by James Riley
“I know,” Rachel said, wincing a bit, but still holding tight to the golem. “It’s about time I let that go. You did what you thought was best, and I guess I just don’t like things being kept from me. But you’re allowed to have privacy. And who knows? Maybe the queen did help us out.”
“Wait, what?” Fort said, blinking rapidly. “That was your deal with the queen, that she’d keep the war from happening? But she did that by making sure my dad couldn’t use magic anymore. Which means…”
“Which means she played you both,” Rachel said, sighing. “She got a two-for-one deal. By fixing your dad, Fort, she accomplished Jia’s deal too, but we still owe her twice.”
Fort shook his head, realizing now that Rachel had been right all along. It really didn’t pay to make deals with the Tylwyth Teg. “So what was your payment, Jia? What else is she going to get out of us?”
Jia’s golem looked down at the ground. “I’m not allowed to say. That was part of the deal, and why I didn’t mention it to begin with. But it won’t hurt anyone or mess with our world at all. I told her I wasn’t willing to make things worse just to keep the war from happening!”
Fort noticed that Rachel had tensed up during this last part, but she let out a long breath and nodded. “Like I said, not a fan of secrets, but I trust you, Gee. And if you say the price for stopping the war isn’t that bad, then it’s probably worth it.” She raised the golem to look it straight in the eye. “But next time, we talk about this first!”
Jia’s golem smiled shyly. “Deal.”
Fort sincerely was happy they were getting along again, but still, there were bigger things at the moment. “Can we get back to Merlin being an Old One and you not telling me?”
Rachel lowered Jia to the ground, coughing uncomfortably. “Well, he said you’d find out when you needed to, so we didn’t think it’d matter just yet,” she said, not looking at him. “Plus, you still needed to learn Ember’s language, and I can’t see you studying in an Old One’s house, can you?”
“No, which is why you should have told me!” Fort shouted. “I would have figured out some other way to deal with Ember.”
“What do you mean, deal with me, Father?” the dragon said.
He winced. “Nothing. We’ll talk about it later.”
She hissed, then turned away and slunk back into the cottage to take another bite out of the stewpot.
“So tell me the truth now,” Fort said, turning back to Rachel and Jia. “You both trust Merlin, and think we need to fight the Timeless One? Because Cyrus said we should just skip the whole thing, and then neither of them would win.”
“Of course he’d say that,” Rachel said, then yelped as Jia pinched her leg with the golem’s tiny little wooden hands. “Hey!”
“He’s got his own stuff going on,” Jia told Fort. “And no, you still shouldn’t fight the Timeless One, but we need to. Merlin is hiding some things, but he is on our side, on humanity’s side. So yes, we’re going to fight Emrys.”
“Why did you pinch her?” Fort asked, raising an eyebrow. What were they hiding about Cyrus?
“To prove that I’m not a dream,” Rachel said quickly. “She thinks she must be imagining me sometimes, I’m so perfect.”
“That’s true,” Jia said, then pinched her again, making Rachel shout out.
Fort bit his lip, wanting to ask again what they weren’t telling him, but instead just handed Excalibur to Rachel. “Well, this is yours. At least we got it back.”
As soon as she took the hilt, the flames disappeared, and Rachel grinned. “I love this thing,” she said, swinging it around a bit.
Fort watched her play for a moment, then looked back into the cottage to where Ember was almost through with the pot and searching for more metal to eat. Rachel and Jia were still definitely keeping things from him. But none of it made sense. Between what they had accidentally revealed, and everything Merlin had told him, it was like none of these pieces actually fit the puzzle.
Not unless the puzzle was of a completely different picture than he’d been expecting.
As Rachel continued practicing with Excalibur, with Jia offering commentary, Fort went silent, considering everything he’d been told or picked up from hints that Jia or Rachel had provided. Clearly, someone wasn’t to be trusted, but the one person he suspected most seemed to have the trust of his friends.
And the person they didn’t seem to trust…
Wait. Wait.
Fort’s eyes widened as things suddenly began to make sense. If this was a jigsaw puzzle, then the picture coming into view wasn’t the one he’d thought, not at all. Not if what Jia and Rachel had told him was true, and if he couldn’t trust them, then nothing made sense.
And the idea that had just come to him did fit everything he’d learned. But it also was something he didn’t want to believe, not even a little bit. His whole body felt cold, and he truly didn’t want to pick at this thread. If he was right, everything he’d known since first going to the school would have been a lie.
But that wasn’t exactly new, was it? Dr. Opps, Colonel Charles, everyone had lied to him from the start.
Fort swallowed hard. Even the idea that it could be possible made him want to throw up. But it all fit, and he couldn’t just ignore it! Why did it have to be… couldn’t it have… ugh!
He sighed heavily, really hoping he was wrong about all of this, but worrying he wasn’t. Maybe that’s exactly why Merlin, Jia, and Rachel were trying to hide it from him, even if they weren’t doing a great job of it. Whether it was the rules of the game, or just not wanting Fort to get hurt, it didn’t really matter. If he was right, he almost wished he hadn’t figured it out.
But it was too late to stay ignorant. There was no going back to how things used to be, not anymore, no matter how much it might hurt or make him feel completely empty inside.
“I have to get back home,” Fort said to Rachel and Jia, then looked down at the golem. “Are they releasing you back to your dorm room?”
“Already in the process,” Jia said, nodding.
“Good,” he said. “Then I’ll see you both tomorrow night. Come on, Ember. We’re going home.”
She huffed indignantly but walked out of the cottage and sat down next to him, waiting for him to open a portal.
“Where are you with everything, Fort?” Rachel asked, giving him a worried look. “I know that was a lot to take in, about Merlin. Took me a few days to be okay with it.”
“Me too,” Jia said.
“I don’t know that a few days will change anything,” Fort told them. “But I do think I have some decisions to make.”
“Okay, New Kid,” Rachel said, looking at him sadly. “Come back tomorrow night, and we can talk it all over if you want… well, anything we’re allowed to say.”
Fort snorted but gave her a small salute. “I’ll be here. See you two then.”
And with that, he teleported himself and Ember back to his bedroom, knowing he had a big choice to make.
Because if he was right about everything, the only way their battle against the Timeless One would work out was if he did face the Old One at Rachel and Jia’s side. And for the first time, he wasn’t sure he could.
- THIRTY-FOUR -
FORT LAY IN HIS BED, watching as Ember finished off the remnants of his aunt’s exercise equipment. The dragon had already eaten through enough that he’d just decided to let her have the rest, especially since cat food was clearly not going to do the job anymore.
“Will we hunt tonight, Father?” she asked him after swallowing the last bit of dumbbell. “You did say we’d do that soon.”
Fort shook his head, lost in his thoughts. “I have a lot to think about tonight, Ember. I’m sorry.”
She licked her lips, not looking happy. “Does this mean that it is okay to break a promise?”
That got Fort’s attention. “No, it’s not, and I will take you hunting,” he said. “It’s just that I have a problem, and I am not entirely sure what
to do about it.”
“A problem?” she asked. “Maybe I can hunt and kill it for you.”
“No, that’s okay,” he said quickly, smiling at her. “It’s just a decision I have to make about something.”
A look of both anger and worry crossed her reptilian face. “What decision?” she asked, and her voice sounded less confident than usual.
“There is an… enemy,” he said. “At least, I think. And my friends, the two girls you were just protecting, they’re going to fight it. But they don’t think I should fight it too, because they worry about me. But I believe I have to, even if… I don’t know that I can.”
Ember’s eyes narrowed, and a little plume of smoke began to rise from her mouth. “They insult you, Father. I will destroy them for this!” She began to flap her wings. “With me at your side, you have the power to take down any foe!”
“No, they’re not insulting me!” Fort said, jumping off the bed and trying to pin her wings back down so she wouldn’t make even more noise. The last thing he needed was for his dad or aunt to come by and see how his kitten was doing, only to find a dragon as big as Fort. “They care about me and don’t want me to be hurt. And I do have the power to face this enemy, but I don’t know that I can fight. Because… well, a lot of reasons. The old man in the cottage—”
“The man?” Ember said. “He is no human, Father. Were you not aware?”
Fort snorted. “Not until earlier, no. I wish I could have talked to you a few days ago.”
Ember rolled her eyes. “You are not as intelligent as I am. But I do not hold it against you.”
“Thank you,” Fort told her, half sincerely. She purred loudly, even as a dragon, and rubbed her scaly head against his cheek. “Anyway, he told me some things I didn’t know, and it led to other things, and now I don’t know what to do.”
“Ask me,” Ember said. “I shall tell you. Enemies should be burned, then eaten. There is no need to think on it further.”
“It’s not that easy,” Fort said, not really sure how to explain it.
“Why?” she asked.
He growled in frustration. “I just have to think, okay? Things are so complicated, and I was supposed to use this magic to get you to Avalon, but now I’ve learned that so many other things were happening, and—”
She took a step back, suddenly looking at him with a mixture of anger and fear. “No, Father. I do not wish to go to that place. I wish to stay here, with you.”
Ugh. This was the last thing he wanted to be talking about at the moment, not with everything else going on in his head. “I’m not sending you right now, but someday you will have to go, Ember. There are other dragons there, and they can take care of you better than I can.”
“Please, Father, don’t do that,” she said, backing away now, pulling her head in closer to her body as she crouched down low. “I hear you talk about it with the humans and know what you say. I know you intend to send me away, and it hurts me, Father. I do not wish it!”
Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. “Ember, I don’t want you to leave,” he said, moving over to her and hugging her close. He held her for a moment, then pulled away. “But it’s better for you that way. Humans and dragons live very differently.”
“Then I should live as a human,” Ember said, and he noticed her cheek scales were now wet. “I do not mind!”
“No, that’s not who you are,” Fort said. “Another dragon I know lived as a human, and I’m not sure it was all that helpful, to be honest, considering how he turned out.”
“You are sending me to this other dragon?” Ember asked, not looking happy about it. “But you imply he is not worthy of me.”
“No, I’m not sending you to him,” Fort said quickly. “But you’re right, he is definitely not worthy of you. That’s why the dragons in Avalon will be better, because they live as dragons.”
“But you are my father, not them!” She shook her head violently.
“Ember, I’m not,” he said, and she froze at his words. “You were… created by another dragon. I just promised to watch over you for him. And I think this is the best way to do that.”
She looked like she might be about to start sobbing. “Then you would break that promise, because you could not watch over me if I am no longer around. Please, Father, I do not want to leave you!”
“It’s just the way things have to be,” Fort told her quietly, his heart breaking as he said it. “I wish it wasn’t that way, but there’s nothing I can do.”
She looked at him, her eyes drooping now with sadness. “There is something you could do, but you won’t do it. You do not care about me.”
“That’s not true!” Fort said. He reached for her, but she pulled away. “I care deeply for you, Ember, and only want the best for you!”
“Then let me stay with you!” she said, and he found himself at a loss for words. “That is what is best for me!”
“I can’t, because that’s not how things work!” he said a little too loudly, feeling terrible about all of this. “I’m sorry, Ember, but there’s nothing to argue about here. You’re a dragon, I’m a human, and you can’t stay here!”
His words caused her to tremble, and she bowed her head low, nodding. “Then I will not interfere with your human life any further, Father,” she said, turning away. “I shall leave now, to honor your wishes. Even if you did not fulfill your promises, I will.”
Fort felt like he was going to throw up. “Ember,” he said, shaking his head. “You don’t have to go now. We have time—”
She looked up at him and blinked, tears running down her cheeks. “Good-bye, Father,” she said.
And then she disappeared in a burst of green light.
“Ember?” Fort said, pushing to his feet. “Ember, where did you go?” He searched the room but knew it was pointless. His dragon had just teleported away somewhere, and wherever she had gone, she didn’t want him to find her.
Because she thought he didn’t want her.
Only nothing could be further from the truth. Over the last few days, he’d come to care deeply for the little dragon and knew he’d be devastated when he had to send her away.
But now she’d left on her own and thought he didn’t love her. This was the worst possible way it could have gone.
There is something you could do, but you won’t do it, she had said.
Well, she was right about the first part, but not the second. He might not know what to do about the Timeless One and Merlin, but he did know he couldn’t let Ember leave, not like this.
“Find Ember,” he said in the magic language, putting all of his will into it. He didn’t know if the spell would work, but—
Wait, there she was. And she hadn’t gone far.
In fact, she was just across the road from his house. That made sense, since Ember hadn’t seen very much of the outside world yet.
But unfortunately, she wasn’t alone. Someone had already found her.
Someone who was staying in the park across the street.
Fort’s blood ran cold and he swore, then teleported after her.
- THIRTY-FIVE -
XENEA!” FORT SHOUTED AS HE passed through a portal to the park outside his bedroom window.
The faerie girl stood under a streetlamp just inside the park, Ember floating unconscious in some sort of magical prison in the air right in front of her.
“Look what I found,” Xenea said quietly, giving Fort a strange look. “Turns out you had a little dragon hiding in there all along. Who would have thought?”
A chill went through Fort’s body. “She’s not yours, Xenea,” he shouted, running over to the faerie girl. He reached out to Ember, to free her from the glamour…
And went flying backward like he’d been hit by a Dracsi.
Fort slammed into the ground a good ten feet away, the breath knocked right out of him. He tried to say something, but he didn’t have the air and had to wait until he could catch his breath before pushing to his feet, staring
at Xenea in surprise. “What… what did you just do?”
“You were trying to take the queen’s dragon,” she said, raising one eyebrow. “Why would I just let you do that?”
“She’s no one’s dragon!” Fort shouted, walking more slowly toward Xenea this time, trying to bring to mind a spell to use on her if he needed to. “She’s her own dragon, but I’m watching over her, so give her back—”
“No, I don’t think so,” Xenea said. “To any of that. Because before I grabbed her, I could see in her mind that you sent her away. Not to mention that you were supposed to be helping me find her, according to your deal with my queen. You’re lucky I’m feeling forgiving, or I’d tell her you broke your bargain.”
This stopped Fort dead. If he angered Xenea any further, and she told the faerie queen Fort had broken his deal, there was no telling what she’d do to his father.
But he couldn’t let Xenea take Ember, either.
“I didn’t send her away,” he started to say, then stopped, sighing. “Okay, yes, I did, sort of, but it all came out wrong. She wasn’t ready to go yet, and I didn’t want her to.”
“I thought you didn’t own her,” Xenea said, raising the other eyebrow now.
“I don’t!” Fort shouted. “I was just trying to get her to safety, find her a home with her own kind.”
“Sounds like she didn’t agree with that,” Xenea said with a sneer. “Typical selfish human: send away a helpless creature who loves you because they’re an inconvenience.” She shook her head in disgust. “I knew those move vees were a lie. You all pretend you want to be good, to be heroes, like the woman who burned up aliens. But deep down, none of you are willing to actually step up and do something. You just want to hide away, hoping someone else will take care of things. Well, someone else did, Forsythe. Go home, and be thankful for my mercy.”
Xenea turned to go, Ember floating behind her. But before she could, Fort leaped forward, reaching out to grab her shoulder. “Wait, Xenea, I don’t—”