Chapter 29

Santa Monica Mountains, California, United States

"By the light of the crescent moon, seek the peak that resembles its curve," Faraday mumbled, listening to the decoded signal through his earpiece, making out the message and repeating it for Gen and Emperor to hear. "From its summit, the path will be shown, to the crater where the star's fragments are preserved."

"We are supposed to be searching for the crash site at night then," Gen said, working out the riddle she'd just been told.

"I think it will help at some point, but it's fine that it's dusk now," Faraday replied. "But what's clear is that we need to take to the sky. The next part clearly states that we are looking for a crescent-shaped peak in the mountains. This will undoubtedly serve as a landmark to guide us closer to the crater."

Emperor lowered down, flattening out his wings and making space for Gen and Faraday. "Go ahead. I'm ready to soar high and help us to locate what we're looking for. If you point me in the right direction, I'm bound to find the mountain you're looking for, especially since the sunset is casting a nice glow around the mountains, showing us their shapes."

"Thank you," Gen said, looking down reluctantly at the squirrel. "But are you okay with riding on Emperor? I never checked."

He scoffed. "This isn't my first rodeo." The squirrel then bounded forward, running up Emperor's wing and securing his place just inside the saddle.

Gen sighed, taking the mounting a little more slowly. "I guess I should have guessed, since you do belong to a Beaufont."

When she slid into the saddle, snug and tight with the squirrel, he looked up at her. "It's good to note that no familiar actually belongs to a Beaufont, just as you don't belong to us. We are perfectly designed partners, made to fight for justice and uphold the truths of the world."

Gen tugged on the reins, smiling ahead. "Yes, that's what I meant. I just don't have the words you possess to describe it."

"In time, you will," Faraday sang as the purple dragon took off at a running start, commanded by Gen's silent intention, before bounding into the air and soaring up higher, into the sky over the Santa Monica Mountains.

The rush of wind and the sights around Gen would never get old, not even if she took off on Emperor a thousand times a day. It all was a feast to the dragonrider's spirit in a way nothing compared to. The blast of cool air, the sea of green around her, the blue of the ocean in the distance—it was all such a gift to Gen's senses in a way that she'd always yearn for.

Once they were high enough, Gen swerved Emperor in a semi-circle, using her mind, searching for the mountain peak that resembled a crescent moon. She was so distracted by the glow of the sunset over the glistening water that it was hard to concentrate. Thankfully, the squirrel was there to help.

Faraday nearly leapt out of his place tucked between Gen and the saddle. Thankfully, she caught him before his boundless energy sent him over the side of the dragon and falling to the ground.

"There! There!" Faraday yelped, pointing toward a peak to the right.

Holding the squirrel securely to her chest, surprised by how fluffy and tiny he was, she looked in the direction that he was pointing.

"You're right, my friend," she said with a smile, seeing a mountain ahead with a top that had a crescent-shaped peak. "That's got to be it."

"That's the way we need to head," Faraday corrected. "I think once we do, I'll get the next message."

Gen nodded, setting the wiggling rodent back down in the secure place between her and the leather saddle. He pressed the earpiece in closer, his face screwed up in confusion. Then he began to nod, looking up at her with triumph.

"I'm getting something now," he said, his voice loud to be heard over the rushing wind as they flew.

Gen, feeling the air starting to pick up, leaned down low, both to make them more aerodynamic and to protect the little squirrel with her body. She hoped that helped him to decipher the next message he got. But she also worried that the winds tearing at them were only going to get worse as they neared the peaks ahead, which looked less inviting and more like guardians to a forbidden land.

"I got it," Faraday said in a muffled voice.

Gen peeled back slightly, giving him space to poke his head out from underneath her shelter.

"The next message says," Faraday began, pausing slightly before continuing, "Where the compass spins and loses its way, the fallen star's power holds sway. Trust not the needle, but the dragon's might, to find the crater hidden from sight."

Gen frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I will know the way from here," Emperor said, both in Gen's head and loud enough for Faraday to hear.

The squirrel nodded in agreement.

"But how do the aliens know that we have a dragon?" Gen questioned.

Faraday shrugged. "They must just know. I'm guessing they are watching us right now and sending the messages in real time. They are aliens, after all. If we proceed, we can ask them."

"Fine," Gen agreed, looking around, searching for aliens, although she wasn't sure what she was looking for. "We'll depend on Emperor's instincts and keen senses to locate the crater."

"I think I know where to go," the dragon said with confidence.

Gen peeked up. "How?"

"I can just feel it, like being pulled," he answered.

"Okay, well, I'm glad that you can be our compass, because I'm lost," Gen said over the rush of wind. Her stomach dropped as Emperor dove suddenly without warning. She wasn't navigating him right then, having released him to be their compass and therefore, each turn and dip was a surprise.

When they neared the crescent-shaped peak, a weird déjà vu feeling overcame Gen. It was like she'd been in this spot before and yet, she knew that she hadn't. How could she?

"It feels familiar to you," Emperor stated—it wasn't a question.

Faraday looked up at her, a quizzical expression on his little face. "Are you sensing something?"

She nodded. "Yes, the crater is close. It's on the other side of the peak."

"How do you know that?" Faraday asked. "Emperor is our compass."

"But we are connected," the dragon replied. "And for me, it feels like I'm being led home, to a place I know well, although I've never been before."

"That's incredible," the squirrel mused.

"Yes," Gen agreed with Emperor. "I can even see in my mind the area. It's below a tree-line."

"How can that be?" Faraday questioned. "The crash would have burned everything in the area. Of course, I have been banking on this notion to help me find the crater site from satellites."

"But that didn't work, did it?" Emperor asked, apparently knowing what satellites were when Gen didn't. She got an image in her head, supplied by her dragon and was grateful for the tutorial on modern-day technology.

"No, obviously it didn't," Faraday muttered. "And now I realize that it's because of the tree coverage."

"It's the meteor," Emperor explained. "It's full of a very fertile substance, like the fragments that will create the diamonds. Really anything it comes in contact with, it will exponentially grow."

"Oh!" Faraday squeaked. "So when it hit the forested area, it burned down the trees and then immediately regrew them."

"That's right," Emperor answered. "It's an incredible alien-substance and very powerful. But it's also protected because in the wrong hands, it will be dangerous. I think we need to brace ourselves for a battle."

Gen gave Faraday a cautious look. "Let's try to be diplomatic about this. We only need a little bit of the meteor and we don't want a war with aliens."

He grinned up at her. "You're a Beaufont through and through."