by Laurie McKay
Dedication
To Angie, Valerie, and Leslie,
who bring books to kids of all ages
Dedication
1. THE SUMMER SCRIBE
2. OF HORSES AND DRAGONS
3. PUNISHMENT SPRINGS
4. ARCHER’S DAY
5. THE RED ASSEMBLY
6. THE DRAGON IN THE HALL
7. THE PARK AT DAWN
8. TO SWIM OR TO SINK
9. OF PRINCES AND PEASANTS
10. THE MAN IN THE GOLDEN VEST
11. THE DRAGON TONGUE
12. THE SORCERESS’S CHOICE
13. THE GREEN BINDER
14. THE UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT
15. THE SECOND QUEEN
16. THE DEAL
17. DOWNTOWN AT DUSK
18. THE BELLOWING WIND
19. THE FALLEN EMBLEM
20. THE DRAGON IN THE TOWN HOUSE
21. FIRST CONTACT
22. THE CASTLE IN THE TABLET
23. TO COUNTER A CURSE
24. THE ASSEMBLY IN RED
25. THE OCTAGONAL ROOM
26. THE BATTLE IN THE MIRROR
27. ESCAPE FROM THE ATTIC
28. THE FIGHT IN THE FOREST
29. THE DRAGON BY THE DOOR
30. THE FORGOTTEN TONGUE
31. NEW RULES
32. A MOMENT OF HOME
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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About the Author
Books by Laurie McKay
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
The locals called it the summer of red lightning.
Caden, however, knew better. Like all things involving magic and the Greater Realm, the locals had it wrong. It wasn’t strangely colored lightning that split the sky. It was banishment spells.
The Greater Realm Council was exiling villains to Asheville, North Carolina. Twelve this summer by Caden’s lightning count, and the most recent had been the night before.
The council believed the banished went to the Land of Shadow, a place of punishment, torture, and death. But the council also had it wrong. Asheville was a quaint mountain town full of art and music. The citizens called it the Land of the Sky and proclaimed the city the happiest in the South.
Caden wasn’t a local, but he hadn’t been banished. He was an eighth-born Razzonian prince from the Greater Realm’s Winterlands, a future Elite Paladin, and a protector of the kingdom. Yet seven months ago, bad magic transported Caden, his noble stallion, Sir Horace, and Brynne, a powerful young sorceress, to Asheville. They’d been stranded in the happy, villain-filled realm since.
To make matters worse, Caden and Brynne had been sentenced to foster care and forced to endure middle school. And the school was where the Greater Realm’s banished villains fulfilled their sentences. While the villains’ punishment was to teach, Caden’s misfortune was to be their student. Even in summer.
It was midday on Thursday in the Ashevillian month of August—the last day of summer session—and Caden marched down the long hall in Primrose Charter School. He’d been summoned to the principal’s office. Again.
The classrooms were quiet. Most were dark, too. Caden was one of the few students in attendance. Brynne and his foster siblings, Jane and Tito, didn’t have to attend. While Caden’s mastery of spoken English was undeniable, his skills didn’t extend to the written word, and Rath Dunn—acting school principal, math teacher, and banished Greater Realm villain—had used that to trap him.
There were workers in the hall, men and women in mud-colored jumpsuits, painting the walls bloodred. The week prior, they’d replaced the school’s dented pink lockers with sleek gray ones. The once-scuffed tiles shone with fresh wax. If Caden squinted, he could see his princely reflection in the floor.
The changes proved that Rath Dunn had truly usurped control of the school from Ms. Primrose, a powerful being who’d collected the banished, forced them to teach, and who had been principal. The scent of roses, her essence, still lingered. No paint or wax smell could rid the halls of the flowery smell.
At the hall’s end, Mr. Creedly, assistant to the principal, sat at a large desk like a smarmy guard. His hair was slicked back, his arms folded across his chest. As Caden approached, Mr. Creedly narrowed his eyes. He uncurled and pointed a too-long finger at the door. “He,” Mr. Creedly spat, “wants you to wait.”
Not only did Rath Dunn force Caden to take summer classes, summon him daily, and threaten all good people, he now expected Caden to wait? Royalty didn’t wait in the hall.
Caden pushed past Mr. Creedly. He placed his palm on the door but hesitated. Truth be told, he didn’t want to go into the principal’s office. Rath Dunn meant to test him. Not with a math quiz like he’d done in the school year proper. Instead, he meant to determine when and how Caden was cursed.
At the end of last term, Rath Dunn became suspicious when he’d ordered Caden to chop off Brynne’s long, beautiful hair and Caden had done so. No future Elite Paladin would be so cruel unless forced. Caden had been compelled to do it. He’d had no choice.
And it was all Brynne’s fault.
While her magic was strong, her control wasn’t. She’d accidentally hexed Caden with compliance for three days each month. During that time he had to do whatever anyone told him to do. While Caden had granted her his royal forgiveness, and she’d forgiven him for slicing off her hair, she hadn’t reversed his curse yet.
As he looked at the door, though, his annoyance trickled away. His stomach churned and he tasted bile, bitter and bad on his tongue. What if Rath Dunn figured everything out? He might order Caden to lie, steal, or hurt someone. Without doubt, whatever he commanded would be crueler than cutting Brynne’s hair.
Today, however, that wasn’t a problem. The curse wasn’t active. Today Caden was in control. He centered himself and prepared for the encounter. Each day that Rath Dunn foolishly summoned Caden to his office, there was a chance Caden would learn more about his plot.
For Rath Dunn’s treachery extended beyond usurping power at the school. The tyrant schemed to break the barrier between Asheville and the Greater Realm by casting a powerful ritual spell that would be fueled by the destruction of the city. Once the barrier was gone, he could seek revenge on those who banished him.
Already, the tyrant had collected the rare ingredients needed for the spell: tears of an elf, magical locks, blood of the son, and essence of dragon. The magical locks had been Brynne’s hair. The very hair Caden had cut and given to Rath Dunn while cursed.
Such complicated ritual magic required proper timing and preparation. As each sunny, sweltering day passed, Caden feared Rath Dunn got closer to his goal. And there were also the recent banishment spells. Those could only mean trouble in the Greater Realm. What was going on in Caden’s homeland and how was it connected to Rath Dunn’s plot?
Despite the season, Caden wore his enchanted coat. It was a symbol of his people and his family, a gift handed down to him by his father. The imperial Winterbird was embroidered on the back in gold and silver threads. It gave him comfort always; it reminded him to be brave. He held his chin high as he strode through the doorway.
The office looked different from when it had been Ms. Primrose’s. Before Rath Dunn took over, the walls were silvery blue. Now they were red. The shelves, once filled with bowls of shiny rocks, beads, and cheap collectibles, were stacked with books—some in neat lines, others in piles. The ones with visible covers showed pictures of delicious-looking foods. There was a large window near the back of the room. A mirror on the wall across from it reflected the sunlight.
There were five people inside.
The first was Rath Dunn. He stood behind the desk. His
bald scalp shone in the window’s light. One of his eyes was brown, the other blue. A scar split his face from his blue eye to his mouth. He wore a red linen shirt and red slacks that made his torso blend weirdly into the wall. Truth be told, he looked like one of the feared floating heads of the Springlands Mist Swamps.
Despite their reputation, Caden found the floating heads to be friendly and quite polite. Rath Dunn was to be feared much more than the floating heads. His current wolfish smirk meant nothing good for Caden.
The second was Ms. Primrose, once principal, current vice principal and placement counselor. She wore a flowery dress. Her blue-and-silvery hair was pulled into a tight bun; her mouth was set in a scowl. She looked like an old school marm and the scent of roses was strong. Her smell and appearance were misleading, though.
She was one of the eight legendary Elderkind of the Greater Realm, and one of four Elderdragons. Caden suspected she was either the more kindly Silver Elderdragon or the more vicious Blue. He’d seen scales of both shades on her arm: the silver when happy and sated, the blue when angry and not. Caden had yet to find out how she came to be in Asheville and collect trinkets, villains, and students; and currently he was in no position to ask her.
The other three people stood together, two restraining the third. Mr. Faunt, the sixth-grade math teacher who had fingertips like razors, stood on the left side of the detained man. Stout and strong Mrs. Grady, the evil eighth-grade math teacher, stood on the right.
The man between them was soot covered, but his eyes were bright. A long gray braid fell over his shoulder. The end was scorched and black. No doubt it was he who had arrived on the lightning the night before. Was he being detained because he was so dangerous? He didn’t look it, but looks could deceive.
Rath Dunn slammed a book to his desktop. Caden and the others snapped their attention to him. With a flamboyant bow, he stalked around the desk, pausing at the mirror to check his tie. “Well, if you didn’t wait outside, I assume you’re not following orders today?”
And there it was. The reason he’d summoned Caden. To test Caden’s compliance.
This Thursday the moon wasn’t half-full. Caden’s will was his own. Rath Dunn, however, didn’t know that. Caden’s plan was to confuse him. He kept his shoulders square and breathing even. He needed his wits to be as sharp as a griffin’s tooth.
“I wasn’t ordered to wait,” Caden said. “It was suggested. And I declined.”
“Did you now?” Rath Dunn said. “It’s just as well. The fun can start sooner, can’t it?” He motioned to the soot-covered man. With clear amusement, he said, “I think he recognizes me.”
When Caden turned, the soot-covered man’s eyes widened. “Your Highness?” he said in the Greater Realm’s Common Tongue.
Rath Dunn chuckled. “It seems he recognizes you as well. I suspected as much.” As if that was a cue, Mr. Faunt and Mrs. Grady laughed, too. Caden, however, found nothing amusing about the trio of sinister, snickering math teachers. Nor did Ms. Primrose, it seemed. She checked her watch with an impatient huff.
The soot-covered man stared at Caden. “Your Highness,” the man said. “You’re alive.”
Although scratchy and frightened, that voice was familiar. Suddenly, Caden felt he knew him, too. If he imagined the man without the soot, his pointed nose and crooked eyebrows were familiar. An image of the Northern Tower popped into Caden’s mind, of the spiraling stacks in the Winter Castle library, of the scribes hurrying about. This man was one of them. Caden had spoken to him before. After all, Caden spoke to everyone.
“Scribe Trevor?” Caden said.
Scribe Trevor kept the library quiet; he was strict with the lower scribes. He’d even told Caden that Sir Horace shouldn’t be allowed in the stacks. Setting that aside, he didn’t seem the type to be banished, the type to turn traitor.
Then again, Caden’s faith in people had failed him before. Rath Dunn’s accomplice in the other realm was none other than Caden’s second-born brother, Maden. Caden still found that hard to believe even though Caden had learned firsthand that Maden was a traitor.
As it was doubtful Scribe Trevor understood any English, Caden kept to the Common Tongue. “How did you come to be here?”
Scribe Trevor started to answer, but Rath Dunn interrupted. “You’re not here to ask questions,” Rath Dunn said. “You’re here to listen.”
“I don’t listen to tyrants,” Caden said.
“Tyrant?” He raised his brows and motioned to himself. “Moi?”
Caden could speak French; he’d heard French spoken by a tourist. “Oui. Vous.”
Rath Dunn chuckled. “It’s a cute trick,” he said. “The language thing. Won’t save you, though. Won’t save anyone.”
Despite the sweltering heat outside, the room became cold. Ms. Primrose let out a sharp sigh. She glanced at her watch again. “Can we get to it,” she said, though she spoke in English. “I have other business today, Mr. Rathis. Snap. Snap.”
Mr. Faunt and Mrs. Grady held Scribe Trevor in place. The scribe’s gaze darted from Caden to Rath Dunn and back again. “Your Highness,” he said in the Common Tongue. His voice shook slightly. “You must leave.”
It seemed that Scribe Trevor was more concerned for Caden’s welfare than his own. Whether he was guilty or not, his concern seemed genuine. However, Caden doubted Rath Dunn would let either of them leave yet.
“We must leave,” Caden said.
“Leave? I don’t think so. Where’s the fun in that?” Rath Dunn said. “I know. Why don’t you dance for us today?”
That was a question. Not an order. That was Rath Dunn’s routine. First he asked. Next he would order. Caden raised a brow. “I must decline.” He stepped toward Scribe Trevor and the math teachers who held him. “My countryman and I have much to discuss.”
“I haven’t excused you yet, boy. I am not finished with him either.” Rath Dunn leaned closer. “Now, dance for me, prince.”
That was an order. The first one was always something meant to embarrass Caden. Like dancing. Or singing. Caden hesitated. He needed to get Scribe Trevor out of the office as soon as possible. There were math teachers and an impatient Elderdragon in the room. Still. If misdirection was Caden’s goal, it was best he complied.
Caden caught Scribe Trevor’s gaze. “We’ll go soon,” he said. He tried to sound confident and reassuring, but his stomach twisted. He raised his chin. “First, I’ll dance.”
In the Greater Realm, most dances were done with partners. Trevor didn’t seem like the dancing type, and Caden wasn’t asking Rath Dunn or either of his math minions to be his partner. He forced his most charming smile and offered his hand to Ms. Primrose.
She looked down at it with obvious displeasure. “I don’t dance,” she said. Then she waggled her finger at him. “Don’t think I’ve forgiven you.” She narrowed her eyes toward Rath Dunn. “Either of you.”
She was mad at Rath Dunn for stealing her school and Caden for not stopping him. It wasn’t Caden’s fault. If she was to blame someone other than Rath Dunn, she should blame herself. But Caden had found her anger only increased when he pointed that out, and it seemed Caden would dance alone.
His great father, King Axel, once said, “The only one who can take away your dignity is yourself.” As such, and with great dignity, Caden moved: left foot, right foot, right foot, left hand up, right hand down. Twist. Both hands up. Twist. Swirl.
Caden’s father also once said, “Never shame the king or kingdom.” Well, if Caden danced with confidence, that wouldn’t apply. He pivoted. Left foot. Right foot. Twist. Hands down.
“Stop,” Rath Dunn said.
At the end of a dance, it was customary to bow. Caden slid to a stop and did so.
Ms. Primrose wore the expression of one who’d witnessed a slime slug birth. “Oh my,” she said. “I’m embarrassed for you, dear.”
Caden cut his gaze to Scribe Trevor. It seemed from Scribe Trevor’s tight frown and wide eyes that Caden’s fancy footwork
only frightened him further. Best they get out of this dragon-and-despot-occupied office soon. If Rath Dunn’s pattern continued, he would order Caden to do something more troublesome next.
As such, Caden wasn’t surprised when Rath Dunn motioned to Scribe Trevor. Whatever Rath Dunn ordered, however, Caden wouldn’t have to follow it. Not today. Caden felt his brow furrow. He held Rath Dunn’s gaze.
“Now we decide,” Rath Dunn said, and leaned against the front of the desk, “whether Scribe Trevor, banished traitor of Razzon, teaches with us . . . or doesn’t.”
Scribe Trevor glanced at the door. No doubt he thought of running. But he was locked in place by Mr. Faunt and Mrs. Grady and glanced at Caden as if he wouldn’t leave without him. Like the Elite Paladins, like his brothers and guards, those in the castle often protected Caden.
“I’ll let you choose, prince,” Rath Dunn said. “Shall he teach, or shall he not teach?”
First a question. He answered with certainty. “He should teach.” Ms. Primrose devoured the banished who weren’t made teachers. Caden turned to Scribe Trevor. “Jasan is also here.” Jasan was Caden’s seventh-born brother. “He was wrongly banished; he is innocent and teaches the gym class here.” The next thing Caden said, he wasn’t sure of. But he went with his instinct. “Like you, his sentence was a mistake.”
Scribe Trevor’s lip trembled. “Thank you, Prince Caden,” he said, though Caden hadn’t actually done anything for which to be thanked.
“Touching,” Rath Dunn said, and leaned forward.
Ms. Primrose complained about the time, about the need to polish a bead. Caden couldn’t stop the glare he sent her way. “Don’t give me that kind of look,” she said. “I’ve things to do, you know. This,” she said with a flap of her hand, “is mostly your fault.”
That was completely unfair. But Caden couldn’t argue with a dragon while a tyrant tested him and threatened a castle scribe. Caden turned his attention to said tyrant. It was also a prince’s duty to protect his people. “Let him teach,” he said.
“Now, now,” Rath Dunn said. “Don’t be so hasty.” That was an order. “Think about your choice.” As was that. “Choose that he not teach. That he die. Choose it now.” Those were orders, too, and he growled them low, like a threat.