Crisanta Knight: The Lost King

by Culbertson, Geanna;

  Come on, I don’t have all day. Live!

  I began to glow and magic poured from my palms into the statue. Like a river discharging into the ocean, I could feel the strength flowing through me into the creature. My hands were exuding so much magic they were burning. And yet, nothing happened. Terror pulsed through me as seconds ticked by and the dragon remained unmoving. I focused harder. The guards stood around me to prevent anyone from seeing what I was doing. But no matter how hard I tried, it wasn’t enough. Between my inexperience with this level of resurrection and the amounts of magic I’d already used today, I didn’t have enough control over my powers to bring the statue to life. I wasn’t strong enough to break the Fairy Godmothers’ enchantment alone.

  I whirled around to face the guards. “I can’t do this,” I said desperately. “I don’t have the magic, and my friend is running out of time! You have to let me go back to the Portalscape!”

  I stepped forward but one of the guards shoved me back.

  “We have our orders. No going back until the job is done,” he said.

  “Do you have wax in your ears? I said I can’t do it. I don’t have that kind of power!”

  “Then I guess your friend is going to die,” Victor said. “She’s got less than a minute now, so it looks like your time’s almost up.”

  It was like an icy slap. I spun around to the dragon. Then I made a drastic decision.

  Merlin had taught me to combine emotions with my will and control to garner greater power without giving myself up to Magic Instinct, which ran purely on emotion and the reflex to survive. But my control wasn’t strong enough here. My only hope was to let Pure Magic have the helm and bridge the gap I could not.

  Desperation, rage, regret, and guilt hurricaned inside me. I let myself feel all of that as I swallowed every ounce of control I typically choked my powers with. With those walls of restraint removed, it was amazing how swiftly and powerfully my hands, arms, and entire body heated up. It was like I’d been set ablaze.

  “WAKE! UP!” I pounded my fist against the dragon’s metallic surface.

  There was no centering this time—no even focus, no calm center, not even the slightest attempt to rein myself in. I let the magic take over. I chose to let Magic Instinct have more will over my actions than I did. I’d only chosen to surrender this way once before. The sensation had been simultaneously painful and intoxicating. This moment was no different. The swirl of emotions stung like acid and yet felt so good. The more I submitted, the stronger I felt.

  “I. SAID. WAKE. UP,” I seethed.

  Fueled by my hatred toward Mauvrey, Alex, and Arian, combined with the fear I had about losing my friends, I pounded my fist against the dragon once more. The magic inside me ruptured with the force of a lightning bolt. An epic ray of energy shot from me into the statue, and I ricocheted back fifteen feet and landed in the street.

  I hit the pavement and the world turned off for a beat. I was woozy from the kickback, but weirdly I didn’t feel any pain or exhaustion from the magic exertion. Then I heard a scream.

  I opened my eyes. The dragon’s metallic face high above was . . . moving.

  My signature brand of golden energy was spreading over the creature’s entire frame. As it grew brighter, the metal began to crack. Fractures around the dragon’s snout and eyes multiplied by the moment, causing its face to shudder.

  I was about to get up when something shimmered in front of me. The air turned cold and my body felt like it had been submerged in ice water. Silver and blue sparks flickered in the light until a ghostly figure floated before me. The Lady of the Lake. Her raven hair and robes flowed around her, and her piercing black eyes dug into my soul. I felt the urge to crawl away and hide, but remained frozen.

  “Your debt for claiming Excalibur has been paid,” she said in her mellifluous, multi-layered voice. “Your choice has been made.”

  She vanished as suddenly as she’d appeared. I remained still for another moment as the weight of her visit sunk in. Somehow, someway, what I’d just done would set irreparable devastation upon my fate.

  I had no time to dwell on this. The metal around the dragon’s head shattered. The beast’s blood-red eyes widened at the shock of its restored vitality. Its black skin was six shades darker than the evening sky. It blinked before emitting the most deafening roar, shaking the street and letting the whole city know it was alive again.

  I scrambled to my feet at the ensuing sound of shrieks and panic. The cracks were spreading over the rest of the beast’s body, and it was only a matter of time before the thing was totally free. I had to save Kai and make it back before then.

  I looked around, but my captors had vanished. I assumed they’d returned to the portal as I intended to. I began to sprint through the crowd, faster than I ever had.

  The streets erupted in chaos as people ran, carriages swerved, and Century City soldiers barked orders. I ignored all of it. I needed to get back to that mirror. I darted across the outdoor marketplace where tents and stalls had tipped over. Civilians pushed in every direction, trying to get away. I leapt and bobbed and weaved, my eyes trained forward. Nothing could slow me down or deter my objective. The only thing that fogged the edge of my focus was knowing that I’d run through these streets before in a dream.

  The antiques shop was in sight now. Remembering that the door had locked behind us, I grabbed a decorative bookend from one of the stalls without breaking stride and chucked it through the front entrance just before arriving. The glass shattered. I reached through the gap, unlocked the door, burst in, and drew my wandpin.

  Lapellius.

  I jumped through the looking glass. Clutching my wand, I tumbled down the chasm that led to the Portalscape. I was ready for a fight. To my surprise, when my boots hit the mattress and I sprang to the floor, I found no opposition. Tami, Mauvrey, Alex, and their men were gone. My friends were free. I wanted to ask a bunch of questions, but there was no time. Kai lay motionless in the center of the Portalscape with my friends around her—distraught, concerned, but undeniably relieved to see me. They’d been freed from their bubble but were still cuffed.

  I didn’t know how much time I had, but I knew every millisecond mattered.

  “Move!” I said.

  I skidded to my knees beside Kai. Only then did I realize that I was still glowing. I don’t think I’d stopped since bringing the dragon to life.

  I put my wand down and placed one hand over Kai’s wound and the other below her left clavicle, close to her heart.

  Please wake up, I thought ardently. Come on, Kai. Please.

  She didn’t move.

  I tried harder, but I had already used up so much power. I wasn’t sure how much magic I could actually produce. What if I’d already drained myself and didn’t have enough left to bring Kai back? What if Mauvrey knew that all along?

  She must’ve, right? The scrat had probably suspected that even if I managed to resurrect the dragon, Kai would still die because I wouldn’t have sufficient strength left to return her to life as well. Mauvrey had always wanted me to fail.

  I felt fresh fury and desperation surge through me at the notion. My magic offered a means to channel my darkest feelings, so I would make use of it while I had the chance. Once again, I relinquished all control and gave in to the power of Pure Magic. My glow began to brighten. It seared with hunger and aggression.

  Daniel knelt on Kai’s other side, taking her hand in his. One look in his heartbroken eyes and suddenly those feelings of rage building within me lit like an explosive. The glow emanating from my skin grew blinding.

  I’d used my memories and good feelings about Jason’s, Arthur’s, and Merlin’s lives to restore them to this world. But in that instant all of my thoughts and feelings focused on Daniel. I was saving this girl for her sake as much as his, and while she and I didn’t know each other well, I knew Daniel. I knew everything Kai meant to him. And between that and everything he meant to me, I had the fire I needed.

  “Li
ve! Now!” I commanded.

  In a rush, energy shot from me into Kai like it had with the dragon. Light enveloped her body and then everything went black. The next thing I knew, I was blinking and staring up at my friends . . . Kai included.

  “You’re alive!” I jumped to my feet but almost fell over. Blue and Jason grabbed my arms to keep me steady, but a second later the feeling of imbalance dissipated. Kai’s revival and the dragon resurrection had resulted in my fastest recovery times yet. It was crazy; I didn’t feel weak or exhausted in the slightest, despite how intense the magic expulsions had been. In fact, at the moment I felt stronger than ever.

  I was sure the nearing Aurora played a part in this, but I suspected another factor was letting Magic Instinct take the lead in those feats. Relinquishing my normal levels of control allowed the more formidable magic within to shine, and perhaps keep the pain at bay for now. I felt power vibrating beneath my skin and tingling my scalp. The tiniest glow remained around me like an outline. I let myself soak in that swell of the magic. I liked it and needed it, especially if I was going to defeat the dragon.

  The dragon!

  “How long was I out?” I asked. I grabbed my wand from the floor, transformed it to a knife, and handed it to my friends so they could use the unbreakable blade to cut through their restraints.

  “Barely a few moments,” SJ said. “Kai only just got up herself.”

  “The dragon is alive,” I told my friends. “It’s going to break free any sec—”

  Even from inside the Portalscape, the dragon’s roars filled our ears. The door to Book was still open, and my friends and I darted to it. From there we had a clear view of the inconvenient truth. The dragon flapped its enormous, newly freed wings as it tried to pull the rest of its body from where it was encased.

  The beast roared again, causing every door in the Portalscape to shake on its hinges. But something else was going on with the doors that I only then noticed. Every door except the one to Book was encased by a sort of shifting black blur. When I looked more closely, I saw red slits like eyes opening and closing within the blurs.

  Shadows.

  I had read about the creatures before, but I’d also witnessed one half-purge itself from my brother in Midveil when he’d touched the bracelet I still wore around my wrist. Objects deeply rooted in feelings of light and warmth—sentimental items, for example—were toxic to Shadows. The gold bracelet strapped to my wrist next to my SRB and Hole Tracker was a special one that my brother and I once shared.

  Jason saw my shock and explained that after I woke the dragon, before Mauvrey and her accomplices fled through the portal to Oz, Alex smashed the ceramic jar he’d been holding and released this horde of Shadows, which enveloped every door except the one to Book. Once our enemies had gone, the In and Out Spell around my friends simply vanished and then I showed up soon after.

  “I can’t believe Alex was carrying around Shadows in a jar,” Daniel commented. He clutched Kai’s hand as if she might disappear if he let go. “Where did he even get them?”

  I shrugged and shook my head. “I don’t know, but plenty of the antagonists we’ve dealt with are Shadow Guardians. Maybe Alderon has a supply store for evil creatures?”

  “Maybe,” Blue replied. “What really bothers me is Mauvrey. I know Arian apparently wanted the majority of us left alive, but I can’t believe she just let us go like that. It’s weird.”

  “Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth,” Jason said. “They were in a hurry to get to Oz. Anyway, we have bigger problems.” He pointed as a ball of fire soared across the sky of Century City. The dragon wasn’t free yet, but it was wreaking plenty of havoc from its current spot.

  “We have to stop it,” I said.

  “Yeah, but how?” Kai asked.

  I knew the answer of course. I had known even before I’d brought the dragon to life. And yet, I was unsure. I definitely had the power; I had no doubt about that now. So long as I continued to let Magic Instinct flow through me unrestrained I could do what needed to be done. But I was worried about this next course of action because it was different. Surrendering to Magic Instinct was one thing. My next move was a risk I might not come back from. If expelling the amount of power involved didn’t burn me out, then the consequences of crossing the Malice Line in such a big way while doing so could be far worse.

  Taking a breath, I swallowed those fears. This was my mess to clean up. I’d woken that dragon, which meant the chaos in the city was as much my doing as it was the monster’s. My moral and physical safety would have to take a back seat.

  “I’m going to kill it,” I announced. “I gave the dragon its life and now I’m going to take it away.”

  “Crisa, don’t be stupid,” Blue said, handing me back my knife, which I converted to a wandpin and stowed. “You’ve already used a scary amount of power. And anyway, we talked about this. You can’t intentionally kill anyone or anything. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Danger is irrelevant here, Blue. I have a duty. I don’t care if it fits with anyone’s hero standard or not. This is the right thing to do.”

  “But—”

  “Enough!” I interrupted. “I’m doing this. That dragon is going to destroy the city and I’m the one who set it loose. Are you guys going to help me stop it or not?”

  The dragon screeched again. Kai drew her sword. “Let’s quit wasting time.”

  Daniel stepped forward. “Right behind you.”

  The others nodded and started leaping through the portal. After a second, only Daniel and I were left. I was about to hop through when Daniel stopped me.

  “Knight . . .” he said. The strength in his jaw was a foil for the softness and emotion in his eyes. “I don’t know how to—”

  “You don’t have to,” I said bluntly. As much as I felt for him, I couldn’t afford to spend any time on sentiment; there was so much between us at that point it would have only been distracting.

  I bounded through the portal to Book. It was not a moment too soon. Six seconds after Daniel and I exited the shop the entire storefront was obliterated by a fireball. I saw it coming like slow motion as it arched over the marketplace from the direction of the Capitol Building.

  Everything went fuzzy for a moment. We’d all been knocked to the ground. My ears rang. My back was pelted with debris and the heat temporarily sucked all the air from my lungs. When I lifted my head, horror struck my heart. The dragon was free. Three thousand pounds of black scales and long dormant thirst for revenge was propelling itself into the air, about to be set loose on the capital.

  No.

  I picked myself up, taking quick stock of my friends—everyone was staggering to their feet, which meant they were okay. We stayed low as the dragon circled the Capitol Building, sending fireballs in every direction. Black smoke poured from skyscrapers that had been hit. Ash drifted down like falling snow. The dragon landed on the great white cupola of the Capitol and roared. The structure fractured beneath its weight. We raced toward the building—shakily at first from the explosion recovery, but as always adrenaline and determination compensated.

  At intervals between stalls and stores I could see Century City guards working to move people away from the danger and rescue those in burning buildings, but there weren’t nearly enough of them. Our realm’s capital was extremely well staffed in security, but they weren’t prepared for this level of threat. Who would be? Everywhere there was screaming and fire and smoke. I’d seen it all in previous battles, but not on this scale—and not with so many civilians.

  Wreckage was scattered everywhere at this point and only grew like a virus as more fireballs were launched. I tried to focus on the path ahead and not the bedlam, but it was hard to block out. I’d gotten used to the sounds of screaming. It was a consequence of being in so many battles. However, one thing I was not used to was the look on a person’s face when they were genuinely, mortally terrified. That kind of distress was hard to un-see. And in this chaos I saw it everywhere. The
worst was when I caught sight of a small girl desperately calling out for her father—panic, dread, and fear in her shining eyes. It made my heart lurch; and I knew I would never forget it, or forget that I’d caused it.

  We finally finished our sprint through the landscape of fear and reached the roundabout. At the exact same time, regrettably, the dragon decided to lift off the crumbling cupola and take to the skies. My friends and I skidded to a halt and caught our first full view of the creature. This dragon, blacker than tar with thousands of glimmering scales, made my own pet dragon, Lucky, look like a toy poodle.

  Century City guards in flying battle carriages drawn by Pegasi and other soldiers mounted on individual Pegasi began pursuing the dragon downtown. They were easy to spot. Pegasi wings were made of holographic energy that sparkled in different colors. Though the scene was dangerous and volatile, it was also beautiful as bursts of light zipped around the sky and illuminated skyscrapers.

  The dragon circled overhead and smashed its tail into a tall office building. Two floors shattered. A battalion of guards released a volley of arrows at the dragon’s face. The dragon screeched as a few shots hit their mark but the win was short-lived. As the dragon’s stomach began to glow orange, I knew things were about to go from bad to worse.

  Like something out of a madman’s rantings about the end of the world, the sky began to rain fire—the dragon’s renewed flaming breath spiraling onto the city like apocalyptic dodge balls. I focused my magic on chunks of building that lay in the street. Protect, I commanded. Sizeable portions of brick and concrete glowed and flew upward to meet many of the fireballs—cutting them off before they could reach the city. The resulting explosions caused a lot of debris to shower down but deflected the greater threat. My friends worked fast to move people out of the way before they got hit.

  After a minute, the fireballs stopped; the dragon needed time to recharge. It took to flying erratically above the skyline, roaring angrily. The guards could barely keep up.

  A Pegasus suddenly darted in front of me. Several Pegasi missing their riders were scampering around the area and whinnying with panic. Their multicolored holographic wings flapped nervously and their nostrils puffed cobalt and orange smoke, which happened whenever their adrenaline got going. A charred carriage that had been shot down lay on its side across from the Capitol steps—split in half and ruined beyond repair. Wounded guards were pulling themselves out of the wreckage. They seemed too weak and disoriented to fly but carried bows and quivers full of arrows.