But no, Harlow thought as she looked around the room. There were way too many of them, and only one of her. There was no way she could escape before someone hit her with some sort of spell. Besides, she had only flown on a broomstick a handful of times, and she was awful at it. Broomstick flying was heavily regulated in Falcon Cross, and it had never seemed worth it to her to put in the time to learn how to do it properly. She had never regretted that decision as much as she did right now. Her very core seemed to ache as she looked over at the amethyst records. That was what she had come for. They were right there, just a few feet away from her, and she had no way to steal them away.
“I’ve read though all your notes, and I’ve seen your maps,” Samuel was saying, and Harlow turned her attention back to him as he spoke. “I must say, I’m impressed with how much you managed to figure out. The Advocacy Bureau certainly doesn’t know what a treasure they have in you. Let me guess, you’re completely underestimated and unappreciated there?”
Harlow said nothing, although there was some truth to what Samuel said. She supposed he knew, from years of living in Falcon Cross, that many times being an Advocate could feel like a thankless job.
“Leave Falcon Cross, Harlow,” Samuel said. “Come join us. We will teach you the most powerful spells in existence. We could use someone of your abilities and intelligence. You’ll be appreciated, and find glory and fame here. Just say the word, Harlow. Swear your allegiance to me and to Saul, and we’ll return your magic ring and make you an honored member of our company.”
Harlow started a bit at the mention of her magic ring. She realized suddenly that if Samuel had gone through all her things, he would have realized that there was no ring in the bags. Hadn’t he become suspicious, wondering what had happened to it? Wizards might take their rings off now and then, but they never strayed far from where they were.
Samuel must have seen the startled expression on Harlow’s face, because he started laughing again. Harlow cringed at the evil sound of it.
“Oh yes, dear child,” he said. “We found the ring. Did you really think hiding it in a secret pocket would save you from us finding it? I must say, for all the intelligence you’ve shown, that was quite a fatal mistake. You’d have been better off just leaving it in plain view on your finger so you could use it when you were attacked.
“Secret pocket?” Harlow asked dumbly. She didn’t have any secret pockets, and she certainly hadn’t put her ring in any of them. In fact, she could still feel her ring now, its metal encircling her finger under a shroud of magic invisibility.
“Oh yes,” Samuel said haughtily. “There’s no use pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about. Isabelle told me that she found the secret pocket and the ring when she searched you upon your arrival here. The ring is in safekeeping now, in our most secure, most closely guarded trunk. Isn’t that right, Isabelle?”
“Exactly right, your Honor,” Isabelle said. Harlow gaped at Isabelle in confusion, but the woman’s face remained impassive. Harlow was beyond confused. She had never even seen Isabelle before this moment, let alone been searched by her. What game was she trying to play, lying to Samuel so casually?
“So you see,” Samuel continued, although Harlow was watching Isabelle instead of him now. “Your ring is there for the taking. All you have to do is join us, and Isabelle will go retrieve it for you. Instead of being a hopeless prisoner, you can be a hero, using your formidable intelligence to help us find the dragon amethyst.”
Isabelle’s expression remained completely impassive as Samuel spoke. But then, in a movement so short and subtle that Harlow almost missed it, she saw Isabelle’s eyes flit downward. For a split-second, Isabelle’s eyes landed on where Harlow’s ring was resting quite invisibly on Harlow’s hand. Then, Isabelle looked back up at Samuel attentively.
She knows, Harlow thought, a sudden flicker of hope filling her heart. She knows I have my ring, and she’s purposely keeping that knowledge from Samuel. Harlow had at least one friend here, even if Myles did not manage to find her. Emboldened by this knowledge, Harlow stuck her chin out defiantly in Samuel’s direction.
“I still believe in honor, and in fighting for good,” she said. “I would die a thousand deaths before I would join you.”
For the first time since Harlow had arrived in the tent, she saw anger cross over Samuel’s face.
“Well, perhaps that can be arranged,” he said, then pointed his magic ring at Harlow. “Magicae fulmen.”
Instantly, a searing pain shot through Harlow’s entire body, and she felt her feet leaving the ground. She found herself suspended several feet above the floor of the tent, with constant shocks of pain shooting through her. It felt like someone was sending painful electric shocks through her over and over again. As hard as she tried to resist giving him the satisfaction of knowing he was hurting her, the agony was too much to bear, and she opened her mouth to let out a loud, painful scream. Her scream was followed by a long, evil laugh from Samuel.
“Fulmen terminantur,” Samuel said. Harlow fell to the ground with a thud as the spell ended. She winced as the fall nearly knocked the wind out of her, but the pain of the fall was nothing compared to what the pain of the spell had been. She panted for air, panic rising in her chest. That was just one measly spell. What else was Samuel planning to do to her? She knew from her studies that dark magic knew almost no bounds. She braced herself as Samuel began circling her, his eyes flashing with rage. No matter what, she told herself. I must remain strong. I would rather die than betray my clan.
“Was that enough?” Samuel asked, sneering. “Are you ready to join us, or are you going to be a glutton for punishment.”
Harlow did not answer him. She closed her eyes tightly and resisted the almost overwhelming urge to try to use a shield spell. She could not let him know yet that she had her ring. She needed to save it for an opportune time, when she might actually have a chance of escape. There were too many guards here now. Any spells she used would be cancelled out by counterspells in a matter of minutes.
“Fine,” Samuel said, raising his ringed hand again. “Have it your way.”
Harlow felt her stomach clench up at the anticipation of another round of painful shocks, but the shocks never came. At that moment, screams suddenly rose up from somewhere outside the tent, followed by a loud roar. Samuel paused with his hand in mid-air, looking up in confusion and looking over at his guards with questions in his eyes. The screams grew louder and more frantic, and the guards turned away from Harlow and toward the door, the wizards among them raising their ringed hands to defend against whatever threat was out there.
Harlow was frozen in place, wondering if now was a good time to try to make a break for it, when she finally managed to make out the one word everyone outside was screaming over and over.
“Dragon! Dragon! Dragon!”
Chapter Nineteen
Myles was fighting blindly, roaring and breathing out giant streams of fire in every direction. After seeing the hole in the invisibility shield which revealed this camp to him—surely, Harlow’s work—he’d intended to make an attempt at sneaking in. But the guards watching the camp had seen his blurry dragon form flying across the sky. They’d been pretty trigger happy, too, immediately shooting up a laser-beam attack from their rings. Myles had easily dodged the attack, but in doing so had completely given up on his attempt to maintain his chameleon-like cover. Once he was visible, he figured the best thing to do was just attack everyone. He slashed with his claws, bit with his teeth, and breathed fire out onto everyone in his path, all the while keeping a careful eye out for Harlow.
He didn’t see her anywhere, though. Several of the tents were on fire now, and he saw dozens of wizards and shifters pouring out of them. His dragon eyes darted back and forth, but there was no sign of her. She was here, though, he knew it. And he would find her. He had sworn to protect her, and he would get her out of here or die trying.
A few seconds later, his eyes caught sight of an
unusual number of extra-large guards running out of a particularly large tent. His eyes narrowed, and he instantly knew that something special was in that tent. Otherwise, why would so many elite guards be there? Myles let out another stream of fire on the group of snowmobiles to his left, setting off a series of gas explosions. Then he took off running toward the large tent. He breathed fire onto the side, sending the tent up in flames. He ignored the spells that wizards were casting at him right and left, and most of them just bounced off his thick dragon hide. A few shifters who had transformed into animal form were trying to attack him as well, but he easily swatted away even bears and tigers with his powerful dragon arms.
Moments later, when he ran through the burning hole in the tent wall, he found himself in a large room face to face with several of the evil wizards, who had formed a protective circle around Harlow. The only wizard who was not guarding Harlow appeared to be guarding a large trunk. Myles turned his dragon head toward the circle, and let out a warning roar.
One of the wizards, who appeared to be the ringleader of the group, laughed, and shook his magic ring menacingly in Myles’ direction.
“Not much you can do, sulfur-breath. If you burn us, you’ll burn the girl, too, and I take it you’re not so keen to do that. She doesn’t have a magic ring anymore, so she won’t even be able to put up a shield against your fire.”
Myles hesitated, his eyes glancing down to Harlow’s right hand where she usually wore her ring. She saw his eyes searching, and suddenly yelled out. “Abscondo terminantur.” Instantly her ring appeared on her hand, seemingly out of thin air. Before any of the other wizards could react, she yelled out “Magicae arma.”
Then she nodded at Myles, and he knew what the nod meant. She had a shield up, it was now or never. He had to act before the other wizards caught on to the fact that Harlow did, in fact, have her ring.
He aimed for the leader first. The man tried to speak out a spell of some sort, but he was too slow. His haughty boasting had been his downfall, and he screamed in pain as he went up in flames. Several of the wizards near him caught fire, too, but many of them jumped away in time, scrambling out of reach of the red hot fire. Myles saw Harlow frozen in place, looking at the leader. Her face had contorted into a look of horror, and Myles whipped his tail around to prod her gently. She needed to get moving. They were not even close to safe yet. The touch of his tail seemed to spur her into action. She jumped to her feet and ran straight toward the wizard who was guarding the trunk. To Myles surprise, that wizard did not raise her ring to attack Harlow. Instead, the wizard reached down to pick up a leather briefcase, and held it out to Harlow.
Myles did not have time now to figure out what was going on with the briefcase and the other wizard. More guards and shifters were swarming into the room, and it was everything he could do to hold them back. He stood in one spot and slashed with his arms and tail, while breathing fire at each new wave of attackers. He took out many of them, but he could not keep this up forever. He was growing tired, and they needed to get out of here. He glanced back at Harlow, to see her consulting with the same wizard who’d been guarding the trunk. They were standing next to two broomsticks now. The other wizard was gesturing emphatically to Harlow, and Harlow was violently shaking her head “no.”
That pause to glance back was Myles’ downfall. While he was looking away, a wizard managed to hit his wing in a vulnerable spot with a vicious spell. Myles let out a roar of pain, and before he could fully recover, another wizard hit his wing in almost the same spot. Myles responded by sending off his largest stream of flames yet, and the tent was now a huge mass of flames, smoke, and burning bodies. For a moment, the avalanche of attackers stopped, blocked off by the rising flames. But any relief Myles might have felt was short-lived. When he tried to move the wing that had been hit, it would not respond properly, and sent horrible pain through his entire body. He fought off a wave of panic. This did not bode well for his ability to escape from this hellhole.
He looked back at Harlow, then, and saw that she was running toward him.
“Shift!” she yelled. “Shift back into human form so I can talk to you for a minute.”
He did, causing the whole tent to shudder from the force of his shifting. In human form, the wound on his wing looked like a huge gash down his left side. It ran from his ribs to his hips, and it hurt ten times worse in human form than in dragon form. He saw Harlow’s eyes look at the gash in shock, but he waved off her concern.
“I’m alive. No time for bandages right now. We have to get out of here,” he said. “I don’t have any clue, how, though. I can’t fly. My wing is damaged too badly. Maybe there’s a snowmobile still in working condition that we could use.”
Harlow’s face was white as the snow that covered the Montana landscape. Myles saw the other wizard Harlow had been talking to approach them just then, and he bristled. Harlow shook her head.
“Don’t worry. She’s a friend. I’ll explain everything later, but we can trust her. Her name’s Isabelle.”
“I told you, it’s Izzy to my friends,” the woman said. “And listen, Harlow, you need to fly him out of here on a broomstick.”
“I can’t,” Harlow said, panic rising in her voice. “I can barely control a broomstick when it’s just me on it, let alone with a passenger!”
“We don’t have a choice,” Izzy said. “We can’t outrun them on a snowmobile. They’ll just get on another one and catch us. And if we don’t leave now, we’re going to be overcome by the guards soon. In fact we probably have less than a minute before they break through this fire wall and get back to attacking us.”
Myles could feel himself growing lightheaded from loss of blood. He was naked from shifting, and shivering violently. The warmth of hot blood flowing down the entire left side of his body almost felt good.
“Harlow, you go,” he said. “I’ll stay and keep them at bay while you fly off.”
“No! They’ll kill you!” she said, her eyes filling with tears.
“They’ll kill us all if we stay,” Myles said. The agony in Harlow’s eyes told him that she knew he was right.
“So be it,” she said grimly, and ran toward the broomstick. Myles’ own eyes filled with tears as he watched the love of his life for what he knew would be the last time.
She grabbed the broomstick, pointed her ring at it, and yelled, “Magicae volant.” The broomstick buzzed with energy from the flying spell, and Izzy did the same with a second broomstick. Harlow swung the leather briefcase over her shoulder, and Izzy grabbed the duffel bags and backpack, binding them all together with a magic spell so they were easier to hold.
Harlow mounted her broomstick, and wobbled wildly for a moment before gaining some semblance of balance. Myles raised his hand to wave goodbye and blow her one final kiss. But then, to his surprise, she raised her own hand—her ringed hand—and pointed it straight at him.
“Magicae pluma,” she yelled out, casting a weightlessness spell over him. Then she zoomed toward him and scooped him up as though he were light as a feather, positioning him in front of her on the broomstick and wrapping her arms tightly around him.
“No way am I leaving you! Hold on tight,” she said. The broom wobbled, and Harlow flew straight backwards, crashing into the tent wall where the broomstick had been hanging a moment ago. Myles dimly saw a thick, long wooden wand hanging on the wall, and he reached out and grabbed it. He couldn’t do magic, but he could sure as hell do some damage clubbing someone over the head with this thing.
“You’re using your feet too much,” Izzy yelled at Harlow. “Just very slight movements are all it takes. If you move too violently you make the broom shoot forward or backward like a rocket.”
“Alright,” Harlow said, although her voice made it sound like she thought it was anything but alright. “Let’s go.”
Izzy nodded, then let out a wild yell and shot straight through the fire wall Myles had created. Harlow followed suit, moving her broomstick so fast that Myles barel
y felt a flash of heat as they passed through the flames. On the other side of the fire, dozens of enemy soldiers were waiting. They tried to grab at Harlow, who was having trouble controlling the direction of her broom. Myles used all of his remaining strength to swing the wand he had grabbed. He moved it left and right in wide arcs, knocking out several soldiers with sheer force. Izzy was already rising high above them, shouting encouragement to Harlow while aiming spells to help ward off attackers.
Finally, Harlow managed to break free. The broomstick shot straight up into the air, and other then a few wild zig-zags, held mostly steady for the next few minutes. Izzy continued to call encouragement to Harlow, who seemed to fly smoother with each passing minute. Myles supposed that being further and further away from the enemy camp was helping calm her nerves quite a bit, too.
He realized with a sudden start that they had probably just left the amethyst records to burn, and his heart clenched with sadness. They had failed at their mission, and had no new information on how to retrieve the dragon amethyst. Myles felt another wave of lightheadedness wash over him as Harlow picked up speed. He was still bleeding profusely, and his spirits were not improved by the realization that the amethyst records were gone, likely destroyed forever.
At least, though, Harlow is safe,” he thought, looking down at her arm that was still wrapped around him. He smiled at the sight, and then gave in to the exhaustion and lack of blood.
He stopped fighting the waves of pain and nausea, and everything went mercifully black.
Chapter Twenty
Myles blinked his eyes open as bright sunbeams fell across them. It took a few moments for everything around him to register. He was lying under a thick blanket that felt strangely familiar. The window that was allowing sunbeams into the room offered a view that he’d spent most of his life waking up to: the heart of a California Redwood forest. Myles smiled dreamily and settled deeper into his pillow. It was good to be home.
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