The Reluctant Lord (Dragon Lords) (16 page)

“And the cave creatures from venturing out,” Matus added as he reached the end of the crystal formations and jumped down. Clara stepped carefully from one inclined perch to another, grateful she’d worn the borrowed boots and not her own stiff pair.

“Our crystals come from the bottom of Crystal Lake closer to the palace. When our first child is born, I will take you there to see it when I get his stone so that he may someday be as blessed as we are.” Vlad turned, leading her over the crystals.

Clara hid her expression as she thought of her parents’ plan for her. They expected her to return home with the child and would not allow him to wear the uncarved crystal necklace of his father’s people. To them, the stone would be crude and barbaric. They would insist he instead wear formed jewels and the clothing of a proper Redde gentleman. Would taking away the crystal curse the child somehow?

She didn’t want to think of it, not now.

“If you could have those babies soon, Vlad, we’d appreciate it. I think the whole reason why our mother wants us to go to the Breeding Ceremony is so that we’ll give her babies to spoil and sew for,” Sven said.

“She secretly dreams one of us will give her a girl,” Matus added.

“She thinks girls throw knives better than boys,” Nolan explained, “and she wants to pass her skills forward to the next generations.”

Clara made it across to the last crystal column and watched as Vlad jumped down. She reached for his upstretched hand and let him help her back to the cave floor. The exercise flushed her skin and she tried to take calming breaths. The men did not look affected by the journey.

The blue stone of the cave walls were threaded with a silvery grey. The opening only grew as they ventured downward. Loose stones covered the floor, crunching beneath their boots. The silver veins came together, giving a high glossy sheen to areas of the cave. It reflected a warped image back to her. Clara paused seeing her unpainted face and the hair wound at the nape of her neck rather than on top of her head. In such a short time, she looked so different. She doubted her siblings would even recognize her.

“Clara?” Vlad asked quietly.

“My apologies. I was thinking that my sisters and sisters-by-marriage are probably being taken out of stasis to have their children soon.” She turned sadly away from her reflection. “I will miss the births of my thirty nieces and nephews.” She then straightened her shoulders and stiffened her back. “I should not be dwelling on my former home. We are here to do your duty by the miners. Please, continue. I will keep up.”

The cave began to narrow as they left the silver-blue room for a smaller pathway. They walked in silence a great distance until the sound of rushing water echoed all around them. The natural pathway molded into a cylindrical mine shaft. The tool marks on the walls attested to the fact this section was manmade.

A female dragon had been carved into the stone. Her fierce, scaled skin was worn from time. Around her, smaller dragons gathered as if worshipping her.

“That is Trolla,” Matus explained. “Protector of the mines. The goddess keeps us safe.”

“Mining superstitions,” Nolan said.

“Quiet, boy,” Tomos warned. “You will respect our gods.”

Nolan looked guiltily to the floor and said nothing.

Vlad took her arm as the passage widened and broke off into two directions. “We are close to the waterfall.”

“You can’t reach it now,” Matus put forth. “The crawl tunnel leading to that area was above where we’re standing. The rock slide cut it off. Luckily, it is never in use for we have no reason to go to the falls.”

“The shaft is just up ahead,” Tomos said. He stopped near a wall of stone. “The drone is on the other side.” He lifted a handheld unit that had been left on the floor and began pressing buttons. “It’s not responding to our signal anymore.”

“It was probably damaged.” Sven took the unit from his father and began working his fingers over it. “I tagged its last location when I was down here. It wasn’t moving so I’m sure it’s still there. If we can recover it, we can see what happened.

Clara didn’t feel so well. She tried to monitor her breathing as she stared at the stone wall. Support beams had been lodged against the ceiling and some of the stones had been rolled to the side of the passage.

“Perhaps I should not have agreed to let you come,” Vlad said quietly.

“If my husband is in charge of the mines, I must understand that duty. It is right that I came.” She shivered but hid her growing discomfort. “I will maintain.”

“If the readings were right, we should be close to the hollow pocket. Until we see with our own eyes though, we won’t know if the drone malfunctioned and sent wrong messages or if the sonar is off and we need to replace the unit.”

“I’m guessing the sonar,” Matus said. “That is the only way to explain the cave-in. The shaft would not have collapsed like this if the rock had been solid. The smaller drones do not create a large enough shaft to cause this kind of damage.”

“Are sonars expensive to replace?” Clara asked Vlad in concern. He nodded once but didn’t seem troubled by the cost. She couldn’t help thinking of how he’d reacted when she asked for servants. Then he made it seem as if he were broke.

“Lady Clara, please stand aside. Boys, let’s get mining,” Tomos directed. They all shifted into dragon form and began systematically moving rocks with their hands. Tomos took lead, gruffly directing the men in the Draig language. She wasn’t sure how long she watched, but she was fascinated by the strength of the men in their shifted form. Curious, she tried pushing a boulder on the floor with her hip, it didn’t move. Her husband and Sven had lifted it easily moments before.

Used to standing like a statue for hours at a time, she waited patiently, only moving when she needed to get out of their way so they could work. Once, she wandered closer to the opening to study the Trolla sculpture. The goddess looked wild and dangerous, none of the things Clara was. She’d reached her hand up to hover over the stone, but received no messages from the cold rock—not that she’d expected to.

* * *

Vlad wedged his hands between two stones and pulled hard. Rocks began sprinkling around his feet. He sensed his wife was away from the immediate area and knew she’d be out of harm’s way.

“Easy,” Tomos warned gruffly in their native tongue.

“The post is holding steady,” Matus said in the same language.

“Almost,” Vlad answered as Nolan reached in to join him.

Several smaller rocks fell as they removed the boulder. They quickly backed away, watching the stability of the shaft. Rocks tumbled, stirring a thick layer of dust. Vlad closed his eyes and waited for the ventilation to pull the dust away so they could see. The soft hum overhead indicated the vent was working.

“What is…?” Matus rushed forward. He poked his head toward the opening they’d made to look inside. A soft light shone from within, a light that should not have been there naturally.

“Matus,” Tomos warned. “Be careful.”

Taking his handheld unit, Matus didn’t listen as he crawled through the narrow opening. Seconds later, he yelled through, “I found the drone.”

“Vlad?” Clara asked softly behind them. Her skin was paler than usual but her expression was blank. He lifted his hand to her to indicate she should wait. She ventured slowly toward them. He heard her footfall as he turned his attention back to Matus.

“Father, you should…” Matus’s words were less gravelly, indicating he’d shifted back to his human form. The others automatically did the same.

“They found the drone,” Vlad translated for his wife.

“What?” Tomos went to the opening, checked the security of the hole and then crawled through.  Seconds later, he yelled, “Vlad!”

“Vlad?” Clara repeated, her tone lowering.

“I will be safe,” he assured her. Vlad moved to the opening to follow Tomos. Nolan handed him a couple of lights. It was a short crawl into the hollow.

The light came from the drone, which was on and running. Matus hit the handheld against his knee close to the drone. “The signals are blocked. The unit is reading that the drone is dead but it clearly has power.”

Vlad switched on a light and handed the other to Tomos. They shone the beams around. Strange rock columns filled the space, as if holding up the ceiling. The floor was smooth with natural steps leading to the edge of an underground stream.

“Where did this come from?” Matus asked as the light hit the water. “There should be no underground water supply in this section of the caves. It’s flowing in the wrong direction.” He pointed toward the far wall. “The waterfall is that way. Water should flow out, not in.”

Tomos kneeled beside the stream. “This has been cut. It’s not natural.”

Vlad observed the evenly spaced ridge marks along the river bank. They did indeed look like a cutting tool had made them. “They’re fresh too. This stone is not weathered with age.” He leaned toward the water and sniffed. “This smells off.”

“Don’t touch it. I know that smell, but…” Tomos frowned. “I can’t place it.”

“Nolan, bring the big light,” Matus ordered.

Vlad explored with his light beam as they waited for Nolan. He listened carefully but did not hear anything besides his group in the opening. Minutes later, Nolan appeared with a light. He set it on the ground and turned it on. The beam was directed at the ceiling and it bounced off the rock overhead to illuminate the area.

The first thing Vlad noticed was the columns were too evenly spaced and had strange carvings on them. They weren’t of Draig doing.

“We’re coming in,” Sven said.

Vlad held up his hand toward the opening, “No, wait.”

It was too late. Sven had already entered and was helping Clara through the hole. She unhooked her elbow from Sven as she stood to her feet. He noticed the darker color of her eyes as she looked at the area and wondered at her physical reaction to the place.

“Are these ruins?” she asked.

“No. These are not of Draig doing,” Matus answered.

“Then…?” Clara prompted.

“We don’t know,” Matus said.

Vlad automatically moved closer to his wife. Perhaps he should not have allowed her to come. When she’d offered, he thought this would be a simple task and would give her a chance to see the mines.

“My lord,” she whispered to him. Her hand trembled slightly. “You bid me to tell you when I had a medical issue. I do not feel well now.”

He placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her nerves and placed a quick kiss on her head. “I will protect you. We shouldn’t be here long.”

Vlad hadn’t expected to prove his words so soon, but almost the second he said them, the low hum of an engine sounded behind the rock. The men instantly formed a half circle around Clara and faced the noise.

“The Var?” Nolan asked, specifying their ancient enemy, the cat shifters.

“They don’t come this far north,” Tomos denied. “They wouldn’t dare. They have no interest in our mines.”

“I don’t feel so…” Clara whispered behind him, her words weak.

Vlad listened to her heavy breathing as he kept his eyes on the far side of the cavern. The noise grew. He backed up toward the hollow’s opening.

The water began to ripple in the stream.

“The water is changing directions,” Matus noted.

“Clara, if I tell you to run, get through the opening and run,” Vlad said. “Try to make it back to the village.”

A strange alien craft surfaced. Its circular shape rotated around a center support to propel it forward. The support pressed to the sides of the new waterway with metal teeth cutting into the grooves they’d been examining earlier. It towed a load of raw ore behind it, the minerals wrapped in a thick sheet of molded plastic to keep it dry.

“He doesn’t see us,” Matus said under his breath.

The vehicle slowed as if it might stop.

“Nolan, take my wife—” Vlad ordered.

It was almost too late. The sphere transport opened.

“Clara, go,” Vlad whispered frantically.

The men shifted, ready for battle. They tensed, waiting to see what great foe dared to steal from their mines. A short alien stepped out of the unit and hopped onto the ground. It landed on three stubby legs, using them like a tripod to stand. Translucent skin had a milky-white sheen to it, covering the strange pulsing blue and purple veins beneath. It was impossible to detect the alien’s sex. Tiny arms stretched from the sack-like frame of its gelatinous body. It stood only as tall as their waist.

“No,” Clara protested softly.

The sound of her voice drew the notice of the alien. Its face had humanoid features—two black eyes, a small nose and fat lips. A look of what could only be surprise passed over its face. Vlad dropped his guard by small degrees, waiting to see what the creature would do. The alien screeched, opening its fat mouth wide.

Tomos growled in return. Vlad took a challenging step forward. The alien began to shake, the body spreading thinner as it expanded in size. The screeching grew louder.

“Get her out of here!” Vlad yelled.

“I can’t,” Nolan countered. “She’s…”

Vlad wanted to look but didn’t dare take his eyes off the threat. Growling harshly with his shifted vocal cords, he ordered “Protect my wife!”

The alien slapped his hand forward like an elastic band, striking both Matus and Sven with one swing. Surprised by the creature’s reach and strength, both men lost their footing and fell on the ground.

“What is it?” Tomos asked. Vlad didn’t have an answer. He’d never seen such a being before.

“How do we kill it?” Sven yelled.

Vlad managed to ease his way to the side. He rushed forward, talons and fangs bared, and leapt, aiming for what equated the alien’s chest. Punching as he landed, his hand met viscous flesh. The alien absorbed the blow. It moved with him, enveloping Vlad’s fist and arm within its body. Translucent skin encased him like a tar pit while suctioning him deeper. Vlad used his loose hand to try and claw himself free. A sticky substance flowed over his fingertips. Blood? He couldn’t be sure. The alien’s body tried to absorb him. Strange flesh encompassed his arm then shoulder. Within seconds, he felt it sinking into his mouth to suffocate his breath. Vlad bit down on reflex, hearing a pop as his fangs punctured the being’s skin.