They would be alone soon—and she discovered she could hardly wait.
TWENTY-ONE
JOEY
They stood watching the three cars rolling down the hill: the Lebowitzes were on their way home.
With a couple of exceptions. Doris stood hand in hand with Joey … and Isidor remained with Xi Yong.
Are you sure? Joey had asked Xi Yong, speaking on the mythic plane to avoid being overheard by the humans in the whirl of departure plans going on around them. More importantly, is he sure? Have you explained the situation to him?
He knows, Xi Yong replied. What about your mate? Is the risk acceptable to her?
My mate tricked an armed gunman today. I don’t think I could keep her away if I tried.
“What now, Uncle Boss Sir?” Vanessa asked Joey. “Do we head up the hill to beard the dragon in his den?”
“Not yet,” Joey told her. “We need to wait for—” He stopped and turned his head, aware of a slight prickling on the back of his neck. It might not mean anything … but he had a feeling they were being watched.
“What is it?” Xi Yong asked quietly.
“The humans should go into the house.” Joey kissed Doris. “That means you, love.”
Her cheeks pinked, and she nodded.
Joey turned to Xi Yong. “Protect them. Out of all of us, your qilin is the strongest. No matter what, the humans must be safe.”
He turned to face the forest, as a dragon walked out of it.
Cang had shifted into his human form. As a human, he was a tall, powerfully built man with a bony face and long, wind-tossed hair. His age could have been anything from forty to seventy.
“Guardian Cang,” Joey said calmly. He made sure that he was between the others and Cang. He should never have let Doris stay … but he hadn’t expected Cang to come to the house.
“Friendly warning, Hu,” the fire dragon said. “For old time’s sake. Stay out of my affairs, or you will get burnt.”
“I was not aware that I was in your affairs,” Joey said mildly.
“Oh? You have nothing to do with the human police crawling all over the mountain?”
Joey shrugged. “I am not human police. I am here to enjoy the snow and the lake. This house belongs to humans who have nothing to do with you.”
Cang’s eyes narrowed.
“In case you decide to ‘enjoy’ another place in my proximity again,” he said calmly, “let me give you a demonstration of what you’ll find.”
He shifted, rising into the air.
Joey sensed the sudden panic and distress of the humans behind him. Isidor and Doris had never seen, probably never imagined, anything like the vast red dragon now undulating in the air above them. Asian dragons did not have wings, and Cang flew as sea snakes swim. His massive blood-red body eeled in the air as he hissed in a breath. Scales gleamed like oil slicks down his body, which must have been at least two hundred feet long.
Heat ripped in the air around the dragon’s open mouth. Long teeth gleamed.
“Xi Yong!” Joey said.
And Xi Yong shifted, just as the dragon unleashed a blast of fire at the house.
The qilin took shape in a shower of red light. Instead of burning everything in its path, the dragonflame was drawn into Xi Yong’s shifted body, vanishing without heat.
The huge dragon roared in fury and let out another blast of flame. Xi Yong absorbed that too. Joey knew what the qilin were capable of, but he’d never seen one in action before, and he couldn’t help smiling. The Celestial Empress had indeed known what she was doing, to send him such a powerful helper!