The Winds of Astrodon Read online

  “A choice? What choice?” asked Liam.

  “Young prince, dreamstones can be destroyed.”

  Liam gasped. “Why would one ever try? What would happen to the dream it holds?”

  “Gone,” said Merwin, opening his hands and waving his fingers in the air.

  “But this dream is me,” said Cassie.

  “No lassie. It is the idea of you.” The dwarf looked to Liam. “Can you not see it? Did not the thought enter your mind the moment you saw her?”

  “Don’t speak in riddles, dwarf. Be clear.”

  “She is FROM UpWhere. The strange fabric, her mode of speech, tinny to the ear.”

  “That is not possible,” said Liam.

  “And yet here she is. A young girl sent from the world of dreamers. Sent with a single dreamstone and a choice: will she be remembered in that realer world? Will she be remembered by her father?”

  “But why?” asked Cassie. “Why would he send me here?”

  “There must be some very important reason you can no longer live in UpWhere with your family. Even the world of dreamers has its tragedies. It’s possible he’s trying to hide you here.”

  “And if the dreamstone is destroyed?” asked Liam.

  Merwin nodded. “The dream dies and Cassie will never be remembered in UpWhere. But… she will be safe in Farthermore. If you can protect her, Liam, she can be safe here forever.”

  Montag, the Eastern Yilbegan, lay still as Cassie approached. It was in the back yard, lazing in the afternoon sun, its long and lenky body surrounding a vegetable garden.

  “It’s all right, lassie,” said Merwin from behind her. “Just hold your arm out like I showed you.”

  The girl lifted her right hand and held the blue stone amulet in front of her as she walked on. She understood, now. At least as much as a girl of six seasons possibly could. Somehow her father had sent her here to protect her and now he was in great pain in that other world, missing her. This dreamstone was a way for him to heal, for him to forget her. But he had left the choice to her: If it gave Cassie comfort to know her father would remember her even if he never could see her again, it was a pain he would endure.

  But Cassie was a strong girl, a girl fit for the kingdom of Astrodon. She knew what she must do.

  And so she approached the dragon and held the dreamstone high, away from her body.

  When she came within a step of the beautiful beast, it seemed to smile and then it huffed, once, lightly. A spark of fire skipped from its nostril and wrapped around the stone in her hand. There was a sizzle, a puff, and then it crumbled to ash and fell to the ground at her feet.

  They said their farewells to Merwin the dwarf and soon Liam and Cassie were on their way back down Hunter’s Pass as the sun set behind the Gilded Mountains. Together they had many adventures. And one day Cassie became a queen of Farthermore.

  But that is a story for another day.

  16

  Jake sat across from his editor at the Blue Mountain bar in Union Square and talked about his next novel and sipped an old bourbon. He’d taken the subway. He still loved taking the subway, the pretzel-and-piss smell of the transit stations, the anxious energy of his fellow passengers making their way to work in the most important city in the world. He was a part of it now. Finally. And it thrilled him.

  He lived with his wife in an apartment in Midtown West, on 52nd. The rent was two and half times their mortgage back in Ohio. But the money was there for now and the future looked promising. Besides, what the hell did they have to spend money on other than themselves?

  A breaking news report came on the TV over the bar and he and Dan stopped talking long enough to find out what was going on. A shooting in some small town in Connecticut. Sad.

  Once, about six years ago, Melody had really pushed to have a kid. If Jake had agreed, their child would be about the same age as the kids who were murdered that morning. Hell, they’d probably be living in a place just like Newtown. Melody would have insisted on living outside the city if they’d had a kid.

  “You okay?” asked Dan.

  “Yeah,” said Jake, shaking his head and pulling his eyes from the television. “I was just thinking how frightening it must be to be a parent. How truly scary it must be to send your kid off in the mornings and not be there to protect them. I don’t think I could ever do it.”

  After they finished, Jake spent some time at the third-floor coffee shop in the Union Square Barnes & Noble. He had an idea he wanted to get down before it disappeared. It was the story of a new character in the fantasy world he had created for young readers. A strange girl had arrived in the desolate town of Dunedaire just as his protagonist, Liam, was passing through. He didn’t know the whole story, yet, but he knew it had something to do with magic.

  ###

  Also by James Renner:

  Novels

  The Man from Primrose Lane

  Nonfiction

  Amy: My Search for Her Killer

  The Serial Killer’s Apprentice

  It Came from Ohio!

  For more free ebooks and audiobooks visit https://jamesrenner.com/

  Twitter

  Facebook