“So what do we do?” Doc asked. “Maybe we can wait him out?” she added hopefully.

  Kai shook his head. “Nothing in this world has the patience of a dragon. Baalgur will not soon grow tired of watching for us, especially with the prize we carry.”

  “We can’t stay long in here in any case,” Colonel Gallway said. “Our water will run out long before the dragon’s patience, I fear.”

  “I guess we have no choice, then,” Leah said. “We’ll have to fight. I can’t guarantee that my Power is strong enough to stop him, though. Baalgur is far more powerful than the dragon I killed on Alcatraz.”

  She could see from the look on her friends’ faces that was definitely not what they wanted to hear. She had to tell them the truth, though. Her father didn’t look all that happy with her admission, either.

  “If we’re going to fight that monster,” Sergeant Moss said, “we should at least try to choose the how and the when.”

  “Do you have something in mind, Sergeant?” Colonel Gallway asked.

  “This tunnel offers some protection,” the sergeant replied, “but it also limits our field of fire. I don’t know if our bullets will affect that beast at all, but our best chance to find out is from below, where we can aim at its belly. You and me and Jordy can slip a short way down the slope and find some rocks to shelter us. When Baalgur confronts Leah, we can shoot up at it from down there.”

  “Okay, we’ll do as you suggest,” Colonel Gallway said. He looked to the others. “Any other suggestions?”

  “I’ll stand with Leah,” Leesa said, “and add my magic to her Power. Perhaps it will help make the difference.” From her recent close call with Baalgur’s fire, she wasn’t at all certain her hope would prove true. She kept that thought to herself, though.

  “There’s one other thing we can try,” Kai said.

  Everyone’s head turned toward Kai, wondering what the warrior had in mind.

  “There’s a tale in my family,” he continued, “passed down from generation to generation, about an ancestor of ours who slew a dragon single-handedly.”

  “Rolf…” Raj said, nodding as he recalled the story. “I don’t think that was a dragon anywhere near as mighty as this one, though.”

  “No, undoubtedly not,” Kai acknowledged. “Even in a story embellished by countless retellings, the description is of a dragon far smaller than this one. Still, we must avail ourselves of every chance, no matter how slight.”

  “How did he kill it?” Leesa asked.

  More than one pair of eyes went wide as Kai quickly recounted the details of his ancestor’s legendary feat.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Leah said when he was finished. “That can’t be true.”

  “I believe it is,” Kai replied. “Either way, it’s one more thing we have to try.” He turned to Radar. “Since there are no spears around, I’ll need your sword. May I borrow it?”

  Radar pulled the blade from its sheath and handed it to Kai, who carefully tested the point with his fingertip.

  “Sharp,” he said. He swung the sword a couple of times in front of him, then performed a two-handed downward stabbing motion. “This will have to do.”

  Rave slipped over beside Kai and laid his hand on the warrior’s shoulder.

  “Let me have it,” he said. “I should be the one to try. I’ll have the best chance.”

  Kai stared silently at Rave for a few seconds. Fiona flew between them and twittered rapidly. Both men grinned.

  “She said we could always wrestle for the honor,” Kai told the others, “but that we both know how such a contest would turn out.” He handed the sword to Rave.

  Leesa didn’t like this new idea one bit—it was far too dangerous. But if she and Rave were to have any chance at all of returning to Ralin, they needed to get the horn back to Ariandre. To do that, they had to get past Baalgur, and the only way she could see to accomplish that was to destroy him. She pushed her misgivings aside.

  “Be careful,” she said. “Don’t risk it unless you see no other choice.”

  Rave nodded. “I won’t, don’t worry.”

  They spent a few more moments working out the details of their upcoming confrontation with Baalgur. When they were done, Rave returned to the end of the lava tube and scanned the sky. He watched as the Dragon Lord made another slow circuit above them. When the beast once again disappeared behind the mountain, he motioned to Colonel Gallway.

  The colonel gave Leah a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good luck, sweetheart.”

  Before Leah could reply, the three Marines quickly scrambled down the mountainside, taking cover as best they could behind some loose rocks sixty or seventy feet down the slope. The barrels of their rifles pointed skyward as they waited.

  At the same time, Rave raced up the slope and concealed himself behind a narrow crag two hundred feet or so above the tunnel. Leesa mouthed a silent prayer as her husband vanished from sight.

  “Are you two ready?” Kai asked Leesa and Leah.

  They both nodded, their features set with grim determination.

  Kai withdrew Ariandre’s horn from his quiver. Once he took it out into the open, they were certain the horn would draw Baalgur straight to them.

  “Remember,” Leah told him, “as soon as Baalgur heads toward us, you get yourself back into the cave. Shoot as many arrows as you want from there, but I don’t want to be distracted worrying about protecting you from his fire.”

  Kai’s lips curved into a small smile. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Leah turned to Leesa. “Ready?”

  Leesa drew in a deep breath. “Yeah. Let’s do this.”

  The two of them stepped out of the tunnel and moved a few paces down the slope. Kai followed behind them.

  Leah took Leesa’s hand and placed it on her upper arm. “Whatever happens, don’t let go of me.”

  Leesa gripped her friend’s arm firmly. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

  All three of them turned their faces up to the sky, awaiting Baalgur’s next appearance. Behind them, their comrades watched from a few steps back in the lava tube, ready to lend a hand with their own Powers should the chance arise.

  When the Dragon Lord appeared a few moments later, he was no longer flying in a slow, searching circle. Instead, drawn by Ariandre’s horn, he came streaking directly toward them, a dark form growing larger by the second.

  Kai hurried back into the tunnel and tossed the horn to Raj, who had been tasked with trying to find another way to get it back to Ariandre should the coming battle go badly. Kai pulled several arrows from his quiver and fit one to his bow, though he had little hope his arrows would make any difference. Their real hope lay with Leah and Leesa, and perhaps with Rave.

  As Baalgur dropped nearer, he spread his gigantic wings wide to slow his descent. The Marines opened fire, but their bullets seemed to have no effect upon the huge beast, whose descent continued unabated.

  Leah and Leesa stared upward, stunned by the sheer size of the monster silhouetted against the gray sky above them. They stood firm, though, trying hard not to show any fear. Leesa’s fingers tightened around Leah’s arm.

  The dragon hovered less than a hundred feet above them, his leathery wings beating slowly up and down to keep him in place. His lizard eyes seemed filled with disdain for the puny humans who dared to stand before him. He opened his fearsome jaws, revealing twin rows of scythe-like teeth. A ball of orange fire bubbled up in his throat.

  As the dragon fire began to emerge from Baalgur’s mouth, Leah raised her arms and unleashed her Power. Twin streams of flame shot from her palms, joining into one thick stream just a few feet in front of her. Leesa raised her free hand and added a blast of magic energy to Leah’s fire.

  Leah’s flames collided with the dragon fire in mid-air, producing a huge fireball where they met. As the flames continued to pour into the molten ball from both directions, the fiery orb grew ever larger. Unfortunately, it also began to push closer to Leah and Leesa.

  Leah’s gravest fear was being realized as she watched the fireball move nearer. While her Power might be a match for most dragons, Baalgur was not just any dragon. He was the Dragon Lord, the embodiment of the most powerful evil anywhere in this world. Even with Leesa’s magic augmenting her Power, she simply could not match Baalgur’s might.

  Beside her, Leesa was coming to much the same conclusion. Despite the danger, she let go of Leah’s arm and poured a second energy beam into Leah’s fire, unleashing as much of her magic as she possibly could. For a brief moment it seemed to be working as the advance of the fireball stalled, but then it resumed its inexorable march toward them.

  The outcome of this contest was becoming more and more clear. In just a few moments, the roaring fireball would overcome them. Leesa would wait until the last moment before grabbing back onto Leah’s arm, but she was not certain the Miracle’s Power would be enough to protect them from the flames.

  Rave watched from above as the raging fireball inched ever closer to the Leesa and Leah, leaving little doubt in his mind that the Dragon Lord’s magic was stronger even than the combined power of the two women. When the ball of fire pushed to within fifteen or twenty feet of them, Rave knew he could wait no longer.

  Gathering his legs beneath him, he pushed off the slope and launched himself down toward the dragon’s back. As he soared through the air, he held Radar’s sword above his head in both hands, the point aimed downward. His volkaane vision locked onto the tiny spot Kai had told him about at the base of the beast’s skull.

  Using the momentum of his leap and the powerful muscles in his arms and shoulders to power his thrust, Rave plunged the blade downward, its sharp point striking the target exactly where he aimed. The sword pierced the small vulnerable spot in the dragon’s scaly armor, cutting into the top of its spinal cord.

  Baalgur let loose with a thunderous roar of pain and anger that seemed to shake the mountain. His huge head swung reflexively upward, carrying his stream of fire with it. Instead of continuing to press toward Leah and Leesa, the flames blasted harmlessly into the side of the mountain.

  Rave had done all he could. Leaving the sword embedded in place, he leapt from the beast’s back.

  Without the Dragon Lord’s flames to block it, Leah’s fire—reinforced by Leesa’s magical energy beams—struck Baalgur’s exposed underbelly, burning through the thinner scales covering him there and incinerating the monster’s heart. Trailing a thick plume of black smoke behind him, the dragon fell from the sky and crashed onto the rocky slope, where he bounced several times before finally sliding to a stop several hundred feet down the mountain.

  Leesa followed Baalgur’s dead carcass with her eyes as it bounced and slid down the mountainside. She had seen Rave leap upon the monster’s neck and plunge the sword behind his skull, but the dragon fire had blocked her view when it suddenly jolted upward. She didn’t know if Rave had managed to jump free—she prayed he hadn’t become entangled with the Dragon Lord’s body as it tumbled down the slope.

  Her peripheral vision glimpsed motion to her left. She turned her head to see Rave trotting up the hillside, a wide smile on his face.

  The rest of the company swarmed out of the lava tube, surrounding Leah and Leesa and congratulating them enthusiastically. They extended their compliments to Rave when he reached them, and edged aside so he could move close to Leesa.

  Leesa wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

  “My hero,” she said into his ear.

  Rave kissed her forehead. “You and Leah didn’t do so badly yourselves.”

  “I think it was mostly Leah,” Leesa replied modestly, “but I was glad to do my bit.”

  When the Marines made it up the slope, the Miracles moved aside again so Colonel Gallway could embrace Leah. They hugged each other just as warmly as Leesa and Rave.

  “You did it,” Colonel Gallway said as he squeezed his daughter tightly.

  “I had help,” Leah said. “Lots of it. But I’m glad it’s finally over.”

  “Me, too,” Leesa added. She let go of Rave and held her arms out to Leah. “Come here, Sister.”

  The two women embraced to the cheers of their comrades.

  “Is it my turn yet?” Kai asked from behind Leah.

  Leah turned around, smiling. She opened her arms to Kai, expecting a congratulatory hug. Instead, Kai did the absolute last thing she expected: he drew her into his powerful arms and kissed her passionately upon the lips. She felt her knees begin to grow weak, but he held her up easily.

  “That’s what I’m talkin’ about,” Radar exclaimed gleefully.

  CHAPTER 36

  THE RETURN JOURNEY was blessedly uneventful. The recent explosions of dragon fire from the battle with Baalgur kept the plains around the volcanoes empty of hunters, and the company encountered no scorpions or snakes as they crossed through the deep crevices of what Leesa had come to think of as the “damaged lands.”

  They didn’t hurry, nor did they dawdle. As always, they remained alert and watchful. Whenever Kai scouted ahead, he gave Ariandre’s horn to Raj so that the object of their quest never left the protection of the main party. When Raj did the scouting, he returned the horn to Kai.

  In two days, the enchanted forest rose up before them. When they reached the edge of the woods, the thick underbrush bent back for them, opening a passage twice as wide as the ones they had previously traversed. Everyone seemed to gain an extra spring in their step as they entered the forest walking in pairs. They no longer had to worry about any more danger, and most of them knew they were close to being able to return home. The Miracles were certain that with her horn restored, Ariandre would be able to create a portal back to their world. Leesa and Rave were less certain, but they hoped the centaur had figured out a way to send them home as well.

  The walk through the enchanted forest was a short one, and Ariandre was waiting for them as they emerged from the trees. Behind her, scores of faeries glowed brightly in the air, a beautiful light show welcoming them back. Fiona flitted over to them to share the news about Haeli’s heroics.

  “Well done, my friends,” Ariandre greeted the company. “Well done indeed. I can’t begin to thank you all enough.”

  Kai removed the horn from his quiver and handed it to Leah. The horn seemed to glow a bit more brightly now that it was close to Ariandre.

  “You destroyed Baalgur,” he said to Leah. “You should be the one to present it.”

  Leah accepted the horn humbly. “It was a team effort. Without Sneak, Leesa and Plush, we wouldn’t have been able to reach the spot where the horn was kept. And without Rave and Leesa’s help, I never would have been able to defeat Baalgur.”

  “And without Rerun,” Rave interjected, “I wouldn’t have been there to help in the final battle. I would have been boiled in the lava instead.”

  Leesa felt a shiver run through her body. She didn’t like being reminded of those horrible moments.

  Ariandre smiled. “I know all of that. I watched it through Fiona’s eyes, remember?”

  Leah stepped forward and held out the horn to the centaur, holding it gingerly with two hands.

  “Anyhow, here you go. We’re all glad we could help.”

  Ariandre took the horn with both hands, her smile widening as she stared down at it for several moments. Finally, she lifted it to her head and pressed it against the hole in her forehead. As soon as the horn was in place, it began to glitter with rainbow-colored sparkles. Ariandre’s alabaster skin and her snowy coat seemed to glow slightly from within. A small sigh escaped her lips as she felt the horn’s power flow through her.

  “Ahhhhhhhh… You can’t imagine how good this feels.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Leah said. “Truly beautiful.”

  “Now I have the power to send you all home,” Ariandre said. “Well, those who came through a portal, anyhow.”

  “What about Rave and me?” Leesa asked anxiously.

  Ariandre pursed her lips. “That may prove a bit trickier. But, we won’t know until we try. First, the portal.” She looked at the Miracles and Marines. “You’ll be happy to know I can send you directly to San Diego. You won’t have to make the long trek home.”

  “You’d better make it just outside the city,” Colonel Gallway said. “We don’t want to run into any overeager flamethrowers if we arrive unexpectedly inside the city.”

  “As you wish,” Ariandre replied. She waved her right arm back and forth twice. Ten feet in front of the gathered company, the air began to shimmer. Soon a black ball appeared, floating in the air about head high. Slowly, the dark ball grew into a portal.

  Leesa watched in wonder. The portal looked exactly like those she had seen in her dreams. The Miracles all smiled as their way home took form.

  When the portal was nearly fully formed, Raj turned to Doc.

  “Do you think there might be room in your city for one more person?”

  Doc smiled delightedly. She leapt up into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist.

  “You bet there is!”

  Leah watched jealously. She was happy for her friend, of course, but she wished she was the one bringing a boyfriend home.

  Kai tapped her on the shoulder. “Do you think there’s room for two more?” he asked.

  Leah’s eyes widened. “Really? You’d come with us?”

  Kai smiled. “Well, someone has to watch out for my little brother in that strange new world,” he teased. “So if you want me, I’ll come along.”

  Leah thought about playing it coolly, but decided she had held back long enough. She reached up and locked her hands behind Kai’s neck. Pulling his head down to hers, she kissed him hard on the mouth. Her friends all clapped.

  “Does that tell you whether I want you to come or not?” she asked when she finally pulled her lips away from his.

  Kai grinned. “I’m not sure. Maybe if you showed me one more time…”

  Everyone laughed as Leah kissed Kai again.

  “You’ve got a good one there,” Radar said, thrilled for her best friend. “Definitely a keeper.”