I should have been afraid, but I was too intrigued to think about fear.
This wasmydragon.
Mine in the way the sky belongs to the stars that burn within it.
I knew it the way you know your own heartbeat, because it answered mine.
I reached out to touch it.
“No,” Arielle called out. “Don’t touch it. We must only interact with the magical essence.”
I pulled my hand back immediately, partly chastising myself. I almost broke a cardinal rule, but I’d been so intrigued.
I’ll be seeing you soon then, dragon.
At least I knew what he looked like. And that he was male. I sensed it.
The dragon did not move away.
It exhaled slowly, and the thread pulsed again.
“Take the essence now, Elariya,” Arielle said, pointing to the vial in my hand.
Carefully, I held it up in the air just above my head. “Arteumas,” I chanted.
A cloud of silver dust peeled away from the dragon and flowed right into the vial. The dragon’s gaze never left me and I felt that he was truly watching me. Once the dust was inside, it braided together to form a warm glow.
I corked the vial and held it to my chest. “I got it.”
Garrick stared. “Good, now let’s get out of here.”
I looked back at my dragon, waved a hand to break the connection with the time continuum and the vision dissolved, taking the dragon with it.
The thread faded next along with the others and the cavern returned to normal.
I looked at the vial in my hand and prayed to the Blessed Mother and all the Gods who would listen that it would help.
The Hollow Room had a different vibe about it today. Something that wasn’t there last night. Like the manor dared to hope with us.
Arielle and Garrick stood behind me, getting ready to put up the shield. I’d just finished laying out the crystals around the dragon parchment.
The space was ready and so was I.
I had the vial with the dragon essence in my pocket to use when the map went live. I picked up the athame and signaled to Arielle and Garrick that I was ready to start.
“Good luck, my Lady,” Garrick said with a softer smile. He was less tense now that we were here.
Arielle smiled too. “You got this. Just remember to let the essence guide you.”
“I will.”
“Hey, when this is over, we’ll get Sirril to make us a mountain of cupcakes.”
I laughed, but then I regained my focus.
Arielle and Garrick did too. They glanced at each other, nodded and spread out their arms. Then they began chanting. A wall of light erupted from their palms then it surrounded us. The shield was up.
I placed the tip of the athame to my palm and sliced. I didn’t have Wolfe to numb my hands so I’d have to bear the pain. It was a small price to pay.
