by E. J. Krause
"To be honest, I don't know. I wasn't allowed to take the trial, and those who do are discouraged from talking about it."
"Wait, you weren't powerful enough to take the trial? That doesn't sound right."
"Actually, I was given the choice of keeping my dragon lifespan or gaining the power of resurrection. I made my choice, and I stand by it."
Ben frowned. "You can't have both? Where does that leave me? You keep saying I'm going to take the trial."
"And you will. Or at least gain audience with the Ancient One. Our circumstances are different."
"Why? What are your circumstances? How come you have a dragon lifespan?"
Before Felix answered, Ben sensed Andi approaching the door. He'd felt her come home a minute ago, and figured she'd head here first. This talk with Felix would have to wait. When the door opened, she smiled and asked, "I'm not interrupting, am I?"
"Not at all, Alexandria," Felix said. "We'd finished for the morning."
"Good. Heidi and Trent have lunch ready over there. We were going to call, but I missed Ben." She looked at him. "I missed you."
It was funny how she could still give him a fluttery stomach with just a few words and a smile. "I missed you, too."
"Why don't I head over now, and you two follow in a few minutes." Ben could hear the laughter in Felix's voice as he said it. "But don't take too long."
"We won't," Ben said, and Andi echoed it.
Once Felix had gone, she was in his arms, and their lips met. Ben could stay right like this for the rest of the day, but he remembered his conversation with Felix. When he pulled away, confusion flashed off her.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Right now?" she said. "I wasn't done kissing you."
"I'm not done, either, but I want to know if I can scan you."
"Scan me? Why?"
"It's…I mean…Can I?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah. Is this about last night?" She kept her tone light, but he felt the nerves coming from her.
"No. I mean, not really. I want to be sure of something."
"Go ahead." She blushed and gave him a shy smile. "I'm going to block a few things, but only things you don't need to see until we're married."
"That's fine." He had a feeling if she blocked anything malicious, he wouldn't be able to tell what it was, but he'd know she was hiding something important. "Don't worry. I'm not going to linger on anything. I want to make sure the Dragon Council didn't send you home with something you don't know about."
She thought about that for a second, and then nodded. "Whenever you're ready."
He pushed his mind inside her spirit, her soul, and rooted around. He saw her as a baby, a toddler, a pre-teen, now, and every age in between. As promised, he didn't stop and explore her innermost thoughts and feelings, only paused everywhere long enough to make sure there was nothing wrong. He found her locked doors, and could sense nothing threatening behind them. Most likely they were images of her naked body and naughty fantasies starring him. As much as he wished he could peek behind, he was thrilled he didn't sense her hiding any evil. That wasn't to say there wasn't something there, but she wasn't the one responsible for hiding it. He couldn't pinpoint it, though, and truth be told, maybe he was imagining whatever it was anyway. After a few more digs, in fact, he was pretty sure there was nothing wrong.
He emerged, and she gave him a questioning look. What could he say? Maybe their three months apart had rattled his brain more than he realized. He answered her the best way he could, with a big hug and kiss, both of which she happily returned.
Chapter 12
Fillmore sat next to the bed in the small bedroom of Timothy and Sasha's vast countryside mansion. It had been his home for more centuries than he cared admit. Or wished were necessary. Not that the mansion could be considered home, just the room. Neither Timothy nor Sasha would ever let him think anything different. He was surprised at times that they let him see this much as home.
He couldn't complain too much. They did, after all, keep Mila alive. He sighed and laid his head on her shoulder. Could she feel it? He doubted there was a number high enough to count the times that question ran through his mind. Tears welled in his eyes. Even after all this time, seeing her like this, sitting next to her but being so far away, hurt as much now as day one. Maybe not that sharp, fresh, shooting pain, but a dull ache that made life almost not worth living. If Timothy and Sasha hadn't promised that someday they'd be powerful enough to bring her back, he'd have ended it all long ago.
The door opened, and Sasha walked in, an envelope in her hand. That meant one thing: They had a task for him. They expected it of him in exchange for keeping Mila, and by extension, him, alive. They said jump, and his answer had to be "How high?"
"We need you to deliver this to Alexandria. She's expecting it, even if she's not aware of the fact."
He nodded and brushed a strand of Mila's hair off her forehead. "Yes, ma'am. May I have five more minutes?"
Sasha flashed that smile that he'd come to both detest and fear. "You should know by now I'm not heartless. Take fifteen. I'll come back in sixteen, and if you're still here, we'll end our arrangement. Deal?"
"Yes." He put his head back down on Mila's shoulder and heard Sasha drop the envelope on the table by the door and leave. He took a deep breath and channeled the detestable character the dragon world hated, the one he wore so no one would check on him, see how he lived, see Mila.
Five minutes later, he kissed her cheek, stood, and plastered his smarmy smile, one he'd perfected in the mirror, on his face. He turned towards the door and zeroed in on the envelope. "Oh, Alexandria, I bet you've missed me."
*****
Andi puttered around the house, her house, her and Ben's house, wondering what came next. Magic training, she supposed, which was cool. All her fears of him not needing her went away when he confided how much more powerful she made him. He was her Dragon Guard, but she seemed to be the same for him when it came to magic. So what was that? Was she his Magic Guard? That sounded silly, but she had to admit she kind of liked it.
Heidi and Trent – though it sounded like it was mostly Trent – with the help of some members of the Dragon Council, did a great job in fixing everything up financially and legally from Mom and Dad's deaths. She and Ben were set up for life. When this Dragon Guard business first started, back when she and Ben had been partially bound, he asked her if they were going to be rich. She answered that they would live plenty comfortable without having to work a day in their lives. Really, though, she hadn't had any sort of idea of the scope of their wealth. She envisioned Mom and Dad being around for a long time, so she only factored in the investments they had set up in her name. After going over all of their things, now her and Ben's, this morning, her head was still spinning. Living comfortably was an understatement, though she planned on following their advice and not flaunting anything. Well, maybe some shiny jewelry every now and then wouldn't hurt. She glanced down at her engagement ring and smiled. That one would always be her favorite. At least until she got a wedding ring.
The doorbell rang. Who was that? Neither Trent nor Heidi would bother ringing it, instead opening it themselves with a call of "knock-knock" as they came in. Maybe it was Max or Nix, or someone else from the council. Actually, it was good timing. She had too much going on in her mind about finances, legality, and, well, Mom and Dad, to want to be alone much longer. She could go bug Ben and Felix, but it'd be better to give them the rest of the day, or however long their training session would last. She'd be with them tomorrow, when Ben got done with school, so she didn't want to crash it early.
She glanced through the peephole, and her blood ran cold. Fillmore. What did he want? Not to offer his condolences, that was for sure. He was such a jerk he might even be there to gloat and dance on their graves. No, even he couldn't be that heartless. Could he? Honestly, she didn't know anything more about him than seemingly everyone in the dragon community hated him. She didn't even know
if he had a mate. He had to, right? Wasn't that a part of being a dragon? She thought about looking it up in her brain's encyclopedia, but when the doorbell rang again, she decided she could do that later.
Fillmore gave her a nod when she pulled the door open, followed by a slight grin. "Looking ravishing, Alexandria." She rolled her eyes, and moved to close the door when he stepped forward and blocked it. "Hold on, I have something for you." He held up an envelope with her name on it. "Supposedly you're expecting this."
Andi frowned and took it from him. "Yes, I am." Though she hadn't realized it until this instant. What was it, anyway? Not that she'd open it in front of him.
His creepy leer disappeared from his face, and he said, "Your parents and I rarely saw eye to eye, but their passing does honestly sadden me. And thank you and Benjamin for righting the wrongs that were done to dreams. I have no idea what they were doing to…"
"To whom?"
He shook his head. Was he fighting back tears? Before she could find out, he looked back up at her with his creeper-face fully intact. "Never you mind." He stepped back onto the front porch. "Remember, my offer still stands. If you ever want to spend a few hours with a real man rather than your boy of a mate, you need just ask."
Andi groaned and slammed the door shut in his face. His laughter trailed away as he headed down the front walk. She looked back out the peephole, but he was already gone. Was all of his yuckiness an act? Had she seen his real self? She sighed, shook her head, and then didn't give it another thought as she opened the envelope.
Chapter 13
Three bolts of energy spun around the room, zipping in and out of their tight spirals every few laps. Andi stood next to Ben, trying to keep an eye on all three. Nervous energy seeped from her, and Ben guessed his calm kept it from escalating. He didn't bother tracking the streaks around the room as he and Felix had already locked eyes, daring the other to make the first move.
This wasn't the first time Felix had run this trial. It was a test of his mind's nimble control over magic. At some point in the next few moments – though Felix had waited ten minutes once – all three bolts of dark energy would dive inwards and try to race past Ben's defenses. Ben had passed this test once, but that time Felix had thrown a single bolt. All the other times, Ben had either been singed or had eradicated the bolts before they started their attack. According to Felix, that premature strike could often be as bad or worse as defending too late.
Without any sort of hint, the bolts shot in. Before they'd moved even six-inches, Ben eradicated them, also without moving a muscle. All three bolts dissipated into nothing.
"What happened?" Andi asked.
"It seems I didn't stand a chance," Felix said.
Ben shrugged and leaned over to kiss Andi's forehead. "You've supercharged me, babe. Especially since we've been training together. I feel unstoppable."
"Made you humble, too," Felix said. Andi laughed at that, and Ben felt his face heat up.
"I didn't mean anything by it," he mumbled, which got Andi to laugh even harder and Felix to chuckle.
"I know," Felix said. "You're only speaking the truth. And here's another truth: I believe you're ready to face the resurrection trial."
Ben raised his eyebrows, and confusion flashed off Andi. They hadn't discussed that yet, but she'd be up to speed soon enough. "So? What do we do?"
"That's up to you," Felix said. "Let your powers reach out and find how to get there. If you can't figure it out, you're not ready."
"Figure it out, huh?" He closed his eyes and pushed his powers into the multiverse. Felix said something, but he didn't pay it any mind. At this point it was probably something snarky anyway. The line to the proper dimension opened, and Ben didn't say anything. He grabbed both their hands, and they were there.
"Welcome," a raspy voice, one that sounded like it got little use, said. Ben looked around and found they were in a space about the size of Cassie's training room, with the same amount of nothing in it. The walls here were rocky instead of padded, though. An old man stood in front of them wearing a shimmering black robe. He looked human.
Ben opened his mouth to ask if this guy was the resurrection master, to introduce him and Andi, or something along those lines, but what came out instead was, "This is your entire realm?"
Andi gasped and nudged him, while both Felix and the resurrection master laughed.
"No, young one, this is simply the one access point you can sense. I assure you I don't live in such a hovel." The resurrection master's face then turned serious as he looked over Ben and Andi. "So, a Dragon Guard, and, by extension, his dragon, wish to learn the secrets of resurrection." Andi bristled a bit at being called his dragon, but he was often referred to as her Dragon Guard, so turn around was fair play, right?
"Is it possible for a Dragon Guard to learn the power?" Felix asked.
"Excellent question," the resurrection master said. "We'll find out together, won't we?"
Andi found her voice. "Okay, what's going on, and who are you? For that matter, where are we, and what's all this about resurrection and trials?"
"You've not told your dragon about this?" the resurrection master asked.
"Felix sort of sprung this on us. Andi and I have been separated for months, so it never came up when she got back." He paused and threw Andi a wink. "And you might want to quit calling her 'my dragon' or she's apt to lose it."
"My apologies, Alexandria." The resurrection master gave her a slight bow. "But if I were addressing you and talking about Benjamin, I'd call him your Dragon Guard.
"That's his title anyway," she muttered. He, Felix, and the resurrection master laughed, while Andi rolled her eyes.
"As for your question, you two are here to learn the power of resurrection. Or, rather, Benjamin is. By being spiritually linked with him, he'll take care of it all. You help by being with him. Your essence, your power, like it does with the rest of his magic, will amplify the resurrection, allowing it to raise both of you, good as new."
"Assuming, of course, he can resurrect her at all," Felix said.
"I jested earlier," the resurrection master said. "It will be no problem. In fact, there's no real need for the trial. That raw power they both hold will be enough to raise them." He turned to Ben. "But if you know how, it takes the guesswork out. Eases the mind a bit, doesn't it?"
That made sense. "Yes, sir." So the pirate captain had been right. He would have come back. But what about the other thing? "If Andi is killed first, will that make the resurrection null and void?"
The resurrection master gave him a funny look. "No, not at all. You'll both end up in the same place." He paused, mulling something over. "It does, however, bring up an interesting point if you're in different realms, as you've been for the past while. I assume your bond would reestablish and you'd find yourselves together in the grand afterlife waiting room, but I can't say for sure." He tapped his fingers on his chin, his eyes glazed over in thought.
"The mysteries of the unknown, thanks to no other dragon-wizard pair in history being able to resurrect," Felix said.
"Yes," the resurrection master said. "There have not been many duos, but those that have existed in the past did not have the power. Though they're stronger together than apart, never has a dragon contained the amplification power Alexandria possesses. Even if a magic-using Dragon Guard were strong enough to gain the power, his dragon wouldn't be able to come back, meaning the wizard would die again as soon as he resurrected. It's a very limiting cycle, I assure you."
"Sounds like it," Ben said. "But Andi's strength means we can come back?"
"You can. And speaking of the trial, are you ready?"
Ben took a deep breath. "Any hints?"
"None except do your best."
With that, the resurrection master snapped his fingers, and Ben felt himself blink out of existence for a split-second. He feared at first that he'd again be separated from Andi's emotions, but he felt her as strong as ever. In fact, she still stood right
next to him, but he couldn't see her.
Couldn't see anything, really. He stood in a pitch-black room, or whatever this was. The air felt the same as in the resurrection master's chamber. He guessed his spirit, his mind, had been sent somewhere for the trial. Right inside himself, if he was reading everything correctly. So what was the trial, and how was he supposed to complete it if he couldn't see anything?
"Duh, that's easy enough to solve," he muttered. A quick spell brought light to the room. He found he stood in a small place that looked exactly like Cassie's training room. He held his sword and shield in his hands, but no clue as what to do next fluttered into his mind. Was figuring it out the trial itself? What did that have to do with resurrection?
Before he could puzzle anything out, a presence appeared behind him. He spun and found himself face to face with…himself? They stared at each other for a second, and then he said, "Are you a figment of my imagination?"
"Funny," the other Ben said. "I was going to ask you the same thing."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, three huge spells exploded out of the other him. It was a destructive weave of dark energy that Ben barely got a mystical shield up in time to block. Wow, could he figure out how to shoot three spells at once, especially such strong ones? He taught himself how to weave mystical powers together, but that's not what his mirror image had done.
He shook his head to focus. He could experiment later, but if this him could, he should be able to, too, right? He started to admonish himself again to keep his head in the game when the other self shot out a dark energy beam. This time he deflected it with the shield on his arm. He gave it a quick once-over and saw there wasn't even a slight scorch mark on it despite such a powerful bolt. How many times had he wished he'd asked Cassie what it was made of? It wasn't standard steel, but that didn't mean he knew what it was.
He shook his head again to clear it and whispered, "What's wrong with me?"
"You're making it easy for me," the other said, a smirk on his face.
