Soul of the Dragon Read online

  She wandered back toward the motel, stopping along the way for a hamburger and Coke to bring back with her. She climbed the steps to the second level, where her room was located, and noted two more cars in the parking lot that hadn’t been there before. She looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Until she got to her room.

  The tape on the bottom of the door was loose. The Do Not Disturb sign was gone.

  Tensing, she shifted the bag holding her hamburger from her right hand to her left and slid the .38 from beneath her shorts, scanning the area. The Do Not Disturb sign was on the floor several feet away. There was no wind, so she didn’t know what could have pulled it off the doorknob except another person.

  She silently slipped her key into the lock and eased open the door, keeping to one side and holding her gun ready. She waited two seconds, three. Nothing happened.

  She slipped into the room, deliberately banging the door against the wall and moving in the opposite direction. No one hid behind the door, and as the bed was against the wall, no one could hide on the other side of it. The covers looked smooth, though she’d mussed them when sitting on the bed earlier. Nothing else seemed touched.

  She set her bag and drink on the little table by the window and moved sideways toward the bathroom. The shower curtain was open. She’d left the washcloth and a hand towel in a heap on the sink. Fresh ones were now neatly folded on the towel rack.

  It looked like housekeeping had come in despite her precautions, but she wasn’t taking anything at face value. She moved back into the bedroom and carefully positioned herself on the floor, gun in front of her, before lifting the bedspread. She felt foolish when she confronted the bed’s solid base. No one could hide there, and she should have checked that before she left.

  “Rookie,” she chided herself and climbed to her feet, grateful she didn’t have a partner to razz her.

  She watched the news while she ate. Unlike in the movies, no news story came up about Tars Suinn or Dragonsoul Enterprises. She slept lightly that night but didn’t dream. After she’d showered in the morning, she booted up the computer and checked her e-mail. Kurt had come through already. Page after page downloaded to her desktop, encrypted. It took ten minutes to translate. GenCom’s computer division had developed encryption technology not used by anyone other than GenCom and specific operatives in the various agencies with which the company worked. The master program was too big for her laptop, so she had a simpler version installed, and it ran slower.

  While the documents translated, she went down to the motel office for a complimentary Danish and glass of orange juice. She returned, settled at the room’s little table, and started to read.

  Most of the information was dull, though potentially useful. Tars Suinn was born in the Northwest, like her, but his family wasn’t discussed. He’d left home at an early age and, in an accelerated education, went to college at MIT and grad school at UCLA, then obtained a Ph.D. at an obscure Midwestern university. He’d apparently talked a variety of bored rich playboys into investing in his first company, a satellite design and development corporation. He’d bought them all out within a year, and three years later owned six more companies in technology fields, steadily building to his present holdings—an incredible feat given his age.

  Two things Alexa found most interesting—Dragonsoul’s location, only a few miles away in St. Paul, and its subsidiaries. Dragonsoul Enterprises owned Pluto, Inc., which owned Futuresafe. Futuresafe owned GenCom. Kurt had attached a comment that this pretty much cleared Suinn of any wrongdoing—the FBI wouldn’t work with GenCom if they truly suspected its owner of criminal activity.

  So much for encryption, she thought. He’d have access to the program. And her. Why hadn’t he approached her yet? He had to know where she was, remember what he’d done. Maybe like Cyrgyn, he was afraid of the ultimate end. But was it fate or deliberation that led to her working indirectly for the man in control of her curse?

  Well, Cyrgyn’s curse, she thought, packing up. She played a part in it, but she hadn’t been turned into a mythical flying beast. If they failed to break the curse, he’d be a dragon forever, condemned to be alone and immortal.

  The worst that would happen to Alexa was death.

  No matter, she thought, stowing the last duffle in the back of the Hummer and climbing into the driver’s seat. She wasn’t going to fail. Everything was different this time. She was going to be in charge. And the first thing to do was establish a new base.

  She got on the highway and headed for St. Paul.

  * * *

  Cyrgyn had fretted himself into a frenzy by the time Alexa returned three days later. He hated not knowing what was happening, whether or not she was unharmed. He could sense her, of course, but their connection was still tenuous. In her adulthood he had held himself remote, not eager to impede her education or personal development, to make her focus too soon on what he needed of her. The result was, in part, the barest of telepathic connections. Still, he could have found her if he tried. Fear that she would return before he located her tied him to the cave.

  He’d never felt such relief as when he heard the rumble of a vehicle by the road, and waited restlessly after the silence fell before Alexa emerged from the woods.

  “Hey, Cyr!” she called, waving.

  “It’s Cyrgyn,” he growled, sharper than usual because she’d put him through hell. He turned as she strode by him and entered the cave.

  “Where have you been all this time?”

  “Been busy.” She emerged from the cave carrying the stones from the fire pit. “Sorry I didn’t call in with a sit rep, but it’s not like you can use a wireless phone.”

  Cyrgyn studied his massive claw. One toe was nearly as large as Alexa’s whole hand. A situation report would not have been possible. He sighed. “No.” He frowned at Alexa’s activities. She had discarded the stones in various locations. Now she grabbed a large branch and brushed away claw marks and footprints both in the cave and the clearing.

  “I assume you found a new location?” He shifted uneasily. Caves in the middle of nowhere were his comfort zone, and he had a feeling Alexa was taking him far out of it.

  “Yep. It’s almost dark.” She gestured to the twilight sky. “Can you follow me from the air?”

  “Of course.”

  “I secured a building on the outskirts of St. Paul. It’s big enough for you, and it’s not too far to some hunting ground. It doesn’t take half a day to get anywhere of benefit.” She paused and grinned at him. Cyrgyn’s heart actually stuttered at that smile. He’d loved her for so long it was part of him, but he realized suddenly that more had changed than he had known. He’d acknowledged the differences in this Alexa, but hadn’t understood what that would do to them. To him. Now he knew.

  He was besotted, the first step to falling in love with her. It almost felt like a betrayal of his original love, the woman in his memory. At the same time, it reinforced that they were soulmates.

  “Ask me the best part,” she said.

  Amusement seeped through him. “What is the best part?”

  “Tarsuinn owns Dragonsoul Enterprises.”

  Fury rushed like a river, sweeping away the fleeting humor. The fire in his belly blazed, seeking release. He had put so much emotion on hold while he waited for his love to be reborn. He settled on his haunches, repressing the surge, seeking equilibrium. When he’d found it, he said, “A bit cheeky, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah.” Alexa studied him as if she knew what he battled, but didn’t comment on it. “You know where Dragonsoul Enterprises is located?”

  “St. Paul?”

  “Bingo.” She twirled the branch like a sword. “It’s dark enough, I think. Get up there, and I’ll brush away our remains.”

  Cyrgyn hesitated. He disliked leaving her alone again, even here where there was no doubt of safety. “Be careful, Alexa.”

  She shooed him and stepped away. With a leap, Cyrgyn launched, unfurling his wings and circling over th
e treetops. He watched Alexa beam a powerful flashlight while she swept evidence of his presence and disappeared into the woods. He found her vehicle, a hulking black thing he thought was called a “Hummer,” and waited until she reached it and swung the flashlight overhead in a “ready” signal.

  Cyrgyn had no trouble following when she drove off. It was a clear night with no moon. His night-tuned vision tracked the vehicle easily while the dark sky and his own magic cloaked him from stargazers. He had the ability to fly soundlessly, as well as twice as fast as Alexa drove.

  While he flew, he considered. He must resolve his occasional feelings of resentment and annoyance at their new dynamic. Acknowledging the benefits had done nothing to soothe his ego so far. But he knew there must be no strife between them if they were to succeed. The key would be to focus on the present and the future and forget the past. Pretend it had not occurred. Difficult, when they were inextricably bound, but not impossible.

  He wondered what Alexa had found so quickly that could accommodate his size. Comfort zone or not, he had to admit to being tired of sleeping on stone. A short time later Alexa turned off the highway and stopped at a fence. Cyrgyn soared in a tight circle as he watched her reach through her window to touch a small box. A gate opened in the fence and she drove through.

  A sudden light blinded Cyrgyn. He reared, then dove in panic. An airplane roared overhead, not close enough for him to have been detected or harmed, but close enough to make his heart pound and his breath steam. They were at an airport. He followed Alexa to a clearly ancient—relatively speaking, of course—hangar. She parked at one corner of the building and climbed out. Cyrgyn hovered anxiously until the hangar door opened and she waved him in.

  The doorway was wide enough for his wings, high enough for his head. He landed, then moved aside as Alexa drove in behind him. He waited until she had parked and the door rumbled closed before relaxing.

  “Well, what do you think?” She climbed out of the truck and leaned against the fender, looking mighty pleased with herself.

  Cyrgyn turned to examine the building, and would have smiled had he been capable. The floor of the hangar was unchanged in the front of the building. Next to the Hummer were parked a motorcycle and a Saturn sedan. Apparently, Alexa required flexibility. Three-quarters of the main floor was carpeted. A group of furniture and a desk full of computer equipment sat near them. At the rear looked to be a dozen mattresses laid in a rectangle.

  Alexa came closer and nodded toward the mattresses. “I thought you might like a little comfort for a change.”

  Gratitude softened him. “My claws will damage the carpet and the bedding,” he cautioned, but Alexa only shrugged.

  “Doesn’t matter. I’ll replace it once you’re a man again.”

  He ignored the burst of hope her words ignited. It would make him lightheaded, this constant shift in emotion. “You will sleep above?” He stretched his neck and peered over a wooden rail at the loft-like area atop a curving flight of stairs. Closed doors likely led to a sleeping room and bathing room. A sitting area and kitchen were visible and looked fully stocked. He lowered his head again. “The rest of your gear?”

  She motioned toward a bank of cabinets to his left. “I put those in yesterday. Keeps everything readily accessible.”

  “You have thought of everything.” He glared down at her, surprised when she laughed, although it turned out to be at his expense.

  “You needn’t sound so petulant, Cyrgyn. We’re partners.”

  Partners. He had not thought of it that way before. Soulmates, yes. But partners? He thought it a good progression. It was time for him to grow up.

  Chapter Three

  The next morning when Alexa left for her daily workout, Cyrgyn was snoring lightly in his padded corner. She went out the regular door—no rumbling and screeching like the main door—and ran her usual five miles. He’d awakened when she returned.

  “Sleep well?” she asked as she dashed up the stairs.

  “I did, until I discovered you left again. Without telling me what you were doing.”

  “Ooh, not a morning reptile, are you?” She poured a cup of coffee from the pot she’d prepared before she left.

  “That damned beverage woke me. The odor is heinous.”

  Alexa laughed. “Heinous? Coffee?” She inhaled deeply. “No, it’s heaven.”

  “Perhaps to mortals.” Cyrgyn’s head disappeared as he ducked the scent. “What is your plan, Alexa?”

  “Well, today I’m going to Dragonsoul Enterprises.”

  “Whaaaaat!”

  The dragon’s roar filled the hangar, shaking the loft as he reared back and glared at her. “You cannot! I forbid it!”

  Alexa just shook her head. It had been years since anyone besides her boss had told her what to do. “I need to get the lay of the land, Cyrgyn. He’s not likely to even be there, and there’s no way I’ll get in without an appointment, anyway.”

  The dragon’s volume didn’t diminish. “You would walk into the arms of the enemy? Have you no consideration for what we have suffered?”

  “For what you’ve suffered,” she shot back and felt a pang of regret as soon as she said it. “Cyrgyn, I don’t remember any of it. Alexa Ranger hasn’t suffered.” She set her glass in the sink and moved closer to the rail. Smoke drifted from Cyrgyn’s snout as he glared at her.

  “You are reckless, Alexa. You have no care. And you will render the curse complete with your death.” Sadness replaced the anger and fear in his eyes. “Perhaps you have no care for yourself. Perhaps you do not fear death. But should you approach the mage and fail, I shall not only be consigned to an eternity in an unnatural form, I will mourn your loss for all time.”

  The pang of regret grew. She had less at stake than her friend did, and her attitude was causing him pain.

  “I didn’t mean to seem careless.” She placed her hands on either side of his jaw and tilted his head so she looked directly at one eye. “I will not fail.”

  “You cannot know.”

  She didn’t know how to convince him, this creature from a different time. She could only repeat, “I will not fail.”

  * * *

  Cyrgyn listened as Alexa relayed the information she’d gathered. She explained every little modern term until he interrupted her.

  “Alexa, I do not remain in the middle ages. I understand modern culture.” Alexa grinned at him, but when she said, “Okay, what’s a P and E ratio?” and he told her, she gave in and recited what she knew.

  “This is what I do,” she told him at the end. “I’m not going in blind, nor am I just waltzing in to confront him.”

  Cyrgyn watched Alexa race off on the motorcycle a short time later. He could not deny her capability. But she was so assured of their success, though she knew so little. He didn’t discount the information she had gathered, but she didn’t know Tarsuinn, hadn’t watched his character develop over three lifetimes.

  Cyrgyn had known when Tarsuinn was born again, just as he had known when Alexa returned. He had followed the boy’s development until his early teens, when he disappeared and Cyrgyn could not pinpoint his location. He had shown signs as a child, however, of the magic that gave him power in his first life. He suspected Tarsuinn had been as aware of the dragon as the dragon had been of him, and had learned to cloak his own presence. If he had harnessed the magic, learned how to use it, he was as dangerous as ever.

  * * *

  Alexa parked on the street half a block away from the headquarters of Dragonsoul Enterprises. Luckily, the main building was inside city limits and near public roads. Things would have been much more difficult if Tars had built in the suburbs with acres of empty land around his fortified building.

  She approached the front door with a confident stride and went straight to the front desk. She smiled at the guard, who sported a nametag that said “Charlie,” and scrawled a name in the book.

  “Who shall I ring?” The grey-haired man had the phone in his hand and a finger p
oised to dial. Alexa waved him off.

  “I have to make a pit stop first.” She ran a hand over her windblown hair. “It wouldn’t do for me to go upstairs like this, would it?” She didn’t wait for a response before heading for the ladies’ room. She pushed through the door, waited a beat, then peeked back out. The guard was busy with another visitor who, to Alexa’s advantage, didn’t know where he was going. Alexa waited ten more seconds until Charlie turned to get something from under the counter. Then she strode to the stairwell next to the elevators and disappeared inside.

  Piece of cake.

  * * *

  Tars Suinn was deeply involved in an international conference call when something like an electric shock hit him at the base of his skull.

  She was here.

  He disconnected from the call and spun his chair to the console behind him, flipping through security images until he found her. A moment later Mark Heiling, his assistant, entered the office. The man saw the look of intensity on his boss’s face and waited in silence.

  Tars ignored him. His eyes never leaving the screen, he moved only his right arm, reaching forward to tap the button that would change his view from the lobby to the stairwell.

  The woman had easily and cleverly penetrated his outer shell. Tars would have expected nothing less from his Alexa, even if he hadn’t made it fairly easy for her. Nor was he surprised at her appearance. The black leather jacket over a silk tank top and flared pants were chosen by the feisty wench he’d fallen in love with so many centuries ago.

  Tars watched, amused, as Alexa systematically scoped out the building’s layout, floor by floor. He watched her note the location of ventilation shafts and hoped she wouldn’t use them. It was so… common.

  Mark apparently sensed the lightening of his mood and dared to ask, “Who is she?”

  Tars took his time answering. “My destiny.”

  * * *

  Alexa explored seven of the ten floors of Dragonsoul Enterprises. The building reflected Tars Suinn’s historical background and the “top down” structure typical of most large corporations. The bottom two floors were the “unimportant” staff—clerical and accounting clerks, technical support, maintenance and IT. Two floors were dedicated to in-house printing and marketing departments. Three floors housed liaison staff representing Dragonsoul’s major subsidiaries. Nothing was laid out in an unexpected manner, and Alexa didn’t detect any “hidden” sections.