“Original home?” Marci interrupted. “What original home?”
“Dragons aren’t originally from here,” Julius explained quickly. “We came to this world as conquerors from another plane ten thousand years ago.”
Her eyes went round. “Tenthousandyears? So the Three Sisters areten thousandyears old?”
“Older,” Katya said. “That’s why they have to sleep. Dragons who were born on this world are attuned to its magic. They were able to survive the magical drought by simply retreating into their more efficient human forms, but my mothers have no such thing.” She looked at Julius. “It was the same with your grandfather, the Quetzalcoatl. He was only able to stay awake through the disappearance of magic by harvesting human sacrifices. He was still greatly weakened, though, which was the only reason your mother was able to kill him.”
That wasn’t how Bethesda told the story, but it made a grim sort of logic. Julius knew all about his grandfather’s love of human sacrifices, of course, but he’d always assumed the Quetzalcoatl just liked killing people on altars. If he’d been using them as a way to harvest magic when nothing else was available, though, that made a lot more sense. It also meant he was directly descended from one of the most prolific blood mages in history. But when he glanced at Marci to see how she’d taken this grisly revelation about his family’s history, she was staring into her carton of rice like it contained the mysteries of the universe.
“Back to the important stuff,” Justin said, crossing his arms as he glared at Katya, “You’re saying that the rest of your clan, the vaunted Daughters of the Three Sisters, are so stuck up and stuck in their ways, they won’t get off their butts even to save their own hides?”
Julius winced at his brother’s bluntness, but to his amazement, Katya didn’t look offended. She was actually nodding. “More or less,” she said. “But you have to understand, Estella’s run our lives according to her visions since we were hatched. It doesn’t matter what plans we make, she knows what we’re going to do before we do it. My sisters were barely willing to risk siding with Svena while Estella was on another plane. Now that she’s back, they won’t even show their faces. No one knows better than us that you can’t beat a seer.”
By the time she finished, Katya sounded utterly defeated, but Julius was less convinced. “Are you sure that Estella’s unbeatable?”
“Of course,” Katya said. “She’s still a seer.”
“But she’s not the only one on the board,” Julius said, pointing at the crumpled up piece of paper with his address that Katya was still clutching in her hand. “If she was actually watching you all the time, there’s no way Bob’s pigeon would be able to bring you notes, and definitely no way you’d be able to run all the way up here to talk to us.”
“Unless this is part of Estella’s plan, too,” Marci pointed out.
“If we go around thinking everything is a seer plot, we’ll never be able to do anything,” Julius argued, turning back to Katya. “You told me back at the mountain that Estella was different. Is it possible that she’s not as in control as she used to be?”
“Maybe,” Katya said with a thoughtful frown. “It’s obvious she still sees the future, but defeating Brohomir is all she talks about. It’s like she’s let her grudge against your clan completely consume all of her other ambitions.”
Julius had noticed that himself when he’d watched Estella lord her knowledge over Bob in the hallway. At the time, her obvious obsession had terrified him. Now, though, it gave him an idea.
“Just because she’s still capable of seeing everything doesn’t mean she’s looking,” he said quickly. “Dragons who let themselves get hyper-focused on a single goal can fall prey to tunnel vision. I bet Estella’s no different. In the hallway, she claimed the future was bought and paid for and that nothing could change it. I don’t actually know what she meant by that, but if she’s really that confident, she’s probably not keeping as close an eye on things as she should.”
“But what does that matter?” Katya said sadly. “Even if you’re right, and she’s not paying attention to the details, she still knows how everything ends. I see what you’re saying, but if there’s any lesson I’ve learned in my life, it’s that you can’t escape Estella. The best you can hope for is to enjoy the run before she catches you.”
“But thisisn’tEstella,” Julius said. “You said so yourself—she’s not the dragon she used to be. How do you know you can’t beat her now if you won’t try?”
“Because Ihavetried!” she cried. “Do you think I stayed locked in my mothers’ glacier all those years out of choice? It doesn’t matter how clever I am or how far I run, Estella always gets me in the end, because she’salready seen where I’ll be. That’s still true. Even if she is deteriorating, one month doesn’t change centuries.”
“Then I guess you’re screwed,” Justin said. “Sucks to be you.”
“Justin!”Julius hissed, but Katya looked more depressed than ever.
“He’s right,” she said miserably. “For all I know, my escape tonight is just Estella’s way of getting rid of me. Even if I did actually manage to get free, what would it matter? I’m the magic-stunted failure of my clan.” She glanced at Julius. “Could you stop Brohomir if our situations were reversed?”
“Not alone,” Julius admitted. “But I wouldn’t try alone, and neither should you.” He moved closer, walking around the table and crouching down until he could see Katya’s lowered face. “You’re not alone,” he said quietly. “And you’re not a failure.”
Katya glowered. “Don’t try to nice your way out of this. It’s insulting.”
“I’m not trying to nice my way out,” he said. “I’m telling the truth, and the truth is that you’re wrong. Yes, you’re the youngest of your clan, and yes, you don’t have the famous Three Sisters’ command of magic, but that doesn’t change the part where you’re still a clever, ancient dragon strong enough to fly all the way to the DFZ from New Mexico faster than a jetandsavvy enough to slip past Algonquin’s defenses. Those aren’t the actions of a failure. And if a dragon like you is the bottom of your clan, then I also think you’re giving your sisters far too little credit. I mean, have you even tried to contact them?”
“No,” Katya admitted, looking away. “But they won’t listen.”
“Thenmakethem,” Julius said firmly. “This isn’t something they can afford to ignore. We don’t know what’s going on with Svena, but it doesn’t take a seer to see that if Estella isn’t stopped, she’s going to take you all down with her. You might not be able to take Estella on your own, but the Daughters of the Three Sisters are some of the most feared and powerful dragons in the world. If you worked together, even a seer wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“And I’m just supposed to tell them that?” Katya scoffed “This isn’t a novel, Julius. I can’t just go to sisters who’ve despised and looked down on me as weak our entire lives andaskthem for help. They’d laugh in my face, assuming they’d see me at all. Worst case, they’d give me back to Estella to curry favor, because they know as well as I do that the seer always wins.”
“But shedoesn’t,” Julius cried. “And you’re the proof! She tried to kill you just last month, and she failed so hard she had to run to another dimension. That’s a pretty compelling argument that Estella’s not the infallible force she used to be. I’m not saying it’ll be an easy sell, but aside from you, Estella, and Svena, there are still nine Daughters of the Three Sisters out there. Surelyoneof them will listen.”
Katya sighed and sat back in her chair. “Assuming you’re right,” she said grudgingly. “How would I reach them? A conversation like this can’t be had over the phone. Some of my sisters don’t evenhavephones. If I’m going to convince them, I’m going to have to go to each one myself, which is impossible since Estella can still see every decision I make. Wherever I go, she’ll just be waiting there to pick me up the moment I arrive.”
“Then we’ll just have to send you in a way she can’t see.”
