by James Riley
“Indeed,” Fort’s Merlin said. “You’re going to face the Timeless One, Old One of Time magic, and enemy to your entire species. He has the power to ensure you never existed, and here you’re worried about getting in trouble at school?”
“It’s not that simple,” Rachel said. “They think we lost our memories. If they find out that we kept them, they’ll come after us and wipe our minds for real this time.”
“Then I suppose you shouldn’t get caught, eh?” the third Merlin suggested.
“It won’t be difficult,” the second one said. “At worst, truly the most difficult scenario, you’ll be facing maybe, maybe a dozen or so soldiers.”
A dozen soldiers? That didn’t actually sound that bad. Fort could teleport the three of them into the medical bay, Jia could put the soldiers to sleep, and the sword would be Rachel’s—
“Oh, and twenty to thirty students as well, don’t forget,” the third Merlin corrected himself.
“Of course, I misspoke,” the second one said. “Thank you for the reminder. There will also be twenty to thirty students guarding it, as they know when the sword is due back as well.”
Twenty to thirty students? And they knew when Excalibur was reappearing too? Fort’s eyes widened, but the Merlins hadn’t stopped yet.
“That may sound like a lot, but don’t worry—only half of them are as powerful as you two are,” the original Merlin said, pointing at Jia and Rachel.
“Yes, but the other half will be a challenge,” the third Merlin said.
“Obviously,” the first Merlin said with a laugh. “And then there are the magical weapons the soldiers have.”
“That, and they’ll know you’re coming,” the third Merlin said, and this time, Fort, Rachel, and Jia all gasped in surprise. “What? Hadn’t I mentioned that? Simply unavoidable, I’m afraid, as they have one of the Carmarthen Academy students supplying them with the immediate future.” He shrugged at Rachel and Jia, who were now both in various stages of panic. “Now then, shall we get started on the training?”
- THIRTEEN -
THEY HAVE A STUDENT FROM the Carmarthen Academy?” Rachel said, looking shocked. “But we used Excalibur on all of them, so they wouldn’t have their magic anymore!”
“Well, not all of them,” Jia said, giving her a worried glance. “What if Ellora arrived back before the sword does, and Colonel Charles has her locked up? Even if she tried not to tell them when Excalibur was going to reappear, they might have used magic on her to get it anyway.”
Fort rubbed his temples, trying to work this all out in his head. Merlin had dropped way too much information at once on them, but something was still bothering him about it all: Merlin’s own magic. “Wait,” he said. “Since you can use Time magic, Merlin, why don’t you just bring Excalibur back to us right now, from the future?”
“First of all, because I’m not considered ‘worthy’ and therefore can’t touch it myself,” the Merlin closest to Fort said with a small grin. “Second of all, I have very strict rules that I have to follow. I can train you, help guide you, but I can’t face the Timeless One, or win Excalibur for you in any way. These are your tasks, your challenges, and we’ll all lose if you can’t perform them.”
“Is this one of those time travel things where you can’t change the past too much, or it’ll mess everything up?” Rachel asked.
“But aren’t you from the past, so this is your future?” Jia said. “Or am I wrong about that? I still haven’t read any of the King Arthur stories.”
“Oh, you really should!” the Merlin nearest her said. “I come off quite well in most of them.”
“That’s why they’re fiction,” said the Merlin next to Rachel, and winked at her.
Fort frowned, not sure Merlin had actually answered Rachel’s question about changing the past. But it wasn’t like they could force the magician, and he was giving them all kinds of information they didn’t have, not to mention training Rachel and Jia—
“Fort’s right, back to the training,” his Merlin said, then gestured at the other two Merlins. “We only need one of you. Choose among yourselves who’s going back to our present time.”
The two Merlins glanced at each other, and one shrugged. “I have a stew on, so I’m happy to leave it to you.” He waved at Jia and Rachel, then disappeared, leaving just two Merlins now, the one by Fort and the one standing near Rachel.
“Now,” said Rachel’s Merlin, “this is where the hard part begins.” He shook his head dismissively. “Honestly, considering how little magic you’ve picked up so far, I’m a bit ashamed of your teachers. It’s like they had no idea what they were doing.”
“They didn’t, actually,” Jia pointed out. “They couldn’t use magic themselves, after all.”
Their Merlin harrumphed. “That’s no excuse. And why haven’t you read the more advanced books of magic, the ones detailing the mixing of magical types? Where are those books?”
Fort, Jia, and Rachel all shared a look. “Um, there are more powerful books of magic?” Rachel said. “I don’t think anyone’s found those—”
“That’s because they didn’t survive when magic left this world,” the other Merlin said, shaking his head at his counterpart. “You should remember that, old man.”
“I remember everything! ” the first Merlin roared. “Even things that contradict each other! Fine, if that’s the case, then I know where we’ll start.”
“So we’ve just been using beginner books?” Jia asked, looking back and forth between the two Merlins. “But there have been some pretty powerful spells in there.…”
“Oh, you’ve got no idea how powerful magic can get,” her Merlin said with a grin. “Those books were created for apprentices, solely so they couldn’t jump ahead into stronger magic until they were ready, or share the spells they’d learned with others. If you’d found an advanced copy of, say, Space magic, the entire book would have been readable from the beginning, and you could have told anyone else the words to the spell Change Orbit, if you’d like. And that’s not a spell you want to play around with.”
Fort’s eyes widened. Change Orbit? Like, of the planet? That wasn’t possible… was it?
“That’s a real spell?” Jia said, her voice as soft as a whisper. “But that could—”
“Send the planet hurtling into the sun, or too far away for its heat to reach us, killing all life,” her Merlin confirmed. “You see why the beginner books are a good way to start. But we’ve got no time for that anymore. Rachel, Jia, together we’re going to delve into advanced magics, combining types to create more powerful spells. There’s no way you could master any one magic enough to stand against the Timeless One, so this might be your only chance.”
Rachel’s eyes lit up. “Um, yes, please. I’m in.”
“Me too,” Jia said, looking as excited as Rachel. “If you can teach us magic that we can remember and share, then we won’t even need the books of magic that everyone’s fighting over! We could make our own, or share whatever we decide is safe with every country in the world. Everyone could actually get along again!”
Her words reminded Fort of a vision she’d had of the future, where her parents had been killed in a war between China and America over the books of magic, and he wasn’t surprised how strongly she felt about it. And if they could find a way to share magic with every country, that would definitely level the playing field.
But it would also completely change the world, even more than it had already been changed by the attacks in D.C. and London. What would that mean for everyday life? How would it change if everyone—or at least the kids of every country, to begin with—could do magic?
“Why don’t you wait to see if you three can defeat the Timeless One before worrying about the future,” the Merlin closest to him said. “Now, say good-bye to your friends, Forsythe. You won’t be seeing them for a while.”
“A while?” Rachel said. “What do you mean? How long will we—”
And then she, Jia, and th
e other Merlin disappeared in a burst of black light.
“Ah, and now for you and your dragon, boy,” the remaining Merlin said, giving Ember an appraising glance.
“Wait, where did they go?” Fort said, moving over to the spot they’d disappeared from. “Where did you—the other you—take them?”
“Oh, into the past, I assume,” Merlin said, waving a hand absently. “Who really knows what that man is thinking. But that’s none of your concern. You are here to get your dragon to safety, aren’t you? Or was I mistaken about that?”
“We need a way to get back to Avalon,” Fort said, still eyeing the spot his friends had just been standing in. “Or maybe to talk to the dragons there, if they could open a portal. That might solve everything?”
“That would require magic beyond your ability,” Merlin said. “No, we’ll have to rely on this little one to do all the work.” He reached out to scratch Ember’s chin, and strangely, she let him, purring loudly.
“Her?” Fort said. “But she’s a baby!”
“Oh, do dragons also fall within your expertise?” Merlin said, raising a bushy eyebrow. “Why don’t you tell me how you found this one.”
Fort sighed. If King Arthur had to deal with this sarcasm, then Fort could too. “Fine. When I met the Old One of Healing, or Corporeal magic, whatever it is—”
“Corporeal is more accurate,” Merlin said, “but you’ll be surprised how deep each type of magic truly extends.”
“Sure, okay,” Fort said, trying to get to his point. “He was going to attack a bunch of humans because he was mad at us for killing all the dragons, even though we didn’t, so I told him he could just make a new one. And here she is.” He gently put Ember down on the dining room table before them. “Now the faerie queen wants her to use as a bargaining chip with the Avalon dragons, not to mention that I can’t keep her here… people would flip out, including my dad and aunt. So even if the faeries weren’t after her, I couldn’t keep her in my bedroom.”
“Oh, of course not,” Merlin told him. “She’d be too large for it in less than a week. Dragons mature extremely quickly. But you neglected to mention one thing about dragons, the most important thing, in fact. Do you recall how D’hea created them?”
Fort frowned, the image of a D’hea-sized dragon exploding out of his apartment distracting him. “Um, I think he said they were made out of magic—”
“Precisely!” Merlin shouted, startling Ember. “Which means that if you learn to communicate clearly with the little one here, she has the power to open a portal to Avalon, or anywhere, really. There’s a reason the Old Ones feared dragons and went to war against humanity once dragons taught humans magic. D’hea unleashed a power that rivals that of the Old Ones themselves.”
Fort looked down at Ember, who was currently trying to attack her tail. Could she really already have access to magic like that? If Merlin was telling the truth, then that was all the more reason he had to get her to others of her own kind, if just so she didn’t hurt herself with that kind of power.
“Unfortunately,” Merlin continued, “so many dragons were lost to the war that the remaining ones fled to Avalon to ensure their survival. There aren’t more than five or six left, all told, and each is extremely old.” He petted Ember’s head. “The queen of the Tylwyth Teg is right to think those dragons would be willing to do almost anything for this child.”
“You said communicate clearly with her?” Fort said. “What do you mean by that? She seems to understand her name, but—”
“But you don’t know her language,” Merlin finished. “I have just the thing for that.” He snapped his fingers, and a loud crash came from the other room, like several books falling from a shelf. A moment later, an enormous book at least three feet tall came soaring through the doorway to land gently on the table in front of Fort. “There,” the old man said, his eyes shining. “Some light reading for you.”
Fort cautiously reached down to pick up the book, only to almost drop it instantly, it was so heavy. This thing had to be at least fifteen pounds and more pages than he could count! “What is this?”
“A way to communicate,” Merlin said. “Think of it as a dragon dictionary, in a sense.”
“A dictionary?” Fort said, not able to believe it. “I have to learn all of this to talk to her?”
“Of course not!” Merlin said. “No more than half, I’d imagine. Now you see why you won’t have time to train. Still, better get cracking, my boy… the longer you wait, the more chance the faerie queen will capture her. The dragon is your responsibility now. Good luck, and I’ll be back soon with your friends. Or the other me will be, but that shouldn’t matter to you. See you soon!”
And he disappeared, just like the other Merlin had with Rachel and Jia.
Fort stared into space for a moment, then looked down at the enormous tome in front of him, alone but for this cat-dragon, who had now leaped from the table to explore whatever was bubbling in the pot over the fire.
“Are you really that powerful, Ember?” Fort said to his cat-dragon as she sniffed at the pot. “Are you some kind of little genius, ready to cast spells that we can’t even understand?”
Apparently liking what she smelled, Ember let out a joyous meow, then leaped face-first toward the pot. Fort shouted in surprise, but just before she hit the scalding-hot contents, a floating serving ladle scooped her up and deposited her into a bowl, which floated over to Fort. He just stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing, then petted her lovingly.
“Okay, maybe not a genius, but you’re just perfect the way you are,” he said to the now-annoyed cat in front of him, just before she let out a huge burst of flame straight at the offending ladle.
- FOURTEEN -
WHATEVER THIS DICTIONARY OF DRAGON language was, it didn’t work like any of the books of magic. Instead of spell names and descriptions, each page contained exactly one word in a language that could very well have been the one Ember was speaking, followed by an English equivalent.
But whatever the dragon words were, Fort couldn’t even begin to know, because they weren’t written in an alphabet he recognized. Instead, Ember’s language looked like it was written in runes, which meant that even if he found the right word in English, he’d have no idea how to pronounce the dragon equivalent, or even read it.
But maybe there was a way around that? After all, the book could tell he spoke English instead of French or German or something, so maybe he just needed to figure out the right way to access the dragon language, have it turn into an alphabet he recognized, even if it just had to spell out how to pronounce it in English.
He pulled the heavy cover back over to close the book, hoping the book’s title would help him with things. But whatever it said was entirely in the dragon runes and therefore completely unreadable.
“Fantastic,” he said to Ember, who was back to sniffing at the food in the pot over the fireplace, in spite of the dishes already carrying her away twice now. “I’m never going to learn your language, you realize. You’ll probably learn to speak English faster.”
Ember eyed him, then reached a paw up to grab for the pot.
“Ember, no, that’s hot!” Fort shouted, and bolted up from his seat to grab the cat. He reached her before the ladle could this time and gathered her up into his arms. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that. Can’t you feel the heat?”
Ember pushed indignantly against his grip, and he released her onto the table, glaring at her. “Listen to me,” he told her. “Fire will burn you. Just like the flames that come out of your mouth burn, well, everything they touch. Do you understand me?” This whole raising a dragon child was going to be the death of him if she kept putting her life in danger like that!
Ember stared at him for a moment. “Solip sefen fio,” she said, then began to lick a paw.
Fort started to respond, then paused. Maybe he could use that? “Sole lip say fen fee oh,” he repeated to himself, then reopened the book, hopin
g by sounding it out, maybe he could find something recognizable in the runes. “Sole lip say fen fee oh. Sole lip say fen fee oh.”
But no, the runes weren’t even close to the alphabet he knew, and they could have represented any type of sound. He sighed, then turned to Ember.
“I don’t suppose you can help me read this, can you?” he asked. “I’d really like to keep Xenea from stealing you, if possible, so anything you can do to speed this along would be appreciated.”
His cat-dragon paused in her paw cleaning to stare at him again, then walked over to the book, used her claws to turn a few pages, and stepped right into the middle of the page she’d chosen, as if ready to say something of great importance.
Then she began to lick her paw again.
Fort groaned, banging his head lightly against the table. “This is pointless! What am I even doing here? I can’t talk to a dragon. It’s impossible!”
Except it couldn’t be impossible, since Damian had learned to speak English at some point. But how? Had he picked it up just like a human baby, learning at a natural speed? Considering Damian hadn’t even remembered he was a dragon, that did sort of imply that he’d been human from a pretty young age.
“You don’t know how to turn human, do you?” he asked Ember, almost pleading.
She meowed at him for being bothered, then glowed with such a strong blue light that he had to look away. And when Fort turned back, he found himself staring at a very cranky human toddler girl.
“Ember?” he said slowly.
“Solip ertum,” human Ember said, glaring at him. She banged her little hand down on the page she was sitting on. “Lesa kniha.”
“That’s not really helping, actually,” he told her, still amazed that she’d been able to turn herself human. Merlin was right, the dragon really was incredibly powerful. If Fort could just learn how to get her to open a portal, he could get her to safety and still have time to train.
As she stared up at him, a look of both love and trust in her eyes—if also a little annoyance that he wasn’t understanding her—Fort began to realize something: This little girl, no matter what species she actually was, saw him as her dad. Or if not a father, at least a guardian, a caretaker.