Soul of Smoke

by Caitlyn McFarland

  Cadoc exhaled and twisted his wrist so his palm faced the floor. The ball of light disappeared into his hand like it had been sucked back into his body. Blackness closed over them like water. For a breathless, silent second, Kai drowned in darkness.

  In the distance, a white light flared. A circle of flame blazed into being on the ceiling of the cavern, moving like a gunpowder trail in a cartoon. Another circle rippled to fiery life. It passed through the first and out again, like links in a chain. There was another flare of light, this one almost above her head. Another circle forming. They took shape all over the ceiling, all joined like chain mail, slowly lighting the enormous space.

  Awe and wonder sparked inside her like the fizzing happiness of a child on Christmas morning. Kai’s mood lightened.

  What would Juli think if she could see this? Practical Juli, who saw the world so black and white. She’d probably try and come up with some kind of scientific explanation. Maybe there was one; some heretofore unknown law of the universe that allowed Cadoc and Rhys to vibrate atoms in a way that made heat and flame. Kai didn’t care. She’d always believed in magic. Explanation didn’t make miracles any less miraculous, only easier to understand.

  “Impressed?”

  She tore her gaze from the ceiling. Cadoc was grinning again, his hands in his pockets.

  She grinned back. “Show off.”

  “I told you I was a talented man.” He stepped closer, and Kai had to tilt her head to look at him. Her heart gave a little jump when she saw the I’m going to kiss you look on his face. Not that she’d seen it that often, but enough to recognize the small smile and the laser-focus of his eyes on her lips.

  Cadoc, however, was not the dragon she would choose to kiss.

  “I’m sure you are.” Kai smiled and put a hand on his chest, pushing him gently back.

  His smile turned rueful. “Maybe later.” His chocolate voice was meltingly soft.

  “Maybe.” Kai squeezed his shoulder and stepped around him, half-sure she was crazy. It wasn’t like a kiss meant they had to get married.

  When she saw what lay beyond, however, all thought of kissing Cadoc was swept from her mind. The room, as large as the cavern above, was filled with...everything. A tall, ancient stone covered in cuneiform stood next to a desk-sized record player with what looked suspiciously like a Faberge egg sitting on top. A large pile of yellow-black rocks dominated the right front corner of the room. Filing cabinets and shelves lined the walls, the only order in the chaos.

  “Um. Is this the Room of Requirement?”

  Cadoc gave her a confused look. “Requirement for what?”

  Kai sighed. “You said this was storage. It’s a freaking museum.”

  “Don’t you know anything about dragons?” He flung his arm wide, encompassing the immense cave and all it held. “This is the hoard.”

  “I thought a dragon’s hoard was treasure.” She gestured at his bracelets, armbands, and pendants. “I thought you were wearing the hoard.”

  “Ah, brânwen, history is treasure.” He jerked his head toward the pile of rocks in the corner. “But over there you’ll find gold ore and uncut gems.” His grin went wicked. “And I bet Deryn would loan you a crown if you asked her. The room is climate controlled, thanks to Ffion’s magic, so the delicate things stay intact. It’s not uncommon for the dragons of Eryri to have hoards away from the island. It’s why we come here, from time to time. It’s why we had the sword you used to such great effect. We were bringing it here.”

  Cadoc showed her around the room. Some of the pieces were truly historic, some not so much. A Monopoly game peeked out from underneath a breathtaking red and gold sari. Behind that, a first-generation Gameboy leaned on a cracked and peeling painting of the Virgin Mary. She gazed at the centuries-long history of several countries on display, feeling suddenly young, ignorant and small. “Cadoc, how old are you?”

  “Old.”

  She folded her arms, waiting.

  He gave her a small, almost sympathetic smile. “Let’s just say your people write my birth date with a BC at the end.”

  The air seemed to go out of the room. “How long do dragons live?”

  His voice was gentle. “A long time, brânwen. Too long, I think. But relatively speaking, I’m not much older than you. All of us in the vee are roughly the same age. Except Deryn, who’s a bit younger, and Ashem, who’s a bit older.”

  Kai snorted. “If you’re that old, I feel like you should be wiser.”

  Cadoc laughed, a deep, full-throated, rich sound. “You’re not the only one.”

  Kai smiled, but shook her head. “Seriously. I think most humans who get close to the century mark are ready to die. How do you deal with so much time?” She walked around a screen beautifully painted with cranes and flowers in red and yellow. Everything in the cave was exquisitely made, though some of the clothing and papers were old enough disintegrate at a touch. “So some of this is thousands of years old?”

  “Some. Nothing lasts forever.” He walked to a shelf and picked up a little horse carved from white marble. “My father made this for me. I’d forgotten about it.”

  “Where are your parents?” Kai asked.

  Cadoc’s voice went oddly expressionless. “Dead. I was nearly too young to remember them.” He put the little horse back on the shelf.

  “Oh. I’m...I’m sorry.” She looked around for something to bring back his smile.

  A gorgeous gown in shades of blue satin had been thrown carelessly over a black and gold statue of an Egyptian dog. Kai’s breath caught at the sight of it, covered in delicate silver embroidery and beaded in crystal on the bodice and hem.

  “That was Deryn’s.” His smile came back, though some of the light had gone out of it.

  Kai ran her fingers over the fabric, smooth as water and soft as clouds. It was almost painful to tear herself away, but there were so many things to see.

  “Is this a phonograph?” Kai touched the curved horn of the amplifier.

  Cadoc smiled, almost normal again. “It’s mine.”

  “Of course it is.” She smiled back.

  He turned it on, and the tinny sound of a piano from almost a century before jangled out of the cone. The song ended, and they were almost to the tunnel mouth when they came across a more practical section of the room. Tarps, ropes, extra blankets, a few mattresses, reams of paper, office supplies, stacks of raw wood, and boxes of tools and clothes. She could even see a few backpacks among the piles and what might have been a tent.

  She glanced at Cadoc, who was adjusting a trucker hat on a very dignified marble bust, and mentally cataloged what she’d need. He caught up to her, and they walked past most of the equipment without comment, except to point out the clothes. Ffion had placed a small stack next to Kai’s rolled-up mattress on their first night in the cave, but Kai took a few more for good measure. Dragon clothes were like human clothes in the sense that they were pants and shirts, but the colors were either jewel-tones or neutrals, and the fabric—warm, comfortable, and soft—was like nothing Kai had seen before. She touched the scale-like octagons sewn down the sleeve.

  “These are field clothes,” Cadoc explained, tossing her a purple shirt and indicating the simple gray one that he wore. “They’re passable as human. The clothes in Eryri are a different story.”

  Kai caught the shirt. “What is Eryri?”

  Cadoc put his hands behind his back as he strolled. “It’s an archipelago in the South Pacific. When the war started a thousand years ago, we were driven from our home in Wales—a place also called Eryri—and the dragons of the Pacific took us in.”

  Kai’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “A thousand years?”

  He elbowed her playfully. “I told you I was old.”

  They were almost past that section of the room when she spotted the g
leaming metal of a lantern. She waded into the chaos and picked it up, almost whooping with joy when she flipped its switch and the light blinked on. Apparently, even dragons used batteries.

  Cadoc folded his arms, his expression mock-severe. He gestured at the ceiling where the interlinked rings of fire burned. “Not good enough for you?”

  “We aren’t always together.”

  “We could be.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  Kai snorted. “You are a silver-tongued devil.”

  Cadoc leaned toward her, eyes wicked. “Silver? Never. My tongue is made of gold.”

  Kai burst out laughing. Grinning, Cadoc banished the circles of fire on the ceiling, recalling the golden flame to hover above his hand. He offered Kai his arm. She took it as they climbed back up the long, winding tunnel, clutching her lantern.

  Ashem might have grounded the dragons, but he wasn’t her commander. She’d grown up in the Rockies; camping was almost as natural to her as climbing. With the things in the hoard, she just might be able to make it home.

  When they were all asleep, she would come back.

  * * *

  Two hours later, Kai snuck through the main cavern. Cadoc had first watch, but he was outside with his guitar and not at all concerned with the goings-on inside the cave. She flicked on the lantern when she was safely inside the tunnel. Her memory was good, so it didn’t take long to find what she needed. She was grateful for that. Without Cadoc, the hoard was creepy. Shadows jumped and jittered along the walls in the lantern light.

  She took a large backpack and stuffed it full. Knives, blankets, extra clothes, a couple of small, tightly-rolled tarps, and more. But her best find was the rope: three lengths, lighter and stronger than any she’d ever used. She shoved as much as she could into the pack, then left it near the door to the massive room, hidden inside an empty, ancient cedar chest. She couldn’t run when one of them was on the ledge.

  She’d have to figure out a distraction. But not tonight. She wasn’t desperate enough to rappel down that cliff in the dark.

  Not yet.

  Chapter Eight

  Getting Twitchy

  While Ashem was putting the others through their paces again the next morning, Kai once again snuck through the curtain in the kitchen and headed down the tunnel with her lantern. She had a paranoid urge to check and make sure the bag she’d packed was still there.

  It was. Sighing, Kai headed back up the dark, twisting tunnel. She thought about poking around in the hoard for something to help her with her distraction idea, but it was too hard in the dark. She’d have to get Cadoc to come down again.

  About two thirds of the way up, her light fell on the shadowed off-shoot that she’d noticed the day before. Curious, Kai left the main tunnel.

  The new passage wasn’t long; it only ran for a dozen feet before opening up into a small, round room.

  Kai lifted her lantern. It was the library. The room was filled with books. Three entire walls were curved, floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with row upon row of books. In the dim light, their spines were mostly black and brown and ancient-looking, though here and there Kai saw a smattering of newer, brighter covers.

  The only empty wall was honeycombed with row upon row of small holes bored into the stone. A long wooden table littered with papers and surrounded by chairs sat in the center of the room. In the middle of the table, a glass sphere with an open top sat on a black cushion, reminding Kai of the candle holders her mom liked to stuff with fake flowers and colored stones.

  She walked to the honeycomb wall and lifted her lantern again, peering into one of the shallow holes. Light glinted off something small and angular within. She pulled out a round-cut diamond the size of her thumbnail. Blinking in surprise, she looked in the next cubby. A fat, rectangular ruby sat inside. The next one contained a huge emerald, and the one after that another diamond. Each of the hundreds of tiny cavities housed a single gemstone, markings scratched below each cubby. It looked like an alphabet, but not one she’d ever seen.

  Kai replaced the diamond and lifted out a darkly glittering sapphire, rolling it between her fingers so it sparkled in the light of her lantern. Holy hell, there must be millions of dollars stuffed in this wall. So much for history being treasure.

  She replaced the sapphire and pulled out a pink diamond, then an emerald the size of a robin’s egg. She put them both back, though her fingers lingered. She didn’t need the money—though it would be nice to be completely out from under her parents’ thumbs—but Juli could have used it.

  Sighing, Kai turned to go. Then her eye caught on the clear glass sphere.

  A diamond hovered in its exact center, unsupported by anything except, possibly, magic. Intrigued, she walked around the table, setting her lantern beside the black cushion. She’d seen the dragons do magic, of course, but here was magic just sitting on a table. Did it only work for the dragons or might it work for anyone?

  What would happen if...

  She raised one finger and touched the cool, smooth glass of the sphere. It released one clear, shivering note. The diamond pulsed, a wave of light and tingling energy rippling outward. As it passed, a solid, three-dimensional image unrolled in the air above the table, glowing with its own light.

  A cloudy, gray sky capped a strip of desolate beach. A dark ocean laced with whitecaps foamed on the right, a hazy mountain range disappeared into the distance on the left. All around the sky, dragons as varied in color and shape as tropical birds tangled in vicious mini battles.

  At the center of the scene, a red dragon battled a white one. The white dragon was slightly larger, its snowy scales streaked reddish black with blood. It lunged and slashed its claws down across the red dragon’s collarbone. The red dragon’s mouth opened in a soundless roar. It darted forward, claws flashing, but the white dragon feinted out of the way.

  The sound of slow, uneven footfalls echoed from the stone walls. Startled, Kai sprang forward, hoping another touch would turn the image off. Her fingers brushed the smooth glass.

  The dark cave disappeared, and Kai found herself blinking in cloud-filtered sunlight. Waves crashed in an inexorable rhythm against the stone beach. The ground vibrated. There was a deafening roar. Disoriented, Kai spun.

  Life-sized dragons, one crimson, one white, were trying to kill each other on the beach less than a dozen feet away.

  Kai’s insides shriveled. Not again!

  Dozens—maybe hundreds—of dragons shrieked and roared overhead in a scene that made the battle in the meadow look like a play date.

  She yelped and ducked as the white dragon’s tail whistled inches above her head. Scrambling away on hands and knees, she found her escape blocked by a silver dragon charging up the beach. Its roar thrummed through Kai’s body, buzzing in her teeth. Oh, hell, oh, hell, oh hell! How did I get here?

  Kai threw herself to the side, the silver dragon’s charge missing her by inches. Her head slammed into something hard. She fell back, groaning, and tried to see what she’d hit. There was nothing in front of her but a few more feet of desolate beach and the ocean beyond.

  Her breath hitched, her heart pounding in her ears. She put her shoulder against the invisible barrier and shoved. The surface gave a bit, but it didn’t move. It felt odd, as if it were made up of dozens of short, vertical ridges. She spun, pressing her back against it.

  The silver dragon had joined the fight on the crimson dragon’s side. Unnoticed above them, a black dragon swooped out of the sky, jaws open. Bile rose in Kai’s throat. It had silver eyes. Without meaning to, she shouted, “Watch out for Kavar!”

  At the last second, the silver dragon noticed Kavar and tackled his crimson ally out of the way. Kavar slammed down onto the silver dragon instead, sinking his teeth into its neck.

  In the air, a slender red-black dragon faltered in its flight. A wailing kee
n rose from her throat, the most pitiful, horrifying sound Kai had ever heard.

  The silver dragon collapsed. A shimmering haze rose around him, and then only a slender young man with a long nose and disheveled brown hair lay on the beach between Kavar’s claws, his eyes empty and staring.

  The red-black dragon fell drunkenly from the sky.

  “Stop.” A voice cut through the chaos, male and commanding. Silence rang in Kai’s ears. “Minimize.”

  The ocean disappeared. The light dimmed. Kai was still in the library, but now there were fires burning in the walls above the shelves. Shaking, she reached up to touch the formerly invisible barrier, half-turning her head. Books. She’d been trying to crawl through a wall of books.

  Her breathing ragged, body shaking, she pushed herself up. The image of the dragon-filled beach hovered over the table, rotating slowly.

  Across the room, Rhys leaned against one side of the archway that led into the tunnel, his good hand holding his injured shoulder. He was breathing hard, his jaw set, broad shoulders taking up much of the opening. The sleeves of his simple, dark blue shirt were pushed up, revealing his indicium, which licked like motionless flame over the muscles of his forearm.

  For the first time, Kai noticed that the only jewelry Rhys wore was a gold chain around his neck with flat, rhombus-shaped pendant. The pendant held a round, yellow stone in its center. Lines radiated from the stone, making Kai think of the sun.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  Kai lifted shaking hands. Adrenaline coursed through her. She could feel every throb of her heart. She took an unsteady breath. Safe. She was safe. Not being attacked by dragons.

  “Kai?”

  She balled her out-of-control hands into fists. Safe. Not being attacked. Safe.

  “Kai.” Rhys stepped forward, leaning heavily on the wall. He didn’t look like he should be out of bed, let alone all the way down here by himself.

  She forced herself to nod. “Sorry. I’m fine.” She tilted her head at the hologram-like image rotating above the sphere of glass because her hands were still unsteady. “What is that?”