Kiss of Fire by Deborah Cooke Page B

since he didn’t know the location of the other Pyr .
    â€œThese days, any given princess would just call the cops on her cell if she was abducted,” Quinn said. “And authorities are unlikely to have a sense of humor about dragons in their precinct.”
    He heard an exhalation of surprised laughter, one that he was quite sure came on a puff of smoke.
    He looked, but couldn’t see it.
    â€œHow right you are,” the voice acknowledged. “Women, although delightful, can be so troublesome.” The voice became fainter, although whether that was due to distance or the speaker weakening, Quinn couldn’t be sure. “Unpredictable.”
    He spoke again, hoping to lure the speaker closer. “That’s not part of their charm?”
    The chuckle sounded like the tumbling of old rubble. “Oh, I take great delight in Sara’s choices, I assure you.” Quinn’s heart clenched at the other Pyr ’s ready use of his mate’s name. “Which of us, do you think, is watching her more closely?” There was another throaty laugh, and then silence.
    It was more than silence: it was the absence of another being.
    The other Pyr was gone.
    Although he’d left Quinn with plenty to think about.
    Quinn didn’t doubt that Erik had planned it that way.

    It was close to her usual closing time when Sara got to the end of the book on psychic powers. She glanced at her watch and decided to leave the store early to avoid a repeat of events of the night before. She wanted to push her way through a crowded arcade instead.
    The book was interesting, as it suggested that everyone was psychic on some level: the trick was opening one’s mind to perceive what was already there. Many people used tools, like crystal balls, more to focus their thoughts and impressions than as instruments per se.
    Sara’s gaze fell on Magda’s tarot cards. They were as good a focus as anything. She shuffled the deck and chose a card, flipping it over and placing it on the counter.
    â€œThe High Priestess.”
    And it was upside down.
    Sara pulled out her reference book and smiled when she read that the card concerned matters of intuition. She already knew that cards that were inverted were interpreted as being negative versions.
    So, this could be about her denying her own intuition.
    But Sara had had that message a couple of times already and although she was still skeptical, she thought the cards could have coughed up something a little more compelling. On a whim, she stared at the card, trying the meditation technique mentioned in the book she’d just read.
    It was a pretty card, with a woman sitting like a queen on a throne, a heart at her feet and a scepter in her hand. Even upside down, it was attractive. Sara focused her attention on the card and felt everything around her slip away. The hum of the air-conditioning unit faded to nothing. The sound of footsteps and voices in the arcade slipped into a fog. The colors of the books and posters surrounding her disappeared from view. Even the oak edge of the countertop seemed to dissolve beneath her fingers.
    There was only the card. The colors of the woman’s garments seemed to become more vivid. Sara was certain that the background had changed: she didn’t remember the woman being seated in a dark cave. She’d been sure there were fields and sunshine on the card. The woman pictured on it smiled back at Sara.
    But upside down, that smile was sad.
    And Sara hadn’t noticed the shackle on the woman’s ankle.
    The woman’s mouth seemed to move, as if she were speaking to Sara. Sara leaned closer and heard her scream.
    Don’t hurt me!
    It was the voice Sara had heard in her dream that morning, but even more anguished than it had been. The woman’s pain was almost tangible and the sound of her fear made Sara’s stomach knot. She touched the edges of the card, wanting to help but not knowing how.
    It is