That’s one thing she loved about her parents. Their outlook on life was so positive. “Who did the artwork on the doors?”
“A very talented Green-Black hybrid carved the design into the doors. It’s funny, we’ve met hybrids who have such interesting skills.” Her mom pointed down the hall. “The dresser doors are even more amazing.”
Bryn followed her parents down the short hallway to a room which held a bed and a custom-built dresser that extended the length of one wall. The drawers were decorated with carvings of flowers and small woodland animals. Bryn looked closer. “Is that a skunk on the bottom?”
“Yes,” her dad said. “I think a Black dragon would have known that a skunk isn’t something you particularly want in your art, but when I asked why he included the skunk he said that due to his Green side, he felt the need to accurately represent all of the animals that live in the forest.”
“Interesting. I guess you’ll have to be more specific in your requests for art from now on.” Bryn stepped back into the hallway. There was one more door on the other side of the hall. “I’m hoping you have a restroom and not an outhouse,” she said.
“It’s functional, but a little cramped.” Her dad opened the last door. “See for yourself.”
Bryn scooted past him and was relieved to see a pedestal sink, curtained-off shower, and toilet. The blue-and-white striped curtain and towels gave the room a happy vibe.
“It’s cute,” Bryn said.
“Let’s go back to the living room,” her dad said.
Once they were seated on the couch, her mom said, “Some people are having trouble adjusting to the tight space. But it’s not much different than our apartment.”
It was smaller than Bryn’s dorm room, which made her feel guilty. Then again, so was the apartment she’d grown up in and she’d never felt crowded when she’d lived there. It was all a matter of perspective. “It’s really cute and homey,” Bryn said. “How is there so much light?”
“Look up.” Her dad pointed at the ceiling.
Bryn checked out the ceiling. Two rectangular skylights allowed sunshine to flow into the room.
“Since we had to patch the roof anyway, it wasn’t too difficult to add the skylights.”
Her mom laughed.
“Fine,” her dad said. “They leaked like a sieve the first time it rained, but we figured out a better way to seal them and now they’re fine.”
“A lot of this stuff has been trial and error,” her mom said. “But everyone has pitched in for the greater good, and we’ve all learned as we went along.”
“I have to confess, I was a little worried about what it might be like out here,” Bryn said, “but this is really cool.”
“I know my parents probably think we’re living in a slum,” her mom said. “But this works for us.”
She didn’t want to talk about the strained relationship with her grandparents. “How many cabins are there?”
“We’ve restored about fifteen and built another ten,” her dad said. “I have to credit whoever is keeping us supplied with materials because there hasn’t been a shortage. We have enough lumber to build a dozen more. It’s just a matter of time and manpower.”
“What do you do all day out here?” Bryn asked.
“I’m teaching yoga classes at the community center,” her mom said. “And your dad has helped with the building.”
Bryn leaned back against the couch cushion and sighed. “You have no idea how worried I was about this visit. I was afraid you were putting on a brave face about the whole situation, but this is really nice.”
“Our only complaint would be the lack of information about what is going on at the Institute. We’ve heard rumors about the increase in security, but we don’t know why,” her mom said. “Can you fill us in?”
How much should she tell them? She didn’t want to worry them, but she didn’t want to lie, either. “Honestly, we aren’t sure what’s going on. Some college students have been caught trying to siphon Quintessence from other students like some old cult used to do.”
“Why?” her dad asked.
“Apparently, there are some dragons who think extra Quintessence will help them become all-powerful. They apprehended two dragons who were involved in the attacks and they’re holding them for questioning.”
“I don’t understand what they hope to gain,” her mom said.
“Power, I guess. Clint coined the phrase dragon-pire.”
“That’s funny, but not really appropriate,” her dad said.
“What about out here? Have you run into anything strange?”
“Not really,” her mom said. “Why?”
“Ferrin suspects that there are dragons living in the mines, avoiding detection.”
Her dad laughed. “As far as I can tell, the old mine is just a hole in the ground. I wouldn’t even call it a cavern. If anyone is coming and going through there they’d need to be excellent climbers. There isn’t even room to shift and explore.”
“And how would you know that?” Bryn asked.
“It can get a little boring out here, so some of the people tried to go exploring. They didn’t get very far. Said the tunnels made them claustrophobic.”
After being trapped under the library, Bryn had no desire to investigate anything underground ever again.
“There are rumors that there are other entrances,” her mom said. “You’d think there’d have to be, for airflow and safety standards, if nothing else.”
“I wouldn’t ask too many questions about that,” Bryn said. “Since Ferrin is the one looking into it and I kind of pissed him off when I mentioned that I might want to keep my maiden name after the marriage.”
“You said that to him?” her mom asked.
Bryn nodded and laughed. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“That’s my girl,” her dad said, once he stopped laughing.
“It was pretty funny, but seriously, I think the Directorate is watching everyone in Sanctuary—just waiting for someone to mess up.”
“It feels that way,” her dad said. “It’s been a long time since we walked on eggshells like this and I’m not happy to be doing it again. In the human world, we kept to ourselves and people left us alone. Now it feels like we constantly have to be aware of where we are and what we’re saying.”
“I know,” Bryn said. “It can be exhausting but it’s not like there’s another alternative.”
When her mom and dad didn’t jump in to agree, an uneasy feeling washed over Bryn. “Please tell me you aren’t planning on running away again.”
“No,” her mom said. “I mean we discussed it, but I have the feeling we might die in a car crash if we tried.”
Bryn frowned. “That does seem to be a common issue around here.”
“We would never go anywhere without telling you,” her dad said.
“Good.” Bryn’s stomach growled. “I believe you said something about feeding me.”
For the rest of her visit, Bryn and her parents kept to pleasant topics. A knock on the cabin door made her father frown. “Who could that be?”
“It’s probably my friends Clint and Ivy. They said they’d come back and meet up with me since we aren’t supposed to go anywhere alone.”
Her mom opened the door and Bryn sighed in relief. Clint stood there with his Mohawk and lightning tattoos on his arms. Ivy had her wild hair and tattoos. Both looked a little less sure of themselves than they normally did.
“Mom, Dad, these are my friends.” Bryn performed a round of introductions.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Ivy said. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“I hear you could teach me how to build better card houses,” Clint said.
Bryn’s dad laughed. “I haven’t thought about that since we’ve been here.”
Clint pulled a deck of cards from the Dragon’s Bluff shopping bag he was carrying. They were new, still in the cellophane wrapping. “Then here’s a housewarming present for you.”
Her dad smiled. “Thank you.”
“Not to cut your visit short, but we should go,” Ivy said. “The driver said he needs to return to campus.”
Bryn hugged her parents. “We should pick a day to put up a Christmas tree.”