Backyard Dragons

by Lee French

  “What’re you doing here?” Kurt asked, his gravelly voice thick with suspicion.

  Claire looked up and saw Rondy standing on the beach, giving Kurt a wide smile. As on the MAX, he seemed whole and normal, unlike Kurt’s mist form. “Good to see you too.”

  She froze. Was Rondy a spirit of some kind? A figment of her imagination? Of Kurt’s imagination? If Kurt took the figment over, would Rondy help Kurt instead?

  “How did you get into my demesne? And why do you look forty years too young?”

  Rondy stared out over the water. “Is that where we are? It’s a beautiful view. When did you come to this beach?”

  Kurt walked to the water’s edge, giving Rondy his full attention. He’d dismissed Claire as a threat. She caught Drew’s eye and jutted her chin out to suggest he should follow his master. He tapped next to his eye and pointed to her. She understood: Kurt’s orders still stood.

  “My Emmy and I came here for our tenth anniversary. We had a good time.”

  “I imagine so.” Rondy set a hand on Kurt’s shoulder. They faced the sunset together. “I remember you telling me she liked margaritas, so it must have been in Mexico?”

  “Someplace on the Gulf side, yeah. What’s going on?”

  Claire hunched over as she hurried through the grass. Drew remained behind, watching her as he’d been told. She thought he’d come along. He could only do so much, though, then it all fell onto her shoulders. The same was true for Rondy, who seemed to be holding Kurt’s attention well enough.

  “Going on?” Rondy laughed. “Does something have to be going on for an old friend to stop by?”

  “If you were really here, you’d be eighty-five years old.”

  Claire paused, marveling at how good Rondy had looked before he died. She always thought of people that old as wrinkled, slow, and weak. She shook off her surprise and reached the edge of the grass. Rondy and Kurt stood fifty feet away, and she had to cross that distance in the open.

  “You don’t look your age. Why should I look mine?”

  “I’m dead, though.”

  Deciding to take the only chance she thought she might get, Claire jumped into a mad dash across the sand.

  “Remarkably, so am I.”

  Forty feet to go.

  “What?” She heard the frown in Kurt’s voice.

  Thirty feet to go.

  Rondy shrugged. “It’s a long story.”

  Twenty feet to go.

  “I got time.”

  Ten feet to go.

  Kurt jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “This girl—” He half-turned against Rondy’s hand and saw Claire. She leaped at him. He threw himself into Rondy. She managed to catch him, but not with the knife. They splashed into the water together, Claire’s legs flying through the air and pushing her farther away.

  While she struggled in the water, Kurt created a sword and chopped down. Rondy flung his own blade in the way and shoved Kurt aside.

  “Drew! Get over here now and hold her down!”

  Kurt tried to lunge at Claire again. Rondy parried the new attack and thrust with his own blade to make Kurt move.

  Drew jumped and landed on Claire. He snatched her hands and used his body to keep her on the sand, but let her keep her head out of the water. “I’m sorry,” Drew whimpered. He gritted his teeth and held on.

  Claire sputtered and coughed water, thrashing from side to side.

  “Justin and Anne, get your butts in here,” Kurt bellowed.

  “Justin? You tainted Justin? Oh, Kurt. What have you done?”

  “What the hell are you?” Kurt shouted at Rondy.

  “What’s going on?” Justin’s confused voice made Claire stop struggling.

  She looked up at Drew, all hope gone from his eyes. Her ability to see victory as possible floundered. The knife was gone. Drew had to hold her down until one of them died or Kurt called him off. Justin would do whatever Kurt told him to. Enion had to follow Justin’s orders. Anne would serve Kurt. Only Rondy stood in the way of disaster.

  That had gone so well last time.

  “Get over here and fight him so I can deal with that little brat you brought me.”

  Enion roared. “Let her go!”

  “Enion, stay there!” Justin splashed into the water, wading toward the battle. “Claire’s just confused. Something’s tainted her. As soon as I destroy the Palace, she’ll be fine. I was about to go do that when you called, Kurt. With the dragons at her command, she’s a useful ally.”

  Kurt parried Rondy’s attack. “The dragons are at your command. We don’t need her.”

  Still several feet away from the dueling pair, Justin paused with his sword out. “Killing her would be stupid. She’s powerful.”

  Without the knife or her dagger, Claire didn’t see a way out. She couldn’t concentrate in the middle of a battle, not enough to get another blade. The light flashed on Justin’s sword as he stood and argued for her life.

  Justin had his sword. As the only other living Knight here, his blade could kill Kurt. Granted, he wouldn’t do it. He’d resist her to his dying breath.

  Anne waded into view, her face covered with ugly bruises. “As much as I’d like to see her suffer for what she did to me, I agree with him. She was able to slip my binding.” Green light crackled around her hands and she reached toward Rondy with a green crystal. Sparks shot at the spirit, enveloping him.

  “I’m not resisting,” Claire whispered to Drew.

  One corner of Drew’s mouth cracked into a smile.

  “Let me tie her up instead,” Justin said.

  Rondy screamed.

  “Fine!” Kurt grazed Rondy’s side with his blade, drawing first blood. Instead of a red spray, Rondy’s blood came out silvery-white.

  Hoping Rondy could hold on a little longer, Claire watched Justin approach her. She let the fear of failure show on her face, terror born of that tiny, niggling doubt in the back of her mind that Kurt would win and she would lose.

  Seawater sloshed around her. Underwater, Drew had raised off her legs. He now held her hands loose enough she could break free at any time. She coiled, ready to spring into action. Justin waded toward her with thick, black rope shimmering into existence in his free hand.

  “I know this is upsetting, Claire. Everything seems wrong and backward. You’ll understand soon.” Justin knelt in the water.

  She hated to do this to the man who’d welcomed her into his home and family. She did it anyway. Claire surged up, grabbed the guard on his sword, and punched him in the jaw. Mist flowed around them. Justin grunted, staggered by the unexpected blow. Claire wrenched the sword around and slashed the blade into his leg. He let go of the hilt and fell underwater.

  “What’s going on in there?” The mist muffled Kurt’s voice.

  Rondy groaned. It sounded like Kurt had the upper hand.

  Mist lifted Claire out of the water and gave her a solid path to run across. She darted to the other end.

  “Drew, stop that mist!”

  The fog rippled away. Trusting Drew with all her heart, Claire leaped, clasping the sword in both hands with the point down. Her body flew through the air. She no longer needed Rondy, because she could see success in the surprised shock on Kurt’s face. Blowing through the elder Knight, she smashed Rondy into a million motes of light and drove the point of Justin’s sword into Kurt’s chest.

  As she crashed into the water, Claire knew she’d just killed herself. Justin still had the locket, and Kurt couldn’t keep her alive anymore. Rondy’s twinkling stars fluttered all around as she fell through the ocean floor.

  For one bright, shining moment, she stood in the grass of Anne’s backyard without the locket. Pink touched the horizon up the street to the east, marking the first light of dawn. Drew fell nearby, his body thumping into Justin’s. Anne hit the ground with a squawk. Enion landed on his feet. Tariel stood in the front yard, her tail twitching so slowly Claire thought time stood still.

  Her knees buckled.

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nbsp; Chapter 39

  Justin

  Everything shattered in an instant. Justin fell to the ground and knew, without a doubt, Claire needed her locket. He rolled over. Drew landed on top of him. Justin heard squawking and growling and snorting and huffing all around. Claire stood only a few feet away, beaming with a shining victory. She crumpled as Kurt’s animating force slipped away. Justin stuck his hand into his pocket and yanked out the locket.

  With hope and a prayer to whoever would listen, he tossed the necklace at Claire before she hit the ground. The locket bounced off her thigh, and she crumpled to the grass.

  “No.” He waited for her to breathe. It took too long. “Claire!” Throwing Drew off his back, he half-crawled, half-ran to her side. He shook her shoulder, and she didn’t respond. He patted the grass frantically, looking for the necklace, and didn’t see it until her hand fell open. The locket sat on her palm, its broken chain draped over her fingers.

  He’d killed her.

  Enion stepped forward, stately and regal. He lowered his head to Claire’s body and sniffed her.

  Nothing Justin could say or do would take back the horror he’d created. When he heard about tainted Knights, he always imagined them as motivated by greed, hate, or stupidity. They dove in, head first, knowing exactly what they were getting into. But it hadn’t happened like that. And because he hadn’t seen it or been strong enough to stop it, Claire lay dead in his arms.

  The dragon’s long, silver tongue slipped out and licked her face.

  How could he explain this to Enion? To Drew? To Marie? To his daughters? They deserved the truth, and he’d rather stab himself through the heart than admit to what really happened. His tears, falling unnoticed from his eyes, hit his knees. She’d deserved so much more from him, and he’d failed her in every way imaginable.

  He covered his face, unable to handle the look Enion gave him.

  “Dowannag’up,” Claire murmured.

  Justin let his hands fall and saw her batting Enion’s face away. His heart stopped. He lifted her into a tight embrace. Joy filled him to bursting, with light-headed awe reminiscent of seeing his daughters born.

  “I can’t breathe,” Claire gasped.

  He let go and covered his mouth.

  Drew tackled her from behind. “I’m free!” he shrieked with delight.

  Enion picked both teenagers up in his forelegs and held them close. The dragon’s glare over their heads promised something ominous. Justin deserved it.

  To the side, he saw Anne weeping in a heap, surrounded by unhappy dragons.

  Justin patted a dragon aside and sidestepped past it to reach her. “Anne, it’s okay. I know. Everybody knows, except maybe the dragons. It’s not your fault. Enion, would you please try to explain what happened so they don’t kill her?” He sat by her side and gathered her into his arms.

  “Everything is my fault,” Anne wailed. “I bound the dragons, I set up the trap for you, I forced his demesne to link here. All of it was me.”

  “No,” Claire said. Dragons flanked and supported her. “Kurt’s Phasm did it. He found you and used you. Everything was his fault. I don’t know how he got corrupted, but he did, and he moved fast. I guess he came across you, and then he was able to accomplish a lot.”

  Justin beamed, so proud of Claire it hurt. “We’ll have to sort everything out later. For now, I think we need to get home. Marie and the girls are probably already up, and it’s Thanksgiving. Anne, I’ll fix your back door as soon as I can. Until then, you should stay with us. We’ll find room someplace. If the dragons want to come live on our property, you’re all welcome to.” He sighed. “We’ll understand if you don’t.”

  Claire grinned. Then her face fell. “Rondy is dead. He died trying to help me, and half the Palace thinks I killed him on purpose.” She looked down at the locket in her hand and closed her fingers around it. Shadows passed over her face in a mixture of grief and determination. “There’s something I need to do.”

  The news hit Justin like a lead weight. With so many Knights uncertain about Claire, losing a staunch ally hurt. Rondy had been a good man and a great Knight, and Justin would miss him. “Aren’t you dead on your feet?” The moment he said the words, he regretted them. “Tired. I mean tired.”

  “Yeah, but this is important. I’ll be home in a little while.”

  “As far as I’m concerned, she can do anything she wants,” Tariel said. “Let her run naked in Rose Quarter if that makes her happy.”

  Justin snorted. “I think I’ll pass on suggesting that. Go ahead, Claire, whatever you need to do.” He watched her hug Drew tightly.

  “I’ll see you later,” she told everyone. Justin expected her to walk into the house and use the couch to reach the Palace. Instead, she put an arm around Enion’s neck and they walked into the woods. Along the way, she stopped and picked up her dagger. All this time, it had been lying on the ground.

  “I can take Anne to our house,” Drew offered. “I’m still possessed, but the spirit is free now. He can’t be controlled by anyone, and we have a deal already. Claire set that up.”

  Justin stared at Drew, seeing a foreign creature. He wanted to be stern and remind this boy not to do anything untoward with Claire. They both still needed to finish high school, and Claire’s job wouldn’t have much room for romance anytime soon. Instead, he stood and brushed off his jeans.

  “No matter how right Claire is that everything was Kurt’s fault, I still feel like I owe you an apology. I should have known better than to leave you alone with a Phasm in his demesne.”

  “It’s…not okay, exactly.” Drew opened his hand. Mist roiled up from his palm in a tiny puff. “I had plans and dreams. I could try to hold onto them, but…” He shook his head and sighed. “If life on the magic side is this crazy all the time, maybe we’d all be better off with me helping Claire instead. A lot of stories have a knight and a sorcerer fighting side by side. Anyway, she won’t be your apprentice forever, and a fat lot of good you did her this time.”

  Stung, Justin opened his mouth to protest. He shut it, though, knowing Drew was right. Rubbing his face, he tried to imagine some way he could put things right between them. Nothing came to mind. “If you’re going to be hanging around Claire, you’ll need to learn some self-defense.”

  “Sure. She can teach me that. Maybe you could help me learn to use a weapon or something.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” Justin nodded and checked the sky. Blue painted streaks across it, chasing night away. He needed to stop and get butter on the way home. “Anne, can I borrow twenty bucks?”

  Sniffling, Anne nodded. “Take whatever you need from my purse in the kitchen.”

  “I don’t deserve chocolate.” Tariel hung her head. “I think I killed that Animal Services man.”

  Justin didn’t know what to say, but he did know Marie deserved a week of servitude from him. When they got home, he’d do everything he could to check on that cop and Animal Services guy, then he’d hold his family close. Even if he hadn’t done any of the things he’d thought about while tainted, he’d come far too close to turning all their lives into a nightmare.

  With that cheerful thought, he whispered a prayer of sorts, thanking anything and everything for bringing Claire into his life.

  Chapter 40

  Claire

  “There is no couch,” Claire muttered several times as she tromped through the woods, focused on reaching for the Palace. If she could do this here, she could do it anywhere.

  Enion flitted into his small shape and landed on her shoulder. “Is that the tree we’re looking for?”

  “I guess I still need something to focus on, because trying to cross over in empty air isn’t working.” She stopped in front of the same tall tree she’d used to cross into Kurt’s demesne.

  “Practice!”

  “Yep. We’re going to practice this stuff a lot. Look, I know you’re mad at Justin and Anne, but go easy on them. It really wasn’t their fault. And Justin is dumb.
I guarantee he’ll do something else stupid before the end of the month. Getting mad at him every time is kind of a waste of energy.”

  “He should have known better.”

  “We’ll probably be safe carving that on his grave someday.”

  Enion bumped his head against her chin. “What are we going to do?”

  “You’ll see.” She laid her hand on the trunk and focused on crossing over to the Palace. After a minute or so, she opened her eyes in her still-empty stone bedroom. She strode out the front door and noticed a Knight sitting on the floor beside it. He scrambled to his feet and followed her as she walked, head high, to the stairs.

  The guardian Knight tried to talk to her, but she didn’t understand or recognize the language he spoke. When she told him to go away, he didn’t seem to understand her either. This failed exchange made her wonder what kind of mechanism the Palace had to facilitate communication. Something probably already existed. If she wanted to understand him enough, she probably would.

  In the Thoroughfare, she knew exactly where she wanted to go and found a small room before stumbling across anything else.

  Elder Yun stepped into her path before she could enter it. “I’ve decided to place you on probation, young lady.”

  After the day she’d just had, Claire planted a fist on her hip. “Oh yeah? And what’s that mean? You’re taking away my teddy bear and giving me a curfew?”

  His wrinkles danced, giving the impression of a surprised raisin. “You’ll undergo an Ordeal to be tested for a great many things. This—”

  “Like courage, strength of will, and tenacity? Please. Get out of my way.” Though she’d worried about hurting him before, Claire used both hands to shove him aside.

  Elder Yun either didn’t expect that or didn’t have the strength left to resist, because he stumbled out of her way with a squawk.

  “I have things to do.” Claire ignored the protests of both men, giving them a rude gesture behind her back as she sealed the archway. Without bothering to conjure a light, she sat on the floor, leaned back, closed her eyes, and thought about body armor. It would fit her perfectly, be easy to get into and out of, and protect her from nearly anything. The moment she felt cloth in her hands, she demanded the Palace take her to see Caius.