Hard Boiled

by T L Christianson

  Had Syd really told George that she would free him? Fuck!

  "Do you really believe she had something to do with this?" I asked.

  He frowned. "I don't know. But she'll be questioned by the Council this evening. So… Anyhow, I'm about to call a meeting."

  "Okay. I’m off today…”

  "Yeah… hmmm. We could use you." He looked me over and smiled, "You look terrible. Were you up drinking last night?"

  I smiled back. “Ugh Corbin… I don’t feel my best today, that’s for sure.”

  "Well, I've to go!" Durand slapped my shoulder. "We'll find George. Oh, and tell Sydney and Taya that we're going on lockdown until he’s found." He examined my face. "And find Corbin, asap!"

  I nodded, running down the hall to the Bryant quarters, knowing Corbin wasn't there.

  I slid in through the open door before jogging toward my friend's room.

  "Corbin!" I called out as I barged into his empty bedroom. "Get your lazy ass up!"

  "Can you please be quiet? My grandmother is resting!" Lacy hissed from behind me as I stood in the doorway.

  Spinning on her, I lowered my voice, "Sorry, but there's been an emergency. Corbin needs to report to Durand."

  She blinked rapidly, several times in a row. "Well, he isn't here, and he hasn't been here all night. You know him. He's a total manwhore. Try Brianna's or… he has been messing around with Natalie Angeven…"

  "He's been messing around with Nat? Isn't she like…" I trailed off, realizing how hypocritical my words were.

  Instead of finishing that thought, I began retracing my steps to leave.

  "She's nineteen, Ashe. At least she's of age," Lacy barked, judgment dripping from her words.

  When I got to the main door, I tapped the frame with my hand. Turning back, I found my ex right on my heels. "Will you tell Cor that Durand is looking for him?"

  She sighed heavily. "Why don't you just ask Choryth where they're at?"

  "It's important. As soon as you see him, tell him to report to HQ."

  Lacy rolled her eyes and sighed again. "Fine…" she told me before making a shooing motion with her hand, "Well go! If it's this big emergency, you'd better get on it!"

  She slammed the door, nearly missing my fingers.

  What did I ever see in her?

  An alliance replied Eondian.

  Dragon's teeth! I spat, where have you been? Where's Aaraeth?

  She is with me, he said.

  Okay, no. She needs to be with Sydney. Tell Aaraeth to go to Sydney and stay with her—no matter what. Then can you meet me at the Northeast Lookout?

  I'll be there soon, Eondian growled in response, not pleased to be separated from his mate.

  Thank you! I replied.

  Then a thought occurred to me. Sydney would need better clothes than the random sweats and t-shirt she had on, especially if she were to go before the Council. Someone might suspect something if she showed up in front of everyone all messy.

  I began to jog back up to the PL's apartment. When I got there, I found the door open.

  "Hello?" I called out.

  Making my way down the hallway, I peeked into bedroom doors until I spotted the stuffed lamb on one of the beds. Once inside, I found Sydney's suitcase and opened it up on the floor. It was mostly empty except for a yellow sundress and high-heeled sandals. This was perfect.

  What else do girls wear? I wondered. I'd gotten her a dress and shoes.

  She needed underwear! I pulled open the drawers and began throwing handfuls of her underclothes into my backpack, along with the dress and shoes.

  When a noise came from nearby, I backed away and slid my backpack on.

  "Hello?" I called out.

  "Who is in here?" Came the familiar voice of Victoria Angeven, Elise's companion. She wasn’t a Prime, but she was smart, fierce, and could talk to dragons—a rare and hard-earned skill among non-Primes.

  When she strode briskly in, I knew her shrewd gaze was surveying the scene. She pursed her lips as she spotted one of the open drawers where a lacy bra hung. I cringed at the sight. I should've been more careful! How could I have left it like that?

  "Hmmm…" Victoria hummed, the tone dripping with judgment. "Ashe Carrick, I never took you for a pervert…"

  "Ms. Angeven, I'm not. I swear. I just… I came back to…" I trailed off, knowing I couldn't outright lie.

  "You just what? Wanted to sniff around in a girl's bedroom? Is that how you get your kicks?” she asked, managing to look down her nose at me even though I stood over a foot taller.

  I groaned, falling to sit on the bed. "Did you hear that George escaped? I thought that maybe… there's something in her things that could tell us where he went… if he really escaped…" I trailed off, knowing there was nothing else I could really say without implicating myself.

  The older woman marched over to the drawer, tucked the bra inside before carefully sliding it closed.

  While she did that, I snatched the lamb on impulse and crammed him into my side cargo pocket. He made a large bulge, but Victoria didn't seem to notice.

  Once she had the drawers in order, she eyed me. "All right. I think you're probably just a bit out of your depth. Why don't you go find Durand and help out properly… none of this running about aimlessly," she said, waving her hands at me.

  I nodded as though I'd been thoroughly chastised and allowed her to usher me out of the house. When the door closed behind me, I took off to the northeast stairwell. I entered the narrow shaft, each footstep banging ominously.

  Choryth? Where are you? I called out as I took the stairs two at a time.

  We are at Briony. Where are you?

  I'm in the north stairwell, just past level E. I'm headed to the Northeast Lookout, I told him.

  Wait for Corbin. He is on his way, the dragon told me.

  As his words penetrated my brain, I stopped climbing and sat down on the steps. Someone was climbing quickly below, their efforts loud as they thundered toward me.

  "Corbin?" I shouted.

  "Ashe? I'm coming. Stay there," he called, his boots pounding against the metal treads.

  When he reached me, we continued to climb.

  Once we were both out on top, Corbin let the rusted metal cover fall back into place. For a few moments, we stood there, breathing hard.

  "What's chasing you two?" Taya asked, from several meters away. She sat up from her lounging position on a small pack chair.

  I ignored her not wanting to yell and looked at Corbin. "How did it go?"

  He nodded. "Good. I dropped them off on the edge of the camp. They were fine when I left."

  I reached out and pounded his back with my hand. "Thank you, seriously. Are you worried about being questioned?"

  He shook his head, a sly grin covering his face as he laughed. "Nah. It'll be fine. They think I'm too dumb and shallow to be involved in anything like this."

  "They do realize that you have a graduate degree in computer sciences and are the best programmer they have… don't they?" I asked.

  "Nah, bro. All they see is a surfer who's good with the ladies," he laughed, shaking his hand in the hang-loose sign.

  "All right. Well, you need to report to Durand. Lacy knows you weren't home, but I had to pretend to look for you. So, you have an alibi lined up?" I asked, scanning the sky for Eondian.

  "Yeah. I had it set up. Nat went to sleep with me there and woke up just after I made it back."

  I blew out a breath, then turned as I felt Eondian near. The beast made a vertical landing on the other side of Taya.

  "Ashe? I hope you're here to fill me in," she called out in anger when Eondian's landing sent her things flying across the rock. She stood and began chasing a fluttering paper.

  "Did anyone call?" I asked as she neared, paper under control.

  She rolled her eyes and handed me the phone.

  My eyebrows shot up when I saw the screen. "This text is from three hours ago! Why didn't you come get me?"

  She
shrugged, "I thought you said to stay here until you came back."

  I blew out a breath. "Whatever. Right now, I have to go get Sydney…"

  "She's not in Briony? She's not here? I thought she was fine!" Taya stared me down angrily, her hands on her hips. "And now, you're leaving? You need to tell me what's going on, now!"

  I motioned to Eondian and shook my head. "There's no time. Besides, it looks like my ride is here."

  "Ugh! Fine! But full explanation! A complete accounting!” she shouted.

  "Taya," I held a hand out to her. "I'm going to get Sydney right now."

  She crossed her arms. "Well, then I'm coming with you."

  "All right, but we'll have to avoid the search parties as well as the patrol," I told her.

  A plastic cup began to tumble end over end across the exposed rock, and she took off chasing it.

  Corbin and I watched her.

  Shaking his head, he told me, "Dude, I never thought I'd see the day you pulled off something like this."

  "Don't remind me," I said. "If anyone asks if you've seen me, you can say you saw me this morning."

  He narrowed his eyes, "Okay, good one."

  "Yeah," I said, deadpan, remembering now why people didn't take Cor seriously. "Because it's true…. You know that, right?"

  He nodded, "Yeah, stay away from the mess, fake a hangover…"

  "Yes, but don't say you have a hangover."

  "I know, I know. I'm a lot better at this game than you are. Besides, I feel like it's true… damn, it's been a long time since I've stayed up overnight like this." He yawned. "So, what's your plan anyway? Hideout?"

  I narrowed my eyes at him. "No, I'll bring Syd back, and then we'll meet up with Evgeni. I hope George finally fessed up."

  "Fessed up about what?" Corbin asked, squeezing his bloodshot eyes closed before meeting my gaze again.

  "He claims that Syd's mom is alive and in the dragon realm."

  Corbin barked out a loud laugh. "That's rich…" the mirth faded away. "Syd believes him?" he asked, shifting his weight and yawning again. "That's shitty."

  I nodded. "Yeah… it's stupid."

  "Well, it's impossible, so he's full of crap. It's going to hurt Sydney when she finds out. Have you thought about that?"

  "Yeah, but she should know the truth sooner rather than later, before George manipulates her into something else. She has a soft spot for that man that I don't understand."

  He lifted a shoulder and yawned again. "Yeah, but didn't she grow up thinking he was her dad? I mean, I get it…." He looked over at Eondian as the beast clawed at the ground. "Dude, I need to get to sleep."

  "Aren't you going to the meeting?" I asked, alarmed.

  "Fuck no. Screw Durand. I'm going to bed!"

  "Don't get in trouble!" I called, mounting my dragon.

  "Later!" Corbin shouted with a raised hand of goodbye as he stepped into the hatch.

  Eondian leaped into the air, and as he soared upward into the deep blue sky, I turned down just in time to see Taya take off on her red wyvern behind me.

  20

  Sydney

  George sipped at the pot full of cooling river water. I needed to stop wasting this precious time and get answers while I could.

  "Did Evgeni know about me before?" I asked, scrutinizing him, searching for any sign of dishonesty.

  He stared down into the water. "No. He didn't. Celine didn’t want him to know and I obeyed her wishes."

  "Seriously? Why? Explain it to me," I scoffed, waiting for an answer with raised eyebrows.

  "There are some dark things in Celine’s past. Things you don’t need to know about. Things that might make you think differently about her." George squeezed his eyes closed and rested his head in his hands.

  "Please. George. I need to know why…" I trailed off in a whisper. Clearing my throat, I tried again in a steady voice, “I have to know why—if you ever want me to trust you again.”

  "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. It might as well come from me before you hear it from Garin."

  He stopped speaking and instead scratched his beard.

  "George! Tell me."

  His brow furrowed, and his thoughts were lost in his memories. He let the pot slip through his fingers and fall to the ground. The remaining water soaked his shoes, but George made no move to retrieve the thing he'd dropped. Shaking his head, he spoke barely above a whisper, "Celine was given the Stygian Ritual…"

  "What?" I asked, afraid I didn't hear him correctly.

  He nodded. "Yeah. Arthur himself performed it. It was just before she found out she was pregnant with you. She was cut off from Evgeni and both dragons, and she thought…" He stared down into the pot, his mind reaching for anything to tell me but the truth.

  "She thought what?" I ordered.

  When his eyes met mine, he frowned. "The reason we agreed to keep you from Evgeni and everyone was to protect you."

  "You've said that! But you said she thought… something. What did she think? Is it about me?"

  He blew out a defeated breath, his face a mask of sadness. "We thought that you… that you wouldn't be Dragonborn—because of the ritual. Your mother didn't want you raised with expectations that you wouldn't be able to live up to. Celine didn't want you to think that you were a failure… because of her. You would've been expelled from the academy… from Briony. You would've been considered cursed."

  I squeezed my eyes closed before gazing across the fire at him. "What? Shit… Well, wait a minute. The Dragonborn expel people who can't prove they're Dragonborn?"

  He nodded.

  "But the kicked out person still knows about the Dragonborn, right?" I asked.

  "Not always. Sometimes Arthur makes them forget."

  "Shit… Did he do that to you and my mom?”

  He shook his head. “No, he wanted us to remember… it was a punishment to remember what we lost. But you… yes. They might’ve erased your memory and sent you into the mundane foster system.”

  “That's what they would've done to me? And that's why Calla was so worried that I wasn't Dragonborn, and that's what she was hiding." I looked up and met his eye. "But you should've told me this. I mean… George! You should’ve explained all this and taught me about the Dragonborn!"

  He shook his head. "No. I gave you a good life. I gave you the life Celine wanted you to have. And what if? What if all our fears came true and I'd gone against her wishes? What if you'd been raised as a Prime only to disappoint everyone at your Awakening? To disappoint yourself? No one should go through that, no one."

  I shook my head in disbelief and heartbreak. "Oh my god!"

  "See? That's why I wasn't about to tell you all this," George told me as he sipped the water.

  I felt stunned. "My mom must have felt so alone." I huffed out an emotional breath. "Oh my god."

  "Well…" he frowned. "You wanted to know."

  "That's why she kept trying to go to the dragon realm, isn't it?"

  George didn't need to say anything. The answer was written across his face.

  No wonder the older people gave me such strange looks at the academy. They knew what happened to her, and none of them told me. I should have pushed Calla! I should have pushed for more answers from Headmistress or Dr. Weaver, but I didn't because I hadn't known the right questions to ask—because of George!

  We sat there for a while, lost in our thoughts, until Aaraeth prodded me, you want to know answers, now is the time to ask the questions. Don’t miss your chance.

  My mind felt frozen, but I finally stood and picked up the pot from George's feet before setting it upright near the fire. I added another log and stood there watching it burn.

  When I sat again, I asked, "So… tell me what really happened when my mother went missing. Is she… dead?"

  George looked up at me, his chin marked red from leaning on his hand. "Dead? Celine? No, I told you. I saw her go through. I would've gone with her, but I stayed… just in case. But her anchor didn't work, a
nd that day was the last I saw of her."

  "Wait, you said I had an anchor. What was her anchor? And if hers didn't work, why do you think mine will?"

  He gazed at me with bloodshot eyes. "She used her blood for hers. She had a friend who was a nurse. They took her blood and dried it in sheets. It was a terrible mess if you ask me. But she never came back… I believe she's still alive. I hope she's still alive."

  "You don’t know for sure?" I asked.

  George shook his head. "I don't know, I'm sorry."

  "Wait, you said that you saw her go through? What exactly did you see?"

  He scratched his wayward beard. "I saw it—the dragon realm. Clear as if it were before me. It was there as if we'd just opened a window. There were red rocks, like the American southwest, but jungle plants like the amazon. Then she just walked through and as soon as she entered that portal, it glowed—bright like the sun, and I closed my eyes. But when I looked again, everything was gone, the portal, Celine, everything, and the only things left were the spots in my eyes from the light."

  Chills ran up my arms. It was almost too unbelievable to imagine, but there was no deceit in his words.

  "Why haven't you gone back for her? Why didn't you tell Evgeni about it?"

  George pursed his lips and blew a breath out his nose while he searched the forest floor for the answer.

  When he looked up at me, he said, "I planned to go—once, don't you remember? I left you with Arthur in Paris. But it was dangerous, and I was afraid. Besides, I didn't have an anchor, and I didn't know what else I could use for one… and then there was you… I couldn’t leave you alone."

  I bit my lip and looked up into the trees. "But you did leave me… in Paris, with Arthur."

  "Yes." He frowned.

  "I remember. I thought that was Evgeni…"

  He cut me off, "Evgeni? No."

  I was running out of time. I felt it. Ashe was already coming for me. But I needed more answers about the portal and Dragon realm. We could talk about Arthur later.

  "I have an anchor? What is it?"

  "It's your placenta—don't worry, it's all dried out and preserved. Your grandparents buried an empty coffin, so I opened it up and put Celine's research inside and sealed the lid." He watched me, trying to gauge my reaction.