Dragons Rising ✔️

Ch 33: Argument

"Amillian crystals can record messages," he said.

I immediately stopped thinking about the mission. How could I think about that when there might be a message from my parents in my hand at that very moment?

"How do I access it?"

"Wait a second." Clarisa pushed in between us. "You can't seriously believe him. He's obviously lying to convince you to let him come. I've never heard of Amillian crystals being used like a book or whatever."

Tawny stepped forward. "I have in an old book on magical artifacts. They can only be used as recording devices by very skilled elents." She smiled at me. "Your birth parents wouldn't have been able to do that, but they might have hired someone to. You did get that necklace from them, didn't you?"

I nodded. There was no doubt in my mind now that the crystal held a message recorded by my father. "So, how do I access the recording?"

"I'll tell you if you let us come," Kuertis said.

Clarisa scoffed. "You can't seriously be thinking about risking the mission for a chance at some message from your parents?"

I bit my lip, seriously considering her question. Sure that there was some way to save the situation if we talked it through, I grabbed Clarisa's arm and pulled her away from the others.

She yanked her arm out of my grasp. "They can't come to Ferentis. Sooner or later, you'll have to use your secondary powers, and they'll find out you're a freak."

"Look who's talking, Miss Cinem."

"I don't use my other powers by accident."

"Neither do I, not anymore."

[You do sometimes,] Leera commented.

I didn't reply to that.

"Even if you don't use them by accident, you have to use them to destroy the portal." Clarisa put her hands on her hips.

I mimicked her pose. "Then I'll have them hang back during that part. Come on, don't you think they might be useful if we got into a fight?"

She threw up her hands. "Do you think they'd be okay in Ferentis? They couldn't pretend to be okay with paltors if their life depended on it. They'll stick out like a sore thumb in Ferentis."

"I don't know. They could practice before we cross the border. We still have time." I shrugged.

"They'll give us away. No one will believe we're running to Ferentis because we disagree with how paltors are treated if we can't give them proof of what we are, and we can't do that in front of your friends."

She had a point, as much as I hated to admit it, but I couldn't just give up on a chance to learn something about my birth parents. "We both know they're going to follow us whether we let them come or not."

She tapped her forehead. "I could make them stay away."

I guessed she meant she'd use her mental powers on them. She must've had wings hidden beneath her jacket.

"No thanks. I'd rather not have my friends' brains scrambled."

"I wouldn't scramble them, just make them forget why they came out here."

"And how many times have you wiped someone's memory before?"

"Plenty of times."

"If plenty of times means once or twice, you're not going anywhere near their minds." I glanced over at Tawny and Kuertis. They had started a conversation of their own and sounded more than a little worried.

"I've done it more times than that." Clarisa scoffed. "I'm practically an expert."

"'Practically' being the key word in that sentence. Look, we have to come up with some other-"

"I could just tell them what you are. Then you couldn't argue about wiping their memories." She looked like she was about to call out to Tawny and Kuertis, so I did the only thing I could think of and slapped her with the end of my tail.

Her face went red, and it wasn't just from the slap. "How dare you?"

"How dare I?" I had to work not to shriek at her. "Do you really want a full out battle here? You shout out what I am, and they'll- You know what they'll do, and our dragons will fight with us. Someone could die."

Leera, who had been intently listening to our conversation, growled threateningly—though at who, I wasn't sure.

[I'm growling at the idiot,] she said.

[Are you talking about-]

[-Clarisa, obviously.]

Clarisa seemed unphased by what she'd almost done. "Then I'm making them forget, and you won't try to stop me."

"That's just as bad, unless you can knock both of them and their dragons out at the same time," I jerked my thumb at BlueIsle and the red dragon.

Clarisa snarled. "I have more power in my little finger than you'll ever have. I can knock them all out and wipe their memories in seconds."

I scowled. My palms were burning, and the heat oozed into my fingertips.

Leera's mind suddenly got very quiet. [I know that look. Bad things happen when you get that look.]

[I'm not going to set anything on fire.] Forcing my hands to relax, I turned toward Tawny and Kuertis. "It's settled. You're both coming with us."

"What do you mean they're coming with us?" Clarisa grabbed my arm and pulled me around.

The nerve she had, to try and tell them what I was, to insult me, and now- "Let go of my arm."

She yanked her hand back as if it'd been burned, which it probably had. "You'll regret this."

"I doubt it." To Tawny and Kuertis, I said, "Our camp's back this way." Without waiting to see if anyone was following, I turned and headed toward camp.