How to Make Friends and Not Incinerate People

by Devin Harnois

  “We can be your friends now,” Aiden told her. He looked at Dylan, a question in his eyes.

  Dylan just shrugged and picked up his burger. It looked like Aiden was adopting a werewolf.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Aiden was excited to have his friend over, but after seeing Dylan’s giant mansion, he wondered what Dylan would think of their much smaller house. His parents weren’t poor, but they didn’t have as many nice things as Dylan’s did.

  “Come on.” Aiden led the way to the bus.

  Dylan made a face. “I haven’t ridden the bus since second grade.” He looked… nervous.

  “It’ll be fine. Just sit with me.” Of course everyone on the bus would stare at them, but they got stared at every day at lunch, so it shouldn’t be that different. Then as he stepped on, he wondered what Toby and Tina would think. Dylan seemed to be their favorite gossip subject. Well, this should give them plenty to talk about.

  Aiden walked on. The bus wasn’t quite half-full, and Toby and Tina weren’t there yet. He was here a bit earlier than usual since he wasn’t hanging around in the locker room to talk to Dylan. A few kids glanced up as Aiden stepped on, probably looking for their friends. Then Dylan stepped on behind him and the kids started staring.

  Aiden grabbed an empty seat about halfway down. Dylan slid in next to him. The kids tried to look disinterested.

  Toby bounced onto the bus and froze. “Whoa.” He looked between Aiden and Dylan, then took the seat in front of them. He leaned on the back of it. “What’s going on?”

  “Dylan’s going to eat at my house.”

  “Really?”

  Dylan shifted like he was going to get up. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

  “It’ll be fine,” Aiden said. “People stare at you all the time, how is this different?”

  Dylan shrugged.

  “How come you’re friends with Aiden when you’re mean to everyone else?” Toby asked.

  “I’m not mean to everyone else. I just want to be left alone.”

  Toby tilted his head. “Why?”

  “I just do.”

  Behind Toby, Tina appeared. “Whoa,” she said, unknowingly echoing her brother. She nudged him over so she could join him on the seat. “Hi,” she said to Dylan.

  He frowned. “Hi.”

  She laughed, high and nervous. “Oh my God, no one’s going to believe I said hi to Dylan.”

  “Could you guys just relax?” Aiden said.

  The bus started and Tina and Toby turned around, but all the way home they kept glancing back. When they all got off at their stop, Toby and Tina tried to start up again, but Aiden cut them off. “Sorry, no time to talk.”

  Then he led Dylan to his house. “Sorry about that,” he said on the way. “They’re just… curious.”

  As they got closer to the house, Aiden got nervous again. What would Dylan think of his much smaller house? Or the much less expensive things they had? Or the food his parents made? They were definitely not having steak.

  “Yeah, I know,” Dylan muttered. “It’s annoying.”

  “I thought you’d be used to it by now.”

  “Sometimes it gets to me, I guess.”

  Aiden tried to be positive as they got to the house. “Well, here it is. Not really anything special.”

  “Looks nice,” Dylan said as they walked up to the front door.

  His parents were home, so he pushed open the door and led Dylan inside. Warm smells hit his nose: meat, tomatoes, oregano, garlic.

  “Hi, you must be Dylan,” Mom said as she came around the corner. “Nice to meet you.”

  Please don’t be weird, Aiden thought, and then almost laughed. It was so absurd.

  “Yeah,” Dylan said.

  Dad came in from the kitchen. “Hi there, Dylan. Nice to finally meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you… Well, as much as Aiden talks about anything these days.”

  Dylan cleared his throat. “Thanks for having me over.”

  “No problem. We’re glad Aiden is making friends,” Mom said.

  Please leave it at that. That’s dorky enough already.

  “Dinner should be ready in about fifteen or twenty minutes,” Dad said.

  “Okay. Want to see my room?” It was pathetic compared to Dylan’s, but hanging out there was better than sitting in the living room where his mom could hover around them.

  “Sure.” Dylan followed him up the stairs.

  “I know it’s not as fancy as your house, but it’s nicer than the one we had in Dayton. Mr. Johnson got it for us, totally free.”

  “This is Mr. Johnson the warden, right?” Dylan said

  “Yeah.”

  Dylan scoffed but didn’t make any further comment.

  “So, this is my room,” Aiden said as he opened the door. It was bigger than his old room but still only about a quarter of the size of Dylan’s.

  Dylan glanced around at the few posters and pictures on the walls and nodded. “Nice.”

  “I don’t have a TV or anything fancy—”

  “Dude, stop comparing everything to my house. Yes, I’m rich, I know.”

  It hadn’t occurred to him that Dylan might be uncomfortable with their differences. “Oh, sorry.”

  Dylan sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s nice, really. I like it. Much cleaner than my room,” he said with a little smile.

  “I liked your room too. And your parents were super nice.”

  Dylan laughed. “Yeah, they are. Drives me nuts.”

  “I wasn’t expecting that. You act like you come from… a bad home, or something.” Aiden turned his desk chair around and sat.

  “Nope, it’s just me. Just the way I am.” A dark look crossed his face.

  Aiden wished he hadn’t said that. “People keep warning me about you, telling me you’re dangerous, but I think they’re wrong about you.”

  The dark look got even darker. “What makes you think that?”

  Aiden tried to think of the right thing to say. It had to be true, and it couldn’t be too much of a compliment because Dylan might brush it off. Aiden thought about how they’d met, before he knew who or what Dylan was. “Because you let me sit with you at lunch.”

  Dylan snorted. “That’s it? That makes you think I’m a saint?”

  “No, not a saint. Just that you’re not as bad as people say you are. You could’ve just kept on being a jerk, telling me I couldn’t sit there. But something made you change your mind. I was new and lonely, and you were nice to me. That’s all.”

  “I must’ve been in a good mood.”

  Aiden rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to be super macho all the time. It’s okay to admit you have some kindness in you. Nobody’s gonna come and revoke your man card.” What would tough-guy Dylan think if he knew Aiden was bi? Would he reject him? Bully him?

  Dad called them down for dinner and Aiden prayed it wouldn’t be too embarrassing.

  Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic-cheese bread. His dad made the best spaghetti. He glanced over at Dylan. His friend didn’t show any sign of disappointment in the meal. In fact, he was eating it like he really enjoyed it.

  “How’s the food?” Dad asked.

  “Great,” Aiden said, wiping a bit of sauce off his chin.

  “Good,” Dylan said before slurping up more noodles.

  His parents exchanged a look and a smile.

  “So, Dylan, you’ve been helping Aiden practice his magic. That’s nice of you,” Mom said.

  “Um, thanks.”

  “What exactly do you do?” Dad asked. “Aiden doesn’t talk about it much.”

  Dylan looked at Aiden before answering. “Just little stuff. He’s got it in him to do more, but he always holds back.”

  “You know you should always try your best,” Dad said before taking a bite of his meatball.

  “This isn’t a test or a sport, Dad. Magic is different.” He swirled his fork in his remaining spaghetti.

  “But you need to learn so you can get certified,�
�� Mom said. “How about you, Dylan? Are you doing well in school?”

  Dylan bit his lip, holding back a laugh. Please don’t be a jerk about this, Aiden thought.

  “Not really. Except for Major Magical Control.”

  “That’s the class you have with Aiden, right?” Mom asked. “The one with the matches?”

  “Yeah. It’s the only one that matters to me.”

  “He’s really talented,” Aiden said, afraid of where this was going. “And you know everyone likes doing what they’re best at. That’s why I asked him to help tutor me.”

  “Well, we appreciate it,” Dad said. “We might not understand all this magic stuff, but we understand it’s important for Aiden to control it.”

  Dylan’s eyes narrowed, and Aiden feared a rant coming on.

  Aiden jumped up. “So, how about dessert?”

  With any luck, they’d be able to get through dinner without an argument.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  One moment Dylan was wandering through school, searching for something. The hallways sometimes led to rooms in his house and other times to classrooms full of kids that stared at him. Then he was on a roof, looking out at a burning city.

  He blinked as awareness came crashing into him, and he turned to see Morgan standing there. The perspective was all wrong and Dylan realized he was in his human form, not the dragon form he always took in these dreams.

  “Greetings, dragonkin. It was a bit harder to find you this time.” The dark fae bowed. He was taller than Dylan.

  “I thought you’d forgotten about me.”

  Morgan smiled. “Oh, no. I could never forget about you. How is the potion going?”

  “Fine. One drop every night, just like you said.”

  “And have you found a proper location?” The dark fae tapped his fingers together.

  “I think I found a good spot, yeah.” At the edge of his parents’ land so he’d be able to come and go without anyone seeing him.

  “Excellent. What does it look like?”

  “Well, it’s a—”

  “No, no show me,” Morgan said.

  “Show you? How?”

  The dark fae spread his arms and gestured. “This is your dream, in your mind. Shape the dream and show me what the location looks like.”

  “I’ll try.” Dylan pictured it and focused as hard as he could. The burning city disappeared, and the circle of trees near the edge of Shadow Valley appeared.

  Morgan looked around. “Excellent. Most excellent. A grove of old, strong trees and a fairy ring nearly at the center.” He stepped closer to the circle of mushrooms and then looked back at Dylan. “You did very well.”

  The eager look on his face unnerved Dylan. “I’m not so sure about this.”

  The dark fae turned, expression becoming sober. “I understand this involves some… unpleasantness. But for you to be truly free, the wardens must be removed. It is necessary for my freedom as well. Faery is my home, but I know you understand the urge to travel, to see new places. I once walked your world, and I long to see familiar places as well as explore new ones.”

  “And you’re willing to kill for that?” Dylan had had time to think, especially every night when he pricked his finger and watched blood drip into the glass jar.

  “For freedom? Yes. Aren’t you?”

  Dylan looked around the grove. How long did he want to be trapped in Shadow Valley? How much longer did he want to worry over which of two bad choices he was going to take? “Nobody else gets hurt, right?”

  The dark fae began walking along the edge of the grove, lightly touching each tree as he passed. “Your parents and your friends, they will be safe. No one in town will be harmed. Only the wardens, and I take no pleasure in what must be done.”

  Dylan wasn’t so sure that was true, but who was he to judge? He had recurring dreams about burning down whole cities.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Moonlight shone through the window, cold and pale. Dylan locked the door of his bedroom and went to the closet. In the far back corner, under a pile of old clothes, was a locked box. As far as Dylan knew, his parents didn’t search his room, but it was better to be cautious.

  He slid it out, turned the key, and opened the lid. The jar inside hummed with power. The blood of a dragonkin, made into a potion. It was almost done. Just a few more nights and it would be the end of the third month.

  Morgan still hadn’t told him what to do. He hoped the dark fae would come back soon and explain everything. The potion was almost done; they’d picked a location. Now Dylan needed to know the spell.

  He took out the needle that he left in the box and lit a flame at the end of his finger. He touched it to the end of the needle, using the heat to clean it. Then he set it on the edge of a shelf.

  Dylan drew out the jar and put it on the floor. It wasn’t anything fancy. He’d needed something with a lid and had ended up emptying out a pickle jar. So much power in something so simple. He twisted off the lid, the red liquid inside sloshing a little. Blood and water.

  Every night strengthened the magic, brought him closer to the ritual that would open the pathways to the fae realm. Did he really want that? Fae free to come to the human world and cause trouble like they used to?

  For Morgan to kill all the wardens? It would be chaos. It might reveal supernatural creatures to the whole human world instead of the few who knew about it now. It would almost definitely destroy the treaty.

  Supernatural creatures would be feared again, hunted again. But without the wardens, there wasn’t a lot humans could do about it.

  Three months had been a long time to think about consequences.

  Dylan took the needle from the shelf and held his finger over the jar. Hiding this from his parents made him feel guilty, but he felt worse about hiding it from Aiden. He wanted to tell him, but he knew Aiden would try to talk him out of it. Or tell Dylan’s parents. Or tell the wardens.

  There was a pleasant thought.

  The thought of trying to explain it to Aiden, telling him about all his worst desires… no. Aiden wouldn’t understand. He’d be horrified.

  Dylan pricked his finger and watched the blood well. One drop fell into the jar, sending out a ripple. Dylan stuck his finger in his mouth. It would heal in a few seconds. He put everything away, shoved the pile of clothes back on top of the box.

  Every night was a chance to change his mind. Did he really want to go through with this? Let Morgan come into this world and kill the wardens? Once that happened, there was no going back.

  How much was freedom worth?

  * * *

  A bonfire roared, melting the snow and warming the area nearby.

  Dylan watched his friend try to make a small flame appear. “Just concentrate.”

  Aiden sat on one of the large rocks they’d dragged over to use as seats. Frowning, he stared at his palm. “Ugh, I don’t think I can do it. It’s not part of my magic.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Aiden looked up at him. “What, are you an expert on fae magic?”

  “Are you?” Dylan shot back. “It’s not like I think you can throw huge fireballs or anything. It’s just summoning a flame. The same as lighting a candle.”

  “My hand isn’t a candle.”

  “It’s the same type of spell. You just need more effort.”

  “The first time I lit a candle, I ended up setting the whole thing on fire.” Aiden frowned again. “I don’t want to burn my hand.”

  “You won’t.” Probably wouldn’t, but Dylan didn’t want him to hesitate.

  Aiden sighed and stared at his hand again. A few minutes passed. “It’s not working.” Aiden dropped his hand.

  “You suck.” Dylan sat on the other large rock and stared at the fire.

  “I tried,” Aiden whined.

  “Let’s try something else then.” He stuck his hand out, a finger pointing at the fire. A small flame detached and reached toward his finger. Dylan moved his hand back and forth, making t
he little flame follow the motions.

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “Call out to the fire.” Dylan had to remember this wouldn’t be second nature to Aiden the way it was to him. He’d learned to be a little more patient over the months they’d been training. “It’s alive, in a way. You use plant magic with no problem. The fire is like a living thing, hungrier and wild, but it’s sort of like a plant.”

  “Hmm.” Aiden stared into the fire. “I guess that makes sense.” He stuck out a finger. “Sort of like a plant,” he muttered.

  Dylan let the small flame go and watched Aiden.

  Aiden got that frown of concentration again. Nothing happened for a few minutes, then he said, “Huh. I think I can feel it.” The fire shifted in the wind, so it was hard to see at first. Then a tendril of flame reached out toward Aiden’s finger, stretching slowly and bobbing with the wind.

  A little smile spread across Aiden’s face as he moved his hand and the flame followed. “It is kind of like a plant, but it’s so… raw. Strong. Hungry, like you said.”

  This might be the last thing he taught him. Tonight, Dylan would perform the ritual to open the pathways to Faery. Morgan hadn’t explained the details of how he was going to kill the wardens, so Dylan didn’t know how long it would take for that to happen. Would it be all at once? Or would the dark fae kill them one by one? That could take weeks, months. Would Dylan wait in Shadow Valley until it was all over?

  No, he was done waiting. Dylan would follow Morgan after he came through. And that meant leaving Aiden behind. Unless…

  “I have to tell you something.” Dylan was sure this was a terrible idea, but he had to try.

  “What?” Aiden turned his attention away from the flame.

  If Aiden could understand fire, even a little, maybe there was a chance he could understand why Dylan was doing this. “I’m… leaving tonight.”

  “Leaving? But you have to stay in Shadow Valley until you’re certified.”

  “I found another way.”