Chapter 20- I Go on Mission Impossible

Grace

Dylan found me sitting underneath Torrence, the Storm tree. The thunder and rain seemed to suit my mood entirely.

"Grace!" he gasped, collapsing next to me on the dock. "Grace. I'm sorry… I just…"

"No," I murmured. "I get it."

He sighed. "Grace… I hate to ask you this, but I really do need to know. Why were you in Malistaire's lair?"

I avoided meeting his eyes, and just stared into the frothy water below. I took a deep breath. "The day we met." I sighed. "The day we met, when Ambrose found me, after he sent you back into his office, he kind of…"

"What? What'd Ambrose do Grace?" His brow furrowed.

"Ambrose banished me, because I froze the Commons. I'm still not sure why, I mean, freezing things can't be too uncommon for Ice wizards, magical mistakes have to happen all the ti-"

"Grace," Dylan cut me off. "What happened after that?"

I sighed. "I went to the Spiral Door… And I went through…"

"Without a key?"

"Well… Not an official key, no…"

The crease in between his brow deepened.

"So I went through the door. And the last thing I remember was landing on hot stone. Then I woke up in a cell."

"In Malistaire's lair?"

"Yeah…" I shuddered involuntarily. "I was so scared Dylan. And then I found him. I found Malistaire. And he said… Dylan, he wants to summon the Dragon Titan." He gasped. "To bring Sylvia Drake back from the dead." I couldn't call her my mother, I couldn't tell him. I didn't have the courage.

Dylan sat back a bit, just staring out at the water. "Oh, Grace," he said sadly. "I can't imagine what you went through…"

"He wanted my help."

"What?!"

I took a deep breath. I had to tell him, I had too. I had to tell him Malistaire was my father.

"Wait…" he said, the wheels in his head spinning frantically. "Just… Just give me a minute… Okay?"

I nodded.

Dylan took a deep breath, then slid me into his lap, embracing me. My breath caught as he stroked my hair delicately, holding me tightly. "I'm so sorry," he whispered softly into my hair. He leaned back slightly, so he could look me in the eyes. He looked so crushed, like someone had ripped his heart out and stomped on it. I wondered if that someone had been me.

"Grace." His breath caught, and he held me even tighter. "I-I really hate to ask this of you. And I hate myself for it. Bu-but I need you to go back." My eyes widened, and I shook my head frantically. I couldn't go back, I wouldn't go back. "Grace… Malistaire trusts you. For whatever reason, and you're the only one that can get close to him. That can spy on him" I shuddered. "If we're ever going to defeat Malistaire, we need to know his weaknesses. You're the only person that can do this, Grace."

He had a point, and I knew he had a point, but I tried not to see it. Malistaire wasn't above putting his own daughter in a cell, and I shuddered to imagine what he would do this time, especially since I had turned him down once already. Malistaire was evil, and he had no conscience.

I gulped, burying my face in Dylan's robes. "I-I-I'll d-do it." I sobbed into his chest, and he almost crushed me with his embrace.

"I don't want you to. I really don't want you to Grace. I wouldn't ask this if I knew any other way. I swear." His words rolled off of me, splashing into a useless puddle. Nothing he could say would make me feel better about this. He could tell, too, so we just sat there, on the dock next to Torrence, him rocking me in his arms as I wept.

Eventually I ran out of tears, and the others came and found us. I could feel their disapproving glares on the back of my neck, but I didn't care. Dylan quietly explained what I had agreed to do, and none of them seemed very upset about it. Except Digby, just maybe. After an hour or so, they all left, and it began to grow dark. Dylan carried me up all twenty-three flights of stairs to my dorm room and set me gently into my bed. His arms never left me all night.

I awoke the next day, still in Dylan's arms. He was snoring slightly, his breath warm on the back of my neck. I gently rolled out of bed, so as not to disturb him. I hated what I was about to do, but I couldn't stand to say goodbye. I gathered my things, stood in the middle of the room, and teleported.

I landed face first on steaming blood red stone. The heat hit me like a wall as I tried to stand up. Looking around, I saw that I was in the large round room where I had last seen Malistaire. And then it hit me, a huge dark force knocked the wind out of me, sending me sprawling several feet backwards.

"Oh, forgive me, child, I didn't realize it was you…" an arctic voice bellowed from above me. I could tell from the smug smile on Malistaire's lips that he had known exactly who I was. He walked over to me, and a cold death followed him, crumbling my nerves. The last thing I saw was Malistaire's cruel face, twisted in pleasure. He had gotten what he'd wanted.

I was out cold.