Backyard Dragons

by Lee French

  Claire knew her dagger had to be here. She ran forward. Flashes from Rondy and Caius’s duel distracted her, making her think she saw her dagger over and over. The two men fought above her, and Rondy finally jumped down beside her, one hand clutching his leg. Blood stained his armor in a dozen places, and he gasped for breath.

  “I can’t hold out much longer, Claire. You have to help.”

  Before she could answer, Caius jumped down. She shoved Rondy aside and faced Caius, her hands empty. “You don’t get to win.”

  Caius smirked and punched her in the face. Claire staggered from the surprise blow, seeing stars, and wanted that arrogant jerk to trip over a rock so Rondy could get a good blow in. Clenching her fists, she trembled with a desperate desire for rocks to jump into his path and trip him. A spear of stone shot out of the ground in front of Caius, foiling his attack on Rondy without knocking him to the ground.

  All three of them paused, seeming equally surprised by Claire’s small success. She recovered first. Rondy only needed an opening to finish this fight. Claire dropped her shoulder and charged Caius, knocking him back several steps.

  Caius grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and raised his sword to plunge it through her heart. “Weak and stupid. Not worthy.”

  “She’s worthy,” Rondy snarled. He threw himself into the fray, knocking them all to the ground. Rondy landed on top of Claire, his eyes wide with shock. He fell to the side before she saw Caius’s sword sticking out through his chest.

  “No,” she whispered.

  Blood dripped from the tip of the blade and landed on her arm. Rondy’s mouth moved with no sound coming out, then he went slack.

  “The price for your arrogance and failure has been paid. Go.” Caius stood and planted his foot on Rondy’s back. His sword came out clean.

  Claire stared. She’d thought she and Enion might die, but never really expected Rondy to. “You…you killed him. Why did you kill him?”

  “The price for failure is death. It always has been.”

  “But I did everything I could!” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “There’s nothing else I could have done!”

  Caius raised an eyebrow. “Your best is not good enough, little girl. He sacrificed himself so you could live, a choice I respect. One day, should you survive long enough, you may be worthy of this boon, but not today. Go. Try not to get any other Knights killed.”

  Though she couldn’t stop crying for the man who’d given up his life for her, Claire managed to stammer through her sobs. “I l-lost my d-dagger.”

  “When you understand why and how, and can learn to find it, then you will be ready.” He turned and walked away from her.

  Claire covered her face and wept. Enion’s tiny claw touched her cheek. Opening her eyes, she saw only pitch blackness. Rondy’s light had died with him. Or, she thought with wild hope fluttering in her heart, he’d left her here to go recover from the trauma. Without checking beside her, she lurched forward and pounded on the wall until it opened and light from the Thoroughfare flooded inside.

  Rondy’s body lay slumped against the wall. She begged for Caius to have left him sleeping and not dead. A Knight passing by stopped in the archway, casting a shadow over them.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Claire reached for Rondy, shaking her head and unable to manage words around her misery. When she nudged him, he offered no resistance. His head lolled to the side and he fell over.

  The Knight swore and a bright white light flared in the small space. Only then did she realize who this Knight was: Djembe. “What happened?” He patted Rondy’s cheek, then checked his pulse. “He’s dead. What did you do?”

  Clutching her knees, Claire wailed and couldn’t answer.

  “What’s going on?” Another Knight stood in the doorway, peering inside. “Is that Rondy?”

  “She killed him,” Djembe growled. He pulled Rondy’s body out, dragging him into the corridor.

  “Look how upset she is. It must’ve been an accident.”

  “Maybe.” Djembe grabbed Claire’s arm and hauled her out into the center of a growing circle of Knights. he yanked her locket out and curled his fingers around it. “Or maybe she’s going to kill us all from the inside, one by one.”

  Chapter 18

  Claire

  “That sounds a little paranoid, mate.”

  “Is that a dragon?”

  “Give her a chance to calm down and explain.”

  Claire couldn’t stop bawling. She wanted to tell them everything, but no matter how hard she tried, every word came out unintelligible, broken by hiccups and sobs. Enion tried to help, but none of the other Knights could understand him. Panic from Djembe’s grip on her locket made everything a thousand times worse.

  The Knights parted as Elder Yun shuffled forward. “Don’t be hasty.” He gestured for everyone to calm down. “Either lock her up or let her leave while we investigate. Pick one and get on with it. Standing around here changes nothing.”

  Djembe let go of the pendant. “Lock her up, then.”

  Yun prodded Rondy’s body with his staff. “Violence didn’t kill him. On what grounds should we lock her up?”

  Djembe grabbed Claire by the neck and held her up. “Look at her.”

  Yun peered at her. “Yes, she looks like Iulia. What of it? I look like Lo Pan. That doesn’t make me an evil, immortal sorcerer.” He tapped men in the shins with his staff. “You, escort her back to her room. If she wants to leave the Palace, fine. You, find her mentor. You, set a watch on her door. When she’s ready to talk, bring her to me, and I’ll listen. Until then, we trust the judgment of the Palace Heart that she’s a Knight.”

  Strong arms picked up Claire and carried her to her room. Someone set her on her feet in front of her door. She slipped inside and huddled in the corner, hugging her knees and sobbing. At least she had her dagger now, tucked into the waistband of her skirt once more.

  Much later, when her tears subsided, she stayed curled in a ball, trying to understand what had happened.

  It should have been enough. Between her and Rondy, Caius should have seen how much it mattered. She pulled her locket out of her shirt and rubbed it against her cheek. Why couldn’t he see how much danger the pendant put the Knights in? How did she lose her dagger there without losing it here, and what did Caius mean? Why did failing have to carry a penalty of death?

  Enion stayed quiet, wrapped around her hand, while she pondered these questions. Finally, he let go and jumped down to stretch on the floor in front of her. The way he moved reminded her of a cat until he unfurled his wings as far as they could go.

  Watching him made Claire think about moving. She straightened her legs and leaned against the wall. “None of that was fair.”

  “No,” Enion said.

  “How am I ever supposed to do any of that by myself?”

  “With me.”

  She sighed. “Yes, with you. I mean, how are you and I supposed to be better than you and I with Rondy?”

  “What if…” Enion sat and curled his tail around his body. He hung his head. “What if Rondy was good enough?”

  “Making it our fault he died.” Claire’s face felt tight and grubby and she had no more tears to shed for now. “I should’ve made him wait. We could’ve gone again, to get body armor or something. Going there a few more times first—” She covered her face with her hands. “He believed in me. It wasn’t enough.”

  Enion pawed at the floor. “I’m hungry. We should eat.”

  A fresh load of guilt dumped on her shoulders. They had to have been in the Palace for several hours now. Justin and Marie were probably worried about her. Justin definitely needed to know what had happened, especially with someone looking for him to talk about her. Leaving him to walk into that blind would make things worse.

  “Yeah. I’m just gonna wash my face, then we’ll go home.” She got to her feet and used the bathroom. Staring at herself in the mirror, she wondered how close Justin was to Rondy. They seemed li
ke friends, but she had no idea how well they knew each other. Justin might hate her for this. Maybe she should wait until he’d had a good night’s sleep before telling him.

  Unwilling to make the effort to generate a towel, she wiped her face on her shirt and figured she’d change when she got home. She might burn these clothes. Though they had no blood or other sign of the horrific events she’d gone through while wearing them, she’d always remember. Maybe she deserved a reminder.

  She scooped up Enion and touched the wall. Several seconds of deep breaths later, she stepped through and out of the couch in the living room. The sight of home should have made her feel better. It only reminded her that Rondy wouldn’t go home tonight.

  “Thank goodness. At least someone’s here.” Marie sounded exhausted.

  Claire turned around and found Missy, Lisa, and Marie sitting around the kitchen table, dinner underway. “Where’s Justin?”

  Lisa waved at Claire with her fork. Missy picked up her star wand.

  “If you don’t know, I haven’t the faintest idea.” Marie tapped Claire’s usual seat at the table.

  “Play Princess Knight!”

  “Not now, Missy. Claire just got home. Are you hungry?”

  Claire’s stomach growled. “Yeah. Actually, I’m starving. So is Enion.”

  Marie stood and fetched a plate, then rummaged through the fridge. Claire saw the girls had cut-up hot dogs, raisins, cubes of cheese, and tortilla chips. The food didn’t appeal to her much, but she supposed Marie hadn’t wanted to make a whole meal for no one. She seemed tired. Her new job must have taken a lot out of her.

  As Claire opened her mouth to offer to make her own dinner, the front door creaked and everyone turned to watch. Drew shambled inside, sunburned, and collapsed into Justin’s chair. He leaned so far onto the table his forehead touched it. Claire went to the door, expecting to see Justin pulling his boots off, but the mud room was empty.

  “Where’s Justin?”

  Drew giggled. Claire had never heard him giggle before. The sound had a mad edge.

  Claire flicked her gaze to Marie, who met it. They both shrugged. “Drew? Are you okay?” Claire set a hand on his back, keeping her touch gentle in case he exploded.

  “Everything is right as rain.” He raised his head and grinned like a lunatic. “I met my grandfather.”

  “Oh. So. That’s cool.” Claire leaned against the table where she blocked the girls’ view of him. With everything else on her plate right now, she didn’t want to shoulder the burden of him cracking up, but she still needed to shield Missy and Lisa.

  Drew stared at her, eyes wide and glassy. “He’s dead.”

  Claire had to force herself to stay put and not inch away. She also couldn’t tell if he meant they’d visited his grave or discovered his ghost. Either seemed strange for Justin to have taken Drew to, especially without Claire.

  Marie dropped the plate she’d prepared for Claire. They used plastic, so nothing broke, but food flew everywhere. “Where’s Justin?”

  “He went back there. To do the Knight thing.”

  “Wait,” Claire said. “He dropped you off and didn’t come in for dinner?” Caius thought her unworthy and now, so did Justin. He should have at least checked to see if she was here. Doing the Knight thing was her job too. If he never showed her how, she’d never be able to do it properly.

  “Yep. Said he didn’t have time. Mr. Important Knight has to save the world.”

  “That man,” Marie huffed as she wiped food off the floor. “I love him, but his head can get—” She sighed. “Claire, I suggest you make an attempt to find him before he does something stupid.”

  “Too late,” Claire and Drew said in unison.

  “Yes, yes. Something else stupid. Eat first, then go find him.”

  Claire took Drew’s hand and squeezed it. She realized too late he had a sunburn and let go immediately, but he didn’t react. “You’re coming with me, because you know where he went. Right?”

  “Yeah.” He grinned again. “That’s a good idea.”

  Chapter 19

  Justin

  “Why am I here?” Tariel groused. “You could easily have gone through the Palace to get back here. I could be in my stable, eating and resting.”

  Justin waited for Tariel to stop in Anne’s yard again, wondering how many times he’d go back and forth between here and home today. “In case I need to go someplace else.”

  “It’s cold.”

  “Everyone keeps whining at me. You’re cold, Missy wants to play her game, Marie is stressed, Claire wants to do more, Drew wants to go home.” He hopped off the horse’s back when she stopped, continuing to grouse in his head about everyone demanding so much from him lately. His legs still hurt too, though not as much as before.

  Tariel tossed her head and snorted at him.

  Justin knocked on Anne’s door.

  “Back again already, hm?” Anne asked, her hands on her hips and shoulders set with irritation.

  “I need to do something in your woods for a bit.” Justin forced himself to smile. He wanted something from Anne. She would turn him down if he sniped at her. “Do you have a blanket Tariel can use for a little while? She’s not used to standing around in the cold.”

  Anne softened and pushed the screen door open for him. “Oh. Yes, I’m sure I can find something. Come in.”

  He followed her into the house, his work boots clunking on her clean hardwood floors. Crystals and geodes in every color hung from every hook, light, corner, and picture frame, and perched on every table, shelf, and ledge. Crocheted doilies covered couches and chairs. The last time he visited, around Easter, he thought he remembered her fancy rock collection being much smaller.

  “Stay here.” Anne bustled up the hall to the back bedroom and disappeared inside it.

  While waiting, Justin picked up a blue-tinted chunk of translucent rock as big as his fist. Nothing seemed unusual about it except its size. Lots of people thought these things channeled vibrations or auras, or whatever word they used. He wondered if the real word they searched for was “magic.” Setting it down again, he scanned the arrangements and noticed they’d been clustered in rainbows.

  He looked up when she returned down the hall. “Did you go on a trip and pick these crystals up someplace?”

  Anne handed him a folded blanket with a guarded smile. “A few weeks ago, I had this marvelous opportunity dumped in my lap. Went to the beach with a friend. Found so many just lying around. Quite a surprise. Aren’t they gorgeous?”

  “Really? Just lying around? Some of these are pretty big. I thought the big ones were usually worth a lot of money.”

  She shrugged and straightened the blue rock he’d touched. “Some people don’t know the value of what they have.”

  Justin frowned. Nothing here suggested she’d had a friendly visitor recently. He decided to ask anyway, on the off chance he caught her out in a lie. “Are you seeing someone?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes.”

  “Oh. Are you bringing him tomorrow?”

  “No. He’s…” She crossed her arms and looked away. “Not able to go.”

  “Does he—”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be doing something?” Anne shoved him at the door. “Saving the world? Taking care of my sister? Something like that? I’ll bring some food out for Tariel in a minute.”

  Not sure if the mystery of her boyfriend bothered him more than the fact of her having one, Justin let himself be herded out. “Thanks. She’ll appreciate that. I’d like to meet this guy soon.”

  “Sure.” Anne slammed the door in his face.

  Years ago, Marie had acted like that toward her father while Justin hid in the closet. The guy could be in Anne’s bathroom, terrified of meeting the weirdo brother-in-law. Justin tossed the blanket over Tariel’s back and scanned the area for parked cars.

  “There you go. No more whining.”

  Tariel blew a raspberry at him. “What are yo
u looking for?”

  He saw several cars nearby that could belong to a visitor trying to keep his presence a secret. The idea of having interrupted a liaison between Anne and her new beach boyfriend made Justin smirk. “I’m not sure. Pay attention while I’m with Kurt. Anne might have a guest. If he leaves, or if anyone comes by, I want to know about it.”

  “Sure. I’ll find a spot where I can see in the windows.”

  Justin nodded and left her there, trotting into the woods. At the sycamore, he crossed over into Kurt’s demesne, still stuck in sunset.

  “Back again already? What’s the matter, boy? Forget how to tie your own shoelaces?”

  “Funny,” Justin said. “Drew and I were attacked by shadow creatures on the way home. It was weird, and I’ve never encountered anything like that outside of a corrupted Phasm’s demesne. Something’s going on, and I don’t know what. It can’t be a coincidence that happened after I released the binding on the dragons. I thought you might be able to point me in the right direction to handle it.”

  “Sounds like a witch is stirring the pot around here.” Kurt stroked his chin and paced up the beach.

  Justin walked alongside him. “There’s a witch living practically on top of the crossover point for your demesne, but I don’t think it’s her. What else have you got?”

  “You always were impatient, boy. It’s not as if I have a pipeline to everything going on in the city. I haven’t been here long yet.”

  “Sorry. Just hoping for a little more to roll with. I can watch her house and the dragons, but I need to do crazy things like sleep and eat.”

  Kurt stroked his chin. “I’ll keep an eye on her.” He set a hand on Justin’s shoulder and squeezed it. “You look tired, boy. Why don’t you take a seat? Breathe for a few minutes. I remember you mentioned your apprentice right before I died, didn’t you? She’s a handful, you said. Tell me about her.” With a wave of his hand, a beach chair swirled out of the sand.

  Justin thought about how he ought to get home to Marie, eat something, and get Tariel out of the cold. Then he mulled over what would happen as soon as he got home. Marie would sigh and be disappointed with him for breaking his promises. Claire would pester him with questions. The girls would be loud and demanding. Drew would shove his calculus and other advanced classes in Justin’s face like he’d done yesterday.