Dragons Luck

Forty-two

Griffen was sitting at one of the back tables in the Irish pub. While he normally sat at the bar so he could chat with the other regulars or the bartender, tonight he opted for solitude, and the others respected it. Sipping his usual Irish whiskey in larger-than-usual gulps, he brooded about the altercation with Slim.

Of all people to cause an altercation at the conclave, he would never have figured Slim. If anything, the street entertainer was the one who had served as Griffen’s advisor about what to expect and how to handle it. For him to be the one to pick a fight with attendees from not one, but two other groups went beyond surprising.

Once again Griffen ran through what had been said and done once he arrived on the scene, but still he was at a loss to find a better way he could have played it. The situation had simply degenerated too far by then, and all he could do was attempt damage control.

“Hey, lover!”

Startled, he glanced up as Mai plopped down on an empty chair at the table, drink in hand. It said something about how focused he was that he had not even noticed that she had come in.

“Oh. Hi, Mai,” he said, forcing a smile.

“Are you okay?” she asked, leaning forward to peer at him. “You look a little down.”

“Just a bit tired is all,” Griffen said. “This conclave thing has been running me ragged.”

“Well, I sure haven’t seen much of you,” Mai said, leaning back. “I was just a little worried about you, is all. Thought you might be upset over your go-round with Slim.”

Griffen stared at her.

“How in the world did you hear about that?” he managed at last.

“Well, I could just say ‘It’s the Quarter,’ which it is.” She grinned. “Truth to tell, though, some of the fey kids are holed up at a bar up the street and were talking about it. Your sister is working the bar and overheard a lot of it. Since she doesn’t get off for a while, she gave me a call and asked me to look you up.”

“Oh, that’s just great.” Griffen grimaced. “I was hoping the whole thing would just blow over. Instead, the word is spreading.”

“Hope for the best, but plan for the worst,” Mai recited smugly. “If it blows over, fine. You’d better be thinking about what you’re going to do or say, though, if it doesn’t.”

“What can I say?” Griffen said, shrugging helplessly. “I know Slim has a thing about abusing the power to control animals, but he really seems to have overreacted this time.”

“From what I hear, that was only part of it,” Mai said, sipping at her drink.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I don’t think you got the whole story when they gave you the recap,” Mai said, leaning forward and lowering her voice. “The animal-control thing is where it started, but it escalated into a pissing contest over whose powers were stronger and who could control who. Specifically, it really heated up when the question came up if you were powerful enough to control a vampire.”

Griffen covered his eyes, then massaged his forehead. “This just keeps getting better,” he said.

“You haven’t heard the best part,” Mai said with a grimace. “The real subject of conversation is what you’re going to do about it. It seems everyone is expecting you to come down on Slim.”

“What?”

“Well, he is one of the locals.” Mai shrugged. “And he not only got into it with a couple of the other attendees, he specifically defied and embarrassed you in front of witnesses. Some are thinking that you’re going to have him bounced from the conclave. Other are saying that, since you’re a dragon, you’re going to come down hard on him just to make an example of what could happen if anyone crosses you.”

Griffen slammed his glass down on the table.

“That tears it,” he growled. “What am I supposed to do now?”

“I really don’t know, lover,” Mai said with a sigh. “I just figured I should pass along the info you didn’t have. You’re in a tough enough spot without people holding back on you.”

Griffen favored her with a long stare.

“That sounds a little funny coming from you,” he said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mai said, cocking her head to one side. “Has Val talked to you?”

“You never bothered to mention that you knew Flynn,” Griffen said, straight-faced. “I had to hear it from him. He seemed to think you had told me all about him.”

“I know a lot of people.” Mai shrugged. “It didn’t seem very important, particularly with you getting ready for the conclave. Besides, you seemed totally taken with him.”

“From what he said, I got the impression that you two aren’t very fond of each other,” Griffen said. “Would you care to elaborate on that?”

“I’d say he’s a snake, but it would be insulting to snakes,” Mai said, playing with her drink. “I know he’s been giving you advice, and that doesn’t sound like the Flynn I know. He doesn’t do favors. The only one Flynn is interested in is Flynn. If he’s being nice to you, you can bet there’s something in it for him.”

“You mean he might have a hidden agenda?” Griffen said with a smile. “If not, then he’ll be the first dragon I’ve met who doesn’t.”

“Well, speak of the devil,” Mai said, jerking her head toward the far door.

Griffen looked around. Flynn had just entered the bar. He gave a quick wave at Griffen, then stopped at the bar to order a drink.

“That does it for me,” Mai said, finishing her drink and rising. “I’m sure he’ll have all sorts of ideas about how you should handle things, but I don’t have the stomach to listen to it. I’d probably get into it with him, and you don’t need more problems right now. Just be sure to count your fingers if he shakes hands.”

“Hello, Mai,” Flynn said, stepping up to the table. “You’re looking beautiful, as always.”

Mai smiled prettily at him.

“Bite me, Flynn,” she said. “Later, lover.”

The whole bar watched her leave.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything,” Flynn said, easing into a vacant chair.

“It’s not you,” Griffen said. “Well, not entirely you. I’m not very good company tonight.”

“Oh? Problems at the conclave?”

Griffen reflected for a moment on Mai’s warning but decided that Flynn was too good a resource to waste. At the very least, he could listen to the older dragon’s advice and not follow it.

Leaning back in his chair, he gave Flynn a quick summary of the problem with Slim.

“The way I see it, you’ve got a tempest in a teapot there,” Flynn said with a shrug. “It will only get to be a big thing if you let it. Just downplay it, and it will go away.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Griffen said.

Flynn leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table.

“Just get word to Slim that you want to talk to him. Then have a quiet sit-down and talk it all out. If anyone else asks, just say that it’s between you and Slim.”

“I guess that’s as good a plan as any,” Griffen said with a thoughtful nod. “At least it beats anything that I’ve been able to come up with.”

He finished his drink and got to his feet, carrying his empty with him.

“And there’s no time like the present, right? Catch you later, Flynn. And thanks!”

Flynn waved good-bye and watched him until he was out the door. Then he turned his attention to his own drink with a slight smile.

So far, he hadn’t been completely satisfied with his success at dealing with the McCandles boy. While the kid was listening to him and asking for advice, he wasn’t always following it. That meant that a lot of the carefully laid traps that Flynn hoped would weaken the support he was gathering weren’t working.

This Slim incident might just do the trick, however. It reminded the other conclave attendees that Griffen was a dragon and had them on edge wondering how he would react.

Now all it would take was for something to happen to Slim.