“If you have nothing more to say about the terms of the challenge, you may leave.” Drake’s voice was so chilly, it sent little shivers skittering down my arms.

“I’m not interested in hearing any of your gossip about Drake,” I said firmly. Dmitri clearly had issues with Drake. His idea of truth would no doubt be yet another groundless personal attack.

“You will leave now.” Drake started toward Dmitri. Pal and Istvan, who had been standing in formation behind Drake, also stepped forward, their intentions obvious.

Dmitri wasn’t intimidated. He stood directly in front of me, his eyes filled with derision as he held my gaze.

“No? It doesn’t matter to you that the man who wrongly claimed the position of wyvern to this sept isn’t even a green dragon?”

That was the last thing in the world I expected Dmitri to say.

“But no, why should you care when you are as false as he is?”

“Are you insane?” I shook my head. He had to be.

“That is enough!” Drake roared, grabbing Dmitri and literally throwing him out the door before the latter could say another word. Pal and Istvan followed him, standing with arms folded on the stairs to the house as Dmitri got to his feet, snarling with rage.

“Ask the man you’ve mated yourself to who his father was,” Dmitri yelled, turning quickly when Pal and Istvan started down the stairs after him.

I waited until he was out of sight before looking at Drake.

He held out his hand for me. “Come. We will see to the removal of the sword.”

“You know,” Jim said, following us up the curved staircase. Nora and Rene, both with faces filled with questions, trailed behind us. “My life used to be boring. A damnation here, a curse there, with an occasional blight or two to break routine. Now I have Aisling.”

I glared over my shoulder at the demon.

It grinned back. “She’s better than reality TV, Internet porn sites, and the trashloids all put together.”

*      *      *

“Hmm. It doesn’t look too bad. There was some minor bleeding, but judging by the clean entrance and exit points, there should be no permanent damage.”

Gentle fingers probed carefully around the entrance wound on my back. I tried to look over my shoulder at it, but a head was in my way. A head with long black corn-rows, smooth, latte-colored skin, and bright silver eyes. The eyes glanced up at me now, dancing with some inner merriment. “Do I want to know how this happened?”

“It was a red dragon assassin.” Drake’s voice rumbled above me. I slumped down again on my side, resting against his warm thigh, dreading what was coming despite the fact that he was holding me.

“Aisling, would you prefer to be knocked out for this?” Gabriel asked.

I opened my mouth to say I’d like to be drugged from here to eternity, but once again, Drake’s voice answered for me. “Just get it over with.”

“Hey, now!” I said, craning my neck painfully in order to glare at Drake. “The next time you get impaled, you can pick the method of healing. Until then ... aiiiiii!”

Before I could rally a really quality scream, Gabriel put his hand on my shoulder and pulled the sword out backwards. “There,” he said, his voice as warm and soothing as I’d remembered it. “All done. Now, let’s see about aiding the healing of these wounds.”

I stayed on my side, a few tears of self-pity welling up and spilling over my lashes to splotch Drake’s nice pants. I didn’t have time to get more than a couple out, though, before Gabriel had covered the wounds with healing ointment and soft linen bandages, quickly pronouncing me almost as good as new.

“Thank you so much,” I said afterwards, pulling down the now-damaged-beyond-repair shirt. I gave an experimental stretch but, other than a slight pulling from the bandages, didn’t feel any discomfort. “Wow. That dragon spit of yours sure is fabulous.”

Gabriel smiled and put away the tube of ointment he had used on me. “It would have been better had I applied it directly, but...” His amused gaze flicked to Drake.

I smothered a little smile. Gabriel had politely asked Drake for permission to apply his mouth to my wound— silver dragons having a natural healing property to their saliva—but Drake refused, pointing out that the ointment based on the saliva was just as good.

“Well, I’m just grateful you were around to help me out. Have you been here long? The last time I saw you was in Paris.”

“Yes, right before you fell in front of the train. I came directly to London.”

“Ah, the train. I do not believe a satisfactory explanation has been given regarding those events. Perhaps Gabriel can shed some light on the situation?” Drake said in a mildly curious tone.

Gabriel shrugged and began repacking his first aid kit. “I doubt it. I saw Aisling fall forward, but before I could move, Fiat snatched her up. She seemed unharmed and safe in Fiat’s care. I had pressing business in London, so I left once I saw that she was all right.”

Hmm. Why did I feel like he was leaving something out?

“I am unharmed and safe, so I guess all’s well that ends well,” I said with a pleasant smile. “Would you guys mind if I changed? I didn’t bleed a lot, but it’s still making me feel itchy. Are there any special instructions, Gabriel?”

“None. The wound has closed, as you can see. It should be healed completely in the next few hours.”

I waited until the two men left before opening the door to the bathroom that Jim had adopted as its room. “Jim, what do you know about... what on earth are you doing?”

Jim looked up from where it was paddling around the mammoth sunken tub, filled to the rim with expensive-smelling bubbles. “I’m a Newfoundland. Water dog, remember? Besides, Pal bought me a devil ducky toy and I wanted to see if it stained the water red the way a real devil does.”

I peeled off my shirt and, with a damp washcloth, wiped up the dried blood that had dribbled down my belly. “What on earth are you talking about? You’ve never stained the water red.”

‘That’s because I’m a demon, not a devil. Sheesh. Do you see cloven feet? Honestly, Ash, you really need to read that book Nora gave you. It gives the classifications of all beings with origins in Abaddon, devils included.”

A few seconds passed in which I debated pointing out yet again that it was unfair to expect me to learn everything in the short span of time I’d been in the Otherworld, but I decided there were more important things upon which I could expend energy. “What do you know about Gabriel?”