Light Dragons 03 - Sparks Fly

kept silent but thought to myself that the easygoing Bastian ruled his sept with more of an iron hand than I had imagined. That or he inspired some pretty intense devotion from sept members.
    “Where is it you wish to shop?”
    I bit my lip, a little heat warming my cheeks. “It’s ... uh ... I’d like to go to a toy store. An adult toy store.”
    “Adult toys?” he asked, frowning in the mirror at me. “Electronics, you mean?”
    “No.” I took a deep breath. “Sexual toys.”
    His eyes widened, a speculative look in them.
    “Not for Baltic and me,” I told the look quickly. “Well, perhaps one or two things. But I have to replace Pavel’s toys.”
    His speculative look went into overdrive.
    “Not that I ever use them with Pavel. He and I don’t do that. Or anything, really. Nothing sexual, that is. We like to cook together ... .” I closed my eyes for a few moments, knowing I was just making things worse. “I need to find a store. You wouldn’t happen to know of one, would you? If not, I can call around to find one that doesn’t look like you’ll get a social disease by shopping there.”
    Ludovic spun the wheel and sent us out into the traffic heading for the main road into London. “As it happens, I know of a necromancer who runs a shop of the sort you seek. She has many specialty items.”
    “Specialty? Fetish, you mean? I don’t think Pavel’s into anything too extraordinary. Although there was that swing contraption, but I assume that was for ... never mind. I’ll try your friend’s shop. Is it in London?”
    “Yes.” He glanced at his watch. “When is your meeting?”
    I told him the time and sat back, making a mental shopping list of things I wanted to purchase. By the time that was done, I had to face the sad truth that the inevitable could be avoided no longer ... . I called Dr. Kostich.
    “Good morning, this is Ysolde de Bouchier,” I said politely in answer to his terse greeting. “I hope I’m not disturbing you, but I have a matter of some importance I’d like to discuss.”
    “What do you want, Tully Sullivan?”
    I flinched at the zing of pain that followed the use of my human name. Members of the Otherworld frequently avoided the use of full names simply because names have power, and in the hands of people like an archimage, that power could be quite tangible. Not to mention painful.
    “I’d like to request your help with a necromancer named Thala. She-”
    “No,” he said abruptly.
    “Thala is Baltic’s former lieutenant, the one who sang a dirge directly on top of us, and brought our house down around our ears. Literally.”
    He breathed heavily into the phone for a few seconds. “I do not have time for the troubles of your husky dragon, Tully.”
    I dug my fingernails into my hands in reaction to his wholly unsubstantiated jibe that Baltic’s dragon form was fat. “This concerns Maura, too, you know,” I said quickly, hoping the mention of his beloved granddaughter would sweeten his temper. “Thala is a necromancer, and the leader of the tribe of dragons that-”
    “I have just told you that I have no time for your troubles, and I object to being made to repeat it, but I will do so this once: I have far more important things to do than worry about dragons, necromancers, and whatever other trouble you’ve found yourself in, so I will thank you not to disturb me again.”
    Before I could explain, he hung up the phone, and I had a very strong presentment that if I tried to call back, he’d simply hang up again. Or worse.
    “Oh, what the hell. You live only three times,” I said, throwing caution to the wind as I dialed Dr. Kostich’s number again.
    “Yes?”
    “I realize you don’t want to talk to me-”
    “Then you should know better than to call me. Do so again at your own risk.”
    The phone went dead in my ear.
    “Arrogant, annoying mage,” I grumbled as I dialed a third time. “Can’t be bothered ... Look, this is important, Dr. Kostich, so please hear me out.”
    “As important as being transformed into a tree sloth? That is what I am about to do.”
    “Threaten me all you like, but I will not be bullied into keeping quiet-”
    The murmur of his voice speaking in Latin caught my attention. I listened for a few seconds, recognized the words, and with a snarled, “You are the meanest person I know!” I hurriedly hung up the phone before he could complete the spell.
    “Problems?” Ludovic asked when I examined myself for signs of