One Good Dragon Deserves Another

by Rachel Aaron

  Chelsie froze. “Excuse me?”

  “No,” he said again, forcing himself to stand straight and meet her glare. “It’s my fault Vann Jeger put that mark on her neck, and I’m not leaving her to deal with it alone. I’m not leaving her to die.”

  “You say that like you have a choice,” Chelsie sneered. “But you have nothing. No chance, no hope. What do you think is going to happen when you face Vann Jeger?”

  It took Julius several seconds to realize that question wasn’t rhetorical. “I know the odds aren’t good, but—”

  “Aren’t good? Vann Jeger is the Death of Dragons. Hunting and slaughtering our kind is his crusade. A monster like him would be a tough fight even for Amelia. You don’t have a prayer.”

  “But we don’t have to beat him,” Julius explained. “The curse just requires her to show up with a dragon.”

  Chelsie rolled her eyes. “And what? You think you’ll just waltz in, punch your ticket, and go?”

  Julius fought the urge to growl. In the end, though, Chelsie didn’t even give him a chance.

  “If you get within striking distance of Vann Jeger, you will die,” she said sternly. “Both of you. But while you seem to be content to let your mortal do whatever she likes, your life belongs to Heartstriker. As clan enforcer, that makes it my responsibility, and I’m not about to let you throw it away on doomed, childish heroics.”

  He grit his teeth in frustration. “It’s not like that. I—”

  Chelsie drew her sword faster than he could blink. One moment, the Fang was sheathed on her hip, the next, the bone-colored blade was pressing against the soft skin of his throat. “Pack,” she ordered. “Now.”

  And just like that, something in Julius snapped. He hadn’t even known he was so close to the edge until the whisper of a blade at his neck pushed him right over. “Or what?” he growled.

  “I think that’s pretty obvious,” Chelsie growled back, nudging the blade a little closer.

  “Then do it,” Julius said, lifting his chin to give her a better opening. “Cut my head off.”

  Chelsie’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t bluff me, so don’t even try. This is not open to debate. You’re going back to the mountain. The only choice you have left is whether you do it intact or in pieces.”

  “Are you even listening to yourself?” Julius cried. “You’re threatening to kill me if I don’t let you save my life. Do you have any idea how ridiculous that is?”

  “Maybe,” Chelsie snarled. “But I wouldn’t have to do it if you weren’t determined to be such a suicidal idiot.”

  He’d said almost the exact same thing to Justin not an hour ago. Now though, Julius was finally beginning to understand his brother a little. There was no question that Chelsie was right. He was utterly outclassed, and he was being suicidally stupid to keep resisting her attempts to save his life. Even now, every survival instinct he had was screaming at him to stop being a moron and just do what she said, but Julius didn’t move. He couldn’t, because after a lifetime spent running from the terrifying monsters he called family, Julius had finally found something bigger than fear. He was still terrified, probably always would be, but it didn’t matter anymore. Even death paled in comparison to the thought of an immortality spent knowing that he was the reason Marci had died, and that he’d left her to do it alone.

  “I’m not going,” he said again, fisting his hands at his sides to keep them from trembling. “I know you’re strong enough to make me, but I’ll fight you every step of the way. That’s my choice, but you still have yours. You can take me back to the mountain in pieces, or let me stay here and guard Amelia for you as long as I can.”

  His whole body was pounding in time with his heart by the time he finished, but Chelsie didn’t even blink. She just stood there with her weapon pressed against his neck, and the longer she waited, the more Julius was convinced that this was it. He’d called Chelsie out, and now she was going to kill him. But just as he was making his final peace with death, Chelsie lowered her sword with a curse.

  “Of all the times for you to grow a spine,” she grumbled, shoving the blade back into its sheath. “Fine. I’m only doing this because I care more about Amelia than I do about you. Stay here and die if that’s what you want, but from this point on, everything that happens is on your head. No more last second saves. Understood?”

  Julius nodded.

  She nodded back. “Now, where’s your idiot brother?”

  He blinked. “Sorry?”

  “Where’s Justin?” she growled. “I let you go after him at the party because I thought you were the sensible one, but apparently suicidal tendencies are a trait of J clutch. You’ve already gotten away with it, but I’m not about to let Justin run around loose in Algonquin’s city with all of this going on. I’m taking him home immediately, so where is he?”

  Julius opened his mouth only to close it again. When he’d gone to sleep, Justin had been upstairs. He hadn’t even thought about him in the confusion, but now that Chelsie was asking, Julius couldn’t believe his brother would stay quietly in his room through all this chaos. They’d been making tons of noise for at least fifteen minutes now, but the house above them was quiet. Too quiet, almost as though it was…empty.

  Chelsie’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You don’t know where he is, do you?”

  “He was here just a few minutes ago,” Julius said, following her as she turned and charged up the stairs. “I only lay down for a moment!”

  “A moment’s all he needs,” she said, throwing open the door of Julius’s obviously empty bedroom. The far window had been left open, as was the hidden panel where he’d kept Tyrfing.

  “He’s gone,” Julius said, shoulders slumping. “And he has my sword.”

  Chelsie turned without saying a word, taking the stairs two at a time.

  “I’m sorry,” Julius said, running after her. “I didn’t—”

  “Save it,” she snapped, drawing her sword. “I’ll be back to deal with you later. Do not move from this house until I return.”

  She swung her blade as she spoke, cutting a hole in the air. Where to, though, Julius never got to see. By the time he caught up, she was already gone, vanished through her portal without a trace.

  ***

  He was still staring at where she’d been when Bob’s hand landed on his shoulder.

  “Standing up to Bethesda’s Shade,” the seer said. “Who are you, and what have you done with Julius?”

  “Quit it, Bob,” Julius whispered, shrugging out of his grip. “This is serious.” He could hardly imagine a worse situation than Justin running off alone and angry into the DFZ. “Will she reach him in time?”

  “Hard to say,” Bob replied. “But Chelsie’s the best at what she does. If Justin can be saved, she’ll do it. She might kill him herself when it’s over, but she won’t let him die to outsiders.”

  Julius was having a hard time finding that comforting. “This is all my fault.”

  “I guess it could be if you wanted to take it that way,” Bob said. “But guilt is such a waste of time. I’d have thought you’d be more interested in working on keeping yourself and your human alive.”

  His head shot up. “Is that possible?”

  “Possible, yes,” Bob said. “Probable?” He shrugged.

  Julius grit his teeth. Normally, Bob’s jovial nature just rolled off him. Now, though, it was hard not to be offended. Lives were at stake, and Bob was still acting like this was all a big joke. “This isn’t a game, you know.”

  “Of course it’s a game,” the seer said, walking back over to the couch where Marci was standing over Amelia. “Everything’s a game, Julius. It has to be. Life is whimsical, random, and cruel, but a game is something you can win.”

  “Not if your opponent is cheating,” Marci said. “I saw Estella. She certainly didn’t look like she was playing fair. It was like she knew everything that was going to happen. She even gave me this to give to you.”

  She pulled an envelo
pe out of her bag, and the smile slipped off Bob’s face.

  “I don’t know if it’s a bomb or a threat or what,” she said, holding it out for him. “I was going to show it to Chelsie, but she was kind of preoccupied. Still, I thought if Estella’s cocky enough to send you messages, maybe she messed up and left a clue?”

  Bob took the envelope without a word. He ripped the top off and turned it over, sliding something white and small into his open palm. It didn’t smell magical to Julius, but his brother was staring at it like he’d seen a ghost.

  “What is it?”

  The seer cleared his throat. “It’s a comb,” he said, holding it up so they could see the four delicately carved bone tines.

  “Why would she send you a comb?” Marci asked.

  “Because it’s mine,” Bob said. “I gave it to her a long time ago as a courtship gift.”

  “Wait,” Julius said, because he’d obviously heard that wrong. “You gave Estella a courtship gift?” When his brother nodded, he cried, “Why?”

  The moment the question was out, Julius regretted it. For the first time he could remember, Bob looked…sad.

  “Because I was courting her,” he said, dropping the comb back into its envelope. “Estella wasn’t always like she is now. There was a time, centuries ago, before she dedicated her life to my downfall, that the Northern Star and I were very close. She was the only one who actually understood what it was like to live as a seer. Add in her legendary beauty and I was quite the smitten young dragon.”

  Julius couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What happened?”

  Bob sighed. “The inevitable. Estella’s greatest weakness has always been her tragically narrow vision. For all her brilliance, she could only ever conceive of two types of relationships: pawns and enemies. Once she discovered I’d never be the former, I became the latter.” He smiled sadly. “I saw it coming, of course, but that’s the dirty secret of seers. We’re forever trying to change our own fate, even when we know better.”

  “Is that why she hates you so much?” Marci asked softly. “Because you wouldn’t be her pawn?”

  “Of course not,” Bob scoffed. “What do you think this is, a soap opera? Estella dumped me the moment she realized I wasn’t going to be her fawning lackey. She only cared enough to start hating me when I started winning.”

  He turned around, tossing the comb and the envelope into the trash can at the foot of the couch. “I’m not sentimental enough to believe she treasured this as a keepsake,” he said matter-of-factly. “She’s a dragon; hoarding beautiful objects is her nature. The only reason she sent it back now is because she saw an opportunity. She’s trying to get under my feathers, to distract me from her real goal.”

  “Which is?”

  “The absolute destruction of our clan.”

  Julius winced. “That seems a little extreme.”

  Bob cocked an eyebrow. “What about Estella made you think she was anything less?”

  He couldn’t argue with that.

  “Of course, I’m still unraveling the particulars,” Bob went on. “Genius that I am, it pains me to admit that Estella has the upper hand this time, but not for long.” His lips peeled away from his teeth in a snarl. “She’s not the only one who can cheat.”

  The anger in his voice at the end made Julius shudder, but Bob’s happy mask had already snapped back in place when he looked up again.

  “I have to go away for a while,” the seer said casually as he leaned down to press a quick kiss against Amelia’s cheek. “I realize you’ve got a lot going on this evening what with your imminent demise, but if you could look after my sister for as long as you can, I’d be very grateful. Amelia and I have been together for a very long time now. She is… precious to me.”

  That was the most sincere thing Julius had ever heard his brother say, and he nearly tripped over his own tongue in his rush to return the favor. “Of course I’ll protect her,” he promised. “She’s my sister, too. I’ll do whatever I can.”

  Bob gave him a dramatic look of shock. “Not even trying to take advantage of my obvious emotional distress?” He shook his head with a tsk. “You really are the worst dragon, Julius Heartstriker.”

  “Thank you,” Julius said. “But if you wanted to give me some inside information, I wouldn’t say no.” Because if ever he needed a heads up on his future, it was now.

  “I did have one important piece of advice I meant to give you,” Bob said solemnly. “Listen closely, because this might just save your life.”

  Julius nodded, holding his breath, eyes locked on his oldest brother as Bob leaned in to whisper in his ear.

  “Be yourself.”

  Julius yanked away. “That’s it?” he cried. “That’s your important advice? Justin is missing, we have two siblings down, Marci’s got a killing curse on her neck, I’m being hunted by Algonquin’s personal dragon slayer, and all you can say is be yourself?”

  Bob looked hurt. “It’s very good advice.”

  “It’s meaningless advice!” Julius yelled. “I know you said the clan is always in danger, but this is different. You know it’s different, that’s why you’re leaving. But I’m the one who has to stay and deal with all of this, so for once in your life, can you drop the mysterious seer act and just tell me something useful? Unless a miracle happens, I’m going to have to face Van Jeger in less than twelve hours. How is being myself going to stop that? I can’t keep Amelia safe if I’m dead!” He grabbed the seer’s hand. “Please, Bob, I’m begging you here. Give me something I can work with. Anything will do.”

  He knew he was being pathetic, but he was too desperate to care. The last twenty-four hours had been one disaster after another, and now that Amelia was down as well, Julius was officially out of tricks. If the Great Seer of the Heartstrikers couldn’t help him, he had nothing. But Bob didn’t give him an answer. He just smiled, reaching out to rest his hand on Julius’s shoulder. “Do you know why I picked you?”

  Julius sighed. “Of course not. But I don’t see how this is—”

  “It’s because you’re a failure.”

  “We’ve established this,” Julius grumbled. “But—”

  “Truly terrible,” Bob went on. “Absolutely the worst. I’ve seen all of Bethesda’s clutches—past, present, and future—and I’ve never seen anything like you. You would not believe what a Herculean task it was to keep Mother from getting fed up and eating you when you were still a whelp, but against all odds, I succeeded, and as a result, you’ve grown into something unique. The things you value, the decisions you make, they’re inscrutable to the rest of dragonkind, including me.”

  He said this like it was vitally important, but Julius didn’t understand. “How is that useful?”

  “Because you are an enigma, Julius Heartstriker,” Bob said solemnly. “And that is your strength. Anyone who challenges you expecting a dragon will get something else entirely, something they are completely unprepared to fight. Something they do not, and most likely cannot, understand. So when I say, ‘be yourself,’ I’m telling you to use the advantage no other dragon in the world possesses.” He stepped back, looking Julius up and down. “You.”

  Julius swallowed. “That doesn’t sound like much of an advantage.”

  “It’s our only advantage,” Bob said grimly. “As much as I hate to admit it, Estella’s been steadily backing us into a corner. From the moment Svena vanished from my sight yesterday morning, carefully orchestrated plans years in the making have been dropping like flies. Given everything I’ve learned over centuries of being a seer, that should be impossible. But even if Estella has somehow managed to get access to a higher level of control over the future than I can reach, she still has to understand what she’s looking at to use it. That’s the one factor she can’t cheat her way around, and so long as you are you, I’m gambling that even the Northern Star won’t be able to make heads or tails of what you’re doing until it’s too late.” He grinned. “Or, at least, that’s the plan. Even I can
’t say for sure what will happen with so much in the air, but I know you’ll find a way. You have to, or we’re all toast!”

  “That’s hardly a motivational speech,” Julius said, feeling a little shell-shocked. “And why do you seem so happy about it?”

  “Personal eccentricity,” Bob said, grinning even wider. “It’s not often a seer doesn’t know the ending ahead of time. Can you blame me for enjoying the forbidden thrill of the unknown?”

  That did not make Julius feel better. “Are you sure you can’t tell me something more useful?”

  “But I have,” Bob said. “You didn’t think I said all that just to boost your ego, did you? This is why I picked you. This is your purpose. Because when I saw these disasters coming, I knew I’d have to play my most unexpected card. The only thing Estella—who knows me better than anyone—wouldn’t see coming. You.” He grabbed Julius’s hands, clutching them together. “Help us, Juli-wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope.”

  For a moment, that almost, almost made Julius feel like a hero. And then he remembered. “Doesn’t Obi-Wan die in that movie?”

  Bob dropped his hands with a cryptic smile and started for the door. “I must be off,” he said as his pigeon flapped after him. “Make sure you have food and booze on hand for when Amelia wakes up. She’s not exactly a morning dragon.”

  “Wait!” Julius cried, running after him. “Bob!”

  But the seer was already gone, jogging down the stairs toward his antique of a car. Julius would have run after him, but there didn’t seem to be much of a point. Bob had clearly already said all he was going to say, so Julius just shut the door and put his back against it with a pained sigh. When he opened his eyes again, Marci was standing in front of him.

  “Thanks for what you said earlier.”

  His ears began to burn. “It was the truth.”

  “I know,” she said, smiling. “That’s why I’m saying thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet,” he said, looking pointedly at Amelia. “I guess we’d better get some food.”

  “I’ll go,” Marci volunteered. “You should stay here in case Justin comes back so he doesn’t freak when he sees Amelia.”