Free The Jade Dragon by Rowena May O'Sullivan

a long day. “Now.”
    He was asking a lot of Albert, who loved nothing more than to display a show of bright color and sparks whenever he winked in and out of wherever he went. But this time Albert nodded his head and whispered, “invisible,” before going deathly still, and quietly fading away until he was a mere smudge of gray on Aden’s shoulder.
    â€œI go now,” he whispered into Aden’s ear. “I send thoughts to you if I see Gregori or anything strange.”
    â€œGood. I’ll start from basement level and work my way up. You start from the top and work your way down. We’ll meet somewhere in the middle.”
    â€œOver and out,” Albert whispered and the weight on Aden’s shoulder lifted, his familiar gone seconds before a neophyte walked down the great winding staircase into the hall.
    Cloaked in his official robe, Aden was second only to Anton in the Dragon hierarchy. No one would question his presence in any room of Marylebone House. Only those who were invited to Marylebone could enter its walls. The general public walking past as they made their way to work or home, would not actually see the building as it was shrouded by magic and visible to very few.
    Aden strode down the hall, his official Dragon’s cape floating lightly behind him, to the office he kept at the rear of the building. He pushed the door open and blinked, immediately certain someone had been here and he’d bet a year’s worth of spells it had been Gregori.
    They’d once companionably shared this room, Aden as his most senior apprentice and Goran as Aden’s apprentice. Gregori’s desk against the far wall had sat unattended and untouched for the past few years. Until today. He spun full circle, building a protection spell about him and sending out a search spell at the same time to ensure he was alone.
    He paused. Listened. Closed his eyes and continued to search with his mind’s eye. He used all his senses, and for a second he thought he saw Gregori wink and give him the universal thumbs-up signal. Aden opened his eyes. Yes. He’d been here. Which meant Anton was likely to have been as well. Relief flooded through him. He had no stomach for hunting or ending the life of the man who had taught him much in his tenure as an apprentice Dragon. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
    Think, Aden. What would Gregori do?
    â€¢ • •
    Albert flitted quietly from room to room, enjoying his search. He hadn’t hunted in a long time. It felt good to be useful. He started at the very top, the belfry where all the other dragons like himself nested. Here they were free to fly in and out at will, as long as they stayed within the magical barrier that protected Marylebone from being detected by mere non-magical mortals.
    Clarissa, his partner, wasn’t here. But their nest of dragon-eggs was. Soon he would be a father. His insides went all gooey and he nearly forgot to be invisible. Albert wanted to stay and snuggle up with them but he moved on, remembering his task. Clarissa would not leave their young ones alone for long and if she needed to, she would ask another dragon to sit with them for her.
    He made his way to the uppermost belfry to look for the oldest dragon in their ranks, Lyzander, Gregori’s familiar. The old dragon stood on the ledge waiting for his master to return, eating little and worrying them all with the sad droop to his eyes and the lack of interest in producing any fire, sparks, or smoke.
    Lyzander looked over his shoulder towards the entrance as Albert entered the belfry. Pausing, he wondered whether he’d been discovered even though he was invisible. Lyzander was wily, almost as wily as his master. Albert alit softly on the floor, and paused, not moving. Lyzander stared in his direction for ages, but then blinked and returned to staring outside, his head drooping, his tail tucked about his body.
    Moisture pooled in Albert’s eyes. He