A Dragon of a Different Color

by Rachel Aaron

  “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

  “Bob will come through,” Amelia assured her. “Just wait.”

  “If we wait much longer, there’ll be nothing left to save,” Myron said, clenching his fists. “We have to stop this.”

  “But what do we stop?” Marci asked, pointing at the collapsing city. “Is this the DFZ’s doing or Algonquin’s?”

  “I don’t think it’s either, actually,” Raven said, head tilting quizzically. “I’ve never felt magic like this before.”

  “Neither have I,” Amelia said. “But there’s definitely a dragon involved. A big one.” She leaned out over the moving image, peering curiously down through the scrying circle into the destruction. “I wonder who it is?”

  “The dragon’s the least of our worries,” Ghost said, pointing at the city’s northern edge. “Look.”

  Marci swore under her breath. Below the Leviathan’s shadow, Lake St. Clair was dropping at an alarming rate. So was the Detroit River, the muddy water retreating, like something upriver was sucking it in. The riverbed south of Fighting Island dried up as she watched, leaving a flat swath of barren mud and gasping fish all the way to Lake Erie, which was also drying up. All the water was, and the longer Marci watched, the more afraid she became.

  “I think we’re out of time.”

  “Not yet,” Amelia said. “Bob will come through.”

  “I’m sure he will,” Marci said. “For you. But we’ve got to do something now. Look at this!” She pointed at the city, where buildings were collapsing and helicopters were falling out of the sky like dead bugs. “This has gone way past ‘wait and see.’ Whatever that dragon’s doing, it’s kicked off a full-blown disaster, and if we don’t do something to stop it, Algonquin will.”

  As though it’d been waiting for its cue, the retreating water chose that moment to break, surging back down the riverbed in a wave as tall as the Skyways. It crashed through the city, tearing telephone poles out of the ground and picking up trucks like dead leaves. The water hit the crowded bridges next, knocking buses sideways against the guardrails and ripping people unlucky enough to have their windows down out of their cars and into the churning river below.

  “That’s it,” Marci growled.

  “Marci, no,” Amelia pleaded, digging her claws into her arm. “Trust me!”

  “I do,” she said, staring down at her friend. “I absolutely believe you when you say Bob’s got a plan. I just can’t wait for it anymore. There’s more at stake here than buildings and people’s lives. Our plan relies on getting the DFZ on our side. That was always a long shot, but it’ll be legitimately impossible if we let her domain be destroyed.”

  “She has a point,” Raven said.

  “I never said she didn’t,” Amelia snapped, looking back at Marci. “You’re absolutely right, but that doesn’t change the fact that if we move too early, we’re not going to win.” She clasped her claws together. “Please, Marci, I’m begging you. Give Bob more time, and I swear on what’s left of my fire, he will come through.”

  Marci clenched her jaw, glaring down at the collapsing city as Algonquin’s wave finished washing through it. She was still trying to make a decision when Shiro’s voice spoke behind her. “I don’t know if we have the luxury of more time.”

  She looked up in surprise. The last she’d seen him, the shikigami had been to her left, controlling the scrying circle. He must have walked away while they’d been watching the destruction, though, because he was now back at the center of the circular mountain top, standing over the seal with a pale, worried look.

  “Merlin.”

  Marci was at his side in an instant. Myron joined her a split second later, his eyes widening in alarm as he reached down to touch the crack in its surface. The damage that had once been a hairline fracture, but was now big enough to slide his fingernail into.

  “How did this happen?”

  “I already told you,” Shiro said. “It’s the volatility.” He looked pointedly out at the Sea of Magic, which now looked like footage of the Florida coast during a hurricane. “Algonquin and the DFZ are two very large spirits. When they fight, the whole sea churns. If we don’t calm it down, quickly, it’ll no longer be a question of how to fix the seal. The whole thing is going to break.”

  And send a thousand years of magic flooding back into the world all at once. “So how do we stop it?” she asked, turning to Myron.

  “I don’t know if we can,” he said nervously, leaning over the stone to study the marks split by the crack. “Patching the Merlins’ seal was always going to be the spellwork equivalent of putting duct tape over a crack in the Hoover Dam. Now we’ve got Algonquin and the DFZ taking a hammer to the other side as well.” He shook his head. “Frankly, I’m amazed the crack’s only widened this much.”

  “You have to calm them down,” Shiro said desperately. “Even before it was damaged, the seal was not made to withstand this sort of abuse. If your plan to return the magic slowly is to survive, this war between gods cannot continue.”

  “It can’t continue if any of us wish to survive,” Raven croaked from where he was still perched on the edge of the scrying circle. “The DFZ’s domain is getting hammered. If she goes down, our best chance to trick Algonquin into getting rid of her Nameless End goes with her.”

  “And if she breaks out, the Sea of Magic will grow even more violent,” Myron said, turning back to Marci. “We can’t wait anymore. The seal is at its structural limit. Also, with all the water Algonquin’s throwing around, my physical body, which I left in the Pit, is probably in serious danger. I’m not tied to a death spirit like you. If I drown, I just die, and Raven’s plan comes to nothing. The longer we wait, the smaller our chance of success becomes. Seer or not, you have to go now.”

  “If she does that, it won’t work!” Amelia said angrily. “This isn’t a question of chance. Bob’s already seen the future. He knows what’s going to happen, and the only way we land the future we want is by following his instructions and waiting for the signal.” She put a claw on Marci’s hand. “He’ll come through,” she whispered. “Wait.”

  Marci let out a long breath. She knew Amelia was right. Going against a seer’s advice was monumentally stupid, and yet…

  She turned and walked back the scrying circle, looking down at what was left of her city. The wave that had washed through the Underground was receding now, but the damage it had caused was immense, and that was her fault. She was the one who’d cut Myron’s leash and sent the DFZ back, the one who’d decided not to stop the magic again. Those were her decisions, and while she still believed she’d done the right thing, the costs were greater than she could have imagined. Everywhere she looked there was chaos and destruction, and the longer they waited, the worse it would get.

  The logical choice was to do as Amelia said and wait for Bob’s cue, but when the stakes were this high, did she have the right to make it? To stand here and wait for the right moment while others suffered for her decisions?

  No.

  Marci closed her eyes. The voice in her head was cold comfort, literally. But while Ghost’s opinions could be sharp, they were usually spot on, so she sucked it up and asked, “Why?”

  No one has the right to make others pay for their choices, her spirit said, stepping up beside her. But that’s the price of making decisions that matter.

  Marci didn’t understand. “But—”

  You are Merlin now, he said. No matter what you decide, there will be consequences. Someone is going to get hurt, and it will be your fault. That’s the burden of leadership, but I wouldn’t have chosen you if I didn’t think you could carry it.

  He looked over his shoulder at Amelia, who was still watching Marci like a tiny red hawk. The dragon and I both chose you because we trusted you to make the right decisions when the time came. Not the safe ones or the easy ones, but the choices that will actually get us to where we need to be. That’s the burden we place on you, but you don’t hav
e to carry it alone. We are with you, whatever you decide.

  He held out his ghostly hand as he finished. After a moment, Marci took it, sliding her shaking fingers into his still, freezing ones. It felt wrong and reckless to accept so much trust. She’d been punching above her weight class since the night she’d blown up her childhood house. Even now, standing as a Merlin in the Heart of the World, she was making it all up as she went. She had no idea what she was doing, how she was going to pull it all off without disaster, and yet, despite everything, she was the Merlin. Even if Bob had pulled the strings that got her in front of it, the Merlin Gate had opened for her. That had to count for something.

  “Audacity is the baseline for entry,” she whispered, clutching her spirit’s hand as she turned back to Amelia. “We’ll wait.”

  The dragon slumped in relief, but she was the only one. Everyone else looked deeply concerned, including Marci herself. But then, just as she opened her mouth to tell them—and remind herself—of all the times Bob had pulled off the impossible, something incredible happened.

  Later, looking back, Marci was never able to say exactly what it was. There’d been no jolt, no flash of light or swell of magic. It was just a feeling. An odd giddiness that spread through her mind like golden sunshine.

  If it’d been only her, Marci might have written it off as the relief of finally making a decision, but Amelia had clearly felt it, too. The moment the happiness had blossomed in Marci’s mind, the little dragon had jumped, leaping so high, she nearly fell into the scrying circle.

  “Did you feel that?!”

  Marci nodded, eyes wide.

  “I felt it, too,” Ghost said, his deep voice rich with wonder. “It was beautiful. What was it?”

  “Dragon magic of some sort,” Amelia said, her eyes round. “Insanely strong, too. Almost primal. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

  “Is that good or bad?” Marci asked.

  “I don’t know,” Amelia said with a sharp-toothed grin. “But I bet it’s our signal.”

  Myron scoffed. “I didn’t feel anything.”

  “Neither did I,” Raven said, his croaking voice deeply disappointed. “Can you describe it?”

  “No,” Marci said, grinning as wide as Amelia. That only made Raven more upset, but she couldn’t stop. The beautiful golden feeling was getting bigger by the second, filling her to bursting with happiness and an insane confidence that whatever she tried, no matter how risky, it would work. Today was her lucky day. It was all going to work!

  After a terrifying half hour of waiting, the sudden joy was like a starter pistol. Amelia was already racing for the mountain’s edge, flapping her little wings frantically as she shot off the cliff, over the green forest, and out toward the tumultuous blue sea.

  The smile fell off Marci’s face. Even the supernatural giddiness wasn’t enough to stop the flood of panic as she realized what Amelia was doing.

  “Wait!” she cried, running after her friend.

  “No more of that,” Amelia called back, flapping faster. “I’ve waited centuries for this. I’m not waiting another second. Somewhere out there is the spirit of dragons, and I’m going to find it!”

  “But you don’t even know where it is!” Marci shouted, skidding to a halt at the cliff’s edge. “There are thousands of spirits out there. At least wait until I can help you find—”

  “I told you,” the dragon yelled, her voice fading as she flew farther and farther away. “No more waiting. This was my signal as much as yours. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but Bob told me it was the only way, and he’s never let me down.”

  She looked back over her shoulder, her eyes flashing with excitement. “I’ve got this, Marci! Go with Raven. He’ll take you back so you can actually do all that Merlin stuff we went through all this nonsense for.” She turned back, folding her wings close against her body as she prepared to dive. “Just stick to the plan, and I’ll see you on the other side.”

  “But how are you even going to get there?” Marci yelled. “Amelia!”

  But it was too late. The little dragon was already falling like an arrow, her serpentine body vanishing with barely a splash into the intense, endless blue of the Heart of the World’s interpretation of the Sea of Magic. Marci was still staring at the place where she’d gone under when a heavy weight landed on her shoulder.

  “There, there,” Raven said, clutching her gently with his talons. “She told you she was going to take over a Mortal Spirit, and she can hardly do that from up here.”

  “I didn’t know she was going to dive into the water!” Marci said frantically. “She could barely keep herself together in the Sea of Magic without Ghost. How’s she going to find the right vessel before the magic grinds her to paste? She doesn’t even know where she’s going!”

  “That’s her yoke to bear,” Raven said with a wink. “But you’re not the only one who’s good at playing things by ear. I’ve known Amelia since she was younger than you are. She’s as twisty and conniving as the next dragon, but she never jumps unless she knows she’s going to land on her feet. She’ll be fine. You need to worry about yourself.”

  He ducked his head, leaning over to stare straight into her eyes with his black, beady ones. “It’s time to keep your promise, Merlin.”

  With a shaky breath, Marci nodded. She turned away from the cliff where Amelia had vanished and walked back toward the others, who were still standing beside the cracked seal. “Myron,” she said firmly, “keep an eye on that crack. Block it with your own magic if you have to, but do not let it break.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” he said. “It’ll be about as useful as putting my finger in the dike, but I’ll try. Just don’t take too long. And good luck.” He glanced nervously at the wild sea. “You’ll need it.”

  In the strangest way, Marci felt like she already had it, because scared as she was, she’d never felt luckier in her life. She wasn’t sure if that was from knowing she was safe in Bob’s matrix or what, but the moment Myron said it, Marci knew from the top of her head to the tip of her toes that he was right. This was her lucky break, and she was going to need every bit of it.

  “Ready?” she asked Ghost.

  Rather than answer, her spirit jumped at her, turning back into a fluffy white cat just before he landed in her arms. When he was safely curled in a freezing ball against her chest, Marci turned back to Raven with a determined look.

  “Take us back.”

  It was impossible to tell, thanks to the beak, but she would have sworn the bird spirit grinned at her as he spread his wings. When he flapped them, his talons dug painfully into her shoulder, yanking her soul out of the Heart of the World and into the dark beyond.

  ***

  Back in the DFZ, everything was going wrong.

  Algonquin knelt at the bottom of the lake she’d made in the Pit. The lake that was supposed to hold the monster down, but was now draining away. She didn’t even know how it had happened. The water was hers, pulled from all her bodies through rivers and lakes and storm drains, from the very bottom of herself. This entire section of the DFZ should have been under her absolute control. Hers to command, just like the beds of the lakes that gave her her name. And yet, somehow, it wasn’t.

  Water had slipped. Magic had failed. Leftover spellwork from her mages had interacted poorly. The crazed spirit below had gotten a few lucky hits. Alone, none of it would have mattered. Together, though, it had been too much, and she’d been forced to let the water—her water, her life, the essence of what she was—go. Now it was all flooding uselessly through her city in a wave of failure, and she didn’t know if she had the strength to pull it in a second time.

  I told you it was lost.

  “It’s not lost,” Algonquin said bitterly, looking back at the shadow that was always behind her. “It’s just bad luck.”

  Bad luck like this doesn’t happen by accident, the Leviathan said. You saw the reports of the Chinese dragons’ arrival in New Mexico. You knew the Qili
n was close. I warned you to be careful.

  “I’ve been careful!” she cried. “I’ve killed every dragon that dared enter my city, but I can’t do anything about worms on the other side of the world. What would you have me do, flood China?” She rippled with rage. “I can’t exterminate their entire species by myself!”

  I can.

  “Yes,” she said, her voice quiet. “Yes, you can. But not yet.”

  Why not?

  “Because I’m not ready,” she snapped, turning back to the circle. “I’m not defeated yet!”

  Black tentacles came out of the dark to curl around her. There, there, he whispered. You’ve fought so hard, but there’s no point in lying to yourself. You always knew it would come to this. That’s why you called to me. No one can say you haven’t gone above and beyond, but one spirit cannot stand against the world. The tentacles snaked through her water, wrapping through her like coils. Let me finish your work. Let me in, and I will devour all your enemies.

  The words were cool darkness in her mind, welcoming as sleep, but Algonquin had already slept enough for an immortal lifetime. “No,” she said stubbornly, shoving his touch away. “Not yet.” Her water clenched. “I’m not beaten yet.”

  But you will be, the Leviathan promised, his huge head lifting above her in the dark. It’s already coming. Listen to the wings.

  She couldn’t miss them. There was no way to see the sky from down in the Pit, but this bird wasn’t in the sky. He was in the world that belonged only to them, a huge black specter flying through the Sea of Magic with prey in his claws. Raven, the traitor, was bringing someone back from the other side. Who or for what purpose, Algonquin didn’t know, but if he could do that…

  Then the end is even closer than you thought, the Leviathan finished, shaking his head. There’s no stopping this, Algonquin. Every second, the trickle of magic pouring back into the world widens, and your dream of turning back the clock grows fainter and fainter, if it was ever possible at all.

  His tentacles flicked over the circle Myron had made out of Raven’s construct. The one she was currently using to keep the monster they’d built at bay. Your would-be Merlin is lost, your city is in ruins thanks to the dragon’s cursed luck, and you have already given everything you have. You are finished. Now’s the time to give up. Let me help you. Let me save you while you still have something to save.