The stairs were precarious, covered with fallen rocks and missing chunks of both stair and railing at many points. The last few steps were missing entirely, and we had to jump a few feet to reach the landing that led to the bedrooms—or rather, the master bedroom, as my bedroom and all the others had been destroyed in the battle.
Sara Lee paused for a moment at the threshold of the bedroom, remembering, perhaps, the years she had spent there with Nimue before her capture.
“When you were a baby,” she said as she led me across the room to the wall farthest from the door, “we used to let you sleep in bed with us to stop you from wailing your head off. You hated to be alone, and when we did finally get you into your own crib, a servant had to be assigned to the task of standing watch at your bedside so you would sleep. Did your mother ever tell you that?”
“No, she didn’t talk much about anything once you left.”
“I’m sure that was hard. Well, when you were old enough to talk, you finally explained that nightmares were what made you scream all night—specifically nightmares about a large metal dragon attacking the castle and a large man riding on its back.”
“I said that?”
“Yes.” Sara Lee sat down on the bed, and I followed. “Imagine my surprise when I arrived as a prisoner on Jupiter and found just such a dragon being built and just such a man waiting for me.”
“Were there other dreams?”
“Oh yes, lots. Most of them seemed nonsensical at the time, but I’m guessing they’ve also proved true. A comet with a man inside, for example, or a big skyscraper where dragons lived?”
I nodded.
“I don’t know the source of your dreams, Grian, but I do know that the truth lived inside of them, and that we should have listened.”
“I was only a child, Mother.” I put my arm around her shoulders, so much thinner and weaker than the strong shoulders I remembered from childhood. “Of course you couldn’t take my dreams as fact before any of them had been proven.”
“But they went on for years, until the day I was taken prisoner and maybe even after that. You were too small to remember, but I do. One dream in particular still haunts me, and I need to tell you about it now, before I make the same mistake again. In many of your dreams, you cried out for someone named Caden. Over and over again you cried for this person, until your throat was sore and you’d run out of tears.”
“Oh, I know he’s my one true love. We’ve been over all of that. Things aren’t perfect with us, but I’m optimistic—”
“No.” She put a finger to my lips. “Not that Caden. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. You described your Caden as a girl with long black hair and the most beautiful face you had ever seen. Like a doll, you said, only this girl was much tougher than a doll. ‘Why are you crying, then?’ we asked you when you were particularly distraught one night. ‘Because she’s dead,’ you told us. ‘She saved me, and she’s dead.’”
I couldn’t believe what I had heard. In my dreams, I’d referred to Blair as Caden?
“None of this makes any sense,” I exclaimed. “The real Caden is supposed to be my one true love. With his help, I should be able to….” I thought back to the time we were imprisoned on Jupiter. Had I really freed us because of my love for my people, or had it been my love for Blair, whose touch gave me the strength to believe in myself, that had given me power? And when I’d regained my powers when fighting the Dragon Killer, had I really solved the mystery of how to tap into my Sun Dragon skills, or had it been Blair’s injury right before that moment that had fired up my light?
“I know it’s confusing,” Sara Lee said, “especially because, according to legend, you’re supposed to have a romantic relationship with this Caden person. What can I say? Maybe even the universe makes mistakes. But that doesn’t mean you can’t love Blair, in your own way, and draw strength from that love. After all, I’ve loved your mother for as long as I can remember, and you know what? More than anything else about her, I love her because she’s my best friend.”
“I guess that makes sense. Thanks, Mother.”
“Oh, and one more thing.”
She got up and went over to a drawing of Excalibur that hung on the wall. This she swung forward, revealing a safe beneath the frame.
“Is that what I think it is?” I asked breathily as she typed in a code and opened the door. “Was it here the whole time?”
Sure enough, from the depths of the safe came a sword in its sheath. The diamonds of the hilt sparkled, reminding me of the stories of when my mother had killed Elaine and proved her worth as ruler of Draman.
“Here,” she said as she handed the sword to me. “It’s yours now.”
I hesitated to take the weapon. “Don’t I need to pull it from a rock or something to prove I’m worthy?”
“You’re the Sun Dragon, the savior of dragons everywhere. You were born worthy.”
I wanted to say more, but voices called us back downstairs. Apparently, Shull and his posse had arrived. I took Excalibur, and the sword felt much heavier than it should have. The weight of history, perhaps, or just a lot of diamonds.
“Quick, back to the closet,” Sara Lee said as she closed the safe and then the frame.
“Don’t you want to put this back for safekeeping?”
“Shull will search the house for Excalibur, and we can’t let him find it. It’s safer with you than in here, I’m sure.”
We ran down the hall and jumped over the gap in the stairs, both of us bold and fearless now that the time for battle had arrived. Nimue met us at the bottom of the stairs, and though her eyebrows raised at the sight of the familiar sword, she said nothing. There was no time left to say it.
My mothers and I got into the broom closet’s fake floor only seconds before Shull rushed into the room. The others had apparently hidden their weapons in time, and they all sat against the far wall as though they had been there since the initial video conference.
“Well now,” said Shull as he examined his prisoners, “what a fine bunch we have here. The last subjects loyal to the late queens and their little Grian.”
I didn’t need to see Blair and Skelly’s expressions to know what they looked like.
“Now, who here knows something about the portal to the Artists’ hiding place?”
Footsteps approached, and then the head butler introduced himself.
“My liege, I am Frederick, in charge of all the servants of this house. If you might allow me the opportunity to show you the castle, you could perhaps give us instructions for the cleanup and reconstruction before your departure—”
The sound of metal on bone interrupted this request, and then the thump of a head. Nimue whimpered, but Sara Lee put her hand over her mouth to dampen the noise.
“Now, where were we?” Shull asked the group. “Oh yes, the Artists’ portal. Tell me where it is, or so help me I’ll—”
Another sound, this one of wings against glass. Skelly must have transitioned during the beheading, and now had flown out the window to serve as distractor.
“Go after the weird fairy creature,” Shull said to someone. “No need to bring it back alive.”
None of our distractions would work, I saw then. Shull knew what he wanted, and he would not stop killing until he had it. One by one he would torture my friends, then remove their heads as he had Frederick’s.
“I need to stop him,” I whispered to my mothers. “At this rate, everyone will be dead before Merlin gets back.”
“No, Grian, it’s too dangerous—”
“He’s right, Nimue. He needs to go,” Sara Lee said. “I don’t want him in danger either, but he’s the only one who has a chance.”
Once I had their approval, I leaped through the door faster than I had known I could move in my human body. As soon as I saw Shull holding his own sword, I withdrew Excalibur and held the weapon for the first time. Flames danced in the metal, which had somehow tapped into my Sun Dragon magic, and the sword felt as connected to m
e as an extension of my own arm.
“Grian, no!” Blair cried, but it was too late.
“You’re supposed to be dead,” Shull said angrily. “Dragon Killer, you will pay for this mistake with your life!”
“Not if you’re too dead to take it,” I retorted. “Now fight me, Shull, and leave the rest of them alone.”
“Oh, I would, Grian,” said Shull with mock sorrow, “but we both know you’d kill me in hand-to-hand combat. I might be the strongest Earth Dragon who’s ever lived, but against a Sun Dragon, even I’m no match without my tricks. So how about this instead?”
Before I could do anything, Shull turned around and stabbed Blair through the right side of her chest. Blood ran from the wound and pooled on the floor where I had once crawled as a child. She didn’t make a sound, but I gasped, as though I was the one dying and not Blair.
“Now, you have a choice, Grian: stay here and try to save your special friend, or follow me and try to prevent me from finding the portal. It’s up to you. But I have an appointment to stop the Starsong, and I’m late.”
As I sunk to my knees and took Blair’s body in my arms, Shull and his guards began their transitions. One by one they flew out the window, while Blair’s chest grew heavier and heavier against mine. Caden sat down on her other side and helped me raise her head, but already, her skin was a ghostly white.
“What were you thinking?” Caden asked me over and over again, but I tuned him out.
“Blair? Blair, can you hear me?”
“Grian?” Her eyes flickered open. “What are you doing here? Forget about me. You should be following Shull and stopping him.”
“I can’t leave you.”
I tried to stop the flow of blood from her wounds with part of my shirt, but within seconds, the fabric was soaked.
“Yes, you can,” she whispered. “Remember what I said in the prison about your people? You have to save them.”
“It wasn’t my people that gave me strength, Blair; it was you. You’re the Caden who gave me the power to do all of those things.”
“I am?”
“Yes. I may never feel the way about you that you want, but I love you in the only way I know how. You’re my best friend, and if you die now, I will never forgive myself.”
She gave me a weak smile, but she couldn’t hold it for long. Her head drooped to the side, and this time, I could not rouse her.
“We need to do something,” Caden cried, but for once, I didn’t know what to do. I still didn’t even know the extent of my powers, but I did know they didn’t include bringing someone back to life.
Suddenly, Merlin appeared in the room, along with a little girl in a white robe and no shoes.
“What happened here?” Merlin asked.
As fast as I could, I told him everything, including what Shull had said about stopping the Starsong, whatever that meant. At that line, the sorcerer and the girl with him exchanged a fearful glance.
“I should have known the Earth Dragons were working with Elaine and her robots,” Merlin said. “Shull never cared about Earth; he’s after the whole universe, and the only way to succeed is to kill the Artists who create new worlds and watch over the old ones, effectively stopping the song of the stars—and the rest of the universe. If only he understood what he’s started… and how it will end.”
“We need to warn the others,” said the girl.
“I fear it’s too late,” Merlin told her, “but we must try. Can you bring the girl too? Perhaps one of the Artists can do something to help her.”
The Artist crouched down and placed her hand on Blair’s forehead.
“She is fading fast. I fear she only has minutes left in this life, if any. Grian, you may come too, but you must take my hand. The rest of you try to distract Shull while we’re gone.” The girl kept one hand on Blair’s forehead and the other reached out for me. “Now close your eyes and try to hold on.”
I did as she commanded, praying as I did so that this would save Blair and not kill her. The dizziness began, and then the whooshing of wind and cold, and then the silence.
Chapter Eighteen
THE ARTISTS’ headquarters were inside a large marble castle sitting on top of a mountain surrounded by clouds. The air smelled different there, like flowers in perpetual bloom, and the clouds never rose to block the sunlight from shining.
As soon as we arrived, Artists rushed from inside the castle to Blair’s side. All of the Artists wore the same white robes and no shoes, but they were not all children; in fact, many of them were much older than Nalla, which Merlin informed me was the name of our rescuer.
“You brought dragons here?” one old man—wearing a gold crown that matched his gold beard—asked from among the anxious chatter of the Artists.
“This one was injured trying to protect us from Shull,” Nalla explained, “and the other is Grian, the Sun Dragon.”
The chatter stopped abruptly, and all of the Artists turned to me with curiosity.
“What she says is true. I am Grian, and this is Caden. Well, one of the Cadens—it’s complicated.”
“And what would you propose we do for her?” asked the old man.
I didn’t have an answer.
“Can’t we let her drink from the fountain, Finno?” asked Nalla softly.
“Are you mad?” The old man drew back. “You should not even utter the words in front of these creatures, let alone suggest such a thing. The fountain is for drawing out Artists’ lives so that we may go on with our vital work in the universe, not for some insignificant Earth Dragon—”
Fury surged through me, and without thinking, I withdrew Excalibur from its sheath. My fire shone even brighter in the metal, and the group scurried away from me as soon as they saw it.
“You’re the one who called the sword away from us?” Finno asked.
“Not me. It was my mother, Sara Lee. But do not mistake this fact for a lack of training. I am well versed in swordsmanship, and I will use every skill I know on you unless you do everything you can to save my friend’s life.”
“Quite the dramatic dragon,” mocked the man, but there was fear in his eyes. “Very well; I will trade you her life for the sword. But keep in mind that the fountain does not offer opportunity for an immortal life. It only extends the life of the drinker for a period of time. After all, we can’t be like Merlin. This Caden must return here every ten years to drink again, and after five trips, she will have exhausted her human capacity for the liquid. Is that clear, Grian?”
For another fifty years with Blair, I would have given anything, and I handed the sword over without a word. Finno put the sword belt around his waist, where Excalibur’s hilt gleamed even brighter than before.
“Good. Nalla, go retrieve the cup and fill it with water from the fountain. Let the girl drink, and when she’s able, take her to one of the rooms to rest. Prince Grian and I have more urgent matters to discuss.”
I didn’t want to leave Blair, but I knew she was in good hands. Plus, the matters, as it turned out, were the plans of Shull, and I needed to be a part of that discussion. According to Finno, the leader of the Artists, Shull and his forefathers had tried everything to destroy the Artists after they discovered the loophole for a Sun Dragon return.
“We gave them Earth, and they still hated us,” he said regretfully as he sat at the head of a golden table in the middle of a garden behind the castle. Apparently, the Artists never had to worry about bad weather. “I have no doubt what Shull carries is some kind of carefully constructed weapon that can destroy this place with one click, given to his relatives by our enemies, the incubi, long ago and hidden until the right time to use it came along. All the more reason to stop him on Draman, before he breaches the portal.”
“So the rumors are true?” I asked, trying to keep up with all the new information. “The Artists did put portals to this world on all of their creations?”
“Yes. A stupid tradition, I know, but a tradition nonetheless. And when you’ve b
een around as long as we have, traditions are very important.”
And he was right. Traditions were everywhere on the mountain, from the grapes placed in a goblet in the center of the table as a symbolic offering, to the angels engraved on the backs of the chairs.
“Is that what you are?” I asked as I pointed to one such cherubic figure. “Angels?”
“Some call us that, but we are more creators than protectors. Usually, we do not involve ourselves in the matters of the planets we create—you can see why.”
“So you’re like gods?”
Finno laughed. “You flatter us, Grian. Someday, perhaps you will meet the real rulers of all worlds and all magic, but for now, you’ll just have to use your imagination.”
This answer was unsatisfactory, to say the least, but we had no time to discuss it. Other Artists who had been watching Shull’s progress on Draman said he was drawing close to the portal, and we had to hurry if we hoped to stop him.
“Are you ready to travel back?” Finno asked. “I know some find our methods of movement unsettling.”
“I’m fine. What should I do when we arrive?”
“Nothing,” Finno said. “Do nothing at all. The Artists passed the curse that has plagued Shull and his people, and we must correct this involvement ourselves. Now, close your eyes.”
Dizzy. Whoosh. Silence.
When I opened my eyes again, we were in the middle of the Draman desert. Up ahead, Shull and his associates trudged through the heat-waved air toward a rock formation in the distance.
“He’s seen the portal,” Finno said. I wondered how he could stand on the hot sand without shoes, but decided this was not the time to ask. “We need to act now if we hope to stop him.”
I expected them to fly at Shull or send golden arrows shooting his way, but instead, one of Finno’s Artists removed some kind of golden case from a concealed breast pocket. This kit he laid on the sand and popped open, and inside was a set of golden instruments, including a pencil with gold instead of graphite, a quill pen, a large eraser, and a utility knife. Then the associate pulled out a piece of canvas and held it up in front of Finno like a human easel.
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