by Bianca D’Arc
She heard an electric hum that must be the engine whirring to life, taking them slowly, at first, toward the main line. Syd waved to Arthur who watched them leave. He waved back just as they rounded a bend, and within a moment, he was out of sight.
The noise wasn’t as bad as Syd was expecting, though the cart did rumble over the rails and jostle her around on the padded seat. As Arthur had promised, lights came on in the next section of track as they approached, and she had a pretty good view out the small windows. Now that she was seated inside the cart, she saw that the top of it was also made of a much larger sheet of clear material. There wasn’t much to see above, at the moment, because the tunnel they were in was narrow on all sides, including the ceiling, but she got her first glimpse of an enormous cavern as they crested the first small hump in the track and the engine cut out.
Gravity took them downward at an increasing pace as they entered a space where the ceiling—and the lights—were a good fifty yards up. This was no man-made chamber. The rock here had been forged by Mother Nature into wild patterns of red, gold, and brown. The striations were lovely, and they sped by at increasing speed as they trundled downward in the cart.
“Nice view,” was Paul’s comment as he looked out at the scenery.
They were back into a narrow part of the tunnel before she could reply.
“We seem to be going awfully fast,” she said, watching the rock face speed by very close now to the windows. “Are you sure this is safe?”
“Do you trust your friend, Arthur?” was Paul’s reply.
The thought calmed her. Arthur would never knowingly lead her astray. He had a good soul and a pure heart. If he put them on this path, she had to believe it would turn out okay.
Syd nodded just as another cavern lit up before them. The little cart came out of the tunnel into a place where the track curved around the side of a cliff, spiraling downward. There were lights along the walls, and though she couldn’t see the top or bottom of the wide shaft they were circling, the walls glittered with golden ore.
“Looks like there’s gold in them there hills,” she muttered. The cart had slowed as it approached the curves, and it took them at a sedate pace.
“Smells like a very pure ore,” Paul commented. “I suspect this old gold mine is the source of the dragons’ wealth.”
“Wealth?” Syd echoed, still fascinated by the sparkling walls rushing by.
“How else do you think they afford to keep upgrading this place. They sleep all the time. Nobody’s working to earn a living down there. They must just take a little gold from this mountain when they need cash. They can fly somewhere where gold is plentiful, like the Yukon, and sell it for cash. I’m sure there’s a way around the paperwork, or some human mining operation willing to aid them by mixing the dragon gold in with their own for a small percentage. Hard commodities like gold and gemstones are easy to convert to currency, if you know the right people—and there are always people around willing to help for a cut of the action.”
When they’d gone around several wide loops of the spiral, the track led them back into a tunnel on a straight track that led downward at a sharper angle. The speed of the cart rose, again, and Syd kept her eyes on the path ahead. There was one dark spot where a light bulb had apparently burnt out, but thankfully, the rest of the string was functioning properly and their pathway deeper into the mountain was well lit.
Sometime later, they came out into the largest cavern yet. Their track hugged one side of the enormous chamber. There was a very large waterfall on the other, splashing down into a large lake far below then trickling away into an underground stream. Syd’s breath caught at the sight.
“I bet they swim here,” Paul said. “That lake looks big enough for a couple of dragons.” The cart went around the outside of the enormous cavern, which allowed them time to take in the scenery. “Look, there’s a parking area with a cart in it. I suspect they come up here for a swim or a drink of the water, then can go right back down to their nest,” Paul said with some excitement in his voice. “Nice design.”
“Yeah,” Syd agreed. “All the comforts of home.” She smiled as he did, sharing in the moment of wonder. Then, she saw another tunnel entrance coming up. “Looks like we’re going back in.”
Paul nodded as he followed the direction of her pointing finger to the tunnel. “I wonder what we’ll see next.”
This tunnel was longer than the others. Just when Syd was going to question the duration of the narrow passage, they emerged into a magical cavern that glittered with crystals. She recognized quartz, amethyst and topaz right away, but there were other, more precious crystals shining back at her. The walls were covered with natural formations—like the inside of a giant geode—but there was definitely a pile of raw and cut gems in one area. A big pile. Like, a really big pile.
“What were you saying about gold and gemstones?” she said to Paul, sending him a sideways glance.
“This is probably part of their treasury. A place to deposit hard commodities, safer than any bank.” He smiled as his own observation and she couldn’t help but grin. There was something incredibly special about not only their location, but the man she was sharing this fairytale journey with. Paul was her treasure.
They exited the crystal cavern into another tunnel, this one longer and more winding than the others. The cart slowed again as it rounded sharp turns, but they kept going downward until…
The cart emerged into a massive cavern. Unlike the rest of their path, the lights didn’t come on to illuminate the entire place. Only one light fixture lit the landing platform where a few other carts were parked. It was a chandelier. Made of pure gold.
It was ornate. Like something out of another age. A master work of a goldsmith from another time and place that had been retrofitted with discrete electric bulbs. What little Syd could see of the walls of the cavern were gleaming, polished gold.
“I think we just found where all the gold is,” Paul whispered, his words echoing slightly in the large space.
“This is what I saw,” she told him. “Not the chandelier or the walls, but the landing and the depth of the cavern. The dragons are sleeping over there.” She stretched out her arm, and a large golden dragon’s head loomed out of the darkness beyond the ring of light from the chandelier.
Syd pulled back, jumping despite herself. Paul pushed forward, stepping in front of her as if to shield her from the dragon.
“Why have you disturbed our sleep?” the dragon hissed in as quiet a tone as a giant reptile could manage.
“I’ve been looking for you all of my life,” Paul said, his voice low and filled with emotion. Syd’s heart went out to him.
“What is your name, young one?” The golden dragon looked intrigued.
“I am Paul Lebchenko, and I was raised an orphan. I’ve been looking for other dragons since I first shifted, and you are the first I have found.”
A tear slid down Syd’s cheek on Paul’s behalf. This was such an important moment for the man she loved.
Yes, loved. She had come to realize it, at some point, but hadn’t really admitted it to herself. It was all still so new, but she loved him. With all her heart.
Between one eye blink and the next, the golden dragon morphed into a man. He had golden hair and was dressed in clean denim as he walked out of the darkness and into the circle of light. He was the man she’d seen superimposed on the dragon in her vision.
“Lebchenko,” he repeated as if considering the name. “I knew a dragon of that name centuries ago. He would not heed the warnings and seek safety, because his mate was human and afraid of the world down below. You could be his son.”
“I might be. Frankly, I have no idea how I came to be in the orphanage. Only that they had my name and a baby blanket that I keep locked away with my treasures,” Paul admitted.
The golden man smiled. “All dragons lock away their treasures,” he agreed. “Perhaps, one day, I can examine this blanket to see if it holds any trace of m
y long-ago friend.”
“I’d like that,” Paul agreed.
“But who is this you bring to us?” the dragon asked, making a gesture toward Syd, who was still placed strategically behind Paul.
“She is mine,” Paul announced clearly.
“A woman of power,” the golden dragon said in a questioning tone.
“Syd?” Paul turned slightly toward her, not giving his back to the strange dragon but inviting her to join in the conversation. She stepped forward, to stand next to Paul.
“I’m Syd,” she said to the dragon-man. “I saw this place in a vision,” she told him, looking around beyond the circle of light cast by the chandelier toward where she knew the other dragons lay sleeping.
“Syd? It is a strange name for a female,” was the dragon’s comment.
Syd sighed. “It’s short for Sybil. I don’t like that name.”
The man laughed. “It is more than your name. It is what you are, if you have visions. You are a Sybil. A foreseer. Are you not?”
“I guess,” she hedged. “It only started recently, and I’m not all that comfortable with it yet.”
The man chuckled and moved closer. “I am Hans Gilder.” He reached out to shake Paul’s hand, and even Syd felt the clash of power as the two men gripped each other’s hands. Their magic met and evaluated each other, then receded like a tide.
Hans turned to her, and she gave him her hand, but he didn’t shake. Instead, he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on the back like something out of an historical novel. Yeah, if she hadn’t met Paul first, this guy would’ve looked like some kind of Prince Charming. As it was, her heart had already been claimed by a dark-haired prince of a guy who had saved her life over and over. She could not be swayed by golden good looks.
“Ah.” Hans stepped back, away from her. “But you are more than a Sybil. You are a woman of greater power.”
“She is a phoenix,” Paul said boldly, declaring the magic Syd was still a bit uncomfortable with. Hans’s eyes narrowed.
“A phoenix? Is she the only one?” he asked abruptly.
“She is the last of three to emerge in recent weeks in the nearby city.”
Hans looked crestfallen. “Then, the time has come at last.” His gaze lowered, for a moment, and he breathed a deep sigh. “When the phoenixes rise and do not cycle back to the sun, it means they are needed. And, if they are needed, then so are we.”
Chapter Thirteen
“It’s just like my vision,” Syd whispered to Paul as dragon heads on long, scaled necks started rising all over the giant golden cavern.
Hans had hit the switch to begin illuminating the far reaches of the massive cavern, and one by one, the sleepers had begun to wake. After a lot of yawning, stretching and then shapeshifting into their human forms, a dozen or more dragons had gathered around their leader, eyeing the newcomers curiously.
Hans didn’t waste time. He introduced Paul as a fellow dragon but didn’t leave time for questions. He gave orders to his brethren to gather the things they might need in the outside world and begin making their way upward. Apparently, they’d laid out a detailed plan for when they woke, and there was a strategic deployment of modified mine carts with each dragon having a specific task to complete and a place in the rotation upward toward the surface.
Hans sent Paul and Syd ahead, back the way they had come in the very same mine cart they had taken down. He gave them instructions for Arthur only after Paul had produced the coin Arthur had given him. When Hans touched it, his magic had revealed that it was pure gold under the dull copper camouflage. It had a dragon’s head imprinted in gold. Hans’s profile, if Paul wasn’t much mistaken.
Paul wanted to talk to the other dragons, but he’d been given his marching orders. They had work to do, and he and Syd were only in the way at the moment. He knew his best bet was to follow instruction and go back to the surface with Syd, but it was hard to leave the dragons’ nest behind when he’d only just found them.
Syd put her hand in his. “We’ll see them again on the surface,” she said in a soft voice as Hans turned away, already working with his people. Paul and Syd had been dismissed, it seemed.
“I know…” Paul didn’t want to say anything where the dragons might hear. He didn’t want them thinking he was pathetic. “Thank you for being here with me,” he told her instead, reaching down to give her a kiss.
“Always, Paul,” she whispered against his lips. “I’ll always be there for you. I promise.”
Now, that sounded serious, and just what his dragon needed to hear. The anxious part of him settled. Who needed anyone else when Syd was here, with him?
With a last look at the magnificent cavern he might never see again, Paul ushered Syd back into the mine cart and pushed the button that would take them back.
On the surface of the mountain once again, Paul and Syd found Arthur waiting for them. They’d been gone for hours, and morning light had faded to mid-afternoon. Arthur invited them to his place for a late lunch. He’d been busy while they’d been traveling who knew how many miles underground. He’d filled the guest cabin with things the returning dragons might need, from modern clothing to shoes and boots. The side walls of the old cabin had been opened up to reveal hidden compartments, like open lockers, each with someone’s name on the front and belongings within hanging from hooks or stored in duffel bags.
Paul got only a quick glance at the transformation of the old building on his way out as Arthur ushered them through. He led them straight to his own home, a few yards distant, and Stone joined them along the way. Paul nodded a greeting to the werewolf Alpha and received a concerned nod in return.
“I have some news,” Stone told Paul in a low voice as he dropped back to walk beside Paul while Arthur went ahead with Syd. “Your lady’s been outed in a big way. Bad guys are watching her home and place of work.”
“Damn. I was hoping we could avoid that sort of attention, but too much has happened,” Paul said as they neared Arthur’s house. Syd and Arthur were waiting by the door for them to catch up, and Arthur invited Stone to join them inside.
All four went indoors to find the kitchen table piled high with sandwiches. Arthur had, indeed, been busy. After being instructed to help themselves, they each grabbed a sandwich from the huge pile and joined Arthur in the front room where they all could sit comfortably.
“Alpha,” Arthur surprised Paul by starting the conversation by talking to Stone first, “you will have to tell your people. The dragons are rising. This part of the world is about to see a vast increase in magic, and your friends and family need to be aware of it.”
“Dragons? Plural?” Stone asked, clearly surprised.
Paul nodded. “There is a nest of dragons waking under a distant mountain. We saw them. They’re on their way to the surface. Their leader said the rising of three phoenixes was a sign that it was time for them to return to the lands of men, as well. Things are about to get really interesting, I think.”
“Will you be able to keep that meeting with Lance?” Stone asked, looking from Paul to Syd and back again.
“It is more important now than ever,” Arthur put in before Paul could answer. “You must keep your appointment with the phoenix if you are to learn to work together. You, Paul and Syd, are the pivot points. You are the two who will be the interface between phoenix and dragon. You both need to keep good lines of communication open with both groups.”
“I won’t argue with that,” Syd said with a smile for the old shaman. “Arthur has never steered me wrong yet.”
“It’s getting late, though,” Paul noted. “If we’re going to make that meeting, we should probably fly down there.”
“Won’t people see us?” Syd asked, concern on her beautiful face.
Paul shook his head. “We’re magical beings, draga. If we wish not to be seen, we will not be seen.”
She looked skeptical but nodded. “If you say so.”
Stone gave them detailed instructions on
how to find the meeting place. It was out behind the car lot where there was a collection of houses spread out over the desert. Stone called ahead and asked Lance to fly up to meet them, and within the hour, a dragon and two phoenixes were circling the sky above the desert, in preparation for landing.
Paul was concerned. He wanted so much to protect Syd until she was steadier on her magical feet, so to speak, but he knew he had to let her fly free. Her inner nature was that of a firebird. She could not be contained. Trying to keep her in a safe little box would only smother her flame, and he could not bring himself to do that. No matter how much he worried for her safety in the harsh world in which they lived.
Stone’s report about her workplace and home being watched had not come as a shock to him, though he supposed she would be upset when he finally broke the news to her. He was looking for a way to do it gently. To tell her she could no longer live in the home she had made for herself. He knew it would be a devastating blow, but he would be there for her. He would do his best to soften the pain.
With his love.
All that had happened had only proved to him beyond the shadow of doubt that she was his mate. He was deeply, truly, forever in love with her. He was just unsure how to tell her—and uncertain of her feelings. He knew she was his, but did she understand the reverse must also be true?
She was so new to all of this. She had only just learned magic truly existed. Flying was something she’d done only twice now, but the fact that she found it instinctive gave him hope. He had no idea if her instincts about mating had kicked in, as well? He would have to find out the hard way…when he laid his heart bare before her. Something he planned to do later this very evening, if events progressed as he expected.
He reasoned that her home would be safe enough for one last night. He’d help her pack whatever she wanted to save and then hire a shifter moving service to be certain her belongings were not tampered with or waylaid on their journey. They’d have to go into storage for a while, during which time Paul hoped to convince her to set up house with him. They’d find a place to settle, and then, after suitable time had passed, he’d make certain that her belongings reached them in clean—un-magicked—condition.
