by Maria Dean
A glint of metal sparkled when a light flashed past Astrid. She froze, zeroing in on the metal. "I'm going to call you back, Nova. I need to go." She paused, before adding, "I love you." She hung up and grabbed the metal scrap. Burned into the metal was the name Vida Company--Por la Nueva Vida de la Humanidad.
Astrid memorized the phrase. VidaCo was the company the Cooper family wanted to sue before they dropped it. They were also the company the strange alchemist was trying to protect.
VidaCo was a cover-up for the alchemists. And they were the ones who kidnapped Christian.
Astrid pocketed the metal sheet and stood. There had to be some way to go find him. Jonas Fletcher told her the alchemists were the only ones who could travel through realms besides Alices. There must've been some way for them to get through the wall into their own world. She just had to find it.
First, before she cracked the code, she decided she definitely needed backup. Astrid scrolled through her contacts list and found the only other person she could trust with the situation. The dream she had the other day, with the white dragon? Astrid was starting to understand who that fourth dragon was.
The call was picked up on the third ring. "Are you dead yet?"
"No, but your brother might be." Astrid could hear a plate shatter on the ground.
"Which one?"
"Christian," Astrid replied. "Get into the alley around his house. I'm in the back." She hung up and returned to searching the wall for an entrance. The alchemists had to have got through somehow. There was no shimmer nearby, meaning they hadn't used an Alice. Astrid felt around the bricks for some break in the wall. "Come on," she muttered, following the lines underneath the bricks.
Something cut her finger. Astrid recoiled, pressing her finger into her palm to stop the bleeding. She leaned down, spotting a small pin in the wall. The pin began to vibrate, the wall whirring as it retracted back into the bricks. The wall pulled apart, opening up to a small passageway. A metal contraption shone in the evening light, reflecting beautifully against a shimmer.
"How d'you open that?" Matilde stepped up behind her. "Another one of your magic tricks?"
Astrid wasn't sure. The doorway opened after it drew her blood. With everything she'd learned about her mother and her legacy, it would've made sense if it was because of Calypso. But these were alchemists, not monster hunters.
You're not just Calypso Gray's daughter, she reminded herself. Your father is an alchemist.
"I don't know," she lied. "What I know is whoever took your brother, took him through there. That metal contraption is the device they used to travel back into their world."
Matilde squeezed past her and poked around the device. "How does it work?"
"Doesn't matter," Astrid said. "There's a shimmer in here. Hopefully, it should take us where we need to go. If it doesn't, then there's at least one more near my place." Or in her place. Telling Matilde, the alchemist's realm was locked inside her place wasn't a good idea. Of all the Russos, she was the most suspicious of Astrid's role in their lives. If any of them found out about her parents, Matilde would be the first to go in for the kill.
"So, what, we're just going to travel into the magical portal and hope it takes me to my brother?" Matilde scowled. "You're lucky Nya convinced me to come here."
A rustling outside of the passageway startled Astrid. "Calm down, babes," Nya said as she shuffled into the passage. "I was just parking. You know Matilde can't drive, right? I have to be her driver whenever she needs me."
There is no way we're all coming out of this alive. Astrid couldn't defend herself for shit, but there was even less of a guarantee the dragons would survive. Ronald Hope had given Giovanni a run for his money in a one-on-one fight. There was no telling how many of the alchemists would be on the other side.
"If we go in," Astrid said, "we need to be quiet. Don't cause a scene unless we have to in order to save Christian."
Nya nodded. "Sounds good to me." She stroked Matilde's cheek. "You ready to go save your big brother?"
"Whatever it takes," she replied. "So. Alice. Take us to Christian."
Astrid reached her hands out, taking each dragon's hand in her own. She took a big step back into the shimmer and the women disappeared. They tumbled out the other shimmer into an icy tunnel, right outside the main city. "I know where we are," she realized. "This is under the bridge from--near--my house." She corrected herself at the last minute, not that either of the women cared. "Come on."
"So where are we going?" Nya asked, stepping over a large chunk of ice.
Matilde grimaced, looking at the red stained trail that led out of the tunnel. "We're following my brother's blood," she replied. "What are the chances he's still alive?"
None of them knew the answer.
Astrid took the lead, as she was the only one familiar with the area. The trail took them outside for a moment before diving back into another tunnel. Some portions of the tunnels had clear ceilings, giving them a glimpse at the city above. While most of the clear portions were covered in snow, some were windows into the houses. These had hatches, allowing alchemists entry into the tunnel.
"We need to be quick about this," Matilde said when she spotted a pair of alchemists hunched over a cauldron. "They're everywhere, and I don't think they'll take to us invading their territory. This place is made of ice, too. One attack from us and we'll melt the place."
From the depths of the cavernous tunnel, something shrieked in pain. The women stiffened, recognizing the sound of a pained dragon. "I think we've found him," Nya murmured.
Despite her history of being slow, Astrid broke out into a sprint. Christian's echoing screams were enough to force her to speed up. She ignored complaints from Matilde and Nya she was leaving them behind. They were dragons, they would soon overtake her.
The end of the tunnel was lit with the subtle glow of fire. Astrid skidded to a halt, allowing the dragons to catch up with her. The tunnel ended with a railing and a staircase, the former of which looked over a massive chamber. The women ducked down low to avoid being seen and peeked over the rail.
A sickening nausea hit Astrid's stomach as she watched the alchemists below her. A group of cloaked men surrounded an icy platform where a massive red dragon lay chained to the ground. He was bleeding on one side, as one of the alchemists collected blood from the wound.
"This insane," she muttered. "They can't be doing this, can they?"
"But they are," Nya said. "What I want to know is how they're keeping Christian down. He's much stronger than all of them. Iron chains shouldn't weaken him."
Matilde leaned forward. "That pattern looks familiar," she said as she pointed at an ornate statue. There were four of them, one on each corner of the platform. "Why do I recognize that?"
Astrid exhaled. "Matilde, that's the same image as that necklace your grandmother gave me. The Jade Wyvern." She reached under her shirt and retrieved the pendant. "Why is it here?" Her heart skipped a beat. "Wait, a minute. The gate. That image is on the gate."
The Russo dragon whipped her head around. "You don't mean that gate, do you?"
"It's the same as the statue the shimmer is hidden behind. Whoever sealed them all inside was an alchemist. Which means those statues have some power over dragons. You can't go down there to save him until they're down."
Matilde's grip on the rail tightened. "I can't just leave my brother there," she growled. "We have to do something!"
Unfortunately, Astrid knew what she had to do. Pulling her parents' credentials was just one of her new, unfortunate skills. She rose and handed the fire poker to Nya, who snorted and tossed it over her shoulder. "Where're you going, Star girl?"
Astrid ignored the jab and started down the stairs. "Don't follow until the statues are gone."
The first few steps were coated with ice. Astrid had no clue how the alchemists could walk around their realm without slipping and sliding everywhere. She tried to steady herself with a railing, but found it too was frozen at the touc
h. Carefully, Astrid side-stepped down the staircase until she hit the ground.
"Uh," she coughed to get the attention of the robed alchemists. "Hi."
The figures all turned to the woman who interrupted their ritual. "I don't recognize her," one of them whispered to another. "Who are you, and why do you dare disturb this ancient process of glory and honor?"
Glory and honor my ass. "I'm here from the Memphis cabal," she said, allowing her southern accent to come out in full swing. "We've had some concerns with your recent exposure of the dragon slayers. You do realize it's only a matter of time before you're exposed too, right?"
The robed men murmured to each other. "How do we know we should take your word at face value?" One asked. "Show us your credentials at once!"
"Oh," Astrid cringed, "I don't think you want to do that. I'd have to call my dad for help."
One of the men scoffed. "I'm sorry, what's your daddy going to do?" He advanced on her, and Astrid caught a glimpse of his face from under his hood. Though she couldn't place it, she knew she'd seen this man somewhere before. It was a memory buried deep in her mind, probably for a good reason.
"My father is Aaron Pfeiffer," she said, holding her ground.
Much to her surprise (and her luck), a hush came over the crowd of alchemists. The man from her memories began to circle her. "It's been a while, Astrid," he said suddenly. "I haven't seen you since you were a child. Before the witch took you in. So, you've finally returned to your calling."
Christian's dragon form cracked an eye open, staring at Astrid. She didn't waver, silently pleading with him to not worry. She could handle it.
"I'm here because my father thinks you're all going to die," she said. "Or at least ruin the sanctity of the organization." Astrid inched closer to one of the pedestals. If she could just shove one of them over, she could break the binding spell enough for Nya and Matilde to sweep in. "Now do me a favor and explain just how you thought any of this would work out."
The man who knew her father grabbed her shoulder before she could get any closer. "See, there's one issue with your story, dear. Your father would've told us all you got into the family trade. If you want any answers, you're going to have to do some explaining on your own, hmm?"
Astrid remembered where she'd seen the man before. The way his hand inched closer to her neck reminded her of a stranger she had met long ago. One who was friends with her father and a little too friendly with a child. "How about you eat shit," she suggested, grabbing the piece of scrap metal from her pocket and slashing at him. Astrid lunged forward and threw all her weight into knocking down the statue.
The jade dragon cracked on the ground, emitting an earsplitting scream as it scattered across the ice. Astrid was pulled up by one of the alchemists and found a knife pressed to her neck.
"Nice try," the man said. "Cute that you thought one of you could take out all of us."
As the chamber flooded with heat and Astrid's companions jumped down to the ground, Astrid grinned. Oh, how the turn tables. That's how that quote went, right?
"Let go of my brother before things get ugly," Matilde ordered the alchemists as she bashed one of their members against an icy rock. "Or do I have to make myself clear?"
The alchemists unleashed another stream of magic, blasting the dragons and Astrid into the wall. Enraged, Matilde roared and began to shift into her dragon form, not bothering to worry about her damaged clothing as Giovanni had. The light from the fires radiated against her shining scales as she transformed into a massive white dragon. Her claws were pearlescent, almost a pinkish blue hue when the light hit her.
"Damn," Astrid whispered in awe. "That's... damn."
Nya coughed. "Friendly reminder she's my girlfriend, Star Child."
"I mean, wow, I am well aware of that and I would never try to break up your relationship," Astrid covered herself. "Watching y'all transform is just insane."
"I'll give you that," Nya replied. "Come on. Let's go get what we came for." She let her body heat and loosed a blast of fire. The alchemists in front of them dodged it, leaving a clear path to the platform. Nya and Astrid rushed forward and knelt by Christian's side. "Hey there big guy, how you doing?"
He let out a weak cough. "I want to go home," Christian mumbled.
Nya set to work breaking his chains. Astrid hesitantly placed a hand on his scaly snout. "I'm so sorry, Christian."
"What are you sorry for?" He asked. "You didn't do this to me. They did. I should be the one apologizing to you for dragging you into this mess." Christian lifted his head and pressed his muzzle back into her hand. "I don't want you to get hurt at my expense."
Astrid shook her head. "I'm not getting hurt because of you. There are many people in my life who've been lying to me. If it's anyone's fault, it's theirs." She couldn't pretend like Christian hadn't heard her refer to her father as an alchemist. It would be better to come clean about that before anyone made an unsound accusation.
"This is sweet and all," Nya said as she came back around to Astrid's side, "but I've unlocked him."
"Astrid," Christian said, "please get up to the balcony." He rose to his full height, his dark grey horns and golden eyes shining in the fire's light. "Things are about to get messy."
Nya pulled Astrid away as Christian let loose another blast of flames on the alchemists. With Matilde flanking him, he clawed his way through the group of alchemists like a cat playing with mice. Christian held nothing back, breaking through one magical shield and tearing an alchemist in half. Matilde bashed another with her tail, slamming him into a spike on the ground.
"Astrid, please." Her father's former friend limped after her, trying to grab at her jacket. "You can't leave me here like this. If you're really your father's daughter, you'd have some sympathy for us. These monsters shouldn't be able to walk the earth so freely! They're evil, Astrid."
Astrid stopped Nya when she tried to intervene. "Even if they are evil, how does that justify cutting them to pieces? Those two haven't done anything to hurt anyone!"
"It's not what they have done, it's what they could do," he argued. "At any minute, they could destroy humanity! Just look at what they've done to the rest of my group. Destroyed them in seconds. They're monsters, Astrid."
"So are you." She flinched when he tried to reach out and touch her.
"If I'm a monster, then your father is one too," he replied. "Are you willing to discount your own flesh and blood like that?"
Astrid replied by kicking him down the staircase. The alchemist lost his grip and slipped, hitting his head on a step as he hurtled downward. Christian slammed him into the ground when he hit the bottom and burnt him until he could no longer move.
"Is that all of them?" Nya asked. "Damn. You work fast, babe." She removed her outer jacket and, returning down the stairs, held it out to her girlfriend.
Matilde shifted into her human form and accepted it. "You have a lot of explaining to do," she said, glaring at Astrid.
She would've answered had she not been distracted by something in the corner. A glittering case of vials lay untouched in the back, filled with dragon's blood. The VidaCo logo was printed on the side of each vile. Grabbing her phone, Astrid took pictures of everything that could incriminate the company. She pocketed one of the vials as well, hoping it could be enough evidence for a case on malpractice.
"Astrid," Christian called out to her. She turned and flushed, forgetting a transformation would strip the Dragon Shifter of their clothing. "Come here."
She complied, trying to avoid looking anywhere else than his eyes. "I'm so sorry about all of this," she whispered. "I wish I could've been there to stop them. I could've Aliced us away--"
He cut her off, pulling her against him. "I don't care," Christian whispered. "We're safe now, and they're gone." Christian's body radiated heat, coating Astrid in a warmth she didn't know she was missing. "You're freezing," he said. "I need to get you out of here."
"No," Matilde stopped him. "Not until she explains he
rself. That alchemist knew who she was. There's no way I'm letting you go anywhere with her if she's connected to them."
"Matilde," Christian said, "she's not like us. She will freeze out here if we keep her trapped here any longer."
She still shook her head. "I don't care. Let her freeze. Haven't you noticed everything has gone wrong now she's around? The break-ins, the attacks on you and Lorenzo, the only reason it's started now is because of her." Matilde glared daggers at Astrid. "Leave her to the alchemists and let's go."
Annoyed with their fighting, Astrid wiggled out of Christian's grip. "How exactly are you all going to get home without me?"
The siblings went silent. "I, well," Christian sputtered.
Nya snorted, leaning on her girlfriend. "She has a point, babe. There's no way for us to get out without her. Astrid could leave us all for dead if she wanted to."
"Which I'm not going to do," said Astrid. "Just trust me, okay? If we get back to Christian's house, I'll explain everything there. And get him some clothes."
The afterthought elicited a laugh from the dragon in question. "You don't like my rugged form?" He grinned. "That's a shame."
"I'd, well," Astrid groaned. "You're all impossible, you know that? Every one of you." She climbed up the stairs and retraced her steps out of the chamber. Astrid didn't bother to make sure the rest of them were following her. They weren't dumb. She was getting used to threatening to leave people in other realms and didn't want to do it this time.
They had to be careful on their trek back to the shimmer. Whilst the Russos killed all the alchemists practicing the ritual, the realm was filled with others just itching for a fight. The trail of blood leaking from Christian's side wasn't ideal either.
"God, how are we going to get you through the neighborhood?" Matilde groaned when she realized the portal was taking them out into the middle of the alley.
Christian grinned. "It wouldn't be the first time my dazzling good looks have been on display for the world to see."