Mai wasn’t in their hotel room when Griffen returned. Also missing were her bags and clothes.

He knew from previous outings with her that she was far from the world’s fastest packer. That meant that she must have been particularly motivated to have gotten back to the hotel, packed, and departed before he had figured out her ploy and returned himself.

This did little to put Griffen’s mind, already in a turmoil, at ease. What had started out as a clever ploy to try to land a cushy job had turned out to be the most disruptive day of his life.

First his uncle Malcolm, instead of offering him a job, had given him a load of nonsense about dragons. Then there was the conversation with the senator and his bodyguards that weren’t. Now, on top of it all, his old playmate Mai not only turned out to be aware of the whole dragons thing, but had done a disappearing act rather than answer any questions.

Maybe he should have taken Malcolm more seriously…or, at least, listened closer.

What all had he said about dragons again?

They were long-lived, and resistant to illness or injury. Did that mean that he could have taken on the two bodyguards if they had come after him? Resistant didn’t mean invulnerable. Besides, what if they were part dragon themselves? That grip hadhurt .

Griffen shook off that train of thought. Was he really ready to accept his uncle’s delusion? Had his lack of options made him that desperate? He already had his doubts, and half blamed himself for scaring off Mai. Who wouldn’t run off at such crazy talk?

Animal control. Something about animal control. Actually, that could be kind of neat…if it were true. Unfortunately, there weren’t any animals in the hotel room for him to try it out on. What was more, he had no inclination to head out onto the city streets to look for subjects. Then again, could it possibly work on weaker-minded humans…like those without any dragon blood in them? Didn’t Malcolm specifically mention that dragons were charismatic and able to influence people to a disproportionate degree? Was that just another form of animal control?

Despite his scattered thoughts, Griffen had to smile. “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for. Move along.” No. It was just too silly to be taken seriously. But wasn’t he doing precisely that?

Griffen was pacing the limited confines of the room now, moving from the window facing an air shaft to the bathroom door and back. Idly, he found himself wishing that he smoked, if for nothing else than a hand prop. As a poker player, he had never developed the habit. Too many tells were possible just from lighting a cigarette, as he knew from exploiting the same in others. On the other hand, if what Malcolm had said was correct, getting cancer was the least of his worries currently.

He made himself stop pacing, leaning his forehead against the wall. The cool plaster did nothing to ease the ache in his head. It was too much. Dragons, he was actually running through the characteristics of dragons. His thoughts were colliding, his heart pumping, pulse as loud in his ears as the absurdity in his brain. If it had just been his uncle. Even just his uncle and the senator, though the latter was harder to brush off. Then Mai, leaving him like that. Instantly, without hesitation, as if he were…nothing.

Or as if he were a threat.

A dragon?

What else? Heightened senses. Now that was something Griffen could relate to. Of course, up until now, he had always assumed that everyone else had the same powers of observation that he had, but never developed them or used them. Maybe he was something special.

Leaning away from the wall, he stood still, trying to calm himself. He let his concentration go out of focus and stretched out his senses to “feel” the hotel around him. The task proving a focus for his calm. It was so easy to do and…

There was someone outside the door of his room!

Now that he was “listening,” Griffen could hear the minute sounds of breathing and clothes rustling in the hall. What was more, they weren’t passing by. They were just standing there.

His first thought was that it was Mai, but he quickly discarded it. Mai would have simply used her key and come in, or, at least, knocked. Besides, it didn’t sound like Mai. It sounded like someone who was trying hard not to be heard.

He never even considered the possibility that it might be someone random trying to remember their room number. With all the other weird stuff that had happened today, that would be too much of a coincidence.

No, someone was specifically trying to check up on him. But who? Other than Mai, who knew where he was staying? Malcolm had never even asked. The senator! Or, for that matter, the two so-called bodyguards.

Or worse? Griffen suddenly realized, he only knew of three that seemed to be watching him, but how many knew of him? He wouldn’t have known about the senator if he hadn’t been summoned into the limo. Was this another party interested in the new dragon? Another recruitment attempt?

Or one of the ones who thought recruitment was too risky?

He had sudden visions of someone waiting outside with a gun. Or maybe just teeth and flaming breath. Terror and absurdity and indignation all flared up in him suddenly. He was torn between a sudden fear of opening the door, and a burning desire to confront whoever was out there and settle things once and for all.

And, like a dam breaking, all emotions eased away into sudden calm.

They had left.

As he had weighed the pluses and minuses of his choices, his senses had still been tracking the figure. Whoever it was seemed to have moved off while he was sorting out what to do. The threat, real or imagined, was gone. His body had relaxed accordingly.

Moving to the door, he first checked the crack of light showing under the entrance, but could see nothing. Cracking the door, he looked out cautiously, then boldly stuck his head into the hall. The corridor was empty. Whoever it had been had vanished completely.

Closing the door, Griffen turned the night lock, then put on the security bar for an added safeguard. His hand shook slightly, and he realized he wasn’t all that calm after all. At this point, he wasn’t even going to try to pretend that he wasn’t spooked.

Turning away, his foot hit something on the floor. It was a small piece of paper, possibly a note or an advertisement had been slipped under his door. He felt another small wave of relief. That would explain why a stranger had approached his room.

He stooped and picked it up. Examining it, it turned out to be a tarot card…the Knight of Swords to be specific. It was from a small deck, so the card was barely the size of a business card. There was no writing or other message on it.

Griffen frowned at the card. Instead of finding an explanation to the presence in the hall, he was presented with a new mystery.

The phone rang; the sound like a fire alarm, loud in the stillness of the room.

Griffen collected his nerves from where they were clinging to the ceiling like a velcro cat and reached for the phone. An inch from the receiver, he hesitated. There was no way this was going to be anything good…unless it was Mai.

Cursing himself for being a nervous Nellie, he picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

There was a moment’s hesitation on the other end.

“Griffen? Are you alone?”

Griffen relaxed as he recognized the voice.

“Hi, Uncle Mal. Yes, I’m alone. What’s up?”

“I wanted to warn you,” his uncle said. “Things have changed since we talked earlier.”

“Changed how?”

“Some of the other dragon factions I mentioned know you’re in town.”

“No kidding,” Griffen said with a sarcastic laugh. “I’ve already run into some of them.”

“What happened?”

Griffen proceeded to narrate his meeting with the senator, including his suspicions about the bodyguards. As he did, he found himself waving his arms wildly and pacing with the phone next to his ear. Here, alone in the hotel room, he allowed himself the physical release, though he was sure his voice would match it with at least a little strain.