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As he decided to head to the entrance the dragon used, a faint light painted a distant wall. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, not entirely sure they weren’t playing tricks on him. But a couple of seconds passed, and the light grew brighter as if someone was walking toward him. It couldn’t be the dragon. The creature might have been relatively light on his feet for his size, but he still made more noise than this person.
“Who’s there?” he called out, his voice bouncing off the stone walls.
No answer, but the stranger continued to approach.
Xiang placed his hand on the hilt of his sword but didn’t draw it yet. Was there a chance that he wasn’t the only prisoner of this dragon?
“Hey! Who are you?”
Light suddenly filled the passageway as the person who’d been approaching turned a corner. Xiang held up a hand to protect his eyes as they struggled to adjust. “Ow! Hey! Who are you? What’s going on?”
“Follow me.”
Xiang lowered his hand and his eyes focused on a tall, slender man in nondescript dark clothes. Maybe jeans and a sweater. It was difficult to tell in the low light from the old-fashioned lantern he was carrying in his left hand. His hair was cut short with some stands falling in front of his eyes as he began to turn away from Xiang.
“Wait! Who are you? Where are we? What the hell is going on?” He shouted after the man as he took some stumbling steps forward.
Just as he was about to fall on his face, a strong hand grabbed his arm, holding him up. But wasn’t the man still several meters away? Xiang shook his head as the stranger helped him back to his feet. Maybe he’d hit the water harder than he’d thought.
“Follow me,” the man repeated as he released Xiang’s arm.
Xiang forced down a growl of frustration and followed through the winding tunnel. “Where are we?”
“The dragon’s lair.”
Well, that was a start. Nice to know the fellow could say more than two words.
“Who are you? At least tell me your name!”
The man’s pace slowed and his head turned a bit toward Xiang as if glancing at him over his shoulder, but he continued at his earlier speed, his head facing front. “I don’t remember my name.”
“What? How can you not remember your name?”
The man stopped and glared at him. “Does a name matter? Must I have a name in order to exist?”
Xiang backpedaled, almost falling on his ass once again. “What? No. I guess not.” He wanted to point out that they were in a dragon’s cave and he was now following a strange man by lamplight. A name might help make all this feel a little less weird, but if Xiang were being honest with himself, a name probably wouldn’t help anything.
Mr. No-Name huffed and resumed walking through the cave with Xiang a few steps behind him. Xiang tried to pay attention to his guide. He moved easily through the narrow passageways as if he’d walked them many times. The lantern didn’t provide a lot of light, definitely not enough for a human to be comfortable moving over the uneven ground, but this person didn’t have any problems.
“So…do you work for the dragon, like a servant, or…are you trapped—”
He bit off the rest of his question as the man glared at him yet again over his shoulder. “Why would anyone willingly remain in a place like this?”
Xiang bit his tongue and forced an overly broad smile on his lips. Got it. Just another prisoner of the dragon. Apparently he had been stuck here for quite a while, which would explain how he was able to navigate the cave with such ease.
“Then, if you’re a prisoner like me, we can help each other. We can escape!”
The stranger snorted. “No one escapes the dragon.”
Xiang opened his mouth to inform him that not only was he a vampire with all the speed and strength that came with being a vampire, but he also had a clan who was searching for him. Of course, they could escape the dragon together.
However, all those words were forgotten when they turned a corner, and the light from the lantern illuminated a large metal door. It was the first sign of human life outside of Mr. No-Name. While his companion had said there was no escape, this was reassuring. Maybe it was an old storehouse, or it led back above ground. Anything that could possibly help them get out of this cave.
Stepping forward, he grabbed on to the giant metal ring with Mr. No-Name and pulled. It took a moment, but the door finally swung soundlessly open and they were both bathed in warm golden light. Gone was nearly all hint of the cave.
“What the…” Xiang breathed as he slowly stepped into the gigantic room that was opulently decorated from floor to towering ceiling far overhead. Dozens of candles and lamps flickered, casting dancing light in fragmented colors all over the room. Lush furs and exquisite rugs covered every inch of the floors. Everywhere he looked were pieces of furniture from every country and era of time. All of it appeared brand-new, as if they’d never been touched by a living person.
Along one long wall was bookshelf after bookshelf filled with books. Another wall held countless gleaming weapons that left his fingers aching to touch.
