Enticing the Dragon by Jane Godman

Author:Jane Godman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-04-12T17:14:39+00:00

Chapter 12

Hollie soon learned that Torque hadn’t been joking about the weather. They waited at the roadside for the regular bus from Fort William in drizzling rain, but by the time they arrived in the city of Inverness, the sun was shining.

“Who are we here to see?” she asked as Torque led her down a narrow street. “Tell me it’s not a sorceress.”

“No.” He grinned as they halted outside a quaint bookstore. “It’s a dragon.”

He pointed to the sign above the door. The Book Hoard. It was accompanied by an image of a dragon guarding a pile of leather-bound books.

Before she could respond, he was ushering her inside. The interior was gloomy and it had that old-book smell that was instantly recognizable but couldn’t be categorized. Hollie thought of it as aging paper, with a dollop of dust, and a hint of incense. It always made her feel slightly giddy, as though she was in a place of magic and mystery. The difference was that, on this occasion, her instinct told her that was exactly where she was.

The store was long and narrow and the walls were covered from floor to ceiling with book-filled shelves. Oddly matched easy chairs were dotted about the place, and a large ginger cat dozed in the middle of a sagging red velvet sofa.

“It’s like something out of a fantasy story,” Hollie whispered.

“It may have featured in one or two,” he whispered back.

The shop was quiet, with only a few people browsing the shelves. Torque walked confidently through to the rear, until they reached an office with glass windows that overlooked the whole shop. As they approached, a man who was seated at a desk inside the tiny room, looked up. He went very still, his hand hovering in the act of pushing his half-moon glasses up his nose.

Hollie had heard the expression “cut the atmosphere with a knife,” but she’d never felt it until now. As Torque and the other man stared at each other, the air seemed to heat up and thicken. She could feel the relationship between these two. Although she couldn’t understand how, the memories and emotions of centuries were right there in that curious old bookstore. It was as if she could reach out a hand and pluck them from the motes of dust that floated around them.

“Hollie, I’d like you to meet Alban.”

The man who rose from the desk was stick-thin and very tall. He had the slightly stooped air of someone who has spent his life trying to compensate for his height. His shoulder-length hair, pointed beard and neatly trimmed mustache all shimmered silver. Everything about him, including his long, hooked nose and piercing blue eyes, seemed to enhance the impression of a wizard who had accidentally wandered out of his own time period.

“Alban?” Hollie muttered the word out of the corner of her mouth. “Isn’t he...?”

“The enemy?” Alban came out of the office. Hollie’s first impression had been that he was old. Now that he was up close, it was impossible to judge his age.

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