Page 17 of Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice

This had to be a test. Tempting me to tread where I wasn’t supposed to.

I couldn’t forget that Phoebe, Evander, Daphne, all of them were the dragon’s minions. They might seem friendly, but they were still doing his bidding.

Maybe I was overly suspicious, but I didn’t think that polishing gems was the only reason the dragon was demanding sacrifices. He had to have some other reason for me. For all the girls who had been sacrificed over the years. Perhaps he needed to test me first, to see if I was the right girl for his purpose.

Well, if this was a test, I was going to pass. I had to pass. I didn’t think I’d like the consequences of failure.

Had all the other girls failed? Where were they now? Locked in some deep, dark part of this mountain? Dead? Was Clarissa even now “safe” but suffering in some dungeon beneath my feet?

What were my odds of succeeding where they had failed?

Evander headed to the second largest of the tunnels, after the one that led to the dragon’s quarters. This tunnel had the creek flowing down it, chuckling merrily as it danced over rocks.

We followed the tunnel around a few more twists and turns, crossing back and forth on stepping stones over the creek. After a few minutes of walking, the tunnel opened into another large cavern.

This one was ringed with benches and couches richly upholstered. Brightly colored, plush rugs covered every inch of the stone floor while so many chandeliers hung from the ceiling that the room was bright as daylight. A few stone cubbies with wooden doors ringed the room above the couches.

At the far side of the room, a set of doors blocked off the tunnel, set so snugly into their frames that I doubted even a smidgen of light shone past them to the other side. Above the noise of grinding and sanding, the faint sounds of the gnome chanting came from the far side.

Many of the people I’d seen eating breakfast earlier lounged on the rugs and couches, piles of stones on the tables beside or before them. Some of the people held polishing cloths while others were working pedal-powered grinding wheels. Occasionally one of them stood, adding the stone they had been working on to the pile beside someone else or putting the stone in one of the cubbies.

They briefly glanced up, nodded to me and Evander, then went back to work. Perhaps they didn’t dare let the dragon’s steward see them slacking off.

A smaller door with a wooden flap edged in sheepskin was set in the larger door. As we stood there, the flap opened, and a tiny cart filled with stones rolled into the room. One of the men with goat legs hurried to grab the cart. He dumped the contents on the large table in the center of the room, then pushed the cart back through the flap.

“I’ll introduce you around. But first, I’d like to show you the gnomes’ operation.” Evander crossed the room, nodding to a few more of the people, before he halted in front of the doors and knocked, speaking loudly. “Light incoming.”

The chanting from the other side cut off.

After waiting a few seconds, Evander plucked one of the torches from its bracket on the wall, pushed the door open, and stepped inside, holding the torch high.

A line of the gnomes I’d seen at breakfast stood before us, one of them a little ahead of the others. They had their pointed hats pulled down over their eyes once again, though their beards and clothes were dirtier than they’d been at breakfast.

The lead gnome opened his mouth, but Evander stepped forward. “As the dragon’s steward, I have taken it upon myself to introduce Nessa to the work crew. Nessa, this is Boss Gob and his work crew. Boss Gob, this is Nessa, our latest guest.”

Latest guest. That made the sacrifices sound so benign. Where were the other guests if things were as nice and friendly as they seemed on the surface?

The lead gnome took another step closer. When he spoke, his voice boomed surprisingly deep from such a small body. Yet the voice still seemed small, despite its deep tone. “I am Boss Gob. Allow me to introduce my crew.” He rattled off a list of names so quickly there was no chance I was going to remember them, not to mention they were all so similar I couldn’t possibly keep them straight. Nob. Dob. Hob. And so on.

“Boss Gob, please show Nessa your operation here.” Evander gestured deeper into the tunnel.

“Come right this way, Lady Nessa.” Boss Gob led the way down the tunnel, his hat bobbing with each of his tiny steps.

I had to all but shuffle to walk slowly enough for his pace. Evander only took one step for every dozen of the gnome’s.

With a barked word that I didn’t catch, Boss Gob sent the rest of the gnomes scattering. They ran ahead of us, diverging into different tunnels so small I wouldn’t have been able to stick more than my head inside.

In moments, the chanting resumed, accompanied by the ringing of steel on stone.

As we headed down a tunnel, lit only by the torch held in Evander’s hand, I leaned closer to him. “Why can’t I understand them? I can understand everyone else.”

“The gnomes have their own language apart from the normal fae language we all share. Even other fae can’t always understand them, unless they wish to be understood.” Evander shrugged, the torch in his hand bobbing with his measured steps. “The gnomes like it that way. They prefer to keep to themselves as much as possible.”

“Do they mind our visit?” I shivered and rubbed my arms. The gnomes looked almost cute. But they probably had sharp teeth and could turn vicious if threatened. I wouldn’t want to be swarmed by them.

Maybe that was what had happened to the others. They were eaten by the gnomes rather than the dragon.

“No, they don’t mind. You’re a part of this court now.” Evander’s mouth curved into something almost like a smile. “They enjoy showing off, for the right people.”

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