"Just how do you plan on making that happen?" In her gut, she knew he had a good answer. He was much too confident to think otherwise.
"With you as my bait, they'll do whatever I want."
She hit her palm on one of the bars. "Bullshit. They'll never stick around, with or without me. What the hell makes you think you can control them the second you let one of them out of a cage, if you can get them in the cage in the first place?"
"You have exactly what I need to make that a reality."
She frowned. "I have?" He hadn't said that she was what he needed, only that she was the bait. "What could I possibly have that you need?"
Percy seemed unscathed by her words. "Let me explain. My predecessors failed." He clucked his tongue. "Even your own uncle failed." His features hardened as he turned toward her. "I do not plan on failing."
"My uncle?" She shook her head at him. "Are you delusional? How could you possibly know about an uncle of mine? I don't even know anything about him." She bit the inside of her cheek. How could she have missed the fact that Percy was obviously doing his homework on her?
He waved his hand. "It doesn't matter how or what I know. None of that is pertinent to what we need to do. You have what I need. And once you give it to me, those dragons will do whatever I say."
She contemplated his words, and it suddenly dawned on her that he must mean her relationship with Drake. "I don't think love would cause any man to give up his entire family, not to mention his freedom. You're crazy." Even as she said it, though, she saw the flaw in her assumption. Percy was looking for a physical item.
He pointed at her. "Love has nothing to do with my world. That pendant that you're so fond of."
Her hand flew to her throat, and she felt it underneath her T-shirt. "What about it?"
He studied her before he spoke. Joey couldn't tell for sure, but she thought she saw a flicker of confusion in his eyes. "You're so proud of something you don't even seem to understand."
"You are definitely right about that." She let out a humorless chuckle. "What the fuck is it about this pendant? Everyone is fascinated with costume jewelry all of a sudden. I've worn it for years without a peep, and suddenly, it's the most important thing in the world."
"Oh, it's not costume jewelry. It's a key. A clue, if you will. A sign."
"It's an awful lot of different things for junk jewelry. Even if it's made out of pure gold, it's not any of those other things."
Percy snarled at her. "I'm not talking about its value, you idiot. I'm talking about what it represents."
She sat down on the hay. "Why don't you tell me what it represents because I don't have a goddamned clue?"
"Control, Josephine. It represents control. If I have that idol, I will control all of the dragons in this realm."
"Realm? Who uses that word? Are we in a fantasy novel now?"
"Don't make light of that which you don't understand. The idol isn't from this world."
She wiggled her fingers at him. "Ooo, now we're talking about aliens."
Her mocking was getting under his skin. "Don't push me, bitch. I want that idol, and I will get it."
She threw up her hands. She still didn't see his point. "Then why all the theatrics? Go get it."
"Where is it?"
She stared at him with a blank look before the real point of the whole conversation dawned on her. "You think I have it?" She couldn't have added anymore credulity to her voice if she had tried.
He gave a curt nod. "And I plan on relieving you of it."
"That could take some creativity, because I have no idea where it is. For as long as I've worn my necklace, I've never even known what it was. Drake's family explained something about a theft a lifetime ago, but I don't know what that would have to do with me. Or you. But I've never seen anything that even resembles it."
"I'm supposed to believe that you have no knowledge of the Idol of Mithras? Why do you wear the signal of its existence?"
"You make it sound like a treasure map where 'x' marks the spot." She leapt up. "For your information, I wear it because it's the last thing my dad gave me before he died. I'd wear it if it was out of a bubble gum machine or a Cracker Jack box. Sentimental value, that's it."
"It's so much more. And since I'm sure your friends will be here soon, you have until then to cooperate or you've sealed their fate."
