by E. J. Krause
That it shocked him was an understatement. He felt Andi take notice, though she had no clue what was really going on. He should have pushed Melissa away, and doubly so when her tongue invaded his mouth. What was that? Something held him there. Curiosity? Maybe. He'd kissed Melissa when they dated, but that was before Andi. He never thought he'd kiss anyone else like this again.
His power blinked, and he regained control. As soon as he did, he noticed Melissa's hand moving down his arm towards the parchment. So that was her game. How did she even know what it was? He gently nudged her away and stood up. "Sorry, Melissa, but we can't do that."
She looked back at him with eyes that weren't her own – he recognized them but couldn't place them – and gave an evil laugh that sounded nothing like her. Her face then went blank, and when she came back, it was Melissa again.
"Wait, what? Why am I here?" Her eyes went wide. "Are there zombies coming?"
"No. You came over here on your own."
"No, I didn't." She frowned, and he could see the gears turning in her head. "I was sitting with a bunch of people and eating lunch. Jarrod Hancock was there. Do you know how often he chooses to eat lunch with me? Like, never! And you're saying I chose to come see zombie boy?" That was a new one. He'd have to remember to tell Andi. She'd get a kick out of it. "I don't think so."
"I don't know what to tell you." He didn't think explaining that someone possessed her would go over very well. He also didn't think telling her she kissed him would be a good idea, either, though he wasn't sure whether she'd freak out more over the fact that it happened, or that she couldn't remember it. Either way, he kept it to himself.
"Whatever. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go see if Jarrod can forgive me for abandoning him."
Once she wandered off, he plastered the resurrection spell back on his notebook. Whoever possessed her wanted it. Maybe Andi could help him brainstorm. He sighed and looked around for the best place to get out of here. The other side of the math building should do it.
As he headed over there, he thought of something Lee had said a couple of nights before they visited the Stronghold for the first time. He said that dragons couldn't beam up anywhere like Star Trek. Ben chuckled at the thought, but also felt his heart grow heavy. If Lee could see him now. He concentrated on Andi's room, where he knew she was lying on her bed, probably reading a book, and materialized next to her.
"Whoa! What the heck? Since when could you do that?"
"I've taken you to other realms like that."
"Yeah, but this is…shut up."
He winked at her, and they both laughed. She stood up and ran her hand gently across his chest. "So what's up? I felt your shock a few minutes ago. What's wrong?"
Instead of answering, he kissed her, which she responded to instantly. Yes, this was a real kiss, one that was meant to be. He lifted her off her feet and lovingly dumped them both on the bed, where their frantic make-out session continued for a few minutes. When they slowed down and he nibbled on her neck, she asked, "So what happened? Why did I detect a little twinge of guilt during that?"
He sighed. The truth would be best. He hadn't done it on purpose. In fact, he had the feeling he'd been bewitched, so it wasn't his fault. Right?
"Ben?"
"Melissa kissed me at lunch, and I didn't push her away as fast as I should have. She was possessed, and whatever possessed her put a spell on me. Once my magic figured it out, I blocked it and pushed her away. I think they were after the parchment with my resurrection spell on it. She was reaching for it when I woke up. Or wised up, anyway."
Andi frowned. "Who would know you had that spell at school? And why did you have it there in the first place?"
"What? I need to master it. How was I to know someone with enough power to possess Melissa and whammy me would be there? I thought the worst case scenario would be a bully trying to take it, and I have a full arsenal to deal with someone like that."
"That would be kind of fun to watch," she said, a slight smile on her lips. "As for who has enough power to whammy you, as you so succinctly put it, that is a puzzle. As for who could possess Melissa, that broadens the field a bit. I think even I could do it if I tried hard enough."
"Hey now, you're selling yourself short. With her, you wouldn't even need to try very hard."
She giggled and kissed him, lingering on his bottom lip, which drew a moan from him.
"So you're not mad?"
"Sweetie, I have a built in lie detector for you, like you do for me, so I know you're telling the truth. Besides." She raised her eyebrows and pointed first to her, then to him. "Dragon-Dragon Guard. Do I need to expand upon that?"
He chuckled, said, "No," and moved in for another kiss when it hit him. That laugh and those eyes. He did recognize them.
"Andi, I know who it was. It was Sasha."
Her mood immediately darkened, and she pushed him away. "Quit making things up because of the lies the council is feeding you."
That took him a second to wrap his head around, and even then he wasn't sure he heard her correctly. "Wait, what?"
"Timothy and Sasha are the good ones. It's the rest of the council that's corrupt."
Not just her words, but her anger, her conviction, took him by surprise. As she said, they were living lie-detectors for each other, and he sensed with one-hundred percent certainty that she believed those words absolutely. Neither said a word. She glared at him, not in hate, as she could never hate him, as he could never hate her, but with a deep anger that she'd never before directed at him. What if she were right? What if the council had somehow corrupted him? They knew, after all, that he had the resurrection spell. His magic would ferret it out, but…
Before either had to break the silence, and before he could dig too deep into the problem, Felix knocked on the door. He and Andi dropped their gazes and said, "Come in," simultaneously. Felix did, a slight smirk on his face.
"I expected you to use the front door, not teleportation, and not again for a couple more hours."
"Something came up, and I needed to see Andi." He didn't elaborate, and Felix didn't ask.
"Max texted. He wants us to head to Rico's realm as soon as possible. I told him we'd leave once you were home from school, but unless you're going back, I can let him know we're on our way."
Ben shook his head. "I need to go get my truck, but that's it. We can be on the road in ten minutes."
"Sounds good. Alexandria and I will wait out front."
*****
The drive to Orangeville Acres, the best amusement park anywhere as far as Ben was concerned, and the entrance to Rico's realm from this part of the world, was a frosty one. Andi insisted Felix sit in the passenger seat so she could be in the small backseat of Ben's truck. She chose the spot right behind Felix because it gave her the best view of Ben's eyes in the rearview mirror so she could stare daggers into him the whole way.
Half of Ben didn't care that she glared at him. Her overall love for him outshone any anger she carried at the moment. The other half of him, however, did worry. The more he thought about it, the more he realized the problem had to be with her. How ludicrous would it be for the entire council to be corrupt except for Timothy and Sasha? Was it possible? Sure, anything was possible. But was it probable? No, not in the least. Every bit of him screamed that. Though his powers didn't point to anything being wrong with her since she got back, his mind certainly did. Maybe that was the same thing.
During the drive, Felix said nothing, but he wore a grin the whole way. He did his best to keep it to himself, but Ben couldn't miss it. The annoyance coming from Andi, separate from what she felt towards him, proved she noticed, too.
Once they parked in the half-full lot and exited the truck, Ben said, "What's so funny, Master?"
That got Felix laughing. Ben only called him "Master" in sarcastic tones. He meant no disrespect – after all Felix had done for him, he'd never show him disrespect – but sometimes the sarcasm was necessary.
"You two," he said. "I've been around dragons and guards most of my life, and whenever they get mad at each other, it's always a quick flare up and then forgiveness, usually in the form of lust. I've never seen the anger held onto this long."
"I guess we're exceptional in that account, too, then," he said.
Andi added a "Hurmph."
Felix said, "That's my point," and let out a deep belly laugh. After he looked around to make sure no one was staring at them, Ben allowed himself a chuckle, as well. Andi's answer was an eye roll, but at least her smoldering anger mostly died. Ben thought about reaching for her hand as they made the short walk to the front gates, but decided to wait.
Once inside the park – Felix had an annual pass, too, since a few of their training sessions had been conducted here – they headed for Reach for the Sky, the roller coaster that launched the train out at one-hundred miles per hour, through a loop, and up a ninety degree section of track. All other passengers would then plummet back down and run through the course backwards. The three of them, however, would continue moving up towards Rico's realm at the apex of the climb.
As they headed to the ride, Ben did grab Andi's hand. She glared, thought about pulling away, but instead melted into him. Felix smiled at him and winked.
Being a school day, it wasn't busy, but the crowd was larger than he expected. Andi mentioned that some schools in other parts of the country had spring break, and that made sense. Still, the line for Reach for the Sky wasn't bad. They waited about ten minutes, and though Andi still wouldn't talk to him, she did nibble on his neck at one point when no one was looking. They'd get this all sorted out sooner rather than later. Maybe this mission to retrieve the recording device, assuming they were leaving right away, was a good thing. They could focus on doing something else before they needed to tackle this problem of their differing views of the Dragon Council.
When they boarded the train, Felix volunteered to say the incantation, and they blasted off. Despite all the different directions Ben's mind was pulling him, he remembered to brace for launch. He still lost his stomach, but got it back well before the loop. By the time they began their ascent, he had both Rico's realm and Felix speaking the incantation firmly in his mind. At the top of the track, instead of hurtling back down, he, Andi, and Felix continued climbing, though no longer physically.
They landed in the large cavern that was Rico's office. It literally was a cavern, with its rocky walls, ceiling, and floors. All that jarred that image was Rico's extra-large, executive-style desk and plush swivel chair right in the middle. Swanky caveman might be the best way to describe it.
"Felix!" Rico shouted. "Long time no see, my friend." His exuberant expression then fell to not much more than a smirk. "And my favorite wizard-dragon duo. Our bargain still stands, by the way. You're here now on a technicality."
"I understand," Ben said. "I'll play nice if you will."
That got Rico's grin to grow. "I do like you, Benjamin. When you're not acting like a power-mad teenager, that is."
Ben let the dig go and smiled back. "And I appreciate the help you gave us on that trying night." It was as big of a thank you as he was going to throw out there, and the nod Rico gave him showed he understood.
With the pleasantries aside, Ben glanced around the room again and found Max, Nix, Sarah, and Victor standing near Rico's desk. They each stepped forward and warmly greeted them. Andi stiffened up a bit during this, but he had to admit that if he couldn't sense her feelings, he'd have had no clue. Once that was taken care of, Sarah spoke.
"Rico has found us a spell to get to the realm where the recording devices are kept, but no one has any information about what to expect there."
Max took over. "We've decided the initial plan to send you two is sound." He motioned to Ben and Andi. "This should allow you to fly under their radar, so to speak, but you're also powerful enough to pull this off in one try."
"Think of it as a simple scouting mission," Sarah said. "If things get to be too much, abort. We'll discuss what you witnessed and regroup to best get the device."
"We'll get them," Andi said, confidence oozing out of her. While Ben loved it when she displayed such bravado, where was this coming from? He was under the impression she didn't want to go on this mission at all.
"I guess we're good to go, then," Ben said.
As everyone made final preparations with Rico's spell – the demon sat at his desk, his feet up on it, enjoying the festivities – Felix put a hand on Ben's shoulder. "This isn't a training mission. Both of you need to remember this. I won't be able to jump in if things get out of hand. I doubt any of us will have any sort of clue about what's going on."
They both nodded.
"I know you two have been on plenty of dangerous missions, but this is the first where you have the world of magic at your fingertips, Benjamin. Don't forget to trust your instincts. They've never let you down before. Alexandria, while you won't be able to cast any spells yourself, stay aware. We'll start some lessons soon to get you weaving your own power into occasional spells, but that's not an option at the moment, at least consciously. Let Ben know what your instincts say, and he'll turn them into magic. Okay? I guess my best advice is to go out there and do what you do."
They assured him they'd do their best, and then Sarah waved them over to begin the mission.
Chapter 18
Everything around them popped, as if they'd been traveling in a huge helium balloon that had been punctured. Neither said anything as they gazed at the alien landscape. To Ben it looked like the perfect setting for a science fiction story. Maybe that thought alone proved his writing days hadn't expired before they'd truly begun. When he got everything sorted out with Andi, he'd pick up his pen again.
The ground looked like a rocky desert, not the endless sand dunes they'd traveled through in the Realm of Nightmares. Two suns shone bright in the sky, a large yellow orb like back home, and a smaller red disc. Despite that fact, the rest of the sky looked as if it were the dead of night, with a multitude of stars, though none created the familiar patterns of constellations he was used to. It meant there was no atmosphere on this planet, this realm. Instead, dark, powerful magic allowed for comfortable breathing, while also keeping the temperature from being either blistering hot from the dual suns or frosty cold from the vacuum of space. Packs of wolf-like demons, chaos bleeding off each one, roamed the course, rocky ground, while large, leathery-winged, bat-like demons patrolled the air. Nothing but pure, unadulterated evil pulsed off them.
"It's beautiful, in a weird, surreal sort of way," Andi said, and he had to agree.
"Look in the distance," he said, pointing forward. A huge, high-walled fortress dominated the landscape. It looked to be constructed out of black rocks, making it almost indistinguishable from the night sky behind it. Had it been there the entire time, hiding for that reason, or had it just appeared? Honestly, neither option would surprise him.
"I'm not sure if that's beautiful for the same reason," she said, "or utterly horrifying."
He couldn't help but agree. It had a real Count Dracula vibe to it, but, of course, they'd be lucky if the famed vampire was the lone evil lurking inside. "Since that's our goal, I'd say it's sort of beautifully horrifying."
She sighed. "I suppose it would be too much to ask to be set down right where we need to be. How come you couldn't Star Trek us here? You had good aim when we met the resurrection master."
"That place was set up to teleport to. I don't think I could move us three feet here, let alone anywhere from another realm."
"Too bad you don't have much power," she said, and nudged him.
"It shows how powerful this place is, and how careful we need to be."
She nudged him again. "Duh."
"You can't get anything on this place with your brain Google?"
"I couldn't before. Let me try again." Her face went blank for a few seconds, and then she shook her head. "No. Nothing. It's like this place and the recording devices don't e
xist. Which makes sense, I guess, since they're so hush-hush."
"Can you fly here?"
"Good question. I hope so."
She hadn't been able to when they were in the Realm of Nightmares. Instead, it only allowed her and Lee to transform halfway to their dragon forms. Since this place had so much magic in it, and particularly wouldn't want dragons, for obvious reasons, it might have the same safeguard. Instead, Andi morphed into her dragon shape with no problem.
"Easy-peasy," she said, her voice floating into his head instead of his ears.
"Good, at least we have that." He hopped onto her back. "Let's go get those devices and liberate the council."
She took off fast and smooth to keep him steady, but her voice shot into his mind full of venom. "Knock it off, Ben. Timothy and Sasha aren't our enemies. They're our friends."
"Andi, I don't know what happened to you when you were stuck there, but someone got to you, and I'm guessing it was Timothy and Sasha. That's the logical assumption."
She groaned into his mind. "You're the one I worry about. Nothing happened to me. I flew, I studied in the library, and I watched TV. That's as eventful as it got. But you…somehow the council got to you. Timothy and Sasha are the ones who want what's best for us."
"I'm sorry I can't sense the problem, but it's there. I know it. If it was in me, I'd figure it out in an instant. Or at least now that I know to look."
As they argued, one of the bat demons swooped down on them. Under normal circumstances, seeing one up close might have been unnerving. It looked like pictures he'd seen of real vampire bats, but enlarged to a gargantuan scale. What was worse, the evil it put out jacked up its scare-factor. Even someone who didn't have the ability to sense evil would feel it.
