Dakari took the amulet into his hands and closed his eyes.
“It is being called, I don’t know by what, or by who. I can feel it trying to answer. Can you feel it?” He said, sounding very much like one of those television preachers that preach late in the night.
Lainey looked at him like he had grown another head. “What do you mean? How can rocks be called? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Remembering that humans would typically have closed minds when it came to things like this, he attempted to explain, “All things have a heart, a core. This rock, as you call it, is as alive as you or I. Red crystals harbor immense amounts of power, and can be channeled for good or dark magics. The heart of the crystal can be swayed either way. Right now, this crystal is pure and has a heart for you. I can feel it, whatever has called it will be helpful for you.”
Lainey accepted whatever Dakari said as gospel. He was older and wiser, and had magic. She thought of him as a surrogate big brother, a super powerful surrogate big brother. “What do we do now?” She asked looking up at him through her long dark lashes.
Dakari looked all around them but could find nothing mystical. “Keep an eye on your amulet as we start climbing, maybe it will guide us.”
Lainey looked at the cliff face as the falling rain began to pelt them. She knew how slippery the rocks could get when wet and wished they could just get out magically. Dakari had explained that he wasn’t capable of transporting them, his powers tended to be in conjuring things. At the moment she wished he would conjure up some burgers.
They started their ascent, but didn’t get far when Dakari noticed a small hole in the cliff face. He was able to put his head inside enough to see that it was another small cavern. Frustrated that the hole wouldn’t accommodate his bulk he boosted Lainey up to crawl through. From her squeals of pleasure he guessed that whatever had been calling to the crystal was inside.
“What is it Lainey? What do you see?” He asked, anxious to get Lainey back out where he could watch over her.
“It’s so blue, it's amazing, I’ve never seen anything so blue.”
“What’s so blue? Lainey, what are you talking about?”
There was silence from inside now. Dakari started to panic. Had she fallen? Was she ok? He had to find a way to get in. He looked around desperately and saw a larger cavity he thought he might be able to wiggle through. First a leg, then slowly and bending in strange positions, his torso and head. Finally, finding a secure handhold on the inside he was able to pull his other leg through.
All around him the cave glowed blue. He could feel the crystals in his pockets warm and pulse. Whatever was happening he was starting to feel dizzy with the beauty of it. He could see Lainey now, mouth open, hand outstretched touching a blue crystal formation. It was a blue like nothing he had ever seen. Deep, but bright, it dazzled the eye. It seemed to sing, and its song seemed to have the power to mesmerize. The handhold he was holding started to crumble and brought him out of his reverie.
He made a quick decision to jump to the rock Lainey sat on. As he did, portions of where he had just been fell into the water below with a splash. His weight shook the rock and Lainey snapped out of her trance. Her eyes quickly went dark and she winced with pain. He looked down and saw the gash on her knee. She must have fallen like he did. The wound was open and blood was seeping onto the rock.
The crystals in his pockets all but jumped out of his pockets. Grabbing them, lest they fall into the sea below he laid them on the blue crystals. He felt like a child in a candy factory. The joy pulsed out and filled the room, as the crystals united and fused into one royal lilac crystal.
“Ok, even I can feel that! It’s like they are happy. It makes me feel such joy, and my heart feels so full. I’ve never felt anything like this.”
“It’s the rarest of all crystals. People spend their whole lives trying to find a crystal such as this. There are legends of all of its abilities but no one knows for sure what it is capable of. I have heard that it has the power to heal all pain.”
She understood his meaning and reverently placed the crystal on her knee. Not knowing what to say or really what to hope for she just stared in awe as her knee healed right in front of her. Within seconds she was as good as new.
Dakari took the crystal from her and touched it to the silver cup. He murmured a few words and the cup filled with water. The delight in her eyes made him laugh out loud. It felt so good to laugh again. It made him think of his own little sister and hoped that Maggie was ok. They both drank until they could hold no more.
Reality hit him like a ton of bricks. They had been lured into this momentary lull, but it was time to get out of here. He looked through the crevice and saw that the storm had let up. They needed to get further from the dragon's lair, or be stuck for another day.
A noise came from outside that stopped the blood from flowing in Dakari’s body. The beating of wings, large wings and the stench of sulphur.
“Odin, do you smell it? I smell the scent of that werecat prisoner.”
It was Julian’s voice. Both Dakari and Lainey recognized it. He was the most cheerful of the weredragons but not nice by any stretch. Lainey’s eyes filled with dread and tears began to mass.
“I smell something. I heard Lord Hassan killed the werecat. Maybe he did it here.” Odin answered.
“I heard that too. All during that battle though, he kept swearing he hadn’t touched the prisoner.” Julian sniffed the air again.
“It was funny to see the Lord of the North, the Great God of the Dragons run from us. I don’t think he realized how big our Gruppa has grown. He doesn't know that we’ve been building weredragons.” Odin offered.
The two had landed on the ledge Dakari and Lainey had just been on. Their voices traveled clearly through the cliffs and seemed to magnify with the acoustics.
“No one would have any idea what we’ve been building. Essam was right to exile his father. He was going to ruin everything.” Julian had clearly caught their scent. He began peering in between the rocks.
“I heard a rumor that Hassan went down and snatched some girl right off cat island.” Odin said, clearly not caring about their past prisoner.
“If Lord Hassan had taken a prisoner, where would he take her? He can’t come back here.” Julian questioned, getting down low and studying the moss on the rocks.
“I hear he has places all over the world, sordid little nooks and crannies where he can hide his prey. I fear the girl is dead.” Odin responded, noticing now too the indentations left by Dakari’s feet in the moss.
“I think we need to call out a hunting party. I think that werecat is here somewhere. Or has been here recently.”
Dakari and Lainey’s eyes met and held. Tears streamed openly down Dakari’s face. The crystal turned a deep plum shade and began to hum. They watched as Julian took flight, his magnificent wings spanning seven feet at least.
From their vantage point just inside the rocks they could see the steam from his mouth against the cold of the morning. In the distance they could see more dragons headed their way.
________________________________
Katalea reached for Maggie’s hand and pulled her in. “ Calm down, tell me everything.”
Grandfather followed them in and sat as Maggie relayed what had happened. He sent a mental message for Grandmother to come and bring some tea.
“He sounded terrified. We must leave at once.” Maggie said frantically.
“Let us gather and prepare. We must not fail again.” Katalea smiled at Grandmother gratefully as she entered with the tea. She poured a large cup for herself and Maggie and started pulling on jeans. She had only been asleep for an hour and feared Maggie hadn’t had any rest.
Word went out, and within minutes they were all back in the basement. Katalea studied the map, and pointed out the cliff they were headed to.
“I have the pilot doing a check of the helicopter. It will be ready to go in ten minutes.” Katalea said, looking at the group. She couldn’t help but think that Abe would have wanted to go along.
Putting that thought out of her mind, she concentrated on the brave team that accepted the mission and were headed out. Penny and Maggie would lead the charge. It was not lost on Katalea that the Pride seemed to have a lot of bad a** females. Going out to the helipad, they loaded weapons, food, water, and someone thought to pack a phone.
With last looks all around, the team loaded in. “I will give the helicopter a boost. You will make it to Ireland in just under an hour.” Mr. Toma said.
The helicopter lifted, hovering for a moment before beginning its journey. The onlookers huddled and made their way back inside to wait for news.
“We’re going to need more coffee.” Katalea tried for humor, but it fell flat. Anxiety was high, and no one felt like joking.