“There is more to you than I thought,” Salinor said, sounding pleased and perhaps a little proud. “It is good that we have met this way. If we had been forced to battle, I think we both would have lost in the end.”

“I am glad we have not met as enemies, then,” said Alex, letting his mind move closer to Salinor’s.

The mixing of thoughts was amazing, and for a moment Alex considered breaking away and forcing himself to wake up. At times Alex had felt that his own mind was cluttered and full, but that feeling was nothing compared to what he felt now. And he sensed something else as well—the same wild, reckless feeling he had felt twice before on his journey.

“Open the third level for your friends, then come and talk with me,” said Salinor, blinking and breaking the link between the two of them. “There are things we need to speak of, things you will need to know.”

“I will come,” said Alex.

“Until then,” said Salinor, turning to leave the beach of Alex’s dreams. “I will see you soon, young dragon lord.”

“Dragon lord,” said Alex, waking up with a start.

“What’s that?” Thrang asked, turning away from the cooking fire to look at Alex.

“Oh, nothing,” said Alex, looking around to see if anyone else had overheard him.

“Well, come and get your breakfast,” said Thrang. “We have a long day ahead of us.”

Alex got up, still thinking about his dream. He knew that it had been real, though he had never actually spoken to anyone in a dream meeting before.

“We’ll go down to the third level this morning,” Thrang said as they finished breakfast. “It should be worth our time to look around and perhaps find a bit of treasure.”

“I have something to do after I open the door to the third level,” said Alex.

“Oh? What is that?” Thrang questioned, a puzzled look on his face.

“I have to go and talk to someone,” answered Alex.

“Who are you going to talk to?” Thrain asked, looking even more puzzled than Thrang did.

“A friend,” Alex answered with half a smile.

“That’s no kind of answer,” said Thrang, standing up and running his hand down his beard.

“A dragon, then,” said Alex, and almost laughed at the shocked looks on his friends’ faces. “That’s where the uneasy feelings are coming from and what Kat could feel but not get close to. There is a dragon on the island, and I’m going to talk with him.”

“How do you know about the dragon?” Nellus asked, looking worried and pale.

“Because I spoke with him last night in my dreams,” said Alex. “I don’t have time to explain everything, but I can tell you there is no reason to worry. I’ll open the door to the third level where you should find the remains of some dwarfs and the dwarf wizard, Languinn. Once that is done, I will be leaving for a few days.”

“You’re going to talk with a dragon?” Thrang repeated, looking confused.

“The risk is great,” said Kat, looking from Alex to Thrang and back again.

“No, it’s not,” said Alex. “Enough talk. Let’s go and open the door to the third level. Or perhaps I should show Thrain how to open the hidden doors in the houses first.”

“You seem determined to go,” Arconn said.

“I am. And I’m sure there is no danger,” said Alex.

Thrang and the others looked as if they wanted to argue, but Alex wouldn’t hear any of it. He turned and walked into the stone building behind their camp, and the rest of them had no choice but to follow.

The door to the third level was better protected than either of the previous two. It appeared that Languinn had spent most of his time casting spells on the third door to protect himself and his comrades from the dragon. Just as Alex thought he had removed all of Languinn’s spells, however, he started sneezing uncontrollably.

“I didn’t expect that,” Alex said, shaking off the effects of Languinn’s spell. “A strange spell to put on a door.”

“Not so strange.” Thrang laughed. “Dwarfs often use such spells if they’re afraid of someone sneaking up on them. The sneezing would alert them to an enemy’s presence.”

“Yes, I see,” said Alex, wiping his nose.

Returning to the door, he removed the sneezing spell and quickly checked for anything else he might have missed. Confident that he’d removed all of the magic from the door, he told his friends to move to the sides of the short hallway. He carefully pushed the door open with his staff and a volley of arrows came flying out of the darkness, clattering against the stairs behind them.

“You should be careful as you search the third level,” Alex said, checking his staff for arrows.

“How did you know about the trap?” Arconn questioned, looking at the open door in concern.

“I thought Languinn might do something like this,” said Alex. “He was afraid, and he couldn’t be sure that his magic would be enough to protect him from a dragon.”

“The same dragon that had trapped him,” said Thrang, looking Alex in the eye. “The same dragon you want to talk to. The same dragon that killed my people on this island.”

“I told you I would explain later,” said Alex, his voice stern and slightly cold as it echoed into the darkness of the third level. “Languinn acted foolishly. He was only trapped here because he would not listen to reason.”

“But . . . a dragon?” said Barnabus softly.

“Enough,” said Alex, trying to stay calm. “I know what I’m doing.”

“We are concerned for your safety as much as our own,” said Arconn soothingly. “We aren’t questioning your ability or belief.”

“Forgive me,” said Alex, taking a deep breath. “I know you don’t understand and would like an explanation, but there isn’t time. Believe me when I say that I will be safe and that the dragon will not bother you. Languinn’s traps might be another story, though, so be careful.”

“Very well,” said Thrang, though he still looked unhappy. “We’ll all go up while you teach Thrain to open the hidden doors. We’ll need to make torches anyway, before we can search the third level since we won’t have your weir lights.”

With Thrang’s words they all moved back up the stairs. Alex felt bad that he couldn’t tell his friends everything he knew, but he wanted to hurry to his meeting with Salinor and telling his friends about his dream would only lead to dozens of questions that he didn’t have time to answer, even if he knew all the answers.

Thrain quickly learned how to open the hidden doors once Alex had explained how it was done and taught him the correct magical words to use. Thrang also paid attention, and, with some effort, he was able to open the hidden doors as well. With that task completed, Alex walked into the street and turned to look at his friends.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I promise to return before the Seekergets here to take us back to Dunnstal,” said Alex. “I suggest you spend your time gathering everything of value here, including the archives. Once we leave this island, no one will ever be able to return.”

“Why not?” Thrang asked.

“I’ll tell you this much and then I have to go,” said Alex, leaning on his staff. “When we leave here, I will be casting a spell that will make the island impossible to find. The dragon has asked me for this favor. He regrets what happened to the dwarfs here, and he doesn’t want anything like that to happen again. I agree with him, and as he was here first, the island is rightfully his.”

“How do you know all of this?” Arconn questioned.

“The dragon told me,” said Alex, turning away. “I’ll answer the rest of your questions when I return.”

Alex walked quickly through the empty dwarf village and into the woods without looking back, making his way toward the low rocky hills. He knew where he would find Salinor, and he hoped that the dragon was as friendly in real life as he had been in the dream. Of course, knowing the dragon’s true name gave Alex an advantage. He still wondered why Salinor had done that; usually dragons closely guarded their true names. Still, Alex knew that Salinor had told him the truth and there was little chance the dragon would change his mind now.