The Fallen Prince

Someone has to know where Kera is and what’s keeping her there. Someone.

It’s a call of frustration. A call for help. I can’t do this alone. One misstep will bring me to my knees.

Your powers have grown stronger.

I turn around. Bodog and Faldon are still by the fire. I must be hearing things.

You are hearing me. To save Kera, you must kill the Dreamweaver. It never gives up its victims willingly, so you must lure it from its burrow. Whatever you do, never listen to your death song. Now hurry. Kera won’t last much longer.

“How do you know all this?”

A king always knows what goes on in his kingdom, Dylan.

I’m talking to my dad? I clench my teeth and my jaw spasms like a Pavlovian dog hearing the bell. “Why should I trust you?”

You have no one else to turn to.

I hate it that he’s right. I feel his presence leave my mind, and I realize I’ve wandered closer to the bridge than I had intended. That my dad can distract me so completely makes me nervous.

Before I can turn around, a rush of air slashes through the area, followed by an earsplitting cry. The next moment, a huge dragon is in front of me, its weight shaking the ground when it lands. In no time, Bodog’s up a tree, stick in hand and a whimper on his lips. I grab my sword and hold it in front of me, staring down the burning blade into a pair of amber eyes.

“Don’t hurt him,” someone yells weakly.

The next moment I see Lucinda leap off the dragon’s back and reach up to help Leo down. He clutches his side where blood soaks his shirt and looks at Lucinda. “I told you he wouldn’t stay put. I knew he’d be here.”

I put away my sword and race to him, fitting my shoulder under his arm for support. “What happened?”

Leo limps along beside me. He’s sweating and can’t seem to take a full breath. “Get ready. Jason’s coming. He was in the human realm tearing it up when we got there.”

I’m almost relieved. That’s why we couldn’t find him with the maps. “What was he doing there?”

“He went after his dad.” Leo’s kind eyes flicker with pain.

I set him on the ground near the fire, and Lucinda peels back his shirt and examines his wound. “Bro, he killed his own dad. Ripped him apart. Then went after his wrestling coach, then the principal…everyone he believes should’ve stepped in and stopped his dad from being a dick, which is pretty much everyone. He’s out of control. If you’re going to save Kera, you’ve got to leave now, before he gets here.”

“Are my grandparents okay?” I feel selfish for asking specifically after them, but I have to know.

He sucks in a deep breath when Lucinda touches a sensitive area and grunts, “Yeah. Your grandfather and my dad are pulling people together and are coming this way.”

“Wait, they’re coming to Teag?”

“To the barrier. Whatever crosses over, they’re determined to kill.”

“So everyone knows about me now?”

“Hard to hide when that walking chunk of meat starts showing off his new powers and telling everyone how superior he is to us puny humans. Classic movie-villain mode.” He coughs and clutches his side. He’s about as pale as I’ve ever seen him.

“He is superior to humans,” Lucinda says, pushing Leo’s hands away so she can wrap his wound with bandages she’s pulled out of thin air.

“Cin…” Leo draws her name out.

I’m not surprised she thinks like Jason. Honestly, I can’t understand why she’s with us. From what I’ve seen, she isn’t the type to stick around a losing team.

She blinks as if she’s startled by his tone. “I meant no insult. It is like comparing a kitten to a grown lion. Same heart, different skills, and right now you are a tangle of kittens in need of better skills.”

She stands, and Leo grabs her hand. “Where are you going?”

“To bring you those with better skills.” She dips down, caresses his cheek, and kisses him.

“Hurry back.” He lets go, and she’s gone.

I can’t stop staring at him. “Wow.” It’s all I can say. Their relationship doesn’t seem like a temporary fling.

“Jason was aiming for her.” He fidgets with his bandages, then says on a gruff whisper, “I got in the way.”

“You got in the way?” Leo isn’t that stupid or clumsy. “You saved her life.” Ever since he stepped foot in Teag and met Lucinda, she’s been the one to protect him like a leopard hissing over its latest kill. Clearly, when he saved her, it made an impression. Maybe I’ve misjudged her after all.

A distinct yelp echoes. I see the dragon pressing its front feet along the base of a tree, trying to shake what’s in it down. Bodog smacks the dragon’s head with the heavy end of his walking stick and tells it to go away.

“Where did you find a dragon?”

“In the woods behind your house where Kera tied it.”

In the woods where Kera tied it? I sigh. “Her sweet little pet was a dragon?”

He struggles to sit up straight and yells, “Blaze!”

“Blaze?” That monstrous thing can’t be the same tiny fire-spitter who tried to bite me.

The dragon lumbers over and sniffs Leo, then me. I’m not a fan of a dragon’s massive, hot nose shoved in my crotch, and I gingerly push him away.

“He likes you,” Leo says on a sigh of relief. “Lucinda said he belonged to Faldon.”

“This can’t be that Blaze. Faldon’s dragon was tiny.” I show Leo how tiny with the span of my fingers.

“Here, yeah, but once he stepped foot in our realm, he started to grow, and good thing, too. He’s big enough to carry you into the Unknown. So take him and go.”

“I’m not going to leave you. Not like this.” He’s bleeding and can barely take a full breath.

“Lucinda wouldn’t have left if she thought I was dying. Trust me on that. Signal Wyatt.” Leo nods toward the tree Bodog is climbing out of. “Bodog can look after me until he gets here.”

The little man’s foot slips and he falls to the ground, not instilling confidence in me. Leo won’t let up. “Bro, this is your only chance. You’ve got to take it.”

If I leave and something horrible happens to Leo, I’ll never forgive myself. But how can I leave Kera to suffer a moment longer? Not to mention Signe and Reece. Not long ago, I would’ve abandoned Leo in favor of Kera. Somewhere along the way, I learned to contain my selfish nature.

“Go,” Leo says, delivering a weak push against my leg.

Bodog gives the dragon a wide berth and ends up near my elbow. He digs the slim end of his walking stick into the dirt and stares up at me with his big googly eyes. “Faith takes risk.”

Faldon’s face appears in the wood, and I wonder how much faith he had to have in order to allow Bodog to separate him from the tree.

“Your friend will be all right,” Faldon rasps.

I don’t like the risk, but I’ve run out of choices. I point my finger at Faldon’s wooden face. “Don’t you dare let Bodog leave him.”

The wooden lips crack open. “You have my word.”

I call a ball of fire to my hands, and when it’s big and hot enough, I send it into the sky, where it explodes into a shower of sparks.

Now that I’ve made my decision, I can’t wait to find Kera. I grab my satchel from near the fire and approach Blaze, hoping he’ll let me ride him, and prepared to force the matter.

I run my hand along his side, feel him shiver at my touch. He glances back at me, not in a threatening way, but in a way that makes me think he knows what’s going on and I’m taking too long. I nod and vault onto his back and settle into a space with small, soft scales that feel made for a rider. Halfway up the neck, a series of horns sprout out in two rows that climb to the top of his head. The smallest ones nearest me are perfect handholds.

“Make sure you have enough speed, and once you enter, push for height,” Faldon’s raspy voice calls. “There is no telling what you’ll encounter once you enter the Unknown.”