Page 94 of Red Dragon
Startled, Syla grabbed her spectacles again to keep them on, then flattened her hand to Wreylith’s scales to establish her tether of magic. Riding on a dragon was almost as alarming as falling twenty feet toward deadly fish.
Without waiting for the others, Wreylith took off, flying above the river and toward the mountains to the east. When Syla looked back, she spotted Fel and Teyla sliding down the bank to climb aboard Igliana’s back. When the orange dragon took off, she didn’t pirouette, but she did fly back and forth in a distinctive sashay.
Glad she felt better, Syla settled in to plan how she would steal the amphora from Vorik.
20
The dragonsthey’d spotted in the distance had disappeared by the time Agrevlari and Tonasketal reached Scar Peak, one of several mountains rising high enough to have snow above the tree line, even this late in the summer. They circled it, looking for caves or mine entrances.
A few times in his life, Vorik had flown this far south over the Everfrost Mountains on the way to the great desert to the east, but he’d never come close to this peak, only noting from a distance the deep and jagged canyon that ran from its apex for miles down the bare, rocky side. It looked like a wound left by the gods hurling lightning bolts.
For their second lap around the mountain, Agrevlari flew at a lower altitude, the smell of pine trees wafting up when his belly brushed the tops. A squirrel chattered irately at them but only after they were safely past.
I am catching a few scents lingering in the foliage,Agrevlari said.Scents of dragons.
Since we saw dragons recently, that isn’t surprising, is it?
But we see no sign of them now. I thought they may be headquartered here with their human allies.
They may have flown farther north. That’s the way they were going when we spotted them.Vorik would prefer if they could slip in, find the teal ore, and continue on without dealing with the Freeborn Faction—or their dragons. He didn’t want to deal with any of what he could only think of as deserters. Some of the faction members were elders or women who’d never joined the Sixteen Talons or Storm Guard, and he felt they had the right to leave the tribes whenever they wished, but he struggled not to resent those who’d sworn to serve in the military and then departed.Look for caves or mines, will you? Any possible entrance that could take us to teal ore, ideally ore located close to the surface.
General Jhiton hadn’t sent mining picks along, and Vorik had used his explosives on the gargoyles. He didn’t fancy hacking at solid rock with his sword.
If we locate the faction’s headquarters, we can ask them if they’ve seen the ore,Agrevlari suggested.If they have been in the southern end of the mountains for many moons, they may have encountered it.
We can find it without them.
If we fly aimlessly, the princess may locate the ore first. She likely has no aversion to dealing with your faction.
They’re notmyfaction.Vorik bristled at the idea of being linked to them in any way. They’d given intelligence to the Garden Kingdom military on numerous occasions. That was a betrayal to the stormer people.
You claimed to be a part of it when you sought to seduce her.
Youknowthat was a ruse. Didn’t you say you sensed magic within the mountain? There have to be caves.Vorik peered left and right and sniffed at the mountain air, as if it might offer clues to finding the second shielder component. It was much cooler and dryer than the humid tropical heat thathad smothered the rainforest, but if the scents of magical ore lingered in it, he couldn’t detect them.
“Sir!” Wise called, waving from where Tonasketal flew above the canyon. “There’s a huge cavern entrance over here. Big enough to fly into, and I see evidence of mining equipment from the past.”
“There we go.” Vorik waved an acknowledgment and urged Agrevlari to fly in that direction. “Wait for us to go in!” he called to Wise, thinking of those dragons that had disappeared and that Agrevlari had smelled.
Though it was unlikely he and Wise would chance upon the precise spot where the Freedom Faction made their headquarters, he didn’t want to stumble into them. Just as he didn’t think kindly of them, he doubted they would welcome a loyal stormer officer into their abode. Especially if they were trying to keep that abode secret.
Wise nodded, but his dragon had a different idea. Tonasketal flapped his wings hard and flew out of view, descending into the canyon. Maybe he’d spotted a tasty-looking mountain goat.
“We’d better make sure they don’t get themselves into trouble,” Vorik said.
Already flying in that direction, Agrevlari picked up speed. His nostrils twitched as he flapped his wings.The scents of dragons are wafting out of the canyon toward me now. They include… There is a female in her fertile time.
“Isthatwhy Tonasketal isn’t waiting?”
Vorik and Agrevlari soared over the edge of the canyon in time to spot Wise’s dragon carrying him toward the cavern he’d mentioned. With the entrance at least twenty feet high and the width even greater, it offered room for the outstretched wings of a dragon. Wise was gesticulating while clutching the amphora, but Tonasketal didn’t slow down, and they disappeared into the cavern.
“Catch them.” A premonition of danger came over Vorik, and he almost gave the opposite order, for Agrevlari to stop and wait.
But if Tonasketal got Wise into trouble—a fertile female might have a male mate nearby who wouldn’t appreciate another male approaching—they would need help.
With wings spread to catch the currents, Agrevlari soared into the dark cavern. No, it wasn’t as dark as one would expect. Ahead, a strange aquamarine light glowed from the depths. Or was that… ateallight? Did the teal ore glow?
I sense magic,Agrevlari said.
