by E. J. Krause
"None," Ben said. "I think my creating the sword and shield unnerved him."
"Not everything," Andi said. "He came to his senses before he did that."
Cassie, Lee, Max, and Nix all wore looks of astonishment, while Mom and Dad, who knew little about Rico, stood with blank looks on their faces. While Cassie turned and filled his parents in on why this was a big deal, Max spoke up again.
"That right there should be enough proof that the prophecy will come true. Rico gives nothing away for free, no matter how small or insignificant."
"He did say we could have gone on a delivery for that same information," Andi said.
What Ben took away from all this was that the Dragon Council knew about the power with the sword and shield, but none of the other details of their visit. What did that mean? How were they getting their information? He shared a look with Andi, and, as always, they were on the same page. Something to discuss later.
Nix stepped up to him and pointed her finger right in his face. Bile bubbled inside of him, and it took all of his self-control not to slap it away.
"This shows how much you need to keep yourself under control and make the right decision when the time comes. It also shows the Council is correct in keeping a tight watch on you." She turned on Andi, put a finger in her face this time, and said, "And you need to make sure you keep him on that path away from evil."
That did it. He again managed not to slap away her finger, but he couldn't help snarling at her. "And you should know we're perfectly happy together, and it's only when do-gooding know-it-alls get in our business that things go wrong."
Nix's eyes went wide, and she backed off, terror pouring from her. Max grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back, he, too, wearing a frightened expression.
"We should go," he said, straining to get the words out. "Sorry to have interrupted your gathering."
Once they'd gone, Ben turned and was met with shocked expressions all around.
"What?" he snapped, and then did his best to swallow the rage. He tried again, this time hopefully in a more controlled tone. "What is it?"
Andi embraced him, but it wasn't her normal passionate grip, more of a gentle, comforting hug. "Ben, sweetie, you were glowing. You were glowing…dark grey."
*****
Ben sat on the bed as Andi admired her necklace in the mirror. He really had been sure she'd love it, but seeing how much she did made his heart soar. After Max and Nix left, the sole comment by anyone had been from Lee.
"They only came to stir up trouble." No one said anything about Ben glowing dark grey, whatever that meant. He didn't know he'd done it.
They'd gone back to the gift exchange, and after a few minutes, and some well-placed jokes by Dad and Cassie, everyone was having a good time again. Ben even managed to put down two more chocolate chip cookies, while Andi and Lee vacuumed up the rest. Once they'd finished with the gifts and some final clean-up, Mom and Dad went home, though they'd be back in the morning for breakfast. He hadn't heard what that would be, but it would no doubt be something tasty.
"You don't know how hard it was for me to keep your stereo a secret," Andi said as she crossed the room and sat on his lap. His lips found her neck as if drawn by magnets, and she let out an appreciative gasp.
Mom and Dad got him a satellite radio for his truck, one that also allowed him to plug his iPhone in. The factory one was fine, but its options had only gone as far as playing MP3 discs, something Ben rarely took the time to construct. Add to that the renewals on their annual passes to Orangeville Acres, parking included, as well as a $500 gift card to the park for them to share, and he had to admit he'd made out like a bandit. To think he still had two more rounds of gifts to go. And he wasn't even factoring in Andi's, the notebook and pen, which were hands-down his favorite.
He moved his assault up to her earlobe, where he could whisper as he nibbled on her. "I'm more impressed with the $500 gift card. That should keep us in Whirlyburgers and ice cream sundaes all the way through January."
She giggled and pried his mouth off of her so she could assault his neck and ear.
"You're just jealous you don't have a dragon stomach or metabolism," she said, in between nips and nibbles.
"True enough," he said, and then let out a low moan as she moved her hand under his shirt and caressed his chest. "And they didn't even tell me about your tablet computer. Guess they figured you'd get the info from me too easily."
"I have vays of making you talk," she said in a cheesy Eastern European accent.
"That you do." He tilted her head up and devoured her mouth. This went on for a few minutes until both needed to come up for air. Something else was on her mind.
"Ben? Did you know you were glowing grey?"
"I don't even know what that means."
She hesitated for a second, trying to find the words. "It was like glow in the dark, but not bright like that."
"So I was glowing, but not glowing. Glowing dull?" He couldn't hide the grin on the last part, and she smacked his shoulder.
"This is serious. And besides, that's exactly what it was like."
Before he could reply, Cassie knocked on and then opened the bedroom door. They both sat up straight, wondering what was wrong. She never came in when they shut the door unless it was important. She smiled and leaned against Andi's dresser. Their dresser, he guessed, since he had stuff in there, like she had some of her own things in his room.
"What's up, Mom?" Andi asked.
"Why don't you go brush your teeth or wash your face or something?"
"I already did," Andi said.
"Then go watch TV with your dad. Give us a few."
She opened her mouth to argue, but stopped and sighed. She gave Ben a look which screamed, "You'll tell me everything," and left. He watched her go, her nightgown fluttering around her, giving him a slight view of her figure through the flimsy material. Once he remembered her mom was right there, he snapped out of it.
Cassie came over and sat next to him on the bed. She patted his knee. "It's as hard on her as it is on you. The chastity spell. I wasn't kidding, I did try to get Lee to lift it. He wouldn't even consider it, and said you two only had to wait another year and a half. He's being stubborn at this point, but that's no consolation for you."
Ben nodded and shrugged. "It might be for the best. I doubt you guys would let us sleep together anymore." He blushed hard when he realized how that sounded. "I mean actually sleep, like we do now."
She laughed and nodded. "You're right. We would have gone back to our original deal: sneak around like normal teenagers." She gave him a wink, which made him smile.
"But we're not normal teenagers," he countered, not arguing, just having fun trying to trip her up. It never worked, as she always seemed to be a step ahead of him. He wasn't sure if it was because they were both Dragon Guards, or if they simply clicked, but he and Cassie got on more like friends than anything else. She had her moments when she made it clear she was a parental figure, but for the most part, she was the easiest person in the world to get along with. Aside from Andi, of course.
"True. You have those extra powers in addition to whatever being a Dragon Guard gave you, but let's not forget you're still only 16 years old. 15 if we want to get technical. Lee and I sometimes forget that because we've had Andi with us for 759 years. You might not be a normal teenager, but you are one nonetheless. Andi is basically the same, though in a much different context."
"Fair enough. I take it you didn't send her out of the room because of that."
She shook her head. "I'm guessing you know why I'm here."
"My blow up at Nix." He didn't need to make it a question.
"You impressed me by not hitting her. I thought for sure your outburst would turn violent."
"I almost did," he said. "At least, I almost slapped her hand away, especially when she pointed at Andi. I had to fight not to, but I still almost did it."
"You didn't. That's the important thing. You knew it would be
wrong, so you stopped yourself. Someone evil, as she's trying to paint you, wouldn't have stopped. Heck, if she'd stuck her hand in either Lee's or my face, I'm not sure I could have stopped myself. You're a good person, Ben. I wouldn't be as thrilled as I am that you were chosen for Andi if you weren't. Okay?"
"But what about that grey glow? It freaked everyone out and I didn't even know I did it."
"I don't know what to tell you on that one. Lee couldn't find anything in his library of a brain, and I'm guessing Andi didn't even think to check."
"Yeah, it's not often she remembers she can do that," Ben said with a chuckle.
"Her father had the same trouble at first, but he had a mentor of sorts who wouldn't let him get away with that like we do with her."
"So you guys don't have any idea what it was?"
"Maybe it helped you bleed the anger off. That was our best guess. I'm sure you and Andi came up with something similar."
"We just started talking about it when you came in."
"Max and Nix will inform the Council, and you better believe they'll let us know if they have the answer. Especially if it's bad."
"I don't like that the Council is watching us so closely. Nix made it sound like a threat."
"She meant to. I'm sure she was trying to goad you into doing something stupid, most likely on the Council's orders, but you handled yourself wonderfully. The glowing grey part, as Andi called it, will give them something to think about, but the rest was fine. You did better than half of those in the Dragon Council would, I bet. Or their guards."
Cassie had a knack for making him feel better. A weight lifted off his shoulders. She and, by extension, Lee didn't think he was turning evil. For now, that was good enough for him.
"Thanks."
She kissed his forehead. "Now why don't we get your bride-to-be back in here? I'm sure that not knowing what we're talking about is driving her insane."
Ben chuckled because he could feel her agitation from where she sat downstairs, presumably next to her father on the couch. All he had to do was think about her, and she came running.
"Can I come into my own room now?" she asked, when she burst in a few seconds later.
Cassie stood up, crossed over to her and kissed her forehead."Yup. All yours. Good night, you two, and Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," they echoed.
Ben added, "Thanks for everything."
She smiled and exited the room, closing the door behind her.
"What was that all about?" Andi asked.
He filled her in.
"I don't know why I had to get kicked out for that," was her first reply, while her second was, "I'm glad they realize you're not evil. I could have saved everyone the trouble and told them that in the first place."
He rewarded her loyalty with a kiss, and then they made final bedtime preparations, crawled under the covers, and were out not long after their heads hit the pillow.
Chapter 4
Ben jarred awake, no longer in Andi's bed, though she stood next to him. They were in Rico's realm, in front of his desk. No doubt when the large leather chair spun around, the demon would be in it.
Ben held his sword and shield, his real ones, not the ones he'd created out of nothing, and wore a comfortable pair of jeans and a t-shirt. This had to be about the task they were indebted to the demon for. He glanced over at Andi and found her dressed similarly. At least Rico had been good enough to not draw them here in their pajamas.
Sure enough, the chair behind the desk revolved, and Rico sat smiling his wicked little grin at them.
"Sorry to break up your lovely sleeping arrangement, but I have work for you."
That had been a dig at the chastity spell. Ben tried to rush forward to give the demon a piece of his mind, and maybe a bit of steel, but he stood rooted in place.
"Temper, temper," Rico said. "You're under contract tonight, so no assaulting me allowed." His grin melted, and an air of seriousness grew over him. "Tonight I need you to retrieve a map. Not for me, but for the big assignment when you team up with Mommy and Daddy."
"What will we be doing with them?" Andi asked.
"Don't worry about that yet. This mission will be tough enough. I would have given this one to Leon and Cassandra, but you two are more suited for it. Anyway, as I said, you're to retrieve a map. And who loves maps more than pirates?"
"I take it they're undead," Ben said. Why else would Rico choose them for this?
"You got it, Junior." Ben clenched his teeth both at Rico calling him "Junior" and at the obvious delight the demon got in saying it. He still couldn't do anything about it. "The crew is made up of powerful skeletons, while the captain is a deadly necromancer." Rico made a disgusted face when he said that.
"This couldn't wait until after Christmas?" Andi said.
"What do I care about your mortal celebrations? Besides, the pirate's ship is in range for an attack. I'll transport you to an island where you'll spy it somewhere before the horizon. The Jolly Roger will make it unmistakable. That and it should be the only vessel within sight."
"How do we find the map?" Ben asked. "Is it a stereotypical rolled-up parchment?"
"There's nothing stereotypical about this map," Rico said with a complete lack of snark. "You'll know it when you see it. I'll implant that nugget of information in your brains when I transport you. I don't know its exact location, but I'd bet top dollar that it's hidden in the captain's chambers. So get on that boat, dispose of the pirates, and kill the captain. That's the only way to ensure you take possession of the map. And before you balk at killing him, you'll sense how evil he is. He'll kill you without thinking twice, so don't give him the opportunity. Understand?"
They both nodded, and Rico snapped his fingers. They found themselves on a small desert island in the middle of a vast ocean. No trees or other vegetation grew, and there weren't even any birds flapping around. A quick look around the water showed no sign of a pirate ship.
"Could he have made a mistake?" Andi asked.
"Or be playing a joke on us?" Ben said. Sweat caused by the sweltering sun already flowed from his brow.
"No, he wouldn't joke about a job," Andi said. Was she basing that on what she knew, or what she was only guessing? Before he could bring that up, a ship appeared out of nowhere behind her, about halfway between the island and the horizon.
"There it is," he said, and she turned to look.
"No mistaking that for anything but a pirate ship. Guess we know why he needed us tonight. Or whenever," she added as she glanced up at the bright sky.
"Ready?"
She nodded, gave him a quick kiss, and transformed into the brilliant blue-scaled dragon he so loved.
"Hop on," she said, this time from inside his mind. When he did, she exploded out to sea. Though he didn't have anything to hold onto, she kept him so stable he could barely feel the acceleration.
"Remember, Rico said to go in fighting. I can sense a wave of evil," he said. They could already see dozens of skeletons working on-deck.
She agreed and swooped down, spraying a jet of acid to clear a space to land. Ben leaped off her and tried to impose his will on the skeletons, to see if he could destroy them with his own powers, but no such luck. They were briefly stunned, however, so there were limits to the power they possessed. That gave him hope that the two of them could overtake this large group with little problem.
Though the pirate ship hardly looked sea-worthy, once his feet were on the well-sanded deck, it felt as sturdy as if he were on solid ground. Did the pirate ships of history all feel like this, or was it a consequence of being in a different realm?
The salty sea air assaulted his nose with much more aggression that when he was on Andi's back. The three masts of the ship towered above him, and he had a momentary thought of swinging from one like in pirate movies, but the imminent danger dragged him out of that thought.
The first dozen pirates, each armed with a cutlass in one hand and a dagger in the other, rushe
d at them. Andi's breath weapon hadn't yet recharged, so Ben met their attack. He dodged, thrust, and parried, slicing leg and arm bones off before decapitating the skeletons, ending their unnatural existence. Andi hovered above, picking off pirates and dismembering them by chomping and violently shaking her head to scatter the pieces. It took little time to dispatch them, but before they could blink, a bigger group from the other side of the ship marched forward.
Ben stunned them and felt a strange sensation as he did. Instead of lunging into battle, he held back and told Andi to do the same. Mystical strings attached to the skeletons appeared in his mind, and he grabbed hold, giving him control of their actions. He directed the seventeen skeletons to turn and protect him and Andi, which they did with vicious ferocity when a group of six boney pirates ascended from the holds below.
"Do I want to know what happened?" Andi asked.
"They're pretty easy to control. I'm guessing the captain could take them back, but since he's not here…"
She sat silently next to him as they watched his group decimate another few that wandered up from below.
"I don't like you playing with the undead. It feels like the path to the dark side," she said, once his skeletons launched into another group, this one of equal size.
"I don't see it that way. I'm using them against each other. I see myself as more of a Jedi than anything else."
She guffawed. Like actually made that sound, which caused him to bust out laughing. She gave him a mental eye roll, though he was sure he would have seen her do it, too, if he'd been looking.
"Fine," she said. "I'll concede that, as long as you don't start creating them yourself, no matter what the cause."
"Deal. Now do you want to let loose your acid breath? That'll be the end of them."
"With pleasure." She shot out a stream of acid and melted the remaining skeletons, both the bad ones and those controlled by Ben. A psychic bubble popped in his brain, and then the undead energy was gone, as if it had never existed.
"Nicely done."
"Thank you. Can you sense the captain?"