A Dragon's Bond (5 page)

Davin walked out the door and shut it quietly behind him. He started making his way back to his room upstairs. The halls were quiet and quite eerie this time of night. After seeing the imp in the egg chamber, Davin had a small fear in the back of his mind. He hurried down the halls and up the stairs with a feeling of being followed. He scurried past the shadows quickly, thinking that something was going to jump out and grab him if he took too long to pass.

Once at his door he opened it slowly. He would catch hell if his Dad woke up to find him coming in so late after sneaking out to wander the halls. With the door open he stepped inside and closed it behind him. To his relief, he could still hear the slight snore coming from his Dad's room. Davin went back to his room and laid down on his bed. He was really tired from the long night. His eyes grew heavier and heavier then he fell asleep.

In the morning Davin woke in a panic. He had overslept. He jumped out of bed and threw on some clean clothes. He didn't even take the time to get something to eat. He grabbed his school bag and rushed out the front door. The halls outside were unusually busy. Everyone was running about frantically.

Davin stopped one of the men who was quickly walking down the hall. "What's going on?" He asked. Although in actuality, he already knew the answer.

"
There has been a breach in the egg chamber." The man replied in a panicked voice. "Someone has taken five eggs from the chamber. Everyone is gathering in the main hall," he continued.

That was quick. Davin thought to himself.

Davin raced to the stairwell and began his descent down to the main floor where everyone was meeting. When he got to the bottom of the stairwell, Chloe was standing at the doorway.

"
There you are!" She whispered. "When you didn't show up for class, I thought maybe you had been caught going back to your room. Wait. You didn't tell did you?" She asked.

"
Of course not Chloe. Why on earth would I do that."

"
Good!" She said a bit harshly. "Sorry, I am just a little worried is all." Her tone softened. "We should head to the hall."

Davin and Chloe headed around to the main hall. Everyone in the Keep was making their way in to find a seat. They saw Kimball sitting a few rows from the back. They casually walked over and sat down next to him. A few minutes had passed and finally people had all settled in. There were only a few people still coming in through the doors when Myrdinn walked in through one of the side doors. He was followed by Lugos, Goban, and Aiden. They quietly walked up to the front podium. Myrdinn took his place behind the podium while the other three took seats along side.

The noisy room filled with people became hushed. All of the many conversations stopped to hear what was about to be said.

Myrdinn stood in front of the crowd with his pipe in hand. He took a couple of puffs and blew them out slowly.

"
It seems, as some of you may already know, we have had an incident. Someone unbeknown to us has stolen something precious. This morning during a random egg count, we found that five eggs have been taken. We do not yet know why they have been stolen or how the egg chamber was breached. We also do not know if the culprit will strike again. I assure you however, a full investigation will be held and we will do our very best to get to the bottom of this. I ask that if anyone has any knowledge of this matter they come forward immediately."

Davin felt Chloe grab hold of his shirt, as though she was telling him to stay seated.

Myrdinn paused briefly. "I can only hope that this was not an act committed by one of my fellow people here. However, please do not take personal offense if you are called in for questioning. Some of you may have seen something and may not know it's pertinence. I only ask that you assist us in any way possible. That is all I have on this subject for now. I urge you to go about your regular business and not worry as there appears to be no immediate danger at hand. Thank you all for coming."

Myrdinn took another puff off of his pipe, bowed his head slightly and walked back out the door from which he came. Lugos, Goban and Aiden followed in suit and shut the door behind them.

The room became loud with voices and conversations once again. Some people simply stood up and walked out quietly while others sat and argued about the situation.

Kimball stood up. Now noticing the two kids that had sat down beside him. "Davin, Chloe." He said. "Shouldn't you two be heading off to school now?"

Realizing it wasn't really a question the two kids nodded their heads in agreement and got up to head towards their class.

Kimball stopped Davin by grabbing hold of his arm. "If there is something we need to talk about, you will let me know. Right Davin?"

Davin shook his head again. "Of course Dad. But like I said...." He started.

"
I know, I know. Everything is fine." Kimball interrupted. "Now, off to school you two."

Davin and Chloe hurried off towards their class.

Chloe looked over at Davin as they walked. "Do you think your Dad suspects something?" She asked with a worried look on her face.

"
No." Davin assured her. "He has been asking me that a lot lately."

CHAPTER FIVE

ANOTHER PLAN

It had been a few days since the incident in the egg chamber. People had settled down and there was not much talk of it anymore other than the quiet investigation being held by Goban. Some folks were pulled in for questioning but nothing came of it. Nobody saw or knew anything, less Davin and Chloe. Davin had heard a little of the investigation from his Dad. Kimball had been called in to be questioned, seeing as he had some access to the area's around the chamber for his work. They had asked him some very basic questions. If he had seen anything suspicious the days prior to the eggs going missing and where he had been that night. Because of Kimball's standing, his honesty was not questioned when he had no useful information.

Davin and Chloe hadn't spoken a word of what happened to anyone or to each other for that matter. It wasn't until after class one day when Davin felt an unmistakable hand on his shoulder. "Davin." He turned his head to see Chloe coming up from behind him. "I have an idea." She whispered.

Davin came to an abrupt stop and turned to look at Chloe. "Are you serious? I'm not so sure I want to be a part of anymore of your ideas." He turned and continued walking again.

"
Come on Davin. Don't you want to see where the tunnel leads?" A slight smirk turned up on her face.

Davin turned his head towards her as he walked. "What!" He continued in a very hushed voice as he looked around checking to see if anyone was in ear shot. "You mean the one we saw in the chamber?"

Chloe's face turned from a smirk, to an ear to ear grin. "That's the one."

"
You have got to be joking me?" Davin questioned, pausing for only a brief moment.

"
I'll meet you in the same place tonight at midnight." As quickly as she said it, Chloe went racing off down the hall.

"
Hey Chloe....." Davin stopped midway speaking. His gut turned at the feeling of going back again. Knowing that if he didn't show up though, he would never here the end of it. His gut turned again as he headed towards his place.

Davin and Kimball had a normally quiet dinner. They both ate and began cleaning after finishing up. It wasn't until Davin and Kimball finished clearing their plates, when Kimball finally glanced over toward Davin. "So, did you do anything exciting today?" He asked.

Davin could not help but pause and think about the fact that he was planning to sneak out again tonight. He looked back towards his dad. "Just another normal boring day at school."

Kimball placed a hand on Davin's shoulder. "I'm turning in early tonight. I have an early day tomorrow." Kimball turned and headed off to his room, quietly closing the door behind him. "Good night."

When Davin went in his room, he left the door slightly ajar. Making sure to leave himself a quiet exit. He sat in his room quietly for the next few hours. He found himself gazing out of his window into the dark of the night. It was overcast and the moon was not very bright. He could hear his dad snoring. This was his clear sign it was time to go once again. He slipped out of his room and headed across to the front door. He paused. Waiting for the sound of his fathers deep sleep coming from his room. He cracked the door open and looked down the hall. He stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him. It wasn't long before he found himself in front of the small closet once again. Inside was evidence that Chloe had already been there. The grate had been pulled away already exposing the passageway through the ducts. Davin dropped down into the entrance and began crawling down the passage. He didn't hear anything at all. He slowed up, only while passing the the vent next to the guards that stood watch. There were at least six guards now, down below standing in front of the door.

He came to the vent that looked out into the chamber. The cover was missing. He poked his head through the opening. A single rope hung down to the floor below. Davin pulled his head back in and took a slow deep breath. He turned and stuck his feet out through the opening and grabbed hold of the rope firmly with both hands. He slid down the rope and on to the floor below. Stepping out slowly in to the room he moved towards the first row of eggs and they all began to glow. He walked down the isle of dragon eggs across the room. The eggs that he moved further away from went dark and new ones getting closer began to glow in their place. The light followed Davin as he crossed the room. The stone in the wall had been moved out of place. It seemed rather large, but upon closer inspection Davin found that the back side had been hollowed out, leaving the appearance of a solid rock from the chamber side. Davin quickly ducked into the opening and peered down what seemed yet another long passageway. He could see the glint of light at the very end.

Davin had made his way through the small crawlspace of a tunnel. It had gone on for some distance and Davin had lost his sense of where he was at within the Keep. Or if he was still in the Keep at all.

He finally emerged out into what appeared to be an abandoned coal mine. Just as he stepped out into the light he felt a soft hand grab his shoulder. He jumped and turned, startled by the sudden touch only to see his friend standing in front of him.

Chloe giggle, at the sight of Davin's shocked face. "Didn't mean to scare you." She snickered. "What took you so long. I'm forever waiting on you."

Davin merely shrugged. "You're lucky I even came at all." He said.

Chloe looked at him still smiling. "Oh, you know you wanted to come just as bad as me."

"
Not Really!" He paused. "I only came because I knew you would get mad at me if I didn't."

Chloe changed the subject and began examining the small cave like structure. "Where do you think this goes?" She said with a inquisitive tone.

Davin glanced down the widening tunnel that curved around a corner. "I don't know. It could lead anywhere"

"
Why don't we follow it and see where it goes?"

Chloe started to follow the tunnel and Davin hurried to catch up to her. The two of them had walked a little ways through the rather dank and damp tunnel. They soon came to what seemed to be a very odd placed door. Both of the kids stopped and placed an ear to the door. It was silent. There was clearly no movement behind the door. Just to be sure, Davin dropped down onto the floor and peeked under the door way. There was light coming from the well lit room on the opposite side and he did not see anyone standing in the room past the door. He stood up and slowly grasped the handle on the door and began to turn it. It wasn't locked and the door opened slowly.

The door opened up to a small room with a table in the middle and a few shelves lining the walls, some packed with books and others holding different jars, containing a number of different colored substances. In the middle of the table was a large, leather bound book. It was opened up to a page containing a picture of a man and a dragon. The two were overlapping one another. Beside the picture was writing that neither of them could decipher. It was written in some foreign language. There were scribbles of notes written along the edges of the page. Davin began turning the pages in the book. One of the pages pulled from the book as he went to flip the page, falling to the floor. Chloe quickly leaned down and picked the page up from the ground. Chloe's attention turned to a small iron box over a wood burning stove in the corner of the room.

"
Davin. Do you know what this is? It's a incubation box."

The small box was entirely made from a thick heavy iron. From the sides down to the hinges that held the lid in place. It was large enough to hold one dragon egg. They were used to incubate a dormant egg. The heat from the stove caused the box to heat immensely. The egg inside would change from it's soft leathery state into a hard stone like material. The heat would also trigger the embryo to begin to grow and slowly form into a small dragon. After weeks of intense heat the egg would crack and a hatchling dragon would emerge.

"
Whoever is stealing the eggs must be hatching them." Davin said as he placed a hand up towards his face and began to scratch his head. "I wonder what they do with them?"