will you?”

  Rhi hesitated. She couldn’t possibly tell him that she had only intended to be there for a couple of months, tops, for the duration of her vacation. If she’d really become his aide, her intention would obviously be to stay. So, she couldn’t say no without giving the game away.