Dragon of Central Perk

by Sarah J. Stone

  “But if it's real,” Devon said. “Then the people who have returned aren't going to be here for long. So, I guess we'll find out, shortly. We can't tell anyone about this.”

  “What?” Laura answered, shocked. “Why not? This is a breakthrough.”

  “And against Nature,” he answered. “She'll be damned for it. They'll judge her. She has enough problems already.”

  “Oh, Devon,” she said. “You kind hearted sap.”

  “But it's true, and you know it,” he replied. “If everyone knows she can do this, they'll judge her; they'll tell her she's not a real witch. But she is. She's more powerful than any of us know, and we should be in awe or learning from her. But they aren't going to be doing that, are they?”

  “I don't know,” his Maestro answered truthfully.

  “You should tell her Maestros,” Devon said. “They'll decide what to do. If it was me, wouldn't you want to decide whether that information goes public or not?”

  “You're quite protective of her, hmm?” Laura asked with a smile.

  Devon shrugged. “I like her. I really like her.”

  She paused, and then decided to let it go. “Yes, if it was you, I would want someone to tell me,” she said. “And I'd decide whether the world can know or not. Her Maestros have quite a bit on their plates right now, though.”

  “I know,” Devon leaned back. “What do you think will happen to Desmond and Mariah?”

  “I don't know,” Laura answered truthfully. “He's quite senior, but that has never stopped them before. Whatever happens, though, is a lesson to all of us. To follow the rules. To be more careful.”

  “I'm always careful,” Devon answered back, feeling invincible.

  “So were they,” Laura said. “Let's see if you can say that in forty years.”

  “Won't be here in forty years,” Devon quipped back, and Laura looked away. That much was true, and who was she to deny him happiness before then?

  “Come on, kiddo,” she said at last, standing up. “I need to feed you, and then you need to do homework before we go.”

  “Go?” Devon answered in surprise. “Where are we going?”

  “Despite all this swirling around us, we still have a quest to head out on. Three days from now, and it will be a two-day journey to the outer rim. So make sure to get what you need from your teachers, and pack for about three months.”

  “We can't go for three months,” Devon said, and Laura raised an eyebrow.

  “Why not?”

  “Because what if…” Devon couldn't bring himself to say it. “Something happens?”

  “We first serve Nature,” Laura answered, and he knew he couldn't fight that. Everything they stood for was because of that phrase. If he denied it, he would deny everything else.

  “Of course,” Devon said at last. “But I do want to see her before I leave.”

  “You will,” Laura answered. “I promise. Let's go.”

  She escorted him out of the common room, trying to keep the mood light. But down the hall was where the Jurors' room was, and she would kill to be a fly on the wall.

  Desmond and Mariah were sitting in the waiting room, absolutely silent. They had nothing to say to each other because they had discussed this situation numerous times before. To Desmond, it felt like a numbers game. One day, they were bound to sit here.

  The question was whether or not they were going to get out.

  The door whooshed open, and Thomas came to the door. He did not look happy, his face blank and his eyes clouded.

  “Maestro Desmond,” he said. “Maestro Mariah.”

  “EXCUSE ME!”

  Despite the calm demeanor of the witches, everyone jumped at Eliza's roar. She came pushing through the doors, her head held high and her eyes ablaze. Nathaniel was behind her, looking more like something she had dragged along than her escort witch.

  “Your highness?” Thomas asked, confused. “Did you not get the message that we have delayed your–”

  “Delayed my case?” Eliza said, her eyes on fire. “Do you know who I am?”

  “The Queen of Jeffro?” Thomas answered. “Nathaniel, what is the meaning of this?”

  “Queen Eliza is evoking the law of deliverance,” Nathaniel answered.

  Thomas sucked in a breath. “How did you hear about that?”

  “Never mind how he heard about it,” Eliza snapped. “You have a duty to hear my case first, and you know it.”

  Thomas paused, calculating his response. He knew he had a losing case at the moment, but he had to choose how to play it.

  “NOW!” Eliza roared, and he hesitated no longer.

  “You are right, your highness,” he said at last. “Please, come in. We can make time for you now. Desmond and Mariah, we will see you directly after.”

  “Of course,” Desmond answered. Eliza huffed as if she had been morally wronged, and then swept into the room. The doors closed behind them, and they found themselves in silence once more.

  Desmond sank forward, relief washing over him. Another few moments could buy them freedom, if they used it right.

  “How did you hear about the law of deliverance?” he asked Nathaniel. “I don't ever doubt your intelligence, Nathaniel, but ancient systems are not something even I have thought of since my school days.”

  “Apparently, Christa has,” Nathaniel said. “She was the one who said we should try it. Eliza is going to draw out this case for a few hours, so we have some time.”

  “Not to be a pessimist,” Mariah spoke up quietly for the first time in an hour, “but I don't see what time is going to buy us. You know they have undeniable evidence, Desmond. Especially if they now have more time to look back in the files.”

  “Don't give up,” Desmond answered, putting a hand on her leg. “Don't. We'll figure this out, I promise.”

  Mariah said nothing, and Desmond realized she had a tear rolling down her face.

  “Mariah,” he said, his own heart breaking a little. Nathaniel stepped back as he took her hand. It was risky to exhibit such closeness, but Nathaniel figured it didn't make much of a difference right now. They wouldn't be able to deny the physical connection between them. It was whether they could justify it that would make all the difference. “I promised to take care of you, did I not? I was thirty years old, and I swore the rest of my life to you, didn't I?”

  Nathaniel reacted in shock, but stayed silent. Pledging yourself to someone was the ultimate in commitment – intertwining magic and connecting their life forces. It was almost impossible to live without your pledge once it happened. It wasn't a romantic connection, but it was a lifelong one.

  “Yes,” Mariah answered.

  “Nothing has changed,” Desmond assured her. “Nothing.”

  Nathaniel saw such a deep connection between them that he felt guilty being in the room. Desmond's strength seemed to help Mariah stand, and he let her take his arm. She was trying to be strong, but she gripped his arm tightly.

  Nathaniel's eyes suddenly blazed. “Sienna's awake,” he said to Desmond, who nodded.

  “I know. I felt it,” he said. For the first time in his life, Nathaniel saw his Maestro unsure of how to proceed.

  “Let's go to her,” Nathaniel suggested. “No one can fault you for going to your sick Tiro.”

  “Of course,” Desmond answered, leading Mariah into the hallway.

  It was there that Laura caught them, a book in her hand. “I have to talk to you,” she said. “Both of you. Alone.”

  “About what?” Nathaniel answered, confused. “We're–”

  “This is important,” Laura said. “And it's urgent.”

  “Anything you have to say, you can say in front of Mariah,” Desmond said.

  Laura took a deep breath. “It's about Sienna,” she said. “Brace yourselves. I think your Tiro is more talented than you think.”

  “That we know,” Nathaniel answered. “What do you know?”

  “That she can open a door between the living and the dead,”
Laura said. “But not forever.”

  Chapter 19

  “This can't be happening,” Nathaniel said as Laura explained everything. They were sitting around Sienna's bed, listening in shock. “No, no. She can't be dead.”

  “All I'm saying is that the Queen of Jeffro got here ridiculously fast,” Laura said. “Either she left before the explosion or–”

  “Don't say it,” Nathaniel warned Laura. “Don't say it. Is this because you know I'm involved with her? This is your revenge?”

  Silence fell over the room as Laura gasped in shock. “What?” she asked. “No. Why would you think that?”

  “I think that because you didn't bring this to me until now,” Nathaniel said.

  “I just found it,” Laura protested. “Christa, didn't we just find out together?”

  “We found a few things,” Christa admitted. “Nathaniel, I don't think this is the time to be pointing fingers. It's the time to get to the bottom of things. Especially if you have limited time.”

  “I would bring her back,” Sienna suddenly spoke up, her eyes darting around the room. Devon was on one side of her, and no one was stopping him from holding her hand. There were so many emotions flying around the room that no one knew which to deal with first. “I would.”

  “It would kill you,” Nathaniel lowered his voice. “Especially now.”

  “How long?” Dorian suddenly broke into the conversation. He had been sitting silently throughout the conversation, but now, he drew everyone's attention to him. “How long before the last one died again?”

  “A few days – a week, I think,” Laura said, “according to the report.”

  “So, in short, any moment now,” Dorian said with a soft smile.

  “No,” Desmond said. “I refuse to believe that!”

  Nathaniel had never seen Desmond so distraught. He didn't blame him; they were all between a rock and a hard place. But Desmond was always known for keeping a calm demeanor, no matter the situation.

  “Desmond, what do we do?” Nathaniel asked him. He was looking for direction; for instruction; anything.

  Sienna coughed, and Nathaniel reached out to her sympathetically. He knew that she needed to be back in the med bay, but that wasn't an option right now.

  They were running out of options.

  “I don't know,” Desmond admitted, his voice broken.

  “Desmond,” Dorian said softly, “send Nathaniel to find evidence of when Eliza's ship left. He needs to find peace with that to know whether the clock was ticking. Ask for an outside doctor to just stabilize your Tiro for the time being. And then,” he took a deep breath, “we can focus on the matters of the heart.”

  “You will serve the magic first, your Tiro second, and the universe third. And if Eliza is in there, fine. But she is not your priority, is that much clear?”

  Nathaniel remembered Desmond saying similar words when they were on Jeffro during Sienna's first mission. In that moment, Nathaniel had lost sight of his path, blinded by his love for Eliza. Desmond's words had brought him back to the correct way of thinking.

  Now, Dorian was doing the same thing for his former Tiro.

  “Yes,” Desmond said. “Yes, that is the right course of action.”

  “I can help you,” Christa said. “No one knows a ship's navigation system better than me. Even if they've deleted the navigational data, I can probably find out what happened.”

  “Thank you,” Nathaniel said, turning to Sienna. “Little one, you're all right?”

  “Yes,” she said. “But I…I'm sorry, Nathaniel.”

  “Don't be sorry,” he said softly. “If Eliza is dead, and you've brought her back to me by opening the door, then I am forever grateful for the extra time.”

  “But the door I opened also brought Ladd back,” Sienna said. “So, it's my fault.”

  “No,” Nathaniel assured her. “You have done nothing but good, do you understand?”

  She nodded, but she looked unsure. Nathaniel couldn't stay, though, his heart pounding as he went with Christa. He had to know whether Eliza was part of the ripple effect that would eventually wear off, or whether she had truly escaped in record time.

  “We have to go, too,” Laura said to Devon. “Come on.”

  “Can I have a moment?” Devon pleaded. “Please?”

  None of the adults in the room could deny them the chance to potentially say goodbye, and so they allowed it. Devon waited until they were alone before he kissed her on the cheek.

  “I will be back,” he promised her. “And I will see you again. This is going to be our life, all right? Seeing each other in between quests, trying to snag twin quests or support missions, sneaking in reasons. This is what we are going to do until we can't anymore.”

  “And then what are we going to do?” Sienna asked, wide-eyed at Devon's bravery and his confidence.

  “When we can't take quests anymore?” Devon grinned. “We're going to run away.”

  She gasped. “We can't.”

  “We can,” he said to her, trying to keep the smile in his eyes. “But Sienna, we don't have to make that choice right now. All we have to do is promise that we're going to see each other again. Can you do that?”

  “Yes,” she said softly. “Although, I don't know what is going to happen with any of us.”

  “We're just Tiros,” Devon said. “Let the Maestros worry about where we are going. We will just try to find a way to see each other once we are there, all right?”

  She smiled, accepting a kiss on the head.

  “I'll see you soon, all right?” he said, looking deep into her eyes.

  “Yes,” she said, wanting him to stay forever. But Devon's strength and his confidence gave her no doubt that they would see each other again. She wasn't even afraid of the potential for death now that she knew how to beat it. She just had to find her way to see him again. When it was laid out like that, she knew it would be easy.

  “Good,” he said, jumping off the bed. “Keep smiling.”

  ***

  Outside in the hallway, Desmond leaned against the wall with a long sigh. Mariah had settled into a chair, her head against the wall, her eyes closed. Dorian stood guard, as if he would prevent anyone from so much as blinking in their direction.

  “Thank you,” Desmond said. “For back there. I didn't know what I was going to do.”

  “Isn't that what Maestros are for?” Dorian answered.

  “It seemed you returned just in the nick of time,” Desmond said. “As if the universe knew what door to open.”

  “Or your Tiro is more powerful than you think,” Dorian said.

  Desmond glanced at him. “What do you mean?”

  “Sienna is a very special Tiro,” Dorian said. “She has been damned by the acridid gene, yes. But without it, what would she be?”

  “Without it stopping her?” Desmond shook his head. “I have no idea. I can't even begin to imagine the power she would have if it wasn't fractured.”

  “She may be one of a kind,” Dorian said. “The kind of witch whose name we never forget. But every good witch needs a good Maestro. Or two.”

  “You think she knew that I needed you?” Desmond asked. “That I was starting to have no idea what I was doing? And bringing the Ronan back was just baggage?”

  “Anything is possible,” Dorian said. “But you'll have to be around to find out. There is no one more equipped in this entire school than you to be her Maestro. Your experience alone is unprecedented.”

  “Don't forget that my success rates from start to finish with Tiros so far is one,” Desmond said. “Christa was a year, and Reynolds…”

  “You've dealt with unprecedented power before in Reynolds and in Tiros with special needs, like Nathaniel and Christa,” Dorian said. “Most Maestros have boring Tiro after boring one. Where your energy lacks, Nathaniel picks up. Even you, Mariah, have been working with Tiros with disabilities for years from what I understand. They fly you around the galaxy for that specific purpose; you're an e
xpert. You all could be the difference between her being consumed by her magic or changing the course of the world as you know it.”

  “As I know it,” Desmond picked up on his words. “But not you.”

  Dorian smiled softly. “Not me,” he said. “I have felt the pull of magic for a day or two now. Laura is right. I think all of us effected by this ripple will return shortly. You'll have to be the strong one, the protector. As I knew that you would always be.”

  “That's our case,” Mariah suddenly spoke up. “There.”

  “What are you talking about?” Desmond asked. “My dear?”

  “We serve Nature first, and Sienna's case is special,” Mariah said. “If we tell the Jurors what we think she can do, they will not take you away from her, at least.”

  “And you neither,” Desmond said. “But is that for our selfish reasons? Or because it's the best thing?”

  “Desmond,” Dorian said softly, “look inside yourself. Look at what Christa suffered. Losing a Maestro is terrible. If Sienna is taken away from two…”

  “Yes,” Desmond answered. “You're right. I know you are. Just sometimes, I feel like I am drowning with her, with all of this.”

  “You think I didn't feel the same?” Dorian answered. “You were so smart, Desmond, in so many ways. You made me feel like an idiot.”

  Desmond laughed at that, shaking his head.

  “We all feel like that,” Dorian said. “But it's our actions that make the difference, not the thoughts that keep us awake at night.”

  Desmond smiled. “Thank Creator, you came back when you did,” he said.

  “Thank Creator, she brought me back,” Dorian said as the door whooshed open. Devon stood there, looking a bit lost.

  “My Maestro?” he asked.

  “She went back to her room,” Desmond said, trying to lighten the mood. “You're off for quite a while, aren't you, Devon?”

  “A few months,” Devon answered. “And I hope to take a few medic courses while I'm there.”

  “Medic courses?” Desmond said, surprised. “Online?”

  “Yes,” Devon said, “so that when I come back, I'll be better prepared.”