The fairy light zigged and zagged to avoid protruding rocks as it headed down the descending tunnel. Aislin had used her senses to learn what lay ahead, so she expected to see small pools of warm water steaming in the cool air of a large cavern. Before she reached the end of the tunnel, she could feel heat radiating from whatever lay ahead, but she wasn’t expecting the blast of heat that assailed her as she reached the entrance. Small pools pocked the cavern floor, and the water that filled them wasn’t just warm—it was boiling. Already perspiring, she knew that she couldn’t stay there for long.
Looking around, she saw that the trolls stood only yards away, clustered around a mound of strange-looking rocks. Reaching out with her mind, Aislin realized that they weren’t rocks, but something organic. Noticing the trolls had their backs turned to her, she slipped from the tunnel and silently made her way around the perimeter of the cavern. Approaching another grouping of the objects, she crept close enough to examine one. It was as long as her arm and a dull green color, covered with pale brown bumps.
Aislin gasped. These were dragon eggs, and there were dozens of them rimming the pools of water.
One of the trolls bent down to pick up an egg. After sniffing it, he gave it a good, hard shake. “Dreg hatch soon,” the troll announced. Aislin recognized Squint by his voice. “Be extra tasty.”
“Yum!” Ploot exclaimed, picking up an egg. “Eat lots!”
“Not lots,” said Gringle. “Save for her. Here, put in bag.” He handed bags to the other two trolls and stuffed an egg in his own.
Aislin was horrified. Not only were the trolls trespassing, but they were going to steal precious dragon eggs. It sounded as if they intended to eat some of these “dregs” and give the rest to a mysterious “her.”
Drawing power from the stone, Aislin summoned her most commanding voice. “Put those down!”
Most kinds of magic didn’t work on trolls, so Aislin didn’t really expect them to obey, but at least they stopped what they were doing and gaped at her. She stepped forward to confront them and was opening her mouth to speak again when the far wall of the cave seemed to move.
Wiping the sweat from her eyes, Aislin peered at the wall, trying to see what was moving. It blended in with the wall so well that it was almost impossible but, could it be …? And then it moved again and she could suddenly see quite clearly. It was a dragon! Steam puffed from its enormous nostrils as it raised its head and lunged at the trolls. The trolls hadn’t noticed the dragon at first, but when they saw the startled expression on Aislin’s face, they all turned around.
“Dragon!” Squint bellowed as the dragon’s jaws closed around him. There was a loud crunch, cutting off the sound of the troll’s rage.
The other trolls screamed and dropped the bags on the ground. They were running toward the tunnel entrance when the dragon roared and blew out the torches, plunging the cavern into darkness. Aislin stood her ground, not sure what to do as the dragon stalked after the trolls, blocking her escape.
Although she couldn’t see the dragon, she could hear its talons scrape the rock floor and its scales rasp against the walls. The trolls were still screaming as they ran up the tunnel. Luckily for them, it was too narrow for the dragon to enter. Taking a deep breath, the giant lizard shoved its head into the hole and roared again. The trolls’ screaming grew louder for a moment, then faded as they kept running.
The dragon turned to face Aislin. When it hissed and lunged in her direction, she darted to the side, easily avoiding the rocks. As she hurried around the next bubbling pool, Aislin could hear its jaws snap shut right where she had been standing.
“Hold still, egg thief,” the dragon said in a husky, but decidedly female, voice. “You can’t escape me. I’ll make your death quick if you stop running.”
“I’m not an egg thief!” Aislin protested, hurrying out of the way when the dragon’s head whipped toward her. She sidestepped a stalagmite to narrowly avoid the beast’s next lunge. Sensing that a grouping of the formations lay ahead, she crept behind them, then drew power from the rock to join the stalagmites on the floor of the cave with the stalactites hanging overhead. The columns that took shape in front of her were still thickening when the dragon took a deep breath and exhaled flame in her general direction. Aislin drew back, but the columns blocked the flame from reaching her.
“I am not an egg thief,” Aislin repeated from behind her wall of rock. “I am pedrasi and would never hurt your eggs.”
The dragon hissed. Its talons clicked against the stone as it came closer. “Pedrasi have not visited this mountain for many years. How do I know that you speak the truth?”
Aislin wondered if the dragon had missed seeing her create the columns. Perhaps it had been too dark and a clearer demonstration would help. Taking out the fairy light, she let it loose. Peering around the column, she made yet another form directly in front of the dragon. The giant lizard whuffed, its eyes growing wide in wonder.
“Who but pedrasi can make rock grow?” Aislin asked. “I was not here to help the trolls; I followed them to see why they had trespassed in a mountain that the pedrasi have long claimed.”
“Are you saying that only pedrasi are welcomed here?” asked the dragon, its voice edged with anger.
“Not at all,” Aislin protested as she stepped out from behind the column. “Pedrasi do not profess to own the mountains; we are their guardians. As such, we protect them from those who would do them harm. We understand that others have long sheltered in our mountains, and they have every right to do so. Dragons are welcome here, but thieving trolls are not. Trolls are vandals who destroy what they touch.”
The dragon sat back on her haunches and nodded. “I have heard about pedrasi, although I have never met any until today. I am young for my kind, and this is my first clutch of eggs.”
“All these eggs are yours?” Aislin asked, astonished at their number as she looked around.
The dragon snorted. “No, of course not! Only three are mine. It is my turn to watch over all the eggs my flock laid this year. Soon another dragon will come to take my place and I will leave to hunt. Perhaps I will hunt trolls this time.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” said Aislin. “And I really should follow the two trolls that just ran out of here to make sure they leave and don’t come back.”
“How can you prevent them from returning?” asked the dragon. “Do you intend to kill them?”
Aislin shuddered and shook her head. “I have my ways, but killing is not one of them. After they leave, I’ll close off the entrance that the trolls used. It will take them a long time to find another way in. I know there are many, including the one that I sense is big enough for dragons. I will make sure that that entrance stays open. It should be safer for you and your eggs now. When he hears trolls have been coming here, I’m sure my grandfather will want to set up patrols to keep them away.”
“Thank you, pedrasi girl,” said the dragon. “I am Singea of the blue dragon line. What is your name so that I may tell my kin about what you have done?”
“I am Aislin of the pedrasi and fairy lines,” she replied. “And you are very welcome. Before I go, I need to heal the smoke damage on the walls. The trolls were careless with their torches and I need to fix what I can.”
The dragon looked contrite when she said, “I am sorry if I added to the damage. I was just so angry when I saw those monsters touching the eggs.”
“I understand,” Aislin told her. “It would be enough to make any mother angry.”