Chapter 25.2: A Man and His Horse (Also Bo is there Too, Just Watching)
The
stables were underground. James didn't even have to ask to go to them -
Bo was already leading him there in silence. James had to take two and a
half steps for each one Bo took as he walked ahead of him, leading him through a series of stone halls, all of which resembled one another.
If
it wasn't for the lack of windows, and the cool, stale air, James might not have believed they were underground though. The interior, though clearly stone, looked like it could be a part of any normal building.
Even the lanterns lining the walls were familiar, like those in the depths of the palace, lit up when it was night. It made it feel like it was nighttime, even though he didn't know what time of day it was. All
he knew was that two weeks had passed, and he remembered none of it.
As
they walked in silence, James tried to remember the turns they were
taking to get there. He noted the doors they passed - most of them were
wood, but they still looked heavy. He tried to keep in mind that Mickey
had said they were in a guild. A guild full of people.
As
far as the world knew, and as far as he knew, up until this point, mage
guilds didn't exist anymore. What actually existed above-ground was the
very antithesis of mage-guilds; guilds for mage hunters. People who
tracked down and killed mages before they could ever get powerful enough
to fight back.
Mage
hunters were always lauded as heroes who protected "normal" humankind,
but James had learned over time that they were no heroes. They were murderers and praised for it.
He
couldn't help but think of Clandestine, and how happy she would be to be in a place like this. To be with other people who did magic. People who were so eager to welcome her in like family, and were already calling her their own without even knowing her. He hadn't met many mages who revealed themselves to be so, but he wondered if Bo and others had found them, or vice versa, and if they were here too.
But that would have to wait for later.
There was so much itching at the back of his mind.
He
needed to see Elliot was okay. He needed to see Billy was okay. He needed to know Clandestine was okay, and that was the one he was the least assured about. He wanted to believe she was alive and saveable, but he couldn't help but consider the possibility of her already being dead.
Like Bo said. It had been two weeks.
The
hall turned and widened, and at the end of it, there were two double doors. Before Bo announced it, James could smell it. The smell of a
barn. Hay. Feed. Manure.
Bo
let James go first to the door, and James's hand paused briefly on the handle. It was something that James could never really shake - someone, a
stranger, even a kind one like Bo, standing behind him. It was vulnerable. But Bo didn't do anything.
James
opened the door. Inside, there was an open space, and the floor was dirt, littered with hay. On the left wall was a long row of stalls. Most of them were occupied.
James started walking.
"He's in--" Bo started, but didn't finish. James had already spotted him, and he ran.
Fifth
stall, and Elliot saw him approaching. Elliot poked his head out over the divider and whinnied, nodding his head in excitement and James came and wrapped his arms around Elliot's neck. At that moment, he'd forgotten anyone was watching.
He
hugged Elliot firmly and dug his face into Elliot's mane, and Elliot rested his face over James's shoulder. He could feel Elliot beginning to relax into the embrace, and James had his eyes pinned shut. Relief rushed through him, even though he knew it wasn't over.
He
heard a nicker from the next stall over. He pulled away from Elliot and looked over to see Billy sticking his head out, stretching to reach him. James went to him and hugged him too. But when he pulled away, he could tell that it wasn't the same. James wasn't Billy's person in the same way that James was Elliot's.
He stroked the side of Billy's face and brushed the black horse's white star with his thumb.
"I'll find her for you," he whispered.
It was as much a promise to the horse as it was to himself. For Clandestine.
He could feel Bo's towering shadow approaching from behind. It was difficult to miss.
"They're happy to see you," Bo said softly.
James
glanced back at him, but kept looking at Elliot and Billy. He was standing between their stalls now, with both of them reaching towards
him, vying for his attention. He petted both of their snouts.
"Thank you for taking care of them," he said lowly. "And making sure they were safe."
Bo was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry we failed to do the same for Clandestine."
James swallowed, and looked back at him.
"It's... it wasn't your fault. If anything, it's mine. Carter finally found me, and I must have led him right to her."
"Do you have any idea what he wants with her?"
James looked down at the barn floor, and his eyebrows furrowed together. "I... I'm not sure. I thought she was just a regular mage. If she was, he would've just as quickly killed her too."
He
paused, reconsidering what he knew. Or thought he knew. "And I - well, I
thought I was wanted alive. But I guess I'm not anymore. Which means
that he found what--"
James blinked. No. It couldn't be.
Bo was staring at him with his eyebrows raised in expectation. "He found... what?"
"Clandestine can't be a dragon," James whispered. "That doesn't make any sense."
Bo
continued to watch him. Elliot nuzzled James's hand and arm. James
started petting him without thinking, still staring at the ground.
"James, how much do you know about dragons?" Bo asked.
James
blinked. "I--" his eyes narrowed. "Only really as much as Mickey told
me. And that was years ago. I don't know if I remembered all of it."
Bo let out a sigh. "Well, at least you got reliable information from the source."
James blinked again. "The what?"
Bo
put his hands in his pockets, and leaned back on his heels. He smiled
to one side with his eyebrows arching upward and he shrugged.
"Not sure if you want another big piece of uh, news dropped on you right now," Bo said.
James frowned. "I'm not a child. Tell me."
"Didn't
say you were, it's just that, well, you literally woke up from almost
being dead only like, an hour ago? I get not wanting to take it slow,
but--"
"Just tell me," James demanded.
Bo's mouth spread into a tight straight line, and his shrug dropped as he sighed. "Okay. Just, don't freak out on me, okay?"
James glared at him.
"Okay, okay." Bo put his hands up defensively before setting them back in his pockets. "Mickey is a dragon."
James's eyes widened.
"And
while we're at it, I'm also... somewhat a dragon. You probably don't
know about inheritors. Basically, we're like, well, the name is pretty
straightforward. We're in line to inherit the dragon's magic when the
dragon dies. Don't ask me why me, trust me, I ask myself every day. It's just some luck or not-luck of the draw in some magical genetic lottery, so--"
James
stuttered until words came out. "A dragon. As in, a real, actual
dragon. That's been around since the actual conception of the world
dragon?"
"Well, it's a little more complicated than that--"
"But Mickey is an actual dragon?"
"Yes, he is. The dragon of earth. Plant life. Dirt. Rocks. All that."
James
narrowed his eyes again at him. Mickey. The man who lived in the forest
and just happened to shelter him from a blizzard had been a dragon. And he had been shocked to learn that Mickey was a mage at the time.
"It
might be helpful to know that Clandestine is probably an inheritor
too," Bo said, continuing even as James's head was beginning to spin.
"Basically what that means is she has like, a baby amount of dragon
magic imparted to her from birth, but she isn't a fully realized dragon
yet. That won't happen until she meets the real fire dragon, Svida--"
James put his hand up.
"Okay, you can stop now."
"I told you it was a lot."
James
shot another glare. Dragons. Inheritors. All things he'd stopped
thinking about a long time ago - though the latter was news to him. He
couldn't blame Bo for not knowing. Not knowing how intimately tied
dragons were - almost ironically
now - to how quickly his life had fallen apart five years ago. But
apparently things went further back than that, if Mickey was a dragon.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I know."
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