Backyard Dragons

by Lee French

  “I can keep a bucket alive in here, boy. If she’s what you want, she’s what you got. Get it done.”

  “Bring her back around this way, and I’ll handle it. Drew, watch my back.” Justin ran to the side and dug a ditch with a single scoop of his hands.

  Chapter 34

  Claire

  “I don’t get it.” Claire squinted into the distance, looking for anything that might point the way to Kurt. “Wait, is that the beach again? Did we just go in a giant circle?”

  “No,” Enion said. “We went straight.”

  “Weird. Maybe this place is like the heart of the Palace. That would kind of explain everything, actually. Except for why we’re going back to the beach. I didn’t try think about that. Did you?”

  “No. I thought ‘forward.’ ”

  As they reached the edge of the tall grasses, a shadow surged up and knocked Claire off Enion’s back. She hit the ground with Justin on top of her. He knocked her dagger aside. More shadows sprang between Enion and Justin, keeping her dragon from shredding him. Justin yanked down the zipper of her fleece and grabbed her locket.

  Her wide eyes caught his dark, strange ones. “No,” she breathed.

  He hesitated for a moment, staring into her eyes. Then he jerked the locket away, cutting the chain into her neck and snapping the clasp.

  She expected to die. She didn’t. Instead, Claire watched him rise to his knees, straddling her legs.

  Justin held up the pendant, catching the orange light of the sunset on its edge. “Enion, heel.”

  “No,” Enion growled. He tensed and inched toward Justin anyway.

  “You’ll be safe so long as you stay here,” Justin told Claire. He swung the locket around like a yo-yo. “I wasn’t sure, but now I know. With this, I can control Enion. I can also get anyone into the Palace.”

  Tears leaked from Claire’s eyes. “How could you?” she whispered.

  “It’s for the greater good. Sacrifices always are.” Justin smiled at her as if she should be happy about this. “You’re fine. When I’m done, I’ll bring the locket back so you can leave here. It won’t be so bad. Kurt’s a good man.”

  “He’s not a man. He’s a Phasm.”

  “Whatever.” Justin stood and saluted Kurt. “We’ll be back soon.”

  Claire rolled to her belly, unable to comprehend this. Justin patted Enion on the head, and they disappeared. She couldn’t stop him. No one could. He’d waltz into the Palace with dragons and destroy it without realizing what he’d done. Until someone killed Kurt, he’d think he’d done the right thing, making the world a safer place.

  “Well now, little girl. You’re kind of in a pickle, aren’t you. You can leave anytime you want, but you’ll die because I’m keeping you alive.”

  “Shut up.” Tears rolled down Claire’s cheeks. She had to think. Without the locket, she couldn’t survive outside this demesne. If she killed Kurt, the demesne would dissolve. She’d die. Justin, though, would be released. So would Anne. Enion might survive. Whether he did or not, the dragons would be free. Drew would be as free as he could get.

  “This is why girls aren’t Knights.” Kurt nudged her shoulder with a bare foot. “Crying doesn’t solve anything, and real men don’t cry anyway.”

  Though Rondy had guessed about it, no one knew what would happen if the Palace was destroyed. The Knights might be causing their own problems, or they might be making a bigger problem manageable. What if the Palace made it so every person didn’t create a Phasm? What if the men who had the tenacity, strength of will, and courage to become Knights would otherwise turn into something much worse when they died?

  Iulia’s story came to mind. That mural had only shown her one perspective of an important event in the Knights’ history: Caius’s. Iulia’s would be much more enlightening. Someday, she wanted to find a way to learn that. She only had to survive.

  “Actual ‘real men’ don’t hit girls.” She scanned the ground for her dagger but couldn’t see it.

  “Bah. You’re nothing. Once I get the sentimentality out of that boy, we’ll get rid of you. Kay, stay here and watch her. That damned dragon fire did worse than I thought.”

  Kurt’s Phasm disappeared.

  Drew crawled to Claire’s side and wrapped his arms around her, like he’d done so many times in foster care. “I don’t see how you’ll keep your word now.”

  She wiped her face and leaned into his embrace, glad for the warmth. “Can he hear us?”

  “Yes, but he’s not listening. It’s his demesne, which is part of him. Nothing happens here without him knowing. When he’s regenerating himself, though, he’s locked away. In a manner of speaking. The important part is he’s not paying attention.”

  “Do you know where my dagger is?”

  “No, and I have to keep you in my sight at all times. We could look for it together, if you want. He didn’t tell me to stay in this spot, only to stay ‘here,’ which means in his demesne.” Drew gave her a small smile. “Whether that was what he meant or not.”

  Claire smiled even as she kept quietly crying. “What will you do when you’re free?”

  “I don’t know. Once Drew and I merge, he’ll be able to act human without cutting me off. We’re close already. I can tell he cares about you and feel his impulses toward you. He’s afraid of Justin and Kurt, and nearly everyone else. Lots of fear in him. Amazing he functions as well as he does, really.”

  She imagined Kay giving Drew enough power to live past his fear. “That sounds like something you could help him with.”

  “Probably.”

  “I need my dagger.”

  “Then we should look for it.”

  Chapter 35

  Justin

  Justin walked through the sycamore with Enion in tow. He met a wall of silver dragonflesh and imagined how much he could accomplish with two dozen dragons the size of Tariel. They could change the world. What man, no matter how powerful, could stand against an army of dragons? And all this time, they’d been hidden in Anne’s backyard.

  Speaking of Anne, he ought to deal with her first. He approached the back door to the house and found two dragons blocking him. When he tried to go around the pair, they shifted and stood firm.

  “Enion, order them out of my way.”

  Enion growled at him, the sound low and menacing. His noises changed to lion-like grumbles. The two dragons parted, glaring at Justin with snarls and slitted silver eyes as big as his fist.

  They hated him. He didn’t blame them. With Enion loyal to Claire and the stink of corruption on her, they had every reason to think him the villain. “Stay here and keep quiet.”

  Enion growled again. Justin drew his sword and sliced through the door without bothering to check if it was locked or not. He stepped into the kitchen and found Anne tied to the fridge. The scene made no sense. Sheathing his sword, he crouched beside her and touched her cheek. She mumbled incoherently.

  Her black eye pointed to the possibility of this being Claire’s handiwork. Why would Claire punch the witch who’d tainted her? No longer certain about either of them, he untied Anne’s wrists and picked her up. She stirred and moaned as he carried her past a smashed door to the living room. Flicking on the light revealed a puddle of liquid around a broken teacup and spattered tea stains on the couch.

  He laid her out on the couch and tossed a glove aside to pat her cheek gently. “Anne? Wake up.”

  Anne groaned again and her eyes fluttered open. “What happened?”

  “That’s what I wanted to ask you.”

  She rubbed her face and winced. “It was Claire. She has an arm on her.”

  “Why did she hit you?”

  Anne focused on him. “She’s working against Kurt.”

  Justin frowned. “I know that. Are you?”

  “Me?” Anne sat up, her hand on her forehead. “No, of course not. He’s my patron. With his help, I’ve been able to do incredible things. Did you get the dragons?”

  “Yes.” He con
sidered showing her the locket. Until he knew he could trust her, though, he didn’t want to reveal it. She might try to take it from him. He had important things to do, and when he finished them, he still wanted to give the locket back to Claire. Once the Palace was destroyed, she’d be more tractable.

  “Good. Can you get into the Palace?”

  He raised an eyebrow, not sure why she’d ask. “Yes, of course.”

  Her face lit up with a pleased smile. “Then I can help you get all the dragons there. There are twenty-five, and you’ll need a doorway.”

  “Where?”

  “Wherever you’re comfortable and the dragons will fit. I’ll need about half an hour to prepare so the dragons go through with you.” She rose with a wobble, gripping the couch for support. “Maybe a little longer than that. Could you help me to my workshop?”

  He picked her up and carried her to the smashed door. When he set her down inside her workroom, she staggered to the nearest table and patted the papers and crystals, looking for something. The last time Justin saw this room, it had plants and notebooks. “You bound the dragons, didn’t you.”

  “At Kurt’s request. If I’d known what you were up to, I would’ve stopped you.”

  “Why?”

  Anne stared at him, her brow knitted together. “Because they’re easier to manage with a binding on them.” Though she didn’t say “you idiot,” he heard the words tacked onto the end all the same.

  Justin crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. Considering the dragons’ behavior outside, he could grant her the point. “What happened to the door?”

  “Claire.”

  He smirked, pleased his apprentice could cause so much damage. As soon as he freed her from the corruption tainting her, she’d be a more valuable ally than he thought. Putting her into confusing situations brought out the best in her, so he’d try that approach with her training.

  “Do you need my help for this?”

  Anne paused and tapped a fingernail on the wood table. “I think the best help you could give would be making me a cup of tea, finding my glasses, then staying out of my way.”

  “No problem.” Returning to the kitchen, he saw a dragon peering through the window over the sink. It watched him as he picked up the ceramic teapot on the counter, checked inside it, and stuck it in the microwave. He snapped a hand out and rapped on the window. The dragon flinched away and hissed.

  Waiting for Anne would be a very long half hour.

  Chapter 36

  Claire

  “I don’t understand why I can’t find it.” Claire dropped to the ground in the tall grasses and hugged her knees. Drew crouched beside her. “It has to be here someplace.”

  “You had it when you got here.”

  “I know!” She grabbed a handful of grass, ripped it out of the ground, and hurled it. “This isn’t even the first time. I lost it in another place like this and couldn’t find it there, either. The jerk there—” Not wanting to explain about Caius and Rondy, she stopped and sighed. “I thought I was getting the hang of this stuff, but I guess not.”

  “I don’t know about that other place, but here, everything is about what you want. This is Kurt’s demesne, so whatever he wants is going to overpower whatever you want. He probably doesn’t want you to have that dagger. In his place, I wouldn’t.”

  “Then how’m I supposed to find it?”

  Drew leaned back and stared at the perpetual sunset. “Attack the problem a different way. Never mind the dagger. What do you actually want?”

  “To destroy Kurt’s Phasm.”

  “He won’t let you do that. Try to think more…sneaky? Like how I’m watching you but not stopping you from doing anything.”

  Confused, Claire squinted at him. She saw Caius telling her, more or less, that she was an arrogant idiot. He’d said she needed to figure out why she couldn’t find her dagger. But if he was stronger and didn’t want her to have it, then how could she ever find it? “I can’t kill him without the dagger.”

  “You’re so literal and straightforward. Think sideways.”

  “Are you hiding the answer from me?”

  “No. I have no idea how to do what you want. I’m just trying to help.”

  She turned to stare at the sunset. Everything came back to that dagger. Without it, she had no power here. No, that wasn’t true. She could rip out the grass, walk around, say anything she wanted, throw sand, or splash in the water. Her power here only let her do useless things, but she still had some.

  If only she could rip out the grass and find her dagger under it, she’d be all set. “What if I wanted to—”

  Drew covered her mouth with a hand. “He’s returning. Keep it to yourself. If you think of something, just try it.”

  Claire nodded and rested her head on her knees. All her thoughts started and ended with the dagger. Drew’s interpretation of Kurt’s orders came to mind. He had the freedom to choose how specifically the words applied. Did that mean she should try to wriggle around with what she wanted?

  What if she focused on some other facet of the problem? What if she didn’t need to find the dagger? What if…

  Chapter 37

  Justin

  “I’m done.” Anne held up a delicate creation of string and crystals. “Where do you want to do this?”

  “At the sycamore in the backyard.” Justin reached out to take the crystals.

  Anne batted his hand away. “I’ll carry it. You’ll drop it or smack it against the wall, or something. Besides, I have to be there anyway. This is a power focus, not a magic door.” She seemed to have recovered enough to move around under her own power. Dark purple bruises covered almost half her face now.

  He followed her to the back door.

  “Did you have to cut this?”

  “I could’ve left you here to free yourself.” He shrugged. “You’re a witch, can’t you fix it?”

  “Because I don’t have anything better to do than clean up after my baby sister’s dumbass husband.”

  Justin set his hand on the back of her neck and closed his fingers around it. “Watch your mouth.” To emphasize his point, he squeezed until she choked. When he felt she’d gotten the message, he let go. At some point, she would become too much of an irritation to put up with. Until then, she made problems easier to solve.

  Anne rubbed her neck and gasped for breath. “I get it,” she rasped, sounding sullen.

  “See that you remember.”

  Nodding, she stepped onto the back stoop. Two dragons moved in to block her path.

  “Enion,” Justin barked, “order these dragons out of our way.”

  Anne raised her brow. “I thought you said you had control over them.”

  Enion rumbled in a growl and the two dragons stepped aside.

  “I do. Get moving.” Justin followed close behind Anne, ready to smack her if she needed more demonstrations of who was in charge here. “Enion, order the dragons to come this way and line up, ready to move through a doorway.”

  Anne glanced back at him. “You didn’t break the fifth seal. Someone else did.”

  He rapped his knuckles on the back of her head. “Shut up and do your job, witch.”

  She stumbled forward, cradling her crystal creation. “Fine.”

  When they reached the trees, Justin shoved Anne out of the way and laid a hand on the sycamore. Pressing his will on the tree, as he’d done a thousand times before, he waited for the path to the Palace to open for him.

  Nothing happened.

  Anne bared her teeth. “Now who’s not doing his job?”

  “I said shut up.” He frowned and fished Claire’s necklace out of his jeans pocket. It had to be interfering with his usual pathway. He sighed. “Dammit. I think I need to bring a couch outside for this.”

  “That’s your problem.”

  He raised a hand to slap her, but thought better of it. Any impact risked damage to the crystal thing, then he’d have to wait another half hour for her to make a new
one. “Don’t think I can’t hear you. Enion, watch her. If she tries to leave, bite her arm off.”

  His mood soured beyond redemption, Justin stalked back to the house.

  Chapter 38

  Claire

  Claire concentrated on her new desire. She wanted a tool to cut the grass. It didn’t have to be her own dagger. So long as it could cut the grass, smoothly and cleanly, it would solve her problem. In her head, she shied away from thinking about the real problem in favor of the fake problem. If only she could cut the grass, she’d be happy.

  “You been watching her, kid?”

  “Yessir. Haven’t left her side.”

  “What’s she been doing?”

  “She walked around, then she sat down. She might be crying again.”

  Kurt snorted his disgust. “Can’t imagine what that boy sees in her.”

  Drew didn’t answer. Claire could have kissed him. She’d worried Kay wouldn’t hold up their deal now that things seemed hopeless. The spirit-thing had at least some sense of honor. She thought it probably came from Kurt in the first place. Considering how Justin had turned out, aside from today, his mentor must have been a good man.

  Shutting them out, she refocused on her goal. When something finally happened to fulfill it, would she notice? She opened her eyes. Shifting her breathing to fake silent crying, she turned her head until she could see the ground to one side. Only an inch from her boot, she saw the black handle of a steak knife, the blade hidden in the grass.

  Her heart filled to bursting with hope. Later, she’d figure out how to get her own dagger this way. Now, any old knife would suffice. Trying to contain her excitement, she slipped her hand down her leg and wrapped her fingers around the handle. Kurt could overpower her, so she had to be swift and sudden. If he saw her coming, she’d lose the fight.

  She wished Rondy could show up and help her, even if he only distracted Kurt for a minute. Like she’d meant to do with Caius. This time, though, she knew the quest belonged to her. Rondy would only be here to help, not to fight her battles.