Walter’s face blazed even hotter. “You’re the monster that made her fall!” Excalibur’s beam shot from the end of the blade. “Why should we do anything you say?”
Arramos slapped his wrist again with his fiery rope, knocking the sword from his hand. “Will you stand here stubbornly and play the foolish child? You are free to insult me until your useless anger is appeased, but that will not help your friend while she lies at the bottom in need of your aid!”
As Walter rubbed the welt on his wrist, the scarlet color spread to his ears. He bent over slowly and picked up Excalibur, glaring at Arramos but saying nothing. After resheathing the sword, he stepped gingerly on the first stair and looked back at Ashley and Thigocia. “Seems sturdy enough. Who’s coming with me?”
“Wait a minute!” Ashley set her hands on her hips and leaned toward Arramos. “Using your convoluted logic, now that we’re worried sick about Karen, we should just do anything you say. Give me one good reason to believe that this isn’t a trap to get rid of us, too.”
“Allow your mother to check,” Arramos half closed his eyes. “If her danger-sensing ability is as unerring as she believes, you will learn that the way is safe.”
Thigocia scanned the pit with her eyebeams, then pushed her head into the darkness as far as she could. After sniffing for a few seconds, she withdrew and looked at Ashley. “I sense no danger, but who can tell how long that will last? And I cannot go with you to warn of any approaching danger. The opening is much too narrow for a dragon.”
Ashley crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the ground. Another life-or-death decision. Should she go with Walter or not? Her mother would be able to take care of herself, wouldn’t she? Still, Arramos seemed to have a lot more power than any other dragon, so who could tell what he might do to her? But Walter could run into all sorts of trouble, even with Excalibur. He wasn’t exactly a superstar swordsman yet, and could he take care of Karen by himself? Wouldn’t Karen feel better with her adoptive sister nearby?
Finally, Ashley took a deep breath and touched Thigocia’s wing. “Mother, I’d better go with Walter. You understand, don’t you?”
“Of course I understand, but where will you go after you get Karen, and how will I find you again?”
Ashley leaned close to her mother’s ear and whispered so quietly, she could barely hear her own words. “I’m not sure, but if we’re not here when you come back, go to the Bannisters’ house and find Larry. I’ll stay in touch with him through my tooth transmitter.”
Walter joined the huddle. “Don’t forget. I have a cell phone in my pocket. I don’t know what kind of signal we’ll have, but it should work once we’re back up here.”
A large tear dripped from Thigocia’s eye and fell to the ground, a line of vapor rising in its wake. “Take care, my daughter. Losing you again would be more than I could bear.”
Ashley reached into her pocket for her tissue and clenched it tightly. Her voice trembled. “Don’t worry,” she said, patting Walter on the back. “I have a warrior with me.”
Unfurling her wings, Thigocia turned back to Arramos. “You have my compliance. Before we depart, tell us about this great danger you mentioned.”
The male dragon’s eyes widened. Tiny dark circles formed at the center of his red pupils. “An ancient enemy is plotting to merge Heaven and Earth, which will likely bring the most terrible cataclysm the world has ever seen. He is crafty and powerful, and humans will be unable to stop him, so we dragons must go to battle against him before we can take our place as global peacemakers.”
Thigocia nodded. “Lead on, Arramos, if that is your real name. If your word is true, there is no reason to delay. If it is false, then I want to learn of your treachery as soon as possible while keeping you in my targeting sites.”
“O ye of little faith,” Arramos growled. “Soon you will learn the truth.” He beat his wings and lifted off the ground.
As the two dragons rose toward the low-lying clouds, Ashley and Walter gazed at their sleek, graceful forms. “Think he’s telling the truth?”
“About Roxil or about the so-called danger?”
“Either one.” Walter’s eyes stayed focused on the dragons as they shrank