‘‘Interesting.’’ He looked curious. ‘‘Do dragons leave signs, as well?’’

I smiled. ‘‘Yes. Dragon scales glitter like . . . well, glitter in the beyond. And much as I hate to offend you . . .’’ I ran my hand down his bared neck, showing him my palm. The faintest iridescent sparkle showed on it. ‘‘You shed. Quite a lot, actually.’’

‘‘I don’t know whether to be offended or to make a suggestive comment about rubbing my scales all over your naked body,’’ he said with a flash of his silver eyes. ‘‘Proceed, little bird.’’

I glanced around. No one was near us on the street. ‘‘I’ll call you as soon as I find her, I promise.’’

He said nothing, just watched as I slipped into the shadow world and set off down the road.

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-one

The trail was there on the ground, faint but still visible slightly darkened footprints, as if Cyrene had been walking with wet feet across a dry floor. There were other elemental beings in the area leaving tracks as well—London was headquarters to several Otherworld groups, including a lot of elementalists—but it was easy enough to pick Cyrene’s trail apart from the others.

It wasn’t until I was three blocks away that an uncomfortable feeling started pricking between my shoulder blades. I spun around to see who was following me, and gawked openmouthed at the man standing immediately behind me. ‘‘How?’’ I asked, poking him in the chest to be sure he was real.

My hand went right through his chest as if nothing was there. ‘‘OK, change that how to what? What’s going on, Gabriel? How is it you’re in the beyond?’’

‘‘Beyond, shadow world, the Dreaming . . . all different names for the same thing,’’ he answered, his dimples showing as I waved a hand through his chest. ‘‘I told you that my mother was a shaman.’’

‘‘You said that’s why you could occasionally read my mind. That doesn’t explain why you’re a . . . what, shade? Image? You’re not really here, are you?’’

‘‘No. I’m in Drake’s house. Or rather, my body is. I can walk in the Dreaming, but I can’t interact with anything. My mother said it was because I was part dragon.’’ He shrugged. ‘‘I won’t be able to touch things as you can, but I can accompany you.’’

‘‘Do you see Cyrene’s tracks?’’ I asked, pointing to the ground.

He squinted. ‘‘Faintly. You look different in here.’’

‘‘Different? I do?’’ I was a bit taken aback. I knew most things looked different when viewed from the shadow world, but I was part of this world—I shouldn’t look different. ‘‘How so?’’

‘‘There is a glow about you. A sort of silver glow.’’ He smiled. ‘‘It is the sign you are part of my sept. It pleases me that you manifest that as an aura.’’