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I swallowed. ‘I guess so, yes.’
‘Good, because everyone’s waiting for you, and there’s quite a feast being prepared even as we speak.’
‘At this time of night!’ Trinity gasped.
‘You think this could possibly happen without a celebration?’ Emrick shook his head. ‘Come now, Trinity, surely you know everyone better than that. They’ll no doubt have a million questions to ask you, too, so be prepared.’
‘But…’
‘But what?’
‘I was going to say it’s late and I’m tired, but the funny thing is, I’m not. Not any more. I feel wide awake.’
‘You wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if you tried,’ Emrick assured us. ‘Tomorrow will be time enough to sleep. Everyone plans to do the same thing. Sleep tomorrow. Party tonight. Come on, let’s go home.’
‘Are we safe?’ Romy asked, suddenly nervous. ‘I mean, won’t some sort of alarm have gone off somewhere, alerting the Pendragons that we’re back?’
We were all silent for a moment.
Emrick put his arms around us and drew us into a hug.
‘You’re safe and sound on this island, where no one can harm you. We’ve a long time before we need think about those people,’ he said firmly.
As the girls headed back up the steps, I caught Emrick’s arm.
‘The dragons. They’re here, aren’t they?’ I turned and nodded at the red crystals that had held me tightly to them just moments before. ‘The box is somewhere in there, isn’t it?’
He nodded. ‘It is, and there’s nowhere safer for it.’
‘I guess not. They must never be released into this world, Emrick. I saw one…’ I shivered, remembering the terror I’d felt at the sight of that huge beast approaching. ‘I can only imagine the devastation they’d cause. At least the Pendragons can’t get access to this island so—’
I caught the look in his eyes and my stomach turned. ‘They can’t, can they? I thought you said this island decided who could land here, and this island’s mission is to keep us safe.’
‘Don’t worry, Wulfram. It is, and no, they can’t land here. At least…’ He shrugged. ‘Maybe this is a conversation for another time.’
He put his foot on the bottom step, but I stopped him from going any further. ‘Tell me now,’ I said. ‘I need to know if we’re in any danger.’
He sighed. ‘You’re in no danger, Wulfram. But I must tell you this. If someone should take possession of both keys, the whereabouts of the dimension box will be revealed to them, and a path will open for them to reach it. It doesn’t matter who that is. That’s why it’s so imperative that only you are ever in possession of both keys. Now do you understand the stakes?’
‘They’d have to be pretty stupid to release dragons in the world,’ I said. ‘They can only be controlled by Excalibur, and only the Great Guardian has custody of that.’
‘Yes, they’d have to pretty stupid.’ He paused. ‘Or so filled with hate they didn’t care.’
I swallowed, realising I wasn’t as secure as I’d thought I was, and neither was that dimension box. A dragon flying free in my mind had been bad enough, but the thought of goodness knows how many escaping into the world made me feel sick with fear. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to find the keys. And I had to find that sword.
I thought about the dark-haired woman and wondered who she was. What did she mean about finding her beloved? And why did I have to save him? From what?
I would talk it over with Emrick tomorrow, but not now. My sisters were waiting for us at the top of the stairs, and I didn’t want them to worry about any of this. Not tonight. As we made our way out of the generator shed and into the night air, it felt as if every nerve ending was jangling with life and anticipation. Every scent seemed sharper, every sound clearer, and I realised my sight had improved, too. I obviously wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as Trinity remarked on her own experience.
‘That’s your fae blood,’ Emrick said as we walked. ‘You’re more in tune with nature now.’
And it was, we realised, quite true. The girls no longer ducked and squealed when insects brushed past them. Instead, they stared at them in obvious fascination. They were already beginning to change.
Iwas already beginning to change.
The process of transformation into the Great Guardian had begun at last.
Part 2: After Lowen
