The Unbearable Lightness of Dragons by Katie MacAlister

“That’s something to do with ghosts?”
    “Yes, she’s very talented. She raised an entire village of Turks two summers ago, when she was spending some time at an archaeological dig. Not only can she raise ghosts, she can also raise shades, and you know how difficult that can be.”
    “Shades? I don’t think . . .” I searched the black mass that was my memory. “Aren’t they ghosts, too?”
    “Well, technically, yes. Evidently there are all sorts of flavors of spirits, but where a typical ungrounded ghost is bound to the Summoner until Released, shades have more autonomy. They can become corporeal for periods of time, and usually aren’t bound to anyone. Maura is one of the few Summoners who can successfully raise shades, although she is very careful about misusing her gift. And that’s another bone Father has to pick, since he’d much prefer her to be under the purview of the L’au-dela rather than that of the Akashic League. Still, she’s happy with her job . . . or she was until she fell in with some bad dragons.”
    “And you don’t know what sept they belong to?” I wondered if they had something to do with the blue dragons.
    “No, that’s just it—they don’t belong to any sept. They’re a tribe of—what do you call them?—outcasts.”
    “Ouroboros dragons?” I blinked a couple of times, thinking briefly of telling her that both Baltic and I were ouroboros in the eyes of the weyr.
    “That’s the word. Evidently when you’re an outlaw, you form a tribe rather than a sept, or some such nonsense.” She made a dismissive gesture. “And Maura is in up to her neck with those outlaws, Tully. She’s caught up in some horrible tangle and is too stubborn to ask for help.”
    “What sort of a tangle?” I asked, still a little bemused by the whole idea of the dragon-hating Dr. Kostich having a half-dragon granddaughter.
    “I don’t know,” she said simply. “She won’t tell me. But I know she’s in trouble, and dragons being what they are, it’s impossible for me to get an outsider to help her. But you are a dragon now, aren’t you?”
    “Well . . . kind of. My dragon is essentially dormant, but I am a wyvern’s mate, and evidently that’s quite a big deal in the weyr.”
    “Yes, exactly.” She nodded. “You’re important, and have powers, and these dragons who’ve waylaid Maura will be in awe of you. You are the ideal person to help us.”
    “I don’t quite see how, but of course I’ll be happy to be of any use I can.”
    “And you will be rewarded, naturally. Father will lift the interdiction, and you will help keep poor Maura from doing something she would spend the rest of her life regretting.”
    Dr. Kostich reentered the room, his eyes snapping with irritation as he glared at his daughter. “I specifically forbade you to mention that subject to strangers, Violet.”
    “Tully isn’t a stranger, Father,” she said with a stubborn look that matched his own.
    “She is no longer one of us. I do not recognize her as a mage,” he argued.
    I sighed. Why was nothing in my life ever easy?
    “I don’t care if she’s a demon lord!” Violet said, getting up and marching over to her father, her hands on her hips. “She’s said she would help us with Maura, and that’s all that matters. But she won’t do that if you don’t lift the interdict!”
    “I have no intention of doing anything of the kind, and we do not need her help!” he snarled back at her.
    The argument went on for another twenty minutes before Dr. Kostich, saying extremely rude things about his daughter in Latin, snapped a very testy “I will not lift the interdict. To do so now would be the sheerest folly. But I will agree that if she can help with Maura, I will remove the interdict then. And I do this only because Maura is foolish enough to get involved with dragons! I hope that will serve as a lesson to you both!”
    “I need to be able to perform magic if I’m supposed to put the fear of god into