Light Dragons 03 - Sparks Fly

I know,” May said calmly, a little smile on the corners of her mouth. “Kostich set the thief-takers after me for it. That’s how I met Savian Bartholomew.”
    “I may have been Dr. Kostich’s apprentice for a long time, but there’s no way he’d give me so much as the time of day, let alone something impossibly valuable like a quintessence,” I protested.
    “I didn’t say you should give Kostya that-I just mean that you need something like it, something über-valuable,” Jim corrected me.
    “How am I supposed to get something über-valuable? Hmm ... Savian ... I wonder if he could be of help ... .”
    “He is a tracker,” May said doubtfully. “But I always assumed that meant tracking people or beings or things like that, not so much locating valuable items.”
    Aisling started laughing so hard, she had to clutch a napkin and mop at her eyes.
    “Mate?” Drake asked, frowning at her. “Are you unwell?”
    “No, I’m fine,” she wheezed, dabbing one last time at her eyes. “It just struck me as funny, that’s all.”
    “What struck you as funny?” I asked, sharing a look of confusion with May.
    “Oooh,” Jim said, then it, too, snickered. “Good one, Ash.”
    Drake’s eyes were narrowed on her until suddenly he sat back, his expression unreadable, but his eyes glittering with interest.
    “I definitely feel like I’m not sitting with the cool kids,” I told May.
    “I’m right there with you.” She turned back to Aisling. “What do all three of you-wait a minute, you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you? Wow, that might ... hmm.”
    “Great, now I’m it and all by myself.” I sighed. “Would someone take pity on the poor, resurrected woman who clearly has missed something of great importance?”
    “I’m sorry, Ysolde, I didn’t mean to make you feel like a pariah. I was just laughing because ... Well, it’s kind of ironic, really. What I was thinking is that you don’t need Savian Bartholomew,” Aisling told me. “You need a thief. A really good thief. A master thief, the kind who knows not only where all the über-valuable things are, but how to get to them, and has the ability to do so.”
    I glanced at May, who shook her head. “My thieving days are over, thank the gods.”
    “You probably don’t remember this, but the green dragons are noted thieves.” Aisling patted Drake’s leg, pride obvious in her voice. “And there are none better than the wyvern himself.”
    Drake pursed his lips, idly rubbing his chin. “It is tempting, I admit. I haven’t had opportunity to ... liberate ... anything in some time. What did you have in mind, kincsem ?”
    “I don’t know who has all the goodies that might tempt Kostya, although part of me says it would be a blast to grab something from Dr. Kostich. Still, he’d probably know it was us and make our lives hell, and I can’t do that to all the green dragons. We need something that can’t be traced back to us.”
    “I’m not really comfortable with the idea of stealing something,” I said reluctantly. “I don’t think I could be happy with the house knowing it came at the price of theft. But I appreciate the thought.”
    “Maybe if it was something taken from someone bad?” Aisling suggested. “Like a demon lord? Or maybe something that was taken from you, and was really yours to begin with?”
    “The only things that were taken from us were taken by Kostya, and much as I would be happy for Drake to try to steal Dragonwood back, I think it would be beyond even his skills.”
    Drake rubbed his chin again, his eyes speculative before he sighed and shook his head. “No, it would be beyond me, despite its being a tempting target. Kostya would not be pleased, either, and although Aisling would not hesitate at enraging him, he is my brother, and I would have peace in the weyr.”
    “I suppose that would be the best,” Aisling said with a slump of her shoulders. “There’s got to be something, Ysolde.”
    The door opened at that moment, allowing the tall, elegant man with short dreadlocks, bright grey eyes, and lovely warm brown skin to stroll in. He made a beeline for May, stopping next to her to stroke her short black hair, saying as he did so, “Good afternoon, Aisling, Ysolde. Greetings, Drake. What is it Ysolde is searching for?”
    “Heya, Gabe,” Jim said, sauntering over to snuffle him. “Still wyvern, huh? That ghost not challenged you for the sept yet?”
    Gabriel Tauhou, wyvern