Page 13 of Klaus

Alan shook his head. “No, but I do believe there’s something to be said for awareness. The more aware we are of each other and our surroundings, the more secure we’ll feel. And let’s not forget the antidote we’ve brought with us. We now have no weaknesses which can be exploited, as we did before. There’s nothing to fear.”

No, nothing. Except for semi-automatic rifles like the ones used to intimidate and murder half the clan before the rest were sedated and taken away in iron shackles.

It seemed I was the only one who had this thought, however, as the rest appeared to considerably relax and begin their trek into the cave.

I followed along, taking in everything around me. Not that there was much at first, only a tunnel which went deeper into the heart of the mountain and seemed to stretch on forever. Just when I was beginning to wonder if there was a mix-up or someone had been lying to me, the walls changed from bare rock to smooth sheetrock which had been painted over in a soft shade of off-white.

None of us needed help seeing in the dark, our eyesight far superior to that of humans, and we made it to a circular room before the lights went on. Laughter and a smattering of applause rose up from the clan.

“It looks as though Dallas made it to the generator room,” Owen announced, grinning.

I glanced around, using the additional light to my advantage. Just as described, the room was round and empty. The room where the girl who’d discovered the cave had hit her head, where Miles and Gate had found her.

Owen noticed my confusion, why would such a room exist? It was larger than the lobby of the resort back in St. Lucia.

“They were very fond of circles in the ancient times,” Owen explained with a smile and a shrug. “I believe they held meetings here, more rituals which didn’t require being outdoors, beneath the moon.”

“It’s fascinating,” I admitted, following the flow of traffic down yet another tunnel. This time, the walls were not smooth and unchanging. Doors marked both sides at varying intervals. The excitement grew as members of the clan broke off and hurried away to their respective bedrooms. I thought I might even have heard a squeal or two.

Alan spotted me, waving me over to where he waited. “You’ll get a room of your own, of course,” he assured me. “But I wanted to show you around the place a bit, first.”

He looked overwhelmed but managed to sound as though he had things under control. I gave him quite a bit of credit for that, as he had recently taken tremendous responsibility onto himself, not the least of which being the task of keeping the clan united in the face of what they’d been through.

“No need to get to me right away,” I assured him. “Whatever you need to take care of, go ahead.”

“This is what I need to take care of. Making sure you’re familiar with your surroundings and what we need from you.” He led me to a room which I could only describe as a control center, one wall half-covered in monitors above a table which spanned the length of the space beneath them.

“There are no computers,” I observed, noting the empty space beneath the table. No routers, no anything.

“Yes, indeed,” he agreed through clenched teeth. “The bastards stole everything. I suppose they didn’t expect us to return, so what did it matter? One of the SUVs which met us was filled with what we need.”

“Mary comes through again.” I chuckled.

“Yes, indeed. Alan drove that vehicle, taking a rarely used road we only travel when we drive into the city for supplies. He’ll arrive shortly, and we’ll unload the electronics Mary arranged for us to have. She assured me you were well-versed in all of them.”

I could already imagine what she’d arranged; there was something to be said for having worked with someone long enough to nearly be able to read their mind.

Hers wasn’t the only mind I could read, either.

Alan was clearly desperate to get things over with in order to get back to the business of making himself at home once again. Already, I’d noticed four or five of the clan members we’d traveled with hurrying back toward the cave mouth. Their dragons were straining to be let free.

So was my lion.

Show all of them who is truly strong, my lion urged, growling and pacing in my head. We are the most feared, the most revered, we could take on all of them.

It was one thing for the lion to feel that way, but another for the sentiment to be true in reality. I hated to disagree with him, but the idea of two dozen dragons against a solitary lion didn’t leave me with much confidence. If he wanted to believe that, he could continue to do so as long as I maintained control.

We’d shift later, I decided as I followed Alan to the room which would be mine, ten doors down from the control center. I counted as we went, just to make certain I couldn’t be accused of walking into the wrong room at an inopportune moment. The doors were all identical, a flat, matte shade of gray, and the corridor floor was smooth stone covered in a long, ornate, colorful runner which contrasted with the otherwise bleak surroundings.

My single-wheeled suitcase in hand, I stepped into the room which would be mine for the foreseeable future through a door which slid open when Alan entered a code in a small keypad to the right of the doorframe.

I watched closely, memorizing the five-digit series of numbers for future reference.

“What do you think?” he asked, hanging back while I explored.

“I think this gives the resort a run for its money,” I admitted with a chuckle, unable to believe they could turn what was essentially a hole in a cave and turn it into a luxurious retreat. “The only thing missing are windows, really.”

“Yes, one thing we never could quite replicate,” he replied. “But otherwise, we tried to allow for all comforts and conveniences.”

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