by P. K. Brent
"Oh no!," cried Ivy. "We're going to fall."
"We'll be OK," Blue replied calmy. Just hold on tight."
Blue switched to a floating spell. She concentrated hard and felt power flow through her. The sled slowly floated to the ground then landed softly at the back door to the Birdsill Holly Factory.
"Wow, perfect aim Ivy."
"And perfect floating Blue."
The weres made good time down the hill. Stella beat them to the door. In addition to being invisible she was able to pop ahead twenty to thirty feet at a time, every few seconds, while in the spirit world. All of them, with Brando carrying Took, scampered into the Birdsill Holly factory and stopped at the top of the stairs.
"Where's Quantrill?" asked Blue worriedly.
"We were winning," replied Rafe. "He ran and his followers with him. He didn't want to fight anymore so he took off running up the side of the credit union building."
"Like an insect," added Talon.
"I've heard that every vampire has a special gift or two," replied Rafe. "They don't all have the same powers. Must be that one of Quantrill's is the ability to run up the side of buildings."
"They could be leaving, but I doubt it," said Brando. "I think they are cutting around to the front of the Birdsill Holly factory. They plan to enter from the front and ambush us."
"Let's get this over with then," replied Blue. "Then we can get out of here."
"Yes," nodded Brando. "We have a headstart. If we're lucky we can still get in there, release Took, banish the dragons, and get out before anyone finds us."
They had reached the stairs, approximately 40 stairs down to the basement of the Birdsill Holly plant. Brando had turned back to human form.
"I forgot to mention that I brought Grandpa Lou's mechanical cockroaches," said Blue, pointing to the dozens of small, mechanical insects scurrying out from under Took's blanket on the sled. She envisioned what they should do and they scurried down the stairs into the factory, looking for adversaries to exterminate.
"Talon, you go down first," said Brando. "Let us know if you notice anything unusual." Talon had the best tracking abilities. I'll go next with Took, then the two girls. Rafe you bring up the rear and watch for anyone trying to follow us.
Talon motioned with his paw that he understood. Then he leaped down into the black stairwell. Everyone followed, Brando in front and Rafe bringing up the rear. In a few short minutes they had all reached the bottom of the stairs and followed Talon into the unkempt basement of the Birdsill Holly plant. Ivy looked back with dismay at the snow tracks they had made on the stairs.
"Looks like a herd of elephants came through here," she whispered.
"Can't be helped," Brando whispered back. In wolven form he, Rafe, and Ivy would have stepped in Talon's tracks, and it would have looked only like one large dog had passed through there. "At least there are no rooftops for that sneak Quantrill to be spying from."
The Birdsill Holly plant was made up of a large tumbledown brick complex. Half of it still held up a roof but the roof had tumbled down in the other half, taking the floors with it so that the basement in that area was open to the sky. Rotted floors in abandoned buildings can give way at any moment. Blue was glad the dragons were in the basement. At least there they would not fall to their deaths. When they did their reconnaissance mission the other night, they used a different door, so Blue was already confused about where they were headed.
Talon entered the first deteriorating room of the factory.
"They likely are in that same large room we found them in the other night, when we did reconnaissance," said Brando. "It's warmer below the frostline so the dragons are holed up down in the lowest level. Also, we then don't have to worry about the floor falling in on us." Talon nodded that he had heard. In the third adjoining room he found a door and pulled it ajar. It fell off its rusted hinges. Though small for a Wolven, Talon had considerably more strength than an average human male so pulling a door off rusted hinges was not a problem. Blue berated herself, how could she have forgotten to bring a flashlight? The wolven could see in the dark, and so could Ivy when her ring was off. Blue was the only one who needed a light. Talon tied a strong knotted rope to a nearby railing. That way, if they got lost or separated, the rope would help them quickly find the way out.
"Can't you control that dragon," Rafe asked. Took was beating his wings, making it clear that he wanted down from Blue's arms.
"I suppose I can just let him loose," replied Blue. "He seems to know where he's going." As soon as Blue let Took loose, he took off flying down the hallway with no hesitation.
"Here," said Rafe. He handed Blue a flashlight. "I figured you would one of these."
"Thanks," replied Blue gratefully. "This is a big help."
"Good thing you have me to think of these things," grinned Rafe, squeezing Blue's hand. Blue mused silently, leave it to Brando to come prepared, but not Rafe. Nice he was thinking of me. Not what I expected, but nice.
"I can't believe you forgot a flashlight," giggled Stella. "Especially since I can't see in the dark at all," replied Blue. Everyone else could see fine.
"I'll put a trip wire across here," said Brando, as he arranged some junk on either side of the stairs and tightened a wire across at knee level.
"Then if someone has followed us we have a good chance of hearing them fall."
"Good idea," said Rafe.
"Are you sure Took will be OK?" asked Rafe.
"Yes," replied Blue. "His wing is healed and with his large eyes I'm pretty sure he's nocturnal, so I bet he can see in the dark just fine. He knows what he's doing."
Took fluttered on ahead and the small party followed him. They wound their way quickly through the basement complex. By the third room they still had not seen anything.
"It's getting stronger," said Rafe.
"Oui," replied Talon, putting a hand to his nose.
"Any stronger and my eyes will start watering," added Brando.
“You’re not kidding,” moaned Ivy, holding her nose.
"What's getting stronger?" asked Blue and Stella, in unison.
"You can't smell that?," asked Rafe.
"Lizard" replied Brando.
"Big lizard," added Ivy..
That's a good sign then," replied Blue. "We must be getting closer."
By the fourth room the snow and ice had melted, so the party slogged through mud. They continued down the hallway.
"Wait," whispered Brando. There's a door here on the side and Took just went through it. Looks like another hallway veers off sideways. He bent and examined the ground. "This way," we want to follow the melted snow, and I'm sure Took knows where he's going."
That makes sense, Blue thought to herself. Water dragons will turn the snow into water with their heat and their steam. A crash sounded behind them.
"We must hurry," whispered Brando. "That would be Quantrill falling over the trip wire, close behind us." They followed the side passage a short way, then around a corner into a large room filled with old machinery, cogs and wheels as large as Brando's car. Blue looked around and saw, perched on pipes high up the wall, dozens of baby water dragons. Although she'd visited the room in astral form the other night, rooms always had greater detail in real life, so it was like seeing it for the first time. Most of the dragons perched above on pipes were about Took's size. There must have been seventy of them, all staring down at her. Above them half of the ceiling was gone and stars shown down. In the middle of the room sat the large, gold, momma dragon, Savita. Savita lifted her head in greeting to Took as he fluttered over to her and they rubbed noses fondly, each making low grunting noises. Blue stepped toward the momma dragon, while the wolven walked stealthily along the edge of the room toward a door, Talon holding Stella's hand firmly in his. Savita turned toward Blue growling. Blue held out her hand and projected reassuring thoughts toward the momma dragon. It helped that Took had flown back to her and landed right next to her. Momma dragon seemed to be listening to Took
’s soft grunts and gurgles. Blue kept projecting warm, reassuring thoughts as she walked forward and finally placed one hand on the momma dragon's forehead and one on her cheek.
"Thesauri!" invoked Blue, starting her spell to communicate with animals.
"I've returned with your missing baby, like I promised," Blue said. "We won't hurt you. We are here to warn you of danger. You will now be able to understand my spoken language as I will understand yours."
"Yes, I understand you, little one called Blue," the Momma dragon replied. "You came as you promised.”
"I came," replied Blue. "Also, I brought Took with me."
“I thank you for returning my whelp. You are audacious, little one" commented Savita. "To confront me and my brood takes great bravery. You also nursed one of my whelps back to health. He tells me that one of the evil folk burned his wing while he was on a hunting expedition, and you helped him."
"Yes," replied Blue. "We've grown very fond of each other. I call him Took. But he must live with his own kind, now that he has healed."
"Thank you for returning him to me unharmed," said Savita. "For there is yet a great deal I must teach him."
"We must hurry," said Blue. "People are coming to harm you and your pups, to kill you all."
"Your people?" asked the huge dragon.
"Not really my people, though I know them. That's how I know their plan to kill you and your pups. They are the ones who hurt Took. Your hunting, especially the hunting of your whelps, has drawn attention. So you must leave now, before you're attacked and harmed."
"This happened once before," replied the dragon. "A magus came and ordered us to leave, for our own safety. I was a whelp then. It was a long time ago, about one hundred and fifty years ago in your time. That is why I returned here. I must return to my birthplace when I reach maturity, to whelp my one and only litter."
Blue started in alarm, “Does that mean all your sisters will be coming here too? In order to lay their eggs?”
Savita laughed, growling low in her throat. “Do not be alarmed little one. My siblings have either died or moved on to the astral plane. They will not be laying eggs in this earthly realm. That job fell to me and I have completed my task.”
“So it is true that dragons can move between the dimensions?”
“Yes. We move between the dimensions, as you call them, between the different layers of reality. We each are assigned a dimension and a job to do in it.”
“How do you know who does what?” asked Blue.
“We are born knowing where to go and what our job is,” Replied Savita. “Sometimes our assignment changes as circumstances change, but usually it’s straightforward. I’m the only silver dragon born in my litter. Each litter has either a silver female or a golden male, and these stay behind to procreate.”
“I see,” replied Blue. “That magus you saw was my great, great grandfather. I read about you in his log. He protected you and I will protect you also.”
Blue stroked Savita's head and telepathically passed on to the dragon a visual map of the northern border and a path to Algonquin. "Go there. You will be safe in the wilds of Algonquin. There are many lakes there, full of fish."
"I know that place," replied the dragon.
"I'm going to do a banishing now," said Blue. "It will ensure that your whelps all leave here with you and that none stay behind or return here."
"That is not necessary," replied Sanarra. "I will leave willingly and my pups will all follow me."
"The banishing will also protect you from those who mean harm. So it will make it easier for all of us to escape."
Savita nodded.
Blue had memorized the McChesney banishing from the old ritual book. She chanted the incantation slowly, vibrating the words so they would carry into the astral. It looked like a basic invocation of the four elements and appeal to power from elemental sources. She turned to each quarter and intoned, while mentally drawing a pentagram, in turn:
"East, Air, Birds, Breath, To Know, Raphael
West, Water, Fish, Blood, To Dare, Gabriel
South, Fire, Serpents, Skin, To Will, Michael
North, Earth Beasts, Bones, To Be Silent, Uriel
All that is weak go out. (Blue exhaled.)
All that is strong come in. (Inhale.)
All whom are here, now is the time to leave." Blue threw up her arms imagining herself, her friends, the dragons, and unwanted entities of any type leaving the area. Then, as prescribed by the ritual, Blue mentally sealed every door, window, and the broken roof.
“I embrace you and protect you, safe you will be, shielded by the armor I cast around you!”
"You've cast magical armor around me and my offspring? How very nice!, said Savita. "I thank you. We will leave now," said Savita, beginning to flap her wings. Once out from under the overhang of the partially caved in floor, Savita could take off, straight up through the ruined factory building.
At that moment Quantrill emerged from the shadows and stood in the doorway with a band of council witches pelting spells toward Blue and the dragons. Their attack spells were unable to get through, but Blue knew that her shield would not hold for long. Then as if on queue the herd of mechanical cockroaches found Quantrill’s band and began to attack, pinching the attacking witches and the angry vampires. Quantrill was busy beating off the dozens of mechanical cockroaches that crawled all over him, pinching and biting.
"Behind me," ordered Savita. Blue and her friends ran behind the large silver dragon.
"Fear not, little one. Dragons are magical beings and one of our strongest talents is resisting magical attack. This small band of spellcasters and that foul vampire cannot harm me. Unfortunately for them, my brood grows angry."
“He’s breaking open the unhatched eggs!” gasped Blue. Dozens of whelps were emerging from the eggs Quantrill's witches broke with their rebounding spells. The whelps were fluttering around in small circles, like little tornados.
“No worries, small one, those eggs were about to hatch anyway. The whelps emerging have heard our exchange. They will be angry at my enemies.”
Savita growled a command and the whelps swarmed toward Quantrill and his band of attackers. Blue could tell that Quantrill and the witches had not yet noticed the older and bigger whelps perched on pipes high up. Now all the whelps charged their attackers blowing hot steam and small spurts of boiling water at them, and even the occasionaly lick of flame or burning frost. Quantrill and the witches ran down the hall screaming as they were hit by blasts of steam and hot dragon spit.
Brando emerged from behind Savita and checked the hallway.
"We can't get out," he said. "Quantrill must have made a cave-in on both sides of the tunnel, trapping us in here. We are stuck here in this room, and Quantrill will be able to reach us through the broken floor above.”
"I will help you," said Savita. "Climb on my back, all of you. Hold onto the spikes."
Chapter 25
Blue, Stella, Ivy and the three wolfen climbed atop Savita. A convenient row of two foot long spikes ran down her back ending in a clumb of spikes on her tail. These spikes were perfect to hold onto. Savita flapped her wings hard, and slowly rose up out of the factory basement.
"Where shall I take you little one?," asked Savita.
Blue visualized her house. "Please take us to my home." Blue figured the dragon would not be seen landing in her private backyard.
"It's a full moon," said Blue. "I love the moon."
"My kind revere the moon also," replied Savita. She veered toward the moon and flew in a high arc, so that she was outlined against the brightness of the moon with the riders on her back. Anyone looking up at the moon would have seen a dragon gliding across the sky then across a beautiful pearl and silver winter moon, with six passengers aboard, and dragon whelps trailing behind."
"We look like that scene in the movie E.T. when the boy rode his flying bike in front of the moon," said Brando.
"Or like the scene in the Wizard of Oz,"
added Stella, "when the wicked witch rides her broom in front of the moon." Then Savita glided lower to the ground.
"I must move the car in case anyone looks for it," said Brando. He had already turned to his solid black wolf form and jumped off the dragon's back and disappeared into darkness.
"I'll help him," said Ivy, who changed in a flash to a silvery white wolf and ran after Brando.
"Thank you," Blue said, as they landed in the front yard of the McChesney house, and she hugged Savita. Then she held Took in her arms and hugged him. He rubbed his cheek against hers and looked up at her with huge adoring eyes. Brando came driving up the driveway with no lights on and parked the car. He and Ivy got out and ran toward the McChesney House, and in the door.
"We must leave now, little one" said Savita. "From the sky I could see some of your kind approaching your house, the evil ones. You don't have much time. Should we stay and help you fight them?"
"No, we'll be fine. They won't dare to attack us on my home turf, and if they do, they will be very sorry." Blue remembered LeRoy's ability to turn into the fierce kilted warrior. Plus Cormac was home and he could blast Quantrill and company to kingdom come.
"Then I take my leave, but first I must thank you. Hold out your arms."
Blue was puzzled but did as the dragon requested. Savita breathed a fine mist of steam that covered Blue's arms, then her entire body, in shiny silver dragonscales. Blue took off her coat and pulled up her sleeves to see dragon armor covering her from fingertips to shoulders. It tingled.
"That's so beautiful!," exclaimed Blue, turning her arms from side to side to admire the lovely silver scales, that slowly disappeared.
"Amazing," murmurred Stella.
"Now you'll never need a protection amulet," joked Rafe.
“Rawrrr!” Savita gave a roar and before her appeared a silver whip and a shield. The handle of the whip showed a silver dragon entangled with a gold dragon. The same scene was on the shield as well.
“Take up these weapons,” little one. Blue did as she was told and took the whip in her left hand and the shield in her right.
