by T D Raufson
Fear leapt into her throat as she realized her dragon arrogance and faith in magic may not have taken into account human technology. Each man was wearing goggles that obscured most of their face but allowed them to see in the dark. She could not be sure her invisibility would help her against their goggles. Two more men moved into the room. Before their scans crossed her location against the wall, she ducked down and slipped around the corner into the landing for the stairwell where the wall obscured her along with the illusion.
Peering around the corner, trembling from the fear of having everything fall apart around her, Melissa watched each soldier advance to a point where they had full command of the room. A fifth soldier entered down the center in a crouch and stopped before he crossed anyone’s line of vision. Only seconds had passed since the first explosions had distracted her, and the illusion held even though her senses were overloaded.
The five soldiers reached covering points in the room at about the same time and stopped to assess the room. No shots were fired. The chamber returned to silence.
Each soldier relaxed but only slightly as they took a final look around the cave to make sure they had not missed anything. The soldier that entered last looked directly at her and took two steps toward her before she stepped back where she could not see him anymore. Every muscle in her body tightened, and she focused on the illusion to refocus the magic to protect her from whatever he thought he detected.
“Carver. Check that space directly across the cave.”
If they found the doorway her illusion would be defeated, and they would have reason to stay and search more. Her ears were starting to recover from the ringing, but not enough for her to hear the diligent steps of the soldier approaching her hiding place. All she could do was hope that her illusion was good enough. A metal thunk against the wall next to the entrance rang through the chamber.
“Nothing here Chief, just more wall.”
Melissa wanted to relax and sigh, but she held onto the breath until she knew they were leaving.
“Valkyrie, this is Dagger, we’re clear. All we have down here is an old cave. No-Joy on anything else.”
Melissa couldn’t hear how the soldier on the other end replied, but now she could hear the men in the cave moving away from her. She looked out the hidden opening again to watch them walk back toward the entrance and released a long-held breath. Once she had marshaled her emotions and stopped her hands from shaking, she rushed back up the steps to the entrance. Cautious, quiet and invisible—she slipped out the entrance. Charles had managed to convince them, somehow, to set up their ropes on the far right side of the overhang away from the door, and the idling engine noise covered any noise the door made. Convinced she had exited unseen, she slipped past the helicopter and across the lawn before she joined Charles on the back patio. She transformed into her human appearance before becoming visible and stepping out from behind him on the stairs. He jumped visibly as she appeared next to him.
Shaken by the many ways everything could have gone wrong, she could hear the wavering in her voice as she courageously made everything sound fine.
“I think I’m starting to get the hang of this.” She smiled.
Charles shook his head as she wiggled her index finger in her left ear that was still ringing. The Captain left his helicopter and walked toward them with his head down. Melissa dropped her hand from her ear and returned a very placid and somewhat concerned look to her face. When he reached them, he looked up.
“Sorry to have wasted your time, ma’am. We’ll be out of here as soon as we’ve recovered the men.”
“Did you find it? Am I safe here?” She pushed her magical aura out to buffet against his weakened confidence, and she could almost feel him surrender to her charm.
“Nothing to worry about, Ma’am. There’s nothing down there.” He waved his hands and turned to walk back.
“Don’t ever do that to me,” Charles said as he watched the very confused man walk away.
“How do you know I haven’t already?”
He turned and looked at her with real fear in his eyes. She smiled and shook her head to indicate she was joking.
When they returned to the library, her mother was standing next to Elaine. They were both looking over a set of older books Melissa remembered from her mother’s bookshelf. Kaliastrid turned as they entered.
Melissa was glad she was here. Everything she needed to protect was in this room, and the threat that had descended on them was leaving.
“Whew, what a morning,” Kaliastrid said to welcome her daughter.
“Yeah, but I think we have a new plan.”
“Oh, do tell.”
“Elaine can explain it better than I can.”
Kaliastrid turned to look at the young girl standing beside her.
“Well, go ahead child. Explain.” The motherly smile on her face made Elaine glow with pride.
She looked from one to the other and opened the book she was holding. “Well, if I’m explaining what I think I am, she’s the ambassador of the dragons. A position passed down from her grandmother by right, not ancestry.”
“That’s right!” Kaliastrid exclaimed as if she suddenly remembered something. “It doesn’t hurt as much when someone else reminds you.”
She grinned at the interrupted young girl and motioned her to go on.
“As I was saying, as the ambassador, she is going to reach out to the government to set up a dialog before this gets any more out of hand. Perhaps that way she can short-circuit Nethliast’s plan before he can complete it.”
They all chewed over that idea for a moment while Melissa wondered how she was going to make it work.
July 19 – 1335 CEST - Bavaria, Germany
Valdiest awakened in a dark cave with a headache, a dry mouth and a feeling that he was surrounded by magic. His last memory was the blonde he had seen exit Nethliast’s limousine and walk toward his car when he had followed them from the hotel in Munich to the farmhouse in the Bavarian countryside. He had never met the woman before and had been surprised to see anyone in the car with Nethliast. So surprised that when she started waiving her hands about in front of her and chanting he had not realized she was casting a spell until it was too late. And that was why he was where he was.
He never expected Nethliast to be associated with a witch. She had looked so harmless in her yellow suit and calm expression as the spell had woven around him. Now he was in trouble, trapped in a cave, under her control.
The cave was silent except for the sounds of water, perhaps from thawing ice. He was sure they were in the nearby Alps and not too far from the farm he had followed them to. At some point she had somehow forced him to transform fully, which meant Nethliast had been involved. Only a dragon could force a dragon to show his true form. Nethliast’s betrayal was complete.
The hush in the cave was probably caused because he had stirred. Lesser creatures in the cave were trying to avoid his notice. They had no idea that he was worse off than they were. As he lifted his sore head from the ground, the rattle of metal chains echoed through the silence and made him cringe. He became suddenly aware that they were attached to a large ring around his neck.
He shifted his feet and found similar rings around them. Binding a dragon was futile because of their ability to take any form. All Valdiest would have to do was change forms and slip his chains, and soon he would challenge those bonds but not until he knew more about where he was, who has holding him and what challenges he faced once he was free.
He sniffed at the air and was immediately assaulted with an overpowering flowery perfume. The heavy scent seemed to coat everything and attacked his sinuses. He squinted and sneezed the foul air from his nose before trying again with a lighter sniff. With effort, he could tease other scents from the air and over time he did find traces of Nethliast on the air. After recovering from how strong it was in the cave he remembered the scent. He had smelled it on Nethliast when he had returned to the hotel the morning of his treac
hery. He had ignored it because he quickly had more to be concerned with.
Was she behind his treachery? Was she the cause of all of this?
If she had enchanted him with her magic it could explain his change in mood and even his actions in the conclave. The thought of a dragon such as Nethliast under the control of a human woman troubled Valdiest. Sadness and understanding warred in the old wyrm’s head until his wisdom returned. He grinned and dropped his head to the stone floor. Charms didn’t succeed long on dragons. Nethliast would soon realize what she was up to, if he didn’t know already, and when he did realize he was manipulated the witch would not be safe anywhere. Why were humans still trying to manipulate them?
Valdiest opened his eyes to search the cave visually. The darkness made no difference to him, and he could see a form standing around the corner to the entrance to his cave. The form moved; it knew that he was awake.
A ball of light appeared above his head, causing searing pain in his rapidly adjusting eyes. When the flash-blindness cleared, he continued the scan of his surroundings. The cave was not much taller than he would be standing on his hind legs, but the chains would never allow him to stand that tall. The chain at his neck kept him limited to the height of most humans. The witch who had attacked him, the source of the perfume, stepped out of the shadows. She was dressed in a new, plum business suit. Apparently, he had been unconscious more than a few hours.
She smiled at him with a possessive grin.
“Valdiest, right?” Standing directly in front of him, she was either brave or very confident.
He concentrated for just an instant and formed a lightning bolt that leapt between them. What he had imagined as an enormous bolt of energy had manifested as a simple static spark that she seemed to catch in her hand.
“Now, now,” she shook her finger back and forth at him, “there’s no reason for us to get off on the wrong foot. Nethliast has left me here to watch you until he can finish what he’s working on. It was not very nice of you to follow us. Why did you do that, anyway?”
Valdiest yanked at the chain in the floor that held his head low and lunged against them with all of his might. He felt the ring on his neck slide between the ridges and then catch. The loop, driven into the floor, held and would not give. The other chains jerked his legs back and dropped him on his belly. There was no fighting these chains; he could not get a physical advantage against them. He flapped his wings to gain height to try again to force the chains free. She mumbled ancient words and made intricate gestures before him, pointing her fingers at his wings. Invisible forces left her fingers and slammed into the leading edges of his wings near his shoulder. The loud crack of bone scared him more than the pain that rippled through his back as the bones shattered. His useless wings settled on his back in odd angles, and he fell to the floor again with a thump. He struggled to get his feet under him and stood up. He was not going to cower in front of the witch controlling Nethliast.
“I hope you understand now. I am serious and don’t want to have to deal with your attempts to escape. This cave has been protected against most magic. I happen to know the spells that will and will not work. There is a very short list, and most will not help you.” Her voice sharpened as she chastised him like a child.
Valdiest exhaled quickly into the cave with a blast of fire that filled it and swirled around him. The heat was intense, but somehow it did not pass the entrance to the small cave. She stood beyond it with her arms crossed.
“You see, your attempts to harm me are not going to work. I am the superior here, and you will submit to me. Nethliast expects answers to some questions. He expects me to help him extract those answers.”
Valdiest watched the witch walk in front of the barrier. She could not cross it, but her spells could. He settled quietly onto the floor and chose to ignore her. He was not going to answer her questions. She had said Nethliast wanted answers, but that could not be true. She had to be manipulating him. Valdiest refused to believe the dragon he had thought of as a son had turned him over to a human like a plaything. She must know he would never submit to a human. Valdiest laughed at her.
“What’s funny? I’m surprised you find anything humorous right now.”
He thought of a protected human form and brought to mind the steps to take it. The chains would fall away from the smaller form, and he would still be protected. In the instant he expected to change, he found he was still in his dragon form. Nothing had happened. Somehow she had overcome his ability to transform. He was trapped. Panic threatened to struggle up into his mind, and he refused to submit to it. He gave no sign to her that he had failed but remained still.
“Now, are you done? There’s no sense in resisting me. I’m well protected, and you’re trapped. A very interesting priestess and my dead grandmother were quite helpful in keeping you right where you are. I’m the only way you’ll leave this cave. What shape you’re in when you do leave is dependent on your answers.”
Valdiest closed his eyes and said nothing.
The familiar words filled the cave and were followed by a massive blow to his ribs that filled his chest with pain. His body jerked in reflex against the chains, but he said nothing. Valdiest opened his eyes and looked at her again. The glimmer in her eyes, her open-mouthed laughter, the flush on her cheeks; all of these things told him this was going to last and she was going to enjoy it. He closed his eyes and settled his head on the floor looking for a way he could protect himself from the punishing torture he was about to endure.
“Were you reporting everything that happened at the conclave to Meliastrid? Were you a spy all along? Did you ever believe in Nethliast’s plan?”
She mumbled her spell again and this time slammed her powerful strike into his head. His ear rang with the force, and his head swam as he fought to maintain consciousness. Had she just been lucky to strike the sensitive ear region of his head, or had she studied dragons to know how to hurt them? Who is this priestess she was talking about? He focused his mind on his mate and his memories of his family before they had been forced to be human. The headache that filled his head was nothing like the pain she was inflicting, but if he could focus on something else it might make the pain more bearable. He latched onto memories he wanted back, and the searing pain in his head overwhelmed the pain in his body. He dove deeper into his memories against the pain. It didn’t stop the pounding or the questions, but it allowed him to ignore her.
He had no way of knowing how long she had questioned him. The whirlpool of pain seemed to stretch on to the edge of his life. At the very corner of his mind Nethliast stood calling to him. His voice and memory came without pain and soothed him. He followed it for the depths and settled on rampart walls to listen. Silence washed over him like a cooling rain. The questions had stopped. He was not sure how long she had not been beating him but that had stopped as well.
Nethliast’s call was not a memory. He was calling his name. He was in the cave with the witch. Nethliast called to him again. Had he broken her charm? Had Nethliast come to rescue him from her torture?
The hope drew him from his pain-faceted sanctuary. He released the excruciating memory of his ancient castle which he now knew was not far from where they had captured him to ascend back to reality. Pain, different from the blinding pain in his head that he had hidden in, rippled through his body as he lay chained in the cave where he had fallen. So much was broken. Valdiest was not sure he would survive.
Nethliast was there standing in his human form beyond the point where her barrier had been. She was still standing there, and he could see the anger ripple down her cheek and her fists clench. A surge of pride rippled through his broken body and bolstered his beaten resolve. She had failed, and she knew it. But, why was she still alive if Nethliast had come to save him?
“My king, why have you betrayed me like this? Were you always my enemy? Did you intentionally run off Wy Li when I needed him? How deep does your treachery go? Are all of my plans known to the human-lover?”
The words seemed out of place coming from Nethliast. Was he aware of what she had done to him? Was he still under her spell?
“What? I fought for our goals. I was faithful to the plan. You betrayed me. You had me removed from my rightful position. This witch has you charmed. Can’t you see it?”
“It’s you who is charmed. Your old age has made you weak. You can’t control your offspring. You should have killed Meliastrid the moment we emerged for her insolence. She protects the humans who have made fools of us.”
“And you do not? Are you not here with a human now? What is the beast standing with you? Is she at least part dragon so I can say you have not lowered yourself by associating with her?”
Nethliast’s eyes flashed at the attack.
“This is not about me. You are the one who has shared my plans with Meliastrid. You are the one who poisoned my relations with many of the male leaders. What have you done? What have you shared with Meliastrid?”
“I have shared nothing with anyone, you disloyal brat, but I should have. I should have stomped your egg before you could hatch.”
Valdiest’s heart ached as he surrendered to the nagging worry that Nethliast was in full control of himself and not charmed by the witch. From his journey into his own memories, he had the benefit of understanding who Meliastrid really was. It was clear that they had both been disloyal in even holding the conclave. He had failed to lead his kind through this challenge.
“Why do you dishonor your king this way? Why have you turned me over to this witch? You’re as guilty in this as I. You are no better than the human who did this to me.”
Nethliast transformed and stepped into the small cave passing through the barrier. Valdiest released a blast of fire that engulfed Nethliast and rushed back into the narrower cave beyond. Nethliast stood, and Valdiest laid facing him in the swirling flames that consumed the lichen and turned the moisture into steam. He hoped the human witch had been caught up in the conflagration as punishment for her actions, but as the flames subsided and she returned from around the corner he was disappointed. Her fists were clenched, and her jaw was set. He could smell the vengeance on her. Her plum outfit was charred in several places. Smoke rose from the very edges of her hair, proving she had barely escaped the scorching he had wished on her. With a comforting inhale he enjoyed the aroma of his fire, free from her sickening scent.