by E. J. Krause
"Hey, Melissa. Sorry to bother you, but I have a strange question." She did an impatient dance with her head and shoulders, causing Ben to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud again. "That sounds awesome, and I want to hear all about it later. Have you been having weird dreams lately? Yes? Thanks." Pause. "You can tell me all about those later, too, I promise, but I'm in kind of a hurry." Another pause. "Yes, it has to do with the top secret wink-wink." That was Melissa's code word for their supposed zombie hunting. "I can't promise to tell you everything, but I'll fill you in on some of it. Okay? Great. Thanks, Melissa." She hung up and shrugged.
"I guess it's a good thing we'll be saving the Demon of Dreams soon," Ben said. Everyone nodded, but remained silent.
Chapter 11
"What time should we go tomorrow?" Andi asked. The engagement rings were due in, and she'd been fussing about them all afternoon. Ben had to talk her out of going down there today to see if they were ready early. She didn't want to take his "no" for an answer until her mom got home and told her she'd be lucky if they were ready before lunchtime, since that's when they'd placed the order. That got her to quit asking about going today, but she wouldn't shut up about tomorrow. He was glad he could tune her out at times like this, or he might have torn his hair out.
Cassie sighed. "I've told you a half-dozen times, Andi, you should wait until early afternoon. But if you won't take my advice, call the store as soon as it opens. You might get lucky, and, if not, maybe you'll listen to their timetable."
Ben held back a chuckle since that was what he'd been saying all day. Of course, she sensed his amusement and smacked him in the shoulder. As usual, Lee laughed at that.
They finished up dinner and cleared the table. His parents had opted for a date night since they had to go back to work in a couple of days. Cassie and Lee attempted to talk them into quitting their jobs because they had no need for the money, but neither of his parents wanted to. Both said that they wouldn't know what to do with themselves with all that free time.
"Besides," Dad had said, "it's nice knowing I can quit in a blaze of glory if my boss ticks me off royally." None of them could argue with that logic.
"What are you kids doing tonight?" Cassie asked as everyone stacked the dinner dishes next to the sink. "Besides loading the dishwasher, I mean."
"We hadn't really thought about it," Ben said. "But we should go somewhere to keep someone's mind off a certain something."
Andi hugged him from behind. "It's going to look so sparkly, and I'm going to stare at it, and rub my fingers all over it. We should go walk around the mall for a couple of hours. And, hey, the jewelry store is right across the street."
"Alexandria, give it a rest for a while," Lee said. "You're obsession is driving even me bonkers, and I'm assuming it's doing the same to Ben."
"I've learned to tune her out," he said, and was rewarded with a smack to the back of his head.
"Tune that out," she said. Lee chuckled, and walked out of the kitchen.
"We could hit Orangeville Acres for the fireworks and a few rides," he said, as they got started loading the dishwasher. "That'll burn off some of your energy. We can go on Reach for the Sky and give Rico the finger."
"Rico's nowhere near as bad as you make him out to be," Cassie said. "It mystifies me why you two can't get along."
"Because he's a weasel of a demon who knows I could end him if I put my mind to it." He said it in a joking tone, but he meant every word.
Cassie's attention snapped to the living room, and Lee called out to them.
"Cassandra, Alexandria, Benjamin, get in here!"
Uh-oh. Had Rico heard him through whatever channels he had set up in his lair? Sure, he could take him, maybe, but he didn't actually want to do it. At least not tonight.
They rushed out and found an apparition of an older man smiling at them. It reminded him right away of how Derian had first announced his presence, and it made his blood run cold. The ghostly figure stood almost as tall as Lee, and had short, light-colored hair. Ben couldn't tell what color because the figure was tinged blue. Though on the old side, probably in his late 60's or early 70's, the figure still had a look of powerful authority.
"Jonas," Lee said, bowing before the figure. Cassie and Andi followed suit, and Ben figured he should bow, too. "To what do we owe this honor and pleasure?"
Andi leaned over and whispered in Ben's ear. "That's Jonas, the head of the Dragon Council."
"Pish-posh, no need for ceremony," Jonas said. "I'm intruding in your home, so I should be bowing before you. But forget that, I don't have much time. I'm here to extend an invitation to the Stronghold. Plan to stay for a couple of days, but there's no need to bring anything, as everything will be provided. Excuse my quick visit, but that's all I can take at the moment. We'll look forward to seeing you."
And with that, he was gone.
"He didn't wait for our answer," Ben said.
"It wasn't a request, but an order," Lee said. Excitement danced behind his eyes.
"Yup," Cassie confirmed. "A polite summons, but one nonetheless." She looked almost as happy as Lee.
"Why are you guys so jazzed about this?" Andi asked. "Taking orders isn't usually your strong suit."
"Think of it as being summoned to the White House to not only meet the President, but getting to stay in that luxury overnight," Lee said. "It's that tenfold. Or more."
"But you already know most of the Council," Andi said. "You're good friends with a couple of them, and even I've met Jonas."
"We've never been to the Stronghold," Lee said. Ben had to hold himself in check not to laugh at how giddy Lee was. This might have been the greatest Christmas gift he'd ever received.
"What's the Stronghold? And why did they summon us?"
Cassie fielded the first question. "The Stronghold is the realm where the Dragon Council resides. It's an impenetrable fortress where the members of the Dragon Council, their guards, and plenty of other dragons can retreat to for safety if the need ever arises. But since it's never needed for defense, it's basically the swankiest palace in the multiverse."
"As for why we've been summoned, I think you can make a pretty good guess," Lee said. "Since it's all four of us and not just you two, I wouldn't be surprised if our foray into the dream realm was the main topic. Rico often works closely with the Council."
"So how come he didn't beam us up now?" Ben asked. "Though I guess that's a good thing since we need to tell my mom and dad we're going."
"This isn't Star Trek," Lee barked. "Dragons don't have a Scotty ready to beam anyone anywhere to the Stronghold."
"You gotta admit, though, that would be pretty cool," Andi said.
"Don't get him all riled up, kids. He doesn't know how to get there, so you know who we need to ask for directions," Cassie said, with a grin.
Max.
"Cassandra," Lee growled. She answered by smiling sweetly and giving him a kiss. He sighed. "I suppose I should call him. Unless you'd like the honors."
Cassie shook her head. "You're the dragon here."
Before Lee even moved towards the phone, it rang.
"Hello?" He mouthed to them that it was Max. They had a short conversation, and Ben had to hold back laughter at how much charm Lee put on. You'd never know he didn't particularly like the Dragon Council's Record Keeper.
When he hung up the phone, Lee filled them in on everything, even though they'd pretty much caught on from his side of the conversation. "He knew all about our invitation to the Stronghold, and he'll give us everything we need tomorrow over dinner at their place."
"Nice," Cassie said. "I'll never say no to Nix's home cooking."
"So that's that," Lee said. "Nothing to do but wait until tomorrow afternoon."
"Except get my ring in the morning."
"Yes, Alexandria, we're all well aware."
*****
Ben sat in the backseat of the Thomas's SUV on the way to Max and Nix's house in Newport Beach and spun his ring aro
und his finger with his thumb. He'd never worn any sort of jewelry before, not counting playing with plastic superhero rings when he was a kid. It felt weird, but he could get used to it. Besides, the giddy feelings flashing off Andi every time she glanced down at his hand more than made it worth it.
Since they'd picked their rings up this morning — thankfully they'd been ready — she'd spent most of the day staring at hers from different angles and in various lights. Cassie's comment was that she was being a typical dragon; she'd get used to it in a day or two. Ben didn't complain. On days like this, sharing emotions with her had definite advantages.
As the 55 Freeway South ended and turned into Newport Boulevard, Ben perked up at the surroundings. He loved how this area looked so much like a stereotypical beach community. He couldn't count how many times he'd come this way in his life, and he never got tired of it. As far as he could remember, this was his first time visiting in the winter. He'd never ventured into any of the neighborhoods, always sticking to the beach proper, so he was curious what they looked like. From what he understood, Max and Nix weren't facing the ocean, but they were directly behind those that were.
When they turned off of Newport and onto one of the side streets, he saw small lots with expensive cars parked along the curbs, barely leaving room to drive past. People here certainly paid more for the location than the comfort of large houses and yards. When he and Andi decided to branch out and buy their own place, it wouldn't be here. Not that he'd say no to renting a beach house for a few weeks each summer.
They pulled up to the house, a white, boxy, two-story home facing away from the ocean. It looked like it had an upstairs porch area, though, with a seaside view. There was a tiny driveway that barely held the SUV, but since it didn't hang out into the street, Lee was satisfied.
As they knocked on the door, Ben's nerves were on high alert. Embarrassment from how he'd blown up at them on Christmas Eve still haunted him. Despite Cassie and Lee assuring him that neither Max nor Nix would hold it against him, he still worried they might hold back some help because of his temper. Andi rubbed his back as they waited, and that helped calm him a bit.
"Hi, everyone," Max said as he opened the door. He shook Lee and Ben's hands, and gave both Cassie and Andi hugs and pecks on the cheek. Nix came up and gave them all hugs, too. Neither treated Ben as if they were angry or wary of him, which made him feel better.
"Help me put the finishing touches on dinner, Cassie?" Nix asked, and the two wandered off to the kitchen.
The large house had more of the feel of a museum and library than a residence. There was no way this much space could fit into the building they had pulled up to. Before he said anything, Max answered that question.
"It's a special ward put on by the dragon council. Gives us more room, and adds to the security. If a mortal came in here without permission, all they'd see was a sparsely furnished small house."
"Wow, that's cool," Ben said.
"Indeed," Lee said. "A nice perk for being the Council's record keeper."
"That it is," Max said with a smile.
Everywhere Ben looked, there were shelves of old tomes, and display cases protecting ancient-looking books and other strange artifacts. One held what he guessed was a magic wand. It was a smooth piece of wood, about a foot long, and shaped almost like a drumstick with a leather band wrapped around one half. Another case held a few yellowed scrolls, and though Ben couldn't see writing on the outside of the rolled-up parchment, something inside him informed him that they were for casting powerful spells. It might have been his overactive imagination, but he didn't think so.
"Interesting, aren't they?" Max said from behind Ben. He swept his hand out to encompass not only the magical artifacts, but the shelves upon shelves of books. Ben couldn't help but wonder if every room in the house looked the same. He had a suspicion they did.
"I'm guessing these aren't the complete works of Stephen King and John Grisham," Andi said.
"No, not out here," Max said with a laugh. "I do greatly enjoy the writing of both men, and countless other modern authors. We keep our fictional library in the bedroom for easy access to nighttime pleasure reading. The books you'll find throughout the rest of the house, except the kitchen, are the various histories of many of the realms of the multiverse, as well as other goodies. Nothing too exotic, as all of the best stuff is kept in the private libraries of the Stronghold. There are more than enough titles here, however, to research without having to make that trip.
"What kind of goodies?" Ben asked. He wanted to pull random books off the shelves to see what they were all about. He had a striking feeling most wouldn't be in English, but he'd be able to read them all the same. He bet he could come up with quite a few short story ideas here. Heck, this place would turn him into a novelist!
"Your prophecy, for one," Max said. "We were quite impressed you were able to get so much information free of charge from Rico."
"We found that quite amusing, too," Lee said.
"Yeah," Andi said, "he didn't tell us much, but at the same time he told us everything. Or at least he might as well have."
Max raised his eyebrows. "Don't think you know everything about a prophecy solely on face value. Scholars research single prophecies for millennia for content, probability, direction, and validity. Those may sound like basically the same thing, but prophet scholars have plenty of subtle areas they look in. Nix has been studying you two since before you were born, Alexandria, and it goes without saying well before you, Benjamin."
"What does she know?" Ben said.
At the same instant, Andi asked, "Nix is a prophecy scholar?"
"Yes, Nix is a prophecy scholar," Max said with a chuckle. "I imagine that's why fate chose me for her, and vice versa. She has plenty of access to materials living with me. She's especially talented with astrology and star charts, though they all just look like dots and lines on a page to me." He led them into the next room, and every wall space that wasn't covered with bookshelves had large star charts hanging. There were also a few lying on a couple of desks in the middle of the room. These weren't photos of stars, but hand-crafted posters, presumably constructed by Nix herself.
"The books in here help her with decoding prophecies," Max said.
"What about Ben's question?" Andi asked. "What does she know about us?"
"That I can't tell you," Max said. "The final direction of a prophecy is never certain until that moment of truth. If I tell you what she believes right now, it may sway you two in a way you aren't supposed to go."
"But she thinks we're going to turn evil," Andi said. "She all but said so when I met you at the pier last year."
Max smiled at her, and it encompassed Ben, as well. "I'll tell you this: The stars and various other factors of prophecies change all the time. One week she may be certain it will all turn out one way, and the next, she knows it'll go another."
"So, why bother?" Ben asked.
"The changes all come about for a reason, and everything involved not only speaks about the prophecy, but also the world, and often the multiverse as a whole. Don't ask me how, as it all mystifies me. My expertise lies in cold, hard facts, things black and white in books and scrolls. She'll believe whatever her latest theory is about you two, while I much prefer to keep a wait and see attitude. I have no doubt you'll turn out fine, but we can never be too sure about these things."
"Is that the Council's position, as well?" Lee asked.
"I honestly don't know their official position, but for now I'd imagine it to be the case. They haven't brought it up with me. They'll discuss it with the four of you when you're there, I'm sure."
"Dinner's ready," Nix called, and the aroma hit Ben, causing his mouth to water. Intense hunger flashed off of Andi, but he was used to that. Cassie told him he could expect that feeling until she was fully grown, sometime when she was between 900 and 1100 years old, the equivalent of her late teens to early twenties.
They sat down to a full spread of ham and turk
ey, mashed potatoes, yams, various steamed vegetables, baked beans, and fresh baked rolls. It was another holiday feast, and Ben couldn't wait to dig in. Andi fidgeted next to him, since she was having a hard time figuring out whether she wanted to examine her ring in the low light of the dining room, or drool over the feast. Once everyone was seated and ready, the food won out.
"What were you talking about?" Cassie asked once everyone had taken their first portions.
"The prophecy," Andi said. "I didn't know Nix was a prophecy scholar."
"For more centuries than I'd care to admit," she said. "Your story has enthralled me since well before I knew either of you would be the subjects."
"But you can't tell us how it's going to end?" Ben asked. Surely she had to know more than Max since she was the actual prophecy scholar. Maybe she knew it was okay to tell them.
"The cosmos don't even know how it's going to turn out yet. And, as I'm sure Max told you," she added with a wink, "I wouldn't tell you even if I knew."
Andi kicked him under the table and shot him an angry look. He rolled his eyes back at her. They needed to know.
"I never could make heads or tails out of those star charts," Cassie said.
"And I never proved of much worth on the battlefield, even with my trusty quarterstaff," Nix said. "We all have our talents, and a scholarly pursuit works well for the mate of the Council's Record Keeper."
"Anyway," Max said, "the prophecy isn't what got you invited to the Stronghold, though I'm sure it will be a major point of discussion. The Demon of Dreams is what is on everyone's mind at the moment. Since you four have been tagged to save him that puts you foremost on the Council's list."
"But why us?" Ben asked. "This isn't a family thing, like with Derian, so why can't other dragons help?"
"No, you're right, it's not like that. But as you'll see, a small group works best in the Realm of Dreams. And since Rico claimed ownership of this one, the Council was happy to let you have the first crack. Knowing your abilities, you four will no doubt come out on top."