Nadine Book 4

21. Boom

I land outside the cave and realize I never seen it from this side. It's so normal.

"You need to say what you are thinking and feeling, Nadine." Marcus stands beside me. "It will help."

"I have never seen it from here. It's a normal cave."

"Dipak carried me to a carriage, I think. It was bright." I see a path not far away. "How did I get here?"

"Some sort of teleporting spell, baby. He grabbed you and was gone."

I get to the cave entrance. A big rock is broken apart outside it. "I heard something loud and light flooded in."

"I broke the boulder, sweetheart."

I step in. "It's not very big. It doesn't seem to go anywhere. There's nothing in it."

"It was weapons and shackles. We took them out."

I lay down in the same spot. Dipak's the only one in here. "What am I missing?"

"I don't know."

I stand up and feel the sides. "It feels like a cave."

He nods at me.

"Do you have glasses?"

He hands them to me. I put them on. I don't see anything.

I go behind a big rock and there is a little blue square on the wall. It's well hidden.

"Come here please. This is all I can find." I hand him the glasses.

"Go get Omar for me. We'll see what's behind it."

"Dipak."

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"My baby brother wasn't a magician."

"I know. Send Omar in."

I get out. "OMAR." I hit my knees.

He runs over. "What?" I point into the cave.

Tre, Tye, Kane, and Marcus run up to me. "What is it babydoll?"

"Who has glasses with them?" I use Tye and get myself up.

Tye, Tre, and Kane put them on. "1 second." I take Dipak and Omar's glasses.

I give a pair to Marcus.

"When I was here last, I would black out from pain. It seemed like he was gone sometimes. I don't know how long. An hour a minute. I don't know." I wipe the tears off my face. "Search everything. Every rock. Every tree. I don't know where he was going. We have to find it."

"What are we searching for?"

"I don't know Kane. Now go find it."

"Why are we using glasses baby? Your brother wasn't a magician."

"I don't think it was my brother." I wipe more tears off. "Now search everything."

They take off in different directions. I try to imagine where he would have went.

Marcus stays with me. "Keep talking."

I fly up and land on another ledge. "Everyone always assumed my brother was working with a magician because he teleported me."

Marcus lands beside me. "Yea, he had to have been."

"But what if that was a magician that shapeshifted into him? I mean, he was in the medical area for a long time. He woke up and was getting sent back to Galhurst. He said he came to say goodbye to his sister. That's when he teleported me. I don't know who talked to him after he woke up in the medical area. What if he was taken right out of it?" I kick over a couple of rocks. "Say he was taken out and the shapeshifter took his spot pretending to wake up. I never talked to him enough after he woke up to know if it was my brother."

He kicks a rock over. "Is this what I'm searching for?"

"Yes, kind of." I stare at a tiny bit of glowing blue. "Usually there's more." I pick it up. It's about the size of a key. I lift the glasses up, and it's tree bark.

He does the same. "Well, that's different."

"It's been magically manipulated somehow."

We look up. It's over a 100-foot tall tree. He rubs his eyes. "Think we can get the glasses on a dragon?"

I can't help but laugh. "I don't think they'll fit sir."

"Guess we're climbing this thing."

I shake my head. "That's why we have Kane."

He smirks. "I bet we can do it. Or are you afraid of a little tree?"

"Little?"

He laughs. "Come on. Turn into a dragon before you hit the ground."

"Good advice sir. Don't forget to check the limbs too."

He nearly slips and falls. I grab his arm and then glare at him. "Sorry, I'll be more careful."

Halfway up the tree. I look down. "You know. Omar is going to love it if we find something up here."

He cracks up laughing. "Probably try to make Kane conjure him a door."

I laugh so hard, I almost fall. He grabs onto me. "Be careful."

"You're the one who made me laugh."

"No more talking."

We keep climbing. We get almost to the top and Dipak lands on a branch. "You 2 are being thorough. Why are you up here?"

I show him the bark in my pocket. "We found it at the base of the tree. Trying to see where it came off."

"Woman. It's a key made to look like tree bark."

"The glasses didn't show me a key, Dipak."

"Baby, the key itself is made to look like tree bark. Look at it. It's a key. Colored like tree bark."

I'll be damned. It really is a key. "Then why is it blue?"

"The lock and the key were spelled to only work with each other. Omar can explain it later."

"Ok. What are you doing anyway? What was that blue spot in the cave?"

"The lock woman. I need the key. Omar can not get in without it."

"Then why are you still here? We gave you the key."

"I'm going to make sure you get out of this tree alive, woman."

I give him a dirty look and jump.

I fall 50 feet before I turn into my dragon. Then I land by the base of the tree.

He lands right beside me. "Funny. I don't know what bad girls get. But that's what you're getting." He flies to the entrance of the cave.

We walk along the cliff and Tre lands beside us with a jar. "I found a spot on a tree. I opened it, and it had a jar of blood in it."

I nod. "Tre you're lead. I found a blue spot on the cave wall. Omar and Dipak are trying to figure out how to open it. Marcus found a key at the bottom of that tree over there. Dipak came and took it. Said he needed it to open the blue spot on the wall. Now you know everything I know."

"Ok baby." He kisses my head and flies off to the boys.

"He'll do better than I will."

"Not sure how he could do better. Searching everything."

"Just watch."

Marcus smiles. "Ok."

20 minutes later. The king's guard is here with glasses on, as well as Dracul and Gunner.

"Told you so."

He chuckles.

-Boom-

We fall on our asses.

He wraps me in his arms and points. "LAND OVER THERE BY THAT TREE ON THE GROUND."

"BUT."

"NOW."

I turn into a dragon and fly to the ground.

He lands right beside me. "Whatever the hell that was, shook the whole damn cliff. Watch for falling rocks." He grabs my arm and pulls me towards the cave entrance.

"MARCUS."

"We're in danger of this thing coming down. That was a big explosion. Keep your eyes open."

I let him drag me around. I feel for the bonds with my boys, and they are fine.

Then we get to the cave entrance and it's caved in.

I stare at it for a second. "DIPAK."

My see red.