Playing With Fire - Katie MacAlister [1]
‘‘A fascinating paranormal read that will captivate you.’’
—Romance Reviews Today
‘‘A pleasurable afternoon of reading.’’
—The Romance Reader
‘‘The sexy humor, wild secondary characters, and outlandish events make her novels pure escapist pleasure!’’
—Romantic Times
Also by Katie MacAlister
Paranormal Romances
Aisling Grey, Guardian, Series
HOLY SMOKES
LIGHT MY FIRE
FIRE ME UP
YOU SLAY ME
THE LAST OF THE RED-HOT VAMPIRES
EVEN VAMPIRES GET THE BLUES
Contemporary Romances
BLOW ME DOWN
HARD DAY’S KNIGHT
THE CORSET DIARIES
MEN IN KILTS
SIGNET
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2,
Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124,
Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi - 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632,
New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Signet, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, May 2008
Copyright © Marthe Arends, 2008
All rights reserved
SIGNET and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
http://us.penguingroup.com
eISBN : 978-1-4406-3425-3
I am profoundly grateful to all the readers who have taken the time to let me know how much they’ve enjoyed visiting my Otherworld, and I am especially appreciative of those people who’ve pleaded for books featuring the silver dragons. This first silver dragon novel is dedicated to all those dragon fans, with the hope that they enjoy seeing Gabriel through a new pair of eyes.
Chapter One
‘‘Good twin calling evil twin. The weasel crows at midnight. How copy?’’
‘‘Oh, for mercy’s sake . . . I’m busy! Stop sending me silly messages in code! If you have something to say, just say it; otherwise, radio silence, remember?’’
‘‘You’re no fun anymore. You used to be fun, but lately, I’ve noticed a change in you. Is it menopause, May?’’
Cyrene’s question took me aback so strongly, I stopped creeping down the darkened hallway and blinked in dumbfounded surprise at the mirror that hung on the wall opposite.
No reflected figure blinked back at me.
‘‘Are you still having