“Everyone who has ever gone through has been sent back, dead,” Novi said. She shot a pointed look at the wyverns at nearby tables, and they pretended they hadn’t been eavesdropping.
“By now, the fire beast will have regenerated,” Mom said. “You can’t return.”
“But all we need is a spell!” I said. “Maximus will help us—he lied to me, so he owes me. He can cook up another spell to fight the fire beast—”
“There’s no wizardry here,” Novi interrupted.
Mom nodded. “When I first arrived, I tried to find another spell, but there are no wyvern wizards in all of Home. Wizardry doesn’t work here—there’s a lack of ley lines to interact with the wizard’s will. I’m told that’s essential. Even if Maximus wanted to help us, he can’t. Here, he is an ordinary wyvern, only as powerful as his wings and fire.”
I didn’t like what I was hearing. Didn’t want to believe it. Didn’t want to listen to it. I was only a second away from clapping my hands over my ears and shouting la-la-la, but her words bored into me anyway. “But…there must be away!”
“Don’t worry,” Novi said. “You’re going to love it here.”
“No! No, no, and no! We have to leave!”
“I’m sorry, Sky,” Mom said, “but we can’t.”
IATE AFTER THAT.
Yes, it was upsetting news, but I was also hungry, and the soup was incredible. Golden in color, it tasted like what I’d imagined molten gold would taste like, if you could eat metal. So rich and sweet, it made my tongue tingle, throat warm, and head buzz.
Novi pressed a cup into my hand. The drink was minty water, and I couldn’t tell if mint had been added or if that was just the way water tasted around here. Everything felt a little…odd. Some of the people smiled and laughed and talked the way I was used to, but others greeted each other with formal bows and curtsies as if they were in a royal court.
Everyone wore clothes that were strange too, though I suppose it makes sense for fashion to be different in another dimension. The vast majority wore cloths wrapped around them like saris. Novi was an exception, though I noticed a few others dressed as she was—it must be a uniform. Mom was wearing a deep-purple wrap that was held with a ribbon at her neck. She also wore an amulet at her throat shaped like a talon with markings on it that looked very similar to the one I’d found in the chocolate box—exactly like it, in fact. Looking at her closely, I saw she had deep-purple scratches around the amulet, on her throat and shoulders. They looked like fresh scars.
“What happened?” I asked, pointing at them.
“Eat,” she told me. “You’ll have time to get used to the way things are here.”
I put the spoon down. “Okay, that sounded ominous. What aren’t you telling me?”
“You don’t need to worry yet.”
“Again, ominous. You’re worrying me just by saying that. Mom, is it dangerous here? Are you in danger?” I should have insisted we go back through the Door right away. If we’d been quick enough, the fire beast would still have been vanquished, and together we could have fought our way past Mr. Keene. Except given how long I’d talked with Mr. Keene…It might have been too late already by the time I’d been reunited with Mom.
“Don’t be ridiculous! Your mother is not in any danger at all,” Novi said, digging into her own food. “She’s already established her place. It’s you. You’ll need to be judged in the Reckoning.” She flashed me a cheerful smile.
Mom sighed. “Our Reckoning on Earth is a pale imitation of the original. While our council examines behavior and compares hoards to determine our place in society, here it is based on wyvern skill. You earn your rank with your abilities.”
Yep, thisdidsound ominous. “What kind of abilities?”
“Finish your meal,” Mom said. “Novi will take you on a tour. You’ll understand better once you see.” She smiled at me, but the smile seemed overbright and only made me more nervous.
Novi jumped up. “Come on! The sooner you see, the sooner you can begin to prepare.” She beckoned to another guard, an older woman in the same scalelike armor, and began conferring with her.
“This isn’t exactly the reunion I pictured,” I commented.
Mom squeezed my hand. “I didn’t picture any reunion. I thought I’d lost you forever.” She smiled at me again, but this smile was tinged with sadness. “I would give anything to undo what happened.”
“What you did, you mean,” I said, and then immediately wished I hadn’t said it.
The same sad smile. “I wouldn’t change what I did; I’d only change the fact that I failed.” She looked across the hall, and I followed her gaze—to Maximus and his blue dragon wife. The dragon had lowered her massive head, and Maximus was caressing her scaly cheek. “Thomas Keene has used the Door to remove his enemies for far too long. He’s kept its existence a secret from the rest of the wyverns on Earth, even the council. And that’s wrong. The Door is supposed to connect our worlds, not divide them. It certainly isn’t meant to split families against their will or knowledge.”
I stared at her. My mother, the idealist? “You weren’t stealing for our hoard?”
She stood. “I don’t expect you to understand. You’re a young wyvern. Still…Come and see what the council has been denying you, denying all of us. Come and see your birthright.” Her voice was ringing, and she’d caught everyone’s attention. Especially mine.
Getting up, I wiped my lips with a napkin—it was nice to see they had napkins. If this was a different world or pocket dimension or whatever, everything could be different, right down to hygiene habits.
