The Future King

by James Riley

  “Right,” Fort said, and quickly opened a portal to the burial room above, then leaped through it, hoping Jia was okay.

  She’d morphed back into her human body at some point and even seemed to be waking up from whatever Mind spell Damian had used on her. “Did he beat us?” she asked as Fort helped her to her feet, using his Healing spell on her as well.

  “Just about,” Fort told her. “Come on, we don’t have much time.”

  He helped walk her through the portal back down to the bottom of the stairs, as she turned her Healing magic on herself. When she saw Rachel, though, she quickly switched targets, and moments later, all of them were at least awake, if not feeling great.

  “So this is a nice, scenic dead end and all,” Rachel said, staring at the wall. “But I guess I was hoping for more.”

  Fort smiled at her, then brought his Restore Dimensional Portal spell to mind and closed his eyes. Just as it had before, the magic illuminated all the dimensional portals that had been created anywhere within sight, only this time, Fort gasped. While he could see a few portals when he’d used the spell back beneath the old Oppenheimer School, here it looked like the world was on fire. Portals lit up in every direction, extending as far as the eye could see.

  Apparently there really had been a golden age of magic in the UK.

  He concentrated on the portal outline on the wall just in front of him and unleashed his magic. Hopefully that message about “no humans” wasn’t real, and whoever lived in Avalon would be friendly, because none of them were in any shape to take on a Dracsi or another dragon.

  “Oh!” Rachel said, and Fort opened his eyes to find a glowing green oval on the wall before them, right between the words of magic in the shape of an arch. The light was so bright in the darkness that it almost blinded them, and Fort had to cover his eyes with his arm.

  As his sight adjusted, he realized that having used his last instance of the spell, the words he’d been able to read before in the arch now looked like gibberish, and for a moment, he worried that somehow the portal would close, and they’d be stuck there.

  And then something flashed green at his side, and Damian disappeared.

  Uh-oh. If he was awake, it was only a matter of time until he got his head together and came roaring back. And that meant they didn’t have time to think: They had to take a chance on the portal, whether they ended up trapped in Avalon or not.

  “Get through the portal!” Fort shouted at the others, and pushed Rachel and Jia through, with Ellora just behind them. With his friends all inside, he started to jump through it as well, as another flash of green light erupted behind him.

  Damian in his human form plowed right into him, tackling Fort through the dimensional portal as the dragon boy shouted incoherently. The two landed on something hard and unforgiving, knocking the wind out of Fort.

  Around him, Fort thought he saw people gathering, but his attention quickly returned to Damian as the dragon boy punched him in the stomach so hard that he saw spots. “I could have suffocated out there!” Damian roared. He drove his fist into Fort’s stomach again, almost causing Fort to throw up from the pain. “Do you even know—”

  And then an enormous hammer made of rock slammed into Damian’s chest, knocking him back through the portal.

  “Do you even know, Wyrm Boy?” Rachel shouted, readying the hammer for another hit as Damian picked himself up in the room they’d just left. He roared again and leaped toward the portal—

  And bounced off it hard enough to knock himself back to the staircase. He quickly regained his feet and launched a fireball at it, which exploded back at him after slamming into the barrier of black light that now covered the portal. He roared something, over and over, but no sound passed through, not after Ellora had frozen the portal with her Time magic.

  Rachel dropped her hammer and stood in front of the portal, laughing loudly. “Look at Mr. All-Powerful Dragon Man!” she shouted, pointing at him and making exaggerated faces. “Not so tough from that side of the portal, are you?”

  “Maybe don’t get him more riled up,” Jia said, but she seemed just as pleased, watching Damian’s silent temper tantrum.

  “Thanks, Rachel, and you too, Ellora,” Fort said as he slowly began to breathe again. Jia helped him to his feet, sending Healing magic through him, which gave him the energy he needed to confirm that they were, in fact, definitely not alone.

  Fort found himself standing in the middle of what looked like a sort of medieval market, with booths and covered wagons showcasing all kinds of unearthly and exotic items for sale. At each little shop stood what looked like a child, all the kids about Fort’s size, only with longer ears, skin of every color in the rainbow, and dressed in brightly colored, elaborate clothing.

  Not only that, but a group of the children seemed to have them surrounded and were staring at them curiously.

  Remembering his first meeting with the Dracsi-caretaking dwarfs, Fort held up his hands in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture. “We’re not here to hurt you,” he told these new children.

  One of them stepped forward, her skin green and hair yellow. She cleared her throat to speak. “Of course you’re not, human,” she said, giving Fort a pitying look. “You’re far too weak for that. What we want to know is if that’s a real dragon that you’ve captured.” Her eyes lit up as she looked past Fort to where Damian was banging on the time-frozen portal. “If so, what might you be willing to trade for it?”

  - TWENTY-EIGHT -

  TRADE FOR … DAMIAN?” FORT ASKED, both relieved that the creatures surrounding them didn’t want a fight and completely confused. “But he’s a person.”

  “He’s a dragon,” the green girl corrected. “Can’t you tell? Look through his magical disguise, human. It’s not hard.”

  “I’ll give you ten years of happiness for the dragon, to be used in any order you wish!” another of the creatures shouted, this one with blue skin and black hair.

  “I spoke first!” said the green girl. “If you give me the dragon, I’ll trade you an extra eye for the back of your head that lets you see any moment in the past as clearly as if it just happened.”

  What was even going on? As the mob all began to shout at once, Fort just stared in confusion, having zero idea where they were, or why any of these strange children thought they could trade for Damian. Was this Avalon?

  “Who are you people?” Rachel said, slowly recovering as Jia sent more Healing magic into her. “Are you … elves?”

  Some of the creatures laughed, while others snorted. “We’re the Tylwyth Teg,” the green girl said, shaking her head. “Some of your kind have called us elves, but the polite ones refer to us the Fair Folk, or faeries.”

  Rachel visibly paled at this but smiled anyway at the green girl. “I see,” she said. “Fort, Jia, Ellora? Can I speak to you please?”

  Before he could answer, Rachel grabbed Fort by his shirt and did the same to Jia, pulling them weakly back toward the portal, where Damian was still banging on it, trying to break through Ellora’s spell. Ellora quickly joined them.

  “What’s going on?” Fort said. “I know they seem … odd, but at least they’re not trying to kill us or turn us into Dracsi or something.”

  “That might be better,” Rachel said, her eyes wide with fright. “We’re in trouble here. There’s too much to explain right now, but—”

  “Please, I’ll give you the color of the sky after a storm has passed for the dragon!” a red faerie shouted.

  “I’ll erase all memories of embarrassment you’ve ever felt!” a purple one said.

  “I’ll give you memories of embarrassment, if that’s something you enjoy!” another purple one said, and the two glared at each other.

  “Don’t even listen!” Rachel hissed. Fort put his hands up over his ears, and she quickly yanked them back down. “I mean, don’t listen to them, not me, New Kid. Here’s the summed-up version: The Fair Folk are bad news. Everything is about rules and deals with them. They�
�ll give you a gift, and then expect something in return, and if you don’t give it to them, they’ll just take it.”

  “Like what kinds of things?” Jia asked.

  “Anything from the smell of your sweat to your heart, and I don’t mean figuratively. It’s a nightmare to figure out all their rules, so just don’t take anything from them, don’t follow them anywhere, and definitely don’t trade with them for Damian, no matter how awful he is. Also, be polite, don’t bother anyone, and maybe we’ll get out of here in one piece.” She didn’t look too sure about that last part.

  Her panic quickly spread to Fort, and he looked over at the assembled faeries with a lot more nervousness than he had felt before. They, in turn, just stared back at him expectantly, probably waiting for his response to their multiple bids.

  “I don’t think we’re going to be giving up our dragon today, unfortunately,” Rachel said to the faeries, her voice shaking a bit. “I’m so sorry. But thank you all for your offers!”

  The faeries’ faces all fell, and most began to disperse back into the marketplace around them, leaving just the green girl who’d first spoken.

  “You made a good choice,” she said. “Why take such cheap offers for something as rare as a dragon? You’re obviously holding out for something special. What might you be looking for? Your heart’s desire? I can show you the stall that carries that, and I won’t ask much in return!”

  “We’re all good, thanks!” Rachel said, wiping her sweaty hands on her pants. “Though we very much appreciate your offer, and definitely wouldn’t want you to take our saying no as any sort of offense.”

  The green girl sighed. “None taken, stranger,” she said, then turned to Ellora. “How about you? You seem like someone who could use a compass that always points you in the right direction, or a few vials of volcano tears.”

  “Sorry, no thank you,” Ellora said, smiling politely. “We’re just looking for a book.”

  Uh-oh. Fort’s heart began to race as Rachel slapped her forehead.

  The green girl’s face brightened. “A book?” the faerie said. “I know where to find thousands of books! The endlessly unwritten tales might be worth a dragon, or unicorn prophecies are always helpful—”

  “Oh, none of those, thanks!” Rachel said quickly.

  “That’s right,” Ellora said, giving Rachel an apologetic look. “We just want a book of Spirit mag—”

  Rachel clamped her hand over Ellora’s mouth. “No we don’t!” she shouted. “We’re just fine, actually. No need to help us.”

  But the green girl didn’t listen. “Spirit magic, eh?” she said, a smile growing across her face. “The only thing like that is the one the queen has locked away.”

  Fort’s eyes widened. The queen? It had to be the same one the old man had warned him about, if this really was Avalon. “Oh, that’s okay,” he said quickly, trying to move in front of Ellora.

  The faerie pushed him out of the way, knocking him back a few feet with barely any effort. “Oh, it’s no problem!” she said to Ellora. “I can take you to her. Come with me!”

  She grabbed Ellora’s hand, yanking her out of Rachel’s grasp with surprising strength. And then, before any of the others could move, the faerie pulled Ellora toward the crowd.

  “Ellora!” Fort shouted, and she looked back at them in terror, opening her mouth to shout something, only for the mobs of faeries to close in around her, cutting her off from their view.

  “What did I just tell all of you?” Rachel shouted, pulling at her hair.

  “Come on!” Fort said, running after Ellora. “We have to catch them!”

  “Yes, but we have to be careful, Fort!” Rachel shouted from behind him as she and Jia raced to catch up.

  Fort threaded his way through the crowd of faeries as politely as he could, remembering Rachel’s warnings. He wasn’t sure what Rachel knew that had made her so nervous, but considering how uncomfortable the faeries made her, he wasn’t sure he particularly wanted to find out.

  But as he reached the other side of the crowd, Ellora and the green faerie were nowhere to be seen. “It’s like she completely disappeared,” he said quietly as Rachel and Jia reached him. “What now?”

  Rachel growled in frustration. “That faerie mentioned the queen, right? Then we should probably head for the castle.” She pointed up above one of the taller tents in the marketplace.

  Fort followed her gaze, moving back to see over the tents, only to jump in surprise as he saw a fortress easily the size of a small city rise so high up that it almost blotted out the sky at that end of the market. How had he not seen that before?

  Unlike every other castle Fort had seen, this one sparkled in the sun as if it were made of some sort of crystal but still had some ugly-looking defenses lining its walls, not to mention soldier faeries, each the size of a child, stationed every few yards.

  All in all, it wasn’t the most welcoming thing he’d ever seen. Not to mention that he’d been pretty severely warned about the queen of this place, and that was most likely where she lived. It was definitely past time to fill Rachel and Jia in on that.

  “Remember when I said I saw Cyrus?” he said. “There was something else I didn’t tell you about—”

  “That’s going to have to wait,” Rachel said, moving on toward the castle with Jia right behind her. “We need to get to Ellora before that faerie takes something from her, like her lungs!”

  Fort quickly followed after them, knowing she was right. “Okay, but I have to tell you something!” he said as they weaved in and out of the masses of people, trying not to even touch anyone. “You really think she’ll take something from Ellora just for leading her to the castle?” Jia asked Rachel, and Fort growled in frustration.

  “If these faeries are anything like the legends, then yes,” Rachel said as they left the crowded market and ran down a mostly empty street, with strange buildings lining each side. One seemed to fade in and out, while another seemed to be made up of the night sky, stars twinkling along the walls.

  “Seriously, this old guy was warning me about a queen!” Fort shouted.

  “Yeah, the queen will probably be the most dangerous!” Rachel said, glancing back over her shoulder. “The Fair Folk never play fair, ironically, and their deals will always benefit them, never you. These are the creatures who stole babies and left changelings in their place.”

  “Changelings?” Fort said as Rachel and Jia turned a corner just in front of him. “What’s a change—”

  As he rounded the corner, he tripped on the edge of the stone-tiled street and went tumbling forward.

  “Watch out!” Rachel shouted from just ahead, but it was too late. Fort slammed into something soft, sending them both flying. They landed hard on the ground a few feet away, and Fort quickly pushed himself up, then gasped as he realized what he’d hit.

  A male green faerie looked up in surprise and anger. “What is this?” the faerie shouted, leaping to his feet. “A human dares mistreat one of the Fair Folk in full view of the castle?” He pointed at the fortress, which was still a few blocks away at the least.

  “Fort, no!” Rachel shouted. “What did you do?”

  “I’m sorry!” Fort said to both of them. “I didn’t see you, sir, and I never would have run into you if I had.”

  “Oh, so you’re too good to even look out for someone like me?” the faerie asked. “Humans think so little of our kind?”

  “No, that’s not what I meant!” Fort said. “I don’t even think anything about your kind!” The faerie’s eyes widened at that, and Fort hurriedly continued. “I mean, I never even knew you existed. I don’t mean that in a bad way, though. I just mean—”

  “The queen shall hear of this!” the green faerie yelled. “Guards!”

  “Wait!” Fort shouted, reaching out to take the faerie’s arm before he could move away. “We can figure this out—”

  “And now you attack me?” the faerie shouted, pulling free of Fort. “I have never endured su
ch disrespect. Guards, guards!”

  Two enormous faeries appeared out of nowhere on both sides of Fort and seized his arms.

  “A human?” one said, glancing at Fort in surprise.

  “I thought your kind were banned from Avalon,” said the other.

  “And he attacked me,” the green faerie said. “I demand restitution before the queen!”

  “Wait!” Rachel shouted, but it was too late. The two guards disappeared, taking Fort with them.

  - TWENTY-NINE -

  THE BUILDINGS AROUND FORT FADED from view, replaced by a throne room more opulent and luxurious than anything he’d ever seen, even in pictures. The floor was made from fine jewels, each as large as Fort’s head, while the walls and support columns looked like they’d been sculpted of silver or platinum, but so delicately that Fort couldn’t believe that the columns could hold up anything, let alone the roof of pure gold above them.

  The throne room extended for hundreds of feet behind him, where a long line of faeries waited for their chance to see the queen, apparently. But both thrones at the front of the room now were empty, so Fort wasn’t sure if they were waiting for her to arrive, or if she’d just left.

  That might be good for him. The last person he wanted to see was this queen. Between Rachel and the old man in Cyrus’s cottage, he was practically shaking with nervousness about what she might do. But if the queen had just left, maybe the faerie he’d accidentally run into wouldn’t be able to plead his case, and the guards would let Fort go!

  A gentle wind passed by, leaving behind the scent of new rain on pine needles, and Fort looked around, trying to find the source. But as the smell grew stronger, the wind picked up, making the candles in the elaborate candelabras on either side of the thrones flicker. The faeries in line behind him all went silent and began to kneel, and the guards pushed Fort to do likewise.

  As his knees hit the floor, the wind swirled into the throne on the left, and a figure appeared in the middle of it, lounging with one leg over one of the throne’s armrests. She was taller than the other faeries, maybe even taller than a human adult, and her skin was the same dark blue that Fort often saw in the sky after the sun set, just before darkness fell completely. Her eyes shone as she stared at Fort, absently playing with a wooden scepter with a large diamond at the top.