Dragon's Heart Read Online Free Page A

verge of a discovery, though of what
she didn’t know.
    She
found the beginning of the trail they’d used a few days ago easily enough, even
without a map. Their guide, James, had given her specific instructions before
she’d set out on her own, which she reviewed in her head. Besides, she remembered
the way to the stones, just one winding path. The first time, the entire hike
from point to point took about five hours and only because they went at the
pace of the slowest person. Maya figured she should make better time. Even
though she’d left late morning, she still had plenty of time to make it to the
stones and back well before the sun set. But somehow she had gotten turned
around. No one warned her about the fog rolling in today, or how it would
hinder her sight of the almost non-existent trail.
    “Come
on, Maya. Does that tree look familiar? Or is it familiar because you’ve walked
past it three times already?” she asked herself again. Out here in the middle
of nowhere, no one would care.
    Maya
stopped to take a drink of water from the hose attached to her backpack and
finish eating half of a power bar. When she looked up again she couldn’t
believe the sight in front of her. The thick fog still hindered her vision, but
she could just make out the outline of what appeared to be part of the perimeter
of the circle of stones.
    “Yeah!”
she cried exhilarated, punching a fist in the air. “I’ve found it again!   The stones!”
    No
sooner had the words left Maya’s mouth when the fog cleared enough for her to
notice, between the gaps of the stones, an odd, rather large shape on the
ground in the center of the circle.
    She
cautiously moved past an opening, entered the circle, and walked toward the
form on the ground. The pile didn’t move. The closer she got, the shape took on
the contours of a body. Someone lay curled into a fetal position on the dirt
with his or her back turned to her. She couldn’t tell the sex of the person.
The thick fog impeded her vision; she could barely make out features of a dark
shirt and jean-clad legs. She moved closer until she could kneel over the body.
As soon as she touched what she identified as an arm, she knew a male rested on
the ground. Hard muscle made up his bicep. His skin felt warm. Maybe he hadn’t
been out in the cool air for long.
    She
rolled him over unto his back. Maya gazed into the face of a sleeping, golden
angel just before the fog rolled forward and swirled before her eyes,
temporarily obscuring her view.
    My God he’s just a boy, a teenager . She shook
him gently. “Are you all right? Can you hear me? Are you hurt?”
    She
stopped speaking when she heard a soft moan.
    “Oh,
my head,” a disembodied voice whimpered. “What…what happened?” He tried to sit
up but slumped back down to the hard packed dirt.
    “Here,
take it easy,” Maya said, touching his shoulder. “Don’t try to get up yet.   Don’t you know what happened?”
    Maya
sat back on her hunches. She couldn’t see his face clearly anymore, but she
could tell his head turned at the sound of her voice.
    “I…I
don’t know. I…I’m not sure,” he said.
    “Just
relax. Give it a minute.”
    “Oh…my
head hurts.” The young man groaned again and held his hands to his temples.
    Before
Maya could ask any more questions, he fell sideways and passed out. She
couldn’t get him to wake up again. Pulling her backpack off, she placed it near
the boy, and took out her cell phone. The red glow over the bar on the phone
showed her she had no service. She frowned in frustration. “Just great. I spend
all this money for a state-of-the-art smart phone that’s supposed to provide
international service so I can be connected from anywhere in the world.
Anywhere, of course, but wherever I need it most. This sucks!”
    The
mist lifted. Maya glanced down, the young man’s features looked clearer, but
the night grew darker. She shivered and zipped up her vest. The temperature in
the mountains