by Trevor Darby
Raven formed her magical sword and slashed at the Dragon’s front right leg. When she hit the Dragon, her sword dissolved into smoke with a little fizzling pop. Not only did it do no damage, the Dragon seemed totally unfazed. It looked down at her with bright red eyes, cocking its head as if it was confused. It didn’t even consider us a threat.
Raven’s jaw tightened as she reformed her sword in her hand and jumped up in the air to slash at its face. At that moment, Taz stepped forward and let an arrow loose. The arrow flew straight for the Dragon’s eye. The Dragon blinked at the last second, and the arrow bounced off like it was some kind of toy. Raven used the distraction to try a slash at the same eye, but the Dragon was too fast. It knocked her into the air with its nose, sending plumes of orange smoke everywhere as Twee Twyla’s shield around her was shattered.
Apparently, the Dragon had decided we were too much of a nuisance to ignore any longer. I could see a soft red glow as it opened its mouth, and my stomach dropped.
I focused all my energy and teleported Raven back to the ground just as flames burst from the Dragon’s mouth and tore through the air where she had just been. There was no doubt in my mind that Raven would’ve been cooked like a chicken if I’d been even a second later.
I looked back down at Raven to make sure she was okay and then, and I took a deep breath. I shot the biggest burst of magic that I’d ever managed straight at the side of the Dragon’s head. I felt drained the second the car-sized blast left my hands. If a blast of magic like that didn't affect it, nothing in our arsenal would...
The colossal creature turned its head and shot another burst of fire in my direction. My hopes were crushed as the Dragon’s flame ate my blast. The Dragon's flame actually appeared to grow larger, as if my magic had only kindled it. The flame continued on its path, straight at me.
Still feeling drained, I leaped to the side as orange fire, and smoke shot everywhere. The fire obliterated Twee Twyla’s barrier around me. I gathered as much energy as I could manage and teleported myself towards the Dragon, my eyebrows singed and still burning hot from the heat of the flame.
Now, I was just feet away from the animal as it craned its neck around to see where I’d gone. Too close for comfort.
It seemed ridiculous to even consider, but I had to at least try sending the Dragon back into the Magical Realm without weakening it first.
I lurched forward and grabbed the Dragon’s scaly leg with both arms, ignoring everyone else. I focused all of my magic on moving it across Realms, but I felt like I was trying to catch a whale with a fishing net meant for a guppy.
“Come on,” I murmured under my breath. No matter how hard I tried, we weren't budging, and my power drained faster than the battery of an old cell phone. Sooner than I could believe, all of my energy was gone.
“Chace!” Raven yelled an instant before I felt it. The massive beast’s muscles tensed as it registered my presence. It peered down at me.
With a mighty roar, it tossed me into the air. I was suddenly hurtling, head over feet, through the sand.
My head was ringing as I swiped at my face, furiously trying to see through the sand caked in my eyes. With blurred vision, I watched Raven dash to my side, inserting herself between me and the Dragon.
“No!” I shouted. Then, I reached out and caught a lock of Raven’s dark hair, pinching my eyes closed.
The world around us swooshed, and I nearly wept with relief as I teleported us back to the rest of the Myth Squad. Not a second too soon. I watched in horror as the Dragon obliterated the spot Raven and I had been standing in just a moment before with a massive gout of flame. The sand where the fire blast hit turned black and glassy.
“We need to get out of here, boy!” Twee Twyla demanded, already holding hands with Maps and Taz. I grabbed Raven and took Taz’s hand, hoping I had enough strength to teleport us back to Twee Twyla’s house. Digging deep for something...any speck of power that could help us as the creature wheeled toward us, its massive wings spreading wide.
Yes! There it was. One glowing speck of magic, flickering within me. Hoping Twee Twyla’s potion delivered, I focused on that speck and prayed. A moment later, we were in Twee Twyla’s living room.
With a groan, I collapsed on the floor, unable to hold myself up any longer.
It had been a total defeat. More than that, I’d nearly gotten my friends killed.
Again.
Raven stared down at me, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Ready to do this my way now?"
Chapter 6
“How you feeling, bud?” Taz said as I opened my eyes, “you’ve been out for almost two hours.”
I ignored him, sitting up from where I was laying on Twee Twyla’s couch and looking around frantically. “Where’s Raven?”
“Don’t worry, she’s just making you some food and tea in the other room. You were yelling her name for an hour now,” Maps said, chuckling softly but looking relieved.
I felt my face flush, not wanting to admit that I'd been having nightmares about the time I'd lost her in the Magical Realm. I looked down nervously, and an empty vial on the table came into view. She'd obviously taken the potion and used her magic to donate her energy to me. "Thanks for healing me, Maps. I hope you didn't give me too much energy," I said.
“Nah, I feel okay, I’m just sleepy,” she said, still smiling, though I could tell she was playing down how exhausted she clearly was.
I turned to Twee Twyla, “I’ll admit it. You were right." I would've said more, but she waved her hand at me, dismissing what I was saying.
“You did well, boy, I don’t want to say I told you so or anything. That Dragon exceeded even my expectations, ” Twee Twyla said, “but now it’s time for you and Raven to do some training in the Magical Realm.”
“Shouldn’t you guys come too?” I said.
“I’m not welcome there,” she said with a wince, “and we couldn’t think of a way to keep Taz and Maps safe without compromising your training. I don't have any more of those potions, so Maps and I will be training together here until you get back,” Twee Twyla said.
Raven stepped out of the hallway carrying a plate with an egg and cheese sandwich and a brownie sitting on a paper towel that would be perfect for helping restore my energy. "About that, I called my master, and he'll be taking us to the Magical Realm tomorrow morning. I hope you're ready for a rough couple of months." She still seemed cool and a little distant, but it was better than when she'd been totally ignoring me.
"Months?" I asked incredulously, grabbing the sandwich off of the plate. I took a bite before continuing, "how much time is going to pass in the Human Realm if we do our best to slow it down? I can make an excuse for a day, maybe two at best. My mom’s still not over the last trip.”
“Time can only be compressed up to Wizbang’s constant," Twee Twyla said, grabbing a calculator that was sitting on her desk and typing on it for a brief moment. "In the best possible case, time could be compressed down to a little over a day. Assuming you spend three months in the Magical Realm, it would require an incredibly powerful magic user to pull it off."
“That won’t be a problem with my master there,” Raven said.
“But what if someone else...someone stronger is in the Magical Realm, and they want to speed time up instead?" I said, remembering what Seth had done a month earlier, "I really don't want to put my family in that position again."
“We’d have to take the risk either way with the stakes being so high,” Twee Twyla said, “I’ve been developing a special device since Seth pulled that stunt on you that might come in handy. Just give me a second to grab it," She moved her computer's massive monitor out of the way. She pulled two thin candles in ornate candleholders from behind it, handing one to me and keeping one for herself.
“Uhh, what does it do?” I asked, confused.
“Go into the hallway,” she said with a sly smile.
I took the candle along with my plate of food with me as I walke
d into the hall without another word. I wondered what the heck a little candle could do that was going to be helpful. As I balanced my plate on my arm to grab a bite of my sandwich, the flame burst into life, nearly burning my already singed eyebrows to a crisp. The plate dropped to the ground with a clatter, though it thankfully didn't break.
“Cool, right?” Twee Twyla said as I re-entered the room.
“Yea, super cool... But I don’t get what that’s got to do with spending too long in the Magical Realm,” I said, confused.
Twee Twyla rolled her eyes, “no matter where you are or what Realm you’re in, lighting one candle will cause the other to light as well. If you’re in the Magical Realm for more than a day and a half of Human Realm time, I’ll light the candle to let you know that you should come back.”
“Perfect,” Raven said, “that’ll let us focus on our training.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but I have to get going. My mom is going to kill me if I’m not home for dinner,” Taz said, grabbing his bow from the corner of the room and pulling his earring out of his ear.
“See you soon, bud,” I said, knowing I’d miss him in the coming months that Raven and I would spend in the Magical Realm. I walked over, putting down my now empty plate, and gave him a short hug.
"I don't mean to get in the way of your little bromance moment here, but I'm going to head out as well," Raven said, "make sure you get a good night's sleep. I’ll see you bright and early for our trip, come up with some kind of excuse for why you’ll be leaving.”
“Before you go-,” I started.
“We’ll talk about everything when you’re feeling better, just take it easy for now,” she said, flashing me a smile that seemed forced.
I wanted to protest, but she was too stubborn for that to be anything other than a waste of breath. “See you tomorrow.”
"It's still okay if I stay here tonight, right, Twee Twyla?" Maps said as Taz and Raven left the room, “I texted my parents that I was gonna sleep over a friend’s house.”
“I’ll show you as much about your abilities as I can cram into just a day or two. By the time we're ready to face the Dragon again, you should have at least a cursory understanding of magic."
Maps smiled, “it still seems so crazy that I’m actually magical.”
I grabbed the brownie off of the table, taking a bite, “I’m going to head out in a minute, but do you have any more of these?”
Twee Twyla laughed and pointed down the hallway towards the kitchen, "Raven made a whole batch of them, make sure you leave some for Maps and me."
“I’m going to go to Taz’s house tomorrow morning if that's okay. We're going to have a big gaming day," I said, taking a bite of spaghetti.
“Have fun with your nerd-fest but make sure you get home at a reasonable hour, I'm working late, but you still have school tomorrow."
"I was actually wondering if I could sleep over," I said, hopefully. Mom had a good relationship with Taz’s mom, and I was banking on the fact that she knew that we wouldn't be allowed to stay up all night.
“Hmm, I guess that’s okay since you just got ungrounded, just make sure your homework is finished tonight.”
I took a final bite of my food and got up to put my dish in the dishwasher, "thanks, mom." I meant it too, I'd thought it'd be a lot more of a fight to get her to agree, and I was still way too exhausted to deal with it. "I'm gonna get to sleep early tonight, I’m pretty wiped out,” I said honestly.
She cocked her head at me before shrugging, “good night, honey.”
“Night,” I said before walking over and kissing her on the cheek and giving her a tight hug. I waved to Max and shot a wink at Pop before heading up to bed.
I couldn’t keep the tears from flowing as I lay down and got ready to sleep. Though I would finally get a chance to talk things out with Raven, I was about to spend three months, a quarter of a year, without seeing my family or friends.
Chapter 7
I woke up to my phone buzzing violently. It was under my pillow where I’d left it.
“Hello,” I said, still groggy from sleep.
“We’re waiting outside, meet us by the stop sign at the end of your road,” Raven said, hanging up before waiting for a response.
I brushed my teeth, pulled on my clothes, and then headed toward the kitchen.
“Taz called and said I could come over now. Aaron and Mikey are on their way too. See you later, Mom,” I said, poking my head into the kitchen.
"Bye, Chace, be safe," she said, kissing me on the cheek to say goodbye.
“Bye,” I said, wishing I could tell her that, though it’d only be a day and a half for her, it’d be months for me before I’d be able to see her again. I walked out the door and down the street, wishing that Max and Pop were awake so I could say bye to them as well.
Raven was standing near the end of my street. Beside her stood a thin man wearing a robe that made him look like he was headed to some kind of cosplay convention coming toward me as I neared the end of my street.
“Chace, right? I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said, wincing as Raven elbowed him in the side.
Was this guy really Raven’s master? He looked like he was trying out for a part in the community theater version of Lord of the Rings. Nothing like that magical genius and Protector extraordinaire I’d imagined.
“Um...Nice to meet you. What should I call you?”
“My name is Tiberius, you can call me whatever you like, though. I’m not too worried about it,” he said jovially as Raven gestured for us to follow her toward a small patch of trees nearby.
A fittingly strange name for such a strange man, I thought. We walked in silence for a while. I finally burst out with the question that had been on my mind since we met,
“So, uhhh... what’s with the robe? I thought we were supposed to keep the magic stuff on the down-low in the Human Realm.”
He smiled and turned to me, “That might be true, but this thing is super comfy," he said, gesturing for me to feel the material. “Touch it.”
“It is pretty soft,” I said, bewildered. Was this man really powerful or serious enough to teach us anything?
"Exactly! The whole point of clothes is to be comfortable, so I'm not putting pants with zippers on for anybody. People sometimes whisper or laugh, but I don't really care what they think," he added with a shrug.
I laughed, not knowing how to respond to that. Tiberius might be weird, but Raven thought so highly of him.
If she trusted him, so did I.
“Almost there,” Raven said, turning to face us. “Do you have everything taken care of back home? We can’t be coming back until we’re done.”
“Should I have packed food?” I asked.
“I’ve got it all taken care of,” Tiberius said, smiling.
“Trust him, Chace. He’s got everything under control,” Raven said.
We could just come back and grab some food later if worst came to worst, so there was no point in pressing the issue more.
When we got into the small patch of trees and were out of view from the road, Tiberius clapped his hands.
“Ready?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I got the words out, I found myself already in the Magical Realm. I looked around, seeing that the three of us were standing in the middle of a valley with no cover in sight.
At that moment, I realized I’d forgotten something vital. I pulled out my phone.
“Crap! I forgot to drop this off at Taz’s before going so he could text my mom if she tried to call me," I said, annoyed at myself. "We'll have to go back and give it to him really quick. I can't have my mom worried like last time.”
“No problem,” Tiberius said, “do you have a picture of this Taz fellow?”
“Yeah,” I said, opening my photos and pulling one up.
Tiberius darted his hand toward the phone, catching me off guard. It disappeared the moment he made contact with it.
“Good to go, then,” he
said, smiling.
“Wait...What happened?” I asked, stunned.
“I sent it over to him,” he said.
“But what if his mom was next to him or something? Wouldn’t it be a little weird if a phone just appeared out of nowhere?” Raven asked, rolling her eyes.
"You worry too much," he said, shrugging and patting her shoulder. It was apparent that they sparred like this regularly, and it made me feel a little better about my own relationship with Raven.
Or, at least, my old relationship with her...
I pushed the thought away and focused on the critical part. Tiberius was powerful enough to just send an object across Realms using only a picture to guide it, and it took what looked like zero energy at all.
He was clearly very powerful. I could learn a lot from him.
“So, tell me about yourself. I need a good idea of where you are in terms of magical skills and ability before we get started.”
I paused, thinking about what to say. “Everyone seems to think I have the potential to be pretty powerful, but I have issues with consistency," I admitted with a sigh.
“A lot of young magic users have the same problem. It can take years to get to a level of control where you can reliably draw on all of your magical energy. My Raven is an exception to that rule, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have issues of her own. Though she is very consistent and can control all of the magic she has access to, she has a very small reserve of magical energy. This limits what she can actually do," he said. "These are the two main aspects of using magic. You're both missing one of them, and you'll need to master both as best as you can if you want to compete with something like a Dragon. Then, the two of you will be strong individuals, but also meld perfectly well as a team. One of you strongest and picking up the slack where the other isn’t as strong. Tell me what kind of magic you’ve used up to this point.”