The Last Dragon

by James Riley

  For my agent, Michael Bourret, for being my guide in publishing, my teacher in writing, and my groaner in puns. I’d be lost without him in my corner, sticking with me through it all, and hopefully for many years to come.

  - ONE -

  PRESIDENT FORSYTHE FITZGERALD,” Fort’s father said, pointing at the spots where each word would go above the giant statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln.

  This should have been a happy moment, seeing his dad again, but knowing what was coming, all Fort could feel was horror. “We have to get out of here, Dad. Now!” he yelled. He tried to grab his father, but his hand swept right through his dad’s like he was a ghost.

  “I feel like we’re going to need a larger statue, though,” his father continued, like he hadn’t heard a word Fort said. “These ceilings are high enough to fit that head of yours, but you’re definitely going to require a bigger seat.”

  “None of that matters,” Fort said, wanting to scream in frustration. “If we stay here, you’ll be taken again. I need to get you out of here!”

  But his father ignored him, like he was stuck going through the same motions as the day it’d all happened, no matter what Fort did. The other tourists at the Lincoln Memorial didn’t seem to hear Fort either, as they continued about their visit, unaware of what was about to come.

  “You’ll do all of that and more!” his father shouted, and this time, other people did look, just like they had six months ago. “There’s no time to be lazy, not with all the amazing things you’re going to accomplish! And don’t forget that I still want a flying car, so I’ll need you to invent that, too.”

  “Dad, please,” Fort said, tears now rolling down his face. “Come with me? I can’t keep going on like this, not knowing if you’re alive or if you’re… you’re hurt. Please, just leave, you don’t have to keep saying everything you already said that day—”

  “Um, I’m pretty sure as an adult, I can talk as loudly as I want,” his father said. “But stop pushing us off topic, Fort. This is your future we’re talking about! You’re going to be a great man someday, and I for one can’t wait to take pictures in front of your statue as children gaze up at it adoringly!” He waved at two girls who were watching them, giggling. “See? We’ve already got two volunteers.”

  “Dad, this is about your future,” Fort said, trying in vain to grab his father’s hand again. “If you stay, I’m going to lose you, and I can’t… I can’t handle that. Not after Mom… please, Dad, come home with me!” This was all so horrible, knowing what was to come, but even on the day it’d happened, Fort hadn’t felt so helpless as he did now. “If you come, you’ll… you’ll see what I’ve been doing! I’ve been learning magic! It’s wild, I can’t even believe it, but I did it for you! I wanted to get revenge on the monster that took you, but then when I had my chance, I couldn’t do it. It was almost funny, after all that time wanting to hurt it—”

  “It’s not not funny,” one of the two girls said.

  “Intelligent youths around here!” his father shouted in response. “Listen to them, Fort. I hear that the children are our future.”

  “They have to be now,” Fort said, hoping his father could hear him at some level. “Because children are the only ones who can use magic. These books of magic turned up, like, thirteen years ago, but only kids can read them and learn the spells. But once some students started using magic, these horrific nightmare creatures found us, and they want to take over the world, just like they did thousands of years ago. They’re still looking for us, Dad, and I can’t hide from them, not if I want to find you—”

  “Low blow, young man,” his dad said, then pointed at Lincoln. “Do you think our beloved sixteenth president would have spoken to his father that way? And he’s your personal hero!” He leaned closer to the girls conspiratorially. “When my boy here was in diapers, he’d stroll around in a top hat and make us call him Fort Lincoln.”

  One of the girls snorted, while the other turned away to hide her laughter, but Fort didn’t care. At this point, he wasn’t sure why he ever had. “Dad, we don’t have any more time, it’s on its way. It’s going to destroy the whole National Mall, and if we don’t get out now—”

  “Oh, we have plenty of time,” his father said, taking out his phone. “Besides, I think I have pictures of that in here. Girls, do you want to see?”

  “Take me to the Einstein Memorial!” Fort shouted. “Remember? You’re just about to mention that. We just need to get out of here—”

  “Nonsense!” his father shouted. “Why, we haven’t even seen Einstein yet. Did you know there’s a statue of Einstein right off the National Mall? And the Gettysburg Address!” He pointed at the speech carved into the wall of the Lincoln Memorial to the left of the president. “Look at this. Two hundred and seventy-two words. Short and to the point.”

  And then it was too late.

  The memorial began to tremble, and Fort knew that nothing was going to change, that his father was going to be taken down into the earth, just like he’d been six months ago, and that all Fort could do was watch.

  “I think President Lincoln is waking up,” his father whispered to Fort with a grin. “Did you know a second man gave a two hour speech before Lincoln at Gettysburg?” He handed Fort a brochure with the Gettysburg Address written out in multiple languages, the same one Fort always kept in his pocket. This version fell right through his ghostlike hand and gently landed on the floor of the memorial like he wasn’t even there.

  And then the second tremor hit, this time much worse than the first. Several people around the memorial began to shout in surprise, but Fort just turned and walked toward the entrance, not even caring how many tears fell now.

  He couldn’t see this. Not again. He couldn’t watch his father—

  But the scene shifted around him, and suddenly he was right back inside, his father reaching out to steady Fort as the trembling stopped again. “Ladies, maybe you should go find your parents,” his dad said to the two girls they’d been talking to before turning to Fort. “Are you okay, kiddo?”

  Fort just looked up at him, shaking his head, his mouth hanging open. What was there to say? He couldn’t stop this, but he wasn’t allowed to leave, either? Why was his mind torturing him like this?

  “That’s the spirit,” his father said. “But maybe we should head back to the hotel and grab some dinner. Einstein can wait. After all, time is his relative, I think. Probably a cousin.”

  His father made his way through the crowd toward the stairs, and Fort just shut his eyes. Wake up, he thought to himself. Wake UP. Don’t do this to yourself. You don’t have to see it, not again. Not every night!

  When he opened his eyes, though, he was at the stairs with his father, watching as people ran from the Washington Monument in single-file lines. Sierra was causing that, he had learned later. She was using her mind magic to control them all, trying to make sure none of the tourists would be hurt when the creature destroyed the monument. And soon she’d take over Fort’s mind too, trying to force him to escape… but leaving his father behind.

  A third tremor struck, this time far worse than the last two. The stone of the memorial leaped straight up, throwing everyone into the air except Fort, who was still intangible. The stone cracked beneath him in a jagged lightning shape all the way down the steps.

  “Out!” Fort’s father shouted, pushing the girls toward the exit before trying to grab Fort’s hand and run down the stairs with him. Instead, Fort just stood like a helpless bystander, waiting for the horror that was to come.

  “Stay alive,” Fort whispered after his father. “Please, wherever you are… just be okay until I can get to you. I have a plan, and I’m coming for you, so stay alive.”

  He braced himself for the creature
to appear from beneath the Washington Monument, hoping he wouldn’t have to watch again, over and over like he had every night since he’d first heard Dr. Oppenheimer’s secret: The doctor thought Fort’s father might still be alive.

  But instead of the ground cracking and a giant black scaled hand emerging, a mass of tentacles pushed out of the earth, rising up to reveal crystalline armor, a skull helmet, and the form of the Old One who’d taken over Damian at the Oppenheimer School.

  YOU WERE THE CHILD WHO CAUSED US PAIN, it shouted in Fort’s mind, sending agony shooting through his skull. He screamed, trying to wake up, to do anything to flee from this monstrosity, but nothing worked. YOU WISH TO SEE YOUR ELDER AGAIN. WE CAN FEEL YOUR DESIRE. BRING US THE LAST DRAGON, AND YOU SHALL HAVE YOUR FATHER BACK—

  Out of nowhere, Cyrus’s face pushed through the Old One’s tentacled helmet, and the sky faded into an ugly green color, the ceiling of the boys’ dormitory at the new Oppenheimer School. Cyrus had his hand on Fort’s shoulder, shaking him as he stared down worriedly while standing on the bunk below Fort’s. “Hey, are you okay?” Cyrus asked. “You were shouting in your sleep again.”

  His heart still racing, Fort took a deep breath, trying to calm down. This wasn’t the first time Cyrus had to wake him up. He’d been having the same dream every night for two weeks now. Though this was the first time the Old One had appeared. That was new.

  Not that it could be real. This was just his head finding new ways to torment him, now with promises that his father was still okay. Not that Fort had any idea what a last dragon was, or where that idea had come from. The only dragons he knew of were the skeletons that he’d seen in the old Oppenheimer School’s museum room.

  “I’m fine,” he told Cyrus. “Did I wake you up?”

  Cyrus shrugged. “Yes, but that’s okay. Because when you did, a vision hit me at the same time. They’re being moved. Tomorrow night’s going to be our only chance to grab them.”

  Fort’s eyes widened, and he forced a smiled. “Finally. Tell the others in the morning, and we’ll meet at lunch to go over the plan one more time.”

  Cyrus nodded, then slipped back down into his bed below, leaving Fort to try to forget the image of the Old One. That had just been a dream. But now he was going to be able to take concrete steps to bring his father home.

  I’m coming for you, Dad, he thought. Just please… be okay.

  - TWO -

  FORT HAD BEEN IN THE new school for a couple of weeks now, but for some reason he still couldn’t find the cafeteria without following the signs. At least that fit with the level of secrecy surrounding the entire school, since he didn’t even know where it was located. For all he knew, Fort could be in another country.

  After the last school had been destroyed by one of the first students, Damian, while Damian was possessed by the same Old One from Fort’s dream, all the students had been transported off the army base first by helicopter, then by plane, and finally driven by bus to the new school, blindfolded until they’d arrived inside the underground hallways.

  The soldiers on board claimed that was for their own safety, since if the kids didn’t know where the school was, they couldn’t reveal it to anyone with supernatural access to their minds. But Fort just figured the soldiers were used to being secretive, since the only person on the planet with mind magic was presently off with Damian, trying to locate more books of magic.

  What Fort did know was that the new school was entirely underground, locked behind three-foot-thick round metal doors. The soldiers claimed those doors would keep them safe even if someone dropped a nuclear bomb within thirty miles. That was comforting, but made Fort wonder what would happen if someone dropped a bomb within twenty miles, or ten. Or, say, right on top of the school.

  Not that nuclear bombs were his biggest concern. Given what had happened at the last school, the other students seemed far more dangerous than any missile.

  As Fort made his way to the cafeteria, he realized that one reason it was hard to find his way around was that everything was painted an ugly green, something he’d previously only seen in his grandmother’s bathroom. But here, all the walls were painted the same nauseating color, making the whole facility feel like it’d been transported from the past to the present. Hopefully that wasn’t actually the case, but given that a UK school had a book of time magic, who knew?

  It didn’t help that there were posters lining the walls from the 1950s and 1960s saying things like “Help fight the red menace!” with cartoon soldiers facing down a hammer and sickle. Over the two weeks Fort had been there, those posters had slowly started being replaced by new ones showing dark, shadowy figures with bony hands reaching straight out at you, saying “Don’t trust anything not human!” His favorite, though, was a boy covered in soot who said “Magic is only safe under adult supervision. Don’t blow yourself up!”

  Good advice all around.

  When Fort finally located the cafeteria, he saw that Cyrus had done as asked: Rachel and Jia were both sitting at their regular table in the corner, with Cyrus making a beeline for it from the food line. Fort nodded at them, then quickly jumped into line, knowing he had to eat, even if he was too nervous to keep anything down.

  “So get this,” Sebastian said, coming up behind Fort in line. “I just talked to Dr. Ambrose, and you won’t believe what she’s making me do. Me, the top student in her class!”

  “Except Jia’s the top student,” Fort murmured, not looking back. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to Sebastian complain, especially since on a list of his favorite people, Sebastian ranked near the bottom, just above Colonel Charles, the military coheadmaster of the school, and various cartoon villains. And Sebastian only made it that high because he’d helped save everyone back at the old school.

  “I heard that,” Sebastian growled. “Now I’m not going to tell you what Ambrose said about you.”

  Fort frowned. Dr. Ambrose had said something about him? He hadn’t seen her since the attack, as classes hadn’t started yet at the new school, which meant that days were mostly left up to the students so far. Why would she—

  Sebastian banged his tray into Fort’s. “Keep moving, New Kid,” he said. “Some of us have places to be. And wait until you see where you’re going.” He grinned, which made Fort even more nervous.

  He tried to put it out of his mind as he grabbed a burger and some green beans, then jumped out of line. Whatever Sebastian was hinting at could wait. The only thing that mattered now was the plan, and for that, he needed to get back to his friends and hopefully have a moment alone to go over it—

  “Fort!” someone shouted as he made his way to their table. Fort sighed and turned to find Trey waving him over. “Come sit with us. Bryce and Chad are being really annoying!”

  Bryce and Chad both rolled their eyes at this, but for once didn’t argue with Trey. Of the three bullies who’d picked on him during his first week at the old school, Trey had been the only one to actually try to be Fort’s friend at the new school. The other two had kept torturing Fort for another week or so, but gradually given in to him sitting at their table every so often. Fort barely had any friends as it was, so it was worth a few pranks to have Trey on his side.

  But now really wasn’t the time. “I promised I’d sit with Cyrus and everyone,” he said to Trey. “How about I see you guys at dinner?”

  Chad snorted at this, and Bryce grinned. “Looks like your pet bandage doesn’t want to sit with you, Trey,” Bryce said, using the Destruction kids nickname for Healing students. “How pathetic is that, to get shot down by the new kid?”

  Trey’s eyes narrowed, and he waved Fort off. “Whatever. I’m busy at dinner. See you never.”

  Fort winced, but it couldn’t be helped. Everything was happening tonight, which meant he needed to go over the plan with Jia and Rachel. It all hinged on them knowing their parts, and he couldn’t let anything get in the way of that.

  “Sorry,” he whispered at Trey, who didn’t acknowledge
that he’d heard. Fort sighed and walked over to the table where Rachel was glaring at the three boys.

  “Want me to burn their behinds?” she asked as Fort sat down. “I’m always up for tormenting the Chads.”

  “Rachel,” Jia said. “You’re going to use magic outside the classrooms? You know we’re not supposed to!”

  “Jia,” Rachel said, mimicking her voice. “You know I have a moral duty to set jerks’ behinds on fire.”

  “Oh, I’m not saying you shouldn’t,” Jia said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “I’m saying I want to help!”

  “I’m okay, but thanks,” Fort told her. “Did Cyrus tell you what he found out last night?”

  Rachel and Jia both nodded. “Let’s not forget that these things make everything cloudier than I’d like,” Cyrus said. “But I’m pretty sure that I saw what we need.”

  Fort clenched his fists beneath the table, trying not to let his impatience over the last few weeks make him more anxious than he already was. “ ‘Pretty sure’ has to be enough, then,” he said, gritting his teeth. “We’ll just be extra careful. But that means it’s even more important to go over the plan one more time, so that everyone knows what they’re doing.”

  Rachel groaned, and even Jia looked irritated. “There’s such a thing as overplanning,” Rachel said. “Besides, you know everything’s going to go wrong as soon as we start, so why not just let us improvise?”

  “This is too important,” Fort said, leaning in closer. “If we don’t get them now, before they’re locked away again, Cyrus says we won’t have another chance.”

  “We’d have a ton of chances if one of you Healing people would learn that ghost spell again,” Rachel pointed out.

  Jia shook her head. “Fort had all of his magic wiped by the Old One, so it’ll take him months to learn Ethereal Spirit again. And I never should have to begin with. Dr. Ambrose banned it for a reason.”

  “Because it was awesome?” Rachel asked. “And what about your imaginary friend, Fort? Is she going to be here for all of this?”