Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 106

"Not enough," replied Pelé. "I will remain here in case your friend awakens. The guardian can fill you in on the rest."

Mike took a deep breath, already dreading the fact that stairs had been mentioned yet again. Getting back up to the cabana was going to be awful. "Lead the way," he said.

Ratu took him by the hand, then paused to hand him something from inside her kimono. "In case you're hungry," she said.

The granola bar was already in his mouth, and he mumbled his thanks around the edges of it. Ratu pulled him through the stone dwelling toward a set of stairs behind the underground structure.

"Are Cerulea and Olivia with Quetzalli?" he asked.

"They are. Those two are having the time of their lives, right now." They descended the stairs, which only made one revolution before terminating in a six-sided chamber similar in size to what was on the surface. In the middle of the room was a hexagon engraved into the floor and decorated with gold leaf. "We can take this," she said, pulling him tight against her. "Unless you'd rather use the stairs."

"What is it?" he asked as he stepped onto the hexagon. The ground rippled like the surface of a pond, and then the six-sided platform descended. They were surrounded by polished stone as they continued deep into the earth. Sweat beaded up on his head, which he wiped away. "It's really hot down here," he said.

"It's a volcano. Of course it's hot." She moved to stand in front of him, her hands reaching for his face. In her reptilian eyes, he watched as tears formed. "Mike, I...when you were shot..."

He pushed his forehead against hers. "I'm really sorry," he said, his hands now on Ratu's waist. "We knew something was coming. I should have been better prepared."

"You gave me a home," she whispered, her voice echoing off the stone around them. "And a family. I became part of something I thought I had lost, and when you fell away into the darkness, I felt like part of myself had been ripped away." She trembled in his arms, then broke down. "Just hold me for a bit, so that I can convince myself that you're really here."

Shaken by the naga's uncharacteristic confession, he obeyed. So many times he had ended up in danger to protect others, it had never really occurred to him how it felt for the others to see him risk his life. There were so many things he wanted to say to soothe Ratu, convince her it would be okay, but he decided that his presence would have to be enough. After all, the future was nothing more than a gift, and he could make no promises about it.

The smooth walls of the magical elevator slid away to reveal a massive domed chamber. Below them was a circular platform surrounded by flowing magma. Plants and flowers somehow bloomed down here, and a small pergola had been set up near the rim of the platform. Inside, Mike saw Quetzalli sitting on a stone, her face animated as she conversed with a large stone that had been set against the edge of the circle.

"Is she okay?" asked Mike.

"She is." Ratu stepped away from him and adjusted her kimono. "You'll see."

The platform came to a smooth halt, and the two of them walked toward the pergola. A cool breeze came out of nowhere, and Mike closed his eyes and sighed when it ruffled his hair.

"This place is totally lethal, isn't it?" he asked.

"Indeed. There is a powerful enchantment to protect the Kahu and their families. Anyone else coming down here would be at the heart of the volcano, smothered by lethal gasses if not boiled alive inside their own skin first." Ratu pointed to the far wall of the chamber where magma fell from above, forming a curtain of molten fire. "Everything about this place was built to protect a single thing, which is behind there. If you try, I bet you can feel it."

Mike stared at the flowing wall of magma, but was forced to look away. "The air might be safe, but that genuinely hurts my eyes," he said. "Feels like staring into the sun for too long."

Quetzalli turned to look at them, then jumped to her feet and ran. Ratu let go of Mike's arm just as Quetzalli barreled into him, her arms wrapped around his body. He leaned his head to one side to keep from being impaled on her horn and then took a big step back to avoid falling over.

"Did Ratu already call you a dummy?" she asked from the crook of his arm.

"Yep."

"Good." She looked up at him, her eyes crackling with energy. "I am grateful that you aren't as soft as other humans."

"Same." He ran his hands through her hair, feeling sparks crackle between his fingertips. "So what's going on down here?" He looked back to where Quetzalli had been sitting and noticed both Olivia and Cerulea scrambling over the rock. "What are those two doing?"

"Playing with their new friend." Quetzalli led him to the pergola, where he was delighted to see a basin full of water. He paused just long enough for Quetzalli to hand him a silver cup, then drank his fill. Sighing in relief, he looked at Cerulea and Carmina, who were casually ducking between thorny protuberances on the rock that looked like small stalagmites. "Are you two being good?"

Cerulea stuck out her tongue in response. Olivia giggled and hid herself behind a stalagmite, which melted away as the surface of the rock transformed. "Hey!" she cried, giving a nearby nub a kick. "Not fair!"

The stone continued to shift and two massive openings appeared near the top. A massive blast of air came from them as the rock lifted from the magma. What had been a large stone was revealed to be the snout of a massive beast as it lifted its head free of the magma pool and opened citrine eyes that were roughly the size of a man.

The dragon's head was supported by a serpentine neck adorned with glittering gemstones. As it gazed down at him, he felt an instant connection to the creature and knew that he was meeting the guardian of the secret island.

"My name is Mike Radley," he said, taking a step forward. "What may I call you?"

The dragon turned its face toward Quetzalli and let out a huff. When it spoke, the voice was like tumbling stones, yet held a feminine edge.

"You're right, little sister. He is cute." The dragon leaned forward and inhaled deeply, the air current causing Mike's shirt to billow upward. "For a human, anyway."

"Little...sister?" Mike looked at Quetzalli.

"An honorific among my kind," she stated with a grin. "Unless a dragon's lifespan predates yours by many centuries, in which case we use terms like mother or father."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mike Radley." The dragon twisted her head to one side, then lay flat on the ground so that Mike was facing the front of her mouth. A pair of large whiskers unfurled from above her mouth and hovered over him. He held up an arm, which the dragon wrapped gently in a whisker. "You may call me Di."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Di."

"The pleasure is mine. It has been long since this place has had its protector visit, and I am glad to have you here." Di sniffed him once again, and then her powerful neck flexed. All around the chamber, he saw massive coils shift amongst the magma. "I am told you will have many questions."

"I will." He stepped toward Di and held his hand over her stony hide. "May I?"

"Please."

Mike pressed his hand against Di and closed his eyes. He could sense the magic moving through her massive body, intertwined so tightly with this place. In a way, it felt like he was standing before Naia, but the dragon's entire being radiated with peace and something else. He tried to discern the feeling, but it slipped away from him.

"I sense great power in you as well, Caretaker." Di chuckled, a noise that made the earth tremble. "What would you ask of me?"

"Are you a fire dragon?" he asked.

"I am of the earth," Di replied. It occurred to Mike that the dragon hadn't moved her lips at all. "Though there is some overlap."

"Do you know why I came?" he asked.

"I do." Di lifted her head to look down on him from above once more. "Because of what happened with the merfolk."

"What did happen?" he asked, squinting up at Di. The weird light of the chamber hurt his eyes and he made a mental note to see if his sunglasses had survived in his backpack.

Di's mood darkened, and her coils manifested in the magma once more. "I was awoken from my slumber," she said, her voice grim. "By a powerful enemy, one that lives in the darkest depths of the ocean. When I sensed its presence, I knew that I must rise up and drive it away immediately. And so I left this place, crawled down the mountain, and unleashed my fury."

"What was it?" he asked.

"I do not know," she replied. "I have never met its kind, and can only sense its malfeasance. I am blind to the spectrum your kind take for granted. Down here, in the depths, I can see you through the vibrations of the earth, sense your strength by how you walk across the stone. I can see the heat in your body, but little else about you.

"And so I asked the goddess to guide me to the sands to do battle with this beast. It was the same temperature as the water, and so the goddess used her magic to light the way for me. Despite my efforts, it kept coming out of the waves, desperate to ascend the mountain, but I refused. And so Pelé boiled the water, driving it away but not killing it. I regret the deaths that followed, but they are not my burden to carry."

Mike took a deep breath and properly digested Di's words. There was an unknown enemy here, and he would bet good money that the Captain was involved. Looking at the whole event through the lens of a plot to steal whatever treasure had been hidden here helped the pieces fall into place, but he needed to know one more thing.

"What is it that you're protecting, Di? Why was this place built?"

Di snorted, then turned her head toward the magmafall behind her. A powerful thrum of magic manifested from the dragon, and the magma parted at the bottom like a pair of curtains. Her coils lifted free of the magma, forming into a narrow stone bridge connecting the platform to what lay beyond.

Mike walked toward the bridge, his heart pounding as he stepped onto the rocks. Quetzalli and Ratu joined him. The cool breeze ceased, and for a few moments, he felt the wrath of this place assail his skin.

"Do not tarry long in there," said Di as he neared the opening. "For that room was built for what lies within and nothing more."

Nodding, he stepped between the fiery ribbons of magma into a darkened chamber. The room was filled with elemental magic, but he could see nothing else.

"May I?" he asked, holding a hand aloft. "Just need some light."

"Of course," whispered Di through the stone walls.

With the snap of his fingers, he created a flickering ball of light and tossed it into the air. It hovered overhead, casting light on a group of objects in the center of the room. He originally mistook them for a collection of massive gemstones, each one the size of a child. But just as his magical senses touched the surface of the stones, he felt something reach back.

The stones were alive. He took another step toward them, suddenly aware of the heat in the room. Sweat was dripping down his face now, but he had to be sure. The stone nearest to him looked like a diamond, and when he put his hand against it, his mind briefly connected with the alien consciousness within.

"Holy fucking shit," he whispered in awe. "They're alive!"

"You can feel them?" Di's voice was filled with wonder. "That shouldn't be possible!"

Mike moved to each egg, pressing his hand against their warm surfaces. He took a moment to greet them, to let who he was wash over the developing consciousness within. The only one that didn't respond was an onyx egg that reflected no light. When Mike touched that one, he sensed nothing at all.

Quetzalli and Ratu did the same, both of them whispering to themselves in wonderment. No longer able to tolerate the oppressive heat, Mike stepped away from the eggs. Without another word, he exited the chamber with Quetzalli and Ratu right behind them.

"Are they yours?" he asked, looking at Di.

"They are not," she replied, watching him as he walked across her body. "When dragons fled this world, those who stayed behind were hunted. Some of them fell in battle, and their eggs were rescued from those who would use their powers for evil. They were brought here to incubate for centuries until they were ready to hatch."

"So these are all the dragon eggs remaining in our world?" he asked.

"They are." Di's eyes glowed like twin stars above him. "Each one represents one of the elements. Some day, when the last one is fertilized, they will all hatch."

"But why?" asked Mike. "Won't they just be hunted?"

"They were never meant for this world, Caretaker." Di lowered her head until Mike could feel her hot breath on his skin. "These eggs were intended for another purpose."

"Which is what?" Mike looked at Ratu, then Quetzalli. They both seemed just as confused as he was.

"Alone, they will be powerful. But together?" Di's body sank into the magma, the molten rock flowing right up to the edge of the platform. "You could use them to rebuild the world."

Boom! One more chapter in the bag! What sort of plan does Cyrus have? Is Dana's girlfriend really hotter than yours? Will Mike make the ultimate omelette? And what do I mean when I say things will get sticky next chapter?

Stay tuned!

Thank you so, so much for reading. Don't forget to leave some stars on the way out, but even more importantly, do a random act of kindness. It can be for a friend, a stranger, or even yourself, because YOU fucking matter!

Annabelle, out!

*smokebomb*