by Katie Dunn
No one mentioned having to answer questions after break. Maybe Marion and the others were so used to doing it they forgot that it wasn’t normal for me.
“Ok, what did you want to ask me?” I nodded my head to let her know she could go ahead and ask.
Nurse Lydia studied a clipboard in front of her, then brought her gaze back to me. “Did you witness anything strange in your town?”
I tilted my head in confusion. “Strange?”
“Did you see anything that might indicate another myth blessed or even a mythological being in your town?” The nurse rephrased.
My mind immediately went to Tamara and her family but there was no way I was going to tell the nurse about them. “No,” I lied.
The nurse studied me a moment, comparing my words to my actions. I must have succeeded at controlling my expression and movements because the nurse wrote something down on her clipboard and moved on.
“Have you ever seen a mythological being before, and if so, how many?” Nurse Lydia had a calm expression but the way she tapped her pen on the clipboard seemed to show impatience.
I had to think about this carefully. In reality, I had seen a siren, a djinn, and a naiad. Mr. Drakari knew about all three, but I didn’t know if he told the nurse about them. If I answered differently than what she expected, then she would know I was hiding something. Safe bet would be that she knew about the siren and naiad, especially the naiad since it was on campus.
“Two, a siren and naiad,” I answered.
Nurse Lydia marked the paper in front of her. “When did you see them and where?”
Drakari already knew everything, so why did I have to go through that line of questioning? Best thing to do would be to answer short and quick so I could hurry and leave. “The siren was in July in Hawaii, and the Naiad in August at the lake on campus.”
The nurse looked surprised. “You saw the naiad here?”
I nodded and checked my panda watch. My tutoring session with Marion was soon. I did not want to miss it. I fidgeted in my chair hoping she would hurry and finish her questioning. Why was the nurse the one doing this anyway? A counselor or the principal would probably be more appropriate.
“I am going to need to take some blood and test it for any traces of magic,” The nurse said calmly and stood to grab her equipment.
I frowned at her back. “Traces of magic, what do you mean?”
She returned with a needle and an alcohol wipe and started cleaning an area on my arm. “Whenever a mythological being is near they leave a trace of magic in a human’s system, so I am going to check your blood.” At my concerned and wary look, the nurse chuckled. “Don’t worry dear, it is for demographics and a census on magical beings.”
I nodded slowly but the whole thing sounded odd. Then again, what did I know? I was new to all this myth stuff. I stayed still until she got the blood, she needed then quickly stood up so she couldn’t take anymore. I wasn’t exactly afraid of needles, I just didn’t like the sensation of being pricked by one.
“So, how are your powers coming along?” The nurse asked sweetly as she put away the vial of blood and sat back at her desk.
Her change of subject surprised me. “Uh, good I guess.”
“A dual myth blessed like you has never been heard of. What can you do?” The nurse looked nonchalant but her keen interest in my abilities was slightly disconcerting.
“Um, not much. I can create steam and heat. That’s about it. Well other than singing and breathing fire.” I checked my watch again, this time trying to signal the nurse that I needed to go.
She ignored my hint and asked another question. “Do you know how or why you were blessed by two myths?”
“I have no idea.” That question had been something I had been pondering ever since I found out I was chimera and siren blessed. I shouldered my bag, signaling to her more obviously that I had to go.
Nurse Lydia stood up with me. “Thank you for answering the questions. I will send the report over to Mr. Drakari soon.” She walked me to the door and waved, smiling wide as usual.
I walked down the hall to the exit door quickly, wanting to escape before she asked any more questions. I would have to ask Marion and Elliot when they were due to be questioned and if meetings like that were always weird.
I made my way over to the lake, wanting to have enough time to talk to Marion and work on my nonexistent water affinity. Panda trotted by my side and danced around a few times on the quad as we walked. Marion was meditating and waiting in our usual spot, and Panda ran up to her vying for attention. I chuckled at the cute little goat and sat down in front of my tutor, crossing my legs and breathing in the lake.
“How did it go?” Marion asked, her eyes still closed.
I frowned at the topic. “The nurse wanted to ask me some questions then drew some blood to test. When is your appointment?”
Marion cracked her eyes open and peered at me. “She drew your blood? Why?”
Chills ran down my arms at Marion’s question. If it was not a normal thing to do after breaks, then why did she single me out? I thought of Tamara and our magic usage over fall break. Maybe the nurse thought I was showing outsiders secrets of the Academy. I would have to be more cautious out in the open, especially since my friend was a djinn.
I shook my head and shrugged. She let the topic go for the time being. We continued our training of trying to manipulate the water but the nurse’s questions and the spot where she drew blood were still on my mind.
After practice, I focused on the ground as I walked to the campfire area where Elliot would be waiting, wanting to avoid tripping over rocks or Panda. My mind was also stuck on replay of the events over fall break. I finally found out why Harvey was so feared at school. For one, he could appear and disappear at will. However, the main reason was because a year ago, Harvey materialized through the shadow of a large boy scaring the boy so bad that he tripped and fell down an embankment which broke most of his bones. Most of the “witnesses” said that Harvey reached into the boy’s shadow and crushed his bones. Harvey never corrected them. Rae had gotten a kick out of that story. I couldn’t help but snort out a laugh at the image of Harvey purposely hurting someone through their shadow. I know that sounds bad, but it would take a lot to get Harvey upset and the idea that he would do that to someone for fun was ridiculous.
A nudge on my cheek frightened me and, thinking it was a cobweb, I swatted at it to make it go away. A flame rather than a cobweb floated away from me. The flame was strange, not just because it was floating but it also looked like a rose. I took a step closer to it and brought my hand up to cup the fire rose. I let out a quiet snort of disbelief when it fit perfectly into my hand without burning me.
Dancing lights in my peripheral made me look away from the fire in my hand to find the source. More floating fire roses dotted the air, making a path toward the side of the campus. I figured the fire roses wouldn’t hurt me and I was curious about what was at the end of the path, so I followed the roses. The sight at the end of the line took my breath away. Floating roses made of fire dotted the air everywhere I looked and standing in the center was Elliot, smiling shyly at me.
“Did you do this?” I asked Elliot amazed.
“Do you like it?” He answered.
I spun around taking in all the beautiful lights. “I love it.”
A rose drifted down to float between our chests. It was reflected in Elliot’s copper eyes, making them glow.
Elliot took my hands and cupped them under the rose. “Try to touch it.”
I already knew it wouldn’t burn me, so I did as he told without an ounce of fear. The rose felt hot and feathery, tickling my hands as it burned in my palms, but I did not ever feel like it would hurt me. It was a nice change to the terror I usually felt toward touching fire.
“I guess you are immune to fire then,” Elliot said softly, still holding my hands.
I lifted the rose above our heads, making it float above us. My cheeks hurt with ho
w much I smiled. I had never seen such a beautiful sight and for once, I wasn’t scared around the fire.
Elliot cleared his throat, drawing my attention to him. “I have to admit that I had a motive for making these roses other than testing your fire immunity.” His cheeks reddened slightly, and he glanced away.
I had never seen Elliot look embarrassed before, but it was cute. “Then why did you make them?” I teased.
Elliot shifted his feet and stuck his hands in his pockets. “It is after fall break now. That means the Academy will be preparing for the Halloween dance.”
My heart started racing. The fire roses were super romantic and now the mention of a dance. Was Elliot about to…
“I was wondering if you’d like to go with me,” Elliot asked.
“To the dance?” I asked stupidly. I mentally shook my head. Of course, he meant to the dance. My heart fluttered and my cheeks heated but I chalked that up to the fire being so close to my body rather than the gorgeous dragon blessed asking me to a dance.
Elliot chuckled and nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, just like in a cliché romantic movie. I nodded my head in answer and jumped up and down excitedly. At his amused grin, I settled down and fidgeted with the strap of my watch.
“Why me?” I asked, feeling self-conscious. I never knew Elliot felt that way about me and it made me wonder why he would choose a siren blessed for his date to the dance.
Elliot titled his head and frowned. “Why not you?” When I didn’t respond, he stepped closer and rested his hands on my arms. “From the first moment I met you I knew you would be interesting. You are completely different than the other siren blessed. You care and you fight for what is right. I’ve gotten to be near you, to know you, in the last couple of months and have enjoyed every moment of it. I would like to spend more time with you if that is ok.”
My heart flip flopped at his confession and I had to look away before he saw how his words affected me. I knew he would be interesting when I first met him at the Karaoke place, and I had grown closer to him the longer we spent time together too, but I had always thought it was one sided.
I nodded enthusiastically. “I would like that.”
We spent the rest of our tutoring session playing with the fire roses and planning our date.
I think it was a date.
I didn’t realize how wide I was smiling or how goofy I probably looked until Marion mentioned it in our dorm room.
“You look like you just got hit with Cupid’s arrow,” Marion laughed. She was sitting at her desk with a journal and a math book in front of her.
I grew serious at her comment. “Is Cupid real?” Mythological beings were real so I shouldn’t be surprised if angels, demons, and gods were real too.
“No evidence of a real Cupid but we have seen too much to discount the possibility,” Marion said waving her pen in the air before bringing it back down to the page in front of her.
“So, what has you smiling like that?” Marion asked but stayed focused on writing notes in her journal.
“Elliot asked me to the dance,” I said with barely contained glee.
I never thought I would be one of those typical girls who got all giggly and ridiculous about being asked to a dance, but here I was doing exactly that. Marion jumped from her desk chair at my news and tackled me in a hug, her body going translucent in her excitement.
“Yay, Elliot finally asked you!” She squeezed tighter before finally letting me go.
I laughed at her enthusiasm. “Why do you say finally?”
Marion’s body became watery and see through again and she waved away my question. “Girl, please. I know you two have been crushing on each other for a while now.”
That was news to me. I thought Elliot saw me only as an acquaintance, a friend at most. I know he said his feud was with Laneli and the other sirens, but I always felt he held me at a distance because of my siren side. Especially when he found out my gifts worked on him despite his immunity.
“We should go shopping.” Marion grabbed her purse and sprayed glitter into her pigtails. Once she was ready, she started dragging me to the door.
I pulled my arm back, halting her progress. “You want to go now?”
It was a school night and we had two weeks until the dance. I didn’t understand the rush. Marion seemed offended that I would ask such a question and went to grab my arm again.
“Of course, now. I am so excited, and we need to get something before all the good dresses are gone.” Marion started dragging me to the door, but I pulled back again.
“Fine but let me make a call first.” I pulled out my phone and dialed.
Marion gave me a curious frown with her hands on her hips but smiled when she heard the voice.
“Hey girl! What’s up?” Tamara asked from the other end.
I explained to her what Marion was making me do and why but before I could finish, purple smoke filled our room. When the smoke dissipated, Tamara was standing there in a ta-da pose. I stared at her then my phone which was still connected to her line. Finally, I ended the call and held out my hands upright wanting an explanation.
Understanding my silent question, she walked over to Marion and faced me. “I’m here to go shopping with you. Harvey and I are going to the dance, so I need a dress too.”
“Can’t you just,” I waved my hand in the air, “poof one into existence?”
“What’s the fun in that?” Tamara laughed. “So, who’s car are we taking?”
I guess I was going to town then. I looked over to my familiar who had already found a spot on my bed to sleep. There was no point in waking her to bring along.
“We don’t have a car. We were just going to walk,” I said, resigned to our adventure.
Tam frowned and pulled us in. “Hang on!”
Purple smoke surrounded us until I couldn’t see anything. I expected it to fill my mouth and nose with a pungent odor, but it was unscented, and I could still breathe easily. My stomach suddenly dropped like it did on a roller coaster then my feet thudded against something hard. The world spun around me and I stumbled, trying to get my bearings. The fading smoke slowly revealed a well-lit but dank alley.
I just teleported! It must be awesome to be a djinn.
Marion breathed heavily and braced herself against an alley wall. She looked at me with a wide smile and bright eyes. I knew that look. I had the same look on my face. It was a look that said we would do that again in a heartbeat despite being disoriented upon landing. Tamara waited with hands on her hips, giving us a second to recover. Once we had our balance back and our breathing back to normal Tam led the way to the mouth of the alley but hesitated not knowing where to go next. Marion picked up on her hesitation and shouldered her way to the front. She led us down a street to our first store which happened to be a Tibetan clothing shop.
Marion was an excellent guide, telling us stories about students in town or the history of the shops we passed. I loved the fact that local businesses made up most of the small town. A steam train passed through multiple times blowing its whistle loud for all to hear. Residents in Jeeps that were caked in mud drove by making me wish I was four wheeling rather than shopping.
By the time we reached the end of the street, Marion already had three bags and Tam had two small bags, but I hadn’t found anything that I wanted to buy other than huckleberry ice cream.
“Maybe we should head back and try another day,” I suggested hopefully. Don’t get me wrong. I loved shopping but only in antique shops or odd stores. I was very picky when it came to clothes.
Tam hugged my arm. “No, you can’t give up yet. We still have a few stores to check out.” She stared at me with hazel-gray puppy dog eyes.
“One more,” Marion pleaded.
I looked between them and sighed. “Fine. One more.”
Marion and Tamara pumped their fists in happiness and raced off to the next store. I went to follow them but a brownish-red blur near an alley across the street caugh
t my attention. My friends had already gone inside leaving me alone on the street, so I had no one to ask about what I saw. I assumed it was an animal. I didn’t see any more movement from the alley, so I opened the door to the shop that Marion and Tam were browsing, ready to get on with the shopping. A small animal cry made me turn back to the alley. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t help an injured animal. I released the door, letting it close on its own, and crossed the street.
I usually made it a habit to not enter creepy alleys after years of reading about them in books, but it looked like I was going to have to do it for the second time in a day.
I pressed my body up against the wall near the entrance to the alley and poked my head around to peer in. I figured it would be better to assess the situation first before blindly rushing in. Wild animals didn’t take kindly to strangers in my experience. Memories of being forced into a room with various wild animals by my parents to test me for myth blessings threatened to overwhelm me. I shuddered at the memories and shoved them to the back of my mind, instead focusing on the here and now.
I forgot all about hiding and assessing the situation when I saw who was in the alley. Laneli stood with her knees bent and feet apart with her arms spread out as if blocking something from getting passed her. I stepped away from the wall and approached her from behind. When I tapped her on her back, Laneli screeched and jumped away. She must have been so focused on what was in front of her that she didn’t hear me approach her. She scowled at me and crossed her arms, her blonde hair falling into her face and sweat dotted her brow.
My eyes widened at the creature Laneli was cornering. It was a brown and red fox, but the swish of its tail told me I was not looking at any ordinary fox. The small creature had two tails and looked between us with intelligence beyond any normal animal. During one of the times I had talked to him over the last couple of months, Ian once mentioned that kitsunes were Japanese spirit and fire myths that had multiple tails. The most powerful kitsunes had nine tails so I knew I was looking at a lower level one.
