The Dragon's Song

by Claire Fogel

  After being assured that we were all okay, he said he’d already called in the speeding black van. He was sure one of their patrol cars would spot it. He jogged to the street to pick up the gun lying there.

  I realized I was breathing hard and I took a minute to try to slow my breathing until I felt calmer.

  When I looked at my friends, Patrick had stepped in front of Kevin, Ryan was standing in front of me, and Neal had Amy wrapped up in his arms, his back to the street. I felt as though I had just awakened from a bad dream, even though I was aware that it was my knife that had hit the man holding the gun. Ryan put one arm around me and said softly, “I’ve never seen anything like that, lass. You’re incredibly fast.”

  I looked at him and nodded. It was almost like I’d been watching a scene from a movie, not something that was actually happening. I thought I might throw up.

  Kevin’s voice was strained. “The Chief is on his way.”

  Patrick looked at me and said, “Good job.”

  I thought I heard sobs coming from Amy. I walked over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. She raised her head from Neal’s shoulder and whispered, “Thanks.” I could see tears on her face. I heard Neal whispering soothing words in her ear.

  The uniformed cop whose name badge said “M. Rankin,” told me he’d seen the whole thing. “It took me a minute to figure out where that knife came from, Miss Connelly.” He shook his head. “You have amazing reflexes. The Chief will need statements from all of you.” Kevin and I both groaned.

  That was when the Chief’s car pulled up. He came straight to me. “There’s a good chance we’ll stop that van this time. There’s a roadblock at each entrance into Thornewood. But I’d like to get all of you inside so you can tell me what happened. Let’s go find a quiet place where we can all sit down.”

  Chief O’Donnell led us to an empty classroom. I hadn’t realized that my legs were shaking until I sat. Kevin slid into the chair next to me and reached over to grab my hand. We exchanged a look. He finally smiled and whispered, “Wonder Woman.” I couldn’t help groaning.

  The Chief pulled out a notepad. “Officer Rankin says when the passenger in the van put a gun out the window, a knife was thrown instantaneously, hitting the man’s hand and forcing him to drop the gun. He looked straight at me. “Is that correct, Cara?”

  I nodded. “I think so. I just remember seeing the knife hit that hand and watching the gun drop.”

  The Chief shook his head. “It must have been an automatic reaction when you thought your friend was threatened. Your father did mention that you and Kevin are both highly skilled in knife throwing.”

  I nodded. “Nothing like that has ever happened to me before. It all seemed like a bad dream, not real, you know?”

  He said, “I understand.” Looking at Kevin and Amy, he asked, “Is that what you saw? Is there anything else you can remember?”

  Kevin squeezed my hand. “I remember seeing that gun pointed at Amy, but the knife flew through the air before I could move.”

  Ryan and Patrick nodded. Ryan said, “None of us had time to react; it happened that fast.”

  The Chief shook his head, closed his notebook and stood. “I’m sorry you had to deal with this today, but glad you have more protection than I realized.” He looked at me, one eyebrow raised. “I’m going to follow you home today. I saw where you parked about a block from here. Officer Rankin and I will walk you to your car, where you’ll wait until you see my car pull out.”

  “Chief, I have to take Amy and Neal home, then Kevin and Patrick.”

  “Fine. I’ll be right behind you,” he said.

  When we reached Amy’s house, I said, “Please call me tonight if you want to talk.”

  “I will. You saved my life today.” Then she snickered, sounding more like herself. “My parents will probably put you in their will.”

  I shook my head.

  “We’ll talk later, okay?”

  “Absolutely,” I said as she and Neal got out of the car. I waited while they walked up the stairs. Neal took a seat on the front porch after giving Amy a hug, and Amy went into the house.

  Kevin said, “I wonder how her parents will take this. They might want to lock her in her room until those guys are all in jail.”

  I drove to Kevin’s house next, the Chief’s car right behind me. When I pulled up in front of his house, Kevin leaned over and wrapped both arms around me. “I’m sure glad you’re my friend,” he joked. “But seriously, you were great today.” He kissed my cheek and climbed out of the car with Patrick, who grinned and said, “I never should have bet against you, Cara. Ryan was right.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed as he followed Kevin. When I’d asked my father for self-defense training, the Elves took bets on how well I’d do. I’d been determined to show them they’d been wrong to doubt me.

  A minute later, I pulled in front of my house. My father stood on the front porch with his arms crossed. He wasn’t smiling.

  I’d been hoping I could tell my parents myself, maybe after dinner when they’d both had a glass or two of wine. But no such luck. I turned off the ignition and got out of the car, Ryan by my side. The Chief had parked behind me and was already heading for my father. I hoped he would stay calm and not overreact. Amy wasn’t the only person who could end up locked in her room for the duration.

  My father held the front door open for the Chief and me, while Ryan winked at me and took a seat on the porch. As soon as we were inside and the door was shut, my father wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. He whispered, “Are you all right, sweetheart?”

  I rested my head on his broad chest. “I’m fine, Dad. Amy’s fine, Kevin’s fine, we’re all fine.” Well, at least physically we were all fine.

  With one arm around me, he walked me into the kitchen, the Chief right behind us. He looked down at me and finally smiled. “Would you please make coffee for us? I’m afraid I’m helpless without a fireplace and a pot of water.”

  “Sure, but I’ll have to teach you how to use the coffee maker one day soon.”

  As soon as the coffee maker beeped, I poured coffee for everyone, taking a cup out to the front porch to a grateful Ryan.

  The Chief asked, “When will Alicia be home? I know she’ll want to hear everything and Cara won’t want to go through all of it twice.”

  I looked at the clock on the wall. “Who’s with Mom in the bookstore today?”

  “Conor’s with your mother. I know he’ll insist she lock up promptly at five, so they’ll be here shortly.”

  He asked, “How’s Amy? I’m worried about her and her family. I don’t understand why they’ve been targeted.”

  “Amy’s okay. She was pretty shook up when it happened, but Neal was able to calm her down. She seemed to be feeling more like herself by the time I drove her home.”

  The Chief said, “I was wondering the same thing. I think the main reason is that they’re friends of yours. And I guess they’ve been easier to attack. But today, I think it was mainly because Amy’s a tall, attractive redhead wearing colorful clothing. She simply stood out from the rest of the group.”

  I was curious too, but the Chief was right. Amy was so tall, she usually stood out, and today she’d been wearing a vivid red-orange shirt, almost the same color as her hair.

  Just as I was pouring everyone another cup of coffee, I heard Mom’s car pull up in the driveway. I had no idea how she was going to react.

  Mom must have seen the Chief’s car parked out front and rushed in with a worried looking Conor right behind her. When she saw my father and me sitting at the kitchen table, alive and well, she let out a deep sigh of relief.

  She looked at Chief O’Donnell, shook her head, and said, “Tommy, you’ll never know what the sight of your car in front of my house does to my blood pressure.” She and Conor sat down with us as I got up to pour more coffee.

  The Chief nodded. “Sorry, Alicia. I should probably have a large sign made u
p and plastered across my windshield saying, “EVERYONE IS OK.”

  Mom gave him a brief smile. “Good idea.” She looked at my father and me again. “So I gather something bad happened today, but you two weren’t harmed, right?”

  Dad said, “Right. I’ll keep it brief. There was another attempted attack today, and Cara saved Amy’s life. The only one who got hurt was the attacker.”

  I knew that would be a bit too brief for Mom.

  Mom’s eyebrows were up around her hairline. She looked at me and said, “A few more details would be good.”

  I told her about the attempted attack and assured her that Amy wasn’t hurt, just shocked. “Mom, the Chief doesn’t think Amy was the planned target, it’s just that she stood out because she always stands out.”

  Looking at my father, I whispered, “I’ll need to replace that knife.”

  I thought he looked kind of sad. “I’ll take care of it, dear.”

  I sensed a certain tension in the air between my mother and father.

  The Chief broke the silence. “One of the kids called us right away and so did the patrolman stationed at the school’s entrance. Two police cars went after the speeding black van, and four more formed a blockade at both ends of town. That van can’t get out of town, and we’ll be combing the entire town looking for it and the men driving it. They won’t get away this time.”

  Mom said, “Tommy, please let us know the minute those men are caught. None of us should have to live with this feeling of impending doom.” She sighed deeply. “Of course, Gaynes will probably just send more of these criminal types. I don’t understand why no one’s been able to find him.”

  “Well, now that we finally have a picture of Gaynes, it won’t be as easy for him to hide, wherever he is. Where did you find that picture, Cara?” the Chief asked.

  “From our practice area next door. I painted it on my target. A friend of ours, who has seen Gaynes, said it was accurate.”

  The Chief frowned. “Cara, how were you able to paint an accurate picture of a man you’ve never seen?”

  “I saw him in a nightmare right after my kidnapping.”

  My father added, “We’ve learned recently that Cara’s dreams seem to be somewhat prophetic.”

  The Chief nodded slowly and looked at me. “Do me a favor, please. Next time you have a dream that seems prophetic, if it has anything at all to do with these present threats, please call me. Sometimes a little advance warning is helpful.” Maybe that bad feeling I’d had was a little advance warning.

  The Chief looked curious as he asked, “Do any of your friends have abilities like yours?”

  “Well, Kevin and I both trained in archery and knife throwing over the summer. He’s very good at both. But I don’t know whether he’s carrying a knife with him. I’ll ask.”

  He gave me a hard look. “I didn’t know that you were going to school armed with knives. I understand why you need to feel you can protect yourself. I’m glad you were able to protect your friend today. The officer who was at school today is the only one, other than myself, who knows that you were armed. Gossip being what it is, the entire force probably knows by now that you’re an expert with a knife.” He sighed. “There will probably be some fallout. School administration will not be pleased.”

  I couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. They couldn’t throw me out of school, could they?

  The Chief stood. “Thanks for the coffee. I’ll be in touch if there’s any change. Call me any time.” Mom walked him to the door. A minute later I heard his car’s big engine start up.

  Mom came back into the kitchen looking worried. “We really have to discuss Cara’s insistence on carrying her knives everywhere she goes. Cara, you could be suspended from school. Every school in the country forbids weapons on campus. I don’t think Thornewood High has a policy like that at present, but I’m sure that will change before this week is out.”

  “Mom, I was outside school when I used my knife, not inside. Won’t that make a difference?”

  She looked unsure. “Maybe. But the issue will be that you were carrying your knives while you were in school. That will have to change. We’ll wait to hear from your principal, which I’m sure will be very soon.” She sighed. My father sighed. I sighed. Thankfully, Conor smiled and winked at me.

  Mom said, “Well, I’m in no mood to make dinner tonight. Why don’t I call for pizza? Brian, Conor, do you like pizza?”

  I could have predicted what my father would say. “What’s pizza?”

  Mom looked at me and said, “You can do the honors.”

  I explained. “Pizza is a thin layer of dough that’s baked with tomato sauce, cheese, and a variety of other toppings. You’ll love it.”

  My Dad and Conor looked at each other and shrugged. “We’ll try it,” my father said. I just wished that the Pizza Palace delivered, but we’d have to settle for pizza from the delivery shop downtown. I called and ordered two large pizzas with sausage, pepperoni, onions and mushrooms. “They’ll deliver in about thirty minutes. Mom, do you want me to make a salad to go with?” She did, so I got busy pulling veggies out of the fridge and began chopping.

  While Mom and Dad talked about the knife problem, and the unexpected attack on Amy today, Conor came over to the breakfast bar where I was chopping peppers and sat down. I may have been chopping harder than usual.

  “Considering what happened this afternoon, you seem surprisingly calm.”

  I looked up into Conor’s silvery eyes. I’d always been able to talk to Conor. He’d always seemed like the big brother I never had.

  “To tell you the truth, my stomach has been in knots since I saw that black van speeding in front of school this afternoon. I know Mom is a nervous wreck now, and my father is feeling a lot of anger he’s keeping inside. I’m trying not to make them feel worse.

  “I used to feel safe, that nothing bad could possibly happen to me. That’s what I thought up until last spring. It seems so naïve, so stupid, now.”

  He placed a hand on my shoulder. “You shouldn’t have to live this way. Your friends shouldn’t have to live this way. This is why your father doesn’t sleep at night. He feels responsible for all of it. Fortunately, you’ve been strong enough to handle it, even if you’re doing a fair amount of acting.”

  He ran a hand through his thick hair. “I’m confident Gaynes will be stopped eventually. And then your life will be normal again. But you’ll never be that naïve young girl again, will you? Perhaps that will give you a head start in your adult life.” He smiled, those silvery eyes sparkling. “You’re already a force to be reckoned with. The human world will have to be on their toes.”

  As usual, Conor said exactly what I needed to hear.

  I looked up into those wise eyes. “Thanks, Conor. I’m really glad you’re here.”

  He gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Always have been, always will be.”

  The doorbell rang and I rushed to the door. The pizzas were here. When I opened the door, it was Ryan’s back I saw first. The poor deliveryman was standing in front of Ryan, looking confused.

  “It’s okay, Ryan. We ordered pizza to be delivered. If you’ll let the deliveryman in, I might even give you a slice!”

  Looking a little embarrassed, Ryan moved away from the door, saying “sorry” to the young man holding the pizzas. I paid the man, and minutes later, we were eating. I was curious to see the Elves’ reaction to their first taste of pizza. When I saw their eyebrows pop up, I knew it was a hit.

  I took two slices out to Ryan and waited to see his reaction. He sniffed it cautiously and then took a bite. A big grin followed a few seconds later. “This pizza is right up there with your ice cream sundaes, lass.” During the summer, I had introduced our bodyguards to the joys of ice cream sundaes, which they all loved.

  When I got back into the kitchen, the first pizza was gone, and my father and Conor were starting on the second. Mom was laughing at them. “Cara, better grab a slice now; it’s not going to last long.”


  The pizza was gone ten minutes later and they started on the salad I’d made. It was fun watching a simple dinner of pizza and salad being enjoyed so thoroughly.

  When I’d cleaned up the kitchen, and my father had been sure to tell us we could order pizza any time, I went upstairs to call Amy.

  She picked up her phone, saying, “I’m glad you called. My folks haven’t stopped frowning and wringing their hands since I told them what happened. I should have kept it to myself. My father’s been pacing for hours.” She sounded worn out.

  “I’m sorry. Chief O’Donnell thinks the only reason that guy aimed at you was that you stood out from our little crowd with your red hair and that tomato red shirt you were wearing. He doesn’t think that you were personally targeted.”

  “I will never wear anything but black again. You may have to come over and explain the Chief’s theory to my parents; I’m not sure they’ll believe me. They have elevated you to sainthood, by the way.”

  I groaned. “You know, Neal looked like more than just a bodyguard after those hit men took off. It looks like your relationship has heated up.”

  I could hear her smile in her voice. “Yeah, he’s been extremely protective ever since the fire at the bakery. I’m not complaining.”

  “That’s good news. Tell your folks everything is under control. The Chief said those guys can’t get out of town. He’ll catch them soon. By the way, let’s meet inside the doors at school from now on. No sense taking chances.”

  “Absolutely. See you in the morning.”

  I called Kevin next, just to make sure he wasn’t feeling he had a target on his back.

  “Hey, Kev. How are you doing tonight? Is everything cool at your house?”

  “Yeah, short stuff, it’s quiet here. Mom’s still out selling houses or something. I spent some time out in the backyard with my dad, and being with him helped me calm down. It’s getting dark so he’s watching the house from the woods, and I’m back inside.” He chuckled. “I learned that Elves love pizza.”

  “We had pizza tonight too. My father is also a fan. We’ve introduced the Elves to meat loaf, ice cream sundaes, and now pizza. They’ve loved everything.”