As Sarah did so, it occurred to her that she hadn’t mentioned her name to any of the dragons. How, then, did Adlin know who she was?
Eighteen
Adlin led Sarah deep into the heart of the mountain. The rocks around them got cooler as they traveled further beneath the earth, and Sarah started getting cold. She had to rub her hands together to keep them from getting numb. Every once in a while, she saw something watching her from the shadows. In the darkness, she couldn’t see exactly what the creatures were.
She only knew they had glowing red eyes and looked like small humans. She wondered if maybe they were goblins, or relatives of the mountain trolls up above. Either way, their presence didn’t bother her too much. It was hard for her to be afraid of anything when she was traveling with a dragon.
She saw light up ahead and picked up her pace. The air was growing warmer and more comfortable. On her tongue, Sarah tasted a little bit of salt—but there wasn’t an ocean around for miles, as far as she knew. Pretty soon, she found out how wrong she was.
The walls of the small tunnel grew further apart and the ceiling sloped upward as they continued. Somewhere in the distance, Sarah heard a steady rumbling. At first, she thought it might be thunder or even the roar of another dragon. But then, as the pair entered a larger cavern, Sarah saw that the roaring was actually water. A deep blue-green pool dominated one half of the cavern, and the steady roll of the frothy white waves against the rocky floor sent a salty spray throughout the chamber.
Sarah could feel how warm the water was as she drew nearer to it. At the bottom of the deep pool, a series of rocks glowed with a flickering white light, as though they were alive and trying to speak to her from the depths of this strange ocean.
“This is the shore of what is known as the Sunless Sea,” Adlin said, turning to face Sarah. She stretched along the rocky beach and let her tail splash idly in the water. “It’s one of the three known exits to Greystone Valley.”
“You mean… you mean I could dive in here and go home?” Sarah immediately began wondering if the glowing rocks at the bottom of the pool had some sort of magic that could teleport her to her bed at home, warm and safe and dry.
The dragon chuckled, which was a strange sound combining the hiss of a snake and a soft laugh that reminded Sarah of her mother. “Not exactly. This is a sinkhole that leads to a larger sea. Swimming about a hundred feet out will take you past the mountain wall and into the open ocean. One of us could help you make it past the mountains and out to sea, but then you’d be on your own. From my understanding, your world is a big place, where someone like you could get lost easily.”
“But if you’re willing to help me out of the valley, you can take me home, can’t you?”
Adlin shook her head slowly. “I wish that were true, but we can’t. The wizard who created this valley sought to protect the creatures of myth and magic from the outside world. At the same time, he protected the outside world from us. People who aren’t born in this valley, like you or Dax, can return to your own world. But the dragons, the fey, and anyone else born in this land must stay here.”
The mention of Dax’s name got Sarah thinking again. Finally, she asked the question that had been gnawing at the back of her mind. “How do you know Dax’s name? For that matter, how do you know mine?”
Adlin tilted her great silver head to the side. Her deep lavender eyes blinked twice before she answered. “I might not be as big as Azal, or as frightening as Grimjaw, but I am very old. I’ve lived in these mountains for thousands of years, and I know a great many things.”
“But being really old would mean you know about the past, not things like the name of someone you’ve never met.”
“Being as old as I am is more than just learning from the past. It’s also about knowing the present and the future,” Adlin answered. “I know many secrets, and I know how to figure out many more. I’ve seen thousands of people like you in my life, and I’ve learned how to read them. I can look at you and know all about you.”
Sarah scrunched up her face into a doubting look. “No, you can’t. Even for someone like you, that’s impossible.”
“Is that so, Sarah? For the record, you live in a house on 737 Gilman Street and you have a best friend named Carrie and a mother named Linda whose birthday is coming up in April.”
Sarah stayed quiet. The dragon was right on all counts.
“And I know something else about you. You might not know it, but you’ve been here before.”
“What… you mean, like in a dream?”
“Not really… more like in a past life.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Adlin rose and began moving even further into the mountain caverns. With a wave of one of her claws, she gestured for Sarah to follow. Naturally, Sarah did just that.
The tunnels got smaller again, and the caverns got darker, as they continued to move. Adlin puffed sparks of fire through her nose, providing Sarah with light. She stopped and let Sarah move on ahead without her, as the tunnels were getting too cramped for her large form to travel through easily. “Go on,” she said. “You’re almost there.”
The tunnel kept getting smaller. Soon enough, it was so cramped that Sarah couldn’t spread her arms out to their full length without touching the walls. As she kept going, she had to crouch down and crawl forward on her hands and knees.
“How much further do I have to go?” she called back, hoping Adlin wasn’t just playing some kind of trick on her.
The light flickered a bit as the dragon answered. “Keep going,” she said. “You’re almost there.” After she spoke, Adlin took another deep breath and puffed, lighting the fire that allowed Sarah to see again.
The tunnel ended abruptly, and Sarah almost ran face-first into the end. She reached her hands in front of her, expecting to feel smooth rock. Instead, there was something else there. Something wooden. Squinting in the dim light, she saw something that seemed completely out of place in the long, dark tunnel. “It’s a… it’s a treasure chest!”
The chest was about half the size of Sarah’s body. It was made of heavy wood, which was still in good shape despite the dampness of the cave. Iron supports lined its edges and a heavy steel padlock kept whatever riches lay within securely shut away.
“Go ahead, open it,” Adlin said.
“But it’s locked.”
“It’s a magical lock,” the dragon replied. “Touch your fingers to it and concentrate. I promise it will open for you.”
Sarah’s natural response was to doubt the dragon’s words. But then, as she reminded herself, she was talking to a dragon. That fact alone made everything else seem possible. If the mythical creature told her that the lock was magical, then, well, the lock was probably magical. So she pressed her fingers against the keyhole. Sure enough, the lock opened with a loud click, as though her fingertips were a skeleton key.
“Good,” Adlin said, having heard the sound of the lock. “There’s a bundle inside. Pick it up and bring it back out here.”
Not wanting to spend any more time worrying about what kinds of worms and spiders might be crawling around on her pajamas, Sarah did as she was told. The bundle inside the chest was wrapped in fine silk that made Sarah smile when she touched it. She took the cloth in her arms and backed out of the tunnel as fast as she could. She didn’t even try to turn around until she was back with Adlin—she didn’t want to risk getting stuck.
“Excellent.” Adlin’s lizard lips curled into a long smile. “This treasure has been waiting here under the mountain for years,” she explained. “Its last owner sealed it away in that chest, and there are only a few people in the entire world who the lock will open for. Since you’re one of them, it now belongs to you. Go ahead, open it.”
Sarah cocked an eyebrow, but she did what Adlin asked of her. She carefully unfolded the silk wrapping, making sure not to wrinkle the fine cloth too much. Inside the bundle, she found a collection of several items: a long green robe with gr
een clothing to match, a finely crafted ivory wand, and a leather-bound book, similar to the one Kay had.
“What is all this?” Sarah asked.
“These are the possessions that were left behind by the last great sorceress who walked Greystone Valley. Only I know her true name, and I have promised not to tell anyone what it is. Most people knew her as the Emerald Enchantress.”
“The Emerald Enchantress?” That name had come up once before, from the picture on the wall of the inn.
“She was exactly like you. She came from another world and didn’t know what to do in this strange land. Eventually, she found me. I discovered that she could already read most magical symbols that even trained wizards have trouble with… not unlike yourself, I presume.”
Her mouth hanging open a little, Sarah nodded.
“Eventually, she became a heroine. But that was years ago. The Emerald Enchantress left Greystone Valley long ago, taking her closest friend with her. No one has seen her since.”
Sarah wasn’t sure what to say. Adlin sounded like she was drifting somewhere between sadness and a dreamy sort of happiness.
The dragon’s lavender eyes focused on Sarah, and she continued. “A decade or two seems like an eternity to humans. To a dragon, it’s like the passing of day and night. I can remember every detail about the Emerald Enchantress. And I see almost all of those details in you.”
Sarah held her breath in surprise. This was it. It was really happening. She was a hero in her own personal fairy tale.
“The clothing will protect you as well as any suit of armor,” the dragon continued. “The wand will take some learning to master, but you’ll eventually find that it can serve as a powerful focus for your spells. And the spellbook contains all the knowledge the Emerald Enchantress left behind for her heir. It’s not nearly as complete as the book Kay holds, but you’ll find the spells there easier to learn. Once you know how to speak the magic words, you needn’t worry about reading directly from the book anymore. It’s an instruction manual, not the secret to magic itself.”
Sarah flipped open the book. It looked just like Kay’s spellbook, but the writing was clearer. The margins weren’t crammed with extra notations, and it was easier on her eyes. Then she set the spellbook aside and looked at the robes. They were just her size.
“It doesn’t seem right,” she said. “I’ve never been in this valley before. I don’t know how I know magic. I can’t be a heroine—I haven’t earned it, have I?”
The smile didn’t leave Adlin’s face. “You helped Kay when he accidentally turned himself into a frog, and you kept him from meeting his end against Baelan’s army. You stood up against Aries and his master and helped protect Keeley when she was captured by the fey. You’ve proven yourself, and you’ll prove yourself many more times over before your quest is done and you finally get to go home. The Emerald Enchantress left those items specifically for someone like you. And, as you noticed, they fit you perfectly.”
The silver dragon turned her long neck so she was facing the Sunless Sea, giving Sarah a moment of privacy. “Besides, your pajamas are filthy. You need a change of clothing. Go ahead and try them on.”
Her hands shaking a little, Sarah did just that.
Nineteen
The clothes fit more than perfectly. They were comfortable and soft, but they also made Sarah feel different. When she wore the robes of the Emerald Enchantress, she felt more powerful and more grown up than she ever had before. She wasn’t just a lost girl trying to find her way home anymore. Now she was part of Greystone Valley. She had a role all her own, and magic that could defend her and guide her.
“Maybe I can convince Kay to spell-duel with me,” she said, tucking her wand safely into the sash around her waist. “Of course, he’ll have to learn to control his magic first. I don’t want him turning either of us into toads again.”
“Don’t get too cocky,” Adlin warned. “Kay’s power may be uncontrolled, but it has the potential to be even greater than your own. The spellbook he holds is older than even the dragons of this valley. Not only that, but he has a great deal of magic in himself, too. He just doesn’t realize it yet.”
“I was just kidding,” Sarah said defensively. Nonetheless, she flipped through the pages of her new spellbook, quickly memorizing a few incantations that might make good pranks to play on her wizardly friend.
“I’m glad to see that you’re enjoying your new role,” Adlin said. “But come. For now, we need to return to your companions. I wish to speak with your other friends before the night is through.”
“How can you tell if it’s day or night down here? We’re underneath a mountain.”
Adlin gave Sarah a sarcastic grin. “How many times do I need to tell you that I’m old and wise? I would think you’d get the hint by now.”
“Smart aleck,” Sarah muttered. She followed as Adlin led her back through the mountain tunnels. She couldn’t help but wonder, though, if there were any spells in her book that could turn a dragon into a chicken for a while. Just as a prank, of course.
By the time she and Adlin returned to the others, Sarah found that the dragons did indeed have some hospitality. They had gathered together stones, wood, and other debris from beneath the mountain and had formed a makeshift hut, complete with furniture, for the companions. The larger dragons carried in supplies, while the smaller ones fashioned them together with amazing speed and precision.
The result was a crude cottage that started as nothing but a few sticks and stones but became a full-fledged building in a matter of hours. Azal supervised the task, his deep voice rumbling orders to the smaller dragons. Looking around, Sarah noted with a sigh of relief that Grimjaw was nowhere to be seen.
Although both Dax and Kay offered their help, the dragons would have nothing of it. They told the humans to sit on an arrangement of pillows they had laid out while the creatures finished their work.
“From the tales you’ve told us, it seems you’ve felt the wrath of the fey,” Azal said. “Now you’ll see the hospitality of the dragons.”
“Funny,” Dax muttered, “from everything else I’ve heard, I would have expected to see the hospitality of the fey and the wrath of the dragons. But then, given what I know about Keeley, I shouldn’t be surprised that the dragons are soft-hearted underneath all those scales. Not that their hospitality is helping my rheumatism in these dank caves, though.”
When Sarah came closer to the companions, she gave them a shout to let them know she was nearby. Keeley, who had been hovering around Azal’s kneecap and acting as a co-supervisor—the one the other dragons either completely ignored or couldn’t hear at all—squealed in delight and darted toward Sarah. Her face shifted from happiness to surprise, though, when she got close enough to take a good look at Sarah in her new clothes.
Kay followed Keeley’s movement and stood up to greet Sarah. He still had the beard his spell had grown, which seemed very out of place on him, even though he had trimmed it down a bit with a knife. Sarah thought it looked like a chipmunk was attached to his chin.
“You… you look different,” Kay said once he got a look at Sarah.
“Well, I do have the new clothes… not to mention these.” She dangled the wand and spellbook in front of Kay teasingly. “Looks like you’ll have some competition in the magic department.”
Kay glanced at Sarah’s new possessions and then looked directly at her again. “It’s not just that,” he said, examining Sarah’s face carefully. “There’s something different in the way you look… or maybe in the way you act. Maybe the two are connected.”
“Well, as long as I don’t have a beard on my face like you do, I don’t think I have to worry.”
Kay touched his poorly trimmed whiskers defensively. “I told you I’d grow a beard eventually,” he said. He was about to say something more when Adlin cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the silver dragon said, “but I did mean it when I said I wanted to speak with each of you. I h
ave something to say to Kay in private now, if you don’t mind.”
Kay smiled and bowed to the dragon. As Adlin turned and started leading the young wizard down a different set of tunnels, he slipped Sarah one more wink. “Wait until I get back,” he whispered. “Then maybe I’ll show you how to use that spellbook of yours.”
“You? Show me?” Sarah was about to point out that Kay hadn’t cast a single spell he had intended to since she had met him. Instead, she stuck out her tongue and let Kay go on his way. She’d get a chance to show off soon enough.
Within the hour, the dragons had built a cozy home in the middle of the massive mountain cave. Sarah stepped inside gingerly to look around. The furniture was crude, and the cushions of the chairs were really just cleverly-disguised patches of moss. Still, Sarah wasn’t about to complain. Inside, the cottage seemed like home—as long as she ignored the growls and roars of the dragons lumbering by her window.
Dax poked his head in, looked around, and grunted in a way that suggested approval. He wandered through the hastily-built home, nudging the furniture and running his hands over the cracks in the walls to determine how drafty the place was. “I suppose it will have to do,” he said wearily. “At least it’s a bit warmer than the wide open cavern. We could probably start a fire, though I expect my back will be aching in the morning no matter what we do.”
Leaving Dax to grumble, Sarah stepped outside and gave the dragons that had created their shelter a low bow. “Thank you very much,” she said as humbly as possible. “I’m not sure exactly why you did all this, but we appreciate all your hard work.”
“Hard work?” Azal asked. The rumbling voice of the dragon made the cave’s floor shake. Sarah worried that the noise would end up collapsing the newly-built hut. “Why, there was no hard work involved in it at all. We dragons have been hiding under the mountains for so long that we look forward to the opportunity to do anything. We get stir crazy here sometimes, but every time we decide to stretch our wings and fly off somewhere, everyone else thinks we’re planning on stealing cattle and kidnapping damsels.
Greystone Valley Page 13