3- Treoir Dragon Chronicles of the Belador World

by Love, Dianna

  Energy inside of him hummed, powering up. So strange.

  She tightened her fingers as if she’d felt it too. Clearing her throat, she asked, “You ready?”

  “Yes. Close your eyes. Open your mind to another world. I shall do the same and repeat the words suggested by my man.” Daegan closed his eyes and forced his mind to quiet. Then he spoke clearly, “World of Laverna, for this gift ...”

  When he’d finished making the offer, he waited, listening to Luigsech’s quiet breathing. Her grip loosened.

  He covered her hand in case she fell asleep. He would not lose her if the world welcomed them.

  When nothing happened, he opened his eyes and gave her hand a squeeze.

  She lifted her head, blinking, then her fingers slid away. “It didn’t work?”

  “No.”

  “Think we need a better gift?” she asked.

  “Perhaps.” Before he could make a suggestion, she reached up and pulled off her small earrings. “Here. Maybe the world wants gold.”

  He didn’t take them. “Where did those come from?”

  “Fenella gave them to me for my birthday.”

  Her words hurt him. She had been willing to give up one of her cherished books and now offered something she clearly held dear.

  Daegan folded her fingers over her palm. “Hold on to your gift. Let me try.”

  Giving him a strange look, she put the earrings back on. “What are you offering the world?”

  He held his hand out and called up his sword, which had been his companion almost as long as Ruadh. He pulled a knife from his boot and rotated the sword hilt to one side where ruby, sapphire, and emerald gems were embedded.

  Prying it carefully, he removed the largest emerald, thicker than his thumb.

  “Hold it,” Luigsech demanded. She placed her hand over the stone. “That’s an amazin’ emerald. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one that large.” Worried eyes swept up to his. “You may not be able to replace it.”

  “’Tis the truth it cannot be replaced, but I must try this one first.”

  “Why not a smaller stone?”

  That she cared about his loss eased the guilt he felt for what he had to do. “I fear angerin’ the world if we do not offer enough now and continue raisin’ the stakes instead of offerin’ my best first.”

  Why did she look guilty?

  Sending the sword away so the other world would have no reason to take offense, Daegan said, “We shall try again. This time, I will offer the gift in my left hand.”

  Her eyebrows dropped low. “And why will that be better?”

  “My friend who shared much on Laverna said she would only accept a drink given to her by a left hand. I have no idea why, but ’tis worth a try.”

  The lass packed her book into her backpack, pulled the shoulder strap around one arm and clamped her hand on his forearm again. “Let’s do this.”

  Confidence powered her words.

  Good lass.

  He waited until she’d closed her eyes and her breathing had slowed, then he did the same. He found it harder to calm his mind after the first attempt had failed. Eventually, his thoughts quieted.

  He held the gem on his left palm and spoke the words again, but in Latin this time. “Laverna mundi, propter hoc donum ... ”

  Luigsech’s fingers tightened. She remained awake.

  As he finished the words, his palm hummed with an energy that dipped and circled the stone. He held his breath and remained still as a statue.

  Cold fingers closed around his hand and pulled him.

  His body floated light as a cloud. He kept his eyes shut even as Ruadh rumbled angry noises. His dragon accepted every difficult situation Daegan landed in, never complaining. Not too much anyhow.

  The strange sensation pulling him along seemed to go on forever, but he finally felt the weight of his body again. He lifted an eyelash to peek.

  White fog rolled around chest high where he sat.

  Luigsech! He turned to find her looking over at him with rounded eyes luminous with power.

  The gem was gone and they had entered a world unlike the one they’d left behind.

  He pushed to his feet and reached back for her while he kept an eye on their surroundings.

  Her fingers gripped his hand and his energy stirred with an unusual contentment. When she stood as well, he considered taking the backpack, but she would be safer with her sword at hand if she had to defend herself. He helped her pull the arm straps into place and snapped the front latch for her this time.

  With his hands on both straps, he leaned close to her and whispered, “If I tell ya to run, do so. Do not stand around to fight.”

  Her blue eyes searched his face more than once. “I won’t leave you to fight alone.”

  “Lass, I need to know ya shall be safe. I never intended to put ya in danger. If I could have sent ya home, I would have.”

  “Then you’d be wastin’ all this hard work if I was not here to identify the grimoire.”

  He wanted to pull her closer and tell her he would protect her against any threat, but he would not give a vow he did not know for certain he could fulfill. His body fought with the venom still inside and he had no idea what his powers would be like in this world.

  Tipping his head forward, he gave into the urge he’d been fighting and brushed her lips with his, then smiled to himself at the little termagant’s dazed reaction.

  He considered it a small victory that she had not clobbered him. “Ready ... Casidhe?”

  Her face softened at him using her name. She drew in a fast breath and nodded slowly. “Ready, Daegan.”

  He turned to search for the halls the oracle indicated would lead to the scepter. Perhaps finding that first would aid them in locating the grimoire volume. The white smoke billowing around his face settled slowly to hover at knee-level.

  Three openings a far piece away came into view that could be hallways.

  Tugging her hand, he led the way through the hazy smoke, which held no scent. When he reached the decision point of which hallway to take, he said, “Ya choose. Ya have good instincts.”

  She covered her eyes, then lowered her hand. “I say we take the middle.”

  Good woman to not whine and debate something they lacked enough information for discussing.

  Sounds of nature floated toward them.

  Daegan inhaled a flowery smell. Lavender?

  As they entered the middle hall, doorways began to appear on each side. The first one opened into a room with violet and white marble surrounding a sunken pool. The only figure to be seen was a golden statue of a young woman wrapped with vines covered in white flowers.

  Water trickled from each flower.

  Another doorway opened to a garden of mature plants, large blooms of red flowers, and terraces that seemed to have no end. The sky above shined blue with filmy clouds.

  The next opening appeared to be a sprawling entrance to a castle. Across the wide expanse of polished floors and rugs, rich wood furniture, and large planters filled with yellow and pink tulips, wide openings on each side of tall beveled glass doors opened to gardens with females dressed in regal gowns and fine clothing on the men. A party?

  He pulled the lass quickly past that one.

  Opening after opening held different visuals, each one more extraordinary than the last.

  Casidhe paused next to a doorway of a library with twenty-foot ceiling to floor shelves filled with books.

  She whispered, “This looks like one room the oracle mentioned. It may take a while to find the grimoire if it is even in here. Leave me to search. You look for the scepter.”

  “No.” He feared her being out of his sight.

  Sighing heavily, she said, “I will be right here. We can’t leave without the scepter and this would be the perfect place to look for the grimoire.”

  Ruadh warned, She risks capture.

  Daegan agreed.

  She grumbled, “I see that stubborn look in your eyes,
Daegan. Don’t argue now when we’re finally workin’ like a team.”

  He could not overrule her. “Ya are correct. We are in this together and I must trust your decisions.” He felt the truth of his words roll over him. They were a damned good team. “I will return after looking into two more rooms to check on ya.”

  “That’ll work.” She didn’t move, just stared up at him with those shiny-blue eyes, then her cheeks puffed up as she ... smiled. A breathtaking smile. There was the beauty that would stop a man’s heart. Before he could say another word, she lifted up, touched her lips to his, then released his hand.

  Watching her walk away slammed him in the gut as surely as getting hit with a battering ram.

  He lifted his hand to reach for her and pull her back, then closed his fingers and lowered his arm. He had to go.

  The sooner he searched the other rooms, the sooner he could return to watch over her. His need to protect the lass overwhelmed his need for the grimoire.

  That could spell disaster if he failed to find the grimoire or the scepter.

  Moving quickly, he took in the next room filled with exotic statues carved in wood and stone, each one positioned among plants and placed along a winding stream. Birds flew overhead, landing on the statues. Butterflies of brilliant colors flicked around the room, some larger than both of his hands placed side by side.

  At the next opening, gold glowed so brightly, he blinked.

  Carmine and black rugs placed over a smoky gray granite floor led the way to a throne taller than himself. The heavy structure had been carved of polished black stone with gold inlaid throughout. Tall columns of the same black and gold reached for a starry sky. Dark green bushes with tiny white roses grew around the columns.

  The throne sat on a three-tiered dais surrounded by serving dishes, pitchers, mugs ... all in reddish-gold.

  But one piece captured his attention.

  The scepter had been leaned against the side of the throne, a logical placement. Atop of the staff, an eagle carried a young man. Luigsech had described the scepter as they walked to the shadowed place in the woods.

  He paused, listening for any sound from her. Nothing.

  Convinced she was fine, he stepped softly on the thick rug toward the throne. When he stood close enough to lift the scepter, he hesitated.

  Nothing in the supernatural world was ever easy. Nothing.

  Why had this world allowed entry to outsiders?

  Could it be as simple as a gift?

  Would he and Casidhe be able to leave by using the same words Garwyli had given Daegan to enter with the simple change of requesting they travel back to where they entered? He damn sure hoped so. He reached for the scepter. His fingers trembled.

  Not for fear of his safety.

  For Casidhe’s.

  But she had surely handled books in the other room by now. If she had not set off an alarm, why would he do so by lifting the scepter?

  Curling his fingers around the short staff no longer than his arm, he lifted the solid weight.

  Chapter 21

  “Will there be anything else, seer?” the chambermaid whispered in a trembling voice from the doorway. She gripped her hands in front of where her white cotton blouse tucked into her gray and blue plaid skirt.

  Kleio had been nothing but kind to this young woman, yet the chambermaid feared stepping inside the humble chamber of the castle’s terrifying seer. “That is all, Holly. Thank you for bringing my food up tonight. I appreciate all you do.”

  The young woman smiled, her face revealing more relief than happiness, and backed away quickly.

  Every resident inside Herrick’s castle and in nearby cottages on his land treated Kleio with respect, but many watched her with wariness reserved normally for a black witch.

  Yet, let one of them worry over a loved one living in another land and they slipped up close to ask if she could see anything.

  After all these years, she should be used to the fear and shifting glances, but the sense of being on the outside still rubbed.

  Stepping over to close the heavy oak door, Kleio lifted a four-foot-long, three-inch-thick board she dropped into place to bar the door. When she’d agreed to come to this mountain range known as the Caucasus, which separated Asia from Europe, she’d given Herrick a list of her requirements.

  One had been an acceptable way to bar her door at night.

  Herrick had been insulted that she’d infer any threat to her being. He pointed to the ward he’d placed over this valley, which had protected his people for thousands of years, and reminded her he was a dragon shifter.

  She’d calmly explained she would not come at all if her requests were not met. She needed to insure no one would interrupt her when she went into a trance for hours. This provided her with a sanctuary to continually develop her gift and strengthen her mind, preparing her for visions at any time.

  Disbelief had been clear in his face, but his need for her services outweighed any hesitation once he’d found her. That had been only one of several stipulations she’d made years ago and he’d agreed to all of them.

  With the castle at peace for the evening, no outside noise would disturb her at this time.

  She’d spent the first six months here training everyone to respect her space and her time locked away. Holly’s mother had been Kleio’s original chambermaid. Her fear of an unknown woman who could see things others could not had been passed down from mother to daughter.

  For that reason, Kleio did not hold it against Holly, but she had hoped to develop the young woman into a friend.

  That effort had failed. Holly jumped away from her own shadow. Time had taught Kleio it would be best to leave them all to their fears even if it made for a lonely existence.

  She’d accepted her destiny as a child of five in Greece.

  After eating her meal, she washed her plates, stacking the clean dishes and utensils on the tray Holly would retrieve in the morning.

  With a glance around, she walked into the next room connected to this one.

  No windows. No door to the hallway. No distractions.

  She crossed the cozy room and knelt in front of a low altar wider than her shoulders and two hands deep. A yellow candle sat at each corner of the rectangular surface. Three thick purple candles were arranged in a half arc in the center. She made all her own candles, which were infused with specific herbs she gathered on an annual trek through the mountains with Herrick.

  Lighting the yellow candles first then the purple ones, she sat back on her knees and placed her hands on her thighs. She closed her eyes and allowed her shoulders to relax, opening her mental pathways to worlds beyond the present one.

  The yellow candles deepened her concentration and the purple ones expanded her ability to search beyond herself.

  She had no idea how much time passed as she waited to hear a voice.

  The voice.

  Her mind floated in a sea of autumn leaves, wildflowers, and red berries. She traveled deeper and deeper until ...

  “I am here, Kleio.”

  She smiled at hearing the comforting voice of her mentor, the Greek god Janus. “Thank you for coming, Janus.” She gave the same opening words at every meeting since the first one when he’d spoken to her the night she turned five years old. As the god of beginnings and transitions, he had guided her life through all choices and decisions, opening a door when the time came for her to take a new direction.

  She had not understood why he wanted her here with this dragon shifter who had lived for two millennium, but Janus had a reason for every word and action.

  When she became an adult, Kleio left her family’s home, explaining she would be gone many years on a sabbatical. To not look for her or expect to hear from her.

  Those words had merely echoed the ones Janus had provided.

  “The time nears for the end of this journey, Kleio.”

  She managed to stay calm, but her heart rhythm changed to a faster pace. Where would she go now? Why would sh
e leave the dragon when he seemed to need her most?

  Janus spoke in a smooth baritone full of authority. “Do not distress.” His head appeared as a holographic image. The classic profile of a Greek scholar with two faces, each staring in opposite directions. He viewed time of what was and what was to come.

  “I apologize, Janus. You have never given me reason to question you. I may have spent too much time in one place at this castle. I feel I have fallen into a comfortable existence and had a foolish reaction to change.”

  “Your apology is not necessary. You have caused me no disappointment. I am proud of all you have accomplished over many years. Your ability to share visions regardless of how they would be accepted is superior to many who possess the gift of vision and misinterpret what they see.”

  Her lips curved in a smile. He had always told her to share a vision as received, good or bad. Janus had been a parental figure as much as mentor. She allowed her appreciation to flow through her words. “Thank you. What do you wish of me?”

  “The destiny that has awaited you nears.”

  Now he confused her, which he had not since she’d learned to fulfill his wishes. She had always accepted that Janus lived by no one’s laws but his own. Whatever he asked of her she would do.

  No doubts. No hesitation.

  He was all to her and his word final.

  “I beg your patience for a question, Janus.”

  “Ask, child.”

  “Have I failed to fulfill my destiny to this point?” Did he see her lacking in her current duty?

  “No. I speak of the next step in this same destiny, which is as if passing through another door. You will face more than one challenge. This time, you will make choices alone.”

  Her heart thumped harder. What did that mean? Did he never intend to speak to her again? No. She could not continue without him. How could he do this to her?

  “Be calm, Kleio,” he instructed in a soothing tone.

  She swallowed and forced a calm over her body she didn’t feel in her heart. “Please help me understand, Janus.”

  “The human world faces extreme changes with many possible outcomes. You are the one whose visions will influence enemies and allies. Your visions will define the world for dragon shifters moving forward.”