Chapter 1

“There weren’t always dragons in the Valley.”

Hilary shifted her gaze from the breathtaking red rock formation to her son, pushing the rogue hair from her ponytail behind her ear. “What?”

“They didn’t used to live here. That’s what Maddox told me.”

“Who’s Maddox?” She squatted next to him watching him burrow the nose of his stegosaurus toy into the dirt. “Is that what you named your dinosaur?”

“It’s not a dinosaur mom, it’s a stegosaurus. And his name is Sal.”

“Isn’t a stegosaurus a dinosaur?”

He gave her a squint-eyed stair and she knew not to push the contradiction. Like every other subject, Bryce had strong opinions about how things were categorized, and no matter her persistence or correctness, he wouldn’t relent. He’d been like this since he was two. One of the first peculiarities of his personality that had presented itself, and for the past nine years, nearly every attempt at a logical conversation led to an endless exchange that left Hilary exhausted.

Hilary sighed, “Well, then who’s Maddox?”

Before Bryce responded, Hilary saw John and Danny hustling over to them.

“Even the bathroom is dusty. This place is awesome!” Danny said as he hopped onto the railing and swung his arms over the edge.

John grabbed the collar of Danny’s t-shirt and pulled until his feet were back on solid ground. “What did we talk about before we got out of the car?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “No climbing the railings.”

“And?”

“And, no running, jumping, climbing, or falling off the canyon.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Dad, stop worrying. I’m not gonna fall off the canyon.”

“That’s right. You’re not. Because you’re not going to climb, run, or jump. You’re going to keep both feet on the ground and live to see another day.”

Danny put his hands on his hips and tilted his head. “Well, I have to lift at least one foot up at a time so I can walk.”

“No, you don’t. You’re just going to shuffle like this.” John moved forward, barely lifting his feet, and a small cloud of dust encircled his lower legs.

“Ha ha, very funny, Dad.” Danny shook his head and turned back toward the canyon.

Hilary and John exchanged a smile. She took his hand, her chest expanding with warmth from sharing this moment with him. They’d been talking about visiting the Grand Canyon since they’d met in the rockhounding club 12 years ago. A mere four-hour drive from their home in Tucson, the vast beauty of the Grand Canyon called to them like a beckoning friend. But the combination of busy work schedules, and the arrival of Bryce and then Danny kept postponing their trip indefinitely.

At eleven and nine, Hilary and John felt the boys were old enough to trust they wouldn’t lunge themselves off one of the cliffsides. Although Bryce’s distractibility and Danny’s incessant need for movement still made them nervous. When they arrived, they had lectured the boys for nearly ten minutes about safety, appropriate behavior, and paying attention before letting them out of the car. But now, here they were, finally taking in the beauty of this natural wonder.

Beautiful. Breathtaking. Awe-inspiring. Words were inadequate to describe the magnificence. Hilary’s eyes were riveted to the rippling flows of reddish orange that faded into dusky brown, and the jagged rock edges that gave way to round, wave-like rims. The sun glinted off the surface of the rocks, illuminating colors beyond their normal hues. And the vastness – the sheer immensity of the place and the incomprehensibility of the billions of years of the river flowing ceaselessly, cutting relentlessly into the rock – was beyond mind-boggling.

“Wow,” John whispered. He squeezed Hilary’s hand, turning to her with a smile. “We finally made it after all these years.”

She nodded, the warmth from her chest spreading through her neck and into her cheeks. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“Maddox says they need help to save the Valley.” Bryce said.

John chuckled. “Don’t you think using the term valley to describe the Grand Canyon is a bit of an understatement?”

Hilary pressed her hand to John’s shoulder. “Please don’t get into an argument about semantics with him here, honey. I just want to enjoy this.”

“I need to go with him.” Bryce stood up and turned toward his mother. His face was expressionless, and his dark brown eyes seemed to look through her instead of at her.

Hilary’s stomach twisted into a knot. “Bryce, who’s Maddox?”

He pointed to the open space of the canyon.

She squinted, trying to follow the line from his finger. “Am I missing something? I don’t see anyone. Is there someone hiking that you can see from here?”

Bryce shook his head. “I don’t have time to explain right now. Maddox says it’s urgent. I have to go.” He climbed the railing and before either of his parents had time to react, he stepped off.

As John lunged for him, Hilary covered the screaming gasp that escaped her mouth. But instead of watching her son plummet, he remained at eye level, somehow floating in mid-air.

“Cool!” Danny yelled. He too climbed the railing, but before he could follow his brother, John grabbed his t-shirt. “Dad, come on. Bryce is out there. Let me go!” He wriggled and pulled so hard his shirt ripped, and he toppled forward off the railing.

Again, Hilary let out an angst-filled cry, but again, her son remained at the same altitude, hovering in the sky with nothing supporting him.

“What in the hell is going on?” John said through gritted teeth.

“You ripped my shirt,” Danny said as he stood up and dusted off his pants.

A thin layer of dirt sprinkled from his clothes. It landed, little by little, outlining a large, invisible surface the boys were standing on. John picked up a handful of dirt, throwing it at the boys’ feet, revealing what appeared to be a huge reptilian head, as large as a whale.

Tears sprung from Hilary’s eyes, her whole body shaking. “Bryce, is that Maddox?”

He nodded. “I’m sorry, Mom. I promise I’ll explain everything later. But he needs help now. We have to go.”

Hilary’s view of her sons became obscured as a brisk wind picked up, blowing her hair into her face. She held her hair back with her hands, witnessing dust devils circling on either side of Bryce and Danny, although they remained stable, seemingly unaffected by the wind burst.

John reached out, only an arms-length away from Danny. But before he could grasp him, a thunderous blast broke through the sky. Hilary and John were thrown back, landing hard against the ground, their hands clutching their ears.

Hilary got up first, frantically waving her arms trying to clear the dust from the air. John touched his ear, his fingertips wet with the trickle of blood running down the side of his face.

“Bryce! Danny!” Hilary cried, leaning over the railing.

John jumped to his feet, joining his wife in the search.

“Boys, where are you?” Hilary yelled. The echo of her cry reverberated over the canyon. But only silence returned.

Hilary erupted into a fit of violent crying. As her body crumpled, John pulled her into his arms before she fell to the ground.

“This can’t be happening,” he whispered, his voice trembling.

They held each other, both shaking as their worst fears were realized.

Their boys were gone.