“Oh,” Jasmine said slowly, “I see.” Putting a finger to her lips, she walked around Billy and Bonnie. “Getting rid of your rings, of course, doesn’t alter your identity. I’ll just have to find another way to convince the crowd that you deserve to die. The white gems would have made it easier, but I do have other options.”
“Like what?” Billy fired back. “Claiming we’re underborns or one of those shadows in the past you’re so afraid of?”
Jasmine laughed and continued her orbit around the teens. “If only you knew how close you are to the truth. The people of Dragons’ Rest eagerly accept my advice to forget the past, because they fear it. If they searched deep within, they would learn the secrets of their origins, and they would realize that they live here without hope.” She stopped in front of Billy and shook a finger at him, anger rising in her voice. “Are you willing to dredge up those sad memories? Do you want them to know how futile their lives are here?” She spread out her arms. “This is a place of eternal forgetfulness, and knowledge for these people means torture.”
Jasmine glanced at Sarah but seemed unconcerned that so many secrets were coming out into the open. “I take care of the people,” she continued. “And most of them trust me to drive out or alienate anyone who might shine the light on the deep recesses of their minds.”
Billy spread his hands. “But we want to take them to a better place, and the only way to get them to go is for them to realize what they were. They have to remember the past to understand why they need a new life. If you really cared about your townspeople, you’d let us tell them.”
Jasmine shook her head. “There is no better place for them. With their memories locked away, they are perfectly happy in this town. That’s why I named it Dragons’ Rest.”
“You named it?” Billy said, glancing at the statue in the middle of the town square. “I thought Captain Autarkeia was the founder.”
Jasmine gestured toward the statue with her hand, a proud smile on her face. “Captain Autarkeia was my father, and we founded this place together. He taught me how it came to be, how we must learn to be content with who we are and what we have here, but he disappeared long ago, so I have taken his place.”
Bonnie peered out the window. “But being content without knowing the truth is just being gullible. It’s like . . . it’s like . . .”
“Being a lemming,” Billy prompted.
“Right!” Bonnie spun back to Jasmine. “What good is that? They’re all just jumping off a cliff.”
“I prefer to think of this as a psychiatric ward,” Jasmine countered. “The past is a haunting ghost that keeps them from being happy here, so I medicate them with forgetfulness. Would you take away their eternal happiness by telling them they will toil in meaningless labor forever? I don’t believe my father would have.”
Billy kept his gaze on the statue. The image of a heroic figure riding high in the air reminded him of something, something he had read in Fama Regis. The connection finally registered. Yes! Captain Autarkeia had to be him! The first murdered dragon, and a king at that. Of course he was the founder! Billy focused on Jasmine again, half closing one eye. “Does Makaidos mean anything to you?”
The color in Jasmine’s face drained away. “Makaidos? Where did you hear that name?”
Billy smiled, trying not to sound too triumphant. “I’m glad you recognized it as a name. It was your father’s dragon name.”
Jasmine’s cheeks turned from white to red. She shook her finger at Billy again, screaming, “Memories are poison! You will pay for spreading it in my town! I’ll see to that!” She stormed out of the building and slammed the door.
Bonnie jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “Way to go, Billy!”
Sarah kissed Billy on the forehead. “I have never seen anyone fluster her before.”
Billy felt a blush in his cheeks. “Maybe. But she’s definitely out to get me now.”
Bonnie pulled Sarah’s ring from her pocket and laid it in her palm. “You’ve got to believe us now. Merlin gave Billy this ring to give to you.” She dropped it into Sarah’s hand. “Will you wear it to the theatre? Your husband is waiting for you.”
Sarah slipped the ring onto her finger. “I’ll go out the back way.” As she shuffled to the door, she smiled back at them. “This is so exciting! I feel like I’m on a blind date to my own wedding!”
As the rear doors swung shut, Billy laughed. He put an arm around Bonnie’s shoulders and turned her toward the window. His smile faded. Out in the streets of Dragons’ Rest were a thousand thirsty souls. And besides them, a small audience patiently waited in a dark room in a theatre just a few blocks away. They were counting on him.
Billy opened the front door. “I’m going straight to the statue. Everyone’s sure to see me up there.”
Bonnie placed both hands on Billy’s cheeks and looked him in the eye. “You’ll be great. Everyone will listen to you.” Her skin felt as cool as ice water, but her words seemed to travel through her hands and set fire to his heart.
They exited the bookstore together and marched toward the center island, maneuvering through the stream of people. A high-pitched peal of laughter cut through the chatter, and a chill prickled Billy’s neck. At the base of the statue, Jasmine stood with the constable. She glanced away from him, and her eyes locked on Billy’s. Her wide smile melted.
“Trouble,” Billy murmured. “Do you want to come with me or head back to the theatre?”
“Is that a serious question?” Bonnie smiled. “Lead the way. I’m right behind you.”
Billy edged between a peddler and a man on stilts, then headed for an open space, checking over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure Bonnie was keeping up. After stepping around a blanket, he halted and looked back. No Bonnie. He retraced his steps, pushing past a juggler and spilling his collection of flying fruit. He finally caught sight of Bonnie, her arm clutched by a young man wearing knickers and black suspenders. Brogan!
“Let me go!” Bonnie hissed.
“I just want to talk to you for a minute. My sister said—”
“Let her go!” Billy ordered, loud enough to make several heads turn. He strode forward and jerked Brogan’s arm down. “Don’t touch her again.”
Brogan took two steps back and jerked the cap off his head, his voice trembling. “I meant no harm, Sir. I assure you my intent is honorable. I just wanted to deliver a message.”
Billy stepped in front of Bonnie. “Then deliver it to me.”
Brogan backed away another step. He lowered his gaze, shifting his weight nervously as he threaded the edge of his cap through his fingers. “I told my sister that you suggested the marbles, and she was so happy, she wanted me to find you and thank you.”
Bonnie stepped around Billy and stood at his side. “But the marbles were your idea, not mine.”
“Oh, no, Miss.” He dug into his pocket, then withdrew his hand, his fist still closed. “I said that an angel whispered the idea in my ear, and I wasn’t lying. You see, I used to have this dream every night that someone who looks just like you comes up to me and asks me to play marbles. But I was too busy for such nonsense. The dream always ended the same way. I’m holding a bunch of flowers and a ruddy silver dollar, and I just go about my business and leave her crying.”
Bonnie’s lips parted, but she didn’t make a sound.
“Today,” Brogan continued, “you told me that I had a silver dollar in my hand. How could anyone know that but the angel in my dream?” He nodded at Bonnie’s necklace. “The angel wore the same beads, to be sure.” His gaze wandered to just above her head. “And now that I know who you really are, I can see your halo.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Dozens had gathered around and were now listening to the conversation.
Brogan extended his trembling fist, his eyes welling with tears. “Heavenly angel,” he said, his voice shaking with passion. “What am I holding now?”
Bonnie lifted her necklace, fingering each bead as she
passed it through her hand. Finally, she slipped her palm under his fist. “A blue bead.”
Brogan slowly straightened his fingers and dropped a shining blue bead into her hand. “Yes, dear angel,” he said, dimples hollowing his cheeks. “I will play marbles with you.”
A gasp erupted from the crowd, then a shout. “I see it! I see the halo!” The people began pushing in, the mass of bodies pressing heavily. As Billy and Brogan formed a shield around Bonnie, more shouts confirmed sightings of her halo.
“Stop!” Billy shouted. “Get back!”
Brogan lifted his hands and waved at the crowd. “You’ll hurt the angel. Back away!”
The pressure eased a bit, but the throng of people still roared—buzzing, shouting, some even crying.
Bonnie leaned over and whispered into Billy’s ear. “No time like the present.”
Cupping his hands around his mouth, Billy shouted, “Listen to me everyone!” But he couldn’t seem to make a dent in the noise.
Brogan squatted and pointed at his back. “Up you go now!”
Billy straddled Brogan’s shoulders and balanced himself while the young man straightened his body. When Billy looked over the sea of faces, he immediately caught sight of Jasmine arguing with five or six townspeople. That was exactly what he needed. Bonnie’s miracle just might be the distraction to keep Jasmine at bay.
As Billy shifted his body to get more comfortable, he prayed for the right words. The din slowly ebbed, every eye focusing on him. “You have all heard of The Waiting Room,” he began, his voice much stronger than he expected. “And most of you have probably heard about the deliverer some have been waiting for. After all these years, that deliverer has finally come to the theatre, and he will lead the way to the new world for all who wish to go.” Billy glanced at the clock. “The door to the new world will close in less than an hour, so I urge you to come. When the deliverer leaves, this world will be no more.”
“He speaks the truth!” a woman called out. It was Constance, her lovely face beaming. “I saw him enter the theatre before noon, and he drew the curtains aside. The screen shows another world, and it’s filled with beauty and wonder.” She extended her folded hands. “I came here to beg you to join us in the theatre. There isn’t much time left.”
“Liar!” Jasmine pushed her way through the crowd and pointed a finger at Billy. “You have come to destroy us. We are safe here, but you would lead us into a world of dragons and demons, of wars and floods, of rape and theft and murder.” She shook her finger at him. “Do you deny it?”
Billy glanced around at the expectant faces in the crowd. How could he deny it? His own world was full of evil, exactly as she described it. But how could he explain that it was better than a life of worthless repetition?
As Jasmine’s anger settled into satisfaction, a devious smile bent her lips. She had nailed Billy, and she knew it. She crossed her arms over her chest, a cold stare matching her icy voice. “As you can see, my friends, he doesn’t deny it. He is not a deliverer. He is a destroyer who has come with his demonic soothsayer, to beguile you all.”
New murmurs scattered through the crowd, arguments lobbing back and forth. “She’s right. . . . No, there has to be a deliverer . . . Maybe she is a demon. . . . She can’t be; she has a halo.”
Billy shouted over the noise. “If I were a destroyer, I would have denied her claims right away, but I am not a liar like she is. There is evil in the new world, but I need you to go there to battle against the evil forces that threaten to destroy us.”
Jasmine paced in front of Billy and Brogan, waving her arms. “Why should we go to your world and battle your evil? We’re safe right where we are! We live in peace and contentment.”
Body Text:“But what good is it to live in peace if you’re living a lie? You just repeat everything over and over, because you’re scared to see what you really are. If you would just . . .”
Billy paused and repeated his words to himself. See what you really are. He slowly curled his ringless fingers and held up his fist. “Listen! Have you ever wondered why you wear the dragon’s eye? Look into the gem right now, and tell me what you see.” He waited while every head dipped down to look. Jasmine maintained a defiant glare at Billy.
Billy shouted again. “What do you see?”
Brogan yelled from underneath Billy. “I see a dragon!”
An old lady in a shawl echoed him. A young woman holding a box of popcorn cried out, “So do I! What does it mean?”
The crowd fell silent. Billy shifted again, wondering if Brogan could hold him up much longer. Jasmine held her tongue, allowing him to speak. “Search your memories. You were all once dragons in my world, but when it became cursed, evil forces killed most of your race, and your spirits now rest here waiting for the deliverer. The reason you’ve been taught to ignore the past is so you won’t remember what you are. Yes, it helps you live here in peace, but the truth will show you the way to a better life.”
Jasmine pointed a long finger at Billy. “And if we were really dragons, who killed us, pray tell? Humans, like yourself?”
“Yes, humans did the killing, but they were corrupted humans, not—”
“Did you hear that?” she yelled, raising her hands above her head. “He claims that his kind killed you and banished your souls here.” She spat on the ground at Brogan’s feet. “You know our law against false prophets, but some gullible fools have already forgotten it and the prophecy I announced when the clock struck one today.
They call you dragons, dead and lost.
In circles now you toil and swirl.
The very ones who slew your race
Have come to lead you to their world.
They cast your bodies to the void,
And now your souls they wish to claim.
Reject these fiends and send them back
To hell’s abode from whence they came.
“And now here they are, just as I predicted, and the little she-devil is performing false signs and wonders to get you to fall into their trap!”
“The mayor’s right!” A tall lady shook a collapsed umbrella. “I heard her prophesy those very words.”
Loud rumbles arose from the crowd, punctuated by angry shouts, rising in volume like the barking of watchdogs.
“No!” Billy shouted, waving his hands. “I’m telling the truth. She’s the one who’s lying.” The noise of the mob grew louder. Billy motioned for Brogan to let him down. When his feet settled, he yelled as loud as he could. “Anyone who wants to come to the new world, follow me!”
Billy took Bonnie’s hand and marched away double-time, enduring insults that seemed to pierce their backs like poison-tipped arrows.
“Devils! False prophets! Kill them!”
“It’s getting too rough,” Billy said to Bonnie. “I’ll come back when I know you’re safe.”
Brogan kept pace alongside, glancing to the rear. “I don’t think anyone is following us yet. In fact, I think they are planning a rough going-away party, but that was one rousing speech you gave.”
Billy really wanted to look back, but he knew better. Jasmine’s poisonous words gave him a sick feeling. He imagined a Joan-of-Arc-type pyre, complete with a burning stake and mounds of kindling all around, he and Bonnie tied back to back with tongues of fire licking their feet.
Billy shook the picture from his mind and kept his pace strong and consistent. It wouldn’t help for him to show anything but complete confidence.
“I’m glad you’re coming,” Bonnie said to Brogan. “Your mother’s already there.”
“Yes, I know. She goes to the theatre every day. I always thought it silly, but I never told her so, out of respect, you understand.”
When they reached the theatre, Billy stepped up to the doorway and stopped, balling his hand into a fist. “We don’t have our rings. Think we can get in?”
Bonnie reached her hand toward the doorway, but Billy grabbed her wrist. “No! Let me!” With a slow extension of his lower leg, h
e pushed his shoe toward the opening. Just as the toe met the plane, it stopped. He then pressed his palm on the doorway, and it flattened as though he were pushing against a wall. “It’s not an energy field or anything. It’s like a solid barrier.”
Brogan stepped in front of the door. “I have a ring. I’ll try it.” With a confident stride, he marched right through the door, then turned and looked back. “Now that’s a brilliant device. The very people who are supposed to go through are left out in the cold.” He twisted his ring. “Here, I’ll toss mine back, and we’ll go through one at a time.” He pulled, stretching his finger until his face turned bright red. “It won’t . . . budge.”
Still pulling, he walked back outside. “There,” he said, sliding his ring off. “It’s easy on this side of the door.” Pinching the ring, he extended it to Bonnie. “Shall we let the lady enter?”
Bonnie raised both hands. “No. I’m staying with Billy. We’ll figure out a way together.”
Brogan tried to push the ring into her palm, but Bonnie jerked her hand away. “I said no. That’s your ring, and—”
“Excuse me,” a strong voice called out.
Billy swung around. It was Bonnie’s Bat Masterson.
He tipped his bowler, adding a polite bow. “I have come to the theatre, as you suggested. I have long pondered the meaning of life in this village, and everything you said makes perfect sense to me.” He nodded at Bonnie. “But it was this lass who melted my heart.”
“How? I didn’t say a word to you.”
“Nevertheless, I felt as though you were pulling on my arm, begging me to come with you. A tiny voice cried out in my mind, ‘Please listen to me.’” He bowed his head. “So I listened, and here I am.”
Billy swept an arm toward the door. “Then go inside and wait. I’ll be in there as soon as I can.”
He took off his hat and held it at his waist. “There are others who wish to join us, but the crowd has been stirred by Jasmine’s evil tongue, and they are holding captive all who wish to go to the theatre. I was able to come, because I did not verbalize my intent.”