morning already.
Enion wriggled out of the throng and rocketed upward to land in Claire’s hand. “Can my flight come with us?”
Claire wanted to say yes, because having a pile of dragons in the backyard sounded incredible. One glance at Justin left her concerned he might disallow it even if he’d be inclined to agree after a good night of sleep. “We’ll have to talk about it later. Marie gets to have a say for things like that.”
As she hurried away, trying to figure out where to find a couch, Enion jumped onto her shoulder and called to the swarm, “See you soon!” Subdued chirps faded as Claire jogged up the street.
She knew which way Tariel had brought them and figured she’d eventually find a bus stop, a furniture store, a couch awaiting trash pickup, or something else of use so long as she headed in that same direction.
Enion hunkered down, his claws digging into her sweater. “They’re excited.”
“Me too. I hope they can come stay with us.” Spotting a gas station ahead, Claire slowed and thought about checking on Rondy. They could talk about her locket and make sure transferring the power would be the right choice. If he felt up to it, they could even take care of it. Afterward, she wanted to talk Drew into helping her convince Justin, Marie, Grandma, and Grandpa that they should have a bunch of dragons in the backyard.
With a firm plan, she set off in search of a couch.
Chapter 9
Justin
Justin rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have dreamed about finding and releasing the dragons. He lay in darkness, and it felt like his bed. His imagination had coughed up the first person he thought of to be hosting the dragons. Anne had been on his mind because that wine she preferred cost twenty bucks he didn’t have to spare, and he’d had to go get it this morning.
He patted the bed beside him and found only empty space. Marie must have let him sleep, which he appreciated. The pitch black bothered him, though. Their curtains couldn’t block out starlight, let alone sunlight. Even if he’d barely slept, he thought he remembered a full moon tonight.
Resolved to figure out the mystery with the lights on, he sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed, only to hit more bed with them. Stranger, he seemed to be wearing his boots. He patted his body down and discovered he also still wore his jeans, armor, and cloak. No matter how tired he might have been, he’d never wear any of that to bed.
Groping in the dark, he felt the surface he sat on and discovered it had no bed-like properties other than softness. He scooped up a handful of something that felt wet and sandy and wound up crawling on his hands and knees to find the edges.
He didn’t remember much past sending Claire away. He asked her to go, silenced Anne in the rudest way imaginable, and turned his attention to Tariel, still lying on the ground. He thought she might have been dazed by some kind of magical backlash that hit her harder because she had a stronger connection to magic.
After that, he remembered nothing. “Hello?”
Soft orange light spread on the horizon, starting as a tiny sliver and expanding until it showed him the beach he lay on with a thin layer of water rolling in and out. Seashells and clumps of kelp studded the sand. He reached out and touched the water as it slid close, finding it pleasantly warm. It drained away, out of sight, and surged back, like the ocean.
Somehow, he’d wound up in a Phasm’s demesne. Without his sword, he had no weapon here, which would make escape much more challenging. He took a deep breath and applied his will to punching a hole through the barrier between this demi-reality and the real world. Nothing happened. The Phasm probably had moved him away from the weak point in the barrier.
Intent on escaping to come back with his sword and deal with this, Justin stood and chose to walk along the beach. Finding the weak point would be a matter of pitting his will against the Phasm’s,
Enion wriggled out of the throng and rocketed upward to land in Claire’s hand. “Can my flight come with us?”
Claire wanted to say yes, because having a pile of dragons in the backyard sounded incredible. One glance at Justin left her concerned he might disallow it even if he’d be inclined to agree after a good night of sleep. “We’ll have to talk about it later. Marie gets to have a say for things like that.”
As she hurried away, trying to figure out where to find a couch, Enion jumped onto her shoulder and called to the swarm, “See you soon!” Subdued chirps faded as Claire jogged up the street.
She knew which way Tariel had brought them and figured she’d eventually find a bus stop, a furniture store, a couch awaiting trash pickup, or something else of use so long as she headed in that same direction.
Enion hunkered down, his claws digging into her sweater. “They’re excited.”
“Me too. I hope they can come stay with us.” Spotting a gas station ahead, Claire slowed and thought about checking on Rondy. They could talk about her locket and make sure transferring the power would be the right choice. If he felt up to it, they could even take care of it. Afterward, she wanted to talk Drew into helping her convince Justin, Marie, Grandma, and Grandpa that they should have a bunch of dragons in the backyard.
With a firm plan, she set off in search of a couch.
Chapter 9
Justin
Justin rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have dreamed about finding and releasing the dragons. He lay in darkness, and it felt like his bed. His imagination had coughed up the first person he thought of to be hosting the dragons. Anne had been on his mind because that wine she preferred cost twenty bucks he didn’t have to spare, and he’d had to go get it this morning.
He patted the bed beside him and found only empty space. Marie must have let him sleep, which he appreciated. The pitch black bothered him, though. Their curtains couldn’t block out starlight, let alone sunlight. Even if he’d barely slept, he thought he remembered a full moon tonight.
Resolved to figure out the mystery with the lights on, he sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed, only to hit more bed with them. Stranger, he seemed to be wearing his boots. He patted his body down and discovered he also still wore his jeans, armor, and cloak. No matter how tired he might have been, he’d never wear any of that to bed.
Groping in the dark, he felt the surface he sat on and discovered it had no bed-like properties other than softness. He scooped up a handful of something that felt wet and sandy and wound up crawling on his hands and knees to find the edges.
He didn’t remember much past sending Claire away. He asked her to go, silenced Anne in the rudest way imaginable, and turned his attention to Tariel, still lying on the ground. He thought she might have been dazed by some kind of magical backlash that hit her harder because she had a stronger connection to magic.
After that, he remembered nothing. “Hello?”
Soft orange light spread on the horizon, starting as a tiny sliver and expanding until it showed him the beach he lay on with a thin layer of water rolling in and out. Seashells and clumps of kelp studded the sand. He reached out and touched the water as it slid close, finding it pleasantly warm. It drained away, out of sight, and surged back, like the ocean.
Somehow, he’d wound up in a Phasm’s demesne. Without his sword, he had no weapon here, which would make escape much more challenging. He took a deep breath and applied his will to punching a hole through the barrier between this demi-reality and the real world. Nothing happened. The Phasm probably had moved him away from the weak point in the barrier.
Intent on escaping to come back with his sword and deal with this, Justin stood and chose to walk along the beach. Finding the weak point would be a matter of pitting his will against the Phasm’s,
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