Jade finally found her room and fell asleep for a few minutes. She awoke and slipped into a red dress. She was determined to have fun on her birthday night, if only for thirty minutes before she awakened.
"Today's the worst day of my life," she muttered. She remembered seeing her pill crushed and mixed with broken glass on the ground.
She finally made it to the twentieth floor of the hotel. The crowd was alive and the music was an elixir. She felt carefree for the first time in months. Jade twirled on the dance floor and felt like she was flying. She looked down and saw that her feet were inches above the ground.
"Hey, how'd you do that?" a man asked with a huge smile. His breath was pure whiskey.
"It's a trick," she said. Her feet touched the ground and she quickly left the dance floor.
"Jade!" A familiar voice called.
Jade's head whipped around and she saw the last person she wanted to see, her neighbor, Alejandro.
"I'm not feeling well. I'll catch up to you tomorrow." She searched his eyes, wondering if he'd just seen her levitate. She didn't think he'd actually come. They talked about the convention, but he never really mentioned it much.
"Wow, you look stunning. I just wore jeans; I didn't know it was going to be so fancy." Alejandro said. His raked his fingers through his brown hair, looking around the festive room. "This place is awesome."
"Thanks, but can I catch up with you later? I'm not feeling well," she turned away and took two steps, but could feel Alejandro following her. She turned around and wished she could magically send him back to their hometown an hour from Atlanta.
"Let me come with you. We can catch up," Alejandro said. His deep voice managed to be heard over the cacophony of the music and voices. He touched Jade's arm.
"No, I'll see you tomorrow. It may be contagious.” She had to get back to her room before the awakening happened. Her palms started to sweat. She shrugged Alejandro's hand off and kept walking, weaving in and out of people until she was satisfied she had lost Alejandro in the crowded ballroom. She looked back and was relieved that she didn't have to worry about her neighbor tonight.
Jade was stuck in a sea of people. Her heart pounded in her chest as she felt a stabbing pain as her spine elongated. She looked down and took a few deep breaths to delay her change. She pressed her hands into her stomach to try to stop the pain.
People started looking at her and stepped back, creating a circle around her.
"What the hell is wrong with her?" someone asked.
"Follow me," Seven said. He grabbed her elbow and moved her away from the crowd.
“How did you find me?”
“That doesn’t matter now. We have to try and get you out of this crowd,” he said as he led her towards the large balcony.
Jade fixed her gaze on Seven as she convulsed. The convulsions wracked her body from within, and waves of pain radiated out stronger with each pulse. She ripped her red dress at the neckline and craned her neck up. Her neck skin puckered and tinged purple and white.
"Let it happen. Don't fight it, Jade," Seven said.
Her fingers ached, but she willed herself to open her pouch and grab some soil. She shook with intense pain. Jade lifted her head and blew the soil as far as she could.
The noise of the crowd stopped. The magic soil made them stand still like statues.
David wove through the statue-like people and rammed into Seven.
"Jade, are you okay?" David asked as he avoided punches from Seven.
"She's fine. You have no idea what she is. She's one of my kind— a shapeshifter." The wind blew his hair into Seven’s eyes.
"Help me." she pointed to the back of her dress. The full moon glowed on her reptilian skin.
Seven ripped Jade’s red dress off. He stepped back.
Two wings formed out of her shoulder blades. She crouched then shook her head as her ears pulled upward and molded into sharp points. Her jawbone stretched. Her arms elongated. Her legs extended.
"Eeeeeeeeee!" she screamed. Atlanta's skyline twinkled with lights as Jade awakened. Her body continued to contort and expand as she morphed into a magnificent dragon.
She slumped to the ground and the pain lessened as she allowed her body to do what it was trying to do. Pain engulfed her and spread through her spine. Her claws scraped and scrabbled at the tile floor as she awakened.
"What is happening?" Jade screamed. She staggered, trying to reach for Seven or David. They stepped back, matching each step she took towards them. They obviously knew her claws were razor sharp and that she didn't know her strength, not yet.
"You are shapeshifting into a dragon. This is rare, but happens to powerful shapeshifters," Seven said, the awe evident in his voice.
Jade saw her claws and scrambled backward, knocking over tables and chairs. She didn't want to hurt either of them.
It began raining and Jade's fairy dust slowly lost its power. People were starting to move again. The magic would wear off soon.
Jade looked at the only exit out of the room, which was crowded with people. There was no way out for her except the sky.
"You're going to have to fly out of here, Jade," Seven said.
Jade extended her wings and felt a new strength.
"Look at what you are. You are beautiful," Seven murmured.
"You are still half-fairy, remember that," David said. His face was grim.
Jade craned her head to the left and then to the right. Her eyes blinked slowly as she translated their words into meaning. While she was awakening, her mind saw things in dimensions she never knew existed. Vision had three more levels than she was used to. Sound and touch were enhanced, too. She could feel the weight of her eyelashes and the heartbeat of the earth all at once.
Jade blinked the rain out of her eyes. She looked back at both David and Seven. She was grateful to them both for telling her who her parents were. She stretched her head and let out a powerful screeching sound. Jade leaped and landed on the ledge. Cars and people moved on the streets below.
Cool rain landed on Jade's new shapeshifter skin. She spread her dragon wings wide. She pushed herself off of the ledge and flew. Jade beat her wings and circled up past the clouds. Navigating through the skyline was easy as she swayed her long tail.
Seven and David stood looking at Jade as she flew away. Their clothes were plastered on them in the rain.
"We may have different mothers, but we do have the same taste, don't we?" They both watched as Jade flew higher and higher in the midnight sky. "Are you crying, brother?" David teased. He shoved Seven, causing him to almost lose his balance.
"No, are you?" Seven asked. He shoved David back. He kept his gaze on Jade as she disappeared behind the clouds. "Aren't you able to turn into a silly bird and find her?"
"Well, I may only be able to turn into a fairy bird, but Jade seemed to be impressed with me. I think we had a moment earlier. We almost kissed. Can't you turn into a tiger or some other beastly creature?" David asked.
"Yes, but this is Jade’s night," Seven answered. He frowned and looked at his brother. He was worried about her going back to the same fairies who wanted to kill her in order to keep their bloodline pure. Have they changed their attitude about Jade? What would they do to her?
"I will win her over, brother, don't feel like you've won, because she shapeshifted tonight," David warned. "We fairies seldom lose."
"Well, shapeshifters don't trust fairies, for good reason."
David chuckled. "We're just smarter than the others."
"So you say. You should have told Jade about Bex." He was frustrated that David found it easy to trust a fairy known for killing on a whim. He was glad his shapeshifter blood kept him sharp.
"Bex must be over her tirade by now. She has been curtailed by The Order. The attempted attack earlier this evening was most likely from the Faction. Bex warned me they’d try to attack tonight."
"She's part of The Cloyn and they kill for sport. She does what she wants and the last I hear
d, is that she wants to kill Jade. I'd be careful if I were you."
"You've always been one to exaggerate," David said. He shook his head.
"And you've always been gullible," Seven walked away from David and wove through the unaware crowd which had seamlessly continued their revelry. The dancing and festivities clashed with the feeling of impending doom that crept through him.
Three
Jade flew in the darkness of the night and reveled in her new self. The exhilaration coursed through her body and warmed her heart.
She heard a whirring sound as the first arrow missed her, but the second landed in her left leg. Her balance was thrown off and she spiraled down. Her body convulsed as she returned to her natural form. She didn't see the candle at first but when she did, she pointed her head down and plummeted towards a balcony below.
Jade held her breath and crash landed on a balcony of an apartment building, scraping her elbows and knees. She could feel her blood pulse throughout her body.
Her body ached after her first shapeshift. She stood up and bent her elbows and moved her neck. "Crap!" She hunched back down, realizing she was naked. Being half fairy and half shapeshifter left Jade with a lot to learn.
* * *
Being a real fairy was much different than the watered down versions written about and portrayed in movies. First of all, there were dozens of different types of fairies. There were fairies that were cute and playful and others that were not as visually attractive and quite deadly. Their diversity helped keep them alive throughout the centuries. Just like humans, they were susceptible to disease and plagues. Also, their variety was to the fairies' benefit, because most were able to exist without ever being identified. Kind of like the undiscovered species of butterflies that roam freely in the world.
The worst fairies were The Cloyn. They had beauty and a thirst for killing. The Order said that they were an anomaly, because they killed without reason. Bex was that type of fairy.
Although it was after midnight, not everyone was partying or sleeping. One fairy boiled with hatred and anger. Bex's heels clacked with each step as she walked into the large room. Her shoes were made of the wood from the Dragon's Blood tree. She stopped under the crystal chandelier, knowing it highlighted her beauty and anger. The thousands of sewn on dragonfly wings created a glimmering iridescent glow to her black dress. They were harvested yesterday for the party she had to leave in order to handle the latest fiasco. The pasted on dragonfly wings itched her eyelids but gave her eyes an iridescent look which matched her dress. The tips of her black hair glowed red with anger. The only thing one could hear in the room was the breathing of the anxious fairies and Bex's tapping foot. Its tempo hastened from a lazy beat to a frantic tapping that only her fairy blood allowed her to do.
She looked at the line of a dozen fairies and wished she could kill them all, but after last year’s murders, she was told by The Order that it sent the wrong message.
Wyle said, "It was entirely my fault, Queen Bex."
Bex sighed. Her eyes perused his face then she held up a hand. "Don't you dare speak."
Her half lidded eyes fell on Wyle. Bex's usual beautiful face was contorted with anger, "How did David manage to find Jade, help her with her awakening and evade our attack earlier? How in the world is this little teen able to still be alive with one of my best fighters shooting his magical arrows? David obviously didn't tell us everything about this one's parenting. There's something even more powerful to this little twit." She turned around glaring at everyone in the room.
"She isn't stronger than you, my Enthrall," Wyle said. He cleared his throat and kept his gaze at his green high top sneakers. His stare became bolder and he dared to look at the tiles and gradually up towards the walls. He didn't have the nerve to look at Bex, though.
Bex scoffed, "Why am I listening to you imbeciles?" She stalked towards them, her dress swayed with each step. She stopped inches from the line of fairies who were hanging on her every word. "This is what we're going to do," she held out a finger with a sharp gold nail, "Number one, we have to find David and kill him. He's no longer on our side since he's colluded with our enemy. Jade's not a full fairy and he has crossed the line." Bex shot out a second finger, "Second, Jade has to die."
One of the fairies gasped. Then it was quiet. The Atlanta breeze blew through the open windows overlooking a lake. A hint of gardenias mingled with the humid air.
She paused, looking around. Her voice became louder, "There is no three, idiots. Kill David and kill Jade. I will not let any members of the Order think that creature can replace my position as Fairy Enthrall." She threw a bolt of light from her fingertips and singed a potted plant that was perched on a stand. A flame rose then died out leaving a charred stem that disintegrated into the black soil. "Leave and don't become my number three."
* * *
Miles away on a fifth-floor hotel room, Jade sat huddled in the corner of the cement balcony of a stranger's hotel room.
"Relax. You're not the first naked person I've seen. I'm Nina." She walked over to Jade. Her red kimono swayed in the evening air, "You just shapeshifted, I see. I can still smell the magic in the air." Her rollers bobbed with every step. She held a robe in one hand and a glass of water in the other. "These are for you."
"Thanks," Jade put the soft robe on quickly and looked around the apartment. She put the glass to her lips then paused.
"Relax. I'm on your side. I'm not going to poison you. Those brothers would kill me."
"Brothers? Seven and David are brothers?"
"Yeah, David's parents found Seven abandoned in the woods. They raised them as their own. It was a scandal. You shouldn't worry about that because you have bigger things to worry about."
"I need to know who I'm working with. Everyone's new to me. This is all new to me." She motioned with her hands.
"Speaking of new it makes me think of nude. Next time, think before you shapeshift. From what I've read in the ancient journals, you won't always shift into a dragon, so don't get too excited. Sometimes it can be a dragon, sometimes another person, who knows in the beginning—but clothes. Always think, ‘how can I stash clothes somewhere so I won't be nude?' That's the number one rule," Nina said with a sarcastic smile. "Actually rule number two. Rule number one is don't die." She lifted her mug covered with drawings of books to her lips and sipped loudly.
Jade wondered if Nina was trying to annoy her on purpose. If she was, she was doing a great job. She managed to roll all that Jade found annoying into one person.
"I've never shapeshifted before and only learned I was part shapeshifter a few hours ago," Jade said, following the woman into the large apartment. Jade hoped she would get a bit of sympathy after all she had just gone through.
"Well, now you know." Nina eyed Jade as she removed three pink rollers from her hair. Her perfect curls were a contrast to her starched personality.
Jade felt the warm blood trail down her calf and arms. Jade looked at her scraped knees and bleeding elbows and winced. She didn't feel much pain at first but now she felt the stinging ache.
"Let's patch you up. I've been expecting you, you know." Nina shuffled her feet along the hardwood floors into the living room crowded with books. Gray hair and thick glasses framed her round face. She wore a blue shirt below her red kimono.
"Sit down, Jade."
"How do you know my name?" Jade asked.
"That's a boring question, Jade. I know things from really old books others don't have access to. We librarians rule the world, really." Nina gestured up to the ceiling with her wrinkled hands.
"How did you know I'd come here?"
She looked at Jade and shook her hair. "Okay, okay, the legend talks about a shapeshifter finding her way with the light of the full Harvest moon. I knew it had to be today or in seven years." Nina pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "We humans may not have magical powers like fairies and shapeshifters, but we've got smarts and courage." She walked to the oven and pulled out a
covered dish. "Here you go."
"Thanks." She uncovered the meal and realized she was hungry. The smell made her want to devour the meal in one bite. She looked at Nina and smiled. Maybe her host wasn't that bad after all. Jade was about to dive into the meal then she looked at her aching leg.
"You're not going to die, just eat while I gather the supplies to tend to your wound," Nina said as she left the room. She walked away humming a tune.
Jade ate ravenously.
* * *
Only a few blocks away, Seven went back to his hotel room and paced. His phone rang, it was Nina. Jade must have found Nina already. Poor girl had no idea what was going on, he thought. He rubbed his hands together. He should just ignore it all. The phone rang a few more times then stopped. He took a deep breath in and blew it out hard.
"What if the legend is wrong and it's not David that's supposed to protect her? If so, then I'd be the brother who's to partner with Jade. That would be weird, but it could be me. Nah." He said out loud. He rubbed his hands over his face, "Damn. I don't want this in my life right now. It's got to be David." He swiped the phone and hung up on Nina. Just in case, he had to clear the next few weeks to deal with the Jade situation. At nineteen years old, this was the last thing he wanted to deal with. Babysitting or protecting, or whatever Nina called it, wasn't for him.
Seven picked up his cell phone and dialed a number that he hadn't called in years,"Hi Murray, it's me, Seven. Sorry, it's so late."
"Hey, how you doing? It's been a while," Murray said.
"You told me that I could call in the favor anytime, well, I'm calling it in now."
"I owe you my life. As, I said, anything you want. What's the favor, Seven?"
"I need you to be me for several weeks on the show. We start filming in a couple of days," Seven said.
Jade's Awakening (Delacourt Saga Book 1) Page 3