Emma rolled her eyes. “I told you a million times, we are just friends.”
“I don’t blame you.” Aya grimaced. “He might accidentally send you exploding flowers or something.”
“He’s getting better at those spells,” Emma replied, making everyone turn and look at her. “What? We were friends before the word vomit, and we continue to be friends now.”
Kathleen smiled and shook her head. “Hey, whatever makes you happy. I’m actually thinking about letting a junior or senior take me to next year’s dance. You know, be more involved with the general student populace.”
“Uh oh.” Emma laughed. “Kathleen is coming down her golden ladder to slum it with the rest of us.”
Kathleen looked at her with a serious face. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
She then burst into laughter, showing she was kidding. “I love you guys. I’m actually going to miss you when I am in Paris.
“Until Francois sweeps you off your feet,” Emma joked. “But no, we’re gonna miss you too. This has been a great year.”
Everyone agreed, smiling at Kathleen. She didn’t show it on the outside, but Alison could sense comfort and kindness in Kathleen’s energy. She was softening, which was a good thing. Alison had known from the first time she’d met Kathleen that she was a good person, and now she was starting to show that to her friends.
Alison ran her hands over the bottom of the dresser drawer, making sure she had gotten everything. Emma peered over and saw the glistening egg in the top drawer. She bit the inside of her lip, not sure if she should say anything, and then remembered she was supposed to be herself.
“We should look at the egg before we go,” Emma remarked carrying her suitcase over and setting it down by the door. “You know, give it a send off, or us a send off. Either way, we should let it know that we will be back.”
“Ooh yeah,” Kathleen replied. “We should, though I have to admit it seems odd to talk to something that might be planning our bloody deaths.”
Aya swatted Kathleen on the arm with her towel. “It’s not planning our deaths. Sheesh.”
Alison ran her hands through the now-empty drawer of her dresser and pulled the egg out, setting it on the bed. The girls gathered around, staring at the golden flecks shimmering on the shell. Emma ran her hand over it, the others doing the same until everyone was touching it except Alison. Izzie put Alison’s hand on the egg and she gasped at the surge of energy, and though she felt it in her chest, she didn’t realize that it had actually gone out of her hand and through the egg.
She watched the energy shimmer and spark, something she hadn’t seen before. The girls took turns wishing the dragon’s egg a good summer and asking it to stay put until they got back.
“You are our family too,” Aya told it. “And we don’t want to come back and find you touring the mansion, so wait on us, okay?”
They looked at Kathleen, who sighed and rolled her eyes. “We are talking to an egg. Fine. Um, dragon egg thing, please stay in that nice comfy shell. I promise when I get back, if you have behaved, I will get you the perfect diamond collar and paint your talons red.”
Emma laughed. “What if it’s a boy?”
“Blue, then.” Kathleen nodded.
The energy flashed every time one of them talked, which made Alison think whoever was inside could hear them. It was a strange reaction and one she hadn’t expected, but then again, she didn’t know what to expect from the thing. When they were done, everyone except Alison removed their hands. She didn’t know why, but there was a feeling deep in her gut that something was stirring. When the energy settled back into its normal rhythm Alison took her hand away, figuring it would be fine until they got back.
“We need to hide the egg, and we should do it outside this room. We don’t know if we will be in here next year,” Emma pointed out.
“You’re right,” Izzie replied. “I know the perfect spot, but all of us going down there will seem a little strange. Do you trust me to put it somewhere safe?”
Everyone agreed.
“Good. I’ll take it and meet you in the lobby.”
Izzie put her bag over her shoulder and wrapped her blanket around the egg, putting it under her arm and heading out of the room. She walked quickly past the other girls and snuck behind the teachers waiting in the entry. When she was safely outside, she jogged down the hill to the barn. When she entered Marigold whinnied at her, and her foal, who had grown by leaps and bounds, jumped back and forth.
“Hello, Marigold and William. I can’t stay long, but I’m looking for a place to hide something very important while I’m gone.”
Marigold whinnied again and seemed to nod. Izzie followed her gaze to a ladder that led to the loft above. She had never seen anyone go up there but knew that was where they stored extra blankets for the winter time.
“That’s perfect.” She smiled, patting Marigold’s head.
She put her case on the floor and climbed the ladder, pushing the egg over the edge as she pulled herself up. She looked at a dusty corner and found a box of blankets shoved in the back. She kept her blanket wrapped around the egg and carefully laid it on the other blankets.
“Okay, egg, this is your summer home. Marigold will look after you. See you in the fall.”
She climbed back down just as the door to the barn opened and Horace walked in. He looked at her strangely for a moment and helped her to the floor.
“What were you doing up there?”
“Nothing,” she replied nervously. “I was just halfway up looking out over the barn. I’m gonna miss it.”
Horace smiled and patted her on the back. “You won’t be far from here for most of the summer. I’m sure Ms. Berens would let you come help me, and maybe ride Marigold for exercise when she is done healing and ready for it.
“That would be really awesome.”
“Good. Now come on—you have people waiting to say goodbye to you at the house.”
They walked out of the barn and shut the door behind them. Marigold stomped her hooves and whinnied as she trotted back and forth in the stall. Up the ladder and across the wooden planks, tucked neatly in the boxes, something was scratching at the inside of the egg.
“I’ll call you, if that’s okay, during vacation,” Tanner said, holding Alison’s hands.
“I’d like that.” She smiled. “And maybe if Brownstone answers, you can have a talk with him.”
The orange of nerves flooded Tanner’s energy, and she burst into laughter. “I’m totally kidding. He probably won’t even be around that much.”
“What are you going to do all summer?”
“I dunno…relax, maybe.”
“I’m going to my foster family’s house for the summer. It shouldn’t be too bad. They have a boy my age, and he’s cool. They also have a pool, so I’ll be able to work on my killer tan.”
“If you burn, let me know. I’ll be sure to pat you on the back when I see you.”
Tanner squeezed her hands and sighed. “I’m actually gonna miss this place.”
“Me too.” Alison shrugged. “But we’ll be back before you know it.”
“That’s true, and then I’ll wish it was summer again. They should have a summer camp here so anyone who wants to can stay.”
“I have a feeling it would be just me, you, and Izzie.”
Tanner laughed. “That’s fine. We could explore everything, and leave traps for the incoming freshmen.”
“Hey, hey, I just went through that.”
“And you survived it, right?”
“True, but I might take sick on April Fool’s Day next year.”
“You might be smart to do that. Ethan’s already planning his next stunt.”
“I bet no one eats breakfast in the cafeteria that day.”
“I know I won’t.” He chuckled.
While Alison and Tanner said their goodbyes, Peter, Luke, and Ethan stood across the room watching everyone. Peter had his bags at his feet and a smear of soot across
his forehead.
“I can’t believe a cleaning spell blew up on you like that.” Luke laughed. “Seriously, you made the place ten times worse.”
“Luckily our dorm manager is awesome and helped. Otherwise we would still be cleaning when they came back from summer break.” Ethan rolled his eyes. “Well, I guess I should be heading out. Ms. Berens got a car to take me to the train station to go to my aunt’s for the summer. Shouldn’t be too bad, since she lives on the beach.”
“Have fun,” Peter replied. “I’ve got three science camps this summer. Can’t wait.”
Luke lifted his eyebrow at the boys and smiled. “I’ll be running free on the shifter sanctuary for the summer. They need some extra hands.”
“You mean paws?” Ethan joked.
Luke faked punching him in the gut and patted him on the shoulder, heading over to greet his parents. He leaned over Izzie’s shoulder as he walked by to tell her goodbye.
“Have a fabulous summer, elf.”
“You too, wolfman.” Izzie chuckled, looking at Henry, who gave her a strange look. “It’s a thing between us. I don’t know.”
Henry leaned in and kissed Izzie on the cheek, lingering for a moment before pulling back. She put her hand up to her face and blushed, a big smile on her face. She had spent a lot of time with Henry since the dance, and though they hadn’t cemented a relationship, she hoped still he felt the same when he got back from vacation.
“I’ll call you and see how you are faring with the headmistress.”
Izzie chuckled. “She isn’t so bad. She’s actually kind of cool out of school. But yes, please call me. I would love to hear from you.”
“And you think you’ll be excited to see me when you come back?”
“Only if you are,” she teased.
“Well, you know.” He sighed. “All those hot women I’ll be around on the all-male shifter run this summer… You might just lose me.”
Izzie laughed. “If I lose you at an all-male event, it wouldn’t have worked anyway.”
“Truth.” Henry saw his dad nodding at him from the doorway. He never came too far in, having had too many bad experiences with people treating him poorly because he was a shifter. “I gotta go.”
“Have a good summer.” Izzie smiled as he picked up his suitcase.
She bit the inside of her lip and rubbed her palms together, thinking about just laying one on him before he left. She went up on her tiptoes and back down again as he stood back up, then let out a deep breath and grabbed him by the face, planting a kiss right on his lips. It lasted only a few seconds before she pulled back and giggled. His cheeks were red, and his eyes were big.
“Best send off ever.”
She laughed, watching him walk like a zombie to the door and out with his dad. She looked at Alison as Tanner walked away and scooted over, taking her hand.
“Why is your energy like pink and yellow?” Alison asked.
“Oh, you know…love.”
“Whaaat?”
“Maybe not love, but I just kissed Henry.”
“That is a beautiful thing, my friend.” Alison put her arm around Izzie’s shoulder. “I think this year ended a little better than we thought it would. What do you think?”
“I think that at least I didn’t get lost in my magic, you didn’t start a war, and we take things one year at a time from now on.” Izzie chuckled.
“I agree. Are you going to work on your magic this summer?”
Izzie shrugged. “I don’t know. It depends on if Mara lets me. How about you?”
“I’ll definitely do some reading. I thought about asking Shay for a cat to see if I could tell its future, but I know that’ll be a big fat no.”
“Alison, Mr. Brownstone is here,” Mara hollered from the door.
“I’ll be right there.” She smiled, turning to Izzie and giving her a big hug. “Stay safe, watch your back, and remember—you are whatever you want to be.”
“You sound like me.” Izzie chuckled. “But you do the same. The dark is out there, we know that, but we both have the ability to be the light.”
James Brownstone Series
Did you know that James Brownstone had his own series? Grab book one, Feared by Hell at Amazon.
Available at Amazon
Author Notes - Martha Carr
Written June 25, 2018
This one is for everyone reading this who finds themselves stuck in a situation they don’t like, don’t know what to do about it and could use a little courage, strength and hope. It’s a little different but we write about what we’re doing these days and I’ve been pondering…
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what crapola can get in my way and keep me from living the best life possible. Cheesy phrase, I know but it suits in this instance. It’s probably coming up because I’m moving into a dream house, for me at least that’s being built. Boy, is it a long process… First World Problem.
Back to the crapola thing. Nothing like change to stir the bottom of the pot. That’s when things I haven’t thought about in years bubble up. I used to think, what the hell and wonder what was going wrong. Now, I know it’s something that’s been there just beneath the surface all along and is influencing me whether I know it or not, or like it or not.
Old method of handling it would have been to look the other way, push it down and get on with things. That just means I chose to keep crap. Like not flushing the toilet for years and years and acting like I don’t smell a thing. Great visualization that gets the point across.
Makes no sense, either. That’s how powerful old beliefs that we keep telling ourselves are true can be for us – and can hold us back.
New way of handling it is to take it out, deal with it, claim it and move on. More painful in the short term and weirdly transformative in the long term.
The thing that keeps making return visits for me that I ignore is that at thirty I was a struggling writer and single mother and out of options and moved in with my parents. No money, sketchy child support, one-year old child. It was supposed to be for a few months and lasted 15 years. Yes, you read that right. 15 years. I wouldn’t recommend it.
They resented my presence from the jump and I resented it starting about five minutes later. I didn’t have enough confidence to just wing it with the offspring, leave and hope for the best. I was too afraid I wouldn’t hack it and there was no backup – no one else to help. Or so I thought…
If I could talk to that thirty-year-old girl I’d tell her, go for it. Quit asking the same people over and over again who already told you they don’t want to help. They don’t care, and they’ve said please go away as often as possible.
I think they call that going to the hardware store for oranges.
Move far away if you have to and try. You’ll make it. And I would have repeated it to her as often as possible till she could see for herself. Frankly, that’s what happened when my son was finally grown. I shoved everything into a UHaul and I left for New York City. I felt like I was finally getting a chance to figure out who I was, at last.
Turns out, it’s true – I would make it. There were stretches where money was thin (remember the Great Recession), and a lot of time spent being awkward, which turns out to be my more normal resting state, and those six bouts of cancer – and I have still been happier through it all. In the end, I was even able to make peace with at least one of those parents and we started from scratch and built a new relationship that I treasure to this day. It wasn’t fireworks but in the end it was enough.
So, if you’re sitting there hating where you are or hating yourself and wondering what to do next - find the right people to ask for help. We’re out here. Start over, start small but start. I’m rooting for you and repeat this to yourself as often as possible. If Martha can do it, I can do it. More adventures to follow.
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
Written June 25, 2018
First, THANK YOU for reading through this book! I sincerely appreciate i
t.
As always, independent publishing (especially through Amazon) is an ever-changing effort. At ALL times, there is a group of people trying to ‘game’ the system and earn money they aren’t entitled to by cheating.
Then you have those who are trying to push the Terms and Conditions of publishing on Amazon, and they get into a gray area which is ‘allowed’ (meaning, not penalized) for a while, then Amazon figures out how to adjust and then BOOM… They are hit.
In all of this, there are false positives. Meaning, some authors who haven’t done anything wrong are hit by the hammer as well, because Amazon pretty much has to build things to scale. Further, some of the real jerks (see #1 above) will do something to good authors trying to hide themselves in all of the smoke they put out.
Indie authors are in one of those situations as I type this. Many bad characters got their accounts shut down (YAY!) some good authors got hit unintentionally (we believe) (DAMN!)
However, We are working our asses off to bring you new stories in spite of the drama that goes on behind the scenes.
Indie publishing is a bit of a Wild West situation right now, and LMBPN is trying really hard to make sure we focus on the goal.
Bringing you stories that make you want to go back and reread them.
One of the items that changed recently is how much you can have in a file that is not the story. Due to that, I’ll be substantially curtailing the size of my author notes in the future.
A few comments:
1) THANK YOU for all of your reviews on this book, and the others in the Oriceran Universe! We read them, and we appreciate your time and effort to write them, as (believe it or not) even the quantity and especially the ‘newness’ of reviews can help a book’s salability.
2) AMAZING thanks to everyone who read book 02! Book 01 sold WAY better than we had ever hoped, and we can’t ask for much more than that!
3) More Alison is coming, and in book 03, she will have her ‘dad’ and ‘aunt’ or whatever Shay is with her for a scene or two in the book ;-)
Bright Is Her Sight_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 18