Chapter 28
The last week had been one attempt after another.
Snippets of research had suggested possibilities, but each one had been unsuccessful.
The hinge had meant removing the spell lock would have an additional element to it that had proven stubborn, and they’d been down to their final option when Ashley had uncovered another issue.
“We need to act,” Ashley said, placing a copy of a scroll that been found in the WRC library.
“According to the research, every chromatic hinge that’s been studied is inherently unstable.
If we don’t remove it, the evidence suggests it will begin to break down, and Dorian will be slowly poisoned. There’s no known antidote.”
Alex read the research. There was no denying the facts, but there was a way to remove the hinge and spell lock. The reaction would complete the interception charm in one direction, but at least the direction could be chosen.
Dorian would need to decide which version of himself he would want to be. Alex already knew the answer he should pick: Dorian was a dragon, and it would be a cruel fate for him to have to live out his life as a human.
Alex had never thought life was fair. His experience had told him time and time again that existence was a series of encounters, some good, some bad, and some trying not to get killed.
Meeting Dorian had given him a glimpse of being happy again for the first time in years.
He would be Dorian’s friend, even visit him in his new home and try not to dwell on their lost alternative future.
Chris had told him he had been in contact with a representative of Handor and was now talking to Dorian behind a secrecy shield.
Alex had first thought to ask if Dorian would want him to be present, but he didn’t want to put either him or Chris in an uncomfortable position, given the topic, or make Dorian limit the questions he might want to ask.
He felt Chris’s spell drop. Dorian beckoned him over. “It’s time to make my decision.”
“You can choose to wait,” Chris said. “But as I explained, we don’t know how long the hinge will remain stable. I’ve just given you some options.”
Dorian nodded. “Chris said I have an open invite to come to Handor. They’ll even help from their side, meaning the portal will be easier, so at least I know I’m welcome.”
“I do think the sooner you decide your path, the better,” Alex said. “From what I read, it’s too great a risk to delay.”
“We will continue to research the interception spell,” Chris said. “Magical advances happen all the time, and we might have a way to reverse the spell eventually.”
Alex thought that was a nice gesture, but the reality was that once Dorian was settled in Handor and became integrated with other dragons, he might not want to come back.
“Alex, when you visit, you’ll be able to bring updates.” Dorian nuzzled him with his head. “Chris said they’d allow you in every month or so.”
Chris cleared his throat. “They did raise some concerns about an unaccompanied elf. I suspect your visits would be closely observed, at least to begin with.”
“Not unexpected,” Alex said. They should be grateful for what they got.
An uncomfortable silence fell across them. Chris worried his bottom lip. “What’s the plan then, Dorian?”
“Remove the hinge and break the spell lock, today, if you can.”
Alex knew it was the right decision. It would be hard to say goodbye to Dorian, and dragging things out would be worse, but there were things that needed to be put in place.
“Are you going to announce your retirement?” he asked. “If you disappear without a word, people will come looking.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that too. I recorded a message that can be written out and released. I’m sure Robin can take care of that.”
Dorian was far better prepared than Alex had given him credit for. “Have you been in touch with Debi?”
“By text. I’ve told her I’m gonna step away for a while, and I’ll give her a great reference and a decent amount of money as a thank you for all her support. She’s asked for a call, but I couldn’t. Maybe, once I’m gone, you could speak to her for me?”
“Yes.” Although he might end up asking Karl to talk to Debi, she might be the only other person who would miss Dorian to the same degree he would, but for different reasons. “Let’s get this spell lock off you.”
Chris clicked his fingers, and a small purple orb appeared. “I’ve created this to unravel and collect the magic from the spell lock and chromatic hinge. It’s based on the orc treatise Jack found.”
“Orc?” Dorian said. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Jack and I have balanced this carefully, and Ashley has added a carrier strain that will strengthen its containment capabilities. It’ll open the hinge and break down the spell that’s feeding it. I’ll capture the magic in this glass sphere so it can be disposed of safely.”
Dorian needed resolution, but suddenly everything seemed to be happening too fast for Alex.
The whole getting to know Dorian had taken him by surprise, and he felt a pit of resentment in his stomach that he was going to once again lose someone he had become attached to.
He was not a selfish man, though, and wouldn’t put his own desires before Dorian’s.
“Do you need any help?” Alex asked Chris.
“Not for the hinge, but when it comes to getting him to Handor, if you are involved, then it will make your future passage easier.”
Part of Alex thought the long-term future would be better for both of them if he were to make a clean break of this and not visit Dorian.
The initial break would be terrible, but it would stop the slow death of a friendship that would always be haunted by what could have been.
However, Dorian would be far too hurt if he were to go back on his word, and there was already enough suffering in this situation; he didn’t need to add to it.
Alex turned to Dorian. “Are you ready?”
“I guess so. This way, I have to face the situation. We’ve done everything we can to restore my shifter nature, and I don’t see another option for now.”
Chris patted Dorian’s wing. “I admire the way you’re facing this. Your whole life has changed and will change again. There aren’t many who can deal with that level of disturbance so calmly.”
“Oh, don’t go thinking I’m coping, Chris.
I’m barely sleeping. I cried on my flight yesterday, but I’m old enough to realise that wishing on a star doesn’t work.
If I want any chance of a decent life, I’ll need to be with other non-shifting dragons.
I won’t be accepted here, and my old life won’t exist any longer. ”
Somehow, Dorian being so magnanimous didn’t fit right with the Dorian he’d come to know.
Dorian was a man who lived his life in the spotlight; he was larger than life, and even as a dragon, he had an air about him that made Alex realise why he was such an in-demand actor.
Hollywood would be losing one of its most charismatic stars, and Dorian was losing everything.
Alex watched as Chris placed the purple sphere in the middle of Dorian’s chest. The gold scales reflected the purple hue, as the magic began to radiate outwards.
Alex could sense the underlying nastiness that was the spell lock and hinge.
If he ever got his hands on the bastard who’d done this, he would remove their limbs and rip off their head.
A few minutes later, Chris stepped away.
He muttered something Alex suspected was a cap off for the spell.
“All done,” Chris announced. “Does it feel any different?”
“In general terms, I feel a lot lighter. I’m not sure that makes sense.”
Chris nodded. “You’ve had a rather noxious piece of magic removed, so that could explain it. You’ve been a dragon for a few weeks now, and I would have been quite surprised if you’d felt much of a difference on that score.”
“It’s a shame I couldn’t be human again. If only once more.”
Alex had wished that they’d have been able to turn Dorian back one last time, but Chris had cautioned against it in case he got stuck as a human, and it had been obvious Dorian was going to choose his dragon side.
“I need to go and dispose of the sphere and send a message to my contact in Handor. When do you want to leave?”
Alex wanted to say never, but that wouldn’t help. “How about tomorrow?” He suggested. That would give them another night together, and in the morning, he could shepherd Dorian to his new home.
“Yeah, let’s do that. I’d like another flight over the hall, to finish off a few messages and then spend some time with Alex,” Dorian said.
“I do need to have a few words with Alex,” Chris said. “If you have your flight, I’ll be done with him by the time you’re finished.”
Alex didn’t know what Chris wanted. But he also knew Chris wasn’t the sort of man to request precious time if it wasn’t needed. Dorian sauntered out of the French windows, probably for the last time and took flight.
“How are you feeling?” Chris asked.
“Fucking awful,” he admitted. “I really believed we could solve this. I’ve become attached, despite my own sense of self-preservation, I know I’m going to have to let him go.”
He wasn’t used to being so honest about his feelings, but Chris was easy to talk to, having experienced things like no one else.
“I won’t give you the old claptrap that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved, because it’s painful and horrible.
But I haven’t given up, at some point, I truly believe we will be able to bring him home. ”
“We might be able to, but whether it would be fair to do so is another matter. Once he’s integrated with the dragons and has a life there, whatever that may be, to drag him back here seems cruel.”
“Perhaps, if it takes us years, you might have a point. But we will cross that bridge when we come to it.”