by Sariah Skye
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“The Loremasters have been around for… centuries. When the population began to grow, speech started being formed, new ideas and life became more complicated. As you well know, we were formed in an attempt to keep the balance between the realms, so as not to allow anyone to become in any power over the other as well as keep records of humans and mythos,” Finnian explained. “This contains the first Loremasters experiences and predictions on the human Earth.”
“Predictions?” I repeated.
Finnian nodded eagerly. “Yes. It is said that in this book, the first Loremasters have prophesied nearly every significant moment in Earth’s history.”
“Every moment?” I said, skeptic. “Looks awfully small for every moment in history.”
Finnian grinned. “Ah well, yes… I’m sure that appears that way. The reason why none of you could read it is because it’s in the Loremasters secret ancient language.”
“So, like a code?” Gabriel offered and Finnian snapped his fingers and nodded.
“Exactly. There could be thousands of years of events just in this one book, and it’s been lost for quite a few centuries.” Finnian turned to me. “Leorah, how is it exactly that your Grandfather came to be in possession of this book?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, really. He said that Cyril had given it to him before he went into exile.” Kiarra came to life at the mention of her grandfather.
Finnian smiled, as if suddenly figuring out a great mystery. “Excellent! “
I gave him a strange look. “Care to share, oh, Mr. Holmes?” I quipped sardonically. Gabriel nudged me in the ribs and I scowled at him.
He ignored my barb. “It’s no secret to us that pink dragons have played a huge part in history in maintaining balance. It’s fitting that it would be in his possession and then, gave it to your grandfather. And curious. Curious indeed…”
I waited for him to proceed, but he just stared off, thoughtfully, forgetting we were even there, apparently.
“So, what does it mean?” I prompted.
He shook himself out of his daze. “Well, today’s events could be in here, and tomorrow’s outcome. There is a chance there could be something in here about the Shadows; something that would help us, maybe, if it was recorded. They used to be quite commonplace in the ancient times, before beings started wielding magic that could control them or, at least, deter them.”
Daniel sat up. “How far does it go out?”
Finnian shrugged. “I don’t know. It will take some work to get this translated. It may be… months before we do. Even if we do, Seer, the observations are generally as vague as the visions you see. Remember,” he said, looking at each one of us in turn. “History can always be changed. It could have changed already. This is just one example of one timeline that exists. Or did exist.”
I slapped my hands against my face and groaned. “Ugh… this is giving me a headache. What does it mean in idiot terms?”
Gabriel rested a hand on my arm. “It means that it doesn’t really help us much at all.”
I groaned again. “So, what’s the big deal, then?”
Finnian was smug. “How about if humans discovered the very first Bible ever written? Or passages by Jesus Christ himself? Or Buddha? Mohammed? It’s a pretty big deal to us; that’s what it’s like.”
“Okay, okay, so it’s cool… how about something helpful?” I said in irritation. “Like, how about the Shadows?”
“The Shadows. Right.” Finnian set the book down carefully and threaded his fingers together under his chin.
“One thing is for sure,” Kiarra began. “If the Shadows are working with the Court, that means both threats against you are really one and the same.”
I blew out a raspberry. “Great.”
“No, that’s good, actually,” Gabriel said, and I shot him a look of what the Hell? “It means that we don’t have to find a rogue warlock or anything. That it’s the Court—or Nicodemus at least, employing the use of Shadows for—whatever reason. That eliminates one step.”
I twirled my index finger around in the air. “Whoopee.”
Gabriel frowned at me. “Are you sleepy, or something? You’re pretty crabby.”
Maxxus let out a low whistle. “I wouldn't say that if I were you...” he said, lowly, in a singsong voice.
Angrily, I glared daggers at Gabriel. I fought the urge to stand up and throw the chair he was sitting on across the room, closing my eyes and taking a breath. “Pardon me, I would just like to know what’s going to happen. My friend was nearly killed. My family could be at risk. I have wings that pop in an out whenever the fuck they feel like it. So sorry if I’m not the poster child for chipper!” I said, in a tone of false cheer.
Maxxus next to me tried to unsuccessfully stifle a laugh. “I’m sorry… sorry,” he said, covering his mouth with his hand to hide the big grin as Gabriel glowered at him. He looked at Finnian, trying to escape the scorn. He cleared his throat and replaced his giggle with a grimace. “So, how do we get to Nicodemus?” Maxxus fumed, banging his fists on the table. “I'd like to rip his throat out!”
“Whoa there, Hulk,” I said, putting a calming hand over one of his palms and giving him an admonishing stare. “I would too, but patience.”
“I will come up with something. Did your friend Kat—” Finnian began.
“—Kit.” I corrected.
“Kit. Yes. Did she say anything about where they were? What it looked like?” Finnian asked.
I snorted. “Kit just said it looked an awful lot like a dungeon.” I glanced at Kiarra and Maxxus knowingly and we dragons all laughed.
“What?” Gabriel snapped, irritated he wasn’t privy to the “joke”.
“Just that most dragon places are rather dungeon-y in appearance,” I said with a laugh. “It doesn’t really narrow it down.”
“We can also try scrying or a tracking spell, but we’d need something of his for it to work so that's out,” Finnian said. “Unless any of you have anything that might be his?”
Kiarra and I looked at Maxxus, who just exhaled.
“I’m not sure, I didn’t really converse much with him other than when was absolutely necessary. Well, besides when we bickered, but...” Maxxus replied. “He wasn’t the friendliest of dragons. But I should be able to figure out where he is without scrying.”
Finnian eyed him carefully. “Are you sure?”
Maxxus smirked at me. “Yes. You get us there, and I'll find the asshole.”
The Loremaster nodded once in acknowledgment. “I will work on it. I have a couple ideas, but I must speak to Connor and Esmè first.
“In the meantime,” Finnian continued, “Kiarra, you continue to work with Leo on her magic… specifically, compulsion spells. The sooner, the better of course, but don’t wear yourselves out. I will get on translating this,” he said, waving the book in the air, “and see if it can offer any kind of help whatsoever.” Finnian slid off the table to his feet. “Anyone else have anything?”
Daniel, who had remained sullen and quiet through the entire “meeting” raised his hand meekly. “Would it be possible for me to go into the nearest town? My cell phone was destroyed.”
I rolled my eyes, but Finnian nodded. “Sure, just you two though,” he pointed between the two brothers. “The dragons will need to stay behind; too risky. In case you're being followed or something. Somehow.”
Daniel heaved a relieved sigh. “Oh, thank God…”
Gabriel sighed. “Okay, but we’re not taking your motorcycle.” He turned to me and I nodded. “Yes, you can take my car.”
“Would any dragon recognize your car, do you think?” Finnian questioned.
I shrugged. “Don’t think so. Besides the ones here, the only other ones who have ever seen it are my grandfather and my brother.”
“Okay. So that should work, then. Play it safe, though… try to blend in, wear hats and glasses and things that you wouldn’t normally wear,” Finnian
said before turning to me.
“So, a disguise then?” I offered sarcastically.
Finnian didn’t reply, but took the pencil from his ear and flung it deftly at me. I barely dodged it, with a surprised yelp. “Is that it then?” He looked around the room, staring me down momentarily. I squinted and crossed my arms over my chest in a perturbed huff, Gabriel laughing into his hands next to me.
“Jerk,” I muttered, shoving my tongue out at him.
Finnian stalked off, laughing immodestly.
Oh, I'll get you, I thought to myself defiantly. Yes, yes I would.
“Where are your keys, Leo?” Gabriel asked and I told him. Before parting ways we glanced at each other uncomfortably. He glimpsed Maxxus hanging back in the office, pretending to look anywhere but us. Gabriel grumbled and leaned over, planting a kiss near my mouth, all the while narrowing his eyes at the green dragon. Normally, it would have been sweet, except he couldn’t remove his glare from Maxxus. The insecurity in that boy was getting to me. While I understood to a degree, it still made it disconcerting. It couldn’t have been fun to of been cheated on by someone you’ve been with for years… but then again, I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been with someone before. And, I didn't feel I warranted the mistrust.
I growled to myself as we parted; both irked at Gabriel and Finnian's little... whatever the Hell it was. Yeah, I was crabby.
“These boys are going to be the death of me, I swear.” I muttered to myself as I was the last one to leave Finnian's little meeting room. I heard a snort and a guffaw from nearby. Ceceline, in her prim silver bun and perfectly arranged robes, was peeking her head up from a desk, with a seemingly uncharacteristic smirk on her prim face.
“Aren’t they always, though?” she jibed, before turning back to her work at the desk like she'd not said anything at all. Out of character for the straight-laced Loremistress.
I let out a peal of laughter as I left.
Chapter 3
I’d wanted to stop by Esmè's again to see Kit but Evie had stopped in the office quickly before we left looking for Finnian and insisted that Esmè said “No visitors: Kit needs her rest.” So I’d headed back to my room when Kiarra stopped me. Well, us. Maxxus had been trailing behind me since we left the Loremasters’ office. Kiarra insisted that now was as good a time to get more magic practice in. I wrinkled my nose at this, but she was right; to take on Nicodemus we’d need all the practice we could get. She insisted Maxxus be there too for the magic lesson which piqued my interest. Afterward, we’d head to the Castle Danger Mabon festival.
Before the meeting up at Kiarra’s though, Maxxus claimed he had somewhere to be and Kiarra was in the kitchen, baking up a storm. I had wanted to change into something a little more presentable for the Mabon festival afterward, so I escaped to Kiarra’s bathroom to primp and find something acceptable to wear. I didn't want to be traipsing through town looking bedraggled. Everyone always stared at me like something of a celebrity—well, all of us, really—and not that I really cared but I figured I should at least look somewhat put together; especially since I didn’t feel put together right now. Maybe it'd help.
As soon as I reached the bathroom, I paused at the door as I shut it behind me. I glanced around at the décor: classic 80s “old lady”, I thought with a smile. It was quaint, with a footed tub and wraparound shower curtain—in pink floral of course to match the pale pink walls. Darker pink towels hung on racks, and plush toilet seat covers and rugs adorned the cold, white tile and porcelain.
I breathed out slowly, suddenly overwhelmed with the events over the past couple of days. I closed my eyes and practiced breathing in and out, calmly.
I felt something nudge against my ankles and I looked down to see Sona, bumping her head against me and letting out a low purr from her chest. I looked skeptically as she licked her lips. “What are you doing in here?” I noticed a drip in the sink faucet, and chuckled. “Ah, you must be thirsty. I’m sorry.” I leaned over her pick her up, nuzzling my cheek in her soft calico fur.
“How are you doing, ol’ girl?” I asked, closing my eyes and listening to the soothing sound of her purr against my face. I half expected her to speak, given the chain of events that had occurred recently, but breathed a sigh of relief when she just let out a small meow.
She leaped from my grasp after a moment and I followed her as she trod to the bowl and container of food in the kitchen. I smiled, dodging Kiarra’s tizzy of baking and filled up her dishes with food and water. She ignored me then, happy to be eating.
“I see you’ve adjusted nicely,” I said, with a laugh. She meowed and continued eating, not caring if I was there or not. I was thankful Kiarra had remembered to move Sona’s things from the room I’d been sharing with Gabriel to here or else she would have probably gotten pretty crabby at me.
I went back into the bathroom and tried to find some decent, presentable clothes. I sighed, scowling at the choices I had made when I was haphazardly grabbing crap to pack back in Pineville: T-shirts, sweatshirts and jeans. I remembered this sundress I had bought online on a whim: it had a corset-style top, attached to a tiered, flowing skirt and thick spaghetti straps attached; in black, of course. Besides the orange dress I had worn to the ‘date’ I’d had with Gabriel, this was it for nice clothing. I hadn’t any reason to buy it, but now I was glad I did. I changed into it, some fresh undergarments and even though I had brought little in the way of hair or makeup items I made myself presentable.
I had no proper sweater or shrug to go with the sundress and, in Northern Minnesota in September it could get cold at any moment, so I chose a pair of silver robes that had been on the shelf and pulled them over, leaving them unbuttoned so you could still see the dress. My hair was brushed and I used the blow dryer to create some sort of wave in my long hair and did my makeup as best I could with the tinted moisturizer, powder, eyeliner, cherry-red lip gloss and mascara I had.
I shrugged at myself in the mirror. Not bad; I would win no fashion awards, but for a clueless dragon trying not to look as stressed as she was? I might just pass.
I slipped my feet into the flip-flop, bejeweled sandals I generally wore when I wasn’t wearing sneakers and decided I was decent enough.
When I arrived in the kitchen, and I entered to the smell of apples and cinnamon.
I joined both her and Maxxus in the kitchen. I hadn’t realized he’d re-joined us; I must have been more into my primping than I thought. Kiarra had an armada of candles, crystals on the kitchen table, but was leaning over an open oven, lifting out a delectably-smelling apple pie.
I practically drooled as I inhaled the sweet, spicy scent. “Oh my god….” I mumbled, as she walked right past me carrying the hot pie in front of me with a set of hot pads under the plate, and setting it on the windowsill.
I chuckled. “How very Miss Homemaker-y.”
Kiarra turned and grinned. “Hey, I love cooking.”
“Well, you can experiment your food with us anytime,” I said, salivating at the scent. Maxxus nodded fervently next to me.
“Yes, please,” he said.
Kiarra chuckled. She untied the white apron around her waist, bunched it up and tossed it onto the counter. “I didn’t want to get too crazy with dinner, they’ll have tons of food tonight at the bonfire.”
“Think the brothers will be back by then?” Maxxus questioned me, and I shrugged.
“Don’t know. It sounded like they planned to make a day of it, if they were going to go all the way out there. Get supplies or whatever the hell it is that sorcerers need,” I said. I was sure he needed time away from me as well, I thought sheepishly.
“Sure, it’s safe for them to be out there in the open like that?” he inquired.
“Finnian assured us it’d be fine. He had them both drink like, a glamour potion from Esmè, that will help disguise them a bit,” Kiarra replied. “It doesn’t work on dragons, only humans, apparently.”
“Oh,” was all Maxxus said. “Too bad. We could really use
it.”
I nodded in agreement. “For real. He said he was working on it, but…” I just shrugged.
“Well,” Kiarra folded herself into the bench seat on one side of the table and clapped her hands. “Let’s get to it.”
I groaned. “Do we have to?”
Kiarra snickered. “Well, no, unless you want to get caught, and—” she explained.
I sighed reluctantly. “Fine, fine. What do I even do?”
“And why am I here, really?” Maxxus asked suspiciously.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are we so terrible to be around?” I asked in pretend offense.
Maxxus was taken aback. “No! No, it’s not that!” he insisted quickly, and I chuckled.
“Kidding, kidding…” I said, with a snort. Maxxus frowned at me for a moment before he reached for a paper napkin in the middle of the table in a holder, balled it up and tossed it at me which I dodged.
“I thought it would be a good idea to have another dragon to practice on,” Kiarra said, with a smirk in her eyes. “I know you tried, earlier during the card game but with just the three of us, you might have a better time focusing.” I gave a wry smile. I hadn’t exactly been successful so far, but I’d had moderate success in getting Daniel to “fold once when he really had wanted to call”. Whatever that meant (I’d been instructed by Gabriel to do it).
Maxxus’ eyes widened slightly. “You mean, me?”
She nodded. “I’d say me, but I need to help guide her if I can,” she said. “You’re our next best bet.”
I grimaced. “I’m not sure I can do that.” I didn’t know why I protested to practicing on Maxxus so much; probably because I already felt tremendous guilt in his being here. It didn’t seem fair to me.
She shook her head. “A dragon is going to be different than a human; it’s going to be a bit harder,” she explained. “Humans are intelligent but since dragons are magical, there’s a whole mess of things going on up here,” she said, waving her hands all “willy-nilly” around her head to indicate a “mess of things”. “You really need to be practicing on dragons.”