The Villain Keeper

by Laurie McKay

  He looked in the mirror and took a deep breath. Today Brynne started school. Rath Dunn would recognize her as a sorceress, and he wanted Brynne for something. He still had an empty vial in his desk drawer labeled “Magical Locks.” She’d meet Ms. Primrose. Today was a day for great care.

  Brynne came to the attic to talk to him and pretended not to care. “So, I want to meet her. And Rath Dunn can’t do anything at school, no matter what he’s planning.”

  She wore gray jeans and a purple top. Her hair was perfect. Her replacement black coat looked expensive. He held his tongue so as not to scold her for using magic to enhance her appearance. It was better to concentrate on the more pressing matter—Brynne, Rath Dunn, and the Elderdragon Ms. Primrose.

  “I don’t think you should go,” he said.

  “I’m going,” she said.

  “It’s dangerous. Rath Dunn brought you here for a reason.”

  “As he did you.” Her eyes flashed. “And yet you go. Tito goes. In a few days, Jane will also return to school. I’ll go, too.”

  “You’re being foolish.”

  “You’re being annoying. Rosa won’t let me stay home much longer anyway.”

  Between them, they were clever enough to find education options that excluded Brynne going to Ms. Primrose’s school. Besides, if Caden understood this strange land, there were other schools in Asheville.

  “Ms. Primrose likes to eat people,” he said. “Not locals, she thinks that’s impolite, but other people—people like you and people like me. You don’t need to learn from her. You are a good enough spellcaster as you are.”

  Brynne seemed to take in a deep breath. Her expression became serious, became frail. She looked down and fiddled with the buttons on her new coat. “No, I’m not. I have fits when I do too much. I cast spells that burn down mountains.”

  “You slay dragons and help save kidnapped girls.”

  “I cursed you for life by accident.” She looked up. “I’m not stupid, Caden. I know what a curse like mine could mean for you. You have enemies who could use it against you. Rath Dunn could find out.” She twisted her hands together. “If any creature could teach me to break an unbreakable curse, it would be an Elderdragon. It would be her.”

  “She’s a dragon.”

  “You like her.”

  Caden shouldn’t like Ms. Primrose. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. It was true, though, if any being knew how to break his curse, it would be an Elderdragon. So that was why Brynne had decided to go to school. “I see,” he said.

  “You need your curse fixed, and I need to control my magic. Tito thinks I should go, and you said she rewards people sometimes,” Brynne said. She waved him off. “Have some faith I won’t get eaten.”

  “You ask me for a lot of faith.”

  “Do you not have the gift of speech? If she gets angry, you can charm her and keep us from being lunch,” she said, and smiled. Her eyes took on a mischievous glint. “That’s what I’m going to call you from now on. Dragon Charmer.”

  “I’d prefer you not.” Caden felt certain his brothers would mock that title. He shook his head. “She might eat you when I’m not in the room.”

  Her pretty eyes narrowed. “You trust Tito and you met him two weeks ago.”

  “Tito’s my brother.”

  “Your foster brother.”

  “I’ve concluded there’s no true distinction. Besides, he’s a local.”

  Quickly, her amusement at his nickname was being replaced by annoyance. That, at least, was familiar. “In this world am I not your foster sister?”

  “It’s not the same,” he said, and grinned, for he’d figured out a way to catch her off her guard.

  She put her hands on her hips and looked ready to hit him. “You’ve known me since we were four,” she said. “If you should be close to anyone, it’s me.”

  “Maybe,” he said. “But understand, sorceress, I know your parents, and I know my family.”

  “And?” she said, clearly suspicious.

  He grabbed his school things, made sure his science and math homework were complete. The school had a no-excuses policy for work. Caden finished it for fear if he didn’t, he’d be dinner. He gave Brynne his most charming grin. “And I’d never consider you a sister.”

  That stopped Brynne.

  In the truck, Caden asked Rosa for news of Ms. Aggie and Mr. Andre. “They’re gone. You’re safe now,” she said, but she couldn’t tell Caden where they were or what had happened after the police took them away. Neither had he seen any news reports about them on the television.

  Sir Horace, though, it seemed was a celebrity. The morning news had shown blurry footage of him romancing the mare Cotton as well as a cell phone video of him prancing through the downtown sidewalks late at night and jumping one of their construction barriers. They’d named him the Ashevillian Stallion, which was nowhere near correct.

  When they arrived at the school, Caden walked into the twin doors with Brynne at his right and Tito at his left. Ms. Primrose waited in the long hall. She wore a bloodred rose-embroidered dress with silver piping. She didn’t look hungry at all.

  Her satisfied expression made Caden queasy. Part of him wanted to keep Tito, Brynne, Jane, and even Derek as far from her as possible. Part of Caden, though, the foolish irrational part, liked the Elderdragon, people eater and all. Without thinking, he bowed when he saw her.

  Ms. Primrose seemed to fight smiling, but the smile won out. It seemed they were alike in this way. Their fondness was mutual, cautious, and reluctant.

  It seemed, however unlikely, that Brynne was right. He’d charmed the dragon.

  Beside him, Brynne was wide-eyed. She sparkled in the hall like polished silver. The other students stared at her. She, though, looked only at Ms. Primrose. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a while,” she said. “I’m Caden’s friend Brynne.”

  Ms. Primrose looked at Caden. “The one you mentioned?”

  “The very same,” Caden said.

  Brynne took a deep breath and held out her hand. Five mismatched, glitter-covered buttons sparkled from her palm. “I’ve brought you a gift, Ms. Primrose.”

  Ms. Primrose’s face lit up like they were rare jewels. With little ohs and ahs she inspected each, and put them one by one in her dress pocket. Bribery, it seemed, was as good a strategy as charm for gaining favor with an Elderdragon. He’d have to remember that.

  “Brynne’s going to fit in fine here,” Tito whispered. “If Ms. Primrose eats one of us, I’d put my bets on you.”

  “You’re not funny,” Caden whispered back.

  “Dude, I’m not trying to be,” Tito said.

  Ms. Primrose paused and gave them a governess’s glare. “Your input isn’t needed, Tito,” she said.

  “Sorry,” Tito said, and shrugged. “I didn’t really mean for you to hear that.”

  Ms. Primrose continued to glare.

  “I’ll stop talking now,” Tito said.

  “That would be wise,” Ms. Primrose said. She turned back and patted her pocket with the buttons. “Thank you, Brynne dear, what a delightful gem you are.” She paused and cast Caden a weary look. “You do read English, right? Or Spanish, at least? I have the test readily available in both.”

  “I can read English,” Brynne said.

  “Oh my,” Ms. Primrose said. “That’s just splendid then. You’ll have to take a placement test, but we’ll get you started right after it.” She smiled at Brynne. “Are you hungry? Do you need to eat before we start?”

  “No,” Brynne said quickly. “I’m not hungry at all.”

  “Oh good, very good.” Ms. Primrose glanced at Caden, and he had the brief sense of power and heft emanating from her. And though he’d been certain her shadow in the bathroom had been blue, the one on the wall behind her now looked silver. “I had two big meals earlier,” she said as cool as ice, and those shadowy silver tones turned blue before his eyes. “I practically stuffed myself.” She laughed and motioned Brynne to follow her down t
he long hall.

  Brynne hurried after her, stopping briefly to give Caden a horrified look. When Brynne turned back to Ms. Primrose, Caden heard her say, “I’m glad you’re not hungry.”

  “Yes, dear,” Ms. Primrose said as they disappeared down the hall and her silver hair shone. “You should be.”

  He watched them go. He’d grown certain she was the vicious Blue dragon. Now, however, silver hues seemed to follow her. He began to wonder if the myths were incomplete. Could the Silver and Blue dragons be two sides of the same being? He wasn’t sure.

  What he did know was that dragons had been slain and charmed, evil defeated, and innocents saved. Yet, the school went on as it had before. Caden learned words from the computer as usual. In science, Mrs. Belle gave him a sticker for doing well on his homework assignment. It was yellow with a smiling lifeless face, so Caden stuck it on Tito’s back.

  Lunch, though, was different. Caden and Tito waited near the door and watched Ms. Jackson. She stood behind the counter dressed in midnight black. She’d tied two red bands around her left arm. She wore the color of mourning; she’d tied bands of promised revenge.

  Once the line of students thinned, Caden and Tito walked up to her and Caden held out his tray. She spooned fruit cobbler on it with a tight smile. “My little sister and brother have disappeared,” she said.

  “It was my understanding they were arrested,” Caden said.

  With sudden fury, she slammed down the spoon. “They were dragon’s brunch. Tell me, young ones,” she said looking from Caden to Tito with her voice sharp like a sword, “do you know why I, the oldest and smartest of the three, came to be so exquisite?”

  “We know,” Caden said. “You drained Jane’s mother.”

  She smiled, but her eyes were mere slits. “That’s right.” She picked up her spoon and put cobbler on Tito’s tray. The red bands on her arm stood out starkly. “But it means little to me without my siblings. You will pay for what you’ve done. As will Jane pay for surviving.”

  Tito seemed to have had enough. He turned away. “Don’t feed the troll, Caden,” he said.

  Trolls were horrible, snot-ridden things, with foul stench and bad intent. At first, Caden moved into a defensive stance, but he neither saw nor smelled any trolls. Tito shook his head and walked out to their lunch table like his conscience was clear and his heart light. Tito was good at that. He knew how to walk away from instigators and insults.

  Caden did not. “Now that I look closely,” he said. “You do remind me of a troll.”

  She looked ready to jump the counter and throttle him. He stood his ground. Suddenly, the sound of slow clapping and booming laughter came from behind the partition. The next moment, Rath Dunn walked out. In one arm, he carried roasted pork, in the other buttered rolls. His beard was covered with a red hairnet. “Don’t let the boy bother you,” he said, and took Ms. Jackson’s hand in his. “He’s far too young to appreciate your considerable talents.”

  “I’m old enough to know a troll when I smell one.”

  Rath Dunn all-out guffawed at that. He seemed in a good humor, and Caden’s arm didn’t sting so he didn’t have his dagger.

  Ms. Jackson pulled her hand from Rath Dunn’s and gave Caden a scouring glare. “I’ll go check the beans.”

  Once she left, Caden said, “Does she know you helped me?”

  “Helped? I thought you’d be eaten.” Rath Dunn hummed as he piled meat on Caden’s plate. “Tell me, prince, do you know of the Battle of the Bombadon?”

  Bombadon was the great fight between the tree elves and the southern gnome people. “All of the Greater Realm does.”

  “Did you know I advised the gnomish queen and I sent supplies to the elvish dukes?” Caden doubted anyone in the Greater Realm knew that. With silvery tongs, Rath Dunn arranged the rolls into a tight pyramid. “You see,” he said, “if the gnomes won, I’d gain the favor of their queen. If the elves won, I’d have the elvish dukes in my debt.”

  “No one won that battle.”

  “Indeed!” He held the tongs to the air like a scepter. “The gnomes and the elves decimated each other. Five moons after, my armies lay waste to what remained of each.”

  That part Caden did know. “So what have you gained here?”

  “A chance to cook between math classes,” Rath Dunn said, “and introduce you children to culinary genius.”

  Caden looked at the food on his plate. It wasn’t square or triangular, but he still couldn’t eat it. Never again could he eat the cafeteria food. Ms. Jackson and Rath Dunn seemed equally likely to poison. Certainly, they could do it and make it look natural. “You get permission to leave the city limits.”

  Rath Dunn’s smile could have pierced armor. “We do buy from local farms. Only the very best for the school and all.”

  “Ms. Primrose is not so foolish as to trust you, even if she grants you permission to go get vegetables now and again. She’ll never let you go.”

  Rath Dunn nodded, apparently in total agreement. “Yes, true indeed.” Then he leaned forward and whispered. “But it’s not foolishness that will bring her down, it’s hubris. She’s too arrogant to see any of us as a threat.”

  “I suppose you know something about that.”

  Rath Dunn straightened his beard net. He glanced at the butter packets and began to stack what was left into a cube. “Now, now, Caden, don’t get snippy with me.”

  “What are you plotting? Why do you need elf’s tears and blood from a seventh son?”

  “And a sorceress,” he said, and looked out into the students. Brynne sat beside Tito at a middle table. “I see you brought me one. How thoughtful.” He laughed and seemed pensive. “She’s young.”

  Caden didn’t like the idea of Brynne trapped in Rath Dunn’s class. He didn’t like the fact that he seemed surprised by her age. “You thought she’d be older.”

  “Indeed, I did. Interesting magic destroyed my door.” He hummed happily and stirred the pork. “Such a girl could be useful.”

  “Not to you.”

  “We’ll find that out another day.”

  Caden had nothing left to say after that. He abandoned his tray on the counter and grabbed an apple for Sir Horace. As he walked away, Rath Dunn called after him. “As I believe one of your brothers may prove quite useful.”

  Caden stopped. Rath Dunn had wanted his seventh-born brother Jasan but gotten Caden by mistake. For all Jasan’s prickly demeanor, he was honorable, and Rath Dunn wanted him for his blood. “My brothers are beyond your reach.”

  “We’ll see,” Rath Dunn said. He stroked his beard net with his fingers. “It’s a shame, really,” he said, “brothers killing brothers.”

  Rath Dunn made terrible accusations, but he’d been wrong about Jane Chan’s skill and he was wrong about Caden’s brothers, too. They were all loyal to Razzon, each other, and their father. With a deep breath, Caden put one foot in front of the other and headed to the table.

  He worried for Brynne, Jane, and Tito. He feared for his father and his brothers in Razzon. Most of all, he feared the small part of him that wondered if Rath Dunn was right. Could one of his brothers be a traitor of the worst kind? Could one of them have killed Chadwin? It fit the facts of Chadwin’s death far too well for Caden’s comfort. Chadwin had been stabbed in the back, either taken by surprise by ambush or broken trust. Caden’s throat tightened and his hands shook.

  The night Caden left the Winter Castle replayed in his memory. Why had his father sent him away? They both knew it wasn’t only so he could complete his quest. Had the king been trying to protect Caden from someone in the castle? From one of his brothers? If so, these were even darker times for his kingdom than he had feared.

  He stopped and listened to the laughter and chatter in the cafeteria. He wouldn’t let his enemy’s words trump his faith in his family, not when they were a realm away and unable to defend themselves. He pulled his mind from his difficult thoughts and went to the lunch table. At this moment, at this time, he needed
to sit with his friends.

  Brynne had no tray but had swiped the roll from Tito’s plate. Tito was eating the questionable food with full fork and much zest.

  When Caden sat, Tito frowned at him. “Where’s your food?”

  “It’s smarter not to eat.”

  Brynne smiled brightly and offered him half her stolen roll. “I was placed in the gifted class,” she said. “Ms. Primrose and I were quick friends.”

  “She’s not hungry today.” Caden didn’t take the roll. “And Rath Dunn finds you interesting.”

  Her smile dimmed, but only a little. She held up half a buttered roll like a goblet. “We have saved Sir Tito’s lady and we have slain terrible beasts. Let us celebrate.”

  Tito answered her toast by raising a fork full of pork. “Heck yeah,” he said.

  Caden’s father always said, “Remember what’s important, celebrate what victories you can.” Caden had slain no ice dragon and he was at a school of villains, but Jane was safe. Tito was happy. Brynne yet lived. Sir Horace was pampered at his prison. And Caden had a gift that he was beginning to think would prove useful.

  These were good things; these were things worth celebrating. He grabbed the apple from his pocket and raised it to the sky. On this day his friends laughed and his father would be proud. On this day they toasted with apple, bread, and pork on a fork. This day was a good day. There would be other days for dark thoughts and hard battles and there would be other dragons for him to slay.

  My sincerest thanks to Jocelyn Davies, my editor, who gave me so many great ideas with so many great exclamation points, and who helped me write a better book; and to my agent, David Dunton, who supported me and kept me sane throughout the year. And thanks to everyone at HarperCollins who helped turn my story into a real, not-imagined, paper-and-ink novel.

  Also, I’d like to say thank you to my family for being there for me: my mom, Pat; my brother, Orren; my sister, Sarah; my brother-in-law, Stephen; and my nephew, Edward, and niece, Marie; as well as thanks to all those beachy Balls who read it for me, especially Sandy, Terri, Donald, and Jenn.