The Stone Dragon

by H. M. Gooden

  She hoped.

  Evelyn glanced at Cat from the driver's seat, having called first shift.

  "Are you okay? You seem a bit quieter than usual," she said, grinning cheekily at Cat, adding with a soft tease, "so basically, mute. What's up?"

  Cat blinked out of her reverie and looked at her friend. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just need some down time, I guess. Just full of thoughts right now."

  She could see that Evelyn was still concerned by the way she wrinkled her brow.

  "Really, I'm fine," Cat reassured her. "Actually, better than I thought I'd be, under the circumstances. The fact that I torched someone isn't bugging me like I thought it would." She smiled ruefully. "Does that make me a bad person?"

  Evelyn thought for a moment before she shook her head.

  "Hardly. I was there for a bit and felt some of what happened through you. That woman was far from being human by the time she crossed your path. I consider that more of a public service, like cockroach extermination."

  Cat burst out laughing, appreciating the practicality of Evelyn's outlook on life.

  "Thanks, that helps. That's the part that's been bothering me the most. You know, like maybe I could be a serial killer myself because I wasn't feeling bad about this. But it didn't feel like I did anything wrong, so confirmation from another person is great, thanks."

  Cat stopped talking, then turned to look back at Evelyn. "The other thing that's been bugging me, what I've been unable to stop thinking about the last few hours, is what else are we going to have to face? Do you think that there are a lot of people like her, like Declan was? How many did he make? Will he make more? And are we supposed to weed them all out before we face him, or will they all gang up on us at once?"

  Evelyn wrinkled her brow, pursed her lips then slowly exhaled, shaking her head but keeping her eyes on the road.

  "That's a lot of questions. I don't think anyone has the answers except Dub, or possibly Robin. You ever noticed that he seems to have questions for our questions?"

  Evelyn shook her head, muttering what sounded like 'irritating' under her breath, before speaking audibly again.

  "I think that's how this is going to start and we'll likely have to deal with a few more things like that before we get through this. I also think that Mai will play a big role here, although I'm not sure exactly what. She's been in my dreams since the start, and San Francisco is tied to Dub's defeat somehow, that I'm sure of."

  Cat thought about what Evelyn was saying. It did feel like it was all tied together. She already knew that Mai was important, just based on the way she'd appeared into their lives.

  "What about going to see Robin again? Do you think he'll be able to find someone to help with Mai's training? Obviously we can't all go see him at the grandfather tree if both Vanessa and Mai are in San Francisco, but maybe he can tell us?"

  Evelyn shrugged. "Maybe. We'll be home later tonight. Do you think we've got time to go to the grandfather tree tomorrow? Or will we be late for school after all?"

  Cat thought for a moment. "Well, we do have a long weekend. If Robin is watching like I think he is, he might not keep us waiting like he usually does. If he comes right away, it would definitely shorten the time we're in the fairy glade." She nodded firmly. "Let's do it. We can leave for a run in the morning, let our parents know where we're going, and hope to be back for supper."

  Evelyn agreed. With a plan in effect, the girls drove home looking forward to the next day and to finding out if the king of the fairies would give them a straight answer for once.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The air was crisp, with the smell of rotting leaves and sound of them crunching underfoot as the girl's quiet footsteps fell in tandem. Parents that had been happy to see the girls back the night before earlier than expected had just as quickly become resigned to accepting that their daughters may still end up attending school later than appropriate, although for an equally good reason. Cat replayed the conversation as she inhaled the cool fall air.

  CAT'S PARENTS LISTENED to the story of the weekend's events, after which her dad leaned forward in his chair.

  "So you're telling me that she's a water magic? And she was born in the 1890's? That's unbelievable!"

  Cat smiled at his fascination.

  "Yes, she said April of 1890, I think. She's mostly untrained though, so we need to figure out how to help her learn more about her powers. That's the main reason we need to see if Robin can help."

  Her dad nodded in agreement. "Of course. That makes complete sense. If anyone can help, he can."

  He looked over at Cat's mom, who was still sitting with her mouth pressed firmly closed. "Mindy? Are you okay?" he asked warily, and Cat winced, recognizing her mom's expression.

  "How could you?"

  Her tone was accusatory, but Cat knew that most of the anger she saw in her mother's stiffly set upper body was because of fear.

  "It wasn't exactly planned, Mom. And we're completely fine, all of us. We sent Evelyn and Mai back to the apartment to keep her safe and Vanessa was great. She's really powerful. We weren't injured or anything."

  Her mom sighed and her shoulders crumpled as she exhaled. "I'm glad it worked out, but you guys need to be more careful. I don't know how much of that kind of thing I can listen to without having a heart attack."

  Cat looked at her dad, catching his slightly raised eyebrow, and knew she needed to be more careful regarding the details she shared. This world was very new to her mom and she worried a lot about Cat and Vanessa.

  "Yes, Mom, I know. I promise we'll try to be more careful next time."

  Her mom groaned in response and Cat gave her a quick hug.

  "I'd rather there wasn't a next time," she said, her words muffled in Cat's shoulder.

  AND NOW HERE THEY WERE, with their feet flying across the fall sidewalks and breathing the cool morning air. Cat loved these quiet mornings and even though she usually preferred to be alone, it was nice to have a friend to share it with.

  They soon came to the large grandfather tree which they knew served as a doorway to the other world. The girls stopped, stretching while waiting for something to happen. This time, the door appeared almost immediately, as though they were expected. They ducked through the long hall into the glade, welcomed by the perpetual early summer flowers and insect-like fairies that floated by in the air.

  As Cat and Evelyn looked around, marveling as always at their surroundings, a cheery nut-brown boy bounced out of a tree, landing at their feet.

  "Hello, my lovelies! So nice to see you so soon."

  Robin danced around them comically, before coming to rest on the large branch of the grandfather tree that was closest to the ground. He hung upside down by his knees, looking quite comfortable.

  Cat bowed to him respectfully.

  "Good morning, Sir Robin. As always, we are grateful to see you. Any assistance you can provide us is much appreciated."

  Robin turned around, right side up now, but still sitting on the branch. He brought his knees up to his chin and rested his head there, considering Cat's request. Once again, his laughing eyes became solemn and he lowered his knees into a cross legged position, before answering in his usual cryptic way.

  "You will need a teacher for the Dragon. One will come and it behooves you to give her fair warning, else she may panic and waste the opportunity. As for your trials, you are correct, they have just begun. There will be more darkness to fight along the way, the end game is not yet approached. But I think between fire, air, water, and spirit, of course," Robin smiled with a fond twinkle at Evelyn, "you will persevere. I will be near and will arrive in time, if truly needed."

  Robin jumped down from the branch and put his hand over his heart.

  "This I swear to you faithfully, my ladies. If you are ever truly in need I shall arrive. You have but to think it." Looking at Evelyn with an impenetrable expression, he whispered softly. "You have but to think of me."

  Robin then straightened up and spok
e more loudly.

  "Use your gifts and I will present mine. But remember, while the road will be bumpy, you will not need me until the last, and I do not believe it will be this year after all, no matter what you think at this moment."

  Robin touched each girl gently on her forehead. Cat saw an image of the bay bridge appear vividly, surrounded by fog and lightning. While occupied with the vision, Robin disappeared. Cat blinked her eyes and the bridge faded away into the summer sun in the glade.

  "He's gone!" Cat gasped, looking around.

  She was stunned at the speed of the meeting, but not surprised. Robin was always unpredictable, but at least this time he'd given them something useful, the hope that he would help them when and if needed. He hadn't really given anything in the way of new information, but Cat supposed he might not actually have the details himself.

  "Well, at least we won't be late for school tomorrow," Cat said while Evelyn continued to look around for Robin.

  "I guess that's good. Let's head back. I'm hungry and I don't want to miss your mom's paella."

  Cat smiled at her friend's response to another semi-disappointing visit to Robin.

  Oh well, if you can't figure out what's going on, there's always food.

  "Okay. Let's check our watches when we get back to the real world and see if we have time to finish our run," Cat said, as she looked at her completely nonfunctional watch, which was currently flashing random numbers. As always, time was strange in the other world, so their watches had become useless the moment they'd approached the passageway.

  They headed back through the grandfather tree, feeling the temperature drop as they emerged into the park. It was late fall and the air was a stark contrast to the warmth of Summerland. They were surprised to see that only two hours had passed this time, so they still had the entire afternoon free.

  It was hard for them to figure out what they wanted to do with the day, as the entire weekend had been planned around staying in San Francisco. In the end, they took the rest of the day off, watching reality TV while eating popcorn, after a brief call to Vanessa and Mai to update them on what Robin had said.

  Tomorrow would be soon enough to battle evil. Today was for Facebook, Instagram and TLC, and nothing more important or exciting than celebrity gossip.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Once again, the days dragged for the girls and soon December was upon them. The newly formed quartet had decided that another weekend trip out to the coast wouldn't be helpful until they had more information, so they hadn't met up in person since their first adventure. Vanessa had been true to her charismatic nature and was completely rocking the series that she'd started working in as a bit player.

  In fact, she'd already been written in as a much larger character in the show and was on her way to becoming a local household name. It was beginning to look like the show would be picked up for a second season and she'd been invited to continue on in a starring role. If it wasn't for all the uncertainty surrounding the girls, it would have been the most exciting event that could have happened to Cat's family.

  Mai also was coming along nicely with her adjustment to modern life. As Vanessa had anticipated, a nice looking Asian teenager who just so happened to speak English, Cantonese, and Mandarin was an asset to the show. Mai was easily able to pick up work as an extra and stood a chance of securing a larger role in the future. Robin had promised to send someone to train Mai in her water element, but she was still waiting. They expected she'd likely learn in her dreams as the other girls had. Robin was pretty clever that way, using their normal down time to expand their otherworldly abilities, but Mai was still floundering without guidance.

  So far, she'd only had nightmares of what she'd lost or seen before waking up in the park. Mai was doing what she could with Vanessa's help while she waited for someone to show up, but Vanessa couldn't help her much with her water- specific needs, or with getting over the loss of her aunt, although she was trying.

  Cat, Evelyn, and Vanessa were diligently working on their own abilities, confident that they'd be stretched in ways they hadn't been before when they confronted Dub. They all worried about coming across another one of Dub's minions alone, having no way to predict when or where that would be.

  For now, the plan was for Cat, Evelyn, and both sets of parents to visit San Francisco for winter break. Cat and Vanessa's dad had managed to take a week off work and even Evelyn's mother had five whole days free over the holidays. They'd found a nice Airbnb vacation rental close to Vanessa's place for the adults to stay at while the girls did their own thing, except for the Christmas holidays, which they planned to spend together for a traditional meal and exchange of gifts.

  Cat was excited as the end of the last week of school drew to a close. Exams had finished and most classes were spent with the usual movie or games that tended to fill the time right before the holidays, so Cat passed most of the time on autopilot. Except for English class, where Mr. Grayson made the students put on a small Christmas play with a Tempest theme. Running club was long gone for the season and without Vanessa around, she hadn't bothered to join the drama club, so evenings were pretty much a repeat of Cat and Evelyn practicing their skills together and apart, or going for the occasional run on warmer days.

  Cat woke at dawn on the morning they were driving to San Francisco. She'd dreamed about Robin and he'd been trying to tell her something important, but she couldn't remember what it was. She felt he'd been saying something about three. But three what? Three challenges? Three people? Three days? She couldn't wait to see Evelyn to ask if she knew anything. Unfortunately, because Marie-Jean went back to work sooner than Cat's dad, Evelyn would be traveling in a separate vehicle with her mom so that Marie-Jean could make it back to work on time. This meant that Cat would have to wait until they got to San Francisco before asking Evelyn's opinion, as it wasn't really a conversation she wanted to have via text.

  Cat wandered into the kitchen for breakfast, smiling inwardly about how she seemed to have gone from not being a morning person to someone who jumped out of bed, ready to go. In reality, she still struggled most mornings to get up for school. It was her other life that seemed to get her jump-started, leaving her fully caffeinated with a single, focused thought regarding what lay ahead. It was a little odd, but maybe it was the firebird in her that made it happen.

  She saw her dad sitting in the morning hutch, enjoying a cup of coffee while reading the paper under the glow of the kitchen lights. He turned a page, then noticed her and looked up with a smile.

  "Good morning, sweetie. Did you sleep well?"

  He took another sip of his coffee and looked back at the page while she answered, explaining her night.

  "Yes, although I had a funny dream last night. Robin was in it. I'm not sure if it was a real dream or if he actually was there. It's always so hard to tell with him."

  Her dad looked up quickly when she mentioned Robin. He was fascinated each time Cat met with Robin and had impressed upon her often how important Robin was in the grand scheme of things, especially when it came to Earth magic. He was the Earth god, according to Peter McLean, and one didn't just have a chat with him. One bowed, kissed his feet, and generally prayed that he wasn't upset with you. So Cat now had his full attention, his newspaper completely forgotten.

  "What did he say? Details, please."

  He looked at her intently and she sighed inwardly before speaking. It was hard trying to remember dreams, but attempting to tell someone else about them always made them evaporate even faster.

  "He seemed to be wishing me a Merry Christmas, I think. Although he was more impressed with the solstice and beating the dark back, then said something about three things, but I didn't catch what exactly. Then he scampered off."

  Cat started looking through the cupboards, vaguely remembering seeing Lucky Charms recently. While she wanted to eat them because they were delicious, she also thought that extra luck would be a good thing for the trip. She glanced at her dad, surprised he hadn
't said anything about her dream yet. He was staring out the window thoughtfully, then took a sip of his coffee without dropping his gaze.

  "What do you think, Dad? Real dream or regular dream?"

  Peter looked back at her, smiling absently but fondly.

  "It sounds like it could be both or either. But pagan religions across the world often focused on a change in light quality. The winter solstice is the time of year when the light gets shorter. As it's the shortest day of the year, people have celebrated and given tributes to the gods to bring the sun back throughout history. Your current battle-in-waiting is like the solstice in a way. Robin said you'll need to drive Dub out again and he's the physical manifestation of darkness. But if he talked about other things, it may not mean that you'll meet Dub this Christmas break."

  He smiled at her again, this time with a teasing expression.

  "As a father, that's a nice thing to hope for. I'd much rather anticipate a relaxing Christmas this year over an ultimate battle between good and evil."

  Cat thought about what her dad had said and it made sense to her. In her limited experience, their interactions with darkness started with little forays behind enemy lines before having a big smack down at the end. Maybe this break would be more of the same, with the big event happening later on. If that was true, she had time to prepare. That would be good, allowing the girls to plan a bit more and at least try to mentally ready themselves for battle. Then again, her experience was limited, and she only had one comparison to use which may be totally opposite to what lay ahead.

  She smiled, looking back over her shoulder.

  "Thanks, Dad. I hope you're right. It feels more real than a regular dream and what you said makes sense. I'll let the girls know about it when we get together later today." Cat then changed topics abruptly. "Is Mom up yet? I can't wait to show you guys Vanessa's place. It's pretty sweet. Must be nice to be so charismatic and have people giving her things."