Raising Dragons

by Bryan Davis

  Billy looked toward the front window. The drapes had been drawn closed, so he couldn’t see outside. “Why aren’t they watching this house?”

  “A police cruiser comes by now and then, but since the Foleys have a fancy security system, they can monitor us remotely. Mr. Foley decided to allow the security company to keep the audio lines open during the day, and when he arms the system at night, they can only listen if the alarm goes off. I’ll show you how to disarm it later so you can go out the door if you’re the first one up in the morning.”

  “You mean the security company can listen in right now if they wanted to?”

  “Right. So don’t—”

  BRAAAAP! Walter’s belch echoed throughout the room, and he put his hand back on his satisfied stomach. “Aaaah! That’ll give SOS Security something to think about!”

  Billy was about to bop Walter on the head, but a loud rap at the door grabbed his attention. His mother looked at her watch again. “Yep. The old spinster’s right on time.”

  Walter wiped his mouth and stood up. “Come in!”

  The door opened and a tall, wild-haired man strode in carrying a large briefcase, his ever-familiar accent sounding out strong and lively. “Good morning, pupils! Are you ready to explore the wonderful world of learning?”

  Billy laughed. “Mr. Hamilton! You’re going to teach us?” He passed a plate to Walter, who was stacking dirty dishes on the table.

  Mr. Hamilton stepped back and raised his head high. “And what’s wrong with that, young man?”

  Billy waved his hand apologetically. “Oh, nothing—nothing at all. But what about your classes at Castlewood?”

  Mr. Hamilton pulled off his coat and draped it over his arm. “I resigned, effective immediately.”

  Billy glanced at his mom. “But what about your income? I’m sure we can’t pay you what you were making.”

  Mr. Hamilton walked slowly into the kitchen and set his briefcase down by Billy’s chair. “My wife passed away years ago, my house is paid for, and my only child is married to a prominent nuclear physicist. I require very little.”

  Billy’s mother poked Billy playfully in the side. “Mr. Hamilton offered his services to Mr. Foley, and we’re sharing the expenses. How could we say no?”

  Walter’s father walked in, his large frame making his shoes squeak across the vinyl floor as he entered. He placed his hand on Billy’s shoulder. “And you and your mother are both welcome to stay here indefinitely. We have plenty of room.” He turned to the teacher and extended his hand. “I look forward to seeing you in action again, Professor.”

  “Indeed!” the teacher replied. “I trust that I shall not disappoint you.”

  “Professor?” Billy asked. “Why did you call him Professor?”

  Mr. Foley pushed his glasses up higher on his nose and slid a business card in front of Billy. “Because, I studied under him at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He’s the most—how shall I say it?—the most ‘interesting’ professor I’ve ever had.”

  Billy picked up the card. It read, “Dr. Charles Hamilton, Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents, Oxford University.”

  Mr. Foley put his finger on the department name. “That’s where he worked right before he moved here. When I studied at Oxford, he was a professor in the department of anthropology.”

  Billy looked up at his teacher. “Why would you ever want to come to a hick town like Castlewood?”

  “William,” the professor replied, shaking his head, “we must all have a few secrets we’re allowed to keep to ourselves. Mustn’t we?”

  Billy smiled and nodded. “I can’t argue with that.”

  Walter picked up the stack of dishes and walked toward the sink. “Sounds cool to me.”

  The professor looked around the house. “Have you decided on an appropriate room?”

  Mr. Foley gestured for everyone to follow. “Yes, I cleaned out the back den last night and set up a table.” The professor grabbed his briefcase again and followed along with the two new pupils. After passing through a short hallway, they stopped at a room at the end.

  Mr. Foley stood at the doorway and pushed his hand through his thinning hair. “We can get a marker board later today, and I have chairs for the table already set up.”

  Walter and Billy stood by the square, Formica table and gazed around at their new schoolroom. Billy slid one of the chairs out from under the table. “I see four chairs. Is Bonnie coming, too?”

  Mr. Foley laughed. “We couldn’t leave her out, especially after we acquired a master intellect to be the house tutor.”

  “Where is Miss Silver?” the professor asked. “Will she be joining us later?”

  Mr. Foley glanced out the room’s solitary window. “My wife went to pick her up. Don’t worry, though. A police car will escort them here.” He turned to leave and gave them a comical salute, clicking his heels together and raising a ramrod straight arm to his forehead. “Learn well, men! I have to get ready for work. My clients will be waiting.”

  Billy walked to the window, and Professor Hamilton followed, stooping to look over Billy’s shoulder. “I assume Miss Silver will be here shortly, so we’ll wait for her arrival before we begin.”

  “I can’t believe her foster parents never reported her missing,” Billy grumbled. “How could anyone not care where someone like Bonnie is?”

  Walter’s expression brightened and he nudged his friend with an elbow. “Are you getting the hots for her, Billy?” Billy’s glare made Walter put his hands up in surrender, and he backed away. “Whoa! Touchy subject!”

  Billy reached for Walter’s shirt and tugged him back to the table. “That’s not it. I like Bonnie . . . as a friend. She’s the coolest girl I’ve ever met, but when you say things like that, you make her sound so . . . so—”

  “Common?” Professor Hamilton suggested.

  “Yeah, common. Like she’s one of the popular girls at school, you know, playing their stupid games like they do.”

  “And your willingness to discuss it,” Professor Hamilton added, “proves that you have a pure and honest relationship with her, as one does with a close sister.”

  “I have a sister,” Walter snorted. “I think she must be one of those ‘common’ ones.”

  “Oh, come on,” Billy countered. “Shelley’s not so bad. But when you get to know Bonnie, I think you’ll find out what I mean.”

  All three heads turned when they heard the front door open and then the sound of Walter’s mom giving directions to the schoolroom. Several seconds later, Bonnie appeared at the door to the den. At first she just peeked in, her wide eyes revealing their ivory white borders and her thick braids framing her elegant neck. She leaned on crutches, but her beaming face belied her injury. Her eyes shone with an inner joy that captivated the three males in the room, and her infectious smile spread to every face.

  Under her new backpack, she wore an ankle-length dress that sported a simple flower design, mostly pale blue over bright white, and its newness made her sparkle. The crutches added an aura of helplessness, of deprivation, the image of a lost orphan. Billy knew better. He knew the heart of a lioness beat within her delicate frame, fearless and confident.

  Walter’s chin dropped an inch or two. He stared, and his voice shook. “I think I already know what you mean.”

  “What?” Bonnie asked. She crutched fully into the room and looked around at everyone. “What do you mean?”

  “Never mind,” Billy replied, stifling a laugh. “Is that a new dress?”

  She leaned on her right crutch and spread out one side of the dress with her left hand. “Yes. Your mother picked it out, and Walter’s mom bought it for me. It wasn’t a perfect fit, but your mom altered it when we got home.”

  Billy tried to tell her with his eyes that he knew what she meant. Mom must have cut holes for her wings.

  “I really like the dress,” she went on. “It even has pockets. Speaking of which—” She reached into her left pocket and pulled out a ring. “I fo
und this on the welcome mat outside.” She held it up for Walter to see. “Your mom didn’t recognize it. Do you?”

  Walter shook his head, and they both turned to Billy. She held it right in front of his eyes. “How about you, Billy?”

  Billy dropped to his seat and stared at the ring with his mouth wide open. With the color in his face quickly draining, he looked as though he would faint at any second.

  Bonnie put the ring down on the table. “Billy! What is it?”

  “It’s my dad’s ring! It’s his rubellite!”

  Professor Hamilton reached over and snatched up the ring. He looked it over closely. “William is absolutely correct. It is definitely a rubellite, a red tourmaline.”

  “Mom!” Billy yelled at the top of his lungs. “Mom, come quick!”

  Within seconds Billy’s mother and Walter’s parents ran into the room, and Professor Hamilton presented the ring to Billy’s mother. “Discovered on the mat outside, madam.”

  When she saw the ring, her face contorted, tears forming in her eyes. “It’s Jared’s!” She held her hands over her face and cried. “What does it mean? What does it all mean?” Mrs. Foley put an arm around her and hugged her close.

  Bonnie dug her hand into her pocket again. “There was something else right next to it, but it’s just a dirty old rock.” She placed a large, crusted pebble on the table. Professor Hamilton reached for it first and brought it up close to his eyes. He brushed the dirt off with his fingers, letting the sand fall to the floor, and then looked apologetically at Walter’s mother. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Foley. I will be sure to clean it up.” He reached for his handkerchief and wiped the stone clean. After several more seconds of eyeing it closely, he cleared his throat and gazed at everyone in a formal manner. “It is a ruby,” he concluded. He waited for the surprised gasps to subside before continuing. “Not the finest quality,” he went on, “but with its size, I estimate it would fetch six or seven hundred American dollars.”

  Billy watched the professor’s hands fingering the gem. “Then what does it mean? Devin wouldn’t leave a ring or a ruby here, would he?”

  “Let’s think about this logically,” the professor replied. “What benefit would Devin gain in delivering the ring?”

  “Scaring us?” Billy offered. “Letting us know he’s around?”

  The professor shook his head. “Scaring you? I don’t think so. He wants to kill you and Miss Silver, although his desire to kill the fair maiden rather squashes my theories as to why he is persecuting you. Anyway, giving away his knowledge of where you are would only injure his strategy. It would be more expedient for him at this point if you thought he was dead.”

  Billy cocked his head doubtfully, but he was ready to hear more. “Okay, go on.”

  The professor held up his hand. “The conclusion is quite simple, really. Since Devin has no logical reason to leave a valuable gift, that leaves only one possibility.”

  Everyone in the room froze, waiting for the professor’s explanation. Even Mr. Foley stopped still, right in the middle of pulling up a knot in his necktie. The professor kept waiting, bouncing lightly on his toes.

  Billy looked up at his mother. She knew. Her eyes told him so; they were confused but delighted at the same time. Billy picked up the ring and slid it onto his right index finger. With everyone watching, he closed his fist and gazed at it, not knowing whether to jump for joy or cry out in confusion.

  “Dad left it,” he finally said.

  Chapter 16

  THE GIFT

  It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

  Billy sat with the Foleys at the dinner table and addressed his mother who sat across from him. A marvelous meal graced the table once again. A big roast of beef rested near the center with a gravy boat to one side. A huge bowl of mashed potatoes sat next to the roast, with broccoli, carrots, and warm bread on various platters spread from one end to the other. Billy wondered if this kind of meal was normal here, or if the Foleys were showing a little extra hospitality for their guests.

  Billy’s voice came alive with new hope, and he chattered like an over-caffeinated parrot. “We don’t have to worry that they called off the search today. You see, Dad’s alive, but he’s not showing his face. He’s worried that Devin will find out where we are, so he’s trying to protect us. He used the ring to tell us he’s still alive, and he gave us the ruby to make sure we had some money.”

  “But how could he get it?” his mother asked. “There can’t be rubies just lying around on the ground out there in the mountains. How did he get back to Castlewood? And where is he staying?”

  Mr. Foley reached into his shirt pocket. “Here, Marilyn, before I forget.” He pushed a folded sheet of paper across the table. “It’s an appraisal from the gemologist. He says the ruby’s worth six hundred bucks.”

  Billy’s mother picked up the sheet and unfolded it slowly, her brow wrinkling as her eyes scanned the numbers. She then refolded the paper and made a fist around it. “I—I’m not selling it.” Her trembling lips forced a smile. “At least not yet. We’ll be all right, and besides, the ruby might hold a clue we haven’t figured out yet.”

  Mrs. Foley placed a comforting hand on her knuckles. “Of course you don’t want to sell it.” She turned to her husband. “But isn’t six hundred what Dr. Hamilton said it would be worth?”

  Mr. Foley nodded while finishing a mouthful of potatoes. “The old professor knows a lot about everything. He’s going to be great to have around!”

  “Yeah,” Walter agreed. “What a setup! Learning everything from the professor and staying at home to do it. It’s perfect!”

  Billy stirred gravy into his potatoes, turning it into thick brown soup. “Perfect except for one thing.”

  “What’s that?” Walter and his father said at the same time.

  Billy let his fork fall to his plate, making a loud clank. “Bonnie. She has to keep going back to her foster home every night.”

  Mrs. Foley sighed and her lips turned downward. “I’m not sure there’s anything we can do about that.” She glanced at her husband and intertwined her fingers with his before turning back to Billy’s mother. “So what’s the next step, Marilyn? How do we contact Jared?”

  “We can bet that Devin knows Billy and I are here. So I don’t know if it’s safe to leave a note on the mat, but that’s our only point of contact so far.”

  “Or just let Dad give us more clues,” Billy offered.

  Mr. Foley pulled his napkin from his lap and wiped his lips. “Billy’s right. If Jared’s alive, he’s smart enough to tell us what we need to know. For now he just wants us to know he’s alive and he’s thinking about his family. At least it seems that way.”

  “We have to trust him,” Billy’s mother agreed.

  Everyone at the table nodded and then continued eating quietly. Billy swirled his fork through his potatoes again and wondered about the silence. Did everyone have pet theories they were pondering? Were they trying to answer the same questions that gnawed away at his mind? How did his dad survive? How could he have disappeared? Why hadn’t he called?

  Those were the easy questions, the ones Billy dared ask himself over and over. But there were other questions that he hid deep within. He was scared to peer into that dark portion of his soul. He knew the questions were there, and every time they broke through to his conscious mind, it became easier and easier to dwell on them.

  Could he really trust a man who had hidden his secret dragon identity for so long? What other dark secrets was he hiding? A few short days ago these questions would have been absurd, but a few short days ago he didn’t know he had a former dragon for a father.

  And last, but not least, what was the slayer up to?

  Billy lay awake in the darkness of late evening reliving Monday’s events in his mind. School was really a blast now, and the second day promised to be even better than the first. They had been distracted from their lessons, preoccupied with the rubellite ring, but now Billy felt sure his dad was still
alive, so he stopped worrying about that.

  Professor Hamilton had given a sneak preview of what learning would be like. The professor arrived with masks from Africa for social studies; he had them act out parts of “Julius Caesar” for reading appreciation, including the stabbing scenes; he brought an ancient abacus for math; and he even taught a Bible class from the book of Matthew. “Couldn’t do that at Castlewood,” the professor said. And that was all on the first day! Best of all, his only classmates were Walter and Bonnie, the two best friends he had in the world. With these thoughts in mind, he was able to drift off to sleep.

  Through the night, Billy floated in and out of dreams, strange visions that reflected his jumbled thoughts. In one dream he and Bonnie were walking in a dark cave filled with flickering lights and dancing shadows. A stone floor greeted their shoes with echoing clops, and a breeze wafted through, caressing their faces with cool dampness and filling their nostrils with musty odor. Suddenly the cave became completely dark, and Billy felt a strange sense that sent chills across his back. Something was watching, something large and fierce, looming in their presence like a rising shadow.

  “How will we get out of here?” Bonnie asked in an unearthly voice that only dreams can create.

  Billy pulled his father’s rubellite ring from his finger and held it up. With a sudden flash it emitted a blinding, radiant light, sparkling red like a crimson lantern. “My father will show us the way,” Billy replied. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  Billy woke up and glanced at the clock. Five a.m. He shuddered at the dream. Were he and Bonnie walking in the cave at the mountain? What might be happening back there? Where was his dad now? Did he leave something else on the doormat?

  He arose while it was still dark and ran to the front door. After punching the buttons on the burglar alarm panel to disarm the system, he flung the door open and looked all around the porch.

  “Nothing!”

  With cold, bare feet, he stepped out onto the painted wood deck and scanned the yard, a span of brown grass with just a few patches of dying green here and there. At least five streetlamps illuminated this section of Cordelle Road, spilling light into the adjacent properties and painting crisscrossing shadows over land and houses.