“Because of Brohomir,” the Black Reach said. “If dragons really are as far along as you claim, why did it take the greatest seer in centuries to ensure your survival?”
“Because we’re having to fight against our own stereotype,” Julius said fiercely. “Against what venerable dragons like you are constantly telling us we are! If you really want to make a better dragonkind, start with that. Because the real problem isn’t that seers are selling the future, it’s that they feel that’s the only way. They’d rather face you, their death, than compromise or work together or do any of the other things we’re told from birth that we’re weak and stupid for wanting. That’s the mistake that must never be repeated! Not her.” He pointed back at Bob’s pigeon. “Amelia knew it too, which is why she tied herself to this plane. She was trying to buy us a chance to live long enough to mature past our megalomania stage. That’s the sort of progress you should be fighting to save, not me. I’m just one dragon, but this plane and what we’ve already achieved coming together trying to save it is the best shot you’re ever going to get at actually changing dragon culture. Our better future is already here! I just need you to help me make sure it doesn’t end before it can begin.”
The Black Reach sighed. “And by that I suppose you mean burn a hole in the Leviathan for you?”
“Only if you can do it without dying,” Julius said quickly. “I believe in everything I just said, but it’s still a long shot. Just because I’m willing to bet my life on that doesn’t mean I want to burn up everyone else’s last chance to run. No matter what happens, though, our entire species still came together today. That’s a huge step in the right direction, one you can carry into any other world. Just don’t let what we started today die, and I think you’ll have a better future no matter how this ends. So if you can help me, I’d appreciate it, but if it’ll cost you too much, go ahead and start evacuating as many dragons as you can. I’ll just find another way in.”
By the time he finished, the Black Reach looked almost angry. That wasn’t what Julius had intended. He’d been trying his best to be reasonable, but when he opened his mouth to apologize for whatever he’d said wrong, the construct began to laugh.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Brohomir was feeding you lines,” the Black Reach said, shaking his head. “You truly are a dragon of a different color, Julius Heartstriker. It will be my honor to light your way into the Leviathan.”
“Wait, really?” Julius said, shocked. “You’re sure it won’t kill you?”
“I cannot say,” the Black Reach said calmly, looking up at the Leviathan. “It will take a massive amount of fire to burn through the carapace the enemy has built from Algonquin’s magic, and even more to keep the Nameless End from consuming you once you’re inside. I have no idea if I have enough, but I know I am the only one who could. With the death of the Three Sisters, no dragon remains who is old enough to produce a flame that could challenge a power of this magnitude. But I am Dragon Sees Eternity, one of the two greatest creations of our old realm! Inside me burn the flames of all the ancient clan leaders, including those of your grandfather, the Quetzalcoatl. He was the wisest of all the great dragons, and you remind me very much of him. I believe he would have been proud to know his fire helped you now.”
“But—”
“The decision is made,” the construct said. “And we have very little time left. Now stand back. I will make you a path.”
The words weren’t out of his mouth before the Black Reach began to change, his human body fading as it had when he’d threatened Bob. This time, though, it wasn’t just a claw that emerged from the shadows, but an entire dragon. The biggest Julius had ever seen.
“Whoa,” he said, stumbling back.
He’d known for a long time now that Dragon Sees Eternity was big. He’d seen his brother, after all. Despite Amelia’s all-clan roundup, Dragon Sees the Beginning was still the largest dragon Julius had seen by several orders of magnitude. At least, he had been until now. Julius wasn’t sure if the twin constructs had started out unequal, or if ten thousand years of being the only thing keeping a plane from collapsing had shrunken Dragon Sees the Beginning, but as huge as the bone-white construct of the past had been, he was nothing compared to the dragon that appeared now.
Dragon Sees Eternity was as long as his name. Like his twin, his overlapping scales looked more like stone than anything organic, and each one was marked with a symbol in the ancient magical language of dragons that only experts like Svena could still read. But where Dragon Sees the Beginning had been white, Dragon Sees Eternity was as black as the void, his snaking body so enormous, Julius could no longer see the Leviathan behind him. He was trying to make sense of how something that big could even be alive when Marci ran up and grabbed his neck.
“Oh man,” she said, clutching Ghost to her chest as she clambered onto Julius’s back. “This is going to be epic!”
“I just hope it’s fast,” Amelia said, clinging to Bob’s arm as the two of them walked over. “I don’t know if you looked up during that enlightening conversation, Julius, but things are starting to get extra apocalyptic.”
It was getting rather dark. “Are we the only ones going?” Julius asked, looking at Marci on his back.
“Yes,” Bob said. “Or rather, there are plenty who would come, including me, but you’re the only ones who should. You’re going to Algonquin with a human Merlin, a dragon, and a Mortal Spirit. That’s already a combo pack of her least favorite things. Let’s not make it worse by piling on.”
“I really wanted to go,” Amelia said grumpily. “When else am I going to get a chance to see inside a Nameless End? But Bob convinced me that a Mortal Spirit who was also a dragon would be a bridge way too far, so I’m taking one for the team.”
“Good call, Amelia,” Marci said. “I’ll tell you how it is.”
“Make sure you take notes,” the dragon spirit pleaded. “If we survive, I’ll need a full report.”
Marci crossed her heart and crouched down low on Julius’s back, Ghost tucked safely under her arms. “Ready when you are.”
“I’m ready,” Julius said, looking up at the giant dragon floating above them. “But what do I do? Do I just fly up?”
“I have no idea,” Bob confessed. “There are so many ways this goes wrong, we’re down to picking the least bad. Whatever you choose, though, I’m sure it will be fine.”