by Mandi Oyster
“I am sure he did.” Aurelia’s hands tightened on my shoulders for a split second.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes, your magic is very powerful. Even if he had not seen what you were capable of, he would have sensed your strength.” Aurelia sat beside me, resting her hand on my arm. “Immortal beings only give their names out to those we know, those we trust not to hurt us. You are fortunate if any are willing to trust you. That should tell you something about your character.”
“But I knew Nefarious’ name,” I said.
“No. You knew what Sarah’s ancestors called him. It is not his true name. His true name bound him here once. That is why he seeks to destroy Earth. The names of immortals can be dangerous.”
“What do you mean by that … his name bound him here?” Samantha asked.
“A magician found out his name and kept him here to do his bidding,” she said. “Not many can bind immortals here, but I think Dacia has the power to.”
“Wow.” Dan looked at me, then Aurelia. “Think of all you could do with that power.”
“No, Dan,” I said. “That’s not something I want.”
“Dacia would lose the help of all immortal beings if she tried to control one.” Aurelia focused on Dan. Her eyes were hard, and there was no doubt she was the apex predator in the room. “We do not look kindly on it.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.” Dan sounded ashamed.
I turned toward Aurelia. “Aurelia must not be your true name then.”
“Why?” Samantha looked at everyone. “Oh … the whole school would know it.”
“Keep Arion’s name safe.” Aurelia stood, walking toward the window where Arion waited. “He chose to trust all of you with it.”
I dropped my head into my hands. “I hope Draconian didn’t hear it from me earlier.”
“Arion is not the sort of creature Draconian is interested in,” Aurelia said, “but he will use him against you if he can.”
“Do we go to class?” Samantha looked at her watch.
“Yes,” I answered. “You go.” Cody’s grip on my arm tightened, and I knew he was getting ready to argue. “I need my lesson with Aurelia. I need to know how to prevent Draconian from paralyzing me. I need to know what to do if he does. I can’t let this happen again.”
“If that’s what you want,” Cody said.
“I will do my best to help you.” Aurelia looked out the window. “Arion and I discussed that while we were away.”
“Did you come up with anything?” I twisted my hair around my finger.
“In the words of your kind, we are going to wing it,” she said.
“Well, let’s get them to their class and get back here.”
“I’ll be here when you get back,” Sarah told us. “I still want to see what Dacia has been learning.”
Hopefully, it will be a quick trip with no problems. Draconian will be really mad that I escaped from him again, I thought to Aurelia.
“You should stay here and show her while I take them.” Aurelia stood. “That will give us more time to work.”
Cody pulled me to my feet. My muscles felt tender but no longer ached. Cupping my face in his hands, he kissed me gently. “Be careful. Stay safe.”
Chapter 24
Worse Than Death
As soon as Aurelia returned, Sarah excused herself. Before her door closed, my body stiffened, and I collapsed to the floor. I couldn’t move, couldn’t even blink.
“Try to free yourself.” Aurelia sounded detached. “Fight back. I know you cannot move, but you can still think. Envision a way out of this.”
I got away from Draconian once by teleporting, so I decided that was my best option. I pictured myself across the room. Nothing happened. My chest tightened, and my stomach roiled.
Aurelia’s face was pinched whether in determination or remorse I wasn’t sure.
Heat built inside me, coursing through my veins. Steam puffed out of my nose, dispersing the air.
“Come on, Dacia. You can do this.”
I turned my thoughts from heat to healing. Vitality surged into my body. I pictured myself across the room. Standing by Sarah’s door, I closed my eyes and rolled my neck. “Yes.”
“Good job.” Aurelia paralyzed me again without warning or hesitation. I fell to the ground. “I am truly sorry, Dacia, but this is the only way.”
Pain sizzled through my body, crackling through my veins, searing my muscles. A soundless scream tore from my throat. Tears ran over my cheeks.
Aurelia’s voice was nearly devoured by the agony. “You need to block out the pain. Once you have done that, you should be able to teleport again.”
Excruciating pain radiated through me, leaving me unable to think. I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. I felt like I was going to pass out. The room spun. My mind was nearing its threshold. I focused on life, closed my eyes, and pictured Sarah’s couch. Sitting there, my muscles ached, but no new pain was inflicted on me.
“I did it.” I leaned back and let out a hefty breath.
“Yes, you did. Prepare yourself.”
I held my hands up in front of me and shook my head. “I need a break. My body is about to give out on me.”
“I am sorry, Dacia, but Draconian would not stop.” Anguish flooded her voice. “If you want to be able to fight him off, this is the only way Arion or I could think of.”
She paralyzed me again. Pain enveloped my body.
“Fight, Dacia.”
I thought about kittens, lambs, butterflies, flowers, and all the wonderful things spring brings. The pain lessened, and my head cleared. Strength returned to my body. In about half the time, I teleported across the room and freed myself from her control.
“Much better.” Her compliment helped put my mind at ease. She wasn’t doing this for fun. She did it to help me. “I am truly sorry for doing that. I had no idea how to tell you to free yourself.”
If there was a muscle in my body that wasn’t screaming out in pain, I was unaware of it. What Aurelia did was worse than anything Draconian had done to me.
“You handled yourself well.” She smiled at me, and I saw pride in her eyes. “I am impressed by how quickly you freed yourself. Your strength amazes me. The only thing we have not addressed is how to free yourself from Draconian’s dungeon, and I think that will have to wait until our next lesson. We should go, or we will be late to pick up Samantha, Dan, and Cody.”
My muscles shook when I stepped forward, but I didn’t want to use more energy. “Hopefully, with everything you’ve shown me, Draconian won’t be able to get me into his dungeon again anyway. If I can escape from him, like I could you, I don’t know how he would capture me. You’ve shown me how to escape from his dragons, and now I should be able to escape from him.” We walked down the steps, and my legs trembled. “I need to find a safe place to teleport to. If I’d’ve teleported here just a moment after I did, I would’ve teleported right in front of Sarah’s guest.”
“You should be able to teleport into your room now that Dan knows about you,” Aurelia said. “If you told everybody you needed it to be your safe place, I am sure they would keep it that way for you.”
“Most of the time I can count on that,” I said. “Because of me, Samantha doesn’t have a lot of other friends. She actually told some of them that if they can’t get over their problems with me, she doesn’t want anything to do with them, but that hasn’t worked too well for her.”
“For the life of me, I cannot understand why people do not accept you. What you are capable of is amazing.” Her face was twisted into a mask of confusion.
“Well, I’m sure a lot of them think it’s amazing, but fear controls them. As a general rule, people are scared of what they don’t understand. And, let’s face it …
I don’t even understand my differences. I’m just lucky to have the friends I have.”
“Maybe so. There are so many differences between humans and …” Aurelia didn’t finish that thought.
“And what?” I asked, knowing she wouldn’t answer.
She looked at me, and I thought for a second she would tell me. “Not yet.”
“You can’t blame me for trying.”
“Immortals, that is the only answer I can give right now. I need to be sure you can handle the truth before I tell you anything more. If I rush into it, I could jeopardize everything.”
Now I was even more confused. What could be so terrible she wouldn’t tell me?
Aurelia and I stood outside Primrose Hall, waiting for the others.
Cody stepped through the doors and stopped. He looked me over from head to foot, and his face fell. “What happened?” He hurried forward. “Take my strength.”
“I’m fine. Why?”
“You look like you did after Draconian tortured you,” Samantha answered. “You look like you’ve been through the wringer.”
“Oh … uh … yeah.” I ran my hands along the side of my head, pulling my hair back. “Aurelia tortured me.”
Anger radiated from Cody. His jaw clenched and unclenched. His blue eyes were hard and icy. “What?” He glared at Aurelia and ran his hand through his hair. “First you leave her. Then you torture her. Care to explain?”
“It was the only way to train her,” Aurelia said. “Dacia knows how to escape from Draconian now, and that is what is important.”
“It’s okay.” I put my hand on Cody’s chest, pushing him back. “Aurelia did what she had to, and I’ll be fine. Let’s just get back before Draconian tries to stop us.”
“Once we get you back, I need to leave with Arion again,” Aurelia said. “We were unable to finish what we were doing.”
“Stick around ‘til Dacia’s safe.” Cody’s voice was venomous.
“Cody.” I curled my fingers around his shirt and pulled him toward me. “Stop it. Aurelia thought I was safe when she left. I couldn’t sense Draconian. I wasn’t far from the classroom.”
“Sorry.”
“Dacia is essential to the welfare of this planet,” Aurelia said. “What happened was unfortunate, and I will do my best to keep it from happening ever again. However, Dacia is going to have to face Draconian at some point in time, or she will always be looking over her shoulder.”
“Not ‘til she’s ready.” Cody stood rigid.
“I am trying to get her ready.” Aurelia started walking toward the dorm. “She is almost there.”
“Do you really think so?” I twisted my blue t-shirt around my finger.
“Of course you are.” Samantha grabbed Dan’s hand and followed Aurelia. “You defeated Nefarious. I’m sure you can handle Draconian. This time you have Aurelia and Arion to help you.”
I trudged along, every step was agony. “With Aurelia’s help today, I might stand a chance against Draconian, but …” I closed my eyes and shook my head. “He has so many dragons.”
d
It was well past midnight when I sensed Aurelia returning to her room. Is everything okay? I thought to her.
Dacia, you should be sleeping. You need your rest.
Sleep isn’t always peaceful and relaxing. What were you doing anyway? I asked, expecting a non-answer.
Arion and I are trying to recruit allies. Most immortals are afraid of Draconian. His ability to control dragons has sent many fleeing. Several of whom I would normally count on will not come out of hiding until he is stopped.
Help would be good.
Even without it, I believe you can defeat Draconian. You are powerful.
I hope you’re right.
Chapter 25
Downfall
The trail to Falcon Lake twisted through a heavily forested area. The air carried the scent of pine and dank, dark earth. Light flickered through the trees. Squirrels chattered and birds sang.
My friends and I walked in silence, listening for anything out of place. An uneasy feeling clung to my body, threatening to drag me into despair.
While I’d been in the shower, Samantha, Dan, and Cody had talked to Aurelia about going to Falcon Lake for a picnic. They thought a change of pace would be good for me. Surprisingly, Aurelia had agreed.
As soon as we stepped out of the trees, some of my tension dissolved. Samantha and Dan strolled along the lake. Faint traces of their conversation caught on the wind as they got farther away.
“I cannot give you the privacy you desire.” Aurelia nodded toward the trees. “I will be over there keeping an eye on you. Stay where I can see you.”
“Who’s going to keep an eye on you?” I knew she could handle herself, but I also knew she worried about Draconian controlling her.
“Arion.” She pointed at the sky. “He is flying above us.”
I looked up. The sky was a deep cerulean blue, dotted here and there by, puffy clouds. “He must be able to keep me from sensing him. I didn’t realize he was there.”
“Unless we tell you otherwise, Arion will be around you at all times, Dacia. Draconian thinks of him as a mere horse, not a threat. I believe his arrogance will be his downfall.”
“It’d be nice if he had a downfall.”
“Everybody does, Dacia.” She flipped her golden hair over her shoulder. “Have some faith.”
“That’s part of the problem.” I kicked at the ground, watching rocks tumble into each other. “I have a downfall, and Draconian knows what it is. He will exploit it.”
“What’s yours?” Cody asked.
“She thinks it is you.” Aurelia stood perfectly still, her face expressionless, looking regal. “However, love is an asset, not a liability.”
“Draconian will use Cody against me. I won’t be able to let him hurt Cody, so I’ll hand Nefarious to Draconian in exchange for Cody’s life.” I crossed my arms and stared into Aurelia’s gold eyes, daring her to contradict me. “A dragon will capture Cody and me, and even though I could escape, I will let it take me so I can free Cody. Things will go terribly wrong. I’ve seen it in my dreams so many times. I know you think I need to be optimistic, but I’m not. I’m a realist, and realistically, this can’t end well.”
“It can.” Cody stepped in front of me and took my hands in his. “It will.”
A deep sigh escaped my lips, and my shoulders hunched forward. “This isn’t how I wanted to spend my day. Can we try to enjoy ourselves?”
“Be careful,” Aurelia said. “I will be here if you need me—even if you cannot see me.”
Cody and I walked to the water’s edge. The gentle waves lapped over my feet. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. I knew what I said had been hard on Cody, but deep down, he had to know it already, even if he couldn’t admit it. The ones I loved gave me strength. There was no doubt about that, but at the same time, they were my Achilles’ heel.
I looked over my shoulder and saw a gold light shimmering where Aurelia had been, then nothing. I couldn’t help but wonder why she disappeared. When Draconian saw us together, he had backed down. Now, I felt like she was setting a trap and using me as bait.
Cody cleared his throat. “I’m your downfall?”
“Do you want the truth?” My voice was as icy as the chill running up my spine. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that, but maybe it would help him realize I was serious. “Sit down.” We both sat. I dug my feet down into the rocks and rested my hand on Cody’s knee. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me. You’ve helped me through so much. Ever since we met, you’ve been my knight in faded denim, and that’s part of the problem. I can’t sacrifice you for me or even … or even for the world. You come first. I’d have no problem laying my life down for you. I ca
n’t let Draconian hurt you, and we know he won’t let me die instead. To save you, I’d give up Nefarious. I’d hand him over and watch the world burn. Unfortunately, Draconian knows this, and he won’t stop until he gets what he wants.”
Cody stared out over the water, his shoulders hunched. “Keep me safe then. I can’t leave and can’t let you die for me.” He ran a finger from my ear to my neck. My pulse soared, and I closed my eyes. “I’d die for you, too.”
“Yeah, but Draconian won’t care if you die.” I lowered my head, forcing him to lean in to hear me. “That’s the problem.”
You’re right about that, Draconian’s voice reverberated in my head. He’s nothing to me, but you … you could be a force to reckon with if you would let me mold you.
“Cody, run to Aurelia now.” I pulled him to his feet, then shoved him toward the trees.
“What’s wrong?”
“Draconian … I can’t sense him, but he’s in my head.” Aurelia, I need you.
As we ran back to the place we’d left her, we saw her reappear. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if my eyes were playing a trick on me or if I caught a glimpse of her true identity. I shook my head and brushed the thought away. Right now Cody’s safety was my only concern.
Don’t run, Dacia. Stay and play with my friends. The sound of Draconian’s laughter cut me up and left me bare.
Shadows raced over the ground, and I looked up to see two dragons, their wings pinned back in a dive. I grabbed Cody’s hand and pictured my room.
The rocks, trees, and lake swirled together. My body seemed to suck into my core, pulling Cody along. I squeezed my eyes shut until I felt carpet beneath my feet. The room was empty, safe.
