by Jada Fisher
The look on Galvinod’s face was something to behold. It looked like a sloppy mess of excited, hopeful, overjoyed, and skeptical.
“Really? You’d want to sing for me?”
She nodded. “I really would. I’m probably a little rusty, but it can just be a sign of good faith. Just like old times, right?”
“Well, you’re not wearing your outfit so it’s not quite like old times, but yes, yes, I think I’d like that.” He backed up and sat in the chair he always stationed himself in when he visited us. “I’ve been waiting for this for so long.”
Mal’s eyes flicked to me and she took a deep breath. For the briefest of moments, it felt like the entire world was hanging in the balance.
And then she started to sing.
I couldn’t help it, my jaw dropped pretty much after the first note. Unlike her hardened, one-eyed exterior, her voice was soft and dulcet, tinkling almost like a bell and being just breathy enough to sound wistful and not whiny. She sung of the sun shining and open fields, scenes that she probably had never seen in her life.
Galvinod closed his eyes, a soft smile on his face as Mal wove her lyrical web. I had been dubious but hopeful that this part would work, but I had no idea that she would have him so completely enraptured so easily. Heck, if I didn’t know what was going on, I thought I would be spellbound too.
But I wasn’t, and I heard the floorboards creak behind him. A quick glance told me that Bron was moving behind him, his body expanding and morphing until he was a terrible mix of stretched-out human and dragon.
Galvinod had no idea, his head tilting this way and that in time to Mal’s tone. He didn’t even feel when Bron opened his jaws wide behind him, and I had to look away as my prince did what he had to do.
There was a gnashing crunch, and Mal’s song cut off abruptly, a soft gasp escaping her mouth instead. It was one of the first times I actually heard her sound as young as she was, and really, truly terrified, so I stood up and hugged her, turning her so she was facing my chest rather than the scene behind her.
“It’s alright,” I murmured, stroking her hair. “It had to be done.”
“I know that,” she whispered, voice tremulous against my chest. “And he deserved it. I just didn’t expect it to be so…”
“Messy?” I supplied.
“Yeah. Burning people to ash has much less cleanup.”
“And a whole lot more noise.”
Speaking of noise, now that the deed was done, Bron was rapidly changing back to his human form. And once his head was back to normal, he was gagging then vomiting in the corner, his whole frame shaking.
I gave Mal another squeeze then rushed over to him, patting his back. If I had my way, I would sit down with him and give him all the time in the world he needed to feel better. We didn’t have that kind of time, though. Normally, it would be a couple hours before the guards came to fetch me, but we were pretty sure someone would notice Galvinod’s absence or smell the blood. Once that happened, the jig would be up.
“I’m alright,” Bron said, gasping. I handed him the waterskin, and he stood up, gulping it down gratefully. “Everyone ready for this next part?”
“I’m still not sold on this ‘we can go to the hub if we want to real hard’,” my sister said, getting up from where the rest of the crew had to lay and try not to draw attention to themselves. “In my visions, past people had to use all sorts of complicated spells and not-English words.”
“I think that’s because they were creating the worlds and portals themselves. We’re not creating anything, we’re just opening what’s been sealed and closing it behind us.”
“Huh, you make it sound so easy, little sis.”
“Compared to what we’ve been through, it has to be.”
“Uh, I wouldn’t say that just yet. After all, we still have to escape from here.” She looked to the one window and sighed. “So, which one of you dragons want to carry me and who’s gonna carry the doppelgangers?” She sent me a broad wink that made me blush. “I already have an idea of who you’re ridin’, Davie.”
“Riding on,” I stressed. “Semantics.”
“I know what I’m about.” She ruffled my hair. “If we’re all about to die in a blaze of glory, I gotta tease my sister before it’s too late.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, my heart warming. Goodness, I had missed her so much. “You’ll have plenty more chances.”
16
The Stakes are Sky High
It turned out that, if a dragon was really ticked, he could definitely burst through a stone wall and rocket out into the sky. Or at least that was what happened as Bron bludgeoned his way through the partition mid-transformation, unfurling into his full form once he was outside of the room.
I didn’t waste any time, running after him and launching myself into the air.
He caught me easily, and my body slammed into his scaled back, knocking the breath out of me.
I didn’t have any time to recover, so I held on for dear life as we rocketed off. I could worry about breathing later.
Once I did gather my wits enough to see and inhale again, I looked over my shoulder to see Mickey was already on a dragon and flying after us, while another half-formed soldier was vaulting out of the opening that Bron had made.
I couldn’t believe that we had made it so far. I had thought our plan would have a whole lot more hang-ups and moments for improvisation, but so far, it had been pretty smooth sailing. Minus that whole scarring Bron for life by making him outright murder someone.
But then an alarm sounded behind us, and I knew that I had spoken too soon. Or…thought, I guess. Within a minute, there were dozens and dozens of dragons taking to the sky. None of them quite Bron’s size, but plenty of them giving the soldiers a run for their money.
Smaller meant faster, though. It always had and always would, so they started gaining on us. I knew that it would be too much for the soldiers holding my sister and the Mals. Gripping Bron’s wings, I tried to shout over the rush of wind surrounding us.
“We need to circle back!” I cried. “Give the rest some cover.”
I felt a ripple of muscle underneath me, which I guessed was his agreeing, and I held on for dear life as we pinwheeled backward, going upside-down like a rollercoaster, but with a whole lot more danger.
I quickly thanked God for my thick, muscled thighs that were able to clamp onto Bron’s scaly sides, because I was pretty sure my upper body wasn’t up to the task on its own. However, I didn’t have much time to focus on that because suddenly I was embroiled in a very real firefight.
Bron swooped between dragons, his teeth snapping at wings and his claws scoring others. It was an uncanny callback to my vision with the rotted dragon, but with someone I loved instead.
Whoa, had I just mentally dropped the L-bomb in the middle of a battle? That was…something.
“To your left!” I cried, seeing a shadow in my peripheral vision. Bron pinwheeled, but it wasn’t soon enough to stop both of the taloned feet trying to stab right behind me into Bron’s spine.
I didn’t even have to think. I called up a shield and the attacker bounced off it, giving the prince enough time to whip his plated tail around and spear the dragon.
More and more were taking to the air, making even Bron’s superior strength and size a negligible advantage. Bron must have sensed this too, because he let out a huge cloud of fire and then pinwheeled again, facing in the direction we were supposed to be going.
Or at least I hoped we were supposed to be going this way. We were kinda basing this off a vision I had more than five years ago, and I knew that wasn’t generally recommended.
Thankfully, my sister and the two Mals had gotten a considerable distance, leaving mostly Bron and I in the danger zone. Which we definitely were, judging by the two dragons that swooped up on either side if us.
One barreled-rolled over us, and I felt its claw score my shoulder. I cried out in pain, and hunkered lower to Bron’s spine, practical
ly pressing myself down flat to his form.
The other dragon made a pass for Bron’s neck, but I called up a shield for his teeth to clamp down onto instead of my friend’s flesh.
Once more, it gave Bron the opening he needed, and he suddenly shot upwards, which allowed his claws to sink into the wings of the attacker and rip through the bat-like flesh there.
I had a moment of déjà vu back to the first time that I had ridden on his back, all the way back when we were escaping from enemy drakes and I knew nothing about the world I was about to be plunged into.
Instead of there being just two dragons, however, there were a hundred, and four more came up to replace the two that we had just dispatched.
It was too much. We were going to be surrounded soon, and then I knew that both Mickey and the Mals would swing back to protect us.
I couldn’t have that. I had made promises to all of them, and I would get them home one way or the other.
Fire billowed all around us, and I had to constantly hold on with all of my might as Bron rolled this way and that, trying to avoid the attacks. But he could only do so much aerial gymnastics before some of them got their hits in, and I could smell the blood that sprayed in the air as their attacks rang true.
Instead of being worried, or horrified, though, I felt something entirely different. At first, I couldn’t quite describe it, but as it rapidly escalated I realized that it was pure, unadulterated rage.
I risked a glance over my shoulder and I saw two distinct shapes rise in the distance, massive wings flapping slowly. Then a third. Then a forth. It had to be the prince, Baelfyre, and whoever else were their strongest dragons. If they reached us, we would never stand a chance.
I could see it all playing out in front of me, almost like a vision but not quite. They would overwhelm Bron and I, forcing him to the ground in an effort to secure me. Then Mickey would force her soldier to swing back around to save me, and she would be taken too.
The Mals would fight about it, this dimension’s version being much more practical than mine, but that wouldn’t work out either and the dragons would kill both of them as nonessential personnel.
It was gory and awful and tragic, and I couldn’t let it happen. No. I was making a stand and showing these jerkwads just a little sliver of justice.
The rage was burning in me like it never had before. Suddenly, all of the wrongs in my life bubbled to the surface. The fire that stole my parents and scarred both Mickey and I, the foster homes that abused us, and the bullies that had tormented me. The disease that attacked Mickey’s immune system and body, leaving her weak and bedridden.
The stupid anti-humanist dragons and their lust for power. The way Baelfyre had tricked us. This whole entire stupid world and its hate for humans. The look on Bron’s face after he’d been forced to kill Galvinod.
And now, in this stupid, stupid fight where there were so many of them and so few of us.
“Fall back,” I said to Bron, my tone alarming even myself. But there was something building up inside of me, and I was ready to release it against the murderers coming after us.
Fortunately, Bron didn’t question me. Sure, he hesitated for a second, but then he dutifully did as I asked, tucking his wings in and dropping his speed in until we were completely engulfed in the mass.
It almost would have been comical how surprised the attacking dragons were, but I had no room in me for mirth. I was tired of being a pawn.
It was time to see what kind of damage a seer could do.
I put myself back into that same sort of nothingness that I had found my sister in. This time, instead of the crystalline blue below me, there was just violent, violent purple, boiling and churning like a kettle on full heat. It looked dangerous, deadly even, and I hung suspended over it.
Taking a deep breath, I let myself fall in.
The energy I was consumed with was impossibly intense, and I felt like I had indeed dunked myself in scalding water. It ripped through my entire being, charging me in a way I never knew could be done.
The dragons recovered and started to converge on us, but I just locked my eyes on the closest one and smiled. That was all of the warning I gave them before I let the inferno explode out of me in a wave of blinding purple.
When I could finally see again, we were alone in the sky. I blinked, surprised, only to look down and see dozens and dozens of dragons falling to the ground, some of them in bits, while others smoked intensely.
Had…had I done that? I was beginning to think that this seer stuff was less about fortune telling and more about being able to manipulate the threads of energy that bound realities to fit my needs. Which was a bit overwhelming if I really thought about it.
So, I didn’t. I took what had happened in stride and kept right on going. No time to look back and analyze.
“Oh,” I murmured, my head spinning. I leaned against Bron’s back and breathed in and out. Although I was completely winded from the exchange, I felt different than before. Like I had unlocked some new tier of abilities and I was still charged from the level-up.
Which was good, because I had a feeling that the battle wasn’t quite over. We had just won a small reprieve.
“Catch up with the others,” I whispered, closing my eyes for just a moment. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
17
Until We Meet Again
By the time we landed, I was feeling much more like myself. Albeit myself if I had stuck a fork in an electrical socket, but still myself.
We landed several minutes after the others had to find Mickey already working on the portal. I was proud of her that she had trusted me to get the job done and buy us enough time. If she had hung back, we probably wouldn’t have enough time to open it.
And probably just enough time for her to realize the one crucial part of our plan that we had overlooked.
Did we really overlook it, or had I always known what needed to happen? I couldn’t say. The only thing I could do was run up to her and take her hand, willing all of my extra energy into her.
I could feel it the moment we touched. Our spirits connected and for a split-second, we were a single entity.
In that moment, I could see all of the worlds laid out before us, one right after the other with only slightly different shades to distinguish them. All of them were connected to a central one, one that was dark and crumbling and rotted, attached by gossamer threads that were barely visible unless we squinted with our mind’s eye.
There was a crack of lightning right in front of us, then suddenly that same crystalline color was blooming in front of us. I was beginning to get sick of it and didn’t quite understand why it wasn’t the same color as my own magic, but I didn’t question it. Less than a minute later, we were staring at a mirror-like circle on top of the same hill that our ancestors had escaped on so long ago.
“Wow,” Mallory said, walking forward, the blue light reflecting on her face. “Is this it?”
“It is,” Mickey said. “Now, once you’re through, find cover. Hide. I’m pretty good at avoiding him and sneaking around. Davie and I will be the last ones through.”
Yeah. We would.
Mal went through first, and then Mallory, and then it was Bron’s turn. Of course, I could count on noble, sentimental Bron to ruin everything, the absolute sweetheart.
“Let’s go together,” he said, holding his hand out to me.
I shook my head, taking a step back, and Mickey’s spine went ramrod straight.
Drat. She knew my game.
“Davie, what are you doing?” she asked, voice cold.
“You weren’t awake, so you didn’t hear what Baelfyre said. We’re not the first seers to accidentally stumble here, and others will too. I don’t know if it’s because all of our paths are parallel or if seers just have a knack for hopping every which way, but there will be others after us, and then the dragons will have everything they need.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t eve
n think about it until just a few moments ago, but we left our notes in that cell. If they find them, they’ll crack the code too and they’ll be able to force the next one to do exactly what they want.”
“So, what do you want to do?”
“I’m going to destroy this portal. And every other portal that might exist. I’m going to sever this reality’s connections to anywhere else.”
“Why can’t you do that from the hub?!”
“You and I both can feel that it doesn’t work that way. The portal was opened this way, it needs to be closed this way too.”
“This is ridiculous,” Bron interjected.
“This is practicality,” I shot back. I hated to talk to him that way but I knew I had to be harsh for him to believe me.
“Then I’ll stay with you. Maybe the two of us can form some sort of resistance, give these dragons some trouble and maybe overthrow them so the humans here can have some real peace.”
I quietly shook my head.
“You’re really going to do this?” Bron asked, swallowing hard.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose up and I could tell that the second wave of dragons were creeping closer. We didn’t have time! “Yes. And before you offer to stay too, your people need you. You learned a lot of things from this world and you guys could use the intel. Not to mention a leader.”
He hesitated, but I knew the responsibilities to his subjects would win out. A broken-hearted look crossed his face and he stepped toward me.
“You understand how incredibly hurtful what you’re suggesting is?”
“Yes,” I said simply. It was what I had to do.
“I… You have changed my life, Miss Davie. There will never be someone like you.” He took another step toward me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “If I might ask one last favor from the lady?”
“You may,” I answered, wasting precious seconds. But I couldn’t say no. Looking up into Bron’s eyes and knowing that I would never see them again made me want to crumple into a ball and just stop existing. But I had to be strong. For myself and for the world. Or worlds, rather.
