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“Absolutely,” she agreed. “I’ve always wanted to see this place. Didn’t you tell me about a Red Dragon that your Uncle Ere brought back from the first quest? I’d really like to see that one.”
Her eyes lit up with genuine excitement.
“Is he really the same Merlin from the Arthurian legends? I can’t believe he’s adragonof all things!”
“Well, dragonsarepowerful beings made entirely out of magic, after all,” Ben said, well aware that Shifu practically had smoke coming out of his ears from being so pointedly ignored in this exchange.
“And just about all dragons, if not truly all of them, have shapeshifting abilities,” he added casually, as if he was in the middle of an intellectual debate and had all the time in the world.
“I haven’t encountered an exception to the rule yet, but since I haven’t met all dragons, I can’t really state this as an absolute fact.”
Annie nodded solemnly, also ignoring Shifu, whose glower grew blacker with each passing moment.
“Completely understand,” she said. “I can totally see it now that you pointed it out—how dragons could have been mages or sorcerers in ancient times. If they didn’t want to hide in caves or beneath the seas, forever isolated from man, they would have had to mingle somehow. Taking human form would have been the natural choice, if they could.”
“Now, see here—” Shifu blustered, drawing himself up as tall as he could.
“We’ll be leaving now,” Ben interrupted, meeting the little man’s wrathful gaze.
“I don’t suppose you can give us a map of this place? Or better yet, point us in the direction of where the Red Dragon dwells? I suppose I can try calling for White Dragon when we exit the Palace, but is there a direct dial, so to speak? Like calling up the Uber fleet of flying dragons?”
“You can’t just—”
“Pretty sure I can,” Ben said, cocking his head a little.
“If you had power over what we do now, you would have done something about it already. I didn’t get the feeling you’re one for wasting your breath, Shifu.”
The little old man snapped his mouth shut and glared. Lightning crackled in his flashing eyes.
Ben waited to see if he would be smote on the spot. When he didn’t disintegrate into ashes after several seconds, he decided to smooth a few ruffled feathers by taking on a more solicitous tone.
“Was there anything else you required of us? Another quest imminent on the horizon?”
Shifu stayed silent and fuming for many long minutes.
Ben waited him out patiently. Annie, who was usually bursting with physical and verbal energy, remained quiet as well, perfectly in sync with Ben.
“No,” the ageless being gritted out with great reluctance, as if the word was dragged unwillingly from his mouth.
“Alrighty then,” Ben said cheerfully, and turned to his companions.
“Let’s get out of here.”
With that, Ben led the way out of the Celestial Palace in long, confident strides, not looking back even once. Sai and Annie followed closely behind, also not turning back.
Just as they passed, the gigantic palace doors shut with a booming clang that shook the entire lofty structure to its foundations.
Heavens. It seemed that Shifu had a bit of a temper.
Ben walked on, letting his gut guide him, since he had absolutely no idea in which direction he should head.
“First and foremost, we have to find a way back to the real world. I want you to meet Kai and Ere, Sai,” he said as he walked.
“Especially my uncle Ere. He’s…in a bad way.”
Sai made a noise of concern beside him, and Ben hastened to add, “Not Ere himself. His Mate, Sorin. We don’t know what’s wrong with Sorin, and I don’t know if you can help. But at the very least I think your presence will comfort Ere. Knowing you’re alive and well would lift his sprits.”
Sai gave one nod but didn’t speak.
