“Where is the old geezer, anyway?” asked Blade.
I hesitated.
“He’s not coming, is he?” asked Calvin quietly.
Blade shot me a look. “What? He’s not coming? What, we’re doing this whole thing on our own?”
“Greystone saw the oracle once,” I told them. “When he first became the Watcher, back before it would have been fatal for him to see her. She told him that one day this would come. And she told him that he couldn’t come with us. If he did, our whole journey would fail. He has other things to do. And plus, he’s going to try to keep up an appearance that we’re still within the borders of Athorn. If he can do that, Terrence won’t have even the slightest idea of where we are. It’ll be clean sailing all the way to Wyrmspire.”
Raven snorted. “You don’t honestly believe that, do you?”
I smiled. “Well, it’s a nice thought, anyway. But he also gave me this.”
I pulled a small, oval stone from my pocket. It was black, but where the moonlight caught it, it glinted purple. I brought it to Tess and pressed it into her palm.
“What’s this?” she asked, surprised.
“He said it’s some sort of telepathy stone,” I said. “Anyone with the power of Mind can reach out to someone else with its twin. So you can reach out to Greystone, and he can reach out to you.”
Her eyes widened, nervous. “What if I lose it? Someone else should hold it.”
“I trust you with it,” I said with a gentle smile. I folded her fingers closed over the stone. “You’ve been doing great. And you’ll keep doing great. It’s yours.” I stepped away.
Silence settled within the circle. No one seemed to know what to say.
“So we’re really doing this?” Raven asked. “Traveling across the world to find dragons?”
“That’s what it looks like,” I said with a shrug. “Because otherwise, it’s just a matter of time before Morrowdust happens all over again. And next time, we might not be so lucky.”
“Oh yeah, the last ten days have been nothing but one big bout of luck,” Blade muttered.
“We’re alive,” Tess told him quietly. He looked up at her, and his smirk turned to a full smile. She smiled back.
I led them from the circle, the Runegard looking relieved to see us emerge. We all got on our horses. It was a long ride before we could rest safely in the wilderness, lost in the mountains to the South.
We rode until the land sloped up sharply before us, following a path that Greystone had told me would be there. Soon we came to a ridge and turned to climb it, heading for the top of a low mountain that was the first in a long range. The pass would drop us on the other side, hopefully safe from Terrence and all of his scouts. From there, it was a long, long journey southwest.
To the dragons. To Wyrmspire.
I burst into a wild peal of laughter that made my horse start and dance below me. The others looked at me, startled.
“If you’re about to tell us that that was all a massive joke back in the circle, I might knock you off your horse,” Blade said offhandedly.
“No, I’m just…it’s just crazy, right? Three months ago, we were in detention. We were in high school. We were…I don’t know. We weren’t anything, really. Now we’re traveling across the world to find dragons. Dragons, guys. Imagine going back in time and telling yourself, sitting in that detention room, what was about to happen to all of us.”
Blade thought about it. “I would have punched myself,” he said, nodding pensively.
“I totally would have believed me,” said Calvin.
“Of course you would have,” said Miles, shaking his head.
“Guys, look.” Tess’ voice brought all of us around to look down.
We were nearly at the top of the first peak. And far, far away, we saw the burning lights of Elladorn. And beyond, Morrowdust sat like a queen atop the hills overlooking the land all around.
And as we watched, what looked like a mass of shadow slithered from the streets of Morrowdust. It was driven back by sharp, bright points of light we could barely see from where we were. But I knew they were the torches of the soldiers of Athorn, driving the enemy back from their ancestral home.
“He did it,” I said. “Greystone drove them out.”
“Of course he did,” said Calvin with a snort. “He’s freaking Greystone.”
The darkness passed beyond the city and fled out into the fields beyond. And as we watched, a shiny, shimmering wall of blue slid forward to envelop the city in its glow once again. The barrier was restored. Morrowdust was safe, at least for now.
“Come on, guys,” I said. I turned my horse and let it plod its slow way up the ridge. The others followed, and soon the barrier disappeared from sight behind the curve of the mountain’s peak.
I woke up in the hospital. I should have known I couldn’t stay out forever.
It was the middle of the night. I had no idea what time exactly. But my mom was there, sleeping, so I figured it had to be the early hours of the morning.
I just sat there, unable to stop enjoying the silence. The monotony. The lack of dark, terrible creatures trying to kill me and my friends. The silence was only broken by the periodic beeping of my heart rate monitor, the steady in and out of my mom’s breathing.
I hadn’t heard a silence like this in well over a week.
I’d slept enough on Earth that I didn’t feel like I’d ever need to sleep again. I desperately wanted to leap out of the bed and spend the next five days catching up on all of the homework I must have missed over the last week or more.
Of course, my mom might not appreciate it if I just got up and walked out. Not to mention how the hospital would feel about it.
I sat up, the blankets rustling around me.
“Mom?” I said quietly.
She shot awake in her chair, leaping up and running to my bed. She grabbed me tight, burying her face in my hair. She didn’t cry. She just held me.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I didn’t know, but that’s not what she needed to hear. “Of course, mom. I’m fine.”
She sat back, breathing a sigh of relief and smiling. “Oh, sweetie, you can’t imagine how relieved I am to see you awake again.”
I shook my head as if disoriented. “How long have I been out?”
“About…um…” She checked her watch. “Fifty hours or so.”
My eyes widened. “Two days.” I thought I’d been paying attention, but I hadn’t realized that much time had passed.
“And change. You’re sure you feel fine?”
“Actually, I feel great. Well-rested,” I quipped.
She chuckled. “I should hope so. Are you hungry?”
As if on cue, my stomach gave a strangled, gurgling cry.
“I guess so,” I said with a laugh.
“Okay, I’ll go get you something right away,” she said. She stood, but seemed unwilling to let go of my hand for a second. “I’m glad you’re back, honey. Even though I’m still convinced this is all some teenage ploy to get me to let you sleep in all day.”
I snorted. “Hardly. Do you know how far behind I am at school?”
She sighed. “Yeah. I’ve had a couple teachers call me. More than a couple, in fact. But that’s fine. We’ll sort it all out tomorrow.”
I thought of my new life on the road back in Midrealm. There would be more sorting out in the next day than just my schoolwork. But I nodded. “Okay. Sounds good. Now, don’t forget: extra bacon on the burger.”
She smirked and turned away. “Yes, my Lady.”
I watched her as she stepped out the door and disappeared down the hallway. Then I leaned back, my mind weary but my body nearly ready to explode.
With nothing else to do, I reached over and grabbed the TV remote. I flipped it on and began to flip through the channels when I heard a ding from my phone.
I dropped the remote and leaned over to grab my pants from the chair beside the bed. I dug around in the back pocket for my
phone as news started to blare forth from the television.
About eighty missed texts. Great.
Then my eyes widened as I saw four from Kurt. I hesitated, then mashed a finger down on the app’s icon.
Hey, not @ school today?
Ignore last. Found out your thing hpnd. Hope u feel better.
Hey. Not sure when ur cmng bk. Just wntd to say, hope u get well soon.
Yo, if ur better b4 wknd, feel like seeing movie? If ur not busy. Maybe next week?
My heart thundered, and I felt my cheeks growing red. I was so excited that for the moment I was willing to overlook the minor annoyance of being asked out via text instead of in person.
My fingers flew across the screen.
Up now. Not sure if I can get out before weekend, but if so, I’d love to see a movie. But I pick.
I giggled and dropped the phone beside me. Then I leaned back and thought of the weekend with Kurt. Who, despite my best efforts, showed up occasionally in my mind with long hair.
Preoccupied with my thoughts about Kurt, I forgot all about the news report playing on the TV. It droned on in the background, but my eyes were far away out the window.
But a familiar voice kept trying to penetrate my consciousness. Eventually my attention wandered to the screen.
My breath seized in my throat, and my heart began to race in my chest.
“ — among the top ten of the Fortune 500 for more than two decades, but famously a bit of a recluse. What prompted this sudden emergence into the public eye?”
“Well, I think it’s really important we get the word out about this,” said the man on the screen. He had a crisp business suit and a thick British accent. “I myself have suffered from sleeping disorders for many many years, and the breakthroughs we’re making here at Medicorp have helped me immensely. I’d be remiss if I didn’t open this technology up for clinical trials, even if it’s still in its infant stages. We need to get this out there globally, and not tomorrow — today. And there’s nothing like putting your face on something to get it out into the public eye.”
“At least when you’re an internationally famous billionaire CEO,” chuckled the reporter. “All right, if people are interested in signing up for this trial, where do they go to — ”
My whole body was shaking in fear.
The man in the interview was tall and skinny. Almost wasted away. His face was thin and his head was bald, and his eyes were much larger than it seemed like anyone’s should be.
But of course, I’d seen him much larger. Larger muscles, his skin covered with tattoos. A dark hatred on his face, his eyes smaller when supported by a face that was more filled out.
A face that had hovered in the sky above me just moments before Nestor had died. Before the barrier came down.
Terrence.
TO BE CONTINUED IN…
YOU’VE FINISHED THE FIRST BOOK of the Realm Keepers series.
Now hear Greystone’s side of the tale.
Greystone is the story of the Realm Keepers’ arrival in Midrealm, told from the viewpoint of the crotchety old wizard you’ve come to know and love.
The ebook isn’t for sale anywhere — but you can get it online for free.
Get it here:
TheRealmKeepers.com/Get-Greystone
THUS CONCLUDES MIDREALM, THE FIRST volume in the Realm Keepers series.
To continue reading, you can get Realm Keepers: Episode Eight, on the Kindle store:
CLICK HERE TO GET EPISODE EIGHT
Or (and this is the smarter choice) you can save 50% on buying the episodes by buying Wyrmspire, the complete second volume instead. Get Episodes 8-13, plus the explosive Book Two Finale, with a bundle discount of 50% off.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Garrett Robinson lives and works in the Los Angeles area. He has accumulated numerous credits in independent film and continues to make films along with his friends in the filmmaking collective We Make Movies.
As with all people in the film industry, Garrett is constantly looking for an edge to help him turn his passion into a full-time career. To that end, he has embarked upon a new business model. Garrett is turning all of his script ideas, short form or long form, into novels and novellas and self-publishing them. By garnering attention for the stories he has created, he hopes to gain the opportunity to turn those stories into films. Many of his works are for adult audiences only, but he has published popular books for younger readers, including The Ninjabread Man, also co-authored with Z.C. Bolger.
Garrett lives in Los Angeles with his wife Meghan, his children Dawn and Luke, and his dog Chewbacca.
To find out every time Garrett puts out a new book, visit:
garrettbrobinson.com/be-a-rebel
Garrett can be found on:
BLOG: garrettbrobinson.com
EMAIL: garrettbrobinson.com/be-a-rebel
TWITTER: twitter.com/gbr0binson
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/garrettbrobinson
Z.C. Bolger is a multi-genre writer living and working in Miami Florida.
He was born and raised in California, and attended Delphi Academy of Los Angeles for the majority of his schooling years. Delphi was able to supply many creative outlets for Z to take advantage of, from acting in school productions to helping build the annual haunted house, Z was able to truly create and expand on his artistic visions while getting a great education.
At the age of thirteen, Z wrote his first feature length film script. He ended up working for some time in the film industry once his school days were behind him.
He later became a teacher, running his own school alongside his fiancée, while continuing to write film scripts as a hobby. One particular script he started, Danny Calloway and the Puzzle House, led him to write his first novel.
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Z.C. can be found on:
WEBSITE: zcbolger.com
EMAIL: www.zcbolger.com/contact/
TWITTER: twitter.com/zcbolger
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/ZCBolger
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