by Simon Archer
“How come Maji gets a wish?” Miji asked, as only an indignant little brother could. “I want to make a wish.”
“You can do that on your birthday,” Vanna informed him.
“But my birthday is so far away,” Miji said with a pout. He put his chin in his hand and stuck out his bottom lip. Bailey-Sue covered her mouth, so she didn’t share her giggles with the group over Miji’s cuteness.
I struck a match and lit the candles one by one. Maji’s face glowed as the light from the flames flickered on her skin. She looked directly into the twelve little fires on her cake and pondered. We watched patiently as Maji contemplated her wish. White wax bubbled and dripped down the side of some of the candles as she paused.
“Ew!” Meeja exclaimed. “It is getting on the cake!”
“Hush,” Styu told his daughter. Then he turned to Maji. “Honey, do you know what you are going to wish for?”
Maji opened her mouth to respond, but I cut in. “You can’t tell anyone, or it won’t come true.”
“There seems to be a lot of rules to this wish-making,” Diana noted with a chuckle from the other end of the table.
Rebekah chortled along with her, “So it would seem.”
I sent a playful sneer their way to which Diana responded with a smirk. I looked away before my ears turned pink.
Maji tugged on the ends of her hair and looked up at me. She wanted to say something, I could tell, but didn’t seem to know how.
“What is it, Maji?” I prompted.
“Will you do it with me?” she asked. “Is that allowed?”
“It’s your wish, though,” I said.
“I know,” Maji replied, “but I am nervous. Maybe I could share just this one with you.”
Honored, I crossed to Maji’s side and put an arm around her. I pulled her into a side hug and kissed the top of her head.
“Of course,” I answered. “We can do it together. Do you have your wish?”
Maji nodded vigorously.
“Okay, I just need a second to think of mine.”
Now, on the spot, I had to come up with something. I looked about the group and saw the faces of all these people and creatures I had come to love. They welcomed me, in their own time, into their homes and their lives. I would be forever grateful to them.
I knew there was still a long way to go. Insomier’s outer towns and the Marked Woods were still affected by the corruption. I was the only person with the power to save them. And save them I would.
I had made a promise months ago to protect this world and to make sure that no one would feel the loss of their home or loved ones if it could be helped. So far, we had been doing well, combating the corruption. But we would need to do more if we were to defeat it completely. Right now, the plague was manageable and restrained to the outer realms of the kingdom. I hoped we could not only keep it that way, but eradicate it completely.
Suddenly, I had my wish. I looked Maji in the eye and nodded, indicating as such to the young birthday girl. She got the message and inhaled sharply.
I mimicked her and held my breath for a single thought, long enough to make a wish. I spoke the words in my head. I wish for the power to make the kingdom of Insomier healthy again.
Then, together, Maji and I blew out her birthday candles with one swift breath.
2
It turned out that medieval baking wasn’t my strong suit. Everyone was kind about it, save for the youngest two who always spoke their minds.
“Bleh,” Miji said as he stuck out his tongue with traces of cake still on it.
“This is gross,” Meeja said. She stuck the fork in her slice of cake and then pushed the plate away from her.
“Come on,” I reasoned, “it can’t be that bad, can it?”
I looked about the group, and no one would meet my eye. Bailey-Sue poked at crumb-sized pieces while Alona pushed the slice around her plate. Rebekah was staring at a piece she had on her fork, not putting it anywhere near her lips. Diana was still chewing her first bite and wouldn’t, or couldn’t, swallow. Vanna hadn’t even tried it.
A little terrified, I put a forkful in my mouth. It was chalky and crumbled instantly. The whole thing was so dry that even the overly sweet icing couldn’t save any moisture. I coughed, trying to clear my throat of the taste, but was unsuccessful. I turned and spat out the flat sand-like substance out of my mouth.
Laughter erupted around me. Everyone sitting there proceeded to clear off their plates, dumping the pieces of cake, if that’s what you could call it, back onto the original platter. Vanna proceeded to slice and serve her immaculate masterpiece.
“Man,” I said disappointedly. “I really wanted that to be good.”
“You have many good qualities,” Styu complimented. “Baking, however, is not one of them.”
“Apparently,” I relented.
“Oh, come on, Martin,” Alona said. “Do not be so upset. You are good at many things. Blinding everyone when you explode with light, for instance.”
“Or controlling seven dragons at once,” Bailey-Sue joked.
“Or angering kings by threatening to take their crown,” Diana added, jumping into the playful ribbing.
My three friends laughed, and even Styu snickered a little. I pursed my lips indignantly at the group of them. I narrowed my eyes in an attempt to be menacing, but I couldn’t hold it for very long. I quickly put on the defensive, so as to not burst into laughter myself.
“For your information--” I began, but Diana interrupted me.
“Oh, here he goes.” Diana leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest expectantly.
Maturely, I stuck my tongue out at her before continuing. “I have been working on mastering the light, okay? All three of you know it. It may have gotten a little brighter, but that doesn’t mean I’ve blinded anyone.”
“At least you can heal people without knocking yourself out for three days,” Alona said considerately.
“Thank you,” I said as I pointed enthusiastically in her direction. Alona nodded in response. “See? I’m getting better. And the dragons and me, we’re working on it.”
“That is an understatement,” Ffamran chided.
“Hey.” I shifted my finger, so it now pointed accusingly at Ffamran. “You shut it over there. Things are going fine.”
“They still will not relinquish their gifts to you?” Diana asked.
“What do you mean?” Mark chimed in, ever the curious one. Mark wanted to work in the Zoo someday and become a caretaker. He was particularly fond of the dragons and liked to visit them as often as his mother would allow.
“Well,” I started, hesitant and a little embarrassed. “So, a couple of months ago, I bonded to the six other dragons in the clan.”
“Yes,” Mark said. “I know that part, but I thought that as a part of the bonding, you were automatically given gifts from each of the dragons.”
“You would think so since that’s typically how it works,” I explained. “Apparently, not after the first one, anyway.”
Alona leaned across the table to speak directly with Mark, who had become something of a protege for Alona. “We have found that the new dragons have a bit more control over when their gifts are bequeathed to Martin since none of them is his primary bond.”
“What does ‘bequeathed’ mean?” Miji asked with a mouthful of cake.
“Give something to someone,” Vanna answered patiently.
Miji swallowed. “Oh.”
“Mama, can we go play?” Meeja asked. “This is boring.”
Styu laughed at his child’s honesty. He kissed the top of her head, then lifted her out of her chair. “Absolutely, dear. You and Miji can take turns feeding Fipmly Martin’s cake.”
“Even Fipmly won’t eat that,” Meeja said with her nose crinkled in disgust.
The table had another round of laughter at my expense, me included. Hey, if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? Given their leave, the two youngest raced of
f, with Miji picking up his garter snake and the flutterbird following behind Meeja. They proceeded to begin a game that involved lots of running through the nearby trees.
“So are the other dragons’ gifts a double test?” Mark said, figuring out the parts of it all as he spoke. “First, the dragon has to choose to bond to you, and then they have to decide if you are worthy of their gift?”
“Pretty much,” I said. I rolled my lips over my teeth and stared at the ground.
“It has been a point of contention, to say the least,” Ffamran commented.
“Hey,” I said, a thought occurring to me. “At least I got King Atlus to agree to let the dragons reside in the Gardens. It has become a sanctuary of sorts for them.”
“That is true,” Ffamran conceded. “Of that, they are grateful. Well, mostly, anyway.” He smirked. “They are not pleased that Rebekah has to stay there and watch them.”
“I am not pleased either,” Rebekah piped up from her seat, though the smile on her face showed that her comment was all in good fun.
I ran a hand through my hair as I thought about the captain of the king’s guard being reduced to dragon-sitter. “But it’s as much for their protection as anyone else’s.” I met Ffamran’s eyes. “After what happened to you, I don’t dare leave any of the dragons alone.”
“Fair enough,” Ffamrin said with a sigh.
“Rebekah’s presence with the dragons is why you got King Atlus to agree to let them remain,” Diana said dubiously. She took a sip of her water and hid behind it from my glare. “Not that he really had much choice in the matter.”
Rebekah made a noise of affirmation.
“I thought we were celebrating Maji’s birthday,” I said in an attempt to change the subject. “As far as I know, this was not ‘Pick on Martin Day.’”
“You are such an easy target, though,” Bailey-Sue said with a smile.
“Is he still giving you trouble, Martin?” Styu asked sincerely. “The king, I mean.”
I huffed out a breath. “In so many words, yes, but in my defense, we haven’t been hashing this out for long.”
“He is still concerned he will attack with the dragons and make himself king,” Diana answered for me. She would know, having been in nearly all the meetings between the king and myself. Rebekah and Diana were supposed to be there to protect the king from me, but it nearly always ended up being the other way around.
“I don’t know how many times I have to tell them that I have no interest in running the kingdom,” I said, exasperated. “I only want to help save it, and he needs me to do that, or he won’t have a kingdom to rule over.”
“It is hard for him, I bet,” Styu said, a hint of sympathy in his voice. “He sees you as a threat because you and the clan could obliterate him and the entire court in five seconds.”
“I don’t even think it would take that long,” I muttered under my breath.
Styu continued, unphased by my comment. “So, he feels he must listen to you and do what you say, which undermines him as king. He might feel trapped.”
“I don’t know how to not make him feel that way,” I confessed. “I have talked him through every single thing I have done for the kingdom. He sends guards out with me to the outer towns when we hear of corruption. We hold meetings weekly. He knows everything I’m doing when I’m doing it.”
“Not everything,” Ffamran murmured.
I shot the dragon a glance and mentally told him, “Shut up.”
He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and rested his head on his front legs. I envied his ability to disengage and lounge about, uncaring and unphased.
“What does he mean?” Styu asked, throwing a thumb back to indicate Ffamran.
“Well…” I started, then cleared my throat, suddenly uncomfortable about discussing so much politics in front of the Dyers. “There might be a secret group that the king doesn’t know about.”
“What kind of secret group?” Styu questioned with a raised, interested eyebrow.
“Styu!” his wife scolded.
“What?” Styu replied defensively. “I am curious, and honestly, I want to make sure Martin is not putting himself in unnecessary danger.”
I melted a little at the evidence of Styu’s concern. It was so kind of him to speak of me as he would his own children. While he and Vanna were not too much older than me, they had become surrogate parents in a way, always making sure I was fed, sleeping enough, and all-around okay. We all knew they would never replace my parents, but I considered them like a close aunt and uncle.
“It was my idea,” Diana chimed in. “There are not many of us in this group, but we scout out corrupted towns that the king hasn’t prioritized. We assess the damage and then tell Martin so he can help them in addition to the places King Atlus has found.”
“Or we bring the afflicted people to the Zoo,” Alona added. “Then he visits them in his spare time and heals them there.”
For the first time since bringing out the cakes, Vanna sat down. “Martin, that is a lot of work. Between the dragons, the king’s orders, and your own missions--”
“Do not forget his continued training with me,” Diana interjected.
“And his training with me, as well,” Rebekah spoke.
“Or his daily work at the Zoo,” Alona added.
“How do you rest, dear?” Vanna asked.
I gulped audibly before I answered her. “I don’t rest much, but it’s enough for now. I mean, I can rest when the corruption is gone, right? Isn’t that the point?”
“You will be of use to no one if you do not take care of yourself,” Vanna said. She reached out and took my hand in both of hers. “There is already enough pressure on you since you are the only one who can directly fight the corruption. Do not do more harm to yourself by wearing yourself down.”
“I can handle it,” I said with more confidence than I had. I squeezed Vanna’s hands and then pulled away, trying to be gentle. I didn’t want to insult her kindness, but I knew what I was doing. Well, sort of. I was getting by and improving all the time. Rest would come when the world was saved.
“At least the corruption has stayed in the outer sections of the kingdom,” I said, trying to brighten Vanna’s concerned face. “We’ve managed to keep it from the city this long, and we’ll keep doing so.”
“That is untrue,” a soft but mature voice said.
All heads turned to the head of the table where Maji had sat silent this entire time. The girl’s face had gone ghostly white, and her eyes were glazed over, shimmering pearls in her sockets.
Upon seeing her daughter’s expression, Vanna stood and rushed to Maji’s side. She gripped Maji’s shoulders, anchoring her to the chair.
“It is a vision,” Vanna announced to the rest of us. “Sometimes they cause her to spasm. Styu, please.”
The Dye master didn’t have to be told twice. He was at his wife’s side and held Maji’s legs to the chair. I watched the terrified looks cross both Vanna and Styu’s faces, fear that their daughter would hurt herself mid-vision.
“The corruption has come,” Maji said. However, this voice was not her typical, melodic tone. This one burst from her like a thunderstorm and had an intimidating nature to it.
The rest of us were on our feet now, frightened by the girl and her creepy voice.
“What does she mean?” Bailey-Sue asked, her voice quivering. “Does that mean the corruption is in the city?”
“She cannot answer questions in this state,” Vanna explained. “It will end when she speaks her peace, but she will not be able to respond to us before then.”
“The corruption is here,” Maji said in her distorted voice. “The corruption is now.”
Several things happened all at once. Maji collapsed, going instantly limp in the chair. She slumped over to the side, but Styu caught the young girl. He lifted her into a fireman’s carry and moved to take her into the house. Mark followed his father and sister, ready to help.
Simultaneously, a h
igh-pitched scream came from the edge of the trees.
I darted forward, behind only Vanna. The mother recognized her child’s cries and bolted faster than I had ever seen her move. Ffamran rose on all fours, alert and scanning the skies for a threat. Altair shrieked as he flew up to search as well. With Rebekah surging out of her seat and tensing up. She shared a look with Diana, nodding to indicate she would stay to make sure the others were safe. Diana unhooked a knife from her belt and held it out as she ran behind me.
The group of us approached Meeja, who was crying loudly. At her feet lay Miji, the garter snake lashing out at us as we drew near.
Without being asked, Bailey-Sue soothed the snake and ran with it back to the house, desperate for it to calm down. Vanna and I flanked Miji’s body.
“Meeja, what happened, baby?” Vanna asked, while her hands roamed about Miji’s body, checking for any sign of life. Unsurprisingly, her voice was steady, her whole demeanor calm. This mother seemed accustomed to crisis and immediately commanded the area.
“He just fell,” the young girl explained through fits of tears.
“Was anyone here?” Diana asked, her voice a little harsh towards the sobbing six-year-old.
Meeja cried harder, and Diana stepped back, frightened by her waterworks. “I am going to scour the woods,” she said and took her leave, knife stretched out before her.
Alona bent down next to Meeja and got on her level. “Meeja,” she said, her voice the exact opposite of Diana’s, kind and gentle. “What happened to Miji?”
“He fell!” she wailed again. “After he ate the honeysuckle, he fell.”
I looked back at the ground around us, and sure enough, beautiful white honeysuckles were growing at the base of some of the trees. Alona caught my eye and gave me a single nod. Vanna seemed to catch on, too, because she gasped loudly and put a hand over her mouth.
“It cannot be,” she exclaimed in a shocked whisper. “My children snack on those flowers all the time. Styu and I had some just this morning. Oh, God.”