Soon the passage was so tight she had to turn sideways to fit through the fissure. If this was another dead end she was going to sear the hide from Yamin’s backside. He didn’t pay her enough to get trapped in a bat infested hole.
The way grew tighter then she suddenly stumbled into a large open space. The air there was dry and still. The contrast from the falls making her cough. The light, still hovering above her head, didn’t touch the ceiling high above. The floor beneath her feet was smooth. Too smooth to be natural to the cave. This must be the place.
She shone her light back along the passage and saw the tumbled pile of boulders that blocked the way to her right. To the left the passage ran on, disappearing around a smooth cut corner. She moved with silent steps down the path. A light dust was on the floor and a few broken pebbles lay here and there, but for the most part the way was undisturbed. Pretty good for two thousand years old.
After the main entrance had collapsed, she doubted anyone had come through this way. There weren’t even the tiny footprints of rats or mice to break the smooth layer of dust.
As she turned the corner she saw a light shining softly from above. Coming under the glow she looked up a long shaft drilled straight up through the rock, allowing light and air to trickle into the passage. Handy, if pilgrims still visited the place.
Thousands of years ago villagers would come from miles around to ask the favor of the dragon that lived here. She was said to be powerful beyond compare. Forming spells of power that no one had thought of before. She was known as Am'Ati, First Mother, in all the legends and that was what she was, the mother of the whole dragon race. She and her mate had been the first.
Keeva didn’t much care about myths and ancient legions of dragons. Being a half blood, she was more concerned with full blood dragons and how many different ways they could kill her if they caught her. To them, the only good half blood was a dead one.
The passage continued on for nearly a mile through the earth. Some parts were half collapsed and she had to wriggle to get through the small gap to the other side, but most of the tunnel was sound.
Finally the path broadened and she came out into a round room. A tall broad archway was carved into the stone face across from her. She stepped up to it, her fingers tracing the runes on the solid stone door. Even thousands of years old she could feel the power etched into the stone, deeper than the flowing script written there.
She couldn’t read the scripts, not really. She had only been able to pick up a few words here and there over the years. Most humans she ran into who knew magic were too fearful to be willing to teach her. Mages were always skittish about teaching others. The Knight’s Guild, even if they couldn't completely stop mages, kept a close, disapproving eye on them.
Even if she didn't know the letters, she did know the feel of each spell. That was her gift. No matter what spell it was, she could feel it and knew what it did. A very handy skill for a part time thief. There was no lock she couldn’t pick. No guarding spell she couldn’t find a way around. Or at least that was what she liked to tell herself.
Ah, there it is. The spell crumbled as she pressed on the weak point, collapsing it like a house of cards. The doors shuddered, then swung in. Stiff stale air seeped out toward her like breath from a long dead corps. It made her shudder and cough until it cleared. The rusty hinges shrieked in protest, only opening wide enough for her to squeeze her way through.
Another room lay behind the door. She frowned at the opposite wall. Until then everything had been carved out of the stone of the mountain, but the wall that rose before her was made of grey stone slabs layered tightly together like it had been bricked up after the rest of the room was made. A door was set in the center, smaller and plainer than the first door, but she could feel the tingle of spells even from across the room. She approached cautiously. These spells weren’t like the first door. There was a cold deadly edge to them that made her skin itch and every muscle in her body scream for her to run.
What was she thinking, stealing from a dragon? Her very existence depended on not being noticed. She nearly took a step back the way she had come, but she stopped.
Don’t be silly. This dragon has been dead for two thousand years. The Knights saw to that personally.
She forced herself forward, focusing on the door and what she would have to do to get around it. If there were two thousand year old dragon bones inside, fine. She needed this job too much to back down now.
The door’s surface was smooth except for a wicked looking cage work of intricately wound metal in the middle. The knot of metal was just a little bigger than her fist, a long thick needle pointing out from the center.
A legacy lock. Only blood from the right person or their descendants could open it. As she forced her feet to shuffle closer, she noticed a strange dust lying on the floor. The way in had been dusty, but nowhere near this thick. She shone her light down to see a mound of pure black dust heaped on the threshold.
That wasn’t normal. She bent and ran a finger through the dust. The cold feeling of death met her touch and she pulled her hand away. How could dust have the feeling of death? Unless it hadn’t always been dust.
A shiver ran down her spine, there was just about enough there to make a person, maybe more than one. Her eyes came back to the door. What had Yamin gotten her into? Guarding spells that deadly were rare, reserved for only the most precious treasures. Or the most dangerous.
She ran her tongue over her dry lips. Yamin’s information better be good. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny vile no bigger than the nail of her little finger. Dark red liquid sloshed around inside as she gently worked off the cork. She took a steadying breath and tipped the vile until a single drop of blood clung to the lip of it. The drop shook as she moved it closer to the tip of the needle. As soon as the liquid touched it the metal began to glow, pulsing with power. A high pitched shriek filled the air and Keeva dropped the empty vile with a curse. She scrambled back, kicking up clouds of black dust from the floor. The shriek grew louder, more intense. Cracks in the stone spider webbed out from the metal lock, she had almost reached the other doorway when it exploded. Rocks pelted her from all sides, but she kept her head down until the rumbling finally stopped.
Silence filled the room, broken only by Keeva’s labored breaths and the ringing in her ears. She stood, shaking rocks and dust from her clothes. The wall where the door had been was gone, only a gaping hole remained. Cautiously she stepped forward leaning through the gap to the room behind it.
The floor ran smooth and flat away into the darkness. Keeva shone her light into the black. The face of a dragon peered back out at her, jaws wide in a menacing snarl.
She stumbled back, her heart thundering, but stopped as she realized that the dragon wasn’t moving.
A drop of sweat trickled down from her temple to her jaw as she stared at the dragon’s grey teeth. Grey? The teeth were made of stone, as was the head they were set in. A statue?
Ready to flee in an instant, she inched closer. The dragon was certainly life-sized. Bigger than any dragon she’d seen before. Almost thirty feet long, twice Keeva's length in her dragon form. A shiver ran down her spine as she looked into its face and saw that both eyes were gone, leaving only empty gaping holes in their place.
Who would put a statue like this here? The Knights? They were bastards, but they didn’t have that sick a sense of humor, did they?
It didn’t matter. She wasn’t there for a statue. She just had to find the stone, find the door, get out, get paid. End of story.
It shouldn’t be hard to find the dragon’s treasure in here, since the room was practically empty. There were nooks and shelves all over the walls, but nothing sat on them but dust. The Knights had done a good job cleaning the place out before they bricked it up. Why did Yamin think they would have left anything as valuable as an Eye Stone here? Still, he had given her the right blood to get in. He must have known something that she didn’t.
A
sharp glint caught her eye and she crouched down, shining her light along the floor. There, beneath the head of the dragon, was a large green emerald as big as her fist.
Damn Yamin to the third hell. It was the Eye Stone he wanted. It lay on the floor right beneath the statue’s empty eye. The sight creeped her out and Keeva rubbed her arms, trying to brush away the goose flesh that had risen there.
For a long moment she thought of leaving the damn thing and just getting the hell out of there, but a job was a job. If word got out that she wouldn’t follow through, or worse, if Yamin thought she’d pocketed the stone for herself…
She crouched down and inched slowly closer to the dragon’s stone fangs. Alive or not, being that close to one made her blood cold. Her fingers brushed the edge of the emerald. A gust of wind blew past, stirring echoes as it went. She pulled her hand back, feeling like ghosts were dancing on her grave.
Ah, to hell with this. She knelt down and snatched up the emerald, quickly scurrying back from the dragon.
It didn’t move.
Her heart thudded in her chest as she shone the light around, finding another doorway in the back. This one was broad and tall. Easily big enough for two dragons to enter side by side. Swirling script was carved in the center forming a simple spell lock. She glanced back at the dragon behind her before crouching in front of the lock. Her hands shook as she searched for the trigger point. This would be so much easier if she could read.
There it was. The door shook and rattled as it swung inward. She moved out of the way as brilliant rays of light came shooting into the darkness. A fresh breeze swept in pushing back the dead air.
Finally. Yamin was going to get an ear full for not warning her about this one.
A long slender head snaked in and Keeva barley had time to gasp before the dragon was on her, pinning her down with razor sharp claws. She thought of shifting forms, but she knew the dragon could slice her to ribbons before she had the chance.
“The Eye Stone. Where is it?” the creature’s dark, feminine voice demanded.
“Here,” she held up the emerald. Sorry Yamin.
Two more dragons entered on the heels of the first. One stopped by the entrance turning back, apparently as a look out. The other approached her and the dragon that pinned her to the floor. With as smooth a change as she had ever seen, it shifted to a tall copper haired woman, jeweled eyes shining a pale jade lighter than the stone in Keeva’s hand. She snatched up the stone, rolling it in her fingers.
“Finally.” She glanced down at Keeva. “You’re as good as Yamin said you would be. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this.” Digging into her pockets the woman drew out another emerald, a perfect match to the other. Both jewels shone brighter as she held them close. She felt the claws of the dragon above her slacken as both full bloods stared in wonder.
She didn’t waste her chance. With a sharp kick up, she hit the copper dragon in the stomach, right where she knew the scales were weakest. With a yelp of pain the dragon pulled back and Keeva slipped out from underneath her, rolling to the side and slipping between two thick stalactites that hung down just outside the door.
She held her breath for a long moment, still wedged tight behind the two natural stone pillars. She heard the sound of claws on stone, but the second woman’s voice cut in.
“No. Let her go. We have more important matters than a half blood.”
A snort blew into her hiding place, but the sound of claws retreated. With slow steps She crept toward the light and her way out of the cave. If she was lucky she could slip out without them seeing her again.
She reached the edge of her hiding place and glanced back into the cave.
The woman stood by the head of the dragon statue, stroking its muzzle with gentle fingers. “You have been asleep far to long, Arria.”
She took a stone in each hand and placed them into the eyes of the stone dragon. The ground rumbled and light began to dance in the emerald eyes. She stood rooted in place, unable to take her eyes off the scene.
The emerald eyes blinked, then blinked again. The grey of the stone began to turn copper and green, flickering along the dragon’s scales. Keeva’s heart was in her throat. She had to get out of there.
What once was stone now moved with flesh and fangs. The dragon straightened, joints creaking. Her wings spread wide, mouth still open in a snarl. A moment later her voice returned and a loud scream split the air of the cave. She struggled to block out the sound, covering her ears with her hands, but it still rattled her bones. Dust and large chunks of rock fell from the ceiling. She ducked her head from the falling debris.
The dragon swung around looking at the intruders in her cave.
“Who are you?” the old dragon’s scratchy voice began to smooth as she spoke.
“Mother Arria, I am Iraa, descendant of your daughter Raama.” The woman bowed respectfully.
The first dragon took a step forward. “I am Miryaa and this is my sister Amyaa. We are the blood of your daughter Nima.” Both sisters bowed together.
Arria eyed them silently for a moment. “How long have I been asleep?”
“A long while, Mother. A very long while,” Iraa answered. “We have been searching for years to try and find a way to wake you.”
Arria sighed, a tired look in her emerald eyes. “Where is Calem? I need to see him.”
Iraa faltered for the first time.
“Mother Arria, I thought you knew. Calem was murdered,” she said.
The dragon shook her head. “No. That can’t be. He must be imprisoned somewhere like me.”
“I’m sorry, but there is no doubt that he is dead.”
Arria’s voice shook as she spoke. “When? How long ago?”
Iraa glanced back at the other two dragons before answering. “He died almost two thousand years ago, Mother.”
Arria’s body wrinkled and shuddered finally collapsing down to her human form. Long black hair hung down to her waist and around her face, sticking to the tears that flowed from her emerald eyes.
“No,” she cried, half sobbing. “He can’t be dead! He can’t!” Her fingers rubbed at the white tattoo on her arm, two lines curling to wrap around each other. “How did he die? Who killed him?”
“He was killed by Vaeon and his sons. They were trying to murder your daughters. He died so Raama and Nima could escape,” Miryaa said quietly. “His skull still hangs in the Knights’ Guild Hall.”
Arria let out another sobbing wail covering her tear streaked face with her hands as she wept. Keeva felt her heart pull for the woman. Whoever she was, it sounded like she had lost everything.
Arria’s hands dropped from her face and she lifted a fallen boulder from the ground, hurling it across the room to shatter against the far wall. She screamed again, but this time with hatred and fury coloring her grief.
“That bastard, Vaeon! He promised me!” Arria stood, hands trembling as she wiped the tears from her face.
“Tell me about the Knights’ Guild.” The quiet venom in her voice chilled Keeva even more than her scream earlier.
Enough stalling. With silent steps she inched to the cave mouth. She leapt from the cliff there, shifting mid-fall to catch the breeze in her silver wings.
In the Twilight Between
Nadya was content. She had a good job, a boyfriend, a nice normal little life.
Then in a flash of light, her normal life is ripped away and she is drawn through a portal into a dangerous new world. Caught in the middle of a bloody civil war Nadya must choose which side to fight for and which brother to trust: Levah of the White Rose or Tylev Lord of Raven House.
But not everything is as it appears. In this world words are power and magic is everywhere, magic that Nadya herself must learn to wield, but darker motives lay just beneath the surface.
Nadya’s decision will turn the tides of war, but if she chooses wrong she will lose her very soul.
Chapter 1
"So have you thought about it?" Jake
asked, pausing to take a swig from his water bottle.
Nadya took a sip from her own bottle, wiping the sweat from her eyes.
"Thought about what?” she asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about. Couldn't they just finish their run in peace?
Jake sighed. "Nadya, I asked you to marry me over a week ago. I thought you would've made up your mind by now."
"It isn't something I want to make a split second decision on," she said turning away from him towards the running path again.
"Why not?" Jake asked stepping around in front of her, blocking her way. "We've been going out for almost two years now. You had to know it was coming."
"I know. I just…" Nadya paused pressing her lips together.
"Look, I know you're scared. It's a big thing." He hooked a finger under her chin and made her look up at him. "But I also know that I love you. I want you with me forever."
Jake leaned forward and kissed her gently. "I will love you forever. Just stay with me."
Nadya closed her eyes feeling the warmth of his kiss. Maybe he was right. There was no reason for her not to say yes.
"All right,” she said quietly.
Jake's eyebrows rose. "Is that a yes? Like, a real yes?"
"Yes." Nadya said and smiled at him. Jake smiled back a look of triumph in his eyes as he drew her into his arms and kissed her.
"Here." He released her and pulled something from the pocket of his loose running pants. Lifting her hand he slipped a diamond ring on her finger.
Nadya looked down at the slender band of metal, shining diamond, heart shaped and far too girly, perched precariously atop it. The realization of what she had just agreed to started to sink in.
No, she refused to panic again. This was what she needed. Looking up into Jake's eyes she could see his love there as he looked back at her.
"Come on. Let's get going or we'll never finish,” she said feeling the urge to move again. Jake nodded, falling into step behind her as they rejoined the running trail that looped all the way around the park. Nadya always liked running. It was great to get out and move. Feel the wind on her skin and stretch her legs over the black asphalt path. No worries about work or paying the bills, just the drumming beat of her feet and the air moving in and out of her lungs.
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