Page 121 of Red Dragon
Her explanation was for Teyla and Fel, who probably hadn’t seen what had happened. Even though he’d been at the rock formation and a part of activating the mark, Vorik didn’t know fully himself. Of course, he’d been distracted byothermatters at the time.
“Maybe it doesn’t appear to dragons,” Fel said.
“Why would it appear to humans and not dragons though?” Teyla asked. “The storm god didn’t have any fondness for us. Quite the opposite. It was the other gods who looked out for humanity.”
“The moon-mark on that pillar might have been added later,” Syla said. “I had that thought when I looked at it, that the dragon mark and moon-mark might not have been carved into the rock at the same time.”
“Because the gods knew humans might need access one day?” Teyla guessed. “Thefriendly-to-humansgods? After all, the scroll talks about getting the orb from here if it’s needed. If that was an impossibility, they wouldn’t have listed it in what was essentially their repair manual, right?”
Another cold and ominous wind swept through, and something clicked in the back of the laboratory. As if a magical device had been activated?
Once Wreylith reached the end of the canyon, she banked to come back in their direction, this time flying low. Her talons extended, and she swiped at the air twenty feet up, where those motes tickled Vorik’s vision. Sparks appeared, and she jerked her limbs up to her chest, her wingbeats faltering. She recovered quickly but roared in irritation.
On top of the pillar, Agrevlari stood, as if he might fly over to investigate it himself, but then he turned, peering toward the distant mountains that they’d flown from that morning. Was the orange dragon returning? Agrevlari’s tail went out straight, tense.
“We might have company of some kind coming.” Vorik doubted the playful orange dragon would have made Agrevlari tense. Nor, if ally stormer dragons were on the way, would he be worried.
“Of some kind?” Syla watched his face.
Maybe she was thinking about stormer dragons too—and that they wouldn’t be allies to her. It was the Freeborn Faction dragons that concerned Vorik, though he couldn’t imagine why they would bother hunting him—them—down. Unless Jhitonhad threatened harm to their prisoners if Chieftess Atilya couldn’t produce Vorik.
Abruptly, Vorik wished he’d been able to send a message back with Wise. If Wise hadn’t beenunconsciouswhen he’d departed…
Another cold wind gusted from the back of the laboratory. It felt like something out of the arctic rather than this southern desert. A few clicks and a faint rumble sounded, whatever made the noise not yet visible. The crystal formations blocked the view of the distant back wall.
“Our more immediate problems are likely to come from that direction,” Vorik said.
Syla watched him for another moment, as if she were less certain of that, but then also faced that way.
“Let’s look for the orb.” Teyla brightened at the prospect of exploring.
Face grim, Syla pointed to Fel. “Stick with Teyla, Sergeant.”
“I’myourbodyguard, Your Highness.”
“I know, but I’ve got Vorik and his sword, and I need to keep an eye on him.”
Fel bared his teeth but surprisingly didn’t suggest that Vorik wouldn’t sufficiently protect her.
“I think you’re friends now,” Syla whispered to Vorik.
“We’ve battled together against great enemies,” Vorik murmured back.
“So, friends.”
“I think he’d still like to brain me with his mace, but I have more relationships with people who feel that way than you’d think.” He gave her a significant look.
“I don’t want to brain you.”
“No?”
“No. I wouldn’t mind cracking your brother and commanding officer on the head, but he hasn’t lingered in my orbit long enough for me to try.”
“I don’t think you would find that an easy thing to do. Even our best warriors don’t cross him.”
“Therearetimes when I’ve wished you would fall off your dragon in the middle of the ocean and stop trying to thwart my plans.”
“Ah.”
