the wall, directing his headlamp onto the ice. There was a sudden silence as all of them caught their breath. The creature encased in ice was large, an enormous beast with scales covering its body, a wedge-shaped head, a serpentine neck, and a long tail ending in a sharp spike. The wings were folded in close along the body. It had sharp claws for rending and tearing. One eye was wide open and staring at them through the more than ten-feet-thick wall of ice. The ice was so thick, the creature was somewhat distorted.
Joie let her breath out slowly. “That’s no dinosaur.”
“It has to be,” Gabrielle said. “It can’t be a dragon. Don’t tell me it’s a dragon.” She looked to Traian for answers. “Please tell me it’s possible that the air is bad down here and we’re all having a mass hallucination. That there aren’t vampires. You can’t change your shape, and there aren’t dragons.”
“I wish I could, Gabrielle,” Traian replied gently.
She shook her head and touched the ice with a gloved hand. “It is truly beautiful. No one will ever believe us either.”
“Is it real, Traian?” Jubal asked. There was awe, even reverence, in his voice.
“Yes. It is real. I had no idea it was down here.” Traian approached the ice wall, his gaze moving over the large dragon. Like Gabrielle, he put his hand on the wall, but there was something much more intimate, more than awe, more than reverence, a kind of loving tribute. “I have not seen a dragon in hundreds of years.”
Gabrielle gasped and stepped away from him, moving closer to Jubal as if for protection. They exchanged a long look, but Traian didn’t seem to notice. Joie couldn’t take her eyes from the rapt look on his face.
“Do you think this is what the vampires are looking for?” Joie asked.
Traian shook his head. “They have no interest in the remains of a dragon. But this is definitely a cave the mages use or used to use. I suspected as much. It could be a gold mine of information for our people. Mages have incredible power and knowledge. They probably are the ones to capture and ultimately kill and preserve this dragon. As a rule, dragon-kind destroyed all evidence of their existence.”
“Why would they want to kill such a beautiful creature?” Gabrielle asked.
“Why do humans kill big bats and rhinos? The belief is, certain animals have magical powers. The dragon has long been gone from this earth. Shape-shifters can take the form, but they do not have the wisdom and power of a true dragon—well, there is a lineage in our people—the Dragonseekers—and they have enormous power and some say matching wisdom. Long ago there was a legendary Dragonseeker, some say, whose lifemate was a shape-shifting dragon. How true that was, no one really knows.” He shrugged. “Perhaps it is so.”
“If it’s true that the mages used dragons for power, wouldn’t it be conceivable that vampires would want to do the same?” Gabrielle speculated.
“One would think,” Traian acknowledged. “It would be terrifying to think that the vampires might get hold of any of the power the mages wielded. But no, they would not have the ability to use such a resource as a true dragon. One has to have the natural talent—to be mage-born.”
“You do incredible things,” Joie pointed out.
“I am of the earth and she grants me certain gifts, but the type of thing we are speaking of is entirely different. The power can come from evil just as well as from good.”
“Can you get it out of there?” Joie asked.
“Not without possibly bringing tons of ice down on us. It is best to leave this place quickly.” Traian turned when Jubal stepped away from the wall to wander across the gallery, drawn by an alcove filled with what looked like ancient, twisted wood.
“Do not touch anything,” Traian warned sharply. “We must be very careful in here. The mages used spells and traps to guard what belonged to them.”
“That’s what you meant when you said the bridge could be a trap. You thought the mages had made it,” Jubal said.
“You saw that the bank was a trap. That was not natural, the illusion of a solid wall of ice was too good. They are masters at such things.”
Gabrielle held up her hand. “Wow we’re talking about things found in fantasy books. Legends. Myths. There has never been evidence of dragons existing. Not even when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. And yet we’re standing right