The Dragonstones Trilogy
Chapter 29

Sara was used to having visions. Because she had the Dragon Magic, she had seen many things, and gotten lots of useful information this way. This vision was not much different from any of the others she had had, and that was what frustrated her.

None of her visions were ever very specific. She would either see an image, or hear a word, not getting all of the facts through one vision. There was only one exception, and that had been when her mother wanted to talk to her, even though she was dead.

In this case, she heard a word spoken by a nameless, genderless voice. More than anything, it was a feeling, an urge to go somewhere. Though all she saw was endless black, she knew where the Stone was.

Sara woke up knowing where she and James needed to go. China.

Sara didn’t waste any time. She jumped out of bed, quickly got ready for the day, then hurried out into the hallway to tell James.

She raised her hand to knock, but stopped when she heard James’s voice. “The dream told me to go to China, but that’s a huge country. Can you tell me something a bit more specific than just ‘China?’”

There was a pause. Sara took this chance to knock. “James?” She waited as James went over and opened the door. Even though she knew James had had the vision just as she had, Sara couldn’t keep the enthusiasm out of her voice. “It’s in China!”

James nodded. “I know. Last night, I had the vision too.”

“You think it’s because of the connection?” Sara asked.

James shrugged. “Last night was the first time I’ve ever had a vision. It probably was.” He looked at her. “So now we can hear each other’s thoughts, feel what the other is feeling, share memories, and have the same kinds of magic.”

“Does that mean that soon I’ll have some of your magic?” Sara asked.

James shrugged again. “It would make sense,” he said. He looked up as if a sudden thought occurred to him. “In your dream, did it tell you where in China the Stone is?”

Sara shook her head. “No, sorry.”

“And the dragons probably don’t know.”

“Probably not,” Sara agreed. “But we could still talk to them, just to make sure.”

“We?” James asked. He shook his head. “Do you know how huge the dragons are?”

To Sara, it seemed like a dumb question. “Yes,” she said, nodding slowly. Seeing that there was no way James would go back to the Dragon Cave, Sara gave up trying to convince him to. “Fine,” she said. “This shouldn’t take too long,” she said as she touched a Dragon Stone.

Sara wasn’t too surprised when she discovered James standing next to her in the Dragon Cave. She had a feeling that the dragons wanted to talk to James, as well as her. James’s face was noticeably pale.

Flame was waiting for them. Hello Sara, James.

James’s fear shot through Sara. She would have laughed if he hadn’t been so terrified. She shifted into a dragon, almost sighing with relief as she changed forms. In some ways, Sara was more comfortable as a dragon than she was in her human form. She focused on James and sent him the thought, The dragons are dead. They can’t hurt you.

James’s reply was immediate. I sure hope so.

James’s fear didn’t leave, though.

Flame looked at James, amused. He seems to think dragons are frightening.

Everybody’s afraid of something. Sara replied.

Very true, Sara. Very true.

Do you know where the Stone could be? Sara asked.

Flame looked at Sara, his face not revealing how he really felt. You already know that I, like all the dragons, have no idea where the Stone could be.

In a dream I had last night, I found out that it’s in China. Sara said. James had the vision too. Is there a certain place that it could be?

Flame shook his head. I’m sorry. Though I don’t know where the Stone is, if you are ready, it will show itself to you. That is all I know.

How will it show itself to me? Sara asked.

I don’t know. It may not even do so to you. It may show itself to your dragon fearing friend here.

James? Sara asked, shocked.

It is a distinct possibility. He is your partner, after all. You both have your own tasks to do in your fight against dark magic.

So what do we do now? We know the Stone is in China, but no idea where to go after that.

Do not worry. You will replace the Stone soon enough. You just need to be patient. Maybe the closer you get to the Stone, the more it will help you replace it. I suggest you go to China, but not today, or the day after that. You will both want to rest before you go over there.

How do you know? Sara asked.

Smolder had a vision.

Ah. Sara said, thinking back to her own confusing, but always accurate, visions.

Flame’s voice once again popped into her head. You might want to leave now. James seems to be having a hard time here in the Dragon Cave.

Sara looked over at James, who was surrounded by medium sized to small dragons. His face was no longer pale, but he looked far from comfortable.

Hopefully he will grow accustomed to this place with time. Flame said. Sara looked at him questioningly. Every time you go to the Dragon Cave, he will come too. It is part of the bond that you formed. It may have been just the light from the lava, but Flame’s face seemed to grin. Next time he comes here, I should try to be frightening.

Sara laughed, but forgot she was in her dragon form. Instead of laughter, what came out sounded more like a mix between a growl and a heavy pant.

She shifted back into her human form, still smiling. “You might want to leave that to the younger dragons,” she said, repressing the urge to laugh some more. She looked over at James. “You ready to go?” she asked him.

James looked at her as if he was surprised that she had even asked the question. “Yep,” he said, moving as quickly as he dared away from the dragons.

When they were back at the hotel, James said, “I thought you were just going to the Dragon Cave.”

“It wasn’t my idea,” Sara said. “Flame told me that, because of our connection, our magics are mixing too. He told me that every time I go to the Dragon Cave, you’ll have to go too, whether you want to or not.”

“Are you sure that’s what he said?” James asked, his fear washing over Sara again. She nodded gravely.

James groaned. “I was afraid of that.” Trying to get his mind off of the idea of visiting dragons for the rest of his life, he asked, “So what do we do now?”

“We go to China,” Sara said. “Flame said we might want to wait a couple of days before going, though.”

James’s brow furrowed. “Why?” he asked.

“He didn’t say why, but I got the feeling that something big is going to happen, and we’ll want to be ready.”

“I don’t want to argue with a dragon, especially one that can eat me, but shouldn’t we be using those days to look for the Stone?” James asked.

“We’ve been looking for the Stone this whole time, but it has to show itself to us,” Sara said. “A couple of extra days won’t hurt us.”

James looked like he wanted to argue, but decided against it. “All right,” he said. “If we’re taking the next two days off, what are we going to do?” Sara glanced at a clock in the hallway. “It’s three in the morning!” she said in surprise, thinking of how much later it felt. She looked at James, and couldn’t help wondering what he had been doing up this early. Waves of exhaustion washed over her, and she decided that she didn’t care. “I’m going back to bed,” she said, going back into her room in an almost trance like state.

“Night, James,” she said as she closed the door on him.

The next two days passed slowly as Sara enjoyed doing absolutely nothing. More often than not, she could feel James’s impatience at the delay, but he never said anything about it. Every now and then, Sara felt uneasy, like someone was watching them, waiting. The feeling never stayed for longer than a moment or two, so she didn’t tell James about it.

The night before they were supposed to leave, Sara couldn’t get to sleep. She stared at the ceiling, thinking about the Stone and how their search seemed to be coming to an end. After they found the Stone, they would need to replace Aevill. Sara shuddered at the thought of fighting someone so powerful. She had fought many dark magicians, all sent by Aevill, but she didn’t know how she and James were supposed to stop Aevill.

Alva had thought that to defeat Aevill, Sara would have to kill him. If she was honest with herself, Sara wasn’t sure she would be able to kill Aevill. James might be able to do it, but Sara had doubts about that as well, especially since his magic had been acting strange lately.

Sara got out of the bed. She wasn’t going to fall asleep anytime soon, and lying down didn’t accomplish anything. Normally, Sara would have talked to the dragons, but she knew James would not like visiting the Dragon Cave, especially when he was asleep.

The Dragon Stones flickered, then went back to normal. Sara smiled. It had been so long since she had last gone flying, for no other reason than for the enjoyment of it. Sara opened her window, then shifted into a dragon. She would have had easy access to the outside, but her wings got caught while she was trying to get out. Finally, Sara gave up and shifted back into a human.

She hurried out into the hallway, but stopped when she heard James talking in the room next to hers. She couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he seemed to be talking to someone. Curious, Sara knocked on the door. Inside, James went silent. Sara heard footsteps as he walked over and opened the door.

He didn’t seem surprised when he saw Sara. “Hey,” he said. “You do know it’s almost midnight, right? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“Shouldn’t you?” Sara returned.

“I was.”

“Then who were you talking to?” Sara asked.

“I was talking?” James asked. Sara nodded, and he asked, “What did you hear me say?”

“Nothing. I just heard noise, not words that I could make out.”

James glanced at something behind him, and said, “You probably heard me talking in my sleep.”

To Sara, the statement didn’t sound true. She studied James closely, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to replace out any more, at least not tonight. “Okay,” she said, shrugging off the feeling. “I’m going to go flying.”

“Okay, but be careful. You never know where one of Aevill’s magicians is hiding,” James said.

Sara had her own doubts about that, but didn’t voice them. Whatever she had felt that was watching them didn’t seem like it was preparing for an attack, more like it was waiting for her and James to lead it to something. Sara was pretty sure she knew what that was: the Lightstone.

Sara hurried out of the hotel, moving faster the closer she came to the exit. She had never been more excited to go flying. Sara could barely contain herself when she was outside. Tall buildings were in every direction, the perfect places to help her get started.

She located an alley that seemed to be empty, and shifted into a dragon. She looked around, and realized that from here, she would not have enough room for her wings to stretch and carry her above the clouds. She glanced up, and saw that the two buildings she was in between would be a good spot for launching herself up into the air.

Knowing that all she needed to do was get up there, Sara turned and started climbing up the building. The bricks had spaces that she was able to replace and hold on to. When there was no good place to hang on to, the venom in her claws burned through the brick and gave her something to hold on to. Sara shuddered when she thought of what her venom could do, and had done to human beings.

It seemed to take forever, but Sara finally made it to the top. There was no one on the roof of the building she was on, or any of the ones surrounding her. A breeze blew past her, cooling her down. Sara spread her wings, and jumped into the air.

There was no feeling in the world like flying. Wind rushed past her, and steadily grew cooler as she climbed higher and higher into the air. It was a clear night, and Sara was high enough that even the tallest skyscrapers seemed miniature in comparison. Tiny urban lights glittered like stars. Sara stayed up there, knowing she would likely never see something like this ever again, except for when she went flying.

Fear shot through her so suddenly that at first she didn’t know what it was. Wondering what could have caused this warning to go off, Sara looked around wildly. She didn’t see anything. No magicians were anywhere near her. Sara looked down at the ground. It was too dark for even her eyes to see anything, so it was impossible for somebody on the ground to have spotted her.

Something squeaked behind her, and Sara shot away faster than she had ever done before. Realizing that she didn’t feel the wave of dread anymore, Sara looked back,straining her dragon eyes to see what had been behind her. In the distance, she could see a bat, flying in its jerky, zigzagg pattern in an attempt to catch bugs.

Sara didn’t know what a bat was doing up this high, but she didn’t want to replace out. If it had been sent by a dark magician, then the farther away, the better. Sara flapped her wings slower and slower, gradually descending to the ground. It took some work to replace her hotel again. Everything looked different from the sky, and Sara soon discovered that she had landed blocks away from where she and James were staying.

Sara decided against walking all that way, and shifted into a dragon again, this time flying closer to the ground than before. When Sara found her room, she realized just how tired the flight had made her. She barely made it to her bed before she was unconscious.

Sara slept late the next morning, and it was almost noon before she woke up. She wasn’t all that surprised. Flying often took more energy than she thought it did while she was in the air. Sara hastily brushed her hair and got dressed, then immediately went looking for James.

She found him outside, listening to music, though where it was coming from, Sara was unsure. Sara noticed that he was glowing, the usual orange aura that appeared whenever James was using magic or even listening to music. Seeing how bright it was, Sara said, “Is your magic getting better then?”

James looked down at his hands, as if he had just noticed how bright the aura was. “I don’t know. Hopefully this is a good sign.” He looked back up at her. “You ready to go?” The former impatience he showed whenever he thought about China returned.

Sara nodded. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”

James shrugged. “You seemed like you needed the rest.” He looked up at the cloudy sky. “We might want to leave before it starts raining on us.”

“Yep,” Sara agreed. “How far can you get us?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ll get us as far as I can.” James paused for a moment, his expression becoming vacant. After about a second, he started singing.

Sara had seen him do this hundreds of times, but this time, something was different. The song James was singing, along with countless others, forced themselves into Sara’s head, filling her mind with music and song.

James’s aura grew brighter and brighter, until it seemed to be around Sara as well. Sara looked at the orange light surrounding her in confusion. This had never happened before. Sara didn’t have that much time to dwell on it, though. It was at that very moment that she and James vanished, reappearing hundreds of miles away.

James had just enough energy left to climb onto Sara’s back, then promptly collapse. Sara took over, guided as if by magic to the place they needed to go. Sara herself didn’t know where exactly she was going. She felt like she was being pulled somewhere, that something was drawing her in.

The day grew later, and the sky grew darker until it was completely black. Sara looked up. Even the stars were covered up by clouds. Somehow the total absence of light made Sara nervous. She jumped at every little sound her enhanced hearing picked up.

Sara knew that it would take them several days to make it to China, even if James helped them go farther every day. Sara didn’t look forward to days of nothing but traveling. On her back, James woke up suddenly, sitting straight up. Sara turned back to look at him. You okay? She asked him.

James didn’t seem to hear her. Instead, he was staring at the space in front of her, as if he was listening to something, or someone. “It’ll take us days to get there,” he said. He sounded just as impatient as she felt.

Sara wasn’t sure, but she could have sworn that she heard someone talking. James looked up suddenly. “Why don’t you try using the Dragon Stones?” he asked.

Why? Sara asked, not knowing what he meant.

“Remember what we talked about a while back, at Cole’s place? It’s the same thing, except you try to end up a good distance away from where you were before.”

Oh. Sara said. Are you sure it will work?

“There’s only one way to replace out,” James said.

Okay. Make sure you have a flight song ready. Sara said. Without any more warnings, she suddenly shifted back into a human, and both she and James were approaching the ground, fast.

The air was much colder than it felt when she was in dragon form, but Sara didn’t have to worry about that for too long, nor did she have to worry about how high up they were. Sara touched a Dragon Stone, and instantly she and James were transported to the Dragon Cave. The one thing Sara hadn’t counted on was them both crashing face first on to the cave floor.

Sara shifted back into a dragon, and somehow that made the pain less noticeable. James, on the other hand, didn’t have that option. He sat up slowly, wincing and making a point of not looking at any of the dragons. “Next time could you warn me?” he asked.

I did warn you, in a way. Sara said.

“You said to have a flight song ready.”

Which was for in case my plan failed.

Flame, who almost always was waiting for Sara, and now James too, walked forward to greet them. The dragon smiled, showing off all his teeth, at least as large and sharp as kitchen knives. Hello Sara. Sara could have imagined it, but she thought she saw a wicked glint in Flame’s eye as he turned toward James and smiled even wider. Hello James. James’s face paled.

Realizing what the dragon was doing, Sara intervened. Flame, leave him alone. She hoped that James didn’t hear the thought, but knew it wouldn’t matter much if he did.

Flame didn’t stop smiling. Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. His look turned serious. Sara, you know I always enjoy seeing you, but shouldn’t you and James be flying toward China by now?

“We were, but then we thought of a faster way to do it,” James said, stepping toward Sara and Flame, away from a small crowd of dragons that had gathered around him. It took him a few seconds to realize how close he was to Flame, then quickly step back.

And what way is that? Flame asked.

We thought there would be a way for us to use the Dragon Cave as a type of portal. Sara said, stepping in and giving James an opportunity to retreat further. Do you know of any ways to do that?

It’s possible, I suppose. Flame said. My best guess would be that as you are exiting the Dragon Cave, to think of where you would like to go.

“That’s it?” James asked. When Flame nodded, he said, almost to himself, “It seems like it should have been harder than that.”

Before you leave, is there anything else you would like to ask me? Flame asked.

“Would we have better luck looking for the Stone in a city, or in a forest somewhere? We’ve heard it both ways,” James said.

Flame thought for a moment, and Sara could hear the other dragons talking to him, even though she couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying. Look in places that are closer to nature. Flame said. But remember, the Stone will reveal itself to you in time. If if doesn’t want to be found, no amount of looking will change that.

You speak as if it were alive. Sara said.

All magical objects have their own personalities. It stands to reason that the Stone has one as well.

After Flame had given them that information, Sara and James said their goodbyes, meaning that Sara said most of the goodbyes while James stood there, anxious to leave. When Sara was finally ready to go, she changed back into a human and looked at James. “It might help if we both think of where we need to go,” she said.

“A forest in China, right?” James asked.

“Yep,” Sara confirmed.

“Let’s do it, then.” James smiled.

Sara nodded, and touched a Dragon Stone. She didn’t have any doubts on whether this would work until she had already done it. Sara felt like she was flying at something at an amazing speed, much like traveling through the light tunnels that Aubrynn liked to use. James apparently had the same doubts. Even though they were traveling at a breakneck speed, she could clearly hear every word he was singing. It was a prayer of some sort, mixed with his usual traveling song. Sara was not sure how he was able to sing two totally different songs, somehow he succeeded.

Sara wasn’t sure how long it took, but it could not have been ten seconds before she and James suddenly landed on a mossy patch of forest.

The tugging sensation that Sara had felt before was stronger now. She looked over at James. “Do you feel that?” she asked.

James nodded. “Let’s see where it leads.”

Both started forward, in the direction they were pulled in. After a few minutes of walking, James spoke, more to think of something other than the excitement both Sara and he felt. “So how far do you think it is?”

Sara couldn’t help but notice that their excitement doubled. She shrugged. “I don’t know, but I hope it’s close.”