Trusted: Dragons' Trust Book 1

by Krista Wayment

  Her eyes flickered to his face. "You won't leave me?"

  "One of us will stay with you. We'll take turns." Renick put a hand on her shoulder.

  Lainey nodded and scurried over to the rubble. Together they rolled a large boulder to the tunnel opening. Just as they settled it against the wall, Thane emerged from the darkness.

  "I've got this," he said and turned to head down again. "I'm working on a plan," he added in a whisper.

  "Let me know how it goes," Renick said, not at all optimistic.

  Returning to the colossal pile of rubble, Lainey started filling Renick's arms with smaller rocks. She balanced them neatly in a small mound that reached up to his chin. Renick had to walk carefully along the uneven ground to avoid spilling her work. When Thane appeared once again, Renick took his cargo down to the crevasse. On the way back, he had to flatten himself against the tunnel wall when Hyngarth came barreling down the tunnel pushing a boulder as tall as Renick. The crazy dragon howled as the rock fell into the darkness, and then he rushed back up the tunnel. Renick followed slowly behind.

  The cold air of the cave soon became a comfort as beads of sweat formed on Renick's forehead and neck.

  The hours wore on. Thane would take a few trips and then rest with Lainey while Renick took a turn heading down to the chasm. Back and forth. Lift and drop. Stone and rock and dirt and grime. And still the hours wore on. Renick's hands were soon raw and covered in small scrapes. His nose filled with dirt until it was the only thing he could smell. His eyes ached from the lack of light. More hours passed.

  Finally, when every inch of Renick's body screamed for a respite from the monotonous strain, Boren reappeared. "I am told you need to be fed," he grumbled. "Come with me."

  The sound of rocks tumbling to the ground made Renick start and almost lose his hold on his awkward load. He turned to see Thane brushing dust from his arms as he hurried after Boren. Lainey pushed past Renick, knocking his elbow. With a sigh, Renick relinquished his hold on the rock and followed after the others.

  Boren led them back to the chamber where they had met. In one corner sat their packs. Renick and his friends settled themselves on the ground in a small circle. Lainey passed out their waterskins while Thane dug in a rucksack for some dried meat.

  "Sure wish they'd give us some other food." Thane handed out their meager fare.

  "Wonder if they'll let us take a bath," Lainey said between bites.

  Renick was going to reply, but his words were drowned out by a loud rumbling noise.

  Chapter 23: Proven

  The ground and walls and ceiling shook.

  "Stay here," Boren ordered as he stumbled back down the passageway.

  "Wait—" The sound of boulders falling swallowed the rest of Renick's words. A cloud of dust billowed from the passageway, engulfing them. For two terrifying heartbeats, the world was nothing but brown dust and darkness.

  All was still and quiet.

  Renick shook the dirt from his hair and passed his sleeve over his face. "What was that?"

  "Cave–in," Thane croaked, and then started coughing.

  Lainey looked up. There were streaks on her face where the dirt stuck to her tears. She held her canteen out to Thane. He took a large gulp of water and the coughing subsided.

  Hyngarth burst through the tunnel opening. "Free, free, free, free," he panted. He turned toward Renick and the others, dancing around a little. "Come, we free. Come, come, come, come, come, come." With a fit of laughter, he tore down the tunnel that led out of the mines.

  Following more slowly, the other prisoner that had been digging with them emerged. He paused and glanced at Renick. A chill danced down Renick's back.

  I will avenge her, an eerie voiced whispered in Renick's mind.

  The dragon moved on.

  Renick shook his head to clear the oppressive gloom that hung over him. "Where're the guards?" He turned to Thane and Lainey, who were just staring at him. "And Boren?"

  He watched the opening of the passageway intently. Nothing stirred as the moments inched by.

  Renick jumped to his feet. "Come on." He did not wait for the others to follow and plunged into the tunnel.

  Halfway down, his progress was halted by a wall of rubble sloping gently up to the ceiling. A low moan and the sound of shifting rock drew Renick's attention. Boren lay on one side of the passageway with a small layer of sand and rock dusted over him. When Renick tried to speak with him, the dragon did not respond.

  Lainey fell to her knees next to where Renick crouched. She placed her ear against Boren's massive jaws. "He's breathing," she reported.

  "Are the guards still back there?" Thane asked, studying the wall of debris.

  "I didn't see them come out," Lainey answered.

  "Do you think they survived?" Renick tried to swallow the lump growing in his throat.

  Thane moved to the blockage and examined it. "There's a gap here," he said, pointing to a place near the tunnel wall. "But I can't see anything."

  Renick joined Thane and peered into the blackness. "If they're completely buried …"

  A warm hand rested on his shoulder. "There could be a cavity, an air pocket, on the other side of that gap," Thane said. "There may still be hope."

  "But how do we tell?" Lainey's hands busily worked at brushing the dust and rubble from Boren's immobile body.

  "We need to make a torch." Thane turned and ran up the tunnel. He came back a few moments later with their packs. Fishing in his, he pulled out some flint and steel.

  Lainey stood and placed her fists on her hips. "And just what do you expect us to do with that?"

  "Light the torch." Thane looked up at the ceiling in exasperation.

  "What torch?" She tilted her head at him.

  Thane looked around the tunnel. Renick followed his gaze. Rocks, rubble, dust, dragon lantern, stone, and more rocks. Nothing to fuel a torch with.

  "The dragon lanterns!" Renick ran to the cavern wall and wrapped his hands around one of the glowing orbs as best he could. Using all the strength his tired arms had, he pulled. The dragon lantern did not budge. Thane's large hands joined Renick's and together they tried again to dislodge the orb.

  "They are held there by magic," Boren said, his voice weak and rasping.

  Renick turned. "We need to see if anyone's on the other side of the cave–in. Can you release the lantern?"

  A rumble, halfway between a growl and a hum, rippled through Boren's throat. A nearby orb fell from its place and rolled to Renick's feet. The orb was about the size of his head, but weighed practically nothing when he lifted it.

  Back at the small opening in the wall of rubble, Renick pushed the dragon lantern through the gap. He shoved it as far as he could without crawling into the hole. The orb started to roll downhill. Soon it dipped out of sight and Renick heard a dull clank. The orb's light illuminated a small opening and reflected off a set of scales.

  "I see one of them," Renick called. Boren's head appeared at Renick's elbow. Jumping, Renick backed away. The dragon peered into the chamber beyond the cave–in and then studied the rubble that blocked their way.

  "The cave–in is too unstable. We will not be able to shift the rock. I am afraid if they are alive in there, soon they will not be." Boren hung his head and moved away.

  "You can't dig them out?" Renick asked.

  "We cannot. We do not have your delicate hands, digging for dragons is a bit more brute force."

  "What about your magic?" Renick asked. "Can't you use that to move the rubble?"

  Boren shook his head. "Our magic changes and heals—it does not move or destroy. I am afraid there is nothing to be done."

  "No!" Lainey said.

  "We're going to save them." Thane turned to look at Renick. "What should we do?"

  Renick felt as if the entire pile of fallen rock had settled on his back and shoulders. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and then back again. Renick wanted to shrug, but resisted the urge—this was no time for
uncertainty. He looked back through the gap. "We dig them out," he said.

  "That is a dangerous endeavor." Boren was watching him very closely.

  "I know." Renick paused to look at Thane and Lainey for support. "Right, then. Someone should probably coordinate from the other side." He rubbed his hands on the sides of his pants and moved to the opening. He only made it a few feet into the tunnel before his shoulders hit against a rock. Angling his body, Renick attempted to move forward again, only to receive another bruise. The third attempt resulted in a shower of dirt and rocks. He threw his arms up in front of his face as a shield, but still got a good portion of the dirt in his eyes, mouth, and nose.

  Renick dropped his head and started moving backwards. "I don't fit," he said in response to Thane's questioning look.

  "Well, if you don't, I definitely can't." Thane looked into the gap. "And I don't think we can widen it without it collapsing."

  "I think you're right." Renick dusted some of the dirt out of his hair.

  "I'll do it," Lainey said from behind them. Her voice shook a little.

  Renick turned. Lainey's breathing was slow and even. Her arms hung down by her sides and her hands were clenched in fists.

  "I'll do it," she repeated with more confidence.

  "Lainey," Renick started to protest.

  She looked at him with resolve burning in her eyes. "You'll come for me."

  Renick nodded. "We'll always come for you."

  Lainey took a deep breath and walked up to the hole. With both hands, she lifted the strap of her healer's pouch over her head and held it out. Renick took it. She stood for a moment, facing the darkness.

  "Just keep going," Thane said. "It'll be more difficult if you try to come back."

  Without turning to look at Thane, Lainey nodded. Then she climbed into the gap and started crawling to the chamber beyond.

  "Plyth should have named her Brave," Thane commented as he watched Lainey's progress.

  Renick shook his head. "No, he named her right. It's her kindness that helps her forget her fear."

  They watched in silence. Lainey moved slowly at first, inching her way along. She would flinch and whimper any time a portion of the tunnel would shift. Renick could hear the faint whisper of her mumbling to herself.

  "You can make it, Lainey," he called to her.

  This seemed to inspire her—the mumbling stopped and she started to move at a faster pace.

  "Almost there," Thane said just as Lainey disappeared from their view.

  "I'm through," her quiet voice called at last. Renick could see her face through the opening. She waved at him and then ducked away. He could hear her moving around in the adjoining chamber. Lainey's face came back into the circle of dim light. "Both the guards are here. One's injured, but awake and mostly okay. The other's partially buried. He won't respond to me."

  "What do you need?" Thane asked.

  "Lots of water. And bandages. And I need my healer's pouch. More light wouldn't hurt, either."

  Renick nodded and tossed her healer's pouch down to her while Thane collected a second orb, which Boren dislodged for him. Renick turned to Boren. "We need water, and lots of it. And anything Lainey can use to bandage the dragons' wounds."

  The dragon dipped his head. "Anything else?" he asked.

  With a shrug, Renick looked over his shoulder at Thane.

  "I don't suppose you have any tools for digging?" Thane asked.

  Boren laughed. "Not that a human could use."

  "Could your magic make them from the rock?"

  The dragon tilted his head. "It might. What shape do you need?"

  Renick and Thane set about drawing shapes in the dirt of the shovels and wheelbarrow they would need. Boren touched large chunks of stone with his nose and hummed. The stone shifted like sand and took on a new form. The dragon made the shovels first. Thane collected these and set them aside. Next Boren worked on the wheelbarrow, forming the bucket and handle and then the wheels and an axle. Together Thane and Renick assembled the pieces.

  "Excellent," Renick proclaimed when they were done. Boren and Thane nodded in agreement.

  "We'll still have to do some of it by hand," Thane warned when they were finished.

  "All right, then." Renick rolled up his sleeves. "We should get to work."

  Renick did not know how long they toiled. Time was swallowed up with the endless shifting of rock. Slow and steady like the water trickling down the walls, they made progress through the pile of rubble. More than once, Lainey's warning cries were all that saved them from another cave–in. Renick's eyes and mouth filled with dirt. He did not notice the cold or the sweat. His raw hands gripped the rough handles of his shovel and the sharp edges of the bits of stone. Vaguely he remembered receiving food and water from somewhere. At one point, he noticed that his hands had been wrapped with little strips of cloth and he wondered who had done it.

  They did not rest.

  On and on they dug. Boren formed an aquifer to direct water from somewhere above. The liquid was cold and refreshing when Renick lifted a handful to his mouth. He cleared his throat of dirt and poured some of the water over his head. The clean, renewed feeling did not last long. The oppressive repetition of the digging soon returned the layer of sweat and grime to his face.

  Once they had made it through to the chamber where Lainey tended the two fallen guards, they set to work freeing the one that was trapped. Behind him, Renick heard bodies moving as Boren and Lainey assisted in removing the first guard from the collapsed passageway. Still, Renick and Thane moved rock and stone, stone and rock. This task proved more difficult. They could not let any of the rocks shift over the dragon for fear of causing further injury. Lainey helped direct their movements, her voice and hands always steady.

  Renick felt something press against his back. He turned to see Boren. "Be done, young ones. This one will not likely survive, despite your efforts."

  "No matter what the odds," Renick told him, "we'll try."

  Boren withdrew, and Renick did not know how much more time passed. Renick's hands, sore and bleeding from all the work, scooped up a pile of rocks. He moved them aside and when he went to collect more, he saw the end of the dragon's tail. He looked up, surprised. Meeting Thane's gaze, he said, "done."

  Boren led two dragons to retrieve the uncovered guard. They gently dragged him out of the mines.

  Their task complete, Renick sank to the ground. Lainey's face, blurry and smudged, appeared in his view. She pressed something to his lips.

  "Drink," she commanded, and he obeyed.

  "So tired." Renick's head rolled forward as he succumbed to exhaustion.

  Chapter 24: Air

  Renick woke when cool, fresh air brushed against his cheek. He opened his eyes and found himself lying on his back outside under a sky filled with stars. He sat up. Around him was a conglomeration of sticks, goose down, and other soft materials. Another dragon's nest. This one was much larger than Wrytha's and stood out in the open near the top of one of the mountain peaks.

  "You will spend the night here," Boren said. Renick looked up to see the large dragon standing just outside the nest. A sleeping Lainey was lying across Boren's neck. Standing, Renick moved to help Thane slide her off. In the process, she stirred and woke up.

  Lainey looked around. She took a long, deep breath and a small sob of joy escaped her. "Air."

  "Lainey–Kind, after your deeds tonight, I will not let them confine you like that again," Boren promised.

  The light from the moon made the tears that filled Lainey's eyes sparkle. "Thank you."

  "You all are welcome in my home for as long as you are with us." Boren dipped his head and then moved a little ways off.

  Thane extended his arm. From his hand hung Renick's pack. When Renick took it from him, Thane found a spot a safe distance from the nest and started a small fire. With their beds laid out, Lainey fished in their rucksacks for some food.

  "Anyone hungry?" she asked.

 
Renick shook his head.

  "I'm too tired to eat." Thane stretched his arms and yawned.

  "Just as well—we're running out of food." Lainey closed her pack.

  "I will see to that," Boren said. He was spread out near a cave opening that probably led to the dragon city, as if protecting them from its occupants.

  Lainey tried vainly to brush the dirt and tangles from her hair with her fingers. "Ugh," she exclaimed, "I need a bath!"

  "There is a stream just around that bend. It will be cold, but will do the job," Boren told her.

  Lainey jumped up and headed in the direction the dragon had indicated. Just before she disappeared behind the bend, she looked back over her shoulder. "Don't let them come peek," she told Boren, who chuckled in response.

  A little while later, Lainey returned. Her hair was wet and she was humming.

  Thane stood and bowed to her. "Now that milady has finished, she won't mind if we loathsome men tarnish her bath, will she?"

  Lainey just rolled her eyes at him and settled on the ground next to Renick. Thane was back in almost no time at all. His hair was wet too and he had his shirt slung over his shoulder, his sword, belt, and scabbard clutched in one hand. Lainey eyed him as he sat down.

  "Milord should dress himself properly before entering the presence of a lady." She smirked at him.

  The corner of Thane's mouth twitched as he pulled his shirt over his head.

  "Keep an eye on these two, will you?" Renick asked Boren. "They could eat each other alive at any second."

  Boren tossed his head and released a small puff of smoke in amusement as Renick turned away.

  It did not take long for Renick to reach the mountain stream. He dipped his fingers in the running water. It was ice cold. Taking off his shirt, he did his best to wash out his hair. He splashed the water on his chest and arms. The cool water relieved the burning ache in his muscles. It did not seem like a good idea to get his shirt wet, since he lacked a spare. So he just did his best to shake the dirt out and pulled it back over his head. Feeling refreshed, but still dirty, he headed back.