Light Dragons 02 - The Unbearable Lightness of Dragons

dragons as well, and there are no necromancer or dragon Ilargi that I can—” I stopped, the word “necromancer” ringing a bell in my head. “Wait a minute—necromancers can summon shades?”
    “Summon? No, but they are the only beings to whom shades can be bound, assuming the necromancer first gains control over the shade. What exactly did Maura say when the ouroboros dragons defied her orders?”
    I repeated her words, trying to fit together the terrible idea that was growing increasingly horrible.
    “She condoned a kidnapping?” Violet moaned softly to herself. “She participated in it? She planned it? Oh, my poor girl!”
    “This is what comes of consorting with dragons,” her father told her before turning back to me. “Very well. We will deal with the situation from here. You are excused.”
    “Huh?” I shook away my mental fog and stared at him for a moment. “Oh. Er . . . yes, I’m sorry. If there’s anything more I can do to help you with Maura, I will be happy to do so. About the interdiction . . .”
    “You have not freed my granddaughter from her association with the dragons. Our agreement was for you to do so,” he said, returning to his seat and turning his attention to his plate of pastries.
    “Our agreement was for me to try. I’ve done so. I want the interdiction off.”
    He froze at my strident tone.
    “Please,” I added hastily.
    “Yes, Father, take it off her. She’s earned it,” Violet said wearily. My heart went out to her, but I was at a loss as to how I could be of further help.
    Unless . . .
    Kostich’s face was black for a good two minutes, but finally he relented. “I will remove the interdiction, but you will remember that you are no longer a member of the Magister’s Guild, and as such, may not look to us for help.”
    I nodded, waiting expectantly. With a sigh that rivaled Baltic’s at his most exasperated, Kostich stood, drew a symbol over me, and pronounced me free of the interdiction and grace.
    Tiny invisible bands that had held me tightly loosened somewhat before finally dissolving, leaving me with the feeling that I could breathe deeply for the first time in many months. “Thank you,” I said with profound gratitude. “And Larry?”
    Dr. Kostich’s nostril’s flared.
    “Right. I’ll take care of him myself. Shouldn’t be an issue with the interdiction off, right?” I would have apologized again for my inability to bring them good news about Maura, but it was clear they both wanted me gone.
    I paused at the door, looking back, unable to keep from asking Dr. Kostich, “Can mages who have diminished return to the mortal world?”
    His pale blue eyes pinned me back with a look that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. “It has not occurred, no.”
    “But it’s possible?”
    Silence greeted my question for a good minute. “Only by a mage powerful enough to overcome the forces of nature itself.”
    Or one whose daughter was working on her behalf, a daughter who was half dragon and who was in her own right powerful enough to sing dirges . . . and raise the dead. A necromancer, in fact.
    I looked at him with horror creeping along my skin. “I have to go home.”
    “What is in your mind, dragon?” he asked, starting toward me.
    I shook my head and bolted, tossing over my shoulder, “I’ll let you know if it’s true.”
    While in the elevator on the way down to the ground floor, I made a frantic phone call to first Baltic, then Pavel, but neither of them answered.
    By the time I engaged a rental car, hastily left a message with Aisling’s housekeeper informing her I would be by to pick up Brom later, and tried to reach Baltic three more times, I greatly feared that the dark turn of my suspicions would turn out to be only too valid.
    As I pulled up at our house to find the lights ablaze, semicircles of light from the windows piercing the night, all doubt was erased.
    “Can anyone join this party, or is it by invitation only?” I asked as I set the Larry stone on a table near the door in Baltic’s library.
    At the sound of the door opening, two of the three occupants of the room turned to look at me.
    I squatted next to where Pavel lay on the floor, feeling for his pulse. It was a little erratic, but present, and he didn’t seem to be bleeding anywhere.
    “Will the day never come that you will do as I ask, mate?” Baltic asked, his face filled with irritation.
    I gestured toward the woman in front of him. “You’re the only man I