Dani swallowed. The pain in his voice—her mind made the leap. “Ash.”
He nodded. “Thiss mights be ours only chance to finds him.”
She thought of her dream. “Do—do you think he’s still okay?” If that dream had any basis in reality—the golden Dragon was dying. He couldn’t afford to wait for Dani to get well. “We have to help him.”
Jacques cleared his throat and stood. The Satyr appeared nervous as he snatched a potsticker. “I should be going as well,mon amie.”
It suddenly occurred to Dani that the Satyr had given her information that he perhaps shouldn’t have. A fact that Tyrez had no doubt picked up upon.
“I needs yous to sstay,” Tyrez rumbled.
“Or... Not. I suppose these potstickers shouldn’t go to waste. But why am I staying?”
“Keeps Dani company. Yous seems to be doing as good job of it.” A turquoise eye gleamed at him. The Dragon was no fool.
Jacques sat down rather fast, and choked on his bite of potsticker.
Tyrez turned to Cara. “I needs yous to comes with me.”
Cara crossed her arms. “We’re going to look at dead Dragons, aren’t we?”
“We’re going tos look ats dead Dragonss,” Tyrez agreed.
Cara sighed. “You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”
Tyrez snorted. “It hass been ssome time ssince anyones could calls yous a girl.”
“Watch it, lizard. I have powers you have yet to see.”
The Dragon sighed. “Ofs that, I haves little doubt.” He cast a glance up the path Razir had taken.
“I will close the gate from this end,” Cara promised. “Just until we get back.”
“They have others,” Jacques pointed out.
“None lead here. Using the others will take time. We won’t be gone long.” Cara eyed Tyrez. “Will we?”
“Onlys ifs yous keep talking.”
“Can’t I go, too?” Dani would rather accompany them than stay here with Jacques. She pushed herself to her feet, and swayed as a wave of exhaustion swept over her.
Cara examined her with a practiced eye. “I think before you sweep me away,” she said to Tyrez, “we should help Dani back to bed.”
Jacques perked up, his long ears twitching.
“Alones,” Tyrez added, looming over the Satyr. “Yous can sstand guards froms the living room.”
“You”—Jacques complained as Cara helped Dani to her feet—“are absolutely no fun at all.”
28
Tyrez stared up the mountain as Cara crouched over one of many dead Dragons littering the ground.
At least the cold temperatures near the Karank fortress kept the bodies frozen. Otherwise, the stench would have been overpowering. He shivered—his human body felt the cold more than his Dragon one, but the scales made it bearable.
Just.
Seen the second time around, the Dragons’ deaths were even more alarming. The annihilating pulse that had hit him in the cemetery had also brought the fortress down, as well as knocking Sirki from the sky. It had left a distinctive energy signature and scorched paths through both his and Sirki’s scales.
