Battle Ground, Indiana

Claire's mouth fell open. When Cyrus dropped into her life, she thought his death was the worst problem on her hands. Now she realized something more was at stake—an entire kingdom. Dragonwall was in danger. All the air went out of her. It was a lot to process.

In a few short days, she had learned enough about Dragonwall to fall in love with it—a world she had never seen and struggled to imagine. And even though it may not have been her world, she felt...protective. "Why do the wraiths want to destroy Dragonwall?" she asked, her voice a mere squeak.

"It is not they who want to destroy it. Vodar wraiths have no desires, save to be left alone in their disgusting wasteland of Undirfold. But come now, let us save these grim matters for another time. I need to rest and let my breakfast settle."

"Seriously?" Her skin flushed with anger. She was done playing nice. She wanted some answers and she wanted them now. "After everything I've done for you? You asked me to keep your existence a secret, so I have. I've fed you. I've clothed you. I've given you a place to stay. I saved your life, for goodness sake. The least you can do is give me answers. You've been secretive about everything. What's going on? If we're both in danger, then I have a right to know." She hesitated, breathing hard. "Besides, what have you got to lose by telling me?"

His shoulders slumped. "Fine. I will tell you, but on one condition."

"Which is?"

"You must allow me to rest for now. I promise I will tell you. Soon."

"Later today?"

"If you so wish."

She swallowed. "Okay. All right. Go rest."

Instead of going to his room, he went into the living room and plopped down on the couch, sighing. She watched him from the shadowy hallway, wondering if by rest he meant, turn into a living statue. When he didn't move, she went to the coffee table and picked up the remotes to the television and stereo system.

"How about some T.V. while you sit here doing...nothing?"

"What's tee-fee?" He looked up at her. Innocent—so innocent.

"This," she grunted, turning on the television to flip through a few channels. Cyrus sprang from the couch as though it were a pincushion and grimaced. His discomfort was quickly replaced by a look of disbelief. Sometimes she forgot how little he knew of her world.

"What in the name of all the gods is that thing?" He pointed at the television like it was a monster.

"You'll see." Her eyes watered as she held back laughter.

After flipping through some channels, she settled on an action movie—Bruce Willis's Die Hard. An absolute classic by her standards. It was in the middle of the shooting scene where John McClane gets busy machine-gunning the baddies, running all over broken glass.

Cyrus moved over to the television and examined it. "There are people inside," he muttered to himself, touching the screen. "How did they get in there?" He looked behind it, then back at the screen, then behind it once more. It wasn't a window. He got down on his knees to watch, his face inches from the screen. He couldn't take his eyes off the sequence playing out.

"You know, it's bad to watch that close," she warned him, completely amused. "You'll burn your retinas out."

He hummed, hardly listening. He raised his hand and laid his palm across the screen to touch it. His eyebrows drew tightly together. "Amazing. Your world never ceases to surprise me."

She stood by for a little while, letting him have his moment. He would probably sit there all day if she let him. "All right. That's enough. Come lay down. You can watch from here."

She led him back to the couch to lie down.

Upstairs, she took a seat at her computer. Another day of tedious job applications. Today was technically her official day off, even though she'd skipped work all week. Keeping Leah and her boss off her back had become quite the task. She loved Leah. Her best friend meant everything to her, but she'd promised Cyrus that she would keep his existence a secret.

After he disappeared, she would tell Leah everything, but not until he was good and gone. She silently prayed that by gone, he would be rescued and not...She shook her head. Thinking about his death was too much.

When lunch rolled around, Cyrus was asleep on the couch, so she turned off the television and left him a sandwich on the coffee table. The fridge was nearly empty. Cyrus had eaten her out of house and home. She left him a quickly scribbled note and took off to the grocery store, but only after recovering her car, which sat unused on the side of the east field for the last five days. And since it was stuck in the dirt, she had to use the tractor to pull it out.

When she returned, she found Cyrus awake, feasting on the food she'd left. She quickly put away the groceries and took a seat in the arm chair to watch him. He didn't even look at her as he scarfed down the remainder of his sandwich. Then he stretched out once more on the sofa, sighing contentedly, and fell asleep.

Not a single word. Not one! She exhaled loudly, forced to push her annoyance away and remember that patience was a virtue.

It wasn't until the end of their dinnertime feast—and feast it was because she'd pulled out all the stops—that he finally addressed the question he promised to answer during breakfast. He began by telling her about a secret mission assigned to him by his king, and how it had gone terribly wrong. "King Talon believed the stones were threatened. He sent me to retrieve them before they fell into the wrong hands," he explained. "All along we believed this thief was merely a minor threat. We had no idea what he was capable of."

He spoke of his journey into the Gable Forest, an enchanted forest where the Stones were hidden for years beyond measure. The Gable Forest was a place where Sprites lived. These beings were considered mysterious because they never ventured beyond their forest. Cyrus's description made her think of elves.

After he obtained the Stones, Cyrus left the Sprite city of Esterpine and began his trip home. "I believed all was well," he said, frowning. "I believed my mission was a success." His lips pressed into a thin line. "I was not prepared for what happened next."

He was confronted by a thief. "His name is Kane."

Kane. Her skin prickled. She suppressed a shudder.

"He's old. Far older than any of my kind, and he is powerful—capable of summoning Vodar from the depths of Undirfold. In truth, I am lucky to be alive after facing him." He shook his head, clearly surprised to have escaped with his life. "Kane will do anything and stop at nothing to obtain these stones."

"But...why? Why does he need them to destroy your kingdom? How exactly do they work?" Part of her was afraid to know.

"There are five stones in total. I have two. If all five are brought together, my race will be finished. We will become nothing more than a memory and a monument to the landscape."

"You'll all die?! Cyrus, that's...that's horrible!"

"When the Dragon Stones are brought into contact with each other, every living being of draconic descent will turn back into the stone forms from whence we originated."

"Stone? But that would suggest that dragons were made from—"

"From stone. Yes. We were—the first dragons were. Or so the chroniclers have written."

"And he wants to do this to you? This Kane person? He wants to kill all the dragons?" Her heart raced at the thought. He sounded like the epitome of a storybook's perfect villain. Dragons were beautiful creatures. Cyrus was noble and kind. Why would anyone want to kill them?

Cyrus was silent for a moment before shaking his head. "It would seem so at first—that he simply wants to annihilate us. But I had a deeper glimpse into Kane's plans. While it is true that he could easily destroy us with all five stones, he could also exert great power over us simply by possessing them. There is not a single living soul that can attest to the scope of capabilities that wielding the stones will bring."

"So Kane wants power."

"Andalynn sem haldai an Gorrkevi valdi an dreki." Strange words rolled off his tongue. They echoed in her ears, almost familiar, as if she had heard them before.

"Dreki," she repeated. "It was written on the the back of the coins you gave me. But...what does all that mean?"

"It means 'He who holds the Stones controls the dragons.'"

She processed his words. If someone gained the ability to control all of dragon kind, how would any one stand against them? The night she had held the Stones, one feeling dominated all others. Power. No wonder keeping these remaining stones away from Kane was such a big deal.

"He can't have them, Cyrus." Her heart thumped. Passion for Dragonwall welled up inside of her. "You've got to protect them, no matter what."

"Aye. This I know. Why do you think I fled Dragonwall through the Gate?" Especially when he knew such a thing was against the kingdom's laws. But the law—old as it was—was not a good enough excuse to let the Stones fall into Kane's hands. He had no other choice.

"I was cornered at the edge of the kingdom. And within me, I had little strength left to fight. The pursuit of my assailants was relentless. Never have I flown so far at such great speeds without rest." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, his dark hair brushing his shoulders. He ran a hand through it, pulling at the tangles.

"Their master ordered them to kill me and retrieve the Stones, so they do as he commands. They will stop at nothing. My being alive is a threat to Kane's very existence. It is a risk he cannot afford to take. He wishes to remain in the shadows, until the time is right, until he is ready. Only then will he strike and reveal his identity. Woe to those in his path when he does." He shut his eyes. Little creases appeared.

"So...no one else knows about Kane? Only you? You didn't warn anyone? But that means..."

"No one will know what strikes them when it does. As unfortunate as it is, Kane's first planned attack, the one I saw in his mind, is intended for the city of Belnesse." He took a deep breath. "Kane intends..." He shook his head and pursed his lips.

"But then, why didn't you warn anyone. Why—"

"Distance, Claire. I can only send my voice so far."

"What—what do you mean?"

"We Drengr are telepathic."

Her eyes widened, though it shouldn't have come as a surprise, considering everything else. "Cyrus, you said that the Vodar would stop at nothing." She hated saying their name. It left her stomach twisting. "You said they would follow their master's commands, and that Kane would do anything necessary to get the Stones from you, even kill you."

He gazed at her in silence.

"Why then did they disappear after hurting you? Why didn't they just simply finish the job?"

"Did I not ask you that same question?"

"Well, yes, but I thought maybe you might have worked out an answer by now."

"Hardly. They will be back. I will die by their hand, I can feel it in my heart."

Die....

The word echoed in her mind. Her stomach plummeted. "Someone will come for you."

Cyrus pushed his dinner plate away from him, propping his arms up on the table. "No one is coming, Claire. It would seem that my part in this tale is nearly over."

A strange look came over him. She had seen it before. He was fighting an internal battle again.

"What...what is it?" she ventured.

He opened his mouth, then shook his head. "Is it wrong of me to withhold my insight for fear of voicing the truth?"

"What do you mean? What insight?"

He sighed. "What I mean is, I believe that I have discerned the next turn this story must take. Only, I am afraid of the path." He lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "Terrified, to be honest."

Her eyebrows pulled together. "Cyrus..."

"I think the time has come. I must share with you what I know—what I believe. I hope you are ready to hear it."

"Cyrus, you're...you're scaring me."

He finally looked up at her. "I believe..." He reached around his neck to untie the leather pouch, which he held out to her even though she made no move to take it. "I believe that it is you who must take up my burden. You must protect the Dragon Stones and keep them from Kane. My journey ends here. I will never make it back to my kingdom alive." 

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