Finally, they rounded a corner and came to the only part of the base that looked remotely familiar: the quarantine area. It seemed that Myrddin had done some upgrading to help the human base house Vardis, who sat in a glass-walled room. He stood when he saw the riders walking toward him. “Greetings, Manny, riders,” he said politely.
One of Manny’s eyes stared at Alex. Without eyebrows or a face to go along with the eye, it was always difficult to figure out what Manny was trying to convey. “Good to see you as well,” he said as the door opened.
The alien stepped out of the room. He was a couple of inches taller than the dragonriders. “How was your ride over?”
“Teleporting on an air carrier is preferable to any other method of transport. At least I had a bathroom to throw up in.”
Vardis nodded as if he understood. “Once the Dark One is defeated, my people will have much technology to share with yours. There is no doubt it will usher in a grand age for your people. It is not uncommon for a civilization to be propelled forward because of alien technology.”
Alex chuckled to herself. It sounded like Vardis had been reading alien conspiracy books like her dad. From everything she’d seen so far, none of the other races of the nine realms needed help jumping forward. And almost all of the tech at the Nest had been created by humans under Myrddin’s supervision.
It seemed odd to Alex. Vardis still hadn’t told any of them what the weapon was. Even if Alex had trusted Vardis originally, Myrddin had laid seeds of doubt in her mind. It was going to be hard not to see everything Vardis did or said through that lens, but was that any way to work with him?
The Beholder and the alien broke away from everyone else and started to talk. Alex thought that was strange. There was no reason to assume Vardis had information for Manny, given the way he’d acted before. Many things seemed questionable now that suspicion had been introduced to her mind.
Team Boundless stood around like a bunch of children. That infuriated Alex, but there was nothing she could do about it. She wasn’t certain what they were here for besides the weapon on the moon, which she was going to be responsible for acquiring.
Manny floated away from Vardis and over to Alex. He looked uncertain. “So,” he began, “your parents asked if you’d be able to have dinner with them tonight. We were wondering if you’d be comfortable bringing the team with you.”
Alex grinned widely. Uncertain as she was about the whole situation, she’d been looking forward to her parents meeting her friends, even if it might make her parents uncomfortable. “Of course!”
“And we were also wondering if you’d be comfortable bringing Vardis along.”
The question made a lump form in Alex’s throat. She tried to answer, but nothing came out. Luckily, Manny didn’t push it. “Of course, you’ll have time to think that over. It is a bit much to ask you to spring gnomes, pixies, elves, and aliens on your parents in one sitting.”
Alex quickly recovered, making it seem as if she hadn’t been bothered by the question at all. “Yeah, it would be a lot to drop on them,” she answered. “When would that be?”
“After we take care of some necessities. We still need to get your dragons outfitted for the mission. Since we’re running on a pretty tight schedule, I figured it would be better to prep the dragons before the final touches are put on. Follow me.”
Manny floated away. Team Boundless followed him as he led them yet through another lengthy set of winding hallways. The farther they went into the military base, the more it reminded Alex of the Nest. Even the smell of magic was present.
The dragons were housed in a smaller version of the stables from the Nest. Alex recognized the design as soon as she walked into the room. Granted, it wasn’t nearly as large or open, but whoever had constructed it had put in a lot of work to make sure the dragons had enough space.
It looked as if the room could easily accommodate at least fifteen dragons, but it didn’t seem to be in use yet.
Alex walked farther into the makeshift stables, happy to come across something that felt familiar. She reached out to Chine telepathically. His response was nearly instantaneous. Finally! I thought you were never going to get here.
Chapter Three
All of the dragonriders’ dragons were currently housed in the makeshift stables. The riders were ecstatic to see their dragons again. Alex was surprised by how happy she was to hear Chine’s voice in her head. It hadn’t been that long since she had last seen him.
Alex leaped into Chine’s nest, threw her arms around his neck, and said hello. Chine seemed just as happy to see her. So, this is Earth? I didn’t think I would live long enough to see this place.
Death? Alex had never heard Chine mention his mortality. It caught her off-guard. What do you mean, live long enough to see Earth? she asked.
Chine stretched out his wings as he peeked over the edge of his nest, checking on what the rest of the riders and dragons were up to. Dragons live for a very long time, but I am very aware that my life might not reach its natural length due to our situation.
What’s our situation?
The war. The constant battles.
Alex was glad she’d caught herself before she snapped at him. For some reason, she had thought Chine was implying that his death was part of their bonding.
The idea was so foreign that Alex could have sworn it came from someone else. It was the opposite of what she’d been feeling about the dragon only a
