Page 35 of Dark Fire

“You seem to know an awful lot about dragons,” she laughed.

Tevryn nodded. “Dragon myth and lore is a bit of a hobby horse with me. I find it fascinating to watch the mythos shift and change through the years.”

“Won’t Whistler be able to track us if we reach out to him in any way?”

“Good point. I can have Warrick set up a relay point here at the house so it will appear as though all of our communications are coming from Issaquah.”

“When do we leave?”

“I need to make some calls. I’d like to slip out tonight. That way if we have to drive, we’ll be long gone before rush hour and before anyone knows we’ve left.”

They spent the rest of the day setting their plans in motion. Luckily Ridley Monroe was happy to send his plane for them in the dead of the night. They would be able to leave without anyone being the wiser. He was also able to supply a small team of men to keep an eye on Lucy.

Sometime after midnight, when the moon had risen to its highest point in the sky, they boarded Ridley’s plane and took off into the night, flying to a different and unmarked landing strip nestled in one of the Winds’ valleys. The pilot had orders to remain with the plane and to camouflage it so that their presence would be difficult to detect.

Tevryn led Delaney up into the mountains, winding their way along various animal paths until they came to a small dell with a creek that moved through it and plenty of trees to keep them hidden. The hiking was rougher than the first time because they had larger packs for the tent and other things they would need to make a centralized base camp.

By midday, their camp was set, and Tevryn was certain they would be comfortable and relatively safe. It pleased him to watch Delaney as she worked alongside him getting things ready.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love Lucy’s and my house, but honestly I think I could be really happy living in one of those tiny homes.”

“What about a yurt?” he asked.

“I would love that. I’d want indoor plumbing and a real floor, but other than that, I think they’re amazing. I’ve seen several designs I thought were really intriguing.”

“But that you would make changes to,” he laughed.

“Well, of course. I am an architect, you know.”

“How are you for energy?”

“I’m feeling great. What did you have in mind?”

“I think we should go out and do a little exploring—not too far and let’s keep the elevation gain to a minimum, but just see where we are.”

Delaney nodded. “We could try and locate those standing stones.”

“We’ll get to them, but I’d like to see what else is around. We know what the legend says, and the place you found didn’t look like it could hold a clutch of dragon eggs, much less a whole dragon village.”

“True enough. Did you have a chance to look at the information Whistler sent to me yesterday?”

“I did. Is that the first time he’s mentioned that the scrolls might be a tablet?”

“Yes, which I thought was odd, although a tablet would be less susceptible to the forces of nature and aging.”

“Do you think he’s seen it or has part of it?”

“What makes you ask that?” she asked, seeming to become keenly aware.

“In one of the emails he talked about ‘the other half’ which makes me think perhaps he already has part of it.”

“I missed that,” she said, furrowing her brow in disappointment with herself.

“You were on drugs; give yourself a break,” he teased.

“He seemed very interested in the place where I got hurt.”

“Do you think he thinks the rest of the tablet might be there?”

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