by Linsey Hall
“Will you help me?” I asked.
She tilted her head, as if considering me, then flew back up to the light. The four dragonets raced off. Aching emptiness filled my chest. My new friends didn’t actually like me.
“Guess that didn’t work.” I hated the lame dejection in my voice. “I can call Del to come get us, but she’s still regenerating her power. It’ll take a while.”
Something thumped against the dirt wall next to me. I spun to see.
A thick rope lay against the wall, hanging from the hole above. The four dragonets hovered at the top of our pit.
“Holy crap,” I said. “It worked.”
“Up you go,” Aidan said. “I’ll catch you if it breaks.”
His chivalry both annoyed and delighted me. But from a practical standpoint, I was lightest and least likely to break the rope. Who knew if the dragonets had tied it off to something sturdy? Physics, and knots, were probably not their strong suit. And at least one of us needed to make it out of here to help the other.
“All right, thanks,” I said.
I grabbed the rope and started to climb, bracing my feet against the earthen wall. Dirt crumbled and I slipped a few times, but I made it to the top. The grass felt heavenly beneath my hands as I scrambled out of the hole.
“Thank you,” I said to the dragonets.
They fluttered nearby. Acknowledging my gratitude?
I glanced around. There was no one else in the forest, just dappled sunlight and silent trees. My gaze followed the rope, finding it tied around the base of a tree. Probably the Nullifier’s backup plan if he caught the wrong people.
I turned and leaned over the hole, meeting Aidan’s gaze below.
“The rope is tied to something strong. You should be good to climb out.”
Aidan scaled the rope like a pro, easily three times as fast as me.
“All right, let’s go find that jerk,” I said. “I can’t believe he left us in that hole. To die?”
“Hopefully not,” Aidan said. “If he’s willing to let us starve to death in a pit, it’s going to be damned hard to get his help.”
“No kidding.” I took a deep breath and focused on my dragon sense. The tug about my middle pulled me left.
“That way. We’re actually close now.” I turned to the dragonets. “Thank you again.”
They stared back at me. I decided to assume they understood.
Aidan and I set off through the forest. The dragonets trailed behind. I could get used to these little shadows. It’d make going out in human cities difficult, but I’d be willing to adjust.
A few minutes later, we came across a quaint cottage sitting in a small clearing. It looked a lot like the one from Sleeping Beauty, so idyllic that it outshone even Stechelberg. There was even a little water wheel churning up the stream that flowed by the house. Flowers in a riot of shades tumbled from window boxes and along the edges of the house.
“Looks like our guy is a gardener.”
The front door opened. A small, white-haired man in a tweed suit peered out, shock on his face. He reminded me a lot of Dr. G. There were even leather patches at his elbows.
“How’d you get out?” Irritation colored his demand.
I pointed back to the dragonets. “Had a little help.”
He scowled at the dragonets. “Traitors.”
“Don’t blame them,” I said. “I can be very persuasive.”
His blue gaze met mine, considering. “How? They don’t like anyone but me. And even me they aren’t sure of.”
I shrugged. It was probably my FireSoul they liked, but I wasn’t going to share that. Considering the hell my FireSoul had put me through, it was nice to have a sweet perk like being friends with tiny dragons.
“We still need your help,” I said.
“I left you in a pit. How did that not convince you I’m not willing to help?” he said.
“We don’t have a choice,” I said. “You’re our last hope to save Magic’s Bend. An enormous portal is out of control. It’s going to destroy the town. Thousands of people will lose their lives.”
He harrumphed. “Not my problem.”
“But it could be,” Aidan said. “You could be a hero.”
“Or at least not an asshole,” I said. “Because it takes a real asshole to ignore this kind of thing.”
The Nullifier’s eyes flared wide. He harrumphed again. And again. Like he didn’t know what to say. I wondered how many people he’d spoken to in the years he’d been hiding. Not many, if those booby-traps were anything to go by.
He turned to go into his house. “Come in, then.”
I glanced at Aidan and gave a small fist pump, then followed the Nullifier into his house.
It was bigger on the inside than I’d expected, and just as quaint as the outside. Dark wood chairs with brightly colored cushions crouched around an iron fireplace. All old and homemade, but well cared for. Cuckoo clocks lined the walls. There was nothing modern within, but I wasn’t surprised.
The Nullifier stood and looked around. His dilemma was clear. There were only two chairs in front of the fire.
“Go through.” The Nullifier gestured to a door at the back of the house before going into another room. “I will bring tea.”
“Now we get tea?” I mouthed at Aidan.
He shrugged, then walked toward the back door. I followed him out into a small garden. A delicate, wrought-iron patio set graced the flagstone seating area. Flowers in every shade of the rainbow edged the patio. A meadow extended about fifty yards, terminating at the forest.
Aidan and I sat. A few minutes later, the Nullifier came out with a delicate porcelain tea set and joined us.
I reached for a white teacup painted with pink and blue flowers. “Thank you.” My eyes landed on the small plate of chocolate. “Chocolate?”
“This is Switzerland.”
I took a piece of chocolate, unable to help myself. “Do you have a name?”
“None that need concern you.”
“All right.” I hesitated. “I guess I’ll just call you the Nullifier, then.”
“Fine. Now tell me what is wrong. I cannot say that I will help, but I will listen. It’s the least I can do for someone who has gained the approval of the dragonets.”
“Can I ask how you found them?” I always figured it was smart to spend a few minutes of fostering good will by showing interest in the person you wanted something from. And I was genuinely interested.
“I didn’t. They found me. They live here, in this forest. They protect me because they have grown to like me.”
“Really? I thought dragons had died out.”
He shrugged. “They may have. Like I said, these are not flesh and blood dragons, but magic. Though there is folklore that says dragons used to live in these mountains. Some believe they still do.”
Real dragons, swooping amongst the dramatic peaks that surrounded us? My heart lightened at the idea, warmth flowing through my chest. I’d love to see that.
“Is that why you settled here?” I asked.
“No. I settled here because it is remote and there are no nearby magical settlements.” He sipped his tea. “Now what do you need help with?”
I set my teacup down and told him about the portal and Magic’s Bend. Gravity settled over his features as he listened.
“And so we were hoping you could come through the portal with us and disenchant the Pool of Enchantment. Then, we could get rid of the portal for good.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Well, that is terrible. But I cannot come.”
“You can’t?” I almost shrieked the words. I couldn’t believe he was willing to let Magic’s Bend be destroyed.
“I do not leave my home. Considering that you need help far away, it is impossible.”
Birds chirped in the distance, their song somehow piercing the roar of rage in my head. This guy had the chance to save a whole city and he wasn’t going to take it?
“That is my final say in th
e matter,” the Nullifier said.
I opened my mouth to respond, but my skin prickled with unease, a strange feeling that was totally out of place with my anger. The sense of foreboding wouldn’t abate. I glanced at Aidan. His brow was creased.
Beyond him, the forest trees seemed to shimmer. I sucked in a breath, getting a hint of a strange smell. Dark magic? But I had to be imagining it. The Nullifier would crush any magic before it could even approach. He’d created a bubble, a no-magic zone.
The birds went silent.
My spine stiffened. I reached for my magic but found nothing. The Nullifier’s doing. So I moved my hand toward the daggers at my thighs.
“There’s something—”
An explosion blew my world apart, deafening me. It blasted me through the air. I crashed to the ground, my head ringing and my eyes blind. I lay stunned, gasping.
Cool water brushed over my face, clearing my head.
I blinked, my vision slowly returning. The water dragonet hovered above me. I scrambled to my feet. The yard was chaos. The flagstone patio had been blown apart by some magical concussive force. Rocks and dirt scattered all around. Flowers were everywhere.
A dozen yards away, Aidan stumbled to his feet. The Nullifier lay on the other side of the yard, still. The magical void I’d felt ever since trying to access my magic lifted. Did that mean the Nullifier was dead?
Please no.
With him died our hope of saving Magic’s Bend.
Suddenly, demons crashed through the trees, charging us. Their gray forms bulged with muscle, and their horns swept back along their skulls.
Shadow demons.
Fear tasted metallic in my mouth. These were the demons that the Monster most commonly used as his henchmen. But if they were here for me, how the hell did they find me?
One demon raised an arm and threw a blast of smoke. It hurtled through the air, a gray cloud that I knew to be blazing hot and propelled by the force of a locomotive.
I lunged, throwing myself to the grass and barely escaping the searing heat that would have plowed me into the ground and probably knocked me unconscious.
As I scrambled to my feet, Aidan threw a huge jet of flame, bowling over three demons. Their gray bodies flew back, two of them smashing into the trees. The pines snapped and careened backward.
Aidan’s magic appeared to be unlocked too.
I drew upon my own, calling up my lightning and letting it crackle and burn beneath my skin. Warmth and joy surged as it unfurled in my chest. Now that I’d embraced my magic, using it was bliss. Like I was fully complete. How had I lived so long without this? Like I’d been half of myself.
When I’d formed a big enough bolt, I threw it at two demons who were only ten yards away. Thunder cracked, nearly deafening, as it hurtled through the air and struck their hulking forms. They stopped dead in their tracks, their bodies jerking as they collapsed.
More demons spilled from the forest. Aidan threw fire, his jets so precisely aimed that they killed the demons without lighting up the trees and grass. I shot lightning, picking them off as they charged. Thunder boomed, an eerie sound on such a cloudless, perfect day. My skin felt electrified. I reveled in it.
Aidan and I made a good team. He was wasted as a millionaire business owner. Fighting was his strength.
The dragonets streaked from around the house, their small bodies hurtling toward the demons. Glittering blue, blazing red, deep dark brown, and ethereal gray all charged toward the threat to avenge their friend, the Nullifier.
The fire dragonet collided with a demon, lighting him up in an inferno of flame. The water dragonet quickly doused the blaze. I winced, thinking of the immense heat and then deadly cold of the water dragonet. The stone dragonet threw itself into a demon, the blow so hard that the demon flew off his feet and through the air, colliding with a tree.
But the worst was the smoke dragonet. He flew straight at the face of the demon nearest me, disappearing inside of him. The demon’s eyes widened, horrified, as he convulsed and collapsed.
Possession by smoke dragonet? No thanks. Especially since the shadow demon seemed to be suffocating from within, from the look of the smoke billowing from his mouth and nose. I shuddered, then turned back to the forest, ready to electrocute more demons.
What I saw made my knees weaken.
The Monster.
He strolled from the forest, calm as could be, his suit so perfectly pressed he looked like he represented a Swiss bank. His dull brown gaze was bland.
I drew in a ragged breath, suddenly unable to remember any of my powers.
11
Aidan stood between the Monster and me. His head whipped toward the Nullifier. A silver gray light swirled around Aidan until the massive golden griffin stood in his place. He crouched low, then launched himself in the air.
I steadied my breathing, forcing myself to remember my magic, and called upon a bolt of lightning. When it crackled beneath my skin, I launched it at the Monster. Thunder boomed as it hurtled toward him.
The Monster threw up a hand. My lightning ricocheted off the barrier he’d created, bouncing straight back to me. I lunged out of the path of fiery light, skidding in the dirt as it streaked overhead and plowed into a corner of the Nullifier’s house.
I scrambled to my feet as Aidan swooped down from above, landing with a thud next to me. I met his dark gaze, understanding, and gripped his soft fur in my hands, then scrambled onto his back, settling in behind his wings.
His magic washed over me, the scent of forest so strong it smelled like I was in a Christmas tree. The sound of crashing waves drowned out the Monster’s enraged shout. Aidan crouched low, then launched himself into the air. Wind tore at my hair as we hurtled upward. I gathered up my lightning to shoot at the Monster, though I knew he would likely deflect it.
“Get the Nullifier!” I shouted at Aidan as I aimed my bolt.
Aidan turned from the Monster and flew toward the Nullifier, who still lay on the ground. I twisted on his back to keep the Monster in sight. The dragonets were charging the Monster, their little forms glittering in the sunlight.
“No! Dragonets! No!” They were no match for the Monster.
I hurled my bolt of lightning, distracting the Monster from the dragonets. The dragonets watched the Monster deflect the bolt, then turned and flew toward me. My heart soared.
The Monster raised a hand and threw an enormous jet of fire at us. Aidan couldn’t see it, of course.
“Left!” I screamed at Aidan.
I gripped his fur as he dodged left, but the flame ignited his wing. The smell of burning feathers singed my nose. The water dragonet sped forward, throwing itself against Aidan’s wing. The dragonet exploded in a burst of water, droplets flying everywhere.
“No!” I reached for the dragonet. I didn’t want Aidan to be burned, but I also didn’t want the dragonet to die.
The flames extinguished and the water flew through the air, as if in rewind, and formed back into the shape of the water dragonet.
A victory laugh escaped me as Aidan plunged toward the ground and the collapsed form of the Nullifier. I prayed that he was still alive.
As gently as if he were picking up a kitten, the griffin’s enormous claws curled around the Nullifier and lifted him into the air. I twisted around to see the Monster raising his hand to throw another blast of magic at us.
But Aidan was so fast that we were a hundred yards away in seconds. I was about to pull the transportation stone from my pocket and get us the hell out of Switzerland when the Nullifier shouted from his place resting in Aidan’s claws.
I leaned over to look down at him, catching sight of his panicked gaze darting from the Monster on the ground below to the griffin above him. Less than a second later, the magic that had flared to life in my chest died, replaced by the now familiar aching loss that accompanied the Nullifier using his powers.
Dread had only a millisecond to set up camp in my heart when the griffin beneath me disappeared. I screa
med as we plummeted through the air, me, Aidan in his human form, and the Nullifier.
Before his magic had been nullified, Aidan had flown us out over a deep valley. The ground was thousands of feet below.
“Stop!” I screamed at the Nullifier, my gasping shout lost on the wind that tore at my clothes and made my eyes water. My stomach was in my chest, and my hands clawed at the air.
The little dragonets swooped around us helplessly, too small to lift us.
The Nullifier’s panicked gaze met my own.
“Stop!” I screamed.
A massive concussive force bowled into me, knocking the breath from my lungs. The Monster had thrown one of his signature sonic booms. Pain bloomed in my entire body. Before my vision darkened, I caught sight of the Nullifier pin-wheeling through the sky. He must have been hit with the majority of the boom. The Monster had hit me with one once. It’d made my insides feel like soup.
When I opened my eyes again, we were still falling, though much closer to the ground. I’d only been out a second.
My magic bloomed in my chest. Hope swelled. I prayed the Nullifier wasn’t dead, but the fact that I had my magic meant that maybe I wouldn’t be crushed to death on the valley floor. Aidan would have his magic too. And he could fly.
I twisted my head, looking for Aidan. I caught sight of him twenty yards away, falling through the air. Silver gray light surrounded him, the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. The wind tore at my hair and clothes as I plummeted, and I prayed Aidan would be in time. I glanced at the ground. It was closer, but still far.
Maybe this would work.
A golden blur caught my gaze. I looked up to see the griffin, fully transformed. He swooped under me, catching me on his back. Relief welled. Not enough to banish the fear, but enough to get me moving.
I clutched his warm fur gratefully and scrambled high onto his back. He flew left, then plunged again, right beneath the Nullifier. I reached out and grabbed onto the Nullifier’s tweed coat, then dragged him onto Aidan’s back. In the distance, the dragonets flew off, I hoped toward safety.
