The King looked wary but determined as we headed into the bowels of the palace. I held a light sphere lantern aloft while he consulted his map. We had moved past the palace’s self-lighting lamps and were descending a broad staircase that had been concealed behind a shelf in a basement storage room.
I thought it was a strange way to hide a passage. Putting a piece of furniture in front of it seemed like a temporary solution. If it had been me, and I wanted to hide something forever, I would have bricked up the passage. But maybe that was a good sign. It spoke more of a forgotten armory than of one deliberately sealed off. Either way, I wasn't so sure that this hidden armory would help us, but I still wanted to see it. It was a part of history, hidden for centuries. Who knew what waited inside it? I would soon.
Of course, there was the distinct possibility that what lay inside had been hidden for a reason. It could be dangerous or humiliating. I was hoping for the latter, but I had planned for the former. In my satchel, I had several alchemical weapons—liquids in glass bottles that merely had to be thrown to beactivated. I also had my collection kit, gloves, goggles, and scarves to cover our faces.
“It should be around this corner.” King Falken folded up the map and tucked it into a pocket. “There it is.” He hurried toward a massive steel door.
“Wait, Your Majesty!” I rushed to intercept him. “Let me inspect the door first.”
King Falken lowered his hand. “Very well.”
I put on my inspection glasses and lifted the lantern. After going over every inch of the door, I found only ancient engravings. No hint of magic or triggers to engage traps. I had to admit that it seemed harmless. Or rather, it was a normal door.
I stepped back. “All right. Now, how will we get in?”
“May I?” The King held his hand out for the lantern.
I handed it over and stepped back as he went forward. Bold letters caught the light, engraved into the steel. The King peered at them and then stepped back to look at the whole of the door.
“Can you read it?” I asked.
“Yes. It says that only a Dragon can open the door.”
“That's what it says exactly?”
He frowned. “It's the ancient Dragon language. Roughly translated into Serain, it reads, 'Only those born of fire who rule by claw and fly through air can gain passage here.”
“Fire, claw, and air,” I murmured. “It must be a riddle, but there are no spells on the door.” I looked around the corridor. “Shine the lantern over here.”
The King lifted the lantern, and I pointed at a stone set into the wall that had a symbol carved into it. The symbol could be a claw, but it was a simple design, and we needed more than that. I searched the walls, the King following me with the light.
“There!” He pointed at a stone with a fire symbol carved into it.
“And there.” I pointed at a stone with a spiral carving.
“Do we press them in order?” The King pushed at the fire stone.
Nothing happened.
“No, I think you must use your fire upon it, Your Majesty.” I motioned to the stone. “Proof of who you are.”
With a pensive sound, he lifted his hand. A flame appeared above his index finger. After handing me the lantern, he set the flame to the stone. Something whirred in the door, and the flame symbol glowed white.
“You're right!” The King flicked his finger, and the flames went out. “Next is claw. Do I scratch it?”
“I think you must use a claw to scratch it.”
He chuckled. “This is an ingenious lock. Only a powerful Dragon can partially shift, and the corridor isn't large enough to allow for a full shift.”
The Dragon King lifted his hand again. This time, it transformed, his fingers lengthening and sprouting claws. Scaleslifted from his skin until his hand had become a talon. He scratched a claw over the symbol, but nothing happened.
“Trace the engraving.” I eased closer.
He used the tip of a claw to trace the symbol in the stone. Another whirring came, and the claw symbol lit up.
“Now, air.” He went to the last stone. “Do I blow on it?”
“I suggest you focus your breath into the spiral.”
