Page 14 of Klaus

Had they ever. The headboard of what looked like a king-sized bed extended to the ceiling and was covered in an embroidered gold fabric. Gold seemed to be a theme in the room, showing up in the light fixtures, the bedspread, some of the pillows on the bed and the easy chair which sat in one corner.

Opposite the bed was a wall-mounted flat-screen TV, beside which was a touchpad.

“You can access an extremely wide music, film, and television archive through this,” Alan explained, demonstrating how it worked. “Everything’s in the cloud, so we didn’t lose it. One thing we didn’t lose.” His tone was somber.

They’d lost a lot, this I knew.

Beyond the bedroom was a large bathroom, marble and gold, with a huge glass-walled shower, a deep tub, a steam closet. “Does everyone have this?”

“Yes, everyone.”

I turned to him. “I might never leave.”

* * *

An hour later,I was preparing to haul the last of the cameras into the cave on a wheeled cart. Above my head circled at least a dozen or more dragons, all of them rejoicing in being free. I didn’t have to understand the snorts and growls and occasional roars to know what they meant.

I smiled for them, glad they could have their time together. I, on the other hand, had hours of wiring security cameras to look forward to. It didn’t help that I was hungry, but I’d been led to understand there would be food coming in from the city within the next hour or so. Two of them had driven out to fill a pair of SUVs with food for everyone.

I couldn’t imagine how much food it would take, or how long it would take to unload it all. I was never one to shy away from work, but I’d just made four trips back and forth to the heart of the caves and didn’t enjoy the thought of making that walk another few times.

A hot shower and a lot of meat. That was what I needed. Perhaps then, my lion would silence himself and allow me to think through the process of building the network for the security feed.

Lights filtering through the trees caught my eye. The sun was beginning to set, the sky turning a soft shade of dusky blue, and I recognized the SUVs approaching.

My stomach rumbled in response. They had food, and it had been before dawn when I last ate. Any food left behind in the caves had long since spoiled, since the power to the freezer had been cut off.

One of the drivers was Ainsley, who looked none too pleased to find me standing at the mouth of the cave. Instead of waving or even nodding, she walked around to the back of the vehicle and raised the tailgate.

I had offended her, but I had no time to devote to her problems or bruised feelings. There was a feed to be set up and cameras to be placed. Work to be done before I could get out of there, surprisingly luxurious though it was.

“Ainsley!” Tamhas, the other driver, called out to her from the rear end of his vehicle. “Hurry up, so we can get up there before dark!”

“Oh, it’s all right,” she replied.

Her voice floated to me on the warm breeze, sounding remarkably low-energy for someone who’d just returned home. The rest of the were like children, playing and laughing and flying in circles overhead, while she reminded me of a fatigued young mother attempting to keep her children in line.

“You go on. I can take care of your cargo, too.”

“Are you certain?” He was nearly ready to burst from his skin with excitement, but at least wanted to make it seem as though he knew it would be a rotten thing to leave her alone.

“Absolutely. Have a nice time.” She appeared, pulling a wheeled cart, not unlike mine, on which she’d stacked four boxes of raw meat. My mouth watered at the sight and the thought and, most of all, the scent.

When she spotted me waiting there, she shook her head. “You want first pick?”

I almost reeled at the bitterness in her question.

“What? Not at all. Do you think I’m truly that selfish?” I wanted to ask why she thought I’d come all the way to Scotland, if I were truly a self-centered opportunist.

“I wouldn’t know, I’m sure.” She maintained a quick pace down the length of the tunnel.

I followed, more confused over her than ever.

And concerned. Concern even drowned out the confusion.

I’d guessed before that something was wrong with her.

Now, I was certain of it.

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