“I can’t believe you used your Call on me,” Nesse said. “I should’ve seen it coming but the thought never crossed my mind.”

Aeris said nothing. She regretted nothing. An apology would have to come later. Right now, the end was in sight; she could finally be with Janine again.

The thought liberated her and chased away her fears. She didn’t fear running into any dragons in the wild as they flew toward Strendor. Even thinking about going back to that place, the place where she died, the place where she was forced to make the worst decision of her life, she felt a strange sense of calm. The tension, the fear, the guilt lingered but it was just out of reach.

Nothing will stop me now.

The only thing standing in her way now was Reban. He grumbled at the notion of having to carry Logan but Nesse had to carry Brandy and Aeris was too small to carry either human. Other than that, he had been silent with only random glances over his shoulder acknowledging his company. Hopefully he wouldn’t try something. She had a long night and it was finally drawing to a close.

Nesse flew to her side. “Look, we won’t get a chance once we reach the city so we need to talk. What you said about that dragon, the one who saved you. Don’t you think it’s just a little bit odd that a dragon of your incredibly rare species just happened to show up at the ideal moment?”

“No,” Aeris said.

“O-kay. All right, we’ve had a long night and I don’t have time to break it to you gently. That dragon wasn’t real. She’s a figment of your imagination.”

“What are you talking about? I couldn’t have made her up. I’ve never seen another Celestial before.”

“You’d be surprised at the things you can make up without having seen them,” Nesse replied. “But back to the matter at hand. You’re tired and stressed, and you need to rest. Imagining dragons who aren’t there isn’t a good sign.”

“Dr. Nesse, I have a theory,” Brandy said. “Of course, you are very brilliant in your own right and I would never say that you’re wrong or anything—”

Nesse quickly cut her off. “Spit it out, Brandy. What’s your mind?”

“It’s what Aeris said about that dragon. I’m no expert on hallucinations or anything—I never studied psychology. It’s waay too hard for me, but she called Aeris her relative. That implies they’re related.”

“Yeah, I noticed that, too. What’s your point?”

“Don’t you think it’s weird for someone to start hallucination about a relative they never met, and Aeris doesn’t seem too worried about looking for her family.”

“Janine is my family,” Aeris said firmly.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“I know what you mean,” Nesse said. “And you’re right. We should be focusing on why Aeris chose that particular illusion to focus on.”

Aeris flapped her wings and ascended so she wouldn’t have to listen to them anymore. She didn’t believe the dragon was made up. She was there and she was real. But that could come later. The last thing she wanted now was to be distracted.

They had been flying non-stop since leaving Diamus, and that was two days ago. Or perhaps three. Aeris didn’t remember. She wasn’t counting the days. She didn’t feel at all tired.

Eventually Strendor came into view. The city was dark and calm. No trail of flaming lights or screams in the distance. The sky was sunny and clear of ramping dragons.

“We should land,” Reban said. “Just in case they get the wrong idea about—”

“Keep going,” Aeris said. “I’m not stopping for anything.”

“But what if—”

“We’re. Not. Stopping.”

Not now. No one will stand in my way this time.

“Very good, blood of my blood,” a familiar voice said.

Aeris looked to her left and saw the dragoness from before flying beside her. The way the light struck her scales gave her an ethereal appearance. It seemed fitting. The dragoness gave off similar vibes as Sareen, a regal and powerful creature.

“Where did you go before?” she asked. “Are you really a Celestial like me?”

The dragoness continued to stare ahead and didn’t acknowledge the question. “Look at them. The humans going about their daily lives and the dragons who have become fat and lazy. They claim to be powerful but have no idea what true power looks like.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s about time they learned, isn’t it? About time someone put them in their place. The weak have no right to stand as our equals and make demands.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but can you at least tell me your name?”

The dragoness slowly turned to her with a smile. “You know my name.”

She tilted her head as the answer to her question immediately came to her. “Tanor?”

“Aeris, who are you talking to?” Nesse asked.

Aers started at the sudden sound of the voice, losing her rhythm, and plummeted a bit before regaining her composure. She furiously flapped her wings and rejoined the others.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“You were talking to yourself.”

“No, I wasn’t. I was talking to Tanor.”

“Who?”

“The Celestial I told you about.”

“Now she has a name?” she craned her neck to send a worried look back at Brandy. “Wait, you said you didn’t know her name.”

“I didn’t. I just remembered.”

“Remembered? So you have met her before?”

Aeris thought for a moment. She could recall the dragoness’s name and face but nothing else. She couldn’t remember a single time she had met another Celestial yet alone anyone by that name.

“Aeris, we seriously need to get you some help when we land,” Nesse said.

“After I get Janine back.”

“Yes, yes, we’ll get your human back.” Under her breath, she added, “For all our sakes, that girl better be alive.”

Aeris said nothing. The thought that Janine might already be dead hadn’t crossed her mind. She quickly pushed the thoughts of a battered and bleeding corpse from her mind. Janine was alive and she was just fine.

The trip into Strendor was uneventful. No one approached them or called them down from the air. Reban led them into an area Aeris knew too well, the warehouse district. The streets weren’t filled with snow this time, but she recognized the place where she once fled for her life. Her stomach knotted at the sight of humans moving about below. If one of them looked up, they would see.

Thankfully, Reban kept flying to the far end of the district which she didn’t recognize. He eventually landed in front of a building.

“Something’s wrong,” he said. “There should be two guards stationed outside.”

“Maybe they’re on their lunch break?” Brandy offered.

“NO!” Aeris cried. She rushed to the warehouse and burst through the door. The first thing that hit her was the smell of blood. The dim lighting didn’t hide the carnage within. Parts of human remains littered the empty storeroom. She began searching each body part frantically. It couldn’t be her.

“Aeris, over here!” Brandy cried.

Aeris whirled around, hoping to see Janine safe and sound. Instead, it was just Brandy standing by the door.

“There’s a note on the wall here.” She cleared her throat and read it aloud. “ ‘Hey, Snowflake, I heard your friends were brought into town so I decided to entertain them for a bit. They’ll be waiting at my place for you to pick them up. L’. And there’s an address at the bottom. Well, that’s mysterious isn’t it?” She looked back at Aeris. “Do you have any idea who ‘L’ is?”

“No. I don’t know anyone by that name. But where is the address? I’ve been here before, but I don’t know the area that well.”

“Well, you’re in luck because I used to visit my cousins in Strendor all the time! Come on, let’s get going.”

****

“This has to be the place,” Brandy said.

Aeris bolted forward again and broke through the front door. She expected it to be something like the governor’s mansion back in Diamus. A tomb of unfortunate souls in a deadly game of death. But she was met with unmarked walls, clean floors, and the pleasant scent of cooked food.

She rushed through the first doorway she saw. Sitting on the sofa was Janine looking just as healthy as she did the last time Aeris saw her. Sitting across the table from her was a Short Snout. She recognized the dragon immediately as Lanry, a friend and one of her former students when she was teaching dragons how to read.

Janine whirled around and her mouth dropped open as her eyes widened and glistened.

Lanry’s sea-green scales took on a bright sheen as he grinned and shook his head, the fins on his head fanning in time with his movements. “Y’know, love, you could’ve just knocked.”

Aeris didn’t know what the Short Snout was doing there but she could worry about that later. She ran over to Janine and nuzzled her furiously, her tail wagging wildly. Janine wrapped her arms tightly around her neck and buried her face in Aeris’ chest.

“I’m so happy to see you!” Aeris cried.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again! These men broke into the house and they pointed their guns at us and--”

“Shh. It’s okay now. I’m here.”

“Listen, I really hate to break up this heartwarming reunion,” Lanry said, “But we need to talk, Aeris.”

Janine broke the embrace and said. “He’s right! We gotta save Windor!”

“Wait, what? Why?”

“First, let’s start at the beginning,” Lanry said. He motioned for Aeris to sit then turned and bowed to the others. “Welcome, friends of Aeris, to my home. Well, one of them anyway. You can call me Lanry. It’s very nice to meet you.” He lifted his head and added,  “Oh, Dr. Nesse. I didn’t think you would be here. And I see Brandy’s still your assistant. I thought you would have traded her in for a new model by now. And I haven’t forgotten you, Reban. Tell me, how’s Teresa? Last I heard she wasn’t doing too well but I haven’t been keeping up on current events.” He frowned. “You, I actually don’t know. Who are you?”

Aeris turned to see what he was staring at and saw Logan standing there with the same blank expression on his face. She felt a little bad that he was being dragged along with no idea what was happening.

“Yeah, ignore him. He’s nobody,” Nesse said. “I don’t know how you know who I am, but don’t talk about my assistant that way.”

“Oh, I’m very sorry, love. That was just some lingering resentment toward my former masters rearing its ugly head. It won’t happen again.”

“Lanry, we ain’t got time for your games!” Janine said. “Aeris we was just mindin’ our business when these men came runnin’ into the house. Windor told me to run. I didn’t wanna leave him but he said I had to find you and warn you. But when I tried to go out the back, there was guys waitin’ for us. They knocked Windor out and took both of us to this warehouse in Strendor. I heard one of the guys sayin’ the dragon wasn’t part of the deal and he knew someone who would buy him!”

“That’s when I stepped in,” Lanry said proudly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get there sooner but my Matriarch had a hard time getting the information. I was able to sneak in at night and kill everyone and save the delightful damsel, but your friend Windor had already been sold. But before you all start wallowing in despair, just know that I already who he has been sold to and where he is currently.”

Janine whirled on the drake. “You told me you ain’t know!”

“I just didn’t want you telling them and ruining my moment,” he replied, his fins fanning with his wide grin.

Reban’s tail slapped the floor. “I can’t believe the humans are still so brazenly selling our kind.”

“Yeah, yeah, humans are scum,” Nesse said, nettled. “So where is he?”

Lanry straightened up. “In the clutches of renowned scientist Gergelly Saller, and as luck would have it, he has a lab right here in Strendor.”

“Saller?! I knew that bastard was behind this!”

“Well, he wasn’t behind the kidnapping, but he definitely benefitted from it.” He added to Aeris. “Luckily, you weren’t the one they kidnapped, I think he would have paid triple to get his hands on you.”

“What’re we waitin’ for?” Janine asked, jumping to her feet. “Let’s go get our friend back!”

“Not so fast there, love. We’re talking about a man who is clearly well-connected and well-funded.”

“Not to mention he’s in the middle of a facility meant to contain dragons,” Brandy added. “I mean, that place will have security out the wazoo! An army would have a hard time breaking into that place.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we have something much better than an army then,” Lanry said. “We have an inside man who knows the place quite well and even better, we have the perfect bait to get us inside.” He looked at Aeris.

Janine quickly wrapped her arms around Aeris’ neck and looked around as if daring anyone to approach.

“No! Uh-uh! She ain’t gonna be bait!”

“Now, now, like Dr. Nesse’s latest toy said, the place is well fortified. Unless we get them to open the front door, we’re not getting in.”

A low growl came from Nesse.

“So who’s the inside man?” Aeris asked, hoping to change the subject.

“Your old buddy, Terran Mercer.”

“Wait, Terran’s here, too?” Janine asked.

“Yeah, I suspect he’s been plotting revenge against his old employer. Odd that he would attempt something so bold. I thought he and Dr. Saller were on good terms.

Reban stepped forward, a deep rumble emanating from him. “Are you saying this Terran used to sell dragons to Mercer?”

“Oh absolutely. He’s been at it for months, and he’s surprisingly good at it. My Matriarch has been looking for him so we could flip him to our side, but it’s been difficult to pin him down.”

“Oh, he’s gonna get pinned all right,” Nesse said.

“Hear, hear!” Brandy added.

“Wait, Terran’s my friend!” Aeris cried. “You can’t hurt him!”

“Your friend has been selling dragons,” Reban said. “I just wish I could be there to rip his throat out. But I need to get back to Diamus and help Teresa regain control of the city.”

Lanrys fins fanned out again. “Oh? I wasn’t aware something had gone wrong in Diamus.”

“Why don’t you ask her,” he shot back, jabbing his tail in Aeris’ direction. With an angry huff, he stormed out of the room.

Janine was first to break the silence. “Aeris, what’s he talkin’ about?”

“He means—”

“Aeris started a civil war between the humans and dragons in Diamus,” Nesse interjected.

“Wow, I didn’t think Aeris had it in her,” Lanry said. “A bit extreme for her though.”

“It wasn’t me!” Aeris cried. “It was—"

Nesse’s tail slapped the floor. “We’ve been through this! Tanor isn’t real!”

“I’m sorry? Who?” Lanry asked.

“A hallucination who has been speaking to Aeris,” Brandy explained. “She says the dragon is a Celestial like her which was the first red flag but then that she can’t seem to remember when or how they met is another thing entirely.”

Lanry was quiet for a moment, his gaze distant as if in deep thought. Aeris stared at the floor in shame. She felt Janine’s worried look and she hated Nesse for telling on her.

“I think I know what’s going on here. I’ve heard of this. Someone planted this Tanor’s memories into Aeris.”

“Whaat?” Brandy asked. “You can do that? But how? When? Dr. Nesse, I’m so sorry, I didn’t bring my notes! I need something to write this down!”

“Brandy, calm down,” Nesse said calmly. “And don’t worry about writing anything down.” She turned back to Lanry. “Now back to you. What are you talking about? I never heard of this.”

“Well, it’s a long story and we’ve wasted enough time rambling, haven’t we? If we survive our rescue mission, I’ll explain my theory on the matter. I’ll also need to talk to my Matriarch on the matter. She’ll know better I would. In the meantime, Aeris, you need to understand right now that Tanor is likely dead. What you’re seeing is not her but her personality bleeding into your memories.”

Aeris didn’t know what to say to that. Tanor couldn’t be made up. She couldn’t think up a dragon she had never met or heard of.

She decided to worry about that later. Right now what mattered was finding Windor. She never did like that Saller guy and now she knew why.

Lanry led them further into the house. Aeris stared at his back, trying to piece together the events. This wasn’t the Lanry she knew. The drake she met was reserved and gentle. He could barely look her in the eye.

But which one was the real one? Did something happen that changed his attitude? Was he always like this? Had he been lying to her the whole time?

Her thoughts were put on hold as he led them through a pair of double doors connecting to a study. She was surprised to see Terran and Maxis sitting in the room. Part of her wished Lanry was talking about a different Terran.

Nesse snarled. “Are you fucking kidding me?! He works with a dragon? I can understand a human being a greedy bastard, but how could you do something like this to your own kind?!”

Brandy quickly cut in front of the Horntail and gently patted her neck. “Dr. Nesse, please, calm down. I know you’re upset, but now is not the time.”

Maxis frowned at Lanry. “You told them?”

“It just slipped,” Lanry replied.

To everyone’s surprise, Janine stomped over to the Short Snout and slapped him across the face.

“Terran’s been here this whole time and you never told me? I been worried sick about everyone, thinkin’ they were dead or worse!”

“I’m sorry, love, if I knew you were friends with the guy, I would’ve said something sooner.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s going on?” Terran asked. “Janine, I told you we were leaving. Actually, why are you guys here? Who are those three, and where’s Windor?”

Everyone turned to Lanry who was already backing towards the door.

“Okay, I guess I have some explaining to do,” he said.

“Talk fast,” Maxis said.

“Well, Mercer, after you left, Janine and Windor were kidnapped and brought here. Your friend Windor has been sold to your old employer, Dr. Saller.”

“Wait, what? Why would he go after them? Janine, are you okay?”

“They’re fine. Now please let me finish. After they went missing, it seems Aeris went into a rage and started a civil war in Diamus.”

“Aeris won’t even start an argument, let alone a war,” Maxis said.

“Hey, I’m just the messenger.”

“A shitty one,” Nesse added. “This is why they get shot, you know.”

Lanry chuckled nervously at the comment and continued. “Well, since we now have even more reason to go after Saller now, we have the perfect means to go after him.”

“We do?” Terran asked.

“Yes, we do. You will present Aeris as a gift to get back in your old employer’s good graces. Once you’re inside, you open the front door and let us all in. Simple.”

“Yeah, so simple it makes you wonder why you didn’t think of it sooner,” Nesse said. “Especially since you have a perfectly usable dragon standing right there.” She inclined her head towards Maxis.

“You can’t land a good fish with just any kind of bait, love,” Lanry said with a wink. “Besides, we needed the proper timing and bribing the right officials and all. An armed group raiding private property attracts the wrong kind of attention you know.”

“Speaking of, who else is joining us?” Terran asked. “You’ve been very tight-lipped about our reinforcements.”

“Security measure,” Lanry replied. “Don’t worry. I have several trustworthy humans standing by. They just wait for my signal.”

Aeris heard a derisive snort and turned to see Tanor standing beside her. “Listen to them and their petty scheming,” the dragoness said. “Have they forgotten who you are? Or are they simply underestimating you as usual?”

Aeris said nothing and tried to focus on the others as they discussed strategy. She didn’t want to, but there was no denying it. Tanor wasn’t with them when they came in. She didn’t follow them into the study. She was never there.

But it still felt weird how real she seemed. When she leaned in to speak, Aeris could swear she felt hot breath on her neck.

“They don’t need an army. They have one of my brood. A Matriarch who, in time, will have unrivaled power. In fact, this would be the perfect time to test the limits of your abilities. Besides, don’t you want revenge on the humans who hunted you? Who hurt you? Don’t you want to see them pay?”

Aeris slowly nodded. Thinking about it made her flex her claws.

“And think of your human friend. It would be cruel for something to happen to her now after all you went through to get her back.”

That dispelled her fears. She couldn’t put Janine at risk again. She couldn’t go through that pain of losing her.

While everyone else huddled around the table and discussed strategy. Aeris peered over their shoulders to get the location of the lab then quietly backed away and slipped out of the room.