The dragon gleamed like a new penny, overlapping copper scales encasing her in metallic armor. A tall fin ran from the top of her fierce head to the base of her neck. Not including the whiplike tail and the long, arched neck, the body of the dragon was the size of an elephant. A pair of shiny wings were folded at her sides.
The eyes of the dragon shifted to Kendra. They were bright, like molten gold. The dragon's mouth cracked open in a fang-filled imitation of a smile. "You dare to meet my gaze, little one?" the dragon asked, her silky words ringing like struck metal.
Kendra did not know what to do. She felt foolish for disobeying her instructions. She had been concerned about Gavin, and then the dragon had looked so fascinating. The heat of the stare made her feel cold. Her limbs went numb. What was it Warren had said about dragon tamers? Most people froze when dragons spoke to them. Dragon tamers spoke back.
"You are very beautiful," Kendra said in the loudest voice she could manage. "My eyes could not resist!" "This one is almost eloquent," the dragon mused, keeping her eyes locked on Kendra. "Come closer, my pet."
"Kendra, look away!" Gavin demanded. "Chalize, do not forget our arrangement."
Kendra tried to turn her head, but the muscles in her neck would not respond. She tried to close her eyes, but her eyelids refused to operate. Although she felt immobilized by fear, her mind remained clear.
"Your companions were not to gaze upon me," Chalize sang, bright eyes still skewering Kendra. The dragon moved for the first time, crouching lower, as if coiling to spring.
"Do not forget yourself, worm!" Gavin yelled.
The dragon looked back at him, eyes narrowed. "Worm, is it?"
Kendra dropped her gaze to the floor. Warren appeared at one elbow, Dougan at the other, hurrying her along. She shuffled forward, listening to the conversation without raising her eyes.
"She spoke to you politely, Chalize," Gavin said. "Your kind are not meant to devour such without cause."
"She broke your promise and laid eyes on me. What further cause should I require?" The words were as harsh as swords clashing.
Gavin began speaking an unintelligible language, as distinct from a human tongue as the squeals of dolphins or the moans of whales. The dragon replied in similar fashion. The volume of the conversation was louder than when they had used English.
Kendra felt an impulse to look back. Was the dragon still influencing her, or was she simply insane? Resisting the urge, she kept her eyes averted from Gavin and Chalize.
Presently Kendra, Warren, and Dougan reached the base of a long, wide stairway. As they climbed, the argument ended. Kendra could imagine Gavin staring down the dragon again. How had he gotten away with insulting her? How was he able to converse in her own language, a language that evidently not even the fairies knew, since Kendra had not understood any part of the exchange? There was certainly more to Gavin than met the eye.
Legs burning, they arrived at the top of the stairwell and beheld a deeply recessed alcove with an iron door. Advancing to the door, they found it locked, with no key in sight. They waited, none of them daring to look back.
Finally they heard rapid footfalls on the stairs. Gavin approached from behind, plunged a golden key into the lock, and opened the door. "Hurry," he said.
They rushed through the door into a corridor walled with stone blocks. Gavin paused to close the door behind them and then hurried to catch up. The floor was tiled. Glowing stones shone from sockets in the walls.
"You spoke like a dragon," Dougan said in wonder.
"Starting to see why Dad kept me a secret?" Gavin asked.
Dougan remained amazed. "I understood you were a dragon tamer, a natural, but this..."
"If you care for me at all, please never share what you heard."
"I'm sorry I looked at the dragon," Kendra said. "D-d-d-don't mention it," Gavin said. "How did you manage to reply?"
"I don't know," Kendra said. "My body couldn't move, but my mind stayed clear. I remembered that dragon tamers spoke to dragons, so after I got caught in her stare, I gave it a try. Every other part of me was frozen, but my mouth still worked."
"Usually the mind is paralyzed along with the body,"
Gavin said. "You have serious potential as a dragon tamer."
"How were you able to look in her eyes?" Warren asked. "I've always understood that dragon tamers avoid eye contact."
"Y-you were peeking as well?" Gavin accused.
"Just enough to see you."
"I challenged Chalize to try to break my will without touching me," Gavin said. "Our arrangement was that if she failed, she would let us pass in and out freely."
"What made you think you could succeed!" Dougan exclaimed.
"I've always been immune to the charms of dragons," Gavin said. "Through some inborn quirk, their stares do not mesmerize me. She could have decapitated me with a flick of her tail, but she is young and has lived in solitude, so she relished the challenge. Surely, to her, it seemed a contest she could not possibly lose."
"From what I half-glimpsed, she did look rather small," Warren said.
"V-v-v-v-very mysterious," Gavin said. "Chalize is a youngling, with most of her growth ahead of her. She can't be much more than a hundred years old. Yet this vault has been here at least ten times that long. The cavern where she dwells was raked with claw marks and gouges from a much larger, older dragon."
"I noticed," Warren said. "So where was the parent?"
"I inquired how she came here," Gavin said. "She refused to respond. Something about the whole situation seems shady. At least she surrendered her key as promised."
"Her youth explains why she attacked the others so quickly," Dougan said.
"Right," Gavin agreed. "Normally dragons prefer to toy with their food. The young ones are more impulsive."
"Are all dragons as metallic as she is?" Kendra asked.
"She almost looked like a robot."
"Each dragon is unique," Gavin said. "I have seen others with metal scales, but Chalize was the most metallic I've seen. Her entire body is sheathed in a copper alloy. You can even hear it in her voice."
Dougan laid an arm across Gavin's shoulders. "I suppose it goes without saying, but well done back there. You're a marvel."
"Th-th-thanks," Gavin said, lowering his eyes shyly.
As they proceeded down the corridor, Warren led the way, probing the ground with his broken spear. He warned them not to touch the walls, and to keep an eye out for tripwires.