Riding a luck dragon felt nothing like Atreyu and Bastian led me to believe.

I held Tain tight while grasping one of Gavin’s dragon spikes even tighter. With every beat of his wings, I felt like Gavin would accidentally throw us off his back.

As big as my dragon shifter brother was, he was just a speck of dust in the sky, pushed by the current of the wind. Sunlight sparkled off of the waves rushing by far underneath us. The temperature was a hair above shivering and my ears hurt, but at least the fresh air tasted great. You don’t realize how polluted Earth air is until you’re riding a dragon in a fantastical realm.

Owl-Rob and Charice looked worn out as they tried to keep the pace that the swan and dragon set. While there was room for them on Gavin, flying would have been extra hard, especially since this was his “maiden voyage”, as it were.

My knuckles paled while I gripped the spike. We’d been flying over open water forever. At first I was worried that Gavin might shift back at any time. But he had kept this pent up for two years now, so maintaining the dragon form was likely more than easy. Still, the fear of plummeting into the ocean between islands played over in my mind.

But I was proud of myself. Had I attempted this months ago I’d be having a panic attack right now. All this water stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. I’d come a long way. That, or saving my dad cast out the fear. It gave me something to focus on other than myself.

The Otherside sun hung low, painting the horizon an array of colors. Turning my head on a slow swivel, I saw what must have been the other islands, Falias, Gorias, and Findias, floating atop the Tir fo Thuinn sea.

I kept Fragarach in my jacket of holding. The general logic went, that if a metal detector could not tell I was packing a five foot long sword, then the god of the Celtic sea realm wouldn’t be able to detect it either. Or so I hoped. Otherwise I had a beacon in my jacket, warning the sea king that we were fast approaching.

I wondered how much Manann mac Lir hated my guts. I had broken out of his dungeon, snatched his sword, and then used his self-propelling boat as a getaway car. And later I’d summoned his horse to Earth to help me trample the Kelpie. But hey, he started it. All I did was save his horse Enbarr and bring her back home to safety, then ask if I could borrow Fragarach in return, just long enough to slay a demonic steed that murdered my sister Anna. And for that, he threw me in a dungeon. So, if anything, Manann mac Lir had another thing coming.

My plan was easy. Last time, I didn’t know Manann mac Lir had a self-propelling boat. This time, I did. And I knew where it was parked. We needed to stay out of the water as much as possible. The water was Manann’s domain, and he had hundreds of Selkie soldiers, who could shift from seals to spear-armed warriors in no time at all. But, with all of us airborne, we had the element of surprise.

After endless minutes of goosebumps and earaches, Manann’s domain came into view. Sticking out of the sea, the white sand castle of Tir fo Thuinn was an island unto itself.

My gut turned in on itself. Here goes nothing. My brother, girlfriend, and Tain would find a spot to hide above water, likely perched on some spire, well out of reach of any guards. Rob, Aengus Og, and I would be scuba diving.

Aengus swan flew next to my dragon brother’s head and yelled at me. “Now!” He shifted back into his humanesque form and dove headfirst into the water. Just a hundred foot drop. No big deal. Rob shifted into a salmon and followed suit.

I hesitated, patting Tain. He licked my hand. Pulling the cohuleen druith down over my ears, I decided I was more of a pencil dive kind of guy. Gavin flapped his wings, hovering in place, waiting for me to jump. I froze. The longer I waited the harder it became to leap.

Gavin’s tail whipped around and batted me like a fly swatter.

“Jerk,” I yelled, as my stomach dropped.

Vertigo overtook my falling, flailing body. Emerald Luck knots wove around me, shielding me from the impact. I plunged beneath the waves into an aquatic world.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

---

I was surprised how familiar the corridors of the castle were. I’d only been their once, but seemed to recognize where Aengus led us. We crept through the arched ivory halls, sneaking quite well until we bumped right into some Selkie soldiers.

Masks of confusion covered their faces. We were trespassing, but Aengus Og was a recognizable Tuatha. But when they saw me their resolve steeled.

Tridents were leveled at our hearts.

“Gentleman. Don’t you know who I am? I’m here to visit ole’ uncle mac Lir.”

“Aye, we know who you are,” the vocal guard said. His eyes shifted to me and tried to burn a hole in my face. “But he’s a trespassing thief who the king has ordered to be executed on sight, if he ever returned.”

They edged closer.

Aengus kissed his hands and four small birds flew out of his palms like a magician. The birds circled the Selkies, pecking at their faces. Cat-Rob wove between their legs, tripping them. I rushed in and sweep-kicked one guard, grounding him. Aengus produced a mythical spear and spun the butt end of it to knock out the other guard. We dragged the unconscious guards into a corner while Cat-Rob tried to bat the birds with his paw.

The birds flew back into Aengus’ cupped palms and disappeared completely.

“Weird,” I said.

A smug look came over Aengus. “What can I say? My love has wings.”

“Yeeeaaah…okay,” I said.

“It’s in the mythology,” purred Rob, as if I should have known that already. “One of the only things Wikipedia gets right, actually.”

Still not wanting to wield Fragarach, I snatched a trident and gave it a test twirl.

We shot off through more corridors and halls, but Aengus seemed to be making turns at random.

“Do you know where you’re going?” I asked.

“It’s been a while.”

Blaring conch horns echoed through the castle. The guards we’d KOed had been found. Or the other half of our party outside the castle were discovered. Either way, the gig was up now. Confrontation was imminent.

We burst into the indoor underwater dock. Scuabtuinne was parked there, surrounded by a company of Selkie soldiers.

“Step away from the thief,” said the captain of the guard.

Aengus Og smiled as he twirled his spear in his hand like Dick Van Dike with a cane. Warm feelings of deep friendship washed over me. Now that I knew what it was, I recognized the god of love’s charm.

Aengus commended them. “You gentlemen are so imposing in your armor, wielding your tridents. A more loyal group could not be found in all of Tir fo Thuinn, nay, all of Tir na nOg.”

The men stood taller, eyes beaming.

I smiled. Aengus was laying it on thick, and it was working. They might very well just hand us the boat and escort us out of here. In fact that’s exactly what Aengus suggested.

Our newfound party was departing when the king of the sea stormed in. I kept my head turned sank lower into the boat.

“What’s the meaning of this?” bellowed Mannan mac Lir.

I felt a renewed wave of century old friendship wash over me, but I knew it was intended for the Manann.

“Oh hey Uncle mac Lir. We’re just borrowing your boat. Wanted to go see how me da is doing. I did not think ye would mind.”

I don’t know what Manann felt like, but warm happiness flooded my heart, like I was chilling with Bob Ross, Mr. Rogers, and Stan Lee.

The confusion was plain to hear in Manann’s voice. “Okay...that’s fine. Bring her back in one piece.”

Aengus Og gave his uncle a mock salute. “Ta ta.”

The boat took off and I stole a glance at Manann. By the time he recognized me we were skipping across the sea faster than a speedboat.

The look on his face was priceless.

Aengus Og, Rob, and I shared a good laugh at Manann’s plight.

The whole gang reunited in Scuabtuinne. Gavin shifted back to a dragon and we all squeezed in. It was a tight, but cozy fit.

After a command from Aengus, the boat shot straight for Hybrasail with a company of shifted Selkie seal warriors escorting us as the castle behind us dipped below the horizon.

I kept my hand buried in Tain’s fur coat. If Dagda could help restore Dad, these were possibly some of the last moments I’d spend with Tain. It was a weird thought, and even though I’d be getting my dad back, a small part of me was sad, like I was about to part ways with an old friend.

After a time the boat slowed to a gentle glide. The water calmed. So still was it, I could not tell where the sea ended and the sky began. The Selkies surrounding us grew silent. Though they treaded water, no ripples from their fins disturbed the serene glass top of the ocean surface. A light fog rolled over us, but it was not freezing. It was more like the steam of a sauna. I lost all sense of direction and momentum. Were we floating in the same spot? Did Scuabtuinne still glide, or had we stopped moving?

The gentle brush of soft sand against the bottom of the boat told us we’d reached land. We emerged from the fog onto the island shore of Hybrasail.