No Quest For The Wicked

I dug blindly for it, trying to ignore the weight of the gun in my bag. When I found the light and switched it on, it didn’t shed much light in the vast darkness. The tiny spot barely helped us find our footing. The light bounced off something shiny, and as we drew nearer, I saw that we’d stumbled upon a uniquely modern and urban treasure trove.

It consisted of old subway tokens, blinged-out cell phones, a few hubcaps, some keychains, and a couple of roadwork barriers with reflectors on them. There must have been at least one more of those barriers farther back in the cavern because I caught a glimpse of the light reflecting off it.

But then it moved. And blinked.

“Okay, maybe we missed one,” Owen said, backing up.

“And this one isn’t tame?” My panicky whisper echoed off the cavern walls.

“Likely not.”

We edged away from the blinking eyes, back toward the entrance to the train tunnel. The dragon didn’t move. With any luck, it hadn’t noticed us.

Then a screech came from behind us. “Katie! Give me my brooch!”

We froze, caught between Mimi and a dragon. I wasn’t entirely sure which was worse. Mimi was crazed under the spell of the Eye and would probably stop at nothing to get it. The dragon was huge, had long, sharp teeth, and breathed fire. It was a toss-up.

Chapter Nineteen

I flicked off the flashlight, hoping that would keep Mimi from finding us, but she was drawn to the brooch, and the sound of her footsteps drew closer and closer. “Run!” Owen ordered, yanking on my arm, but he was dragging me toward the dragon, which I thought was nuts, but he had weight and momentum on his side, so I had no choice but to run with him. A burst of flame filled the cavern ahead of us, stopping me in my tracks, but Owen kept pulling me.

The dragon moved slowly, like it was just waking up and wasn’t accustomed to being disturbed. We ran past it, with Mimi right behind us. She caught me by the back of my shirt collar, yanking me backward. Her fingers groped for my pocket, and I slapped them, then jabbed my elbow into her solar plexus. I scrambled away, but I wasn’t quick enough. She got me in a headlock and held me tight. With the last bit of breath I had, I cried out to Owen for help, and then I heard a terrible roar in my ears.

Next thing I knew, I could breathe again. I was still being held tight, and I fought against my captor until a gentle voice said in my ear, “It’s okay, Katie, it’s me.” I realized that it was Owen holding me and I sagged against him. However, there was still a roaring sound, and now it wasn’t coming from inside my head.

I looked up and saw the dragon rushing toward us, its flame lighting the cavern and showing off even more troves of shiny treasure. “This definitely isn’t one of yours,” I told Owen as I started running, dragging him with me.

Mimi had finally noticed the dragon and was screaming her head off. “Hush, you’ll make him angry,” I shouted at her. I didn’t know whether or not that was true. I just wanted her to shut up. At least she was too busy screaming to attack me, which was a plus.

“It’s a dragon! A dragon! They don’t exist!” she shrieked.

Then the need for the brooch overcame her fear of the dragon, and she lunged at me, clawing at my pocket. Owen grabbed her by the shoulders and sent her sprawling into a treasure pile, then took my hand as we ran from both Mimi and the dragon.

“I have an idea,” he said. “Come on, where is it? I know it’s around here somewhere.” He had picked up the flashlight I must have dropped when Mimi attacked me and shone its meager beam around in the darkness. I wasn’t sure exactly who he was talking to or what he was talking about, but I went along with him, hoping he was telling the truth about having a plan.

Finally, he said, “Aha!” He switched off the flashlight, pushed me down, and shoved me against a wall. I felt a gap and crawled through it, hoping that what lay on the other side wouldn’t be any scarier than what we were escaping.

It was just as dark on the other side as it had been in the cavern, but I didn’t smell sulfur, which meant this space was dragon-free. I considered that a distinct improvement. It was also Mimi-free, at least for the moment. Now I knew why Owen had turned off the flashlight. He hadn’t wanted her to see the exit.

“You’re leaving her in there?” I gasped when he joined me.

“She tried to kill you!”

“Well, yeah, but that’s a dragon in there!”

“I know. I hate to do that to the dragon, but we don’t have a choice. We can come back and rescue the dragon after we safely box up the brooch. Until then, you know she’s going to keep attacking. Now, come on, let’s get out of here.” He switched the flashlight back on and began walking, and I reluctantly followed him.