Dragon Within (Book One)

by Kyra Dune

  Having slept for several hours, I wasn’t the least bit tired. But Alice was shooing everyone out of the game room so I went along without complaint. The others wandered off to find rooms while I went upstairs to see Brandy. I wanted a chance to talk to her in private.

  Brandy was sitting at her desk, typing something on her laptop when I entered her room. “Are you busy?” I asked.

  “No,” she said without turning around. “I’m just online.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing.” Which of course actually meant, ‘something I don’t want you to know about.’ When you get to be as close to someone as I was to Brandy, you can read between the lines with ease. Sometimes too much ease.

  “Let me see.” I walked across the room to stand beside her.

  She reached up to close the laptop. I stopped her. “What, are you keeping secrets from me now?” I asked.

  “It’s not a secret. It’s...” She sighed, moving her hand. “All right. Go on. Look.”

  I looked. “It’s a chat room. Why didn’t you want me to see you were in a chat room? It’s not...” My words trailed off as I scanned the conversation. “Is this about me?” I looked over at her. “You’re talking about me to perfect strangers?”

  “They are not perfect strangers,” she said. “They happen to be my intellectual peers and I was simply posing a question to them.”

  “What kind of question?” But I read more before she could reply. “Messiah Complex. Schizophrenia. Delusional. Brandy, are you asking people in a chat room to tell you what kind of crazy I am?”

  She made a face. “Of course not. I simply posed all this dragon nonsense as a hypothetical conversation with a mentally unstable person and asked for opinions. As you can see, everyone is in agreeance. There are not, nor were there ever, such a thing as dragons. There is no scientific evidence of their existence as the fire-breathing creatures of lore and there is certainly no evidence they were actually human beings. It’s nonsensical.”

  I understood Brandy had my best interests at heart and she was only doing what she was doing in an attempt to help me. But it hurt my feelings anyway. It made me angry. Not only because she was talking about me behind my back, but also because I had only understood about half of what she’d said. So not only was she talking about me to other people, she was talking about me to smarter people. It made me feel like a monkey on exhibit at the zoo.

  “Oh yeah? Well... did you ask your intellectual peers to explain how I made a can float? Or the wind blow? Huh, did you?” Okay, maybe not the most mature comeback, but it was the best I could come up with in the heat of the moment.

  “Not yet. But I intend to.”

  “Oh, no you don’t.” I put my hand over hers on the mouse. “Get out of this chat room.” I tried to wrangle the pointer over to the x in the right hand corner of the screen, but Brandy resisted.

  “Don’t you want to know the truth?” she asked. “Or do you enjoy being led around by the nose?”

  “That’s not fair.” I gave up on the mouse and took a step back. “Those people aren’t here. They haven’t seen what’s going on. How could they possibly explain anything?”

  “Because they are intelligent,” Brandy said. “They can deduce probabilities from the information I have and give me workable theories to test. Then we can get down to the truth behind this nonsense.”

  There she went again. Sometimes it was like she was half-talking in some foreign language I couldn’t hope to understand. I’m not stupid, but I’m not a walking dictionary either. “Oh, I see. You needed to talk to some smart people because my poor, tiny little brain couldn’t possibly understand anything, is that it? You think I’m too stupid to be able to tell the difference between what’s real and what isn’t.”

  Brandy looked shocked and hurt enough to make me regret my angry words. “In all the years we’ve been friends have I ever, even once, called you stupid? Or even implied I thought you were?”

  “No.” I leaned back against the desk. “But you have a way of talking that makes a person feel stupid.”

  “I see.” She folded her hands in her lap. “Then I apologize. I don’t mean to make you feel stupid. I can’t help the way I talk.”

  “I know,” I said. “And most of the time it’s only a little annoying, but you going online, talking to your genius friends about me, it makes me feel...bad. Like maybe I’m really not good enough to be your best friend. I mean, I know this whole thing is crazy and I know you need real, touchable, proof before you can believe a thing, but I don’t. I think sometimes it’s okay to go

  with your gut instinct, especially if it’s a strong one. Some part of me knows what they’re saying is true, so if I’m your best friend then why can’t you trust me?”

  “I do trust you.” Brandy put her hand on the mouse and clicked the x, closing out the chat room. “But I don’t trust them and neither should you. Maybe that’s my gut instinct. Something about Alice and Zack is off, and I don’t mean only because they say they’re dragons.” She laid her hand over mine.

  “You are more than worthy of being my best friend,” she said. “I love you like you were my sister and I don’t want to see anything happen to you. These people could be dangerous.”

  I nodded. “I know. But this feels like something I have to do. Something I need to do. Even if it’s a mistake. It would make me feel a lot better if I had your support.”

  “You always have my support.” Brandy stood. “But I want it remembered I protested this madness from the beginning and I want you to swear wherever you go with these people you will call me every single day. You miss even one call and I’m going straight to the authorities.”

  I smiled. “Duly noted and sworn. Now, can I sleep in here with you tonight? I’m so not in the mood for Trudy talk.”

  “Of course. You didn’t even need to ask. I went by your house and picked up some of your things.” She indicated the closet. “Your suitcase is in there.”

  “Thanks, you’re the best.”

  We got ready for bed and Brandy dropped right off. As for me, I lay awake in the dark listening to her breathe and thinking. I had a lot of things on my mind as I’m sure you can imagine. Sleep was a long time in coming.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Breathe in through your nose and focus on centering yourself,” Alice said.

  We were standing in the backyard, me by the side of the pool and Alice over near the diving board. Giving me space, she’d said. The yard was surrounded by a high privacy fence and a screen of trees so no one could possibly have seen what we were doing. Not that we were doing much anyway. Mostly, I was trying to learn how to concentrate on using my powers without trying to use them and yet somehow manage to keep them completely under control. Yeah, it’s exactly as hard as it sounds.

  I sighed. “I don’t know how to center myself.”

  “Focus on the water.” She waved her hand at the pool. “Concentrate, let it fill your mind until you can’t think of anything else.”

  I didn’t think it was going to work, but I tried to do as she said anyway. I stared at the water, which was mirror still and perfectly clear. I concentrated really hard, so hard I could hear the buzz of the automatic cleaning system working to keep the pool free of whatever kind of germs like to live in pools. The noise was annoying. It was like having a bee stuck in my ear. And it didn’t help any to know Zack was sitting behind me in a lawn chair staring at my back.

  “This isn’t working.” I sat down on the cool concrete and propped my chin on my hands. “I’m hopeless.”

  “You are not,” Alice said. “These things take time. You missed out on a life’s worth of training, you can’t make it up in an hour.”

  I plucked at my shoelace. “I guess you’re right. It’s just so frustrating. I can’t stand to think it’ll take years before I can do what you can do.”

  Zack abruptly stood up. “We don’t have years.” He walked over to me. “You’re trying too hard. Our powers a
re part of us, like breathing. You don’t have to think about breathing, now do you?”

  “Zack,” Alice’s tone held a hint of warning, “I really don’t think we need your input right now. Abigail is doing fine. Slow and steady is the only safe way to handle the situation.”

  “Slow and steady is a good way to get people killed.” Zack held his hands out to me. “Let’s try something different.”

  I took his hands and let him pull me to my feet. “Like what?”

  “Zack, don’t you dare.” Alice’s voice jumped shrilly as she came toward us.

  Scared, I started to pull my hands from Zack’s only to have my breath shocked out of me by a freezing blast hitting my chest like I’d run into a wall of ice. My reaction was pure instinct. A great wind swirled around me, tossing my hair. It slapped into Zack, knocking him sideways off his feet.

  When our hands lost contact I could breathe again, but a chill lingered not only on my skin, but beneath it as well. It was a terrible feeling.

  “Have you lost your mind?” Alice screeched when she reached us. I hadn’t known the woman long, but I suspected her voice rarely reached such a high pitch. “She could have...you might have...you stupid boy. Stupid, stupid boy.”

  “I was helping,” Zack grumbled, managing to sound both angry and guilty at the same time.

  “Helping?” Alice sputtered incoherently for several seconds before managing to get control of

  herself. “Go inside the house. Now.”

  Zack made a rude noise as he got to his feet, then he turned without looking at either of us and marched into the house, slamming the door behind him.

  Alice pressed a trembling hand to her forehead and let out a shaky breath. She then turned to me and asked, “Are you all right?”

  “I...I think so.” The chill feeling was fading and now my initial scare was wearing off I was starting to feel a little, well, elated. “Did I...did I hit him with wind? Is that what I did?”

  “Yes. But it was wrong of him to push you.” She shook her head, looking toward the house. “I told your grandfather Zack was too reckless to handle such a delicate situation, but he thought you’d respond better if you were first approached by someone closer to your own age. I don’t know why it had to be Zack.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said. “It worked. I used my power. So what was wrong with what he did?”

  Alice got the strangest look on her face. “He attacked you, Abigail. Granted, he knew what he was doing, he’s been battle trained. But you haven’t. You could have seriously injured or even killed him without meaning to. These powers you have are not a party trick or a game, they’re a weapon. That’s why we grow up training every day to learn how to control them. Because without control you are dangerous to yourself and everyone around you.”

  It was her seriousness which convinced me more than her words. She was like a totally different person from the bubbly woman I’d met the day before. “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand.”

  “Oh, no, I’m the one who should be sorry.” She smiled. “I don’t mean to snap at you or scare you, but I was afraid one of you would be hurt. Zack has good control, but he had no way of knowing how your powers would react to what he did. It’s all right. It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.

  “But I think we’ve done enough for now. Let’s give you a chance to rest and your powers some time to calm. I need to go have a long chat with Zack.” She patted my arm and went inside.

  I stood there, alone, with my arms wrapped around myself, thinking. Using my powers as a weapon hadn’t occurred to me before, and now Alice was talking as if that was mostly what they were for. But a weapon against who or what? I didn’t know and it scared me. Made me wonder what I was getting myself into. Because Brandy was right, something was off about the whole thing. And I had a feeling whatever it was, it had to do with what Zack had almost said at the airstrip.

  All of sudden, I wanted nothing more than to go home. If I was going to go off to California into who knew what kind of situation then I had to see my parents one last time. I had to talk to them face to face and say some things that needed saying.

  Only I didn’t think Zack and Alice would let me leave. Alice might be sympathetic to my reasons for wanting too, but after her little outburst it was clear she was as nervous about being here as Zack, she simply did a better job of hiding it. Most of the time, anyway. No, if I wanted to leave I would have to sneak out and I knew just the girl to help me.

  I found Brandy in the library, curled up with a book that looked as if it weighed at least ten pounds. I said her name and when she looked up at me, a pinched line appeared between her eyes. She closed the book and set it aside. “What’s wrong?”

  Trust my best friend to get right down to the point. “I need your help. I want to go to see my parents, only there’s no way Zack and the others will let me go. So I have to sneak away.”

  “We’ll borrow a car from the lodge.” She rose from her seat. “They lend them out to guests all the time.”

  “Wait a minute.” I held my hand up in a ‘stop’ gesture. “Not we, just me. I need you to stay here and cover for me. Otherwise Zack will come tearing after me on his bike.”

  She pursed her lips. “And what am I supposed to tell them when they ask me where you are?”

  “Say I’m sick or something. I don’t know.” I shrugged. “You’re smart, I’m sure you can think of a good lie. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “You shouldn’t come back at all.” But by the way she said it I knew she’d given up on trying to convince me. “Walk down to the clubhouse and I’ll call ahead and tell them to have a car waiting.”

  “I knew I could count on you.” I threw my arms around her neck. “That’s why you’re my best friend.”

  “If I was really you’re best friend I would find some way to talk you out of this madness.” She hugged me tight. “I wish you’d let me.”

  “I can’t.” I stepped away. “I don’t believe it is madness.” Okay, so I did have my doubts and it was clear by the way Brandy was looking at me she could see them plain as day on my face. But I was determined to go to California no matter what.

  The library window opened onto the woods. I climbed out, planning on using the trees for cover in case anybody was looking. I was nervous and a little scared as I slipped out under their cool shade, but I didn’t intend to go far or stay long, only until I was on the other side of the neighbor’s house.

  It took more time than I expected, but finally I came out of the woods onto the road. Then it was an even longer walk back to the clubhouse in the sweltering heat. But at least the trees cast some shade on the road so I didn’t have to spend the entire time in the sun.

  I didn’t see any cars or other people as I walked. Only some birds, a couple of squirrels, and one old fat raccoon sitting on a tree stump.

  After walking through the front door of the clubhouse, I stood a moment enjoying the feel of the air conditioning against my sweaty skin. A couple of girls in tennis whites stared at me, giggling behind their hands. I ignored them as I went to the counter.

  “Hello,” the female receptionist smiled brightly at me. “How may I help you today?” Her gold name tag read ‘Tiffany’ and she looked about as plastic as Barbara had, except I was pretty sure her blonde was natural.

  “Miss Brandy Levine called and ordered me a car,” I said. “Abigail Freeman.”

  “One moment please.” She turned to type something into her computer.

  The tennis girls passed us by. One of them spoke in a whisper loud enough for me to hear. “Oh my god, can you believe what she’s wearing? Talk about low class.” Her friend snickered.

  My face was burning, but I didn’t intend to give them the satisfaction of seeing it. If Brandy had been there, she would have said something smart and sharp enough to cut those nasty girls to ribbons.

  But Brandy wasn’t there and I knew if I said something it would only make things worse. Beside
s, it’s better to ignore those kind of girls anyway. Or even pity them, if you like, because when you think about it, it’s pretty sad they have nothing better to do with their time.

  “May I see your driver’s license, please?” the receptionist asked.

  I took it out of my purse and handed it to her, then waited while she keyed my information

  into the computer.

  “Okay, you’re all good to go.” She handed my license back to me. “The car will be right around.”

  “Thanks.” People coming and going through the common room were giving me unwelcome looks, so I decided to wait outside. It’s one thing to be snubbed by a couple of private school divas, it’s something altogether different to have adults looking at you as if you recently crawled up out of the sewer. I wasn’t dressed that badly.

  I was standing under the canopy when a white Mercedes pulled up. I stepped off to the side, thinking these were newly arrived guests, but the man who got out of the driver’s seat was dressed in a club uniform.

  “Are you Abigail Freeman?” he asked.

  I nodded, too stunned to speak. He held the keys out to me. I came down the steps and took them. He then held the door for me and smiled. “Have a nice day, Miss Freeman.” I nodded again, climbing in behind the wheel. He shut the door and stepped back.

  The car was nice. A lot nicer than my newly acquired birthday present. But you know what? If I had the choice I think I still would have picked my little red wagon. All a matter of taste, I suppose. Still, being able to drive around in a Mercedes for awhile was pretty cool.

  I drove away from the clubhouse a little nervous about being behind the wheel of such an expensive car, but by the time I hit the highway I had discovered it wasn’t so different from driving my parents minivan and I relaxed.

  Until the radio came on with a blast of classical music which nearly had me leaping out of my seat. It’s a miracle I didn’t swerve into the Buick in the lane next to mine. The idea of turning on the radio had come to me only a second before it actually happened.