Dragon of the Prairie

by Sarah J. Stone

  “Yes,” Desmond seemed hardly phased by this phenomenon, which made Eliza sad as she silently watched. No child should have to go through this, whether she was rigorously training to be a witch or not.

  “McDonnell, Juan!” She snapped to her personal guards “Don't just stand there for god’s sakes. Get the door.”

  “Sienna, I need you to stay with me,” Desmond said, trying to reach into her mind. Once or twice, he could bring her back from this hell, but it was infrequent. “With me, little one. Here.”

  With the doors held open, they managed to get half way down to the grand hallway before Desmond got a hand to the face.

  “Oomph,” he managed, realizing they were out of time. Nathaniel jumped forward in time to help him sink to his knees.

  “What can we do?” Juan, the Jeffro Captain of the Guards asked. “How can we help?”

  Nathaniel's Jeffro was getting stronger every day, but he was a bit distracted.

  “Nothing,” he said, not looking up. “It's fine. On her side, Desmond.”

  “Why is this happening?” Desmond was more bothered by the reason of the event than the actual occurrence. She hadn't seized in months, and it seemed she was actually getting stronger on Jeffro.

  Nathaniel bit his lip as he kept a hand on her shoulder.

  “This may be my fault,” he said. “We were working out in the garden today, and she saw me doing a check spell. I taught it to her.”

  Desmond's eyes flickered up. “That's a bit advanced, don't you think?”

  “The spell is not that advanced. If she was in proper training at school, it would not be considered advanced,” Nathaniel answered. “The amount of magic that she used was, though. I'm not going to tell Eliza about the commemorative rock in her garden.”

  Desmond sighed, holding Sienna's hands so she didn't smack either of them or herself. He felt blood drip from his nose and wondered briefly if she had broken it. It didn't matter, really. That would heal. His only concern was for her.

  “She said something to me today,” Desmond said. “That she can't be a witch if she can't do magic.”

  Nathaniel shook his head.

  “She can. She said that to me, too. She just needs to learn differently than the others.”

  “Nathaniel,” Desmond said, as he pushed down slightly. This one was going on for quite a while. “This is what happens when she does magic.”

  They locked gazes, unspoken horrors passing in between them. Nathaniel was stubborn, and he refused to believe this was the only option.

  “We knew this when we accepted this position,” Nathaniel said. “In a lot of ways, this is going better than we thought.”

  “We knew that it was going to be difficult,” Desmond agreed.

  Eventually, she lay still, and Desmond let out a long breath, sitting back on his haunches.

  “You're bleeding,” Nathaniel said, and he wiped his nose.

  “I know. It's fine. Probably don't teach her any new spells for a while.”

  “Aye,” Nathaniel answered. “Does she know? About Reynolds?”

  “If she hasn't already read my mind, I'm sure she will,” Desmond answered. “You can tell her tonight, if you want. Oops,” he backed up as his young Tiro tensed. “This is going to be messy.”

  “I'm an idiot,” Nathaniel said, as she gagged.

  “No, you're her Maestro,” Desmond tried to assure him. “You were just tasked with a heavier burden than most.”

  They sat in the hallway for nearly half an hour, the guards keeping the doors to the grand hall closed to funnel the dinner guests out the other side.

  ‘Do you need help?’ Mariah reached out to Desmond as they sat.

  ‘No,’ he thought back. ‘Just comfort.’

  ‘I'm here when you need me,’ her thoughts wrapped around his mind like a hug, and he smiled slightly.

  “Maestro,” Sienna's voice sounded half broken, leaning against Nathaniel. Both of them looked down, but she was reaching out for Desmond with her magic.

  “Stop,” he grabbed her hand. “That's what got you into this situation to start with. Don't.”

  In answer, she sent him an image of Reynolds, which made Desmond jump. Nathaniel's head swiveled to Desmond, watching his reaction.

  “Yes, that is Reynolds,” Desmond said. “I don't often think of him. You are clever to pick that out.”

  “You want…to see him?” Sienna asked, and Desmond sighed.

  “Yes,” he said, not willing to lie to his Tiro. “But that is complicated.”

  “Oh,” Sienna said, softly. “No.”

  “We can discuss it in the morning, little one,” Desmond said. “When you are stronger. For now, are you ready to get up?”

  “I…” she seemed uncertain, and Nathaniel shifted.

  “I'll carry you,” he said. “Ready? One-two-three, oomph,” he stood up quickly. Desmond gave him a smile of thanks as he stood up as well.

  Nathaniel was completely devoted to Sienna; he would never give up on her or her cause. It was such a switch from the first few months when Nathaniel could not get far enough from her. He had insisted that he didn't want this assignment, didn't want anything but a warrior. Desmond had just started to wonder whether taking Sienna on for both of them was the wrong choice when Nathaniel had started to see her potential, her strength. But sometimes, especially when he already felt low, Desmond wondered whether they would spend their whole life between a rock and a hard place–a Tiro so powerful that no one could measure up against her, except that she couldn't use her magic.

  But then, what did it matter if they were expelled from the order? If they couldn't be practicing witches because he and Mariah weren't careful, what had he destroyed?

  ‘Stay close,’ Nathaniel interrupted his pitying thoughts, already halfway down the hallway. ‘This doesn't feel safe yet.’

  ‘I'll be awake for many hours yet,’ Desmond assured him as he straightened his clothes and wiped his nose once more. He didn't particularly want to, but he went back through the doors of the grand hall where dinner was just finishing.

  “Maestro Desmond?” Eliza asked, and he dipped his head.

  “Under control, your highness,” he said, as he took his seat across from Mariah. “My apologies.”

  “Apologize for nothing,” Eliza said. “I only wish for her health.”

  “Don't we all,” Desmond said, and Mariah subtly extended her hand across the table. He squeezed it, opening his mind to her thoughts. ‘It'll be a long night.’

  ‘And I will be at your side,’ she assured him silently. ‘Never forget that. You are not alone in this.’

  He smiled, although he knew she couldn't see it, and took a drink to calm his shaking nerves. He never showed Nathaniel how much these episodes rocked him. Every time her body threatened to leave with her soul, he flashed back to Reynolds. It was an emotional departure, but it left a scar on him like no other. He couldn't take another one leaving him; he'd rather leave himself.

  ‘Stop,’ Mariah shot at him, and he realized she could hear his mind. ‘She'll be fine tonight.’

  ‘Tonight,’ Desmond said. ‘But what about tomorrow?’

  ‘Don't worry about tomorrow,’ she assured him. ‘We only have today.’ She often said that, but it felt heavier tonight. His eyes flickered up to her as she delicately cut into her food.

  ‘One day that will be true,’ he thought.

  ‘But it is not today,’ she assured him, and he smiled at her forcefulness. He was so grateful that she was with him, and he would not give her up for anything, not even to end this limbo.

  Chapter 4

  “Maestro?” Sienna asked Nathaniel, later that night. In the few hours following an event, he didn't like to leave her alone. He had gotten used to sleeping through the night these past few months, but his mind readily remembered the times he used to stay up all night by her side and sleep for a few hours in the late afternoon. He wasn't eager to repeat that time, but he was already settled into a posit
ion on her chair that suggested he might have to.

  “Hmm?” he asked, looking up from his tablet.

  “What really happened with Reynolds? Do you know?”

  He put aside the tablet, shifting his legs. “I do,” he said. “But it's not something Desmond wants out in the open.”

  “I am his Tiro,” she pointed out. “As were you, you know.”

  He sighed, trying to figure out the right words to not alarm her. “Reynolds chose to use Acheronian magic.”

  “Before the tests?”

  “Yes,” Nathaniel answered.

  “How long before the tests?”

  “Longer than Desmond likes to admit,” Nathaniel said. “He hung onto Reynolds long after the first signs, hoping that he could convince him otherwise. They went off-world for long stretches, and Desmond hoped he could show Reynolds another way. He scheduled the tests without Reynolds's approval, and shortly before, Reynolds made his choice for good and deserted him.”

  “How?” Sienna asked, aghast. “How could anyone do that?” She knew that some Tiros did do this, and more still just chose another path. The life of a witch was not an easy one. But it seemed impossible to her, given how strong the bond between Maestro and Tiro was. “I could never do that.”

  “I don't know,” Nathaniel answered, truthfully. “But I do know it left a deep scar on Desmond. Had he not found Christa, who was as broken as he was then–I don't know what would have happened. The things I see in his mind from that time, they startle me.”

  “What if a witch can't take the tests?” she asked, and Nathaniel knew right away what she was talking about.

  “Sienna,” he said quickly, leaning forward, “you will take the tests.”

  “What if I can't? Will you just–”

  “No,” he was fast on this, “we will not just leave you. We will never leave you, do you understand? You are our Tiro, and our duty is to train you until you are ready for the tests. If that's next month, next year, or twenty years down the line, then so be it.”

  “I can't do magic, Nathaniel,” tears sprung to her eyes, and he grabbed her hands.

  “You can do magic. And you've been so much better, than when we first started. You just learn differently than everyone else, and that's fine. We'll continue to find different ways. I'm not going to leave you, do you understand?” He met her gaze, wanting desperately to force comforting thoughts into her. But after the incident in the hallway, he didn't want any additional magic to touch her for a while. “Okay?”

  She nodded, her tear-streaked face pale, and he was reminded that she was still that lost child they saw on the first day.

  “Okay,” he gave her hands a squeeze and moved back. “Can you drink the water, please?”

  “No,” she said, even as she reached for it. Getting her to eat and drink was a problem that had reared its head in her early days, and he had never quite figured out how to fight it. “Are you going to Eliza?”

  “Not tonight,” he said, although he had plans. All of that seemed to change when Sienna was involved, as the rest of his life had. “Besides, she has a six a.m. meeting, and I'm never a fan of getting up early.”

  She smiled, sipping at the water glass, and then turned her head as his tablet buzzed. His brow furrowed as he saw that it was an audio call on a scrambled frequency.

  “That's weird,” he said as he swiped the button to take the call. “Hello?”

  “Nathaniel,” came a familiar voice. He sat forward.

  “Sybil?” he said. “You shouldn't be calling me.”

  “Don't tell me what I shouldn't do,” she didn't sound distressed at all. “What are you doing these days?”

  “I'm uh…” He glanced to Sienna, confused. “You know. Hanging out on suspension.”

  “Yeah, did you know suspended witches can still work?” she asked, and he furrowed his brow.

  “No?”

  “I mean, you can still come and help me, you just aren't reimbursed by the Academy and all.”

  “Do you need help?” he asked, confused.

  “I could use some help,” she seemed so casual about it, but that was Sybil. Nathaniel had never known her to be bothered by anything, even when they were in a life or death situation. “Do you feel like coming to be some bait?”

  He choked. “Sorry?”

  “Did Mariah not tell you I was on the tail of Reynolds? I realize this is a sensitive situation, but I could probably lure him out with Desmond's former Tiro. Or Desmond himself.”

  Nathaniel paused. “Sorry, Sybil, the connection must be bad. I thought I heard you say that you wanted witches on suspension to come and help you on a sensitive, undercover mission. Sensitive in more ways than one.”

  “That's what I said. Should I just tell you my coordinates, or should I send them to you?”

  “Sybil,” he stood up, ignoring Sienna's gasp and wide-eyed look. “Are you crazy?”

  “Very possibly,” she said. “Are you going to come?”

  “Oh, my Creator,” he shook his head. “I don't know. Things are…complicated here.”

  “Things are kind of complicated here, too,” she replied. “I thought I was your best friend in the whole galaxy.”

  “Sybil, are you going to die?” he asked, which didn't exactly mean what it sounded like. It was the code they developed whenever they absolutely needed each other.

  “Yes,” she said, and he sighed.

  “Let me talk to Desmond. Can I get you back on this frequency?”

  “You can,” she said. “But if you do come…just the three of you, all right? It's not an easy situation.”

  “You don't want Mariah?” he said, confused.

  “I don't want to put her in danger she doesn't need to be in,” Sybil replied. “Reynolds knows she loves me, but it won't affect him in any way. I have extra incentive. Your girlfriend has just been assigned to my case.”

  “My girlfriend…,” Nathaniel was extra confused now.

  “Laura? And her Tiro, Devon?”

  Sienna practically fell off the bed trying to get close enough to the speaker. “Sybil? Devon is there?”

  “Hello, Sienna,” Sybil replied. “He'll be here shortly, and I hear he's awesome, so I'm excited about it.”

  “Maestro, we have to go,” she said to Nathaniel, who pointed back to the bed.

  “Sit,” he said, firmly. “Sit or I won't even ask Desmond. Four hours ago, you weren't even conscious, Sienna, so don't think for a moment we're bolting tonight. Stay here, all right?”

  She moved backward toward the bed, looking scolded. He ducked outside the room and into the hallway where he could have some privacy.

  “Sorry,” he said to Sybil.

  “Is she all right to travel?” Sybil asked.

  “No,” he said, honestly.

  “Would you consider coming without her?”

  He sighed, his mind flashing to the promise he had just made to Sienna. “Probably not, Sybil.”

  “I get it,” Sybil said. “So, you have a choice to make.”

  “I do,” Nathaniel answered. “I have to talk to Desmond, at least. How long can you give me?”

  “An hour?” Sybil replied. “I don't actually need you for a day or two, but I need to know the plan and soon.”

  “I understand,” he replied. “I'll call you back.”

  He hung up, his mind whirling. This whole thing was complicated enough, but the addition of Laura made things even more complex.

  When he was last at home, he had a love affair with her. It was brief, and it wasn't exactly against Eliza's wishes. Up until this visit, they had rarely been together enough to consider being exclusive. Eliza didn't know about it, just as he didn't ask about what she did when he was away. Still, it felt like a secret that he was carrying.

  He reached out for Desmond and found him asleep. He winced at the awkwardness of the situation, but he knew that it had to be done. Walking down the hall, he knocked on Desmond's door, knowing that Mariah was likely inside
with him.

  It took a few tries, but his former Maestro came to the door, leaving the room darkened.

  “I have to talk to you,” Nathaniel said. “Now.”

  “Is Sienna all right?”

  “For now,” Nathaniel said. “Come with me.”

  Once they were in the lounge, Nathaniel played the call for Desmond, which his tablet had automatically recorded. Desmond listened quietly, his face solemn.

  “Delete that,” he said, and Nathaniel moved to do so.

  “Of course, I just wanted you to hear her exact wording. She may sound calm, but it's pretty clear she's in distress. She wouldn't ask unless she was in serious trouble.”

  “Her plan is sound,” Desmond replied. “If you take the emotions out of it, it's one of the best ones.”

  “But the emotions are in it,” Nathaniel answered. “Yours, hers, mine, Mariah's. Not to mention that if we were assigned a quest at the Academy right now, I would cancel it because of Sienna.”

  “What do you think?” Desmond asked him. “You are a Maestro as well as I.”

  “I…,” Nathaniel sighed. “I don't know. There are too many factors.”

  “Which choice puts everyone involved in the most danger?” Desmond asked.

  “Going,” Nathaniel knew the answer quickly. “But, if you factor in what Reynolds is capable of, then staying.”

  “So, we go,” Desmond said. “Our only question is whether to leave our Tiro.”

  “That's not a question,” Nathaniel answered. “I'm not leaving her.”

  Desmond held his gaze for a long moment, and then nodded.

  “Fine,” he said. “I will inform Mariah. She'll at least want to know.”

  “There is another option,” Nathaniel said slowly. “I could go with Sienna, and you could stay.”

  “No,” Desmond was quick to speak. “Reynolds is my Tiro, and I will not walk away from him this time.”

  “Maestro, you did not walk away from him the first time,” Nathaniel said, and Desmond gave him a small, pained smile.