some kind of connection. Groping desperately for my Hua, I drew it up through my seven centres of power. It was like picking up fine sand in my hands, the Hua slipping between the fingers of my control until only a small amount was left, pooled in the cup of my mind. Focusing every part of my being, I hurled it towards the Rat Dragon. A terrible dragging pain made me sway. For a moment, I was hollow. A husk. In my mind, I could see the blue dragon hunched over the hill, his claws intertwined around it. The huge head lifted, the unblinking eyes staring at me. Confusion. Reluctance. He lifted his head and shrieked; a scream of resentment. Then something roared through me, like the searing howl of a fire wind. Pure energy. With a crack, the padlock split, jerking me downwards.
I hung there for a moment, gaping at the broken lock above me.
The Rat Dragon had answered.
Ryko groaned. I ripped out the padlock and pushed against the door. Silently, it swung inwards. A passageway. I grabbed Ryko's arm and pulled as he scrabbled backwards. We slowly moved into the narrow space. As soon as his feet cleared the threshold, I scrambled over him and shut the metal door, sealing us into complete blackness.
I leaned against a wall and took a deep breath. Ryko's gasps were lengthening into a natural rhythm. I touched the wall. Stone. The floor too. Beside me, I felt Ryko stir.
'Did they see us?' His voice sounded normal.
'No, I don't think so.' I reached out, my hand banging into the solid muscle of his chest. Are you all right?'
'Yes.' I felt his hand brush mine as he spanned his stomach, searching. 'You were right. It wasn't real.' He laughed, the relief making the low rumble catch in his chest.
Now that my eyes had adjusted, I could see his solid darkness sitting in front of me, outlined by the faint light coming from under the metal door.
'You weren't affected?' His voice was tinged with awe.
'Not as much,' I said shortly. It wasn't the time to discuss my connection with the Rat Dragon.
I pushed myself up into a crouch. 'Let's get moving.'
'Wait.'
I heard the rustle of cloth and the sound of something hollow being set on the floor. Then the scrape of a striker. A spark arced across the darkness. Another flash and then, with a faint pop, a small flame burst on the ground, burnishing the planes of Ryko's face with bronze. I blinked in the sudden light, taking a moment to see the small clay pot holding the fire.
'Sap powder,' Ryko said with satisfaction. He looked up at me and grinned. 'Trick of my old trade.' He dug into his waist pouch and produced two candles, thrusting the first into the flame and lighting the wick. Even as he withdrew the second, the sap fire had begun to die away.
'Here.' He handed a candle to me.
I held it up, squinting to see down the corridor. Another metal door was only a few lengths away
'Doesn't look locked,' Ryko said, knocking the spent powder onto the floor. With one hand, he deftly wrapped a square of leather around the clay dish and pushed it back into his waist pouch. 'I'll go first.'
'What if there's more dragon power.'
He hesitated, eyeing the door warily. The line of his jaw tightened. 'I'll still go first.'
We both stood, our shadows flickering up the rough stone of the wall. Ryko edged forwards. I followed, watching him for any ill effects. Nothing. The dragon's protection must have ended outside.
We stopped at the inner door, our candlelight picking out the raised edges of a large design on the metal. Twelve spheres linked together in a circle, the two top spheres larger and scored with a swirling shape.
'What is it?' he asked. 'Some kind of Dragoneye charm?'
i don't know. I've never seen it before.'
Ryko reached out and pressed the door lever. The latch slid smoothly out of its groove. He glanced back at me.
'Ready?'
I nodded.
With a push, the door swung open. Our candlelight reached across a rich blue carpet and gleamed over shelves stacked with polished wooden scroll boxes. I could make out the legs and edge of a large reading table further inside, its dimensions lost in the shadows. The space seemed to stretch on forever.
It looked like my master's library Smelled like it too: dusty parchment and the pungency of ink blocks. But there was something different. A sense of power that rose through my feet and pressed on the base of my skull.
Ryko walked into the room, raising his candle to maximise its throw. 'It's huge.' He turned in a circle. 'So many scrolls.' He moved further in. 'Close the door behind you, lord, and we can light a lamp and have a proper look for your folio.'
I stepped inside and pushed the door shut as Ryko held his flame to the wick of a large bronze lamp on a side bench. Immediately, the space brightened, the endless shadows solidifying into the walls and ceiling of a long room. I felt myself drawn towards the wooden reading table that stretched down the centre, its sloping surface covered with open scrolls, their corners held down by small brass weights. Along the higher edge
of the table, a series of small lamps were fixed in place — the oil safely enclosed behind tiny panes of glass. How easy it would be to study a scroll with such bright light.
'Oh ho!' Ryko exclaimed. 'Now that explains a few things.'
I looked around. He was standing at the side bench holding a leather pouch.
'What is it?' I asked.
He poked his finger inside the pouch then withdrew it. The tip was covered in grey powder.
He pressed it against his tongue. 'Sun drug.' He weighed the pouch in his hand. About four months' supply No wonder Lord Ido is so well muscled for a Dragoneye. And so unpredictable.'
'What does it do?'
Ryko tied off the pouch. 'It kindles the Sun energy in a man. Builds muscle and increases the fighting spirit. It is meant only for the Shadow Men of the Imperial guard. Lord Ido must be bribing someone to get it.'
'You take it?'
He nodded. 'Every day It is given to us in our morning meal to keep us from declining into a womanly shape and thoughts. Have you noticed the older Shadow Men who serve as Imperial servants?'
I nodded.
'Then you will have noticed their round shapes and high voices.'
I eyed the pouch. 'You think Lord Ido takes it to stop the weakening that comes from being a Dragoneye?'
Ryko tossed it back onto the bench. 'I am sure of it. And his sudden angers tell me he is taking too much of it.'
If this powder strengthened the Sun energy, would it also strengthen a Dragoneye's bond with his dragon? Could it help me reach the Mirror Dragon?
'How much are you supposed to take?'
'Only a fingertip a day. Otherwise the Sun energy rises too high and anything can set you off into a mad fury Or, if you are of
a melancholic nature, a darkness that cannot be shaken off.' His voice lowered. 'There are other effects as well. Dark marks on the skin, like the pox, and all your hair can drop out, even on your privates.'
'Dark marks? Like a rash?'
Ryko nodded. 'Yes. You've seen it?'
'I think Lord Ido may be giving this drug to Dillon,' I said. 'He has the rash. And his nature has changed.' Did Dillon know he was taking the drug, or was Lord Ido feeding it to him without his knowledge?
'If Ido is not careful, he will kill your friend. Too much can be lethal'
My eyes found the pouch again.
'Come, let's look for the folio,' Ryko said. 'We cannot stay here much longer. We still have to find a way out without raising the guards.'
I turned back to the reading table and slowly walked its length, catching words here and there from the open scrolls: myth, forbidden, death. But no red folio. I rubbed the base of my skull; the pressure had deepened. Was it
