The Dragon Stirs by Lynda Aicher Read Free Book Online Page A

luck.
    Together, they dissipated out and drifted down the corridor using the energy to feel what was ahead. The currents brushed against him, bringing with it every movement, every fluctuation, every source of energy that was within their range. What touched him was both frightening and abhorrent. 
    What in the hell was up there? 
    A deep laugh beat through the darkness and halted their stealthy approach. They solidified and slid quietly into the shadows.
    “And you thought no one was here,” he chided softly.
    She flipped him the visual FU and started to creep silently toward the low discussion that could now be heard ahead of them.
    He tried to pull her behind him, but she elbowed him in the gut and kept moving. Insufferable, stubborn woman. He gritted his teeth and stuck close to her back. 
    The conversation slowly came into focus as they neared a curve in the tunnel. The energy pulsed stronger and clearly defined the other occupants as Shifters. Louk paused, doubt clamping down on him. What if it was a trap?
    Airiana stopped and looked back at him. She lifted an eyebrow in silent question, then held out her hand. He grasped it and breathed. The truth whispered over the flow of the energy. 
    Trust her.
    Could he? Should he? 
    Could he not?
    He could still teleport out of there and simply return to his life. To hell with what the Ancient said and whatever roll they were supposed to play in some fucked up prophesy. Return to his family and forget this blip in his life, the brief loss of sanity that had caused him to take her in the first place. 
    He looked into her eyes and knew.
    It was too late to turn back. Too late to second guess. 
    He squeezed her hand and took a step forward. Another step away from the past and toward the future. Toward Airiana. 
    Mine.

Chapter Eight
    Airiana added some much needed moisture over her dry lips with a slow swipe of her tongue and exhaled the breath she’d been holding deep in her chest. He was coming with her. He trusted her.
    Did she deserve it?
    “What does it mean?” a deep voice came from around the bend and forced them both to step back farther into the shadows. 
    She tugged on his hand and motioned forward. He nodded, and they moved in unison over the remaining ground to the curve in the tunnel.
    “It’s almost time,” another voice answered, the excitement brimming on the edges. 
    “Why now?”
    “Because we did our job.” Yet another voice, this one thick with a rolling accent. “Our time of groveling in anonymity is almost over. It’s time to celebrate, not question the why.”
    Airiana’s gut tightened into a hard little knot of dread. She knew those voices. Beads of perspiration formed on her brow as her body flushed with heat. She inhaled and pushed back the nerves.
    Louk tugged on her hand. She looked back at him to see his brow furrowed and head tilted in question much like an inquisitive dog. 
    She shook her head and turned back to the voices. 
    The sound of boots crunching over rock was followed by the high pitch of metal rattling. “Damn. It’s still immovable.”
    Curiosity forced her to inch forward. She got down on her belly and cautiously poked her head around the bend until she could see into the cavern. Louk was right beside her, laying half on top of her to look.
    What she saw sucked the breath out of her and stilled her heart.
    The legend was true.
    All the stories of her childhood came flooding back to her in undulating waves of horror. Louk inhaled, stiffened, then swore under his breath. He recognized the sight for what it was.
    Gog.
    Evil incarnate. The Oppressor. The Slanderer. The representative of all things negative.
    The one the Shifters served and the Energen feared.
    Curled up behind a large barred metal cage, the dragon lay in apparent slumber. It was large, over twelve feet long with red scales and deadly spikes riding down its spine to the tip of its barbed tail. Its head was haloed in fine, yellow-orange hair that tufted