The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

vulnerable, and lovely.
    “This isn’t the way we came through the dragongate this last time.” Powwell’s statement dragged Rollett’s attention away from his momentary desire and back to the problem at hand.
    “We came through that tunnel.” Yaala pointed to a smaller opening adjacent to the one Powwell stared into. “I remember landing in that puddle near the broken pipe.”
    “But this is the way we left Hanassa last year.” Powwell gestured toward the tunnel he leaned into. “I didn’t recognize it before because of the partial collapse of the opening.”
    Yaala looked back and forth between the tunnel openings, confusion written all over her face.
    Rollett examined both openings minutely and saw little difference other than the position in relation to Old Bertha.
    “Look, the gate is opening!” Powwell called as he dived into the tunnel.
    “Opening?” Rollett gasped. “We can escape right now?” His heart pounded in his ears. He plunged into the passage right behind Powwell, ahead of Yaala. “Home. I need to go home.” If the opening led to home, then he could come back for his men. He could attack Piedro later, with refreshed magic and reinforcements from the Commune.
    He smelled cool dampness. The hot red flares from the lava core swirled into a myriad of colors muted by a soft, soothing blue-white and deep gray. The song that called him grew louder.
    “Not yet!” Powwell blocked his path with his staff.
    Desperate to be gone from Hanassa and the men who pursued him, Rollett whipped his own staff around to confront Powwell in a fighting stance. “Out of my way, boy!” A red haze of anger blinded him to all but the need to escape.
    “We don’t leave without my sister!” Powwell snarled.
    “Stop it, both of you!” Yaala warned in a hissing whisper. “Hanassa will hear you. Besides, that scene is resolving into . . . into, Stargods, it’s underwater! Look at that bemouth. It will eat us alive.” She backed out of the tunnel, hands crossed in front of her face, protecting herself from sprays of salt water.
    Powwell shifted his stance just enough to see the watery blue landscape behind him while also keeping Rollett from charging past. “Deep water,” he said succinctly. “We have to wait for the right scene. We have to wait for Kalen.”
    “Does this mean the dragongate isn’t broken?” Yaala edged up behind Rollett, but she didn’t try to come between the two men who remained ready to swing their staffs at each other.
    Her warmth filled Rollett’s back with comfort. He relaxed his stance a fraction. Some of the desperate need to escape dribbled out of him. He could go on a little longer. He needed to help Yaala depose Piedro so that he could rescue his men.
    “It means the gate has changed. It opens to different locations than before,” Powwell replied. “Maybe none of them are safe.”
    “This way!” A Rover-accented voice yelled from across the large cavern. “They’re hiding in that tunnel.”
    “Keep them away from the dragongate,” Piedro called back.
    Rollett turned quickly, keeping his staff at the ready. Trapped! They were trapped in the tiny tunnel, barely wide enough to wield his staff. And Powwell just stood there with a feral snarl of satisfaction on his face.
    Anger and frustration boiled up within Rollett. The only escape seemed to be the mysterious dragongate behind them. But one wrong step would put them into the lava core.
    Powwell moved up beside him, shoving Yaala against the wall and out of their way. He held up his bloody right hand in a spell gesture. The hedgehog familiar keened an ear-piercing wail and dived deep into Powwell’s pocket, his spines fully erect.
    The entire tunnel smelled of old blood and fear. Powwell’s skin grew paler yet. A blue tinge developed around his lips and the edges of his nose. He started to sweat heavily.
    Powwell drew his strength from blood magic!
    Rollett swallowed heavily, convulsively to keep his bile in his stomach where it belonged. He’d had more than enough experience with the Bloodmage Moncriith. The thought of drawing power from the blood, pain, and fear of another living being revolted him physically and emotionally.
    But he recognized that they had few other choices. If blood magic would keep Piedro and the consort at bay until they could step through the dragongate to safety, then so be it.
    Powwell began chanting under his breath.
    Always sensitive to music, Rollett listened hard to the