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Authors: The Earth Dragon
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the entrance to a cave. “We found that stone archway.” He swallowed. “And that’s exactly what it is. It’s a stone archway leading into a large cavern.”
Damek climbed out of the truck, turned, and helped May from the vehicle as Bingham practically danced next to him.
“I didn’t know you were on your way. I called the nearest dragon to the site. Tony Saladino and his wife were nearby on a cruise.” He twisted his fingers together. “I hope you don’t mind. I called Delfavaro and asked who was the closest. I couldn’t read the language on the walls, and I thought perhaps he could.”
“He is here?” Damek closed the door perhaps a little more forcefully than he should have.
Damek wasn’t upset that Tony might already be here. What irked him was that Bingham had called Drake before he called the man who signed his paychecks.
Bingham swallowed, looking worried. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry, sir. I just thought—”
“Forget it,” Damek interrupted. He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Where is he?”
“In the cavern.” Bingham paced next to him as Damek headed toward the cave. “The funny thing is, a six-foot thick clear sheet of ice covered the entrance. We drilled through that easily enough. It was what we found inside that we thought required a dragon.”
Damek stopped at the entrance and turned his attention to his assistant. “And that was what?”
Bingham ran his finger beneath his collar and cleared his throat. “There is a lot of strange writing on the wall and a large, very large, circle of stone encased in ice.”
“Why is it strange?” He frowned at the archaeologist. “One would expect to find ancient carvings near a find, and ice in a cave in Alaska shouldn’t be surprising at all.”
“You don’t understand, sir. We have made every effort to cut through the ice and we can’t. The temperature in the cavern ranges between forty and fifty degrees, yet the ice surrounding the sphere doesn’t melt. We have ruined three diamond-tipped drill bits, trying to drill through the ice to see what’s inside.”
“You’re saying it’s protected by magic.”
“Yes, sir.” He stood up straight as though awaiting censure or perhaps the loss of his job. “The language is ancient enough that I can’t read it. Even Tony can’t read it. Once we learned of your arrival, we thought it prudent to wait for you. Perhaps you can read it.”
Damek felt the walls of the cave, his fingers tingling as he passed through the entrance. There was magic here, all right. Ancient magic . He hadn’t felt power like this in eons. This was the work of a sorcerer.
Unlike mages, sorcerers wanted control. They couldn’t and wouldn’t take less than second best. Each of them felt as though they deserved to rule the world. The only problem with that was, there was usually more than one. They all couldn’t rule, so they felt no one should.
That was why he and the other ancient dragons set out to imprison the sorcerers. In some cases, they imprisoned the dragons instead. Over the years, the sorcerers became adept at hiding in plain sight while the dragons hid as humans.
Now, the attacks on May and her sisters made sense. The sorcerers were obviously tired of playing the waiting game and had decided to resume their old chess match with a few new players. The Flowers sisters.
Chapter Thirteen
May followed the two men into the cave. She circled the giant sphere and studied it with a critical eye. “This can’t be natural.” Reaching out, she touched the clear layer that surrounded it. “Definitely not natural.” It was ice, yet it wasn’t ice. It was cold, frozen, but the people to the left of her couldn’t drill through it and the people to the right of her couldn’t break it with a chisel and sledge hammer.
Looking around, May searched for her sister Tansy and her mate. She saw them after a moment. They had been on the other side of the large sphere. What they
Damek climbed out of the truck, turned, and helped May from the vehicle as Bingham practically danced next to him.
“I didn’t know you were on your way. I called the nearest dragon to the site. Tony Saladino and his wife were nearby on a cruise.” He twisted his fingers together. “I hope you don’t mind. I called Delfavaro and asked who was the closest. I couldn’t read the language on the walls, and I thought perhaps he could.”
“He is here?” Damek closed the door perhaps a little more forcefully than he should have.
Damek wasn’t upset that Tony might already be here. What irked him was that Bingham had called Drake before he called the man who signed his paychecks.
Bingham swallowed, looking worried. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry, sir. I just thought—”
“Forget it,” Damek interrupted. He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Where is he?”
“In the cavern.” Bingham paced next to him as Damek headed toward the cave. “The funny thing is, a six-foot thick clear sheet of ice covered the entrance. We drilled through that easily enough. It was what we found inside that we thought required a dragon.”
Damek stopped at the entrance and turned his attention to his assistant. “And that was what?”
Bingham ran his finger beneath his collar and cleared his throat. “There is a lot of strange writing on the wall and a large, very large, circle of stone encased in ice.”
“Why is it strange?” He frowned at the archaeologist. “One would expect to find ancient carvings near a find, and ice in a cave in Alaska shouldn’t be surprising at all.”
“You don’t understand, sir. We have made every effort to cut through the ice and we can’t. The temperature in the cavern ranges between forty and fifty degrees, yet the ice surrounding the sphere doesn’t melt. We have ruined three diamond-tipped drill bits, trying to drill through the ice to see what’s inside.”
“You’re saying it’s protected by magic.”
“Yes, sir.” He stood up straight as though awaiting censure or perhaps the loss of his job. “The language is ancient enough that I can’t read it. Even Tony can’t read it. Once we learned of your arrival, we thought it prudent to wait for you. Perhaps you can read it.”
Damek felt the walls of the cave, his fingers tingling as he passed through the entrance. There was magic here, all right. Ancient magic . He hadn’t felt power like this in eons. This was the work of a sorcerer.
Unlike mages, sorcerers wanted control. They couldn’t and wouldn’t take less than second best. Each of them felt as though they deserved to rule the world. The only problem with that was, there was usually more than one. They all couldn’t rule, so they felt no one should.
That was why he and the other ancient dragons set out to imprison the sorcerers. In some cases, they imprisoned the dragons instead. Over the years, the sorcerers became adept at hiding in plain sight while the dragons hid as humans.
Now, the attacks on May and her sisters made sense. The sorcerers were obviously tired of playing the waiting game and had decided to resume their old chess match with a few new players. The Flowers sisters.
Chapter Thirteen
May followed the two men into the cave. She circled the giant sphere and studied it with a critical eye. “This can’t be natural.” Reaching out, she touched the clear layer that surrounded it. “Definitely not natural.” It was ice, yet it wasn’t ice. It was cold, frozen, but the people to the left of her couldn’t drill through it and the people to the right of her couldn’t break it with a chisel and sledge hammer.
Looking around, May searched for her sister Tansy and her mate. She saw them after a moment. They had been on the other side of the large sphere. What they
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