Though…how that lock sang to her. She checked the sky for only the briefest moment before moving forward to get a good look at it. The keyhole opening was about the size of a man and she peered inside of it. All around the keyhole were smaller holes peppering the metal, giving it a pockmarked appearance.
“Can you do it?” Maxum asked.
Maxum watched impatiently as she didn’t answer him and instead studied the lock carefully. He didn’t want to rush her, but there was no telling when the dragon would return, and he didn’t want to be there when it did.
“Can you?” he asked again as she mumbled to herself under her breath and touched the outer edges of the lock.
“I’ll need your sword,” she said finally, holding out her hand to him.
Maxum hesitated. But only for a second. It wasn’t likely she could damage it, but it was going to be key in his fight against Sabo.
He drew the sword and handed it to her. Whatever she was planning to do, it had to be worth the risk for the reward.
She slowly, gingerly, slid the sword into the keyhole. As she worked, he watched her face. She bit her lip, no doubt without realizing it, and a strand of hair had escaped her braid and hung in a crooked wisp over her forehead. She pursed her lips and blew air upward, moving the strand out of her eyes. After about ten minutes of working at the lock, she began to perspire, little drops of salty water beading on her lip and forehead. He didn’t know if it was because of the heat beating down on them or because she was anxious about her struggle with the lock. He imagined it was a combination of both.
There was a click and she exhaled in relief, but she didn’t withdraw from the lock.
“Trap,” she said in explanation.
She had disarmed a device that had been set into the lock. He hadn’t even thought about traps. He dreaded to know the kind of a trap a dragon would use against human interlopers. No doubt it was something very extreme.
After another minute of her working the sword around in the lock there was a much louder click and the whole door seemed to loosen up.
“Done!” she cried triumphantly.
“Amazing!” Maxum laughed, scooping her up against his body and hugging her tight. She hugged him back enthusiastically…then they both lingered a moment too long. He drew back to look at her and was overwhelmed with the urge to kiss her. But now was not the time or the place. They were exposed and in danger and he wouldn’t risk her any more than he already had.
She stepped out of his embrace, smoothing her straggling hair back unsuccessfully. Two rose-colored stains appeared on her cheeks.
“How do you plan to open the door? It’s huge! You’ll never be able to manage that much weight. Not even with all of us combined. It’s weighted to glide open of course, but only after it is raised to a certain point.”
“I don’t have to open it all the way. Just enough for us to get in and get out.” He turned and gestured to the men who still waited around the corner. Then, once they were all grouped together, they grabbed the handle of the door and pulled as hard as they could. The door budged just a little bit, but it was enough to create a gap between the floor of the cave and the door. Big enough for a man to wriggle in through.
One at a time they did just that, working their way into the torchlit cavern.
“Uh oh,” Airi said.
“What?” Dru asked nervously. “Don’t say uh oh when we’re standing in the middle of a dragon’s lair.”
“The dragon left torches burning,” she pointed out. “That could mean he wasn’t planning on being gone for very long. It certainly means he hasn’t been gone for more than a few hours.”
“Oh,” Dru said sheepishly. “Sorry.”
“No. You’re nervous. So am I,” she said with understanding.
They took in the surroundings slowly…and with awe.
The center of the cave was piled high with a nest of shining, glittering objects. Everything from precious gems and golden coins to suits of armor and decorative shields. It was beautiful and priceless, but all Airi kept wondering was whether or not those suits of armor were empty—or if they had been emptied like a clam being shucked of its shell only to have the insides slurped down in one gulp.
She slowly walked up to the edge of the mass of coins and picked one up. It was gold, but she had never seen its make or stamping before. That told her it came from a land she had never been to; somewhere far away but easily reached by dragon wings. In that moment she envied the weredragon. Being so big meant he had few enemies to fear and with such massive wings the world was no doubt a much smaller place for them. They need not use horses or ships, they could just fly wherever they wished. Whenever they wished. At a moment’s desire they could fly to the Red Continent from here and be there in time for supper.
Thinking of the dragon dining snapped her out of her longings and she became aware of the men shoveling gold and gems into their pouches and pockets. Well, Kyno and Doisy and Kilon were. Dru was being more discerning, peering at each gemstone in the torchlight before stuffing it into a small leather pouch tied to his belt. She realized he had limited space for treasure, so he was going to make the most of it.
She caught sight of Maxum hurrying around the bulk of the hoard and she hesitated, torn between getting treasure for herself and following him. Where was he going? They had all they could carry right here. There was no need to go farther in.
She hastily grabbed up a fistful of coins and gems and stuffed it into her pocket before she took off after Maxum. She wasn’t going to go through all of this with nothing to show for it, but Maxum was up to something and she was going to find out what.
It didn’t take her long to catch up with him because he had come to a stop somewhere on the opposite side of the hoard at the back of the cave. He was staring at something, and she followed his gaze. There, suspended in midair, lit by torchlight, was a small shiny object spinning around and around. It was a ring, she realized. About the shape of a coin, clearly meant to be worn by a man. It would have fallen right off even her thickest finger.
Maxum reached out, but she grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Maxum! It’s suspended there by magic! You can bet it’s protected by magic as well!”
“Then you better step back,” he said firmly.
“Are you insane? Maxum, you can’t—”
“Step. Back.” His tone was low and measured and very dangerous. He wouldn’t tolerate her interference. There was clearly nothing more she could do.
She stepped back several feet. Then she watched in horror as he reached out for the ring.
The minute he breeched the outer bubble of the magic holding the ring a sudden storm of lightning exploded around Maxum. She screamed as he was picked up by it, lashed hard by it, turned and twisted about by it. But all the while she could see him fighting it, saw him reaching and reaching…until his hand closed around the ring. The minute he had hold of it the lightning stopped and he fell to the floor hard. Heedlessly Airianne rushed up to him, kneeling at his head and driving her hands into his hair to force his face around to hers.
He opened his eyes and smiled.
“Got it,” he said.
“Oh!” He wasn’t hurt at all! There were burn and scorch marks all over his clothes and the hard leather of his armor, but he barely had a smudge of dirt on him after that tortuous attack. “Damn you, Maxum! You aged me a year and a day!”
“Sorry,” he said with an unrepentant grin. Then he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss before leaping to his feet and saying, “Let’s get out of here.”
She had no choice but to follow him as he hurried around the mound of sparkling coin. She realized then that the ring had been his sole purpose for coming there. Why he had chosen to raid this particular dragon’s lair. The others might think he was leading them to reward and riches, but Airi saw someone who was reckless and dangerous, who was willing to risk everything to get what he wanted…including the lives of his men.
“Let’s g
o, boys!” he called out as he came around to the front of the hoard.
“But my pouch isn’t full,” Dru complained.
“Dally here much longer and that pouch will be cut away with the top half of your body when the dragon comes calling. I have a feeling we’ve rung an alarm bell. Let’s go!”
Dru grabbed a wild handful of coins and stuffed them into his pouch, then all of the men hurried back toward the door, the sound of coins falling from overstuffed pockets tinkling as they hit the ground.
They had just wriggled out from under the door when they heard the first roar. It was a cross between the roar of an enormous kika bear and the thunderous screech of a giant jollo jola bird.
It was the roar of a dragon. A very angry dragon.
They ran toward the ledge but suddenly Maxum stopped.
“We’ll be exposed on the cliff side. He’ll pick us off like cherries on a tree. We have to face him here on strong ground.”
“Face him? Face a dragon?” Dru cried. “Are you mad?”
“He’s coming. Kyno, you, me, and Kilon take the front. Doisy, you and Dru fall back with Airi. Don’t engage unless you have to.”
“You plan to take on a dragon? Just the three of you? That’s insane!” Airi cried.
“No more or less so than coming up here in the first place,” Maxum said with a shrug.
“There has to be a better way!”
“I’m open to suggestions,” he said as he drew his sword.
Airi cast about for a solution.
“Dru! You’re a spirit mage! You can make people see things that aren’t there!”
“Yes, but—”
“Can you make someone not see something that is there?”
“You mean make us invisible? I-I-I don’t think I can do that.”
“Have you ever tried? It’s not really making us invisible, it’s making the dragon not perceive our true location.”
“I don’t know. I could try.”
“Get ready to fight. Dru…do your best!” Maxum said.
Dru, shaking so hard she could hear his teeth rattling, closed his eyes and tried to focus. Airi came up to him and reached a calming hand out to touch him on the back of the neck, petting him softly…soothingly.
Then suddenly there was a mighty roar right on top of them and they all shrank back against the ledge wall. The dragon, a huge iridescent scaled beast that appeared mostly blue in color, landed on the ledge of the butte. It was an enormous beast, overshadowing the small people just off to its right. It had massive golden scales that reached all the way up its legs to the underside of its belly. The dragon glittered and gleamed and she realized it was because there were gems and coins caught between its scales from the lining of its hoarded nest. As it slept on its bed the gems must’ve worked their way beneath the scales and there they stayed.
The dragon’s wings splayed out in the sun, the sunlight backlighting the membranes of the wings and showing the blood vessels within. Each wing had three sections to it and each section was tipped with a claw.
The dragon roared, its heavy head swinging back and forth, its large eye, a russet color, scanning back and forth. Looking for the intruders that had invaded its nest.
It looked right at the small group and everyone tensed in readiness.
Then it looked away, moving forward, each heavy footstep sending a tremor through the rock beneath their feet. It went to its door and with a clawed foot it swung open the massive door, sending the weights dropping and the door gliding back into the roof of the cave. It lumbered into the cave, a heavy but graceful creature and every movement seemed to ripple along its outer skin.
“It worked!” Airi said. “Good for you, Dru!”
“Shh. I can trick its sight but maybe not its hearing,” he whispered fiercely. “And I don’t know how much longer I can do this so we better go!”
Everyone agreed and with haste they began to pick their way down the face of the butte. They reached the horses about an hour before sunset and then hastened to make it to the tree line. They felt a massive shadow run over them and knew the dragon was flying overhead in search of the thieves that had stolen from him. They had just reached the tree line only minutes before sunset.
“Go on without me!” Maxum called to them. “There’s something I need to do!”
“What could you possibly—?”
“Don’t argue with me, Airi. Just go back to the ship. I’ll be there at the appointed hour. Do not follow me. Understood?”
Airi burned with temper, but what choice did she have? They had to get out of sight before the dragon came looking for them again. Who knew how much longer Dru’s magic would work? But if Maxum went off on his own without Dru, he would not be protected by his magic.
“But what if the dragon finds you?” she demanded of him.
“He won’t.”
With that he took the ring he had stolen and slipped it onto his finger. In an instant he disappeared from sight. Airi gasped and Doisy said, “Fuck me!”
“Maybe later,” came Maxum’s disembodied voice. “Now go. I’ll be there on time.”
They had no choice but to go. Maxum’s empty-saddled horse was kicked into a gallop and hastened away into the woods.
Shortly after there was a mighty rumble that trembled through the ground, as though the dragon were walking by them once again. Only the dragon was nowhere in sight.
Airi and the men went back to the ship and climbed aboard. The men were chortling over their treasure, although quietly so no one knew they had it. Airi went to the bunk she’d shared with Maxum and emptied her pocket. She had not made off with as much as the others, but she had done well in spite of it. She had twelve gold coins, one star ruby, two glass emeralds, and an intricate necklace full of pearls and gay stones. There were seven silvers and ten coppers. All in all a very nice haul. She hadn’t had this much money at one time since…well, since ever.
She had a thieves’ belt—or so it was called. It was a belt that lined the inside waistband of her breeches. It held coins and wealth securely so no one could pick her pocket, and no one could steal it off her unless they stripped her of her pants.
So she tucked her new wealth away. She had to repay Maxum for the corset and for the cost of the voyage and everything he’d had to spend on her up until then. That should leave her with about eight gold and all the gems, silver, and copper.
She wondered at Maxum, now that she was alone and had the chance to do so. Clearly he had not been interested in the dragon’s wealth at all. He had gone there for one thing and one thing only. That ring. A ring that made the wearer invisible. She had heard of such magics, but she had never seen it before.
As a thief she could see the intrinsic value in having such a ring. A thief could sneak in and out of anywhere completely undetected. It was worth a dragon’s weight in gold.
But Maxum wasn’t a thief, so why had the ring been so important to him? Important enough to risk being struck down by such a violent trap? And what about that? How was it he had not been hurt by the lightning? He should have been nearly incinerated.
That was when she thought of the talisman. He had put it on a chain and wore it around his neck and suddenly he couldn’t be hurt? Is that why the talisman had been so important to him? Because the wearer became…indestructible?
That meant Maxum now had the ability to become invisible and to be indestructible.
A man with that kind of strength and magic would be nearly unstoppable.
No wonder he had been willing to risk his life. There had been no real risk at all.
Not for him.
But for everyone else…
“What’s this?”
Airianne opened her eyes sleepily. She had fallen asleep waiting for him to return. He held four gold coins in his fingers. The gold coins she had left on his pillow.
“It’s what I owe you. For the cost of passage, the corset, food, and such.”
He frowned.
“You don’t owe
me anything,” he said, holding the coins out to her. “You’re part of the group now. I pay for the group’s expenses and they pay me back by risking their lives.”
“Is that how it works?” she asked, narrowing her eyes on him. “They risk their lives but you don’t risk yours?”
He didn’t say anything, just set his jaw. Then he said, “They are well compensated. As you saw.”
“For now. But what happens when you leave them?”
“Who says I’m going to leave them?”
“You are indestructible and can be invisible. You don’t need them anymore. You’re not even really close to any of them. They’re just a means to an end. And you’ve gotten what you wanted.”
“Not all of what I wanted. I need more.”
“We always need more. Your men have just become ridiculously wealthy, but they’ll continue to follow you because they want more. We were lucky today.”
“Thanks to you.”
“Thanks to Dru. He pulled off a miracle.”
“He never would have been able to come up with the idea if not for you.”
Airi sat up in the bed, drawing her knees up to her chest. She had taken the corset off and was in the ruffled shirt. The neck of the shirt teased at the crests of both her shoulders, showing off a lot of the tanned landscape in between. The ruffled neckline hinted at her breasts, making her seem busty even without the aid of the corset. Then again, she was busty—when she wasn’t trying to hide it. She had beautiful breasts…breasts that had taunted him mercilessly from the moment he had set eyes on her. And last night he had tasted them. She had been incredibly sweet, her nipple a hard, excited little point, her surrounding flesh as soft as could be. He wanted more…and now that they were on more equal footing, he would take more. As soon as he could get her to an inn and a decent bed.