A Ballad of the Sun and the Moon

Chapter 22

Kimber had to be carried into the council chamber by the wooden pole wedged between his arms and back. Like a basted turkey on it's way to the oven, they had trussed him up to ensure his docility and covered his head with a thick hood to prevent his Turn.
The cords cut into his wrists while the hood made it hard to breath. He'd slept like that, with an unnatural curve to his back and no freedom to move, no fresh air to fill his lungs. Despite having his family as hostage, they still must have feared what he might do.

Rough hands sat him upright on his knees in front of the traitorous stench that was Claude Grady.

"Kimber Langford. You've been brought before this righteous council so we may ascertain the threat you've posed to the *drákon* during your hunt for Sunniva Williams. Let us begin. You left the shire on-"

"Would you at least give me the courtesy of introducing those present?" asked Kimber. He recognized most of the men in the room by scent alone, but a few were unfamiliar.

"Seems appropriate for you to know who the new ruling class of this tribe is. Very well. Claude Grady. Alpha."

"Devon Rickman."

"Adam Richards."

"Anton Larousse."

"Marcus Danks."

The remaining men not on the original council went down the list stating their names.

Kimber wondered which were among the original traitors and which had been merely sympathetic enough to Grady's cause to be given seats on his new council. It hardly mattered, now. What had possibly begun as a containable conspiracy had turned into outright rebellion against the Langford family. The small pool of "foes" had just grown to a vast sea. Kimber wished he had listened to Niva and her paranoia. He wondered how he might send her a message, a warning to fly far, far away from this place.

"Very well," said Grady. "Let us begin. "You left the shire on June 21 of this year, chasing fugitive Sunniva Williams. You were last seen that night flying south. Please tell us how you then proceeded."

"I continued South."

"And?"

"And I found her."

"Where?"

"On a hill."

"Which hill?"

"A big one."

The unmistakable tapping of a man's heeled shoe echoed through council chamber.

"Dammit Grady this is a waste of time," yelped Marcus Danks.

"Mr. Langford, the Williams woman is a most important asset to our kind. As a roaming dragon she is also a grave danger. Certainly you see that. I understand whatever strong attachment you have to her has rendered you incapable of doing the things that must be done. But, that is why a more appropriate Alpha has been chosen."

Grady bent down to eye level – if Kimber could see – his stenchy breath so close to that mere slip of wool between them. "Help me help the drákon."

Fear at first nipped Kimber when he felt that sparking burn behind his ear. If Niva came here they would take her and bind her to their new Alpha - possible even before him in this very chamber. The fear suddenly turned to schadenfreude in anticipation of what his mate might do to these men. How could he forget, she wasn't simply smoke and sleek scales. She was the Terrible Sun and she was coming.

Kimber wondered if Grady could sense the smile that had formed beneath the hood covering his face. He'd see it soon enough laced over a background of sharp teeth. The bastards, feeling safe together in their chamber of power couldn't sense the danger so near.

The first window in entirety was torn from the frame, the shudders clanking and glass shattering like hard sleet fallen from a roof in winter. Kimber felt the pressure of escaping air shift in his ears. The next windows were knocked inward like an explosion, though there was no heat suggesting fire. With a barbed tail and sharp talons Niva destroyed those symbols of secrecy and separation, tearing away the veil between the council and everyone else.

Some of the men dove under the table. Others were shouting syllables, indiscernible from each other as the voices conglomerated into a mush of nonsense. Grady was commanding them all not to Turn and doing a fine job at it, keeping his throng of traitors obedient.

Until she roared.

Kimber felt the cascade of power as five men, thwarted by instinct, couldn't contain the Turn: three on the council, two of the guards.

He understood that frantic feeling the first time he heard her sing. And he didn't have any competition then. The five that chased her now had - or so they thought - each other to contend with and were all the more compelled because of it. Their urgency would be their undoing.

Kimber cursed the hood taking his sight, barring him from answering her call. His skin felt like it might peel off as Niva alighted, trailed by the billows of smoke that was five determined drakes. He had to trust that as long as the sun was up, she'd be able to handle them and anyone else who decided to pursue her.

But when the sun set he would need to protect her. He needed to get this damn hood off.

Grady was still there, though paid him no attention. His slimy presence was unmistakable, but his yelling made him more obvious. A plan with tactics was conveyed and then he too Turned and slithered as smoke out of Chasen manor. A number of men followed him, with only a pair of guards left to Kimber.

Two men he could overcome, but not while trussed and hooded. He needed claws, and teeth and a tail that sliced through flesh like a hot knife through butter.

Kimber thought to demand they release him. Maybe they were still loyal? Maybe they just needed a sign that they weren't helpless and that he would forgive their transgressions?

Their hands grip his biceps. They didn't so much as lift him as just begin dragging him across the glass-strewn floor. Despite Kimber's trousers, the occasional shard cut through the fabric into his skin.

"May I inquire as to where you are taking me?" asked Kimber keeping composed.

"To a cell in the catacombs."

Kimber began to writhe violently. If they put him in the black he might never escape and Niva wouldn't be able fight her way in there.

A fist struck his back and a heel met his now bleeding thigh and he relented his struggle. Grady only needed a particular part of him to function, why wouldn't he give his guards permission to render him defenseless.

As his head lowered in a droop he felt a twang of pressure on his chin. It was sweet and soft, encouraging his head up. The pressure evolved into something finer when he realized those were fingers touching his throat. The string of the hood loosened, letting in cool air.

The hand moved to the crown of his head, gripping the cloth that was masking his vision. A single finger gave him a tap-tap-tap, warning him with an acute emphasis on the third tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Pull.

The ropes and wooden rod hadn't hit the floor before Kimber erupted into black wings and a snapping maw. The former extended fast slamming one of the guards into a wall. The latter found its way around the other man's head, crushing it as if it were little more than a ripe grape.

There was a sharp gasp as Kimber spat out the bloody mess and a naked Zoe Lane seemed to manifest out of thin air.

"Lord Langford! Are you alright?" she asked, her eyes fixed on the headless corpse still spurting blood all over the cairene rug.

Kimber returned to his human form. Though the blood of his victim was no long splattered across his neck and chest, the taste of iron still lingered in his mouth.

Zoe pulled her arms up over her breasts.

"Miss Lane...Zoe. I think we can drop the formalities," said Kimber just as naked as his rescuer.

"Oh. Yes. Of course," she began with a certain halted reluctance, lowering her arms to her sides. She took greater detail of the destroyed council chamber and added, "that seems prudent given the circumstance."

"Who all is being kept in the under croft?" asked Kimber.

"I couldn't say. Your mother and father and...and Rhys too for certain." She stuttered a bit at his brother's name.

"Do you know how many support Grady?"

Beads of tears began to well in her eyes. "Far too many," she said, wiping at her face.

Kimber wanted to comfort her. Make promises that he would rescue her mate and keep them both safe as Alpha.

When he had formed his original plan he'd expected no more than a handful of adversaries along with his father, brother and all their guards to back them up if necessary. Niva could handle quite a few dragons as long as the sun held her light at bay. But soon there would be swarms of drakes in the sky and even with her Gifts she couldn't evade them all. And when night fell...

"Hey! None of that now." Kimber said in a purposeful way to snap Zoe's attention. It had startled her. Good. The last thing his ally needed was to be coddled. "We need every one of those imprisoned below Chasen or we will not win this. I cannot go down there or they will kill my father. And Rhys."

Zoe drew a deep breath and pulled her back straight. "What must I do?"

"How stealthy are you?"

Zoe cocked her head to the side and looked up Kimber. "How long until you realized I was in front of you before I pulled the hood off?"

"Not until you touched me," said Kim, realizing she had likely been at Niva's side and crawled over broken glass without a sound into the chamber. "Alright. Maybe you have a chance," he acknowledged.

There were no floor plans to the catacombs under the manor. When an Alpha came to power a new offshoot or chamber was dug out from the stone keeping it in a long term perpetual state of change. Only a privileged few outside of the ruling family were ever permitted access and Kimber had of course been down there plenty.

He found a stack of parchment and spread them out in connecting sheets. With a lump of coal from the hearth he sketched a crude map from memory, explaining with words which chamber was what. When she was able to consistently name the drawn circles representing rooms Kimber felt it was time, his urgency hacking at any patience he might have had.

"I'm counting on you Zoe," said Kimber, before Turning to smoke.

"Good luck to you too Kimber," she replied as she disappeared.

****

Niva didn't need to look to know the five she had called were on her tail. Their movement suggested they were determined and hadn't any plan, merely relying on flat out speed. Much further behind them were the remaining thirteen from the council chambers flying in a more organized formation.

At the first updraft she hit, she angled her wings sharply pushing herself into a tight loop, sandwiching herself between the thirteen and the five. She slowed her pace, giving them time to swerve around then aimed for Grady and rest. With a sharp yelp of encouragement she ensured their blind pursuit. As soon as she felt a snap near her tail and the flutter of wings near her head she dove straight down pitting five louts against thirteen.

The clash of scales sent a deep rumble through the air like distant thunder. Seven dragon bodies flew past Niva after she pulled up, slamming against the ground lifeless. The remaining eleven regrouped and resumed their chase. They were faster than her in the straights, the span of their wings wider than her own. It wouldn't take long before they caught up-

-if they could see her.

Niva darted into a cloud, then in its cover shifted her scales pulling the light around her becoming the blue sky and creamy white. The drakes at her hind shifted their heads frantically searching. She swerved around their side and became visible again, pulling some of the dragons out of formation. She did this over and over, breaking them up, confusing them as to where they should fly.

Once loosely in formation to her satisfaction, Niva began to ascend in a gentle swirl upward until she was above the clouds. The drakes below were like little tufts of cotton, swirling around in a confused mayhem. Maintaining a flat glide she waited.

A dragon with lilac wings and a hazel body meandered below her in a searching pattern. Niva tucked her wings flush to her body and plunged. Just before meeting him she stretched out her front talons and jerked them closed at his neck.

It wasn't clean.

The momentum pulled her claws through his throat leaving his head only severed enough to kill him, but still remain attached. She Turned to fire to clean herself (the others would be able to smell the blood), and then quickly became dragon again so as not to lose speed.

The odds were beginning to look better. She did this maneuver thrice more before the men pieced together her tactic moving to higher altitudes where Niva couldn't get far enough above to dive, the lack of air too critical.

And as the sun began to trickle away more dragons took to the sky.

****

The entrance to the under croft was no longer defended. The guards stationed there had likely been pulled from their post by Grady to chase Sunniva. He had also commanded them to unlock the door in case he needed more soldiers still holding their positions deep below. He was a careful and crude man and that he had taken such a precaution demonstrated his lack of confidence in catching Niva with ease.

Zoe could feel the power of dozens of drákon Turning, almost in overwhelming droves. Over the past half year she'd become wildly sensitive to the energy her kind.

She tried as best she could to direct her senses down below, but the thick stone made everyone muffled. She could feel something drákon, but couldn't pick out any individual.

She slipped through the cracked iron door into the catacombs relying on sight and sound to spot any guards. It was supposed to be dark; Kimber had said it was always kept dark, but the main corridor was lined with lit torches. The black smoke from the tar-drenched rags pinched at her eyes as she began her descent.

The design of the place was haphazard, an organically grown labyrinthine of tunnels and hollowed-out stone. As luck would have it, Zoe had little difficulty memorizing the layout, only slightly more complicated than an asymmetrical pattern for one of Lady Langford's fashionable dresses.

Zoe spotted the first guard just past the second offshoot leaning against a wood-beam bracing. She couldn't recall his name, but he was older and had ordered a waist coat once from her mother years ago when Zoe had still been an apprentice and practicing her stitching. He had likely moved up in wealth and status in the tribe and bought his clothes from London now.

He stared down the main corridor, eyes looking into some distant place that wasn't there. Zoe realized he was relying on other senses, searching with that dragon power. As the guard nearest the entrance he would be the first - and at these depths possibly only one - to detect someone coming down the entry corridor.

But he didn't sense Zoe.

She thought of any weaknesses their kind had to take advantage of. A blanket or hood over his head would do the trick. And then what? Besides the fact she didn't have anything of the sort she also had no weapon and couldn't take down a male alone. She didn't know the first thing about fighting.

And – came a dread-inducing epiphany – she didn't know what she might find further down. Before she could begin to think about incapacitating or even killing some of her kin, she needed to know what she was facing. A bit of intel might be sensible at the very least. The Alpha family was said to be kept as leverage against Kimber in case he didn't cooperate. It wouldn't do well to risk alerting any of the guards in case Grady was serious on his word.

Zoe slipped carefully by the guard, remaining undetected.

The air down here was moist and cold and stale and clung to her skin like a unwanted wedding veil. Loose stones on the ground crumbled beneath her feet with every step and Zoe stumbled over the occasional large rock fallen from the tunnel's siding, hidden by shadows.

She passed four more guards on the way down before coming on a pair standing outside the dreaded Dead Room, both of whom she knew. Jacob was a young man who'd gone to school with her. His mother had always tucked away a secret cookie in his lunch pail. The other was the son of a meat trader, both with eyes of amber and hair of deep red. Franklin was his name. He'd been permitted to leave the shire at a young age with his father for business – lucky bastard.

They had both been kind boys, as Zoe recalled, and had grown into fine young gentlemen. But now, they stood with with flint pistols tucked into their belts, ready to defend an "Alpha" who'd stolen his position by nefarious means. Zoe crinkled her nose in disgust.

"The Alpha said he'd have her mated by the morning," said Jacob, addressing his associate.

"Is that so?" replied Franklin.

"Grady is a true Alpha. I'd place a healthy wager on it."

"I wouldn't. Did you see her? Did you hear her?"

"No. I hear she's magnificent though. And anyone who can make sound as dragon is damn special."

"Aye, she is," agreed Franklin. "On both accounts. Like nothing any of us have seen. John and William couldn't help themselves. Along with three others. They Turned at her call and forfeit their lives. I doubt they'll be the last."

"You don't think Alpha Grady can claim her?"

Franklin adjusted the pistol in his belt. "If he throws enough men at her," he grumbled. "Men that remain loyal."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I was there, in the chamber when she destroyed it. I saw her. Its not just that she can Turn. She's a dragon unlike any we've ever seen. She can do things we can only dream of. In fact we don't even know what she can do. I don't think she'll submit because..." Franklin trailed off.

"What?" asked Jakob haphazardly listening, looking up into the torch-lined tunnel.

Alpha mates with Alpha, Zoe heard Franklin mouth under his breath. His face screwed up at the realization. "She's already mated," he said aloud.

"To Kimber Langford? So what? She'll take a new mate," said Jacob.

Franklin looked as if he wished to protest, but instead remained silent. He disapproved of whatever this new order was, though what specifically Zoe wasn't sure. It was the only chance she had, though. She hoped his doubt would morph into conviction.

She found a large stone on the ground. Carefully, quietly she lifted it high and lugged it at Jacob's head.

Zoe became visible as he fell to his knees. Her fierce eyes remained fixed on his profusely bleeding head.

Until he began to stand.

Dragon men were terribly mighty or maybe she hadn't hit him that hard. Either way he was rising.

Franklin stood mesmerized looking from naked Zoe to his injured comrade.

"Help me!" cried both Zoe and Jakob at the same time.

Zoe saw Franklin blink. It was all down to him.

He stepped behind Jakob as if to help him to his feet.

Zoe's heart thrummed frantically and she began to search for another rock.

Franklin's arm wrapped around Jakob's throat and he locked it into his apposing hand. His upper arm flexed tightly, visible through his sleeve as he choked his fellow guard unconscious. When Franklin released him, Jakob slumped over unmoving on the ground.

"Zoe Lane, pardon my language but what in hell are you doing down here? And...and how are you down here?"

Zoe pulled her spine straight. "The Alpha sent me," she said, as if she was merely relaying a simple message.

"Just you?" he asked in disbelief. He bent down and began searching through Jacob's waistcoat. "Have you taken care of the guards on the way in? Who else has joined the Alpha? Has Lord Langford killed Grady yet?"

Zoe didn't know where to begin with his flood of questions, but she was glad to hear they were on the same page about who was Alpha of the tribe. "I was betting on your doubt and wasn't expecting much more, but you seem very resound to help. Are you a spy?"

Franklin stood up, brandishing a key in his left hand. "Yes. Well, sort of. Self appointed really. When Grady took over I positioned myself as close as I could knowing that Kimber would return with...with her." He looked into the darkness of the undercroft with a longing in his eyes. "I don't harbor any love for the Langford's. I am simply loyal to our kind. Grady tried to take Kimber's mate and position through subterfuge instead of challenging him outright. It's not right. Sunniva deserves to be with someone deserving of her. Grady will not be able to ensure a strong future generation no matter how much he promises. He is weakening us when we are already losing our Gifts." He gave her a particular look, the woman who had just manifested out of no where and lugged a rock at his fellow guard's head.

He knew the truth of it if not all the details Zoe was privy to. She nodded towards the large iron door. "Which of the Langfords are in there?"

"In the Dead Room? All except Christoph."

Franklin shoved the key into the door and turned.

"Wait," Zoe said. "Perhaps I should go first. I doubt they will believe what you say."

"Oh, I suppose you're right. Good thinking," he said giving her a nod and pulled the thick iron door open.

The smell was the first thing that hit as she entered. She clasped her hand to her face to keep the putridness of feces from causing her to vomit.

"Rhys?" she whimpered.

"Zoe?" came the answer from the darkness.

"Franklin, I need light," she called out over her shoulder.

A hand holding a torch slipped through the gap between the iron door and stone gifting her light.

The room was rather small. A single bed , a single chair, and a single, quite used chamber pot. Rhys, Joan, their mother and Niva's father shielded their eyes and blinked rapidly at the torch's dancing flame.

My God, Zoe mouthed. She rushed to Rhys, smoothing his unkempt hair from his face and stroked his scruffy beard.

"Zoe why did you come?" pleaded Rhys.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to rescue you. I've little time to explain, but Niva and Kimber have returned. And they need our help."

"Where is Christoph?" asked Lady Langford.

Zoe realized he wasn't among them. "I don't know, Lady Langford."

Her face drooped further than it already was, the truest depiction of despair.

"Lady Langford?" came Franklin's voice from outside the Dead Room. "I know where he is."

"Who is there? Show yourself," she demanded.

Franklin stepped into the room. The Langford family bristled in unison, ready to attack.

"He is being kept in the vault."

Lady Langford moved towards the door.

"No, my Lady! If you approach the guards will kill him. Grady gave us strict orders! They've two men down there, pistols held on him. If they feel you Turn they will be ready. If anyone unauthorized tries to come down here the guard at the entrance will alert them."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" asked Joan.

"Franklin could you get close to them?" asked Zoe.

"I think so," said Franklin with a nervous batch of nods. "I could say I've come to relieve one."

"Then that's our chance," said Zoe, turning to leave.

Rhys grabbed her by the hand. "It's too dangerous. I cannot allow it."

Zoe cupped his face. "Rhys darling, don't be ridiculous," she said and pulled him into a deep kiss. "I'll be fine."

As she slipped into visible nothingness, Rhys reluctantly released her hand.

"We'll be back soon," said Franklin, as the he and Zoe left the Langfords in their open cell.

The chamber wasn't all too far and they walked quickly. Zoe kept perfect symphony with Franklin's step to keep better hidden. The songs of the gems grew louder and louder as they approached the make shift prison.

"Shit," mumbled Franklin.

"What is it?" whispered Zoe.

"Oh, pardon my language. It's just, there are three there now." he paused for a moment and looked at the darkness behind him where Zoe stood.

She had been so distracted by the thought of getting her Rhys out of this place she hadn't even thought to sense out the guards.

"Should we turn back?"

"It's too late. They know I'm coming."

He slipped a pistol into Zoe's hand.

"The flint is primed. You need just aim and pull the trigger. Watch me and when the time comes don't hesitate. It's going to kick like mule so hold it tight."

Zoe remained close behind him so no one would see a floating pistol coming down the corridor.

The vault's door was open with one guard at the entrance and two inside. On a pitiful palate of worn blankets lay Lord Langford, hood tightly over his face and arms and legs bound in thickly woven hemp. Zoe had always thought he was an intimidating man, the power radiating from him at times overwhelming. He was now emaciated and limp, no longer the vision of an Alpha he once was.

"I've come as relief. Ambrose, you're needed up top."

"Why is that?"

"They need more trackers. The William's women is giving them a hell of a chase."

The man smiled, pleased to have been chosen. "I cannot wait to see her," he said, adjusting his trousers. "Looks like I drew the lucky stick, eh Cuddy," he said as a brag to the other guard.

"Just don't use that stick you pulled," replied the guard. "Don't do anything stupid out there you hear?"

"Do I ever?"

The other guard shot him a look and told him to go on.

"Oh Ambrose?" said Franklin as the man began to leave. "I need your pistol. My powder has gone wet in this damn cave. It's useless."

"Oh yeah. Sure. I guess I won't be needing it anymore."

Ambrose handed him the pistol and as he turned to leave Franklin fired both hitting the two men square in the chest. Zoe raised her own and when the guard outside rushed into the chamber she squeezed her finger around the cold sliver of metal. The gun kicked hard, but dragon-women were strong and it remained steady.

"Well met," said Franklin nudging her downed man with a foot.

Zoe opened her eyes, not realizing she had closed them. Three unique pools of blood flowed towards each other becoming a triad of crimson. She wished somehow they could have just rendered them unconscious like they did with Jakob. Her body began to shake and she leaned over dry heaving the nothing in her stomach.

"Miss Lane, I understand this is hard. But you have to go get the Langfords. The shots will alert those in the upper tunnels and I need help reloading these blasted things."

Zoe held a hand around her throat to stop the gagging and gave him a nod. She ran out of the chamber back to the Langfords.

By the time they had returned, Franklin had one pistol reloaded and was working on the other. He tossed the third to Rhys.

"Powder is in that pouch. Balls on that pedestal," he said, motioning his head respectively.

Lady Langford gently untied the hood covering her husband's head. "My darling, I'm here."

Joan moved to her side and took her father's limp hands in her own. "It's going to be alright Papa," she said.

Lord Langford was not quite conscious when they lifted the cloth from his face.

"Do you smell that?" Joan asked her mother.

Rue ran a hand over her husband's forehead. "Yes. It seems they've been giving him laudanum. And from the looks and scent of it quite a bit. Tamlane, hand me Herte," she instructed.

He fetched the Heart of the Tribe from the center pedestal and gave it to Lady Langford.

"I'm so sorry my love." She touched her lips to his and pulled the hood gently back over his face, leaving it loose. She then placed the jewel under his shirt just over his heart. Lord Langford weakly jolted his head from side to side and groaned. "He might become delirious as his body rids itself of the poison. I can't allow him to become dragon down here. He is as much a danger to himself now as anyone else is to him."

Lady Langford's eyes had gone glowing gold, angered at seeing her mate in such a state. "God damn Grady and his ilk!" she bellowed, with clenched fists.

"Mother, we need to get topside. It's just Kimber and Sunniva out there," said Rhys.

"Someone must to stay here with Christoph," she replied. It was clear she was torn between helping her son and helping her mate.

"I will stay," volunteered Tamlane.

Lady Langford looked at him incongruous.

"I can't do much to help my daughter. I can barely fly. But Rue, you can help her. You must! You owe me that!"

Lady Langford looked back at the old Alpha skeptically and again at Tamlane, her mind weighing something that the present younger generation couldn't understand. There was a story there, a history between the two that Zoe didn't know.

"I'm a decent shot, anyways," Tamlane added. "And down here it will be like shooting fish in a barrel. Give me the pistols and I'll take every last man who comes. One by one. As long as it takes. Till the end. Or till mine." His eyes had gone resolute, unblinking despite the smoke from the torches.

Lady Langford gave him a reluctant nod, handing him a loaded pistol and closing his fingers around the hilt. "Please don't let them take him from me."

"I won't," he assured.

She placed a hand on his shoulder.

Lady Langford, though the shortest among all in the room stood up like a general in front of her army. "We don't know how many will be out there. We have to stay in formation. Joan and I will take the outside. They won't be keen on hurting us. Rhys and Franklin? You're going to have to be our muscle. Now as far as getting out of here, there is a vent, secret and known only to me and the Alpha. We can seep out as smoke."

"What about me Lady Langford?" asked Zoe.

"You crept down here undetected by anyone?" asked Lady Langford.

Zoe gave her a quick nod of the head and then a worried glance at Rhys.

"Then you'll have to sneak out as you came in," said Lady Langford. "Or stay in here. It's your choice."

Rhys visibly bristled, but Zoe ignored him straightening her back and pulling her shoulders taught. She was a dragon. Though she may not be able to slip around as smoke or bare ferocious teeth and talons or ride the wind on leathered wings, her heart thrummed as fiercely as any of their kind. She would fight any way she could.

"I'll be fine Lady Langford."

She and Rhys gave each other one last embrace before the Langford dragons dissipated into mist feathering by to wherever the secret exit was in this underground layer.

"My daughter trusts you," Tamlane stated, startling her. He lined up the pistols in row, such that they could be easily grabbed and fired. He didn't look at Zoe and his face was indecipherable as to his thoughts.

Zoe drew her brows together wanting to give him a vehement 'yes', but feeling a lack of confidence in saying so.

Tamlane cleared his throat, coughing hard to rid himself of whatever this place had left in his lungs. He didn't take his eyes off the open door, holding his pistol steady.

"She does," he affirmed once more. "You see that black stone on the last pedestal there?"

Zoe nodded.

"Silent as the grave. Dark as night. Not very pretty is it?"

Zoe gave him a shake of the head.

"Well, it is pretty to her. Take it with you. If you can, give it to my darling girl. She'll need it as night falls and you'll see why. Go quickly now."

Zoe snatched the black gem and skippered out of vault silently wishing her dear friend's father the best of luck.