It is everywhere.
And I will find a way to master it all.
I FOUND Randall sitting on the porch the next morning, eyes closed as he breathed in and out slowly.
He didn’t acknowledge me as I sat next to him, but he knew I was there.
I waited, putting my thoughts in order, wanting to make sure what I said next was the right thing. My head was full near to bursting.
“So,” I finally said.
“So,” Randall said, but he didn’t open his eyes.
“I did what you asked.”
“Hmm.”
“And you can never give me shit about my Grimoire ever again. Because, dude, total diaries. All of yours. It was awful, if I’m being honest.”
“Is that so.”
“And your prose is a little purple for my tastes.”
“Everyone’s a critic.”
“But I know now why you wanted me to do it. To read them.”
He opened his eyes and looked at me.
“Was that your plan all along? To show me the details? The little bits and pieces?”
He smiled sadly. “We are wizards, Sam. We are capable of such great and terrible things. But we’re also human. We make mistakes. We hurt others. And sometimes, the worst in us comes out and we find ourselves mired in shadow.”
“Death is freeing. A cleansing.”
“Yes.”
“The shackles released.”
“Yes.”
“It’s going to be either him or me.”
“And that’s where you’re wrong,” Randall said. “Because it was never just you, Sam. You’ve never been alone. Not in this. Not ever. You’ve always had Ryan. And Gary. And Tiggy and Kevin. The King and the Prince. Your parents. Pete. Morgan. And me. So, no. It’s not either going to him or you. It’s going to be him or all of us.”
I took in a shaky breath. “I have a plan.”
His smile faded. “Whenever you’ve said those words, I always dreaded them because they usually meant something terrible was going to happen.”
“Rude. But fair.”
“Will it work?”
I grinned rakishly at him. “I’m Sam of Dragons.”
“That doesn’t inspire the confidence you seem to think it does. What is your plan?”
I looked him straight in the eye and said, “I’m going to betray you all.”