In Part 2 (Ch. 6-17), Emilie found out what it means to be a true dragon, at least physically and magically. Keeping this a secret from her friends and society is something of a challenge, but she’s doing her best.
NO!
Bad! Very bad!
Very, very bad!
I hadn’t even registered what I said to Shannon yesterday! Playing as though I’m shouting from out of sight doesn’t work when I suddenly claim to be the Dragon!
Rushing, I put on something warm so I can run to her house. I’ll miss church but I can come up with an excuse for Mom later. Just before I leave my bedroom, I pocket the “Dragon” stone on a whim. I’ll figure out why later.
“Whoa, kiddo, what’s the rush?” Dad stops me as I lace my shoes.
“I said something to Shannon yesterday that I really really shouldn’t have and I need to talk to her right now!”
“She’ll still be around after church,” he laughs.
I shake my head. “No, Daddy, this is super important. I’ll owe you a chore or something but I need to go right now!”
He smiles. “One chore it is. I’ll tell you when you get back.” He finally steps out of the doorway and I rush down the shallow hill towards Shannon’s place. I’ve never been there, but I do know her address.
I don’t know what people do if they’re not at church on Sunday morning, but I’ve never seen Shannon there so she’s probably still at home. Plus it’s still pretty early today.
I’m at her address and there are three people inside along with what is probably a dog. I didn’t know she had a dog; she doesn’t talk about her life at home much. I guess she’s still home, at least. Slightly out of breath, I run up to the door and ring the doorbell.
Nobody responds.
I press it again, and again nothing happens. Does the doorbell use magic? That’s… kind of rude. I knock instead, and one of the adults starts moving towards the door. Finally.
My family is kind of tall, although that’s not to say Shannon is short. But although her mother isn’t much taller than me, her glare is withering. “What do you want?” she asks grumpily.
The force of her glare beats me back a bit, but my cause is supremely important. “I need to speak with Shannon.”
“She’s grounded.”
“We’re not leaving town and I’m sure you can scry her.” She smells Dynamic, at least. “But I really need to talk with her in private.”
Jess’s mom has a lot of information spells, so I’m pretty familiar with their normal limits. If she only has a common scrying wand, she won’t be able to hear us, and she definitely can’t scry me directly.
The lady glares at me for a few more seconds, but I hold her gaze and she finally looks away. “Shannon!” she calls. “Some girl wants to talk with you!”
“Emilie!” I shout, to clarify.
The lady slams the door in my face, but she and Shannon are still moving around, so I move to wait at the end of the driveway. I’ll try to just think of Shannon’s mom as not a morning person, even if the doorbell says otherwise.
It only takes a few minutes before Shannon walks up behind me. I’ve calmed down a bit and thought out what to say, but my determination hasn’t waned.
Before I can speak, though, Shannon apologizes. “I’m sorry you had to speak with Mom.”
I shake my head. “I had to speak with you.”
“Is it about yesterday?”
I nod and stand up. “Let’s get out of range a bit. Listening wands are good for a few hundred feet.”
Shannon follows me silently for the short walk. Eventually, she asks, “You did research on wands?”
“Nah, I’ve spent a lot of time with Jess. Her mom is great at answering questions. Although I think that’s literally her job, now that I think about it.”
Shannon giggles.
“As for why I rushed over this morning—”
“You’re the Dragon, aren’t you?”
I stop walking. That was more direct than I could’ve hoped. Although her tone—
“Are you actually a Mage, like Jess?” Her tone is clearly accusatory now and oh, that’s her worry. That is… far less bad than I thought.
“No, I’m still Static.” I immediately launch into an explanation to keep her from calling me a liar. “Did you know there are three types of magic?”
Shannon stops, too, and turns to face me. She’s looking at her fingers, thinking hard. “I don’t think you mean spell categories, so… there’s the type that makes me a Wizard, and the type that basically nobody uses…”
“Aspect and Soul,” I provide.
“Yeah, those. But I don’t remember a third?”
“Dragons have Star magic.”
She looks at me, then back at her hands, then back at me. “Where’d you read that?”
“It’s not in any book. Here, uh…” I fumble through my pockets and pull out the stone. Right. “Take this.”
Shannon accepts it. “What’s the symbol for?”
“I’ll tell you later. Wizards can see Aspect magic, right?” They taught us that in school last year. It’s how Wizards learn new spells.
She pauses before looking at me. “I try not to pay attention to it.”
“Well, hold the stone firmly and watch for magic, okay?”
She nods.
She’s using that fire wand again today, and the stone is already warm from being in my coat pocket, so it’d be expected for the stone to get warmer. But I don’t want to burn her, and I don’t think her wand was made to compensate for a blue dragon’s ability to cool things.
In under a minute, Shannon deposits the rock on the ground, where the sweat that had already gathered on its surface proceeds to turn into frost.
“You didn’t use any magic!”
“Not Aspect magic. And the rock is just a normal rock.” I heat it back up to pocket temperature before giving it back to Shannon. “And if you’re wondering if I could always do this, the answer is no. Just since two weeks ago.”
Shannon pockets the stone, nodding. “So that’s why—”
“Yes.” I bite my lips. “No telling anyone, got it?”
She thinks a while longer. Pensively, she starts, “I get why not Alex, but what about Jess?”
I sigh. “Her mom is really important in the Defense Force, and Dragons aren’t really known as being people. And the other Dragons don’t know I exist.”
It takes her a bit to think that through. “Why not the last?”
“I haven’t told them yet. I’m not the first Dragon to refuse to follow their directions. But I’m hoping to be the first in eight hundred years to survive trying.”
“Oh.”