The Timeless One

by James Riley

  For a moment, Fort imagined what the world would be like if all the kids hiding under their desks had their own books of magic, if every one of those kids could heal wounds or teleport or do all kinds of other stuff. How much better would the world be? Did it matter at all that there would be others stronger at magic, if those kids were healing diseases or teleporting food to starving people?

  And yes, that wasn’t fighting an Old One. But that didn’t mean Fort couldn’t help, no matter what Merlin said. Maybe he’d be hurt in the battle, or worse. But Fort also knew what it felt like, losing his father when he was powerless to stop the Dracsi. Now he at least had some power, and if he didn’t use it to help his friends, he knew he’d regret it just as much as when his dad went missing.

  Xenea clapped beside him in excitement as something or other happened onscreen. Fort couldn’t pay attention now, his mind completely elsewhere. But as he shifted in his seat anxiously, the textbook on his lap moved, and he remembered what he had brought it for.

  This was his moment to experiment. He’d gotten so distracted in his thoughts that the movie was already half over, and he still had to try out the spell before going to Merlin’s tonight.

  His train of thought had been interesting, and he knew he’d have to get back to it soon. But for right now, he had some studying to do.

  He couldn’t see the American history textbook in his lap, not in the dark of the theater, but he shouldn’t need to. Instead, he brought to mind the word for Learn in the language of magic and put both hands on the book, concentrating on it.

  “K’paen,” he whispered, too softly for even Xenea to hear. Hopefully, he didn’t need the word for “book,” since he didn’t know that yet, but other spells worked by thinking of what you wanted to—

  Pain erupted in his skull, which felt like it might split in two. He groaned loudly and pushed back in his seat so hard it squeaked.

  “Shush!” Xenea said, barely looking at him as she watched the movie with a huge grin.

  Fortunately, as quickly as it’d come on, the pain lessened, then disappeared entirely, and Fort was able to think again. He looked down at the textbook in his lap and suddenly realized he knew everything about it. And not just about American history.

  Yes, he knew that the Constitution was signed in 1789; that the War of 1812 was between the Americans and the British, and the British soldiers burned down the White House; and that the Civil War started in 1861 and ended in 1865.

  But Fort also knew now that this particular copy of the book was a thirty-second printing, and the publisher had offices in New York, London, Paris, and New Delhi. Not to mention that fourteen students had used this copy before, and five of them had killed bugs with it. Three of those bugs were spiders; two were mosquitoes. And this book had been chosen by the Texas School Board because—

  “Whoa,” he said, his eyes wide as he stared at it. The spell had not only worked, but it had gone beyond even his wildest expectations—

  And then pain shot through his skull again as Xenea slapped his head. “Stop talking!” she whispered. “People are trying to watch a move vee here!”

  - TWENTY-FOUR -

  FORT KEPT HIS EXCITEMENT TO himself as he left the movie early, telling Xenea he had to hit the restroom but walking out instead. Xenea barely heard him anyway, as caught up in the movie as she was, and he wondered if she’d end up sitting through another showing, or even two. He felt a little bad for leaving her there, but he’d warned her he had things to do tonight, and he really didn’t want to wait to see how the Learn spell worked on the dragon dictionary.

  Sure, the spell had told him some useless stuff: The last thing he needed to know was who had checked out the book before, or where the publisher had offices.

  But who cared, when he now knew when the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was signed, and who had signed their name the largest on the U.S. Constitution. School was going to be so easy now. Tests would be a breeze!

  But that was all just frosting on the cake, because the important thing was he could learn to speak to Ember in minutes instead of days, or longer. He could get her to safety tonight, and then show Merlin all of the magic he knew. All that thinking about making the world a better place could start with helping his friends fight an Old One!

  Weirdly, Ember leaving gave him a heavy feeling in his chest, which was odd. He’d known ever since she was born that she couldn’t stay there, not in his aunt’s apartment. But even thinking about sending her to Avalon made him strangely sad, like he was losing a friend.

  Except she wasn’t his friend, not really. She was a dragon who mistakenly thought he was her father. And she’d realize her mistake when she met others of her kind and they helped her grow into the amazing dragon she was always meant to be, and Fort would be incredibly proud of her if he ever saw her again.

  But he wouldn’t see her again. And there was that same empty feeling inside.

  “Stop it!” he yelled at himself, punching his chest. “Quit feeling things!”

  Someone coughed, and Fort looked up to find several people staring at him in the mall. He blushed and quickly ran into the nearest store, finding a place to hide. When no one seemed to be looking, he teleported home, completely embarrassed.

  He quickly opened the apartment door, only to find Cora and his father sitting at the kitchen table, talking in low voices. Both seemed anxious, so Fort stopped before going to grab Ember from his room.

  “Is everything okay?” Fort asked after saying hello.

  “Nothing to worry over,” his dad said, winking at him. “Just having a bit more trouble getting any leads on a job than I’d have hoped. Too bad I can’t remember anything about the D.C. situation, or I’d write a book!”

  “I’d be happy if the news people stopped calling,” his aunt said quietly.

  Fort cringed. “Are they still accusing you of making it all up?” he asked.

  “They’re just doing their jobs,” his father said, shrugging it off, but Fort could see how much it bothered him. “You know how it is. But the last thing we need to do is keep rehashing history. All I care about is getting back to work and taking care of my son.” He glanced at Fort’s aunt. “And maybe paying Cora back for taking care of you while I was away, too.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that,” Fort’s aunt said, but he could tell the subject wasn’t comfortable for her. That was understandable, since she hadn’t had much money even before needing to put Fort up when his father disappeared.

  “What about the insurance money, the money Dad had saved?” Fort asked. “I thought that helped.”

  His aunt dropped her fork loudly, and they all turned to look at her as she blushed. “Sorry,” she said, then looked at Fort’s father.

  “It, ah, seems that the insurance company wants its money back,” his father said, not looking at him. “Since, you know, I did not, in fact, visit the great beyond. So, um, we’re figuring it out.” He looked up at Fort, and for the first time that Fort could remember, there was fear in his dad’s eyes. “But again, nothing for you to worry about, kiddo! Your old man has this all under control.”

  “Right, under control,” his aunt said. “Excuse me.” She stood up and walked over to the sink, where she turned on the water but just stood staring at it, lost in thought. Fort’s dad watched her for a moment, then sighed, rubbing his forehead.

  “Is there any way I can help?” Fort asked quietly, thinking maybe it wasn’t just his dragon that could use some gold.

  “You just concentrate on your schoolwork, so you can grow up and become president,” his father said, his smile returning, though the fear was still in his eyes. “Then I can write a thousand books all about how great you were as a kid, and make millions. Deal?”

  Fort nodded, a large lump in his throat. He leaned over and gave his dad a quick hug. “Don’t worry. If we can make it through D.C., we can handle this, too.”

  “Oh, are you my dad now?” his father said, squeezing him tightly in the hug. “When
did you get to be such a grown-up?”

  “I learned from the best,” Fort said quietly, then patted his father’s arm and left him in the kitchen, hating that he couldn’t spend more time with him. But they’d have all the time in the world once Fort memorized the dragon language. Maybe he’d even use magic to make some money for his dad, to take some of these worries away. Not exactly doing what he thought was right, like he’d been thinking about back during the movie, but his father didn’t deserve any of what he was going through either.

  Ember greeted him at his bedroom doorway, not even waiting until he was inside before meowing loudly. Somehow she’d grown, even since that morning, and now was almost big enough for him to ride, far too large for his bedroom.

  Not to mention that Aunt Cora’s exercise equipment was now strewn about the floor, with the metal dumbbells half-eaten. Apparently even in her cat form, the dragon craved metal. Yikes.

  At this rate, she wouldn’t last another night. But hopefully that wouldn’t matter, now that he could learn the language of magic and get her to a better place.

  Again, that emptiness returned, but he ignored it. There were far more important things to worry about right now.

  “Volai hrana,” she said, nudging him with her head hard enough to knock him into the wall. “Volai hrana!”

  “I get it, you want food,” Fort told her, and quickly closed the door behind him before opening a can of cat food. She attacked the bowl as soon as he put the food on it, finishing it in one bite, then waited impatiently for him to open another can.

  If nothing else, he had to get her to Avalon, or she was going to bankrupt his meager funds and go hungry.

  As soon as Ember had finished her dinner—which included every can of food Fort had left—he opened a teleportation circle into Merlin’s cottage. He wasn’t sure if Rachel or Jia would be there, or if they would have already left to go back to the past for their training. But when he arrived, Rachel was waiting.

  And she looked like something was very wrong.

  “Good, you’re here,” she said, jumping up from her seat. “We have a problem.”

  Fort sighed. Of course they had a problem. “What’s going on?”

  “The sword showed up today,” Rachel said, her forehead creased with anxiety. “It’s at the school, right now, Fort. I thought we had more time. Merlin told us two days ago that it’d come back five days from then, but it’s there now, and we’ve got to get it!”

  “But… how?” Fort said. “I thought he could see the future! What went wrong?”

  “I don’t know, and he’s not here!” Rachel said, pacing around. “And what’s worse is that as soon as the sword arrived, Agent Cole grabbed Jia from her room, took her down to the cafeteria, and locked her in there, surrounded by guards. They suspect her, Fort. Which means they suspect us. They don’t know for sure, they can’t know, but Merlin said they do know someone’s coming, and we’re pretty obvious suspects.”

  “Okay, we can figure this out,” he said, not really sure he was right, but wanting Rachel to calm down. “Is Sierra back? Is that how you found out about Jia?”

  “No, she’s still gone,” Rachel said, rubbing her temples with her thumbs.

  Fort frowned. Sierra? he shouted in his mind, hoping she’d hear him and respond, unlike the last two days. Hey, can you hear me? We need your help!

  But again, there was no response. Great.

  “So if not Sierra, how did you find out about Jia?” Fort asked.

  Rachel pointed down at the table, and Fort’s eyes widened. There, right next to where Rachel had been sitting, was a familiar-looking wooden sculpture of a person.

  He gasped and leaped away from it. “That thing’s still here?” he said, cringing.

  “It’s me, Fort,” it said, sounding like Jia instead of whatever creature had been speaking to Fort the day before. “I left it there in case of emergencies, which was good, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to communicate. There are more there in the other room, too. Rachel, can you grab them?”

  Rachel nodded and picked the puppet up, sliding it into a pocket on her shirt, leaving just the puppet’s face peeking out. “Are you ready for this, Fort?” she asked. “Even with Jia’s puppet, we’re going to need all the help we can get. If you’re not up for it, tell me now—”

  “I’m up for it,” he said, nodding at her in what he hoped was a confident way. He glanced down at the book of dragon language on the table, then looked back up at Rachel. “Go get her golems. I’ll be ready.”

  Rachel nodded. “Thank you, New Kid. And don’t worry. We’ve got this.”

  Fort wasn’t sure about that, especially considering how worried she looked. But he saluted her with a grin and waited for her to leave.

  Then he moved to the table and sat down in front of the dragon dictionary. Ember distracted herself with the same stew as usual, bubbling over the fire, so he was free to do what he had to.

  The school knew they were coming. The time for tests and experiments was over.

  “K’paen,” he said, his hands over the book.

  And then his entire world exploded.

  - TWENTY-FIVE -

  THE COTTAGE, THE SURROUNDING CLEARING, all of it just disappeared.

  So did Fort. His body, his mind, both gone.

  All that was left was… a presence. Something that knew.

  Knew that everything he’d left behind wasn’t real, not the way he’d thought. It existed, yes, but it was all so… temporary. It wouldn’t last; it never did.

  The oldest trees, the tallest mountains, all would disappear, replaced by new saplings, new canyons, new everything.

  And for once, the presence didn’t feel like something he wished could stop, could stay still, could be like it’d always been.

  Now, instead, he saw it as a whole and was amazed that he’d ever been so afraid.

  Everything fit together. Everything. The human beings, the tiniest bacteria, the Old Ones, the blades of grass. It all had its place.

  And binding it all together was magic.

  A spark, an energy, something that created the dimensions humanity lived in, the space where they thrived, the time for change to take place, the elements they built with, and the life that birthed them into the world.

  It was all magic. And it had never gone away.

  Even though humanity had forgotten, lost access to it, magic still existed in the tiniest of moments, bringing change to a world that no longer understood why it couldn’t stay as it was.

  And that confusion, that anger, came from forgetting.

  The presence didn’t want to forget, not anymore. He remembered it all, a body he once had, a name.

  Forsythe. A name that had once been an ancestor’s, passed down to him in order to remember. And to honor the idea that the young would come after the old and take their place.

  Just as it had always been, and would always be.

  Magic.

  Somewhere, a great distance away, Fort could feel tears on his face, a face he still felt connected to, in spite of seeing everything now, feeling everything, knowing how it—

  Wait. No. Something was pulling on him, yanking him back to his body.

  He screamed, both in his present form and in his body, trying desperately to hold on to what he’d learned.

  But something was drawing him back, returning his mind to an earlier state. Healing magic. No, Corporeal magic. That was the only thing that could do this, yank him back from what he was seeing, force him back to normal.

  Everything he’d learned, everything he’d seen left him, as if he’d been trying to hold a cloud in his hands. And then the presence and the body were one again, and both were screaming.

  “Fort!” shouted a voice, as blue light covered him. “It’s okay! You’re going to be okay!”

  Back in his body, Fort let the scream die, then glanced down at his chest, where a tiny, doll-like wooden puppet was staring at him worriedly, her hands glowing blue. �
��Jia?” he said, his voice cracking from all the screaming.

  “Yes!” she said. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  That’s when Fort’s head began to split apart.

  He shouted in agony, in sap’a, douleur, smarta, bolest bol mina dor PAIN! His mind felt like it was exploding into his skull, too much information filling it. Words he’d never heard before now leaped out at him in a hundred different languages, and he couldn’t separate them from each other.

  Nen, he thought. The book: It’d translated every word of magic into other languages.

  And now he had all of them, every word of every language, within his head.

  “What’s happening to him?” he heard someone shout, Rachel this time.

  “Father!” said another voice, this one growly and rough. “You are in pain? Shall I help?”

  “I don’t know what it is,” the Jia golem said. “I’m going to use more powerful Healing spells.”

  “Irora!” Fort shouted, holding his head as if that would help. “Xanuun!”

  Jia shook her head, not understanding his different words for pain, but her Healing was gradually helping, though not quickly; she didn’t know where he was hurt so was concentrating on his whole body instead of his mind.

  He tried to do his own magic, fight through a wave of words that washed over him at the thought of healing and grasp for the ones he knew best.

  “Mon d’cor,” he shouted, and the cooling magic of Heal Minor Wounds flowed into his head. But it wasn’t anywhere close to enough and only succeeded in clearing his mind a bit, allowing him to think through the eternal pounding that still hammered against his head.

  “It must be in his skull,” the Jia puppet said, and put her little wooden hands on his chin. Blue light much more intense than Fort’s had been passed through them into his head, instantly relieving the pain. Fort let out a cry of relief, letting himself settle back to the floor of the cottage.