The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 7

"You're insane!"

The angry shout echoing around the cave startled Iris awake. She shrank back against the cavern wall, unable to see in the pitch black left behind by the burned-out fire. Every sound seemed amplified in her sudden terror. The approaching footsteps could have belonged to an army or a single person. She fumbled for the amulet hidden under her dress, pulling it out and clutching it with white-knuckled fingers as she hugged her knees to her chest. Maybe it would hide her. Maybe not. She didn't know.

"We've gone over this already."

She knew that voice. That was the stranger—the dragon. He sounded tired and exasperated.

"Yeah, well, we'll keep going over it until you get some sense through your thick skull," the first voice replied.

"Shut up."

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

"Someone's here, you idiot."

Iris buried her face in her skirt, trembling all over. There was nowhere to run. They could see, but she couldn't, and although she knew the waterfall's general direction, trying to escape that way would probably end with her slipping and falling into the lake.

"They're not here now," the unknown voice said sullenly. "You're just trying to change the subject."

The footsteps and voices were getting louder. Any second now, they would see her.

"This is recent," the familiar deep voice said. He'd stopped right in front of her. Booted feet scuffed across the stone, and the faint whiff of smoke from the dead fire grew stronger. He must have kicked the ashes. "It wasn't here last night."

Iris held her breath. They didn't see her. Somehow, they didn't see her.

"Still warm, too," the other man muttered. His voice was on Iris' level. He had to be mere inches from her.

"They can't have gone far."

"We don't have time for this. Thanks to somebody delaying our attack, we're behind schedule."

"Fine. You go. Tell everybody what a mess I made. I'll check this out so our position here isn't compromised," the stranger said, his voice thick with sarcasm.

There was a snort of derision, rising above Iris as the other man stood. "And let you get yourself killed? No way. You've taken enough risks lately. Sooner or later, that luck of yours will run out."

"That's rich, coming from you. Let's check outside."

The footsteps faded away. Iris listened, her heart pounding in her ears, louder than the crashing of the waterfall, until she couldn't hear them anymore.

She had to get out of here. But where could she go? Deeper into the cave, into the darkness that hid a dragon's lair? Or outside the waterfall, where the two dragons were looking for her?

No. The only thing she could do was sit still, gripping the amulet so hard that the metal bit into her skin, hoping it kept her hidden until...

Until what?

Until they came back? Until daybreak?

She very carefully, very slowly exhaled and lifted her head from the skirt. The dragons' examination of the fire had exposed a single ember, its faint red glow too dim to illuminate anything. She rested her chin on her knees, staring at that ember.

The amulet had protected her again, but she had little faith it would continue to do so, especially since she didn't know how to use it. Maybe it wasn't even hiding her anymore. The thought made her stomach lurch. If the dragons came back and saw her, she didn't have a chance.