"Aisling Grey, Guardian- 01 - You Slay Me" - читать интересную книгу автора (MacAlister Katie)

"The portal that you guard. You are a Guardian-it is not difficult what I ask. Where is your portal?"
"With the dragon?" I guessed.
Her frown deepened. "That is not at all wise. Dragons are not to be trusted when it concerns portals. Too much temptation, you understand. What sept is he from?"
"Who?" I asked, totally and completely lost at this point.
"The dragon whom you left guarding your portal. What is his name?"
I said the only name that came to mind, the name that had been on the tip of my tongue since I entered the shop. "Drake Vireo."
Her frown disappeared as her brows shot upward in a look of horror. "Drake Vireo? You left a wyvern in charge of your portal? Merciful goddess!"
The room spun. Seriously, the room started to spin right before my eyes. I clutched the counter and held my breath, but it didn't help.
"Do you have a chair?" I asked, sure I was going to faint.
She waved me around the long counter to where a second stool stood. "You are exhausted. Come, sit here."
I allowed her to pour me a cup of coffee, praying the caffeine would keep me sane until I could go back to the hotel room and collapse. Maybe the sleep deprivation was making me hallucinate? There was no other reasonable explanation for why I was in a city where people invoked demons and talked about dragon scales as casually as I would the weather.
"Thank you. No, black is good. Now, maybe we could take this slowly. I'm a little tired and not thinking very well. First off, do you know Drake Vireo?"
Amelie shook her head. "Not personally, although I have heard of him, of course. All the wyverns are known in our community."
"So he lives here?" Hope rose within me. All the creepy paranormal stuff aside, if she had heard of him, that meant he must be local.
She pursed her lips. "No, I believe the main lair of the green dragons is in Hungary. But he is a frequent visitor to Paris, if that is what you are asking."
I stifled the nervous little giggle that wanted to come out. "This is probably going to sound really silly, but are you trying to tell me that Drake, Drake Vireo, about six foot two, dark hair, green eyes, gorgeous voice is a ... well, a dragon?"
Amelie didn't smile as I expected. Instead, her eyes narrowed as she examined me. "Drake Vireo is not just a dragon. He is a wyvern. The green wyvern."
"Wait," I said, shaking my head and gripping the counter so I wouldn't fall over. "Isn't a wyvern another name for a two-legged dragon? One with wings and a barbed tail?"
"Yes," she said slowly, her blue eyes growing darker. "It is also the name for the leader of a dragon sept. His name explains that."
I rubbed my forehead. "You've lost me."
"Drake-a modernization of the Latin draco, meaning 'dragon.' Vireo is also Latin. It means 'green.' Only wyverns are allowed to use their sept color as a name."
"Can we go back to the part about Drake being a mythical creature who breaths fire and consumes virgins and all that? Because I just can't seem to wrap my brain around that idea. He was ... He was so masculine. Gorgeous. Sexy as hell. He didn't look at all like a big scaly lizard wearing a human suit."
"Immortals do not need to wear human suits. They can change form," she said a bit scornfully, then suddenly leaned forward and placed both hands on my head, her fingers touching my temples. I was too tired to be alarmed, too exhausted to be scared. Besides, her touch wasn't unpleasant. She hummed a soft little song, her fingers gently stroking my temples.
"You do not understand of what I speak, and yet I feel in you great power, great possibilities," she said dreamily, her eyes closed as she continued to stroke my head. "You are untouched by the dark powers, and yet you were born to harness them. You are a wyvern's mate, and yet he did not claim you. You are a puzzle that has no end and no beginning."
"Whoa," I said, my muscles all stiffening at the words "wyvern's mate." "Let's just take a step back from that idea, shall we?"
She released my head and moved over to the stool, her brows pulled together in a puzzled frown.
"Look, all I want to know is where I can find Drake. He stole something from me."
She nodded. "The green dragons are thieves. That is their skill. He is their wyvern-he would naturally be a very talented thief. And you know how it is with dragons."
I raised my eyebrows.
"They hoard treasure." A faint smile curled her lips.
"Um... I think I'm just going to let that one go. Do you know where Drake lives?"
"No."
My shoulders slumped.
"But I know where you can find him most evenings."
I sat up straight. "Where?"
"The same place you can find anyone of consequence- G & T. It is a club on Rue de la Grande Pest-'the street of the great plague.'"
"Sounds like a lovely neighborhood. G & T ... gin and tonic?"
"Goety and theurgy," she answered. ("Black and white magic." How fitting.)
"Thanks for the coffee. And the information," I said as I gathered up my things, knowing I was close to the end of my energy ... and my sanity.
She watched me walk all the way down the length of the counter to the door before she spoke up. "Aisling, a word of warning from one who wishes you well."
I cocked an eyebrow at her. Anything more would have taken too much energy.
"Do not close your mind to the possibilities. To do so will not only deny you your rightful place in this world, but it can also mean great destruction to those you love."
I glanced out through the open door to the street outside filled with sunshine and happy, dragon-free Parisians. "Don't tell me-the fate of the whole world rests on my shoulders?"
"Perhaps," was all she said.
I looked back at her, summoning up the last of my strength for a smile. "Thanks, but I've got enough on my plate right now without worrying about a bunch of stuff that doesn't even come close to being real. Maybe I'll see you again some time."
"Of that, you can be sure," she said. "I would not wish to miss your entrance into the Otherworld."
I went out into the warm sunny street without saying anything else. There was just nothing left to say.


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