ALONE WITH THE DRAGONS, FORT wasn’t able to resist getting a closer look. To keep it safe, he hid the Summoning book behind some packing material in the corner, then slowly approached the skeletons. He knew he should just teleport out of here, go somewhere he could practice in peace, but being alone with the bones of actual dragons was just too amazing to pass up.
This was only the second time he’d ever seen the dragon skeletons outside one of Dr. Opps’s memories, let alone seen the bodies of the magicians who’d been masters of each type of magic.
And this time, they weren’t behind glass.
He tentatively reached a hand toward the largest dragon skull, feeling guilty about touching it. Even without the glass, the display still felt like a museum, and a lifetime of being told not to touch things was hard to break.
But this wasn’t just history; it was magic. And when else would he have the chance to touch a dragon?
His fingers brushed the dragon’s teeth, and he quickly yanked them away, just in case the monster came alive and tried to bite off his hand. But when nothing happened, he reached his hand out again, and this time touched the creature’s jawbone. A feeling just like magic flowed through him, and—
“Hey,” said a voice from behind him, and Fort’s heart stopped completely as he whirled around in terror to find Gabriel, of all people, standing in the doorway. “I don’t think you’re supposed to touch those, you know,” his roommate said, grinning.
“You almost gave me a heart attack!” Fort hissed, trying to calm himself down. “What are you doing here?”
Gabriel pushed his way in, then closed the enormous door behind him. “Isn’t the more important question, what are you doing here?”
“No? I know why I’m here.”
Gabriel snorted. “That kid with the silver hair told me I’d find you here. He said you needed a friend.” Gabriel stepped closer, a thoughtful look on his face. “You know, if it was me who all the guards were after for taking something I shouldn’t have, I might pay more attention if I was being followed. I was at the end of the hall when you came in here.”
Ugh. Cyrus was too good to be real. Even after Fort slammed a door on him, Cyrus still sent someone to check to see if he was okay.
But why Gabriel? Unless he was the only one Cyrus could find who’d still even want to talk to Fort.
“I don’t know what Cyrus meant,” Fort said, incredibly glad he’d hidden the Summoning book. “I’m just here to see the dragons.”
Gabriel nodded. “They walked us through here on the tour,” he said. “I never wanted to come, but even I was pretty blown away by this. I’m surprised they left it open.”
“They’ve been doing a lot of work on this floor,” Fort said, giving him a little space as Gabriel neared the dragons. “Probably just a mistake. I didn’t realize they gave all the new students a tour of everything. Last time I saw something like this, I had to… well, rules were broken.”
“Oh, there weren’t any other students,” Gabriel said, staring at the dragon. He reached out a hand and touched it in the same spot Fort had. “Just me and my mom.”
“You got a private look around?” Fort said, wondering again who Gabriel was. “Why?”
“Why were you out past curfew last night?” he asked, giving Fort a sidelong glance.
“Okay, fair.”
Gabriel turned back to the dragon and went silent for a moment. The other boy seemed lost in thought, so Fort took a chance and glanced over at where he’d hidden the Summoning book. From where they stood, it was still out of sight, but if Gabriel moved toward the large cat skeleton, he’d probably be able to see it.
“Do you think there are any left?” Gabriel said out of nowhere.
“What, dragons? Don’t you think we’d have heard about it if there were?”
“Unless they only woke up when magic did,” Gabriel said, running his hand down the dragon’s neck bones. “They could be out there now, anywhere. It’s kind of crazy to think about, huh?”
“If something this size started flying around, I’m going to guess it’d make the news.”
Gabriel snorted. “Use your imagination, kid. Who says they have to look like dragons? Birds are descended from dinosaurs. Maybe dragons hid when magic disappeared. Maybe they look completely different now.”
“Like what, Komodo dragons?” Fort began to get antsy, anxious that he didn’t have the book on him. Why had he put it down? Now he wouldn’t be able to grab it without Gabriel noticing. “We should probably get out of here. If you go first, it’ll look less suspicious—”
“Maybe those Old One things started as dragons,” Gabriel said, ignoring him. “Or maybe these magicians did. Dragons turned into all kinds of things in old stories, and for all we know now, those could be true.”
“I’m pretty sure dragons are just dragons,” Fort said, pointing at the skeletons in front of him. “Why would they hide what they looked like?”
“To keep hidden, maybe,” Gabriel said. “If you were the last dragon, would you want to stand out?”
Fort’s eyes widened at his roommate’s words. The last dragon? That was the same phrase the Old One had used in his dreams the last few nights. “What did you just say?” he whispered.
“I’m saying, if there’s just one dragon left, maybe it tried to hide,” Gabriel said, looking over at him now. “You don’t ever wonder if Dr. Oppenheimer knows about one that’s still around? You know that guy has tons of secrets. Someone at this school probably knows.”
Fort stared at him, not sure what to make of this. It couldn’t just be coincidence that Gabriel was using the exact same phrase that the Old One had. And Gabriel had said he had nightmares too. But the same dream? It couldn’t be possible. Why would Gabriel be dreaming about Fort’s father? Could Gabriel have overheard him saying the phrase in his sleep?
“Why are you so interested in some random last dragon?” Fort asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
Gabriel went silent for a moment, then gave him a long look. “What are you doing in here, Fort?”
“I told you, I came to see the skeletons,” he said.
“Actually, you said dragons.”
“I was mostly just looking for someplace quiet. But you didn’t answer my question.”
“I’ll answer your question if you tell me what that book is, the one you hid in the corner there,” Gabriel said, nodding toward the spot where Fort had hidden the book of Summoning.
A cold chill passed through Fort. “I told you earlier,” he said, hoping to sound braver than he felt. “I can keep a secret.”
Gabriel nodded. “That’s important, kid. And I admire that about you. But eventually there comes a point where you have to take a leap of faith, and just trust someone else.”
“You should take your own advice, maybe.”
Gabriel laughed. “You really do remind me of my little brother, Fort. Listen, I don’t know what you’re doing, and you don’t need to tell me. But if I were you, I’d find a good, solid hiding place for that book, and stop throwing it in corners if you don’t want to get caught.”
Fort swallowed hard. “That’s… good advice.”
Gabriel nodded and turned to go, then paused and looked back. “Just in case you were here for some other reason, I’m going to help you out. Dr. Oppenheimer doesn’t have anything on dragons, not in his office. So don’t bother breaking in there, I already checked. Now, I’ll see you at dinner, yeah?”
And with that, he walked out, leaving Fort more confused than ever.