The Awakening

by Rochelle Southwick

  “Zeeda!” I called out, hoping that she could hear me.

  Before long I felt the whooshing of air above me. I looked up and watched as Zeeda touched the ground. My jaw dropped. It had been one week since I had seen her last, but she was nearly double the size she had been.

  She came to me with a smile on her face; she pressed her face to my shoulder. “Bea! You came back!”

  “Of course I did. They have me under an even tighter lock and key than they did before, but I escaped. I can’t stay long though. I hope this house arrest thing is over soon,” I said as I pet her scales. The colors were deep in the moon's light.

  “Can’t we just tell them about me?” she asked me.

  “No,” I said, and then I quickly explained what Mitch had said about dragons earlier. My irritation and anger flowed now that I could express myself.

  “That isn’t what happened at all. You know me I would never!”

  “I know you wouldn’t. Do you know what happened before? With the dragons? How? You were just a baby when I met you.”

  “Dragons have core memories, I can remember things about my kind as far back as we go.”

  “The only one that knows what happened to the dragons is you?” I asked her.

  “Yes, and I can tell you, humans didn’t kill us. Not even close. We were always friends, or at least friendly with humans. No human has ever been eaten by a dragon. That is ridiculous!” Smoke blew out of her nostrils as she thought about the accusations against her kind.

  “Well, you and I will have to set things straight. I am not sure how, but we will,” I promised her.

  She nodded and then asked if we could play. I removed my sweater, knowing that I was about to get warm. We chased each other through the woods. I was so happy I felt free for the first time in a week.

  Zeeda and I played hide and seek, I hid in the trees and waited for her to come find me. She bounced around so excited; I watched as she bounded between the trees. She lunged towards me, her claw catching my arm.

  “Ouch!” I grabbed my forearm where Zeeda had accidentally scratched me.

  “Bea! I’m sorry.” She said and then pressed herself as far away from me as she could.

  Taking deep breaths, I composed myself, then pulled my hand away from the cut. There was a gash about an inch wide, and two inches long on my arm.

  “It’s okay, Zeeda.” I pulled my t-shirt over my head, out of habit I adjusted my tank top. My arm twinged as I did so.

  Using my teeth and my free hand, I tied my shirt around my arm to keep it from bleeding. “I’m okay Zeeda I promise.”

  After a lot of coaxing, I got Zeeda to come out of the shadows. Tears were streaming down her face, and the sight made me sad.

  She gently pressed her nose to me. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Yep, I will be all healed in a few days.” It may take longer than that, but I didn’t want to distress her anymore.

  Sitting down I patted my leg, Zeeda laid on my lap feelings of sorrow rushed through us both.

  I checked my watch and my heart sank, Zeeda was feeling more like herself. Which meant it was time for me to go.. I didn’t want to be caught and I wanted Zeeda to be safe.

  “I have to go Z.” I whispered.

  She sighed and snuggled into me a bit and then stood.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Soon I was peddling back home. The lights were off when I got there and I shimmied back up the tree with ease. I slid into my room and listened for anything unusual.

  I couldn’t hear any sounds coming from the hallway. As quietly as I could, I dug in my closet for a bandana that I could put on my arm. I quickly changed into some night clothes and then laid down. I waited for Mitch to come barging in, but he didn’t.

  I fell asleep and slept better than I had since the night at Delia’s.

  ***

  The next morning Mitch woke me up bright and early to go on a run. He outran me easily and often began running literal circles around me.

  “You have to get faster, Bea. You never know what is coming your way.” he said, darting around in front of me.

  “Yeah, yeah whatever.” I said, stopping and raising my arms over my head. It was then that he saw the bandana still wrapped around my arm.

  He stepped up to me and grabbed my arm.

  “Ow,” I instinctively said and tried pulling away.

  He pulled the bandana off of me and his jaw dropped. “Bea, what happened?”

  “I... Nothing. I’m fine.” I pulled my arm away, successfully this time.

  “Come on Bea, what do you think? I’m an idiot?” He glared at my arm.

  Refusing to answer the question, I re-wrapped my arm and continued running. He scowled for half a mile. I slowed down and get winded. Finally, I came to a complete stop, and then his attitude completely changed.

  “Don’t stop Bea, you can do it!” he was much too cheery for this time of day. At least Jake and I got coffee first thing in the morning. Mitch said coffee was bad for us so I didn’t get to have my morning cup.

  I glared at him; he smiled back. That obnoxiously adorable half smile that I was learning to hate.

  “Come on, let’s go.” he said as he trotted circles around me.

  I wanted so much just to punch him in his smug face, but me, the dutiful girl, started running again. He just wanted to keep me safe, even if he had his priorities completely backward.

  When we got back to the house, he went to shower. I sat down at the kitchen table and laid my head on it. The last time I had gotten up at five a.m. was when we were searching every day for Dad. That was before I concluded that he was being held by some force unknown to us.

  When Mitch came back downstairs, his hair was tidied up, styled with gel and not a hair was out of place. He was wearing a short-sleeve blue shirt and shorts. It was supposed to get into the high eighties today, so this ensemble didn’t surprise me. He had his cot and suitcase in tow.

  A few minutes after he came down there was a knock at the door. Mitch opened it, and in walked Jake, two coffees in hand. I felt a smile spread across my face as my eyes settled on the cups. “Ah Jake, right on time,” he said, eyeing the coffees. “Your choice in morning drink is deplorable. You shouldn’t feed her habit.”

  “Is that an order?” Jake asked, his irritation subtle.

  “No, merely a statement. Bea, I’ll see you later. Thank you for a fun evening,” he said with a smile as he stepped outside and shut the door.

  Jake came to me and handed me a coffee cup. “Salted Caramel Mocha just how you like it,” he said.

  “You are a saint,” I replied, taking a long drink of the heavenly liquid.

  “Fun evening, huh? Did you guys go on a date?” he asked. The question sounded casual, but the pinched look on his face made me wonder what he really thought. He sat across from me, toying with the lid on his coffee.

  “If you call a hostage situation a date, then surely it was a date.”

  He laughed and looked up at me. The pinched look vanished.

  My stomach fluttered at his smile.

  “I’m glad you’re back,” I said, heat rushing to my cheeks.

  “You are, are you?” He asked, his smile growing. “Why is that?”

  “Let me count the ways!” I teased. “Seriously though, coffee for one. You don’t make me run like a madman when we go on runs. You don’t sleep on a cot right outside my bedroom.”

  “Wait what?” My words seemed to have startled Jake. “Did he really?”

  He thought I was kidding, how cute. I set my cup down and reached for his hand without thinking about it. “Come with me,” I said. I stopped, realizing what I had just done.

  He reached out and took my hand, and the heat once again returned to my cheeks. I led him upstairs to the hallway outside my room. “What are we doing?” He asked me.

  “Look,” I said, pointing to the indents in the carpet where his cot had been.

  Jake sighed. “Okay, ser
iously that is a little freaky,” he said.

  I hadn’t let go of his hand and he hadn’t let go of mine. Little currents of electricity seemed to shoot between us. The butterflies in my stomach felt like they were trying to break out.

  “I promise you I won’t sleep outside your door. Ever.”

  “Unless you have to; unless I am in mortal danger.” I retorted.

  “If it comes to a point where you are even sort of in mortal danger I will get rid of the problem before they come anywhere near you.”

  I looked at him. “Of course. It’s your job to protect the clan. Blah blah blah.” I teased.

  He looked me dead in the eye. “Yes, that may be true, but it’s my duty to protect you.”

  “Oh it is, is it?” I asked, my mind spinning, trying to decipher what he meant.

  “Yes,” was all he responded with.

  Seven

  The day passed quickly and once again we were going our separate ways for bed. I slipped into the bathroom to brush my teeth and to put a healing salve over the cut from Zeeda.

  He bid me goodnight and then I went to my room. I stayed up late doing some research in the quietness of my room.

  I wanted to see what took out the dragons, but the only thing that kept coming up was the big bang theory and dinosaurs going extinct.

  I sighed and closed my laptop and snuggled under the blankets. My room was chilly, just how I liked it. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  I was in a state between awake and asleep when something ice cold wrapped around my ankle and yanked me off the bed. Calling out in surprise, I barely felt my head hit the floor. I kicked out in front of me as my eyes shot open.

  “Jake!” I called out. This wasn’t to him directly, this was me vocally calling for him.

  I could hear him fly out of his bed next door. I squinted through the dark, expecting to see a dark shadow. I pressed my hands on the floorboards and pushed myself up onto my feet. I crept around the bed looking around my room, something wrapped around my ankles knocking me to the floor again.

  “Ugh!” I called out as whatever it pulled me to the ground. I looked around me and saw vines around my ankles, they twisted and turned almost as though they too were alive.. I followed them with my eyes as I began pulling them off of me. In the far corner of my room, I saw someone I had never seen before, I couldn’t see much but his breathing was heavy.

  Jake slammed into my bedroom door, which was now overcome with vines.

  I watched as the vines crept up the walls and wrapped around my bed posts. There was a crashing sound behind me, turning I saw books being shoved off my shelves as the vines overtook them. I felt the vines wrapping further up my legs.

  Jake slammed into the door again, the vines held up and he didn’t get in; I heard him muttering a spell, and the door flew off its hinges. I braced myself for the crashing of the door, but it never came as the vines smothered the sound.

  “Claire wants that pendant, brat. Give it to me now and you will be unscathed!” the person in the corner said loudly. His voice was grim and brooding.

  The vines entwined themselves around my wrists, binding them to me instantly.

  Jake shot bolts of magic towards the man, he deflected each one.

  I yelled and kicked against the vines. I couldn’t get out, I took a breath and then shifted into my jaguar form; the vines tightened slightly at first and then burst into pieces. My shift was enough to startle the man. Jake got a shot at him and then used his magic to form a Katana, its long curved blade shone in the moonlight.

  Jake grabbed the weapon by the hilt and drew it out in front of him. The man jumped back just as Jake made a clean downward slice. The katana’s blade caught the man’s arm. He cried out in pain he grabbed at his arm as blood dripped down onto the floor.

  Jake repositioned himself, ready to attack again. The man dodged and then rolled across my bed. He stared at me as I growled, prowling slowly toward him. I could see him fighting to focus, and then he vanished.

  I shifted back, breathing heavily. Jake said another spell; the katana vanished, and he was by my side.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him. My mind was buzzing with the use of magic. My heart hammered as I thought about this man in my home.

  “Me? Are you okay?” he asked as though he didn’t matter.

  “I’m fine,” I responded, rubbing my wrists where the vines had wrapped around me; they were red and throbbing. Surely they would be bruised by morning. He nodded. “Now answer me, are you okay?”

  “I’ve fared worse,” he said. “Come with me, we need to make sure your mom is ok.” He reached for my hand.

  There in the moonlight, I saw his bare skin for the first time; he had scars up and down his arms. There were so many of various severities.

  My heart ached as I saw them, I wondered what caused them.

  He caught my gaze and said, “As I said, I’ve fared worse.” He took my hand gently, and we made our way towards mom’s room.

  My thoughts ran wild. Why hadn’t mom come to me when she heard me scream? I felt resentment towards her. Then an even worse thought crashed in on me. What if he had gotten to her first?

  The hall seemed normal compared to the insanity that was my room. I knocked on mom’s door.

  “Mom?” I called.

  I opened the door and saw her asleep on her bed. I went to her and woke her gently. “Mom, are you okay?” I asked her.

  “Honey, I ... of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” She saw Jake standing outside the door. “Oh no, what happened?”

  Jake spoke, but we heard nothing. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. They had put a silencing spell on her room, keeping her from hearing anything that was happening outside it.

  “Why would someone do that?” Mom asked as she slipped her robe on.

  “Maybe that someone didn’t want you to come help Bea,” Jake Mom had once been one of the toughest Centuries we had before she became a part of the council. She could be menacing when she wanted to be.

  Mom nodded. “You two should let the clan know what’s going on.” I raised my eyebrow at her. “Oh come on now, you know I can’t.”

  She still had done no magic. She didn’t think she could. “Fine,” I said.

  “Mitch,” I called out to him.

  “Bea, it’s three a.m. What’s wrong?” He asked almost immediately.

  “We had a break-in. Of the magical sort.”

  “I’m on my way. Where is Jake?”

  “He’s with me,” I stated I knew I had to protect Jake from getting in trouble. After all, he saved me.

  Before long Mitch, Jake, mom, and I were sitting around the kitchen table. Mitch was visibly giving Jake an icy glare. This was as close to magic as I had seen mom willingly get in months.

  “Jake, you better have an excellent explanation for this,” Mitch said, his voice harsh and his eyes cold..

  “It wasn’t Jake’s fault.” I said, already irritated with Mitch. “If it wasn’t for him, I would be a lot worse off.”

  Jake apperated the katana in front of him. The blood from the man in the room was dry at this point, but you could tell that it was recent. It coated the sword and dripped halfway down the blood groove.

  “Talk,” Mitch said.

  We explained the situation as best as we could.

  “And this guy, he asked for the pendant. You’re sure?” Mitch asked.

  “For the love of my sanity, Mitch. Yes, he asked for the pendant.” I said for the third time. “He said that Claire wanted it.”

  Mitch looked at me. His face softened when he saw my frustration. “Well, would you rather I guard you until further notice?” He asked.

  “No. Jake can perfectly keep me safe and you damn well know it,” I responded curtly.

  Mitch sighed and then said, “Very well. I will go let the Elders in on what happened. If anything else happens, and I mean anything, let me know right away. From now on you are sleeping on the floor or on a cot in
her room. Do you understand me?” Mitch waited until Jake nodded once, then stood up and saw himself to the door.

  “No funny business.” Mom said as she went back upstairs.

  I looked at Jake. “Thanks for having my back.” Jake said. He had donned his hoodie before Mitch had arrived. “I am sorry I will have to break that promise I made earlier.”

  “It’s ok, it’s not your fault,” I said rubbing my still red wrists. In the kitchen's light I could see bruises forming.

  He looked at me across the table. His eyes full of wonder, “you know you really surprised me.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, not everyone could think on their feet like that and be able to shift. Especially when they are in that situation.”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t have much choice. I had to distract him somehow.” I glanced down at the table, secretly pleased that he was surprised.

  “Yes, you did,” he said with a smile.

  Jake went to the garage and grabbed some hedge shears. We went back upstairs and into my room; he helped me clean up the vines. He tackled them with the shears; I followed behind him, picking up pieces and throwing them into a garbage bag.

  When everything was cleaned up, I got a sleeping bag for him from the linen closet. Tomorrow we would go get him a cot, so he would be more comfortable.

  It was more than a little awkward having him sleep in my room, but soon enough we were both fast asleep.

  Eight

  We woke late the next morning, after all the excitement the night before we felt like we deserved to sleep in.

  Mom knocked on the door at ten to wake us up. She had made breakfast downstairs, which was more than she had done in months. I was proud of her. This was an enormous step since losing dad. Maybe my room being broken into last night wasn’t all bad. Although I never again wanted to experience a break in.

  “What’s your plan today?” he asked