by Jamie Davis
A solution came to her, but she wasn’t sure it would work. She had to check on something. “Tadpole, can I take a look at your flashlight?”
“You’re not going to take it from me, are you?”
“No, silly. I just want to see what kind of batteries it takes. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Tadpole held out his giant hand and gave Quinn his little flashlight. It was a typical LED penlight. Based on the dimness, the batteries were nearly dead.
“It’s going to get dark for a few seconds, but there’s light coming from the top of the stairs, okay?” Quinn said.
He nodded, and she unscrewed the flashlight’s head to reveal two AA batteries.
Quinn smiled. “I can fix this for you, but I have to call my friends real quick.”
Tadpole smiled and nodded again.
Quinn tapped her earpiece. “Miranda, the belt pack for our comm gear has removable batteries, right?”
“That’s correct. AA sized ones, I think. Why? Is there a problem with your pack. You sound loud and clear right now.”
“Okay, I’m going to try something, and my signal is going to drop off. Don’t freak out and pull me out of the VR. Hopefully, I’ll be back on the comm in a minute or so.”
Quinn cut the connection and pulled the signal-booster pack clipped to her belt. She turned it over and pressed on it with her thumbs to release the back cover. As soon as the lid slid off, she saw two AA batteries. She removed them and replaced them with the batteries from the dying flashlight. She held the fresh batteries in her hand while she popped the cover back into place.
She reached up and tapped her earpiece again. “Miranda, can you hear me?”
“Barely. Your signal is much weaker than before.”
“Okay, but it’s working. I hoped that would be the case. I’m switching off the pack until I’m ready to come out. I’ll switch it back on only to tell you I’m ready to leave. Be ready when the time comes, all right?”
“What’s going on?” Miranda asked.
“I’ll explain later. Just tell Taylor to be ready.”
“I will. Be careful, Quinn.”
Quinn cut the connection and then pressed and held the small button at the end of the battery pack until the tiny red light turned off.
She smiled at the orc. “Okay, Tadpole, I think I have your problem solved.” She slid the two fresh batteries into his flashlight and screwed the head back in place. Immediately the bright white LED lit up, filling the room with illumination. She handed it back to him.
“Wow, Quinn, thank you so much. Now I won’t be as scared alone down here. Maybe you can come down and see me again sometime?”
“I don’t know about that, Tadpole. I might not be around the next time you come out. I will be gone before your brothers return. Maybe we’ll get to meet another time, though.”
“I’d like that. Where do you have to go?”
“I came to pick up something that belongs to me. Once I find it, I plan on leaving right away. I don’t suppose you’ve seen a big egg sitting around the house somewhere, have you?”
Tadpole’s face lit up in a big grin. “You mean the dragon egg? The pretty lady has it locked up at the other end of the basement. It’s in a hiding place there. She and her friends did some magic to it. I saw her reading from a small book and then she cast a spell. It’s supposed to keep the egg from hatching until she’s ready.”
“You said it’s locked up. How?”
“There’s a secret door in the wall at the end of the basement. I watched her put it in there after she did the magic.”
“Is there a key or something? I really need to get the egg back, Tadpole. The dragon inside is my friend.”
“There’s no key, but I know how the door works. Come on, I’ll show you.”
Quinn stepped back so the orc could come out. He crouched so his head didn’t scrape the exposed rafters. Quinn followed him to the room at the other end of the basement. Here, as in the rest of the basement, the original stone foundation formed the walls. The room was empty except for a broken crate on the floor and an old set of wrought iron fireplace tools leaning against the wall. Quinn searched the walls, but she couldn’t see where a secret room or door was located.
“You said you knew how to open it? I don’t see anything that looks like a door or a hidden panel.”
Tadpole picked up the rusty fireplace poker. “I saw the pretty lady. She didn’t think I watched or understood what I saw.”
He slid the poker into a gap between two stones in the far wall. The iron disappeared until only the handle remained in view. He turned the poker handle until there was a soft click. A rectangular section of the wall popped open, revealing a small alcove in the wall behind it. The dragon egg rested inside. It no longer sparkled with green iridescence. It seemed like someone had covered it with a dull coat of translucent plastic.
“Thank you, Tadpole. This saved me so much time. You should go back to your room. I don’t want you to get into trouble for helping me.”
“How will you get out with the egg? The guards upstairs will hear you leaving.”
“I have a secret way to get back out. Take your flashlight and go. I’ll be fine.”
The big orc started to leave, then turned around and wrapped Quinn in a bear hug. When he let go, it took her a moment to catch her breath.
Quinn coughed a little and said, “I hope we get the chance to meet again, Tadpole. I’d love to introduce you to all my friends. I think they’d like you.”
“That would be nice, Quinn. Be careful.”
“I will.”
The orc hunched over and worked his way back to the room where Quinn had found him. He turned and wiggled his thick fingers at her, then closed the door.
Quinn went to the secret hole in the wall. A small leather-bound book sat on the stones beside the egg. It looked like one of the personal journals Aurora had read from when Quinn had been here before. It might have useful information for them about what the princess did to the egg. Quinn slid it into the waistband of her jeans at the small of her back, then picked up the egg, holding it under one arm like a football.
She pressed the button on the comm battery pack with her free hand and then tapped her earpiece. “Miranda, can you hear me? I’m ready to come back.”
Through a rash of static, Miranda answered from the other side. “Got it, Quinn. Get ready.”
The recall came just in time. Upstairs, the front door opened, and several gruff voices announced the return of at least some of Aurora’s guards and maybe Tadpole’s orc brothers. She wouldn’t have had much more time before someone came down to check either on Tadpole or the egg.
Quinn shifted the egg to hold it in both arms as she waited for the VR system to reach out and bring her home. A second later, the tug of the VR recall signal pulled her backward into darkness.
Chapter Nineteen
Quinn sat up and looked around Taylor’s workshop. She raised her hand and massaged her forehead for a second.
Miranda floated over and asked, “Everything okay? You got the egg back.”
“I feel the beginnings of a pounding headache coming on, but that’s just another crash translation back from VR. I didn’t just get the egg. I got this.” She pulled out the journal and handed it to Taylor.
Her friend took the small leather book and flipped through it while Quinn tried to relax and will the headache away.
“Quinn,” Taylor shouted, “this book is strange. It’s a handwritten journal on how to hatch a dragon egg. The most recent entries mention doing something to the outside of the egg to contain wild magic outbreaks.”
“I found out Aurora did something to the egg. I’m glad I had the sense to bring it with me.” Quinn got up to lean over Taylor’s shoulder. She glanced at the journal’s pages for the first time. The notes were written in a script of flowing runes. She raised her voice despite the headache and said, “How can you read that? It’s in Fae, right?”
�
�Yeah,” Taylor replied. “I’ve been doing an online course. I was surprised when it popped up in my search feed.”
“An online course for Faeish?”
Taylor nodded and went back to flipping through the book. “The coating on the egg is some kind of magical glue or sealant. That’s why it’s not as shiny as it was before.”
“Something to stop the wild magic is a good thing,” Quinn replied. “That alleviates one problem we were going to have to contend with now that we have the egg back.”
“Miranda?” Taylor asked. She pointed at one of the pages. “Do you know this series of runes? It’s not familiar to me.”
The ghost glanced at the journal and gasped.
“What?” Quinn and Taylor asked together.
“It’s a phrase for still-birth. It reads as ‘born-not-born,’ but when you put it in the context of the whole passage, that’s what it means. In this case, it says the coating must be removed before the dragon starts to hatch, or it will die before it gets free.”
“The little dragon’s in danger?” Quinn asked. “We have to do something. There must be a way to remove the coating before it is too late.”
Taylor kept reading. “There is, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
Quinn glanced at the journal again. “What does it say? Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”
Clark called from the doorway, “Do what? I don’t like the sound of that.”
Clark and Naomi came into the workshop.
“Did you run into any of the Fae trackers?” Clark asked.
“Yeah, they were in the house. I evaded them easily enough. She also had a huge orc down in the basement.”
Clark said, “We saw a few orcs hanging around Aurora at City Hall. They all looked normal-sized. How big was the one you saw?”
“I don’t know. Way bigger than a person, that’s for sure.”
Clark’s eyes widened.
“What’s the big deal?”
Naomi said, “Orcs are strictly regulated by the supernatural community. They were created by the Fae over a thousand years ago as shock troops in their wars against humans and others who threatened their sacred groves. When the initial battles were over with, everyone, including the Fae, were appalled at the carnage. It was decided then that in exchange for humans keeping away from Fae groves, the orcs, especially the enhanced warrior class, would be kept on a tight leash. If you met one, it was the first allowed out of a locked compound in a very long time.”
Clark said, “I wondered why she had those orcs out with her in public. She was keeping them out of view, but they were easy to spot if you knew what you were looking for. Bringing them out is bad enough. Maybe it wasn’t an orc warrior you saw.”
“He called himself an orc, so I took him at his word.”
Naomi’s jaw dropped. “You talked to him?”
“Yeah, he was nice. He just wanted a friend to talk to. He was scared and crying, so I helped him. I hope he’s all right. They might punish him if they discover he helped me take the egg.”
“So, you didn’t fight him?” Clark asked. “He’s not dead?”
Quinn shook her head. “No, I told you. He was friendly. I don’t know about his four brothers. They sounded like jerks, given how Tadpole said they treated him.”
“’Tadpole?’” Clark asked.
“That’s what he wanted to be called. It reminded him of his mother. She’s either dead or a long way off. He misses her a lot.”
Clark and Naomi stood there staring at her for a few long seconds until Quinn finally said, “What?”
Clark frowned. “I’m not sure if you’re pulling our legs. You shouldn’t have survived an encounter with an orc warrior. They’re supposed to be vicious and nearly indestructible.”
“How do you know what they’re like? You and Mom said no one has seen one in hundreds of years.”
“The histories are very clear on orcs, Quinn,” Naomi said. “I’ll make sure Joshua brings by a few of the older tomes describing them. You have some reading to do. They’re to be killed on sight.”
Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “If anyone hurts Tadpole, they’ll have to deal with me.”
Clark held up a hand to stave off any further arguing. “Let’s drop this for now. What were you all talking about when we came in? It sounded like you were planning on doing something foolish.”
“It’s not foolish,” Quinn said. “They cast a spell on the egg to hold in the wild magic. The problem is, it can kill the dragon inside if it’s not removed. Taylor and Miranda were looking at the journal I snagged to find out what the solution is.”
Quinn gestured at Taylor. “Tell him what you found, T.”
The tech witch cleared her throat. She must have been able to follow most of that conversation. “Here’s what I’ve been able to translate so far about the spell to remove the coating. I’m still unsure of some of it and need to research parts to get the spell right. Basically, you have to create a paste made of fresh dragon dung and ground-up scales. It looks like you smear that on the egg and set the whole mess on fire. When you’re done, the coating is burned off, and the egg will crack and start the hatching process soon after.”
“So,” Quinn said, “we need to get some dragon crap and ground scales. There are magic shops around that stock that stuff, right?” She glanced at the others, receiving blank stares in return.”
“Quinn,” Naomi said, “if Taylor’s translation is right, it specifies fresh dung. That means you have to get it from a dragon’s lair.”
“Would Gil count?” Quinn asked. “I want to check on him anyway.”
Clark said, “No. He’s just a cousin to the great dragons. The lake dragons are a different breed entirely. For this, you’re going to need to locate a live dragon and find a way to get close enough to steal a few loose scales and enough poop to make this paste. It’s suicidal.”
“Clearly, Aurora and Filippa didn’t think so,” Quinn said. “They didn’t put this coating on there just to let the little dragon die. They want it alive.”
Miranda said, “The Fae have long had a relationship with dragonkind. I guess they know of the location of a nearby dragon or have another connection that will allow them to get the ingredients they need.”
Taylor raised her hand and pointed at the journal. “Hey, did you all know the Fae have a dragon of their own? It’s in a hidden cavern on an island in Chesapeake Bay. It says it’s near Aurora’s estate.”
Quinn smiled. “There you have it, Clark. We have everything we need to get this done and save the baby dragon. I have to do this. I won’t let any friend of mine die, and that little dragon inside the egg is my friend.”
As if to punctuate the declaration, the egg rocked on the table. Quinn reached out and stroked the egg, making soothing sounds.
Clark’s eyebrows shot up. “How long has it been doing that?”
“For a few weeks. It started just before Avery showed up. I think it’s lonely, and it seems to understand me when I talk to it.”
“You’ve talked to it?” Miranda asked.
Quinn nodded.
Naomi said, “It makes sense. We know Quinn imprinted on the egg when she first saw it. It stands to reason if the egg was mature, close to hatching, the dragon inside might have awakened enough to move like babies do in the womb.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like it communicating with people,” Clark said. “But there’s a lot our young Huntress has done that hasn’t been done before. We can at least look into finding this hidden dragon. No promises, Quinn. Approaching an adult dragon is suicide in almost all cases.”
“If you get me close,” Quinn said, “I’ll go in and get what’s needed. No one else needs to risk anything.”
“What about the VR system?” Naomi said. “If we know the dragon’s location, we can just send her there and pull her back before it knows she’s there.”
Miranda shook her head. “Two problems with that. Dragons are known to have magic-dampening
abilities. Even if we managed to get her in, we might not be able to get her home again. Plus, we don’t know where it is. Taylor will need pretty solid coordinates to zero in on it. Quinn could end up floating in the middle of Chesapeake Bay.”
“Look,” Quinn said, “we’ve all had a busy night. Let’s settle down and get some rest. We can revisit this in the morning. All I’m worried about is protecting the egg from the Fae. You know they’ll try to steal it back.”
“The request for sanctuary should protect us from any intrusions in the near-term,” Clark said. “But you can bet those princesses are going to ask the court to expedite the case. They’ll assume you were the one who left the sanctuary to retrieve it. We’ll have to work fast to get everything we need before they rule against you.”
They began packing up the VR rig and shutting Taylor’s gear down so they could lock up for the night. Quinn took the egg with her and headed for her apartment. She wasn’t sure the Fae would accept the club’s sanctuary if Quinn had the egg back. She wanted it close to her at all times to make sure Aurora and Filippa didn’t come for it again.
The egg vibrated like a cat purring in her arms as she headed up the stairs. Quinn smiled and stroked the shell. It no longer had a smooth pebbled surface like before. Instead, it felt tacky from whatever the Fae had used to coat it. She hoped whatever it was hadn’t already harmed the tiny dragon inside.
Her worries followed her up to her apartment and led to a fitful night’s sleep. Quinn checked each time she woke to make sure the egg was still there, snuggled against her side. The soothing vibrations when she curled around it helped her drift back to sleep within seconds.
Chapter Twenty
It took most of the next day to lock down a boat for their trip out to the middle of the bay. By the time they did, it was getting late. They’d left Naomi and Miranda to keep an eye on the egg and snuck Quinn out through the underground tunnel system beneath O’Malley’s. The passage emerged beneath a highway overpass a few blocks away. Clark waited there in his car with Taylor.
