Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

Abigail insisted, tugging at him. “Give her a clear line to Prakenskii.”
    The crowd seemed to swirl around them, people moving continually. Music blared from the stage and dancers gyrated, yet no one touched Prakenskii and no one went near the Drakes.
    “The one thing I do know,” Aleksandr answered, “is that none of you want to get in a battle with that Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    man. Sit down. All of you. Abbey, come with me. Now’s as good a time as any to pay our respects, so to speak, to Nikitin.”
    Prakenskii didn’t turn around and face the eight women. He walked without further incident to his boss’s table and bent down to whisper to him.
    Abigail had a death grip on Aleksandr’s arm, preventing him from following after the Russian while the Drake sisters exchanged long, puzzled looks.
    “How did he do that?” Joley asked Hannah.
    “Aunt Carol?” Hannah asked.
    “I don’t know, girls, but this isn’t good. I think we should get home as quickly as possible and consult the books. I know there have been rumors about males with our gifts, but I’ve certainly never run across any other who had our talents.” Carol tilted her head to look up at Aleksandr. “What do you know about him?”
    Abigail saved him. “We’ll talk about it later, when we’re at home, Aunt Carol.”
    “Of course, dear. In the protection of the house. I must be getting old to have made such a mistake.
    Forgive me.”
    “That’s silly, Aunt Carol. We were all shaken for a moment. None of us has ever had our magic turned back on us by a man before.” Libby put her arm around her aunt and reached out to Joley. “Does it hurt bad?”
    Hannah pushed her hand away before she could touch Joley. “Not in here. Don’t give him anything of us to work against. We should leave now. Abigail, you should come with us. It might not be safe.”
    “He won’t touch her,” Aleksandr reassured them. “She’ll be safe with me.” He caught a movement as Hannah nudged Joley.
    Joley met his eyes. “She’d better be safe with you.”
    Abigail flicked her hair over her shoulder. “I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about Joley. Prakenskii wasn’t close enough to you to get anything personal, was he?”
    “I doubt it. Let’s get out of here. My palm hurts like hell and I know I’m going to lose control and slap his face if he comes near me again with a request from his puppet master, the superior arrogant bastard.”
    “Lead the way, Sasha, I’ll be very interested in meeting Mr. Nikitin.” There was a whip of anger in Abigail’s voice.
    Aleksandr picked up his drink and made his way through the crowd to Nikitin’s table, his hand firmly clasped in Abigail’s. The Drake sisters, their aunt, and her friends followed, waving at friends as they made their exodus. As Joley passed the partition where Nikitin and his party were seated, Prakenskii reached out and caught her damaged hand, his thumb sliding briefly over her palm and then releasing her just as quickly. The moment he touched Joley, the air around them crackled and snapped. The hairs on Aleksandr’s arm stood up.

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    Joley hesitated for a split second, her eyes turbulent, but Hannah and the other sisters crowded her and kept her moving when they could clearly see she wanted to retaliate.
    Aleksandr ignored the byplay, not wanting to cloud issues. He had to focus on finding out as much information as possible. The Drakes were well versed in magic. It was their field of expertise, not his.
    “What a small world it is, Sergei. One never knows where one will encounter acquaintances.” He shook the man’s hand and turned toward Abbey. “This is Abigail Drake.”
    “Wonderful to meet you, Miss Drake.” Nikitin nodded at her as if bestowing her some great honor.
    “Would you care to join us?”
    “I wouldn’t want to interrupt you,” Aleksandr said. “I just wanted to say hello.”
    Nikitin waved two of the men out of their chairs and pulled one back for Abigail. “I insist, Aleksandr.
    We are far from home and it’s good to see a familiar face.” He shifted closer to Abigail. “Joley Drake is your sister? She has a wonderful voice. I’ve never heard anyone better.”
    “Thank you. I’m very proud of her. I’ll be sure and pass on your wonderful compliment to her.“ Her fingers twisted harder against