“Why would they want to kill such a beautiful creature?” Gabrielle asked.
“Why do humans kill big bats and rhinos? The belief is, certain animals have magical powers. The dragon has long been gone from this earth. Shape-shifters can take the form, but they do not have the wisdom and power of a true dragon—well, there is a lineage in our people—the Dragonseekers—and they have enormous power and some say matching wisdom. Long ago there was a legendary Dragonseeker, some say, whose lifemate was a shape-shifting dragon. How true that was, no one really knows.” He shrugged. “Perhaps it is so.”
“If it’s true that the mages used dragons for power, wouldn’t it be conceivable that vampires would want to do the same?” Gabrielle speculated.
“One would think,” Traian acknowledged. “It would be terrifying to think that the vampires might get hold of any of the power the mages wielded. But no, they would not have the ability to use such a resource as a true dragon. One has to have the natural talent—to be mage-born.”
“You do incredible things,” Joie pointed out.
“I am of the earth and she grants me certain gifts, but the type of thing we are speaking of is entirely different. The power can come from evil just as well as from good.”
“Can you get it out of there?” Joie asked.
“Not without possibly bringing tons of ice down on us. It is best to leave this place quickly.” Traian turned when Jubal stepped away from the wall to wander across the gallery, drawn by an alcove filled with what looked like ancient, twisted wood.
“Do not touch anything,” Traian warned sharply. “We must be very careful in here. The mages used spells and traps to guard what belonged to them.”
“That’s what you meant when you said the bridge could be a trap. You thought the mages had made it,” Jubal said.
“You saw that the bank was a trap. That was not natural, the illusion of a solid wall of ice was too good. They are masters at such things.”
Gabrielle held up her hand. “Wow we’re talking about things found in fantasy books. Legends. Myths. There has never been evidence of dragons existing. Not even when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. And yet we’re standing right in front of one. This is so surreal.”
“Surreal or not, we have to get out of here—and carefully,” Traian reiterated.
He pulled Joie closer to him. He was well aware of the effect of the cold on their bodies and brains. It sapped strength and being inside the cavern was disorienting. He could feel the subtle influence of power now, working at all of them to drain resources and keep them prisoner.
“I need to seal this area off, slow the vampires down, and get all of you out of this cave,” Traian said.
“I’m not so eager to leave,” Joie responded, studying the huge body of the dragon. “This is a treasure. There must be other fascinating things down here.”
“You are being hunted,” Traian said severely. “I am getting you out of here now. I will come back later and find whatever the vampires want so badly.”
“When you’re alone,” Joie guessed.
“When I am alone,” Traian confirmed. He urged them toward the narrow hall. “You must not touch anything, no matter how inviting it appears,” he added as a precaution.
Jubal glanced at Joie. “It isn’t like you to agree to stay behind. Are you certain he doesn’t have you under a spell?” He groaned. “That sounds so melodramatic and stupid. I can’t believe I said it.”
“I’m a professional, Jubal, and I don’t need to make a point. This is his area of expertise, not mine.”
The hall opened into another huge gallery. Tall columns in a gothic style were carved into the walls. The high cathedral ceiling was impressive. Pillars of ice and crystal formed two rows down the room, each holding several round globes of varying colors. As they walked into the huge ballroom-sized room, lights flickered, flames dancing under man-made glass running up the sides of the thick ice wall.
Traian held up his hand to warn them all to stop moving. “Watch where you step. There has to be a way out through this gallery. A powerful mage has made his home here, at least at some point, and he would have a way to get out fast. Spread out and look, but do not touch anything at all.”
Joie was drawn to the aisles of globes as were her siblings. She crossed the ice floor with care, walking along the row of the various-sized spheres, Jubal and Gabrielle close behind her. She peered into one of the largest, a milky blue natural sapphire. As she stared at it, the color deepened, darkened, began to swirl with alarming speed. Mesmerized, she moved closer. The ground beneath her tilted, rippled. She felt a pulling, a drawing as if the swirling sphere called to her.
Traian clapped his hand over her eyes and pulled her away from the globe. “Do not look at them. Gabrielle, come away from there.” There was urgency in his normally calm tone. “Jubal, just pull her with you. I can feel the aura of power in all of these objects. Until we know what they are, we need to give them a wide berth.”
Joie was stunned that she had been so quickly pulled into the globe’s influence. “I thought mages were supposed to be good.”
“Absolute power corrupts. It is something one learns when one’s life spans hundreds of years.” Traian crowded close to Joie, keeping his body between her and the tall pillars.
Joie laughed. “Don’t let Jubal or Gabrielle hear you say that. If you tell them you’ve been alive for a few hundred years, they might change their minds about us.”
“I heard it already,” Jubal said. He was pacing right behind Gabrielle, pushing her through the long, wide-open room. “I have to say, this is the right up there with the dragon. It’s amazing.”
There were clear crystal sculptures of mythical creatures. Small blood-red pyramids made of stone were set into chiseled-out archways in the walls. It was difficult not to stare at the gems and strange objects surrounding them, but Traian was obviously fearful of their safety, and they were ever conscious of the deadly creatures following them.
“Jubal,” Joie called.
He turned to find her frowning. Gabrielle and Traian were both staring at him as well. “What is it?” he asked.
“Every alcove you walk past, the lights turn on.” There was suspicion in Traian’s voice.
Jubal shrugged, obviously puzzled. “I must be triggering a hidden switch or something.”
“It isn’t just the lights, Jubal,” Joie said. “The objects on the shelves lean toward you. A few have actually levitated as if trying to reach you.” She didn’t like the sudden suspicion she heard in Traian’s voice or felt in his mind.
Deliberately, Traian moved close to an alcove where weapons lined the racks. No light illuminated the case nearly hidden by the surrounding ice and certainly no weapon moved toward him. He beckoned Jubal over.
Reluctantly, Jubal followed the summons. At once the alcove lit up and the weapons moved as if coming to life. A strange-looking device actually came away from the wall where it had been hung. Star-shaped, it was ringed with curved blades. Obviously a weapon, it floated through the air straight toward him, although there was no seeming threat.
“Hold out your hand,” Traian commanded.
“No!” Joie hurried toward her brother to stop him.
Traian caught her as she went to rush past him, his grip impossible to break. “Hold out your hand,” he said again, his tone brooking no argument.
Puzzled, Jubal did so. The strange weapon floated easily to him, at the last moment, opening as if hinged in the center to wrap itself around his wrist. It locked with a firm click.
Gabrielle gasped and stepped toward her brother. Traian’s arm kept her back. “Who are you?” he demanded. “Only a mage can command such a weapon.”
“I’m not mage,” Jubal protested.
“We have the same parents,” Joie snapped. “He isn’t adopted—Mom gave birth to him and Dad is his father. If he’s mage, we all are.”
“How the hell do I get this thing off?” Jubal demanded. He pushed at it with his fingers. “It’s very lightweight. I can barely feel it on me. As for commanding it, Traian, I’d have no idea how to do it.”
“He isn’t mage,” Joie said again. She pulled away from Traian, one hand sliding to the hilt of her knife.
Traian stepped close to Jubal and placed both hands on either side of his head, fingers over his pulse. He allowed his mind to merge with Jubal’s through their blood bond. The man was extremely intelligent, brilliant even, but Traian could find no hint of evil, no hint of magic or mage training.
He let out his breath slowly. “You can remove the knife from my balls, Joie.” He could easily read his lifemate’s mind, just as he could pick up the thoughts of her siblings. Joie loved her brother and sister and would willingly sacrifice her own happiness for them if need be. If he dared to harm her brother, she would have tried to kill him.
“You all right, Jubal?” she asked, sliding the knife carefully away from Traian.
“Yes. I felt Traian moving through my mind, but I didn’t feel a threat, only reassurance. Whatever the reason, this place responds to me—and I have no idea why—I don’t have a clue about any of the things in this cave.”
Gabrielle shook her head. “He would have killed Jubal. Are you certain, Joie? This is your choice? We don’t really know him at all.”
Joie felt the possession in Traian’s touch, felt the brush of his mind in hers. She smiled up at him in reassurance. At the same time, she reached for Gabrielle’s hand.
“
I
know him. Deep inside, I know him. The one thing that matters to me is family. I hope I know what I’m doing, Gabrielle. You know I’ve always relied on my instincts. I feel this is right—
he’s
right. I don’t understand any of it, but maybe I’ve been preparing for him all of my life. I fit with him. You’re right, I don’t know him yet, but I fit with him.” She rubbed her face, smearing mud across it. “A one-and-only sort of thing.”
Jubal groaned. “Joie, I never thought you’d turn all mushy romantic on us.” He slung his arm around Gabrielle’s shoulder. “He’s solid, honey. Weird, but solid.”
Gabrielle exchanged a long look with Jubal and turned to Joie. “Well, I suppose your life with him will always be interesting.”
“My sisters have already put gray in my hair,” Jubal announced. “I won’t survive Traian hanging around, howling at the moon, biting Joie’s neck. And, just for the record, stay the hell away from mine, Traian. Having a woman bite my neck might be a turn-on—kinky, maybe, but I could handle it. Having a man bite my neck is out of the question. Doesn’t do a thing for me,” Jubal said dryly.
“Ouch. That hurts, Jubal,” Traian said. “I was really looking forward to a snack later.” He leaned down to brush the top of Joie’s head with his chin. He had to touch her, keep reminding himself she was real. Even when they were speaking telepathically while he searched the complex of caves for whatever the vampires were frantic to find, he almost believed he had made her up.
Gabrielle managed a grin. “Well, he fits in with our weird family, Joie. I can’t wait to see Mom and Dad’s reaction.”
Jubal touched the weapon on his wrist. “Do you think they can track me with this thing on me?”
“Since we don’t know how to get it off other than to chop off your arm,” Traian said, “we will just have to chance it.”
A deep boom shook the network of caverns. “Go,” Traian ordered. “Through that left chamber.”
He relied solely on instincts now, rushing them through the narrow hallways that opened into one chamber after another, down a maze of halls into another, larger chamber, again filled with the strange lighting system. They ran from one wall to another, examining each, but they all appeared solid.
“There has to be a way out,” Traian said. “Mages are not able to shape-shift or fly. They are nearly as human as you are, only with longer lives and the ability to weave elements together and bend them to their purpose. There must be an opening leading to the surface. Look for something that does not feel right. There will be a hallway leading up to the entrance.”
“It’s here,” Jubal said. “I can feel it.”
“Like the rocks outside the cave. The pattern was all wrong,” Joie said. “Jubal, you’re good at patterns. Find us the opening, and hurry. Jubal’s rather infamous in our family for his mathematical mind,” she told Traian. “He can see a pattern in just about anything. That’s how he makes all his money.”
They could hear scratching, a terrible sound amplified by the acoustics of the cavernous room. Great claws scraping at the earth, digging to get at them. They spread out, walked along the wall, carefully examining every surface. All the while they could hear the vampires tunneling furiously through the mud and ice. The sounds grew louder, closer, and Traian dropped back, facing the wall where the creatures were certain to break through.
“I’ve got it!” Jubal said triumphantly. “We were expecting up, but it’s down. The floor. See the pattern on the floor, Joie?”
“Open it,” Traian said tersely, not looking, his attention centered completely on the far wall.
Jubal studied the squares, pyramids, and starburst patterns of stone beneath the layers of muddy ice. In the center of each symbol were hieroglyphics, pictures carved into each stone. He stepped on various ones, taking his time, choosing each stone carefully, following the pattern he could see laid out before him.
At last a large stone slid aside to reveal steps carved into the ice. Jubal hesitated. “Are you certain this is the way?”
“It has to be the way,” Traian said. “Take your sisters and go.”
Jubal was cautious, shining his light down the narrow staircase. The stairs appeared to be a bridge over a dark, fathomless abyss. “It’s another bridge, Traian. Do I trust it?”
“You have to. It must have been their way out.”
Jubal took a deep breath and stepped onto the first stair, found it solid, and reached back to aid Gabrielle. “Hurry, Joie.”
“Come with us, Traian,” Joie pleaded.
Water gushed in a dark, muddy stream from the side of the wall. Insects poured into the gallery. The wall to Traian’s left collapsed in an oozing pool of dark sludge.
Two hideous creatures flopped onto the floor of the chamber, abominations in the crystal perfection of the room. Gaunt and cadaverous, they were covered in black muck. Baring their jagged, spiked teeth, they stared at Traian from red-rimmed eyes filled with venomous hatred.