Son of the Dragon (The Netherworld Gate Book 3) by Sam Ferguson Page B

adjustable rings, with numbers and runes depicted on small, square protrusions. It was a kind of combination lock. During his walk to the city, Talon had memorized the code written in Jahre’s book. He turned the first ring so that the number seven was in the center. He worked his fingers quickly, aligning the remaining six rings. A pleasant click came from the lock and the door was unlocked. Talon entered the building and closed the door gently behind himself.
    He took in a breath and looked to the end of the small room he was in, where an open arch led into the hallway. He went to it and peered around to the right. The stairs were there, exactly as the map had shown. Talon quickly moved up, keeping his feet soft as they fell upon the wooden floor. He counted two doors on the right and then went into the third.
    An elf in a red robe turned and looked at him curiously.
    “The registration for recruits is…” the elf didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence before Talon slashed his throat with a dagger. The elf fell, but Talon caught the body and gently laid it upon the floor so as not to cause a loud noise. Then he moved to the back of the chamber and grabbed a small box of wood. He opened it and there was the black fang he had taken from the gorlung.
    Talon pulled the red book out, holding the fang in his right hand and the book in his left. He thumbed through the pages until he came to the spell he was to use.
    “Kummitus suuresta yli, lavistavat verhon ja anna tasossa elava. Seisoa minun ja tukea minua aikaan.”
    As he finished the strange incantation, a black mist rose from the fang and out leapt a great beast. The paws hit the floor with incredible delicacy and grace, silent as a feather landing upon the wood. A pair of great, green eyes looked up at Talon, and for an instant the assassin felt his heart stop. This had not been an easy beast to kill in life. He could only imagine how much harder it would be to defeat its phantom should it decide to turn on him.
    The muscular frame solidified before the man and the great cat’s tail switched side to side, as if irritated that it had been summoned from its rest. It snarled, revealing its teeth. Then, it bowed its head.
    Master. A feral voice entered Talon’s mind. What would you have me do?
    “Wait here,” Talon said. “Wait in this room until you can stay upon this plane no more, or until I send you back to your realm. Do not kill anyone unless you are discovered.”
    The gorlung growled low and nodded its head. Stepping around the room to hide in the shadows, the cat prepared for a long wait. Talon set the wooden box back where he had found it, and then slipped the fang into his pocket. He exited the room, locking the door as best he could before continuing down the hall.
    He counted three more doors on the left and then moved to a portion of the wall between the last two doors in the hallway. Quickly he set his hands to the wall, sliding them up and to the side. It didn’t take long for him to find the hidden switch spoken of in Jahre’s book. The hidden door creaked open and revealed a metal, spiral staircase that descended sharply. Talon followed it down what must have been three or possibly four levels before he came to the end of the stairs. There was another door at the base of the stairs, this one made of granite.
    Talon took in a breath. This would be the first true test of Jahre’s words and visions.
    The lock on this door could not be opened by key or combination. It was a blood cypher. There was no knob anywhere on the door’s surface. There was no hole. There was only a single protrusion, about as long as a person’s little finger that stuck out from the center of the door. Atop the end of this protrusion was a thorn, a metallic spike. Talon reached forward with his left hand and let his left index finger hover over the spike.
    Had he been a man who put any stock in the gods, he might have uttered a prayer to one of them as he pressed the