16. The Rescue

It's one thing to make a plan. It's another to put it into action. We're high above the forest, with a bird's eye view of the Isle of Sorrows and the surrounding islands. The dark basalt is slick with rain, and one misstep will send us careening to our deaths.

"Can you crawl through the fissure?" Lukas asks the male voltaic from our perch on the rocky spire.

Lukas pulls a massive coil of rope off the dragon's neck. The bundle falls on the rock with a heavy thud. It's well over an inch thick, several hundred feet long, and far heavier than we could carry without the help of my magic…or a dragon's assistance.

"I realize you're not a bat," Lukas responds to whatever the dragon said, frustrated. "I'm not asking you to hang there for hours. I just want to know if you can use your talons to grip the rock while you crawl through the hole."

The two argue as I look across the island. The nearly full moon has escaped the clouds. At least in the dark, the Cursed Isles are beautiful.

"It doesn't matter if you fall." Lukas sounds truly exasperated now. I've only heard him use that tone on Flink. "You can fly."

That must finally convince the dragon because he tucks his wings in and crawls into the narrow opening in the rock. It's an easy fit for a human…but tight for a dragon as massive as the voltaic male.

"Now what do we do?" I ask Lukas, staring into the pitch-black space below.

"I have an idea."

I watch him, wary of his crooked grin. "What?"

"Can you lower us with your magic?"

"All the way to the bottom of the pit?" I ask, surprised.

He nods, lifting his eyebrows. Daring me to try it.

"I've never attempted anything like that."

"We've never ridden a dragon either, and that went all right."

I glance into the fissure again. "If I fail, our chance of survival isn't high."

He goes still, listening. "Davyn says we don't need to go down."

"What? How did you talk to him?" I stare into the pit, suspicious of their twin gifts.

"Davyn told the male dragon, and the dragon relayed the message."

"Oh." I relax a little. "What does he want to do?"

"We're going to lower the rope from up here. He and Felicity will tie it around the female like a harness, and then the male will hoist her out as we planned."

"Do we have enough rope for that? It's a long way down there."

"I think so."

Movement at the fissure"s edge catches my attention, and I watch as the male dragon claws his way through the narrow opening. He extends his wings once he's out, his movements sharp and agitated.

"I didn't know," Lukas says to him. "I'm sorry."

"What is it?"

Lukas rolls his eyes. "He's put out that he didn't have to crawl in there after all. He'll get over it."

Only a Greybrow would have such a flippant relationship with a dragon that wields raw energy.

"We're going to tie a harness around you first," Lukas tells the male. "Then we'll drop the rest of the rope into the pit. We'll have to make adjustments after you've pulled your mate out, but this should work for now."

Lukas sets to work, tying the harness and fastening sturdy knots.

"Do you think they'll hold?" I ask.

He gives me an incredulous look. "I grew up on a ship."

"Right," I laugh, extending my hands in surrender. "Sorry."

Once he's happy with the harness, he pushes the coil of rope into the fissure and calls down, "Is there enough?"

"It'll work," Davyn yells back.

"Now we wait," Lukas says to me.

"Do you think he can carry her all the way back to their cave?" I ask.

"She's petite, even for a female, and scrawny right now thanks to her lack of food. He'll manage."

She didn't seem petite in the cave, but the male is massive next to us. His wingspan is easily twenty feet, and he's stockier as well.

It seems we wait an eternity, but finally, Lukas says, "They're ready." To the male, he adds, "You'll have to carry us again, but only until we reach the ground."

The dragon answers, and Lukas jerks his head toward me. "Climb up."

I didn't like this the first time, and I don't like it now. At least I can grasp hold of the rope. I climb up, unnerved by the energy coursing through his body. The dragon's strange magic makes my hair stand on end. It's an odd sensation, almost like he's drawing us to him. My clothing clings to him, as do many small pebbles and rocks.

Lukas crawls up behind me, less daunted by the beast's voltaic magic.

"You're going to have to help guide the female through the fissure when she reaches it," Lukas tells me. "Just use your magic and turn her so she fits, all right?"

Swallowing back my nerves, I say, "Let me light the opening so I can see."

I cast the dancing magelights and then nod. "Ready."

"All right," Lukas says to the dragon. "Go ahead."

My stomach drops with the first stroke of the dragon's wings. I grip the rope as we leave the rock, digging my fingers into the rough fibers.

"It's an adventure, right?" Lukas wraps his arms around my waist, leaning in.

"Enough adventure to last me a lifetime."

He chuckles in my ear as we fly higher. Soon, the female dragon hangs in the glow of my magelights.

"Stop here," Lukas tells the dragon. "Soleil, can you guide her out?"

I study her, trying to figure out what would be the best fit. "Tell her I'm going to turn her so it doesn't take her by surprise."

"Davyn already did."

Using my magic, I carefully nudge her to the side so the length of her body lines up with the longest part of the fissure. "There."

"Keep going," Lukas instructs the male.

My nerves are frayed as I guide the female dragon, worried the rock will scrape her as she passes it.

"She's clear," Lukas says, his voice full of relief.

I let out my breath, glad the most challenging part is behind us.

"Now take us to the ground," Lukas says to the male dragon. "We'll redo the harness so you can carry her back."

"What about Davyn and Felicity?" I ask.

"They'll go back through the bluewood, and we'll meet them at the ship."

With great care, the male dragon begins his descent. The female dragon touches the ground first, roaring when she's steady.

"I hope that's a celebratory roar," I say to Lukas.

"It is. She's happy."

The extra rope pools on the ground around her as we make our way to join her. As soon as the male lands, Lukas and I slide off his back. I try to tame my charged hair, attempting to pat the frizzing strands back into their braid, but I'm afraid it's a lost cause.

"How far are we from the mine entrance?" I ask, not liking the idea of mole trolls prowling around nearby.

"We're on the other side of the spire."

I nod, scanning the area.

"I'm going to retie the harness," Lukas tells the male dragon. To me, he asks, "Would you cast a light so I can see what I'm doing?"

The female dragon churrs with happiness, sounding almost like she's purring. She butts her head against Lukas's chest, closing her glowing eyes.

He laughs, stroking her nose like a horse, and then frees her from her harness.

"What are you doing?" I ask when he cuts off a length of the rope.

"It's too long. It will be easier for him to carry her if it's shorter."

I look around the forest as he works, spooked. "You don't sense anything, do you?"

"Anything mole-trollish, you mean?"

I nod.

"Not right now."

He works quickly, tying the knots in the new harness like he's done it a hundred times.

"All right." He backs up, surveying his work. "You're ready."

"How will they remove the rope when they reach their cave?" I ask.

"Their teeth should be able to get through it with little difficulty." As if feeling the need to check, he holds some of the extra rope to the male. "Give it a try."

I suck in a breath as the dragon snaps, his teeth entirely too close to Lukas's face for my comfort. As predicted, he bites through the twisted jute without difficulty.

"See?" Lukas says to me. "Not a problem."

Nervous, I laugh. "All right."

Lukas turns to the female, stroking her face. "We'll do that."

"What will we do?" I ask.

"We'll visit to make sure they're all settled in." He then tells the dragons, "It might be a few days, though."

Apparently not one for long goodbyes, the male dragon extends his wings, taking to the air.

We watch them until they disappear into the night.

"Do you think they'll make it?" I ask.

"It's not far." Lukas crouches down to pick up the extra rope, pausing as he coils it over his arm.

"What is it?" I ask, startled when I realize something on the ground shines in my magelights.

Lukas picks up the coin, thinking hard.

"Is that another Tilloran tolbit?" I ask, skeptical. Surely not. "Where are they all coming from?"

"Where indeed?" Lukas turns his eyes to the dark sky. After a few seconds, he pockets the coin and finishes rolling up the rope. After slinging it over his shoulder, he turns to me. "We have no tent. No gear. And no dragon escort."

"I'm very aware."

"Do you want to construct a shelter or start back?"

That's a decision I don't want to make. "How long will it take us to walk to the dock?"

Lukas glances up, studying the massive rock monolith. "Half a day, give or take a few hours?"

The closer we get to the beach, the more likely it is that we'll meet a mole troll. But it will take hours to build a shelter, and that's not a project I'm eager to start in the middle of the night.

"You're armed; I'm armed." I stretch my neck. "Let's start back."

Lukas nods, gesturing for me to lead.

We only make it a few steps before the sky opens up, and it begins to rain again.

"Maybe you should consider going to a mage's college in warm, dry Elrija," Lukas jokes.

Deciding that idea has merit, I lift my hood and continue into the wet woods.