I’m drowning in despair so overwhelming, I can’t catch my breath. And then it’s gone. The wall is back in place, and I take a deep breath. And then another. But the ball of anger I didn’t even know I’d been carrying around with me at the unfairness of what Lia did to my parents is also gone.
Thank you.
He doesn’t reply. There’s nothing more to say. He already said it all in that one vulnerable act.
“Can we go in?” Xavier asks quietly, and this is the first time I’ve seen him without his snapback on. At first, I think he’s lost it, and then I recognize the outline of it shoved in his back pocket.
For respect, I realize as he runs a nervous hand over his shaggy black hair. He’s taken the hat off as a sign of respect before we enter the Boneyard.
“Yeah,” Flint says, dashing a quick hand across his cheek. “Let’s do this and get the hell out of here. It’s time to go home.”
84
Two Vampires, a Witch,
and a Werewolf
Walk into a
Boneyard…
“Where do we start?” Mekhi asks as we gingerly pick our way down the entrance path. Unlike human cemeteries, here there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason. Fragments of bones are strewn across every surface—including the path we’re walking on. And none of them seems to belong to the same skeleton.
“We need to find a complete bone,” Jaxon tells us. “Which doesn’t look like it’s going to be as easy as we thought it would be.”
He, too, looks around at the shards of bones lying everywhere.
Mekhi sighs. “Not to sound like an ass here, but not only do we have to find a complete bone, we have to find one that we can actually get back to Katmere. I mean, these things are huge. And while I know we can carry it together, or Jaxon can use his telekinesis to move one, what exactly are we going to do with it when we get back to school? Most of these fragments won’t even fit in our dorm rooms.”
He’s right, I realize as we get farther into the Boneyard. Most of the dragon skulls alone are at least five feet tall. And the rib and leg and neck bones are way bigger than that.
“Well,” Macy adds, “I for one do not want to do that dragon flight again with a giant leg bone in tow. Why don’t I work on a spell to open a portal to get us back to school, while you guys search for a bone? I set things up before I left—just have to see if I can get it to work.”
I raise my brows. “You can create a portal? Why not one to get us here?”
Macy shakes her head. “I can only create a portal to a place where I have an anchor. I’ve never been here before, so… But I’ve got your backs now. So go find a bone before something terrible tries to kick us out of here.”
“Nah.” Xavier grins. “I think that’s the worst of it. In fact, this looks like it’s going to be a lot easier than we thought. What’s a bunch of bones going to do to us anyway?”
Even Flint’s signature grin slides from his face as we all stare at Xavier in shock.
“Dude, did you just jinx us?” Flint asks.
Xavier shakes his head. “You guys worry too much. Trust me. My wolf is super chill, so this place must not have any booby traps or anything. We’re good to go. Now, how do we find a bone we can carry that’s still solid?”
“Well, some of the tailbones are pretty small,” Flint suggests. “At least if you get one from the end of the tail.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Macy tells him. “So we just have to find a tail.”
Again, we look around. And again, I’m overwhelmed at the magnitude of the task in front of us. Because, unlike human remains, these dragons aren’t grouped by individual skeleton. Bones lay wherever and belong to whomever. Very few of the fragments I’m looking at seem to belong to the same bone, let alone the same dragon.
“I think we need to split up if we have any hope of actually finding something,” Jaxon says, and I have to agree with him. This place is massive, nearly two hundred yards wide, with some of the bone piles two stories high.
“Macy and I will take this section over here,” Xavier says, pointing to the front right half of the cavern that will also allow Macy to finish creating the portal back to campus.
“Flint and I will take the front left,” Eden tells us before heading that way.
“I guess that leaves the back right to Jaxon and Grace,” Mekhi suggests to Jaxon. “While I take the back left.”
“Actually, why don’t Hudson and I take the back right, while you and Jaxon head to the back left,” I suggest, and everyone turns to look at me. “Look, he’s here whether we want him to be or not, and he has just as much at stake in helping us find a bone. I say we use him.”
Jaxon’s jaw clenches and unclenches for a few seconds, and I can tell he wants to protest. But some of what I’ve talked to him about these last few days must have finally gotten through, because he just nods. “You’re right,” he says before turning to Mekhi. “Let’s go.” Then they both fade away.
Everyone else gets busy searching, but Hudson is just standing there staring at me. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “What’s going on? You know I can see only what you see, right? I’m not really here, Grace.”
Actually, I think I’d forgotten that. The moment we’d shared earlier had seemed so real, so tangible, that I’d genuinely forgotten he wasn’t. I glance at Jaxon in the distance, wondering what he was thinking when I even suggested this. I’m about to tell him I’ve made a mistake when Hudson pipes up. “Hey, I think I found one!”
I quickly turn and realize he’s pointing at the rib we’re currently standing under. It’s the size of a house and not something I could even move, let alone lift.
“Great choice.” I roll my eyes at him but don’t try to fight the half smile turning up one corner of my mouth. “Now, let’s see you carry it.”
He grins. “You know I’m more like management, right?”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Come on, let’s go find a bone Flint or Jaxon can actually carry.”
As we start searching, I think about going over to Jaxon and telling him what happened between Hudson and me. But he and Mekhi are in the middle of digging through a giant pile of bones, and this doesn’t seem like the time. Besides, it’s not a big deal. It can wait until we’re back at school. Jaxon will just be glad to hear I’ve made my peace with what happened to my parents.
I turn back to Hudson, feeling lighter than I have in a very long time. “All right, smart-ass,” I tell him, “let’s see who can find a bone first. And hurry, okay? I want to get out of here before a swarm of locusts decides to suddenly attack us.”