Chapter 13
Justin woke to cold water splashing over his head.
He came to with a start, opening his mouth to bite whoever would dare only to find that he couldn’t. He was back in his human shape, dressed in what looked like spare medical scrubs and bound on his knees to a damp stone floor with chains large enough to hold an ocean liner. He couldn’t even turn his head thanks to the metal cage that had been fitted over his skull, its lower half and sides sharpened so that if he opened his mouth more than it took to speak softly, he’d slice his jaw open.
Another time, the overkill security would have struck him as a sign of respect. Now, though, the unwelcome obstacle was nothing but an annoyance. Every muscle in his body hurt, and his burned throat was spasming in pain. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep, but that was impossible thanks to the magic.
Strange, cold power covered him like tar inside and out. Even if he hadn’t used up all his fire on Vann Jeger, he couldn’t have gotten enough out to light a candle under these conditions. As it was, he could barely lift his head, but considering he’d been one ax blow away from losing it, Justin supposed he should count this as a step forward. Quitting was for pathetic dragons who’d lost their ambition, anyway, and so, summoning up all his pride, Justin forced his throbbing head up to take stock of his situation.
He was in what appeared to be an underwater cavern. An obviously fake one since Justin was fairly certain natural caverns didn’t have tasteful recessed lighting, but it was still impressive if only for its size. The cave was as large as an aircraft hangar, though aside from the little stone island in the center where he’d been chained, it seemed to be mostly water. Lake water from the smell, which only made him more wary. So far as he could tell, though, the giant room seemed to be empty. There was no scent of Vann Jeger, and he was pretty sure he couldn’t miss the leviathan. He was wondering if this place was meant to be a prison when a voice whispered.
“Welcome.”
He froze, eyes darting. The voice had come from everywhere and nowhere, but while that was unnerving, Justin was having a hard time being alarmed by something so beautiful. Just the way the sound of it had flowed over the words reminded him of floating weightlessly in placid waters. He was about to ask it speak again when it ordered. “Lean forward.”
Justin set his jaw stubbornly. Beautiful voice or not, he didn’t obey anyone but his mother. But just as he resolved to never move again, magic crashed into him like an iron rod to the back of the head.
He resisted on principle, but after his fight with Vann Jeger, he couldn’t even slow himself down as the magic forced him to lean over until he was staring straight down at his own reflection in the dark water. He froze after that, bracing for the attack he was sure was about to leap at him out of the water, but there was nothing. Just his own reflection staring back at him in the cave’s tasteful light, its lips curled in a cold, cruel smirk.
A smirk which Justin was dead certain was not on his own face.
He jumped back with a curse, or he tried to. Once again, the magic held him fast, forcing him to watch as the reflection’s cruel smile grew wider
“You’re slow for a dragon.”
Justin jerked again. The words had come from his lips in the water, but the voice was the smooth, beautiful sound from before. He was still wrapping his brain around that when the reflected Justin bent over, reaching through the water to grab the ledge at his—their—feet.
Now hedidmanage to jump, shoving against the magic with all his might as he jerked away from his reflection as it pulled itself out of the dark water to stand beside him on the little stone island. Water pooled around it, leaving a cold, slimy trail on the rock, but the reflection itself looked every bit as dry as the original as it undid the cuffs and muzzle that mirrored Justin’s own with a quick flex of its hands.
“You are bigger than I thought,” it said when it was free, tossing the reflected chains back into the water, where they vanished with a splash. “But smaller than I’d hoped.”
It smiled at Justin as it finished, clearly waiting for him to speak, but his mouth didn’t seem to work. When the silence had gone on too long, his reflection shook its head.
“Surely the dragon who could surprise my Hunter long enough to get a look at my secret garden is smarter than this?” it cooed, reaching down to pat Justin’s cheek with his own deathly cold hand. “You know my name, cockroach. Say it.”
Justin didn’t want to. He didn’t want to do anything that would make the creepy thing wearing his face happy, but the hated word was already on the tip of his tongue.
“Algonquin.”
The reflection smiled his own cocky grin back at him. It was a tiny detail in the larger scheme of creepy nonsense Justin had dealt with today, but the sight of his own mocking smile on something else’s face gave him the final kick he needed to snap out of his shock.
“Why am I here?” he demanded, pulling himself as straight as he could with the chains. “Why did you stop Vann Jeger from killing me? You hate dragons.”
“You give yourself too much credit,” Algonquin said, looking down on him with his own green eyes. “Hate implies investment, but your kind are merely pests to me, a troublesome nuisance I wish to exterminate. It’s nothing personal.”
Justin didn’t believe that for a second. “If that’s so, then why stop the ax? Why not kill me and be done with it?”
Algonquin smiled wider. “Again, you overestimate your own importance. I could kill you right now without lifting a finger. This cavern is normally underwater. All I’d have to do is let my lake back in and watch you drown.”
“So why don’t you?” Justin growled, lifting his chin. “I’m not afraid.”
“Because there’s no point,” the spirit said with a sigh. “Dragons are like roaches. For every one you kill, ten more scurry in the shadows. Vann Jeger enjoys the hunt, but I have a city to run.”
His reflection turned away, walking across the wet stone island with Justin’s own no-nonsense gait. “Normally, I would have been content to let my Hunter have you,” Algonquin went on. “Vann Jeger needs to kill things on a regular basis or he grows surly. Unfortunately for him, your presence today is part of a larger plan that, unlike your miserable life, is actually worth my time.”
“Plan?” Justin scoffed. “Impossible. I didn’t even decide to enter Reclamation Land until an hour ago.”
Algonquin chuckled. “Deluded creature. You are directly related to a seer, and yet you still believe your decisions are your own?”
