And grows in secret, cloaked in prayer.
Now Morgan learns where Valcor dwells;
She lurks in shadows, patient, still,
Awaiting blossoms from the sprout
To cut and capture, then to kill.
Beware the snake and hide the girl,
But let her live a carefree life.
Instill in her a faithful heart
For only faith endures the strife.
Above all plans, protect the gem,
The key that opens Dragons’ Rest,
For Arthur’s seed must find his way
To rescue captives in his quest.
Take care to learn this secret path
To fertilize the barren land,
For dragons die to shed their scales
And bow before the Son of Man.
Elam breathed a low whistle. “I hope that doesn’t mean what I think it means!”
Patrick smiled, but it was a weak, sad sort of smile. “What do you think it means?”
Elam folded his hands and pressed his thumbs together. The part about the hybrid being laid to rest and the king’s son sacrificing seemed to point to Gabriel, but should he mention something so morbid right in front of him? Had Patrick already figured it out? Maybe it was best to focus on another part of the prophecy, at least for now. “Obviously,” he said slowly, “Morgan’s out to get a girl, and . . . uh . . .” He shifted his gaze to the roof where only a single raven remained, preening its feathers. “Is Mrs. Nathanson . . . expecting?”
Patrick tapped a finger on the table. “The exact question I immediately asked myself. You see, we had always thought Ruth was unable to bear a child, so, to soothe her empty arms and fill her great desire to care for abandoned children, we established our orphanage. Yet, when I saw this prophecy, I urged her to get a blood test.”
“And . . . um . . . did the rabbit die?” Elam asked.
“No.” Patrick’s weak smile returned. “I’m afraid the little hopper is alive and well.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “I was hopeful, but Ruth is not expecting.”
Elam picked up the rubellite and peered into its crimson center. “Then how can this prophecy be fulfilled? Who’s the daughter Merlin’s talking about? And how can this gem be a key? And what was that stuff about barren land?”
Patrick opened his palm, and Elam laid the pendant in his hand. “As you have so aptly demonstrated,” Patrick said, “there are many questions, and I can answer only one with confidence. The prophecy will eventually come to pass, but it seems that the fulfillment might come in ways we do not expect.”
The raven suddenly swooped down and snatched the pendant’s chain. In a flurry of black wings, it took off toward the hole in the ceiling with the pendant dangling underneath.
“Noooo!” Patrick lunged at the bird but missed.
Gabriel unfurled his wings, leaped onto the table, and launched himself upward. Folding his wings slightly, he squeezed through the hole without missing a beat. One second later, he was gone.
Elam held his breath. Patrick’s gaze locked on the ceiling. After about half a minute, Gabriel dropped through the hole, his wings letting him drift gently to the floor. With his brow furrowed, he shuffled back to the table.
Patrick gasped. “You . . . you didn’t get it?”
Gabriel held up the pendant. “Oh, I got the gem.”
Patrick clutched his chest. “Don’t frighten me like that!”
“Yeah,” Elam said. “You looked like you were mad.”
“I am mad. I grabbed that little buzzard by the neck and yanked the chain from its beak, but when I turned back, a huge bat latched on to my wrist.” He held up his arm, displaying a stream of blood. “It hung on until I let the bird go.”
Patrick cradled Gabriel’s arm and examined the wound. “We can’t take you to the hospital, but we have a nurse on staff who is well versed in these matters.”
“Can we trust her to keep my wings a secret?” Gabriel asked.
“Certainly. She’s my wife.” Patrick took the pendant and laid it back in its box. His brow knitted a trio of deep creases as he sat down at the table. “Elam, have you figured out who the raven is?”
Elam stared at the ceiling’s hole and sat next to Patrick. “Morgan? After all these years?”
“Can there be any doubt?” Patrick shook his head. “Now she knows about Gabriel, she knows who I am and where I live, and she likely recognized you.”
“Do you think she’ll bring Devin here?” Elam asked.
“Perhaps to kill you and Gabriel, but if I understand the prophecy correctly, she’s hoping for me to generate a hostiam for her, so she won’t soon seek my destruction or Ruth’s.”
“A hostiam?” Gabriel repeated. “What’s that?”
“I will explain later. For now, we must get your wound cleaned and find a place for the two of you to hide.”
Elam clenched his fist. “I’m not hiding. I stopped being afraid of that witch thousands of years ago.”
“I appreciate your courage,” Patrick said. “I didn’t expect you to cower behind any skirts. If, however, my wife and I are blessed with a child, I must protect both of them at all costs, and keeping Devin far away is item number one on my priority list.”
Elam drummed his fingers on the table. “Since Mrs. Nathanson isn’t expecting, I say we draw the slayer here now. Get it over with. It’s either him or us.”
Gabriel clapped Elam’s back. “I’m with him. Maybe I’m not as old as the hills, but I’ve been hiding ever since I can remember, and I’m tired of it.”
“I am of a mind to agree,” Patrick said, “but if we summon Devin, all our lives will likely be in jeopardy.” He nodded toward the exit. “Elam, please ask Ruth to come here with her medical bag. Then I would like you to retire for the night. It has been a most stressful evening for all of us.”
Elam laid his palms on the table and rose slowly, eyeing Patrick and Gabriel as he picked up his lantern. “Okay. . . . I can do that.”
Patrick gave him a formal nod. “Thank you, and good night.”
As he marched to the doorway, Elam glared at the shifting shadows. Something was wrong. Patrick had dismissed him too abruptly. He had treated a grown man like a child, literally sending him to bed without his supper. But why? Was he planning to discuss some kind of secret with Gabriel?
As he strode through the corridor, Gabriel’s sad eyes took shape in his mind. Somehow they were too sad, like a . . . a . . . Elam shook his head. He wasn’t sure what Gabriel reminded him of, but it wasn’t good. He mentally kicked himself into gear and ran the rest of the way to the main nursery.
Patrick drew one of the drapery panels to the side and tied it back, while Gabriel pulled the other. With the curtain out of the way, Gabriel backed up to take in the sight. The wall behind the curtains framed a strange window. Without a single streak or reflected image, it looked like a rectangular hole in the wall, an escape hatch to a forest he could leap to without smashing any glass.
He approached the hole and laid a palm on the stone surface. It wasn’t a window at all. The scene on the other side, with its equatorial trees and low-hanging vines, was unlike anything in Patrick’s estate or all of England. Not only that, dozens of lush, fern-like leaflets trembled under a drenching downpour in the dimness of a cloudy day. Of course, that didn’t make any sense, not in the middle of a cloudless night on this side of the window.
“So,” Gabriel said, “it looks like a good day for frogs in there.”
Patrick touched the window lightly. “It seems to rain frequently in that dimension, which, I think, is appropriate for what we have in mind.”
“You mean, send the slayer to Hades so he can soak his hot head?”
“Precisely. And now that Elam has indicated his willingness to fight the slayer, all of the pieces are in place.”
“When are you going to tell him our plan?”
“Tomorrow morning. But first I want to make sure you and I are of the same mind concerning the prophecy. Do you understand what it appears to be saying about you?”
Gabriel shrugged his shoulders. “If you mean that line about the hybrid and the king’s son, then, I guess I do.”
“If you are the hybrid to be laid to rest, then inviting a battle with Devin could mean your death.”
“I know.” Gabriel turned away from the window. “I just want to do what I have to do and get it over with. If Devin dies, then we’ll celebrate. If I die, that’s okay, too. I’m ready to go.”
Patrick crossed his arms over his chest and nodded respectfully. “You have a heart that reflects the selflessness of your savior, but we will do whatever it takes to protect you. Although it seems clear that we must take this step to bring our conflict to some kind of resolution, Merlin’s words frighten me. His prophetic utterances have never been wrong.”
“I know what you mean.” Gabriel pressed his hand against his stomach. “It makes my dinner want to come back up and smack me in the face.”
Patrick clasped Gabriel’s shoulder. “You could go into hiding. God might use a different son of a dragon king. Your mother and father, or another dragon turned human might have another child. You don’t have to ”
“I’m not a coward!” Gabriel said, slapping his wings together. “Why should I risk someone else’s life?”
Patrick stepped back. “Of course you aren’t a coward. I was merely pointing out your options.”
Gabriel sighed and spread out his hands. “I’m sorry. It’s just that Devin’s the reason my parents are always on the run. I’m not missing this chance for anything.”
Patrick lifted a finger. “I have one further concern. Since you are, shall we say, somewhat of a unique species, I’m not sure where you would go if the worst should occur. That is, I am not confident your soul will go directly to heaven. You might spend some time in Dragons’ Rest.”
Gabriel steeled his jaw. “It doesn’t matter. Whether I ascend to heaven or make my bed in hell, God will be with me.”
“Yes, yes,” Patrick said, nodding, “I know the psalm. Still, you are not a normal human. Such promises are rather vague in your case.”
“Then it’s a new adventure, isn’t it? I’d rather go to war than cower in shadows all my life. My parents think Devin’s hiding in every alley he’s the bus driver; he’s the balloon man at the fair; he’s the principal at my school. The way he gets around, you’d think he was Superman. No one can be that powerful.”
Patrick’s brow creased deeply. “Don’t underestimate someone who has survived for centuries. According to the last word I have, his morbid tally stands at six dead dragons since the transformation. With Morgan giving him power, his prowess likely far exceeds your estimation.”
“Maybe, but he hasn’t found you or my family yet, so I’m not scared of him. If I have to spill my blood to protect the people I love, then I’m ready.”
Patrick laid his hands on Gabriel’s shoulders. “You are a true warrior. I shall not try to dissuade you any longer.”
“A warrior?” Gabriel turned his head to the side. “If you say so. I just hope I have the guts to back up my hot air.”
“I understand.” Patrick slid his hands away and strolled to the table. He picked up the pendant and let it dangle by its chain. As the rubellite twirled at the bottom, its facets glimmered, sending red flashes all around. He caressed the gem with his fingertip. “Why the path to salvation must be coated with blood, I’ll never understand, but of this I’m sure it is the sacrifice of love that will draw the faithful to the Great Key’s threshold.”
Merlin floated along one of the candlestone’s crystalline hallways, his body’s radiant light casting just enough glow to guide his path. Learning how to change the shape of his energy field had made it easy to disguise himself when he stopped by to see the rebellion conspirators. He usually spoke only to the six who had since repented of their crimes. Barlow, Edward, Newman, Fiske, Standish, and Woodrow now professed fealty to the king, though Arthur had been dead for centuries. They were good men unwise to allow themselves to be deceived, certainly, but their basic motivations had been noble.
Merlin gazed at his shining body. Now a spiritual entity, bearing no more weight than a flame, he had far more control over his mind and greater clarity of vision. He looked up and concentrated on a tiny light in the distance, the entry hole that drew him into the candlestone yet still prevented any escape because of the gem’s tractive power. He peered through the opening, willing his vision to enlarge the window ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times like a telescope expanding its light-gathering mirrors. Within seconds, it seemed that the entire outside world had enveloped his body, though he merely stood in place, still trapped in a gemstone prison.
On this particular day, since the sun shone so clearly, Devin had to be wearing the gem on the outside of his vest, a perfect time for opening a viewing port. Merlin guided his radiant hand over the surface of one of the crystal’s inner walls. It flashed with light, showing a bouncing panorama of an English road, the scenery in front of Devin as he walked.
With his enhanced spiritual perception, Merlin peered intently through the wall and gazed toward multiple horizons, taking in the sights and sounds of millions of happenings throughout England and even over the northern border in Scotland. Quickly orienting himself to the landscape, he soon located Patrick and listened in on his conversation with Elam and Gabriel.
Merlin shook his head and sighed a stream of energy. They were trying so hard, yet they knew so little. Bound by their physical bodies, they could only comprehend as far as their senses could reach. And Patrick, though he was reasonably wise, had no teacher to guide him past the more difficult obstacles to spiritual maturity. The man who had served so gallantly as Valcor, a noble dragon for a thousand years, would soon face a mind-bending challenge that would stretch every strand in his moral fiber, call into question everything and everyone he had ever loved, and possibly alter his life forever. The future of the dragon race depended on the choices he would soon make, and he had no idea that such a test was coming.
Merlin whispered in the air, breathing a tiny line of twinkling sparks that rose toward the gem’s entry. “Father, what can I do to help? I have left them only scattered scraps of wisdom in an artless song that begs to be translated into coherent speech. Were I to read it, knowing what they know, I would be pulling my hair out in frustration. When I wrote the song, I knew so little of what I was writing. You spoke through me in mysteries too deep for my limited mind to fathom, and now that I no longer see through physical eyes, I can plunge those depths and uncover mysteries so great, my flesh-bound mind would have burst with joy as it tried to grasp your incomprehensible love, wisdom, and goodness.