"YOU NEED TO leave right now—"
"—already bonded... until you're safe."
"—in front of Eli... get home for now—"
Josh?
The other words had been a distant chatter, but Josh's name resonated through the darkness around him. He groaned, trying to shift through his foggy memories. Pain wrapped around him like a hug. Well, if a thorn bush could give hugs.
Really? Your first thought is about thorn bush hugs?
Shut up. You're not helping me—
The memories slammed into him like water released from a dam. Darren and his dark energy, Mara and her ice, the voice's offer, the flash of light.
His eyes shot open and he hurried to his hands and knees. The ground creaked, its soft surface bunching beneath him. Wait, that wasn't right. He blinked, taking in the familiar navy blanket.
"Josh?"
His body ached in protest as he twisted around, taking in his surroundings as he did. It confirmed what he had already started thinking: he was in his room.
Eli sat on a beanbag chair by the closet. Tears slid down his cheeks as he gaped at Josh with red-rimmed eyes. Before Josh could speak, Eli darted over to the bed and tackled him in a hug.
"You're okay," Eli cried into Josh's chest. "You wouldn't wake up. I was so scared you..." He trailed off and tightened the hug.
Josh's chest panged, and a pain deeper than the aches and sores spread across the rest of his body. How long had Eli been sitting in a corner, left alone with the thought that his older brother was going to die? Josh's jaw clenched. He wanted to go back and give possessed Darren an extra punch. But he couldn't do that, and he had other things he needed to figure out.
"How did we get back home?" Josh tried to pull Eli off to look at him, but he didn't budge. "Where's Mom and Dad?" Still nothing. "Eli."
Eli sniffled, but he didn't let go. "I found Mom and Dad. But some jerk guy stopped us from going back. They kept arguing and arguing, and then they were suddenly running, and we found you on the ground, and the guy and some girl kept trying to take you and now they're downstairs arguing again and—"
"Wait, who is downstairs?"
Eli finally pulled back with a small frown. "Mom, Dad, and those two weird people."
Josh's mind raced as he used the new space to guide the confused Eli off him. This hadn't been a random incident. All the weird stuff played a part in it, he was sure of it, and the ones who knew how were in his house.
"Wait, where are you going?" Eli asked as Josh slipped off the bed.
"To get answers," Josh replied. His legs shook at first, but his steps grew steadier the more he took.
"No, you can't do that!"
Before Josh could reach the door, Eli scrambled to stand in front of it. He held his arm to each side and shook his head.
"I'll be fine down there, Eli. Now get out of the way."
"You can't." Eli ducked away as Josh reached out, but he stayed in front of the door. "Mom says that if I let you down there, I'll be grounded for three months!"
Josh tensed, pausing in his next attempt to move Eli. He wasn't just keeping Josh up here out of some fear he would somehow get hurt. Their mom had threatened him. With grounding. Something was very wrong.
"I'll tell Mom it's my fault." Josh scooped up Eli, gritting his teeth against the pain, and deposited the squirming kid back on the bed.
"Mom!"
Wincing at Eli's wail, Josh walked out of his room. An angry voice cut off, followed by insistent shushing.
"Mom!" Eli yelled again.
There was a flurry of movement downstairs. "—stay here," his mom ordered.
"If he's awake, we need to—"
"I said stay here!"
Josh's stomach flipped as he approached the stairs. First Mara's voice sang through him, leaving butterflies in its wake. Then the desperation in his mom's voice caught them all and crushed them a moment later.
His mom appeared at the bottom of the stairs at the same time Josh started down them. Her hair stuck up in spots and her face flushed red, but her eyes remained resolute as she looked up at him.
"Joshua, what are you doing out of your room?" she asked, her voice slow and steady.
Rather than answer, Josh continued down the steps. His mom hurried up to meet him half-way, placing a hand on his chest to stop him. He glanced to the side, but he hadn't made it down far enough to see the lower floor.
"Josh, you need to stay upstairs. We're—"
"What?" Josh demanded, returning his focus to her with an annoyed glare. "What are we doing?"
She bit her lip. "Your father and I are discussing things that you don't need to worry about—"
"He decides that, Joanna. Not you."
Mara's voice again, this time using his mother's name. Josh searched for her even if he already knew he couldn't see her.
His mom turned toward the living room below with a scowl. "He doesn't know enough to make that choice."
"He already did," Mara said before Josh could speak. "He completed the bond."
"Because his life was in danger, just like it would be all the time if he went with you," his mom bit back. "And the bond can still be broken."
They know. Josh had gained a sneaking suspicion ever since talking to Eli, and now his mom confirmed it. Before he could demand answers, someone else spoke up.
"I thought you would be the last person to suggest a Sage delve into your son's soul."
His mom flinched at the words. This voice was new. A guy's voice, so probably the person Eli had mentioned his mom and dad arguing with at the store.
"Watch what you say!" his dad snapped from somewhere in the living room.
"That wasn't necessary," Mara added.
The guy scoffed. "Neither is this argument." He somehow managed to sound exasperated and uncaring at the same time. "We've talked in circles for an hour now, but that doesn't change anything. This is a choice for the soul-bound to make, not the worried parents."
"He doesn't know," his mom stressed.
"No, I don't," Josh said, finally speaking before anyone else could. "But I want to know, and that's my choice."
His mom whipped her head toward Josh. She glared up at him while he stared down at her. When he didn't waver, her anger shifted into something much more unsettling: desperation. Her shoulder drooped, and she glanced away, but not before he saw the tears forming in her eyes.
"Josh, please, just go back to your room," she said, her voice almost a whisper.
It would be so easy at that moment to turn around and walk away. Maybe doing so would stop the churning in his gut that told him that he had broken his mom. He would rather Darren punched him in the face a few dozen times than see this.
But that uneasiness would fade. He couldn't forget everything that had happened, no matter how much his mom wanted him to.
"I need to know what's going on, Mom," he said.
She inhaled sharply, but she still didn't look at him. A single tear slid down her cheek.
"Joanna." His dad walked to the foot of the steps. He looked tired even as he tried to stand tall. "I think we both knew we wouldn't be able to stop him if he woke up before they left."
Josh twitched at the implications of what his dad said, but his mom's trembling voice pushed down any potential anger.
"I just... I don't..." She trailed off, taking a deep, shuddering breath and closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she faced Josh. Her eyes still glimmered, but her gaze remained resolute. "If I'm going to let you down here, I need you to understand something."
Josh still felt tense from everything going on, but somewhere, buried beneath the coils of tension, a ball of excitement sparked to life. "Okay," he said with a nod.
She paused for a moment, then said, "I know you. Once you learn the truth, you won't go back, Joshua. Ever. Your life will completely change. Are you okay with that?"
His lip twitched as he repeated to her what he had already thought. "I don't think there's any turning back now anyways," he said, his words falling heavy between them as they sealed his fate.
The words hung there, crackling with their finality until, finally, his mom sighed.
"I had hoped there would be," she said. "Go on down, then. I'm going to check on Eli."
She slid past him. He watched her back until she slipped out of his view, then made his way down the stairs to stand beside his dad. He gave Josh's arm a squeeze before nodding to the couch. Josh turned, ready to face the ones who would finally give him the answers he wanted.
Mara was the first one Josh saw. She sat across from the couch in a recliner. When their eyes met, she smiled. It was tense, but it still made Josh's nerves dance. He gulped, his throat suddenly dry.
An unfamiliar guy stood beside her leaned against the wall. Josh couldn't guess his relations to Mara. Unlike her, he had curly, sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. While she had soft, round facial features, his were sharp and angular. They likely weren't siblings then.
Cale and Mara are friends, the voice supplied.
Oh hey, you're back, Josh said as he took a seat beside his dad on the couch. Both Mara and the guy—Cale, apparently—watched him.
Yeah, sorry about that. The voice gave a sheepish chuckle. I got a little scared you would listen to your mom. I don't think she likes me.
Josh frowned. Nerves danced within him, but they felt disconnected, as if they weren't his emotions. Am I—
"For someone so determined for answers, you're quiet," Cale said, an eyebrow quirked. "Or maybe you're talking to someone else."
Josh flinched. Cale knew about the voice. Then again, he and Mara probably knew a lot that Josh didn't.
"I'll take that as a yes," Cale said. "Do you know anything about the voice yet? His name? What he is?"
"Of course I know some stuff." The back of Josh's neck heated up. No, of course he didn't know stuff. He had been trying to stay alive. Admitting that when Cale seemed to expect more from him made him feel lame, though. "Like his name," Josh said, then thought, Hey, what's your name?
Boomer, the voice replied. My name's Boomer.
"His name's... Boomer?" Had he heard that right? What kind of name was Boomer?
"Uh-huh." Cale crossed his arms and peered down at Josh, unamused. "That is his name."
"Caleb," Mara hissed, elbowing him in the leg. Cale glanced down at her and shrugged.
Josh's neck burned hotter. "Okay, yeah, Caleb, his name is Boomer. Great that we both know that. Now, what is he, and why is he in my head?"
Cale tilted his head to the side and considered Josh for a moment. "Boomer is a dragon."
"Dragons don't..." Josh trailed off as his mind flashed back to the store. Was he really going to claim a dragon didn't exist when he had seen magic? As he thought back, his eyes widened. He had seen a strange silhouette in the light. Had that been a dragon?
Yep, that was me, Boomer said. Josh could practically hear a grin in his voice.
"It isn't surprising that you would believe that," Mara said, drawing Josh's focus. She gestured to Cale and herself. "Dragons and people like us do our best to make sure you wouldn't know they exist."
"People like you guys?" Josh's brows pulled together as he shifted through his memories. "Paladins?"
Mara nodded. "Yes, Paladins. Those who are soul-bound to dragons."
Josh blinked at her, the information swimming around in his head. So much had been said during the fight, and now she and Cale were dropping things so casually, things that would make Josh laugh if he hadn't had to fight for his life hours before. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his head. So much had happened so quickly.
"It's a lot to take in," Mara admitted. "It took me a little while to understand when I first found out."
Josh looked at Mara through his fingers. She smiled gently at him. Even through all the chaos in his mind, her smile made his stomach do flips.
Dude, can you stop staring at Mara? It's weird.
Josh caught a burst of laughter just before it could escape. You're a dragon. Did you really just use the word dude?
Yes? So what? Boomer asked.
Josh shook his head as he dropped his hand and leaned forward. "Okay, so, dragons exist, and you guys said Paladins are soul-bound to them or something. So..." He paused and gulped. "So is the reason I can hear a dragon because..." He saw the flash again, and he knew the answer deep down, but someone had to voice the insanity.
"It's exactly what you think," Cale said. "You are soul-bound to Boomer."
Josh pulled back as Cale's words slammed into him. He released a long breath.
Do you not want to be? Boomer asked hesitantly.
Josh felt a twist in his heart, but it was distant and detached like the nerves from before. With a start, he realized what these other sensations were. He was feeling Boomer's emotions.
That's not at all what I mean, Josh said. I'm soul-bound to a dragon! That's the coolest thing ever. Just... Also, the most insane. Before his mind could spin too out of control, a hand on his shoulder jarred him from thinking.
"It's a hard concept to grasp." His dad reached out and squeezed Josh's shoulder, stopping his spiraling thoughts before they could get too far. "It'll be easier to understand. With time."
Josh gulped and ran sweaty hands across his pants. "So, what now? I just go through life with a dragon soul attached to me? Am I, like, a hero who jumps in when I see things going on? Shoot light beams at them?"
He snapped his mouth shut against the waterfall of questions he wanted to spew. They didn't seem in a hurry. He would have time to ask them, collecting a single piece of the puzzle at a time.
Because he wanted to learn this. He'd always dreamed of being some sort of hero like from a game or anime, and finally, it was here, in his grasp. His mother wasn't wrong—he couldn't turn away from this.
Fun Facts: Originally, Josh was adopted, and he lived with his Aunt Janet, so his "brother" Aaron (from previous fun fact) was really his cousin, and then Janet was staying with her boyfriend.
The parents knew. I'm sure nobody saw that coming when the parents were showing up at the end of last chapter. I have seen so many books where the parents just never get informed and are ditched early on. Other times the parents know but get killed... *coughs* Also, sorry if that ending feels off. I had a lot of trouble finding where to split this chapter up T^T
P.S. I am waaaaay too proud of the opening for this.
Let me know your thoughts of the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed, don't forget to vote. Or even join my Patron, which can be found in my bio. The lowest tier only costs $1 a month and gives you access to my discord, where you can get chapter previews and other perks detailed in Now That We're Done.