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  She slapped the window shut. As though we were already gone, the girl produced a vial of polish and began painting her nails.

  “Excuse me.” Merlin tapped on the window again. “I hate to be rude, but we must get into Little Earth one way or another. I had hoped to speak with your manager, but if you insist on being intolerable, I’ll have no choice but to…. Are you even listening to me?”

  The girl, careful not to rub her nails on anything, stuck headphones into her ears.

  Merlin sighed. “Come, Grian. We’ll do this the hard way.”

  The old man hoisted up his robe and walked briskly toward the park. The girl pretended to continue reading her magazine and listening to her music, but I watched her eyes dart up to the disappearing Merlin several times. With no choice left, I decided to follow him.

  As I sprinted to catch up, a screen door slammed behind me. When I turned, the young girl was pulling off her locket and then transforming into what turned out to be an extraordinarily large dragon compared to her human size. Her scales were pink and purple, but each one was as big as my fist. Her teeth were a glittery gold, and they gnashed in anger as steam erupted from her mouth.

  “Uh… Merlin?”

  “Yes, Grian?”

  “Turn around.”

  He swiveled to face the dragon rearing up on her hind legs and blowing smoke rings.

  “Oh my. Such a genetically modified Earth Dragon must be much more than a check-in girl; I’m guessing she’s the daughter of one of Little Earth’s owners. Kids these days and their sparkly scales. How perfect.”

  “Perfect?” I asked incredulously as the dragon charged. “What part of this is perfect?”

  “Just hold your ground, Grian, and remember what I told you. No transitioning.”

  Obliging his request got much harder to do with a large dragon charging at my vulnerable human form, but I clenched my fists to my sides and did as he said. Next to me, Merlin swirled his hand in the air, creating a blue rope made of shimmering strands of magic. Like a lasso, the rope swirled over his palm, and then, right when the girl was practically on top of us, Merlin released it. The circle found its target around the dragon’s neck, and with a loud crash, she tripped and fell.

  “Quick, hold her head down,” Merlin instructed as he used more magical ropes to tie the dragon to the ground. Beneath my puny human arms, she struggled like a horse that knows it’s about to be put to pasture. Forced to use my whole body weight, I draped myself over her long, sparkly neck.

  Finally, when the registration girl realized she would not escape her tethers, she calmed down enough to transition. Her human face, once it formed, was tomato red and fuming. She was naked, which meant she didn’t have magical powers, so I tried to keep my eyes on her face.

  “How dare you. When my father finds out what you’ve done—”

  “I’m counting on it,” Merlin said. “Grian, can you go find this young woman’s cell phone so she can call her father?”

  Surprised by his compliance, the girl opened and closed her mouth like a fish. I ran to the registration hut, then returned with the cell phone and found her father’s number under Daddy. Once I hit Send, a man’s voice answered.

  “Daddy?” the teenager asked, her voice suddenly dropping about ten years to that of a little girl.

  “For the last time, Melanie, I cannot buy you that leather bag until Christmas.” The man’s voice had a sigh in every word.

  “I’m not calling about that. Are you on Little Earth?”

  “Yes, I’m in the corporate meeting room… in a meeting. If that’s all, Melanie, can we both get back to work now?”

  “Daddy, wait!” Melanie’s voice reached a screech. “I need you to come here right now. There’s a boy sitting on my head and a weird old man who lassoed me to the ground, and you’ve got to save me!”

  He paused. “I’ll be right there,” her father finally said. Then he sighed and hung up.

  Chapter Four

  MELANIE’S FATHER arrived on a helicopter ten minutes later. He, a portly business executive in a black suit, was followed by two bodyguards with muscles that strained against their black T-shirts. When he caught sight of us, Melanie’s dad ran his hand through his silver hair.

  “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded once he could be heard over the chopper’s slowing blades.

  “Daddy, these men just—”

  “I wasn’t talking about them, Melanie. I was talking about you. This is the third time this month you’ve attacked a customer, but they were at least big enough to fight back. Attacking little wizards and humans? Appalling.”

  At the word “little” Merlin raised his eyebrows at Melanie’s father, but he did not correct the man.

  “I am so sorry,” the executive said to Merlin. “No wizards or humans are to be allowed into Little Earth without approval, but such approval should be sought before we resort to violence. Isn’t that right, Melanie?”

  Melanie did not answer, but instead stormed off in a fit. At the hut, she slapped the screen door closed so hard she knocked the sign off the front of the building, and a minute later, loud club music boomed from the hut’s speakers.

  “Kids.” The executive shook his head. “You give them everything, and they still want more. Anyway, my name is Landon Siegel, and I am the owner of Little Earth.”

  “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Siegel,” I said as I took his hand—a man like Landon seemed to appreciate the little gestures of formality. “My name is—” I caught sight of Merlin, whose head moved back and forth just enough to indicate I should not give my real name. “—Skelly.”

  “Well, Skelly, it’s always wonderful to meet a young man with such pleasant manners. And your grandfather’s name?”

  “Myrddin,” Merlin said quickly.

  “Wonderful. Please, come with me—we can talk about your reason for being here in my office.”

  Landon Siegel led us past the registration shack to a small building in the distance. Though the outside was unassuming, a plain siding that blended into the sky, inside, everything was granite and marble and silver. Cool air put pimples on my skin, especially after a day in the hot sun, and I enjoyed the small luxury. On Draman, we had no such fans, which Merlin explained were actually something called air-conditioning.

  “So,” Landon began once we were seated in two posh leather chairs across from his expansive glass desk, and he had removed his suit jacket, “how may I help you?”

  I looked at Merlin, who I prayed had some kind of story made up.

  “We have a very strange request,” Merlin said, his hands moving in circles out of sight of Mr. Siegel. I couldn’t tell if he was using them to prompt his story, or if they had a greater purpose—a magical one, perhaps. “My wife gave birth to two sons: one who carried the latent Earth Dragon gene and one who did not. The Earth Dragon son married someone else with a latent gene, producing our family’s first Earth Dragon in decades. Skelly is the wizard grandson, but my other grandson…. Bron… has always felt like an outsider. A few days ago, he ran away from home, and we think he’s operating under a fake name.”

  “How awful,” said Mr. Siegel. “I’ve heard tales of such split families, but they are rare these days. The Internet has made finding a dragon partner so simple.”

  “Indeed. Anyway, we came here to ask if we could take a look around to make sure Bron isn’t on your park grounds. I’d ask to see the registration list, but as I said, he’s a smart boy. Most likely, he gave a fake name at check-in.”

  “I completely understand your dilemma,” Mr. Siegel said as he tapped his fingers on the glass. “Technically, Little Earth rules state that under no circumstances may a wizard or human enter without approval, which is almost never granted, and we promise our guests that—”

  “Please, Mr. Siegel.” Merlin made his face as pleading and pathetic as possible, and I struggled not to laugh. “Who knows how long I have left to live? My grandsons are all that keep me going in this world, and without Bro
n, I’m not sure I can go on.”

  Merlin and Mr. Siegel shared a very poignant stare.

  “Very well,” Mr. Siegel said finally. “I will personally accompany you through the park. But under no circumstances may you wander off or talk to any of the patrons—is that understood?”

  “Of course,” Merlin said, his hands finally ceasing their dance. “We wouldn’t dream of interfering.”

  INSIDE, LITTLE Earth was even more magnificent than the front view suggested. A river wandered lazily through the grounds, accompanied by real frogs, fish, and even the occasional heron. On either side, stretches of open grass gave the dragons room to land safely, or, for a more complicated landing, they could head for the forest nearby. Everywhere I looked, dragons soared and careened, chased and captured, and I felt instantly homesick.

  “Feel anything?” Merlin whispered, but I shook my head. None of these dragons were my soulmate, or if they were, I couldn’t tell while they were in dragon form. Most were parents escorting their children, who struggled to get off the ground with their inexperienced wings, or couples taking a weekend retreat.

  “Little Earth was an idea conceived by my late wife,” Mr. Siegel droned as he walked us through the forest on a rarely used human path. “She loved to fly and worried that there would be no land left for our daughter when Melanie grew into her wings. As the daughter of Shull, she was lucky enough to have the resources to make her dream a reality—our dream, as it became after her death.”

  “Shull?” I asked as I moved a branch aside and stepped over it. “Who’s he?”

  “I keep forgetting that you’re from the wizarding realm. Shull is the leader of the Earth Dragons—and the Ice Dragons too, by default. He is incredibly old, alive during the revelation of King Roland and the fight by Allanah for the freedom of Earth Dragons, but he’s still the strongest Earth Dragon in the land. He would hate that I’ve allowed humans into Little Earth, seeing as he does not believe in mixing the races… but let’s just hope, for all of our sakes, that he never finds out.”

  “What do you mean, mixing of the races?” I asked. A mosquito landed on my cheek, but I slapped it off.

  “Some wizards have the same belief,” Merlin chimed in. “It’s the idea that the goal of a species should be purity, and that such purity would bring greater strength. For example, the Level Five wizards who forbid their children from marrying anyone below a Four. A bunch of poppycock—some of the greatest wizards have been born from Level Twos who have such small amounts of magic that they’re never even made aware of their talents—but believed, nonetheless.”

  “Don’t let Shull hear you say that,” Mr. Siegel warned as he led us out of the forest onto a small beach where dragons sunned themselves. “Earth Dragons have been killed for saying less.”

  “But didn’t Allanah, a wizard, save the Earth Dragons?” I asked.

  “True,” Mr. Siegel said. “But she was an exception, not the rule. Shull likes rules.”

  The name Shull was having a strange effect on me. Every time I heard it, blood surged through my pounding heart into my body. Not the loving lack of control I was looking for, but an angry, almost all-consuming need to transition and find this Shull.

  “Keep your composure,” Merlin hissed as Mr. Siegel walked through the beach crowd. Several dragons transformed into humans just to shake his hand, and they seemed unaware of their nakedness. “You’re feeling those urges because Shull has taken your rightful spot as leader of the dragons, and everyone knows your species is the most fiery and territorial of all. But until we find your soulmate, you’ll be powerless against him.”

  Merlin?

  When we turned, a young Earth Dragon stared at the wizard with a strange level of familiarity. She was a dark blackish-brown color, and she wore an antique locket probably passed on for generations.

  Shhh, Merlin scolded the young dragon. We’re on a mission, Blair.

  A mission on Little Earth?

  Come see me after you leave this place, and I promise I’ll tell you everything.

  But—

  Not now, Blair!

  By the time Mr. Siegel returned, this Blair person had been convinced to turn her face to the sun and ignore us. But when I turned around one last time before reentering the woods, her eyes met mine in stubborn curiosity. I had a feeling that by the time we returned to Merlin’s hut, Blair would be there waiting for us.

  “Well, we’ve covered everything,” Mr. Siegel said as we left the forest and returned to the registration area. “I’m sorry that you didn’t find your grandson, and I wish you all the best on your search.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Siegel. You’ve been too kind.”

  After Mr. Siegel’s guards and pilot loaded back into the chopper, Merlin clapped his hands. Before I could even gasp, we were back on Council land.

  “Come in,” Merlin said as he guided me toward the cabin. “We have much to discuss. And that goes for you too, Blair.”

  Sitting on a log to our left, her legs crossed in a businesslike fashion, was a beautiful young black woman with wild, long black hair. She wore a dark brown sundress but no shoes, and on the top of her right foot, a fresh tattoo of a blue seahorse glistened. Without a word, she followed Merlin into his hut, leaving the scent of the beach behind her.

  Chapter Five

  BLAIR AND I stared at each other over the edges of our teacups. Chips in the porcelain made the edges of the antiques look like a mouth with several of the teeth knocked out, but the tea was refreshing after a long day walking around Little Earth.

  “Who is he?” Blair finally asked.

  “Blair, this is Grian, who came to visit me from Draman.”

  Blair gasped, and some of her tea spilled out of her cup onto the table. She didn’t even know about the Sun Dragon part of the story, though I had a feeling Merlin would want to keep that little detail between us for now.

  “A real Bone Dragon? Like Nimue and Sara Lee?”

  Now I was the one to startle. “How do you know about my mothers?”

  “Your mothers?” Blair laughed. “No wonder I was drawn to you. Your mothers knew my grandmother, Victoria!”

  I tried not to read too much into the word “drawn.”

  “My grandmother married Jason, a nondragon, and had my mother, a Level Two with a recessive dragon gene. She married another wizard who had a recessive dragon gene, and voila, they had me.”

  Strange, how the ripples of my mothers’ actions were evident in every part of this world. Without them, Earth as I experienced it would not even exist, and neither would Blair. I couldn’t explain why this seemed to suddenly matter to me as I looked at the girl sitting across Merlin’s cramped wooden table, but it did.

  “How are they?” she asked.

  “Who?”

  “Your mothers.”

  “Oh. Right. Not well, actually. Sara Lee disappeared when I was very young, and Nimue has never recovered.”

  “Disappeared?” Merlin asked, and there was a sharpness in his voice. “What do you mean, disappeared?”

  I explained about the expedition, and how she had gone out on a diplomatic mission to another planet and never returned.

  “What planet?” Merlin asked as he sat up straight.

  I shrugged. “No one ever told me; I’m not sure anyone knew. Sara Lee was not only a queen but also the leader of our army. Not very many people were privy to her movements, and those who were had been sworn to secrecy.”

  “But I know at least one of the planets she visited,” Blair said suddenly. “It was Earth.”

  The hut went very, very quiet. I could hear the low whistle of the next round of hot water on the stove moving as it started to boil, and the steady tapping of the second hand on Merlin’s antique clock. Outside, cars zoomed far beneath us, reaching whooshing speeds of what seemed like one hundred miles an hour just on the backroads, and behind us, the hum of the Mansion’s many generators.

  “What did you just say?” I whispered.

 
“Sara Lee came to Earth while on a diplomatic mission. Not many people know that, but my mother happened to be the recording secretary at the meeting of the newly formed Earth Dragon Protection Society, or EDPS, when Sara Lee requested permission to land on Earth. The queen hadn’t intended to end up here, but had fallen into a black hole on her way back from another planet. Shull denied her request, of course—he hates any dragon who isn’t his kind—but did allow a few of his guards to fly up to her ship to give her supplies.”

  Neither Merlin nor I were capable of speech. The cabin seemed to grow smaller and smaller until I thought I might suffocate inside of its short wooden walls, and all I wanted to do was leave. Yet I was stuck there, in my rickety chair, listening.

  “Can you imagine if he’d found out that Nimue and Sara Lee had already been to Earth long before that?” Blair mused as she took another sip. “He would have been furious.”

  Merlin looked at me, and I saw the answer I sought in his eyes. He believed exactly what I did upon hearing this news: Sara Lee had most likely been killed by the leader of the EDPS.

  “Grian, are you all right?”

  I stumbled up out of my chair. “Let him go,” Merlin advised Blair when she tried to follow me, and then the door slammed.

  I ran as far as I could from the cabin, from the truth about Sara Lee that I had never faced, but it met me at the rock at the edge of the floating land.

  My mother—my strong, magnificent, brave mother—was dead.

  MERLIN MUST have eventually explained the situation and let Blair follow me, because she appeared next to me on the rock ten minutes later. Instead of saying anything about my mother, she sat down and put her arm around me, and for some reason, this comforted me more than any words could have.

  “The world can be a pretty terrible place,” Blair said finally. “Take Merlin, for example. He is blessed with the wonderful gift of reincarnation, but with that gift comes great loneliness. In this life alone, he’s had to watch everyone he’s ever loved die, and that’s just one of many lives. Your mother did a great thing by saving Earth from the robots, as I’ve heard in Merlin’s stories of Earth’s alternate history, but because of that, Shull… well, you know. None of it is fair. But doing a great thing with our time in this life or the next is still all that we can hope for.”