Jake flew over the sea of green, gazing intently at the splotches of brown beneath the canopy. The search for Cassandra had taken two weeks already and everyone had been feeling the pressure.

Jake flew all-day patrols and had covered the entire national forest and a good deal of the state lands and farmland with his friend, the sparrow.

The fine fellow used his small size to dart down amongst the treetops, or flit to nearby windows to listen in to conversations, or twittered madly by the police station to eavesdrop on official reports.

Jake couldn’t speak to him fluently yet, but his sister could, She claimed he was extremely grateful to be rescued and wanted to help any way he could. Jake didn’t mind the companion, and had been trying to grasp all the subtle intricacies of sparrow-talk. However, his time to lessons was sadly minimal, and he’d made little headway, despite his natural gifts with languages blessed by his new body.

Today they were the farthest they’d been yet in their search area, a small tree farm on the edge of the wild lands before the next city. No trace of her could be found.

That lack of sign was becoming frustrating, he thought as he wheeled back towards the mountain. They’d tried locating her with the Seeing Pool, but it had failed to locate her.

That’s not to say, it didn’t show her; Cassandra herself showed up nice and clear, with her wounds healing nicely. But the background, the place she was hiding, remained black as pitch. It wasn’t a cave pitch, for that would show up in the cave when they pulled back. No, it was a complete pitch no matter how far back they pulled the pool or searched for the nearest landmark.

It suggested a very powerful magic, Serena claimed. Nothing else could hoodwink the pool. Far more than Cassandra ever exhibited.

That led Jake to believe that either Melinda had taken her in at the Black Magic Store, or that she had somehow acquired a talisman similar to Jake’s that made magical scrying impossible.

The answer to the riddle remained of vital importance; every action they took would depend on the answer. If it was true that Melinda had taken Cassandra in, then no amount of searching would let them find her until Cassandra felt ready to be found, in which case a horrible battle would ensue without a clear victor. If the answer was the latter, then they stood a slim chance to find the entrance or discover fresh victims and exact vengeance upon the Spider Queen. Yet so far, no sign of such a lair could be found.

Jake thought briefly of his family, and the families of their friend. Cassandra had proven in battle that she could be calculating and utterly without mercy. If she could locate any further information from his human name, then they would be vulnerable. Even Shyla and her own could be at risk, and probably greater since Melinda had chosen her!

He would bring that point up tonight, he thought. They’d taken too long with the search, he felt, and time would be running against them. The needed to provide safety for their families, and there could only be one way with which to do that.


He finished eating his deer carcass and resumed his flight, the sparrow settled on one of his neck spikes and taking a rest. Jake started marshaling the arguments he’d use to persuade the others to bring their families to the safety of the fortress.

A loud trill jolted him from his thoughts as a tiny brown missile plummeted past his eye headed straight towards earth.

Jake immediately looked down to see what had attracted the little guy’s attention and saw an accident unfolding on the narrow, twisting road below.

Three long black limos had skidded out of control on a bridge near a waterfall suspended over a wide gorge or crevasse in which a large creek or small river ran. The lead limo had become entangled at the far roots of the bridge while in the middle of the span the other two limos had crashed into each other, the rear one pushing the middle out over the edge and leaving it to teeter. Men were jumping out of the last limo and onto the trunk of the other to stabilize it while two went to the doors and tried to wrench them open, but they were trapped in the cable in other debris.

Jake saw all this and knew the fate of those trapped in the second limo in the space of a millisecond.

He folded his wings and plunged earthward, his decision already made before his conscious thoughts could engage. He was a dragon, and action was in any dragon’s nature.

Come on, come on. Faster. He urged himself. The ground grew swiftly beneath him, the walls lunging for him before opening wide like the jaws of some immense beast seeking to swallow him whole.

Pulling up at the last second, he reached the bottom of the gorge from the top, a sixty-foot drop, in less than a second. His belly nearly scraped the foam of the river as it tumbled and rolled carelessly along its path.

Aiming for the hood of the limo, which he saw tilting forward in a motion that guaranteed it would fall this time despite all the men could do, he reached out with his claws.

Crunch! There came the sound of tortured metal and savage jolt that felt like landing after falling from a second-story window. Much of his momentum became negated by the added weight of the car, and both he and the car lifted off the bridge about fifty feet before he slowed enough to safely brake and descend back to earth.

The men gaped openly in astonishment from where they’d fallen when the limo had been snatched away. It took them several minutes before they even had the thought to get up and check on the limo’s passengers.

Jake took care of the problem for them, peering in through the window. Unfortunately, to do that he had to slide the thin lens that hid his eyes from sight. He just couldn’t see through the smoked windows with them.

The car was bathed in red light as he could easily see inside at the two people sitting in the back. One, a young woman of Chinese descent, trembled at the unexpected red illumination, clutching a child of about ten years close to her in defense. They looked so much alike that Jake guessed they were either sisters or, more likely, mother and daughter. He felt his second guess was closer to the mark. Moving forward he checked on the driver and the guard in the front passenger seat. Both were shaking and one was crying in relief.

Jake figured he’d done enough and turned to go, but the sound of the rear door opening froze him. He slid the lens hurriedly over his eyes to mask the light again and stepped silently back.

The child hopped out and stared at where he’d been. Her mother struggled with her seat belt, shouting something loudly. The bodyguards were picking themselves up and hurrying towards the girl and the limo.

“Thank you!” The girl said loudly.

Jake didn’t know what to do at this point. He eased back another step and stepped on a fallen branch that crunched loudly and made everyone freeze.

The child smiled happily. “Please come out, we won’t hurt you. We just want to talk. Say thank you.”

Jake thought something seemed off. Why would she be determined to talk to something she couldn’t see? Why wasn’t she scared, but nervously excited, as her smell betrayed? He decided to gamble. “You are most welcome, human cub.”

His voice caused the guards to pull their guns and point them randomly in his direction. A couple tried to catch the girl’s arm to pull her back but she eluded them.

“I am speaking to the Ki-Lin! Put your weapons away! You’ll scare her!” she snapped.

“Miss, that did not sound female to me at all.” One of the younger guards said. His eyes never strayed from the point where Jake’s head had spoken.

“I am no female.” Jake confirmed. “But I am curious to know why you seek the Ki-Lin. It is a dangerous adventure.”

The child’s face fell. “You’re not the Ki-Lin?” She asked in a small voice.

“No.” Jake confirmed. “I am…something else; someone who wishes, like the Ki-Lin, to be left alone.”

The child looked up at that. “You know the Ki-Lin?” The excitement returned to her voice.

Jake almost smiled at her exuberance. “Yes. I do.”

“Then please! Bring her a message from me?” she pleaded. “Tell her that our people would be honored greatly by her presence! We wish only to hear her wisdom and share in the good luck she brings!”

Jake sighed privately. He should have realized…No matter. It would be fairly impossible for them to find Serena anyway. But perhaps he could get these people off their back and make them withdraw the reward money.

He figured it would be worth a shot, so he spoke carefully.

“The Ki-Lin would wish no ill on your people, Child of the East, but neither would she wish to leave her home. She is happy where she is at, and would be upset if forced her to leave. She wishes to remain private and hidden from the world. If you would make her happy, then cease your search for her. Recall your rewards and your men and leave us in peace.”

The girl listened, her face falling at being told “no”, even in so polite of terms, but they discussed plans to talk to her father about withdrawing the reward money at least.

One of the body guards snorted, showing what he thought of the idea. Jake’s lid slid back in anger, the red light of his eye skewering the terrified man.

“I am not a Ki-Lin.” He reminded the assembled quietly. No sound could be heard now but his voice. “I am someone far deadlier, and quicker to take offense. Do not dishonor this chance meeting by doubting me or your leader’s daughter.”

Feeling the guard had been properly chastened, Jake turned back to the child, who was looking solemnly up at the eye. Her mother stood beside her now, having been freed from the vehicle while they talked.

“If you are not a Ki-Lin, then what are your?” she asked. “Why should we believe someone who hides himself? Can you not give us some shred of proof as to why we should believe your word?” The woman sounded angry, as if not liking her husband’s plan questioned. Perhaps she had wanted to see a unicorn as well, Jake thought.

Now he felt faced with a conundrum. He would have to show himself to prove his word and even frighten the determined or foolish amongst them into following the plan, but he’d promised to stay out of sight and not be seen. He didn’t want to break his promise to his friends, but if he could get all the hunters and such off their backs…

And, the thought came to the back of his mind; perhaps it would be best if he did. With Cassandra nearly healed, it wouldn’t be long before she returned and started to terrorize again. People would be in dire danger because they would not believe and would not guard themselves. But the idea that a dragon flew the skies might make them more open to the thought that other things bumped in the night as well.

He thought about it long and hard before coming to his decision.

“I cannot, yet.” He said aloud. “I have promised others not to reveal myself, so as not to provide proof of our existence. However, let me remind you,” he added as the woman began to look triumphant, “That I easily lifted your entire limo, with you, your daughter and your guards into the sky with as much effort as lifting a deer carcass.” The smile wiped off her face in a blink of an eye. “That should be considerable proof that I am a formidable enemy. I have no desire to be your enemy, but neither will I submit to any will but my own. Take my warning or leave it at your peril.’

“As for you, miss.” Jake returned his gaze to the girl. “I ask that you remember our conversation and plan with your father. We have no desire to leave our home, now or in the future. Now, I must leave. May good fortune always favor you, and you keep your stout courage even in the darkest places.”

Jake spread his wings and launched into the sky, nearly knocking everyone off their feet from the violence of the takeoff.


Jake flew away from the single limo now speeding its way towards the city lights. The chance encounter had been profitable, he thought. His request to be left alone would be heard, he thought. Whether it would be believed or followed was a different question entirely.

With all the attention focused on them, perhaps it would prove inevitable that they would be discovered. Jake wondered what would happen when that day would come. They’d been incredibly lucky that it hadn’t. Serena’s giant tree always struck him as a dead giveaway, but it hadn’t been. Perhaps it was because of its location deep in a crag inside the mountains that kept it out of sight of people, or maybe because many of the plants of the forest, faced with mild seasons and plenty of magic to grow on, had become very large. Even the trees had grown, many wouldn’t seem out of place in pictures of the first logging companies in the Northwest.

Of course the growth had its downside. People were coming to gawk at the “unicorn’s” forest; a thriving cottage industry had sprung up in local towns to feed off the influx with everything from figurines to stones from the forest being offered for exorbitant amounts. Some enterprising business folk had even set up short one-night tours in the forest, promising that the unicorn power in the air would make them well again.

Jake wondered about that last part, with Serena’s powers of healing, it might not be as far fetched as they thought.

Regardless, the fact was that most days of the week now saw tremendous numbers of people at the edges of the forest. Some tried to get deeper into the forest, but were rebuffed. The magic of the forest was stronger now than when Serena had cast it. People that walked any trail found themselves coming back to parking lots at the edge of the trees. Those seeking the older campsites deep into the roots of the mountains by car found themselves driving back out the way they’d come, or becoming completely lost. Most of the campsites were obliterate by the shifting trees, and those that weren’t were full of campers unable to penetrate far into the forest.

Serena’s benevolent nature had one good side-effect; no one was being hurt by the forest’s rejection. After days of finding themselves returning straight back the way they’d come, they’d usually give up and leave. Never angrily, though. The peace on the trees and in the land and waters healed their spirits like nothing else, and everyone went away feeling as if they’d spent years at a spa.

Yet Jake feared for the people. If Cassandra ever mounted an attack against the forest, there could be little done to save them. It would become a killing field unlike any other in history. Well, recorded history anyway.

The distant shriek of a plane drew his attention, and he watched as a F-22 Raptor raced across the sky, patrolling the airway above the forest.

They’d become a nearly familiar sight as they strove to keep the thousands of helicopters, private planes, cargo planes and even blimps and jumbo jets from cluttering the airspace above the park. Jake knew his camouflage had proved Roland’s words that he’d be invisible to all detection systems when he chose. But he still gave it a respectable berth as he angled now towards the mountainside that contained his cave.


At the Fortress he found everyone already gathered. All looked dejected and dispirited.

“No luck?” Jake asked, already knowing the answer but needing to ask anyway as he thought how best to explain his efforts.

“None.” Brian affirmed; tail swishing sharply to express his displeasure. “We could not even leave the forest without being seen, there were so many. We are completely surrounded, it seems.”

“Yet it doesn’t look like anyone who could escape managed to succeed either. You don’t seem surprised, Jake.” Rachel pointed out.

Jake remained reserved as he spoke. He’d have to do this carefully. “It has been, I think, expected by us all.” He said aloud. “I suspected that Melinda may have given her a talisman similar to mine, or possibly even asylum to Cassandra in her store until she has healed, but wasn’t able to entirely block out the scrying capabilities of the Pool. Yet that leaves us no closer to finding them, or rather where they are going to show up next. And now other dangers rear their head. I may have helped limit one, but I might also have exacerbated the problem as well.”

“What do you mean?” Rachel asked sharply.

Jake told of the saving of the limo and the young girl inside of it, the daughter of the financier that had offered the reward, and her offer to Serena.

Serena looked startled at first, but by the end was shaking her head.

‘It isn’t much of an offer. I don’t want to go.’ She said firmly. ‘This is my home.’

“I guessed that much.” Jake told her dryly. “I informed them of that. So whether or not it works, we shall see. They weren’t impressed it seems by an invisible voice with glowing eyes and enough strength to lift a limo.”

“Right.” Brian snorted. “You probably made them pee their pants. Now, we should discuss our next plan.”

“No.” Jake said firmly. Everyone turned towards him.

Realizing he had the floor, Jake took his time in speaking. His voice filled the chamber as he presented his argument.

“We know that Cassandra is healing as we speak. She has molted and will soon have use of all her legs, at which point I have no doubt that she will seek vengeance upon us for interfering with her plans. She already has my name, and control of spiders. With such information, she could uncover our information from police records or searches. At which point, she will have access to everyone we love; our friends (He looked at Nacomi), our family (He looked at Stacey), even those who have aided us (He looked at Shyla). She knows we can defend ourselves, and eagerly seek another showdown with us. She will not face us directly, but will seek to hurt the ones we care about to hurt us, bring us within her power. We cannot let that happen, not just for our families, but everyone in the world. She has a powerful ambition, and if she can render us powerless, she will go as far as she can. I do not think she can win, but millions of people will be at risk. We dare not, we will not let her have it her way.”

“What are you suggesting?” Shyla asked slowly. “I agree with your points so far, but I don’t get what you’re leading up to. Are you asking us to redouble our efforts by knowing the consequences of failure?”

“No.” Asbiorn said slowly. His face was pensive in thought. “What you are suggesting will be a huge undertaking. You will have to give up forever any thoughts of remaining anonymous. And there is the matter of what are you going to do if you accomplish your goal.”

“The challenges are enormous,” Jake agreed. “But I believe it is the only way.”

“What are you talking about?” Stacey asked.

Jake sighed. “I am raising the point that we need to bring our families and our friend’s families to the Fortress.”

A silence descended as everyone thought about it. Stacey spoke first.

“That sounds like a terrific idea!” She enthused. “Mom and dad would love this place!”

“Not mine.” Rachel grumped. “She would find it confining. She might like Serena’s glade more. She always was outdoorsy.”

“Same here.” Brian agreed. “But the hard part will be convincing them to come. They may not want to, or may even question their sanity.”

“I’m not proposing we give them a choice.” Jake’s quiet voice cut through the excited babble, bringing dead silence again.

Everyone turned back to him. “We must bring them here first. Explain the situation. If they find it unpalatable, then we use Dragon Ice. I would actually recommend using Dragon Ice on them all until we can secure Cassandra one way or the other. They will be in danger the whole time they are not protected. Sam can attest to that.”

The furious expressions on everyone’s faces died away to be replaced by thoughtful ones. One or two glanced at Sam and away quickly, shuddering. Her face showed nothing but curiosity. True to Serena’s word, she remembered nothing of the spiders, and actually disbelieved them at first! Jake felt somewhat glad of the fact. To be used in such a manner, bound and helpless, wondering if you would die and fearing the constant agony of what grew inside you…horrifying! He would not wish that on his worst enemies. Yet…

A new thought came to him…an uncomfortable one. If Cassandra could make it all the way to the Fortress somehow…he’d have to give the matter more thought. For now, he’d start taking the talisman with him, sealing the entrance behind him whenever he left. No one could get out or in that way, he hoped.

They debated the matter for several hours, each going one way or the other, but Jake remained implacable. It had to be done in that manner to ensure the safety of the ones they loved before they fell to the hold of the spiders. If they gathered all of them to the fortress and sealed the door, they could find food for perhaps a week, and that would be it. There simply wasn’t the facilities yet to support the numbers of people that would be there. They couldn’t forage enough to keep them all fed.

At last, everyone saw the sense in his argument and agreed, though Stacey looked downtrodden at the thought of her sisters and parents remaining suspended for who knew how long before it would be made safe.

Before they brought anyone in, they looked for a place to store the crystals, and at last located a store room deep inside the Fortress. It stood bare and empty and large enough for a dirigible hanger.

“Dwarves never do anything small.” Jake commented when they found the space. There had been enough room in the hallways for him to make his way down easily.

“It doesn’t look that way.” Brian agreed. “But this is more than large enough to place all our families inside and still have room for others if needed.”

“I suggest we make a list of people that are in immediate danger—our closest relatives, our dearest friends—and give them to Jake and where to find them.”

‘I can help with that last part.’ Serena said. ‘I will use the pool to locate each of them precisely. From there you can fly to your objective quickly.’

“As quickly as I can.” Jake agreed. “This will be the work of days or even weeks. I don’t think we have that kind of time.”

Silence followed his grim announcement.


Jake soared high above the crowded streets, seeking his targets with the patience of a sniper and the determination of a bloodhound with a scent. Serena’s pool had shown him his first targets were at a small restaurant. Stacey had wanted to come along with the abduction of her sisters, but Jake had refused. It would be complicated enough without Stacey interfering. His plan was to fly down and snatch the three girls up like fish in an eagle’s talons, he just happened to be lucky that they were all together to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

A happily chatting crowd coming from the restaurant caught his attention and he searched frantically through them. At last he caught sight of the sisters near the back, talking with their friend. Jake could almost hear them commiserating about the absence of Stacey.

Jake spilled air from his wings and dove like a hawk on a mouse. He remained invisible, but he could already see the wind from his wake forming behind him, tearing at the edges of clouds and forming a vortex behind him.

Barely a foot above the cars he finished leveling out and raced towards his prey, walking across the parking lot towards their car. Car alarms shrieked in his wake and people were blown over in the high wind.

The trio was just starting to turn towards the disturbance when he came upon them!

He felt three of his feet strike flesh, an abrupt weight slowing him slightly. He knew he had taken his prizes, but had he grabbed the right ones?

Rising above the buildings, he risked a look down and saw all three of Stacey’s sisters shrieking wildly in terror as they beat at the invisible paws holding them.

“Hold on, little humans!” He shouted at them, making them still. “We have a ways to travel! But you will see someone at the end of your journey that will explain everything to you!”

He left them to think about his news while he set course towards the mountains far ahead.



They arrived at the mountain as the sun finished setting, streaking the horizon in bright purples and vivid reds, slowly fading into grays and blues.

Jake swooped down on the great tree, coming over the meadow and flaring to slow as much as he dared before releasing the three girls in a move similar to Nacomi’s arrival so long ago.

Once they tumbled to a stop they lay a moment gathering their breath while Jake came around again and landed nearby. He faded back to visibility and waited politely for them to regain their feet.

As they struggled to rise they caught sight of him and froze. Their faces betrayed their inner conflict of disbelief and the urgent desire to run in any direction away from the dragon that had appeared.

“Don’t be afraid.” Jake told them. “I’m an old friend of yours. But perhaps that should wait a while for your sister to explain it to you.”

The oldest one, Stella Jake thought her name was, spoke first. “Stacey?” Her voice was full of doubt and wonder. “She’s here?”

“Yes.” A new voice came from the right just as a small sphere of light, looking like the biggest firefly in the world, floated from a stand of giant fern to stop right in front of them.

Stacey seemed very shy and nervous, but Jake had to let her handle the situation. He simply rested and waited for his next part.

The sisters seemed stunned clear down to their painted toes. They opened their mouths several times, though no noise came out, and shut them again with a click. Jake nearly chuckled at the comic routine.

At last Stella spoke. “Stace, is that you?” She managed to squeak.

“Yes, silly. It’s me.” Stacey replied tearfully. “I’m just…a little…different now is all.”

The middle one snorted. “A little? Stace, you’re smaller than my hand! Err, almost. And you have wings! Gorgeous wings, but wings!”

Stacey laughed. “Thanks Melody! I like them, but I’m a little bigger than your hand still, and it will take a lot of explaining to do. I’ll tell you more in the Fortress, but we have to get you inside so Jake can get Mom and Dad.”

Everyone turned to him.

“That’s Jake?!” The youngest gawked. “No way!”

“Way.” Jake rumbled. “I remember the last time I saw you, Hermione. You tried to climb into my backpack on my way out the door for a ride. I ended up carrying you around the backyard for another hour on my shoulders before you grew tired enough to fall asleep and I could help your dad put you to bed.”

Hermione gasped. The others looked like people trying to wake up from a bizarre dream.

“Now, how about I put you on my shoulders and take you for another ride?” Jake asked lightly. “I guarantee it’ll be more comfortable for you in the end. And Stacey can fill you in some more.”

Despite their misgivings, the trio climbed onto his back while Stacey settled in the lap of Stella. With a smooth running start, Jake launched himself easily into the sky, pleased to note the awed gasps of his passengers.

Inside the fortress he placed them on the ground, taking the key with him, he closed up the entrance with the door and gave the statue to Brian for safekeeping while he set out to find Stacey’s parents. He guessed they were at the parking lot trying to find their children, so he went there first, not bothering to check his guess at Serena’s pool. If he moved fast enough, he could find them there her was sure.

His guess proved correct, and he easily spotted them at the edge of the taped off crime scene, talking with the detective. To his surprise, he could see his parents there! Considering how close Serena and Stacey had been, it might not have been a surprise. It certainly made his job easier, as they were standing with Stacey’s parents, giving them support.

Jake repeated his earlier attack, grabbing all four parents this time and knocking over the detective with an accidental sweep of his tail. The wake from his approach tore the tape to shreds, scattered cameras and sent reporters, onlookers, and police scrambling.

Racing into the sky, Jake didn’t bother to speak this time as he made his way back towards the mountain. The people he held in his claws were screaming too hysterically to listen to him anyway.

He wished briefly he had the ability to wear ear muffs as he soared back to the fortress.

On the ground, it took Serena’s horn to calm them down enough to talk, and when they did they had thousands of questions. His mom and dad in particular grew furious that he hadn’t bothered to try and talk to them before.

“We weren’t sure how you would take our transformations.” Jake explained. “Also, we knew you would be watched by the media for a long time so we didn’t want to risk an encounter before.”

“So why now?” his father asked. His stern face looked hard at him, and Jake felt himself shrink on the inside, though he let nothing touch his exterior. Sometimes, having the instincts of dragons came in handy when facing down a parent’s dreaded stares. The tears on his mother’s face were much worse, however. He didn’t have a single mental or emotional defense against them. Yet Serena undertook the challenge. They stood together now, Serena’s horn nestled on mom’s shoulder as they talked quietly.

“There must be a reason why all this has changed.” Jake’s father insisted, recalling Jake’s attention.

“Of course.” Jake agreed. Everyone’s conversation stopped as they listened. “It is extremely dangerous right now out there for you. So much so that we will risk everything to rescue you and keep you safe. There is no other choice right now, the stakes are too terrible and too high. I’ll tell you more, I promise, but I have to go get the others, and we’d rather tell you just once.”

“Others?” he asked, grey eyes watching him closely. Jake forgot how razor sharp his father’s eyes were, like an old wolf studying a herd for the right prey. He was a tall man, Jake knew, though now he looked so much smaller that Jake felt almost a giant. His dark brown hair, streaked with grey, gave him a distinguished and commanding presence as did his strong face and firm personality. The small scar on his face from his time in the navy didn’t hurt the appearance of an old knight wanting to fight once more either.

“Brian and Rachel’s family, Nacomi’s, and Shyla’s.” Jake told him. “You can get acquainted while I’m gone.” He turned to go.

“Wait.” His father commanded. Jake moved his head to look at him.

His father allowed a trace of worry to enter his voice. “Be careful.”

Jake smiled. “Dad, I’m almost hoping to run into her first, so I can kill her and end this threat.”

“What!” His mother reeled, stunned. His father looked much the same.

“Son! What has gotten into you! How dare you say—“

“I dare,” Jake cut him off angrily. “Because I know of what I speak and you don’t. Don’t feel bad for her until you get the whole story. This is a war, dad. A war that is just kicking off. I’ve got to go.” He added at last.

Everyone was silent as he left. The only sound that came down the tunnel was the door sealing them in.