Backyard Dragons (8 page)

When she and Justin came here before, Rondy had dominated Claire’s view. She’d barely noticed the massive shelves of books stretching to the thirty-foot ceiling. Wide ladders on tracks reached from five feet up to the top and she watched a Knight slide across a bookshelf halfway up a ladder.

Nearby, a Knight ran his fingers across a shelf full of spines. When he tapped one, he disappeared. Claire recoiled and looked around. No one else reacted, and at least two men ought to have noticed. She decided to avoid that shelf in case it randomly ate Knights and spat them out elsewhere.

She walked past the shelves, peering down each aisle. The huge room curved to the right until she felt certain it had taken her in a complete circle without going up or down. At the end, she stopped and stared at an enormous, intricately carved and painted mural depicting a dozen different scenes.

The Heart of the Palace, mounted on his white horse, led a small army of similarly dressed men into battle against dragons the same size Enion had been in their test. Unicorns, giant squid, and other creatures Claire recognized from Greco-Roman mythology also showed up in various sections. All seemed more monstrous than the usual depictions.

The center drew her eyes more than anything else, though. One woman in a bone-white toga-style dress had been depicted with precise care, her image sculpted from the wall. Though the lines of her face had been stylized to a degree, Claire recognized this woman as a near-copy of herself. Even the skin, eyes, and hair all shared the same coloring as hers.

Given the Heart’s reaction to her, Claire guessed this woman must be Iulia. She couldn’t understand why such loving care had been taken with this depiction. If Iulia was a witch, Claire expected her portrait would show a monster, or at least an ugly hag. She hesitated to apply the term “beautiful,” given it would also apply to herself, but Iulia certainly wasn’t unpleasant to look at.

Curious about the woman, Claire reached out and touched the mural, brushing her fingertips across the smooth stone of Iulia’s cheek. The world spun around her until she stood at the verge of a ridge overlooking farmland and orchards. Late afternoon sun in a clear, bright blue sky bathed her in gentle warmth and sparkled on the surface of a distant lake.

She turned around on the spot, dazzled by the view. Behind her stood a white stone structure similar to a gazebo built with scalloped columns. Its dome rose twenty feet into the air with a stone wave at the apex, sculpted froth and bubbles curving in an upward spiral to point at the sky. Its eight gleaming marble columns rested on a layer of wide, square stones set a foot above the rocky ground. From fifty feet away, she thought a design had been carved into the center but couldn’t see it well enough to make out the shape.

Clopping horse hooves drew Claire’s attention to the cliff at her feet. A narrow path zig-zagged up the near-vertical rock face, bereft of any vegetation. The Heart’s white horse carried him and someone else under his russet cloak to the top of the cliff, its hooves sending tiny sprays of dirt tumbling to the ground at least a hundred feet below.

At the top, the horse stopped in a majestic pose while the Heart tossed his cloak open. They cut a more striking figure than Justin and Tariel when they preened. Iulia straightened from her perch under his cloak and touched the Heart’s hand at her waist.

Claire remembered watching her parents on her father’s horse. They’d sat the same way, leaning into and trusting each other. The Heart clearly loved Iulia, making his reaction to Claire all the stranger.

Since they ignored Claire, she assumed they couldn’t see her. This had to be an echo or imprint of someone’s memory, or perhaps a recreation of an event wholly from the magic animating the Palace.

The Heart climbed down from his horse’s saddle. “I told you we’d arrive in plenty of time.” He reached up and lifted Iulia by her slim waist to set her gently on the ground.

Iulia touched his dark beard and smiled at him. “Yes, you did. Erefel is at least as remarkable a beast as you claim.” She took a deep breath, reveling in the fresh air full of pine and rich earth.

He untied a saddlebag from the horse and carried it to the temple while Iulia stood and watched the sun sink lower in the sky. Behind her back, he laid his cloak on the stone floor, covering the symbol. Iulia looked over her shoulder as he unbuckled his sword belt and set it aside.

She grinned and took a step to the side so she cast a shadow over him, the sunlight shining around her head in a halo and revealing the curves under her dress. “Build me a house here, Caius.”

Caius laughed as he retrieved a wine bottle and two wooden cups from his saddlebag. “This place is sacred. It’s also too high for mortal men to carry stone as fine as you deserve.” He yanked the wine cork out with his teeth and poured for them. After setting everything on the ground, he returned to his horse. He and the horse held a quiet conversation Claire couldn’t hear as more than murmurs.

Iulia hurried into the temple while Caius spoke to his horse, casting furtive glances over her shoulder. She sat beside the wine with her back to them. Claire saw Iulia’s lips move and heard a droning sound like a swarm of bees. Brown eyes glowing emerald green, Iulia picked up both cups of wine. She sipped from one, swirled the mouthful, and spat it into the other cup. The glow faded, and Iulia’s face flashed with a disturbing grin. She set the second cup down and kept the first in her hand. With care, she arranged herself and her dress for Caius’s viewing pleasure.

Caius set the horse’s saddle on the ground and patted its flank as it walked away. He stood and took in the sight of Iulia before joining her on his cloak. As she sipped from her cup, he picked up the one she’d set aside for him.

“Don’t drink it,” Claire whispered. She watched him take a gulp and swallow, his gaze on Iulia. “You’re an idiot!”

Caius took another drink before pulling Iulia into his lap. “I’m glad you like the view, my love.”

“It’s impressive. If men didn’t build it, how did this temple get here?”

“By the grace of the gods.”

She leaned against his chest, letting him support her. “I thought this new title you hold in secret gave you godly powers.”

“Some, perhaps.” He took one more drink from his cup before setting it aside.

“What kind of temple is this, anyway?”

Caius tipped her head to the side and kissed her exposed neck. “Who knows? It’s been here for centuries already, and will stand for centuries more.”

Though he sounded sincere, Claire knew he lied. Caius knew exactly what purpose this temple served and that it hadn’t been here long. She thought the story explaining it might be in one of the other pictures. In this one, she only knew he’d worked hard with other Knights to build it for an important reason.

“You would ravish me in an unknown temple?” Iulia raked her fingernails through Caius’s hair as he trailed kisses down her shoulder.

Having a fair idea of where this scene seemed to be headed, Claire blushed. No one would judge her for watching, though, and curiosity gnawed at her. Besides, why include a memory like this in a prominent place in the library if something important or interesting hadn’t happened? It had to show more than a private picnic.

When Caius raised his head, his eyelids drooped. His movements as he brushed his lips across Iulia’s reminded Claire of Justin this morning, trying to soldier on despite deep weariness.

“I would…” He took a long time to blink. “…ravish…” Trying to keep a hold on Iulia, he leaned back to lie on the cloak. His lips moved, but only mumbles came out.

Iulia suddenly moved with firm purpose, all signs of love, care, or seduction gone. She grabbed the cloak and used it to drag Caius’s unconscious form off the stone slab.

Claire rushed forward, eager to see the symbol on the stone. To her surprise, it seemed to match the one on her locket. She flipped the pendant out of her shirt and compared the two. Where her locket had been made in a heart shape, the one carved into the stone was a circle. Otherwise, she saw no difference—it had all the same whorls and dots in all the same places. That had to mean both came from the Palace, or something within the Palace, or whatever force had created the Palace in the first place.

Iulia’s dress swished into view. Claire looked up to see the woman holding Caius’s sword, free of its sheath. Iulia grinned with cartoonishly evil glee as she plunged the blade through Claire and into the symbol.

Claire screamed and stumbled back. Though she recovered swiftly from the illusionary stabbing, she gaped in shock at Iulia’s sudden, bizarre shift. Aside from doctoring Caius’s wine, she’d so far given the impression of a woman in love who planned something she knew Caius wouldn’t approve of, not a demented supervillain bent on carrying out some maniacal plan.

The ground rumbled. Claire dropped to one knee to avoid falling. Dark clouds exploded out of nowhere overhead and came together in a swirling spiral. Iulia left the sword lodged in the stone and backed off the slab. Snapping thunder battered Claire’s ears and great cracks split the slab in half. Blue and white streaks of light shot into the sky, stabbing through the center of the vortex.

Caius stirred. Iulia huddled over him, her eyes still alight with mad joy. Her lips moved, but Claire heard nothing of what she said. More cracks formed in the stone. Chunks and fragments exploded outward. Iulia cowered away from the rain of stone and Caius woke enough to shield her with his body.

Still groggy, Caius scanned the site, trying to make sense of what he saw. His horse galloped into view, dodging flying rock.

“The seal is broken!” the horse screamed.

Caius held Iulia close, still protecting her. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath amidst the chaos. When he let it out, his eyes snapped open. Alert and free of the weariness caused by the wine, he took in his surroundings and ended looking down at Iulia. Her grace had returned and she laid a hand on his face, sorrow in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“What have you done?”

“The only thing I could do.”

Silver claws crunched into the rock at the edge of the now-destroyed stone slab. A dragon, its features similar to Enion’s in his large form, slammed another claw into the rock and pulled itself up to stand on the ground. Snapping its wings open, it bellowed rage and frustration in a terrifying roar that threatened to burst Claire’s heart from the inside.

Caius shoved Iulia to the ground in his own rage. She collapsed into a heap, sobbing. He grabbed a fistful of his horse’s mane and leaped onto its back. The horse thundered away. Moments before it disappeared over the side of the cliff, Caius looked back, cringing with anguish, and saw the dragon standing over Iulia protectively, her hand on its silver skin.

Claire groaned while the world spun again. When it stopped, she knelt in the library, facing the large mural once again. Some other time, she’d have to try the rest of these images, because that part of the story made her want to know more. The seal, the dragons, Iulia—they all fascinated her. At one time, the dragons had been large in the real world. Caius and other Knights must have sealed them away for some reason. With Enion so harmless and cute, she couldn’t imagine what made them need such a drastic prison.

“I suspect you understand a great deal more about your original reception here now.”

Pleased to hear Rondy’s voice from behind her, Claire turned and smiled. “Yeah.” She checked the dragon around her neck and found him sleeping. If he hadn’t wakened during that vision, she figured he hadn’t experienced it with her.

“Djembe has always been an eager student of our history. Justin…less so.”

“Not surprised.” Claire stood and brushed herself off. Her stomach growled loud enough to echo.

Rondy grinned. “How about if I fill in some gaps over sandwiches?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Chapter 12

Justin

“I feel strange.” Tariel clopped up the road home, taking it slow.

Justin looked the horse over. Nothing seemed off to him. He patted his sword, retrieved from Anne’s yard before they left, reassuring himself he still had it. “Strange how?”

“I’m not sure.” She took a long, deep breath and huffed it out through her nose. “Colors seem…off.”

“We did get hit by magical backlash. I don’t think that’s ever happened to us before. It stands to reason something different would happen.”

“I suppose. Usually when you make sense it’s because I’m not thinking straight. This time, your conclusion seems sound. If that’s what magical backlash does to you, maybe we should seek it more often.”

“Funny.” He rubbed his face, wishing he had time to take a nap. They turned up the driveway, and he climbed off Tariel’s back. “Don’t go anywhere. We’re heading right back down there in a few minutes.”

“I should eat soon. So should you.”

“I’ll ask Anne for something.” He patted Tariel’s neck and strode to the cottage. Inside, he found chaos. Lisa chased Missy around the kitchen table, shrieking and waving stuffed animals in the air. Drew stood at the counter, trying to both wash the dishes and stop the girls. Justin didn’t spot Marie until she stood on the other side of the couch with a filled laundry basket.

Marie saw him and sighed with relief. “Welcome back.” She set the basket down and rushed to him.

“Girls! Settle down.” His voice sounded sharp to his own ears, but they stopped screaming and running to stare at him. “Drew, you need to come with me.”

Marie stopped an arm’s length away. “What?”

He closed the distance to his wife and wrapped his arms around her. “I need to grab Drew and take him someplace. We’ll be back in an hour or so.”

“I just got home.” Marie pulled away enough to look him in the eye. “My parents had to go into town, the girls are hyper, and Claire is nowhere to be found. I need help right now. Can you at least wait until someone else gets back?”

Justin saw the dark circles under her eyes and the droop of her shoulders. Between soothing away Lisa’s nightmares and getting up earlier than usual for her job, Marie hadn’t gotten much more sleep than he did last night. An hour’s nap would probably be a good thing, for both of them.