I gave him a half-smile. “They were never the brains of the operation. But yeah, things have gotten messy, so I bought us a little time. Time will tell if it was worth the blow to my pride. Something is going on with Lynn, too. Not sure what, though. She had a shiner this morning.”

“Sounds like you guys need a safe house. I have a few around town. All that is mine is at your disposal.”

I inclined my head in thanks. “I’ll let you know if we do. Gonna play it by ear. Everything might turn out fine.”

“Oh, shit! I almost forgot to tell you. Since we’re on the subject of strange happenings. My sources tell me that the druid Council is negotiating a meeting with the dragons. And it’s here! In bloody Las Vegas!” His eyes were shinning with anticipation as he spoke. This was about as excited as I’d ever seen him. “Gives me a slayer hard-on, to tell you the truth. I’m half-tempted to ambush one of them. Though it’s an interesting move, considering the druids were just asking me for help, don’t you think? Not sure I can be in the same city with a dragon without letting my instincts take over.” He was grinning, and he did not look harmless now.

I grinned back at him. He didn’t notice my hands trembled slightly as I set down my glass. “I’m sure you can contain yourself. But it is interesting timing, to say the least. I wonder if they are trying to ally themselves with the druids.”

“I’m not too worried about that. Dragons are a savage, violent lot. They think they’re gods, above all laws. And druids live and breath to keep the peace. Those monsters won’t respect druid law. They may want something from the druids, but mark my words, they won’t hold up their end of the bargain.”

“I’ve heard that about them.”

“Oh, yeah. As an extra precaution for their visit to town, I had a friend of mine install a new toy he’s been working on. You probably didn’t notice it, but as you step through the front door, you get scanned now.” He smiled smugly, very pleased with himself.

“Scanned for what?” I raised a brow, sipping my wheat-grass concoction.

“It’s a dragon detector.” I nearly choked on my drink. “It scans anyone who walks through the door. If a dragon ever tries to come in, it’ll alert me with a siren that will bring the house down, and set off a very impressive caging mechanism.” He sighed heavily. “Wishful thinking really, one of them coming to me. But a man can dream.”

My eyes were saucers as I spoke. “Sounds pretty dubious to me. I think you should get your money back.”

He looked crestfallen. “Yeah?”

I nodded. “Sounds like you need a bullshit detector more than a dragon detector to me.”

He smiled sardonically. “Well, I didn’t say he was a good friend. C’est la vie, right?”

“So when does the necro roast happen? And how can I get in on it?” I changed the subject to something we would both undoubtedly enjoy more.

“Man! I wish you could. They haven’t given me a time. Everything is still up in the air, I think.” He gave me a serious look. “You gonna pay Dom a visit? I bet if you ask him nicely, he’ll keep you off those rosters.”

I cringed, and ran a hand down my face. “I don’t know. It’s a bad idea, for all kinds of reasons, but it’s starting to look like a lesser evil.”

He whistled softly. “What I’d pay to be a fly on that wall.”

I felt sick to my stomach at even the thought of that meeting. I couldn’t decide whether to put it off or just get it over with. For today, at least, I was definitely putting it off. On the other hand, I was gonna be bruised up and crippled until then.

I suddenly noticed the time on the microwave clock across the room. “Ack, I’m gonna be late for my other client.” I got up and went to gather my things. Christian walked me to the door, saying, “Call me if you need anything. Sounds like you might.”

“I’ll do that. Oh, Lynn told me to say hi.”

“Hi.”

“You guys meeting for lunch this week?”

“Maybe. Probably,” he said cryptically.

“Ok, then, I will maybe probably join you. We won’t be working the shop for awhile, so my schedule is suddenly wide open.” I shielded up, stuck my tongue out at him, and walked out the door.

CHAPTER SIX

Geas

 My next appointment was in Summerlin, which was easily a forty-five minute drive away. I had twenty-five to get there. I liked to be punctual, so the entire drive was a teeth-gnashing affair.

This client was also one of the few that I enjoyed training, though she and Christian couldn’t be more dissimilar.

She was a stay-at-home mom in her forties who had a compulsive eating problem. Her rich husband had left her for an eighteen-year-old several years ago, and she had proceeded to eat her way to over four hundred pounds.

At the start of our sessions a few years ago, I had started her out with the conventional methods of weight loss. I had soon learned that her need to eat when she got emotional far outweighed any discipline she may have possessed.

She was a sweet woman, and I grew to like her quickly, so it wasn’t long before I resorted to a more unconventional approach. I put a very minor enchantment on her. It wasn’t much, really. But every time she reached for food for any reason but simple hunger, she felt a sudden and overwhelming urge to go outside and play soccer with her kids. I had to tweak the enchantment slightly, when I realized she was dragging her two boys out of bed at three a.m to play outside. After that, though, it worked like the charm that it was.