by T. J. Klune
“What?” Ryan shouted back at me, sweat dripping from his forehead.
“It’s like we’re being corralled. We’re heading for the slums.”
He frowned. “Why would he—it doesn’t matter. We know the slums better than he ever could. He wants to take the fight there? Fine. Let him bring it.”
“Dude, that was so fucking hot—right, yeah, not the time.”
With renewed determination, Ryan stopped trying to push north and instead headed for the slums. My body was weak and tired, and running for our lives wasn’t helping. I didn’t feel as drained as I had after the sand mermaids or even when I’d faced Myrin in Mashallaha. Granted, I wasn’t the same person I’d been back then, but still. I couldn’t do what I’d done—
kill murder death
—without… consequences….
What the hell was that?
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I didn’t have time for anything else right now. The connection to the dragons felt stretched thin, and if Myrin was doing something to stop me from reaching out to them, I was going to need everything I had in order to break through.
We began to anticipate where the rock walls would shoot up, and that put us one step ahead. I could no longer hear him behind us, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. Ryan didn’t falter as he led us through side streets and alleyways, flashes of the familiar going by as we ran through the empty City. We came across random lumps of vermilion root where Dark wizards lay trapped underneath. They still lived, even after all they’d done. I had chosen to spare them after they’d followed Myrin.
Why?
I could have stopped them.
I could have stopped them all.
It’s what wanted I wanted to do from the start. I had the power within me. I could have ended everything in one fell swoop. Never again would the Darks be able to hurt the ones I loved. It would have been my decision—
“—AND I need you to respect that,” I said quietly, staring out at the sunrise.
Randall sighed. “I do, Sam. I promise you, I really do. But I’m worried.”
“About?”
“Your heart. Your mind. Your soul.”
“That’s… all-encompassing. What the hell, Randall.”
“How many people do you know that have lost their cornerstone?”
I swallowed thickly. “Three.”
He blinked. “Three? Who are you—”
“You. And Morgan.”
“Right. And?”
“And Myrin.”
He closed his eyes. “I hadn’t even—but that just raises my concerns even more. With Anya, Morgan knew the end was coming. She was… old. Frail. She still had that spark in her eye that had drawn Morgan to her. But she—her time had come. And Morgan had made peace with that. He was by her side when she took her last breath. When she crossed the veil. He mourned her. He celebrated her life. But he did not lose himself.”
“Not like you,” I said before wincing. “Hey, I didn’t mean—”
“Yes. You did. And it’s true.” Randall sighed. “Look, Sam. Losing your cornerstone is a shock to the system. It’ll claw you and bite you and make you bleed before it attempts to tear you right down the middle. I lost my cornerstone to darkness. Myrin lost his by the choices he made. Look how that turned out for the both of us. I lost my mind for a decade. Myrin was locked in the realm of shadows. You’ve only just gotten your cornerstone—”
“It’s been two years—”
He snorted. “Ah, how time does move differently for the young. Sam, you are going to kill your cornerstone.”
“And then bring him back to life.”
“While potentially killing others. This could break you.”
I looked at him, really looked at him, this man. This wizard. The oldest living human in the world. This man who had antagonized me, irritated me, made me want to pull my hair out while he listed off my faults on a regular basis.
And now, maybe for the first time, I could see how much he cared about me.
So I said, “I love you too, you know.”
He looked surprised. Then he scowled and shook his head.
And then, wonder of all wonders, the scowl melted away, and Randall smiled.
It was a gnarly thing, his teeth yellowed, his liver lips stretched thin. His beard was scraggly, and I was pretty sure his eyebrows had recently purchased the rest of his face and were gradually moving in, but still. He smiled.
“You’re an idiot,” he said.
“I know.”
He put his hand on top of mine and squeezed. “I need you to take care, Sam. If I could take this burden from you, I would. You must remember no matter how much the darkness calls, you cannot answer it. You’re stronger than it is. Than any prophecy. You’re braver than I could have ever hoped for. Don’t let it take you away.”
“I won’t.”
He pulled his hand back. And then he said, “Morgan would be proud of the wizard you’ve become.”
We didn’t speak much after that.
WE BURST into the slums, both of us starting to flag. Ryan was sweating profusely. I had a stitch in my side and was struggling to catch my breath.
“Why would he want us here?” Ryan gasped, pulling me down a darkened road just as the first drops of rain fell from the black sky above.
“I don’t know. He’s—”
We rounded a familiar corner, and Ryan almost caused me to fall over as I skidded to a stop, my feet sliding on the slick cobblestone.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, gaze darting around. “We have to keep moving, Sam. It’s—”
“Look.”
“What? I don’t know what you’re—oh.”
There was an alley off to our right. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t much. It was wide enough to fit, say, a group of teenage douchebags chasing a boy who’d taken back a bag of cloth stolen from an elderly woman. It led to a dead end, a large wall connected to some run-down apartments on the next street over.
Overhead, thunder rippled through the sky. Moments later, lightning flashed.
“This is where….”
“Yeah,” Ryan said. “It is.”
“Look at us now,” I said, grinning wildly at him. “Who’d have thought we’d be running for our lives from a crazed supervillain while you held my hand because you love me so much.”
He kissed me. There, in the rain.
I gave it my all because he deserved nothing less.
“Hey,” he said as he pulled away. “Remember when you asked me to marry you?”
I shrugged. “I suppose.”
“Maybe we should do that. When this is all done.”
“You gonna stand up in front of everyone with me?”
“Yeah.”
“Gonna tell me you want to be with me forever?”
“Forever, Sam.”
“At the last minute, are you gonna tell someone else you love them?”
He scowled at me. “Why would you even say that, oh my gods—”
“You’ve already done it once, Foxheart, don’t even with me right now—”
“I told you I loved you. You were the one—”
“If you’re going to break my heart, just make sure it’s not with Lady Tina. Or Terry. Because Terry wants to ride you just as much as you’ve already ridden him—”
“I hate you so much right now. You know what? Wedding off.”
I touched his cheek. “Yeah. Yes. Ryan. I’ll marry you.”
The smile he gave was blinding. “We’re going to be so happy, just you wait and—”
“How lovely.”
Ryan whirled around, shoving me behind him, gripping his sword tightly.
I peered over his shoulder.
Myrin stood a little farther down the road. The rain fell around him, but it didn’t fall on him. It was as if he was surrounded by a dome of sorts, the raindrops splashing onto a hardened invisible surface, trails dripping down around him. He was smiling at us, a
soft thing that I’d seen time and time again on his brother’s face.
It hit me then.
Just how angry I was.
How the rage was threatening to pull me down.
I was mired in it, and I didn’t want to fight it anymore.
I snarled at him over Ryan’s shoulder, trying to get by. But Ryan had a hand wrapped around my wrist, holding me in place while he faced Myrin. Rain slid down the blade of his sword, and I wanted nothing more than to take us away to a place where Myrin would never get to lay eyes on my cornerstone ever again.
“You’ve fought valiantly, Sam,” Myrin said. “I think, in the end, you should be proud of what you’ve achieved. It wasn’t enough, but you’ve done things that I did not expect.”
“Not another step,” Ryan snapped at him.
“Or what?” Myrin said, staying right where he was. “What exactly will you do? You’re a knight and nothing more. You don’t stand a chance against someone like me.”
“Maybe,” Ryan agreed. “But I’m not just a knight.”
“No?”
Ryan shook his head. “No. I’m Ryan Foxheart, Knight Commander of the King’s Guard. And I’m the cornerstone of Sam of Dragons.”
And my brave and foolish knight charged the Dark wizard Myrin.
I didn’t have time to stop him. One moment he was holding me behind him, and the next he was running full tilt at Myrin, sword at his side, the tip of the blade sparking as it dragged along the ground. Water splashed up with the four steps he took before he leapt at Myrin, both hands on his sword as he raised it high over his head to bring it down and—
Myrin raised his arm, crossing it over his chest.
Then he swung it out in a flat arc.
Ryan grunted as he was hurled back down the alley, crashing into the far wall. I heard his armor smashing into stone. His sword fell out of reach. He slid down the wall in the alleyway where everything had begun.
It was quiet after that.
He didn’t move.
“No,” I whispered to the rain.
I ignored Myrin.
I ran down the alley.
I slid to my knees, skin tearing further. I barely felt the pain.
“Ryan?” I said, running my hands along his chest plate. “Ryan? I need you to get up. Ryan, you need to get up, you need to get up.”
He didn’t move. I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing.
I—
“Sam.”
I glanced over my shoulder.
Myrin stood at the entrance to the alley.
“You,” I said.
He cocked his head.
“You did this.”
“Oh, Sam. If you really think about it, this—and everything that has happened—is on you. I gave you a chance. Back in Mashallaha. I told you then that if you didn’t join me, I would take everything from you. You can’t possibly be surprised that I’d do exactly as I’ve said. Morgan. Ryan. And when I’m done with you, I will go for the others. Your friends. Your family. That insufferable unicorn. They will fall, just as you will.”
“No.”
He laughed. “No? You don’t get to tell me no. Because here, now, is where your story ends. Not with a happily ever after. But with the destruction of all you’ve held dear.”
I stood slowly, turning toward him.
He smiled. “Good. This is good. You’ve done well, Sam. I’m sure they’ll sing songs about you. The young wizard who fought boldly until the end when his magic was consumed.”
“It won’t happen,” I told him quietly. “You won’t win.”
“This was never about heroes and villains. It never has been. You are the final step needed to realize the new world order. My world order. Because once I have you, I will have the dragons, and my reach will extend far beyond the borders of Verania. It will—”
“You’re monologuing.”
He looked startled. “Excuse me?”
“You’re… monologuing. Just like always. You fucking villains. You never change. You never change.”
He didn’t like that very much. “I am nothing like the others you’ve—”
I laughed harshly. “You’re exactly the same. Oh sure, you’re stronger than anyone I’ve faced. You’ve gotten a little further. But in the end, you are exactly like the others. And you know what happened to all of them? I kicked their fucking asses.”
His gaze narrowed. “Who do you think you are, boy?”
I grinned rakishly at him. “I’m Sam of Dragons.”
I moved then. In that alleyway. I ran toward Myrin the Bright Star, feeling the scars along my chest crackle with electricity. A crack of thunder burst overhead, and then a flash of lightning arced down from the sky and slammed into my raised hand. It crawled down my arm and wrapped around my heart, the green and gold bright against the blue electricity that rolled through me. I moved quicker than I ever had before, like I was lightning, striking out at Myrin before he could even—
A hand closed around my throat.
I was lifted off the ground.
My feet kicked.
“We’ve been here before,” Myrin snarled up at me. “Did you really think I’d fall for this again, you little shit? The time of Sam of Dragons is over. You have lost.”
Lightning racked through me and onto him. The muscles in his arm twitched, the hairs standing on end, but his grip only tightened. I pushed as hard as I could, but it was no use.
He opened his mouth wide.
And that horrible pulling that I’d only felt a fraction of in Mashallaha began again.
His eyes were dark as he began to consume my magic.
It was a terrible sensation, like I was being drained from the inside out. I felt it being pulled toward him, like I was caught in a storm I couldn’t escape. I screamed in his face, unable to—
And then it lessened. It just… fell away. All of it.
He said, “How are you doing that?”
I struggled feebly in his grip.
He said, “How are you making your eyes change colors? What is this?”
I felt them.
Black. And blue. And red.
And white. So much white.
“This?” I snapped at him. “This is Kick Myrin’s Ass Part Two. Capitalized, so you sure as shit know it’s true.”
He sneered at me as he squeezed my neck even tighter. “And just what is your plan?”
“You wanted the dragons?” I managed to say. “Well guess what, motherfucker. You’ve got them.”
From above came a great roar.
The pulses in my head bloomed bright and strong.
The blues were the strongest.
They said, Here, Sam. We’re here. We’re here. And we have a plan. You must trust us. You must put your faith in us. Prepare yourself. Because this must end, one way or another.
The world exploded around us and—
Chapter 20: A Destiny of Dragons
I OPENED my eyes.
Through a canopy of trees, I saw a sea of stars.
I sat up.
I was in the middle of a forest. The air was warm. The grass was cool.
Randomly, on my feet were a pair of pink shoes, the tips of which curled up.
I pushed myself up slowly.
In the distance, through the trees, I saw what looked like the lights of fairies.
I remembered everything.
The way Ryan had fallen, lungs made of stone. How I’d torn right down the middle.
The lives I’d taken after. Caleb and Ruv.
I’d felt them die.
And for a moment, hadn’t I relished it? Hadn’t I wished that it’d been all the Darks?
I had. I’d been more powerful in that moment than I’d ever been before.
I pushed through the trees.
Morgan had told me once that every person, whether a wizard or not, had the propensity for darkness inside of them. That it all came down to choice. “You are,” he’d told me once, “who you choose to be. It’s as
simple as that, little one. And I am here to help you make the right choice, because I believe in you more than I’ve ever believed in anyone before.”
I’d been too young—too naïve—to understand what he’d meant.
I did now.
Because being a force for good was so much harder than being one for evil.
I came upon a large clearing where the fairy lights burned bright.
Except—they weren’t fairies, were they?
There was a red light, flitting about. As I stepped into the clearing, it buzzed around me quickly, warm and safe, and I could hear a voice saying, Gods, this is so lame. Sam, if you die, I will never forgive you, and when I wake up again in a hundred years, I will find your grave and then chew on your bones.
The blue lights were bright and kind as they settled on either shoulder. The one on the left said, You’re dreaming, Sam. You’re dreaming, except this is as real as it will ever get. Whatever happens here will be in the real world. You can get hurt here, Sam. You can die here.
The light on the right said, But you better not let that happen. Leslie will be sorely disappointed if it does. She has grown rather fond of you, in case you couldn’t tell.
You old dyke, the left light said sweetly. You love him just as much as I do. He belongs to us. We belong to him. It is the way of things.
The black light, so dark it seemed to swallow up all other light around it, buzzed round my face. Look at me! it said gleefully. I’m here too! Kevin’s here to save the daaaaaayyyyy! He pressed against my nose, vibrating lightly and causing me to sneeze. I heard him laugh about it, and I didn’t think it was possible to love him more than I did right then.
But these lights fell silent as the final light approached.
He was the brightest of all of them. The white.
He said, Sam of Dragons.
“GW.”
I told you not to call me that.
“Yes, well. That’s probably not going to change, dude. If I’m being honest.”
You’re near.