Before Alex left the Nest, she had spoken with Myrddin about the alien Vardis, who had come to Middang3ard with the promise of a weapon that could destroy the Dark One. From the get-go, Myrddin didn’t seem to want Vardis’ help.
The wizard had disclosed his fears to Alex before she and the team had left. He didn’t trust the alien. There were many different factors going into Myrddin’s opinion, and he didn’t know where he stood on the situation. It was an odd thing for a wizard who had been managing the war efforts for so long to be so indecisive.
Alex still didn’t know what she thought of the situation. On the one hand, it would make sense for Myrddin to be mistrustful of an unknown variable such as Vardis. The wizard knew what was going on in the nine realms, and anything outside his sphere of influence would seem untrustworthy.
On the other hand, he had brought up a couple of points that had embarrassed Alex but that she couldn’t disagree with. Vardis would only speak with Alex. At first, she had taken it as an insult that Myrddin thought this was a reason to be suspicious.
Alex had led three missions against all odds and had come out alive. She was steadily growing a reputation in the Nest as one of the best dragonriders in the Corps. That was what made Myrddin’s words so hard to swallow, but he was right.
Alex was only a kid, one who was still piecing together what was going on in the war and who didn’t have nearly as good an understanding of the war effort as Myrddin. If Vardis talked to anyone, it should have been Myrddin. Alex could see that now.
Needless to say, all this made going home for a dinner with her family more than a little troubling.
Manny cleared his throat loudly, catching Alex’s attention. “Are you planning on ignoring me for this entire ride? I haven’t seen you in weeks, and then it was hardly any more than a curt hello. You humans never cease to puzzle me.”
Alex sighed as she closed her book and placed it on the table next to her. “Sorry, Manny, I just have a lot on my mind. And you seem to be very busy.”
“Part of my job is looking out for your well-being when I’m around, and you don’t look like you’re doing very well, if I may say. All that stuff on your mind dragging you down?”
“It’s just…well, how much do you trust Myrddin?”
Manny put down his dossier, all of his eyes focusing on Alex. “What do you mean?”
Alex threw her hands up. “Not like that. I know he’s trustworthy. I just mean, do you think he’s always right? Do you ever doubt him?”
“Rarely,” the Beholder said, “but sometimes, yes. He’s not infallible. He’s human. An old human but a human nonetheless.”
“When was the last time you thought he was making a mistake?”
Manny smiled as he turned back to his work. “When he suggested recruiting a blind human to be a dragonrider. We both saw how that turned out, didn’t we?”
Alex slouched back in her chair and groaned. “Manny, I’m not trying to fish for reassurance, I’m being serious.”
Manny didn’t bother looking up from his work this time. “I am being serious. Humans are notorious for not having quick enough reflexes to be dragonriders. It’s the whole reason we have mech riders. And from what I understood of humans, being able to see was pretty important to riding. On paper, it all looked like a terrible idea. Yet here we are.”
Alex felt like Manny was trying to guilt her into blindly accepting Myrddin’s wisdom. True, she hadn’t seen any reason not to, but it still seemed like a bad idea to blindly follow anyone. “I’m not saying I don’t appreciate what—”
Manny interrupted. “Neither am I. Just saying I have my doubts too. I usually hope Myrddin is right.”
Alex wished Manny had heard what the wizard had told her about Vardis. There was nothing Alex wanted more than for Myrddin to be wrong about that one. She hoped this was as straightforward as Vardis having a weapon that worked. Then they could put an end to this damn war.
Jollies, a pixie with skin that flashed different colors depending on her mood, flew over to Alex. The pixie was about as long as Alex’s hand and often stood on her palm to talk. This time she zipped over and landed on the human’s shoulder. “You never told me Earth was so beautiful.”
Alex sighed and stood up. She wasn’t going to be able to sit this one out. Her roommate had come over to talk to her, so she either couldn’t take a hint or didn’t care. “Okay, okay, I’ll come check out the view with you.”
Most of Team Boundless were gathered at the same viewing portal. They were passengers on this one, though, their dragons traveling on a separate carrier heading toward an Earth base with an appropriate setup.
Alex squeezed in next to Jim, another human who was part of their team. Jim wasn’t a dragonrider but was one of the mech riders, a group of humans and elves who piloted dragon mechs.
As she took her spot, Jim reached down and quickly squeezed her hand. “How does it feel to be back home?”
Alex forced a smile as she avoided his eyes, looking out the viewing window and watching the clouds roll by. “Good,” she lied. “I can hardly believe I’m back here. Visiting has been all I’ve been able to think about.”
Jim watched Alex closely as if he wasn’t sure what to make of her words. “Yeah, same here, I guess,” he finally replied. “It’s going to be great to see my folks. Still can’t believe we’re here. Honestly, I forgot Earth existed for a little while. This is a good reminder.”
Next to Jim stood Brath,
