“Our friends back home may be in danger,” I tell her, feeling foolish but willing to try. “In Edinburgh. The city, the capital. South. Could you fly us there? There’s an island in the river, you can hide there while we search for them. It will be safe.”
The dragon regards me, with a look that is not unlike the one Aunt Opal gives me when I’m impertinent. Then, she lowers her great wing. I release all the air I’ve been holding onto, and I mount up.
“Sit behind me and hold on for dear life,” I tell Marley.
“If I end up skydiving, tell the family it was all
your fault.”
“Get on.”
Marley is tentative, cautious to the extreme as he attempts to climb up onto the dragon. As he clambers on, Blue shifts sharply, causing Marley to squeak in terror as he almost slips off.
“Not funny,” I mutter and if dragons can laugh, this one does. Her shoulders move in a mischievous fashion.
Marley sits behind me, and I can feel and sense how tense and unhappy he is.
“I’m not going to let you fall to your death and
we’re not taking off until you acknowledge that,” I tell him strictly.
As Marley grumbles and tries to settle behind me, I spy Alona upon the bank of the loch. She looks more serious than I have ever seen her, causing my enthusiastic greeting to die on my lips.
“Be safe,” she says softly.
“Come with us,” I counter. “Come and see Edinburgh.”
She tries to smile and fails. “It’s all right. Not today. I can’t Glamour well enough for a big city.”
I want to laugh; Edinburgh is hardly a big city to me. Compared to London, it’s a little hamlet. However, Alona only knows the nothingness and vast space of Loch Ness.
“Did you know, you can fit the whole human population in this water?” I tell her. “That’s how big and deep it is. A city surely can’t be as scary as that.”
She shrugs and laughs a little darkly. “I’m scared of all kinds of things. Better off here. Better off at home.”
“Let’s get this over with,” Marley says from
behind me.
“Okay,” I say, nodding at Alona. “We’ll see you when we’re back.”
“How do I know you’ll come back?” she replies. and she looks as if she regrets saying it the moment it’s out.
“Friends always come back.”
We stare at each other, and she finally smiles, a genuine smile. I tap Blue gently and let out a cry of joy, while Marley shouts, as we begin an immediate journey of flight, the dragon pounding against the water as she prepares to soar.
“Hang on!” I yell over the spray of water and pounding of our hearts.
*
I try not to speak as the dragon reaches the sky, as she begins a long journey south. Our ascent is done, and we’re just flying. It is just as extraordinary the second time around but I stay quiet, letting Marley experience all of it without my voice interrupting. I cannot wait to hear his amazement. He is saying nothing right
now and I know it’s because of the wonder of it all,
the unbelievable—
He leans over the side of the dragon and throws up.
“Yikes, Marley!” I shout, throwing him a look of sympathy.
“Dragon sickness,” he says queasily. “Who knew?”
There is an awkward beat of silence and then we both laugh. Even Blue makes a chuffing noise.
“So, tell me,” Marley finally speaks, “what are we doing when we get home? What’s the plan?”
I’ve never been the best at plans. I tend to act upon impulse and make it up as I go. Whenever I have homework, I leave it until the night before and use the panic of the deadline to fuel my writing.
“Don’t have a plan,” I tell him honestly. “But Freddy’s emails have been a bit odd. I just want to get a lay of the land. Check in with Erica. Murrey, too.”
“We must be careful. Portia had people with her when she came to Saint Giles. The whole room was under her spell pretty quickly.”
“We’ll be careful.”
“I’ll be careful, you could go running off after moving statues and getting yourself into all kinds
of trouble.”
