“Yeah,” she whispered back.
“I heard Merglan talking about us today.”
“Really? When?”
“It was when we were about to eat lunch. He told Thargon to have the guards keep an eye on us. He said he noticed something strange about us, that he can’t read our thoughts the same way he can everyone else’s.”
“That’s weird.”
“Yeah, I think that might be why he always stops and looks at us when he leaves his chambers. I’m worried he might be onto us about our plans for escape,” Maija said with a concerned twinge in her voice.
“You just said he couldn’t read our minds, so how could he know what we’re plotting,” Kirsten said, trying to comfort her.
“I guess you’re right. We might want to be more careful about talking in front of any guards. Also, it might be hard to sneak into Merglan’s chambers if we’re being watched,” she said.
“Then we’ll just need to be more careful. I hope the guards become too distracted with their preparations for battle to pay more attention to us,” Kirsten said. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens, I guess. Goodnight,” she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes.
“Goodnight,” Maija replied.
Kirsten could hardly sleep thinking about the crystals and the army of orcs and kurr. The next morning when the guards came by slamming sticks on their cell bars to wake them, Kirsten was already up equipped with a plan for the day. She would clean the rooms until just after lunch when Merglan usually left his chambers for several hours. Then she and Maija would make sure no guards were around and sneak into his chambers to look for the crystals.
The morning spent cleaning went as it usually did. Kirsten noticed a guard at the end of the hall watching them as they worked. They scrubbed the floors and carried out the dirty laundry and waste left on the floor by the filthy occupants. Maija and Kirsten stopped cleaning and ate lunch early, hoping to be in the hallway to see Merglan leave his chambers. After a quick bite and a talking to from Chantal about how to properly make the beds, the two went back to work. By mid-afternoon they were running out of things to keep them busy when Merglan left his chambers. He walked down the hallway as he usually did, pausing to stare at them as they scrubbed tirelessly at the same section of spotless stone floor before he continued on down the length of the hall.
“It’s so creepy when he does that,” Maija said to Kirsten, irritated by his leering look.
“Yeah, he definitely doesn’t like not knowing what everyone in his fortress is thinking,” Kirsten said. “Is he gone?”
“The door at the far end of the hallway just closed,” Maija said tilting her head to listen.
“What about the guards?” she asked.
Maija leaned a little harder toward the entrance to the hallway, “They followed Merglan.” The upswing of the last syllable she spoke told Kirsten she was surprised the guards also left.
“It’s crazy that you can hear things so well,” Kirsten said.
“I know, its weird. It’s something that just started happening recently,” Maija said. They looked into the hallway, checking both directions.
“All clear,” Kirsten said.
“And Chantal left before we went for lunch. She hasn’t come back yet,” Maija added.
“Perfect,” Kirsten said while stepping hesitantly into the hallway. Maija followed and they ran up to the door that led to Merglan’s chambers. As Kirsten pushed, the door squeaked on its hinges and swung open. They slowly climbed up the staircase, making sure to be quiet in case others were in Merglan’s chambers. At the top of the staircase a second doorway led into a room. Kirsten turned to Maija and put a finger over her lips to let her know to be extra careful as they approached the top of the staircase.
Kirsten watched closely as she neared the top stone step and could see more of the room beyond the doorway. She didn’t see anyone as they inched closer. The room was large with extremely high ceilings. She could see tables, chairs, and a desk through the doorway. Checking in both directions, she gave Maija a thumbs-up and motioned to follow her into the room. Enormous bookshelves lined the walls, rising high into the air. Both of them stood in the doorway in awe.
“Wow. It’s beautiful,” Kirsten said, taking in the magnificence of the chambers.
“Remember, we need to find the crystals before he comes back,” Maija said, nudging Kirsten to keep her on track.
The two began searching the room. Not entirely sure what they were looking for, they rifled through the desk, searched throughout the shelves, and even looked under the rugs. They searched everywhere but didn’t find anything that resembled a crystal.
Finally Maija called to Kirsten, “Come over here! Check this out.”
Maija pulled aside a banner hanging as a decoration on the wall. Behind the banner several lines deeply engraved into the wall resembled a doorway.
“Is that a door?” Kirsten asked.
“I think so,” Maija said. “But there’s no handle or knob,” she said as she searched the area where a handle would normally be installed on a door.
“Look at this,” Kirsten said pointing to the ground. On the floor next to the wall was a strange marking, a spiral carved into the stone floor.
“Maybe it’s the doorknob?” Maija said.
Kirsten bent down and felt it. She pushed on it. Feeling it release, the spring-loaded spiral carving extended up from the stone floor. She turned it to the right. It twisted and the hidden door in the wall cracked open.
“Wow!” Maija said, amazed at the secret doorway’s complexity. Maija pushed the door open. It led into a long narrow passageway. It grew dark in the narrow hallway as the light from the chamber room grew more faint. In the distance at what appeared to be the other end of the passageway, they could see a glow. As they approached, the glowing light seemed to shine a brighter blue. The passageway led to another large room with high ceilings. The only light in the room was a glowing hue of light blue that radiated from the end of the narrow hallway.
“Maija look!” Kirsten said. She pointed across the room to the origin of the blue light. There, neatly stacked into a giant slab rising twice the height of her family farmhouse and running nearly the length of her barn back in Grandwood were brightly glowing crystals, emanating the unusual light.
Maija tugged on Kirsten’s shirtsleeve. She looked at her with a furrowed brow, “What is it?”
Maija’s eyes widened as she pointed at the ground in front of them. Kirsten’s eyes, at last adjusted to the dim blue light, could now see clearly what she had failed to see before. On the ground in front of them lay an enormous dragon spread in a heap, comfortably-sleeping on the floor. She watched as its dark scales rose and fell with each breath. Kirsten almost shouted in fear, but put her hand over her own mouth to avoid making any noise. She returned Maija’s wide-eyed look. Just as they exchanged their fearful gaze the dragon stirred. It’s enormous black-scaled body shifted as it rolled onto its side and let out a drowsy growl. Kirsten and Maija didn’t wait to see if the dragon’s eyes opened. They darted down the narrow passageway and back into the master’s chamber. Kirsten closed the hidden door behind them and pushed the spiral nob on the floor back into its locked position. Both of them breathed heavily as they looked at each other.
“A dragon,” Kirsten said, shocked. “He has a dragon in there.” She pointed to the wall where the banner now covered the secret door.
“Yeah, an enormous one too,” Maija gasped. “But hey, at least we know where the crystals are,” she said sarcastically.
“Come on, let’s get out of here before we get caught,” Kirsten said as she rushed across the room toward the door. Before they reached the stairway, though, they heard the door at the bottom of the stairs close. They also heard Chantal calling for them.
