Last Dragon Standing

by Rachel Aaron

  “Should we do something?” he whispered to Katya, who was standing next to him with Svena’s fluffy whelps clinging to every limb.

  “Nothing we can do,” the dragoness whispered back. “They always do this. Don’t worry, though. With mouths and egos as big as theirs, the silence won’t last much longer. Just let them posture. One of them will crack soon enough. You’ll see.”

  Neither of the two dragon mages looked anywhere near cracking to him, but Katya had more experience with Svena and Amelia’s unique dynamic than Julius did, so he kept waiting, hopping nervously from foot to foot until, when he was close to cracking himself from the stress, Amelia finally spoke.

  “Let’s hear it,” she drawled, cocking her head at Svena. “How does this super teleportation spell of yours work?”

  “That is classified information,” Svena said. “This spell is a treasure of our clan, the work of centuries. The fact that I’ve agreed to use it for you is sacrifice enough. I’m not going to hold your hand and guide you through the casting as well.”

  Amelia glowered. “You know I could just look through your fire and find out for myself, right?”

  “You could try,” Svena said. “But you’ve never understood half my spells. What makes you think you can grasp the workings of my greatest masterpiece?” Her smirk turned cruel. “Also, before you go rooting through my private thoughts like a pig, remember that street goes both ways. You step where you are not welcome, and I’ll shove memories at you that you can’t unsee. I have some very interesting recollections of events in our youth that you were too drunk to recall, not to mention images of Ian that a sister would never want to—”

  “Okay, okay,” Amelia said, putting up her hands. “No need to drag out the nuclear ordnance. I was only curious.”

  “I think the word you’re looking for is ‘greedy,’” Svena replied with a huff. “Just because you’re the Spirit of Dragons doesn’t mean all our treasures are yours. If you come for me, I will fight you, and when my opponent is a self-styled god, I see no reason to fight fair.”

  “You’ve never fought fair,” Amelia grumbled. “But fine, whatever, do it your way. So long as the teleporting gets done, I don’t care if you make the circle out of orphan hearts.”

  Svena looked confused. “What are you talking about? The hearts of children without parents are no more magical than the hearts of any other child, which is to say not very magical at all. You know perfectly well that humans are a vastly inferior source for—”

  “For the love of—it was a joke,” Amelia groaned. “Just cast your spell before Julius has a conniption.”

  Both dragons looked at Julius, who blushed. He hadn’t realized his nerves were showing that badly, but since he had their attention… “We are in a hurry. So please, if you wouldn’t mind…”

  “I don’t mind at all,” Svena said, walking into the large, clear patch of dirt beside the crater Bob had made when he’d come in. “Amelia’s the one wasting time digging for other dragons’ treasure. Greedy snake.”

  Amelia could only shrug at that one, but Svena wasn’t looking at her anymore. Her ice-blue eyes were fixed on the ground as she carefully paced off a length of dirt between the wall of cracked on-ramps and the broken house. When she’d walked out a circle that was roughly forty feet in diameter, she held out her hand.

  “Katya.”

  Katya sighed and began plucking the fluffy white baby dragons off her body. “Can you hold them for a moment?”

  Before Julius could answer, Katya shoved the entire clutch at him. He was still struggling to keep the squirming whelps from hitting the ground when Katya ran over to take position on the opposite side of the circle from her sister, biting her lip nervously as she held out her hands. She’d barely gotten them up before Svena stomped over and started correcting her form, smacking the younger dragoness’s limbs until they were in positions that—to Julius at least—looked only marginally different from how they’d been at the start. It must have been a critical margin, though, because Svena nodded and walked back to her spot, raising her own arms in a graceful arc until they were a mirror image of Katya’s.

  “Just like we do at home,” Svena said, breathing out a long plume of ice-pale smoke. “Now.”

  The word was barely out of her mouth when both dragonesses brought their hands down, and the circle Svena had made in the dirt with her footsteps exploded in blue-white fire. The blast that rolled off it hit Julius like a bucket of frozen seawater, and he wasn’t the only one. The ghostly flames lowered the temperature of the entire cavern by a good twenty degrees, making everyone except Ghost shudder. Lacy frost was creeping across the ground in curls when Katya stepped back to cede the ignited circle to her sister, who looked smugger than Julius had ever seen her.

  “And that is how it’s done,” Svena said, casting a superior look at Amelia, who was openly gaping. “With a proper magical education and attention to form and detail, even a fire-deaf dragon like Katya can assist in creating masterpieces. You would do well to take note, Planeswalker.” She turned back to the circular inferno of freezing flames in front of her. “Now that the initial base is ignited, all I need is a name and a location to grab any dragon from anywhere on this plane, including from behind wards.”

  Amelia looked impressed despite herself. “For real? Wards too? So you can just grab anyone at any time?”

  “It would hardly be useful otherwise,” Svena said proudly, her blue eyes brighter than ever as they reflected the dancing flames. “This is the greatest work of my clan. I was the primary architect, but we all did our share, and that cooperation is reflected in its power. It is an unbeatable strategic weapon, a spell capable of grabbing any dragon, anywhere. The only one we could never get was Brohomir, but only because he always saw it coming and moved.”

  “And me,” Katya said, walking over to take the whelps back from Julius. “It’s written into the base magic of the spell that members of our own clan can only be teleported if we’re willing. That was the price of my help. Otherwise, Estella would have ripped me back home every time I escaped.”

  “There are a few limitations,” Svena admitted grudgingly. “It takes at least two of us to make the initial circle, and I have to be one. It’s also enormously draining. Given that I just laid a clutch of eggs, I shouldn’t have been able to make it work at all, but there’s so much free-floating magic around right now, I don’t have to worry about collapse, which makes things much easier. Also, Amelia’s connection to our fire might have given Katya and me a tiny boost, which pushed us over the edge.”

  “Right,” Amelia said, rolling her eyes. “So what you’re saying is your amazing treasure spell is a giant pain in the butt that you’re only able to cast because I’m helping you.”

  “I could cast it any time I liked!” Svena snapped back. “It would just require a few months of set up. With proper planning, though, it is an unstoppable weapon!”

  “Then why’d you never use it?” Amelia asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Because once we did, everyone would know we had it,” Katya explained. “If the other clans knew we could grab any of them at any time, they would unite against us. We’d be enemy number one for the entire world, and even we couldn’t stand against that.”

  Svena scowled at her sister while Amelia began to howl. “Some super weapon! You can’t even use it without putting a target on your own clan!”

  “Which is exactly why I did not wish to reveal it now,” Svena growled. “There will be no putting it back in the bag after this, but it’s too late to turn back.” She looked pointedly over her shoulder at the Qilin’s arriving dragons, who were so busy gawking at the ring of blue-white fire, they almost missed their landing. “The whole world will know soon enough, so we might as well make it count.” She glanced at Amelia. “Whom am I grabbing first?”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Amelia said, putting up her hands. “You can’t just start plucking dragons out of their strongholds! All we’ll get
is a bunch of terrified, angry lizards, which is more harm than good. We gotta warm them up before we bring them in.”

  “And how do you propose to do that?” Svena asked snidely. “Send them a letter?”

  Amelia’s lips curled in a smirk of her own. “Not quite.”

  She stepped up to the edge of the flaming blue circle, and her body began to flicker, her edges rippling in the cold wind coming off Svena’s roaring magic like a candle flame. Then, in a wink, she was gone entirely, replaced by the same dragon made of fire Julius had seen when she’d first come back from the dead. He was still gawking at her flaming wings when Amelia’s voice boomed through his fire, filling his head with the burning bite of her magical teeth.

  Hear me, serpents of the Earth, she said, the words throbbing like a physical force inside his chest. Your new god speaks! I am Amelia the Planeswalker, the Spirit of Dragons. As you’ve all felt since last night, our racial fire is now connected to the magic of this world. No longer are we wanderers, refugees in a foreign land. With my life, I have won us a new home, but you must fight to keep it. The Lady of the Lakes has sold us to a Nameless End, a force of absolute destruction from beyond our plane. To avoid extinction, we must dig deep into the magic of our new world and come together as one force against our common foe.

  That sounded pretty inspiring to Julius, but Amelia wasn’t finished. This is not a request, the Spirit of Dragons boomed, her magic gripping his flames like a fist. If you refuse to fight, then you are not worthy of our new power. Just as I connected all of you to the magic that is now flooding this world, I will cut you off, leaving you a fireless worm. You will be even lower than we sank during the drought, while those around you who answered my call will be bathed in my power. If you do not wish this to be your fate, accept Svena the White Witch’s hand when she reaches for you, and she will bring you to me. Once we are all assembled, I will explain how we will beat back this invader and defend our new home.

  She finished with a flourish, cutting off with a jab so sharp, every dragon in the yard coughed out a puff of smoke. Even Svena’s squirming whelps went still, their blue eyes wide as they stared in awe at Amelia, who looked incredibly pleased with herself.

  “Little overdramatic, don’t you think?” Svena said, glaring up at the dragon spirit.

  “What’s the point of being a god if you can’t be dramatic?” Amelia said, fluffing her flaming feathers. “And you can’t deny the results. My head is already full of voices. They’re falling over themselves to volunteer!”

  “You can’t call that ‘volunteering,’” Julius said. “You threatened to take away their fire if they didn’t obey! That’s extortion.”

  Amelia laughed out loud. “Sorry, Baby-J! If you want dragons now, this is how we get them. But feel free to apologize for my rudeness when they arrive if it’ll make you feel better.”

  “I’m not going to apologize,” Julius grumbled. “I’m just saying you didn’t have to go for the throat right out of the gate.”

  “Spoken like a true Nice Dragon,” Svena said, sharing an eye roll with Amelia before turning back to her freezing circle. “Once again, whom am I pulling in first?”

  Amelia’s flaming eyes moved rapidly, searching through the empty air as though she were studying something very complicated that no one else could see. “Let’s start with Fading Smoke, the Dragon of Gibraltar. He’s raring to go.”

  “You mean old Arkniss?” Svena wrinkled her nose. “You really did get everyone.”

  “Beggars can’t be choosers,” Amelia said. “And we’re going to need every dragon we can get.”

  As though he’d been waiting for his cue, the Leviathan chose that moment to send a tentacle straight over the hole Bob’s crash had punched in the Skyways. Watching it go past was like having an ocean liner sail over their heads. Even Amelia’s fire dimmed slightly when the shadow crossed her. When it was gone, both dragons turned back to the teleport circle with new urgency.

  “Getting Fading Smoke now,” Svena said quietly, her pale face tight in concentration. “Make room.”

  Julius didn’t realize that last part was for him until the dragon came flying out of the freezing flames. He was impressively big, a heavyset European dragon with thick armored black-and-green scales, amber eyes, leathery wings, and a mouth full of shining teeth and black smoke. He landed with a crash in the dirt right on top of where Julius and Katya had been standing before they’d managed to jump out of the way, and the moment his claws touched the ground, he started yelling.

  “What is the meaning of this?” the old dragon roared. “Planeswalker! How did you…”

  His booming voice trailed off as he looked around at the cavern, which was now very crowded. The ruins of Julius’s house were completely overrun with the Golden Emperor’s dragons. The Qilin was still in human form, probably because his giant golden dragon wouldn’t have fit inside the cavern, but it was still unquestionably him. Likewise, Svena’s identity was obvious, and Amelia was a giant dragon made of fire. Even to Julius, who was used to sudden gatherings of powerful dragons, it was an impressive sight. For a newcomer like Fading Smoke, it was enough to render him speechless.

  “I see you weren’t exaggerating,” he said, much more calmly this time as his reptilian eyes rolled up to take in the Leviathan filling the sky overhead. “I will tell my sons to follow at once. Who is in charge?”

  The Planeswalker pointed a burning claw at Julius. “He is.”

  Julius and the giant dragon exchanged a look of mutual disbelief. When they turned back to Amelia, though, she was already calling out their next target to Svena, who yelled at both Fading Smoke and Julius to move. They obeyed at once, pressing themselves into the wall as Svena brought the next dragon through, this one in human form but looking no less upset than Fading Smoke had been. She also started by demanding to know what was the meaning of this and who was in charge, only to fade off when she saw the army of dragons and the monster in the sky. She was still staring at it when Fading Smoke hooked her shoulder and pulled her over.

  “They say he’s the leader,” he growled, nodding at Julius when the new dragoness—whose human form was tall, dark skinned, and incredibly striking—smacked his claw away. “But who is he?”

  Both dragons looked at Julius then. Fortunately, being stared down at by bigger monsters was something he’d a lot of experience with at this point, and he managed to stare back without flinching. “I’m Julius Heartstriker, and I promise I’ll explain once everyone is here. Meanwhile, please change into your human forms and go wait with the Qilin. We have a lot more dragons coming, and there won’t be room below the barrier if everyone’s their true size.”

  He pointed at Ghost’s barrier, which was still protecting them from the thinning—but still present—magic. Fortunately, that plus the Qilin plus the monster overhead was a combination that worked miracles. Despite the painfully obvious fact that Julius was by far the smallest and weakest dragon here, neither of the newcomers questioned his request. They simply nodded and shuffled over to pay their respects to the Golden Emperor, leaving Julius alone beside the portal to greet the next confused, angry dragon who came barreling through Svena’s ring of freezing fire.

  Chapter 7

  Even with dragons rapidly filling the urban cave that sheltered their broken house, the Empty Wind towered over everything. Over the course of what had happened with Bob and the rest, he’d expanded his barrier to cover the entire cavern. His shadowy form had grown with it, leaving him so tall, he could easily touch the top of the spiraling underpasses. That was actually where his hand was now, the giant palm pressed flat against the same spot in the roof where the hole to the Sea of Magic had been inside Marci’s death. Considering what she was here to ask, the coincidence made Marci shiver, drawing her spirit’s attention as he appeared beside her.

  “Whoa,” Marci said, hopping back as Ghost—in a new but still completely solid and real-looking body—materialized next to her. “Nice,” she said, looking back
and forth between the towering giant and the regular-sized Empty Wind at her side. “So can you just multiply yourself now?”

  “I’ve always been able to do this,” the Empty Wind replied, his glowing eyes glancing up at the massive version of him. “I just never had the magic to waste on it before. I have so much power now, though, I can divide myself however I like.”

  To prove it, a ghostly cat appeared in the Empty Wind’s arms, his glowing blue eyes smug as he flicked his tail at Marci. Amazed, Marci held out her hands, and the cat jumped over to her, purring deep in his transparent chest as she petted his soft, freezing head. “This is so weird.”

  “The word you are looking for is ‘useful,’” the Empty Wind said as the larger version of himself above adjusted his grip. “I can do many useful things now. Things I haven’t been able to do in a thousand years.” He closed his eyes. “I feel whole again.”

  Just like back in the kitchen, Marci felt his happiness vibrating down their connection like a plucked string. Beautiful as it was, though, they had no time to bask in the glow. “I’m really happy for you,” she said. “But if you’ve sobered up from your magic binge, we need to talk strategy. Myron and I have cooked up a plan to banish the Leviathan, but I need to get back to the Sea of Magic to do it. Can you just take me there now that you’re all souped up? You know, open a portal or something?”

  She finished with a hopeful smile, but though she couldn’t see the Empty Wind’s face inside the shadows of his helmet, she could feel him frowning.

  “No.”

  “Why not?” Marci demanded. “The DFZ can take Myron any time he wants. Look, she’s doing it now.”

  Sure enough, Myron had finished his discussion with the general and Raven and was now talking to the DFZ, who still looked a little loopy. A few moments later, the city spirit nodded and grabbed his hand. The moment she touched him, his body fell unconscious to the ground beside a closing manhole that hadn’t been there a second ago.

  “See?” Marci said, turning back to Ghost. “I’m not generally a fan of leaving my mortal shell just lying around, but that’s pretty convenient. Why can’t we do that?”