Jasper felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the weight of every eye in Lost Garden on him as he approached the High Council’s bench. Word had quickly spread that the great Jasper Moffatt was back in town. Jasper had learned from Jake that the doctors in Torch Lake had called Lost Garden in a frenzy when they realized that Jasper had gotten away with Julia. They’d had good intentions of helping Julia, but all they’d done was set off a firestorm that had caused problems for Jasper. The town of Lost Garden, it seemed, did not appreciate the fact that it’s most famous dragon had left.

Never mind the fact that Jasper had been repaid with contempt after saving the whole town. Never mind the fact that no one followed the ancient laws of treason anymore. In ancient times, leaving your clan made you a traitor, regardless of the reason you’d left. Today, shifters and wizards frequently moved around, and no one thought anything of it. But the High Council here was embarrassed by the loss of Jasper Moffatt, and they seemed to think that making an “example” of him would heal their wounded pride.

Jasper would never move back here. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to be thrown in prison for treason, when the High Council themselves were the ones who so boorishly drove him away. He’d only agreed to come to this mockery of a trial for the chance to speak his mind in front of all the citizens of Lost Garden. He knew it was probably pointless. Most of the citizens here had probably been brainwashed by the High Council into thinking Jasper was an evil, ungrateful dragon. But if even one person here heard the truth, then it would be worth it. Heck, it’d be worth it just for the chance to give the High Councilors a piece of his mind. Jasper was itching for a fight.

He glanced around at the crowd, looking for any friendly faces, but there were none here. Right after they arrived at the courthouse, Jake had said he needed to make a phone call and disappeared. Jasper hadn’t seen him since, and he felt rather annoyed. He knew that, as People’s Governor of Torch Lake, Jake was a busy man. Still, what was so urgent that it couldn’t wait until after Jasper’s trial for treason?

Jasper let out a sigh, and let it go. It would have been nice to have Jake here, but he would manage on his own. A hush fell over the crowd as the Head Councilor of the Lost Garden High Council rose and cleared his throat.

“Jasper Moffatt, you are here today under accusations of desertion of the Lost Garden Clan. You left the clan without permission from the High Council, which constitutes treason under the longstanding Lost Garden Criminal Code.”

“Longstanding because it’s ancient and outdated. No one follows that rule anymore,” Jasper said, folding his arms across his chest.

The Head Councilor glared at him. “This clan still follows that law. And since you were part of this clan, you are subject to its rules and laws. You are allowed to make a case for yourself, and you are allowed to call witnesses before we pass judgment on you. I can’t imagine who would stick up for you, though.”

Jasper rolled his eyes. “I don’t need anyone to stick up for me. I can stick up for myself, and that’s what I’m here to do. I’m tired of my name being dragged through the mud. Everywhere else in the world, I’m hailed as a hero. Every other wizard and shifter clan in the world recognizes that what I did for all of you showed courage and loyalty. I saved this entire clan from utter destruction. We had no warriors, and I became the warrior you all needed. No one in this room would be standing here today if I hadn’t driven back the dark wizards and evil shifters when they attacked during the Great Dark War.”

“You may have saved the clan, but then you deserted us! You refused to join our army, and you refused to pay for the life-saving services of Dr. Pasko, the finest clan doctor in town. You left in disgrace. You left as a traitor!”

“I left because the clan I had joined was a peace-loving clan. I never wanted to be a soldier. This clan called itself a pacifist clan, then abruptly changed after the war.”

“We’re allowed to make changes to the clan’s mission and purpose,” the Head Councilor sniffed.

“Then you shouldn’t be surprised when people want to leave. All I came here to say is that I saved your lives, and you never thanked me. You should be ashamed of yourselves. I tried to make payment arrangements with Dr. Pasko and he refused. It’s unbelievable how much he charged me, anyway, when he would have also been dead if not for me. But all of that is old news, now. I tried to serve this clan, and this clan turned its back on me. I’ve found a new clan now. A clan where hard work and loyalty is actually appreciated. And I wanted to say, loud and clear so that all can hear: there is a better way. If anyone in this room is secretly feeling unappreciated or like your values don’t line up with the crooked values of the Lost Garden High Council, then just know there is a better way. Come to Torch Lake, where we welcome every upstanding shifter and wizard and the unique talents they bring.”

“Enough!” bellowed the Head Councilor in anger. “The lies you are speaking are doing nothing to help your case. All you’ve done is prove in front of everyone that you are indeed a traitor.”

“I speak only the truth,” Jasper said in a loud, confident voice. His heart was pounding in his chest. He had a feeling that this was going to turn into a huge fight, which wasn’t exactly what he wanted. He didn’t want innocent people to get hurt, but he did want to clear his name. He did want the people of Lost Garden to see that they didn’t have to put up with a High Council who dealt in lies and fear mongering.

The Head Councilor snorted at him. “If you speak the truth, then I suppose you won’t have any trouble calling witnesses forward for yourself? And don’t try to call forward your cronies from Torch Lake to lie on your behalf. You know the rules. Only citizens of Lost Garden may speak on behalf of someone accused of treason.”

Jasper knew the rules well, and had never intended to make an attempt to call Jake forward as a witness. He did wonder, though, where the heck Jake was. He couldn’t possibly still be on the phone, could he? Didn’t he realize this trial was kind of important? Jasper might need back up help to fight this crowd very soon.

Jasper turned around, presumably to see whether anyone would stand up for him. Really, he was trying to see whether he could spot Jake in the crowd. But his friend was nowhere to be seen. Jasper took a moment to let his eyes pass over the massive crowd. Most of the faces did not look friendly. Quite a few pairs of angry eyes stared back at him. A few people looked more curious than antagonistic, at least. And one or two looked hopeful. Was it possible he had inspired a few people here that they didn’t have to live under such a crooked High Council? Then coming to this courthouse today had been worth it.

Jasper’s eyes landed on the dragon shifters who had been part of the wizard guard the night before, and he was surprised to see they were smiling at him. They were in human form now instead of dragon form, but he recognized them by their eyes. He wondered if he could convince them to leave and come to Torch Lake with him. It must be hard for a dragon to live in a town like this. Lost Garden seemed to have become steadily more corrupt since Jasper left several years ago. Jasper smiled back at the dragons. Maybe he could count on them to help if fighting broke out. He apparently couldn’t count on Jake, since the man was still nowhere to be seen.

“I will speak for him.”

Jasper nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden, unexpected voice. He looked to see where it came from, and gaped in shock. The voice belonged to Dr. Pasko, who was standing in the back of the room next to Julia. Jasper wasn’t sure what Dr. Pasko had been thinking, allowing Julia to come out here in her condition. This place was liable to erupt into violent fighting at any moment. And he definitely wasn’t sure what Dr. Pasko was thinking, offering to speak up for Jasper. Was this a trick? Dr. Pasko and Jasper seemed to have reached an uneasy truce last night for Julia’s sake, but that didn’t mean that Dr. Pasko had anything good to say about Jasper. There was still a lot of bad blood between them.

Or was there?

Dr. Pasko was walking toward the front of the public courtroom now, and a hush fell over the crowd as he came up the center aisle. Even the High Councilors all seemed at a loss for words.

“Your honors,” Dr. Pasko said as he came to stand beside Jasper. “I don’t think it’s any secret that for many, many years, I considered Jasper Moffatt my biggest enemy.”

Jasper tensed up at these words, and he saw the High Councilors break into smiles. They were all anticipating an angry tirade from Dr. Pasko now. This wasn’t Dr. Pasko speaking up for Jasper. It was Dr. Pasko having one more chance to publicly rant about Jasper. And the High Council seemed happy to give him that chance.

But then Dr. Pasko looked at Jasper and gave him a sad smile. There was so much meaning in the smile, and Jasper found himself confused. Was Dr. Pasko his enemy? Or was he actually here to stick up for him? Jasper held his breath as he waited for the answer to that question.

“I’m here today to publicly apologize to Jasper Moffatt for treating him like an enemy for so long. The fact is, Jasper is telling the complete truth. He did save our town, singlehandedly. I’d be dead now if not for him, as would most of you. The rest of you wouldn’t be here in Lost Garden, because there would be no Lost Garden. There’d be no Lost Garden Clan. It would have been completely destroyed by evil. And how did we repay Jasper for his selfless sacrifice?”

“Enough!” the Head Councilor shouted. “These are all lies.”

But Dr. Pasko wasn’t backing down. And Jasper could tell that, despite how much Jasper thought he disliked Dr. Pasko, the rest of the town seemed to respect the man. They were listening to what the doctor had to say, and what he was saying sounded like it was actually going to all be in Jasper’s favor. Jasper could hardly believe it as he stood there and listened to Dr. Pasko continue.

“I myself am ashamed of what I did to Jasper. When he couldn’t pay for medical services, I greedily took him to court. He offered to work with me and pay via a payment plan, but I was on a quest to smear his name in the mud. I don’t know what came over me to act that way. Jasper didn’t deserve it. I should have given him the services for free in the first place, considering all he did for this town. But I was younger and blinded my own selfish nature. Since that time, I’ve seen this city grow more and more evil. Jasper saved us from dark magic, but he could not save us from ourselves.”

Jasper saw the High Councilors fuming. He could tell the Head Councilor wanted to stop Dr. Pasko’s speech, but wasn’t sure how the crowd would react. The entire audience was raptly listening. When Jasper glanced back, he saw that a few were even nodding their heads. Dr. Pasko turned then, and looked directly at Jasper. Jasper was startled to see tears in the old man’s eyes.

“Jasper, I know words will never be enough, but I have to at least try. I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I was blinded by evil, and it was wrong. I’m asking for your forgiveness, in front of all of Lost Garden. I’m standing here in front of the entire Lost Garden Clan to say that you aren’t a traitor. You didn’t commit treason. And if the High Council can’t see that, then they don’t deserve to have a man like you in our town, anyway.”

“Lies!” the Head Councilor shouted, no longer able to contain himself. “Dr. Pasko is speaking lies! Enough of this. I’ve heard all I need to hear. Jasper is a traitor and I sentence him to the maximum punishment of death. Guards, seize him!”

“No!” Dr. Pasko shouted, moving to stand between Jasper and the Head Councilor. “You are the one who speaks lies. This city has suffered nothing but corruption since we drove Jasper away. Enough is enough.”

“Guards!” the Head Councilor screamed again. And then, all hell broke loose. All across the courtroom, rushes of power boomed out as shifters began to switch into animal form. The whir of wizards’ broomsticks sounded off as many of them rose into the air, preparing to fly above the crowd and launch magic attacks where necessary. Jasper himself didn’t waste any time in shifting. He roared, and a rush of power emanated from his body as his human form began to fall away, replaced with his fearsome dragon form.

All around him, people were screaming and fighting. The room was awash in chaos, and Jasper could hardly tell who was fighting whom. Some wizards were launching attacks at him, and a few bear shifters were trying to claw at his legs. But none of the attacks managed to get through his thick dragon skin. Jasper’s main concern right now wasn’t for himself, though. He glanced around the room frantically, searching for Julia. She’d just come out of a coma, and should not be fighting. But if he knew her like he thought he did, he had a feeling that she would attempt to join in the fray.

A flash of red hair high above him and to his right confirmed his fear. He looked over to see Julia whizzing by on a broomstick. He had no idea who she’d gotten it from, but she was making good use of it. She swerved up, down, left, right, and in loops, launching attack after attack from her magic ring as she did. Jasper shook his head in amazement. That girl was something else. You’d never know that less than twelve hours ago she’d been in a coma, on the verge of losing her magical abilities completely.

Jasper couldn’t admire her for long, though. Telling himself that he was just going to have to trust that she could take care of herself, he turned his attention back to the wizard guards rushing toward him. He realized in horror that they had stopped attacking him directly now, and had turned their attention to Dr. Pasko.

“You want your little friend to live? Then you better turn yourself over now!” the wizard guard shouted.

Jasper’s eyes met Dr. Pasko’s, and time seemed to stand still. Here in front of him was a man who had made his life miserable a few years ago. A man who had dragged him to court and ridiculed him. A man who had been the last straw in Jasper’s decision to leave Lost Garden. And yet, here was a man who had stood up for him today in front of everyone. A man who had apologized and admitted that what he’d done before had been wrong. A man who had saved Julia’s life.

It was that last point that finally spurred Jasper to action. He didn’t have time now to stop and think about whether Dr. Pasko’s apology was heartfelt. But it only took a second for him to realize that the gorgeous, fiery redhead who was zooming around on a broomstick high above him, beating back the wizards and shifters who wanted to hurt Jasper, would be dead or have no magical abilities, if not for Dr. Pasko. And that was enough. Jasper could work out all the other details later. For now, he knew that Dr. Pasko had taken good care of his Julia. And that was worth everything to him.

With a roar, Jasper turned toward the wizard and bared his giant dragon teeth. He was giving the man a warning. If the wizard didn’t let Dr. Pasko go, there would be consequences. But this wizard clearly didn’t think that an angry dragon was something to fear. Perhaps the years of peace had made him too soft. Too bold. Whatever the case, the wizard only laughed at Jasper and raised his magic ring toward Dr. Pasko.

Big mistake, Jasper thought. With another roar, Jasper breathed out a carefully aimed stream of acid. The wizard didn’t even have time to scream. With a look of shock on his face, he dropped his grip on Dr. Pasko and dropped to the ground, lifeless. Dr. Pasko wasted no time in running. He made for the exit, doing his best to dodge around the many attackers. Jasper was glad the old man had sense enough to run instead of staying to fight. Dr. Pasko was a wolf shifter, and wolves were usually fierce fighters. But this battle was full of younger, stronger shifters and trigger-happy wizards. Better for Dr. Pasko to take cover.

Dr. Pasko hadn’t gotten very far, though, when another wizard guard attacked him. Jasper grunted in annoyance and went to rescue the old man again, when suddenly a surge of fire stopped him in his tracks. Jasper looked around in surprise, and saw that one of the other dragon shifters had just taken out the wizard guard. The dragon winked at Jasper, and Jasper turned his dragon lips up in a smile. Perhaps, when all this was said and done, Torch Lake might have recruited a few new dragons.

For the next few minutes, the chaos continued. Jasper wasn’t even sure whom to fight. He had no idea who was on his side or not, and he didn’t like killing people unnecessarily. Even though he wasn’t afraid to step up when necessary, he was a peacekeeper at heart. And so he concentrated on defending himself, doing his best not to do any more harm than necessary. Surely, at some point this mess would all die down. Everyone would come to their senses and realize that this brawl was nothing more than an unnecessary bloodbath. Jasper kept an eye on Julia to make sure that she was okay, but she seemed to be having the time of her life. She was performing some sort of freezing spell on people, and several of the wizard guards were now frozen in place all over the courtroom. Dr. Pasko was gone, probably hiding somewhere safe outside the courtroom. The High Councilors were safe as well. They were all huddled behind a squadron of wizard and shifter guards, yelling angry commands but not fighting themselves. Cowards. Jasper knew that if this was Torch Lake, the High Council wouldn’t have just stood by while their citizens were harmed.

And then, as though his thoughts had the power to summon people, the Torch Lake High Council suddenly burst through the door of the courtroom. The shifter councilors were all in animal form, ready to fight, and the wizard councilors all had their magic rings raised high.

What in the world? Jasper thought. Why were they all here? Had they come to fetch him back, to give him their own punishment for the fact that he’d kidnapped Julia from the hospital? Surely they hadn’t come here just to defend him? No High Council cared that much about just one citizen.

Did they?

As people in the room realized that another High Council was in the room, the fighting ceased. A hush fell over the crowd, and the wizards who’d been zooming around on broomsticks came down for a quiet, soft landing. Julia landed next to Jasper’s dragon form, and put a steady hand on his side. He looked back at her and nudged her gently with his dragon nose, then turned again to look at the Torch Lake High Council, wondering what in the world they were up to. He saw that Jake had reentered the room, in dragon form now. Jasper realized that Jake must have known the Torch Lake High Council was coming, and his absence had been because he was going to meet them as they arrived.

Jasper noticed then the first hint of real fear in the eyes of the Lost Garden’s High Council members. Good. Jasper had a feeling they were about to get schooled by Torch Lake’s most elite citizens, and he was glad he was around to watch. This was going to be a day to remember.