Ethereal Entanglements

by Lee French

  Iulia’s dragon surged ahead. The double doors of the library came into view and blew open. Rondy dragged two unconscious Knights out and tossed them into a heap. Iulia pointed for her dragon and everyone darted inside the library. Justin’s dragon darted past the tall shelves of memory experience books and only stopped when everyone else fit inside.

  “Are we winning?” Rondy asked as he pulled the doors shut.

  Justin slid off his dragon’s back. He stomped a bench into pieces and slid it through the handles of the double doors. “Depends on how you look at it. We’re now trapped inside a dead end.”

  Iulia laughed. “It’s not.”

  Avery pressed his hand to his forehead. “Less being pleased with yourself, more getting things done. My head is trying to kill me. I may not be able to fight Caius like this.”

  “We go to the end,” Iulia said with a smirk, “which is most certainly not dead.” Her dragon loped down the spiraling hallway, carrying her away before she could elaborate.

  The doors rattled against the makeshift brace.

  Rondy patted Justin’s shoulder. “This wood won’t keep them out for long. I’ll hold the door. I can handle that for a few minutes.”

  Justin nodded and jogged with Avery, following Khalil and the dragons. They passed row after row of twenty foot high shelves filled with books. He saw Avery grimace and curl an arm around his head.

  “Maybe you should stay behind,” he said to Avery. “With Rondy.”

  “No. The tide of Knights will just kill me. You heard Yun. At least this way, I stand a chance.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you came. You didn’t have to.”

  Avery flashed a weak, pained smile. “Then you won’t mind when I ask your sister-in-law out on a date?”

  Justin snorted. “Don’t push it.”

  They rounded the last curve to find Khalil with three tiny dragons on his shoulders. Iulia stood next to her dragon, still full size, with her arms crossed and glaring at the large mural at the end of the walkway. The images depicted her as the central villain of every story, along with dragons and other mythological beasts. Caius and his equites were clearly the heroes. Justin had never spent much time here.

  “That arrogant bastard,” she growled. “Burn everything here.”

  The dragon trilled in assent and stuck its head past the three men to blow fire at the shelves.

  Khalil gasped and reached for the dragon. “What are you doing? This library has the collected wisdom of the Knights! Documents in here date back two millennia. These are priceless, irreplaceable artifacts and manuscripts.”

  “And they’re all tainted by Caius. Every last one.” Iulia’s hand hovered over the most prominent carved and painted image of herself. “Lies. So many lies. They infect this place like a disease.”

  Justin patted Khalil’s shoulder. He had no particular interest in the texts, but could understand the horror of watching something precious being destroyed. “I don’t know that I trust her, but I trust what I’ve seen and felt. I think she’s probably right.”

  “Shall we?” Iulia offered her hand to them all. “We’ll have to find the way through his lies, but I’m confident three Knights and a witch can manage it.”

  The temperature rose as the fire spread. Flames licked up shelves and leaped to cushions. Justin swore he could hear the distant shrieks of everyone inside the books.

  “That sounds like madness,” Avery said. “But that’s what I signed up for when I agreed to this. And we can’t stay here for long anyway. Thanks to you,” he snapped at Iulia, “we don’t have a choice.”

  “Let’s get moving,” Justin said. Sweat evaporated from his face as quickly as it appeared.

  Khalil pointed at Iulia. “Look me in the eye and tell me your insanity is better for the world than Caius’s.”

  Iulia met his gaze without flinching. “I’m doing this because Caius did it wrong and I mean to do it right.”

  Khalil clenched his jaw. “Fine. Then let’s do this.”

  Justin took Iulia’s hand. So did Avery and Khalil.

  Chapter 35

  Claire

  Wind rushed past Claire. She fell head-first through a cool, gray, damp void. Trust Caius to make his front door out of gloomy clouds. Uninterested in hitting the ground like this, she flipped her body around. In doing so, she saw Djembe falling with her, only a few yards behind. His expression hovered between confusion and rage. She ignored him. Dealing with Caius and his demesne would take all of her attention, especially once he figured out why she came. Djembe would make sure that didn’t take him long.

  Knowing the ground would come sooner or later, Claire focused her will on making it as soft a landing as possible. She hit the ground and fell to one knee with the impact, then threw herself to the side and rolled to her feet. Without looking back, she ran as fast as she could. A loud thud and a groan announced Djembe’s arrival. He hadn’t anticipated the impact, so he’d need a minute or two to heal, giving her some time.

  “How did you get here?” Caius asked, a scowl evident in his voice even though Claire couldn’t see him. The clouds dissipated and she ran into a wall of stone. Caius jumped down from the top of the cliff to land behind her.

  “Ow.” Claire rubbed her face where she’d hit. “You could’ve let me see that soon enough to stop.”

  Caius laughed. “I had no reason to. What do you want, and why didn’t you enter the normal way?”

  No backup meant Claire had to think fast to avoid becoming a kebab. She couldn’t tell if Caius was playing dumb or really didn’t know. He could have been controlling the Knights subconsciously, thought she had no idea if a ghost could do that. Maybe he had some default thing that controlled the Knights in case of an incursion or witch accusation. Like a computer program. He may have even suspected this might eventually happen with her.

  “The Palace is a madhouse,” she said. “Everyone’s gone berserk. Someone said you could help, but everyone’s fighting. I’m not that great a fighter, so I came.”

  “I’ve noticed there’s some tumult,” Caius said, stroking his beard.

  “Whatever she’s telling you, it’s a lie!” Djembe shouted, his voice pinched and strained.

  “Something is wrong with him. He thinks I’m a witch. Actually, I think he’s convinced I’m Iulia. He won’t stop threatening me.”

  Caius eyed Claire. “The resemblance is remarkable, I’ve noted that before.” He gazed off to the side and seemed pleased, maybe even wistful. “But you’re clearly not her. She’s gone forever. I took care of her.”

  Considering how Claire found Iulia, Caius’s reaction disgusted her. But she had to keep that to herself. She rubbed her mouth, trying to wipe off the grimace he’d provoked. “Good to know. The Palace is still going nuts, though, and so is Djembe.” In a flash of insight, she realized she had no idea what Caius could accomplish or not, and this moment offered her the opportunity to find out. Knowing might make a difference. Since he seemed unaware of what she thought he’d been causing all along, she pressed her luck.

  “Can’t you do something about all the chaos in the Palace?”

  “Yes.” Caius crossed his arms over his chest and watched her so intently she felt like a bug pinned to a board. “But it takes a great deal of effort. I don’t just float around here all the time, doing nothing. I have to maintain the Palace, my Knights, and all the gear I’ve enchanted. It’s curious to me, though, why you’re not wearing the armor I gave you.”

  Claire couldn’t tell if he suspected something or only asked out of curiosity. “I didn’t happen to be wearing it when I came back. It’s not like I expected a giant battle to explode in the Thoroughfare.” She tugged at the hem of her shirt, pondering what he might believe and how she could make him underestimate her. “I guess I could have made another suit when the fighting started, but I…didn’t think of it.”

  Caius bellowed such a full, hearty laugh that Claire wanted to punch him in the face. She considered sp
ringing at him with her knife, but had a feeling that wouldn’t do more than annoy him. Killing a ghost took a weapon designed to kill a ghost. She needed an enchanted blade, and the only one she had was made by the ghost she needed to kill.

  A tiny thought sparked in her mind. With the power of the ley line behind her locket, maybe she could make her own dagger. If she created it to look the same as the one Caius made, would he notice? How could she do that without him watching so she could surprise him? The idea and questions swirled in her head.

  “We should have killed her when she first got here,” Djembe spat.

  Claire felt like she rode a seesaw with Djembe on the other end. They each pushed down, trying to unseat the other in the quest for Caius’s attention and approval. Her next salvo had to ring true and mean something or she’d lose the battle.

  “I wanted to…to prove myself. I thought I already did. You said I did, but Djembe and other Knights just kept making me jump through hoop after hoop after hoop. The second I left you, they grabbed me and shoved me into an Ordeal! I just…” She slumped her shoulders and sighed. “I didn’t ask for this job, but since I have it, I just want to be allowed to do it without everyone beating me down all the time.”

  To her surprise, Caius nodded his understanding. He rested his hands on his waist and gazed into the distance. A light breeze ruffled his hair and cape. “My burden to bear has always been that of the hero everyone looks to for guidance and rescue. People assumed I could do things outside my capabilities and I had to find ways to accomplish those things without disabusing them of the notion I’m perfect.”

  Though she couldn’t prevent herself from saying nothing, Claire managed to keep her response to a single word. “Challenging.” She hoped he missed the disgusted disdain in her voice.

  “Yes, it was.” Caius sighed. “But that time is long past.”

  “How can you believe anything she says? She’s the reincarnation of Iulia! Come to destroy us all. She brought dragons into the Palace.” Djembe wobbled to his hands and knees.

  Caius raised his brow. “Dragons? More than one?”

  “I have no idea how they got here.” Claire raised her chin and shifted her weight, readying to flee.

  “No idea at all?” Caius stepped toward her, his eyes narrowing. His gaze bored into her.

  “She’s lying. They avoided hurting her. I saw it.”

  “Of course they did.” Claire’s voice trembled. “I have a dragon sprite. He can talk to other dragons. But I don’t know how they got here.”

  “How strange.” Caius moved closer and closer, his gaze sweeping up and down her body. He stopped too close for comfort and reached out with a finger to touch the locket in her chest.

  She shied away without thinking. He froze with his finger an inch away. Meeting his gaze, Claire knew he saw something unexpected and didn’t understand it.

  “I haven’t lied to you.” For some reason, her voice refused to rise above a whisper.

  “What have you done, little girl?”

  “I’m not little.”

  Amusement ghosted at the corners of his mouth. “No. You’re old enough to meddle with things you don’t understand.” He took another step closer and leaned over to whisper in her ear. His breath smelled of dead earth with a hint of rotting meat. “I know what you’re—” He gripped her shoulders, holding her in place, and sniffed her hair, then her neck.

  Claire shuddered against him, more afraid of him in this moment than she ever been before. “Let go.”

  He pinched the fabric of her shirt and rubbed his fingers together. “What did you do?”

  The moment had come for Claire to do whatever she could. She saw his sword and slapped her hand over the hilt while jamming her knee between his legs, then slamming her boot down on his sandaled foot. He shoved her away. The sword came with her.

  His face pale and his eyes wide, he stared at her.

  She turned and ran.

  Behind her, she heard Djembe say, “I told you. She’s a witch.”

  “Worse,” Caius said, his voice strangled. “She’s independent. And I think she freed Iulia.” He roared in wordless anger. “You can’t run from me in my own demesne, Claire! Where will you go that I can’t reach you? Here, maybe?”

  The ground disappeared and Claire fell. Again.

  Chapter 36

  Claire

  Claire needed Enion. Below her, she saw nothing but empty beige and thought it must be the ground. Then she noticed a thick spike glinting in the sunshine, exactly where she’d fall if nothing changed.

  “Enion.” The spike grew and she decided to be thankful Caius wanted her to fall from a great height instead of a short one. It gave Enion time to reach her—not a lot of time, but more than five seconds. He only had to hear her, find a way here, and swoop in to rescue her.

  She closed her eyes. Trying to swim through the air seemed unlikely to work. Caius’s will, focused on her, would prevent her from missing the spike. Instead, she focused on Enion, on her bond to him, and on bringing him to her. The picture in her mind started with the sheen of his skin. His tiny trill wove around his big trill, both sounds uniquely his. She remembered him spitting out bacon as disgusting and rolling in cooked carrots.

  Enion roared a wordless cry of concern. She opened her eyes and grinned as he swooped in under her. Everything suddenly seemed doable as she rode him through the sky. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arm around his neck and noticed the spike surging upward. Another spike shot upward. They swerved to avoid three more. Enion pumped his wings to get higher.

  “Call the rest of the dragons! They’re bound to you.” She still held Caius’s sword and meant to keep it. Hopefully, making another one involved more effort than an idle thought.

  “Dragons!” Enion barked. “To me!”

  Claire threw her head back and reveled in the joy of flight, only to see rocks falling from the sky. “Above!” More spikes shot up from the ground. “Crap, he’s serious.” As little as she wanted to face Caius, she knew they had to. While Enion swerved, she demanded this place reveal Caius. He must not have wanted to hide, because they flew straight toward him beside his horse, with Djembe hulking in front of them as a guard.

  “Ha! As if that jerk can stop dragons. Try a flyby with fire and see how they react.”

  They closed the distance and Enion sped up. He opened his mouth and breathed fire at the trio. All three leaped aside, showing they either knew it would hurt them, or didn’t know and chose to err on the safe side. Claire hoped for the former. Weirdly, though Enion’s angle of flight should have followed to the left, it instead took them to the right.

  “What just happened?”

  Enion scanned the ground and shook his head. “Ground moved?”

  “Great.” In the distance, Claire saw flashes of silver winking in the sky, growing larger. Enion flew toward them until she made out ten dragons approaching. “It worked.” Claire had half-expected Enion’s call to fail, leaving it to her and Enion to somehow defeat the master of the demesne and his pets without help.

  With eleven dragons, she saw a plan. “He can’t dodge everything if we all go at different angles. Surround and burn!”

  The dragons settled into a loose group and matched their wingbeats without a trill or chirp. When they reached Caius and his minions, some did wingovers or loops while others circled in both directions, creating a wide column of swirling dragons. Enion climbed straight up, then he flipped over to fall straight down.

  Dark clouds formed overhead. As Enion opened his mouth, water poured out of the sky, drenching them in a heavy rain. Fire billowed out of Enion’s mouth only to flicker and die in the sudden weather. Gusting wind blew from the side, knocking all the dragons sideways. Claire leaned to help Enion recover and held Caius’s sword close to her body. Two dragons, too close to the ground to recover, hit and tumbled in a heap.

  Enion’s muscles bunched and stretched frantically under Claire’s legs. Pumping his wings furiously against
the blasting wind, he aimed for Caius. Another gust knocked him off course and they veered toward the ground in front of Djembe. Claire watched Djembe raise his sword with a snarl. She followed suit, holding Caius’s sword forward with no clear idea how to use it properly.

  As they neared, a swirl of wind burst underneath Enion. Djembe didn’t do what Claire expected. Instead of trying to stab Enion in the chest or unseat Claire, he slashed at Enion’s wing. The fragile membrane ripped apart. Enion screamed. Claire had one moment to grasp what happened before they plowed into the ground. The impact threw Claire and sent Enion skidding across the ground.

  Claire hit her frozen shoulder and heard it crack. She rolled and slid over sharp rocks. Her hand smacked the ground and released Caius’s sword. The blade skittered away from her and kept going until it reached Caius’s foot. He stomped his sandal on the tip of the blade and it flipped into the air, where he caught it. Claire noticed minor burn marks on the edge of his cape.

  A dragon cried out in pain. Claire raised her head to see Djembe stabbing the poor thing through the back before it had recovered from its crash. The horse kicked another dragon with its hind legs to toss it thirty feet through the air, just like it had done to Enion during her first “test.” That moment seemed distant, as if it had happened years ago instead of weeks ago.

  Enion growled in the back of his throat. “How dare he.”

  “Enion, wait!”

  He ignored her and leaped at Djembe. The Knight jerked his sword free, tossed it to his other hand, dodged Enion’s claws, and punched her dragon in the neck. Enion tumbled to the side, gasping for breath and scrambling away. Djembe stalked him with slow, steady steps. More dragons flew in and landed to attack the horse and defend both Enion and the dying dragon.

  “You’re altogether too clever and I have other problems to handle.” Caius waved a hand and the ground flipped. His horse and Djembe both found a way to jump to the side while Claire and all the dragons rode the ground until it dumped them into the same stupid green corridor from the Ordeal. They landed in a cloud of empty, dead dirt.