The Lost Lands

by Jessica Khoury

  Between them, her hand holding the Heart high, was Tamra. Kardessa’s wings flashed like gold as she treaded the air, facing Valkea.

  “You will Lock with me!” Tamra screamed at the new Lennix Grand. “With me, do you hear? I hold the Heart! I command all of you!”

  “Stop being a fool!” D’Mara yelled, hefting a firestik. “Give it to me, girl! Or I’ll shoot you down myself!”

  “Shut up!” Tamra called back. “Shut up, shut up, shut up! I’m in charge now! Valkea, come to me!”

  But the Red remained as she was, her eyes glowering at Tamra.

  “Why isn’t it working?” Allie asked. “Tamra has the Heart.”

  Sirin whispered over her shoulder, “She doesn’t know.”

  “Doesn’t know what?”

  “What it takes to call on the Skyspinner’s power.”

  Allie twisted around to look at the girl. “What do you mean?”

  Sirin’s eyes held a strange, solemn expression. “After you left Loch Ness, Thorval told me the secret to using the Heart. He said it only works if you bond with it through blood. She should prick her thumb or something to activate its magic.”

  “I don’t think Tamra knows that.”

  “Maybe D’Mara doesn’t either.”

  Allie felt a little better at that, but D’Mara’s next words crushed her hope.

  “You can’t even use it,” D’Mara called to Tamra. “But I can. I know how. So this is your last chance, Tamra. Give it to me!”

  Tamra squared her jaw, then shook her head. “I know what’s mine. If you want this rock, first give me back my—”

  Without a word, D’Mara hurled her firestik at her own daughter.

  Tamra seemed too startled to dodge, but Kardessa threw herself sideways with a panicked roar—and collided with Bellacrux.

  Everything happened so quickly after that.

  Allie saw the Heart fly out of Tamra’s grasp. It fell toward the ground, flashing as it spun.

  And in the other direction went Sirin, knocked from her seat by the impact.

  The Heart! said Bellacrux.

  Time stopped. Allie saw them both as if they were suspended in midair: To her left, the Heart, the key to controlling all dragons, the answer to every problem they’d ever had. To her right, Sirin, her friend, the girl who’d followed them into dragonfire and danger without hesitation.

  Which one? Bellacrux asked her.

  They could only save one.

  The other would break on the ground below.

  There had been a time, just days ago, when Allie had thought if she were strong enough, she could save both the world and the ones she loved. But the universe would not be tricked. She’d have to choose.

  But Allie didn’t even have to think twice.

  Go, she said, and Bellacrux knew what she meant.

  The Green dived, wings pinned to her side, her tail straight as an arrow behind her. Kardessa spun away overhead and crashed into a building, her screams mingling with Tamra’s. Joss was yelling somewhere above. Dragonfire brightened the night. Human screams, dragons roars, sirens wailing …

  But Allie was entirely, wholly focused. She felt one with Bellacrux as her Lock dived down, down, down …

  And Allie’s hand closed on Sirin’s arm.

  At once, Bellacrux opened her wings, lifting out of her dive, and Allie pulled Sirin onto the dragon’s back.

  She looked down just in time to see the Skyspinner’s Heart shatter on the sidewalk, surrounded by dozens of wide-eyed humans who were already starting to pick up the pieces and pocket them. There would be no reuniting it again.

  But Allie had made her choice, and she regretted nothing.

  “You let it go,” Sirin gasped. “You could have stopped all of this.”

  “Yes,” said Allie. “But we are sisters, and that’s worth more than any old rock, however magical it is.”

  Sirin stared at her as a slow smile spread across her face.

  The Raptors fled after that.

  Allie saw them vanish one by one into bright bursts of light, portals opening and closing like winking eyes in the night. Many were wounded, and now that their prize had been shattered, they would no doubt retreat for a while, to regroup and lay new schemes. She heard D’Mara’s howl of rage cut short the moment Valkea vanished.

  Let’s get out of here, she sent to Bellacrux.

  Agreed, my Lock.

  With Lysander, Ramon, and Sammi, the Green flew toward a large patch of darkness spread like a blanket over the center of the city.

  “I think that’s Central Park,” said Sirin.

  I will land there, said Bellacrux. I must rest, Allie.

  Of course.

  Passing over fields and gardens and fountains, Bellacrux finally touched down in a small clearing surrounded by forest. It was a quiet spot, shielded all around by trees. The other dragons landed beside her, and the riders all jumped down.

  “I should go back,” said Declan. “Lysander, could you see us through a portal? Ramon is fast, hopefully fast enough to reach Fortress Lennix before my family does. I promised I would get Carli out of there.”

  “We’ll take you,” said Joss. “Sirin, Allie, wait here for us. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

  The girls nodded.

  “Declan, Ramon,” said Allie. “Thank you. We couldn’t have lasted that fight without you two.”

  The Blue dragon dipped his head in return, and Declan bowed a little.

  “It is only a beginning to the atonement I must make for my family’s deeds,” he said. “If you ever need me again, find me back in our world, in the western desert. I will continue to do my best to keep the Raptors from destroying the remaining clans. And hopefully figuring out a way to get rid of this.” He patted Ramon’s stomach, where the edge of the Raptor tattoo was visible. The Blue nodded in agreement.

  Declan shook hands with Allie and Sirin, then climbed onto Ramon. Lysander and Joss followed them into the sky and vanished with a flash of light.

  Sirin lay down on the grass and spread her arms and legs wide. “I could sleep for a week,” she said. “What do we do next, Allie?”

  Allie didn’t answer. She’d stepped in something wet and was studying the sole of her shoe curiously.

  “What …” Her eyes went to the dark pool on the ground, then followed a trail of the liquid over the grass.

  Blood?

  It ended under Bellacrux.

  Allie rushed to her dragon’s side, her hand trailing over her scales. Bell?

  Hm. The dragon’s eyes were shut. She was breathing raggedly.

  You’re hurt. Let me see.

  One of Bellacrux’s eyes opened slowly and fixed on her. No.

  But Allie pushed against the dragon’s side until she relented, and she shifted just enough to reveal a broken firestik jutting from her chest. Ugly scorch marks blackened the skin and scales around it. It had to have been the firestik D’Mara had thrown at Tamra. The weapon had instead found Bellacrux.

  “Bellacrux,” Allie breathed, unable to tear her eyes from the wound. “We … we can go back to the Dragonlands and get more athelantis. Or … or there must be something in this world that can help you. They have so many other incredible things—”

  Allie. My Lock. Stop.

  But we need to take care of this!

  It’s too late. It was too late the moment it struck me.

  What do you mean? Allie stared at the jutting lance, and it hit her—it had pierced Bellacrux’s heart.

  Bellacrux sighed a long, rattling breath and shuddered. She shifted, hiding the wound from view again.

  Tears filled Allie’s eyes. She threw her arms around Bellacrux’s neck.

  “No,” she sobbed. “No, no, no, there has to be a way!” You can’t leave me, Bell. You can’t do this to me. I only just found you.

  I am glad that you found me. Thank you, Allinson Moran, for giving me one last great adventure.

  We can’t survive without you!

&nbs
p; Of course you can. You are Allie the Fierce. If there were Grands among humans, my Lock, you would be one.

  Allie smiled through her tears, knowing it would be the nicest compliment anyone would ever pay her. She clung to Bellacrux, pressing her forehead to the dragon’s.

  Noble Bellacrux, she sent, Grandest of Dragons, most wise and most brave. Being your Lock will have been the greatest honor of my life.

  Farrelara, me soll, sent Bellacrux.

  Allie held on to the Green through the next few minutes, not looking up even when she heard Lysander land on the grass and Joss slide off. He asked what was wrong, and Sirin told him in a hushed whisper. They knelt behind Allie and put their hands on her back and said nothing.

  Finally, Allie felt it—a wrenching in her chest, as if her heart were being extracted by sharp claws. A warm breath rolled over her, the dragon’s last.

  “F-f-farrelara,” Allie whispered through her tears. “My soul’s friend.”

  She sobbed, hugging Bellacrux tightly, as the Green’s brow hardened beneath hers. Lifting her head, Allie watched stone spread over her Lock, from the center of her forehead, down her jaw and neck, the broad length of her back. In moments, she was entirely turned to stone, as if she’d been a statue all along instead of a living, breathing dragon, her wings folded as if she were sleeping. She had curled up like a cat, head resting on the grass.

  Peaceful.

  Allie wept.

  Thorval’s caverns, deep beneath Loch Ness, echoed with drips and ripples of water, but in the past week, Sirin had come to find the sound relaxing. She’d slept in every day and awoken to piles of fish brought enthusiastically by Sammi. The little Green had come to love swimming so much, Sirin half wondered if she might actually be a Blue. At least now they had a small camp stove and pan to fry the fish on, and a store of crisps, soda, and apples to round out the meal. Sirin’s last run to town had been a productive one. She and Joss had brought back enough food and supplies to last a month, carried in big waterproof duffel bags, since it was a long, long dive through the chilly loch to reach this place. They had no idea how long they’d be hiding out. It depended mostly on how quickly Allie would recover.

  The girl was still quiet and withdrawn, no longer crying as much but moving around the caverns like a ghost. The grieving sickness was running its terrible course. She said she was all right but needed time. So that’s what they gave her. It was what they all needed.

  Lysander wasn’t pleased about being stuck underground, with no sky to soar in, and he spent the days sighing and sleeping and staring dolefully at nothing. At least the cave wasn’t nearly as dark and miserable as Sirin had feared; it was more like the caves of the Blue islands. Over the centuries, Thorval had worn the floor down to a smooth shine, and the walls were carved with motifs of dragons in flight. He’d even dug out alcoves and filled them with oil-rich seaweed that burned for hours, providing soft orange light that flickered over the stone. Most surprising, however, had been Thorval’s—or rather Nessie’s—“collection.” He had gathered hundreds of souvenirs, from snow globes and key chains to T-shirts and plush animals, and every single one sported a version of his own scaly self. It was probably the world’s biggest collection of Loch Ness Monster memorabilia, set up like some kind of shrine. And Nessie guarded them jealously. No one was allowed to touch so much as a bobblehead. But in a way, it made the caves even cozier.

  Part of Sirin’s trips to the world above were for supplies, but she also was watching for news of more dragon attacks. This was not the end of their trouble. The Raptors would return. It was only a matter of time. And Earth had no idea how to stop them. Planes were too unwieldy and flew too high. Drones were too flimsy and ill-equipped. Dragons were a threat no one was prepared to defend against.

  But Sirin, Joss, and Allie knew how to fight them. As the saying went, you had to fight fire with fire. Only as Sirin now put it: You had to fight dragons with dragons.

  But right now, they were in no condition to fight anyone. They had a wingless, half-mad Blue, a Green hatchling whose bark still exceeded her bite, and a gleaming Silver who was just half the size of most Raptors. Lysander was still growing, but not at the phenomenal pace he’d been going at the first few weeks of his life.

  The humans weren’t in much better shape. But once Allie was on her feet again, they’d have to do something. Make a plan. Seek out Declan and Carli.

  These were all tomorrow’s troubles. For now, Sirin needed to make breakfast.

  Sammi curled around her as she cooked, and soon the delicious smell of bacon and eggs filled the cavern. Sirin cooked a few fish too and tossed the rest to the dragons. Joss wandered over, rubbing sleep from his eyes, his hair mussed and wild.

  “I got scissors,” said Sirin. “Time you had a haircut. You look like a caveman.”

  “I am a caveman,” Joss pointed out, gesturing at their current lodgings. “And a very nice cave it is too,” he added quickly, when Thorval’s head lifted out of the pool at the far end of the cavern. The Blue narrowed his eyes, then chuffed, twin mists curling from his nostrils.

  Lysander thumped his tail, demanding more fish. Sammi leaped to oblige, diving into the pool and out the tunnels to the lake.

  Keep out of sight, warned Sirin.

  Always, sighed Sammi.

  No, just for now. Soon, I promise, things will be different.

  Because dragons had returned to Earth, and soon, more would follow. It was the only way—the Dragonlands were dying. To survive, the clans had to return from their exile. The Raptors still stood in their way, stronger than ever with their forged Silver scales, and they would have to be dealt with once and for all.

  Sirin, Joss, and Allie would be ready when they returned.

  The people of Earth would have to be ready too.

  The news of dragons had spread over the globe. People had been able to deny what had happened in Oxford—the footage was blurry, and most everyone had cried, “Prank!” But after New York, no one could deny it. The secret was out. When Sirin had gone shopping, she’d seen the same words flashing on every television screen, on every channel, on every newspaper and magazine and cell phone and computer. She’d heard them whispered between shoppers, shouted by children in the park, even sung by a musician with a guitar on the street corner:

  Here, there be dragons.

  Jessica Khoury is the author of multiple books for teens and young readers, including the Corpus trilogy, Last of Her Name, and The Mystwick School of Musicraft. In addition to writing, she is an artistic mapmaker and spends far too much time scribbling tiny mountains and trees for fictional worlds. She lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her husband, daughter, and sassy husky, Katara. Find her online at jessicakhoury.com.

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  First edition, March 2020

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