Backyard Dragons (23 page)

Her knees buckled.

Chapter 39

Justin

Everything shattered in an instant. Justin fell to the ground and knew, without a doubt, Claire needed her locket. He rolled over. Drew landed on top of him. Justin heard squawking and growling and snorting and huffing all around. Claire stood only a few feet away, beaming with a shining victory. She crumpled as Kurt’s animating force slipped away. Justin stuck his hand into his pocket and yanked out the locket.

With hope and a prayer to whoever would listen, he tossed the necklace at Claire before she hit the ground. The locket bounced off her thigh, and she crumpled to the grass.

“No.” He waited for her to breathe. It took too long. “Claire!” Throwing Drew off his back, he half-crawled, half-ran to her side. He shook her shoulder, and she didn’t respond. He patted the grass frantically, looking for the necklace, and didn’t see it until her hand fell open. The locket sat on her palm, its broken chain draped over her fingers.

He’d killed her.

Enion stepped forward, stately and regal. He lowered his head to Claire’s body and sniffed her.

Nothing Justin could say or do would take back the horror he’d created. When he heard about tainted Knights, he always imagined them as motivated by greed, hate, or stupidity. They dove in, head first, knowing exactly what they were getting into. But it hadn’t happened like that. And because he hadn’t seen it or been strong enough to stop it, Claire lay dead in his arms.

The dragon’s long, silver tongue slipped out and licked her face.

How could he explain this to Enion? To Drew? To Marie? To his daughters? They deserved the truth, and he’d rather stab himself through the heart than admit to what really happened. His tears, falling unnoticed from his eyes, hit his knees. She’d deserved so much more from him, and he’d failed her in every way imaginable.

He covered his face, unable to handle the look Enion gave him.

“Dowannag’up,” Claire murmured.

Justin let his hands fall and saw her batting Enion’s face away. His heart stopped. He lifted her into a tight embrace. Joy filled him to bursting, with light-headed awe reminiscent of seeing his daughters born.

“I can’t breathe,” Claire gasped.

He let go and covered his mouth.

Drew tackled her from behind. “I’m free!” he shrieked with delight.

Enion picked both teenagers up in his forelegs and held them close. The dragon’s glare over their heads promised something ominous. Justin deserved it.

To the side, he saw Anne weeping in a heap, surrounded by unhappy dragons.

Justin patted a dragon aside and sidestepped past it to reach her. “Anne, it’s okay. I know. Everybody knows, except maybe the dragons. It’s not your fault. Enion, would you please try to explain what happened so they don’t kill her?” He sat by her side and gathered her into his arms.

“Everything is my fault,” Anne wailed. “I bound the dragons, I set up the trap for you, I forced his demesne to link here. All of it was me.”

“No,” Claire said. Dragons flanked and supported her. “Kurt’s Phasm did it. He found you and used you. Everything was his fault. I don’t know how he got corrupted, but he did, and he moved fast. I guess he came across you, and then he was able to accomplish a lot.”

Justin beamed, so proud of Claire it hurt. “We’ll have to sort everything out later. For now, I think we need to get home. Marie and the girls are probably already up, and it’s Thanksgiving. Anne, I’ll fix your back door as soon as I can. Until then, you should stay with us. We’ll find room someplace. If the dragons want to come live on our property, you’re all welcome to.” He sighed. “We’ll understand if you don’t.”

Claire grinned. Then her face fell. “Rondy is dead. He died trying to help me, and half the Palace thinks I killed him on purpose.” She looked down at the locket in her hand and closed her fingers around it. Shadows passed over her face in a mixture of grief and determination. “There’s something I need to do.”

The news hit Justin like a lead weight. With so many Knights uncertain about Claire, losing a staunch ally hurt. Rondy had been a good man and a great Knight, and Justin would miss him. “Aren’t you dead on your feet?” The moment he said the words, he regretted them. “Tired. I mean tired.”

“Yeah, but this is important. I’ll be home in a little while.”

“As far as I’m concerned, she can do anything she wants,” Tariel said. “Let her run naked in Rose Quarter if that makes her happy.”

Justin snorted. “I think I’ll pass on suggesting that. Go ahead, Claire, whatever you need to do.” He watched her hug Drew tightly.

“I’ll see you later,” she told everyone. Justin expected her to walk into the house and use the couch to reach the Palace. Instead, she put an arm around Enion’s neck and they walked into the woods. Along the way, she stopped and picked up her dagger. All this time, it had been lying on the ground.

“I can take Anne to our house,” Drew offered. “I’m still possessed, but the spirit is free now. He can’t be controlled by anyone, and we have a deal already. Claire set that up.”

Justin stared at Drew, seeing a foreign creature. He wanted to be stern and remind this boy not to do anything untoward with Claire. They both still needed to finish high school, and Claire’s job wouldn’t have much room for romance anytime soon. Instead, he stood and brushed off his jeans.

“No matter how right Claire is that everything was Kurt’s fault, I still feel like I owe you an apology. I should have known better than to leave you alone with a Phasm in his demesne.”

“It’s…not
okay
, exactly.” Drew opened his hand. Mist roiled up from his palm in a tiny puff. “I had plans and dreams. I could try to hold onto them, but…” He shook his head and sighed. “If life on the magic side is this crazy all the time, maybe we’d all be better off with me helping Claire instead. A lot of stories have a knight and a sorcerer fighting side by side. Anyway, she won’t be your apprentice forever, and a fat lot of good you did her this time.”

Stung, Justin opened his mouth to protest. He shut it, though, knowing Drew was right. Rubbing his face, he tried to imagine some way he could put things right between them. Nothing came to mind. “If you’re going to be hanging around Claire, you’ll need to learn some self-defense.”

“Sure. She can teach me that. Maybe you could help me learn to use a weapon or something.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Justin nodded and checked the sky. Blue painted streaks across it, chasing night away. He needed to stop and get butter on the way home. “Anne, can I borrow twenty bucks?”

Sniffling, Anne nodded. “Take whatever you need from my purse in the kitchen.”

“I don’t deserve chocolate.” Tariel hung her head. “I think I killed that Animal Services man.”

Justin didn’t know what to say, but he did know Marie deserved a week of servitude from him. When they got home, he’d do everything he could to check on that cop and Animal Services guy, then he’d hold his family close. Even if he hadn’t done any of the things he’d thought about while tainted, he’d come far too close to turning all their lives into a nightmare.

With that cheerful thought, he whispered a prayer of sorts, thanking anything and everything for bringing Claire into his life.

Chapter 40

Claire

“There is no couch,” Claire muttered several times as she tromped through the woods, focused on reaching for the Palace. If she could do this here, she could do it anywhere.

Enion flitted into his small shape and landed on her shoulder. “Is that the tree we’re looking for?”

“I guess I still need something to focus on, because trying to cross over in empty air isn’t working.” She stopped in front of the same tall tree she’d used to cross into Kurt’s demesne.

“Practice!”

“Yep. We’re going to practice this stuff a lot. Look, I know you’re mad at Justin and Anne, but go easy on them. It really wasn’t their fault. And Justin is dumb. I guarantee he’ll do something else stupid before the end of the month. Getting mad at him every time is kind of a waste of energy.”

“He should have known better.”

“We’ll probably be safe carving that on his grave someday.”

Enion bumped his head against her chin. “What are we going to do?”

“You’ll see.” She laid her hand on the trunk and focused on crossing over to the Palace. After a minute or so, she opened her eyes in her still-empty stone bedroom. She strode out the front door and noticed a Knight sitting on the floor beside it. He scrambled to his feet and followed her as she walked, head high, to the stairs.

The guardian Knight tried to talk to her, but she didn’t understand or recognize the language he spoke. When she told him to go away, he didn’t seem to understand her either. This failed exchange made her wonder what kind of mechanism the Palace had to facilitate communication. Something probably already existed. If she wanted to understand him enough, she probably would.

In the Thoroughfare, she knew exactly where she wanted to go and found a small room before stumbling across anything else.

Elder Yun stepped into her path before she could enter it. “I’ve decided to place you on probation, young lady.”

After the day she’d just had, Claire planted a fist on her hip. “Oh yeah? And what’s that mean? You’re taking away my teddy bear and giving me a curfew?”

His wrinkles danced, giving the impression of a surprised raisin. “You’ll undergo an Ordeal to be tested for a great many things. This—”

“Like courage, strength of will, and tenacity? Please. Get out of my way.” Though she’d worried about hurting him before, Claire used both hands to shove him aside.

Elder Yun either didn’t expect that or didn’t have the strength left to resist, because he stumbled out of her way with a squawk.

“I have things to do.” Claire ignored the protests of both men, giving them a rude gesture behind her back as she sealed the archway. Without bothering to conjure a light, she sat on the floor, leaned back, closed her eyes, and thought about body armor. It would fit her perfectly, be easy to get into and out of, and protect her from nearly anything. The moment she felt cloth in her hands, she demanded the Palace take her to see Caius.

She snapped her eyes open with her feet dangling off the precipice once again. Flexible green fabric covered her body. When she stood, it moved with her and felt almost like wearing nothing at all. The sleeves ended at her wrists and the pants ended at her ankles, inside her boots. The armor included a black leather belt with hooks and pouches and a sheath for her dagger.

Caius waited behind her as always. Enion landed beside her.

“Back again, I see. For armor. A much less difficult challenge.” He raised his brow as if to suggest she might be a coward for aiming lower.

“Yes. Armor. And while you’re doing that, you’re going to transfer the power in this locket to my body.” She held out the necklace by the chain, letting the pendant dangle in the air.

“Prove—”

“No.”

Caius blinked at her. “Excuse me?” “I said no.” Claire raised her chin and glared at him. “I’m not going to play your stupid, sick little game. I just killed a corrupted Phasm with a tainted Knight’s sword by making a pact with a spirit possessing my best friend, without knowing if he’d stab me in the back. If you don’t think I’m worthy, then I don’t think I need anything from you. My father found a way to make this locket without you in the first place, and I can find a way to fix this problem without you if I want it hard enough. The only reason I came to you is to save time.”

She crossed her arms and dared him to pull his sword on her. Enion did his part by growling.

Caius cocked his head and regarded her for several seconds. A slow smile spread across his face. “Rondy was right about you.” He touched the locket and reached for her chest. “I’ll bind it to your heart. If someone rips that out, you’ll die. But that’s generally how things work anyway.”

“Fair enough.” She stepped closer and let Caius press his fingers to her sternum, in the same place the locket had burned her earlier. Warmth flared inside her chest for several long moments, then he pulled his fingers away.

“Go forth, Knight, and let no one question your right to claim that title again.”

Claire doubted Caius’s pronouncement would change anything. She bowed her head in thanks anyway. “Next time, we’ll duel for fun.”

Caius laughed. “I look forward to it.”

Legal

Published by
Clockwork Dragon Books
Backyard Dragons
is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2016 by Lee French
All Rights Reserved
ISBN: 978-1-944334-02-4
Cover art copyright 2016 by Lia Rees of
Free Your Words
No horses or dragons were harmed in the making of this book.

About the Author

Lee French lives in Olympia, WA with two kids, two bicycles, and too much stuff. She is an avid gamer and member of the Myth-Weavers online RPG community, where she is known for her fondness for Angry Ninja Squirrels of Doom. In addition to spending much time there, she also trains year-round for the one-week of glorious madness that is RAGBRAI, has a nice flower garden with one dragon and absolutely no lawn gnomes, and tries in vain every year to grow vegetables that don’t get devoured by neighborhood wildlife.

She is an active member of the
Northwest Independent Writer’s Association
and one of two Municipal Liaisons for the Olympia region of
NaNoWriMo.

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Thanks for reading! If you liked this book, please take a few minutes to review it
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Books by Lee French

Spirit Knights
YA urban paranormal adventure
Girls Can’t Be Knights
Backyard Dragons
Ethereal Entanglements
(coming Summer 2016)
The Maze Beset Trilogy
Superheroes in denim
Dragons In Pieces
Dragons In Chains
Dragons In Flight
In the Ilauris setting
Standalone fantasy tales
Damsel In Distress
Shadow & Spice
(short story)
Al-Kabar
Non-fiction
with Jeffrey Cook
Working the Table: An Indie Author’s Guide to Conventions
The Greatest Sin series
Epic fantasy co-authored with Erik Kort
The Fallen
Harbinger
Moon Shades