The Lost Dragon (Cycle of Dragons Book 3) by Dan Michaelson (good summer reads .txt) 📗

pushed it, it struck the stone, and there came an explosion as the rock started to tremble.

I braced myself for the collapse of the tunnel. I hadn’t expected it to be quite that powerful, though perhaps I should have. Eleanor had shown me that the pattern itself was incredibly potent, and now that I knew the trick, I understood why. With five strands woven together, of course it would be powerful.

The tunnel didn’t crash around me, though I worried it still might.

It was even more reason for me to try to get out of the tunnel.

Crawling toward the entrance of the tunnel, I wondered if I might be able to use the outward facing spiral to break free. I hadn’t tried that on her spiral pattern before. If they both were equally potent, then perhaps one cancelled the other out.

I lay in the cave, trying to get myself positioned well, though it was going to be difficult for me to hold my hands up and create the spiraling pattern given the tightness of the space.

I first separated the power into five separate bands and twisted them before spiraling them outward. As I did, I could feel the energy radiating toward the opening, but I wasn’t able to create quite as large of a loop as I had before. The cramped cave made it difficult for me to hold on to the band as well as I wanted. I attempted to loop it around, but each time I tried, I could feel the cave itself making it difficult for me to do so. At one point, my hand struck the top of the cave, and it caused the pattern to go awry, needing me to reset and try again. The second time, I again didn’t create as large of a loop, and it fizzled quickly when I pushed it out.

Finally, I focused and went slowly, sending the spiral toward the barrier in front of the cavern, bracing myself. When it struck, the cave trembled for a moment, but nothing collapsed and it didn’t break through the barrier.

I had to try again.

I looped another band of power around, swirling it as tightly as I could, and when I pushed it outward, it slammed into the seal around the door, and there came a shimmering, a quake, but then that faded.

It wasn’t going to be enough.

I had to try again.

I forced even more power out, trying to twist the pattern in a different way. The way I wove the strands together often influenced how strong they became. In this case, if I braided them in a certain way, it might create enough strength to overwhelm the barrier Eleanor had placed, and if it did, then I could blast my way free. I had no idea what would happen to the cave itself if I were to get free, but at least I wouldn’t be trapped here.

I carefully braided the strands together, weaving them from one hand to the next, and then spiraled the band out, creating the tight pattern I knew could create the seal. I was careful as I did it, cautious in drawing that energy around so I didn’t do it too quickly, not wanting to disrupt the pattern before I had completed it. In this case, I thought I needed to hold on to it as tightly and carefully as I could, mostly because I didn’t know if I’d have an opportunity to do it again. It took considerable concentration on my behalf to hold on to this pattern, on to this braid, and if I lost it now, I didn’t know if I could regain it.

I squeezed as much as I could, and as I looped it around, I felt the shifting of power as it started to flow out from me. I pushed with a burst of energy, throwing it from me.

It slammed into the opening.

There came a thunderous crack, and the sound of sizzling flames mixed with a hissing of steam. Smoke drifted from where they connected. The inside of the cave became far too smoky, difficult for me to see much of anything. When it cleared, I coughed, looking forward, expecting I’d be able to crawl to freedom, but the barrier remained in place.

It was far more powerful than I had expected.

I had thrown everything I could at the opening, and it still held?

What had Eleanor done?

Had she wanted to place me here?

I had spent quite some time searching for others who might have infiltrated the Academy, but I had never thought Eleanor could be one of them. Could I have been wrong?

When I had dealt with Jerith, I hadn’t thought he had betrayed the Academy. It had even proven difficult for me to know whether Donathar had been involved.

And now . . .

I just didn’t know.

That didn’t seem like her. But what other explanation would there be for how tightly I was bound into this place?

I lay down, no choice but to wait. I was tired from using that much power, more tired than I would’ve expected. Perhaps it was the braiding, or perhaps it was the tightness of the spiral, but either way, I had exerted myself almost as much as I had after working on the farm for a full day.

I rested my head. A little sleep wouldn’t hurt.

13

A thunderous explosion jerked me awake.

I sat up and immediately regretted it. I hit my head on the ceiling of the cave, and I winced, crying out. It was dark everywhere around me. It took a moment for me to orient myself, remembering where I was and what had happened, but I soon remembered I was trapped within this cave, having drifted off after attempting to break myself free.

What had I heard?

Something had jolted me awake.

I rolled over, looking up at the ceiling of the cave and rubbing my head.

Darkness.

Something about it didn’t feel right.

Why would it be so dark when there had been a glowing seal around the entrance to the cave?

I crawled