“The sewers?” she repeated, obviously baffled, even as she obediently headed for the exit that would lead in that direction. Adrissu turned to leave the way he came. “I had no idea—but, headmaster, where are you going?”
“To try to help,” he called over his shoulder, then stopped and turned back to face her. “Get them all down there and stay there until... I don’t know. I’ll contact you when it’s safe.”
She hesitated, looking at him for a long moment—her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape—then something in her expression steeled over, and she nodded firmly.
“You heard the headmaster!” she exclaimed, the frightened students around her snapping to attention. “You all go find the trapdoor behind the well he mentioned. I need two of you to come with me to help me clear the dormitories.”
“I’ll go with you,” one student said, and another echoed, “Me too!”
The rest of the conversation was lost to Adrissu, as he sprinted back out the way he came, looking desperately toward their home. When it came into view, he had some small measure of relief: Pollux had perched atop the tower, his claws digging into the stone and sending pieces of it flying to the ground, as he paced restlessly around and around its narrow width. Adrissu was near enough now that he could sense Vesper, partly frightened and partly angry at the chaos.
Protect the tower, he thought firmly at her, feeling her turmoil still.Let no one in but us.
He sensed her acknowledgement, then focused all his attention on Pollux.
“Pollux, come down from there,” he called out as he approached the tower, landing near the front door. Pollux turned at him with a snarl, but his expression faded as soon as he recognized Adrissu. He began to climb back down the tower, stones cracking and windows shattering as he moved. Adrissu winced, but it was the least of his worries for now.
“Adrissu,” Pollux rumbled, his voice frightened. “I can’t—I can’t—”
“Just try to calm down,” Adrissu murmured, reaching up. Pollux pushed his huge head against Adrissu’s hands, the scales of his forehead burning hot to the touch. “Relax. Focus on transforming back.”
“I’m—I’m sorry,” the dragon stuttered out, his thick brow furrowing.
“Don’t worry about that right now. Everything will be alright. You just have to change back,” he said.
Pollux squeezed his eyes shut, but for a long moment, nothing happened. Adrissu could still sense his panic, fear, and an undertone of something like regret; and despite his own pounding heart and shaking hands, he took in a deep, slow breath and projected calmness once again. Only then did the familiar red glow start to overtake Pollux’s body.
From behind them, a high-pitched hiss broke the air—the unmistakable sound of a Blackthorn weapon charging up steam in the instant before it fired. Pollux’s eyes snapped open, the glow around him dissipating instantly, and he snarled with fresh rage. Adrissu whirled around as the deafening boom sounded, just in time to catch sight of two Elafaer guards approaching, one having just fired and the other reaching to charge his weapon.
“Stop!” he shouted, shoving them back with his magic. “Stop, you’re only going to upset him again!”
But already Pollux was lifting off with a roar, fire streaming from his mouth, so close the heat made Adrissu’s skin prickle. He could see where the bolt had struck him, another small wound on his neck that wasn’t even deep enough to bleed. The second bolt fired and struck Pollux in the face, still a superficial wound, but this time drawing blood from the softer scales just under his eye. Pollux shrieked with anger, fire exploding from his mouth. One guard managed to leap out of the way with just his clothing singed, but the other was not quick enough. When the fire subsided, only blackened bones were left alongside the curling metal remains of the weapon. The surviving guard went sprinting back down the hill, and Pollux roared, moving to follow.
Adrissu swore and reached out to Pollux with his magic again. Hehadto make Pollux stop, but if they were going to be continually pursued, it would only get worse—Pollux would never calm himself enough to transform back on his own. The guard was fleeing, but they wouldn’t be alone for long. So he seized Pollux by force, pushing him back down to the ground. Pollux had not been expecting it, so despite his larger stature, he succumbed to the force of Adrissu’s will and came crashing down to the earth. Sod and cobblestones alike went flying as he left an indentation in the pathway up to the tower.
“Adrissu!” he cried, betrayed and confused. That nearly broke him, but Adrissu gritted his teeth, ignoring the tears stinging at his eyes, and kept shoving Pollux down. The dragon made a choked sound, struggling and snarling in the dirt, but after a moment he stilled enough that Adrissu could run up and touch him.
“Sleep,” Adrissu hissed as he reached into Pollux’s consciousness, the way he had with Tyrsun, and forced him into sleep. Pollux struggled for an instant, then went limp as the sedation took hold. He would never normally use such a thing on Pollux, but it was the only way he’d have any hope of forcing the transformation to turn him back into his elven form.
Keeping his hand on Pollux’s leg, he felt around again with his magic, trying to coax the illusion into place. It was strange and clumsy, but after a moment Pollux’s body glowed a faint red, shrinking down so slowly that Adrissu almost doubted it would work. But eventually, the battered, unconscious form of the elf was laying in the pit that the dragon had created in the earth.
It was only then that Adrissu felt like he could breathe again. He sat down heavily, panting with exertion, and finally lifted his gaze to look around. The first thing he saw was the tower, their home, with deep claw marks on the sides, three windows shattered, and one gaping hole up near the roof where one of Pollux’s hind legs had broken through to the inside—he must have landed too heavily.
Then Adrissu looked down the hill, his heart sinking as he spotted several members of the city guard running up the path—followed by the Lord Representative herself. Six guards, and one half-elf woman, who looked unarmed and possessed no magical ability that he was aware of—he could probably fight them off, but if they had reinforcements coming...
He started to stand, hands open at his sides as his mind raced, trying to formulate what he would say, when a soft moan from the ground broke his thoughts.
“Adrissu,” Pollux whimpered, curling in on himself. “Adrissu—it hurts—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s alright,” Adrissu said softly, dropping back to his knees to place a comforting hand on Pollux’s shoulder. “It’s alright. You’re safe now.”
“Get away from him, Headmaster,” one guard called out, holding a crossbow that was trained on Pollux. The guards had stopped about twenty feet away, Willow a few paces behind them. “Both of you, hands where I can see them. Don’t cast any magic.”
Adrissu swore under his breath and straightened, his hands moving to his sides again, palms upturned.
“Guardsmen, I can explain,” he started, despite having no explanation or excuse in mind, but Pollux forced himself into a sitting position and interrupted him in a hoarse voice.
“It’s okay,” he croaked, holding his hands above his head with all his fingers outstretched. “I’ll go. I won’t hurt anyone else.”
