He waved Caleb off when Caleb tried to lead him toward the hallway. “I’ll just use some of these blankets and sleep on the floor next to Julia. I don’t want to leave her side.”
Caleb looked for a moment like he might protest, but then he shrugged. “Suit yourself. If you change your mind and want a bed, the guest room is the second door on the right down that hallway.”
Jasper nodded sleepily, feeling like he didn’t even have energy left to speak a reply. But when he finally lay down in the blankets, sleep eluded him despite his exhaustion. He couldn’t stop thinking about the not-so-warm welcome he’d gotten from the wizard soldiers in Lost Garden. How had they known he was coming, and why had they been so insistent on taking him to the High Council in the middle of the night? He supposed someone from Torch Lake must have alerted them that he was on his way. It wouldn’t have been hard to figure out that he was bringing Julia here. The receptionist in Torch Lake knew he’d overhead the doctor there talking about how Dr. Pasko might have a cure.
Jasper winced. He knew he would be punished for kidnapping Julia. There’s no way the High Council in Torch Lake was going to let that one go without consequences. But how severe would his punishment be? Would they kick him out of town? Was he now unwelcome in Torch Lake, just as he was unwelcome in the Lost Garden Clan? He seemed to burn through clan memberships pretty quickly.
A slight sigh from Julia startled Jasper, and he sat up straight to look at her, hopeful that she was waking up even though according to Dr. Pasko’s estimates it hadn’t been nearly long enough for the potions to work. Her eyes were still closed, though. She had just shifted in her sleep.
Jasper reached over and laced her fingers in his. “Hang in there, Julia. If you make it through this, and your magic is intact, this will all have been worth it. Even if I lose my new clan.”
No longer able to close his eyes, Jasper stood and walked toward the front window. When he looked out, he was startled at what he saw. There, on the front lawn of Dr. Pasko’s house, the two dragons that had been part of the wizard’s soldier group sat. They had been joined by a third dragon as well, and the dragons seemed to be guarding the house. Beyond the border of the lawn, several wizard and shifter soldiers stood, all wearing the Lost Garden Clan uniform. But it was clear that they weren’t coming any closer because of the dragons. Every now and then, one of them would walk forward and try, and the dragons would let out a low warning growl. The soldiers would step back in frustration, not wanting to fight with the large, determined beasts.
“My god. They’re protecting the house.” Jasper watched in awe, not sure what to make of all this. If it hadn’t been for those three dragons, Dr. Pasko wouldn’t have been able to work in peace. And Jasper probably would have had to have been out there fighting the whole time. But why had a trio of Lost Garden dragons been so eager to hold back their fellow soldiers, who were only trying to follow High Council orders to arrest Jasper, a man accused of being a traitor to their clan?
As Jasper watched, one of the dragons turned its giant head back to look toward the window, as if it knew it was being watched. Jasper held his breath, wondering how the dragon would respond. It merely nodded at him politely, then turned to resume its guard duties.
Jasper shook his head in wonder. This had been a strange night. He still had so many questions, and he still felt uneasy sleeping in the house of his enemy. He was also worried about Julia, and about his own standing in the Torch Lake Clan. But he had a strange feeling that somehow everything was going to work out okay. With that dragon’s nod, he had been reminded of one solid truth: no matter what the world threw at you, if you had dragons on your side, then everything would be okay.
Jasper went back to lie down beside the couch, reaching his fingers up to take Julia’s hand again.
“It’s going to be alright, Julia. I promise,” he whispered. “You’ve got a dragon on your side.”
And then, mercifully, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Chapter Twelve
Julia blinked her eyes open to see an unfamiliar ceiling above her. It was popcorned, like the ceilings of her childhood had been. This was one of those old-style houses that weren’t built anymore. The only ones that remained were the ones in clans that hadn’t been fully destroyed during the Great Dark War.
Julia blinked again, and tried to shift her body so she could see more of where she was. But her attempt at movement immediately shot searing pain through her entire body. She winced, and lay still again, closing her eyes against the flood of sharp, stabbing sensations that filled her. Why did everything hurt so much? And where was she? She couldn’t be in Torch Lake. All the houses there were only a few years old. But the last thing Julia remembered was being in her own kitchen in her cozy Torch Lake house, getting ready to go meet Jasper at the Winking Wizard. She was obviously missing a big gap of time.
As if her very thoughts had power, the instant she thought of Jasper, she heard his voice. It was low and whispering, but it was him. He sounded like he was having an argument with someone…someone whose voice also sounded familiar to her. With great effort, and bracing herself against the pain, Julia turned herself sideways slightly so she could look around the room. As she did, some strange bags that smelled like they were filled with herbs shifted on her body. She frowned, sniffing at the bag closest to her face. It smelled vaguely like mugwort.
She was in a strange house she’d never seen before. On the floor beside her were a bunch of blankets and pillows, as though someone had been sleeping there. Beyond that, there was what appeared to be a black medical bag. A coffee table was covered with herbs that she recognized as medicinal. She’d seen many of them in the local Magical Medicine Pharmacy down the street from the Advocacy Bureau. The little pouches all over her body must be filled with magical herbal concoctions. Was she in a doctor’s office? It would make sense, since she hurt so badly. Something not good had clearly happened to her, although she had no memory of what. This place looked more like someone’s home than a medical office, though.
When she turned her head a little more to look at the front door, she saw that she had not been imagining the voices she’d heard. Jasper stood there, speaking with Jake. That had been the other familiar voice. Julia couldn’t hear them well enough to understand what they were saying, so she moved her hand with her magic ring ever so slightly in their direction and whispered, “Magicae audite.” Instantly, the listening spell made it easier for her to hear what was being said.
“What were you thinking, anyway? She could have died on the flight over! She was in no condition to be carried around by a dragon like that.”
Julia’s eyes widened. Jake sounded angrier than she’d ever heard him before. And his anger was being directed squarely at Jasper. But why? Jasper stuck his chin out defiantly in Jake’s direction. “There wasn’t time to go through all the bureaucratic hoops. If I hadn’t done what I did when I did it, Julia would have lost her magic, and you know it.”
“I don’t know it,” Jake said, his tone seething. “And besides, we still don’t know whether Dr. Pasko saved Julia’s magic. Or her life. She’s been pretty touch and go from what I understand.”
Julia’s eyes widened even more. Save her magic? Save her life? They were arguing about her, and it sounded like she’d been through something pretty serious. But what? She tried to sit up again, but the pain was too much. Besides, she wasn’t sure she wanted to interrupt the conversation that was going on right now. It didn’t sound like something she wanted to get in the middle of, even if it was about her.
“Caleb said her vital signs were looking a lot better this morning,” Jasper insisted. “We won’t know until she fully wakes up whether her magic is still intact, but this was the only chance she had and you do know it.”
Julia felt her magic ring on her finger, wanting the reassurance that it was there. From what Jasper and Jake were saying, she’d been in danger of losing her magic. That could only mean she had come into contact with
some sort of dark magic. But how, and where? She rubbed the band of her magic ring with her thumb, trying to calm herself and think clearly. She still had her magical abilities, at least right now she did. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to perform the Audite spell. Was she still in danger of losing her magic, though? The thought nearly paralyzed her with fear. Magic was her life. If she lost it, she’d never be able to achieve her dream job of Advocate Defender. She almost sat up in a panic, but then Jasper was speaking again.
“Besides, you should stick up for me. We dragons should stick together.”
Jake let out a long, exasperated sigh. “I’m People’s Governor! I can’t exactly condone law-breaking, Jasper!”
“Did I actually break any laws?”
“Kidnapping someone from the hospital is against the law. So is destroying half the wall of a hospital room.”
“I’ll pay to replace the wall. And as for the kidnapping, it was an emergency. Surely there’s some legal loophole for that.”
There was a long pause. Julia turned her head slightly to look, and saw that Jake was rubbing his forehead wearily. “Fine. I’ll talk to the High Council for you. But please try to lay low for the next few days. I know you can’t stand Dr. Pasko, but don’t get into any big arguments with him. Just…just behave yourself okay?”
Jasper grunted. “I’ll try. If he does manage to save Julia then I guess I can’t be too mad at him.”
As if on cue, a man who must have been Dr. Pasko suddenly walked into the room. He was wearing a white doctor’s coat, and he looked like he’d barely slept the night before. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his white hair was shooting off in every possible direction. As he turned, Julia saw that the embroidery on his doctor’s coat read “Pasko.” He was indeed the doctor they were speaking of, although Julia wasn’t sure why Jasper wouldn’t be able to stand him. His eyes seemed kind enough, even if he did appear a little bit eccentric.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” the doctor said, his voice the epitome of professionalism. Jake and Jasper fell silent, and the strain that suddenly filled the air was palpable. Julia decided this was a good moment to finally sit up and let everyone know she was awake. With a small grunt, she forced herself to push through the pain and sat up so that her back was against the armrest of the couch, and her legs stretched out in front of her. When the three men saw that she was awake, they all forgot about their other worries and ran over to her.
“Julia!” Jasper yelped, running to kneel by her side. He took her hand in his, and Julia felt her body warm at his touch. She gave him a weak smile. Dr. Pasko started feeling her forehead, then her pulse, and then asking her a series of rapid-fire questions about how she felt. Julia’s head was swimming as she tried to keep up. She saw Jake in the background, bouncing nervously from one foot to another.
“I thought I might lose you,” Jasper said, his voice breaking. Julia turned her eyes to him, and for a moment the rest of the world faded away. All she could see was him, his handsome face looking back at her with an earnest expression. She felt a rush of emotion. Even though she didn’t know yet what had happened to her, it sounded like he had saved her life, and her magic. If that was true, how could she ever repay him? She’d already been falling for him. If he had rescued her from something horrible, that was just one more big reason to give in to what her heart was telling her: that Jasper Moffatt was the kind of man who came along once in a lifetime.
“What happened to me?” she asked, her heart pounding as he reached up to trace a line down the side of her face.
“First we should check all her vitals,” Dr. Pasko interrupted, reaching in the nearby black medical bag for some sort of tool. “Then we can discuss what happened.”
“No,” Jasper said, his voice firm. “She’s well enough. She needs to hear, and know.”
Julia watched as Jasper glared at Dr. Pasko. The older man looked like he might protest, and for a moment the heavy tension was back in the air. But then, Dr. Pasko nodded.
“Very well. I suppose if she’s awake then she’s well enough to hear what happened.”
Julia turned back to look at Jasper. “What…what happened? I heard you saying something about my losing my magic. But I can still perform spells. I just tried one a minute ago to amplify sound, and it worked.”
The look of relief that flooded across Jasper’s face was so intense that it was almost heartbreaking. “Oh, thank god,” he said, and pulled her fully into his arms. She thought she felt him let out a sob or two. Jake was letting out an excited whoop, and Dr. Pasko started racing back and forth across the room in a frenzy, which made him look even more like a mad scientist.
“Oh my god, it worked. It worked? It worked!” Dr. Pasko rambled as he paced, seeming unable to contain himself. Julia pulled back from Jasper to look in his eyes, surprised to see tears trickling down his face.
“You’re crying?”
“Happy tears,” he said, wiping at his face. “I’ve never been so overjoyed in my life.”
Julia was glad he was happy, but she was starting to get annoyed. She felt like she was missing out on some sort of joke that everyone was in on but her. “Okay, can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?”
Jasper nodded and took a deep breath. “Long story short, you accidently came in contact with an ancient dark magic curse that causes the wizard it infects to lose their magical abilities. It’s irreversible once it happens, and the curse can also cause death. Needless to say, when I realized you were infected like that, I was really freaked out for you.”
Julia frowned, sitting up straighter. The fog in her mind was clearing slightly as she woke up more, and the pain in her body was decreasing a bit. But she still felt confused. “I don’t remember anything, except feeling quite tired and sick right before I was supposed to go meet you at the Winking Wizard. How did I get cursed with dark magic? Did I come into contact with a dark wizard? Everything feels like a blur.”
“Remember those balls that you picked up in the advanced Advocate training room? The ones that Kai freaked out about?”
Julia nodded. How could she forget that fiasco?
“Well, those weren’t fake magical artifacts.”
It took a moment for Julia to comprehend what Jasper was saying, but once she did, her jaw dropped. “There were real cursed objects in there? That’s against regulations! How did that happen?” She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. No wonder Kai hadn’t wanted her to touch the balls. He must have known they weren’t fake.
“The High Council is investigating Kai right now, from what I understand,” Jasper answered. “But it sounds like there wasn’t exactly malicious intent behind it. From the bits of information that have been reported back to me, it sounds like Kai was indeed infected with a curse himself at some point, and has gone slightly crazy. He’ll probably be pardoned for having real cursed objects, but he’ll have to go through some serious rehab before he’ll be allowed back inside the Advocacy Bureau building.”
“Wow.” Julia wasn’t sure what else to say. The Advocacy Bureau had such strict security that she could hardly believe that Kai had been able to sneak anything cursed into the advanced training rooms. But that just went to show that things could always be improved.
“Wow is right,” Jake said, speaking up for the first time. “This could have turned out really badly for you. It probably would have, if not for Jasper.”
Julia saw Jasper give Jake a grateful look. Jake was offering a truce of sorts, it seemed.
“What did happen to me, though? How did I end up here? Where is here?”
Jasper looked uncomfortable again. “Well…”
Julia narrowed her eyes at him. “Jasper? What’s going on?”
“I sort of kidnapped you from the hospital.”
“You what?”
“It sounds worse than it is.”
Jake couldn’t resist a snort of laughter, and Jasper glared at him. Their truce was on shaky ground, it seemed.
If Julia hadn’t still been in so much pain every time she moved, she would have thrown her hands up in the air in frustration. “Stop beating around the bush and just tell me what happened already!”
Jasper sighed, and looked sheepish. “Alright, fine. Basically, you ended up in the hospital thanks to Rachel. She was worried about you and came to check on you, then realized you needed an ambulance. She called 911, which probably saved your life. Then she called me from your phone when I texted to see why you hadn’t met me at the Winking Wizard yet, like we’d planned. When she told me you were in the hospital, I came immediately.”
“I don’t remember any of this,” Julia said, looking from Jasper to Jake to Dr. Pasko. No one contradicted Jasper’s story, so it must be true. But it felt strange to know she’d been in an ambulance and then in the hospital, with no memory of it whatsoever.
“Well, it’s not surprising you don’t remember it, because you were in a coma,” Jake interjected. Julia looked at Jasper for confirmation, and he was nodding.
“You were really sick. They called in a specialist from across town, who quickly realized that you’d been infected with a magic sterilizing curse. He told us that you would almost certainly lose your magical abilities, and possibly your life. There was no known cure. Of course, we were all devastated for you. The clock was ticking closer to the moment when the damage would be done and irreversible, but there was nothing any of us could do. That’s when I overheard the doctor who was a specialist talking on the phone with someone about one doctor who might possibly have a cure. It was experimental, but it was your only chance. It was worth a shot.”
“I’m assuming that doctor was Dr. Pasko?” Julia asked, glancing over at the doctor. Dr. Pasko smiled at her, but she felt Jasper grimace. He really did not like the man, which confused her. Why would he hate someone who had just saved her life and magic?
Dragon Defying Page 10