by Bryan Davis
“Good choice,” Ashley said. “Give me your report as soon as you can.”
Walter nudged Karen. “Larry sneaked in a scale joke again.”
“Hush!” Ashley elbowed his ribs, but she couldn’t keep a smile from breaking out. “Or feel my fire-breathing wrath!” She held back a grimace. Walter didn’t laugh. Was that joke too lame? Shaking her head at her lousy timing, she propped the telegram in front of Thigocia’s nose, but not close enough to risk singeing the page. “Does it make sense to you that Gabriel would reveal his location like this? Glasgow is huge, but why even give a hint?”
“It would not make sense at all. Makaidos … I mean, Timothy and I asked that very question.”
“Could it be a clue to where he really was?” Walter asked. “Some kind of family code? You know, maybe Glasgow means some other city.”
“There was no code.” Thigocia’s red eyes seemed to darken as she recalled her story. “We left Gabriel near Glasgow with one of the Circle of Knights who took him to Patrick where he stayed for a time. We hoped he would be safe while we led the slayers to the States to get them off track. Patrick later told us that Gabriel disappeared, and before this telegram came, no one had heard from him for forty years.”
Karen pointed at the note. “So what’s that stuff Gabriel wrote about Oracles of Fire?”
Thigocia’s draconic lips turned upward, revealing a gentle smile. “While he was in Dragons’ Rest, Timothy met a girl named Sapphira who told him she was an Oracle of Fire, but he only knew that these oracles would bring about an end to Dragons’ Rest. He never saw her again, but we know that Dragons’ Rest was destroyed, so this girl might have had something to do with it. Maybe finding her is the key to finding Gabriel.”
Ashley refolded the telegram. “Or maybe even finding my father.” After sliding the paper into an inner pocket in her bag, she carefully lifted the ring from the box and laid it in her palm. “Mother,” she said, arching her brow, “I already have a rubellite ring, but may I wear yours?”
“I would be honored. I would have eventually given it to you anyway.”
Ashley slid the band over her right ring finger, but it wouldn’t pass her knuckle, so she moved it to her pinky. As she closed her fist, the rubellite seemed to glow with a deeper, more vibrant red. “Very strange,” she said, passing it in front of her eyes. “It’s almost like it changed when I put it on.”
Karen pointed at Ashley’s left hand. “Are you going to keep that one?”
“My other ring?” Ashley pulled it off and laid it in Karen’s palm. “You can have it.”
As Karen slid the ring on her finger, her face beamed. “I’ll take good care of it. I promise.”
Thigocia’s ears jerked around. Her eyes flamed as she growled, “I sense an increase in danger. Our safety could well be in jeopardy.”
Walter dropped the box and jerked out Excalibur. “Which direction?”
“There!” Thigocia blew a dart of fire, scorching the grass a mere ten feet away. “Where my living room used to be!”
Walter waved the sword back and forth. “I don’t see anything!”
Ashley pulled up her bag, withdrew a photometer, and pointed it in the direction her mother had attacked. Tapping her jaw, she called out, “Larry, are you reading this? I estimate a distance of ten feet.”
Larry’s familiar voice buzzed through Ashley’s mouth. “To quote an oft-quoted movie, ‘There is a disturbance in the force.’ The wave frequency resembles what we have seen in the wake of a cross-dimensional rift.”
“The wake? You mean something just left this dimension?”
“Or is about to enter it. The strength of the field increases for point seven seconds, then lessens for the same amount of time before going back toward its peak—a sine wave.”
Ashley clicked a dial on the photometer and frowned at the flashing digits on its tiny screen. “If it’s sinusoidal, then the dimensional barrier is probably stable, at least for now.”
“Affirmative. Stability, however, does not mean the barrier has not been breached. Something has triggered the dragon’s sensitivity.”
“You’re right.” Ashley laid a hand on Thigocia’s neck. “Mother must be detecting danger from the other dimension. Something’s getting through.”
Walter raised the sword high. A brilliant beam of light blazed from the tip and pierced the low clouds. “I set Excalibur on deep fat fry, but I can’t cook what I can’t see.”
As Thigocia sniffed the air, her eyes brightened again to fiery scarlet. “It feels strange—powerful … crafty … sinister.”
Larry’s buzzing voice spiked. “The curve pattern has shifted. The peak energy is growing rapidly, and the entire field is destabilizing.”
“I see that!” Although her hand shook, Ashley kept the meter pointed at the same spot. “It’s going nuts!”
Walter set his feet in a battle stance as he waved the sword’s beam across the field. An explosion of light energy erupted from the ground. Streams of sparks spewed in arching tentacles that seemed to reach out for Ashley and company before falling to the wet grass in a sizzling shower.
As fountains of energy continued to shoot upward, Walter drew the sword back, ready to strike. A mass of blackness appeared in the center of the fountain, eclipsing the brilliant light. Ribbons of smoke arose from the falling sparks and created stringy black columns that masked the growing shadow.
An acrid film coated Ashley’s tongue. She coughed and spat. “Get back!” she shouted, pulling Karen’s elbow. “Those fumes could be deadly!”
The three humans backpedaled into clearer air. Thigocia beat her wings, fanning the poisonous stench toward the erupting sparks. The smoke seemed to attach to the central swelling mass, like black papier-mâché plastered on an inflating balloon. As it grew, limbs emerged—four legs, a wing, then another wing, and finally a long, spine-covered tail.
Chapter 2
Falling
Karen grabbed Walter’s sleeve. “It’s a dragon!”
Walter stepped between her and the fountain of sparks. “It’s definitely not a fireworks show.”
With the smoke decreasing, Thigocia lowered her wings and shuffled back to join the others. “Its size would indicate a male, but I do not recognize him. He is covered with residue, and his form is indistinct.”
“I assume the source of the danger has arrived,” Ashley said.
“Definitely. But it is a strange sort of danger. It does not seem ready to attack and kill. It is more subtle … much more subtle.”
Walter set Excalibur’s beam directly over the dragon’s head. “Stay where you are!” he shouted. “Or this beam will turn you into dragon bacon!”
Amid the dying sparks, the dragon shook his body and cast off his black coat, revealing shimmering red scales. With its mouth wide open, its broad head shot forward. A flaming rope reeled out and snapped across Walter’s arm, a fiery bullwhip that cracked like a rifle shot and shook Excalibur from his grip.
Walter lunged for the sword, but the dragon spewed out another fiery rope and popped the whip near the hilt as it lay on the ground.
Karen dashed forward and, sliding through the grass feetfirst, kicked Excalibur over to Walter.
“Way to go!” He snatched it up with his uninjured hand.
Karen leaped to her feet and rushed back to Ashley, calling out, “Fry him, Walter!”
Ashley wrapped her arms around Karen and kissed her on the head. “Don’t ever scare me like that again!”
Shaking his wounded wrist, Walter took a step closer to his attacker. “What do you say, lizard? War or peace?”
“You do not need a weapon,” the dragon growled. “I will not harm you.”
Ashley pulled on her mother’s wing. “Do you know him? Can you fight him?”
“I …” Thigocia stumbled backwards. “I cannot believe my own eyes.”
A smile spread across the dragon’s scaly face. “Surprised to se
e me, my long-lost niece? Or have you simply forgotten your beloved father-in-law after all these centuries?”
“Father-in-law?” Ashley squinted at the huge red beast. “Arramos?”
Arramos bowed his head. “At least my granddaughter knows who I am, and she has never met me before.”
“If you mean harm to these children,” Thigocia said, baring her teeth, “I will fight you to the death! If you are who you claim to be, then you know I am a warrior to be reckoned with. Even if I cannot defeat you, I will exact a toll from your flesh.”
Arramos let out a deep-throated chuckle. “Now, Thigocia,” he said, in a condescending tone, “this is no time for theatrics or modern trash talk. I have come to bring enlightenment, not harm.”
“Impossible!” A shower of sparks flew from Thigocia’s nostrils. “My danger sense has never been wrong.”
“You sense danger because you fear what I have to say.” Arramos swept his spiny tail across the old foundation. “When you saw my familiar shape materializing, the sight of me chilled your heart, because you sensed that I would bear a message that would crumble the basis of your faith and plunge you into a chasm of doubt.” His eyes flamed red as he edged closer. “Thigocia, what you fear is the truth.”
Thigocia backed away a step. “I do not fear the truth! I came here to learn the truth, to find clues to what happened to my husband and my son.”
Arramos seemed to glide toward her, closing the gap. “But have you forgotten your daughter? Why do you not seek for her?”
Thigocia blinked. “Roxil? She is alive?”
“Indeed, she is. Why have you forsaken her?”
“I … I never forsook her.” As Thigocia backed away again, thin smoke rose from her snout. “I thought she was dead.”
For every inch Thigocia retreated, Arramos advanced two. “You thought the same about your husband, yet you seek him with all your heart. Have you abandoned your daughter because of her lack of faith in mankind?”
“Abandoned? But I never knew … I mean”
Arramos came within a few feet of Thigocia, his eyebeams now shooting directly into her eyes, seeming to lock the two dragons in visual combat. “Come now. You have been alive for thousands of years. You have seen the Maker rescue from floods, famines, and fire. Your own husband testified to the Maker’s rescue from the futility of Dragons’ Rest, yet you took no thought that he could do the same for your daughter.” His red scales flashed. “Perhaps your love for her has waned because of her rebellion against you and your mate. Were you so wounded by her offense that you have turned your back on her?”
“I have not turned my back, I”
Ashley stepped in between the two dragons, breaking the eye lock. “Mother, don’t listen to him! He’s attacking your character to deflect the focus from the question at hand. It’s called ad hominem, an old debate technique.”
Arramos cast his eyebeams on Ashley. “Ah, yes! My granddaughter, the genius anthrozil!” His smile returned, wide and toothy. “I must say that watching you through the years has swelled me with pride. Your amazing intelligence is becoming known around the world.”
“And that’s called bootlicking,” Walter said. “You don’t have to be a genius to see that.”
“Exactly.” Ashley stepped out of Arramos’s eyebeams. “Why don’t you just get to the point? Why are you here, and what do you want with us?”
“Very well.” Arramos switched off the beams and moved back far enough to address them all. “I have come to lead Thigocia to her daughter so we can all search for Makaidos. When we have four dragons together, we will be able to bring order to the world.”
“Bring order to the world?” Ashley set a hand on her hip. “How do you propose to do that? Four dragons can’t possibly defeat modern armies. Besides, why would we want dragons deciding what’s right or wrong?”
Arramos furrowed his brow at Ashley and slowly stalked toward her as he spoke. “Are the decisions of humans creating a Utopia? Are you pleased with constant wars, terrorism, and the killing of innocents for selfish gain? Humans are so self-obsessed, they lust after sensual gratification to the point of participating in the most debased and disgusting behaviors imaginable.” He halted his approach and spat a wad of fire on the ground near Ashley’s feet, igniting a clump of grass. “The vermin of this world refuse to stoop so low. Rats know better than to kill their own young, and roaches know better than to seek their own gender to find a mate. It is time for dragons to bring sanity to the world, and soon we will have the means to enforce our will.”
Rubbing out the tiny blaze with his shoe, Walter scowled at the dragon. “I don’t like the sound of that. Sure, there are a lot of rats in this world, but I wouldn’t want a bigger rat telling them what to do.”
“Your offense is expected. You are human and therefore destined to submit and obey.” Arramos turned back to Thigocia and Ashley. “The two of you, on the other hand, will take your places as queens in the new world order. This is your reward for choosing to keep your dragon essence when you could have become human.”
Thigocia laid her wing over Walter’s back. “My husband was convinced that the Maker created us to serve humanity. Our son, Goliath, rebelled and made war against the human race. Makaidos was a noble dragon, filled with integrity and truth. Goliath, though he was our scales and bones, was a demon-possessed liar.” As she drew her wing back from Walter, she spat her own wad of fire on the ground. “Whom do you think I believe and trust?”
“You do well to honor my son,” Arramos said. “He was noble, pure, and filled with integrity. Yet, much has changed since you last saw him, events that he could not have told you.” He unfurled his wings. “I know where Roxil is. Let me take you to her, and you will learn that I speak the truth. There is a great danger brewing that I will reveal once I receive your compliance, but I cannot wait long.”
Thigocia stretched out her wings as well. “If Roxil is alive, I will find her myself. The Maker will lead me to her.”
Arramos’s voice sharpened, spiced with a growl. “The Maker sent me to lead you to her. This is the answer to a prayer you could not even utter. Do not cast aside his favor and forsake your daughter once again.”
“I do not believe you!” Thigocia swung her tail around and thumped it on the grass near Arramos. “I will learn the truth without you. You have no monopoly on knowledge.”
“Do not let your ignorance be magnified by your arrogance!” Arramos brought his head within a few feet of Thigocia’s. His eyes blazed once again. “I cannot force you to obey the Maker, but I can make it more difficult for you to refuse.”
Suddenly, the foundation began collapsing underneath Karen. She fell forward, clawing for solid ground. “Walter!” she screamed. “Help!”
Dropping the sword, Walter dove for her, but just as his fingers touched hers, she plunged out of sight into the darkness of a manhole-sized pit. As his momentum carried him into the opening, Ashley leaped for him, wrapped her arms around his ankles, and slid toward the hole. With a lightning-fast lunge, Thigocia snatched Walter’s jacket with her teeth and yanked him back to safe ground, Ashley still hanging on.
The two teens scrambled to their feet. Walter grabbed Excalibur and pointed it at Arramos, his face as red as the dragon’s scales. “Where is she?!”
Arramos blinked casually. “She is falling, so she is quite safe. Frightened out of her mind, I am sure, but unharmed.” A new toothy smile spread across his face. “Until, of course, she hits the jagged rocks at the bottom.”
“Hits the jagged rocks?” Walter shouted. “When?”
“Fifteen seconds.” Arramos turned to Thigocia. “Will you come with me? All I need is your word, because I know you will not lie.”
“You mean if I don’t come with you …”
“She will die in ten seconds.”
“But how will you stop her from falling?”
“Five seconds!” Arramos thumped his tail. “Will your doub
ts cause her death?”
Thigocia bowed her head. “I will go!”
A silvery tongue flicked from Arramos’s mouth. “A wise choice.”
Brilliant light erupted from the depths of the pit, then disappeared in a flash. From far below, a loud crunching racket churned closer and closer. A steep rocky path appeared in the dim light, climbing upward and winding its way around a central stone column that arose along with it. When the path reached the upper edge, it molded itself into stairs—steep, uneven stairs that descended in a tight spiral and disappeared in the darkness.
“Just follow the staircase,” Arramos said, nodding at the spiral, “and you will find the girl at the bottom, safe and unharmed, but she will need your help to ascend.”
Walter’s face blazed even hotter. “You’re the monster that made her fall!” Excalibur’s beam shot from the end of the blade. “Why should we do anything you say?”
Arramos slapped his wrist again with his fiery rope, knocking the sword from his hand. “Will you stand here stubbornly and play the foolish child? You are free to insult me until your useless anger is appeased, but that will not help your friend while she lies at the bottom in need of your aid!”
As Walter rubbed the welt on his wrist, the scarlet color spread to his ears. He bent over slowly and picked up Excalibur, glaring at Arramos but saying nothing. After resheathing the sword, he stepped gingerly on the first stair and looked back at Ashley and Thigocia. “Seems sturdy enough. Who’s coming with me?”
“Wait a minute!” Ashley set her hands on her hips and leaned toward Arramos. “Using your convoluted logic, now that we’re worried sick about Karen, we should just do anything you say. Give me one good reason to believe that this isn’t a trap to get rid of us, too.”
“Allow your mother to check,” Arramos half closed his eyes. “If her danger-sensing ability is as unerring as she believes, you will learn that the way is safe.”
Thigocia scanned the pit with her eyebeams, then pushed her head into the darkness as far as she could. After sniffing for a few seconds, she withdrew and looked at Ashley. “I sense no danger, but who can tell how long that will last? And I cannot go with you to warn of any approaching danger. The opening is much too narrow for a dragon.”
