B0075M2D1U EBOK

by Julie Cassar

  I suddenly became self-conscious and was thankful for the darkness that hid my obvious blushing as my cheeks overheated. “How did you find us?” I asked as I nervously chewed my bottom lip. “We never set up a time or place to meet tonight.”

  “Oh…” Nick stuttered as he pulled his face back up to mine, redirecting his eyes to mine, instead of ah…farther south. He went on, “I figured you’d be somewhere around here. You guys always hang out near the lifeguard tower. I thought I’d take a chance. You said you were going swimming. You don’t mind, do you?” He sounded slightly unsure of himself now, and I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t want him here. I quickly stuttered, “Oh. Right, right. Right. Yeah. Um. No, I was just. Um. Surprised. That’s all.” Ugh. Could I sound any lamer? Even though I was mortified that I was standing there in only a towel, I didn’t want to have the guy think I was unhappy to see him! “Hey,” I quickly recovered, “Do you know what time it is?” Yes. Change the subject Ruby. Good thinking.

  Nick looked at his watch. “It’s almost eleven.”

  “Well, not to be a spoil-sport or anything,” Jeremy interrupted, “But I’m gonna go take a walk down the beach. Michael over there invited me back to his campsite for some s’mores,” Jeremy said as he toweled off and started dressing. I’ve gotta hand it to the guy, he was not shy.

  “Nice, Jeremy. Who’s ditching who now?” I accused.

  “Ohhh. You’ll get over it!” He flopped his hand down at me and then playfully smiled, “Thanks for being my wingman!” He gave me the thumbs up and jogged down the beach.

  I looked back at Nick, who seemed to be staring at me again. I nervously cleared my throat and shifted my weight on my feet. “So. Um… Lemme get dressed, ‘kay?”

  “Oh!” Nick seemed startled back to the present. “Sure! Right. I’ll turn around.” He put his back to me, so he was facing the woods and I quickly slipped my underwear and shorts on under my towel, then pulled my t-shirt over my head, slipped my towel from under my arms and dropped it onto the driftwood log. “One more sec,” I said, as I slipped my bra on under my shirt. Thank God I had worn a front closure one today. Whew. “Okay. Ready.”

  Nick turned back around and smiled and shook his head, “Well, well, well, Ruby Blue. I didn’t know ya had it in ya,” he teased as he bumped my shoulder with his own.

  “Whaaat? Meee?” I coyly answered, batting my eyelashes at him in a lame attempt to flirt.

  “Do you wanna go for a walk?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  Then, Nick took my hand in his. I was surprised by the instant tingling I felt run up my arm. He led the way as we walked closer to the shoreline. I loved the feel of the cool, wet compacted sand under my feet. It was about the only part of my body that was cool. The rest of me was on fire. Like that race car driver guy from the movie, Talladega Nights… Ricky Bobby… I was on invisible fire! My whole body was heated and tingling and my face felt flushed. I tried to remind myself to calmly breathe in and out and to not start panting like a dog. We casually strolled by the water and I kept glancing over at Nick’s beautiful face illuminated in the moonlight. He began chatting a little, telling me about his day and asking me about mine. I felt like I was walking in a dream. It was so surreal. Our conversation slowed, as did our pace. But it was a comfortable silence, interrupted only by the sound of the water peacefully lapping the shore and the distant sounds of the last late-night swimmers quietly moving through the lake.

  “I’m glad you found me,” I said as I turned to look at Nick.

  “Me too,” he said as he looked at me with a heated expression, gazing into my eyes. I smiled, but suddenly felt self-conscious, and looked away from him, staring down the beach. Nick stopped walking. I stopped too and turned back to look at him.

  He slowly leaned in as he reached one hand up and placed it gently on the side of my face. My breathing sped up. My heart was pounding. He moved closer and I did the same as he tilted his head to kiss me.

  Ahhhh! Those sweet, delicious lips! I closed my eyes and I swear I saw fireworks behind my eyelids. I wrapped my arms around his neck as we moved closer still and I felt his tongue tickle my own. Our kiss deepened as we stood there on the beach. I could feel his muscular body pressed against mine as he wrapped his other arm around my waist, pulling me closer still. I ran my hands through the hair at the nape of his neck, and felt his silky, golden locks run through my fingers. Our lips and tongues moved together while we pressed our bodies closer, standing there, in the moonlight. It seemed to go on forever and that was fine by me. Finally, Nick slowly pulled away, gazing at me in the darkness. We stood there, holding each other and lost in the moment when I realized how late it must be getting.

  “Aw crap,” I sighed. “It’s gotta be close to midnight.”

  Nick pulled his hand away from the side of my face and glanced at his watch. “Yeah. It’s like, 11:45.” He dropped his hand and wrapped it around my waist, locking his hands together at the small of my back.

  “I’ve gotta get home,” I regrettably told him, still loosely resting my arms around his neck.

  “I’ll walk you back,” he said as he reached up and took my hand in his again and led me back to driftwood log where my towel was. I reached down and picked it up and then pulled Nick along with me. “Walk me all the way home?” I asked as I flirtatiously glanced at him. “Definitely,” he nodded.

  I led Nick through the path back to my house, and he walked me up to my back door. “Monday night is my next night off,” Nick said as we stood under the glaring glow of the porch light, “Can I take you to dinner?”

  “For sure,” I smiled. Thankfully, I didn’t have to work Monday night. I bit my lip as I looked up at Nick with pleading eyes. Even though it was obvious he was attracted to me, I was not going to make the first move and kiss him, although, I wanted to. I am just not that brave.

  “Cool,” he said, and granted my silent wish as he leaned down to kiss me goodnight.

  Chapter 12

  The next morning, I got up and did my chores right away as I had promised my mom. I had so much on my mind and I needed something to distract me. Tomorrow night Nick was going to take me to dinner at Rebecca’s Inn. Rebecca’s is a family-style restaurant. Nothing too fancy, but nicer than the ice cream place or the Burger Hut in town. There weren’t a lot of choices in our little town, and Nick didn’t want to eat at his family’s pizza place again. My mind kept wandering back to my time with Nick, and when I wasn’t thinking of him or his incredible kissing, I was worrying about Anya and Brennan. I had tried calling their cottage, but of course, there was no answer. I assumed they were still in Fey. The last I knew, Brennan had cryptically said that they “needed to go home.” I was desperate to talk to Anya about Nick and I was still worried about the crazy occurrences and why she and Brennan seemed to be so upset. And, what made them feel like they had to go home? If there were some crazy fairies in the woods, I sure hadn’t seen any. That didn’t mean they weren’t there though. Fairies were tricky. With their fairy magic and their ability to soda-pop fizz appear in front of you, and POP out of sight, they could stay hidden quite well.

  Somehow, I managed to fill my day, and before I knew it, Leo and I were cleaning up the dinner dishes. As I closed the dishwasher, I told my parents, “I’m going in the yard for a while.” I headed out the back door to sit in the swing in the garden. As I walked outside, I was instantly drawn to the strong fragrance blooming around me. The Moon Flowers had opened! They looked amazing. The beautiful white, trumpet-shaped flowers almost glowed against the green shrubbery and foliage. As I slowly walked through the grass looking at all of the bright white flowers, I heard the familiar soda-pop fizzing sound behind me. I spun to see Anya and Brennan appear in my yard.

  I smiled wide and threw up my hands, “Well, it’s about time you guys showed yourselves again! I was beginning to worry about you!” I rushed over to them and we had a big group hug. “I’m so sorry we’ve been away without communicating with you,
” Anya apologized, “Things have been…hectic.”

  “Hectic?” I asked. She nodded.

  “There are some things we must tell you, Ruby,” Brennan said seriously. I looked back and forth between them, as Anya nodded her head slowly again. It was so unlike Brennan to be so reserved. He was usually so playful and annoying, that I guess I just didn’t expect this kind of mood from him. Brennan was my age and often acted like a smartass, but today, he seemed…older. Like something had happened in the last three days that made him grow up. It was kind of frightening. “Okay. You guys are kinda scarin’ me. What’s up?” I looked at them, waiting for them to continue.

  Brennan nervously cleared his throat and gave Anya a sideways glance. She looked at him with her wide blue eyes and nodded once, as if giving him the go-ahead to speak.

  Brennan blew out a deep breath, as if to steady himself, and then he said, “Ruby, we are more than just fairies. We are…descendant fairies of the Earthen Royal Court and heirs to the Throne.”

  I blinked in surprised confusion, “What? What are you saying? What exactly does that mean?” Boy. Talk about unexpected.

  Anya spoke up. “It means that Brennan and I are part of the Fairy Royal Court. Our Father is King.”

  “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa,” I held up my hands, shaking my head in disbelief, “Just hold on a sec. Are you telling me that you are a Princess and Brennan is a Prince?” Prince Brennan. Talk about an oxymoron.

  Anya raised her eyebrows and gave another sideways glance to her brother, who was looking directly at me and seemed a bit irked. Brennan spoke, “That is exactly what it means, Ruby. I am Prince Brennan Avery Luel Kaelin son of King Avery Oren Kaelin of the Earthen Royal Court of Fey.” He gave me a slight bow when he finished. Anya nodded her head, gave a slight curtsy and added, “And I am Princess Anya Donella Kaelin, daughter of King Avery Oren Kaelin of the Earthen Royal Court of Fey.”

  My mouth hung open and I stared, looking dumbstruck at the two of them. “Shut the front door!” I said as I shook my head in disbelief. “I have known you guys for twelve years. Twelve! And this is the first I’m hearing of this?! What the hell? How could that not come up in conversation before now?” They both stood there, shaking their heads. Brennan standing firm with his arms folded across his chest and Anya twisting her hands nervously in front of her. She pleaded, “We couldn’t tell you before. Our father forbid us and there was no reason for you to know. There are not many people who can see fairies. It was for all of our safety.”

  “I still can’t believe this. I suppose it makes sense though. You guys have always been stronger than the other fairies I’ve met. And you’re obviously loaded…how else could you have that sweet cottage on the lake?” Anya was nodding in agreement and looking relieved as if she was glad I was finally up to speed with what was actually going on. Brennan interrupted me, “There’s more.”

  “More?” I shrieked, “How could there possibly be more? Wait. Don’t tell me. It has something to do with all those weird things happening, right?” Anya was shaking her head “yes” and Brennan gave a quick nod. “I knew it!” I exclaimed. “There’s some rogue fairies out there in the woods starting fires, isn’t there?”

  “Well…” Anya said, still nervously wringing her hands, “It’s not exactly fairies...”

  “What do you mean, ‘not exactly fairies’?” I pressed.

  “And it’s not just the fires,” she continued.

  “Come on…” I stood there impatiently, giving her the hand signal to continue on… “Aaaand…” I prodded…

  Anya nervously looked at Brennan again. He gave a big sigh and then spoke, “It’s like Anya said, it’s not just the fires. At first, we didn’t think anything of the tree farm fire, although it was odd. But then, when we heard of the other fires, we started to worry.”

  Anya interrupted, “Yes, and when you mentioned the incident with the boats in the marina, we really got concerned. The forest has been unusually quiet too. Not only have fairies been staying away, but other wildlife – insects and birds – had been acting strangely too. Also, we had noticed some odd shifts with our magic. Remember when we appeared on the beach behind Jeremy last Saturday when we met to go swimming? That was a very close call. We should’ve been aware that he was already there and transported to the beach much farther away, in case he noticed. Then, when you told us about the dark shape you saw in the water, it confirmed our suspicions.” Brennan nodded in agreement.

  “Wait,” I held up my palms to them, as if to say ‘stop’, “Confirmed what suspicions?” I turned my head slightly and glared at them, squinting as if I could see right through them with X-ray vision.

  “Something has…escaped…from Fey,” Anya stuttered.

  I waited for her to continue. She looked at Brennan with pleading eyes. Brennan looked me squarely in the eyes and spoke one word, “Sirrush.”

  “Sear-what? What the hell language is that? What’s that?” I asked in confusion.

  Brennan shook his head, “Not what. Who. Sirrush is a dragon.”

  I shook my head in disbelief and started pacing on the grass in front of them. “You have got. To be kidding. Me.” I said slowly. “First, you tell me you’re some kind of fairy royalty, and that your dad is the King. Then, you tell me that an effing dragon is responsible for burning down the Frederick’s tree farm and tipping over all those boats in the marina? Like, an honest to goodness, fire-breathing dragon? Are you serious? You cannot. Be serious. Please tell me you’re not serious.”

  Anya’s face had a look of pure sympathy. “I am so sorry Ruby. It’s all true. What Brennan is telling you is the truth. When we went home to Fey, we confirmed our suspicions with our Royal Court and discovered he had escaped through a portal into your world. ”

  I let out a big sigh. “Well, does this Sea-rust-Cyrus-whateverthehell you called it – this dragon…does he fly?” I asked.

  Now it was Brennan’s turn to give me the squinty-eye glaring questioning look, “It’s pronounced Seer-RUSH. And, why do you ask?”

  “Oh…no reason,” I impatiently answered, shaking my head. “But I’m pretty sure it’s been spotted flyin’ around up there,” I said, flabbergasted, as I waved my hands frantically in the air. “It’s only been at night, so it’s been dark and difficult to see. But people think it’s some sort of humongous bird.”

  Anya was shaking her head with worry. “This is bad, Brennan. Really, really, bad,” she said.

  “Why is this really, really bad?” I questioned.

  “It’s really, really bad,” Brennan started, “Because Sirrush would have been ill from making the trip through the portal from Fey to your world. He would’ve needed to regenerate in the water. Which, obviously, as you saw last week and told Anya, he was. Remember that dark hump you saw in the lake?” I nodded my head and he continued, “Well, dragons are reptilian-like creatures, similar to your alligators or crocodiles. They are serpentine, have scales, claws and large powerful tails, just like those creatures do. They can live out of the water and are quite strong, some having wings, such as Sirrush does. But, if they are ill, or use powerful magic such as Sirrush needed to come over from Fey, they need to return to the water to heal and regain their strength. If Sirrush was seen flying, that means he is healthy and strong again, and very likely to cause more havoc. He is named for the Babylonian dragon of chaos, which suits him quite well, don’t you think?”

  I sighed and shook my head, feeling slightly overwhelmed. “Ahhh craptasic! Just what we need. More destruction around here. But wait a minute, aren’t dragons like fairies and invisible to most people? Only a few people can actually see fairies. Does it work the same way for dragons?” Anya was shaking her head, “No,” she said, “Dragons are quite visible to humans, except if they have the gift of cloaking. If a dragon is born with the gift of cloaking, then they can make themselves invisible at their own will. Otherwise, everyone – fairies and humans alike – can see them all the time. Sirrush does not have the gift of cloaking.
He is just very crafty. And, his presence here has disrupted the usual flow of our magic. We need to be very careful.”

  “Wait a minute,” I quickly looked up at both Anya and Brennan, “How did he even get here? You said he needed powerful magic? And how come he’s the only dragon I’ve ever seen? I mean, if dragons exist in Fey, then how come they don’t come back and forth like the fairies do?”

  “It’s complicated,” Anya said.

  “Well, uncomplicate it,” I retorted. “You cannot just soda-pop fizz into my garden, tell me all this crap and freak me out about all the destruction that this crazyass dragon is going bring down on my town, and then follow it up with: it’s complicated. Duh! I know that it’s complicated. But you have to tell me. I can’t just stand by and watch a dragon destroy my home…Maybe even hurt people I care about!” The words came pouring out, but I was exasperated, and really starting to freak out now that I comprehended everything they were telling me. Brennan put his hands on my shoulders.

  “Calm down, Ruby. We’ll tell you everything. We’ll figure this out, okay?” He looked at me tentatively with his pale, ice-blue eyes.