As they ran through the jungle, with Cass shushing them and hurrying them along at every step, Clay did his best to explain to Satya who he was, why he was at the Keep, and how he planned to escape. And even though it wasn’t strictly necessary, he told her why he wore a wool hat in hot weather. Just so she wouldn’t think he really thought it was cool.
In most circumstances, his tale about a magical camp for juvenile delinquents and an evil society of centuries-old alchemists, not to mention his desire to become a Dragon Tamer and follower of the Occulta Draco, would have seemed far-fetched, to say the least. However, Satya had been living for weeks among the Midnight Sun and had seen dragons up close, so she was inclined to believe him.
“The way you handled Houdini—I knew you looked a little too comfortable for it to be your first time with a dragon.”
Predictably, the part of Clay’s story Satya had trouble with was the part that had him and Cass flying away.
“Be serious—you can’t just fly those dragons out of here. First of all, there’s the electric dome, remember?” Satya pointed at the sky. “Plus, I don’t know what Ariella was like, but those dragons aren’t really hop-on-board types.”
“What about that crazy guy with the mustache and the cowboy hat?” said Clay, trying not to let her see how winded he was. “Show-ringer or something. He was trying to jump on Snowflake like it was a horse. He even had a bullwhip in his hand.…”
Clay held up an invisible whip, imitating. Satya looked at him like he was nuts, until it dawned on her.
“Wait, are you talking about Mr. Schrödinger? They told me he was gone.…”
“Well, maybe gone in the head, but he’s still around.” Clay almost tripped over a root, then righted himself. “I overheard him talking, and it sounded like he’d actually ridden the dragon before. He wouldn’t stop babbling, saying he had to go back somewhere, that he’d never really left.”
Cass stopped and looked back at Clay. “What else did he say?”
“Uh, not much. Nothing that made any sense, anyway. Ms. Mauvais promised he would be able to go back eventually, and that when he did, he would be a young man again.”
“A young man again—she said those exact words?” asked Cass sharply.
“Uh-huh,” said Clay, surprised by her tone. “I mean, I think so.”
She silently considered what Clay had said.
Clay turned back to Satya. “Well, anyway, I still have Gyorg’s keys, so I can turn off the dome if—”
Satya shook her head. “You can’t go back to the control tower; they’ll be watching it now.” She hesitated. “But I guess if somebody else went—like me, for instance…”
“No way,” Clay said quickly. “You’ve done enough.”
“Very gentlemanly,” said Cass. “But isn’t this her choice to make?”
“Here’s the thing,” said Satya. “If we turn the dome off, the other dragons will get out, too, and they’ll attack everyone here. I don’t like those white-gloved weirdos very much, but I don’t want to kill them. Plus, my dad would totally get fired.”
“Trust me, you don’t want your dad working for them,” Cass said.
“And anyway, even if they get out, the dragons will still have their collars on,” said Clay. “So your dad can still control them, right?”
“Maybe. Once the dome is turned back on,” said Satya. “But let’s try not to let them get out in the first place.”
She looked from Clay to Cass and back again. “Okay, if you give me the key, I’ll create a distraction, then shut off the dome. But only for, like, a minute. Seriously”—she held up her index finger—“one minute. And it has to be at night so nobody sees me. Let’s say right after sunset.”
“That should be about eight twenty-one tonight,” Cass said. At Satya’s look, Cass shrugged. “Always good to know what time the sun sets, just in case.”
“Fine. Say, four minutes after that, to give you guys time. At eight twenty-five, I’ll shut down the dome. You’d both better be on a dragon and flying the heck out of here by then, because a minute later—” She made a buzzing sound to indicate the dome turning back on.
“You realize the Midnight Sun will be very unhappy with you if you’re caught,” said Cass.
“They won’t catch me,” Satya said confidently.
“You’re sure?” prodded Clay. “Because we can do this ourselves, really—”
“No, you can’t, and it’s gonna be fine.”
“Okay, thanks,” Clay said awkwardly. “This is really cool of you.”
“Yeah, it is,” said Satya, businesslike. “Now, where are you going to hide in the meantime?”
Clay stared into the jungle. “I think it’s time for me to ally with a dragon.”
“Ally?”
“Like, make an alliance? That’s what it’s called in the Occulta Draco when you make friends with a dragon. Except you can’t ever make friends with a dragon. So… yeah.”
Both Cass and Satya blinked at him.
“You’re not exactly inspiring confidence,” said Cass.
“Oh, no worries,” Clay said with an effort at heartiness. “I’ve read all about it, and I’ve got a couple of hours, right?”
“If you say so…” Cass was looking upward and frowning.
While they were talking, the clouds had parted and the mysterious line had appeared in the sky again. It flashed in the sunlight.
“That line in the sky—I saw it three weeks ago. Has it been there this whole time?”
Satya shrugged. “I think so? I mean, I only notice it sometimes. Why?”
“I’m just thinking about my original mission, that’s all,” said Cass, still focused on the sky. “What are they really doing with the dragons here? This guy Schrödinger—I have a hunch that he might be the answer.” Cass looked at her young companions. “Where do I find him?”
“Um, he’s in one of the tents, unless he got out again,” said Clay. “But you’re not thinking of going now, are you?”
“I’ll meet you at nightfall.”
“Where?” asked Clay as she ran off.
“At the edge of the clearing, near the tower,” Cass called over her shoulder.
And with that, she disappeared into the shadows of the pathless jungle, leaving Satya and Clay alone.
“I have to get back,” Satya said. “They’re going to freak when they realize you two have broken out again.”
She backed up and paused.
“What?” said Clay.
“Nothing. Just… your watch is working, right?”
Clay nodded, suddenly very grateful that Owen had given him the watch.
“Good. Remember: 8:25.”
“I will. Don’t forget this—” Clay handed her Gyorg’s key ring, with the dome key sticking up. “Hey, Satya?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, now that you know who I am…”
“What?”
“Nothing,” said Clay helplessly. He wouldn’t have known how to tell her he liked her, even if they’d been in the normal world and not in an unbelievable, life-threatening situation.
Satya looked at him, a little confused. “Okay, well, I’ll be at the guard tower tonight,” she said, then turned to run off. Hero squawked something that Clay hoped meant she likes you, too—although it sounded more like I’m hungry—and flew after her.
Suddenly, Clay felt very alone. He tapped the side of his ski hat, hoping to hear his Earth Ranch buddies on the other end. There was no response.
He tapped again. Still nothing. Could something have happened to the hat while it was out of his hands?
Clay sighed. Oh well. It wasn’t as though Leira or Brett could really advise him on how to ally with a dragon. He considered taking the hat off—it was as hot and itchy as ever—but he was loath to. Even if it wasn’t working, it made him feel a little more connected to his friends.