The Stone Dragon

by H. M. Gooden

  The first running club meeting was later that day. It was supposed to be a quick informal gathering at break with Ms. Fisk, who was the school Art teacher and self-appointed coach for their running group. The meeting was mostly for Ms. Fisk to get an idea of student numbers, as the season was short in the fall with the onset of winter weather by November. When Cat and Evelyn met up with the group, they were happy to see it mostly comprised of the same people from the previous year. Ms. Fisk was efficient as always, catching them up quickly.

  "Okay all, if you could all write your names on the sign up sheet and add your email address, I'll make sure you get all the notifications. Our first meet is this weekend in town, for those who are interested. It's a short 5k cross-country, down to the lake and back. It'll give us an idea of what kind of pace you'll be hitting this season and give us our team for the meet at St. Albert High next week, as we can only take ten people."

  After a brief chat covering a few housekeeping items, Ms. Fisk waved them away as the bell rang. Cat felt her teacher's gaze linger on her a little longer than usual and suspected that she was remembering the incident the previous year. Declan had attacked Ms. Fisk in the hallway one night and left her for dead, but Cat had found and healed her. They'd never discussed what had happened, but Ms. Fisk had been grateful. Cat had thought about telling her everything, but when Ms. Fisk hadn't asked her any questions afterward, Cat had been relieved to let it drop. Sometimes it was easier not to know what was going on when weird stuff happened and Cat could respect that.

  Cat made it through the day, impressed that it hadn't been painful like every other first school day in her memory. Her comfort zone was wider now, but the thought of only two days remaining in a short first week didn't hurt either. After dropping off Evelyn with the promise to pick her up again in the morning, Cat parked at home and bounced into the house, throwing her backpack on the floor by the door.

  "Pick that up right this instant!"

  Her mother admonished her from the kitchen, not even needing to look to know that Cat's bag hadn't been put in the appropriate location.

  Cat shook her head. For a woman without any otherworldly powers, Mindy McLean was able to keep up with the rest of the family without any problems. As an artist, she had an interesting way of seeing the world, but she also had the classic mom-ability of picking up on nuances, whether the girls wanted her to or not. That came in doubly handy for a mother with two extremely powerful girls. Luckily for the McLean's, Vanessa and Cat didn't really give their parents many challenges with back talking or bad behaviour. It was a fair trade, considering that they sometimes ran the risk of ultimate evil maiming or killing them, which was more than enough worry for any mother to handle. Cat left her shoes at the door but did pick up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen to give her mom a kiss on the cheek.

  "Hey, Mom. Is Vanessa around?"

  Cat grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and shined it on her jeans, before taking a bite.

  "Nice to see you too, sweetie. I think she's in her room right now."

  Mindy smiled absently at her daughter, engrossed in her current project and not fully looking away from the easel.

  Cat continued up the stairs and knocked on Vanessa's door after throwing her bag into her own room. She heard a muffled ‘come in’ and opened the door.

  Vanessa was sitting cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by papers in complete disarray. Cat moved closer and attempted to make out the writing, but it looked like a stack of newspapers and the print was too small to read from where she was standing.

  "Whatcha doin?" she asked, taking another bite of her apple.

  Vanessa looked up. "Oh, hey. How was school?"

  She flipped a page then without waiting for an answer, Vanessa started talking again.

  "God, this is so annoying! I've been looking through these all day and I'm not seeing anything interesting."

  Cat sat down to pick up one of the papers and noticed it looked like an advertisement for help wanted.

  Looking for a career? Search no more!!

  Now looking for male and female models and actors of all ages to audition for New Zenia agency, representing top screen and magazine stars.

  Cat realized that her sister was actually doing something, not just chilling in her room. She looked at Vanessa with surprise.

  "I didn't realize you'd started looking for work."

  Vanessa shook her hair off her face.

  "Yeah, I figured since you were back at school now, I should start taking this career thing more seriously. I think I'd be a great actress, but I'm a little uneasy about the fact I can influence people to do what I want."

  She looked thoughtfully down at her hands.

  "I guess it's like everyone else, really. I want them to see how amazing I am for me, not my powers. Kind of like other people don't want people to value them for just their looks or money. And I'm not sure I won't be tempted to influence others to get my way."

  Cat nodded, understanding her sister's worry.

  "Totally. It's one thing to influence people to fight evil, but another to make yourself famous. You're a good person and I'm happy to call you my sister after all. Well, today at least."

  Vanessa promptly hit her with a pillow. "Pul-eese! That is the most saccharine thing you've said to me I can remember. What do you want? I have no money."

  Vanessa crossed her arms, glaring mock-suspiciously at her.

  Cat shook her head and answered her sister's question seriously. "Nothing. I was surprised to hear you say it, but it's a good surprise. It's nice to know that even though you could be fabulously wealthy with your powers, you still want to do it the hard way. Some people may say the dumb way, but not me. I really am proud of you."

  Vanessa shrugged. "Yeah, well, whatever. Believe me, I'm tempted, but I'd always know it wasn't my talent that made me famous, even if no one else did. And I don't really give a crap what someone else thinks about me, as long as I continue to think I'm awesome."

  She smiled mischievously. "I am, you know. Now I just have to find a venue to get discovered, then I'll be fabulously rich and famous, without magic clouding people's view of me."

  Cat rolled her eyes at Vanessa and her healthy ego. "Yep, that sounds like my sister again, but enough of that junk. I was wondering if we should make plans to practice again? We haven't done much in the way of working on our abilities over the summer and I've been thinking about what Evelyn told us. I think we'll need to get a lot better before we have any hope of making it more than five minutes if this guy comes for us. I was kind of hoping on Saturday you'd be willing to come with me and Evelyn to see if we can find the fairy glade again."

  Vanessa blinked, looking confused. "I get the idea of working together and I'm down with practicing, but why do you want to find the fairy glade? No offence, but that place was super creepy with how it magically appeared. And I don't dig the crazy time-warp stuff that happens while we're there."

  Cat nodded, agreeing with her sister's misgivings. "I know, but I think we need more information. Both times we went there it wasn't by choice, but as if it was waiting for us. You know how they say the student finds a teacher when it's time, or whatever that expression is? We were both taken there when we needed a teacher and now I think it's time for Evelyn to find one. She's really struggling right now."

  Cat was concerned about her friend's recent lack of sparkle and the ongoing dreams that were now torturing her almost nightly.

  Vanessa spoke glumly when she finally answered. "I agree, it's the right time to try, considering the dreams she's been having. She looks like hell right now. Maybe she needs to learn to build a mental wall or something."

  Cat nodded. "Vanessa, I'm getting worried. She looks tired all the time now and although she tries to act like her normal bossy self, she's off. I think she's starting to lose weight and that's not good. And her aura is totally dull. We need her to be healthy if she's going to be any help this time. She need
s to do something, or I'm scared she'll lose her mind."

  Vanessa looked concerned. She didn't spend as much time with Evelyn as Cat did and hadn't known that their friend was having such a hard time.

  "I'm up for it if you think it's important, but Cat, I've never noticed that about Evelyn. She always seems to be so cool and collected. She seemed okay last time I saw her, except when she was actually telling us about the dreams." Vanessa's voice trailed off.

  "I know," said Cat. "It's nothing she's said and outwardly she looks decent. But Vanessa, her aura's so different. It's not the beautiful opalescent it was before summer. It's become sort of, well, cloudy, you know? It's still swirling with colours, but they seem faded, like they have a soapy film covering them. I haven't said anything yet, because I wanted us to do it together. I think she'll need us both when she starts trying to cope."

  Vanessa responded decisively. "I'm in. What's your plan?"

  Cat laid out the bare bones of the idea. "We have a 5k race on Saturday at ten and I was hoping you'd be around after. Her mom's working, so Evelyn was going to go home after to shower and change and then we were thinking of going for lunch. We can pack a picnic, if you're interested? Go to the park with some food and see if Robin or whoever's in charge of the fairy glade will be there to show us the entrance?"

  Vanessa nodded. "Sure. After all, what else do I have to do?" She smiled, then looked down at all the papers on the floor, her face becoming discouraged again.

  "You'll be fine, Vanessa. You're just getting started right now. I know you'll find something as soon as you try. You have talent, although I hate to make your head any bigger than it is. Pretty soon your hat won't fit."

  Cat knew the best way to perk up her sister was a combination of praise and sisterly teasing, and as always, it worked. Vanessa gave her a hopeful look.

  "Thanks, you really think so? Anyway, let's deal with Evelyn first. I have time to figure this out after the weekend. So for now, I'll be ready to go for lunch with you." Vanessa paused, adding with a cheeky smile, "Oh, and I'd like it if you'd also shower after the race."

  Cat rolled her eyes at her sister's humour.

  "Haha. Of course I'm going to shower. I'll come home, shower, and pack food. Evelyn will meet us here and then we can go. Hopefully it's a nice day."

  "Well, it's always a nice day in Summerland." Vanessa said.

  Cat nodded. "That’s true. I just hope it's there this time. We need some help for Evelyn now. Anyway, I'll leave you to your search." Cat waved at the papers on the floor and Vanessa sighed.

  "Yeah, thanks."

  Cat left her sister where she'd found her. It was past time for them to get back to work. They'd had summer break and now school, and magic, were officially back in session.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Cat loved the smell of the air. It was still warm and sunny, but she could smell the leaves and the dirt and knew that the season was turning from summer to fall by scent alone. The appearance of the leaves starting to turn brilliant yellows and oranges before they danced their way to the ground was simply confirmation. She was stretched out on the grass, enjoying the sun on her back and feeling comfortably spent after the short team run by the lake. Evelyn appeared to be similarly relaxed and Cat was pleased to see that her aura also looked bright for a change. The run had done them both good, even though neither had been the winner this time. That honour had gone to one of the younger girls on the team, someone they'd just met that simply screamed "Olympian" to both of them. She seemed very nice, but they could tell nonetheless. Some people just looked like they had their future planned and set by the time they entered grade school and this girl was one of those.

  Cat had always felt adrift in terms of her future until the previous year. Now that she knew she had a future, just not necessarily one that revolved around a specific career path, she felt more centred. Unfortunately, her new skill set meant that her future would at the very least involve a lot of running and probably some hiding, with a chance of an early demise. Assuming she could actually die, that is.

  She'd had time over the summer to get used to her new life and thought maybe she'd try her hand at a career in medicine, if her marks held up. While Vanessa had a heaping helping of charisma to go along with her new mastery of the air element and Evelyn was starting to develop her abilities as a seer, Cat was, quite uniquely, a phoenix. It wasn't something she'd been able to research fully prior to her first meeting with Robin Goodfellow on that warm spring day, only a few months earlier.

  She shook her head. It had only been a few months, not even a year since the car accident had spun everything she knew around and sideways. A year earlier, she'd had no clue that anything out of the ordinary was real. Her only super power had been the ability to turn a deep bright red from her neck to the top of her head in twenty seconds flat if questioned during class. But since then, she'd learned to read auras and heal those who were physically, emotionally, or spiritually ill. She could heal a soul in someone who was still alive and even bring people back from the brink of death, although not actually from beyond that stage as far as she knew. It took her own soul's energy to do it, but as a phoenix she was able to regenerate herself, possibly indefinitely. So a career in medicine could be pretty useful, both for helping others and for hiding in plain sight. And it probably paid better than being a fugitive. The only question was whether or not she'd be able to safely stay in one place for long enough to actually finish the schooling necessary for such a career. Cat shook herself out of her usual post-run reveries and turned to Evelyn.

  "So, are you still up for a picnic? Vanessa's totally bored right now and I think she needs to get out."

  Cat and Vanessa had already decided to play that Evelyn would be doing them a favour, in order to keep her pride intact. Evelyn was a force to be reckoned with if she thought anyone was taking pity on her, even if that wasn't their intention. Cat stretched out her legs as long as she could while waiting for a reply.

  "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, but I still want to shower first. Can I meet you back at your house? I'll walk over when I'm ready."

  Evelyn had travelled with Cat to the meet in her car, but since her house was only a few blocks away from Cat's, she usually just walked over when she came to visit.

  "Sounds good. Are you ready to go?"

  Cat stood up and gathered her items, then packed them back in her backpack as she spoke. Evelyn nodded, grabbed her own items and stood up.

  "Lead on, Macduff."

  Cat groaned. The amount of Shakespearian comments in normal speech patterns at Valleyfield school was extreme, in her opinion. Darn Mr. Grayson and his crazy influence. Evelyn laughed at her groan and they walked to the car, chatting casually about the day's events.

  CAT AND VANESSA HAD both finished packing a bag by the time Evelyn arrived. They'd warned their parents that they'd be back late and told them to try not to worry. Considering the often large time fluctuations between the fairy land and the real world, they felt that if their parents knew where they were going, they'd be less concerned. The last two trips had been unexpected and while it had only felt like a few minutes to them, several hours had elapsed at home. At least this time they had the whole weekend and if their parents were expecting them to be away, they wouldn't report them missing. And they could let Evelyn's mom know where they were as well, if they were gone longer than expected.

  That was part of the reason for the two bags. Cat felt strongly that the tales of eating food from the other side were true. While so far Robin and the others they'd met had been nothing but helpful, Cat didn't want to take the chance of being stuck there for years. She didn't think that anyone would injure them on purpose, yet she also couldn't ignore the fact that Robin was known to be a bit of a prankster and he might think it was funny to make the girls uncomfortable in some way or another. Evelyn, of course, didn't know about their plans, so was surprised to see the amount of luggage when she arrived.

  "What the heck guys? Are we
going on a week-long camping trip or something? I didn't sign up for that."

  Evelyn looked dubiously at the bags as Vanessa smirked.

  "Nah, man! I'm just super hungry today and planning on eating a lot. Maybe I'll share, if you're lucky."

  Evelyn rolled her eyes at Vanessa, before glancing inquiringly over at Cat.

  "What's your excuse?"

  Cat smiled. "I actually do plan on sharing and also brought a blanket to sit on."

  Evelyn nodded. "Acceptable. Where are we headed?"

  Cat and Vanessa lifted their bags and continued talking as they went out the door, Cat locking it behind her. "I found a place last year that's really nice. I took Vanessa there once and was thinking that we could try to find it again today. Hopefully it won't be too busy."

  The girls went down the street to the nearby park. Vanessa was feeling a little mischievous and used the opportunity to spin some of the leaves in the ditch. To the casual observer, it looked like small gusts of breeze were blowing the leaves around, but the girls could see the little tornados spinning them change course from clockwise to counterclockwise, as though a hand was flipping directions. Cat looked pointedly at her sister, who grinned in response. She was in a silly mood that day in Cat's opinion, but it was a nice change for all of the girls so she didn't complain.

  As they got closer to the area where the doorway had previously appeared for them, Cat and Vanessa both found themselves becoming tense. Evelyn noticed and looked around suspiciously.

  "Okay, what's wrong? You guys are acting funny."

  Cat didn't answer, holding up her hand in the universal 'wait a minute' sign instead, before slowly stepping forward into the clearing where they'd last seen the large tree she now knew was called a grandfather tree. It stood there prominently, strong and old, surrounded by smaller trees on the top of the hill. It looked like a completely normal old tree in the sun instead of a passage to another world and Cat felt her heart sink. It seemed as though the doorway was closed at the moment. She didn't know how to open it and neither did Vanessa.