Dancing with Dragons by Lorenda Christensen

Author:Lorenda Christensen [Christensen, Lorenda]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-11-28T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Our meal was surprisingly pleasant. Krishnan had been right about the vegetable biryani, and Daniel was an excellent dinner partner. With the news stream filled with the stories of DRACIM’s trip to China—Myrna and the gang were doing a great job of pushing the trip as proof that the dragon council was enthusiastic about cooperation with humans—I was officially free to share stories from my visit, on or off the record. I told him about Cai, a young girl who we’d rescued along with her mother, from a horrible situation as servants to Hian-puo and his human-hating generals. He laughed when I told him Myrna’s experience with a scientist who hadn’t taken well to flight by dragonback, and had spent most of his time in China trying not to heave up his latest meal.

It appeared that Daniel had been serious about giving me a break from stress, because he followed my lead and kept the conversation in neutral territory, with us sharing stories of work experiences, childhood memories, and the occasional good-natured tease. In short, it was the perfect date.

He took my hand as we browsed our way through the mall shops, stopping occasionally to read the labels on things we didn’t recognize. Soon, we’d tired of the retail scene, so we stepped outside. The night was warm, but there was a breeze, so we eschewed help from our auto-driver to walk to the nearby public garden, chatting about nothing in general and enjoying some time breathing relatively fresh air.

With the help of a hit to the worldwide economy, Bangalore was slowly regaining its status as the Garden City of India, as less of the city’s citizens could afford a gasoline-powered vehicle. The sizable reduction of cars on the road—to imagine Bangalore holding more vehicles than its present amount was mind-boggling to me—had led to a healthier population of flora.

The park had quite a display tonight, and we weren’t the only ones enjoying the peaceful surroundings. A path had been created to allow better access to the sights, and it stretched in a wide circle through the well-cared-for lawn and flowering plants.

We strolled in comfortable silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts, until we heard music playing several feet ahead of us. With wordless agreement, Daniel and I started to make our way toward the sound. Turning a corner, we discovered a small band, consisting of only a set of speakers, a guitar player, and a man holding a tambourine. The band had set up in a small clearing near the center of the garden. The song list was surprisingly familiar, with hits from back home cropping up at a semi-regular pace. A street vendor was busy taking advantage of the gathering, and sold hot tea from a rickety cart made for the purpose. Daniel got us each a cup and, after finding a small patch of grass to sit, we settled in for the show.

The singer’s voice was surprisingly good, and soon I was humming along to the music, the stress from earlier today a long-forgotten memory.

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