At Last, a Moment
Thisbe and Rohan could see Quince plain as day, but they knew the Revinir could only see rolling fog. And though she’d figured out that the ghost dragons could hide like fog, they hoped she was too distracted by their plans to notice this patch.
From the dragon-woman’s back, Thisbe strained to see if anyone was riding him. She detected two bodies nestled into the pillowy softness, but there was no telling who they were. In the distance, many other ghost dragons saw the Revinir and her riders coming and started toward them.
The Revinir landed in the strip of desert between the forest and the cavelands. Thisbe and Rohan got down and stood with her as the ghost dragons approached.
“Obviously we were right, that nothing changed,” the Revinir muttered to Thisbe. “The ghost dragons are all still here. Let’s see what they have to say.”
Thisbe walked with her. “I hope they have more knowledge than Rohan does, and can fill us in so we can get this partnership rolling.”
The Revinir glanced at the girl. “I’ll do all the talking,” she said, reminding Thisbe of how greedy she was.
“That’s fine,” said Thisbe icily.
The Revinir noticed the rolling fog had stopped moving and was just sort of stuck in one place nearby. She narrowed her eyes at it. “Is that one of the ghost dragons doing that same weird thing it did when Rohan was on board outside the castle?”
“I don’t know,” said Thisbe.
“Let’s see which of your friends is hiding this time.”
“I’m curious to know as well,” said Thisbe. “We know you’re a ghost dragon,” she called out. “Reveal yourself, please.”
Seeing no reason to keep up the pretense, Aaron told Quince to materialize. Aaron and Ishibashi raised their heads and sat up.
At the sight of her brother and one of the grandfathers, Thisbe’s heart trembled and her stomach churned. Why did it have to be them? But Thisbe had to pull it together and handle this right in order to keep the Revinir believing her farce. “What are you doing?” Thisbe demanded. “I told you not to come after me.”
“Thisbe,” said Aaron. His voice shook, making Thisbe shake too. But he continued. “Ishibashi and I have come to talk, not fight. May we have a word?”
Thisbe narrowed her eyes and glanced at the Revinir. “I don’t know,” she murmured.
“It’s just me and a one-hundred-and-ten-year-old man here,” Aaron said lightly. “We’re not interested in attacking anyone. I just… I just want to try to understand.” He went quiet, then added, “Please, Thisbe. Just a few minutes.”
Thisbe continued her glare. She knew the Revinir was watching her closely. After a moment she turned to the dragon-woman. “Do you mind if I just take care of this a moment?” Under her breath she added, “If you get my meaning.”
The Revinir’s eyes widened slightly. “Bold move,” she said.
“Only if the moment presents itself, understand,” Thisbe said carefully.
The other ghost dragons were still flying in and gathering around the Revinir. They seemed curious, and some of them bowed their heads slightly, which made the Revinir quite pleased. “Go ahead,” she said loud enough for Aaron to hear. “Bring Rohan to listen in so I can find out later what was said if I need to. And tell them I’ll kill them in an instant if they try anything.”
“Of course,” said Thisbe, then added snidely, “Since you obviously still don’t trust me, Rohan is welcome to tag along.”
The Revinir’s face flickered. “I told you. I trust no one.”
Thisbe started walking toward Quince. Rohan followed a few paces behind, a glazed look markedly present in his eyes. “Climb down from there,” Thisbe called to her brother. “Both of you, please.”
Aaron and Ishibashi made their way to the ground and met Thisbe and Rohan. Thisbe’s pulse wouldn’t stop pounding in her ears like a ticking bomb. She had to stay in character. She had to trick her brother… and dear Ishibashi, her acting grandfather. It would be nearly impossible.
The four stood together in a square, and Thisbe saw the sadness in their eyes that she’d caused. Aaron gazed at his sister for a moment, clearly emotional. He almost couldn’t speak. And when he did, he said something that threw Thisbe off her game.
“This is all my fault,” Aaron whispered. “You’re taking after me. Please, please don’t make the same mistakes I made. I’m here today to tell you that you will regret this for the rest of your life… like I regret my mistakes.” He took a breath. “Every day I relive my past like a recurring nightmare. Every day I face people who still hold scorn for what I’ve done. And I deserve it. But, Thisbe, my dear sister… I want you to know it’s not too late to come home. You have a chance that I didn’t have. And I’m begging you to take it. Come with us.”
Thisbe had no idea Aaron would take some sort of blame for her wrongdoings. She glanced at Ishibashi, whose eyes were glistening.
“This is your pivotal moment,” Ishibashi said quietly. “What you do next will define you. I believe you will make the right choice.”
Thisbe swallowed hard, over and over again, trying to clear the lump that insisted on rising. And she held her eyes wide open, trying to get the wind to dry her tears. She spoke to herself silently, reminding herself why she was doing what she was doing. They were not done with this. The Revinir was thirty yards away and could kill any of them at any moment with a blast of fire.
“There’s something else,” Aaron said. “It’s Fifer. She’s hurt. I… I don’t know how badly.”
Thisbe took in a sharp breath. Her mind swam. What had happened to Fifer? Had the red dragons done something? She felt sick. But she was so close to getting this right. If she left with Aaron, the Revinir would never trust her again, and all their work would be ruined. She’d go to Fifer immediately after she took care of the Revinir. Gathering strength, Thisbe stared Aaron right in the eye. “This meeting is a waste of time,” she said, trying to sound disgusted.
But then a whisper came from her left. From Rohan, whose lips barely moved. “Thisbe, quickly. She’s standing alone. The ghost dragons can’t be hurt.”
Thisbe’s eyes widened as tears slipped down Aaron’s cheek. Keeping her back to the Revinir, she slid her hand inside her jacket and secured the obliterate box. With a whisper of magic she opened it and removed the stone.
Fingers trembling, she knew she had a fraction of a second before Aaron and Ishibashi would show surprise or fear on their faces—a fraction of a second to turn and aim and throw and kill the Revinir. The dragon-woman who had imprisoned her, who had nearly killed her and her friends multiple times. But who had also just revealed a little of herself for the first time. Thisbe’s heartstrings twanged against her will. She fought against her hesitation, but her body began to shake uncontrollably. The Revinir had to be taken out. There was no other option. This was the moment. Her moment.
With the pebble pinched between her fingers, Thisbe withdrew her hand from her jacket. She turned and took aim. Then she threw the pebble with her shaking hand at the Revinir, crying “Obligerate!”
Her eyes widened as she bungled the word, and she hastened to fix it. “Obliterate!”
Rohan gasped. Aaron cried out, “What are you doing?”
The pebble soared toward the Revinir, whose jaw opened in shock. Whose eyes showed her feeling of betrayal. The Revinir let out a cry as the pebble skimmed over her head, missing its target and hitting the ground just beyond her. It exploded on impact, sending sand and rocks flying and knocking the Revinir off her feet.
Thisbe had missed. The Revinir was not dead. Thisbe watched in absolute horror as everything she’d built up over the past weeks fell apart in an instant. She caught Aaron’s eye in a pure moment as they both realized what was happening. But when the Revinir rolled and got up, Thisbe grabbed Rohan’s wrist and yelled, “Everybody run!”
As Thisbe and Rohan ran for the edge of the forest, and Aaron fumbled for components, Ishibashi sent two throwing stars flying at the Revinir’s face, striking her. He timed a third to soar straight into her open mouth, coinciding with her angry roar. It embedded into the back of her throat.
The dragon-woman let out a scream and a thick spray of fire that swept over the ground like a giant fireball, building in size as it went. There was nowhere safe for the two men to go. Ishibashi shoved Aaron behind Quince for cover, then tried to dive out of the fireball’s way. But the old scientist wasn’t fast enough, and the ball of flames engulfed him. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground.
Aaron stumbled, then regained his footing as a thin wall of flames passed over him. Scorched, he turned and saw his mentor on the ground. He threw his body on top of Ishibashi’s to douse the flames and rolled him over. “Quince! Help us!” Aaron screamed.
The ghost dragon scooped up Aaron and Ishibashi before the Revinir could send another wave of fire. He took off at a velocity rarely seen in ghost dragons, heading south toward Ashguard’s palace. As Thisbe and Rohan disappeared into the thick of the forest, the Revinir sent another ball of fire at the rising ghost dragon, but could do no harm to Quince’s underside.
The rest of the ghost dragons surrounded the Revinir, raising their wings around her to trap her and delay her from going after either party. When Quince had moved out of the Revinir’s fiery range, he used his tail to put the two men gently on his back, one at a time, as he continued flying.
Aaron, scorched and blistering, rolled to his side as the throbbing pain began and grew. “I’m coming, Ishibashi!” he cried, his voice ragged. He pushed himself to his feet and stumbled across the dragon’s back to the scientist. In the distance the Revinir let out a frustrated, bloodcurdling roar.
Aaron stared at Ishibashi’s limp body, then quickly knelt by the old man’s side. He checked the scientist’s vital signs, cursing himself all the while for not bringing medicine with him.
But Ishibashi had no pulse. No heartbeat. Aaron bent his face near the scientist’s but could detect no breath left inside him. The young man tried his best to revive Ishibashi, ignoring his own agonizing pain. But in time, Ishibashi’s neck and chest grew cold beneath Aaron’s hands. After too long, Aaron finally gave up. Heaving and exhausted, he looked at the man’s face. Ishibashi… was dead.
Aaron’s eyes widened as unshed tears burned them. But then a desperate, wretched sob escaped. He took in a sharp breath, and more sobs came. Sick, angry, broken sobs. Sobs that had never come when his own parents had died. But Ishibashi had been more than a parent. “No!” Aaron screamed. “No!”
An overwhelming feeling and an intense realization enveloped Aaron, pressing down like a weight on his chest. The man who’d rescued him. The man who’d taken him in. Who’d shown him love and had taught him discipline. Who’d promised just moments ago to spend the rest of forever with him… Ishibashi was dead. How could it be? He’d died.
As Aaron sat numb on the back of a ghost dragon with the scientist’s body in his arms, his mind spun between sorrow and wonder. He felt the weight on his chest lifting and lightening. The soul of the beautiful old man seemed to leave its burned shell and rise to the air, moving far away to the east, taking bits of Aaron’s sorrows and one of his biggest fears with it.
As Fifer and Dev struggled to survive at Ashguard’s palace, and as Thisbe and Rohan ran for their lives toward the forest, something incredibly sad and horrible yet tremendously important had just occurred. And it changed everything for Aaron. For his future. For his life… and for his death.
Ishibashi Junpei, grandfather, scientist immortal, had died. But in the midst of deepest, darkest sorrow, grief, and loss, Aaron could squint and barely see a tiny ray of light. Leading Ishibashi home.
The Revinir broke free from her ghost-dragon prison. The two traitors were out of sight in the forest, but she could smell them easily enough. It would only be a matter of time before she had them back in her grasp. The question now was what she would do to them. As the Revinir rose up above the trees to track them, her eyes narrowed in anger and her heart grew colder than ever before. She’d let Thisbe in, and the girl had cruelly turned on her. How dare she? The dragon-woman wouldn’t make that mistake again.
As Thisbe and Rohan stumbled through the forest, fleeing for their lives, a faint, desperate whisper of a single word fought to bridge the distance and found its way to Thisbe’s ear. But then a furious roar from the Revinir revealed that she was closing in, and the word was gone on the wind.
Water.