Derek was playing Mario kart with Miguel. Derek had spent hours getting good enough to beat his father at Mario kart, and now it was almost sad that the challenge was gone when he turned eight years old. It was surprisingly easy to destroy Miguel at the game, but he still appreciated the time spent with him.

The race was finished, and Miguel rubbed his forehead. “Well, this is just comically hilarious.”

“You’re missing the trap door,” Derek said. “Cuts the time.”

“Trap door. What?” Miguel asked, looking at the screen.

Derek shrugged. “It’s there.”

Amanda walked in, smiling. “At a good stopping spot?”

Derek noticed Tyler walking in after Amanda, and he smiled. “Hey, man.” He noticed the exhaustion almost immediately on Tyler’s face. “You okay?”

“I need a moment to talk alone, if that’s alright,” Tyler said.

Derek tossed the controller on the couch. “Sure. I’ll be back, Dad.”

He and Tyler moved out of the TV room. Tyler smiled at Amanda who moved into the TV room. Tyler folded his arms, leaning against the wall. “Why didn’t you tell me Akshi approached Evelyn last week.”

Derek frowned. “I did.”

“Don’t lie to me. Not right now. We need to be honest with each-”

“I did.” Derek pulled out his phone. “You even responded.”

It was Tyler’s turn to frown. “No, I didn’t, because you never-”

He stopped as Derek held up his phone to show the conversation they had last week. Though, conversation might be too strong of a word. Derek texted him about seeing Akshi by Evelyn, and then Evelyn asking him to tell her. Tyler responded with a simple Thanks for letting me know.

“You…” Tyler pulled out his phone, checking his history, then froze. Derek leaned over and saw his text there, plain as day, telling him about Akshi. Though now that he saw it, he didn’t see Tyler return the text.

Derek glanced at his own phone, and saw the text from Tyler was gone. No response. He was certain it was there.

“Oh shit,” Tyler said. “He’s… cast that spell. The ability to mask most forms of communication about himself with other people.”

“But…” Derek looked at his phone again. “That was only with letters.”

“Texting. Emails. They all technically fall under that category,” Tyler said.

Derek felt his stomach constrict and he braced himself against the wall. “No, no that’s not possible. He can’t touch our world.”

Tyler’s eyes were bouncing around as he thought. “Yes, he can. He’s manipulating Mr. Stower.” Tyler rubbed the corners of his eyes with his pointer finger and his thumb. “It’s according to rules. He has the muddle spell. If someone wants to join his team, he will cast the muddle ritual to keep them isolated and away from any help they need. Keep his name out of letters. And texts, apparently.”

Derek’s eyes widened. “I sent her a voicemail. I… completely forgot about it. How is that possible?”

“Also within the rules of the game. She didn’t answer the phone, a voicemail falls under a letter of sorts. Especially if she was… was far more willing to join Akshi than she let on. That spell would have been more powerful, according to her desire to join his side.”

“Ooooh shit,” Derek said. “Does she…”

“We’ve discovered it now. She’s changed her mind. Akshi no longer holds that power over her or our technology,” Tyler said.

Derek let out a breath. “Holy shit that could have been bad.”

Tyler rubbed his eyes again. “It’s still bad, Derek. Akshi is growing more powerful over our world, and what we’ve experienced is only a fraction of what he can do.”

“We’ve got to kill him as soon as possible.”

Tyler dropped his hand. “I’ve got to talk to the other groups and see if anyone has a sorcerer, wizard, or bard. It’s the only way to kill him. We cannot let Akshi live past next August. He could bring an apocalypse all by himself, let alone the thousand of monsters already at his disposal.”

His friend looked exhausted and miserable. “Did you get any sleep last night?” Derek asked. Tyler didn’t need to say anything. The look on his face said it all. Derek shook his head. “I can’t let you drive back to Tucson without a nap. My room’s free if you don’t want to drive back to your parents. I’ll text everyone and let them know this new update,” Derek said, pulling out his phone.

“Call,” Tyler said.

“What?” Derek asked.

“Call them and speak to them about this new update. Calling is still considered face to face, and Akshi isn’t powerful enough to alter our words no matter how much Evelyn wanted to join him. Tell them texting and voicemails are now no longer to be trusted with important matters. Evelyn’s probably confused at the voicemail she just got,” Tyler said, heading down the hall to Derek’s room.

Derek winced, feeling a tightening in his chest. “I will call.”

***

Alejandra was at the table when Rafael walked through the door. He didn’t know what to expect, but seeing his little sister calmly sitting at the table with a blue lizard looking thing on her shoulder was definitely not what he figured would happen two months ago. She had her hands out in front of her, twiddling her thumbs. The entire thing brought a sort of panic inside him.

“Did Derek contact you, too?” Alejandra asked.

“Yeah. Texting and voicemails can’t be trusted anymore with important things, which made me think that maybe something had happened to alter whatever our phone call was, because there was no way this could happen.” Rafael’s eyes rested on the baby drake. “Turns out it did.”

“Rafael—”

“We’ve got to tell Tyler. He’ll know what to do,” Rafael said.

She placed a protective hand over the drake’s body. “We’re not getting rid of him.”

“We can’t keep him, either! Who knows how big those things will get!” Rafael said.

“It takes six months after he’s hatched for him to grow to adulthood. He will be around ten to twelve feet long, with the ability to rise on his hind legs if needed to make an attack with his claws. As a desert drake, he might have a sand or lightning ability if we can coax it out of him. He could be a real asset to the group.”

Rafael took this in, his head inclining back ever so much before he dropped into a glare. He shoved his hands in his hair, trying to regulate his breathing. “This isn’t Pokémon. We’re not collecting mythical creatures to aid our fight! This is a dangerous creature! Who you’ve welcomed into our house!”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Quetzal won’t fight. At least, you know. Not yet. He might not even want to. We shouldn’t force him.”

As though this conversation couldn’t get any worse, it somehow did. “You named it!”

She grabbed the baby drake, moving it from her shoulder into her palm. “Quetzalcoatl. Quetzal for short. I think it’s cute.”

“It’s not cute!” Rafael didn’t know why he was fighting his sister about this. He collapsed into the chair opposite and covered his face. Pushing her away and getting defensive had been his go-to reaction for a while now. But this was a drake. They were a smaller dragon. Which meant this thing would be massive. And in a short amount of time?

“This thing is going to eat everything in our house,” Rafael said. “We can’t—”

“I’ll take Quetzal hunting,” Hraktar said out of nowhere.

Rafael glanced at the fighter. “You’re in on this too?”

“I didn’t know until today. It’s an excellent idea, though. Drakes are a powerful ally, and we need all the help we can get.” The baby drake stretched its body before curling up in Alejandra’s palm, falling asleep. “Besides, he’s pretty cute.”

Rafael gave the fighter a dry look, but it didn’t bother him one bit.

There was a knock on the door, and he frowned before remembering Hazel was visiting him after work. A groan escaped him as he got out of his chair and opened the door. “Hey, Hazel.”

She wrapped her arms around him, giving him a kiss. Despite everything, it was nice to have her here. She was always a comforting presence in his life. “How was work?” she asked.

“Work was fine. It’s the thing after work we’re still working through.”

“Oh?”

They walked deeper into the house for Hazel to see the baby drake curled. Hazel stared at the blue creature in Alejandra’s hands, sleeping peacefully. She grabbed her cheeks and squealed quietly. “That’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen!”

Rafael frowned. “Hazel, wait. No, no, you’re supposed to be on my side.”

“Your side? Your side of what?” Hazel asked in a whisper as she sided up next to Alejandra. The two girls started cooing as Hazel ran a finger down the drake’s sleeping head.

“His name is Quetzal,” Alejandra said.

“Oh my god, that’s so cute! Family picture!” Hazel took out her phone.

“Would you two stop it!” Rafael tried not to be loud, since the creature was sleeping, but he couldn’t deny his frustration. Even more so as they both ignored him. Alejandra lifted the sleeping baby drake in her hand and smiled at the phone. Rafael rubbed the bridge of his nose, grumbling.

“I’ll text the pic,” Hazel said, tapping on her phone. “Quetzal is so cute!”

“Hazel!” Rafael shouted.

The noise startled the baby drake awake, which made him the enemy of the house.

“Rafael, come on,” Hazel said. “He’s a baby.”

“A baby that will grow into an adult in six months. A mythical creature in a very nonmythical world. Where there is a powerful enchanter snake man who is trying to hunt us down. We’re having a difficult enough time hiding our characters, and now you want to adopt a baby drake?”

Quetzal chittered, then approached Hazel. “Oh, aren’t you the handsomest boy I’ve ever seen?” The drake seemed to preen in the attention, running up to her and leaping into her hands. “Yes, you are! Oh my god, you’re the cutest!”

Rafael groaned, doubting he could get another word in if this was how they were talking. Ezekiel walked up to him, smiling. “Don’t worry, Rafael. We’ll take care of him while she’s at school. He’s already a pretty skilled hunter, so don’t worry about buying more food for him.”

“Hunter? What does he eat?” Rafael asked.

“Spiders and insects, mostly. No doubt he’ll move up to mice and rats. We’ll test some more later to see if he likes any fruit, but insects and milk are his main diet for now,” Ezekiel said.

Rafael sighed, watching Quetzal rub his head underneath Hazel’s chin. She giggled like a schoolgirl. “I always wanted a pet.”

“Me too,” Alejandra said.

Rafael hung his head in defeat. He was completely outnumbered. “I guess this is going to happen, isn’t it?” He pulled out his phone, calling Tyler. “I’m telling Tyler. He should know about this.”

As the phone rang longer, he wondered if something had happened before he heard Tyler pick up. “Rafael?”

He froze. “Sorry. Were you… sleeping?”

“Yeah. But it’s fine. Do you need something?”

“Just… letting you know. Alejandra’s been hiding a drake egg from everyone, and it just hatched last night.”

The silence stretched on. If Rafael didn’t know better, he would have assumed Tyler had fallen back to sleep, but who could sleep after that revelation.

“Right,” Tyler said. “A drake could help us, actually.”

Rafael sighed, feeling defeated. Tyler was on board. Which meant the decision was already made.

“A full-grown one could, anyway. Do what you can to keep the drake alive. It’s a dangerous world right now, and it’ll only get worse.”

***

Nick was driving Evelyn to school on Monday, as they did every school day. What was different was Nick didn’t realize how quiet it had gotten. He’d be the first to admit he’d been stuck inside his own head for a few weeks now. Fantasizing about how he wanted to hit Rafael again. Consumed in anger and bitterness.

There was still anger. What Tyler told him didn’t instantly dissolve it all. He wished it had. Instead, it took away the addictive quality and instead he saw the destruction it caused. The bitterness, the coldness. His face ached with how much he glared at the world the past few weeks.

Nick absently rubbed his forehead. He tapped on the steering wheel as he did so, almost hearing the silence. Had this silence been there all along?

Damnit, Tyler. Why did you say that to me?

Nick continued to rub his face, knowing exactly why Tyler said that. Because Nick was his father’s son. The anger, the stubbornness, as much as Nick tried to be different, the genetic makeup was there.

He dropped his hand. “Hey, Evelyn?”

She tore her gaze from her phone. “Yeah?”

“So… that night. When Rafael…” He watched Evelyn’s face out of the corner of his eye, noticed as she physically braced for impact. “Did you… slap him? Or anything?” She frowned. Nick panicked. He wasn’t sure how to get his thoughts across. He wanted to make sure his sister knew how to defend herself in case it happened again. If she didn’t know, he wanted to teach her.

“No,” Evelyn said.

“No,” Nick repeated.

Her eyes returned to her phone. “I punched him in the teeth.”

There was a moment’s pause before Nick snorted. She smiled to herself, glancing out the window.

“I’m glad you…” Nick started to say.

“Punched him?”

He hesitated, then found he couldn’t lie. “Yeah. I am.”

There was silence again. She kept her eyes out the window. “Do you think he’ll ever do that again?”

He thought about it. They were almost at school. It felt too short a time to have this conversation, but he pressed through, anyway. Once again, he found he couldn’t lie. “No. I don’t think so.”

“Yeah. I agree.”

There wasn’t much else to say. Evelyn glanced out the window a bit more before she got a text and returned to her phone. The silence didn’t seem so pressing. Saying it out loud helped Nick understand the truth. Rafael completely deserved to be punched in the face for what he did. But he also had a feeling Rafael would never dare do that again. Nick planned to always be by his sister when Rafael was around, and no doubt Tyler would be there if Nick wasn’t. He admitted that he didn’t know Rafael as well as before, but he doubted his old friend would ever try that again.

Nick pulled into the parking lot and eased into the nearest open slot before turning off the car.

“Hey, Nick?”

Since he wasn’t driving, he made eye contact with his little sister. “Yeah?”

She hesitated, and he turned the car back on again for the air conditioning. Evelyn didn’t look at him. “I’m doing okay. My therapist has been great, and Princess Clarissa and… she’s been surprisingly helpful, too. For now, I don’t need another person to talk to. I need a brother who I don’t have to walk on eggshells around.”

Nick frowned. “I… know. I’ve been in a mood for weeks.”

“It’s dangerous. You’re already pretty isolated. This mood has made you stuck even deeper in your head. And I don’t want you to… go crazy or anything. Or do anything else you might regret.” She grabbed her backpack. “Let’s go. We don’t want to be late.” She got out of the car. Nick followed, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he pocketed the car keys. They started walking toward the school together.

“So… how can I make it so you don’t walk on eggshells?” Nick asked.

“You want an honest answer?” Evelyn still had her phone out, scrolling through it.

Nick shrugged. “I guess so.”

“As hard as it is, I need to interact with someone who isn’t talking to me like I’m about to fall apart in a sobbing mess.” She slipped her phone in her pocket. “That’s Gemma’s job. And Princess Clarissa’s. I need you to… let me be myself. If I need to cry, I’ll let you know.”

Nick nodded. “Right. I can try.”

She smiled at the ground as they entered the school. She went off a different way, and Nick headed toward his locker. He put his combination in, placing the books in there from his homework over the weekend. He was acutely aware of Mr. Stower walking down the hall, with Akshi slithering behind him. Nick finished putting his books away, then rested against the open locker right as they passed. He should ruffle around his locker to keep up the alibi, but he couldn’t do it. He was painfully aware Grizzizzik would pay actual gold to be where he was right now. To confront his father. But Grizzizzik wasn’t powerful enough.

Once Mr. Stower and Akshi went down the hall, Nick shut his locker, turning around. Rafael peeked over from one hallway, watching where Akshi had disappeared. Nick’s stomach churned. He’d see Rafael eventually today, but it still dredged up memories he wanted to remain buried. Or better yet, memories he wished never happened. Ones of favoritism. How well Rafael was treated in his home. How Walt forgave Rafael so quickly, and yet Nick was still suffering the punishment of breaking his nose. A broken nose Nick would defend to his dying day that Rafael deserved.

Rafael noticed Nick’s gaze and shrunk into the hallway. All the hatred Nick once felt for Rafael shifted to hurt instead. A deep hurt he didn’t want to feel, but it was like wishing for the burning to stop while still trapped in a fire. His friend betrayed him, like Nick once betrayed him. There was hurt that wouldn’t magically go away. He spent the entirety of a few seconds looking at Rafael’s face and didn’t imagine what it would be like to punch it again. That had to be an improvement.

Nick slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked away.