The Stone Dragon

by H. M. Gooden

  "Bleh, that's disgusting. I sure hope not! Talk about taking one for the team. Did you notice anything else?"

  Mai shook her head. "No, not really, I just have a bad feeling about that truck. I think the blood I am feeling is human and from many different sources. I do not know if it is my water power, but I can feel the sea and blood feels similar. Just as full of salt, but with more iron. Do you think that he is killing people in there?"

  Cat shook her head. "I don't know. Vanessa, do you have any ideas?"

  Vanessa looked through the window at a pair of shoes while considering the question.

  "Well, he doesn't have an aura, right?" She glanced sideways at Cat, who nodded in agreement. “And he's British and nondescript, but appears pretty agile. So who could he be? My guess is that he's someone Dub picked out of somewhere in England, probably someone with a history of murder who disappeared from history, the way Declan did. Is he someone big? Hard to say, but if so, he's likely someone who was responsible for a lot of awful things while he was alive. If Mai is sensing blood from different people, it's a given that he's bad news and I think we need to deal with him right away."

  Mai and Cat nodded and Cat looked down at her watch. It was starting to get late and the people lined up at the hot dog stand had begun to thin out now. Their parents would have supper almost ready, but Cat didn't want to chance losing the man. They decided that Mai would approach him as he was closing up and try to lure him away from his truck into the nearby alley by pretending to have lost her wallet. If he was as bad as Cat thought, he'd likely jump at the chance to have a young woman alone in an isolated location. Cat and Vanessa would be nearby before things got out of hand, but would stay out of sight until Mai did her part, as the man had already seen both Cat and Vanessa and might be suspicious if they returned.

  Their plan in place, Mai walked back down the block while the other two continued to window shop nearby. As Mai circled around from the front of the truck, Cat and Vanessa watched apprehensively, hoping they hadn't put her in too much danger. Mai smiled innocently at the man, sticking to the conversation that the girls had come up with. After a few minutes of talking, she gestured seductively with her head to the alley beside the truck, partially hidden by a tree on the other side. The man smiled, appearing delighted by her suggestion, and followed closely as she walked in front of him into the alley.

  Cat and Vanessa wasted no time leaving their observational perch in front of the glass window, almost running to catch up while still staying out of sight. They came up behind the tree, just as the man touched Mai's arm. Cat could see her blue-green aura begin to dim as she first looked stunned, then developed the vacant look Cat associated with the transfer of energy from people to the dark ones.

  "Now, Vanessa!" Cat shouted.

  Vanessa blasted a strong gust of wind at the man, knocking him away from Mai who crumpled to the ground, almost drained of energy.

  The man fell, but got up easily and turned to face the other two girls with a snarl.

  "And who might you two doxies be? Isn't that just like a woman, interfering when it be none of their concern. I guess it's my lucky day after all then, a three for one sale."

  Cat squared off against the man, with Vanessa beside her protectively standing in front of Mai, who was on the ground looking stunned and weak. Cat took a moment to use a small amount of energy to pulse into Mai's aura, healing her until the normal colour returned to her face before stopping to conserve her energy for the battle ahead of her.

  "We were just out for a walk. Who are you, anyway, that you think you deserve anything from us?"

  Vanessa put on her best belligerent teen act, hands on her hips, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder and snapping her gum while she chewed.

  Cat watched the situation carefully, keeping an eye on Mai as she slowly stood up and placed herself between Vanessa and Cat.

  The man made a show of lightly dusting himself off in a smooth, almost majestic fashion.

  "I doubt you'd believe me if I told you. Needless to say however, that I am quite well versed in how one would take care of trollops like the ones I see here. My skill set is equal to none, that I assure you."

  He slowly pulled out a knife from behind his back and it gleamed in the fading daylight, with a blade the size of his hand. He carefully wiped the flat end across his moustache and licked it before he smiled a gleeful, evil grin.

  Cat felt a shiver go down her back at the gross pantomime, the same chill that she associated with the hooded man when she'd crossed his path and to a lesser extent, with Declan and Bathory. The girls stood their ground without speaking as the man slid closer, continuing to move the knife blade in a sinister dance.

  He lunged towards Cat without warning and she felt her arms fly up in front of her face in reflex to stop the knife. But instead of making contact, a giant wall of flame shot out and blocked his attack. He screamed, which caused Cat to drop the wall with the shock of it all. That hadn't happened before.

  The man snarled and spat words at her with disgust. "Well, well. Apparently you are a spicy tart, at that. You'll pay for that, mark my words."

  He circled slowly around the girls, who cautiously moved with him, keeping him in front. Cat was sure that the man had all the time in the world to wear them down and would enjoy every second of it. But Cat didn't want to dance all night, so taking a chance, she ran toward him and surprised everyone. Sliding as if she was rounding first, Cat rammed right into the man's shins with her feet. He fell, his knife flying up into the air. Vanessa used her power to fling it into the nearby fence where it wobbled slightly before coming to a rest with the blade embedded a half-inch deep into the wood.

  The man sprang up nimbly into a half crouching posture, trapping Cat into a position where her hands were behind her while he pinned her down, a knee on her back. While not ideal or comfortable, it had a bonus side effect of Cat touching him, with her hands on his hands. She felt her power rise up and let it flood through her, feeling her hands heat up into fiery objects. Vanessa and Mai watched as Cat started to shimmer and the outline of her body blurred. The man's eyes widened as her hands lit up and began to burn where they held him. He cried out once, trying to let go.

  Cat struggled against him, managing to turn around while still holding on to face him, no longer in a submissive position. She could see the fear in his eyes as his darkness began to give way to her heat and light. Once again, there was the sensation of utter darkness and cold without any scrap of human soul within him, the same as she'd felt with Bathory. Cat searched, wanting to heal the way she had with Declan, to find some redemption for the man. But she closed her eyes and could find nothing. Sadly, but with conviction, she sent one more burst of power into him and set the man on fire. She collapsed to the ground, watching as a man with no soul and evil to spare disappeared in a pile of ashes.

  A small pile of leaves began to smoulder but Mai took care of it with a small water spout. Cat looked around, belatedly realizing that they were practically in the middle of a street that was well illuminated by adjacent street lights.

  "Guys," Cat said with exhaustion, "we need to move."

  Luckily, no one had seen the incident and Vanessa and Mai were able to help Cat to her feet. She was tired, but not like she'd been after they'd confronted Bathory. Like all her powers, things seemed to get easier with practice.

  She smirked, suddenly realizing that, even if it wasn't intended, Dub's minions coming after her one at a time like a bad ninja movie was actually increasing her abilities and making things easier. Hopefully, that would help make it possible to win when Cat finally came up against him. Part of her just wanted to get it over with now, but she smacked that part and told it to shut up. Two down, an undetermined number still to go. Cat sighed, getting up and stretching.

  Hey, are you guys all okay? I just caught the last act of the show. Wow!

  Cat felt the words go through her head and knew that Evelyn was checking in on them.
r />   Yeah, we did it. We're all fine. The hotdog man is toast, though. I think he may have been a perv, too. You should have seen him lick his knife. Gross and creepy.

  Cat felt Evelyn's laughter ripple through her head and smiled at the sound. Even after all the craziness, it was a good feeling to have someone else 'get' her.

  Glad to hear it was fun for y'all. Supper is ready, so hurry back. We can talk more then. This is a good for checking in, but it takes a lot of juice. I'm getting tired, so I'll sign off. Be careful on the way back. Shout for help if you need anything.

  Thanks, Evelyn. See you soon.

  Cat and the other two girls left the alley at a snail’s pace, tired and stunned following the short but intense battle. While Vanessa and Mai hadn't had a chance to do much, if they hadn't been there, Cat knew she wouldn't have been nearly as successful.

  "Thanks, guys. Mai, you were really brave, taking him on like that. Vanessa, those were some wicked knife skills. Let's go home, okay? I'm plumb tuckered out."

  Cat gave the other two a weary smile. Mai and Vanessa shook their heads, brushing off Cat's praise.

  "We didn't do much, Cat. It was all you. That was a pretty impressive show back there." Vanessa said, with a nod at the alley.

  Cat just blushed, and they continued the walk back to the apartment in silence, none of the girls having the energy for small talk or an extensive postmortem. When they arrived, they trudged up the stairs, entering into a warm and delicious other world. Instead of the grey and cool night that had fallen around them as they walked, the smell of spices and warm bread took their breath away. Evelyn was waiting by the door, with a warm cup of cider ready for Cat. When Vanessa pouted, Evelyn gestured to the top of the stove.

  "Help yourself. It's right over there. I figured that Cat would need a little pick me up after what I saw back there."

  Cat smiled and sat down on the kitchen chair beside the door.

  "Thanks, Evelyn. But don't worry, I feel fine, just tired. It's getting easier every time I do something."

  Cat sipped appreciatively at her aromatic and sweet beverage.

  "Oh, and hey. Apparently I can do fire walls too. Pretty cool defence. I even impressed myself."

  Evelyn laughed with relief and amusement. While she'd fully agreed with the plan, Cat knew that Evelyn still had a hard time leaving without her friends, no matter how much she knew it was the right thing to do.

  Marie-Jean entered the kitchen and looked at Cat with approval.

  "Good job, cher. Your powers are getting stronger. Your aura shines like the sun now."

  Marie-Jean spread her hands wide, miming a sunrise.

  Cat smiled at Evelyn's mother and knew that if Marie-Jean was complimenting her, it meant something. Standing up, feeling a little more strength in her body from the sweetness of the drink, Cat walked into the living area where she knew her parents would be waiting for her to spill all the details. The other girls followed her, each with a drink of their own.

  Peter and Mindy had been sitting on the couch sipping on cider, but Peter stood up when Cat came in. He traded places with her, giving her a blanket then tucking her in like a small child. She protested in vain, but her dad stopped her.

  "No, relax. Based on how you look at the moment, I think you could fall asleep standing up. I'm guessing since you all look pretty healthy otherwise that things went well?"

  He perched on the arm of the couch next to Cat and tucked a piece of her hair behind her right ear.

  "It went really well, Dad." Vanessa spoke, to Cat's relief.

  With her usual flare, Vanessa told their parents and Evelyn the whole story, somehow adding drama that Cat hardly remembered. She was effusive in her praise for Mai's role, making her flush and protest, and played Cat up into practically being some sort of fire breathing dragon.

  Peter listened intently, occasionally looking away from Vanessa to examine Cat's face when he learned how Cat had eliminated the soulless man. When Vanessa had finished talking, he turned back to Cat.

  "So, how do you feel? Are you okay? It sounds like a pretty big deal and I can see it being difficult to cope with emotionally, not just physically."

  Cat thought for a minute then shrugged.

  "It's like the last time, except that I'm not as tired. The idea of what I did is something that I think should bother me and yet I don't feel upset. It doesn't feel like I killed anyone. Even though technically I did."

  Cat looked at her parents, trying to impress upon them her unexpected moral dilemma.

  "I feel that I should be upset and feel sick inside. But I also feel that I've cleaned up a really dirty, disgusting mess instead, and feel almost...proud? I'm not sure if that's the right word. But it feels like I won a race or did a good deed, not like I did anything wrong."

  Her mom nodded with understanding.

  "Society tells us that murder is wrong, even when it's in self-defense, in every situation. But you've rid the world of evil and brought light to darkness. Chiaroscuro, extreme darkness and light in paintings from the Renaissance, is like this. It takes a light to illuminate the darkness, but the dark is destroyed by the light. You've merely highlighted the evil that exists by burning it out with daylight, which is hardly murder or even death. I firmly believe that these last two beings you've faced were only the facade of a human and had been replaced by utter darkness many many years ago. You yourself said the last time you couldn't sense any semblance of humanity in that woman. I don't think she or this man were human any longer."

  Her mom smiled before giving Cat a warm hug of approval to underscore her words.

  "Cat, it was amazing," said Vanessa. "I can't see auras at all, unlike you and Evelyn, but I can see evil. And that guy was all bad, with dead sociopath-eyes. He went up like dry wood when you touched him and good riddance. I think we should look for others like him. Who knows how many Dub has working for him?"

  Mai, who was sitting on a chair across from the couch looked alarmed at that idea, and Evelyn put her hand on her shoulder.

  "Don't worry Mai, we're all in this together. I don't think it's something you need to worry about on a daily basis. These people, or things, need to keep a low profile so they don't draw any attention from people like the police or the media. There may be a lot more of them around, but not enough that people are going to be dropping by on the daily."

  Mai smiled weakly at Evelyn, apparently not reassured, and Marie-Jean took the break in conversation as an opportunity to interrupt.

  "Come on, everyone. Gumbo and cornbread are ready. Dish up and grab a chair. We can discuss more while we eat."

  Cat smiled and sat while everyone got food, waiting until everyone was sitting before getting herself a plate. It felt as if something had shifted inside her and she wanted to be alone to examine it in more detail. She'd gone from having the power to heal and restore souls, to being capable of burning people to ashes. With nothing more than knowing there was no soul to save, that they were only darkness, she could destroy a human shaped vessel.

  Cat wanted to talk to Glory again. She hadn't seen the phoenix in awhile and had thought prior to recent events that she’d known everything about her powers. But this opened up a new, more disturbing avenue. As she thought about it further though, it made sense. It was hard to argue that while fire had huge benefits, it could also destroy. Cat sighed. So much responsibility she didn't need or want. Once upon a time, life had simply featured the usual crap teenager issues. Now she had the power to set people on fire with her mind.

  Supper passed pleasantly, with Cat calling an early night for herself shortly after she finished eating. She hugged her parents and said goodnight to her friends, then because everyone else was still wide awake, they decided to go over to the rental house for the evening to let Cat rest. Evelyn checked twice before leaving to make sure she felt okay being alone, but Cat brushed her concerns aside, reassuring Evelyn that she just needed sleep and it was highly unlikely anyone would attack her while she was in bed. />
  Cat's real motivation, of course, was to see if she could contact Glory during her sleep. While her body needed rest to heal, her mind needed answers. She was hoping that Glory would come to her that night in her dreams. Relaxing into the bed, Cat felt herself slip into sleep as easily as breathing. Her body became heavy and she felt her consciousness fly up and into what appeared to be the fairy glade again.

  Sitting in the clearing on a large rock, she saw a vibrant orange, red, and yellow bird, almost like a peacock, shimmering underneath a sun that she couldn't see. The bird was singing in a beautiful, golden voice and as Cat approached, it turned to look at her, cocking its head in a very bird-like way.

  "Catherine McLean. How lovely to see you again."

  The words spilled out like honey and the face, while mostly avian in nature, had human-like sapphire blue eyes that watched her shrewdly.

  "But you aren't here simply to visit, are you? No, I see many questions in you today. I also see more fire than the last time we met."

  Glory watched her and a hint of sadness appeared on her lovely face.

  "You've had to use it recently, haven't you?"

  Cat nodded, relieved that Glory was in a talking mood. It was always difficult speaking with fairy folk, as in her experience they often preferred riddles to clear answers.

  "Yes, things have progressed faster and more impressively than I ever could have imagined, Glory. I've continued to work on my talents, practicing everything as you instructed the best I could. But the last few times I've been confronted by evil, my powers have strengthened, almost without any thought or direction from me. I had a wall of fire tonight for the first time and I've destroyed two people. Although they were evil, I can't help but worry what that means for me. Does that mean that I'll turn evil? Am I becoming a danger to my friends and family? Glory, I'm worried that I won't be able to control myself, that I might hurt innocent people. I'm also worried because I'm not upset at all about the two people that I killed."

  Cat stopped talking, feeling flustered and a little crazy as a result of the torrent of questions flying out in a jumble of words.