by Katie Cherry
“No!” he cries, panic flooding him. He stumbles in his haste to get to them, but he’s too late. Alyssa, who had joined him in the clearing, braces herself for the oncoming dragon. She swings her sword as its paw nears her, severing one of its fingers. The dragon knocks the sword out of her hand and grabs her in its giant paw. It picks her up, spins back to Hunter and growls once more before jumping into the air and unfurling its long wings.
Hunter remains frozen, watching the retreating red beast, Alyssa’s cries ringing in his ears. After a few moments, he curses himself for his slow thinking. Using his Gift for flying, he takes to the air. He puts all of his energy into following the dragon, but it’s too fast for him and is soon completely out of sight. Hunter finally crashes to the ground, landing roughly and falling onto his knees in the dirt amongst the broken branches. Tears fill his vision for the first time in years, and they can’t seem to stop coming.
Finally drained, he forces himself back to his feet. What was he doing crying in the forest when he could be assembling his men to go and attack the beast? He was the leader of the Dragon Hunters. Patrick wouldn’t deny him this time. He couldn’t.
“Don’t worry, Alyssa,” he murmurs to himself, staring into the sky, which remains empty and silent. Only the stars wink back at him. More tears trickle down his cheeks as he stares into the darkness. “I love you, Alyssa. And I’m coming for you. I will rescue you,” he vows passionately. “Whatever it takes.”
Stiffening his resolve and wiping away his tears, Hunter sets his face into a mask of anger and storms back toward the castle.
There was much for him to do.
Pronunciation Guide
Abonsam: Ah-bone-sahm
Beryl: Bear-ell
Demeter: Deh-meat-er
Dorff: Like dork
Kaifeng: Ki-fang
Sicillago: Seek-ill-ah-go
Tzadkiel: (T)sad-keel
Kristich: Chris-stitch
Quagon: Coo-way-gone
Thaddeus: Thuh-day-us
Zilferia: Zill-fear-E-uh
Zarafa: Zar (like car)-off-ah
Magic Spells
Llacym deehkc irtap
-Patrick heed my call
Landgi sehtwo llof… yobeh temwoh snoitan itseds tio tlangiseh twollof… langi sehtwo llof
-Follow the signal… follow the signal to its destination, show me the boy… follow the signal
Evomt nod
-Don’t move
Cigameh tesa eler
-Release the magic
Reda elfo eltitu oyevig dnau oyn opur ewop fo eyer ehtonaw otsebi nyvard fo rewop ehtyb
-By the power of Dravyn I bestow another eye of power upon you and give you title of leader
Ytilibis nopser sihtt pecca I
-I accept this responsibility
Kcolnu
-Unlock
Quagon
Book Three of the
Crystal Dragon Series
Katie Cherry
For my sweet husband, for loving this crazy dork into the eternities.
I love you!
PROLOGUE
The Key
A scream echoes down the hallway, the sound amplified by the cold stone walls. The slam of a door abruptly dampens the scream. A tall, grey-haired man steps back from the door, his hand remaining clenched after releasing the handle. He turns back to face the two others in the room. The red-haired one strapped to the table lay still, her eyes closed. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, the only thing betraying the calm she was attempting to portray. The blonde woman was still hovering above the other, her fist clenched tight with a coppery weapon over her knuckles. Her eyes dart over to the grey-haired man by the door.
“No one wants to hear this,” he growls, finally relaxing his own hand.
She smirks in reply. “Says who? Torture is a fine art, which I enjoy honing. If you’re getting squeamish, you can always leave.”
He glances down at their prisoner. “I’m not saying don’t torture the traitor. I’m just saying we should be smart about this. You know how Astrid gets when something doesn’t go through her first.”
“Oh, she’s so uptight,” she groans, straightening and tossing the metal knuckles onto the tray beside them. It clatters against the other torture devices held there.
“Gabrielle, you know it’s dangerous to go against her, whatever you may think about her.”
She rolls her eyes in response. “Dexter, you know how awful she can be to work with. Don’t even pretend to care about her. You’re only saying such things because she’s Dravyn’s right-hand woman.”
“Yes. And that makes her powerful. She’s above you and me, at the very least,” Dexter groans in response. “Come on. She may just let you abuse Zarafa with your Viglax-coated torture devices regardless. I just don’t want to get punished because you were impatient.”
Gabrielle pauses, her weighty gaze lingering on his face. “Alright, fine,” she sighs, giving in. “But I better be able to finish what I started,” she continues, gesturing back towards the heavily bruised face she had been ‘working on.’ Bright green eyes open and stare at Dexter, pleading.
He turns away. “Come on, then. She should be done with her meeting now.” Opening the door for his companion, he quietly closes and locks it behind them. They walk down the hall in silence. That was always how they had gotten along best- by limiting their interactions. Gabrielle doesn’t look his direction, even when they reach the large, ornate door and are stopped by the guards. Neither are words are exchanged as they both display their insignias to the guards. Their only response is a slight bow and the removal of the magically strengthened spears from the doors. Gabrielle strides past them with the confidence Dexter recognized she put forth whenever Astrid was involved. She had always been jealous of her superior, and had been struggling to take her position for years. Dravyn had never batted an eye at Gabrielle, though. Dexter knew her struggles were futile, but she snapped at him whenever he tried to bring this to light, so he hadn’t bothered for quite a while.
As the doors creak open, Astrid’s head snaps quickly to the doorway, a knife already drawn. Her long blonde braid had swung to the front of her body from the movement, and she pushes it back as she straightens and relaxes. “Gabrielle, Dexter. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“My apologies,” Dexter rushes with a bow. “I didn’t expect your meeting to still be going,” he continues, his eyes scanning the four armor-clad men she was standing among.
“Yes, well, as it so happens we’re almost finished,” Astrid replies, turning back to the nearest man and returning to their previous conversation. Dexter straightens against the wall behind him, clasping his hands in front. Gabrielle sees this and rolls her eyes, but eventually adopts a more respectful position as well. After a few minutes of talking in lowered voices, Astrid sends the men away and turns back to them.
“Well, Dexter, to what do I owe this visit?”
“M’lady, we discovered that Zarafa is a traitor,” he begins.
“The vampire?”
“Yes. She was positioned on First Earth-”
“What am I supposed to care about that scum?” she interrupts, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s what I was saying,” Gabrielle happily chimes in. “I told Dexter I’m fine to just punish her myself-”
“No. You aren’t. Dexter was right to seek permission first. I just wish I didn’t have to deal with something so trivial,” she sighs, leaning back against the table. She stares at them thoughtfully for a moment. “We aren’t to waste much time on her, although she certainly deserves to be punished. Therefore, she is henceforth exiled. She has twenty-four hours to disappear. Should we ever find her, orders will be to kill her on sight.”
Gabrielle frowns. “But-”
“No arguments. She is nothing. You do know what is most important to Dravyn right now, don’t you?”
“Crystal Dragon,” Dexter answers, his mouth set in a firm line.
“Ye
s. The girl. She is the key. You wouldn’t understand how important she is to Dravyn’s designs, but you don’t need to know. We just need her. Understand?” she finishes, her emerald eyes drilling into Gabrielle’s pale blue ones.
“…Yes,” she finally replies.
“Good. Now, get out of my sight. I have more important things to deal with,” Astrid sighs, turning away from them and leaning back over the table, her palms to the dark wood.
“Yes, m’lady,” Dexter replies with a bow before leading Gabrielle back out of the room. The heavy doors swing shut behind them and they glance at each other, then part ways with a simple nod. Each knows their role in the plan. All they have to do is follow through. For Dexter, his first item of business was to bestow the exile status upon the vampire. Gabrielle, meanwhile, had the job of managing ‘the key.’ They would be much more cautious about their approach with the girl this time around. None of Patrick’s rash kidnappings.
This time, she would come to them so gradually she wouldn’t even think to fight them.
CHAPTER ONE
Preparations
The sunrise had always represented hope and a fresh start to Nathan. But this time, watching the sun cresting the mountains didn’t give him the fresh feeling he had been craving. It was a new day, yet everything felt much the same. There was one new development though, he remembers with a smile as he tucks his hands behind his head, the rough roof of the house scraping against his skin. This time, it was just he and Crystal. On an adventure like they had been the first time they’d met the year or two before. Of course, a trip to Quagon was likely going to be drastically different from the Games the Zilfierians had formed, but they both had the same goal- to find the lost Dragon child.
Sitting up on the roof, Nathan gazes back out at the forest. It had never felt so empty. No signs of life emanated from the trees at the beginning of the new day. All of Zilferia seemed to be in a somber state since the war had begun. He shivers at the brisk wind and pulls up his hood. Hopefully, Quagon would be cheerier than this.
Standing, he turns and surveys the way down from the roof of the small house. Stepping to the edge, he hops off onto a stack of barrels and continues forward to a small pile of hay, rolling down it and hopping back onto his feet as he reaches the bottom. Starting toward the castle, he brushes off the golden strands, leaving them to trail in his wake.
As he walks towards her, his mind turned to Crystal once more. Despite the dangers they were sure to face, he felt nothing but excitement and relief that they would be able to work together once more. Sure, he would miss Angela while they were away, but somehow his brain couldn’t focus on that. Instead, he pictured them swimming through the Quagonian oceans, laughing and talking thanks to their underwater breathing devices. He pictured them talking to those their age, making jokes and having fun as they searched for Rex. Maybe with them being a literal world away, the war on Zilferia won’t feel so pressing. Maybe they could actually escape it for a while, and not have to worry about the Dragon Hunters constantly hunting after Crystal.
When he reaches the great doors of the Dragon castle, he reaches up and knocks. The password had changed since Hunter had been among them, so the pattern he now raps upon the timeless wood is the equivalent of using Morse Code to tap out ‘dragon’. Once he does, it opens. A young boy dressed in uniform bows to him and accepts his jacket. He still felt strange about how he should act around servants, so usually, he takes the silent approach and just lets them do their thing. Today is no different, and the boy soon disappears to attend to something else. He quickly heads deeper into the castle, easily locating the stairs leading to Crystal’s rooms. She’s not in her bedroom, but he isn’t surprised. He finds her on her balcony. She’s dressed and ready to go, just leaning against her railing, gazing at the same sunrise that Nathan just had been. She doesn’t stir when he joins her at the railing, and the two quietly watch as the sun illuminates the silent trees.
Crystal is the first to speak. “Do you remember the last time we stood here?”
Nathan laughs. “I do, actually… I seem to remember you were trying to freeze to death in the snow,” he winks.
She laughs a little. “That was fun, and relaxing…” She pauses and takes a few breaths. “It seems like everything was so much more simple back then. Our challenge was just finding Rex- now we still have that to do, as well as somehow stop a war from tearing Zilferia apart.”
“A lot has definitely happened since then,” Nathan agrees. “I think we’re both different people than we were.”
She nods. “This summer has definitely changed us. …I wonder… do you think it will ever stop?”
“What?”
“Changes. Bad, hard changes. Why is everything only getting more and more difficult? Shouldn’t some things be falling into place? Why does everything just fall increasingly out of place? …Is there even hope for us? I don’t see how we can even change anything. You know as well as I how much we’ve sacrificed and how hard we’ve struggled to help. Yet still, nothing seems to be going right. Nothing.”
Nathan shakes his head. “Crystal, you’re smarter than this,” he gently begins, taking one of her hands in his own. “You know that isn’t true. We’ve made a lot of small changes- well, mostly you, honestly- and it does make a difference. …Tell me this: when you play chess, do you win immediately with no sacrifices?”
Realization of what he’s getting at begins to dawn on Crystal’s face. “No… sometimes you have to make a lot of sacrifices to set up for the winning move.”
“Exactly. I may not know a lot about war, Crystal, but I’ve learned enough just by watching you to know that nothing is impossible, nothing is hopeless, and the small things that we can help with eventually add up to bigger things that can turn the tables in the war.”
She smiles gratefully at him, unshed tears gleaming in her eyes. “…You always know what to say to cheer me up,” she chuckles before throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him.
He returns the tight hug. “Like I’ve said, I’m here for you always. I’ll cheer you up how and when I can, whether you like it or not,” he adds with a chuckle.
She smiles as she pulls out of the hug, laughing at him with her eyes. “I will always appreciate that, silly!”
He smiles in return, then takes a deep breath. “Well, I’m not sure how much longer we can put this thing off. …Are you ready?”
She shakes her head in exasperation. “Am I ever really ready?” she replies sarcastically before walking over to the door and opening it for him. “But when has that ever stopped me?” she adds with a smile as Nathan walks through the doorway.
“Never!” he grins.
<<
I’m terrified. Nathan was sweet to try and cheer me up, and while it certainly helped, I’m still petrified with anxiety. It seems to me that this war will never end, that we will never be able to find Rex, and that we will never be the same again. Who knew if we could even find lasting peace ever again?
I don’t tell him of my worries, though. He had already done what he could to help me, and there honestly wasn’t much more he could do. I would simply worry about it all until it was over regardless.
When we reach the kitchen, food is already being set out for us. Matilda, the chef, gives me a quick hug when she sees me. “Princess! I wasn’t sure what you wanted this morning, so I prepared some stuffed toast… if you’d like anything else…”
“Matilda, this looks- and smells- amazing. This will be perfect, thank you,” I smile. She beams and nods before heading back through the door. Nathan and I sit and begin eating. It’s amazing. It’s ‘stuffed’ with cream cheese, strawberries, and blueberries.
Nathan leans back in his chair with a contented sigh. “Man, I just wish I had more room in my stomach! Your chef is amazing!”
I laugh and lean back from the table as well. “Yes, she sure is. Hey, do you think we could convince mom and Dad to let us take her with us?” I chuckle.
“Good morning, mom,” I reply, standing. “Matilda made stuffed toast. Nathan and I are done, but we can wait if…”
“No, that’s quite alright, sweetie. We can eat after we see you off,” she replies, nodding her head to indicate Dad, who’s standing somberly by the door.
“Oh, okay,” I say, leading the way over to the door to join him, hoisting my backpack onto my back as I go. Nathan follows suit, picking up the backpack of items we found him from around the house- a few weapons, some food, some Quagon money, and a few pairs of clothing that Taylor had whipped up for him. I had a similar stock of provisions in mine as well.
“Are you ready?” Alexander softly asks, concern glistening in his blue-gold eyes.
“Yep,” I confidently reply. It will make it easier on him if I seem strong and sure of myself. Nathan nods and steps up beside me.
The King nods in response, then opens the door and leads us away from the castle and into the woods. We meet Vlad in the same spot that he sent us home from last time. When he sees us, he races up and takes Nathan and me into his arms, pulling us into a tight hug. He doesn’t say anything, but when he pulls away, we can read everything in his gaze- his love and concern for us, his appreciation of us, his admiration.