Sleeping Dragons

by Phoebe Ravencraft

  “Hang on,” he said.

  I stood in front of the door nervously. Seconds ticked by, and nothing happened. I tapped my foot impatiently.

  “Ash?”

  “I’m hacking it now, Sassy.”

  “Yeah, well, type faster. I’m a sitting duck out here.”

  “Working as fast as I can. I can’t afford to screw this up and set off an alarm.”

  Yeah, and I couldn’t afford to get caught standing around the locked door that led to the dragon’s vault. My heart pounded in my chest. That caterer had seen me come down this way. What if he told someone? What if they came looking for me?

  The keypad beeped three times.

  “Okay, got it,” Ash said. “Go.”

  I didn’t wait. I put my hand on the metal handle and turned.

  The door opened without resistance, swinging out. As stealthily as I could manage, I slipped behind it and pulled it shut.

  A long and steep staircase descended before me. There were at least sixteen steps.

  “Fuck this,” I said.

  I bent over and removed my shoes. I could just see me making a small misstep and pitching headlong down those stairs.

  My ankles thanked me. Still carrying the shoes, since I didn’t want them discovered, I quickly padded down to the next floor.

  “Still with me?” I asked Ash.

  “Right here. Head to your right.”

  I moved swiftly, darting down the hallway now that I didn’t have to be careful not to break my ankle.

  “Stop,” Ash said. “Don’t move.”

  I pulled up immediately. Ten feet ahead, the hallway T’ed off left and right.

  “What’s happening?” I whispered.

  “You’re near the security command center. One of the guards has come out. He’s moving in your direction.”

  Shit! I knew this plan was too complicated to work!

  “Move against the wall to your left,” Ash instructed.

  I practically dove against it. Despite the fact that we were in a basement, the floor was carpeted. I was grateful for that. It made it easier to move quietly.

  “All right, creep along the wall until you reach the T-junction.”

  Once again, I followed Ash’s instructions. With my back against the wall, I inched my way forward. I held my shoes in my right hand, and had my left arm up, ready to knifehand the bastard if he came around the corner.

  “Okay, freeze,” Ash said.

  I made myself into a statue. No muscle moved. I tried not to hold my breath, but it was difficult. I listened as carefully as I could, trying to determine if footsteps were approaching.

  “He’s gone into the bathroom,” Ash said. “Go right now. Top speed.”

  Like a jaguar, I sprang from my hiding spot and raced down the right hallway.

  “Left,” Ash said as I approached another T-junction.

  I slipped to the right of the hall so I could corner easily. Then I darted to the left getting out of sight of anyone else who might emerge from the control center.

  “Okay, good,” Ash said. “Now, thirty feet ahead there should be another door. I’m working on getting it open.”

  “Work fast,” I said, trying not to pant.

  Sure enough, there was a door at the end of the hallway. Like the others I’d encountered, it was large and wooden. I couldn’t believe a dragon would have doors that could be broken or burned. There was probably reinforced steel underneath that oaken veneer.

  I’d only been standing there, catching my breath for three seconds when I heard another beep-beep-beep.

  “Go,” Ash said.

  Again, I didn’t hesitate. I turned the handle and pushed through the door, shutting it behind me as quickly as possible.

  Another stairway descended before me.

  “Jesus, how deep is this place?” I asked.

  “Three stories up and two down,” Ash replied. “You go down these stairs and turn left. The vault should be on your right.”

  “Okay,” I replied.

  Like the previous staircase, these steps were carpeted and surrounded by wooden walls. It wasn’t like descending into a secret subbasement at all. It was more like just going down to a lower floor.

  The air was much cooler. I wasn’t sure if it was just being lower in the ground, or if the temperature was controlled. Regardless, the skimpy dress I wore was suddenly not enough. Gooseflesh rose on my bare skin, and I wrapped my arms around myself to ward off the chill.

  When I turned left, it was obvious I had come to the vault. It was a little ways down on the right like Ash had promised. An enormous, metal double-door stood fifteen feet high. The steel gleamed in the artificial light and practically dared me to try to penetrate it.

  To the right, was a touchpad. It was blinking.

  “Okay, I’m standing in front of the vault,” I said. “Are you sure Stormy the Succubus deactivated the security system?”

  “If she didn’t, you won’t be able to get in,” Ash replied.

  “Well, what do I do? There’s a keypad with a winking light, but it’s not obvious what that means.”

  “What do the keys read?”

  “Standard number keys, along with ‘Cancel,’ ‘Back,’ and ‘Enter.’”

  “Press ‘Enter,’” Ash instructed. “Stormy should have entered the proper codes.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  My finger trembled as I reached for the keypad. I tried to tell myself it was the cold, not the naked fear of setting off the alarm. My brain wasn’t buying it.

  With a deep breath, I stabbed the “Enter” button. The keypad chirped several times. Then there was a loud clunk, followed by a hiss. The doors slid aside slowly.

  “Jesus, Ash,” I said. “This thing was sealed airtight.”

  “I’m not surprised. It may be climate-controlled inside too. I’ve no idea what he’s got in there, but if it’s anything that could be damaged by conditions, he’s likely sealed the room and kept the humidity to almost zero.”

  “It is pretty fucking cold and dry down here,” I commented. “Okay, I’m going in.”

  As I stepped into the vault, lights came on automatically. The sight took my breath away.

  I was expecting stacks of cash and coins, jewelry lying about, loose gemstones – basically, the kind of thing you’d expect in Smaug’s lair. Unlike a fantasy dragon, though, D’Krisch Mk’Rai had a broader view of what constituted treasure.

  Forget cash, Mk’Rai had stacks of bearer bonds in multiple currencies. There were probably millions of dollars in those alone. He also had paintings – none of which I recognized – a crown that looked, given the tarnish, like it was at least five hundred years old, three necklaces containing enough diamonds to buy half the Cincinnati metro area, and an autographed Joe Montana rookie card. I didn’t know much about sports, but Montana was one of the most hated figures in Cincinnati, since he’d beaten the Bengals in both of their Super Bowl appearances. I was a little surprised Mk’Rai didn’t have the card on display just to piss off the Cincinnati sports fans who came to the mansion.

  There were books that looked to be several hundred years old too, including copies of Frankenstein, Moby Dick, and Faust. The dragon clearly liked books about monsters. They were all encased in glass to protect them from the elements, and given the autographed Montana card, I presumed these were all first editions.

  As I moved through all this treasure, looking for the case that should contain the Jeweled Dagger of Constantinople, my eyes fell on the most wondrous item of all. Sitting on a narrow pedestal, encased in plastic, was a Black Lotus.

  “Holy shit!” I whispered, awed.

  “What?” Ash asked.

  “He’s got a Black Lotus.”

  “A what?”

  “A Black Lotus, the rarest, most valuable Magic card there is.”

  “Sassy, what are you talking about?”

  “Magic: The Gathering. It’s a card game. Originally came out in the mid-Nineties. We sell a to
n of it at The Dragon’s Lair – the game store where I work. Magic is probably forty percent of our sales. Maybe more.”

  “But what’s that got to do with a black lotus?” Ash asked.

  “The Black Lotus is the rarest card ever made,” I answered. “There are only about a thousand of them in existence. A Black Lotus in good condition is worth tens of thousands of dollars.”

  I moved closer to the card so I could inspect it.

  “Oh, my God, Ron would shit himself if he saw this,” I said.

  “Ron?”

  “My boss at The Dragon’s Lair. The owner. This card is in perfect condition. It looks like it was just opened fresh from a pack. There’s no edge-wear or anything. I don’t think it’s ever been played. And it’s got a black border, meaning it’s either Alpha or Beta Edition. Jesus, Ash, this card is probably worth a hundred thousand dollars or more.”

  “As exciting as that must be for you, do not touch it. Everything in the vault is trapped. If you take something from where it’s stored, you’ll set off the alarm.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said.

  I frowned in disappointment. I’d never even seen a Black Lotus before. Swiping it could have made me a rich woman.

  “Have you found the dagger yet?” Ash asked.

  With a heavy sigh, I pulled myself back into focus. I was here on a job, and the more time I spent screwing around the more likely it would be I got caught.

  I cast my gaze around the room, searching for the case that was supposed to contain the cursed dagger. At last, I spied it. Made of polished mahogany and inlaid with silver, it was exactly the sort of ostentatious thing that fit with the view I had of a hedonistic dragon.

  “Got it,” I said.

  I moved to the case and stood before it. It lay there innocently, as if it were just an ordinary box and not waiting to bring the dragon’s wrath down on me.

  “Is it okay for me to touch it?” I asked.

  “It should be.” Ash said.

  “Should be? What do you mean ‘should’ be?”

  “Stormy said it was warded against opening. She didn’t say anything about touching it. You would have to touch it to use the decharmer, so it should be fine.”

  I shook my head.

  “You guys don’t deal with enough certainty,” I said. “‘Should be’ isn’t good enough. You need to work on ‘It will definitely be safe.’”

  “Too late for that now,” Ash said.

  I wanted to punch him. His ass wasn’t the one down here, waiting to get caught stealing from a notorious rich, White guy, who just happened to also be a dragon.

  Taking a deep breath, I set my shoes down next to me. Then I reached out with my right hand, trying to find the courage to let it fall on the box. Before I could think better of it, I laid my hand down.

  Nothing happened.

  Okay, good. I hadn’t tripped the alarm yet.

  I closed my eyes and took in several breaths, listening to the beating of my heart. Then I reached out with my mind, searching for the magic.

  “There should be two wards,” Ash said. “They must be disarmed separately, but it doesn’t matter in which order.”

  A frisson of energy sparked across my palm. A thick current of purple magic ran across the case.

  “I only see one,” I said.

  “There should be two,” Ash said.

  I concentrated harder. Trying not to doubt myself, to remember how hard it had been to learn to use this stupid artifact, I searched the case for the second ward. Nothing appeared.

  “There isn’t,” I said. “There is just one thick current of purple energy.”

  “Hmm,” Ash said. “That’s odd. Stormy swore there were two. Maybe after you disarm the first one, the other will be obvious.”

  “And maybe this damned thing will turn me into a newt.”

  “Why would it—”

  “Jesus, Ash! Haven’t you seen any Monty Python?”

  “Yes, why?”

  If my eyes hadn’t been closed, I’d have rolled them.

  “The scene in ‘Holy Grail’ with the witch,” I said. “‘She turned me into a newt!’”

  “Oh.”

  I sighed again. Just when I thought he was actually cool, he wouldn’t get my sense of humor.

  Dismissing Ash’s lack of Monty Python Quote scholarship, I concentrated on the problem at hand. There was nothing to do but go forward. Well, that wasn’t true. I could have said, “the hell with this,” and gotten out of there. For about the eightieth time, I wondered what I was doing here at all. Every instinct I had told me to walk away, but I was ignoring them.

  The thick purple energy zipped and zapped across the box. I told myself that this wasn’t as complicated as the bullshit test Ephraim had made me take. Focusing on the magical beam, I sent my will into the decharmer, commanding it to pull the ward into it.

  At first, nothing happened. No matter how hard I tried, I could not make that stupid, purple, lightning bolt move the way I wanted.

  After a few seconds, I did manage to edge it the slightest bit nearer the ring. But it still resisted me.

  “Ash, something is wrong,” I said. “I can’t make the decharmer pull it in.”

  “Sassy, you just have to focus like you did back at headquarters. Don’t tell yourself it’s too hard or that you can’t do it.”

  “I’m not,” I said, unable to keep the irritation from my voice. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing. I’m telling you something is different here.”

  “It’s not different. It’s the same thing you had with the one line of energy in the training room.”

  “God damn it, Ash, will you listen to me? You told me there should be two wards. I can only locate one. You told me I should be able to use the decharmer to disarm it. I can’t. Something isn’t right here.”

  “Sassy, your mind is overly suspicious. You’re thinking like a fighter, not a magician.”

  “No, I’m thinking like a thief,” I said. He was really starting to piss me off here. “We were told to expect one thing. When I get here, it’s different than what we were told. You’re the damned security expert. Alarm bells should be ringing loud and clear in your brain.”

  I heard him sigh. It was a good thing he was in the truck miles from this location. I might have punched him if he’d been here.

  “Okay, let’s run with that theory for a minute,” he said at last. “There are a couple possibilities. First, Mk’Rai changed the wards after Stormy told us what they were.”

  “If that’s true we’re screwed,” I said.

  “Agreed. Second, what Stormy told us is accurate, but we’re not understanding them.”

  “Yeah, or third, she lied.”

  “If that’s true, we’re just as screwed as with the first possibility. I suggest we try to solve the puzzle as though it’s option number two.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that’s the only way we’re not screwed,” he said.

  He had a point. Of course, that also meant we only had a one-in-three chance of not walking into a trap. This job was getting worse by the second.

  “Ash, are you sure we shouldn’t abort the mission? If Stormy lied or didn’t know that Mk’Rai was onto us, this can only go south.”

  He didn’t answer right away. Silently, I prayed for him to think aborting was a good idea.

  “Let’s move forward.”

  Shit. Prayer not answered.

  I sighed again and put my hand back on the case. As soon as I closed my eyes, I could see that thick, purple beam.

  “Okay, so what did you say option two was?” I asked.

  “That Stormy told us the truth, but what you’re perceiving doesn’t make it obvious.”

  Right. If that was the case – and we were talking about a pretty big if – then I wasn’t seeing something. Or maybe . . . maybe it was hidden!

  “Ash, there should be two wards, right?”

  “Yes.”

  That purple energy bolt sure was t
hick. Maybe it wasn’t one current. Maybe it was two!

  “Hang on,” I said. “I have an idea.”

  I sent willpower into the decharmer again. But instead of trying to pull the beam into the ring, I tried to split it.

  Almost immediately, the purple energy separated into two thinner currents – one blue, one red.

  “Damn, that’s good,” I said. “Very clever.”

  “What?”

  “There were two wards. They were woven together, so they looked like one.”

  “Did you get them apart?”

  “Yes.”

  “Nice work, Sassy. Good thinking.”

  I smiled at the compliment. Fuck you, Ephraim.

  Once I had them disentwined, it was child’s play to disarm them. I had them both out in about twenty seconds total.

  “Okay,” I said. “I’ve decharmed it. Now to get the knife.”

  I thumbed the catch and carefully lifted the lid.

  The box was empty.

  Twenty-nine

  I blinked in surprise at the empty case. It was lined with crushed velvet, and the outline of what must have been a very fancy dagger was impressed within it.

  But there was no knife.

  “Shit,” I said. “Ash, it’s a setup.”

  “What?”

  “It’s a setup! The box is empty!

  Behind me came a loud clunk, followed by whirring. I turned to see the doors to the vault sliding shut. Fuck!

  I grabbed my shoes and ran for the exit. Those doors were moving swiftly, though, and I was deep in the vault. I wasn’t going to make it.

  “No,” I wailed.

  As the metal doors neared each other, I threw my shoe in desperation. It landed just short, bounced off the floor and slid into the crack just before the two doors could meet and seal. The spike heel wedged itself under one of them. The massive metal door came to a halt.

  Of course, there was still only about six inches of space. As soon as I made it to the doors, I heard hissing coming from the other side of the vault. I risked a look back.

  Green gas was pouring in from the ceiling.

  Damn, this was definitely a setup.

  “Sassy, what’s going on?” Ash said.

  “I told you, it’s a damned setup! They’re trying to seal me in and gas me. Tell Ephraim to get the fuck out of there, and see if you can find an override to open this damned door!”