Light Dragons 03 - Sparks Fly

able to free Brom.
    We climbed higher, approaching the dark bulk of stone and brick, walking slowly to give Baltic’s team time to scale the side walls before any alarm of our approach was sounded.
    “Too late,” I said ten seconds later as a harsh voice called out in Spanish for us to halt.
    We stopped, our hands up to show we were unarmed as two men emerged from either side of a broken chunk of the curtain wall. They were armed with long, wicked-looking daggers, and as soon as they drew close, Nico said under his breath, “Ouroboros dragons.”
    “Who are you?” the bigger of the two dragons demanded to know.
    “I am Ysolde de Bouchier. I want to see my son,” I said in my haughtiest tone, wondering like mad why Gareth had chosen to become involved with outlaws, dragons who had been kicked out of, or voluntarily left, their septs, and thus were no longer recognized by the weyr. Gareth had no love for dragons, and for them to be here now ... The penny dropped at that moment. “You’re part of Thala’s tribe, aren’t you?”
    “Come,” the man said, gesturing toward me with the dagger. Nico and Holland closed protectively around me, but I shook my head at them and walked in the direction indicated.
    “Is Thala here? I always got the impression she didn’t get along with Ruth and Gareth, but if they went running to her for protection, then I guess I was wrong. She’s here, isn’t she? She’s the one really behind this kidnapping. I just know it. She must have convinced Gareth to do her dirty work, knowing that Baltic and I would come to rescue Brom. Well, you can just tell her for me that I am not going to let her get away with this. No one messes with my family. No one! ”
    I worked myself up to a fine fit of anger by the time we made it into the main part of the fortress, not in an attempt to intimidate the dragons-I knew full well they weren’t scared in the least by us-but in order to keep my fear squashed down to a minimum.
    “You go here,” the dragon said, pulling me toward the larger of two square stone towers. “La Torre de la Reina.”
    “The tower of the queen,” I translated, looking up as we entered the twin arched doorways. The tower looked to be about three stories tall, the outside illuminated by solar lights stuck haphazardly into the rocky ground. Lovely twin arched windows, and columns with trapezoidal capitals intricately carved with elaborate scenes of battles graced the exterior, while inside it was much cooler, and scarcely furnished with just a few pieces of sturdy-looking antiques. “All right, we’re here. Now, where’s my son? Where’s Thala? I have a few things to say to her.”
    The dragons didn’t answer me, shoving us none too gently up a curved flight of stone steps. I waited until I reached the first landing to sidle away, asking again, “Where’s my son? I’m not moving one more foot until I see Brom!”
    “You go,” the dragon said, shoving me again.
    “Not one more step! And if you touch me again, I’m going to scream my bloody head off!”
    “Ysolde,” Nico said with a warning, his green eyes glittering in the dim light. “I think perhaps we should go wherever it is they want to take us. You wouldn’t want to attract the wrong attention.”
    I bit back the urge to yell for Brom, and nodded, allowing myself to be pushed up more of the stairs. Baltic, I knew, must be in the compound, using Savian’s sterling skills to locate Brom. I didn’t want to do anything to pull them away from that. This was why, three minutes later, as a very solid wood and iron door was slammed shut on us, I turned to face the two other men who were locked with me in the airless, stifling room. “Great. Now Baltic is going to have to rescue us, too.”
    Nico and Holland moved quickly over to the shuttered window, pulling open the wooden slats to peer down the wall of the tower. “We can’t jump.”
    I came over to look. “Really? It’s only three stories. We could do that easily. I’ve jumped out of a second-story window without breaking anything ... . Oh. Damn.” The ground beneath the window dropped away dramatically, punctuated with jagged spires of rock that erupted almost painfully from the earth. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
    “Pavel says you are a mage?” Holland asked.
    “Kind of,” I said, looking at the door. “My magic isn’t very reliable, not even after Dr. Kostich lifted the interdict that was meant to keep me from using