Inherent Fate

by Geanna Culbertson

  A blinding, golden light burst out of me. Across the room the serpent’s formerly black-and-red eyes began to glow gold. With unimaginable force he pulled himself from the wall and started following my commands. His body wormed out of the castle’s infrastructure—jerking violently and causing large cracks to form throughout the compound.

  In mere seconds, enough of him was loose to attack. Using his body like a battering ram, he swatted away the surge of guards surrounding Daniel and me before going after the others. When the coast was clear, he lowered his head to Daniel—who climbed on without question—then came for me.

  Wandpin stored, I gladly hopped on. He took us through the halls, slithering with incredible speed, his thick torso knocking aside anyone who opposed us. We made it back to the battle in no time at all. The rest of my friends were still holding strong.

  I pressed my hands into the creature’s scaly body and commanded him to sweep away the remaining guards in the room. He slammed them against the wall. Daniel and I slid off his back and joined the others.

  “We got the stuff,” Daniel told them. “Knight, what’s our play out of here?”

  My dragon bounded over, knocking over a handful of guards that had entered from a side hall.

  “He’s our way out of here,” I said, gesturing to the creature. “Everybody on.”

  The five us climbed onto the dragon’s back and prepared for lift-off.

  “Crisanta Knight!”

  I looked down the hall and saw Nadia approaching with more soldiers—many of whom had crossbows aimed at us and at the animal statues I’d turned into my personal army.

  Again I felt the urge to confront her as I had Arian—to dismount the dragon and do everything in my power to rip her apart here and now. As the angry emotions flowed through me, the magic in my hands started to glow more fervently, surging through my fingers and palms like furious electricity. But I gritted my teeth and resisted the impulse.

  No, I told myself. Now is not the time.

  I had to be smart. Priority one was getting my friends and I to safety while we still had the chance.

  Double-checking that everyone was on board, I kicked the dragon’s side with the heel of my boot and held on tightly, pouring my glow into him. “Go!” I commanded. The dragon roared and shot us through the hole in the ceiling.

  The sky we broke into was bright and the desert wind was dry and sharp. Air rushed against my face and shocked me as much as the understanding that came with it. We were free. I couldn’t believe it. We’d actually made it. Not only that, but in the process I’d learned the truth about Nadia and Arian, gained a pet dragon, and realized how to use my magical powers.

  Pretty productive for one afternoon, if I do say so myself.

  I glanced back at Alderon’s citadel.

  From high above, the city of Valor looked dark. Hundreds of shadows and small black specks stood under the height and hearth of the palace.

  I felt an odd tinge of foreboding wash over me as we flew away. Our escape should have filled me with utter relief, but watching the city then, any swell of victory or finality felt displaced. I knew that whatever triumph had occurred here was not an ending.

  It was only a beginning.

  ravelling by dragon was way more awesome than travelling by flying carriage.

  Obviously with a carriage you got actual seats for comfort, doors to prevent you from falling, and walls to keep the icy air from freezing you like a popsicle. And yet, even with all that, travelling by dragon was still a million times better . . . and super fast.

  Using Jason and Daniel’s navigational skills, we reached the border between Alderon and the Indexlands in no time. We felt fairly comfortable with the safe distance we’d created between ourselves and Nadia’s army. Even so, we couldn’t afford to dillydally. It might take the army a while to catch up with us, but I had no doubt that they would unless we got past the In and Out Spell. It was our only way out of here. There was no Plan B.

  I used my magic to will the dragon to land near where Alderon’s sandy desert melted into the lush forests of the Indexlands. The five of us slid off his back. He trotted a slight ways away then flopped down and closed his eyes—evidently tired of flying, fighting, and my commands.

  I was overwhelmed with exhaustion too. As I stood there, I felt like a kitchen sponge that had been wrung out to dry. I was completely zapped of energy.

  My friends—who looked slightly shaken but remained surprisingly calm—turned to me for answers.

  “I take it you figured out your power,” Jason commented.

  I nodded, smiling slightly as I took a deep breath. “I can give life to things. I’m not sure exactly how it works yet. Sometimes it works without me touching the object; other times I have to touch it. I do know that whatever I enchant is compelled to follow me and my instructions. Like Lucky here.” I gestured to the dragon. “That’s why the poor guy’s been following us since Century City. He used to be the stone dragon statue in the Capitol Building. But when I touched him to close Arian’s bunker I was thinking something like, ‘Come on, let’s go’. Those orders brought him to life, so he couldn’t help but stalk us. He thought I wanted him to come with me.”

  “Lucky?” Blue repeated.

  “Yeah, that’s what I’ve decided to call him.” I shrugged.

  “Crisa, you are not keeping this creature,” SJ said.

  “Hang on,” Blue interceded. “Having a pet dragon sounds pretty boss to me. Plus, look at how handy he is. He just helped us escape Nadia’s castle; we might as well embrace the situation. I do have a few issues with the name though, Crisa. I think a good dragon name should be a little more butch than Lucky. You know, like Brutillius or Eradell. Or Chuck.”

  “Lucky is an excellent name because it was pretty darn lucky he showed up when he did,” I countered. “And we can discuss the specifics of adopting a dragon later, SJ. Right now we need to get out of Alderon and into the Indexlands or Nadia and her crazy army are going to find us.”

  “We know, we know,” Blue said. “All right, Daniel, give SJ the quill and the locket. Crisa, you’ve still got the flower, right?”

  “Yeah.” I reached into my boot and pulled it out from where I’d stashed it since the Cave of Mysteries. Instead of handing over the entire carnation to SJ, I grabbed the blossom and ripped off the petals before giving her the stem.

  “The instructions at the Cave of Mysteries said that the petals were for strengthening magic and the leaves on the stem were for weakening it,” I explained as I shoved the petals back in my boot. “Seems like the latter’s what you need if you’re trying to weaken the In and Out Spell. We can save the rest for later. You know, just in case.”

  Daniel handed me my Hole Tracker and turned over the other ingredients to our potions expert. “So now what?” he asked. “I mean I know you’re good at this stuff, SJ, but we don’t exactly have a lab for you to concoct something.”

  “A lab is not necessary,” SJ replied as she crouched down on the sand. “When it comes to these types of multi-item, curse-breaking potions you do not need fancy equipment or specialty brewing supplies. All you need to do is combine the ingredients together in the most logical way and then ignite a bonding spark.”

  As we watched her silently concentrate on the three objects, I couldn’t help but marvel at what we’d done. We had travelled across the realm, and even crossed worlds to secure the items on Emma’s list.

  After a minute SJ decided how to approach the puzzle. She picked up the quill and ripped off a piece of its feathered tip.

  “Something Strong,” she recited aloud.

  She opened Ashlyn’s locket to reveal the small picture of the Lost Princess and her family. “Something Pure.”

  She placed the feather over the picture and then carefully picked up the stem of the enchanted carnation. “And Something One of a Kind.”

  SJ plucked off the leaves and laid them over the picture too. Then she closed the locket with the leaves and feat
hering both clamped inside.

  “Now all we need is a bonding spark,” she said as she stood up. “Some kind of contained burst of fire. I am all out of explosion potions, so something else will have to do the trick.”

  “Leave that to me,” I said confidently. “Everyone back up.”

  I slowly approached the newly named Lucky. As I drew closer he opened his golden eyes and lifted his head, watching me. I raised my hand with the intention of calling my magic, but the moment I attempted to harness it, pain pulsed through my body. I grunted and took a step back, lowering my hand.

  “You okay?” Jason asked.

  “Yeah, fine,” I said.

  I tried again, but I couldn’t generate the golden light around my fingers. The dizziness and pain I felt from trying intensified.

  “Maybe you’re out?” Blue suggested. “That was your first time purposefully using magic. And you did use a lot. It could need some time to reboot.”

  She was probably right. I may not have understood the specifics of how my powers worked yet, but I knew I felt exhausted. I guess I didn’t have enough strength at the moment, which meant I would not be able to force my will onto Lucky.

  Then I glanced over at him and wondered if I needed to.

  Dragons couldn’t really smile, but it looked like he was. My magic may have brought him to life and gotten him to follow me, but it seemed that the creature genuinely liked me. Maybe I didn’t need my powers to get him to listen to me.

  I raised my hands—not to activate my magical glow, but to show him I meant no harm. “Hey bud,” I said, moving closer. “Can you breathe a little fire onto that necklace for me?” I titled my chin toward the locket in the sand. “Nothing big, just a small puff?”

  Lucky and I locked eyes for a beat. I kept my breathing steady. He did the same.

  After a beat, he snorted. Then he got up from his cozy spot on the sand and squared off with me. He puffed out his chest and spread his wings to their full extent. They were massive, and their magnitude cast me in shadow.

  I remembered how scary it had been to face off against him in the skies over Century City. I remembered how the fire he’d released when he got angry had almost toasted an entire battalion of the city’s soldiers. And I remembered how many times I’d made mistakes on this journey.

  I wondered if this was one of them.

  I had no idea if bringing Lucky to life was enough to earn long-term obedience without the reinforcement of my powers. If I was wrong there were a million ways he could kill me. I could get smoked by his fire, squashed by his clawed feet, or even suffocated in the armpit of his massive wing.

  But I held my ground nonetheless. I may not have been an ace with woodland creatures like SJ, or have had regular training at school for facing off with beasts and monsters like Jason and Daniel, but I knew enough about both to understand that holding my ground was key. If my confidence wavered in the slightest, the dragon would sense my doubt. I could see it in his eyes. There was a fondness and warmth for me there, but there was also the spark of a wild, powerful creature that did not relinquish control easily.

  “Come on, boy. What do you say?”

  Another beat passed.

  Lucky tucked in his wings and inched closer to where the locket rested. His silvery belly turned slightly orange like his innards were heating up. Then he opened his mouth and coughed up a small fireball that roasted the sand around the necklace. I exhaled with relief.

  Lucky rotated and extended his neck until his face was beside me. I hesitated—unsure of what he wanted—then carefully pet him on the snout. He huffed with delight and wagged his tail, making my friends duck abruptly to avoid getting body slammed.

  “Good boy,” I said. “Nice dragon.”

  I pet him a few more times, which he seemed to like.

  Blue tilted her chin toward SJ. “We’re keeping him.”

  The fire dissipated relatively quickly and the sand around the ingredients had transformed into chunks of black glass. At the center of the shards was the locket. It had turned a luminous shade of purple and was glowing brightly.

  SJ walked over to the necklace and gingerly touched it with her finger. When she’d confirmed it was not going to burn her, she picked it up and placed it around her neck. “All right,” she declared. “I suppose it is time to see if this was all worth it.”

  SJ moved closer to where the sand melted into the grass of the forest and the Indexlands began. She picked up a small stone and threw it to locate the exact border of the In and Out Spell. Such spells remained invisible to the naked eye unless disturbed by something or someone trying to cross it.

  The air flashed pink and purple about three feet in front of her. The stone landed on the ground on the other side of the force field (it was not a living being after all, so it could go through), but the magic of the In and Out Spell still snapped and sparked angrily at its passing.

  I remembered the time back at Lady Agnue’s when my finger barely grazed our In and Out Spell. The shock it gave me had been substantial but was only a taste of what we would receive if we full on attempted to cross such a spell. The all-powerful energy in this thing was deadly and would electrocute anyone who tried.

  SJ turned to us. “If this works, it will change us permanently,” she said. “When you break a curse or a spell, that same curse or spell can never affect you again. It is like chickenpox. Once you overcome the virus it does not leave you, but it remains inactive in your system and you become immune to the illness.”

  Blue frowned in puzzlement.

  “What I am saying is that we will not be limited by the barriers of In and Out Spells anymore,” SJ explained. “If the necklace works, it will alter our physiology. We will always possess the ability to cross such spells, even without wearing the necklace.”

  “All the In and Out Spells?” Daniel asked in disbelief.

  “Those that are of equal or lesser value,” SJ elaborated. “So this one, and the spells around Alderon and Lady Agnue’s. The spell around all of Book is much more powerful. And we will not be immune to any new ones created either.”

  “Still, that’s pretty awesome,” Blue said.

  “It is if it works,” SJ replied. “And on that note . . .”

  SJ stepped toward the boundary of the spell.

  “Wait!” I rushed over to her. “Do we all have to wear the necklace when we cross the spell?”

  SJ shook her head. “The power of the necklace will project to anyone that the wearer is touching, like a chain reaction.”

  “Then I’m going with you.” I took her hand. “We’ve come too far together for you to do this by yourself.”

  “Crisa, if this does not work the spell will kill us both.”

  “No, it will kill us three,” Blue said as she took SJ’s other hand.

  “Make that four,” Jason said as he moved next to Blue and took her hand in his. “Crisa’s right. We started this as a team and one way or another that’s how we’re finishing it.”

  Daniel came up beside me and took my hand in his. He didn’t meet my eyes. “Five,” he said.

  I sucked in the awkwardness and warmth of his touch as SJ let out a deep breath. “All right. On my mark then. One. Two . . .”

  Please let this work. Please let this work.

  “Three.”

  I held my breath as we all took a giant step forward. Energy washed over my face. It felt like silk sheets being pulled across my body and a light rain beating against my skin. My insides vibrated. And then . . .

  I opened my eyes and we were on the other side of the In and Out Spell. There was no backlash from the force field—no shock, no surge, nothing. The locket around SJ’s neck glowed even more fiercely for a moment and the area of the spell we’d passed through lit up brilliantly, flickering at the disturbance. But the five of us were fine.

  Elation surged inside me.

  We’d done the impossible! We had broken through the In and Out Spell around the Indexlands! Joy and triumph
flooded through my friends and me. We rejoiced—relieved, excited, and amazed. A myriad of high-fives and hugs were exchanged.

  “Oh, Crisa,” Blue said after a second. “What about Lucky?” She gestured at my dragon, who was still on the other side of the spell. He began to approach the force field curiously.

  “Crud. He’ll get zapped. SJ—”

  “Here.” She rapidly removed the locket and tossed it to me.

  I placed it around my neck and dashed across the spell. I placed my hand on Lucky’s neck just before his nose touched the force field. The locket glowed more brightly again as its powers transferred to him as well.

  I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. I just got this dragon. I didn’t want him getting barbequed on our first day together. That would qualify me as the worst pet owner ever.

  I gave the locket back to SJ and looked toward the depths of the Indexlands that awaited us.

  “Well,” Jason said, gesturing to the forest. “Onward I guess . . .”

  Unlike our previous experiences journeying through forests in Book, this one was relatively safe and uneventful.

  It reminded me of walking through the Black Forest in Germany. There were no fire-breathing chipmunks, log monsters, or lightning flowers. There were just trees and deer and other normal stuff like that. Most notably, not once did anyone or anything try to annihilate us. Talk about a change of pace.

  The downside, though, was that we were proceeding without a single idea of where to go. We didn’t have a clue where the Author lived. All we could do was push past tree after tree in directionless search.

  Daniel and I were at the back of the group with Lucky picking up the rear, trying his best to squish through the trees without causing too much damage. The others were pretty far ahead, so I garnered the courage to ask Daniel about something that’d been bothering me since we left Valor. Given all we’d accomplished today, it wasn’t a big deal. But it was gnawing at my mind, and he was the only person I could talk to about it.

  “Daniel,” I said slowly, fiddling with my Hole Tracker.