Prologue
Franconia,NewHampshire
2000
LIKE HER SISTERS, Ravenknew they should not be wandering out this far alone. Aunt Elsie wouldn’t like it. They were far too young.
“I don’t think the animals enjoy it here.” Maya stopped short and shook her head, eyeing the cave dubiously before her gaze swept over their surroundings. “They’ve all vanished, Jade.” She glanced at Trinity and Raven, who were even younger than Jade. “We should go back right now.”
“Or,” Jade rounded her eyes at the massive, yawning cave, beckoning them forward, “we could just take a quick peek.”
“I agree with Maya.” Trinity frowned at the alluring cave. It appeared wonderfully black against the bright summer day. She took Raven’s hand and walked backward. “We should leave this place.”
“No, we shouldn’t.” So excited she could barely catch her breath, Raven yanked free and raced to Jade. “You’re right. We should go look.” She notched her chin at the other two. “Wearedragons, after all. And dragons arefearless.”
“Fearless is one thing, foolish another,” Maya counseled. “The energy’s not right in that cave.” She shook her head and looked at Jade to do the right thing and keep Raven away from it. “It’s too unpredictable, which makes it dangerous.”
It didn’t matter that Raven wasn’t afraid. That she craved the darkness. They would never let her get too close.
“But it’s not dangerous,” Jade argued. “I’ll show you.”
She told Raven to wait a minute and strode that way.
“Close,” she heard Jade vow under her breath before she called over her shoulder, “There’s a boy dragon in there, so I’m sure everything’s okay.”
When Maya headed in Jade’s direction to stop her, Jade shifted and flew into the cave. Determined to follow, Raven started that way, too, only for the cave and her sisters to vanish.
A hush fell over the forest.
Black clouds blotted out the warm sun.
Her breath met icy air.
“Jade?” She looked right then left, not frightened but intrigued. “Maya? Trinity?”
Icy air turned fiery.
The woodland darkened even more.
Something familiar drew closer.
She called out to her sisters again but knew it wasn’t them. Knew they were not there and would not respond.
“How do you know?” whispered on the wind. “What makes you so sure?”
“You.” She had no idea why she said it or what she meant by it. Only that she was right. “You asking makes me sure.”
“Who am I then?”
“My friend.” She spied a dark hooded figure shifting through the trees. “My only friend.”
“Not your only friend,” he replied. “You have your sisters. And you have someone you nearly forgot.”
“I do, don’t I?” She cocked her head. “But who?”
Fiery air turned to mystical trees and glittering shadows. Towering monsters watched. Waited. Shimmering eyes stared back. Creatures from her imagination. Beings that became real but stayed hidden.
“You remember who,” came his response. “You remember what you have to tell him.”
