The Last Dragon

by James Riley

  And then she collapsed to the floor and disappeared.

  - ELEVEN -

  SIERRA? FORT SHOUTED, LOOKING around the room uselessly. Sierra! Can you hear me? Are you okay? Talk to me!

  YES, she said in his head, but didn’t reappear. I’M… I’M OKAY, I THINK. JUST SO EXHAUSTED ALL OF A SUDDEN. AND DAMIAN IS YELLING AT ME. I GUESS… THAT LIGHT IN THE OFFICE, IT… IT HAPPENED HERE, TOO. EVERYONE SAW. SECURITY’S LOOKING FOR US, AND DAMIAN SAW… A BUNCH OF AGENTS. AGENTS WITH AMULETS.

  A chill went down Fort’s spine, but at least her voice was back to normal. This was the Sierra he knew. The power to tear apart the room seemed to be gone—for now. Where that had come from, he had no idea, but that mystery could wait until they were safe. You need to get out of there! he thought. Can you run?

  WE’RE HIDING, she said. SO TIRED. CAN BARELY MOVE. BUT I CAN… I CAN GET YOU OUT OF THERE. BACK TO… RACHEL.

  Next to him, Dr. Opps’s body slowly picked itself up from the floor, only to stumble, falling against the wall. Fort quickly went to help, giving the doctor his shoulder.

  “Sierra?” Fort whispered, not sure who was in there.

  “Obviously,” she said, standing up straight and pushing him away. “Grab the duffel bag with the books. I’ll carry it, for the security cameras. And don’t try to help, it’ll look suspicious.”

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Fort said, his worry for her overpowering any thought of the plan now. “Go back to Damian, and make sure no one finds you—”

  “Shush,” she said. “I’m not leaving… until I’ve done my part.” She swayed for a moment, only to catch herself. “But maybe let’s go quick.”

  Through their connection, Fort could feel that all her fear at what had just happened had been replaced, if temporarily, by determination. He knew that arguing would just prolong things. Silently he led her out of the office, glancing outside quickly to see what the halls looked like after all the commotion inside.

  As Fort figured, there were guards everywhere. The first soldiers to see them quickly ran to help Sierra, but she shook her head. “Colonel Charles needs you more than I do,” she said as Dr. Opps. “That amazingly smart mind-reader girl got to him. She was in this boy’s head too, but he doesn’t remember anything, so I’m taking him back to his room.”

  “Shouldn’t we sound the alarm?” one soldier asked. “Lock down the facility and alert Agent Cole?”

  “It’s too late,” Sierra told him. “The girl’s already gone. She’s just way too clever to be caught. I have no idea what to do about her, really. What is there to do when—”

  Fort elbowed her to wrap it up.

  “But I’m rambling. Now go, the colonel needs you!” Sierra shouted, waving the soldier back toward Colonel Charles’s office. “Go, go, go!”

  Still, getting from the office to the elevator felt like a marathon. Every few feet, Sierra would have to stop and lean against the wall for support, and even the guards who she sent back to help Colonel Charles would stop and look back, not quite sure if she was okay.

  By the time they reached the elevator, Fort was ready to just take the duffel bag and run, no matter what kind of trouble they got in. DON’T YOU DARE, Sierra said in his head, glaring at him through Dr. Opps’s eyes. WE STILL HAVE… TO FINISH THIS. RACHEL THINKS SHE’S… GOING TO BURN THE BOOKS… REMEMBER? AND I HAVE TO… CONVINCE HER SHE DID.

  She was making sure she did her part to fulfill Fort’s lie to his friends, after almost getting caught by Colonel Charles, and whatever that surge of magical power had been.

  So much for keeping his friends out of danger. And Sierra had already suffered so much—

  OH, STOP IT, she said, but Fort saw a blush rising on Dr. Opps’s cheeks.

  Once they made it back up two floors, where the cameras hadn’t been installed yet, Fort grabbed the bag from Sierra and gave her his shoulder again, which she thankfully accepted this time. They slowly made their way to the kitchen where Rachel was waiting, Fort’s guilt rising with every step.

  After what felt like hours, Fort pushed the kitchen door open to find a darkened room lit only by two exit signs, their red light giving stainless steel counters around the room an eerie glow.

  “Rachel?” he said as he helped Sierra to the floor, leaning her back against the wall. “Are you here?”

  The lights turned on, momentarily blinding Fort. When he could see again, he found Rachel standing in front of them, her eyes on Dr. Opps, but her face expressionless. “That’s Sierra?” she asked.

  Sierra weakly raised a hand to salute. “Mission accomplished.”

  “You got the books, then?” Rachel said, turning to Fort. “Colonel Charles had them?”

  Fort nodded. “We were right to do this. He was going to use them to teach more students.”

  Rachel gave him a long look. “Yeah, and we all agreed we couldn’t let anyone else use the books. Right, Fort?”

  UH-OH, Sierra said in his head.

  “That’s right,” Fort said, slowly handing over the duffel bag to Rachel. “We burn them so no one can use them ever again.” What was happening here? Why was Rachel so suspicious?

  She pulled the bag open and grabbed both books, letting the duffel fall to the floor, then opened them one by one. She glanced over the first few pages of both, then set them down on the floor. “They definitely look like the real thing,” she said, and stared at Fort again.

  “They better be real,” he said, and forced a laugh. “Otherwise we just put Sierra through a lot of pain for nothing.”

  YOU SOUND SO GUILTY, Sierra said.

  “Then let’s get this over with,” Rachel said, and pushed Fort away from the books. “Take a few steps back. We don’t really know what will happen if we try to destroy these things. Let’s hope it doesn’t release evil ghosts that we end up having to hunt down for the rest of our lives.”

  “Let’s hope,” Fort agreed, backing away to the wall to where Sierra sat. He glanced down at her in concern. Are you okay? You can still make sure she doesn’t burn the books, right?

  She nodded, then closed her eyes. I THINK… I HAVE TO LEAVE DR. OPPS THOUGH. PUT HIS BODY OUTSIDE… FOR WHEN HE WAKES UP.

  And without another word, Dr. Opps slumped over.

  Rachel separated the books, kneeling down next to the Mind magic book first. “I’m going to do it,” she said, looking up at Fort as if for confirmation. When he didn’t say anything, her hands began to glow red, and she launched a small fireball directly at the book.

  It hit the cover… and immediately went out.

  “Okay,” Rachel said, furrowing her brow. “This might be harder than I thought. I didn’t even singe the thing.”

  Fort frowned. Sierra, did you do that? We want her to think she burned them, remember? You don’t have to lay it on so thick.

  But Sierra didn’t answer.

  “I’m going to try it a different way,” Rachel said, the power already glowing again. Another fireball formed, but this time, instead of releasing it, she kept it floating between her palms and slowly brought it down to the Mind book until they touched. “Maybe it just needs a little more time to get started.”

  You can let her think it’s burning now, Sierra, Fort thought, hoping she was listening. Sierra? Are you still here? You’ve got this, right?

  “There it goes!” Rachel said, and Fort turned back to watch the cover of the telepathy book slowly light up under the force of her fireball. He breathed a sigh of relief. Sierra had come through, creating the illusion just as they had planned.

  Something beeped, and Fort looked down to find a phone at Dr. Opps’s side glowing. He glanced at it and saw some kind of news alert. Curious, he picked it up, and his eyes widened.

  JFK AIRPORT IN NEW YORK CITY SITE OF NEW ATTACK. GATHERING STORM MEMBERS REPORTEDLY INVOLVED. THAUMATURGIC DEFENSE AGENTS ON SITE.

  “No,” he whispered, then looked up. Sierra? SIERRA? Are you okay? Did they find you? What’s going on? Talk to me!

  B
ut there was no reply as smoke began to fill the room. “Let me get the vent going,” Rachel said, moving to turn on the fan above the stove. Fort turned back to her, his eyes wide.

  She’d really burned the Mind magic book! This wasn’t an illusion. Sierra was gone, and he was about to lose the Summoning book forever if he didn’t say something, if he didn’t stop Rachel right now.

  Strange yellow light seeped out of the pages of the telepathy book as the pages burned, rising with the smoke into the vents above the stove. “Yikes,” Rachel said, almost emotionlessly. “I hope this stuff isn’t going to play with my mind at all.” She turned to the Summoning book and knelt down next to it. “Guess it’s time to burn the second one now?”

  Fort thought about calling for Sierra again but stopped himself. She was in real danger, and he couldn’t distract her any further. Definitely not for something so pathetic as covering for his lie. “Rachel,” Fort said, “wait.”

  “For what?” Rachel asked, her tone sounding far too innocent to be real. “Is there something you wanted to say to me?”

  Fort opened his mouth, ready to apologize, tell her everything… but even now, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. If she finds out, you’ll be pulling her into this, her and Jia and Cyrus too. And if they come, one of them won’t be making it back.

  “I just think maybe we should hold off on that one for now,” he said, knowing how ridiculous he sounded. “Maybe… maybe we’ll need it. You know, later.”

  Rachel took a deep breath in, closing her eyes, then let it out and stood up. She picked up the book and slowly walked over to Fort. For a moment, she looked at him with an unreadable expression.

  Then she threw the book right at his face.

  The book of Summoning slammed into his nose, and the pain and shock sent Fort tumbling backward to the floor, the book landing heavily on his chest. As the shock wore off, the pain intensified, making Fort groan.

  “What was that for?” he started to yell, only to look up and find an enraged Rachel glaring down at him.

  “Sierra didn’t shut down our mental ‘call’ while you were in with Colonel Charles, you jerk,” she said, her hands glowing red as she pointed them at Fort. “We all heard everything you told him! You lied to us! You never wanted to destroy the books. Why would you do that? Why would you betray all your friends?!”

  Fort winced and tried to sit up, but she shook her head, shoving him back to the floor with her foot. “No, you don’t say a word,” she whispered as a fireball appeared in her hand. She slowly aimed it at the book on Fort’s chest. “I should have known. You lied to me from the start, back at the old school. Why should now be any different?”

  Fort spread his hands in surrender, his eyes on the fireball. “Please… please don’t. My father is still alive, Rachel. I know he is.”

  “So?” she said. “You could have told us. We’d probably have all helped you! I would have, you know I would have.” The fireball grew brighter.

  “I know,” Fort whispered, shaking his head. “That’s why I couldn’t let you know. Cyrus—”

  The fireball shot out from her hand, and Fort shouted in surprise. There wasn’t enough time to dodge, to get out of its way… but the fireball flew right over his head and exploded against the tile floor a few feet away. “I hope you find your dad, New Kid,” she said. “But don’t ever speak to me again.”

  She walked past him, and he wondered if there was any way to make this right, to explain… but before he could think of the words, he heard her drag Dr. Opps out the door and close it behind her.

  And then there was silence as she left Fort with the book of Summoning, completely alone.

  - TWELVE -

  FOR A MOMENT, FORT JUST lay in the middle of the kitchen as the smoke from the book of Mind magic dissipated. Apparently it really had been destroyed, then. Whatever was happening to Sierra, she must have been pulled away before she could make the illusion.

  Sierra? he thought. I’m sorry. I hope you’re okay?

  Again, there was no response, and Fort slowly sat up, grabbing the book of Summoning before it fell to the floor. He checked to see if Dr. Opps’s phone was still there and had any updates, but there was no sign of it, so Rachel must have taken it with her.

  Rachel, whom he’d completely betrayed. Not to mention that Jia and Cyrus had heard the same things Rachel had. He’d effectively lost every friend he’d made at the Oppenheimer School, all in one night.

  Even after all of that, though, Rachel had left him the book. For someone who’d attacked Fort when she’d just overheard Dr. Opps saying he was a danger to the school, leaving him the book was a sign of how much she trusted him.

  Or had trusted him.

  He groaned again, then turned to the book lying in the middle of a dusty kitchen floor, the book he’d given up everything he’d cared about just for this moment.

  The Magic of Summoning, and Creating Gateways to Other Realities.

  Even with everything he’d been through, Fort couldn’t help a chill going down his spine at having the book in his hands after all this time. In a matter of moments, he’d be off to the monsters’ dimension, and if everything went well, he might be back with his dad within hours. And maybe his friends would see that it’d all been worth it when he returned with his dad, safe and sound?

  Probably not, but stranger things had happened.

  But hadn’t he been right not to tell them? Rachel had admitted she would have come, and then he’d have been putting her in danger. And look what had happened with Sierra, when Colonel Charles had caught her in his trap. That was even in friendly territory, not some dimension of horror! He couldn’t imagine the terrible things that might have happened to his friends in the creatures’ homeworld if they’d come along.

  No. He’d do this on his own, and keep his friends as safe as possible, whether they hated him for it or not.

  “I’m coming, Dad,” he whispered. His hands trembling, Fort slowly opened the book, mentally readying himself for the monsters’ home domain. He took a deep breath, then read over the first page.

  One for the body, bones and skin,

  One for the spirit, its spectral kin,

  One for the mind, thoughts and dreams,

  One for the world, from dirt to streams,

  One for all space, wide and vast,

  One for all time, future and past.

  Seven from six, the rest unearthed.

  One saves all, if proved their worth.

  Oh, right. The opening page was the same in all the books of magic. Fort had seen those words back when he’d first arrived at the original Oppenheimer School. Dr. Opps had taken him to be tested on which form of magic he had more natural talent with, Destruction or Healing. At the time, he’d had no idea what the poem meant, but now the words took on a different meaning.

  “One for the body, bones and skin” had to be talking about Healing magic. The mind line was telepathy, and time probably referred to Clairvoyance, the magic that Cyrus had studied. So had a bunch of other students, but Cyrus was the only one to not go insane doing so. Fort shivered at the very thought of what that school must be like now.

  The other lines, though, he wasn’t quite sure about. Destruction had a spell to control the ground, which had dirt and streams in it, so maybe that was the one about the world? Which left only spirit and space. Summoning had to be space, which sort of made sense… Summoning opened portals to other dimensions, which was like crossing through space. Not that Fort understood how in any way.

  So what was the line about spirit referring to?

  He was getting distracted. The poem didn’t matter, not while his father was waiting.

  His heart beating faster with anticipation, Fort turned the page, ready to absorb the Summoning magic spell to create a portal to another world. He took a deep breath, then read the words for the first spell:

  Teleport Within the Same Plane.

  A horrifying sinking feeling turned Fort’s stomach over, and
he shook his head, quickly turning to the next page, which was blank.

  No. No! The next page was also blank, and the following one, and the rest of the book. Fear closed around his heart, and he quickly turned back to the first page and read over the first spell.

  When an object must pass between nonadjacent spaces, yet still within the same reality/probability time line, a teleportation circle can be opened, connecting those two spaces.

  NO! Teleportation, not dimensional travel?! Within the same reality, it said.

  “No, no, no, no, no, no,” Fort whispered, shaking his head, staring at the words on the page before him. Something began bubbling up inside him, and he wasn’t sure if he was going to laugh or cry or just set the book on fire. “No. No! NO!”

  Suddenly he couldn’t even think past his rage, and he threw the book as hard as he could straight at the nearby kitchen cabinets. The crash as it hit was so loud that someone might have heard it, but Fort didn’t care. He slammed his fists down on the floor until pain shot through his hands, then bent over and curled up over his knees, holding his head down as he screamed into the floor.

  The first spell wasn’t the one he needed, and to get to the next one… he’d need to master the Teleport spell. After everything he’d done, he couldn’t even get to his father. Mastering teleportation would take days, maybe even a week, time he didn’t have, time his father didn’t have!

  He could feel it all slipping away from him, and his anger faded, pushed out of the way by a deep, devastating despair, one that sank all the way to his core.

  He’d lied to and betrayed his friends. Sierra might have just gotten caught by TDA agents because of him. And all Fort had gotten out of it was a teleportation spell, leaving his father still beyond reach.

  Teleportation magic? he could hear his father saying. Why, you could go anywhere, see anything with that spell! That’s maybe the most amazing magic I’ve ever heard of!

  Except it wasn’t, because it couldn’t do the one thing Fort needed it to do.

  “Stop it,” he whispered to himself, digging his nails into his palms. This wasn’t helping, this wallowing. Yes, things were awful and terrible, but he still had the book, and more spells would come after he mastered Teleport. And he knew the right spell was in there somewhere, because Damian had used it to bring the monsters here in the first place.