"We all have specialized powers. A technique that we've mastered that others cannot," he informed me, "My special power, is the ability to absorb other gifts. I don't take them but I'm able to replicate them. That's how I was able to seem like Aleksander last year. My dad used his powers on me and I was able to replicate them. I gathered a collection of unique gifts, I can never perfectly replicate the gift. It'll always seem significantly inferior compared the original witch or warlock who mastered it- but I can still use it."

I was about to open my mouth when he answered my unasked question. "And before you ask: No, I cannot replicate any of your other powers. Just teleportation. Even then there are flaws, I can only activate that power when I'm touching you."

I was astounded. If Dmitri was telling the truth, then he was like a male version of Rogue from the X-men. But if he was lying then I was being a big fool.

"How do I know you're telling the truth," my voice was stern and uncompromising.

"I could read your mind, like Maddox." He suggested casually.

My eyes bugged out. I hated the thought of Maddox digging around in my mind, it would be even worse if Dmitri invaded my privacy. Hastily shaking my head, I forced him to choose another gift.   

"Fine," he pouted like a child that was deprived of their candy.

"I'll try Alix's power instead."

I almost thought he was pulling my leg until his bright blue eyes became milky white. Incoherent words escaped from his lips as he searched through the future. An overwhelming amount of fear hit me like a truck as Dmitri started to shake. His body inched towards the edge of the cliff as he convulsed uncontrollably. I was only able to make out one word before he fell, "Dragon."
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Caddie's POV:

Dmitri tumbled over the edge of the cliff just like the small pebbles that had fallen earlier. Falling to my knees, I leaned forward. My brain was a jumbled mess as I tried to think of possible solutions. Time seemed to stop as I stared at his beautiful face. His crystal blue eyes were still glazed over, as if he were in the middle of the vision. That vision would end soon, when he reached the pool of lava.

My eyes quickly darted from his face to my hands, there was nothing I could do to help him. Black magic was used to hurt people, not help them. Anger coursed within in me as I helplessly watched Dmitri fall to his death. I felt like I was in the tunnel again and I was watching Cam's dead body being dragged away. There was nothing I could do but watch as another friend died.

A dark shadow flew over my head, breaking me from my sullen thoughts. Looking up at the cavern's ceiling, I tried to see the creature flew past me but I was only met with the sight of jagged rocks. My anger started dissipate as hope blossomed in my chest. Dmitri had mentioned a dragon before he fell, I remembered, perhaps Murphy was going to come out and play. I distantly remembered the old woman telling me that Murphy didn't like most people. Hopefully he would make an exception for me.

The dark shadow reappeared as Murphy glided above the surface of the river. The glowing lava illuminated his dark purple scales, bringing life to the mysterious shadow. With his black wings were fanned out like a paraglide and snout leveled with the surface, the dragon felt completely at ease as Dmitri inched closer to the lava. Whereas I, was a squabbling mess. Just move a little to left, I internally instructed the dragon. I would have told Murphy with my mouth but at the time I could only let out pig like squeals.

"Ugh!" I screamed and covered my eyes with my hands. I didn't not want to see Dmitri become warlock soup. Not that Murphy would eat him, he'd probably taste sour.

"Oh my god!" Dmitri screamed seconds later.

I waited to hear the splash and sizzling sound of flesh- but nothing happened. Lowering my hands into my nap, I looked over the edge and gasped at what I saw. Murphy was gliding leisurely across the lava river with a horrified Dmitri lying on his back. I would have laughed at Dmitri's comical expression if it weren't for the fact that he nearly plummeted to his death.

"Good boy Murphy!" I cheered.

Hearing my voice dragon's head whipped around and he immediately changed his flight course. Dmitri fell forward and clutched Murphy's scales to keep him from falling. A smile formed on my face as the wing beast flew up to the cliff. The strange mix of Dmitri bone-shaking fear and Murphy's contagious excitement made me feel giddy on the inside. I couldn't help but believe that this was a sign. Murphy caught Dmitri before he died- that had to mean we had some good luck.

"Y-you know the dragon?" Dmitri asked, sounding like a sniffling child.

I stepped forward and rested my cheek against Murphy's broad forehead. A low noise sounded in Murphy's chest, it was either a growl or a purr. And since he didn't make any moves to bite my head off, I was confident he was purring like a cat.

"Awe," I cooed, "Murphy's not that bad. He's kind of like the lava river's life guard."

Scratching my nails against his scales, I coddled him like a puppy and whispered endearments. Not only had the dragon saved Dmitri but he had saved me earlier that day too. I wanted to give him a treat until I remembered what the old woman had said about his eating habits.

"I'm surprised Murphy saved you," the old woman told me, with amusement coloring her tone. "He prefers to eat the objects that fall into the lava, not save them."

It was in the best interest of Castle Böse's guests to not give Murphy a treat.

"Not that bad?" Dmitri bellowed, "He is a fire breathing dragon!"

Dmitri was outraged by my sweet sentiments. He faintly resembled a fly. The blue eyes, that I normally adored, had enlarged to a comical size. His lips were parted, almost as if he wanted to say something but he couldn't form the words. It was refreshing to see one of the Prince's of smooth moves being at a loss for words.

"He just saved your life. I understand that it can be scary at first but he's a good dragon." I conveniently left out the part where he usually feeds off the unfortunate souls that fall into the river. What Dmitri didn't know wouldn't hurt him, I rationalized.

"Whatever," he huffed, "Just help me off of him. We need to find a way out of this castle."

Pulling away from Murphy, I squinted my eyes and studied the majestic animal. My smile widened, almost to a painful extent as a wild thought popped into my head. Dmitri shook his head furiously when he saw my smile. It was almost as if I had a light bulb hanging above my head, warning him that I had gotten an idea.

"Nope," I popped the 'p'. "There's no reason for you to get off. You're sitting on our way out."

Anxiety and anger bubbled inside of Dmitri. I hated that combination solely because it led to temper tantrums. After working at a diner for two years,
I had experienced and witnessed many meltdowns. All of which begin with two very destructive emotions; anxiety and anger. I refused to waist precious time on Dmitri's unstable emotions. Either he sat on the dragon like a man or he could teleport himself back to his room.

"Caddie-" he started to cry but I cut him off.

A black sphere of fire flew past Dmitri's head, grazing his ear by only a millimeter. Dmitri's words transformed into outraged growl when he saw me launch a fireball at him. I couldn't bring myself to care whether or not I offended him. All that mattered was that he had stopped whining.

"You could have incinerated me!"

I rolled my eyes and climbed on top of Murphy's head. Murphy let out an agitated snort when I accidentally kicked him in the snout. I nearly fell off twice before I situated myself properly on his long neck. It was embarrassing at first but neither Murphy or Dmitri seemed to care. It was my first time ever mounting a dragon. Nox Haven had classes for speaking to ogres but they didn't have Dragon flying 101. I made a mental note to file a complaint once Nox Haven was reconstructed.

"Listen," I told Dmitri, "You were the one who wanted me to come along on this little adventure. I am not responsible for any injuries you may sustain along the way."

Dmitri didn't say anything in return, which was probably for the best since he was still wallowing in his anger. Instead he briefly closed his eyes and conjured up another power. Keeping his eyes carefully trained on Murphy's head, it seemed like he was trying to transmit a message. Murphy's reptilian eyes narrowed in suspicion but followed Dmitri's instructions. My eyes flickered back and forth as I tried to decode the secret message.

"Where are we meeting this big bad Vampire leader?" I asked as Murphy began to flap his wings.

Dmitri wrapped his arms around my waist and smirked. "Have you ever been to Romania?"

"Romania!" I shrieked as Murphy accelerated.

Falling forward, I wrapped my arms around Murphy's neck and closed my eyes. I had a feeling I didn't want to know how Murphy was getting us out of the castle. It was crazy enough that I was riding a dragon, as I flew to Romania to question an evil vampire gang leader- my life didn't need to get any stranger. Dmitri let out several adrenaline induced hoots, as Murphy's speed increased to a dangerous level. The wind howled in our ears, as the dragon took us on a roller coaster ride. Puke burned in the back of my throat when I heard A sickening crunch and the sound of tumbling boulders. I was about to express my need to expel my body waste when Murphy began to slow down.

My skin prickled when I felt Dmitri's mouth come in contact with the curve of my ear. "Open your eyes," he whispered.

Should I trust him? There was a good chance that we were about to plummet to our death and Dmitri was feeling particularly sadistic. I decided I was being completely irrational. If Dmitri felt like being sadistic he would have pushed me off of Murphy. Opening one eye slowly, I tested the atmosphere. The only thing I could clearly see was Murphy black wing flapping effortlessly through the clouds. That didn't look too scary, I thought and mentally prepared myself of the full view of the situation.

"Wow..." I said breathily as I stated at the sensational sight.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Dmitri asked.

I could only nod as my eyes stared up at the night sky. The sky was a painted a dark blue color, nearly black. Twinkling stars illuminated the night while the crescent moon stayed hidden behind passing clouds. The quaint towns of Germany turned into blurred shadows as we flew above them. It was like we popped into the painting Starry Night.

"There's no way we'll get to Romania tonight at the pace we're flying," I muttered to myself.

"No we won't," Dmitri agreed, "And we're probably going to need to stop for food."

My head whipped around so fast I thought I was going to give myself whiplash. He was crazy if he thought we were going to stop for food. Where would we put the massive serpent like beast?

"Sure," I laughed, believing he was joking. "We can just stop at McDonalds once we cross the Romanian border."

"Can't we stop in Czech Republic? I'm starting to get hungry now," he said in a dead serious tone.

He was being serious. The brainless lug actually believe we had the time to stop and sniff the roses. We had to strategize and prepare for possible, there would be no time to fatten ourselves up with greasy treats. Not unless we wanted to return home in multiple pieces.

"I was joking! We don't have time for that and besides where would we put Murphy!"

Pinching his brows together, Dmitri tapped his mouth and searched for a solution. Something about the coy look in his eyes told me he already knew the answer. And I wasn't going to like it at all. Using his other hand, he pulled something out of his back pocket.

It was a miniature spell book.

"I never leave home without it," he told me cheerfully. "There's got to be an invisibility spell somewhere in here."

I groaned in defeat, knowing he would fight me to the nail.

"We're going to be in so much trouble when we get home," I murmured in hopes for changing to topic of discussion.

Dmitri stopped skimming through his spell book. His body tensed against mine. "If we return home," he graciously reminded me.

The tension that settled between us was suffocating. I couldn't help but agonize over his that one word. That little word made all difference and brought the reality of the situation crashing down on me. If. Who knew one would could completely change your opinion of a situation.

Looking up at the starry night sky my thoughts drifted to Cam. I wondered if he thought I was an idiot for following this plan. Or if he thought this was proper payback for killing him. No matter what he believed I just hoped he was finally happy. There was also a good chance I could be seeing him soon.

**This is kind of a connector chapter. No action so I'm sorry in advance but I'm going to try to not rush this story. I recently did an interview with @NickyPeacockAuthor it'll be posted this Saturday, so if you're interested please check it out. Also I put another small clue in, can you guess which line is the clue!?! Thank you all for your love and support.
XOXO,
Ro.**