by Chant, Zoe
“What have you got for us?” she demanded. “Really, if you’d just let me see your library—we could scan your scrolls and build a database and—”
The chimera roared. “So that humans can hack my books apart? Ginny has told me all about human technology. I know all about their magics.”
“It’s hack. Just hack. Not hack apart.”
Despite the chimera’s bluster, Chiara sounded amused, obviously enjoying herself.
Jared decided that he really needed to have a talk with Ginny about the human movies she’d let him watch.
“Anyway,” Chiara continued. “I’m not saying that you need to share your old scrolls online. But wouldn’t it be nice to have a backup? Just in case?”
“In what case?” Gareth growled. “And it’s not like you’d even know what to do with these books and scrolls. It took decades of study—you wouldn’t even be able to read any of—”
“I did just fine with my treasure map, thank you very much.” Chiara was still grinning, even though the moving shadows before them rapidly shifted, showing them a goat’s head, a dragon’s wings, and then back to the goat’s head again.
“You know,” Jared said slowly, “I think Liana would probably love to help with a project like that. She’s the ocean dragon’s mate,” he added for Chiara, “and a programmer. She runs her own video game company.”
“Really?” Chiara said, her eyes gleaming. “The alien conspiracy people I know have a database and a tracker for all UFO sightings, and I think if we—”
The chimera’s roar shook the walls of the cave. “I will NOT have your lunatic human friends track us!”
Chiara giggled helplessly. “But think about it for a moment. How many of these UFO sightings could be a shifter sighting, in truth?”
“How would tracking shifter sightings help us?” Jared asked.
“Well, not us personally, not right now,” Chiara admitted. “For one thing, it would take time to build, and we’ve got no time left. But this shadow dragon thing we saw... You say there’s an entire nation of crazy fire dragons out there who have somehow allied themselves with darkness. If we—or your friend—could hack into that alien conspiracy database, we might figure out where they’re hiding or planning to strike. Trust me, if there’s one group of people who always know about where there’s weird stuff going on, it’s my friends.”
“Actually, that makes sense,” the chimera grumbled thoughtfully out of the darkness.
Jared gave Chiara an impressed look. It had taken weeks to talk Gareth into getting internet access up here on his lonely mountain. For Chiara to talk him into hacking human databases when she hadn’t even been in Sky Home for a full day was nothing less than impressive.
“That’s decided then,” she said triumphantly. “Remind me to call your programmer friend before we leave.”
In the flickering shadows before them, Jared made out the head of a lion for a heartbeat, its jaws opening for a soundless laugh.
Then the darkness moved, the shadow twisting for a moment in a way that made Jared wince instinctively—and then it was gone. The cave was silent once more.
Gareth had retreated back to his chambers—and Chiara had gotten what she’d wanted.
Jared was still impressed. And very, very curious how she’d take to the council dragons and their human mates.
“In fact, I think you and Liana should meet up in person,” Jared said. “And how would you like to see the place where I grew up? Mountain View—the home of the storm dragon and his mate. Currently also housing the fire dragon and his human mate. I let them use my house, because I’m never home anyway.”
“I’d love to see it.” She paused for a moment, looking almost surprised. “And I’d actually like to meet your friends as well. I want to know what normal dragon shifters are like. I don’t want to judge them all based on the one dragon who kidnapped me. If they’re your friends, there has to be more to them.”
Chapter Nineteen: Chiara
An hour later, Chiara found herself hunched over Ginny’s laptop again. Ginny and Jared were both standing behind her, cheerfully waving at the webcam.
On her screen, a curvy, just as cheerful woman with golden-brown skin that glistened in the sunlight was waving back at her. She was wearing a turquoise sundress, and behind her, Chiara could see the blue of the ocean stretching to the horizon.
“You’ve found the right person for that job.” Liana sounded excited by the prospect of illegally hacking into a UFO database. “This sounds fun! I haven’t hacked anything since college—oops, I’m probably not supposed to admit that, am I?”
Chiara grinned. “I’m the one with the alien conspiracy friends. I promise I won’t judge!”
Liana cracked her fingers. “Anything for a friend. So what exactly do you want me to do once I’m in their database?”
“I don’t exactly know how these things work,” Chiara admitted. “But I thought if we could make something similar to what they have—something that collects their news about strange events, UFO sightings and so on, and maybe filter it somehow to see if there are concentrations in particular places...”
Liana made a thoughtful sound. “It won’t be enough to just get into their database and steal their data. We’ll need any new info they find as well. Which means I need to get in and then build a connection. One they won’t detect.”
“Oh,” Chiara said ruefully. “You’re right—is that too difficult?”
Liana looked back up at the webcam. She smirked. “Not too difficult. Just challenging. And it’s been way too long since I’ve been challenged like that.”
She looked back down, and a moment later, there was the sound of rapid clicking. “It might take a while,” she murmured, too distracted to look up, even when a man leaned into view and smiled at the camera.
“She can do it,” he said confidently. “Hi, Chiara, nice to meet you! We were all starting to feel sorry for Jared, but now I see that he only took his time because there was someone special waiting for him.”
Chiara felt herself blush, but even so she gave him an answering smile. It would take a while to get used to Jared’s friends. They were all rather overwhelming—and not because they were all powerful, charismatic shifters.
She didn’t really know what she’d expected—but they were all so normal. Worse than that, they were all so nice.
Not a single person had made fun of her for having contacts in the alien conspiracy subculture. Instead, somehow they all seemed to think that this made her smart and helpful. Not crazy, not a lunatic, not a weirdo loser with too much of an imagination—smart.
Given how the people who she’d thought were her friends had reacted to her tale of the werewolf, this would take some getting used to.
She’d never thought that she’d feel so instantly at home in the shifter world. But perhaps that showed just how wrong she’d been about shifters. Everyone here was willing to give her a chance, when her own dad hadn’t.
“I’m Timothy, by the way,” the man on her screen continued. “Liana’s mate.”
“And the dragon of water,” Jared added. “One of the four elemental dragons of our council.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting you,” Timothy said, then grinned as he looked down at his own mate. “If I can ever tear Liana away from her new project.”
“Gimme just a few more minutes,” Liana murmured distractedly, and Timothy laughed in response.
He rested his hand on Liana’s shoulder, who didn’t look up or stop typing, although a smile lit her face while her fingers continued to race across the keyboard.
“I’m in!” she said triumphantly a moment later. “Copying all their data now. Then I’ll see if I can get us a hidden backdoor access. Sifting through the data will take at least a few hours, though.”
“If you find anything, let the chimera know,” Jared said. “Chiara and I need to head out soon. With any luck, we’ll return with a new elemental dragon. Then we’ll have the five dragons
of the chimera’s prophecy.”
“And meanwhile, we’ll find out where they are going to strike,” Liana murmured, narrowing her eyes at the screen.
“Be careful,” Timothy said. “We’ve no idea what happened to Steele, and I don’t like the thought of that new shadow dragon you encountered.”
“We will be,” Jared promised. “In any case, we’ll hopefully find a new ally. And we’re the ones who found the map. They don’t know where we’re headed.”
“But if there’s a new elemental dragon, they might sense its power.”
Jared nodded reluctantly. “Still. We’ll have the advantage of surprise. And if we can warn whatever dragon is hiding there, he’ll be prepared.”
“We’ll bring him back with us,” Chiara said. “At least, that’s the plan. No wasting time out there in the open where Darkness can attack him. Get him back here where the chimera can talk to him.”
“And then I want to talk to him,” Jared said softly.
On Chiara’s chest, the old disk of gold felt warm against her skin.
Through the mate bond, she could feel a similar sensation from Jared, who was wearing his old amulet. He’d told her that there hadn’t ever been a time when he hadn’t worn it.
It had been the only link to his past. And now, at last, it was time to shed some light onto those old secrets.
He wouldn’t endanger Chiara, she knew that. He’d made that more than obvious. They’d fly fast, and they wouldn’t waste time in the mountains.
But he had to know. After all these years, he had to know what had become of his family.
And she’d be damned if she let her mate shoulder this burden alone.
***
They were both eager to start, and so they set off early the next day.
Liana and Timothy had kept them updated over email. So far they hadn’t yet pinpointed any particular areas of suspected supernatural activities, but Liana had managed to establish her backdoor connection into the UFO database.
Right now, Liana was working on a program that would sift through all the data for them and then spit out anything that looked like it might be connected to the darkness that was threatening the world. Hopefully by the time they returned to Sky Home, they’d have a trail to follow.
Chiara took a deep breath, raising her face up to the morning sun.
The flight had been uneventful so far. They were above the clouds, Jared’s majestic eagle wings effortlessly carrying them through the air. Every now and then, there was a hole in the cloud cover, and she made out fields, forests, and the occasional city.
Once or twice, planes went past them far overhead. It was a strange experience. Chiara couldn’t help but wonder what the people inside might think if they saw a woman on top of a griffin soaring through the sky.
Fortunately, humans couldn’t see mythological shifters—which included Chiara, as long as she was on his back. Still, the experience made her realize for the first time just how far she’d come. And just how far she’d left her old life behind.
I miss Dad.
Maybe once this was all over, they could make up. Maybe he’d at last believe her, and then everything could go back to what it had been.
No. I’ll never go back to who I was before all of this. He won’t get the old Chiara back. He’ll have to learn to live with the new Chiara.
Would her dad even like Jared?
It seemed impossible not to like Jared, who was strong and loyal and devoted to his work. Jared had beliefs. Jared wanted to keep the world a safe place for both humans and shifters.
But also, Jared was a shifter. And given how her dad had reacted to her tale of the werewolf, maybe the fact that Jared was a griffin would be enough to make him never want to talk to the two of them again...
High above, another plane went past.
Chiara leaned forward a little, pressing her cheek to the griffin’s neck. His feathers were soft and warm, and the movement of the strong muscles beneath her were comforting.
What point is there in worrying? If he can’t accept this—if he can’t accept us—then I haven’t lost anything. Then it’ll just stay the way it is right now.
But maybe her dad would come around. And then, maybe, she and Jared could finally have the big family they’d both always wanted...
Chapter Twenty: Jared
Jared didn’t descend until they’d almost made it to the mountain. Hopefully staying above the clouds would help to hide them from any spies the fire dragons might have on the ground.
And when they broke through the clouds, the landscape beneath them was completely deserted. Dense forest covered the slopes of the foothills that spread beneath, and the mountain itself looked forbidding. There were no buses carrying tourists for a sightseeing tour, no hotels catering to hikers and families, and only a small, winding road that looked utterly deserted.
The sight filled Jared with new hope.
What better place for a dragon to hide than on a mountain that looked so desolate and uninviting that no human would ever accidentally stumble across his lair?
Jared changed his angle, rising again as they came closer to where the mountain rose up from the surrounding foothills. Stark cliffs made certain that none but the most experienced climbers would make it up to the summit.
And of course, experienced climbers would never waste a trip on a mountain like this when they could instead gain glory on Mount Everest. As impressive as the mountain looked, it was not as high as the ones where more daring humans strove for new records. It wasn’t even as high as Sky Home.
But for a dragon, height alone didn’t matter. Secrecy was far more important.
And something about this mountain gave off a vibe that said “Leave. Now.”
Jared’s beak parted for a voiceless laugh. If anything, that vibe alone was enough to make him feel confident that they’d found a dragon’s hiding place.
Or a griffin’s...
No. I can’t think of that now. Focus on the task ahead.
With Chiara holding on to his neck, he soared higher and higher, spiraling around the mountain. There was no obvious opening that he could see—not until they’d nearly made it to the top.
There, at last, in the shadow of a boulder jutting forward at a threatening angle, a shadowed arch could be seen.
“An entrance,” Chiara breathed. “And that boulder—that’s the weird oval bit on our map.”
Jared landed, carefully listening for any sign of danger.
But there was no sound but the wind. A moment later, once Chiara had climbed down, he shifted back.
“We made it.” Chiara pulled the golden disk free and studied it again. Then she turned to look down at the forest spreading below.
Not far away, they could glimpse a river making a very distinct turn, only to then turn back again. Seen from up high, it looked a bit like a snake.
And on Chiara’s disk, the river showed the same distinctive curves.
“We’re here,” Jared said.
His voice echoed eerily. For a moment, he felt apprehension rise up inside himself.
Not much longer now, and he’d finally know. But what if the answers he’d get weren’t the ones he’d been hoping for?
He took a deep breath.
The air was crisp and cold. Wind tugged at their hair.
To his griffin, the mountain felt like home. Not just a dragon could settle here—griffins loved the mountains just as much.
Chiara took hold of his hand. He smiled at her, feeling her own strength and curiosity come through the bond.
It doesn’t matter. No matter what answers I get, what’s important is that I’ll finally know. And then I’m free to build a new life.
“Come on,” she said, laughing when the wind whipped her mermaid hair into her face. “Let’s see if we can disturb a dragon today.”
The cave was completely, utterly dark. Fortunately they’d thought ahead and brought flashlights.
Unlike the entrance to the council
chamber, the opening in the rock didn’t lead into a giant cave. Instead, they found a narrow passage that led them into the rock, sloping gently downward.
Every now and then, the path curved—always to the right, so that soon, they felt as if they were following a spiral that led down into the mountain.
And that seemed to be exactly what it was.
After half an hour had passed, the passage they were in widened. It was still dark, but they used their flashlights to explore.
Every step they took echoed eerily all around them. They couldn’t see further than their cones of light, and Jared made sure to stay close by Chiara’s side, just in case.
“Here!” she at last called out triumphantly. “Come and look at this!”
In the light of Chiara’s torch, the rock to their right was revealed to have three small openings—just big enough for a human to pass through.
“Which one do we choose?” Chiara asked, shining her light in.
Shadow swallowed their light. There was nothing but darkness behind the openings. They couldn’t even see if there was a path continuing past the stony doorways.
Jared didn’t like the look of that darkness. Still, they’d come too far to give up in the face of whatever defense mechanism the owner of this mountain used.
And the fact that it was this difficult to find him just made Jared more certain that they were on the right path.
“What does your disk say?” he asked.
Chiara pulled it out and turned it, squinting at the disk in the sparse light. “No doorways on it. Not that I can see. I guess we could toss a coin? No, that wouldn’t work—we’d need a three-sided coin.”
“No,” Jared said slowly. “I think... I think you might be right. May I?”
He held out his hand, and Chiara handed over the disk, a questioning look on her face.
Jared couldn’t even say where the idea had come from. But he knew dragons well—he’d grown up with one, after all. And if there was one thing dragons were good at, it was binding their treasure to themselves.
Which meant that if this golden disk originally came from a dragon’s hoard, it would try to make its way back to its owner. As much as a simple disk was able to, of course.