Autumn Awakens
Page 13
“Oh wow, why didn’t I think of that before?” Wil asked, astounded. “We must go to Goldene Stadt and consult with Fiona. Things are still muddy but becoming clearer.”
I was glad it was clearer for someone because for me it was getting murkier. He stood and offered Calla his hand. She rose and let the blanket fall to the chair. I assumed that meant we were going to Goldene Stadt that minute rather than getting rest and food. As if solidifying that thought, my stomach growled.
“You must be starved. I’ll make some food before we go,” Jeanine said, then looked at me. “Do you remember anything?” I could see the hope in her eyes, but I wouldn’t lie to her. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
“No, I’m so sorry,” I admitted.
She smiled weakly. “It’s okay. Maybe one day, you will?”
I nodded and opened my arms to her. Though I didn’t remember her, she clearly recognized me, and it pained her. She accepted my hug, and again, it felt so very familiar yet foreign. The small act of affection seemed to improve her mood.
“Well, I’ll just get to the kitchen and whip something up then we’ll be on our way to see Fiona. I do hope she can fill in the missing bits.”
The library door burst open, and two women barreled through. Chris and Ross followed closely behind as the women ran directly toward me. Before I could prepare myself, they jumped onto me. I fell onto the ground with two women hugging the breath right out of me. I felt them pummel my face with kisses as the others giggled and chuckled.
“Darling, I think you’ll suffocate the man before he realizes who you are,” a man said.
“Oh Ely, let our wives reunite with their lost brother,” another man said.
After a moment, the women got off me and helped me to my feet. I instantly recognized them after they had calmed enough for me to get a look at their faces.
“Sierra? Cecily!” I shouted, then pulled them into a bear hug. “Oh, I’ve missed you guys so much.”
“I always wondered what happened to you guys! I cannot believe this is happening right now,” Sierra said, then grabbed a poor guy by his shirt front and pulled him closer. He stumbled but caught himself before he face-planted against my chest. “This is my husband, Ely.”
Ely took a step back and offered his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Sierra has been going on about her foster brothers from the moment we heard the news.”
“Mama!” I heard from the doorway as a child around ten ran through the door. “There you are!” The kid bypassed his parents altogether and ran right to me. I thought it a bit strange for a ten-year-old to be so excited to meet a stranger but considering what I had already seen of the castle, I assumed he probably hadn’t grown up quite like we had.
“Hey! You’re Parker, right?” he asked, then hugged me. “Mama says you’re like an uncle so I should be nice to you.
Ophelia chuckled, reminding me there was someone I wanted them to meet as well. “Is that so? What’s your name?” I asked.
“Hans! Who’s your girlfriend?” he asked, pointing to Ophelia. Her face blushed, and she looked at me.
“This is Ophelia, my... She’s, uh...”
Ophelia recovered before I did, and said, “His current foster sister. It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about you and your sister.” I wondered if she knew finding a word to describe her was nearly impossible for me at that point.
“I’m sure we have lots of stories to swap,” Cecily said, all grown up and evidently also married. “This is Felix, my husband. We just got married a short while ago. If I’d known you were coming, I’d have sent you an invitation to the wedding.” She giggled, and it brought back so many memories, not all bad. There was a lot of quiet time we spent together when our foster parents were on binges, leaving us to fend for ourselves. We’d pretend to be a real family, not unlike the situation we recreated with Ophelia and Jordan.
“We should probably head to the hall and let Marcus know our plans,” Wil said. “But if you want to catch up some more, I can certainly take care of that myself.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I need to check on my brother,” Ophelia said. “I can’t believe I wandered off and left him alone.” I could hear the guilt in her voice.
“I assure you it is quite difficult to be alone in this castle,” Wil said. “Even so, if he were alone, he would be safe. Guards are never more than a good scream away.” It was meant to be a joke, but after the day we had it fell flat. However, Ophelia needn’t have worried. Jordan wandered into the library following yet another new face.
“Ah, here is Jay with Jordan now. How is Caroline doing?” Wil asked.
“Who?” Ely asked with a confused look on his face.
“Your... You were not informed?” Wil asked Ely, confused. “Your mother, the one from—”
“I gathered as much. What is she doing here is the question?” Ely was angry, and judging by Seline’s reception to her mother before, I assumed their relationship was quite complicated. I felt it was time to skedaddle and let their family drama unfold unencumbered by the newbies—that, and I had no desire to find myself in the middle of more drama.
“Maybe we should go to meet the others?” I suggested to Ophelia. She nodded. While Jay did his best to calm Ely, the rest of us slipped from the room. Sierra, Cecily, and Felix remained to convince Ely he should calm down before he popped a gasket. Hans followed us, but when we exited the library, he ran off and joined a gaggle of other children.
“Whoa,” Chris said, causing our group to pause to see what had distracted him. “Okay, I’m not crazy yet. Is it me, or does that woman look exactly like Rebecca?”
Jeanine approached with a smile on her face. She chuckled, overhearing Chris’ question. “She was my twin. Long story, but I’m pleased she was able to help you. Come, let’s skip the hall introductions and go have some cake.”
“Chocolate?” I asked.
“Is there another kind?” Jeanine teased.
“I’m in,” Jordan said. We diverted our walk and followed Jeanine to the kitchen.
I was sure there were other things we were expected to do, like meet everyone and plan a major war against evil, but there were two words I could never say no to—chocolate and cake. I decided we had earned a few hours to collect ourselves and relax if that’s what one could call frantically stuffing your face with cake while checking over your shoulder for monsters every five seconds.
We ate in silence for a long time. Wil and Calla whispered, mostly about their son and his naughty behavior. It was obvious Chris wanted more information about Jeanine and Rebecca, but I couldn’t fathom putting Jeanine through that again. When we had the full story, then we would paste it together in a memo and shoot it out to everyone involved. The thought of typing an email about the circumstances made me chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” Ross asked, licking his fork clean.
“Nothing really. Just thinking about how fast everything is moving and how hard it is to make sure everyone is up to speed. We need a group text or something.”
“I know that’s a joke, but it’s actually a great idea,” Calla said.
There was another elephant that hung around waiting to be discussed, and that was how Calla and I felt about each other. I hardly knew Jeanine, but I assumed one day I might remember her and everything from my past. How would I feel about her adopting another child while I was out there flapping in the wind, nearly homeless a few times, beaten and abused, and tossed around in a system that was overworked and broken? How would she feel about me intruding in her perfect family? Would she even want another brother? If she did, would I ever feel like I belonged in her giant family?
“What’s on your mind?” Ophelia whispered in my ear. I shrugged, but I should have known she wouldn’t let me off that easily. “Come walk with me?” she asked, then decided she should ask permission first. “Oh, is that okay?”
Jeanine smiled. “Of course. I’ll just wait here while you explore. When you’re up
to it, we can meet the others and prepare to travel to Goldene Stadt to speak with Fiona.” She was a sweet person, that much was easy to see. Ophelia gave me no time to evaluate her further before dragging me back out of the kitchen.
At first, all we did was wander around, nodding politely to the guards we passed. Each hall looked the same as the last, and I was sure we were lost forever. We followed one hall all the way to the end and found ourselves peering out into an open field behind the castle. Horses grazed on sweet grass and swans floated on the still waters of a large pond. It was a beautiful scene against the backdrop of blazing leaves, a full autumnal array of red, orange, yellow, even deep plum, smattered with the deep hunter of the evergreens.
I found myself lost in thought, primarily those surrounding Ophelia and what our future held. She was the rightful heir to the throne of a fairy tale kingdom. She rose in rank from a poor orphan kid to a queen quite literally overnight. Did I dare hope I had a place in her heart larger than that of a big brother figure?
I couldn’t stop watching her stare out over the balcony. Her brown hair drifted in the breeze as her icy blue eyes scanned the fields. She smiled with delight as a little foal danced around its mother and whinnied happily. She even looked like a queen standing there, tall and proud as if she had never been anything but royal.
“You’re so beautiful,” I said, nearly gagging when I realized I said it aloud.
“What was that? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” she said, her gaze shifting to me.
“I said it’s beautiful.” I pointed over the field, alluding to the scenery.
“Mmm, it is. So, what’s got you all tangled up? Is it Calla or Jeanine?” she asked, pegging me as usual.
“A bit of both I guess. I wish I could remember something,” I admitted.
“They’ll both love you even if you don’t remember a thing. You’re a great guy and an even better brother. Trust me, Calla would be an idiot not to want you in her life.”
“I’ve been a good brother, then?” I asked, probing for a different answer.
“The best. I prayed for someone like you and the guys to come along, and when you did everything changed. My brothers are the best part of my life, biologically related or not, and Calla will see the same thing I do.”
“What’s that?”
“A solid guy who will do anything to protect his family,” she said, digging the knife deep into my chest. She would never need or want me as anything more than her brother. It was probably best I try to rid myself of my feelings for her, but I doubted that would ever happen. Once I realized I was in love with her, she took up residence in my whole heart.
I leaned with my back against the balcony railing. It gave me a splendid view of the upper half of the castle—including the monster settling down on top of one of the buttresses. I squinted to see it better and hoped I was wrong. It was huge and scaly, long-necked and—
“Yep, that’s a dragon,” I said. I grabbed Ophelia by the arm and pulled her off the balcony.
“A what?” she cried.
There was a screech and the sound of heavy wings flapping, then the monster set down on the balcony. I felt Ophelia freeze beside me. The dragon was far too large to fit into the hall, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t cause damage from where it stood. I imagined a burst of fire could easily reach us.
“Keep backing up. We need to warn the others,” I whispered.
“It’s a dragon, Parker. There’s a dragon. It’s looking right at me—or you. It’s hard to say, but it’s a dragon!” Ophelia squealed, turned tail, and ran down the hall. The giant lizard opened its mouth, and I followed her. I felt the heat of its blaze nip at my back. I shifted instinctively to protect Ophelia, but she was already down the hall and breaking into the main courtyard screaming at people to run.
I burst out of the hall behind her and lifted into the air. People scattered, most of them taking cover inside the heavily fortified castle, but many still scrambled in the courtyard. I heard wolves howling and glanced down to find more than a dozen, including Ophelia and Jordan. I caught a quick glimpse of Jeanine among a sea of faces I didn’t know. The terror in her eyes distracted me, and I almost became a fried cat.
The dragon’s wings beat slowly, lifting it higher with each swish. It aimed at me again, but I managed to dodge its burst of flame. I had no idea what to do. Though I could also breathe fire, I didn’t get near the same velocity or distance. I was a lit match; he was a raging inferno.
I observed him, searching for a weak point. He was at least a football field in length, primarily tail and neck, but his body was thick and heavily muscled. Red scales covered his thick hide while black striping made a zebra pattern along his rump and rear legs. His long, slender face bore two-foot-long horns at the top and two smaller tusk-like horns at the mouth. I had never seen a dragon like it before, not that I was accustomed to seeing dragons in the flesh. Still, I’d never seen one drawn like him either.
He opened his mouth and screeched again, then a flurry of arrows darkened the sky between us. They bounced off his tough skin like rubber balls, and he shook his long neck. He hit the south tower hard with his tail, knocking stones from the top. They fell to the courtyard, nearly smashing a group of onlookers. I could hear Henry shouting orders to his army, but the dragon was unintimidated.
I maintained my position between the dragon and my family, but there was little I could do. Suddenly, I heard the screeching of another kind of animal. Then another, and another, and another. The castle seemed filled to the brim with animals of all kinds. I chanced a glance down and saw Jeanine glowing the same lava red I did just before a shift. In an instant, she transformed into a black falcon-like bird with brightly colored wing tips and tail feathers. She lifted herself and positioned to my left, holding steady.
The dragon hissed and flew higher then lower, testing our reaction time. Jeanine threw her own flame toward the reptile, startling it. I did the same, catching it off-guard. It gave us a few feet of ground but steadied itself quickly. It roared, it’s call so loud it made the loose stones from the south tower crumble and fall. People screamed and ran from the falling debris, but no one did anything else. We were at an impasse.
Jeanine called, a high-pitched caw-caw. Three other creatures joined us, each one a different shade of the same bird, but all as large as Jeanine. Now the dragon seemed intimidated, but we were still in a stand-off. The dragon screeched again, this time illuminating the twilight with his bright fire. Jeanine returned with a burst of her own, then the other birds. I did the same, forcing the dragon into retreat again. He recovered and reassessed.
I heard a crack, the sound of a rifle firing from my right. The dragon screamed, then another crack and another. Seven pops and the beast went down in a spiral of fire and screams.
“Run!” I heard Henry scream, and people scattered like ants in the rain.
The beast fell hard into the courtyard, his long tail and neck smashing walls and tearing down large portions of the castle. I prayed no one was inside as the creature fell. The final thud shook the earth and rattled the trees around the castle. I flew down to where Ophelia and the other wolves stood guard in front of terrified villagers.
Once the beast settled, the first thought that hit me was how the heck did it get through Heidi’s protection spell? There was no way the thing entered the portal behind us. We would have noticed a two-ton reptile spiraling through the sky with us. The second thought was, how many dragons existed in the Black Forest, and the third—where do I get a ticket back to Jacksonville.
Henry tentatively approached the monster and jabbed a sword into where I assumed its heart would be. He looked like a miniature doll next to the dragon, his sword like a toothpick sticking out of it. When he was sure it was dead, he relaxed.
I shifted and looked around. “Who shot it?” I asked.
“Your brother, Chris. He is an excellent marksman and hit the dragon in its life source on the first shot,” Wil declared.
“A dragon,” Wil said.
“You think?” Ross yelled. “I meant how? Where did it come from and does it often happen, because I think I need new pants!”
“That would be our first dragon, but I’m not sure how it got in. As far as I knew, they went extinct at least two thousand years ago.” Wil shrugged, but I could see in his eyes he was terrified. He was good at hiding his fear, but I was good at reading people.
Jeanine and the other three birds landed and shifted—Nikola, Petra, and Alorna. I felt like an idiot for not having a clue who the birds were during the fight. I was out of my league and felt like an absolute worthless failure, a fact not lost on Calla. She shifted and came to where I stood beside Jeanine, but instead of talking to her mother, she addressed me.
“That was really brave what you did. I’m not sure I could have done that,” she said.
“Thanks,” I muttered, not sure what I did other than distract a dragon for a while.
“What do we do with a dead dragon in the middle of the front yard?” Ely asked.
“I’ve heard they are quite tasty,” someone said from the far back.
“I am not eating a dragon, Dad,” Hans said. It made me laugh, but I was too afraid to let my guard down for long.
“Heidi is working with Ravenna to create a stronger barrier for the kingdoms,” Wil said. “Let’s all pray they find something before another of these gets in.”
As Wil spoke, the dragon shrank. The smaller it got, the less like a dragon it appeared. Finally, all that was left was a human lying face-down on the ground. The man was naked, and his skin smoked. Wil’s face was pale, ghostly.
Henry bravely went forward and slowly turned the body so the face could be seen. He retrieved his fallen sword from the ground and sheathed it. Oddly, there was not so much as a mark where the dragon had been stabbed or shot.