Backyard Dragons (22 page)

“Then how’m I supposed to find it?”

Drew leaned back and stared at the perpetual sunset. “Attack the problem a different way. Never mind the dagger. What do you actually want?”

“To destroy Kurt’s Phasm.”

“He won’t let you do that. Try to think more…sneaky? Like how I’m watching you but not stopping you from doing anything.”

Confused, Claire squinted at him. She saw Caius telling her, more or less, that she was an arrogant idiot. He’d said she needed to figure out why she couldn’t find her dagger. But if he was stronger and didn’t want her to have it, then how could she ever find it? “I can’t kill him without the dagger.”

“You’re so literal and straightforward. Think sideways.”

“Are you hiding the answer from me?”

“No. I have no idea how to do what you want. I’m just trying to help.”

She turned to stare at the sunset. Everything came back to that dagger. Without it, she had no power here. No, that wasn’t true. She could rip out the grass, walk around, say anything she wanted, throw sand, or splash in the water. Her power here only let her do useless things, but she still had some.

If only she could rip out the grass and find her dagger under it, she’d be all set. “What if I wanted to—”

Drew covered her mouth with a hand. “He’s returning. Keep it to yourself. If you think of something, just try it.”

Claire nodded and rested her head on her knees. All her thoughts started and ended with the dagger. Drew’s interpretation of Kurt’s orders came to mind. He had the freedom to choose how specifically the words applied. Did that mean she should try to wriggle around with what she wanted?

What if she focused on some other facet of the problem? What if she didn’t need to
find
the dagger? What if…

Chapter 37

Justin

“I’m done.” Anne held up a delicate creation of string and crystals. “Where do you want to do this?”

“At the sycamore in the backyard.” Justin reached out to take the crystals.

Anne batted his hand away. “I’ll carry it. You’ll drop it or smack it against the wall, or something. Besides, I have to be there anyway. This is a power focus, not a magic door.” She seemed to have recovered enough to move around under her own power. Dark purple bruises covered almost half her face now.

He followed her to the back door.

“Did you
have
to cut this?”

“I could’ve left you here to free yourself.” He shrugged. “You’re a witch, can’t you fix it?”

“Because I don’t have anything better to do than clean up after my baby sister’s dumbass husband.”

Justin set his hand on the back of her neck and closed his fingers around it. “Watch your mouth.” To emphasize his point, he squeezed until she choked. When he felt she’d gotten the message, he let go. At some point, she would become too much of an irritation to put up with. Until then, she made problems easier to solve.

Anne rubbed her neck and gasped for breath. “I get it,” she rasped, sounding sullen.

“See that you remember.”

Nodding, she stepped onto the back stoop. Two dragons moved in to block her path.

“Enion,” Justin barked, “order these dragons out of our way.”

Anne raised her brow. “I thought you said you had control over them.”

Enion rumbled in a growl and the two dragons stepped aside.

“I do. Get moving.” Justin followed close behind Anne, ready to smack her if she needed more demonstrations of who was in charge here. “Enion, order the dragons to come this way and line up, ready to move through a doorway.”

Anne glanced back at him. “You didn’t break the fifth seal. Someone else did.”

He rapped his knuckles on the back of her head. “Shut up and do your job, witch.”

She stumbled forward, cradling her crystal creation. “Fine.”

When they reached the trees, Justin shoved Anne out of the way and laid a hand on the sycamore. Pressing his will on the tree, as he’d done a thousand times before, he waited for the path to the Palace to open for him.

Nothing happened.

Anne bared her teeth. “Now who’s not doing his job?”

“I said shut up.” He frowned and fished Claire’s necklace out of his jeans pocket. It had to be interfering with his usual pathway. He sighed. “Dammit. I think I need to bring a couch outside for this.”

“That’s your problem.”

He raised a hand to slap her, but thought better of it. Any impact risked damage to the crystal thing, then he’d have to wait another half hour for her to make a new one. “Don’t think I can’t hear you. Enion, watch her. If she tries to leave, bite her arm off.”

His mood soured beyond redemption, Justin stalked back to the house.

Chapter 38

Claire

Claire concentrated on her new desire. She wanted a tool to cut the grass. It didn’t have to be her own dagger. So long as it could cut the grass, smoothly and cleanly, it would solve her problem. In her head, she shied away from thinking about the real problem in favor of the fake problem. If only she could cut the grass, she’d be happy.

“You been watching her, kid?”

“Yessir. Haven’t left her side.”

“What’s she been doing?”

“She walked around, then she sat down. She might be crying again.”

Kurt snorted his disgust. “Can’t imagine what that boy sees in her.”

Drew didn’t answer. Claire could have kissed him. She’d worried Kay wouldn’t hold up their deal now that things seemed hopeless. The spirit-thing had at least
some
sense of honor. She thought it probably came from Kurt in the first place. Considering how Justin had turned out, aside from today, his mentor must have been a good man.

Shutting them out, she refocused on her goal. When something finally happened to fulfill it, would she notice? She opened her eyes. Shifting her breathing to fake silent crying, she turned her head until she could see the ground to one side. Only an inch from her boot, she saw the black handle of a steak knife, the blade hidden in the grass.

Her heart filled to bursting with hope. Later, she’d figure out how to get her own dagger this way. Now, any old knife would suffice. Trying to contain her excitement, she slipped her hand down her leg and wrapped her fingers around the handle. Kurt could overpower her, so she had to be swift and sudden. If he saw her coming, she’d lose the fight.

She wished Rondy could show up and help her, even if he only distracted Kurt for a minute. Like she’d meant to do with Caius. This time, though, she knew the quest belonged to her. Rondy would only be here to help, not to fight her battles.

“What’re
you
doing here?” Kurt asked, his gravelly voice thick with suspicion.

Claire looked up and saw Rondy standing on the beach, giving Kurt a wide smile. As on the MAX, he seemed whole and normal, unlike Kurt’s mist form. “Good to see you too.”

She froze. Was Rondy a spirit of some kind? A figment of her imagination? Of Kurt’s imagination? If Kurt took the figment over, would Rondy help Kurt instead?

“How did you get into my demesne? And why do you look forty years too young?”

Rondy stared out over the water. “Is that where we are? It’s a beautiful view. When did you come to this beach?”

Kurt walked to the water’s edge, giving Rondy his full attention. He’d dismissed Claire as a threat. She caught Drew’s eye and jutted her chin out to suggest he should follow his master. He tapped next to his eye and pointed to her. She understood: Kurt’s orders still stood.

“My Emmy and I came here for our tenth anniversary. We had a good time.”

“I imagine so.” Rondy set a hand on Kurt’s shoulder. They faced the sunset together. “I remember you telling me she liked margaritas, so it must have been in Mexico?”

“Someplace on the Gulf side, yeah. What’s going on?”

Claire hunched over as she hurried through the grass. Drew remained behind, watching her as he’d been told. She thought he’d come along. He could only do so much, though, then it all fell onto her shoulders. The same was true for Rondy, who seemed to be holding Kurt’s attention well enough.

“Going on?” Rondy laughed. “Does something have to be going on for an old friend to stop by?”

“If you were really here, you’d be eighty-five years old.”

Claire paused, marveling at how good Rondy had looked before he died. She always thought of people that old as wrinkled, slow, and weak. She shook off her surprise and reached the edge of the grass. Rondy and Kurt stood fifty feet away, and she had to cross that distance in the open.

“You don’t look your age. Why should I look mine?”

“I’m dead, though.”

Deciding to take the only chance she thought she might get, Claire jumped into a mad dash across the sand.

“Remarkably, so am I.”

Forty feet to go.

“What?” She heard the frown in Kurt’s voice.

Thirty feet to go.

Rondy shrugged. “It’s a long story.”

Twenty feet to go.

“I got time.”

Ten feet to go.

Kurt jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “This girl—” He half-turned against Rondy’s hand and saw Claire. She leaped at him. He threw himself into Rondy. She managed to catch him, but not with the knife. They splashed into the water together, Claire’s legs flying through the air and pushing her farther away.

While she struggled in the water, Kurt created a sword and chopped down. Rondy flung his own blade in the way and shoved Kurt aside.

“Drew! Get over here now and hold her down!”

Kurt tried to lunge at Claire again. Rondy parried the new attack and thrust with his own blade to make Kurt move.

Drew jumped and landed on Claire. He snatched her hands and used his body to keep her on the sand, but let her keep her head out of the water. “I’m sorry,” Drew whimpered. He gritted his teeth and held on.

Claire sputtered and coughed water, thrashing from side to side.

“Justin and Anne, get your butts in here,” Kurt bellowed.

“Justin? You tainted Justin? Oh, Kurt. What have you done?”

“What the hell
are
you?” Kurt shouted at Rondy.

“What’s going on?” Justin’s confused voice made Claire stop struggling.

She looked up at Drew, all hope gone from his eyes. Her ability to see victory as possible floundered. The knife was gone. Drew had to hold her down until one of them died or Kurt called him off. Justin would do whatever Kurt told him to. Enion had to follow Justin’s orders. Anne would serve Kurt. Only Rondy stood in the way of disaster.

That had gone so well last time.

“Get over here and fight him so I can deal with that little brat you brought me.”

Enion roared. “Let her go!”

“Enion, stay there!” Justin splashed into the water, wading toward the battle. “Claire’s just confused. Something’s tainted her. As soon as I destroy the Palace, she’ll be fine. I was about to go do that when you called, Kurt. With the dragons at her command, she’s a useful ally.”

Kurt parried Rondy’s attack. “The dragons are at
your
command. We don’t need her.”

Still several feet away from the dueling pair, Justin paused with his sword out. “Killing her would be stupid. She’s
powerful
.”

Without the knife or her dagger, Claire didn’t see a way out. She couldn’t concentrate in the middle of a battle, not enough to get another blade. The light flashed on Justin’s sword as he stood and argued for her life.

Justin had his sword. As the only other living Knight here, his blade could kill Kurt. Granted, he wouldn’t do it. He’d resist her to his dying breath.

Anne waded into view, her face covered with ugly bruises. “As much as I’d like to see her suffer for what she did to me, I agree with him. She was able to slip my binding.” Green light crackled around her hands and she reached toward Rondy with a green crystal. Sparks shot at the spirit, enveloping him.

“I’m not resisting,” Claire whispered to Drew.

One corner of Drew’s mouth cracked into a smile.

“Let me tie her up instead,” Justin said.

Rondy screamed.

“Fine!” Kurt grazed Rondy’s side with his blade, drawing first blood. Instead of a red spray, Rondy’s blood came out silvery-white.

Hoping Rondy could hold on a little longer, Claire watched Justin approach her. She let the fear of failure show on her face, terror born of that tiny, niggling doubt in the back of her mind that Kurt would win and she would lose.

Seawater sloshed around her. Underwater, Drew had raised off her legs. He now held her hands loose enough she could break free at any time. She coiled, ready to spring into action. Justin waded toward her with thick, black rope shimmering into existence in his free hand.

“I know this is upsetting, Claire. Everything seems wrong and backward. You’ll understand soon.” Justin knelt in the water.

She hated to do this to the man who’d welcomed her into his home and family. She did it anyway. Claire surged up, grabbed the guard on his sword, and punched him in the jaw. Mist flowed around them. Justin grunted, staggered by the unexpected blow. Claire wrenched the sword around and slashed the blade into his leg. He let go of the hilt and fell underwater.

“What’s going on in there?” The mist muffled Kurt’s voice.

Rondy groaned. It sounded like Kurt had the upper hand.

Mist lifted Claire out of the water and gave her a solid path to run across. She darted to the other end.

“Drew, stop that mist!”

The fog rippled away. Trusting Drew with all her heart, Claire leaped, clasping the sword in both hands with the point down. Her body flew through the air. She no longer needed Rondy, because she could see success in the surprised shock on Kurt’s face. Blowing through the elder Knight, she smashed Rondy into a million motes of light and drove the point of Justin’s sword into Kurt’s chest.

As she crashed into the water, Claire knew she’d just killed herself. Justin still had the locket, and Kurt couldn’t keep her alive anymore. Rondy’s twinkling stars fluttered all around as she fell through the ocean floor.

For one bright, shining moment, she stood in the grass of Anne’s backyard without the locket. Pink touched the horizon up the street to the east, marking the first light of dawn. Drew fell nearby, his body thumping into Justin’s. Anne hit the ground with a squawk. Enion landed on his feet. Tariel stood in the front yard, her tail twitching so slowly Claire thought time stood still.