"Impossible,” Dad finally spoke again. “All of the dragons were killed, the eggs destroyed in the hatching caves."
Damn but Dad could be frustratingly dense when he wanted to. “Impossible? Dad, come on.” I pointed at the egg and then at the dragon sitting on Phi's shoulders. “What the hell are those then, figments of our imagination?"
Dad snapped his mouth shut and retreated back to Mom's side. She rubbed his shoulder comfortingly but winked at me.
Phi looked around the room again and each Rikashi that met her gaze looked away. She threw up her hands, let out a cry that echoed my own frustration and started toward the door. “I'm going to the library while you all figure out what to do about Maedhros. If any one of you so much as breathes wrong on this egg, I'm kicking your ass."
I leaned over to the Surion who had taken care of Phi while she was unconscious. “Find her some jeans or jogging pants, it will greatly improve her mood."
"Aer,” Phi growled over her shoulder. “I heard that!"
I chuckled and started after her. “And find them fast!"
"Hey, Phi, wait up,” I called, jogging to catch up to her. She didn't slow or stop for me to catch up with her. “Would you wait a second? You don't even know where the library is."
"And I suppose you do?"
"Yeah.” Now that I had been here awhile, I remembered it from my youth. “I was born here."
That made her stop. She turned and looked at me, her eyes wide with shock. “You what?"
"I didn't remember it ‘til a little bit ago, but I was born here. There are hatching grounds somewhere around here.” Now that I caught up to her, I led the way to the library. I knew she was going to love it. It was huge, if I was remembering correctly that is.
"What if I'm right, Aer?"
I glanced at her and saw the worry etched on her face. “About the eggs?” She nodded. “Once we find Maedhros, we'll force him to tell us where they are."
I opened the door to the library, letting her enter before me. Her reaction was as I expected, a soft gasp left her lips, and she stood staring at the multitude of bookcases. There were ladders around the room to reach some of the higher shelves and stairs leading to a whole other floor of them. Several large, plush chairs sat in a secluded nook of the room near a huge bay window that overlooked the gardens in the back. The sun was rising, bathing the library in a golden glow.
"Oh, shit!” she suddenly blurted, making a motion as if to dig in a pocket, which she of course did not have.
I frowned, not expecting that reaction at all. “Oh shit, what?"
"Karen. It's Monday, right? I'm supposed to pick her up today."
"Right.” I pointed to the alcove with the chairs. “There should be a phone over there."
I watched her cross the room, even in a dirt and dust stained dress she looked magnificent. She coaxed Leena into one of the chairs and then dialed the phone. Tearing my eyes away from her, I went to the shelves and started looking for anything that might help. After a few minutes, I heard her beside me.
"This is gonna take awhile,” she murmured.
I shook my head. “I don't think we'll find what we're looking for on these shelves."
She folded her arms and tapped her chin with one finger. “You might be right. I mean, Care and Feeding of Baby Dragons doesn't exactly fit next to Charles Dickens."
I walked along the shelves, running my hands over them. “Hidden shelves maybe?"
"Too cliché,” she replied, though that didn't stop her from going in the opposite direction doing the same thing. “Office. Where's this dude's office?"
I gestured to a door nestled between two shelves, and we started toward it. The door wasn't locked, and we stepped inside the office. It smelled of cedar, leather and old paper. The desk was heavily polished, and the furniture was leather. She went for the desk immediately, pulling out drawers.
"Ah ha!” she called triumphantly.
"You find it?” I asked, coming to stand by her.
"Nope, but this key looks promising.” She held up a golden key on a chain. “Check behind those paintings. That's where people usually hide their safes."
I did as she asked and sure enough one of them swung open. “You know ... if everyone puts their safes behind paintings, what makes them think they're hidden?"
She punched my arm lightly. “Knock it off."
I held my breath as she tried the key in the lock and swung open the metal door. Inside the surprisingly large safe there were several books, some leather-bound, some spiral notebooks. She reached in and pulled one out. On the cover was a crest. “What's this?” She traced the dragons holding the crest.
"It's the Rikashi crest. The quarters each represent a clan. Red for Carnesir, green for Tinuviel, blue for Gwindor, and white for Surion. The dragon in the center is Bahamut, the creator."
She flipped open the book. I looked over her shoulder, reading the neat handwriting. “For the preservation of our race's knowledge in hopes that the few eggs we have managed to secret away will one day hatch...” I could hardly believe it. This was just what we were looking for.
"There are more eggs,” she breathed.
I nudged her aside and pulled the rest of the books from the safe. “Looks like we've got some reading to do."
"You ain't kidding,” she muttered under her breath.
"Come on, let's go out to those chairs and start looking through this stuff."
We went back out into the main library, and I sat in a chair opposite Phi. It was quiet here, away from the hustle and bustle of the Council trying to make decisions. I wondered if those sent to investigate the house had returned yet. I turned my attention to the pile of books on the small table between us and picked up the top one.
Across from me, Phi pulled her legs under her, settling in with the book she had chosen. I watched her for a few minutes and then opened my book. For the next few hours the only sound in the room was the crackle of ancient paper as we turned pages. The sunlight deepened to red as it began to set for the evening. I reached to turn on one of the lamps, more for Phi's benefit than my own.
The book I picked turned out to be more concerned with what to feed Great Dragon hatchling than the care of eggs, information we needed but not what we were looking for. I set it back on the table but away from the pile, making a mental note of the color of the binding, then picked up another.
This book was more interesting, and I settled into my chair to read. The book described each type of Great Dragon, their ability and what their eggs look like. Leena was one of the smaller varieties, from the British Isles, while the egg we just found was likely one of the Asian dragons, unfortunately with no pictures it was hard to be completely sure. The hatchling in the egg upstairs would be bigger and a lot more difficult to hide when it reached its full length.
It seemed, no matter what the other Rikashi wanted, the Erestor was finished. Our existence would no longer be able to remain secret. Not with Great Dragons flying around. The world was too populated now to hope there was a place we could take the hatchlings and hide. How were we going to reveal ourselves without causing mass panic and hysteria? Humans were likely to react with a “shoot first, ask questions later” attitude.
A loud thump made me jump half out of the chair until I realized it was Phi's book. She had fallen asleep, the book slipping from her hands onto the floor. A smile pulled the corners of my mouth, and I set my book aside. There was time to read later. I stood, picking up the dropped book and putting it back onto the pile before lifting her in my arms.
"Aer?” she mumbled sleepily.
"Shh, you're tired. Just sleep."
"Have to find the other eggs.” Her words were slurred and her eyes already closing again, her head dropping back onto my shoulder.
"We will. I promise.” I looked at Leena, who was lying on the top of the chair. “Are you going to come with us?"
She got up, stretching and looking very much like a cat before making the leap to my should
ers. I took them both to the room I had been given, tucked Phi into bed and pressed a kiss to her temple. I tiptoed out of the room and headed off to find Dad to see if there was any news about Maedhros.
I knocked on the door of the room Dad had taken as his office and waited for permission to enter.
"Come in."
I pushed the door open and saw a new face. A female Rikashi sat on the edge of one of the chairs, her hands folded in her lap. Her long, silver hair had fallen forward to cover her face. Something about her was familiar, but I couldn't place where I'd seen her before. “Sorry.” I started to leave.
"Aerandir, stay."
I came into the room, shutting the door behind me. The little female peeked at me with golden eyes and then turned away shyly.
"And who is this?” I asked.
"She was found at the house your friend directed us to. She has not spoken. Will you take her to one of the empty rooms and make her comfortable?"
"Yeah, sure,” I replied, smiling reassuringly at the girl. I offered her my hand, which she took. “Come on. I think the room next to mine is free."
After I got her settled in the room, I returned to the library to continue reading. It wasn't until I was settled with my book that I realized I'd forgotten to ask my father about what I had went there for in the first place. I shrugged and turned my attention back to the book, it would wait until morning.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter 21
Josephine Erlina Moreau
Someone was shaking my shoulder, rather urgently. “Another five minutes, Mom.” I rolled on my side and pulled the pillow over my head. Then I remembered I wasn't at home and Mom wasn't trying to wake me for school. I was in some mansion full of Rikashi, running from a psycho Rikashi who wanted to kill all of them.
Whoever was shaking my shoulder couldn't be Aer, the hand was too small, the fingers too slender. I lifted the pillow off my head, cracked open my eyes and found myself looking into a pair of wide, golden eyes in a child's face, framed by impossibly silver hair.
"Who are you?” I asked, sitting up as I rubbed my sleep filled eyes.
"You must come with me.” Her bird-like voice was filled with urgency.
I was immediately alert. The fear that Maedhros had found us and we were under attack consumed me. “Why? What's wrong?"
"You must hurry. Maedhros is going to hurt them,” she said, stepping back, wringing her hands.
"Hurt who? The dragons?” I swung my feet to the floor, searching for my shoes, cursing the fact that I was still in the damned dress.
The girl, probably a young Rikashi, nodded emphatically. Taking my hand in hers, she tugged on it. “Hurry."
She was pulling me toward a pair of double doors leading to the balcony. I pulled back, trying to go to the door instead. I looked around for Leena, planning to send her to get Aer, but she was nowhere to be found. Knowing her she was probably off getting herself into trouble or getting coddled again.
"We should get the others,” I said.
"There is no time,” she insisted. “You need to come now, before he finds them."
Bells were going off in the back of my mind, something was wrong. Something was very wrong with this, but I still let her lead me out to the balcony and down a set of stairs to the back of the mansion.
"What do you mean ‘finds them?'” I asked. “Did they get away from him?"
"Yes, now hurry."
She led me across the lawn. All the while I had this feeling that I should turn around, go back to the mansion and get Aer. I couldn't turn around, I followed her with no seeming will of my own into the forest behind the mansion. The forest was much thicker than the one behind my parents’ house, and she continued to lead me through the close packed trees. The sun had gone down hours ago and it was difficult to see, but I trusted that the Rikashi could for she often cautioned me of a root or a rock.
How could the dragons have gotten so far? The more I walked, the worse this idea seemed, the compulsion to blindly follow the girl fading with each step. My brain urged me to turn around and go back to the mansion.
I looked over my shoulder. The forest behind me blocked any view of the mansion, and I realized that I'd never be able to find my way back. I had no choice but to continue.
The trees began to thin a little and up ahead I could see a massive stone structure, it looked almost like a crypt. Could it be the hatching grounds Aer had mentioned? I also began to feel the presence of Rikashi but no dragons. Yeah, this was such a bad idea.
"In here,” the little female urged.
The compulsion to follow evaporated, and I dug in my heels.
"Come, hurry, there is no time.” Her voice sounded fearful, and she tugged more insistently.
"I don't feel any dragons.” I shook my head as I pulled my hand from hers. I turned, ready to run, and ran right into the one Rikashi I had no desire to ever see again. “Maedhros...” I breathed as I looked up into those eerie white eyes.
He smiled at me, and it sent a shiver up my spine. I took a few steps back.
"Josephine."
I hated the way he said my name, it grated across every nerve.
"What do you want?” He didn't advance toward me, so I took another few steps away, my eyes darting around, looking for a place to run.
"Our last meeting ended so abruptly.” He extended a hand toward me. “But I am willing to forgive and forget. Shall we start fresh?"
"As long as ‘start fresh’ is synonymous with kicking your ass, sure."
His smile faded. “Do you have to be so confrontational, Josephine?"
"Do you have to be so creepy?” Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut? Why did I have to provoke him? I couldn't help it, though. There was just something about him.
He didn't reply, merely stood there looking at me. I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and saw Red One and Two hovering on either side of me. It suddenly dawned on me who the girl was. It was Little Silver. Damn, how could I not have known?
"You have something that belongs to me, and I very much want it back."
There was no way in hell I was turning Leena over to this psycho. “People in hell very much want ice water, but you don't see that happening either, do you?"
He moved a heck of a lot faster than I expected him to. I found myself slammed painfully into the side of the rock structure, his hand around my throat. Stars exploded in front of my eyes as my head hit the rock.
"I have told you, do not toy with me, Josephine,” he snarled, his breath hot on my face.
"Whew, you need a tic-tac."
His eyes narrowed, and his hand tightened as he lifted me off the ground. I wrapped my hands around his wrist pulling as my air supply was cut off. Maybe that hadn't been the best time for a sarcastic comment.
"Let me go."
"Tell me where the egg is."
"Go to hell."
I didn't miss the fact that he asked where the egg was, he didn't know Leena had hatched. I realized Leena must have hidden from Silver. Smart dragonet. I also realized the eggs Maedhros had mustn't have hatched yet. There was still time to find them before they hatched and keep them from bonding with him. Best of all, he didn't know about the egg we found in the mansion.
Black spots swam in my vision.
"Where ... is ... the ... egg?"
"Go ... to ... hell."
I thought for a minute that he was going to kill me as the pressure on my throat increased, but then I could breathe again. Fresh, cool air filled my lungs in great gasps. My feet touched the ground, but he didn't release me, instead he pulled me away from the wall, thrusting me at Red One or was it Two?
"Bring her,” he ordered. “She may prove useful."
I tried to break from the vice-like grip of the red Rikashi but there was no escaping. After last time, I doubted he would give me the opportunity to get the better of him. Crazy Maedhros might be but he wasn't stupid. He learned from his mistakes.
I was tossed
into the back of a van and the door slammed, plunging me into darkness. I collected myself, leaning against the side.
"It's you again."
The eggs ... I could feel the eggs. I felt around in the darkness, my eyes adjusting to the dim light until my fingers touched wood. I worked at the tops of the crates until they came open and I could touch the eggs inside, three of them. “Don't worry, I'll get you away from him."
"I believe you.” Three distinctly different voices answered.
Of course, I had no idea how I was going to get me or them out of this.
"Aer, looks like you might get to rescue me after all,” I whispered. I looked up at the top of the van. “Hurry."
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter 22
Aerandir Cirdan Gwindor
I read for most of the night and into the next morning. The last book I started had locations of at least six other eggs or clutches of eggs. Only halfway through it, I couldn't contain my excitement any longer and, book in hand, I hurried back to my room, throwing open the door. “Phi! You'll never belie—"
The bed was empty and the balcony doors open. “Phi?” I called, going out onto the balcony. She wasn't there either. I frowned, leaving the room, asking everyone I met in the halls if they had seen her. Finally, I checked the ballroom where the egg was, but she wasn't there either.
"Aerandir?” I turned to see Shirak coming toward me. “Have you seen the female they found yesterday?"
I shook my head. “No, have you seen Phi?"
"I have not. Not since yesterday."
"Shit.” I ran a hand through my hair as I wondered where she could have gone. She would not have left without telling someone, would she? Suddenly it hit me. Those eyes. That female's eyes, I knew those eyes. In that instant I remembered why she had looked familiar to me. “Son of a bitch. It was her!"
Shirak was looking at me like I had six heads. “What are you talking about?"
"The female they found yesterday, the very one you are looking for, was the silver Rikashi that Phi rescued from Maedhros with you.” I couldn't believe I had even made air quotes when I said “rescued", but I had. No wonder she hadn't spoken. Tasartir or not, with so many Gwindor around, the likelihood of being caught in a lie was too great. I nearly threw the book in frustration but remembered what was contained in its pages. I thrust the book into Shirak's hand. “Keep this book safe."
The Quickening Page 12