Once Upon the Rainbow, Volume Two

by Jennifer Cosgrove

  Faster than I could register what happened, Callum lunged forward and slammed Amir into the ground. The younger twins shuffled farther away and looked on. Callum seemed unstoppable as his fists flew through the air, back and forth, hitting Amir, who tried to shield his face with his arms.

  “No!” I screamed as I ran towards them. My feet fell out from under me, and I slid along the pebbles. My skin felt hot, my chest tight, and my lips dry. “Stop it!” I yelled from the ground as I lay next to them. “I don’t want to hurt you, but…but I-I…” The two men in front of me blurred as I struggled to speak, to control my tongue, which felt as heavy as stone. “Amir…” My voice sounded wrong. Weak and hollow. My skin flushed hot again as the side of my face hit the ground. Everything went black.

  Chapter Five

  I’VE ALWAYS HATED dreams. They have a way of fooling us into thinking we are something we are not. Safe. Not safe. Loved. Not loved. Whatever the case, dreams—unlike my visions from and of the Other World—leave an acrid taste in my mouth. The courtyard fell away, and I was left only with illusion. Faces. Words. Feelings. My mother and father, their shock as I cast my first spell, a moment I couldn’t possibly remember. Red lying on a bed of silk, alive and corporeal. Amir in a library, lost in an ancient tome. These images (and others I found indecipherable) bled together like pots of ink spilled across thin parchment.

  “Talia.” Large hands shook my shoulders gently. Amir’s voice sliced through the dreams and reminded me of where we were. What we were doing. I tried to open my eyes, but a searing pain shot through my head from ear to ear. The hands prevented me from sitting up. “Slow down, caster,” my prince said.

  Someone pressed a cold, damp cloth to my forehead, cheeks, and neck. I delighted in the coolness, having not truly realised how hot my face felt until that moment. I licked my dry lips and swallowed the sandpaper texture that coated my throat. The stiffness in my fingers and toes faded as I wriggled and stretched them.

  By the goddess, what happened? My body felt as though every ounce of hydration had been siphoned from it, whilst a herd of mice had been pulling at my hair, making my scalp throb. The rigid tip of a flask touched my mouth, and I invited the water in. It was stale, but I didn’t care. It could have been mud and I would have accepted it, as long as there was some sort of moisture to deliver to my shrivelled limbs.

  “Slow down, slow down.” Amir pressed his hand to my cheek as he spoke, and I forced myself to stop drinking before I let myself drown. The warmth of his touch was comforting, and for once, I didn’t find myself wishing it signified anything other than concern. “Do you want to try and sit up now?”

  I gave a heavy nod and tried once more to open my eyes. I did so more cautiously than before, prying them open gradually so I might better adjust to the influx of light, colour, and detail. After blinking away the hazy film that impaired my vision, I found myself inside a large, dust-ridden room, lying on a chaise, surrounded by young men. Had I been three times stronger, five years younger, and ten times more irresponsible, it might have even been a good position to find myself in. As it was, it felt awful.

  Amir knelt next to me and held my hand, his normally kind features distorted by worry. Behind him, the three brothers Rose paced about the chamber, each one looking through the glassless window as he passed it, as though someone or something might be upon us at any moment.

  “Can she move yet?” Callum stopped pacing to stand by Amir. He ran his hand back through his unkempt hair before folding his arms across his narrow chest.

  “Give her a moment,” Amir replied sternly, his eyes set on me. He’d changed his bloodstained shirt. I hoped that meant his wound had been cleaned and bandaged whilst I’d been asleep.

  “It’s been hours,” one of the younger brothers said. It was the first time I’d heard either of the other twins speak, and the deep tone of his voice surprised me, given the boyishness of his face.

  “I know!” Amir whipped around to face them, releasing my hand as he did. The absence of his touch was palpable. He sighed as though disappointed by his outburst. When he spoke again, he lowered his volume and softened his tone. “I know, Sebastian. We will be on our way soon.”

  The boy, Sebastian, huffed, walked to a nearby wall, and slid down it to fall into a defeated heap on the floor. A trail of cleared dust marked the movement of his back down the wall.

  It had been hours? I needed to get up. They needed me to get up. I swallowed again, braced my hands against the chaise, and pushed. I expected the movement to hurt more than it did, but instead of pain, there was only weakness, similar to the sensation after a particularly taxing spell. I breathed my way through the discomfort as I moved into a sitting position. Amir turned back to me to help.

  “It’s fine. You don’t need to rush,” he told me.

  “It sounds like I do,” I croaked. “I’m fine.” Well, perhaps fine was too generous a description, but I was improving quickly.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” I took another sip of water, emptying the flask. “The fog is clearing. What happened?” I held my hand to Amir’s chin. Though I tried to be gentle, he winced and pulled back. His jaw was swollen, his lip cut. That’s right. He and Callum. They were fighting.

  “You were poisoned,” Sebastian said from his position on the floor.

  I touched my fingertips to my earlobe and instantly regretted it when a sharp bolt of heat shot through the side of my head. “The dart,” I said when the pain passed a moment later.

  Amir nodded.

  “I’m not dead, though. I imagine it was pegrarus.”

  “That’s what it smelled like.” Callum joined Amir and looked at me, his eyes empathetic. “I’m sorry I attacked your friend. After we found somewhere for you to rest, he explained what happened to my twin.” He sucked in a breath and hardened his face, trying to push down his grief. I couldn’t blame him. There was so much for him to process, much to mourn. Had I found myself in his position, I doubt I could have coped even half as well. “I know it couldn’t be helped.”

  I shook my head tentatively, partially due to a fear of setting off that horrid pain again, but also because the moment felt somehow sacred and fragile. “No. We had no idea who you were. If it helps at all, I can tell you that Anton crossed the veil in his true form. He knew who he was. Who you were.”

  Sebastian’s twin, whose name I still hadn’t learned, sat down next to Sebastian and took his hand in a gesture of comfort.

  Tears slid down Callum’s stubbled cheeks. “Thank you,” he murmured. “It isn’t your fault. It’s Tanit’s.”

  “Yes,” Amir spat as he looked heavenward. “Her curse is so much viler than people have believed all this time.” I could see he was hurting, my dear Amir. As he was both exhausted and exasperated, the reality of what we’d discovered in Oldpass clawed at his face like a rash. He’d taken the life of an innocent boy. He had probably thought I was going to die when I passed out. He still needed to find Aurora and, as his parents wished, marry her. His choleric tone was most certainly warranted.

  “I still can’t believe it’s been a hundred years,” Sebastian said, rubbing at his knee caps. “I don’t remember being a statue. I don’t remember attacking the two of you. Yet I feel weary somehow, like my bones know they’ve been frozen in place.”

  “Yes.” His twin stood as he spoke, eyebrows drawn together in dismay. He held his hand out to Sebastian and dragged his brother to his feet.

  “We need to keep ourselves together, Elias. We still have each other,” Callum soothed. He had the confidence of a young man who knew he’d be a trusted royal adviser—perhaps even a king—one day. He seemed to accept responsibility without hesitation.

  I looked to Elias. I finally knew the third brother’s name. Third brother. When he should have been the fourth. How could I have not seen who they really were from the moment their stony skin flaked away? I should have. It was my fault. The dead boy. Amir’s injuries. The crestfallen weight hanging upon
their backs. My failure as a caster had brought it all to pass.

  “We lost Anton,” Callum said, “but we don’t have to lose Aurora. Or anyone else in our kingdom, for that matter. They’re all still here. Somewhere.” As the eldest brother spoke, Amir guided me to my feet, and Elias handed me another flask of water. I thanked them both wordlessly. “You two believe she is in the north tower?”

  “You all seemed to wake when we got closer to the north wing entrance,” Amir replied. “I think it reasonable to assume you—the goblins, rather—were placed there as guards.”

  “I agree.” Callum looked to his brothers. “Our sister needs us.”

  “Then let’s go!” Elias’s face reddened as he rushed toward the door. I couldn’t help but smile softly. The genuine love and concern radiating from his soft-featured face touched me. Surely, it was a sign Aurora must be a good person, that she could be worthy of Amir. Did I want her to be? Would it be easier if she were unkind? Or unintelligent?

  Sebastian and Callum wasted no time in following Elias as he disappeared through the doorway and into a dark passage. Amir slipped one arm around my waist as an offer of support, but I shook my head. My strength returned to me quickly, and I needed to distance myself from him as much as possible. Each step closer to the princess pushed him ever further out of my reach. I surprised myself to find the thought suddenly a small degree less painful than the last time I’d lingered on it, though I still felt I was headed in the right direction, finding my destined path. Was I finally accepting the situation for what it was? Or was something else going on?

  “Don’t go that way.” Red’s voice tickled the back of my neck like a benign spider. “They must find another route.”

  “Where are you?” I said. Amir looked at me, confused. “She’s here. My friend. My guide. Red…why can’t I see you?”

  “Something is holding me back.” Her voice was quieter, the distance between us increasing. “I can’t stay.”

  I wanted to chase her, to find her, to see her sterling-green eyes and know for certain she was all right. But I knew she wasn’t. Something was pulling her away. I could sense it, an icy chill tracing its way down my spine. It had hurt her to reach out and speak to me. I couldn’t be sure how I knew, but I did.

  “What did she say?” Amir asked as he stepped through the doorway, his dark tunic and leggings swallowed up by the dankness of the corridor.

  “Don’t,” I blurted. “She said not to go that way. Stop!”

  A thunderous growl echoed all around us. A tormented beast’s yowl shot through me like electricity. What had those boys rushed into?

  “We have to help them,” Amir shouted as he ran toward the sound. It was like nothing I’d ever heard before: guttural and deep, yet piercing at the same time. The animal making that noise could not have been of this world. I dropped the flask Elias had handed me as I raced after Amir. It made no noise as it hit the ground. There was no sound to be heard but the creature’s wails.

  Mould and damp accosted my nostrils and the back of my throat as I chased after the four princes. My heart raced and my chest ached at the exertion I wasn’t truly recovered enough to cope with. I nearly lost my footing on a smooth stone in the floor and braced myself against the wall before continuing on.

  Suddenly, it was quiet. The unnatural stillness terrified me even more than the creature’s growling, and I stopped. In such abrupt darkness and silence, I felt as though the sound of my footsteps could somehow shatter the universe. Don’t be ridiculous. I exhaled my fear and started moving again. The passageway grew hotter, drops of sweat sliding down my spine as I unclasped my cloak and draped it over one shoulder. I skulked past several alcoves leading into other areas of the north wing. Could there be people within the rooms, enduring an endless sleep?

  The heat became close to unbearable as I stepped into a capacious room. I could sense its size more than see it. “Amir?” I whispered, though my voice was amplified by the acoustics of the space and became louder than I’d anticipated.

  “Look out!” Callum called out from somewhere ahead of me. A stream of orange and blue fire shot toward the sound of his voice. Menacing shadows danced across the walls and ceiling for a moment before the bolt of heat and light disappeared as quickly as it had come. I hadn’t even realised I’d thrown my body to the floor until I was dragging myself back to my feet.

  An arm brushed past me. “Caster,” Callum whispered. “Can you see anything?” I shook my head and cursed myself inwardly. He couldn’t see me.

  “Talia?” he said, more insistent this time.

  The moonbeam stone. How could I forget I had it? Red’s precious gift had saved me many times before. “I have a light,” I replied as quietly as I could. “But will it not endanger us?”

  “We are already in danger. I can’t see my brothers. Do it!”

  I retrieved the stone from my belt and forced a surge of energy into the centre of it, sending beams of moonlight into the cavernous space, brighter than I’d ever seen it generate before.

  My breath caught in my throat. Callum and I both stepped back as we gazed upon the creature sitting motionless in the centre of the elegant but aging ballroom.

  Earlier that day, I hadn’t believed stories about goblins could be real. I’d been wrong. But surely such an animal as this existed only in legend? Incredulity rushed through my veins with an explosive force. A bulbous lump formed in my throat as I struggled to absorb the sight before me.

  A dragon.

  Chapter Six

  THE ANIMAL SEEMED to be asleep, despite the stream of fire it’d just released. Perhaps it responded to sound or movement, similar to the way the goblins had been called to arms as Amir and I had made noise in the courtyard.

  “Sebastian!” Callum’s brothers stood against a wall several metres away, remaining perfectly still, as did Amir another few metres past them. They all looked toward the sound of the eldest prince’s manic voice. The dragon’s obsidian eyes burst open, two perfectly round discs bulging out of a savage, bony skull the colour of molten rock. Callum’s face distorted as he realised what he’d done. He held his arm up in front of me, a futile gesture. The dragon blew tendrils of smoke through the slitted nostrils resting above its elongated jaw.

  Sebastian, Elias, and Amir all ran toward us, following the circular wall. The dragon’s wings expanded slowly, as though it were stretching after a long period of inactivity. Scales on the underside of its body reflected a beautiful, metallic rainbow as rays from my stone brightened them. If it didn’t clearly possess the ability to stamp each of us out as easily as a human might destroy an insect, the creature would have been nothing short of stunning.

  The dragon reared onto its tree-trunk-like legs, arching a coarse, agile neck. At full height, she was the epitome of strength and regal prowess. She? Yes, I decided. That magnificent dragon was a female. I felt it, just as I felt magic—simply…there.

  The five of us huddled together, despite knowing our proximity offered no protection. An unspoken message passed between Amir and Callum as the two locked eyes, both reaching for their swords. Slowly. Gingerly. The dragon watched us but did not attack. She cocked her head and huffed, her forceful breath sending particles of dust flying through the room, illuminated by the magic of my stone. Her ancient-looking gaze locked onto us as she released an intimidating, throaty purr.

  “Are you ready?” Amir mouthed to Callum, who responded with a nod. Both of them held their swords at shoulder height, primed to attack.

  A cold rush of air pressed against my neck, like the hand of a corpse, but then it was gone again. Could it have been Red trying to tell me something? I hoped not, for if she couldn’t project her voice to me, something truly dangerous had been happening in the Other World.

  “This is wrong,” I said. The words came from my lips, yet I hadn’t thought them. They simply erupted of their own volition, but I had every intention of standing by their meaning.

  Amir’s eyes darted from the dragon to
me and back again. He stood in a lunge position, rocking from his left foot to his right. The three brothers seemed equally poised for action.

  “What?” Amir said.

  “Look at her.” I motioned toward the dragon. “She isn’t coming for us. She’s like the goblins. Watch.” I felt the heat of their collective gaze as I stepped forward. No doubt they all thought me insane. I agreed. I’d never in my life been as brave and as stupid as I was right then. Nor would I be again, save for one other moment that would shape my future. A moment that lay on the other side of that dragon.

  “Don’t,” Callum whispered, his voice urgent. I took another step. Then another. The dragon watched me with increasingly large eyes. I could sense the four princes waving at me as I moved forward, frantically calling me back as quietly as they could.

  Amir grabbed hold of my arms, his breath hot against my neck. “What are you doing?” His concern gave his words a piercing edge, but they weren’t sharp enough to cut through my resolve. I couldn’t explain how I knew the dragon wouldn’t hurt us unless we gave her reason, but I did. Just like I knew I could trust any message Red sent to us.

  I shook out of Amir’s grasp and surged forward. The dragon straightened up farther, her spiked head scraping the ornate paintings across the ceiling. She opened her powerful jaws and let loose another burst of fire. It scorched the floor and wall, but did not come near us. When she closed her mouth again, I led Amir to rejoin the brothers.

  “See?” I said. “She’s not aggressive. Not unless we try to pass.”

  “But,” Elias started, “we need to pass. The stairwell to the tower is behind her.”

  “Of course it is,” Amir said. It was the first I’d seen of his signature sarcasm since I’d woken up. I felt grateful for that small measure of humour. After a few moments of silence, he sighed and let his sword drop to the height of his hip. “Do you know any other way through?”

  “There is no other way.” Sebastian spoke flatly, defeated.