Soul of the Dragon (15 page)

She looked at the clock. It would be a long while before Cyrgyn returned. She sighed and headed upstairs for yet another solitary night.
 

Cyrgyn glided silently to the tarmac and approached the hangar cautiously. Dreugan had come to help Alexa learn about magic, and Cyrgyn didn’t know what to expect when he entered. Would the interior be ransacked by power she’d failed to control? Would she be despondent because she had gained nothing?
 

Would the man have comforted her?
 

He gritted his teeth against the thought and waited as the hangar door silently opened. Alexa had rigged a sensor to open it when only he approached. He couldn’t claim to understand the technology, but he did wonder why she couldn’t rig a way for him to close the darn thing from the outside.
 

The hangar was dark when he entered. No light emitted from under Alexa’s door. She’d gone to bed.
 

He did not sleep the rest of the night. He was not by nature—or by condemnation—a nocturnal creature, but when he could not venture forth by day, there was little else to do but sleep.
 

He waited. The sun began to rise, the glow barely seen through the hangar’s tiny windows. Alexa stirred soon after. He waited some more. He’d grown accustomed to waiting.
 

Finally, Alexa emerged from her room, dressed for running. She fixed coffee, then came quietly to the railing and looked down at Cyrgyn.
 

“You’re awake,” she said, moving down the stairs to him. “You came in so late, I thought you’d sleep longer.”
 

“I wanted to see what you learned.”
 

Alexa sighed and leaned against him. “I wish you would warn me when this guy is coming.”
 

“I will try to do so in the future.”
 

“How did you meet him, anyway?”
 

Cyrgyn considered. He did not want to keep ducking her questions, but had to find a vague way to explain his relationship with Dreugan.
 

“I was dwelling in the forest and he came upon me.”
 

“You didn’t cloak?”
 

“It was daylight, and I did not have time. He is an accomplished woodsman.”
 

“A hunter?”
 

“No. He did not try to kill me. He was simply curious.”
 

“And you became friends?”
 

He stayed silent for a long while. “It is an exceedingly lonely existence I live.”
 

Alexa pressed her head against his breast. “I know, Cyrgyn. I’m sorry.”
 

He lifted a forepaw but did not dare embrace her, fearing the damage his claws could do. “Sorry for what, beloved?”
 

She leaned back and wiped her cheek. Her ponytail shook. “I haven’t been taking this
seriously. I’ve been mission-minded, and normally outcomes aren’t my business. I’ve been treating you and Tars and this quest as just another job. But it’s not.” The breath she drew vibrated. “It’s not.”
 

Real hope blossomed suddenly in Cyrgyn’s chest. “I feared you did not realize that.”
 

“I didn’t. I do now.”
 

She looked up at him, and the despair in her eyes killed the flower in his heart.
 

“I’ve gained a human perspective, and lost the objective one. I’m not so confident of the outcome,” she whispered.
 

Cyrgyn wanted to scream his agony. “Alexa…”
 

She put her hand on his neck. “No, that’s enough. We can’t talk about that. I can’t feel it. We
must
succeed.” Her determination was so strong he could feel it flow into him, strengthening his own resolve.
 

Alexa squared her shoulders and stepped back. “Let me show you what I can do.”
 

Despite himself, Cyrgyn chuckled. “You sound like a proud child.”
 

She smiled back at him. “I feel like one. Watch.” She turned in a circle, then stopped with her hand outstretched toward the supply cabinet. The handle turned, and the door sprang open. A gun floated out, then shot across the room to land in her open palm. She gripped it and spun, aiming it at his heart.
 

Cyrgyn reared in surprise, then landed with his foreclaws involuntarily extended. Their screech across the floor lifted the scales on his back.
 

Alexa turned her arm so the gun rested in her palm. “It’s not loaded.”
 

Cyrgyn relaxed. “You surprised me.” He cleared his throat. “I am amazed at the level of your prowess after one training session. Dreugan is better than I thought.”
 

Alexa spun the gun on her forefinger. “How does he know magic?”
 

“There are many people with control of magic, Alexa. It is usually called telekinesis.” He lifted his head and surveyed the hangar. “Show me more.”
 

She shrugged and began a display of her newfound talent. She opened and closed the car door, lifted a discarded sweatshirt and turned it in the air, and moved a chair away from the table.
 

“I don’t have much strength,” she admitted, sitting in the chair. “It’s not hard to get control, though.”
 

“You need practice.” Cyrgyn moved closer. “We need to determine what Tarsuinn is likeliest to use against you, and develop ways to counter it.”
 

“More importantly,” Alexa said, “we need to determine what I can use against him that he can’t counter.”
 

Cyrgyn shook his head. “That will be difficult, I fear.”
 

“I don’t know. I think—”
 

A phone rang. Alexa bounced up and dashed to the stairs. “It’s my family phone.” Alexa wanted to believe the call was from her aunt again, preparing her for another diatribe from her father. But if it was that benign, her instincts wouldn’t be screaming.
 

She snatched the phone from its cradle. “Hello.”
 

“Alexa.” It was Peter. “You’ve gotta come home.”
 

“What’s going on?”
 

“The house. It’s gone.”
 

Alexa’s heart stopped. “What?”
 

“Fire.” Now she realized Peter was gasping. “There was a fire.”
 

“Is everyone okay?” Ancient fears began to take shape. Demons she’d thought long beaten began their taunting dance again. Terror—old and new—choked her in the few seconds before Peter answered.
 

“We’re okay. Aunt Ethel is in the hospital for smoke inhalation, but it’s just a precaution. Dad has some burns on his hand because he tried to get some papers from his office. But he was treated and released.”
 

Alexa let the adrenaline ebb. “I’ll get the first plane out.” Thunder rumbled across the sky. “Damn it.”
 

“What’s the matter?”
 

“A storm’s coming in. I’ll call you when I have a flight.”
 

“I’ll meet you at the airport.”
 

“No, stay where you’re needed. I’ll rent a car. Call me if anything else happens.” She started to hang up. “Wait. Peter?”
 

“Yeah?”
 

“What started the fire?”
 

“Well…” His reluctance to tell her was odd.
 

“Peter, was it your fault?” Alexa tried to be gentle but it came out with typical big-sister sharpness.
 

“No! It was just weird. I’ll tell you when you get here.”
 

“Tell me now.” Alexa immediately changed her mind. “No, you’re right, tell me later. Let me call the airlines.”
 

She made a few calls but got so frustrated with hold times and a lack of service she booted up her computer and went online to search. Only two flights were going to Seattle from St. Paul, and both were delayed. She called the airport and was told severe weather was keeping them grounded indefinitely. They probably wouldn’t fly until tomorrow.
 

“Damn it!” Alexa pounded her fist on the desk, then kicked her chair. It spun across the floor, heading for the top of the stairs. She whipped out a strand of energy and halted it at the top.
 

Cyrgyn rested his chin on the railing. “You are right. You have excellent control.”
 

Alexa didn’t care. She stomped into her room and began throwing clothes into a bag. “I know Tars is behind this.”
 

“Behind what?”
 

She told him about the fire.
 

“It could be coincidence,” Cyrgyn said, but didn’t look like he believed it.
 

“No.” She spun out of the bedroom and into the bathroom and randomly grabbed toiletries. It didn’t matter if she took two toothbrushes and no toothpaste. She doubted she’d have time for anything so mundane as brushing her teeth.
 

“I’ll have to drive,” she muttered. “Maybe I can get to another city and get a flight from there.”
 

She yanked the zipper closed on the canvas bag and rushed downstairs. She shoved the chair back on her way by. This time it hit the kitchen cabinet.
 

“Alexa.”
 

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, impatient. “What?”
 

Cyrgyn unfurled his wings partway and wiggled them. After a second Alexa realized
what he meant, and smiled. “Very cool.” Then she frowned. “Won’t you be seen?”
 

“The storm will help. This is important.”
 

They went outside and she secured the hangar. “I hope Ryc won’t show up while we’re gone and set off the alarm.”
 

“He will not.” Cyrgyn crouched and looked over his left shoulder. “Step in the crook of my foreleg and swing over my back.”
 

Alexa eyed him and tried to gauge height. “I don’t know…”
 

“Your leg is long enough. Take hold of the spine at the base of my neck for leverage.”
 

Alexa swung the bag strap over her shoulder and across her chest. She lifted her left foot and set it in the bend of the dragon’s leg, then lifted. Once she was at full extension she could grab the pyramid-shaped spine at the base of his neck. Unlike some artists’ depictions of dragons, Cyrgyn had spines only on his neck and tail, not on his back, a fact she was grateful for as she swung her right leg up and pulled herself over the top in one motion.
 

His scales at this spot were harder than the ones on his underside, the ones she’d felt before. They weren’t as warm and flesh-like. She imagined they were more protective and had less of a need to be flexible.
 

As soon as she settled the bag on her back, Cyrgyn’s giant wings spread, his muscles bunched under her thighs, and he leaped into the air.
 

Alexa immediately forgot about the fire and her father’s and aunt’s injuries. She forgot her worry over Tars and her suspicions of Ryc. For the first few minutes after they became airborne, she felt free, almost euphoric.
 

Cyrgyn’s wings beat next to her in long, even strokes as they climbed through clouds. It only took seconds for them to be above the massing storm and in bright sunlight.
 

Alexa had flown in gliders and had airborne training, though she’d never dived during a mission. Nothing could compare to this soaring, especially when Cyrgyn banked to angle northwest. Through a break in the clouds she could see some of Minnesota’s famous lakes surrounded by tall evergreens. It was the most beautiful scenery, viewed without the barrier of an airplane window.
 

“How can you give this up?” she wondered aloud, not expecting Cyrgyn to hear her in the rush of wind.
 

“You know the answer.”
 

His voice was clearly audible despite the noise in her ears. She immediately regretted opening her mouth.
 

“I will miss the sky, I admit,” he added. Alexa could hear the smile in his voice and relaxed.
 

It was a three-and-a-half-hour flight from St. Paul to Seattle by airplane. Alexa figured it would take twice as long by dragon, and settled in for the long haul.
 

After about an hour of flying they were in heavy, but stormless, cloud cover. Cyrgyn was pleased.
 

“As you know, I cannot cloak in full sunlight. The clouds will help us avoid detection.”
 

“What about radar?” she asked.
 

“I do not know how I appear on radar,” he said, “but no one has attempted to shoot me down. If I avoid general flight paths, we should be safe.”
 

Before Alexa knew it, they were flying over the Rockies. The view took Alexa’s breath
away despite the clouds. The peaks jutted high above the low-hanging cover, and Alexa felt like she could reach out and grab a fistful of snow.
 

With that thought, the chill of the air made her shiver and she realized how cold it had gotten. She pulled her bag around to the front and unzipped it. Her sweatshirt-lined windbreaker was at the bottom, and the bag almost fell off Cyrgyn’s neck before she managed to get it out.
 

She slid back a little and balanced the bag across his withers while she struggled into the jacket and flipped up the hood. Then, unable to combat her drooping eyelids, she leaned forward and looped her arms around the bag, then gripped the pyramid-shaped spine.
 

“Is that okay?” she murmured. At Cyrgyn’s assent she let her head drop and fell immediately to sleep.
 

She awoke when Cyrgyn’s even flight changed. She lifted her head and felt wisps of cloud whip past them as Cyrgyn descended. He must be taking a break. She leaned to look down, and her jaw dropped as she saw his destination.