Not Your Average Happy Ending (10 page)

Kendall

I wasn’t sure what to think about Glade. He’d been following me around for three days and hadn’t said a word to me. Misty on the other hand, talked my ear off. She told me all about her fight with Sam. I still didn’t know what the fight was about. Which was weird, since I’d heard the story from her four times. All she kept saying was he had overreacted about something. I was pretty sure
she
was the one overreacting.

On our walk home from school, Misty started telling me something about a guy hitting on her in English, but I was too focused on the Glade problem. He was always there. Standing in the shadows or sitting at the back of one of my classes. I’d heard more than one girl say how hot he was, but he kept his distance from everyone. But mostly me. Was I that painful to look at? Did my scar bother him?

I listened for his footsteps behind us on the sidewalk, but heard nothing. “Is he still behind us?”

Misty stopped talking for a second, looked behind her and nodded. “Don’t worry, Kendall. He’s not going anywhere. He’s your protector.”

Funny. I had the assumption that Misty was my protector. At least while Ash was gone. And where did Cornelius disappear to? “Why won’t he talk to me?” I really don’t know why it bothered me so much. It’s not like I liked him or anything.

She bit her lip. “He’s a complicated fellow. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Frustrated, I looked away and kept walking.

I was surprised to find Ellie home already. She came down the stairs as I walked in. Instead of her usual skippiness, she took them one at a time, dragging her feet on each stair.

“Hey, El. You okay?”

She rubbed her eyes and ran a hand through her long tangled hair. “Fine.”

“Still haven’t been sleeping well?” I asked.

Misty shot me a strange look, but didn’t ask questions.

“No.”

“Why not?”

Her eyes shifted as if she was making sure no one was listening. “Um…no reason.” She started past me and I put a hand on her arm to stop her.

“El—”

“Just leave it alone, Kendall. I’m fine.”

I let go of her, surprised at her hostility. Her eyes were dark, her face gaunt. I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I watched her turn and walk away. Something was seriously wrong with her.

Misty still stood beside me and nudged my arm. “I sense magic around her, Kendall. Something’s going on.”

I frowned and turned to Glade who stood behind us. “This has nothing to do with you, does it?”

His eyes widened in surprise, but he shook his head.

“Do you have any idea what’s wrong with her?” I asked. I was going to make him talk to me.

Again with the head shake. His dark eyes studied me, but I refused to look away from him.

“Oh, right. You won’t talk to me.” I said, folding my arms. “You’re a ton of help.”

He still watched me, his face curious. Still he said nothing.

“Pointless,” I said. “Ellie!” I stormed into the kitchen where she sat at the counter, twirling ice around in her empty glass. She didn’t even look up when I walked in the room.

“What do you want, Kendall?”

“I want to know what’s wrong with you. You’ve been acting strange for weeks and you’re starting to scare me. This isn’t you. You’re not
you
.”

She stood and put her glass in the sink. “Where’s Ash today? He’s usually over here 24/7.”

“He’s on vacation.”

“Again? It seems like he’s leaving you a lot lately. You’d think since he loves you so much he’d stick around.” She smiled. “Hopefully he’s not seeing another girl or something. That would suck.”

I stared at her. Where was all this coming from? She’d never had a problem with Ash before. “He isn’t cheating on me, Ellie.”

“How do you know though? How do you know he doesn’t have a whole other life somewhere else? We don’t know anything about him, really. Or your two friends back there.” She gestured to Misty and Glade who stood by the kitchen door. Misty’s cheeks were flushed, probably trying to keep her temper under control and Glade just looked bored. “We know nothing about them. About their world.”

I blinked, trying to understand what was going on. This wasn’t the Ellie I knew. “I know enough about Ash to know he isn’t seeing someone else. He would never hurt me like that. And he would never put me in danger either.”

“Who said anything about putting you in danger?” She gave me a sweet smile as her eyes fell to my necklace. “Why do you always wear that necklace? It’s too nice to wear with those clothes.”

I looked down at the stretch pants and hoodie I was wearing. “Because it’s special. Ash gave it to me for my birthday.”

“I know that. I just don’t understand why you have to wear it all the time.” She drummed her fingers on the kitchen table. “Can I wear it? Just for today?”

As soon as the words left her mouth I stiffened. Why would she want to wear my necklace? She’d never wanted to see it before, and I’d had it for a while. “Um…maybe later.”

“Come on. Just let me look at it. It’s really pretty. You’ve never let me look at it before. I want to see it.”

“Ellie, not right now. Okay?”

Her eyes darkened. “Fine.” She stormed past me and left the room. I flinched as she stomped up the stairs and slammed her door.

“That was weird,” Misty said.

Magic was involved. I wondered if Linkin was controlling her somehow. Wouldn’t Ash have felt his influence though? I sighed. “I don’t know what to do about her. I wish Ash was here.” For a second I just stood there, not knowing what to think. And then the pain came again.

It was worse this time. My whole body went rigid and I fell to the floor. I clenched my mouth shut, telling myself I wouldn’t scream, and then like before, I passed out.

“Kendall?” Misty asked.

I opened my eyes, embarrassed to be on the floor again. “Can you help me up?”

Misty grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. I was shaky and my body felt cold and weak. “Are you okay?” Misty asked.

“Sure,” I said. I could barely stand as she held onto me. “It’s getting worse.”

She nodded. “I can tell. Don’t worry. Ash will be back soon. We’ll figure it out.”

All of a sudden, Glade was standing next to us. He grabbed Misty’s arm, his eyes wide.

“What the…?” She started. They stared at each other a moment and Misty sucked in a breath.

“What? What’s wrong?” I asked. I knew something was wrong by the panicked look on Misty’s face.

“It’s Ash and Sam. They’re in trouble,” she said. She glanced at Glade again who looked at her with concern.

“What? How do you know that?”

“Glade just told me.”

What? That didn’t make any sense at all. All he was doing was staring at us. “Glade can’t talk.”

She shook her head. “We don’t have time to argue. We have to go. Now.” She grabbed Glade’s hand and before they could disappear I clamped onto Misty’s arm.

“You’re not leaving me,” I said. My body was still weak, but I grabbed her arm as hard as I could. I knew there was probably nothing I could do, but I wasn’t about to stay behind while Ash was hurt. Or worse.

“Kendall, it’s too dangerous. And you’re in no state to go anywhere.”

I stared at her, not releasing her arm. “I’m coming.”

“You’re not.”

“Misty. That’s my boyfriend. I don’t care what you say, I’m coming. You’d do the same thing for Sam if you were like me.”

“What do you mean, like you?”

“If you didn’t have any magic. If you were just a human.” I took a deep breath. “Look. I know I can’t do much. I don’t have any special powers. But I have to come with you. Please, Misty.”

She looked at me for a long time, her face softening. She glanced at Glade and he nodded.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll stay out of the way, I swear. But if there’s something I can do, please let me.”

“Fine,” Misty said. “Promise me you’ll stay hidden.”

“Yes, I promise.”

“And if Ash freaks out…”

“I’ll tell him I made you bring me with you.”

I could tell she wasn’t happy about it, but she gave in anyway. “Hang on to Glade’s arm.”

I did as she said. My stomach felt strange. Sick even. My palms were sweaty as well. I hope Glade didn’t notice. “Can you at least tell me where we’re going and what we’re up against?”

Glade met my eyes then and smiled. His mouth didn’t move, but I heard his voice in my head.

Dragons.

Ash

A tree. I was tied to a stupid dead tree. Why did I always seem to get us into trouble?

“Remind me why I always listen to you again?” Sam asked.

I tried to move and cringed as the vines bit into my arms. “Because I’m always right,” I muttered.

“Usually. Usually right.” He looked like he was trying to move, but was unsuccessful. “Whatever curse she used on these vines was pretty good. They won’t even respond to my magic. Like when we were in the cave.”

“Why don’t you compliment Shenelle some more?”

“Maybe later.”

A roar sounded deep through the trees and I stiffened. I knew what it belonged to. This wasn’t going to be good. “Oh, crap. We’re in trouble, Sam.”

The ground shook. Another roar.

“Big trouble,” I said. I tried to use my magic on the vines, but Sam was right. It wouldn’t work.

A low growl rumbled through the trees, and a huge black tail came crashing down next to us. Its scales shimmered in the sunlight as the rest of its body came into view. Smoke poured from its nostrils and it growled again, showing off needle sharp teeth in its huge mouth.

“A dragon?” Sam groaned. “We’re so dead.”

I really wasn’t sure how we were going to get out of this one. My magic was useless unless I escaped the vines. Which was proving to be harder than I thought it would be. If only I could contact Glade…

Another crash sounded behind us and I shifted, spotting another tail. Green this time.

“There’s two of them,” Sam shouted.

“Thanks for pointing that out!” I struggled against my bonds, feeling the bark of the tree cut into my bare arms. “Okay,” I told myself. “Don’t freak out yet. Try to reason with them.”

Not gonna happen.

The black dragon’s deep, grating voice echoed inside my head. I swear he smiled, showing more of his teeth as he flicked his tongue toward me. I recognized him. I’m pretty sure his name was Titan, if I remembered right. Which was more bad news. He was deadly.

“We’re just passing through,” I said, trying to stall our imminent deaths.

Doesn’t look like you’re going anywhere to me. You’re an easy lunch.

“You don’t want to eat us.” Magic bounced around my fingers, but nothing would come out. Shenelle really outdid herself. I wondered why she left us here to die. She was so insistent that I join her and Linkin. What had changed? Was it the fact that I almost injured Dax? I doubted it. And if she left me to die, I was pretty sure I wasn’t her son. Which made me feel a little better. Even if I was about to get eaten alive by a dragon.

On the contrary, fairies are my favorite. And elves are a close second. They’re a little blander, but you can’t be picky around here.
He turned toward the second dragon.
Right Oren?

The other dragon made a horrible sound, like boulders grating together. I think he was laughing.

“Wow. I’m glad we get to die in front of a bunch of comedians,” Sam muttered.

Puny little elf. You’re first.

“No,” I yelled as Titan leaned back, ready to attack. As soon as he shot forward, a blast of fire hit him in the chest. He roared, snapping his jaws wildly as another dragon, one I recognized, slammed into his side.

Glade.

He pushed him far across the clearing and into the trees. A few seconds later, Glade’s blue head appeared through the foliage.

Why am I always getting you out of trouble?
He asked. He shook his head, his sapphire scales glittering and started toward our tree. That’s when I remembered there wasn’t just one dragon.

“Look out!” I yelled as the green dragon, Oren charged. He hit Glade with his massive claws, knocking him back and cutting into his thigh. Glade roared so loud I was sure I wouldn’t be able to hear anything for the rest of my life.

He flapped his massive wings and attacked Oren, biting and scratching at his thick scales. Oren screeched and blew a torrent of fire at Glade, barely missing the tree we were tied to. The blaze hit Glade, sending him flying backward. He took out three trees before he landed with a thud on the ground.

He lifted his head and looked at me.
You didn’t tell me there was another one.
He let out an annoyed breath along with a large puff of smoke and got shakily to his feet. Oren charged again, but Glade moved out of his way just in time.

A horrible roar echoed through the clearing as Titan reappeared. He walked with a slight limp, but judging by the look on his face, he was ready for a fight, injury or not.

Glade glanced over at Titan as his tail hit Oren in the face and knocked him back. He met my eyes.
I could use a little help.

“We can’t break the vines,” I yelled.

He shook his head, annoyed, and shot a jet of flames at me. My arm felt the heat as the fire burned through the vines. I dropped to the ground and felt my magic return. “Sam?”

He stood a few feet away, his mouth open, staring at the massive battle in front of him. The ground shook as Glade fell again and he let out a pained roar. I had to do something to help him. He was really powerful, but against two full grown dragons…

“Sam! Focus!”

“I’ve never seen a dragon fight before,” he said. “They’re brutal.”

I cringed as Glade roared again. Titan clawed at his face and blood dripped out of a huge gash in his side. “He needs help.” I looked around, trying to find something I could throw.

“Oh.” He shook his head, snapping himself out of his stupor. “Right.”

“You get the green one,” I said, turning my attention toward Glade and Titan who were locked in an all out death match.

“No fair! You have help,” Sam yelled. “I don’t have another dragon on my side. What the heck am I going to do?”

“You have me!” A voice yelled.

He turned around as Misty ran into the scene, her green eyes blazing. She raised her arms and tree roots burst out of the ground in front of Oren. They moved on the ground like snakes and wrapped around his legs and neck. She pulled her arms back and the roots tightened and pinned him to the ground. He struggled for a second and took a breath, ready to shoot more fire, but Misty guided the vines that held us to the tree and made them wrap around his muzzle.

Sam stood there, open-mouthed and staring at her. “Misty?”

“I just saved your butt,” she said.

He frowned. “I could have done that.”

I looked around, confused. Why was Misty here anyway? I ran over to her. “Please. Please tell me Kendall’s not here.”

Misty bit her lip.

My heart sped up. “What were you thinking? Where is she?”

She put a hand on my arm. “She’s safe, don’t worry. We need to help Glade. He’s getting his butt kicked.”

“I’ll take care of it. You go stay with Kendall. If she gets hurt…”

“She won’t,” Misty said.

I stared at her.

“Ash, we knew you were in trouble. We couldn’t just leave her alone.”

I clenched my jaw and nodded.

A crash sounded behind us and I tackled Misty to the ground as the two dragons flew over, missing us by inches. They landed a few yards away, tangled in a bloody mess.

“Go find Kendall and stay with her,” I told Sam. “Take Misty with you.” I turned and took off toward the two dragons, not knowing if anyone was following me or not.

It’s about time you showed up.
Glade’s dark eyes met mine right before Titan bit into his front leg. He let out a roar and tried to move, but Titan wouldn’t let go.

I focused on my magic, feeling the wind rush across my face. I breathed and pushed it back. My djinn magic wasn’t going to control me anymore. I focused my energy on my fairy magic and smiled as it rushed to my fingertips. A jet of blue light flew out and streaked across the clearing. It hit Titan in the face and he released Glade and turned on me. I barely jumped out of the way as fire shot out of his mouth and lit up the ground where I had just stood.

The grass and bushes were now on fire and Titan wasn’t finished. He flapped his wings, launching himself in my direction. I tried to roll out of the way, but his massive foot pinned me to the ground. The air rushed from my lungs and he snarled, inches from my face. I coughed as smoke filled my lungs.

I’m coming!

I would have looked for Glade, but my eyes burned from the heat.

You’re mine, fairy.
Just as Titan opened his mouth to rip me apart, Glade hit him with so much force that he crashed through the trees, knocking over a dozen or so in his wake.

I got to my feet and wiped the sweat from my brow.

Titan stirred and let out a roar before stretching his wings and launching himself into the sky.

Glade stood next to me, breathing hard.

“Thanks, man. I owe you one.”

Yes. I believe you do. May I ask how you managed to anger not just one, but two dragons? And why it had to be those two in particular?

“Shenelle must have done something to them. She’s the one who tied us to the tree.” I was still trying to figure out why she would do that.

Glade’s blue scales glowed and in a split second he was in his human form, standing next to me. His forehead was bleeding and he had a few nasty cuts on his arms.

“Need a healer?” I asked, taking in his injuries. “Sam’s dad isn’t too far away.”

He shook his head.
I’m fine
.
I heal fast.

“Right.” I frowned, but he just shrugged.

“You guys okay?” Sam asked, walking over to us with Misty close behind.

“Fine. Where’s Kendall?” I dusted twigs and dirt from my shirt and looked around the now flattened scene.

Misty’s eyes shifted to a tree a few yards away and Kendall stepped out from behind it. She looked paler than before. I don’t know if it was from her curse or from seeing the dragon fight. I rushed over to her and took her in my arms. “Are you okay?” I looked her over, making sure she wasn’t hurt.

“She just watched a dragon death match, Ash. Does she look okay to you?” Sam said.

“I’m fine. I promise.” She wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tight. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” She pulled away and looked at Glade, who was grinning at her. “So. You’re a dragon. Thanks for warning me.”

He smiled and shrugged.
Your girlfriend is pretty special, Ash. I can see why you love her so much.

“You have no idea,” I said, pulling her close. I kissed her and smiled at the familiar blush that peppered her cheeks.

Kendall looked from Glade to me. “You better not be talking about me.”

“Don’t worry. We are,” I said. A loud shriek filled the air and my grip tightened on Kendall. “I’m pretty sure it’s time to leave.”

Glade sniffed the air, his eyes darkening.
Yes. We should go. Quickly. There are some creatures you never want to meet in this forest.

“What could be worse than two murderous dragons?” Kendall asked.

I decided to keep my mouth shut and ignore the question.