Ashley’s laser eyes flashed off. The gem pulsed white, still sending streams of sparks into the air. Suddenly a huge burst of light popped through the rubellite, a million flashing molecules that formed a walking statue in the air. The collection of energy floated to the ground and materialized into a winged female holding a large mass.
Within seconds, the figure transformed into Bonnie Silver carrying Billy in her arms. She set him on his feet, and he walked in place as if testing his legs. She lunged at him and threw her arms around his neck, her wings fluttering. “You’re alive! Praise the Lord, you’re alive!” The shower of sparks from the gem continued, throwing sequins of celebration on their heads.
Walter choked out a gasp. His chest heaved. The beam died away, and he ran to Billy and Bonnie, dropping Excalibur and wrapping both his friends in his arms. They wept together, laughing and crying at the same time.
Walter socked Billy on the arm. “What a bum, letting Bonnie carry you like that! She ain’t your personal flotation device!”
Billy punched him back, then gazed at Bonnie’s sparkling eyes. “No, but she’s a life saver!”
Walter roared, “I love it!” He slapped Billy’s back. “I’ll have to steal that joke from you.”
“I got a pulse!” All three spun around. Ashley was pressing her fingers on Marilyn’s wrist. She drew the limp arm up and kissed the back of her hand. “She’s alive.”
Chapter 18
THE VEIL IS TORN
Billy ran to his mother and gripped her hand. “What happened?”
Amidst a continuing shower of energy, Ashley touched a nasty wound on Marilyn’s throat. “A dog attacked her—Morgan’s devil dog.” She patted Billy’s shoulder. “I think she’ll be okay now.”
The sparks from the pendant died away for a moment but quickly returned, erupting in a series of punctuated bursts. Each burst expanded into an enormous mass that floated above the ground like a glittering ghost. The first mass sprouted limbs, then what looked like a pair of wings on its back. A half dozen others followed, each one slowly morphing into a dragon shape. The eyes of the first “pendant dragon” glowed a brilliant blue. It dipped its head as if bowing politely. In its sparkling, disembodied form, it seemed unable to speak, but somehow Billy knew who it was. He smiled and bowed in return. “Welcome, Brogan!”
As the features of the other pendant dragons clarified, Billy thought he recognized Martha and Mr. Collins, but he couldn’t be sure. Only the color and shape of their eyes differed from one shining dragon to the next. An army of pendant dragons slowly took shape, but with non-physical bodies of pure light, would they be able to help in the battle?
A tuba blast sounded. Billy jumped up and joined Walter and Bonnie. “What was that?”
Walter kicked dirt toward their enemies. “Samyaza’s calling the troops. He’s so full of hot air, he has to get rid of it somehow.”
The demon army, hundreds of viciously ugly vermin, coiled on the ground like vipers ready to strike. Ten Watchers lined up in front, looking taller and stronger than ever.
Morgan lifted her thin arm into the air. “Attack!”
Each Watcher shot a stream of darkness from his eyes. The professor snapped up Excalibur and sculpted a photo-umbrella over his human and dragon allies. The energy field deflected the black jets into the air.
The Watchers halted at the edge of the professor’s strobing dome. The vipers surrounded the sphere and stopped, their tongues flicking madly. Morgan floated to a spot in front of the professor. Only a few feet of earth and a shield of light separated them. “That was a quick move for an old man, Charles Hamilton, but you’ll see that I have more up my sleeve than a dram of poison for your sweet wife.”
The professor’s face turned red, but he stood erect, unflinching.
Morgan picked up one of the winged serpents. As she looked into its eyes, it curled its six-foot-long body around her waist. “Time for your feast, Zimsko. Strike the one with the sword first and devour him slowly.” She set the serpent down, and it immediately dug its snout into the soil, burrowing furiously. Hundreds of other demons joined in, each one picking a spot around the dome and digging underneath the shield.
The professor’s arms trembled. “Any ideas, William?”
When the snakes’ bodies disappeared underground, Billy turned to the dragons. “They’re coming across! Get ready to blast them!”
Seconds later, Zimsko’s ugly head popped up inside the barrier, his tongue flicking over the professor’s shoes. The professor stomped its head, splattering black goo under his soles, but dozens more popped up, hissing loudly. The humans in the group stomped on the openings, but there were far too many heads to squish. The dragons shot blasts of fire, engulfing several demons until they burst into flames, but the heads kept appearing. The dark thick bodies squeezed through their burrows until the ground was blackened by writhing serpents with fluttering wings.
Ashley stood in front of Marilyn, her feet set for fighting. More bursts flew from the pendant, joining with the others—twenty dragons . . . fifty . . . too many to count—but they still had no substance, just pure energy in dragon form. The first few now had red eyes, pulsing like the rings they once wore in Dragons’ Rest, and they began testing their wings with great fervor, like old soldiers reliving days of glory.
Two demons struck at the professor’s legs. He deftly leaped over them and lowered the beam, swiping it across the ground and frying at least six snakes. The photo-umbrella collapsed, leaving nothing to protect them from the Watchers.
Morgan’s shrill voice pierced the commotion. “Kill them all!”
Streams of darkness flew toward them. Four of the pendant dragons blew blasts of energy that cut off the black streams, vaporizing them into clouds of smoke. Several more pendant dragons launched a salvo of electricity balls, each ball grabbing a serpent with a pair of sizzling, claw-like arcs of energy and devouring its flesh. When the snake disappeared, the ball crumbled into gray ashes.
The physical dragons spewed fireballs, like bursts from a cannon, into one of the Watchers, pounding his chest until he exploded in a titanic blaze. The Watchers levitated as if on a high-speed elevator until they were nearly out of sight. Devin flew to join them while the serpent demons continued their assault.
The knights mounted their dragons. Edmund whistled a shrill note. “We’ll take on the Watchers. Whoever these other dragons are, they can handle the snakes! Fly!” The physical dragons vaulted into the air and zoomed upward, following the path of the Watchers.
Half of the serpents took to the air and struck at the remaining men from above, ignoring the women and girls. The pendant dragons fired their electric snake-eaters, but they weren’t always quick enough. One viper bit Sir Patrick on the ankle. He grasped the serpent by the tail and slung it away.
Bonnie squished the crawling demon with her foot and yelled at Shiloh. “Keep stomping! I don’t think they can see us!” Shiloh smashed her foot down on one of the biggest serpents. Catherine, Shelly, and Karen hopped from snake to snake, raising splashes of black goo.
Ashley, still without a cloaking halo, stayed at Marilyn’s side, hugging Pebbles close to her chest while pressing her hand on Marilyn’s throat. One of the pendant dragons guarded them, spewing energy balls at any demon that dared to draw near.
Billy helped Sir Patrick hobble toward Ashley. Patrick sat down heavily, clutching his ankle. Billy pulled up his cuff and examined the wound. It was nasty, already swollen and dark red. “I’ll be all right,” Patrick said. “Tend to someone else.”
Billy shifted to his mother and laid a hand on her cheek. “How is she?”
Ashley pressed harder on Marilyn’s neck. “She’s breathing, but now that her heart’s pumping, she’s losing more blood. I’m trying to slow it down, but it’s pretty bad.”
“Speaking of bad.” He nodded toward the field where Morgan stood. Devin had flown to her side again, now a sparkling rusty color. Billy squinted at the glow. What was that stuff
on his scales?
Morgan yelled a strange word, and the serpents drew back, flying and slithering into a mass around her and the dragon.
Billy clutched his mother’s hand. “How did Devin get out?”
“I let him out.” Ashley gazed at him through pitiful eyes. “Will you forgive me?”
“Forgive you?!” Billy leaned over and kissed Ashley on the forehead with a loud smack. “When this is over, I’m gonna knight you!” He braced Marilyn’s back and pulled her forward, careful to keep her head from flopping, then lifted the pendant over her head. After leaning her back again, he pointed the rubellite, now as white as bleached wool, at her face. “Dad!” he yelled. “Since the Great Key opened the gates between the two worlds, I’m guessing you can probably hear me now.” He drew the pendant back slightly to encompass his mom’s slumped body. “This is Marilyn, your wife, and she needs you. Be ready to come out, but wait for my signal.” Billy stood and draped the pendant around his neck, then marched quickly toward Walter, his muscles flexing as he steeled himself for battle.
Devin flew toward the professor, his mouth and nostrils blazing. The professor deflected his fire with Excalibur, then slashed across the dragon’s body with the beam. The laser sizzled against his scales but immediately died away. With a mighty flap of his wings, Devin swooped low, but the professor ducked to the side.
Devin pulled up and made a sharp turn. He dove again, this time aiming straight for the group of girls. As the dragon leveled off, the professor leaped into the air, hooked his arm around Devin’s neck, and swung himself to the top, losing Excalibur in the process.
Bonnie pushed Shiloh and Karen to the ground and lay on top of them, spreading her wings for cover. The professor wrenched the dragon’s neck with both arms, forcing his scaly head back and making him fly blind.
Devin swerved away from the girls, roaring and spitting balls of flames. Billy ducked under one of the fireballs, grabbed the sword, and finally joined Walter. With Devin careening like a drunken driver only a few feet off the ground and the professor sitting on top, Billy couldn’t get a clean shot at him. Would the beam work at all? Devin seemed unfazed by the professor’s blasts.
The professor jerked the dragon’s neck again. With a sudden heave, Devin slung him away, sending him tumbling across the ground. Devin soared into the air and banked full circle while Carl, Catherine, and the girls surrounded the fallen teacher.
Walter held out his fist toward Devin. “Dad gave me the candlestone. Let me take that critter out.”
His muscles flexed, Billy shook his head and relit Excalibur’s beam. “No! This is my fight. But stay close and keep it ready, just in case.” He jumped up and down and screamed, “Devin, you mongrel coward! You yellow lizard! Come down here and fight!”
Walter shook his fist. “Yeah!” He pointed at Billy. “What he said!”
Devin zoomed toward the ground, looking like an armored battering ram ready to splinter the two teens like a pair of balsawood doors. Billy muttered, “He thinks that coat will protect him.” He set his feet in a battle stance. “Gotta time this just right.”
Walter held out his fist. “Just say the word.”
The dragon spread his wings and streaked across the ground, no more than five feet in the air. Billy pushed Walter out of the way and yelled into the pendant. “Now, Dad! Now!” He dodged left, bent low, and thrust Excalibur upward into Devin’s soft underbelly, driving the blade in to the hilt. The dragon fell, and they both tumbled over and over, finally coming to a stop with Billy prostrate on top, Excalibur still in his grip and the blade wedged deeply in the dragon’s belly.
Devin lay on his back, his wings splayed underneath. Billy strangled the hilt of the sword, summoning every ounce of energy he could into the laser beam. Bright sparks spewed from the wound. The dragon’s carcass flooded with light. Energy streamed back into Billy’s quaking frame, shooting up his arms and covering his body with red arcs of electricity that swept up over his head and sizzled into the air.
A new stream erupted from the pendant, flowing down Billy’s arms and back into the wound. Pain ripped through his chest like lightning bolts piercing his heart, each one worse than the plunge of Elaine’s dagger. He shuddered, every bone rattling from head to toe. Fire shot out of his mouth and surged into the sky, a rushing torrent greater than any he had ever seen. After what felt like endless torture, the flames sputtered, and Excalibur’s beam died away.
Dazed, he slowly climbed to his feet atop the dragon’s belly. He grasped the hilt for balance, then, when the world stopped spinning, he withdrew the sword, bringing a flow of sparkling blood with it. He leaped off, bending his knees to soften his landing, then backed away, watching for signs of life.
A strange sound from above caught his attention, and he searched the sky. A narrow cylinder of red sparks hovered in the air, swirling like a crimson dust devil of pure energy. It glided to the ground, emitting a high-pitched squeal and a foul-smelling wind, then inched toward the people gathered around the professor, its lower end stirring up the soil.
Billy, with Walter on his heels, headed off the tornado. He halted in front of his friends and stood his ground. Carl knelt beside Professor Hamilton, his arms under the teacher’s back, as if preparing to carry him to safety. Catherine and the girls jumped from place to place, stamping out demons.
As the twisting light drew closer to the professor, Walter crept closer to Billy, his head high. “Think it’s Devin?” he shouted.
Billy raised Excalibur, the wind whipping his hair. “Yeah, it’s Devin, and I’m through running from him.”
Walter opened his hand, exposing the candlestone. “Want me to use the dragon slayer vacuum cleaner again?”
Billy tried not to wince, but the gem seemed to bite through his heart like the jaws of a pit bull. He ignited the sword’s laser, but the light seemed dimmer than usual, flickering weakly. He could hardly catch his breath. “I don’t know.” As the cyclone drew within inches, the disgusting odor nearly made him retch. “Keeping him prisoner hasn’t worked before.”
Walter made a fist around the stone and retreated a single step, his heels touching the professor. “Better make up your mind. That tornado makes the Tasmanian devil look like Cupid doing the twist.”
“Let’s go for it.” Billy nodded toward the ground. “Put it at the bottom of the swirl.”
Walter stooped and placed the glittering candlestone just ahead of the swirl’s funnel. The candlestone latched onto the light and drew it downward like a fisherman reeling in a prize marlin. The swirl struggled, stretching up and thinning out, its squeal growing louder.
Within seconds, the final stream of red slurped into the stone. Billy raised the sword and sliced through the gem with the bloody blade, splitting it cleanly in half. A dazzling explosion erupted from within, and a shower of sparks fell to the ground and twinkled into oblivion.
Billy stared down at the broken gem and took in a deep draft of air, now clean and fresh. Devin was finally gone for good. He marched back to the dragon’s body and laid his palm on the scales. The body jerked. Billy backed away while the dragon rolled upright. It swung its head around and blinked at him, each blink revealing a red flare of nobility in its eyes. A low rumble sounded from its throat, stuttering, as if it were just learning to speak. Finally, it said, “Well done, Billy . . . my son.”
The dragon rose to his haunches and lowered his head close to the ground. “We have work to do, so I bow my head to take a rider.”
Billy shivered. He raised his hand and caressed his father’s ruddy neck. Could it really be true? Was his father really in there now . . . and he remembered? “D—Dad? . . . I mean, Clefspeare? You’re . . . You’re bowing to me?”
A sort of chortling rumble emanated from the dragon’s throat. “Call me ‘Dad,’ and yes, I am bowing to you, and to another king. But explanations must wait. I have been watching the battle, and I see that Morgan is ready to attack again.”
A new foul breeze drift
ed through the air. Billy gazed windward. Morgan was huddling with Samyaza and one of the snake demons in the field not far from the forest edge. Across the field, the skirmish with the snake demons had almost ended. A few black wigglers remained, but the pendant dragons were mopping them up with the help of the girls. Nearby, Walter knelt next to Carl as he tended to the professor.
Billy whistled a shrill note. “Walter! Get ready for an attack!”
Walter stood and spread his arms. “I was born ready!”
Billy straddled the base of Clefspeare’s scaly neck and grabbed a spine. The dragon raised his wings, then drove them downward against the ground, sending out a wall of wind. Again and again he beat his wings, faster and faster, as if rejoicing in the glorious freedom. Billy felt the joy, warmth radiating from his father’s glowing scales as his magnificent body lifted into the air.
As they rose, he saw Carl talking to Bonnie. She turned and gazed up at Billy, pain twisting her face.
A shiver crawled along Billy’s skin. “Is Prof all right?”
“He’s alive,” Bonnie shouted. “That’s about all I know.”
Clefspeare spiraled upward, increasing the speed of his ascent. As the humans shrank below him, Billy cupped a hand to the side of his mouth. “Mr. Foley! Check on my mom and Ashley and Sir Patrick, okay?”
Carl flashed an “Okay” sign and ran toward Ashley.
As Clefspeare leveled off, Billy searched the skies for the other dragons. They had to be battling Watchers, but he couldn’t find a trace of fiery jets anywhere. A cold breeze buffeted him, drying the blood on his sweater and making it stick to his chest wound. When he pulled it free, it smarted like bees stinging, but he didn’t want to take the time to check for new bleeding. He tightened his grip on the sword. It was time for battle.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted another set of fluttering wings. Bonnie hovered close, holding Excalibur’s scabbard and belt. “”You forgot something,” she said, smiling.