by E. J. Krause
"What?"
"Nothing. Well, maybe. You could do some incredible things without any true magical knowledge, so you might resurrect yourself without going through the proper channels."
"What are the proper channels?"
Felix waved the question away. "As for if Andi died first, I don't see why that would make a difference. Dead is dead, as long as you leave behind a corpse. It might have been another thing he rigged in his own little space in the multiverse, assuming he wasn't out-and-out lying to you to begin with."
"What are the proper channels?"
"Somewhere out in the multiverse, there's an ancient necromancer who holds the key to the power of resurrection. He decides whether you can handle the trial to learn how to raise yourself from the dead. If he deems you worthy, you're allowed to face the tests."
"What are the tests like?"
"Don't worry about it yet."
"Why not? I want to be ready."
"I know you do, but it's not time. Right now you need to focus on rescuing Andi."
"I have been. I thought I was doing a good job."
Felix gave him one of his sage smiles. "You misunderstand. I mean you need to focus on rescuing her soon. You're ready."
Ben's eyes went wide, and he had to remind himself to breathe. "Really? You mean it? I can get her back?"
"As long as you stay focused, you can."
"When do we start?" Now that he was breathing, it took all of his attention to keep from hyperventilating.
"I'll get in touch with Max, and he'll set it up. If all goes well, it'll be tomorrow or the next day."
"Wait, no, not Max!" Ben leapt to his feet. "He'll tell the council."
"Indeed he will, but not the entire council. Only Jonas, Angus, Gretchen, and Sarah. They'll make sure everything is clear for you."
Ben scrunched his brow. "Why would they help and go against the rest of the Dragon Council?"
Felix stood and looked him in the eyes. "That's a discussion for another time. Right now all you need to know is they're on your side. Sarah is the one who talked me into training you, and she had Max and Nix contact me that night so I'd get here as soon as possible. If Max and Nix weren't on your side, do you think they'd have let you leave so easily that fateful night? No, they'd have stalled until the council could get there and apprehend you. You might not think so because of the pain of being separated from Andi, but you have allies, and they're willing to take risks for you. I'd advise you to trust them."
Ben thought about it for a few seconds, and then nodded. The look in Felix's eyes proved he spoke the truth. He'd learned to read his master's emotions and expressions well enough these few months to know that. "Okay, I'll trust them. Let's get this going."
Felix patted Ben on the shoulder. "Why don't we call it quits for the day? Go do your homework. I'll talk to Max."
Chapter 7
The sun hung straight overhead at the Newport Beach Pier. Ben couldn't believe his parents let him skip school, but he supposed that sort of thing could happen when he did so well in all of his classes. His mind flashed back to before he and Andi were properly bound, when his school performance was less than desired, and how his parents wouldn't think of letting him skip. Now, however, one day wouldn't hurt. Besides, Felix explained how important this was, not only to Ben and Andi, but many others, as well. They hadn't even batted an eye. Dad simply walked over to the phone and called the office to excuse Ben.
Now, a few hours later, he stood at the end of the pier with Felix, Max, and Nix. This was where he, Andi, Cassie, and Lee had entered the Stronghold all those years ago. Okay, so it was closer to three months, but it felt like a lifetime. Max and Nix greeted him warmly, and with something else that took him a few seconds to figure out. They'd almost always been nothing but nice to him, but today they treated him as an equal, not just a kid. That felt strange.
"As long as everything goes as planned, there's not much to it," Max said. "Alexandria will be in her room. It'd be easier, of course, if she could meet you in the entrance garden, but there are a few other members of the council there, and it would look suspicious. She's kept a regular schedule, and everyone knows it – a couple hours in the flying chamber after breakfast, and a couple hours in the library after lunch. The rest of the time she's in her room. She even takes all her meals there, so finding her there should prove to be the best plan of attack. Most everyone will either be in the dining hall or their private chambers. As I said, this should be easy."
Nix put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll need to cast a spell to free her from her mystical bonds, otherwise she's stuck there. Felix said you'll know how to do it."
"It should be a simple banishing spell," Felix said. "If that doesn't work, you'll be able to tell right away. Scan her aura, and you'll figure out what you need to do. This'll be the equivalent of an easy training day."
Ben nodded. He'd get Andi out of there even if he had to burn the realm down around them, but hopefully Felix was right and a banishing spell would be all it took.
"Angus is waiting for you in the entrance garden," Max said. "We imagine you'll need a minute or two to steady yourself. None of us have ever been away from our mate for such a long time, so we have no idea how disorienting it'll be when Alexandria's emotions flood back into you. Angus will keep you safe if anything happens. Make sure you take the time to acclimate yourself well enough to be able to think. I know you're going to want to rush to her right away, but let your mind clear first."
"Don't worry about your lovely mate," Nix said. "Gretchen will be there to steady her when you enter. Knowing Alexandria, Gretchen will have to keep her from rushing from the room. As Max says, if everyone sticks to the plan, it will all work fine."
"What about Jonas?" Ben asked. "Felix said he knew about this, too."
"He'll need to stay out of all of this as much as he can," Max said. "I think you can understand why. He lends support in an administrative role. You might be surprised how much that can accomplish. You won't see him helping, but know that he is."
Ben nodded. "Are we ready?"
"When you are," Max said.
"Let's do it."
"Remember to brace yourself for that initial shock," Nix said.
"And try not to kill anyone," Felix added. Ben knew he was only half-joking.
With that, Ben's body, his entire essence, faded out, and he immediately found himself in the Stronghold's entry garden. Before he could spot Angus, everything Andi flooded him. Her excitement, her longing to hold him, her sorrow, mostly at not seeing him for so long, but also for her fallen parents, her boredom at being stuck here alone, and every other conceivable thing she could feel. So much of it he'd learned to tune out, but at this moment, he didn't know why; he wanted to feel everything about her all the time. Despite the warnings from Max and Nix about being disoriented, there was no need to worry. Andi's proximity made him stronger.
"Benjamin!" Angus grabbed him in a big bear hug and spun him around before setting him down again. "It's great to see ya. I'm so sorry you had to go through that exile, but we're making up for it now. You ready to fetch your beautiful young mate?" He gave Ben a playful nudge with his elbow. "I'm guessing you don't need a map to get to her."
Ben tried to force a smile out for Angus's little joke, but he had no idea how successful he was. "No, I know exactly where she is."
"The path should be clear. Grab her and bring her back here. They told you about the spell you'll need to cast on her?"
"Yeah."
Angus gave him a little wink and grin. "So what are you still doing here?"
That was all he needed. He zipped through the garden, out into the huge entryway, and up the stairs to the wing of rooms that held his Alexandria. Her excitement amped up the closer he got. He felt strange in a hostile situation without his sword and shield, but he had to admit he could move quicker without them, and right now, that's what counted. Besides, if he needed weapons, his powers could construct ones made of pure energy
, to say nothing of the dangerous magic he could cast.
"Hey, what's going on?" a voice shouted as he reached roughly the halfway point of the first hallway. "Who are you?" And then an audible gasp.
Ben turned and saw one of the Dragon Council members, and not just any, but Marcel, that weasel who knew he and Andi would do nothing but turn evil. When they'd met him before the trip to the Realm of Nightmares, he'd even sounded excited at the prospect of the council having to hunt them down when they did turn evil. Despite his hurry, Ben smiled. Let's see what ol' Marcel could really do against him.
Marcel hollered into the room he'd left. "Francine! We have an intruder. Help me subdue him."
Ben didn't let her get out into the hallway. He shot a bolt of dark energy that would knock her out cold for a few minutes, and created a sharp draft to pull the door closed. Marcel's eyes went wide with fear, but he caught himself and transformed into his true form. Ben raised his hand and a mystical bubble formed around the large green dragon. Before Marcel could figure out what to do, Ben snapped his fingers, and all of the oxygen rushed out of the bubble, knocking Marcel unconscious. Ben destroyed the trap before the dragon died, and then hurried towards Andi.
He made it practically to her room when Timothy stepped out in front of him. Ben braced himself and pulled a spell to his lips, but the smile on Timothy's face proved a fight was unnecessary.
"Nicely done," Timothy said. "I've heard stories of your temper, and I thought Marcel and Francine were goners."
"You should also know Aries and Athena are the only non-demons I've ever killed." Assuming, of course, both Derian and the pirate captain were considered demons when he offed them, but he didn't feel it necessary to bring that up.
"True enough, young necromancer." Timothy tipped an imaginary cap to him. "I mention it only because I wouldn't have had the self-control to not snuff every council member I saw had they split me and Sasha up."
"I just want Andi back. I don't need to start a war."
"You have a good head on your shoulders. Sasha and I have been able to watch your progress from afar these past few months, and we're impressed. We're confident the prophecy will play out as it should." A strange glint flashed in Timothy's eye, but before Ben could even begin to decipher it, it was gone, and the magnanimous smile was back on his face.
Ben looked back over his shoulder. "Where's Sasha, by the way?" In fact, Ingrid hadn't been with Angus, either. Shouldn't the guards and dragons be together, especially in such a volatile situation?
"She's with the other guards who want you to succeed. They're keeping those who are clueless away from your mission. I guess they missed Marcel, the most clueless of them all."
Ben couldn't help but let a smile slip at that. Even others on the council didn't like Marcel. It made sense about the guards. Reggie probably wouldn't be with Gretchen in Andi's room. But why were Timothy and Sasha helping at all? Neither Felix nor Max and Nix had mentioned those two. They also said Sarah was one of those on his side, and where was she?
Timothy patted his shoulder and stepped out of the way. "Look at me, gabbing your ear off. You're almost there. Go get your mate."
He didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted the rest of the way down the hall until he reached the door to Andi's room, her prison. As he approached, the door swung open, and Andi stood in the open portal. His breath left his body as she leapt into his arms. Their lips met, and nothing else in the world existed. Her feelings, her everything, which had been taking over his mind since the moment he arrived in this realm, now exploded through him, more powerful than ever, save maybe those first few minutes of their proper binding. He didn't have to ask if she felt the same, the power of their binding feeding her every overwhelming emotion into his soul.
Gretchen cleared her throat. "I apologize, and I wish I could let you keep this up for hours, but you need to get going."
They broke apart, and Ben looked over and thanked Gretchen. He felt a slight ping of her power which held mortal men entranced. That same power had entrapped him the first time he met her for a few minutes until he zapped it away. He'd made sure to cast a spell on his dad to save him from it, too, when she first started coming by the house to help. Even without the power, Gretchen was still a beautiful woman, but at that moment, Ben saw none of that. His love, his lust, for anything and everything Andi made sure of that.
"You two will be fine. Andi, go full dragon and fly as fast as you can to the entrance garden. Angus is waiting. We'll talk soon."
They rushed to the hallway, where Andi transformed into the large blue dragon he so missed. He climbed onto her back, and they were off. Before either could say anything to the other, they flashed past Marcel's fallen body, his green dragon form sprawled across the hall.
"What's up with that?" Her voice floated into his mind in a way more natural than ever speaking aloud.
"He got in my way, so I had to whammy him."
"Good. He deserves it. He's an absolute ass. Is he dead?"
Ben chuckled at the order of her reply. "No, he's knocked out. His mate's in one of the rooms in a similar state."
They rocketed out of the hallway and down the stairs towards the garden. "I've missed you. Are you a big, bad wizard now?"
"Necromancer," he corrected her. "And I'm getting there. Supposedly my power went up tenfold now that we're back together."
"I always was your better half."
That got him to laugh out loud. "God, I want to kiss you forever and never let go."
"Likewise, but what do you say we get out of here first?"
They landed in front of Angus, and Andi changed back to her human form. "Ah, it's good to see you back together," Angus said. "I've not seen smiles that bright in many millennia. Do you know what to do, Benjamin?"
"Yeah." He reached out, grabbed Andi by the shoulders, and concentrated. As Felix had suggested, a banishing spell would release her. He brought it to the forefront of his mind, and it shot out of him and engulfed her, eradicating the mystical bond holding her.
Whoa, he could feel how much Andi added to his magical power. If he let it go to his head, he could see why some would think the prophecy could go the way of evil.
"What?" she said. "Did something go wrong?"
"No, not at all. It's just true about how much you add to me."
"Duh. I've made you better since the moment we met."
Angus barked out a laugh. "As much as I enjoy listening to your banter, you two should get going. Gretchen, Sarah, and I will see you soon."
With that, they faded and found themselves at the end of the pier. The position of the sun proved he hadn't been gone long, though Felix, Max, and Nix were no longer standing there. He noticed them halfway down the pier, and then Andi launched herself into his arms. She was all that existed.
Chapter 8
"We've been patient long enough," Ben said, as they sat around Max and Nix's kitchen table. Which was true. Felix had let he and Andi be lost in each other for a couple of minutes before he pulled them apart and down the pier to Max and Nix's house, with the promise they'd get alone time soon. For now, though, they needed to talk, to let Ben and Andi know what was going on.
"You have," Nix said, and she, Max, and Felix all shared a smile, likely because of how much he and Andi fidgeted towards each other.
Andi let out a loud sigh. "So?"
"Yes," Max said. "I'm assuming you noticed the help you got today, and not just from me and Nix, but by Angus and Gretchen, two members of the council. Sarah also had a hand in everything, but we figured you two should get to know her first before you put so much trust in her. She's the one who notified Nix and I right after you two saved the Demon of Dreams to get Felix to you as soon as possible."
"I've known her and Victor for ages," Felix said. "She's got as big a heart as you could ever hope for. Both of them."
"Jonas also sides with you two," Max said. "He'll hide that fact to the end for political reasons, but know he's there."
"And when we say their names," Nix said, "know, of course, we mean their guards, as well."
"Where were their guards?" Andi asked. "I never got a chance to ask Gretchen where Reggie was. It all happened too fast."
"Timothy told me they were keeping the others occupied so I had a clear shot in, and we had a clear shot out. How come you didn't mention him helping?"
Both Max and Nix said, "Timothy?" while a look of mild surprise came over Felix's face.
"He and Sasha were the only bright spots in my imprisonment," Andi said. "I didn't see them often, but when I did, they gave me good conversation. Sasha pointed me in the right direction for discovering my parents' past with the Dragon Council." She turned to Felix. "I figured out who you were, too."
He tipped an imaginary cap in her direction. "Those were the days. Plenty of adventures, not to mention mountains of treasure for the taking."
"Wait," Ben said. "You've never told me anything about your past, even when I asked."
"You were busy. Alexandria had some time on her hands. Besides, I didn't tell her anything. She researched it."
"Back to the point," Max said, "what happened with Timothy? Why would you think he was helping?"
"He said he was, but he also complimented me on not killing Marcel and his guard when I had the chance. He also let me pass easy enough to get to Andi."
"What happened with Marcel and Francine?" Nix asked.
"I ran into them in the hallway, and they tried to stop me. I blasted her with a bolt of dark energy, and I trapped him in a force bubble and sucked out the oxygen, knocking him out. They'll both be fine."
"Impressive," Felix said. "It's always nice to know a pupil is paying attention and putting the knowledge to good use when I'm not monitoring."
Max chuckled. "Knowing they're not hurt, it's nice to see Marcel get knocked down a peg. He can use that every once in a while."
"Be nice," Nix said, but a slight smile on her lips betrayed her.
