know better than to kill their own young, and roaches know better than to seek their own gender to find a mate. It is time for dragons to bring sanity to the world, and soon we will have the means to enforce our will.”
Rubbing out the tiny blaze with his shoe, Walter scowled at the dragon. “I don’t like the sound of that. Sure, there are a lot of rats in this world, but I wouldn’t want a bigger rat telling them what to do.”
“Your offense is expected. You are human and therefore destined to submit and obey.” Arramos turned back to Thigocia and Ashley. “The two of you, on the other hand, will take your places as queens in the new world order. This is your reward for choosing to keep your dragon essence when you could have become human.”
Thigocia laid her wing over Walter’s back. “My husband was convinced that the Maker created us to serve humanity. Our son, Goliath, rebelled and made war against the human race. Makaidos was a noble dragon, filled with integrity and truth. Goliath, though he was our scales and bones, was a demon-possessed liar.” As she drew her wing back from Walter, she spat her own wad of fire on the ground. “Whom do you think I believe and trust?”
“You do well to honor my son,” Arramos said. “He was noble, pure, and filled with integrity. Yet, much has changed since you last saw him, events that he could not have told you.” He unfurled his wings. “I know where Roxil is. Let me take you to her, and you will learn that I speak the truth. There is a great danger brewing that I will reveal once I receive your compliance, but I cannot wait long.”
Thigocia stretched out her wings as well. “If Roxil is alive, I will find her myself. The Maker will lead me to her.”
Arramos’s voice sharpened, spiced with a growl. “The Maker sent me to lead you to her. This is the answer to a prayer you could not even utter. Do not cast aside his favor and forsake your daughter once again.”
“I do not believe you!” Thigocia swung her tail around and thumped it on the grass near Arramos. “I will learn the truth without you. You have no monopoly on knowledge.”
“Do not let your ignorance be magnified by your arrogance!” Arramos brought his head within a few feet of Thigocia’s. His eyes blazed once again. “I cannot force you to obey the Maker, but I can make it more difficult for you to refuse.”
Suddenly, the foundation began collapsing underneath Karen. She fell forward, clawing for solid ground. “Walter!” she screamed. “Help!”
Dropping the sword, Walter dove for her, but just as his fingers touched hers, she plunged out of sight into the darkness of a manhole-sized pit. As his momentum carried him into the opening, Ashley leaped for him, wrapped her arms around his ankles, and slid toward the hole. With a lightning-fast lunge, Thigocia snatched Walter’s jacket with her teeth and yanked him back to safe ground, Ashley still hanging on.
The two teens scrambled to their feet. Walter grabbed Excalibur and pointed it at Arramos, his face as red as the dragon’s scales. “Where is she?!”
Arramos blinked casually. “She is falling, so she is quite safe. Frightened out of her mind, I am sure, but unharmed.” A new toothy smile spread across his face. “Until, of course, she hits the jagged rocks at the bottom.”
“Hits the jagged rocks?” Walter shouted. “When?”
“Fifteen seconds.” Arramos turned to Thigocia. “Will you come with me? All I need is your word, because I know you will not lie.”
“You mean if I don’t come with you …”
“She will die in ten seconds.”
“But how will you stop her from falling?”
“Five seconds!” Arramos thumped his tail. “Will your doubts cause her death?”
Thigocia bowed her head. “I will go!”
A silvery tongue flicked from Arramos’s mouth. “A wise choice.”
Brilliant light erupted from the depths of the pit, then disappeared in a flash. From far below, a loud crunching racket churned closer and closer. A steep rocky path appeared in the dim light, climbing upward and winding its way around a central stone column that arose along with it. When the path reached the upper edge, it molded itself into stairs—steep, uneven stairs that descended in a tight spiral and disappeared in the darkness.
“Just follow the staircase,” Arramos said, nodding at the spiral, “and you will find the girl at the bottom, safe and unharmed,