B00CGOH3US EBOK (5 page)

Please, please let there be a back door to this place.

The dragon continued to advance, its large body blocking out what little light there was. Reaching blindly around her, she groped for a hiding place. Could dragons see in the dark? Lord, she hoped not.

She bumped into something heavy, yet not quite solid. It shifted before slithering to the ground beside her. She shrieked and jumped away.

Oh, please don't let it be another dragon.

The beast in front of her roared, its deafening bellow reverberating off the stone walls. Then a bright light flared as fire shot out from its jaws, blinding her. Jill dropped to her knees in a protective crouch, covering her head with her hands as the flame shot over her, instantly heating the cool, damp air.

Long seconds ticked by. When she didn't feel her skin blister and peel from her body or smell the stench of singed hair, Jill raised her head. And her jaw dropped.

Dozens of torches embedded high in the stone walls illuminated the cave's interior with dancing light and shadows. She peeked at the dragon. It still crouched at the entrance, its scales shimmering in the torchlight, watching her. Waiting.

Okay. Why would a dragon need light?

Why, the better to see you so I can eat you, my dear.

Sure, dinner and candlelight—with her as the main course.

The burning torches hissed and somewhere deeper within the cave she heard the sound of trickling water. When the beast made no move to come after her, she rose on unsteady legs.

No quick moves, Jill. Slow and easy.

She'd taken only one step before the beast bolted up and snarled. Startled, Jill stumbled back, falling on her backside amid a mound of cold, shifting metal. Her heart settled in her throat as the dragon lunged at her. She scrambled to her feet and glanced around desperately for a weapon.

She didn't have far to look.

Swords, shields and lances littered the cave. A pile of small, linked metal rings lay in a jumbled heap at her feet. Was that a suit of mail armor she'd just tripped over? Leftovers, no doubt, from some poor, brave knight who tried to slay the dragon and got barbecued instead.

Grabbing the weapon closest at hand, Jill pointed a long sword at the dragon. It stopped, its eyes flaring bright, then frowned at her—or it would have, if it had eyebrows. She managed to hold the sword at chest level for all of five seconds before the weight forced her to lower the point to the ground.

"Damn, that's heavy."

The dragon advanced, a low rumbling growl issuing a dire warning if she ever heard one. Refusing to go down without a fight, Jill gripped the sword with both hands and aimed it at the creature's chest, determined to use it to keep from being lizard lunch if it killed her.

"Stay back or I swear I'll gut you like a biology class frog."

The dragon stopped and tilted its head, then huffed, snorting a tiny puff of smoke out of one nostril. Narrowing its golden eyes at her, the creature eased to its belly. With the sword firmly in her grip, Jill dared to take her eyes off it just long enough to glance around and get her bearings. She was amazed at what she found.

What in the world was this place? The cave was full of…stuff. Besides the medieval weapons, there were hides and tapestries, chests and trunks, bits of furniture piled with plates and goblets, and who knew what else. In the center of the chamber, branches lay stacked in a fire pit, waiting to be lit. Near it, a mound of furs formed an inviting bed to cushion some weary sleeper from the cold stone floor.

Why did a dragon have all these things? Unless…

Someone lived here. Someone human.

Taking a deep breath, Jill called out, "Hello. Anyone here?"

Her voice echoed, sounding pitiful and distant as it faded away into the darkness beyond the torchlight. No one answered. Guess nobody was home in the bat cave. Well, except for her and the mutant salamander with Ginsu knives for teeth.

Deciding to put some much needed space between them, she crept further into the cave.

A small chest caught her eye and she lifted the lid—and almost dropped the sword. A treasure of ancient gold coins and ornate jewels glittered up at her. Running her fingers through the riches, she whistled softly. A tiny fortune at her fingertips.

A quick glance at the dragon reassured her it hadn't moved. Feeling braver, she decided to move on in the hopes there was another way out. Removing a torch from the wall, Jill ventured deeper into the cave, dragging the heavy sword after her and hopefully leaving the Puff-the-very-real-dragon far, far behind.

The first chamber opened up into a large cavern, the flickering light revealing damp slate walls from the lightest gray to deep shades of green, blue-black and rust. Slabs of shattered rock covered the cave floor while jagged stones jutted high overhead, waiting to fall. The dangling shards looked like giant serpent's teeth and she couldn't shake the feeling she'd escaped the jaws of one monster only to be thrust into the gapping mouth of another.

She glanced over her shoulder, reassuring herself that the flesh-and-blood one was still where she left it. The plink-plink of dripping water once again beckoned to her from the back of the cave. Her tongue suddenly felt twice its size and her parched throat constricted, reminding her she'd had nothing to drink since this nightmare started this morning.

Her bare feet screamed in agony as she stumbled over the jagged rocks. Following the call of trickling water, Jill made her way to the back of the cave to find the polished black surface of a subterranean pool, the meager light of her torch failing to illuminate the fathomless bottom. She wedged the torch into a fissure and knelt at the water's edge, the trusty sword at her side. Rinsing as much dirt off her hands as she could, she cupped the cold water to her mouth.

With her thirst quenched, she tried to peer into the shadows beyond the pool. If water could get in, maybe there was an opening large enough for her to get out. But first, she had to get past the mammoth rock formations surrounding the water on each side.

With no flat area to stand on, she edged her way around a large boulder, wedging her fingers into narrow cracks while her feet sought purchase on the slippery rock. A soft, rustling sound unnerved her. Oh, there'd better not be bats in here. One large, demented dragon is about all I can handle right now.

Reaching for another precarious handhold, her toes slid through the slime growing on the surface and she lost her balance. Wavering by one hand, she grappled desperately for anything to hold onto, crying out as she fell backwards and plunged into the icy water.

Jill came up gasping for air, the frigid dunking a sudden, disorienting shock. Finally, her feet located the murky bottom and she stood, surprised to find the pool was only thigh deep. She sloshed her way back to the flat rock she'd started from. Hair dripping and the soaked gown clinging to her chilled body, she wrapped her arms around herself and glared at the water lapping the rock near her toes.

"Damn, that was cold!"

A low growl rumbled behind her and she spun around, nearly tumbling back into the icy pool. How had the dragon snuck up on her without making a sound?

She scrambled for the sword and held it before her. It shook its horned head, advancing as if she wielded nothing more threatening than a toothpick. Jill retreated until the jagged stones of the cave wall poked at her back. Just when she feared it was going to open its massive jaws and finally eat her, sword and all, the dragon turned its attention to the water.

Opening its maw wide, fire erupted from the dragon's mouth, shooting out over the pool like a military flamethrower. Jill watched as it moved the flame back and forth over the surface, the intense heat kicking up tiny waves to lap against the rocky walls. As the sound reached a deafening roar, the dragon snapped its mouth closed, swallowing the fire. It looked at her once, then the creature retreated, leaving her alone at the water's edge.

Bewildered, she turned her attention back to the pool. The once glassy surface now rippled and swirled with small currents, while fingers of whisper-thin steam drifted up from the heated water. Had the dragon understood her remark about the water being cold?

That's ridiculous. It probably saw you shiver.

Jill closed her eyes and mentally berated herself.
Yeah, like that makes sense.

Quaking, the soaked gown dripping a puddle at her feet, she eyed the pool of steaming water and couldn't help imagining it was a giant pot and she was about to become dragon stew.

Ignoring that train of thought, she took advantage of the opportunity and slid back into the water, wading over to the far side. She searched every crack and crevice, even groping along the ledge under the water's surface, but found no rear opening to the cave. It was a dead end. Apparently the only way in or out was blocked by a twenty-foot, fire-breathing dragon.

Her upper body chilled, she crouched down in the middle of the pool where the heated current wrapped around her like a warm blanket. Loose silt from the bottom oozed through her toes but she didn't care. As long as the Creature from the Black Lagoon didn't rise up from the depths, she wasn't going to whine about the little things.

She needed to calm down and think. She had to come up with a plan to get out of here before gator breath got hungry and came looking for its dinner. But how did anybody escape a dragon? They didn't teach this kind of stuff in her Self-Defense 101 class.

But as the water cooled and her chattering teeth resonated through the chamber, she gave up the struggle and pulled herself out onto the rocks. Wondering what to do next, she stood at the water's edge as the wet dress clung to her body, sucking all residual warmth from her limbs. Getting warm and dry was on the top of her list of things to do.

She peeled off the sodden gown, the white material stained beyond repair but at least now free of the thick globs of mud weighing it down. It wasn't until she tossed it on a flat rock that she realized she didn't have anything to wear while it dried.

Well, that's just great. What are you going to do, walk around the cave naked, freezing your butt off? At least now you don't have to worry about the dragon. You'll die of hypothermia before it gets around to eating you…unless it has a sudden craving for a human freezer pop.

A low, strangled noise rumbled through the cavern. Jill glanced at the dragon and froze as her gaze locked with the creature's, unnerved to find it staring at her. Hot flames burned within its golden eyes, its stare was so intense a shiver raced through her body that had nothing to do with the chilly subterranean temperature.

You're being silly
, she chided herself.
It's an animal. Granted, one that shouldn't exist, but an animal all the same. It could care less if you're naked or not.
But convincing herself it was only her imagination was hard to do when its eyes seemed to glow with a barely concealed heat, burning with a needy, aching…hunger.

If she could, Jill would've laughed at herself. A dragon lusting after her? Hardly. It was probably thinking what a nice, fat ass she had to eat.

Grabbing her trusty sword, she staggered toward the pile of furs. Dragon or no dragon, it was a risk she had to take. She had to get warm.

She wrapped herself in one of the skins and curled into a tight ball. The dragon blinked, as if coming out of a trance. It gave her one last, lingering look before lowering its lids and turning away, concealing whatever thoughts a creature like that could have and taking the illusion of their heat with it.

Jill tried to relax. So far, the thing hadn't hurt her, if she didn't count the half a dozen times it had scared her to death. Making sure the sword was close at hand, she glanced once again at the cave entrance. Sitting on its haunches with its back to her, the dragon resembled a big, winged guard dog.

She snuggled deeper into the warm fur, wondering vaguely if it was trying to keep her in or something else out.

Jill awoke with a start.

What time was it? Had she missed Zoe's party? Shaking off the last vestiges of the crazy dragon dream she'd had, she sat up.

And nearly lit herself on fire.

A small blaze crackled next to her, the flames casting everything around her in shadow. As the wood popped and sparks danced like drunken fireflies in the gray smoke, she struggled to make sense of it. Why was she sleeping by a campfire wearing nothing more than a bearskin rug? Slowly, her eyes adjusted and she recognized the jagged walls of her stone prison. So much for it all having been a dream.