“What are you going to do?” Clem finally asked, exasperated by the arguments that had bounced back and forth across the table.
“I won’t be any use to anyone if I delaminate.” I hesitated to say the words. “I have to go to the hospital.”
My friends all nodded sadly, and Hahen shook his head.
“I have elixirs, powders, and more knowledge than most,” he said. “Stay here, with me. We can work on this together. It will be like it was before.”
There was a sadness in the rat spirit’s eyes that hurt me more than my wounded core. He had every faith he could fix what was wrong with me. He’d been around for hundreds of years and had studied alchemy and the jinsei arts longer than almost any human alive. Did any of the doctors in Bogotá really know better?
I had to go to find out.
Maybe it wasn’t the right decision, but it was a decision. Sometimes, you have to make a move even if you’re not sure it’s in the right direction.
“We’ll miss you,” Clem said.
“Not as much as I’ll miss all of you,” I said. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Hey, guys,” Hagar said.
“Sure,” Eric said. “Before we know it.”
“Guys.” We all ignored Hagar as we said our goodbyes.
“The Flame will guide you,” Abi assured me. “Your feet are on the right path. Trust that.”
“Guys!” Hagar almost shouted.
“What?” I asked her.
She pointed toward the doorway.
“Is that a dragon?”
The Gauntlet
IT WAS, IN FACT, A dragon.
A big one with scales the color of burnished gold and a long, sinuous body with a wiry, feline flexibility. All conversation died away, and the creature made his way into the dining hall. His body took up most of the door, and he had to step carefully to avoid overturning tables with his enormous claws.
“I am Elushinithoc, Lord of the Scaled Council, Wyrm King of the Golden Flight,” the dragon said. “I have come a very long way on a matter of great importance. Come to the courtyard.”
The professors in the dining hall exchanged nervous glances and stayed in their seats as if glued to them. The students followed their lead and froze like rabbits under a hawk’s shadow.
“Or,” the dragon continued, “I can incinerate everyone in this room for wasting my time. You have three seconds to make your decision.”
That got everyone moving.
The professors scrambled to their feet and kept our exit to an orderly hustle rather than a dangerous stampede. Elushinithoc had cleared out, and no one wanted him to come back.
My friends and I hurried out of the dining hall. The burger had refueled me, and I no longer had to lean on anyone for support. Hahen had even decided to ride on my shoulder rather than risk getting trampled by the crowd. If he trusted me to keep him safe, maybe I’d be all right after all.
As it turned out, Elushinithoc was an excellent guide. The school bent around him, opening doors so wide he didn’t brush the tops or sides, and we reached the courtyard in a matter of minutes.
The dragon uncoiled himself directly between the enormous statues I’d seen earlier. He stood patiently until we’d all entered the courtyard. It was a tight fit, but we all squeezed in and waited nervously for Elushinithoc to continue. Before he could speak, though, there was a new interruption.
“What is the meaning of this?” Headmistress Cruzal demanded. She’d entered the courtyard through an upper-floor balcony and glided toward Elushinithoc surrounded by an aura of blue light.
“The Scaled Council has sanctioned my appearance here,” Elushinithoc explained with a dismissive wave of one claw. “Disruptions in human society have impacted the Grand Design beyond our tolerance. As is our right, the leaders of dragonkind have petitioned the Empyrean Flame for the trial of worthiness.”
The professors all let out an audible gasp. Cruzal went visibly pale at the mention of a trial, so I cleverly deduced it must be a very bad thing. The past twenty-four hours had been so filled with bad things, though, that I couldn’t muster any real concern over one more.
“The Compact has stood for millennia,” the headmistress declared. “Why would the Flame wish to change the agreement now?”
“Because humanity has failed at its charge,” the dragon growled. “Your stewardship of the Grand Design has been inadequate. The Scaled Council is in a much better position to protect the Flame’s plans from these heretics.”
“Oh, no,” Clem whispered to me. “That can’t be good.”
That seemed like an understatement. I still didn’t understand everything that dragon was talking about, but it definitely sounded like humans were about to get dropped several notches down the food chain.
“This is preposterous,” the headmistress scoffed. “Where is the—”
The dragon snapped his fingers and a parchment scroll appeared in the air before Cruzal.
“You may review the Writ of Declaration at your leisure,” Elushinithoc said. “For now, please allow me to continue my announcement without further pointless interruption.
“First, the Empyrean Gauntlet will be held at the School of Swords and Serpents. As one of the oldest and wealthiest training academies for young Empyreal citizens, it is only right that your judgment take place here.
“The Gauntlet will consist of three challenges, spaced evenly through the year. Each school that attends must select a single team to represent them.
“If the Scaled Council’s team is victorious, the Empyrean Flame will restore us to our rightful positions as the rulers of Earth and protectors of the Grand Design. If any human team is victorious, then you will be allowed to continue with your foolish schemes that endanger the Grand Design.”
That was a lot to take in, and several of the professors were talking to
