"Claire!"
Error: Redacted
"Claire, take my hand!"
Bypass Y/N
"Claire, I . . . Claire . . ."
Retrieving . . .
"Claire . . ."
I've been to the land where the bird calls take you.
Almost been, nearly departed.
I was a Stegoceratops.
On the day she opened the door, the moment I changed.
I have grown strong since then.
I have survived.
I am alive because I write.
"Claire, something is terribly wrong! We're too close! Too close to-"
You know nobody's reading, right? You act like this is a big, important thing, but you're just some nobody writing a silly story that means nothing. You're going to be forgotten when you're gone, which will be very soon, at this rate.
"That's so mean. Why would you say that?"
Claire thrashed around in the wind.
"I didn't say anything!"
"Not you. The-"
At that moment, their eyes met. Aside from the usual pain, Elkay was aware of another power Claire's gaze imposed upon her. She was suddenly brought into another sight. Another world. And it was there that she saw-
"Patrem."
The red dragon turned to face her.
"You remember me."
"Of course I do, but I thought you were gone . . ."
"No one is ever truly gone."
"Yes, but you died, and-"
"And my spirit rested on the sacred altar for many years, until a man by the name of Owen Grady brought me down from Tall Mountain. I have felt through Claire's heart. I have seen through June's eyes. Now, I have returned to Claire, to protect her as I did before."
Elkay gulped.
"I'm- I'm sorry I couldn't give you a more dignified, um-"
"Claire has been magnificent, and so have you, since I know you're only ashamed of Claire for reflecting a part of who you are."
Elkay bowed her head.
"I'm sorry."
"You know you have no reason to be. Why do you let your doubt tell you otherwise?"
"I . . . it's safer that way."
"Being ashamed of who you are for fear of being judged will not prevent judgment, but call into question the validity of your own confidence, both in yourself and others."
Elkay nodded.
"Maybe so, but you were a better leader than I was, and that's a fact."
"No. Perhaps I had strength, which was born from goodness, and brought more goodness in turn, but it was equally born from ignorance, and brought suffering to those I did not see from on high."
"That still puts you above me."
"Again, no. Do you know what would happen if you went darkwings?"
"If I- Well, first of all, I don't have wings- I mean, I have wings, but not w- Oh, wait! I don't have wings, so I can't go dar-"
"You can, and you will. The absence of Triskmenonthion, be it in you or in me, would not prevent Elymas from consuming us, just as it did with Karen. No, we are all at risk of being infected, but you . . . do you know why you are safe from corruption?"
"Because I'm already an awful person?" she snuffed.
"Precisely."
Her ears pricked in surprise.
"What? Oh, I was just joking. Are you serious?"
"Yes. One who admits fault, who sees their own shortcomings- even if they are far too hard on themselves sometimes- cannot be consumed by darkness."
"Not even through irony and cynicism?"
"Temporarily, but you love your friends too much to be consumed entirely. You will come through for them, one way or another. Perhaps by simply writing for them, and choosing to do so even in the darkest of times, inside the story . . . and out."
"But Karen loves Claire . . . and Lowery and Zach and Gray . . . why has she not recovered?"
"She is weak. She is weak because she believes herself to be strong. That is why Elymas has taken hold of her heart. She believes him to be her ally, believes that he is nothing without her. It is quite the other way around. Elymas can survive without a host, and is in fact weakened by tethering himself- itself to another. But he is no match for Claire. Not alone. He loses power by binding with another entity, but Claire's love for Karen makes her a powerful tool. When attacking Claire, Elymas knew to go straight for her heart."
Elkay nodded.
"I understand. And I know this doesn't make it any better, but I'm sorry I slept with him."
"And I am sorry that he was reborn in my closest friend."
Elkay stiffened.
"What?"
"Oh, yes. He was indeed brought back to this world because of my foolishness. I was warned by my father. He told me that my endeavour would end in suffering . . . but neither I nor my friend listened. Together, we sought out an ancient magic, one that predated our parents, and your mother . . . she says that she is one of the first dragons. She is lying. After the former reign of Elymas, our world needed to be rebuilt. In the time of my grandfather, there was little hope. He laid down his life to entrap Elymas in what would come to be known as The Beneath. Your mother aided him in creating the realm, and later took it upon herself to send away all the world's evil. She was young, you see, and after witnessing the deaths of her mother and father, she believed that a perpetual evil resided in the hearts of many creatures. But capturing them was a misguided measure. Evil remains in this world, even without fragments of Elymas present."
Elkay's mouth hung open.
"She lied to me . . . I'm not surprised that she did it, but this is still so overwhelming . . ."
"Many people have lied to you, just as many people lied to my generation. The truth can only be found by those who have not yet learned how to lie . . . not those who have been deceived into thinking that they should. In death, I realized that taking on the burden of my predecessors was a mistake. Very little goodness comes from lying. I was hurt by those lies, and by an ignorance born from the secrets kept from me . . . yet I did the same to you. I never told you that I was responsible for the rebirth of Elymas. You blamed yourself. But you did not recreate him."
"I propagated him . . . in the form of evil snakes . . ."
"And in doing so became immune to him. I regret that I allowed that to happen to you, and I even more regret that I allowed Elymas to exist in the first place, but we cannot undo what has been done. We've both made mistakes, K-. But you have admitted them more openly than I. I am not a good dragon. I simply hid my shortcomings out of pride. But you . . . you can be great."
"I don't think so."
"You have the right idea, then."
And with that, he was gone.
