“Where do you think the crypt is?” Aeri whispered. Her voice echoed in the silence.
“Likely at the other end,” Declan said.
We set off down the quiet aisle, our footsteps silent on the stone. Though there were portals located all over the world that went to Ellenabeich, this was the only one located in a church.
It was the perfect location, however. Protected and hidden deep in the crypts, no one knew it was there except the Dragon Bloods.
At the back right corner of the church, we found a tiny wooden door that was locked with a heavy iron padlock.
“I’ve got this.” Aeri dug into the pocket of her white fight suit and dug out a tiny leather pouch. She pulled out a couple little pins, then knelt before it. Within seconds, she had it unlocked.
Tarron grinned down at me. “Probably better than me melting it.”
I nodded. “We’re in a church. Respect, and all that.”
He nodded.
Aeri stood and opened the door. Cool, dark air billowed out, and I leaned over to look down into the darkened stairwell. “Well, that’s appropriately creepy, huh?”
“Definitely.” Aeri stepped in, hurrying down the dark stairs.
I followed, with Tarron and Declan bringing up the rear. The steps led deep into the crypts, and by the time we reached the bottom, the temperature had dropped by a substantial degree. I shivered and rubbed my arms.
Tarron joined us at the bottom. His magic flared briefly, and several balls of flame appeared in the air in front of us, floating calmly and revealing an enormous arched space filled with statues and crypts.
“We need to go toward the back,” I said, repeating my father’s directions.
Quickly, we hurried past the beautifully carved alcoves where York’s most powerful and wealthy were buried. This had to be the area that was most commonly visited. But we were headed to the quiet part.
The farther we moved, the more unfinished the crypts appeared. Ornate stone support pillars were replaced by rougher ones. The burial alcoves became fewer and farther between, until finally, we reached the empty alcove that my father had described.
“I think this is it,” Tarron said. “Looks just as unimpressive as he said.”
I reached into my pocket and withdrew the small, shiny black dragon scale he’d given me. I set it on the ground in the middle of the space, then withdrew a dagger from the ether and spilled a drop of blood on it.
Magic flared, and the air shimmered. A portal formed, sparkling gray.
I stepped forward, but Tarron beat me to it, striding through first. Taking the risk.
Quickly, I followed, stepping out into the biting cold air of Scotland at dawn. Pale gray light filled the morning sky as the sun peeked over the horizon to the east. Wind buffeted me from all directions, pricking my skin with a chill.
We stood on a rocky shore with a steep mountain rising to my right. An iron gray sea lapped at the pebbles on the beach, and in the distance, a little ferry motored to a small black island in the distance.
Tarron joined me. “That has to be the closest of the Slate Islands.”
Aeri and Declan joined us.
Aeri nodded to the little ferry. “So that’s really not our ride, huh?”
“Nope. Not according to…Dad.” I looked at Aeri. “Do we call him Dad?”
“No idea. We should ask him next time we see him.”
“Yeah. Let’s find that stone dragon. Apparently, he’s our ride.”
“I guess I’ve heard of crazier things.”
We set off across the rocky beach, looking for a particularly large pile of slate. Loose rock shifted underfoot as we walked, and the mountain loomed overhead.
Tarron stopped in front of a huge pile of black shards of rock. “This has to be it.”
I tilted my head and stared, looking for the pattern in the pile of rock. Would it be a real dragon? Or was “stone dragon” a euphemism for a portal? My father hadn’t been clear.
“It’s worth a try.”
“Agreed.” Aeri was already dragging a blade from the ether.
I followed suit, calling upon a silver dagger.
“On three?” she asked.
I nodded, and she counted down.
On one, I drew the dagger across my palm and watched the blood well. When enough of the black stuff had pooled in my palm, I turned my hand and let it drip onto the stones, along with Aeri’s white blood.
Magic sparked immediately, fierce and violent. It crackled in the air like lightning, bringing with it the smell of ozone.
Tarron’s strong arm grabbed me and yanked me back. I stumbled toward him, moving away from the piles of shifting rock.
“Whoa,” Aeri breathed from beside me.
Almost faster than I could process, the rock moved upward, forming a huge shape in front of us. Massive rock wings flared wide, and red eyes peered down at us. It towered fifty feet overhead.
I snapped my jaw shut. “A dragon.”
Tarron wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to his side. “The Dragon Bloods don’t do anything in half measures.”
The rock dragon raised its head and blew a plume of fire toward the sky. I didn’t think it was quite alive—not in the flesh and blood sense. But it was definitely a dragon of some sort.
“Hello.” I waved my arm in greeting, but the dragon didn’t indicate that it noticed.
“I don’t think he’s actually alive,” Aeri said.
I ran my gaze over the rocks that formed his body. They hadn’t transformed into another material—they’d just magically fitted themselves together to form the shape of a dragon.
“Yeah, agreed.”
The dragon lowered itself to its front feet and ducked low, stretching out a wing so we could climb aboard.
Gingerly, I stepped onto the stone wing. It stayed sturdy and strong, not collapsing underfoot, so I began to climb up the slope toward the dragon’s back.
My heart thundered in my chest, and I forced myself to take deep breaths. Tarron, Aeri, and Declan followed. I found a seat near the dragon’s head, straddling its wide back and finding a handhold on one of the rocky spikes.
“Right behind you,” Tarron said.
I turned around and spotted him straddling the dragon only a foot behind me. Aeri sat behind him, with Declan last. As soon as we were all seated, the dragon huffed out a blast of flame and launched itself into the air.
“Holy fates!” I laughed, unable to keep the sound in.
The ground fell away below us, and I leaned over to watch the tiny village grow smaller and smaller. The dragon swooped through the cold air, carrying us over the first slate island. Tiny white houses dotted the small island, built in neat rows on patches of green grass that sat atop the black slate.
“There are people down there,” Tarron said. “But none are looking up. We must be hidden.”
I grinned, watching as the tiny figures walked up and down the street. No doubt they were touring the island, having no idea what was in the air above them.
“This is amazing!” Aeri said.
“Totally!” It was so different than flying with my own wings.
Hell, I was riding a dragon.
It was phenomenal. My heart raced like I was running a marathon, and joy surged through me. Despite the disastrous circumstances of our visit to the Dragon Bloods, it was impossible not to feel amazement when riding a dragon across the wavy gray ocean.