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Book 2: Chapter 55: Behold

This had to be a good thing, surely. He had been the one to find the egg. He had not fainted or faltered when other Legendary recruits had. Even though he wasn't going to be the first to formally approach the egg... the young dragon inside had to consider him.

Right?

Arthur held onto this hope as he and the rest of the Legendary recruits were escorted to the auditorium.

The seats were filled with important looking people, though, of course, Arthur only knew a few of them. Some were the hive leaders — he recognized Whitaker and Valentina sitting slightly apart from the rest. Ostracized from the company of their peers.

Valentina caught his eye and her lips curved up in a smile. Whitaker saw him and his lips curved down in disapproval.

Likely, he didn't approve of Arthur's clothing. He was by far the most plainly dressed of the Legendary recruits. As usual, the men were dressed in stiff fabric, painfully brushed clean of any imperfection. The women were similarly dressed in gowns and hairstyles that were elaborate... but he didn't think it was practical.

Would a baby dragon even know or care about human fashion?

In any case, Arthur had dressed in clean, though plain clothing. An off-white tunic and a pair of dark trousers with matching sturdy footwear.

He wanted to show the dragon that he had come to work, not to play around. And... well, if things went horribly wrong today, he didn't want to die in stiff, uncomfortable clothing.

They were made to stand in a group along one end of the stage in rough order of their rank.

Meanwhile an elderly man with a silver beard and slicked back silver hair went to the front to begin to speak, thanking the crowd for their attendance. And not so subtly, patting himself on the back for hosting the Legendary hatching.

Great, this was one of the Buck Moon hive leaders, and there was going to be speechifying.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

Craning his head back, Arthur glanced at Marion.

The other boy looked pale, but not in the exhausted way he had when he had burned his 1 hour boost on his time card.

Arthur caught his gaze and raised his eyebrows in a silent question: Do you know what's going to happen next?

Marion grimaced and shook his head, confirming he hadn't used the boost. Likely, he wanted to be at the top of his game today.

Arthur’s attention was drawn back at the polite clapping from the audience.

"Now, without further ado..." The hive leader gestured to several men and one woman wearing Rare rider badges. They nodded and several made lifting gestures with their hands. A semi-translucent shield — the same shield which had separated the dueling arenas — went up between the stage and the audience.

The VIPs were to watch what occurred next, but they were also going to be protected by it. If that shield which was held by several visibly straining Rares was strong enough to hold dueling Legendary recruits, it should be strong enough to protect against a wild baby dragon.

But it also meant that all the recruits were trapped within.

Guess Marion didn't have to worry about which group he'd be after all, Arthur thought. His heart was pounding in his ears and his own breaths sounded loud.

This was it. This was finally, finally it.

"May I have the top five recruits?" the silver haired leader said. Then before Arthur could properly freak out — or turn around and curse Marion for being born — added, "And the second right behind them. Stand in ranking order, please. Yes... yes..." He nodded as one by one the first ten stepped up.

The egg itself was placed mid-stage, safely encased on a box on a stone plinth. Several circles were painted around it: Green on the outside, blue in the middle, red closest in. Red was apparently considered the dangerous zone.

"Now, the first five will stand at the blue circle. Second five, you stand on the green. You will go up to the egg one by one according to rank. Stand at the red line and bow low to show your respect. Then present an image of the card. If there is no immediate result, and the egg does not hatch, you will step back and allow the next person in line to step forward."

Arthur's mouth went dry. Throwing that last duel for Marion's sake suddenly felt like a bonehead move. He could have been in the first row. Still with four people ahead of him, but...

The recruits did as they were told, but Arthur found it hard to stand directly on the line. He felt as if he were leaning forward at an angle. It was as if he were about to be pulled in and should take a quick step to catch himself before he fell... only in reality he wasn't leaning at all.

He blinked and shook his head. Judging from the odd, vaguely uncomfortable expressions around him, he wasn't the only one.

The silver haired leader gestured, and a force flicked out from his hand. The sides of the box melted away, revealing the egg.

Arthur staggered forward a step, caught himself, and stepped back on the line. He wasn't the only one.

"Recruit Francis Orchardtree," the leader said, "You may begin."

Arthur clenched his fists as he watched Francis step up to the egg.

That was Arthur’s egg.

I'm not imagining it, Arthur told himself fiercely. I'm drawn to it — I've always been drawn to it. I'm just a nobody standing among nobles and royalty against all odds. This egg is mine.

From where Arthur stood at the side, he had a clear view of Francis' face twisted in discomfort as he stepped to the red line.

Then, with a gesture, Francis projected an image of his card out in front of the egg.

Arthur wasn't about to miss this opportunity to check out his opponent's cards.

Illusionary Charmer

Illusion

Legendary

The wielder of this card—

The top of the black egg split.

Arthur's heart froze.

No.

No!

Bits of the shell crumbled inward. Then more, and more. It was like watching a figurine of sand fall into dust. Only... soon half of the shell was gone, and the dragon was nowhere in sight.

"It's not empty, is it?" someone murmured.

"No," Arthur said, "Can't you feel it?"

But he was worried. The egg wasn't that big to begin with and the dragon—

"BEHOLD!" boomed a deep, resonant voice. The rest of the shell blasted away and in its place stood a dark dragon, all four wings spread proudly.

A very, very small dragon.

The body was about as long as a pack of playing cards, the wings the length of Arthur's stretched fingers, from thumb to pinky. It had four wings, just like a purple dragon, and was so dark Arthur couldn't immediately tell if it was black or deeply purple. The only spots of color came from smoldering red eyes.

The dragon flexed proudly as if he were a great beast instead of the size of a largish sparrow.

"It is I, Brixaby!" It said in a deep voice incongruous with its tiny body. "Who among you offers their card to me?"

Shock wore off and Arthur remembered he was in competition for this dragon.

He was reaching up to break rank and project a copy of his Master of Skills out — protocol be damned. All would be forgiven if he could link the dragon— when Brixaby's bloody eyes fell on Francis Orcardtree.

"Yes," he said. "Your card will do nicely."

Francis, who stood there struck dumb shook his head and backed a step. He was rejecting the tiny dragon. "No, I made a mistake. Please choose from another."

“Too late. I will have yours first."

Brixaby's four wings buzzed into invisibility like a hummingbird. He darted for Francis, landed on his chest, and with a ripping sound pulled something away with his claws.

It was a card.

The tiny dragon had just ripped a card out of the man's heart.

Francis collapsed, eyes rolling up.

Around, recruits screamed in shock and fear. Most turned to bolt to the lip of the stage — only to be stopped by the transparent shield.

All knew they faced danger. However, few seemed to be prepared for the danger to attack the center of their power. The very thing that set them apart from the commoners.

Meanwhile Brixaby buzzed up into the air with his prize. He seemed to absorb the card — even though it was bigger than himself.

His voice was dark as it was deep. "Which is next?"

"Recruits, stand together!" The silver haired leader yelled. He and a handful of others, including Arthur, hadn't run. "This dragon must be linked, the power tamed! You!" he turned to the dragon which was flicking back and forth like an uncertain dragonfly trying to figure out which meal to eat next, "That's quite enough."

The man flicked a dazzling silver orb of pure magic at Brixaby. It surrounded the dragon in a cage, temporarily halting him.

But only for a moment.

"Do I smell Nullify magic? Delicious!" Abruptly, the orb shrank until it touched the dark scales. With a soap-bubble pop, it broke with the remains sinking into Brixaby's scales as if he had just consumed it.

"That power will be mine!" Brixaby roared and buzzed forward.

The leader threw another burst of nullifying magic, which sank into the oncoming dragon's scales and didn’t stop him for a moment.

In an instant, Brixaby was at the man's chest. When he withdrew with a card, a scream broke the air: Large and outside the auditorium. The thick stone walls shook. The man's Legendary dragon was not happy.

Meanwhile the rider was seizing on the ground with yellow foam coming from his lips.

If the first card stolen had struck fear into the recruits, this created blind panic. People beat against the transparent shield — one boy threw a bolt of lightning which cracked against it, but did not break through.

Meanwhile there was pandemonium on the other side. Leaders and people of importance shouted at one another... and at those manning the shield. One look and Arthur saw they were ordering the Rares to keep it up.

This little menace couldn't be set loose among the Hive.

"Echo!" Marion yelled, "Behind you!"

The little dragon just finished absorbing the leader's card, but of course Marion could see the future. Echo turned, eyes wide, but she had been one of the few to stay in place and not run.

The dragon saw her, licked its lips, and dove.

Arthur finally unfroze. "No!" He sprinted forward to intercept them, to... he wasn't sure what he could do.

Either way, he was a few seconds too slow. Marion, who had seen the future, got there first.

The dragon switched directions in an instant, bobbing down and then upward again with a new card in its claws.

Marion didn't collapse like the others. He simply stared down at his chest, a hand over his heart. He looked too shocked to speak.

"That's enough!"

The shout came from Penn who had stepped up, a gleaming sword in hand. Where had he gotten a sword?

"Come here you little menace," he growled and projected his card out with one hand, the other holding the sword at the ready.

"You idiot!" Arthur yelled. "He just absorbed a time card—"

The tiny dragon flicked downward; blood red eyes bright with an out of control madness.

The leader had said to tame the dragon. This wasn't a laid back Common or Uncommon. This was a Legendary, just hatched, full of stolen power, and on the verge of madness.

It was a danger to everyone around it... and also to itself.

The dragon clearly had no intention of linking with a recruit. It only wanted more cards.

The moment it came within range, Penn slashed at it. The tiny dragon dodged by a hair. It darted back, then flew in again, hissing.

With a grim look on his face, Penn kept it at bay with the edge of his sword, weaving a deadly pattern through the air that barely kept the dragon at bay.

"Yeah!" someone yelled.

"Get it! Knock it from the sky!"

"That's no dragon! That's a scourgeling in dragon-skin!"

Someone sent a blast of wind at Brixaby, sending him tumbling. Only his quick flash agility kept him from the point of Penn's sword. If the little dragon had any sense he would back off, he would use the time card he had just absorbed, or one of the nullification or illusionary powers...

Arthur didn't know why he wasn't using any of the cards he'd stolen. But he did know that he wasn't the only one who knew there was something wrong with the dragon. The difference was: The rest of the recruits decided it had to die.

Arthur couldn't let that happen.

A plan born of desperation flickered through his mind. It hinged on one huge assumption.

But it was his only hope.

"Brixaby!" he yelled, took a deep breath, and then projected an image of his Master of Skills card out. "I have a juicy card for you! Come and get it!"

Red eyes fixed on him. With a hiss of hunger and greed, it buzzed up and over Penn's sword slash, and straight at Arthur.