Alex flipped up her HUD visor and took a picture of the floor, which she sent to Roy and Toppinir. “Whatever the hell these things are, it’s not good. Even if we blow this thing up, I’d like to know Roy and Toppinir will destroy them if any manage to escape the explosion.”
Jim had exited his cockpit again and was staring intently at the egg sacs. “Yeah, these things give me a really bad feeling.” He shuddered. “We should get going. I don’t want to be here when those things crack open.”
They made their way to the tunnel she had pointed out and flew through it. While they were passing through, Alex aimed a light at the wall.
The walls of the tunnel were covered in writing etched deep into the rock. Alex recorded a little bit of the writing and sent it to Gill. “This place keeps getting weirder and weirder,” she muttered to herself. “You ever see anything like this, Jim?”
Jim’s voice crackled a little over the comm. “Yeah, I have,” he answered. “They’re runes, Nordic or something. I used to play a game that had a lot of Norse mythology. Some of the puzzles used runes as a device. I don’t know what they mean, though. I’ve never seen most of them.”
Norse runes? In a meteorite filled with evil monsters that was above Middang3ard? Yeah, things could definitely get stranger.
Alex hardly knew anything about Norse mythology. She’d studied the bare minimum of Norse history for her homeschooling classes. All she knew was that there were warrior gods, and the Vikings were always invading someplace.
Maybe that’s all this was. The meteor was just a ship for an invasion. Wouldn’t that be something?
The tunnel Alex and Jim were taking split into three different paths. The two of them banked right and continued on, heading farther into the maze of tunnels. They began to feel lost. Alex wondered if they were getting any closer to the center or if they were just flying in circles.
Jim pinged Alex and she hit her comm. “Hey, you know that energy scan you did a while ago? I just did another one, and I’m starting to pick up some energy discharges. You should run another one and let me know what you get.”
“Gotcha.”
Alex swiped up her visor and ran the scan again. Jim was right. There was an energy discharge coming from somewhere in the tunnel. She locked onto it and said, “All right, now we have something to work with.”
The two of them sped toward the signature. It wasn’t easy since the tunnels they were in didn’t always lead in the right direction. There was a lot of backtracking and doubt, but Alex knew they were getting closer because her head was hurting more. Whatever had caused her headaches before was in here.
Chine squeezed through a new tunnel, wiggling to make it larger for himself. I don’t have a good feeling about this
Alex directed her thoughts to the dragon. What do you mean? We’re on a suicide mission. What would you feel good about?
The energy we are moving toward is powerful. More powerful than I thought. Much more.
So what? Doesn’t mean it won’t blow up. We’ll be cool, Chine. And by cool, I mean we’re going to blow this thing sky-high. Trust me.
I do trust you, Dustling. You have great courage.
Alex realized she hadn’t talked to the dragon about what she had decided to do. When the meteor blew, it wasn’t just going to take Jim and Alex. He was going to be caught in the blast as well. Oh, my God, Chine, I didn’t even ask you about all this. I am so sorry.
There is nothing to apologize for, Dustling. Where you go, I go. We are bound to each other. Our lives will always be intertwined.
I still don’t understand the whole binding thing. Have you got a minute to explain it to me?
It is a binding of fates. Mortals don’t understand life outside of themselves, even the long-lived ones such as dragons and elves. There is always fate. It is unseen and unheard, but it can be touched. In our case, our fates have been bound together until our death.
Alex laughed as Chine took a hard left. You know, that’s almost romantic
Chine did not laugh. No, it is not. You do not want to know the extent of bonding that dragons find romantic.
Maybe I don’t. Let’s just leave it at that.
They flew in silence for some time before Alex spoke again. Are you cool with this? I mean, you’re not an old dragon.
And you are not an old human. To answer your question, yes. Yes, I am okay with this. The Dark One’s forces must be stopped. I am happy to help in any way I can. There is purpose in that. Solace, even.
Alex checked her visor for the power signature. They were very close. “Hey, Jim, I think the power source is coming up in a little bit,” she called. “Maybe to the left this time…I hope.”
Jim answered, “I’m glad you are taking care of directions. I have absolutely no idea where we are, but left it is.”
Alex and Jim turned left and exited the tunnel into an open space much like the room full of eggs they had seen when they entered the meteor. “Ugh, I hope this isn’t another gross room,” Alex groaned. “I’d like to die without being covered in goop.”
Jim’s mech pointed at the ceiling. “Alex, look!”
Alex followed Jim’s finger and looked up.
The ceiling was covered in what could only be called veins. They were massive things, as big around as a bus, pumping and quivering. They were crisscrossed like a spider’s web, hanging from the rock of the meteor.
In the middle of the ceiling was a thing like an eye but not made of flesh. It hung from a bundle of veins like a piece of rotting fruit. The energy was coming from that.
Alex and Jim landed at the bottom of the room. Thankfully, there were
