Me and My Shadow Read Free Page A

and stalked toward me.
    â€œStop trying to get a look at Gabriel’s lair, stop getting in Maata’s way, and stop trying to seduce me,” I said, backing toward the door. I jerked it open and was through it before he could answer, although the sound of his mocking laughter followed me as I raced down the hall to the stairs that led down to the basement.
    Maata was sitting on a chair at the bottom of the stairs, reading a book. She glanced up as I leaped down the last couple of stairs, her eyebrows going up at the sight of my flushed face. Since I was normally a calm, possessed person, I knew she recognized signs that the shard was driving me to distraction.
    â€œWhere is he?” I asked.
    She knew exactly whom I was talking about. “Examining the lock. They got the door up.”
    â€œThanks.” I didn’t wait to chat, just bolted for the hole that was cut into the cement floor, clattering down the metal ladder set into the wall until I reached the rocky bottom. Lights hung drunkenly from the ceiling, a dank, earthy smell heavy in the air. It wasn’t surprising, given that the workmen had just excavated this subterranean lair over the last month, digging deep into the earth to create a series of tomblike passages that ended in a large room where Gabriel would keep his most precious items.
    Two guards appeared as I jumped the last few feet to the earth and stone floor. They smiled as I fled past, scattering greetings behind me as I dodged another three silver dragons who were lounging around on various packing crates.
    My unseemly haste was cause for amusement, I knew, but none of that mattered at the moment. Gabriel’s people—now mine—might be amused by the fact that I couldn’t control the dragon shard, but they understood well what drove me.
    Another metal ladder down to a lower, almost oppressively deep level, and the entrance of the lair rose before me. The door was metal, such as those found on large bank vaults, ponderously heavy, impervious to explosives and other devices intended to breach its thickness. Three high-tech locks and a retina scanner kept even the most proficient of safecrackers at bay. The spells that would be woven into the door would come later, I knew, ensuring safety from those beings who possessed skills beyond those of the mortal world.
    I skidded to a stop at the door, seeing only one dragon present.
    â€œGabriel?” I asked Tipene, the second of Gabriel’s elite guard.
    He tipped his head toward the door. “They’re testing the security system.”
    I considered whether I would be able to last the ten minutes or so it would take before Gabriel and the security experts would emerge. I knew the answer even as I leaned in to allow the retina scanner to examine my eyes before I moved directly in front of the door, my eyes on the lock.
    Tipene watched me with interest as I shook out my hands, trying desperately to clear my mind enough so I could “talk” to the lock.
    â€œI’ve never understood why doppelgangers can do that,” he commented as I laid my hands on the lock, closing my eyes to concentrate.
    â€œI have no idea, either. I’m just grateful I can do it.”
    â€œI don’t think you’re going to have much luck. This is a MacGyver 512 titanium carbon magnetic electron lock, calibrated on the atomic level. It’s absolutely top-of-the-line, not even released to the public yet. I know you can open most locks, but I doubt if even you will be able to get through it, May.”
    â€œWe’ll see.” I persuaded the lock to open a few of its secrets up to me, probing its depths, noting with interest just how intricate and well made it was. Most locks allowed me to open them with nothing but a token resistance, but this one was different. It didn’t respond at all to the usual persuasions, making me resort to brute strength. As I worked my way through the many levels of the lock, I