Raya and Beth were still asleep. Mindplay was trying to recover from a headache he had developed from the fight. I was holding onto BD close to my chest for both my comfort and hers. Mindplay recounted the events that had transpired because I couldn't remember anything after I was knocked out.
"I didn't recognize you," said Mindplay. "Was there anything you do remember?"
"Just the sadness," I said.
"What even was that?"
"I call it Silver's Cry," said BD. "Silver can unleash all his past experience to create a form as you saw before. It’s unlocked through the unearthing of lost memories, but as you can see, not all memories are happy ones. The one you saw was the saddest."
"Is it always this bad?"
"No, but as more memories are revealed while using it, the higher the chance of stumbling on that particular memory."
"What was that memory?" I asked. "What was so bad that would cause me so much pain?"
"I don't know," BD sighed. "I was hatched long after that event and was too afraid to ask about it. By this point, it's too dangerous to bring it up. Claymore knows more about it, but like I said, I'm too afraid to know more."
"But do you at least know something?" asked Mindplay, seemingly able to tell the wyvern was holding something back.
"I know the name Gabori."
I scratched BD in the spot I remembered she liked. I surprised her but spoke comforting words into her mind. She cuddled closer to my chest than she had since the battle ended.
"No point bringing up the past now," I said out loud. "You mentioned that we might have a problem."
Mindplay nodded. He explained that the dryad that put the group to sleep had escaped into the forest, and despite not having clear evidence, Mindplay suspected that she might have had a connection to Shadow Fang.
"Why do you think that?" I asked, referring to his connection between the dryad and Shadow Fang.
Mindplay was not quick to answer, but when he did, he said, "The dryad spoke highly about the dragon she served. Despite that, she still attacked us even though we presented no threat to the area." I didn’t say anything for some time. “What?”
I tried to consider what I wanted to say but decided to speak my mind. “Back in Vegas, I could enact a plan we never discussed. Time and again, you can deduce things at speeds I can’t imagine any normal person can do. Now, you’re the only one amongst us who resisted and presumably dispelled a magical effect.” Mindplay stared at me, waiting for me to address the point. “What are you holding back from us?”
“Are you losing trust in me, Silver?” asked Mindplay, a bit harsher than I expected to hear.
“This isn’t about trust. You said you would help me and have done nothing but help me. But there’s no denying that you are hiding something.”
Mindplay struggled to find a rebuttal. His face twisted with fear, anger, and regret as he tried not to lash out. Finally, he moved his glasses to hide his eyes in his hands and laughed.
“I don’t… I’m not going to worry myself or anyone else about this.” He removed his face from his hand, looking almost like his usual self. “That was the past. I am who I am now because I left it behind. Didn't you say there's no point bringing up the past?”
Before I could respond, Raya finally woke up. We waited for Beth to wake before we retold the events. However, specific details were rearranged to avoid drawing attention to Mindplay. The story now was I woke up first via Silver’s Cry, and Mindplay woke up soon after using the booster to stave off going to sleep again. The story checked out with the girls. As for me, I decided to ignore the conversation I and Mindplay had. He didn’t want to talk about it, and it didn’t seem important enough to push him on the subject.
With most of the information laid out before us, we faced a new problem. If the dryad, Jurya, worked for Shadow Fang, the vampire would receive some unfortunate news.
Beth said, "If Shadow Fang knows that we're coming, we'll have to go around instead of straightforward."
"Which means it will take longer to get there," Raya said, annoyed at the potential change in pace.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"Well, yes. But I promise we won't encounter a problem like that again."
"Was the dryad supposed to be in this area?" asked Mindplay.
"The Quetzalcoatl's territory expands throughout most of the rainforest. Running into one of her heralds isn't unheard of. They ensure that no one tries to tear down the rainforest like what was attempted years ago."
"And since we weren't an active threat, it gives more credence that the dryad was working for Shadow Fang."
Raya spoke up with dread in her voice. "It seems like an attack on Shadow Fang will be more difficult than I thought if a dragon stands against us."
"The Quetzalcoatl won't be a direct threat," said Beth, "At least, it's less likely to happen."
"You said we have to go around," I said. "What will we have to expect now that we have to do that?"
"If everything is as it should be, nothing but walking longer."
Despite fewer trees around us, the sun was still blocked from our site. The sunlight's rays could still pierce through the leaves, indicating it was late in the day. We made camp for the night, planning to leave at first light.
Beth scouted the area several times to ensure we were safe to rest. Raya would take the first watch. As soon as everything was set up, Mindplay was the first to fall asleep after being affected by the booster. I was awake for some time, slowly drifting to sleep as the fire consumed everything thrown into it.
---------
Shadow Fang was told not to destroy anything. Ridiculous. The pyramid was old and falling apart. Nothing lived in it except a guardian and all the treasures they kept safe. If he could do what he originally intended, he and his men could have avoided all the traps in the structure. It didn’t make any sense.
Then again, the vampire had learned how unreasonable dragons could be in the past years. This seemed doubly true involving their minions. If a dragon wanted their minions to create a mountain for the dragon to call home, they expected it to happen no matter how insane of a task it was.
Or maybe he was thinking about the dynamic all wrong. The forest creatures wouldn’t shut up about how great their dragon treated them. Of course, all you need to make a forest spirit happy is to plant a tree, and the Quetzalcoatl could do that on command.
Getting back to the problem, the pyramid that held what Shadow Fang had been looking for was behind layers of traps and complicated interior design. For some reason, every time a trap was set off, they were reset faster than Shadow Fang could send in the next group. Whether through magic or hands-on maintenance, it prevented anyone from successfully going in and retrieving the item.
Silver would have been good for this, among other things. Of course, Chase was a good substitute. Between his genetic makeup and the fast speed of a leatherback, not only would he be the best person for the job, but this gave Shadow Fang the best chance to stress test the fruits of the Silver Challenger Project. That was the plan anyway.
The vampire stared at the pyramid with the night sky as a backdrop. Dina was micromanaging everything surrounding the structure as equipment was packed up and transported out of the forest. These were the last hours the group would be here.
Jurya had informed him that Silver, Raya, and others were coming. The fear on her face was all too familiar. Shadow Fang wanted to leave immediately and abandoned the mission, but Dina stopped him from giving the other. She reminded him that finding an alternative would have taken almost another decade if they had left the area.
According to the doctors, Chase was almost done with his procedures, but there was little telling when he would be here. This was the due-or-die moment.
“SHADOW FANG!”
The vampire had been trying to ignore Jurya, screaming his name for the last minute. He only started to hear her now because he had run out of things to think about. It was getting harder and harder for people to work without looking concerned.
He turned around and faced the dryad in a metal cage that was used to hold best. The area had been burned, and the cell was elevated high enough off the ground so the dryad couldn’t reach the ground. The less plant life she had to manipulate, the less of a threat she was.
“Let me go right now, and I will forget this ever happened,” said the dryad.
“Because if I don’t, ‘The Great Quetzalcoatl will rain judgment on me’?” Mocked Shadow Fang. “Why don’t you summon her now and get it over?”
“I am not worthy of commanding Quetzalcoatl to do anything,” said the dryad, disgusted that anyone would suggest such a thing.
“Silver can. Even Claymore has a telepathic connection with the Blue Dragon. You have that with how close you claim to be with your precious ruler.”
“I don’t need such a thing.”
“So you can’t summon her, have no deep connection with her, and expect the Quetzalcoatl to save you from this?”
“She personally accepted me into her forest.”
“Because you’re another dryad with a unique quirk. At the end of the day, you're replaceable.”
“How dare you. She will avenge me.”
“Avenge you, but not save you? Have you forgotten who is after you?” All of the defiance of the dryad had melted away along with the color on her face. “I can easily run from the forest dragon, with or without my men. But Silver? You know just as well as I do that he is different. I don’t care if anything you’ve said is true, but if you don’t even have a telepathic connection with the forest dragon, what gives you the boldness to stand against that monster of monsters?”
The dryad slumped down on the cage floor. Shadow Fang smiled, knowing he had shut her up for a while. He might have enjoyed watching the hope leave her eyes in a different life. But Shadow Fang empathized with her dread. After everything he said to Jurya, his stress levels were increasing.
Even if all the essentials were shipped off, some equipment and notes would have to be left behind to continue operations. Shadow Fang was not leaving without the scroll.