Free Dragos Takes A Holiday [6.50] Elder Races by Thea Harrison Page B

said softly, “Talking about it seems to bother you for some reason. Are you all right? You’re not afraid of someone, are you? Because if you are, we can help you.”
    The dwarf drew in a quick breath and lowered her voice. “Wait a minute, I know who you are. Look, there are some men who have been looking for that ship for a very long time—since before I came to Bermuda and took over the museum. I’m not sure how many men, and I don’t know where they live. I don’t want to know. All I know is they spend time at the dockyards a lot, and they frequent bars, and their leader…he’s not a nice man.”
    Eva and Pia exchanged another glance. Pia asked, “The leader wouldn’t happen to be a big Light Fae male, would he? Long hair pulled back in a ponytail?”
    The dwarf rubbed her chin nervously with the back of one hand and nodded.
    “And one of his men was in here earlier to talk to you.” Pia didn’t ask it as a question.
    The dwarf nodded again. “Years ago, I used to have a few records that mentioned the Sebille . There was nothing substantial, mind you, just mainly some stuff that has been retold so much it’s turned into legend. A massive storm and strange lights in the sky, that sort of thing.”
    “Strange lights.” Eva’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of strange lights?”
    The dwarf snorted. “It was probably just lightning in the clouds. A few people claimed that they sighted the ship from the north shore, and then it disappeared.”
    Pia felt a thrill of excitement. “So it was sighted here.”
    The dwarf threw up her hands. “Apparently so, and people have been looking for it ever since. Like I said, every once in a while they show up here, just like you did. They want to dig for clues. But something always happens to them. Their boats disappear, or they have an accident. Somebody always ends up getting hurt. So I got rid of the records. I burned them. And I tell people I don’t have anything, and to stop looking.” She sniffed. “Sometimes they don’t listen, but I still try.”
    “What about the man who was here earlier?” Pia asked. “He didn’t threaten you, did he?”
    The dwarf shook her head. “No, they don’t bother with me. I wouldn’t hunt for that damn wreck if my life depended on it. He wanted to know if anybody had been in today to ask about the Sebille . He must have been on the lookout for you.”
    Eva said gently, “If they come looking for us, they’re not going to like what they find.”
     
    ***
     
    Dragos flew away from the islands in a bright flood of sunshine. After a short while, he left the shallow reefs behind and soared over deep water. He concentrated on flying thoroughly over a section before going on to the next, searching in a circular pattern around the islands. He made a complete pass all the way around, then moved outward in greater concentric circles.
    Most people would have found it tedious work, but he didn’t. He reveled in the solitude and freedom as he soaked up the sun’s brilliant warmth. The air smelled briny and clean over the ocean. It felt good to stretch out his wings and work his body, and good to truly let go of crowded city life. He put away considerations of politics, stocks and profit margins, and let the dragon take over his thoughts.
    The vast, tangled mass of land magic that made up the Bermuda Triangle lay to the west. He considered it without much curiosity. A few of the crossover passageways came in quite close to land, but passageways in the ocean were easy to avoid. All he had to do was fly high enough overhead.
    He grew hungry, dove for fish and ate while he flew.
    He covered more than a hundred miles in an hour. Within a few hours, he grew convinced that the Sebille had not foundered anywhere near the edge of the shallow reefs bordering the islands, and he headed farther out in a wider circle.
    Dragos? Pia said.
    Like every other Wyr, her telepathic range was quite limited, but Dragos’s telepathic range was much larger