Free Everville: The Rise of Mallory by Roy Huff

brick were made of subtle grey, tan, and brown tones. The structure was also designed to harness the natural warmth from below the surface.
    Now that Mallory’s residence was built, he figured it was time to finally give the dragon a name. He would call it Rathlar.
    “From now on, your name is Rathlar,” Mallory said aloud. He communicated it telepathically to the dragon at the same time so that it would recognize the sound.
    Rathlar took a deep breath and then exhaled out its large nostrils. It was the first time Mallory could see any emotion in the face of the dragon. From what Mallory saw, Rathlar was very pleased. Rathlar opened is mouth, revealing its large pink tongue. The scaly skin on its mouth lifted up in what could only be described as a happy grin.
    Rathlar was exceedingly happy, but Mallory was the one who felt empowered. He was certain Rathlar had given himself over completely to Mallory’s every whim. Still, Mallory’s lust for power would not be satisfied until he had actual possession of the element, and he would have to deceive the dragon and keep those motives hidden while he prepared for the eventual fruition of his plan.
     
    Back in Easton Falls, the young man, Eli, who met with Jacob earlier at the campus café, took the envelope from his briefcase. The envelope itself was lined with a material taken from different artifacts specifically designed to hide the contents from nosy spies like Adaline and members of the Echo Club.
    Eli opened the envelope, revealing a single piece of white paper and a list written in black ink. It contained about a dozen different things that would be needed to construct several devices that would harness the power of the element from the multiverse.
    Unlike the beetles, which had been used to contain the element, these newly constructed artifacts would also need to be able to draw the element from the vast expanse as it was created. This required much more powerful artifacts, many of which would be difficult to find, while others would be equally difficult to steal.
    Eli had his own spies, both in the school administration and embedded within the clubs at school. He was going to have to use those connections to get access the artifacts. The list, though, was only a partial list. Mallory was going to need his own artifact to both channel and contain the element. The list that Eli had was for the creation of the artifacts that would be used by the Alarians.
     
    At Jacob’s home, he was busy constructing the solitary artifact that would be used by Mallory; the others he left to Eli. He had most of what he needed, including pieces of the broken staff that had contained the beetle. There was one key piece missing; however, it was the glass jar that contained a small amount of the element. Zee had possession of it in the crates that were brought over by Odious, the handler of Samil’s estate. Jacob would have to find a way to get to it.
    “Hey, Jacob,” Mr. Hughes said as he walked into the room. “Looks like Drusilla and Owen won’t be around for next semester. I told you we would take care of it,” Mr. Hughes commented.
    “It’s not good enough. They weren’t expelled,” Jacob snapped back.
    “Well, losing a semester will teach them a lesson, but I’ll see what else I can do,” Mr. Hughes replied.
    “Until then, I need you to get something for me. There was something else that was stolen from me,” Jacob said, lying.
    “What was that?” asked Mr. Hughes.
    “It was another antique container, a small jar filled with liquid, that was given to me a while back by a friend at the university. Owen and Drusilla stole it from me, and they gave it to Zee. I’m pretty sure I know where it is. I sent out some investigators to keep an eye on Zee’s place, and they took pictures of it. It should be in one of the crates here,” Jacob said as he showed Mr. Hughes the picture.
    “Do you think you can get it for me?” Jacob asked.
    “Well, I can’t very well just