He thought about that for a moment, then gave a little shrug. ‘‘You’re right. I’ll get the phylactery for you, but only because I really have to nail down this scene before morning if we hope to have any chance of being ready by the end of the month. Stay here and don’t touch anything.’’

I thanked him as he toddled off, muttering under his breath about people interrupting important dramatic work. The second the door closed behind him I was out the way I came, running back to the entrance, sure that Gabriel would be ready and waiting for my report back on the vault.

I opened the door to find utter pandemonium.

Gabriel and Kostya were yelling at each other, Drake and his men trying to pull the two wyverns apart. Maata and Tipene jumped at Kostya, and everyone went down in a big mass of snarling dragons.

‘‘What the . . . what’s going on?’’

‘‘Mayling! There you are. Will you tell Gabriel to stop being so mean?’’ Cyrene stepped over one of the dragons and gave me a very irritated look.

‘‘Cy? You’re all right?’’

She squawked a little when I hugged her.

‘‘Of course I’m all right, silly. I was with Kostya.’’ I shook my head. She couldn’t be saying what I thought she was saying. ‘‘You’re not going to tell me that he didn’t kidnap you?’’

Kostya lunged free of Maata and Tipene and tried to grab Gabriel by the throat. Gabriel rolled away and lashed out with his leg, connecting with Kostya’s gut.

‘‘Kidnap me? Why would he kidnap me when he saved me?’’

Kostya screamed and tried to bite Gabriel’s leg, but due to the struggle, ended up clunking heads with Drake instead.

‘‘Hey!’’ Aisling yelled. ‘‘Jim, stop them!’’

‘‘Saved you from what? Cyrene . . .’’ I pulled her out of the way as the dragons attempted to rise to their feet. I kept one eye on Gabriel in case he should need me, but judging by the blows he was getting in to Kostya—hampered though he was by Drake and his men trying to keep him from doing so—he didn’t need my assistance. ‘‘Didn’t Kostya have Porter kidnap you?’’

‘‘Stop them how? You want I should pee on them or something?’’ Jim asked Aisling.

The threat of urination had more effect than all the pleading in the world. En masse the dragons hastily got to their feet, dirty, bleeding, and furious, to a man.

‘‘Kostya?’’ Cyrene all but goggled at me. ‘‘No, of course not! That man Porter, the one who blackmailed us, kidnapped me. He said he was going to give you a little motivation to get that amulet back, but he wasn’t acting on Kostya’s behalf. In fact, it was just the opposite. Kostya saved me from him and brought me to Paris, where I knew we’d find you. And here we all are!’’