Chapter 14 - THERE WERE SEVEN
Ethan pulled away from the dragon.
He collapsed.
Maya caught him.
“What happened?”
“There are more.”
“More dragons?”
“More prisons.”
Richard went still.
“How many?”
“Seven.”
Voss stared.
“Where?”
Ethan closed his eyes.
The images were fading.
He pictured the map.
Greenland.
Siberia.
The Andes.
Central Africa.
Northern Canada.
Antarctica.
And somewhere beneath the Pacific.
Seven locations.
But one was different.
“The Siberian site.”
Richard’s face drained of color.
“What about it?”
“It’s open.”
Nobody spoke.
Voss immediately grabbed her satellite phone.
“I need Helix global surveillance.”
Maya laughed.
“Five minutes ago we hated Helix.”
“We can hate them after we stop the world ending.”
“Fair.”
The Alpha Dragon slowly stood.
Its wounds were severe, but the restored seal seemed to strengthen it.
The remaining eggs glowed.
Ethan approached.
“You knew.”
The dragon stared at him.
“You’ve always known.”
It touched its nose gently against his chest.
Richard smiled.
“I think she likes you.”
“She nearly ate me three hours ago.”
“Relationships evolve.”
Voss received data.
“Ethan.”
Something in her voice silenced everyone.
She turned the screen.
Satellite images showed an isolated region of Siberia.
A research station had vanished.
Not damaged.
Gone.
The surrounding forest was black for miles.
Aerial images showed long tracks in the snow.
Hundreds of them.
All moving south.
Maya whispered, “How old are these pictures?”
“Six hours.”
Ethan looked toward the dragon.
“We need to warn people.”
Voss shook her head.
“Governments won’t believe this fast enough.”
“Then show them the footage.”
“They’ll classify it.”
Richard leaned against the wall.
“She’s right.”
Ethan stared at him.
“So what?”
“So we don’t ask permission.”
Voss almost smiled.
“Now you sound like your father.”
Ethan looked around the cavern.
At the ancient technology.
At the creatures frozen below.
At the dragon that myths had turned into a monster.
Maybe the stories had gotten everything backward.
Maybe dragons had never been humanity’s enemies.
Maybe they were the reason humanity had survived.
The Alpha moved toward the cavern entrance.
Ethan frowned.
“What is she doing?”
Richard watched carefully.
“I think she’s leaving.”
“She can’t. The seal needs her.”
The pillars continued glowing.
Richard checked the readings.
“No.”
He looked at Ethan.
“It needs the bond.”
Ethan realized what that meant.
The dragon was no longer chained to the cavern.
For the first time in centuries, the guardian was free.
The Alpha stepped into daylight.
Wind tore across the mountain.
She spread her enormous wings.
The newborns remained inside with the eggs.
Maya stood beside Ethan.
“You know what’s about to happen, right?”
“Yes.”
The dragon launched from the cliff.
Ice exploded beneath her.
Her wings caught the air.
For one breathtaking moment, the impossible creature filled the Arctic sky.
Then she circled back.
Waiting.
Richard looked at Ethan.
“She wants you to go with her.”
Ethan laughed nervously.
“No.”
The dragon roared.
Maya grinned.
“Sounds like a yes.”
Voss stared at the distant horizon.
“Siberia is over two thousand miles away.”
Ethan looked at the dragon.
Then at his father.
Seventeen years ago, Richard had entered this mountain and never came home.
Ethan finally understood why.
Some discoveries changed your career.
Others changed your life.
And a few changed what it meant to be human.
He stepped toward the cliff.
Then the satellite phone rang again.
Voss answered.
She listened for ten seconds.
“What?”
Her face turned white.
Ethan stopped.
“What happened?”
Voss lowered the phone.
“The Siberian creatures aren’t moving south anymore.”
“That’s good.”
“No.”
May you like
She looked toward the sky.
“They’re moving toward us.”
