my hand on the ropes trying to get us both untied. Lyle, we met in the jail at Riverbend and I mortally offended you by suggesting you might have left me to drown and run off before killing Sephith. The other Justin wouldn’t know that.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Zaara said.
A roar outside shook the stone of the tower.
“What was that?” he asked wearily. His wrist lit up with a blue light and he considered it for a moment. Given everything that was happening, he should probably check his messages sooner rather than later. He pressed the button and was surprised to see Dr. DuBois’s face appear.
“Your parents remembered one of your favorite aspects of games when you were younger, and they wanted to give you a birthday present. This is only a beta test so you won’t be able to take it outside this zone, but if it works well, you might get it back later. And don’t worry, we gave you a buff to make sure you can’t plummet to your death. Have fun.”
The man vanished as the roar was repeated.
“I have no idea what it is,” Zaara replied to his earlier question. No time had passed for her or Lyle while the message was active. “But it’s big.”
He walked to the door and pushed it open as purple scales flashed past. His face broke into a smile.
“It’s a dragon,” he said and began to laugh. “I’m going to be a dragon rider.”
The creature soared through the night air outside the tower and swooped to hover in front of Justin.
“How much time passed while we were in there?” Zaara asked.
“That’s what you’re focused on?” Lyle asked her. “There’s a dragon, girl.”
“I know.” She gulped audibly. “I’m trying not to think about that.”
Justin stepped out onto the ledge. This high up, the wind whistled around the tower. He extended his hand as the dragon flew closer. Softly, it lowered its snout into his palm. One eye—a brilliant green with a slit pupil—closed in a long blink.
“Hello,” he said.
It snorted.
“Can I…ride you?” He looked at its back.
It lowered its head and maneuvered close to the little ledge so he could slide onto its neck and down to the saddle. He made a sharp intake of breath as he stepped out onto nothing, but the creature caught him and a moment later, the air returned to his lungs. He laughed shakily.
“Already outfitted for a rider, huh?” The pommel was fine leather and he traced his fingers over it before he leaned closer to see the letter embossed there—J. “Thanks, Mom and Dad,” he whispered.
“Justin!” Zaara called. When he looked at her, she pointed at the sky. He narrowed his eyes to focus and identified dark shapes in the black expanse. “You must have to do something with those! And—good luck!” With that, she turned and buried her face in her hands.
“Do you see those?” he asked the dragon. “Let’s go check them out.”
It must have understood because it stopped sculling in midair and flapped its wings twice before it soared into the night. Justin gave a whoop and a laugh. Air rushed past him, the beat of the dragon’s wings made its body ripple with muscle, and the stars were incredibly close.
The creature spiraled as it ascended steadily. It took delight in flying, Justin could tell. It was made for this and was intelligent enough to love it. He stroked his hand along the scales and smiled.
“You’re more wonderful than I ever thought,” he told it, and he thought it snorted again.
The dark patches in the sky were a series of stars, each ornate and each the absence of light rather than the presence of it. They circled the very top of the tower, but he could make no sense of them. Dragon and rider were on their second circuit when a look over his shoulder revealed something strange.
“Fly close to the tower,” he called to the creature, who obeyed without a flicker of doubt. They circled and descended toward where Lyle and Zaara waited, then spiraled to the top. Ornate stars were etched faintly in the stone, each like those in the sky. Justin counted eight of them. He memorized four and urged the dragon up and around until they found the first.
He bit his lip. There was only one thing he could think of to do.
“Fire,” he told the dragon and pointed at the first star. It opened its mouth and roared, flames erupted into the darkness, and the void