“I can sense it along your skin, Sam of Wilds. It leaks.”
“What does that have to do with Morgan?”
“He and Randall could not do what was right when the time came. They were given the chance to end the darkness before it became something more. Because of their weakness, because of their love, they chose instead to banish him.”
“They did it because they had hope, however slim it may have been.”
“Which is a weakness,” the Great White snarled. “Do you not fault them for their choices?”
I had. I thought maybe I still did. But I also thought I understood it more than I ever had before. “Would it have mattered?” I asked instead. “It’s always been leading to this, hasn’t it? The prophecy. My destiny. It’s a path set long before I was ever even a thought.”
“Possibly,” the dragon admitted begrudgingly. “But the paths set in stone can often be diverted.”
“Stone crumbles,” I whispered.
“Indeed.”
“What are you asking of me?”
The dragon’s eyes began to glow, white and pure. I felt him swirl within me, the strength of him overwhelming. I thought it more than all the other dragons combined. It took my breath away, the sheer size of it. My own eyes burned again, and I knew they were shining brightly in response.
The dragon spoke, whether aloud or in my head, I didn’t know.
But he was everywhere.
He said,
Come away with me, O human child.
In this forest deep, in the dark of the wild.
Where in these woods, you’ll face your fear,
as time doth stretch toward a year.
I blinked. “Did you—did you just rhyme at me?”
“Was that supposed to be a love poem?” Kevin asked, sounding confused. “Because I thought love poems were supposed to be about dicks and stuff. Like, roses are red, violets are blue, I would love it if I could put my penis in you.”
“He wasn’t telling me a love poem,” I said, sounding scandalized. “What the hell.”
“He was asking you to run away with him,” Kevin pointed out. “In this forest deep. He was probably talking about his butthole. Which, I mean, I suppose you can do that. If you want. But seriously. I’m all the dragon you’ll ever need. You know what they say, once you go Kevin, you’ll finally know heaven.”
“Oh my gods. Name one person besides Gary that says that.”
“Carl.”
“Who the fuck is Carl?”
“This guy. From this thing.”
“What guy from what thing?”
“This thing. You weren’t there.”
“Where was I?”
“At the… food. Store.”