Izzie glanced at Kathleen and held back a giggle. She could barely understand how Professor Grant stayed upright when she walked. She couldn’t imagine her line dancing without falling down and breaking a leg or something. Professor Grant pulled out her wand and looked at the class.
“Who here has played magical dodgeball before?”
A couple of girls raised their hands, and Professor Grant smiled. “Okay, great. Now, for anyone not familiar with the magical side of the game, this is how it works. Instead of throwing the ball at opposing team members who try to catch it or dodge it, this red rubber ball does all the work. It will hover and bounce and throw itself at different people. The ball doesn’t distinguish between teams, so everyone is fair game. I want to warn you that the ball has a mind of its own and once I put the spell on it, I won’t have any control over where it goes.”
Izzie raised her hand. “So, if the ball is throwing itself, how do you win?”
“That’s the fun part. This is an individual game, so no teams. The last one who grabs the ball and holds on as it attempts to buck you off is our winner. So, spread out across the field, and get ready.”
The girls jogged to different parts of the field. Alison was nervous about this one. She was definitely at a disadvantage since she didn’t yet know if she could see the ball flying at her head. She moved to the back of the field and put her hands on her knees. She scanned the girls, and found Izzie to the left and up the field about twenty yards. Professor Grant waved her wand over the ball before tapping it three times and holding it out in front of her.
The ball flew into the air and stopped. It hovered like it was searching out its first victim. Alison watched as the magical energy attached to the ball struck down three of her teammates. She noticed that every time the energy and magic switched to a new location, the color of the ball changed. It wasn’t long before she picked up on what the different colors meant as it sped across the field.
She took a deep breath as the ball flashed green, then orange, as it tried to fake Kathleen out. It shot forward, hitting her on the top of the head and knocked her out of the game. She actually looked relieved to be out. She was not a bug person or a woods person, and now the girls knew that she wasn’t a sports kind of girl either.
Aya covered her mouth, trying not to laugh as the ball bounced off Kathleen’s head and flew straight up into the air, but before she could get herself under control, the ball hurtled down the field straight at her. Aya’s eyes grew wide as it flew straight for her head. At the last second, Aya ducked out of the way. The ball smashed the girl behind her in the stomach, doubling her over and knocking her to her knees.
The ball was vicious, and this seemed more like a punishment than an actual fun game. Even the guys on the other side of the field, who watched and laughed as the girls went down hard, tried not to get hit in the face. The ball wasn’t hard by any means, but it stung when it smacked into you. It also flew fast enough to knock you right off your feet.
The only thing that kept them playing was the promise that at least one person that might actually beat it at its own game. The ball was cocky and played with the girls before hitting them. However, with that magical arrogance, it was prone to making mistakes. The remaining girls, including Izzie, Alison, and Emma, squatted low with their hands out in front of them. They were starting to get the feel of things.
They had to catch the ball, but it wasn’t like it would just go limp when they caught it. They had to then try to hold onto it for longer than five seconds while it bucked wildly around. The ball was strong enough to pull someone into the air. If they held on for five seconds or more, they won. In the past, others had tried to break the school record of two minutes and seventeen seconds. That record had been on the books for about seven years without anyone even coming close.
All the girls’ eyes shone with the determination to try, except for Alison’s. She just wanted to end the game without a bloody nose. Professor Grant shot a nervous glance around the field. The last thing she wanted was for one of the girls to get hurt on her first day as the gym teacher. She was clumsy enough for the whole school, constantly wired on coffee and Red Bull as she tried to keep up with her normal classes, and now this.
The ball swerved back and forth in the air above the girl’s heads. It was starting to tease them, lurching in one direction and then bolting in another. Izzie licked her lips and danced back and forth as the ball shifted right, then flew full speed toward her. She ducked and pivoted, and it homed in on the girl behind her.
The girl flinched, balling up to take the blow. Izzie dove forward and latched onto the thing just before the ball hit the girl in the stomach. As if it had a mind that could be surprised, the ball shimmied a bit and took off wildly tossing Izzie back and forth, up and down, and side to side. She clutched the ball tightly. She was determined to hit the mark.
The ball swooped low, and Izzie pushed off the ground to land on top of it. Izzie rode it like it was a small bronco as it tried to dislodge her. Professor Grant stared at her watch. When it hit the five-second mark, she blew her whistle loudly. Izzie didn’t let go, though. She wanted to hold on as long as she could. She knew that with her lack of sports ability, this opportunity would probably only come once for her.
From Alison’s perspective, all she saw was the small shimmer of energy from the ball and Izzie’s soul being flung back and forth through the air. Professor Grant held her hand up, and the other girls looked at her anxiously.
“Thirty seconds!” she yelled.
Izzie took in a deep breath and dug her fingers into it even harder as she leaned forward and began to push the ball downward. She struggled as the girls chanted her name. Across the field, the guys had stopped and were lined up watching Izzie go to town. Among them was Luke, and he was pretty impressed by how hard Izzie was hanging onto victory.
“One minute,” Professor Grant shouted.
Alison laughed and clapped her hands, cheering Izzie on. “Come on, Izzie, hold tight! You are almost there!”
This continued on until Professor Grant held up her hand again., “Two minutes! Come on, Izzie, hold on eighteen more seconds, and you got the school record.”
It never failed that the last few seconds always seemed like the most impossible. Izzie roared as her arms flexed and relaxed with the ball’s movement. She swung her legs around and let her feet hit the ground first, catapulting her and the ball high up into the air. As she started to descend Professor Grant called time and shot a stream of white light into the ball, stopping its movements.
Izzie somersaulted over the girls and landed firmly in front of Professor Grant. Annabelle walked over and grabbed Izzie by the wrist, pulling her hand high up into the air.
“Not only did Izzie win, but she also broke the school record by four seconds! Everyone cheer your classmate on. Those were some pretty sick moves.”
“I don’t know about the moves.” Izzie laughed. “But that was some freaking luck.”
She tossed the rubber ball to Professor Grant, who jumped when the ball gave one last twitch before falling asleep in her hands. The entire class clapped and rushed forward, slapping Izzie on the shoulder. She was not only the longest-lasting person on the ball for the girls, but for the boys too, and that made her super proud. She couldn’t remember ever playing that game or the toned-down human version of it. The game was just a literal expression of the way she managed her life—clawing at things until they opened.
25
At dinner, the whole cafeteria buzzed with talk about Izzie’s amazing feat during gym class. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention—at least not the good kind—and she beamed ear to ear with pride. Even Ethan was impressed, having watched her from the other side of the field with the boys.
“You should have seen it, Peter. She was being tossed back and forth, and then BAM! She was riding the ball like it was a bull-riding competition. I half-expected her to put her hand over her head and wave it around.”
<
br /> “Man, the one day I had to miss class, and something awesome happened. Congrats, Izzie! That record has stood for seven years. Now everyone is going to try to break your score by the end of the year.”
“If they do, they can have it. That was pure luck.”
“It was pretty impressive,” Luke said from behind her.
She turned around and smiled at Luke, surprised to see him. He looked at the others, then at the table of jocks on the other side of the room.
“We’re talking about tomorrow’s practice, but tomorrow morning I’d really like to have breakfast with you guys.”
“Sure.” Izzie smiled.
“Yeah, man,” Ethan replied. “Whatever suits your schedule. You are quite the popular one now.”
Luke tried to smile at him, but he knew Ethan was being sarcastic. He sighed and nodded at Izzie, then made his way over to the jocks’ table. Izzie glared at Ethan, then grabbed a piece of sausage and folded it up in a napkin. The girls all stood up, feeling the tension, and grabbed their scraps as well.
“Awe where are you guys going?”
“We have a friend to visit.” Kathleen huffed.
The girls left the mansion and headed to the shaded part of the forest, bringing their dragon some breakfast. Izzie was still pissed at how irritating Ethan could be, but she tried to be understanding at the same time. Still, Luke had wanted to sit with them; that had to count for something.
When they reached the cave, they called and called for him, but he wasn’t there. They tracked his small prints through the moist leaves all through the forest, looping back around to where the cave was. They had learned from Horace that to even have a chance of him appearing they had to call to him in soothing tones. Alison could tell by the large magical energy signature around the cave that he had grown quite a bit, but that was to be expected.
After about an hour of searching and calling to him, he finally ran out of the bushes. He’d grown to the size of a Saint Bernard, and he just about knocked Izzie down when he jumped on her and sniffed her jacket pockets. He knew they had brought him treats—something they tried to do as often as they could.
“He’s bigger every time we visit.” Emma laughed as he raced over to her, licking the side of her face.
“I’m going to go make sure there is no one around.” Kathleen nodded. “We can’t be too careful.”
It was true. The dragon not only was not allowed to be with one of the magical beings, but it was also illegal to have one on Earth—a law instituted by the magical community. The last thing they needed was for some of their classmates—like the older girls who picked on them all the time—to find out about him.
The girls opened their napkins and laid the food out in front of him. His eyes grew wide, and he licked his lips as he sat down and sifted through the feast. While he would eat almost anything, today they realized that he really loved brussels sprouts. They never brought him anything other than sausages or bacon for meat, since half the reason he loved small game was the chase.
“So, are we going to name him soon?” Kathleen asked coming back from the surrounding woods.
“Yes,” Emma announced. “He actually told me what his name was.”
“Okay...”
“His name is Dorvu, which means ‘one who understands the ways of a dragon.’”
“Dorvu,” the others repeated quietly.
“That’s a great name.” Aya smiled, patting him on the head.
They sat and watched as he finished every last morsel of food and burped, causing a small bit of smoke to waft from his throat. They knew it wouldn’t be long until he could breathe fire, but they were nervous that he wouldn’t be able to control it. Right then, though, they enjoyed hanging around him until the sun went down.
When the napkins were cleaned up, Izzie picked up a stick and waved it in front of the dragon. She threw it as hard and far as she could and watched, laughing, as he bounded through the leaves to try to catch it. When he returned, he leapt at Izzie, who promptly lost her footing and fell on her face. The dragon pounced on her and bugled a sweet song, having fun being around his clan. Emma couldn’t help but feel bad for him, though. His species always congregated into clans, with no real leader. Dorvu had a clan; it just didn’t have any other dragons.
Still, she wasn’t going to leave him all alone. They’d found him before he’d even entered the world, and they would be there until he no longer needed a clan. Emma walked over giggling and helped Izzie back to her feet. She laughed as she helped pull the wet leaves from her shirt and pants. The girls stayed there all evening, letting Dorvu run wild around them. At one point he disappeared for about ten minutes, coming back with a dead squirrel. He set it in front of Kathleen.
She forced a grin and carefully picked the animal up by the tail, grimacing at the teeth marks in its head. She put the squirrel back down and patted Dorvu on the head, thanking him for the gift. He jumped up on his hind legs and walked to the center of the circle the girls had pulled themselves into. He shook his scales, flashing colors like a puddle of oil on a hot sidewalk. As he shook the dragon morphed, and everyone stared in amazement. Their dragon now looked like a small child.
“Holy crap,” Emma said. “He has learned how to morph. He looks like a little boy! That’s crazy.”
Dorvu walked over and sat down in Kathleen’s lap. His wild curly brown hair tickled her chin, and she squeezed him tightly. Izzie shook her head in disbelief.
“After Horace told us what species he was, I looked up the information in the library, but it didn’t say anything about dragons being able to turn into humans.
Um, totally. Maybe you should have read a little deeper.
“Whoa.” Kathleen shook her head. “He looks like an actual boy, but did you guys just hear that, or am I going crazy?”
“Not crazy,” Alison added. “He is a dragon, probably one of the most powerful magical beings in history, and yes, we can all hear him when he talks. Unfortunately, he has spent so much time around us inside his egg that ‘teenage girl’ is the language he learned.”
You ladies are going to be so surprised when I get bigger. I can change into all kinds of different things. In reality, I could walk straight into a crowded city, and no one would even look at me funny.
They sat there surrounding this scaly creature, listening to him talk to them telepathically. He seemed like an adult, even though he wasn’t even close to a year old. He spoke with excellent grammar, understood them very well, and even his eyes looked like deep brown human eyes.
The sun is starting to go down. You should get back. They will be looking for you.
“I agree,” Alison replied. “We don’t want to bring any suspicion to you. Is there anything we can bring you?”
No, thank you. I have all I need right here, and if I get hungry, there is enough small game to feed me for the remainder of the time I stay here. It is nice having visitors, though.
Alison and the other girls said goodbye to the dragon before heading back to the mansion. It wouldn’t be long until they’d have no problems finding him, but then again, anyone else with even half a brain could see a giant dragon smashing trees in the distance too.
Alison stared out at the energy moving over the grounds as she laid in her bed that night. She thought about Brownstone and their vacation, even though it had been a bust and had ended before it really began. Up to that point, though, it had been great, and she liked having a family again, and someone she wanted to call Dad.
She smiled, not knowing how in the world she had ended up so lucky. She’d spent years dealing with some of the hardest circumstances any kid her age could imagine, but she wasn’t going to complain. Just then a rush of magic hit her chest. She sat up, looking toward the energy floating along the ground. Standing out front of the house was Dorvu. There was something about that dragon that drew her in. It had been that way since he was in his egg.
In the library, she had looked up Drow and dragons. She’d learned that
even though there were moments that they worked side by side, both species were incredibly independent creatures. She put her hand up to the glass and the dragon pushed the energy through it, making sure Alison could see it. Vibrant colors swirled through it and made it very simple for her to watch as he turned and bounded back for the woods.
Alison smiled and laid back down, pulling her covers up over her shoulders and resting her eyes. She wanted to wake Izzie up so she wasn’t sitting there in the dark on her own, but she knew Izzie’d had some stressful but exciting days and really needed her sleep. The less sleep she got, the more unpredictable her magic became. That was a trait Alison shared, except it was with meditation. Sometimes she wished she could close her eyes like the other girls and drift off into sleep, but then again, she knew that her most precious memories occurred in the wee hours of the morning. She wasn’t willing to give that up.
The wind began to pick up outside, and the empty tree branches swayed from side to side. Horace had done an admirable job keeping the courtyard clean through the fall, and now anticipation for the first snow flowed through the entire mansion. Alison loved all the seasons, but this was extra special for her. It would be her first Christmas and Thanksgiving with Brownstone as her official dad. It was going to be an amazing winter, and all she had to do was try to stay out of trouble.
26
Izzie and Alison were anxious and excited all at the same time. They’d waited until the other girls were asleep before huddling together at the window of their dorm room. The crunching leaves and jack-o-lanterns had been replaced by perfect white snow. It glittered and almost glowed beneath the light of the moon. They listened to the sound of the winter wind whipping through the hills, whistling as it jetted past the window.
They had hoped it would snow before they left for winter break and Christmas. The first flakes had started to fall shortly after dinner. They had waited impatiently as the first flake turned into thousands, and those thousands into millions of small powdery ice crystals, each one hand carved by Mother Nature. Izzie did her best to describe the landscape’s beauty. She told Alison about the small tracks below leading to a snowman the upperclassmen had built before going to bed that night, but the rest of the property sat untouched like a pure white canvas waiting for an artist.
Wary Is Her Love_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 15