Page 262 of Dragon Slayer

She pulled away – quietly, but firmly – and walked at his side without touching. She thought the woman, Ramirez, smirked.

The hall fed into another, this one floored with polished hardwoods. Doors opened along one wall, leading into dim parlors with dainty furniture. It turned out to be a sequence of connected hallways, each larger than the last, until they finally reached a soaring entryway. Galleries for the two floors above looked down on the tile floors, a massive skylight at the top of the atrium softly lit by electric light.

Mia came to a stop, head tipped all the way back as she stared. She probably looked like an idiot, but she didn’t care. She’d never been inside something like this before. It was like the Biltmore Estate, butbigger. And that she’d only ever seen in photos.

“It’s crazy, right?”

Mia dropped her head and saw a young woman in cutoffs and biker boots walking down the grand staircase toward her. Everything about her seemed incongruous with their surroundings. And yet…not.

“It’s beautiful,” she countered.

“I think it is,” the girl said, arriving at the foot of the stairs with a clack of bootheels. “My husband hates it, but that’s just the bad memories talking, I’m convinced.”

“Your husband – youlive here?”

“Kinda sorta.” The girl reached Mia and stuck out her hand. “I’m Annabel le Strange. Your welcome wagon.”

Mia accepted her shake with some hesitation. This girl seemed friendly, and her smile was wide, and her accent was hopelessly Southern. But Mia had been brought here against her will. And somehow, Annabel must know and work with her father. “Mia Talbot.”

“I know.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

Annabel chuckled. But then she leaned in. Close. Closer than was comfortable. When Mia tried to draw back, a hand darted out and landed on her shoulder, much stronger than it looked.

“Your man’s downstairs,” she whispered. “Play along during dinner and I’ll see if I can get you down to see him.”

Annabel squeezed her shoulder and pulled back with a smile that said,Work with me.

And then Dad called, “Mia!” across the cavernous expanse, voice echoing, and she didn’t have a chance to respond.

Annabel stepped back, and Mia resisted the urge to grab for her hand and pull her back in. Whether to beg more information of her, or use her as a shield against her father, she wasn’t sure.

As it was, Edwin had a clear line to her, as he came hustling over the patterned tiles, wringing his hands together in outward excitement of some kind. He wore a dress shirt and slacks under a white lab coat; various ID badges and keycards hung from lanyards and retractable spools. His hair was grayer than she remembered, his glasses of a new style; his face more lined, pale from being cooped up indoors.

His smile was edged with hesitation, and at least she had that; at least he was nervous to come face-to-face with her.

Mia drew herself upright and folded her arms. Let him come all the way up to her and open his arms in a clear invitation for a hug.

She stared at him. “Would you like,” she said, slow and clear, “to explain to me why these two thugs showed up at my place of business and kidnapped me? Dragged me here? Would you like to tell me what sort of crime I’ve committed that things like jurisdiction don’t matter?”

His face fell. He dropped his arms. “Mia, please, let’s not do this–”

“Oh, we are so doing this.”

He sighed. “As I explained to you over the phone, there is an experimental drug–”

“I don’t want to hear about your drug,” she hissed. “I told you I didn’t want to take it, and you sentmilitarypeople to collect me! Do you understand that that isn’t a normal reaction?”

Slowly, his expression hardened. “Very well. I was going to try to appeal to your higher sense of reasoning, but given your current emotional state, I see that won’t work. Let me put it to you bluntly, Mia: you are my daughter. You might not believe it – in fact, I’m sure you don’t – but I do love you.”

She made a disbelieving sound in her throat, and he spoke over her.

“I love you,” he repeated, “and I would do anything to see you safe and healthy. Anything. You’re sick – you’re dying–” His voice wavered with emotion. “And I have the means to make you well. You can dig in your heels out of some sense of misplaced pride. Maybe you need to. But I will do whatever it takes to give you this injection. It’s going to save your life.”

A pretty speech. An astounding possibility.

If she let herself, she could fall into the fantasy: a miracle cure that could make her strong, and healthy. One that could save the world. No one need ever suffer from an incurable disease again.

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