by Martha Carr
“Boring’s not a bad thing sometimes. At least your family’s still here together, right?”
“And at least we still have the farmhouse. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if the four of us had to live in a super tiny house.”
Raven leaned forward and propped her forearms on her thighs. “I bet you’d find a way to make it work.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes as the crickets began to chirp a short while before the sun sank completely behind them. Smoke and men’s low voices wafted from the shed on the back of the property.
“Hey.” She straightened and looked at the other girl with wide eyes. “I know something that’s not boring.”
“I’m not playing a game with you, Raven.”
“Okay, first, I know by now that’s only your weird sense of humor. Second, it’s not a game. But it’s definitely not boring. I’ll be right back.” She leapt to her feet and headed toward the back door.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m grabbing my satchel. Hold on.” She moved quickly through the house toward the front door where they’d placed their school bags.
In an armchair in the main room, Betsy looked up from her needlepoint with a smile. “Heading home?”
“In a while. I need my bag.”
“Well, you make sure you come say goodbye before you leave.”
With a nod, she returned through the house and did a double-take at the sight of Bella’s grandmother sewing pictures into a piece of fabric. This is so different than working on the ranch until dark. It’s kinda nice.
When she returned to the back porch, Bella hadn’t moved. She watched her familiar wheel through the sky, her head tilted in concentration. Her eyes narrowed at Wesley but widened as she gasped. “Yes!”
“Woah.”
The girl turned quickly to see her approaching and grinned. “He did it.”
“Who did what?” Raven dropped her satchel between them and sat with her legs over the edge of the porch.
“Wesley. He sent me an image!”
“Nice.” Unbuckling the straps on her bag, Raven looked up at the wheeling firedrake and nodded. “What was it?”
“Uh…you, actually.” Bella snorted. “I didn’t hear you step outside so at least I know he’s an awesome lookout too.”
“Is that the first time?”
“Yeah. I think maybe watching your special extra training with Worley might’ve rubbed off on us a little.”
“You’re welcome.” They both chuckled before Raven dug in her satchel and pulled out the first of Connor Alby’s old journals. “Maybe not as exciting as you and Wesley reaching the next level, but close, right?”
Her companion stared at the old, cracked leather wrapped around so many dusty yellow pages. “Do you really carry those around with you everywhere?”
“No…” She opened the journal to the pages she’d dog-eared and held it over her lap. “Only since we came back from Azerad. You never had a chance to read this while we were there and I haven’t taken them out of my bag yet. This feels like a good time if you’re up for it.”
With her eyes narrowed on the journal, Bella bit her lower lip and took a deep breath. “You opened that to the pages about my mom.”
“I did. And I haven’t read them at all. I won’t until after you do.”
“Fine. Why not?” She took it gingerly and placed it in her lap. After a hasty look at Wesley who flapped over the field, she laughed. “I really hope this isn’t a bunch of pages filled with stuff I already know.”
Raven shrugged. Her legs swung rhythmically over the edge of the porch again as she leaned back and propped herself up with both hands behind her. “There’s only one way to find out.”
“Right. I’m a fast reader, so this won’t take long.”
With a quick laugh, she shook her head. “I don’t mind waiting. You guys have an awesome view out here.”
Without another word, the girl focused on the pages of Connor Alby’s journal dedicated to War Mage Vanessa Chase and chronicled the woman’s accomplishments during her service to King Vaughn and Lomberdoon’s people.
Raven was content to sit and watch the sky darken slowly while she thought about the image Leander had sent her. There’s no way that was a dragon. It was way too big.
Bella sniffed beside her, and when she turned to look at her, she saw a tear trickle down her cheek. Wesley settled onto the porch beside his mage and hopped toward her, his claws clicking against the wood. She blinked quickly, sniffed again, and sighed heavily.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” The dark-haired mage swiped quickly at the tear and shook her head. “I had no idea… Raven, have you read any of this?”
“Nope. I stopped at your mom’s name ʼcause that’s what came up after that passage about her and my mom working together.”
The girl looked up at her, the tears gone now. “What about the stuff about your mom?”
“Not yet.” She shrugged and glanced at the open journal. “I haven’t found the right time.”
Turning the page again so it fell open at the start of the entry for Sarah Alby, Bella offered it to its owner and nodded. “Well maybe you should make the time. We’re…far more connected than you think.”
“What?” Raven couldn’t decide whether she wanted to stare at the journal and her mom’s name written in large cursive letters at the top of the page or at Bella. “Is my mom in what you read?”
“I don’t think…” Bella wrinkled her nose and shook the journal gently to indicate that Raven should take it. “If you want to talk about it after you read it, that’s fine. But you should read it first.”
With a slight pause, she pushed herself through her surprise and took it. Without looking at the pages, she shut it and placed it in her lap. “I will. Eventually.”
The two girls sat in silence for a few more minutes and watched the last of the sunlight fade from the sky. “Well, I should get back to Fowler now.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Raven slipped the journal into her satchel, tightened the buckles, and slung the bag over her shoulder. “Thanks for inviting me over. It was more fun than I expected.”
“Ha, ha. Nice compliment.” They stood together as the two men headed toward the porch.
“Are you off to that mage school?” Thomas called.
“Yeah. I have a dragon to check in with and a few flights of stairs to climb.”
The men chuckled and made their way up the steps. “I can walk you back if you like. Or borrow Bert Olsen’s horse. Next house over. He lets me take Whisper out all the time. It’s no trouble.”
“That’s all right, thanks.” She nodded and started to turn toward the door. “I made the walk from the ranch to Fowler Academy every morning during my first semester. I’m sure I could get their blindfolded at this point, and it’s only half the distance from here.”
“All right. Well, we’re glad you came to join us for a meal, Raven. You’re welcome any time.” He extended his hand again, and she shook it.
“Thank you.” She stepped toward Gerald and held her hand out toward him. “It was great to meet you all.”
Bella’s grandfather laughed and scooped her into the same back-thumping hug he’d given his granddaughter. “I say dump the formalities. Any friend of Bella’s gets hugs from me.”
“Great,” she squeaked and took a deep breath when he released her.
“You be safe.”
“I will.” She almost leapt off the porch but remembered Betsy’s request. “Your grandmother told me to make sure I say goodbye.”
Bella closed her eyes in mock exasperation. “You don’t want to break a promise to Grams.”
“I had a feeling it was like that.” Raven smiled at the men and opened the back door. “Thanks again.”
“I’ll come with you.” The other girl darted across the porch, and Wesley became airborne to find a place to perch somewhere on the roof. They moved quickly through the house
toward the front entryway. “Grams, Raven’s heading to Fowler.”
“Oh, yes.” Betsy set her needlework in her lap and favored Raven with a warm, genuine smile. “So good to meet you, Raven. I’ll make that same pie again next time you stop by. I saw how much you liked it.”
She swallowed. That’s exactly like the way Grandpa smiles. “It was the best pie I ever had. Thanks.”
Bella opened the front door. “Do you want me to send Wesley with you or something?”
“It’s a short walk. You’d better keep the lookout here.” Raven stepped out onto the front porch and twisted to look over her shoulder. “I had a good time.”
“Yeah, me too.” Her companion’s gaze darted around the front porch and her shoulders jerked in a quick shrug. “See you tomorrow.”
“Training every day of the week.” As soon as she stepped onto the thin path off the steps, Bella called her name again. “Yeah?”
“I was serious about the reading.” The girl nodded at her satchel. “I don’t think it’s something you wanna put off for very long.”
“Okay. Have a good night.” She gave her a quick smile, spun, and hurried toward the side road that would take her into Brighton’s town center. The front door closed behind her and she brushed her fingers against Sarah Alby’s pin on her jacket. I simply gotta find the right time.
It was almost completely dark by the time she reached Fowler Academy’s front gates. The temperature had dropped enough to make her breath emerge in little puffs of steam, but her jacket and the walking kept her warm. She went directly to Leander’s pen, bunched her jacket sleeve to flash her access rune, and slipped inside.
“Hey.”
His tail moved slowly through the grass as he watched her with his head raised, his eyes fully open. “How did it go?”
“Fairly well, actually. We talked a lot about you.”
He snorted and turned his head to fix her with only one eye. “And how much Bella doesn’t like riding a dragon.”
“That was only mentioned briefly.” She waved off his joking comment and approached him. He nudged her outstretched hand with his snout, and she smiled at the invitation to give the scales on his face and neck a good rubdown. “I saw an image. That was you sending it to me, right?”
Leander closed his eyes and rumbled in pleasure under her gentle caress between his eyes. “As far as I know, you don’t have another familiar.”
She chuckled. “True. It kind of threw me off in the middle of a story.”
“What kind of story?”
“About that time so long ago when we butted heads like nobody’s business.”
The dragon kicked his back legs from beneath him but didn’t move his head. “I believe you were the one butting your head against the walls of that pen.”
“And you were the one who made that possible. But you’re changing the subject.”
“From?”
“That image you sent me, Leander. It almost looked like another dragon. A huge one.”
He snorted. “And then it looked nothing like a dragon.”
“Right. So what was it?”
“I would have told you by now if I knew. But I wanted you to see.” The dragon opened his eyes slowly and looked up at her.
“Thank you. That was the right call but I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Nothing for now. Isn’t that right?”
She smiled and ran her fingers down the side of his muzzle and under his chin. “You’re really gettin’ the hang of this. We should still be careful next time we fly. A giant whatever-it-is flying around while we’re up there isn’t something we can simply brush off.”
“Agreed.”
“Good. Do you need anything else before I go?”
“I never do, Raven. You need sleep.”
The minute he said it, a huge yawn overtook her. She laughed, shook her head, and rubbed her eyes. “Once again, the dragon nails it perfectly.”
He rumbled and lowered his head onto his forepaws. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Leander.” She slipped through the gate and shut it with a click. In the silence, she couldn’t help but glance at the sliver of moon mostly blotted out by the thick clouds still rolling across Brighton.
It’s almost exactly what he saw when he sent that image only it’s dark now. Really dark. She shuddered and forced herself to look away from the sky as she walked quickly across the field toward the stone archway and the girls’ dormitory. Whatever that thing is, I hope neither one of us sees it again.
Candy Holloway was dreaming about her grandmother’s cinnamon rolls. In the dream, the old lady had forgotten all about the brick oven and left them in for far too long. That’s not right. She’s never burned a thing.
Still, there was no mistaking the smell of smoke.
She woke in the middle of the night to a cry from one of the dragons outside. The smell of heavy smoke only grew stronger, and two more of the dragons at Holloway Ranch cried out.
“Is that—” She leapt from the bed and whisked aside the curtains of her bedroom window. “Warren! Wake up. There’s a fire!”
Her husband jolted out of bed and took all the bedding with him. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. Come on.”
“What the hell did they get into it about this time?” He turned up the lamp on the table beside their bed and snatched his trousers and shirt from the back of the desk chair.
“I don’t know. Orion’s been angry at everything lately.” She shrugged her jacket on over her night robe and pulled her hair back.
“I told that dragon that if he started anymore issues, I’d have him shipped up north.”
“Stop it. Come on.”
Warren grasped the lantern and the couple hurried out of their bedroom and toward the front of the house. The screen door slammed shut again behind them, and they raced out to the stables beside the dragon paddock. “Mother of—”
A line of fire raced across the empty field, consumed the grass in a second, and spread quickly.
With a snarl, he stormed toward the stables, where all the Holloway dragons were now awake and raised their voices in concern. “Orion! What the hell do you think you’re doing settin’ fire to the damn field?”
Two more dragons shrieked.
“Answer me, you good for nothing—”
“It wasn’t me!” Orion’s high-pitched voice—for a dragon—could be heard above the rising shouts of concern from the others. “There’s something out there.”
“Yeah, a damn fire. Do you expect me to believe it simply appeared out of nowhere and started all on its own?”
“Warren!” Candy screamed and pointed.
A column of flames as wide as the stables streaked into the ground from the sky. It struck the earth with a roar and threw up clods of dirt and charred grass. A storm kicked up and the wind buffeted the flames to add fuel to the already raging fire.
The dragons in the stable screamed and shrieked as they kicked against the walls of their stalls and tossed their heads.
“Get them out!” She raced toward the stables but stumbling over unseen rocks in the grass before she lifted her nightgown to move faster. She collided with the stable wall in her rush, unlatched the first gate, and threw it open to let Alexander rush out first. “Warren? Warren, what are you doing? The stables are—”
The ground trembled with a mighty rumble as something huge stalked across the paddock toward the building.
“Warren!” Leaving her husband for now, Candy struggled to unlatch each of the stall gates so their ten dragons could get to safety. “Everyone out behind the house.”
None of their trained dragons seemed to comprehend the order. They raced from their open stalls and went wild in the field where they bucked and flapped their wings as they ran into each other. The ground rocked beneath her with another deafening thud, and she stumbled into the frame of the last stall before she turned to look for her husband.
Warren’s silhouette was
perfectly clear against the building flames quickly eating the field.
“Honey, come on. The dragons have lost their minds. Help me get—no…”
A ball of glowing yellow and orange materialized in the center of the field, high above the towering flames.
What is that? She gaped and stared at her husband who seemed frozen in fear directly between that brightening glow of heat and the empty stable.
With a shout, she raced toward him and threw the full weight of her thin body at his back. They landed hard a second before another gargantuan pillar of flames erupted from the glowing ball in the sky. It struck the stables behind them and ignited every inch of the building without moving once in either direction. Wood splintered and cracked and flaming pieces pinwheeled through the sky.
The dragon trainers covered their heads as the debris rained around them. The wind picked up again to blow fire, wood, and dirt against the couple huddled together. Warren’s jacket caught fire, and Candy smacked it quickly with her sleeve pulled over her hand before she hauled him to his feet and dragged him toward the house.
Thankfully, the flames hadn’t reached that far. All the Holloways could do was to sit on the top porch step and watch the last of the blaze consume every working part of their dragon ranch. The beasts themselves continued to screech and cry out as they ran themselves into exhaustion. They wouldn’t leave as they’d been trained to expect severe consequences if they tried.
Candy clenched her jaw and put her arm gently around her husband’s shoulders. The man didn’t move.
“It came from the sky. Do you see it?”
“I saw it, honey.” She rubbed his back and waited for him to say something beyond the same phrases repeated over the last half hour.
“Out of nowhere. Right from the sky. It…from the sky.”
She continued to rub his back and looked at the moon and stars muted by the glow of the still-burning fire. The day had been clear, sunny, and with no signs of a storm or foul weather at all, let alone flames and buffeting winds.
So what the hell was it? What took everything from us in an instant?
Chapter Eleven
“Good morning.” Alessandra folded her arms and cocked her head. “You two look as happy to be here as I am.”