Chapter 30

"Are you okay?" Paige said, her eyes wide as she stared at the two men on the floor.

A murmured response came back, muffled by the fabric stuffed in their mouths.

Paige shook her head, hurrying to their sides and dropping to a knee before tugging the gag from the pilot's mouth.

"They stole the Holigramium," he puffed.

Paige's winced, and she glanced at Dewey.

"No," he said.

He raced to the bedroom wall safe and tapped in the combination on the glowing green keypad. It beeped, and the door popped open.

He spun, his face a mask of concern with his blue lips tugged into a grimace. "He's right. It's gone."

"Oh no," Paige murmured as she loosened the bonds on the two men. "How quickly can we get in the air?"

The pilot rose to stand, rubbing his wrists. "Not sure. We need to do a pre-flight check of the entire plane. They could have done something to the plane. We were both knocked out."

Paige nodded, licking her lips as her mind darted ahead. "Do what you have to do, but get us to Bulgaria as quickly as you can."

Dewey fluttered to the couch and plopped onto it, letting his head sink into his hands as the pilots disappeared to go over the plane. "Oh, what a mess."

"We have to get that wand," Paige said as she slogged over to the couch and collapsed next to him.

"No kidding. The wand and the Holigramium in the hands of the pixies? We're done."

Paige crinkled her brow as she recalled Ronnie's words. "They're going to close the library."

"And it's going to be our fault."

Paige shook her head and closed her hands into fists. She pounded them against her knees. "No!"

"No?"

"We're not going to let it happen. We don't know that they have the wand yet, and they may not have left with the Holigramium yet. We can only be a few hours behind them at the most. We can still do this."

"Good thinking. Way to be positive, Paige," Dewey said, his head bobbing up and down.

"Where's the airstrip in Bulgaria?"

Dewey grabbed his RP and tapped around, pulling up a map with the coordinates marked. "There it is."

"And where is the Mouth of Hell?"

Dewey wrinkled his nose. "Ugh, I was really hoping we didn't have to go there."

"Too bad. We're not only going to have to go there, but I'm pretty certain we're going to have to go in."

Dewey crinkled his lips into a frown before he tapped around again, adding another point to the map. "Here. It is…a four-hour drive."

"Four hours," Paige repeated with a sigh. "That's a long drive."

"Yeah, it's too bad we can't get dropped off there."

Paige grabbed the RP from his hands and enlarged the map around the cave, squinting at the landscape.

She swiped it back to normal size with a disgusted sigh. "Nowhere to land there."

"Nope. I'm afraid we'll just be stuck with the extra four hours tacked on after the flight."

Paige shook her head as she leapt from her seat, slapping a palm against her forehead. "We don't have that kind of time to waste if we're going to beat the pixies."

"I'd offer to fly us myself, but I'm way too small to carry you. This is one of those times where I really wish I was big enough to offer rides like my siblings."

Paige spun to pace the floor in the opposite direction, a finger pressed against her lips as she considered the problem. She sucked in a breath when her gaze landed on something near the door.

She froze, her lips curling on the edges into a coy smile. "I have an idea."

Dewey shot a wide-eyed glance at what she stared at before he turned back toward her, his jaw dropping open.

* * *

"We're fifteen minutes from the cave, Ms. Turner," the pilot announced over the PA system.

Paige glanced up at the speaker on the ceiling as she closed and locked the safe after changing the code. "That's our cue."

"Paige, are you sure about this?" Dewey questioned.

"Yep," she answered without making eye contact.

She tugged her hoodie over her head and shoved a few essentials into her pockets.

"Like really, really sure?"

"Uh-huh," she answered, still focused on anything but Dewey.

The engines in the plane ratcheted down as they descended closer to the mountain range below. Paige strode toward the door and tugged open the container next to it.

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure," Dewey said. "I don't care how sure you are. I'm not sure."

"Dewey," Paige exclaimed, slapping her hand against her thigh, "you can fly! You should feel totally fine about this."

"I don't. Nope. Not at all."

Paige flung her arms out to the sides. "We have to."

"No, we don't. We could just be unemployed."

"I'm not going to be responsible for the closing of the library and the destruction of the world."

"Fine," Dewey grumbled as he pulled on his sweater. "Okay, strap me in."

Paige pulled the backpack onto her back before she wrapped the rope she'd retrieved from the formerly bound pilot and co-pilot around herself, securing it before she waved Dewey over.

He fluttered to her, pressing his back against her chest. She wrapped and tied the rope snugly around him.

"Approaching the site now," the pilot said.

Paige's heart thudded hard in her chest as she crossed to the door and sucked in a deep breath. "Prepare for deployment in five, four, three, two, one. Bomb's away."

Paige swung the latch on the door and shoved it open. Wind whipped through the plane, blowing harshly against her skin.

She stepped to the edge, staring out over the dark sky. Snow-capped peaks poked up at them.

"Confession time," Paige shouted over the wind tunnel.

"What?" Dewey yelled.

"I'm not really sure either."

"Wha–" His question turned into a wail as Paige stepped out of the plane, dropping toward the earth like a stone.

"Pull the cord," Dewey shouted. "Pull the cord!"

"Not yet," Paige screamed back at him as they continued to tumble through the sky.

The wind smacked against their faces, blowing Paige's cheeks back and ruffling her lips.

"Pull it," Dewey yelled again, his teal lips smacking together.

Paige's sweaty palm clutched the pull for the parachute. She twisted her neck, her eyes watering from the air rushing against them. They were a safe enough distance from the plane to deploy the chute.

"Hang on," she screamed.

She yanked the cord, and the parachute shot out of the backpack, halting their descent. They snapped upright, dangling from the rigging.

Dewey breathed a sigh of relief as they meandered down toward the mountains below. "I was really concerned that wasn't going to open."

"What?" Paige exclaimed, her tone incredulous.

"It's been on that plane for a long time. No former librarians have ever jumped out of a plane before to my knowledge. Plus, you have terrible luck."

Paige's features pinched as she considered it, tugging down on the handles to slow their descent as the ground rushed toward them.

"I do. Although, you can fly, so you would be okay."

Paige kicked her feet out, landing on her backside and sliding a few feet. She unbuckled the harness as Dewey untied himself and flew into the air.

"Yeah, I'd be okay. But I'd have to watch you splatter across the ground. Do you know the kind of trauma that could inflict on a dragon?"

"Gee," Paige grunted as Dewey tugged her to stand, "I'm so glad I didn't die for your sake."

"Me too," Dewey deadpanned before he spun to search the area. "Which way?"

Paige tugged the RP from her pocket and toggled it on. A red dot indicating the cave they sought glowed at the top of the screen. The blue dot showing their location blinked in the middle of the screen.

She thrust her arm uphill toward a large mountain rising in front of them. "That way."

They climbed the hill as Paige eyed the movement of the blue dot, growing ever closer to their destination.

"Boy, I hope we beat those stupid pixies."

"You and me both," Paige said, puffing from exertion as she climbed the steep grade. "The last thing I need is one of those darts launched at me while we're in the Mouth of Hell."

"I'm worried one will hit my wings." Dewey patted his shoulder. "Here, nothing. It'll glance right off with my scales. But back there, all bets are off."

"Let's just hope our little stunt helped," Paige said as they reached the glowing entrance of the cave. She wrinkled her nose as she stared inside. "I can see why it's called the Mouth of Hell."

She tilted her head, staring at the red light that radiated from within. Heat wafted past them from the opening, and a grumbling gurgle resounded.

"Yikes," Paige said with a wince.

"Tell me about it. This is like a horror movie."

They shared a glance before Paige shrugged. "I guess we're just going to have to suck it up and head in."

Dewey fluttered over to her and landed on her shoulder. "Okay, go ahead."

"You're such a baby," she said as she stepped inside the mouth of the cave.

"Yep," Dewey said. "No reason to change now. Especially not now."

Paige turned off the RP and shoved it into her pocket. "I assume we just keep following this cave until we find the wand?"

"How would I know? You did the research. I was busy saving your life, remember?"

"Yes, I remember. My research said this area was the most likely source of origin for the wand."

"Origin or location?" Dewey asked.

"Both," Paige said as she continued to wind through the crimson tunnel. "Follow-up research showed the pixies here and discussing the wand."

"They must have tracked it to this location, too."

"Yeah," Paige said, wiping at her brow. "Wow, it's hot in here."

"And getting hotter, too. I'm really enjoying it."

They wound deeper into the mountain, the passage curving as the heat continued to rise. The tunnel split into two, one passage shooting off to the left while the other continued on straight.

"Which way?" Paige questioned, her head swiveling from side to side.

A shriek echoed through the cave, causing Paige's eyes to go wide.

She snapped her gaze at Dewey. "What was that?"

"No idea. It sounded like–"

Paige flicked her gaze back and forth between the two tunnels. "Like a what?"

Dewey shook his head. "Never mind. Couldn't be."

"What?" Paige's eyes went wider. "Oh, a yeti?"

Dewey wrinkled his nose. "No! Why would it be a yeti?"

"Because the yetis were in league with the pixies."

"But they live in Russia, Siberia specifically."

Paige shrugged, shaking her head. "So?"

"So, why would they be in Bulgaria? Duh."

"Getting the wand for the pixies?"

"In this heat?" Dewey rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Sometimes, Paige. Sometimes."

Paige stared at him, her jaw hanging open. "Sorry, I didn't know yetis were heat sensitive."

"Are you kidding? Have you seen any movies at all? They are called snowmen for a reason. They could never take this heat."

"Maybe it's their southern cousin, Bigfoot," Paige said with a snorted laugh.

"Bigfoot isn't cousins with the yeti," Dewey said, his brows pinching together. "They're–"

"Never mind," Paige said as she flung a hand in the air. "It was just a joke."

"That's a terrible joke," Dewey said. "Doesn't even make sense. If you look at their genomes–"

"They're both big and hairy. That's it. Stop reading into it."

Paige sucked in a deep breath, flicking her gaze between the two tunnels while she tried to select a direction. The screech broke the silence again, piercing Paige's eardrums. She clapped her hands over her ears as she sank down lower.

"Are those the pixies? Is that the shrieking you were talking about?"

"No. You heard their shrieks when they attacked you."

"That little squeaky noise?" Paige questioned, pulling her hands away.

"Yeah, that's it. Horrible, isn't it?"

"Not crazy horrible. Okay, so what is that noise, then?"

Dewey wrinkled his nose, his lips rippling as though he'd tasted something rancid.

He set his dark eyes on Paige for a moment before he answered. "A dragon."