"Maybe he told you to get a fly swatter?"
“What?”
“For the flies.” Morgan ignored her.
"I don't know why, but it definitely has something to do with my mom."
"Do you know where she is?"
"No, but something about being related to her is supposed to help me with the test."
"This isn't a test, it's a suicide mission. Can't you just take off? You're practically an adult. Just go to Hawaii and change your name."
"I don't have to keep running, I could forfeit the challenge."
"Are you serious? Then what are you waiting for?"
"They have my father, and," started Morgan, but she was cut off by Sadie.
"And what? Do you have a plan of some kind that you're hiding from me? Some secret weapon?" Morgan didn't have a plan, but she knew that she couldn't run from this.
"I never wanted to have anything to do with my mom, but now I have a chance to find out where I came from. And I've seen things today that I'll never be able to forget." Morgan looked at Sadie, knowing that she looked sad. "You're the best friend that I've ever had, but now that I know about this school that my parents went to, I don't think that I could just forget about it all and go back to my normal life." Realizing these feelings as she spoke them aloud, Morgan almost couldn't believe what she was saying. Sadie put a hand on Morgan's shoulder.
"You've always been too serious, but I'll give you a free pass tonight. Should I remind you that you have a boyfriend here in Okoboji."
"Brian isn't my boyfriend." She wondered what he was doing. At this very moment, he was probably at kickboxing. Was he wondering where she was?
"Whatever you want to call him, it's something that I would consider if I were you. Are we going somewhere or not? We're almost to the other side of town." Morgan looked out the window and she saw the lights of Castle Hill Park glowing at the top of the bluff.
"Let's go to The Hill."
"That's better than going back to the ice rink. We're probably banned there for life anyways. Maybe we can get kicked off of the hill as well." Morgan smiled, but she would have to be faster. She would keep better track of the time, and everything else. Nothing would surprise her this time.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CASTLE HILL, better known as, "The Hill," by the locals, was a molehill compared to any of the real mountains that Morgan had been to. It was the highest point in the county and had a great view of the town at night. Sometimes she liked to go there and think. Tonight it would be perfect since there was a road up the front of the hill and another in the back. Of course, if they were surrounded again like in the park, they would be stuck. They just had to move locations again before that happened.
Thinking back to that moment in the park, she wondered why they hadn't possessed her like they had possessed her dad. He was the one with actual experience with monsters. Again, just the thought of her dad fighting monsters made her want to both revel and laugh at the same time. Now she knew that the stress was beginning to get to her. She had to stay focused.
"I usually park right over there," said Morgan as they reached the parking lot.
"How often do you come up here?"
"Just when I need to think."
"When you need to think with Brian?"
"No dork, I've never done anything with him outside of kickboxing."
"Some boyfriend," said Sadie with a grin. She had a point, but now wasn't the time to think about him. They got out of the car and heard a loud whistle come from their right. A group of guys were standing around some playground equipment.
"There's something about girls being in a group that excites guys," said Sadie.
"I've seen them here before, but they usually leave me alone."
"I understand. They're just whistling for me."
"Ha. You think that you bring the wild out of them?"
"I told you, it's girls in a group. Together we're intoxicating." Morgan laughed again and looked at the group of boys, just to look away as fast as her head would turn. In the dim light, she could see that one of the boys was wearing a jacket she had seen a hundred times. A jacket that shouldn't be there. It was Brian's, "Kim Yee's Kickboxing," jacket, and Brian had been smiling right at her. Why was he here instead of at kickboxing?
"Are you blushing?" asked Sadie with a smile. This time Morgan was going to lie.
"I just thought of a funny joke."
"I could use a good laugh," said Sadie.
"I'll tell you later, let's get moving." Morgan began to pull Sadie along by her arm, but it was too late. Sadie had become much heavier. Morgan looked to see Sadie being pulled the other way by Brian.
"Well, hello there tall, dark and wait a minute." In the lamplight, Morgan saw understanding dawn on Sadie's face as she looked at Brian's jacket. "Is this tall, dark and beat-your-face-in?"
"Sadie, this is Brian. Brian, meet my best friend, Sadie." A coy smile and a handshake were exchanged before Morgan began to tug on Sadie again. This time Brian didn't try to stop them.
"Nice to meet you. Hey Morgan, I thought you would be at kickboxing tonight," said Brian.
"Yeah, why aren't you there?" asked Morgan.
"I didn't see you, so I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Oh boy!" said Sadie.
"Right, and we just happened to end up on this hill at the same time," said Morgan.
"It must be fate, right?" said Brian as he stood with his hands up in the air.
"Sure, I'll get back to you later," said Morgan as she pulled harder on Sadie, who was resisting on purpose now.
"There's no rush, I've only been waiting months to meet this guy," said Sadie with a loud emphasis on the word, "months". Brian snickered, but Morgan just pulled harder until they were walking away towards the edge of the bluff. It was strange running into Brian here, but was it more than that? It felt like it was.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THEY REACHED THE END of the trail and walked out onto the bluff overlooking the town. When Morgan came here at night, she would often interrupt a happy couple, or sometimes a prayer group spreading prayers out over the landscape. Tonight was no exception. A guy and a girl were at the railing that kept kids and drunks from going over the edge. As soon as Sadie and Morgan joined their private moment, the couple left to head back down the trail to the parking lot.
"Are we allowed to be here this late?" asked Sadie.
"The sign at the parking lot says that the park closes at 10 pm."
"Okay, I just don't want to lose my opportunity to talk to that boy. Morgan, I'm starving. Couldn't you think while we let him buy us some food?"
"Shhhhh, I need to think." Morgan didn't have time for distractions right now. Unless she was supposed to be distracted by Brian. She still couldn't decide if it was just a coincidence that he was here, or if he was somehow tied to everything else that was happening today. She didn't want him to be involved. A part of her still hoped that somehow this was all a huge practical joke, and tomorrow everything would be back to normal. But if Brian was involved, it changed everything.
Sadie leaned against the railing and sighed. "I hope you're coming up with something, because if we need to get away, there's only one other way off this cliff." Sadie finished with an, "Ahhhhh!" that was both comical and horrible. Morgan rolled her eyes.
"I said shut up. Just watch for fireflies," she said as she looked out over the town. She knew that she wouldn't be able to see them coming from this high up, but she looked for them anyways. The town lights always looked beautiful. As much as she detested little towns like this, they always had a charm that was undeniable.
She tried to think back through the different conversations of the day. The Tutor had mentioned that the trial was specific to the student. So why had she been able to withstand the adze when her dad hadn't? 'Remember that you're like your mother,' had been his last words before losing self-control to the adze. The problem was that she had no idea what her mother was like. If she was
going to be honest with herself, she had pretty much villainized her mother since she was a young girl. Everything that she thought she knew about her mother was probably a misconception.
"I need to learn more about my mother's background."
"There's that Ancestry website," said Sadie. She was right, everything was online these days. Everything, except for secret schools. But what if she knew someone else that worked at the same school? She pulled out her cell phone and hit redial.
"I hate to call him again, but The Tutor may know something useful about my mom."
"Oh great, Mr. Worthless again." Morgan had no doubt that The Tutor knew a lot more about her mom than she did, but would he be any more helpful this time? The phone only rang once.
"Hi, you're still alive? Have you freed your daddy?" He just had to poke at her. It was almost like putting up with him was half of the challenge. Since it seemed like everything was against his rules, getting him to reveal anything useful would would be tricky. He was snobby, so poking back at him could work to her advantage.
"No, I haven't freed him yet. I need some help."
"Sorry, I'm not allowed to provide anything that could help you or hurt you during the trial."
"Yes, I know. I was just looking for a distraction. Something to get my mind off of things for a minute."
"Isn't that why they invented social media?"
"I thought that you might be able to tell me a little about my mom since I know very little about her."
"She's only your mother if your father was truly married to her, which I seriously doubt." This was the opportunity that she had been looking for, and she didn't even need to pretend to be angry.
"How dare you say something like that? We were just fine before you showed up. Now my dad is gone and it's all your fault." There was only a slight pause before The Tutor responded.
"I'm sorry. What I should have said was that if she really is your mother, it would be truly amazing. I suppose it would explain why the demon has sent so many adze after you. If you did have the spirit of a dragon, like your mother, then he could send as many adze as he wanted and it wouldn't matter." The Tutor continued on about her parents relationship, but Morgan couldn't think about anything else. She tried to etch the exact words of his last statement into her mind.
"Thanks for talking, I've got to go now," she said and ended the call. Was it really that simple? She wasn't affected by the adze because of something weird with her spirit? Was it really the, 'spirit of a dragon,' like her dad had always told her?
"So did he tell you anything?" asked Sadie.
"Yes, he actually did."
“What did he say?” There was no way that she was going to tell Sadie anything that he had said.
“He told me to get moving before you get cornered again.”
“Oh come on, it's so romantic up here. Maybe Brian would like to come and have a minute with you?” Sadie said with a huge grin. The thought was tempting.
“I'm sure he would, but we need move,” said Morgan as she took one last look at the town before turning to run towards the parking lot. They had to get out of here before the adze caught up to them.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WHERE ARE WE GOING NOW? A cave to hide in?" asked Sadie as she jogged after Morgan.
"Maybe, are there any around here?"
"Not that I know of." That would be a quiet place to finish this. They reached the parking lot and went straight to Sadie's car. The boys were still commandeering the playground equipment. "Are you going to kiss Brian goodbye?" asked Sadie.
"Let's get out of here before he sees us." She didn't want to get him involved. They backed the car out of the parking spot, but before they could drive away, there was a rap at the driver side window. It was Brian. Sadie lowered the window a crack.
"Hey, where are you girls going?"
"To go do girl stuff. It's none of your business, of course," said Sadie with a smile that was both friendly and ferocious at the same time.
"That's what girls do, right?" said Brian. He was trying to look in at Morgan through the small opening. She felt bad that they weren't being very nice to him, especially since it could be the last time that she saw him.
"We're going to go and loiter somewhere else," said Morgan, wishing that she could invite him along.
"It's a nice night out for loitering, where are you two headed?” asked Brian.
"We need to go somewhere quieter, with fewer people, so we can talk about you," said Sadie. Morgan wished that she could talk with him more and maybe get his take on fighting a bunch of monsters. Like that would go over well. It was better to cut things off clean if she was going to leave soon for the mystery school. Besides, he would think she was nuts.
"There aren't many quiet places like that here, except for the cemetery, and that's already crowded," said Brian with a grin.
"Well, then maybe we'll go there," said Morgan.
"Wonderful," said Sadie.
"Hey, if your friend here decides not to go, at least you won't be all alone there," said Brian.
"Funny, bye," said Sadie as she punched the gas and they sped out of parking lot.
"Your boy has a sense of humor. Are we really going to the cemetery?" asked Sadie.
"Yes, I think so." Morgan wondered if she would ever see Brian again. If she had misunderstood The Tutor, and the adze had just been toying with her, then she might not see anyone ever again. At least, not in this life.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THEY ARRIVED at the town cemetery and drove down the weaving road past dark gravestones. There were a few strategically placed street lamps to light the way, but most of the light was provided by the April half-moon. Neither of them spoke until they had reached a large mausoleum near the back of the cemetery.
"Kinda creepy Morgan. So, what's the plan?"
"I'll wait here until they find me."
"How will they know where you are?"
"I don't know, they're monsters. They just know," said Morgan. There, she had gone ahead and said it. Sadie might think that she was losing it, but there wasn't any reason to hold back at this point. Sadie could leave whenever she wanted. "So you're not going to ditch me like Brian predicted?"
"Me? Pass up a chance to see you do some slicing with that sword? It should be fun," said Sadie as she typed into her phone.
"Yeah, fun in a cemetery. What are you doing now?"
"I'm texting someone to let them know where we are. Just in case we both die horrific deaths out here."
"About that, you should probably leave before they get here, Sadie. No offense, but I don't think you would be any help."
"Hey, watch it. You know, maybe they will possess every dead person in this cemetery and raise them up out of the ground."
"Shut up," said Morgan, trying to block the image from her mind.
"No, seriously, what makes you think they won't possess you too?"
"I've got a hunch."
"You're betting everything on a hunch? It's a good one, right?"
"I don't want to say. You'll laugh."
"Well yeah, I always laugh at you, but why should that stop you now?"
"Why do I hang out with you again?"
"Just tell me. You know that you can't hide anything from me." It was another good point. She often told Sadie things because she could point out the obvious flaws that Morgan missed. If her plan was missing something important, now would be a good time to find out.
"You're right. So my dad has always been my instructor, and he made a habit of telling me that I had the spirit of a fighting dragon. I always took it as a dad's encouragement, but I think there's more to it." She thought that she must sound stupid to Sadie, but she caught a look on Sadie's face that looked genuinely interested.
"Really? What makes you think that?"
"When I talked to The Tutor, he told me that my mother also had the spirit of a dragon. I'm pretty sure that it's the key to winning."
"Did he tell you how to use it?"
"No, I was lucky to get that much out of him." Just then, some car lights began to shine through the cemetery. "Hide!" said Morgan as they ran to hide behind a large gravestone that seemed big enough for them both, until they got behind it. "Maybe we should run into the woods back there."
"No, it wasn't a cop car. What else did The Tutor say about the dragon spirit?" asked Sadie. Morgan was more concerned about getting caught than answering her question. The car turned down the road they were on and they heard the engine shut off.
"Great, should we run?" whispered Morgan.
"No, it's too late," said Sadie. Morgan had tied the sword scabbard to her belt loop, but she didn't plan to stab first and ask questions later. What were the chances that the adze had made her dad take a car to chase her? Morgan noticed Sadie peeking around the side of the gravestone.
"Oh, it's just you," said Sadie. Morgan stepped out to see a boy standing by the car.
"Brian, you scared the crap out of us. I thought you might be a cop."
"I wanted to see if you were really going to the cemetery."
"Everyone's just dying to get in," said Sadie.
"Good one. I didn't like the idea of you out here by yourself."
"She's not by herself, she's got me," said Sadie. Morgan was beginning to lose track of time and wasn't sure how long they had been here. It was important that both Brian and Sadie leave.
"Actually, some of us were just getting ready to leave, so you can just go, if you want." Morgan couldn't have made that sound more awkward if she had tried. Forcing him to go would just make him suspicious. Maybe he already was. She wanted to keep shoving down the thought that seeing him tonight wasn't just a coincidence.
"Listen, I don't know why you two are out here, but I'm guessing that it's not for stargazing." Morgan looked up at the sky and noticed how many more stars she could see out here on the edge of town.
Dragon Spirit- Will to Act Page 5