“Nah, Finn, I’ll take care of this,” Owen said. “You caught it, so you deserve to relax for a bit. I’ll take care of cooking it.”
Finn nodded, and went to sit by the two wizard women. Owen wasn’t the type to say he was sorry, but Finn recognized his insistence on cooking as the closest thing to an apology that he would make for teasing Izzy. Finn was only too happy to accept Owen’s offer to cook, since he wanted to take some time to look over the maps and figure out where, exactly, their journey today had taken them.
“We’re right here,” Izzy said, pointing to a spot on the map before Finn even had a chance to ask about their location. “We made good time today, I’d say.”
“You ladies did a great job flying,” Finn said, winking at them. “You flew almost as fast as a dragon would have.”
The two wizards rolled their eyes at him, but he could see that they were still pleased by his backhanded compliment.
“If we keep up this pace, we should make it to Devil’s Melt within two days,” Raven said. “Of course, we’ll probably have to slow down somewhat as we get closer, to make sure that our invisibility shields are working at one hundred percent. The faster we go, the more chance there is of the shield not working properly. And enemy soldiers are sure to be watching the area around Devil’s Melt like hawks.”
Finn nodded absentmindedly as he studied the map. Devil’s Melt was the area in Northern Montana where Izzy had been held in the enemy camp against her will. It was from there that the amethyst records had been stolen from the enemy and brought back to Falcon Cross. The enemy knew that it was only a matter of time before a search was sent out for the dragon amethyst using the information on its location that had been in the records.
Finn frowned as he contemplated what dangers they might face once in Devil’s Melt. The group would try to stay under the cloak of invisibility as much as they could, but it was still possible that the enemy would figure out they were there. If that happened, Finn and the rest of the group from Falcon Cross would have to fight. Normally, Finn didn’t mind fighting. In fact, he somewhat enjoyed a good chance to take out his frustrations on an enemy. But he wasn’t sure how well the four of them would do against the large contingent of Saul’s army that was likely still in Devil’s Melt. Even though Saul’s men had lost the amethyst records, they knew that the dragon amethyst was nearby. They were certainly still searching, and they would be eager for the chance to recapture the records to continue that search. Finn sighed and let out a frustrated curse.
“If only we’d gotten to the records before them,” he said. “It would have been nice to search Devil’s Melt without having to constantly worry about Saul’s army. Can you imagine how quickly we would have found the stone if we didn’t have to worry about staying invisible and watching our backs?”
Raven shrugged. “You’re right, but there’s no sense in dwelling on it. We just have to do the best we can with the circumstances that we have. And hey, at least the enemy figured out for us that the amethyst is in Devil’s Melt. Otherwise we might still be searching with no direction whatsoever.”
“Yeah, well, I’m still not convinced the stone is in Devil’s Melt,” Izzy said, a note of frustration in her voice. Raven and Finn both looked at her in surprise.
“What do you mean?” Finn asked. “Do you think someone else got to it first? Surely, no one could have found it without these records. And we know that Saul’s army didn’t find it even when they had these records on hand.”
Izzy shook her head. “No, it’s not that I think someone else found it. It’s just that I think everyone is too focused on Devil’s Melt. When the wizard Advocates in Falcon Cross were looking over the records, they didn’t even consider that the stone might not be there anymore.”
Raven and Finn both looked at Izzy like she’d lost her mind, but she just shrugged back at them.
“Look,” Izzy said. “I was with Saul’s army for a long time. They searched high and low in Devil’s Melt, and they had all of the information in the records at their disposal. But they still didn’t find anything. I think it’s possible that the information in the records isn’t as straightforward as everyone thinks. The dragon amethyst used to be in Devil’s Melt, that’s for sure. But just because it was there at one time doesn’t mean that it’s still there. It could have been moved, and I think some of the riddles in the records indicate that it has been.”
Finn frowned. “It seems weird to me that all of our wizard Advocates would miss the fact that the stone’s been moved. And, besides, if you really think the stone has moved, why didn’t you say something to the Advocates when they were planning out this mission?”
Izzy shrugged. “I did say something. I told them to consider other locations, but they insisted on keeping their blinders on and pointing us toward Devil’s Melt. So, here we are. On our way to Montana to search for a stone that might not even be there. Of course, I hope for all of our sake’s that I’m wrong and that the stone is there. But, if we don’t find it, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Finn frowned as he stared back down at the map. A troubled uneasiness seemed to rise in the pit of his stomach. What if Izzy was right? What if the dragon amethyst had been moved, and they were heading to Devil’s Melt—straight into enemy territory—for no reason? Finn had always trusted the wizard Advocates. After all, they were some of the smartest people he’d ever met. Not to mention, Myles and Zeke, two of his own clan members, had been heavily involved in planning this mission. He knew all of the dragons in his clan were extremely intelligent. But even smart people made mistakes, and Izzy was right. The focus had been on Devil’s Melt since the beginning, and no one had seemed to question it.
When Finn looked up again, Izzy was watching him with a slightly raised eyebrow. He knew that she could see the doubt in his mind now, too. But what could they really do, except press forward with the mission they’d been given?
“Well, if it’s not there, then at least we’ll have tried,” he said. But his tone was unconvincing. No one wanted to waste time searching in an area where the stone would not be. And no one wanted to risk running across the enemy and his dark magic without a good reason.
Raven opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but before any words could come out, she froze, and a troubled look crossed over her face. Finn followed her gaze, and soon saw the problem.
Standing across the small clearing that formed their campsite, was a woman who was not part of their party. The woman was dressed in hiking garb and had a giant hiking backpack on her back that likely held a tent. She waved as she approached the campsite, her smile making it look as though she thought she’d just arrived at some sort of wilderness party.
“Uh-oh,” Finn said. “Looks like we’ve got company.”
Chapter Three
Finn felt everyone around him tense up. He sniffed deeply, trying to see if the woman was a shifter. But he could tell by her scent that she was a full human. And she did not appear to have a magic ring on, either. She wasn’t a wizard, as far as he could tell. It was possible she really was just an ordinary hiker who had happened across their campsite, but they couldn’t be too careful. And besides, they should have put an invisibility shield around their campsite to protect against both Saul’s army and against random passersby like this.
“Which one of you two was responsible for the invisibility shield?” Finn asked through gritted teeth, keeping his voice low so that the newcomer couldn’t hear him.
Raven shrugged. “We hadn’t bothered yet. We figured since we were way out in the wilderness, there weren’t likely to be any humans out here. And there’s no way Saul’s army followed us here.”
Finn looked over at Raven in shock. “Are you freaking kidding me right now?” he asked in a hissing whisper. “I thought you were supposed to be one of the best soldiers in the Falcon Cross army, and yet you don’t even see the necessity of putting up a protective shield? You should never assume that we haven’t been followed. A
nd, as you can plainly see right in front of us, there’s always a risk of hikers finding us.”
“Calm down, Finn,” Izzy said, keeping her voice low as well. “Perhaps we should have put a shield up, but there’s likely no damage done. This woman seems harmless enough.”
Izzy nonchalantly pointed her magic ring toward the woman and whispered, “Magicae revelabit.”
Finn blinked a few times, waiting for some sort of magical phenomenon to occur, but nothing happened. The newcomer was talking to Owen now, and pointing toward the deer that was roasting on a spit over the fire. Owen looked back at Finn with a helpless expression on his face, as if to ask what the hell he was supposed to say to this random woman. Finn ignored Owen for the moment, and turned back toward Izzy.
“What spell was that?” he asked.
“A revealing spell,” Izzy whispered calmly. “It can be used for a variety of things, one of which is to reveal whether there are any kind of magical spells around someone. I wanted to see if this woman was hiding a magic ring, or had any kind of magical shields around her. But there was nothing. I’m pretty sure she’s just a plain old human who happened to stumble across our campsite.”
“What are we supposed to do about her?” Raven asked.
Izzy shrugged. “Invite her to dinner.”
Finn balked at this suggestion. “No way,” he said. “We can’t let random people hang out with us. You can’t know for sure that she isn’t some sort of spy.”
Izzy gave him an impatient sideways glance. “Look, Finn, if we try to tell her she’s not welcome here, we’re going to sound a lot more suspicious than if we just act like we’re a normal, friendly group out camping in the woods. We have plenty of food. Let’s just invite her to dinner and then tomorrow morning make sure we head off in the opposite direction of whichever way she’s heading.”
Finn sighed. He hated to admit it, but Izzy was right. “Fine,” he said. “But let’s also make sure that tomorrow we put up an invisibility shield when we stop for the night.”
Finn glared at Raven, who scowled back at him in annoyance. Raven didn’t like to admit she was wrong, but this time she was. She was just lucky that there weren’t any enemy soldiers nearby.
“You probably should go ahead and put up a shield now,” Izzy said, giving Raven a kind smile. “Just in case there are any enemy soldiers around.”
“Well, there aren’t any,” Raven said stubbornly. “But if it makes you feel better, then whatever.”
She stood and went to the outer edges of the campsite. She began whispering and gesturing with her ringed hand. Finn saw the hiker, who was still standing by Owen, looking curiously over at Raven. Owen was glaring at Finn now, still unsure of what to do. Quickly, Finn stood and walked over toward the fire. He put a huge, jolly smile on his face and acted like he’d never been as happy to see anyone in his life as he was to see this woman right now.
“Well, well, Owen,” Finn teased. “Who’s your pretty new friend?”
Finn was startled to see as he drew closer to the fire how pretty the woman actually was. Her eyes were almost the same shade of deep green as his own, and her dark brown hair—pulled into a haphazard bun—had even more of a reddish tint to it than his. Her skin was smooth and flushed from the fresh air, but he could still make out several freckles on her nose and cheeks. Her smile broadened as Finn approached, and he couldn’t help but notice how soft and full her lips were.
Owen looked relieved that Finn was taking charge of the situation. “Her name’s Anya,” he said. “Anya Steele. She’s been hiking out here for the better part of a week, but she said we’re the first people she’s come across.”
Finn caught the underlying message in Owen’s words: this girl was alone, and the area around here was relatively deserted. Hopefully, Anya would be the only stranger they came across.
“Well, if you’d like some company, you’re welcome to stay for dinner,” Finn said, gesturing toward the roasting deer. “As you can see, we have plenty of food.”
Anya looked relieved. “I’d love to, if you really don’t mind,” she said. “I do love the solitude of hiking alone, but it does get a bit lonely at times.”
Finn smiled. “We don’t mind at all. Please, make yourself at home.”
Finn caught Owen’s questioning eye, and gave him an almost imperceptible shrug as if to say, “What choice do we really have?”
Raven must have finished her invisibility spells, because she came walking over to the fire now as well, followed closely by Izzy.
“Hi,” Raven said holding out her hand to Anya. “I’m Raven.”
“Anya,” Anya said, reaching to shake Raven’s hand.
“And I’m Izzy,” Izzy said. “What are you doing all the way out here by yourself?”
Anya smiled. “I’m actually hunting for plants,” she said. “I’m a botanist, and I’ve been out here cataloging what types of plants grow out here. Apparently, most people don’t think chasing down plants is very exciting work, because I usually have to make these trips on my own. Or maybe people just don’t like giving up all their creature comforts to camp in the woods for weeks on end. What about you guys? What are you doing out here?”
Finn froze at the question, but Izzy handled it beautifully.
“We’re camping for weeks on end,” Izzy said with a laugh. “We spend a lot of time in the city back home, but we all love nature. So we decided to use our vacation time this year to escape to the woods.”
“That’s great,” Anya said sincerely. “I couldn’t stand spending all my time in the city. How have you liked the woods so far?”
“It’s great,” Izzy said with enthusiasm. “We’ll be sad to go back.”
Anya nodded, then raised a curious eye toward Izzy’s shirt. “What’s with your clothes?” she asked. “I thought you guys were out here doing some sort of work, since it looks like you’re wearing uniforms.”
Finn felt his stomach tightening with nerves once again, but once again Izzy didn’t even flinch at the question. She got a somewhat sheepish look on her face, and then laughed.
“Well, if you must know, Raven here thought it would be fun to pretend we were part of some sort of survival expedition, complete with team uniforms. Silly, I know, but I guess when you spend all your time in the city you come up with crazy ideas like that. It’s a bit weird, but we humor Raven. And besides, the uniforms are surprisingly warm.”
Izzy laughed and gave Raven a friendly punch. Raven glared at Izzy but said nothing. Anya, for her part looked confused and a bit doubtful of Izzy’s explanation, but finally just shrugged.
“Sounds like fun,” Anya said. “So how much longer will you be out here?”
Izzy waved her hand dismissively at Anya. “A bit,” she said. “But our trip is boring compared to yours. I want to hear more about what you do. How did you get into botany?”
Anya smiled. “Well, okay,” she said. She started talking about how much she’d loved plants even in high school, but Finn didn’t stay around too long to listen.
“Let’s go refill our water bottles at the stream while the girls talk,” Finn said to Owen.
“The stream?” Owen asked, confused. “What stream?”
Finn gave him a pointed, exasperated look.
“Oh, right, the stream,” Owen said, then grabbed his water bottle and walked off into the trees with Finn.
“Damn it, Owen, you don’t make it easy to lure you away from the crowd,” Finn said once they were out of earshot.
“Sorry. I was distracted,” Owen said. He still sounded distracted, in fact.
“By what? How pretty Anya is?” Finn teased. Owen was a well-known womanizer.
“What? No, I hadn’t even noticed,” Owen said. For once, Finn believed him.
“Yeah, you wouldn’t have,” Finn said. “Not when you’ve been staring at Raven nonstop since we left Falcon Cross.”
This statement earned Finn a glare, and Finn laughed.
“Did you bring me out
here just to make fun of me?” Owen asked.
Finn shook his head, still laughing. “Nah, I was just going to explain to you the plan regarding Anya, so that we’re all on the same page.”
Finn told Owen that Izzy had determined Anya was not a wizard, and that she had thought it best to be friendly to Anya tonight. He explained that they would make sure to go separate ways first thing tomorrow, and that Raven had put up an invisibility shield, just in case.
Owen nodded when Finn was finished speaking. “I guess that all makes sense,” he said. “I still don’t have a stranger at the campsite, but what can we really do under the circumstances?”
“Agreed,” Finn said. “There’s one more thing, too. It doesn’t have anything to do with Anya, but I thought I’d mention it to you since we have a moment alone. Izzy is worried that the dragon amethyst might not actually be in Devil’s Melt.”
To Finn’s surprise, Owen didn’t look surprised at all. “Yeah, she already told me that,” he said. “She’s convinced that if it was there then Saul’s army would have found it long ago.”
“She told you? When?” Finn asked.
“Yesterday afternoon,” Owen said. “She was trying to get me to talk to Noah or Peter and have them postpone the mission until her suspicions could be investigated further. But she’d already talked to Noah and Peter, and they didn’t think her claims had merit. I tried to talk to them again, but they remained firm in their decision.”
Finn raised an eyebrow in Owen’s direction. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
Owen shrugged. “I didn’t have a chance, really. Things were so busy with all the preparations to leave. And it doesn’t really matter, does it? If Noah and Peter don’t think Izzy’s claims have merit, then the mission is going to continue forward as is, regardless of what we think.”
“What do you think?” Finn asked, trying to read into Owen’s guarded expression.
Destiny and the Dragon (Redwood Dragons Book 5) Page 2