The Crossing (Book 1)

Prologue

     The old woman began walking the long narrow passage that led away from her hidden front door until she was enveloped in total darkness. Pitch black had engulfed her, drowning out her sight and leaving her surrounded in the familiar coolness emanating throughout the cavern. Stopping in her tracks and taking a deep breath of the cool, crisp air around her, she slowly raised her right hand in front of her and whispered, "Flame." She had been holding a dusty, beat up, and time-worn lantern that now gave off a bright steady glow from a flame that rose within the glass casing. Smiling, she continued to walk the narrow path once again, staring at the waving sandstone and how it seemed to flow like water through a stream. The only sounds to be heard were the old woman breathing, the squeak of the lantern as it swung gently back and forth in her hand, and the booming thunder that caused the mountain to tremble. She held the lantern up at shoulder height so that she could see her path and keep herself from stumbling over the countless various sized rocks that had, over time, begun to accumulate on the path that led outside to the final climb up to the mountaintop. Thinking back, the old woman realized that this walk hadn't seemed so long and hard to travel before. Although, at that time she had just turned sixteen and now could hardly believe sixty years had passed.

     Looking behind her, she saw the younger version of herself skipping toward her and then ahead of her, humming one of the songs from olden days. The lantern that was tied to the girl's waist knocked into her leg with every skip. She followed the path, unaccompanied, to the top of the mountain to watch the five colorful sister dragons dance through the air under the full moon. She had always loved the wide graceful patterns they weaved in midair. Catching her off guard, the thunder's rumble suddenly and quite unexpectedly rolled violently through the entire mountain. Losing balance, the girl stumbled to the side, her shoulder roughly scraping the wall of the mountain as she narrowly missed being hit by falling rocks.

     Walking to the very edge and stopping right before clearing the opening, she gasped, her thin pale fingers covering her mouth as she stared out into the early evening's blue-gray sky. She looked in wide-eyed shock at the rocks that had fallen and scattered around the flattened mountain outcropping blocking the last steps to the summit. Letting her gaze roam to the dragons, she realized that four of them were fighting with the fifth one. She had never witnessed anything as horrifying as this between the sisters and wondered what could possibly have happened before she arrived. Unable to look away from the fighting, she watched as the green dragon tried mercilessly to get around the others and make it into the valley below. Turning, she shielded her eyes from the wind and airborne dirt, but still tried to peek between her fingers in the direction of the valley. The red, yellow, blue, and white dragons were circling and flying into their green sister, snapping their jaws at her and pushing her back whenever she gained distance toward the valley. They were roaring in time with the booming thunder and the mountain would tremble harder each time. The green dragon was positioned above her sisters and very quickly dove, curling her wings into her twirling body. Barely making it through an opening just under the massive wings of her red and yellow sisters, they roared their warning. Without hesitation, the white dragon maneuvered around her sisters and dove as well. Just as the green dragon flashed past, the white dragon was able to close her giant mouth onto the end of her tail. Her roar of anguish vibrated through the girl's bones as she watched the white dragon drag her sister through the air, away from the valley. The red, yellow, and blue dragons helped push their sister back as the other continued to pull. The white dragon released her sister's tail and finally rejoined the others as they formed a wide circle around her once again.

     The girl stared up into the darkening sky as the wind started to fiercely blow scattered rocks across the mountaintop as if they were as light as rolling thistles. She grabbed at her red hair and roughly pushed it out of her face. Leaves from the trees in the valley below were pulled from their branches with the force of the wind, scattering them through the air and forming a thin curtain in front of the opening she stood in safely. Not thinking, the girl pushed herself off the wall and into the wind so that she could see what was going to happen. Without the narrow passageway to protect her, she fell to the ground and slowly began to slide until she was pinned against the outer mountain wall of the outcropping. Squinting her eyes against the wind and spreading her arms wide against the rock, she looked up at the five sister dragons.

     Suspended in midair with wings outstretched and glistening in the moonlight, the wild blue eyes of the green dragon looked down at her sisters who were holding their positions around her. Time seemed to stand still as she watched all five dragons, seemingly motionless in midair when they turned and gazed upon what had been the storm surrounding her. The wind suddenly dissipated, the leaves that had circled around her froze and everything else became motionless as the deafening silence engulfed her world. She quickly turned in the direction the dragons were staring and moved her hair in time to see a bright fiery light explode out of the valley. The girl screamed as lightning struck the outcropping and the valley below. Worried for her safety, she lifted her arms above her head as the mountain trembled again, dislodging huge rocks that shattered as they hit the ground around the opening the girl had slid away from moments before. Screaming again, she wrapped her arms around her head and turned from the bright light, pressing herself into the mountain wall as if she could become part of it. Suddenly, all was completely still and quiet again. The girl, now drenched with sweat, peeked through her arms before lifting her head. Breathing heavily, she looked over at the sister dragons who stared at their green sister still in the center of their circle. The green dragon bowed her head to her sisters and looked at the girl before flying off in the opposite direction. The others flew off once their green sister had disappeared from their sight. As she watched the remaining four dragons fly away in different directions, she heard a soft voice in her head, She has come. The girl wondered what the meaning was of what she had just witnessed as she stared ahead in confusion with her mouth gaping at the empty sky.

     The old woman cleared the narrow passageway to the mountain outcropping and stood out of the way of any rocks that might fall. The fierce wind and the trembling mountain were just as she remembered those long years ago. The brutal fighting between the five sister dragons ensued and just as the dragons assumed the same formation as long ago, the old woman righted her footing and leaned against the mountain for better balance before covering her eyes. As everything around her stilled and quieted she removed her hands from her eyes in time to see the green dragon flying off. As the others flew off the old woman walked over toward the edge of the valley, sat on a boulder and looked down. She sat where she had stood long ago, in almost the same spot until the sun began to rise. The old woman smiled at the mist that covered the valley like a warm protective blanket and whispered to herself, "She has come." Her only thought as she turned to follow the path back home was the same that she had been thinking the entire time she waited at the mountain edge. Now that she's here, will this girl be the one?