Chapter 16: Sam Go Boom

 

 

IT WAS early morning. The others still slept, though they’d be waking soon as we had a walk ahead of us. I slipped out of the room, leaving Ryan asleep in our bed. He’d be sore when he woke up, given how hard I’d fucked him against the wall the night before. He’d been almost gagging for it, anxious to get to the makeup sex so we could put the fight behind us. His eyes had gone glassy when I’d pushed him to his knees and come all over his neck and chest. We felt better after, the both of us. Like we were on the same page again. That no matter what Vadoma had said, no matter what she’d announced to everyone else, he knew his place with me. And I’d whispered those words in his ear while I fucked him, telling him there was no one else, that there would be no one else, because he was mine and I was his.

He slept deeply.

I didn’t.

The morning air was cool. Light was beginning to dawn in the east. Desert birds called out from the trees quietly. There was barely any movement in Mashallaha as I left Vadoma’s and walked along the pathways, trying to find a hidden corner to have some privacy. I passed few others, and either they ignored me or eyed me warily as they hurried away. It didn’t matter. I didn’t care what they thought of me, not anymore. The color of my skin wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t going to do anything with Ruv. I’d gone against what their phuro had decreed. They were not pleased with me. They doubted me. I didn’t have anything to prove to them, but they’d see. When all was said and done.

Not that it mattered. I had other things on my mind.

I found a wooden path that led to a dock overlooking the lake. The water was clear, reflecting the fading night sky above. I sat on the edge of the dock, legs hanging over. My toes trailed along the surface, ripples expanding in steady beats.

I sighed and pulled the summoning crystal from my pocket. For the briefest of moments, I considered chucking it into the lake but knew I’d regret it at some point. Instead, I cupped it in my hands and thought of Morgan, Morgan, Morgan. There was a tug in my head, like a hook in my brain, and it pulled. A small light burst deep in the crystal like a shooting star.

Then, a single word.

“Sam.”

And it was said with such relief that I had to blink the burn away. Not because of anything remotely close to anger, but because I felt the same. Relieved. Relieved to hear my mentor’s voice, even if it was just the one word. We’d been apart for longer periods of time. But we’d never gone this long without talking.

I was still mad at him. But for now, it was in the background.

“Hey,” I said roughly.

“It’s early.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” Morgan said. “I wasn’t asleep.”

“Why?”

He chuckled dryly. “I guess you can say I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Yeah. No, I get that.”

“How are you?”

“Um. Okay? I think. Vadoma announced in front of everyone that Ruv’s my cornerstone. So. You know. There’s that.”

“Is she still alive?”

I snorted.

“I’m actually being serious,” he said.

I gaped at the crystal. “I wouldn’t murder her for that.”

I could hear the smile in his voice. “I wasn’t talking about you.”

“Ryan didn’t kill her.”

“Did he want to?”

“Yeah, but I boned him so he wouldn’t go after his sword.”

Morgan sighed. “Of course you did.”

“Sharing is caring, Morgan. Not that you would know anything about that.” I winced as soon as the words came out. “Dammit. I’m sorry. That’s not what—”

“I deserve that,” he said. “Probably.”

“Maybe.”

“Why now?”

“What?”

“Why are you calling me now?”

“Oh. Um. The star dragon sort of possessed Kevin last night? And said stuff? And now we’re going after the desert dragon today and I don’t know what’s going to happen and I just… I just—”

“I’m glad to hear your voice too.”

I deflated. “Yeah?”

“Yes, Sam. Always.”

“I’m still angry with you,” I said. “Really, really angry. And it’s probably going to take a long time for me to get over it.”

“But you will.” It wasn’t a question.

“But I will.” Because I would.

“Good. You’ll do fine.”

“But what if I don’t? Morgan, I don’t even know what I’m doing. I’m going in blind to face a dragon I’ve never seen before and to what…? Gather it somehow? What does that even mean?”

“You’ve done it once before,” he reminded me.

“And if you’ll recall, I got knocked through a building for it!”

He scoffed. “I thought it was just a shed?”

“Semantics,” I growled at him.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what to tell you, Sam. We’ve never been in this position before because there has never been anyone quite like you.”

“Stupid prophecies,” I grumbled. “Why do they always have to be so vague?”

“Because you’ve been through so many prophecies before.”

“Har, har.”

“Sam.”

“What?”

“You know I believe in you, right?”

“Ugh. Really? That’s so lame.” I kicked at the water. “Yeah?”

“More than anyone else,” he said softly. “Because I know your heart, Sam of Wilds. I’ve seen the way it beats, how it’s been lightning-struck. And I know you’re angry with me, and you have every right to be, but one thing I need you to know above all else. I would have found you, prophecy or not, because you and I are tied. Always.”

“You’re a jerk,” I said with a sniff. “I’m going to give you such a hug when I get back.”

“Only you can make an act of affection sound like a threat.”

“It’s part of my charm.”

“You’re scared. It’s why you called.”

“Yeah,” I said, looking at the light in the horizon. “I’m scared.”

“You’ll do fine.”

“I know. I just needed to hear it. But if….”

“If?”

“If I’m not fine, will you… will you tell Mom and Dad I love them?”

He was quiet for a moment. Then, “Yes, Sam. I will. But you’ll be able to tell them yourself soon enough.”

“Okay. Um. Anything?” About Myrin was what I couldn’t say.

“No,” Morgan said. “Nothing.”

And I didn’t believe him.

 

 

“RUV KNOWS the way,” Vadoma said as we stood outside Mashallaha later that morning. The sun was at our backs, as we would be traveling farther into the desert. “He will guide you. Keep you safe. Take you to the desert dragon.”

“Yeah,” Ryan said. “Except I think I’ll do just fine keeping Sam safe.” I shot him a look that had him fumbling. “Or we’ll keep each other safe, that works too, which is exactly what I meant in the first place.”

“You could just stay here,” Vadoma suggested. “I don’t see the need for why a knight would have to go any farther. You stay here with Vadoma. I bake you cookies. You like cookies? Yes. You like cookies.” She glanced balefully at Gary. “You should also stay. But no cookies for you. You get hay from the barn. Because you’re an animal.”

“Hate you too, bitch,” Gary muttered under his breath.

“In fact, Ruv will guide Sam with the dragon,” Vadoma said. “And nothing more will happen, of course. Like coupling or gazing into each other’s eyes and realizing that they are meant to be.” She started swaying, covering her eyes with a gnarled hand. “Oooh, I am having a vision! A dire, dire vision. It says that you should listen to Vadoma! I am the drabarni, the seer. You will perish if you leave! Oooh.”

“Wow,” I said. “You’re just… terrible. Like… awful, man. What the hell. How are we even related?”

She dropped her hand and glared at me.

I shrugged. “Pretty much true. Not even sorry, dude.”

“Sam not go without us,” Tiggy said. “If I stay here, Tiggy smash everything.”

“He will too,” I said. “You ever hear of Lartin the Dark Leaf? Oh man. May he rest in pieces.”

“You mean rest in peace,” Ruv said.

I shook my head slowly. “No. I don’t. He was in literal pieces by the time Tiggy was done with him.”

Tiggy growled just to prove my point. It was awesome when Vadoma and Ruv both flinched.

“I, too, don’t want to stay here any longer,” Gary said to Vadoma, flipping his mane. “You dress immaculately, but everything else about you makes me wish I had my horn back so I could stab your face. No offense. Actually, I take that back. All the offense. Heaps of offense. Just all of it over your beady little eyes.”

“And everyone knows I have to go,” Kevin said. “Since this is essentially all about me. I mean, raise your hand if you’ve been possessed by a star dragon lately.” He raised his claws and looked around. “No? Anyone else? Oh, well, would you look at that. Just me! Kevin! The Beast from the East! Do you know how much gold I’m going to get for this? I anticipate a lot. Just so you all know.”

“Maybe Ruv should stay here,” Ryan said. “We don’t actually need him. Just point us in the right direction. I don’t know if you know this, but I have a sword. It’s been said by many people that I look like I know what I’m doing. It’s kind of my thing. Dashing and immaculate, they call me. It was even in the papers.”

“Yeah, babe, you tell them.” Sometimes Ryan looked stupid with his sword. Most men did. But I didn’t say anything when he was trying to be intimidating like the rest of us.

Vadoma shook her head. “You’ll need him. For the sand mermaids.”

I blinked at her. “I’m sorry. We’ll need him for the what, now?”

She turned and started walking back toward Mashallaha. “Don’t die,” she called over her shoulder. “I’m sure it would be very sad.”

“We’ll need him for the what, now?” I shouted after her.

But since she sucked, she didn’t even acknowledge me.

“Shall we?” Ruv asked, cool and calm as ever.

“I hate this place so fucking much,” I muttered.

 

 

A FEW days later, I was ready to murder everyone.

“I spy with my little eye something that is sand!”

“Is it sand?”

“It is. Tiggy, dear, you are so good at this game. Sam, yoo-hoo, Sam. Did you hear that? Tiggy is so good at this game.”

“I heard you, Gary,” I said, pulling the hood tighter around my face. “We all heard you. We’ve been hearing you for the last two hours.”

“Well, if you’ve been listening, one would think you would have tried to guess by now, wouldn’t you? Bah. You don’t know how to play travel games, you big sore loser. Go brood with your broody face somewhere else. Tiggy! Let’s go again. I spy with my little eye, something that is… sand dunes.”

“Is it… sand dunes?”

“Oh my gods,” I said.

“Is he ever going to figure it out?” Ryan asked, trudging along beside me.

“If he hasn’t by now, I’m not holding my breath about it. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a cliff and then he’ll fall off that cliff and I’ll never have to hear him again.”

Ryan bumped his shoulder against mine. It was sweaty and gross and pretty awesome. “You’d be devastated.”

“Not hardly.”

“A little devastated.”

“Barely.”

“You got a plan?”

“For?”

He rolled his eyes. “The whole dragon thing.”

“Ah. That. Sure I’ve got a plan.”

“Good,” he said, sounding relieved. “You had me worried there for a little bit.”

“My plan is to wing it.”

Ryan sighed. “Godsdammit.”

“Watch your mouth, Knight Commander.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll have to spank it with my dick.”

He tripped and almost fell. It was glorious.

I laughed at him. He blushed and muttered vague threats in my direction.

We walked on.

Kevin and Ruv were ahead of us, the dragon’s tail dragging behind him and leaving long grooves for us to walk on. Ruv had a small wooden board attached to the pack on his back with black hinges on the top and bottom. There was a thick cloth folded against the sides. I hadn’t asked what it was for, but I was curious about it. I didn’t know if it was some kind of weapon we could use against the desert dragon or some form of protection from whatever the hell sand mermaids were.

I probably should drill him for information while I had the chance.

“Keep an eye on the idiots,” I muttered to Ryan. “I gotta go talk to Ruv.”

“You act like they’ll wander off if we look away,” Ryan said, squinting against the sun. “Wait. As soon as I said it, I realized they would wander off if we looked away. Got it. Oh, and one more thing.” He grabbed me by the back of the neck and pulled me in, kissing me, hard and filthy. His tongue was against mine, and I felt his teeth scrape on my lips. He rolled his hips once, twice, and then pushed me away. I blinked slowly at him. He grinned that smug grin that I hated and adored. “That’s better.”

“Guh,” I said.

“Exactly. Go get ’em, champ.” He smacked my ass hard and then turned toward Gary and Tiggy. “Gary! I am going to explain this game to you one more time….”

Have you ever tried to walk through a desert with half a hard-on in your pants?

It sucks.

“Stupid sexy knights,” I muttered as I hurried to catch up with Kevin and Ruv, adjusting myself in the process. “With their stupid sexy everything.”

“Who’s sexy now?” Kevin asked, looking back at me, eyes narrowing as he saw me randomly groping myself. “Are you checking me out again, Sam? From the back, even. See something you like, sailor? Do you want to dock your ship into my port?”

“Whyyyy,” I moaned, trying to get that image out of my head. “Do you have to do that?”

“Yes,” Kevin said. “Obviously.”

“Whatever. I need to have a chat with our good friend Ruv here.”

“Do I need to make myself scarce?” Kevin asked, but he sounded like that was the last thing he wanted to do. It was good to know he didn’t trust Ruv either.

“Actually, I think you should stay. Because this probably concerns you too.”

“Ah,” Kevin said. “The whole thing where I’m the chosen one and will save the world and be given much treasure as a thank-you. Got it.”

I sighed. “Sure. Why not.”

“You are an odd mix,” Ruv said, sounding amused.

“How’s that now?”

“You. The dragon. The unicorn and the giant. The knight. The gods must have a sense of humor if they have put the fate of the world on your shoulders.”

“I don’t know if you’re complimenting us or insulting us,” I said slowly. “If it’s an insult, fuck you. If not, thanks, that’s a very nice thing to say.”

His smile widened. “She didn’t expect you to be as you are.”

“Vadoma?”

“Yes. And I think it threw her off.”

“She thought I was going to fall in line and do whatever she said.”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

And that—dammit. “It wasn’t her.”

He arched an eyebrow at me.

“It wasn’t just her,” I amended. “It was… everything else.”

“What she showed you,” he said.

“Yeah, I guess.” And a thought struck me again, one that I’d let stew in the back of my mind. “Of course, she could have just showed me what she wanted me to see. Magic is manipulation, after all.”

“Perhaps,” Ruv said. “After all, she would want the most powerful wizard in an age doing her bidding, don’t you think?”

“That doesn’t really make me feel any better.”

“I didn’t know it was supposed to.”

I frowned at him. “The whole enigmatic thing you’ve got going on? Stop it. It’s annoying, and I don’t give two shits about it.”

He laughed. “Comes with being the Wolf to the phuro.”

“Being groomed doesn’t mean you get to act like a mysterious dick.”

There was a flash of something on his face that told me I was treading on dangerous ground. “I wasn’t groomed,” he said tightly. “I was chosen because of who I am. I didn’t need to change to fit others’ opinions of me. I’m not you, Sam.”

Ouch. And maybe deserved. But still. “No. You’re not me. And I’m not you.”

He shrugged. “I noticed.”

“The sexual tension just drips between the two of you,” Kevin breathed. “This is like my own private erotic show. I don’t have any money, but will you take requests? And if so, what are your hard limits? How do you feel about object insertion?”

“Against,” I said at the same time that Ruv said, “Depends on the object.”

I gaped at him.

Kevin purred. “I like the desert.”

“How did we even get here?” I asked. “And why do I always end up asking myself that?” I shook my head. “Stop distracting me. I am here for a very specific reason.”

“And what would that be?” Ruv asked.

“The dragon. Vadoma said you were an expert in it.”

He hesitated. Barely, but it was there. “Expert might be… a misnomer.”

“Really,” I said. “Shocking.”

“I don’t know that anyone could be considered an expert in dragons. We can’t exactly talk to them.”

“Hi,” I said, pointing up at Kevin. “Remember me? I can talk to dragons. And because of me, they can talk to everyone else. What does it look like?”

“Serpentine,” he said. “Long and thin. The scales are hardened and the color of fire. The wings on its back are small, but they’re useful when it dives from the air and into the sand, burrowing deep into the earth below. It has razor-sharp spikes that line its back that can flex if attacked from above. It does not have legs, but it moves quickly, especially on top of the sands. Its given name is Jekhipe. It means ‘oneness.’ Because it is one with the desert.”

I paled as I swallowed thickly. “So. What you just described sounds like a gigantic flying snake.”

“Exactly.”

“I don’t like gigantic flying snakes. Or, really, any snakes at all.”

“Ah. Well. Hopefully, you’ll get over that shortly. I’ve always heard that to conquer a fear, you have to immerse yourself in it.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea,” I said. “Why would anyone do that?”

“Because they choose to. You, on the other hand, do not have a choice.”

Godsdammit. “When was the last time you saw it?”

Ruv’s brow furrowed. “Saw… it? What do you mean?”

That didn’t sound good. “When did you last lay eyes on it?”

“Oh! I understand now. The answer is never. I’ve never seen it.”

I stopped walking. “What.”

Ruv looked back at me, confused. “No one has seen the dragon in many, many years.”

“Then how do you know what it looks like?”

“Drawings,” he said, as if I were stupid.

“Drawings,” I repeated. “And how do you know where it is?”

He laughed. “Everyone in the desert knows where the dragon sleeps. You’ll see as soon as we get there.”

“That… sounds worrying.”

“A little.”

“You do realize this doesn’t make you an expert on the dragon. In fact, you’re the furthest thing from an expert there is.”

“I didn’t call me an expert.”

“Vadoma did,” I pointed out.

He shrugged. “She is the phuro. She can say what she pleases.”

“Do you think he’ll like me?” Kevin asked. “Jekhipe. Which, honestly. What a terrible name.”

I looked up at him to find him looking nervously off in the distance. “Why wouldn’t he?”

“You didn’t like me when we first met.”

“You were trying to kill me.”

“Or fuck you.”

“Or fuck me, yes. I remember. I won’t ever not remember that, thank you. But I got over it, right? You’re my buddy now. You know that.”

“And you’re my sexy son,” Kevin said, grinning around a mouthful of sharp teeth. But then the smile faded. “I’ve never met another dragon before.” He looked away, wings drooping a little. “I just don’t want to disappoint anyone, you know? What if I’m not good enough?”

“Pick me up,” I demanded.

He stared at me for a moment, but complied. He was gentle as his claws curled around me, bringing me up until I was level with his face, feet dangling into the air below.

“Closer,” I said.

He did.

“Closer.”

He did, going a little cross-eyed as he continued to focus on me.

I punched him in the nose.

“Ow!” he roared, jerking me back. “What the fuck!”

“You don’t get to talk bad about yourself!” I snapped. “You’re good enough! You know what, you’re better than good enough. So I don’t want to ever hear you talk like that about yourself again, you hear me?”

He growled at me, exhaling hot smoke that caused me to cough. “You didn’t have to hit me!”

“Oh, fuck off. You probably didn’t even feel that. Me, on the other hand. My fist hurts like a motherfucker. Why is everything about you so hard?”

“Yeah it is,” he said. “You want to see how hard I can—”

“Stop it.”

He pouted. “You said it, not me.”

“You didn’t have to rise to the godsdamned bait, you—”

“I always rise, I’ll have you know—”

“Kevin!”

“Sam!”

“What are they doing?” I heard Ruv ask below.

“It’s better not to ask,” Gary replied. “This is how we do. Just roll with it, honeybunch. It’ll make things easier.”

“Don’t hate the player,” Tiggy said. “Hate the game.”

“I still don’t even understand it sometimes,” Ryan said.

“You listen to me, okay?” I said, taking Kevin’s face in my hands as best I could. There was a contented rumble in his chest as I put my chin on top of his nose so he could see me properly. “You are good enough. And if any other dragon, or any other person, says you’re not, they’re wrong and they’ll have to deal with me, okay?”

“You are my favorite human,” Kevin said quietly. “In case you didn’t know.”

“I’m everyone’s favorite human. I’m used to it by now.”

He tilted his head away and laughed. As much as we antagonized each other, I really did love that sound. A laughing dragon was a happy dragon, and I wanted nothing more than for him to be happy, especially since he and Gary were broken up. It wouldn’t last, I knew. Eventually they’d pull their heads out of their asses and then go back to putting their heads up each other’s asses, or whatever sexual perversions they got up to. But while it did, I needed to make sure he was okay, just as much as I did Gary. I thought maybe I’d forgotten that.

He was smiling that weird reptilian smile when he leaned forward again and said, “Cheeky little bugger. I ought to spank that pert little ass of yours until it’s… it’s… huh.”

I squinted at him. “Did you really just lose your train of thought while thinking about my ass? Gods, you’re so weird. I don’t know why you can’t just—”

He reached up with his other hand and used a single claw, pressing it gently against my chin, turning my head west.

At first, I didn’t see it.

It looked like only sand, stretching on without end.

But then there was a flash of light in the distance, shimmering in the heat waves. There was something there, a smudge against the horizon where the flash had come from.

“What is it?” I asked quietly, even though I knew. “You can see better than I can.”

“Ruins,” Kevin said. “It looks like ruins.”

 

 

IT SAT in the middle of a valley of sorts, a tumbling pile of black stone. There was the outline of a structure there, something that had long since collapsed. There were archways and pillars, almost as if it’d been a castle of sorts. I dug back in my memory as far as I could go to see if I could remember any mention of a castle this far out in the Luri Desert, but I came up empty.

The sand dune we came upon was smaller compared to the rest around the ruins, the grade shallow as it dipped down. A large flat length of sand stretched out ahead of the ruins, something we’d have to cross if we had any hopes of reaching the crumbling rock. From where we stood, I could see a large dome in the middle of the ruins, cracked and decayed. The side of the dome facing us had collapsed, leaving an entrance that was hidden in shadow. I thought it was a good possibility that the search for the dragon would start there. I tried not to think about the idea of a gigantic lizard snake burrowing in tunnels underneath our feet.

Ruv had been leading the way, but he’d stopped before we stepped out onto the flat sand ahead of us. He was tense, shoulders squared, looking out across the expanse. I didn’t know what he was looking for, but I didn’t see anything myself, aside from the fact that he was hesitating when we were so close to reaching our target. Why he was trying to delay the inevitable, I had no idea.

“We don’t have time for this,” I growled, attempting to push past him.

His arm shot up against my chest, holding me back. “You don’t want to do that,” he said. “Trust me.”

I scoffed. “You know I don’t. We have a job to do, though I’m still not quite sure how to do it. And since you aren’t exactly in the know either, expert, I think you should let me go.”

“And if you don’t take your hand off of him,” Ryan said, gripping the handle of the sword at his side, “I can remove it for you.”

Ruv muttered something in his native tongue that I was sure was not a compliment before pulling his pack off his back. He dropped the wooden contraption into the sand, the cloth around it fluttering. He reached into the pack and pulled out three spherical stones, all smooth and bone-white. He was still grumbling to himself as he fitted the pack back around him and held out one stone to Ryan, one to me, and kept the other one for himself. “You throw left,” he told Ryan. “Sam, right. I will throw down the middle. As hard as you can.”

I could admit to being curious, which is probably why I didn’t argue. Ryan glanced at me, and I shrugged. Ruv knew something we didn’t, and I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. For now.

I threw my stone. It landed a good distance away, but instead of a puff of sand when it landed, the sand itself rippled, as if I’d thrown it into water.

“Um,” Gary said. “What just happened?”

“Bad feeling,” Tiggy said. “Baaaaaad feeling.”

Ryan threw his. It went farther, of course, and he looked a little pleased at the fact, given that he would always be a little bit of a douchebag, gods love him. It impacted with the same curious effect, rippling outward.

Ruv went last, throwing his stone down the middle. His went the farthest. Ryan looked grumpy at that. But instead of rippling, his landed with a hard thunk, as if just under the sand was something solid.

I blinked. “Okay, what the hell?”

“Something smells weird,” Kevin said, nostrils flaring. “Almost like… rotted fish.”

Ryan drew his sword. “This can’t possibly be good.”

“Watch the outer stones,” Ruv said.

We did.

It only took a minute more.

The ripples died. Little granules of sand got caught in a small updraft, dancing along the surface.

And then—

“Nope,” Gary said. “Fuck no. Fuck this whole thing. Fuck you. Fuck them. Fuck this place. Gary out.”

But he didn’t even try to leave, transfixed by the same thing all the rest of us were. Because out of the sand where I’d thrown Ruv’s stone rose five claws attached to five fingers, which led to a hand whose palm was white as a fish’s belly but whose skin was mottled green around the back, like wet moss growing on trees. The hand, of course, led to a thick forearm that had to be as wide as I was. Whatever the hell was under the sand was big, bigger than it had any right to be. The arm bent over, veins jutting out as the sharp claws closed around the stone before sinking back underneath the surface, the sand moving like waves.

On the other side, the same thing happened with a slightly smaller arm. No one spoke until it too had disappeared in the sand.

“Huh,” I said. “All those in favor of turning around and running away, say aye.”

“Aye,” Gary said.

“Aye,” Tiggy said.

“Aye,” Kevin said.

“Guys, we can’t,” Ryan said, because he was righteous and brave and so, so stupid. “We have a job to do.”

“Okay, then,” Gary said. “You go out there first.”

“Well, let’s not be too hasty,” Ryan said quickly, taking a step back. “We should at least talk about it before anyone does anything.”

“Sand mermaids,” I said to Ruv, who was still looking out at the sands. “That’s what Vadoma called them, didn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“And obviously she left out the part where they were large scary monsters.”

“Have you seen real mermaids before?”

I nodded. “Once. It involved lesbian pirates who tied me to the front of their ship to use my magic to get to the mermaid treasure.”

“Oh, right,” Gary said. “I remember that. What was that song they sang again?”

“If you use your fingers to scissor,” Tiggy sang, “you best put your mouth up and kiss her.”

“Gods, I had that in my head for days,” I said. “And also, I was sufficiently scarred because mermaids are terrifying creatures.”

“The sand mermaids are even worse,” Ruv said. “Or so I’ve heard. Twice the size of traditional mermaids. Four rows of teeth—needle sharp. They have little pockets in the back of their throats like a water skin. It holds poison that paralyzes the prey. They like it when you’re alive when they start to eat you. Something about the blood tasting different than off a rotting carcass.”

“Well shit on my chest and call me kinky,” Gary said. “Let me guess. There’s no other way to yonder rockopolis aside from straight through this little sand ocean.”

“You’re into scat play?” Kevin said. “That is not something I would have expected.”

“What?” Gary said. “Gross. Of course not. Don’t be stupid. It’s a common expression.”

“No one says that,” I told him. “Absolutely no one.”

“And besides,” Gary said, ignoring me completely, “it’s not like you know everything about me.”

“Bullshit,” Kevin said. “I knew you inside and out. And in again. And then out again—”

“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered. I glanced back at Ruv. “The middle stone. There’s a path?”

He nodded. “Any deviation from it will… be less than ideal.”

“How the hell did you figure that out?”

“Trial and error.”

If that wasn’t chilling, I didn’t know what was. “How many died?”

“Figuring out the path? Sixteen. The sand mermaids were… quite vicious.”

“Why doesn’t Kevin just fly us across?” Ryan asked. “He’s got wings. One at a time, and we wouldn’t even have to worry about them.”

“Hey! I’m not some kind of pack mule—”

“The vibrations from the wings,” Ruv said. “They’ll move across the surface of the sand. The creatures can sense them. And they can jump out of the sand higher than one would think. Kevin will have to stay here. Tiggy and Gary too. We must move with lightness under our feet.”

“Did he just call me fat?” Gary said, sounding outraged. “Bitch, I ain’t fat. I am motherfucking jolly—”

“And you know the path?” I asked, looking out at the sand. Tiggy had been spot-on. I had a bad feeling about this.

Ruv nodded.

“Shit,” I said. “This isn’t going to go well, is it?”

“Sam,” Gary said. “You can’t possibly be considering listening to him. We can’t trust him.”

“Gary’s right,” Kevin said. “There has to be another way. Can’t I just roar like the manly dragon I am and call him out?”

“And risk the sand mermaids?” Ruv said.

“Everything risks sand mermaids,” Tiggy said.

“He’s got a point,” Ryan said. “We have Sam’s magic. He can just, you know. Do his finger-zappy thing and turn them to stone or something.”

“My finger-zappy thing,” I repeated. “Gosh, babe. Way to make me sound so awesome.”

He flushed. “You know….” He glanced at the others and flushed deeper before continuing. “You know what I meant. And you know how I feel about the… finger. Zappy thing.”

“Damn right I do.” I leered at him.

“Ryan gets a boner when Sam does magic,” Gary told Ruv. “It’s sweet. And really fucking awful for the rest of us.”

“How lovely for him,” Ruv said wryly. “And magic wouldn’t be the best idea. They’re drawn to it. Like bugs to firelight. It calls to them. It’s why they stay here, around the dragon.”

“So what you’re saying is that I’m effectively neutered,” I said. “This… isn’t going to go very well, is it?”

Ryan scowled. “What happens when we get over to the island or whatever it is? Will the dragon wake? What then?”

“It’s why I’m here,” Ruv said. “I’m the distraction.”

“What?” That wasn’t what I expected to hear. “Vadoma sent you here to be the bait?”

“Oh no,” Ryan said. “That’s so sad. Gods, I really hope nothing happens to you.”

“I forget how bitchy Knight Delicious Face can be sometimes,” Gary whispered to Tiggy. “Makes me want to lick his face.”

“We lick him later,” Tiggy said.

“Oooh,” Gary said. “Deal.”

“I could get in on that,” Kevin agreed. “Have him spread out like some big ol’ knight buffet and just gorge ourselves—”

“Let’s stop right there before it goes any further,” I said. “Because it will. It always does. And Ryan, stop looking so godsdamned smug. It’s disturbing and you haven’t earned the right.”

He scowled at me.

I turned back to Ruv. “I can’t in good conscience let you be bait. And even if I wanted to, it’s not something the King would allow. I am here as an extension of the Crown.”

“Sam,” Ruv said, reaching out and squeezing my arm. “Your concern for me is sweet…”

“It’s really not,” Ryan muttered.

“…and I know you don’t trust me, but I know what I’m doing. I’ve gotten to the… island before.”

I frowned at that. “But you’ve never seen the dragon?”

“It wasn’t meant for me to see,” he said simply. He looked at Gary, Tiggy, and Kevin. “I will help them. I promise. But you must promise me that unless it’s absolutely necessary, you stay back.”

Gary glanced at me. I nodded. He narrowed his eyes as he looked back at Ruv. “If anything happens to them,” he said coldly, “I will hold you personally responsible. All jokes aside, I will make sure you never leave this place.”

“Ditto,” Tiggy said, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

“Double ditto,” Kevin growled. “There won’t be enough of you left to bury by the time we’re finished. I once ate a woman who threatened them, and I’m a vegetarian. That should show you how serious I am.”

Ruv swallowed thickly, and that made me feel a little bit better to know he could be intimidated just like anyone else. “Understood.”

“Don’t die,” Gary said to me. “But if you do, I get all of your stuff.”

“I want some stuff,” Tiggy said.

“How touching,” I muttered. “Okay, so how are we going to do this?”

Ruv picked up the wooden contraption and fixed it to his pack again. “One step at a time.”

 

 

WHEN ONE is crossing a sea of sand with gigantic monsters circling sight unseen underneath, one tends to get slightly nervous. Couple that with the fact that one’s best friends are waiting behind, offering such pearls of wisdom as “Don’t look down!” and “If they start to eat you, poke them in the eyes or something!” it tends to make the situation a little tense.

“Would you guys shut up?” I growled.

“Someone’s moody,” Gary muttered. “And you guys have only moved like five feet. This is taking forever.”

He was right. It was taking forever. Ruv was in the lead, with me behind him and Ryan bringing up the rear. Both of them were crowding me slightly, causing Kevin to make some crack about wanting to be stuck in that sexy sammitch. If I thought I could get away with it, I would have demanded the sand mermaids kick his ass.

But it was slow going, and the island looked as far away as it did when we first stepped out onto the pathway. It hit me with that first step that there had to be some measure of trust in Ruv, but not because I was willing to follow him out (I’d always been a bit stupid), but because I was allowing Ryan out on the sand. Granted, Ryan would never have let me go alone, but still; I trusted Ruv enough that he knew what he was doing.

I didn’t know what to do with that.

And it certainly didn’t help that I could feel my magic as I always could, wrapping around me and Ryan, almost like it was a sentient thing. It knew him, because I did, because of what he was to me. But it also pulled toward Ruv. Nowhere near as much, of course. Ryan and I had been through too much together for that to ever happen. But it was there, a possibility. But it was a door that I firmly held shut with all my might. Ruv said he understood. I might have trusted him to have our backs, but I didn’t trust him about the cornerstone business. I doubted I ever would.

So there we were, far from home in the middle of the Luri Desert, the sun burning down on us, shuffling through the sand, trying to keep as quiet as possible. Ruv was looking ahead, seeing some path that neither Ryan nor I could see. Ryan still had his sword drawn behind me, and I knew he was keeping an eye out for any sign of movement in the sand.

Me?

Well. That was another story.

Because between the pull of my magic toward Ryan and Ruv, there was something else. Something more. I felt it the moment we stepped out onto the sands. It whispered to me, low words that I couldn’t quite make out, like a breeze across my mind. It was warm and familiar and old. Gods, it felt old.

And it was pulling me forward.

I felt it in my head.

I felt it in my bones.

And I wanted nothing more than to find it.

We shuffled our way forward. For the most part, the path was straight. There were times when we veered slightly right or left, and how Ruv knew to do that, I didn’t know. Either he’d walked this path many times before or the so-called trial and error had been ingrained into him. Either way, I was thankful for it.

It wasn’t until we were halfway to the island that things went to shit.

Because it was pulling me more now.

And I could see where it was pulling me to.

Through the ruins, through the remains of what had once obviously been a castle of old, stood the dome, crumbling and cracked. There was a large stone archway at the bottom. I didn’t know what it’d been, what purpose it’d served, but it was where we needed to go. I was sure of it. We needed to—

I took a lurching step forward.

I bumped into Ruv.

He glanced back at me, a questioning look on his face. “What’s—” His eyes widened. “Uh, Sam?”

“Yeah?” I said, distracted. We needed to hurry. I knew that much. Something was happening on the island, and I needed to get there.

“Do your eyes normally glow red?”

That got my attention. “What?”

“Your eyes are glowing red.”

“Sam?” Ryan asked, sounding concerned. “Sam, look at me.”

I did, and his rough hands came up to cup my face. Everything was awash in colors, shifting brighter than it’d been before, seen through a haze. The magic was leaking out of me, and the only other time I had to compare it to was that day years before with the bird in the forest. That had been unintentional. This was too.

“Sam,” Ryan snapped, as if he’d been saying my name repeatedly.

“I can feel it,” I said, voice slightly slurred. “Ryan, I can feel it.”

“Did this happen before?” Ruv asked him. “With the other dragon?”

“No,” Ryan said, thumbs rubbing over my cheeks. “It wasn’t like this.”

“Then why is it happening now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Figure it out,” Ruv said. “If this keeps going, we might as well just jump in the sand.”

“You worry about getting us there,” Ryan snapped. “I’ll take care of Sam.” He looked back at me. “What is it?”

“It’s….” I frowned. “I think it’s in my head. The dragon. It’s waking. I think it knows we’re here.”

“Shit,” Ryan breathed.

“I gotta get to it,” I said, trying to pull away. “Let me go. Ryan, you gotta let me go.”

“Never. You hear me? Never. Sam, I am never letting you go. We do this together, you get me?”

I did, and it was enough to push through the haze of magic. It was slightly startling in its clarity, and for a brief moment, I could see sharper than I ever had before. I blinked. “Ryan?”

“Hey,” he said. “There you are.”

“We have to hurry.”

“I know. But you need to breathe. Sam, your magic is everywhere. Even I can feel it, and you know what that means.”

It meant that any magical creature would be able to feel it too.

Say a unicorn. Or a half-giant.

A dragon.

Or a sand mermaid.

I was probably broadcasting like a godsdamned beacon.

I tried to pull it back as much as I could.

With Ryan there, it should have worked. He was my cornerstone. Even if I doubted everything else in the world, I would be certain about that. Ryan Foxheart was my cornerstone.

And I knew that every cornerstone worked differently for every wizard. I knew it was a private thing, a magical thing between two people, a bond unlike any other. He made me stronger. Better. We were building my magic into something that had never been seen before, if Randall and Morgan were to be believed.

So it should have worked.

It had in the past.

Any time I’d felt slightly out of control. Anytime we’d fought villains or faced danger, there was always a sense of control. He was my control.

So it should have worked.

And for a moment, it did.

I felt the magic dull.

The red in my eyes must have faded, because he smiled at me. “There you are,” he said. “I knew we could—”

Then:

Wizard, a voice said, low and growly. Feel you. Hear you. Smell you.

Everything came surging back. My spine snapped ramrod straight, mouth falling open as I shuddered against it.

“Shit,” Ryan said. “It’s not—”

“Ryan,” I gritted out. “Watch… your motherfucking… language.”

“Oh my gods,” he said. “You dick. How could you even think of that right—”

“Uh-oh,” Ruv said.

“What uh-oh?” Ryan said. “Why uh-oh?”

“We have company.”

“Uh-oh,” Ryan said weakly.

I had enough of my faculties left about me to know that wasn’t good. I looked where Ruv was pointing and almost wished I hadn’t.

Because off to the right, crawling slowly along the surface of the sea of sand, was a sand mermaid.

“Sweet molasses,” I managed to say.

When one thinks of mermaids, one thinks of fairy tales, of beautiful creatures with long flowing hair, ethereal skin, a fantasy built around seduction. The mermaids that had captured me in the ocean were just that, humanoid beings that sang their prey to them. Some could even be good, though, and had alliances with the King just like other magical creatures of Verania did.

This was not those creatures.

This mermaid had only the vaguest of human attributes upon its countenance. There was a nose, yes, flattened with slits running down the middle. And eyes too, deep black pools that glittered in the sunlight. But the gaping maw that was its mouth was most certainly not human. It was almost perfectly circular in shape, with rows upon rows of sharpened teeth wrapping around the interior. Its skin was green that faded into black, looking fetid and tight, like it’d died decades before and then been baked by the sun. Its arms were long and thick, the claws on the hands it used to pull itself toward us bigger than I thought they were, curved into wicked hooks that looked as if they were made for eviscerating. It was obviously female, breasts hanging down into the sand. The lower half of its body was fishlike, with iridescent scales that caught the sunlight and cast reflections onto the surface of the sand. The tail at the bottom had fins that curved off outwardly.

But what stuck out at me the most aside from the sheer horror of it, the size of this thing crawling toward me, were the seashells that looked as if they were embedded into its skin, shells that were green and gold and red and white and jutted out from its face and neck and shoulders.

“Sam!” Gary called.

“Yes, Gary.”

“Now would probably be a good time to run.”

“Thank you, Gary.”

“Also, Sam?”

“Yes, Gary.”

“There’s another one crawling up on the other side.”

“Godsdammit,” I said as we whirled around, because sure enough, another horror was crawling up and out of the sand, moving toward us as if it had all the time in the world. “I am going to have such fucking nightmares after this.”

“Maybe we should—” I heard Kevin start.

“No,” I shouted at them. “You stay back there, you hear me? Don’t. Not until—”

Wizard, the voice sang, from the heart of the ruins or in my mind, I didn’t know. Come to me.

“Fuck,” I said, bending over and clutching my head. I felt Ryan put a hand on my back, anchoring me with his presence. “It’s calling me. We have to—”

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Ruv said, sounding far calmer than he should have been. “I’m going to draw them away. And you’re going to get to the island as quickly as possible. Don’t stop. Don’t look back. The path curves left, then right, then left one more time. Ryan, do you see that large stone? Looks like a tree.”

“Yeah. I see it.”

“That’s where the path ends. Get him there.”

“What are you going to do?” Ryan asked, sounding dubious. “You can’t go out onto the sand. They’ll pull you under.”

I looked up as Ruv said, “Not if they can’t catch me.” There was a glint in his eyes that I didn’t like, but before I could say anything about it, he pulled the wooden contraption off his back and threw it out onto the sand to the right, off the path. It landed but didn’t sink. And as soon as it hit the sand, it popped open, the wooden slats snapping on the metal hinges, until it was a long, thin board, curved up along the edges. A wooden pole shot up in the middle, the cloth tied to either end. The wind blowing over the surface of the sand sea caught the cloth, and it billowed out, like a sail. The board began to slide along the sand.

“Holy shit,” I said. “Are you going to ride that?”

The Wolf of Bari Lavuta winked at me, a cheeky grin on his face. “Told you I knew what I was doing.” And then he took a few steps back, bounced on his heels once, twice. He took four running steps forward and jumped, then landed on top of the board. It caught his weight and sank the slightest amount into the sand before it bounced back up and skittered along the surface. The sail flapped, and the momentum of his jump caused the board to pick up speed, away from us and toward the sand mermaid. Ruv bent his knees and jutted his hips, turning the board to the left.

“That’s not something you see every day,” I said.

“I bet I could do that if I wanted to,” Ryan said, though he too sounded impressed.

“Over here!” Ruv yelled. “Come and get me!”

The sand mermaid let out an unholy roar, something that caused my bones to ache. Its tail snapped back and forth, and for a moment, I thought it was going to reach out and pull him right off the board, but he moved at the last second, directing himself toward the large sand dune that surrounded one side of the valley we were in. It began to chase after him, sand shooting up around it as it dove under the surface.

“Crap,” Ryan said. “Where’d the other one go?”

He was right. It was gone too. The sand rippled, but there was no sight of it.

“It went back under,” Kevin called out. “When the other one did. Maybe you guys should consider moving your asses?”

“Don’t be salty,” Gary said. “But he’s right. Move your fucking asses.”

I took a step toward the island and stumbled as there was another blast of something from the island, my head spinning with so many colors that it felt like I was choking on them. I pitched forward and thought, Oh fuck oh fuckohfuckohfuck, but a strong hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me back right before I fell off the path. Ryan pulled my back to his chest, wrapping an arm around me.

“That was close,” he breathed in my ear. “Don’t suppose you’d consider letting me carry you?”

I turned my head to glare at him. “Are you out of your mind? I’m not some damsel in distress that you need—”

“Right,” he said. “Because right now you’d choose to be difficult. And notice how I am not bringing up the whole damsel thing, even though you technically just swooned right in front of me.”

“That’s such crap, and you know it—”

“Are you guys really doing this right now?” Gary bellowed. “Oh my gods, you idiots, run!”

“Move, Sam!” Tiggy yelled. “Don’t get eaten! I would cry!”

“You heard him,” I said. “I would feel guilty for the rest of my life if I died. We should probably avoid that if possible.”

“Fine,” Ryan said. He let me go but trailed his hand down until he caught mine, holding tight. “I lead. You follow. Got it?”

I opened my mouth to argue but closed it just as quick. I’d give him shit for it later. We didn’t have time for me to be an asshole right now. Especially since it was probably better that he take the lead, given that I was still feeling the pull of whatever waited for us on the island. “You’re so cute when you get all huffy,” I said instead.

And there was the eye roll I was looking for, even as he blushed. “Shut up. I do not.”

“Totally do.”

“I really fucking hate you guys right now,” Gary said. “Just so you know.”

“Let’s go,” Ryan said, looking toward the ruins.

Left, Ruv had said. Then right. Then left.

We had this.

Ryan pulled me forward, sword still gripped in his other hand at the ready. Each step he took was deliberate, kicking up the sand, making sure we kept to the path hidden underneath. I followed him closely, trying to keep an eye out around him.

Ruv had started to drift up the incline of the sand dune that wrapped around the ruins. The sand mermaid following him leapt out of the sea, hooked claws reaching, but Ruv swerved at the last moment, and the creature flew into the sand dune, disappearing with the last flick of its tail. Remarkably, I could hear Ruv’s laughter, like he was having the time of his life.

I didn’t see the other one, though. And it made me nervous. I tried not to think about what would happen if there were more than two. That probably wouldn’t bode well.

Ryan paused briefly, hand tightening around mine as his feet found the first ledge. We began to move left and—

Wizard. Wizard. I feel you. Are you worthy? Are you ready?

I gritted my teeth against it, forcing myself to remain upright as Ryan led the way. It was urging me on, calling me to it, and I didn’t want to fight it. I wanted to sing back to it that I was coming, that I heard it too—

“Watch out!” Gary screamed behind us.

The path under our feet shook.

We turned slowly.

Behind us, only a short distance away, sat the other sand mermaid, on the path, tail flicking back and forth.

“Oh, we are so boned,” I said weakly.

“Run,” Ryan whispered in my ear.

And we did.

I had trusted Ruv to lead us on the path, trusting that he knew where to go.

Ryan didn’t know where to go.

And I trusted him more than anything.

We ran.

The mermaid snarled behind us, and I didn’t have to look back to know it was coming after us. I hoped that the others were being smart and staying where they were supposed to. They weren’t going to—

A shadow passed overhead.

I looked up.

Because of course they weren’t fucking smart.

“Incoming, motherfuckers!” Gary screamed. “Tiggy, fuck that shit up!”

“GWAAAAHHH!” Tiggy bellowed as Kevin flew right above us, Gary clutched in one set of talons, Tiggy in another. I watched as Kevin released Tiggy, the half-giant shouting that ridiculous cry he thought meant the sound of war. He hurtled toward us as Kevin and Gary continued on, heading toward the ruins.

“Oh, fuck me sideways,” I squeaked as a nine-foot half-giant fell toward us.

Ryan jerked my hand, pulling me forward as we ran under Tiggy.

The sand mermaid roared behind us, sounding like it was right there—

I shot a look over my shoulder in time to see Tiggy land on top of the mermaid, squashing it against the hidden stone path. A great plume of sand burst up around them, swallowing them both, but not before I saw the mermaid’s face twist in pain as it screamed.

But even as I thought to cheer Tiggy for kicking ass and taking names, I heard the stone beneath our feet begin to shift and crack.

Which was not a good sound to hear when we were still far from the island.

Ryan didn’t try to pull me away from Tiggy, which was the only reason I held on to his hand still. The sand settled around Tiggy and the mermaid, enough so that I could see the creature’s arm skittering around, trying to find purchase as the crack of stone got louder. Tiggy was trying to hold down the mermaid, but the thing was strong, and it looked like the half-giant was in danger of getting bucked off.

“Tiggy, it’s going to break!” I cried at him. “You need to run!”

Tiggy looked at me, a determined look on his face. “No, Sam. You run. Get to dragon. Tiggy smash.”

My eyes widened. “No! No smash! You’ll fall in the sand.”

The mermaid shrieked and bucked up again, and Tiggy almost went over and into the sand.

“Fuck this,” I snarled. I began to pull my magic toward me, drawing it from the dry desert air, the earth, the sky, the few clouds there were, the rays of the sun, anything so that I could get to kill this bastard of a thing and—

And of course Ryan felt it, of course he knew what I was doing, because he pulled me back against him. “You can’t,” he muttered in my ear. “We don’t know if there are more of these things or what the dragon will do.”

“If you fucking think I’m just going to leave him—”

“Kevin’s coming back,” he said. “We gotta move. Kevin will help him.”

“He can’t. You heard what Ruv said. The vibrations—”

“I’m pretty sure we’re past vibrations now—”

“Then just let me do this!” I jerked out of Ryan’s grasp and was about to fucking bring it when Ryan cried out behind me. I whirled around in time to see another mermaid rising out of the sand, a clawed hand wrapped around his ankle. He’d fallen on his ass and was being pulled toward its mouth, the needle-sharp teeth so close to his boot. He was reaching for his sword, which had gotten knocked out of his hand.

“Ryan!” I ran toward him, scooping up the sword as I went by, tossing it handle first, the blade slicing shallowly into my palm, wetting the metal with my blood. Ryan caught the sword and, with a yell, turned and shoved it into the mermaid’s mouth and down its throat. The mermaid’s eyes bulged as the blade pierced its insides, and I was almost to him, I was almost—

It flailed back, hand still gripping Ryan’s ankle. Ryan was lifted up and over the mermaid, slamming back down on the other side of it.

Out in the sea of sand.

The mermaid began to sink. Ryan’s sword still stuck out of its mouth.

And it still held on to him.

His eyes were wide as he began to dip below the surface.

“No,” he said hoarsely. “Don’t you do it. Sam, don’t you do it.”

“Sam!” a voice cried out behind me.

And somehow I was able to turn away from Ryan in time to see Tiggy knocked into the sand as well, thrown off the back of the mermaid. It instantly flipped itself back into the sand and dove beneath the surface.

Tiggy began to sink immediately, his weight pulling him down. He thrashed and kicked and fought, but it was no use.

“Sam,” Ryan said, and I turned back toward him, heart in my throat. The sand was up to his armpits. “Get to the dragon.” He was scared, I could see that, gods how I could see that, but he was trying to keep himself calm for my sake. “You gotta get to the dragon.”

Everything was slowing down around me. Too much was happening at once. Ruv was too far away, on the other side of the island, the same mermaid still chasing after him, but now a second one too, both tails whipping back and forth as they surged after him.

Kevin had set Gary down on solid land and looked to be coming back, but he wouldn’t make it in time. Not for either of them.

Blood pounded in my ears.

Everything was brighter than it had ever been. Sharper.

I breathed in deeply as Tiggy slipped below the surface of the sand, raising his hand and wiggling his fingers at me, a little wave goodbye.

Ryan said, “I love you, Sam. I always have.”

And then he was gone too.

And I just—

“No,” I said. “No, no, no.”

I stood slowly.

Once upon a time I went into the Dark Woods to find something unexpected, as tasked by Morgan of Shadows. In those woods I found a hornless unicorn and a half-giant. I saved them from an evil man, and every day since then, they saved me from myself.

Once upon a time I saw a boy who’d come to the castle. I was told he was from the army. That he was to be a knight in the Castle Guard. I’d never seen such a beautiful boy before, and that day, I gave my heart away, even though I thought I’d never get his in return.

They weren’t going to be taken from me. Not now.

Not ever.

Wizard, the waking dragon whispered to me. What will you do?

Everything, I said in return.

There is an old tongue spoken by wizards. It is in these words that magic forms in those that have it in their blood. The spells and incantations and words of power that bring the magic surging forward, from out of the blood and into the real world. It draws from everything around us. It draws from everything in us.

Only a few didn’t need those words.

Morgan.

Randall.

They had centuries of experience to draw upon. They were one with the old tongue, the language of magic. They didn’t need the words aloud because they’d built it up inside of them. Their cornerstones had given them the foundation to become something stronger than the world had ever seen. They formed their words in their heads and hearts, and the thoughts alone brought the magic into the world.

I was like them, in that respect.

I didn’t need those words either.

But there was a difference.

Sometimes, I didn’t even need the thought.

So when I pulled myself to my full height, there was no clear plan in my head. There was only the thought that someone had taken from me, had taken Tiggy, my friend. Had taken Ryan, my cornerstone.

And it was enough.

The sand began to swirl at my feet. First it was just a small corona, whipping itself around me as if caught by a moderate wind.

But it grew.

Clouds began to form in the sky above us, and as I turned my face upward, I felt what little moisture there was being sucked out of the air. The clouds were black and gray, and they trembled and they shook even as the thunder began to roll.

The corona was bigger now.

Much bigger.

The path was made clear beneath my feet, an old, worn stone thing that had been rubbed smooth by the moving sand.

And it grew bigger still.

Lightning arced in the clouds above. I wasn’t ready for it yet.

And it didn’t matter that I hadn’t done this before. That I’d never used this much magic before. None of it mattered. The only thing I could think of was Tiggy. And Ryan. And getting them back.

The corona had given way to a tornado.

The sky was dark now, almost like night had fallen, though it was still midday.

There were others, I knew. Other people I cared for. But they were safe. They would let me do this.

And then I raised the entire sea of sand.

It shot up around me on either side of the stone path, rising high up toward the storm above.

And I could see them then. Through the sand.

The mermaids.

There were dozens of them.

Later I was told that only seconds passed when Ryan and Tiggy were pulled under the sand. That everything that happened and everything that followed was only seconds.

But it felt like ages when I stood there under a desert storm, an ocean of sand on either side of me.

And when I brought the lightning down, when it sparked down from the sky toward me, there was only one thought in my head.

You won’t take them from me.

The lightning struck me, entering through my head, snapping across my brain, down the back of my neck until it settled in my chest, wrapping itself around my heart. It was mine, and it’d always been there, but this was the first time I’d actually called it to myself, however unconsciously. Three times I’d been lightning-struck: once by Dark wizards on a dusty road on the way to a dragon’s keep, once by the wizard Randall in an attempt to make a point, and now.

It was warm. It was electric. It felt alive.

And every time a mermaid was swept toward me, the lightning would arc out of me, out of my hands, out of my chest, my eyes and mouth and throat and heart. It snapped into the sandstorm, electrifying the sand and solidifying it as the lightning traveled through it. It smashed into the heads and chests and tails of the mermaids.

Lightning had a curious effect on sand. I’d seen it once on a beach near the Port after a great storm had rolled through the coast. There were several strikes along the beach, each leaving scorched holes in the sand. When they dug around the holes, there were glass-lined hollow tubes that branched off into the ground. Petrified lightning, Morgan had said it was called.

And that was what I created now.

The mermaids screeched and rocked their heads back as they were electrocuted, clawed fingers flexed and stiff at their sides, eyes open, their gaping maws pointing up into the sandstorm around them. The swirling sand fused into their skin, hardening until it cracked into place. Electricity poured from their mouths, colliding with the sand, lining their insides with solid crystal that grew out of them in ominous shapes.

And it was as this storm raged around me, as it froze these creatures into glass, that I searched for my loves. I pushed through the sand, the lightning so hot at points that it didn’t solidify so much as it vaporized the sand away from me. There was electricity at my feet, and with every step I took, the sand became solid and supported my weight, creating a staircase through the roiling sea.

One of the mermaids caught some kind of draft and hurtled toward me, claws reaching to tear my throat out, but the moment before it touched me, the moment before hooks sank into soft skin, I pushed toward it, and it exploded in a bright flash.

I found Tiggy first, caught in the storm. He was spinning in a slow circle with the remains of several mermaids floating by, the pieces of them reflecting the lightning as it swirled around him. He reached out, a look of awe on his face as he pushed one of the pieces, watching it twist in place, electricity crawling along the surface, little sparks trailing where he had pressed against it.

His great brow furrowed when he saw me. He cocked his head. “Sam?”

I nodded, unable to speak, unable to do anything but find them, keep them safe, keep anything from hurting them.

“You do this?” he asked.

I nodded again.

He smiled at me as thunder rolled above. “Sam magic is strong magic,” he said, reaching a hand out for me. He trusted me completely. He knew I could never hurt him.

I put my hand in his and we went away, away, away.

There weren’t as many of them now. The mermaids. Most had been frozen or shattered. But now, instead of coming for us, they tried to get away. A brief thought pierced through the haze of magic, like sunlight through clouds, that I should let them go, that I should leave them be, but then the clouds took away that sunlit thought, and they too went the way of their sisters.

We found Ryan cocooned in a swirl of sand and pieces of glass, like some enchanted prince from a story of old. His eyes were closed, sword hanging loosely in his hand, which rose in front of his face. Another sunlit moment pierced the magic, and I remembered the vision my grandmother had shown me, of my beloved resting upon a stone dais, sword lying atop him, handle on his chest, blade pointed toward his feet. This moment burned, and I was filled with such an overwhelming sense of grief that I thought I would shatter from it. I would blow away, the petrified pieces of me caught in the swirling storm. I was lightning-struck, yes, but I too could break so easily.

I said, “Ryan.”

My voice broke.

He opened his eyes.

And the sunlight went away again. I reached for him, and he reached for me, and the moment our hands touched, the moment his fingers met mine, I felt a great and terrible rage that something like this could be taken from me, that they had tried to take this from me. I knew, deep down, there was a price to pay for the magic used, but all I could think about was tearing everything apart until there was nothing left but my family.

I walked through the storm.

They drifted after me.

They spoke, I heard their voices, but I didn’t hear what they said.

I was too entrenched in magic, too far underneath whatever the storm had done to me. It wasn’t until we stood upon the stone path again that I felt Ryan tugging against me. I tried to pull away, trying to find more of them, trying to get rid of them while I still had the chance, but he wouldn’t let me. And since I could never hurt him, I went. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. I tucked my face against his neck and held on for dear life. A moment later, I felt Tiggy gather us both against his chest, rumbling in a deep and soothing fashion, hand against the back of my head.

And then Ryan Foxheart tilted his head, his lips near my ear, and said, “Sam. Oh, Sam. It’s okay to let go now. It’s okay to let go.”

And I cried out against the skin of his neck, my magic exploding out of me. I put everything into that cry I could, the last weeks, the revelations, the sense of loss, the secrets kept, the anger I felt. The fact that I’d almost lost Tiggy and Ryan. Everything.

Lightning struck. Thunder cracked.

A moment later, everything fell quiet.

And a moment after that, I felt the sun on my skin again, burning bright and hot.

I took in a breath. And then another. And another.

“Wow,” Tiggy breathed, still holding us close. “So high.”

“Sam,” Ryan murmured. “You okay?”

But before I could speak, I was pulled again.

Wizard, the dragon spoke. Wizard. Wizard.

For now it was truly awake.

I opened my eyes.

I blinked against the sunlight.

It took a moment for my vision to clear as Ryan pulled away enough to be able to look at me. His face was the first thing I saw, slightly out of focus, edges blurred. I blinked it away and everything cleared.

“You with me?” he asked, hands on my arms.

“What happened?” I croaked out.

“Sam go boom,” Tiggy said. “Bright and shiny boom.”

I looked up at him. “I did what?”

“Boom,” Tiggy said softly, nodding his head toward the sea of sand that—

No longer existed.

Where there’d once been an ocean of sand filled with creatures that hid underneath the surface was now just empty air.

“What the fuck?” I said.

We stood on the stone path that had, for the most part, remained intact. But on either side of us now was a cavern whose bottom was so far below where we stood, I couldn’t see it. The sand was gone. The mermaids were gone as if they’d never existed at all. The path behind us was broken where Tiggy had fallen from Kevin’s grasp. The path ahead twisted just like Ruv said it would before it ended against the island, the ruins of the castle sitting atop a large rock pillar that stretched into the cavern below. Kevin and Gary stood at the edge of the island, watching us, waiting. They both looked tense, like they were getting ready to rush over to us at any moment.

“Where’s Ruv?” I asked, slightly panicked. He’d been surfing along on that—

“There,” Ryan said, pointing off to the other side of the cavern. Ruv stood on a sand dune, looking down into the empty space before him, scratching the back of his head. He must have felt us watching him because he looked up and waved.

“Sam go boom,” Tiggy said softly, waving back at him.

“Sam go boom,” I echoed faintly.