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Ronan gags. “Could we not talk about… that?”
“Sorry.” Micah winces. “It does usually get better over time, though. The more often you’re teleported, the more used to it your body will get.”
The appalled look Ronan gives him speaks volumes. “I’m never teleporting again.”
I wisely keep my mouth shut. He can fly, sure, but I stuck my head outside the cave one day last week, and the conditions out there are brutal. The wind especially. Before he can fly, he has to go outside, shift, and get off the ground, and that’s not going to be fun with chunks of ice and snow pelting him in gale-force winds.
Fabian, who wandered off to peek into crates, chooses that moment to say, “Have you seen the preservation spells on this stuff? They’re spectacular!”
“I saw them when I was here last time,” Steffen says, but Wil goes to join Fabian.
Color is starting to return to Ronan’s face, and his sips from the water bottle are getting longer. “Okay,” he says at last, standing. “I’m sorry for the delay.”
I pat his arm. “Don’t worry about it. We’re not on a schedule this afternoon.”
Garrett comes to join us, followed by a blank-faced Zac and laughing Asher, and we give the dragons a tour of the cave. Then I explain what I’m doing with the puzzle and what I’ve discovered so far. Wil asks a lot of questions about the mechanical side of it, while Fabian seems more interested in the age of the pieces and what they’re made of.
“We haven’t checked,” Garrett says. “We didn’t want to risk taking any scrapings and then find out it affected the puzzle.”
“But everything seems to be metal?” He’s fascinated by that. “I’ll check the living archive and see if there are any notes on what kind of metals were commonly used here back then.”
I don’t know what the living archive is, but if he can find out anything about the puzzle and the cave, that’s gotta be a good thing.
Ronan’s been quiet—probably not feeling well still—and I try to cheer him up. “Isn’t this exciting? Soon I’ll have the door open and you can start work. There’s probably heaps of stuff in there about your culture and history! The anticipation must be killing you.”
To my surprise, Ronan’s face goes from unenthused to downright miserable. “Yeah.”
I look over at Garrett, suddenly worried that I’ve said the wrong thing. He’s frowning a little but gives me a reassuring nod.
“Before we go back to the village and get Ronan and Fabian settled, do you have any questions for Cam?”
“I have a list,” Fabian declares, patting his pockets. He frowns. “Somewhere. Can I ask them later?”
“Sure,” I assure him. “I’ll be around.”
“What’s the plan moving forward?” Wil asks. “How soon do you anticipate the door being opened?”
Everyone looks at me. “Two to four weeks,” I say confidently. “It depends on whether the pattern will change again. My money’s on yes, and that will slow me down a little.”
“That makes sense. Fabian will spend the next few days talking to people in the village, and when he leaves, Ronan will continue. If that’s okay?”
I look over at Garrett. This is his area.
“Absolutely,” he says. “Either I or Zac will introduce them around and help to facilitate things.”
Steffen’s habitual frown deepens. “Is that necessary? Will they face hostility?”
“Not hostility,” Garrett’s quick to reply. “But most people here haven’t had a lot of experience with other species, and it can take them time to warm up. Plus demons are taciturn at the best of times.”
“We are not,” Zac gripes. Whatever Garrett said to him before seems to have put him in a bad mood.
“Regardless,” Garrett continues, ignoring him, “having a familiar face to smooth the way can only help. Once people are used to seeing you”—he smiles at Fabian and Ronan. Fabian smiles back. Ronan doesn’t—“there won’t be any need for a facilitator.”
That seems to satisfy Steffen. Nobody else has any questions, so Asher suggests we go back to the village.
“Where’s the exit?” Ronan asks, looking around.
“Over there.” Zac points, and Micah grabs his hand the same way he did to Isaac earlier.
