How to Date a Dragon(46)
Mother Nature laughed. “Yeah… never say that.” Then she pointed straight at his chest. “And never—I mean never reveal your knowledge of this Council. As far as you’re concerned from this moment forward, we don’t exist. Got it?”
Drake glanced around. “Did somebody say something?”
Gaia patted him on the head. “Good boy.”
***
Bliss paced across the living room, wondering what the heck was taking so long. “We finally get some time together, and some kid comes and takes him out in the hall,” she muttered. Well, too bad. I’m not going to stand for it.
Prepared to do battle, Bliss marched over to the door and threw it open. Odd. There’s no one here.
She heard a cough coming from the bottom of the stairs. Thinking Drake might have been beaten again, she hurried down the steps. At the landing where the stairs took a right turn, she stopped. It was Angie. She was sitting on the bottom step, reading a book.
Bliss rested a hand on her hip. “Is this the ‘stuff’ you had to do?”
Angie startled, then swiveled so she could look at her roommate. “Oh, I didn’t see you there. I was engrossed in this book.”
Bliss noted Angie’s dry hair and coat. “Have you been there the whole time?”
Angie gave her a sheepish grin. “Kind of.”
“What do you mean, ‘kind of’?”
“Well, I was gonna go out and do some errands, but I decided to wait and see if the rain let up.”
“Then you must have seen Drake leave. Did he say where he was going?”
“Drake? I thought he was upstairs with you.”
“No. The kid who lives upstairs asked to see him privately, and I thought he just stepped into the hall. He said he’d be right back, but it’s been about an hour.”
“Adolf? Maybe they went upstairs to the Balogs’ apartment. I can get engrossed in a book, but I’d have noticed if a couple of guys stepped over me to go outside.”
“Yeah, that must be it.”
Angie had been giving them their privacy, and Bliss just fell in love with her roommate a little bit.
Hmmm… to intrude or not to intrude? “So, do you know the people upstairs?”
“Not very well. They keep to themselves, and that’s fine by me. They’re kind of creepy.”
“Creepy, huh? Now my curiosity is piqued. Want to go upstairs with me?”
Angie’s jaw dropped. “You’re going up to the Balogs’ apartment?”
“Why not? I haven’t met the creep I can’t outrun.”
Angie giggled. It may have been a nervous giggle, but a moment later she jumped up. “I’m in.”
The girls tromped upstairs. Bliss heard music on the other side of the door. It sounded like an acoustic guitar and a violin harmonizing, and the melody had a Gipsy Kings quality.
When Bliss knocked, the music stopped. She and Angie waited for quite a while before she knocked again. Even after the second knock, no one came to the door.
That’s weird. She frowned and knocked a third time. “Hellooo,” she called out. “It’s Bliss Russo, from downstairs.” They waited. Still nothing.
She and Angie stared at each other. At last, Angie shrugged. “I guess no one’s going to answer the door.” She headed back down the stairs.
“That’s kind of rude, isn’t it?” Bliss whispered.
“I guess so, but it doesn’t surprise me. They’ve always kept to themselves.”
“Isn’t that what the neighbors of serial killers always say?” Bliss felt a shiver pass through her.
***
Drake and Vulcan shared one of the small tables in the bar. Robin dropped off their beers and, without a word, proceeded on to Sadie, who had one finger raised. Even Drake knew what she wanted. Another White Russian, please.
He tried to focus his attention on Vulcan, even though getting back to Bliss occupied the back of his mind like a constant itch.
“Why Boston?” Drake asked.
Vulcan cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
“Why is the Supernatural Council located in Boston? I thought you guys hung out on Mount Olympus.”
“Oh, we do… sometimes. But Mother Nature likes it here.”
“Why? We have hot, humid summers and cold, snowy winters, rainy springs and well, I guess there’s nothing wrong with fall.”
Vulcan smiled. “Ah, yes. Autumn in New England is perfection, but remember who you’re talking about. Mother Nature likes to view her handiwork and the seasons are all here.”
“But why Boston? Why not some mountaintop?”
“Boston is a modern city with an old soul. That’s what attracts paranormals to it, and wherever they are, we need to be.”