“Buster!” Jacob yelled.
He used his psychokinetic ability to stop the dog before he got too far. Uncharacteristic for the gentle dog, Buster turned around and snapped. He gave a loud bark and lunged at Jacob. Sarah jumped in front of Jacob. The dogs snarled at each other for a moment before Sarah looked up at Jacob. She gestured with her head that they should follow Buster.
“All right, boy, we’ll follow you,” Jacob said.
They started across the grass. Jacob slowed. A couple boys ran across their path toward York Street. The boys looked like they were running for their lives. Buster pulled and Scooter barked. Jacob sped up and they ran deeper into the grove.
And he saw . . .
He wasn’t sure what he saw.
He blinked. The dogs scooted closer to him.
An enormous blue and green dragon lay in front of them. Her eyes were almond shaped and a beautiful shade of rust. Her eyelashes were like long tree branches. The dragon’s mouth was as big as a fire truck. Fire came from the dragon’s mouth in a stream and made a circle around Noelle.
Lit up in the fire’s orange and red, Noelle focused on her painting. As if they couldn’t see the fire, a group of twenty or more young men stood frozen just inches from Noelle. Lust and rage emanated from the boys like exhaust fumes. One of the boy’s held a baseball bat just inches to the side of Noelle’s head. Another boy held a knife just inches away from her.
A taller boy, clearly the leader, stood to the side. A joint dangled from his mouth and his pants looked worn, but his eyes held the pure, dark emptiness brought by the joy of extreme violence. The boy was strategizing how to rape and kill Noelle.
In the corner of the clearing stood Wanda, her father Erik, and some boy. Wanda looked like she’d already had a run in with this gang. Erik’s mouth hung open as if to shout, and the boy next to him had the stunned look of someone waking from a nightmare.
“Jacob Marlowe,” the dragon said.
“Ma’am.” Jacob swallowed hard. Not sure what to say, he added, “Uh, what’s going on?”
“What does it look like?” the dragon asked.
Jacob groaned. Ghosts on Sunday. Dragons on Monday. How much could he really deal with? For a brief moment, he thought about leaving, but there was no way he’d leave Noelle like this. He tried to remember what Delphie always said about dragons.
“Delphinium always says that dragons can’t answer questions,” the dragon said.
“It’s very rude to read someone’s mind without his permission,” Jacob sniffed.
The dragon laughed.
“I am not reading your mind,” the dragon said. “We’re out of time. Surely, you recognize the feeling of being out of time. You’ve been here before.”
Jacob blushed. Once, in a fit of desperation, he’d pushed Jill out of time. He’d only done it once.
“No shame, young Marlowe,” the dragon said. “You cannot help who and what you are any more than I can.”
Scooter tugged and his leash slipped from Jacob’s hands. The old dog went to the dragon. He greeted her with his head down. He rubbed his head against the dragon’s shoulder. She seemed to smile, without ever letting up on the fire. Scooter lay down at her shoulder.
“Scooter and I are old friends,” the dragon said.
Unsure of what to say or do, Jacob shifted back and forth. His mind threw out question after question. He tried to slow down and think.
“Noelle’s in danger,” Jacob said.
“Noelle’s in imminent danger,” the dragon said. “They intend to kill her.”
“You can deal with them,” Jacob said.
“I cannot deal with them,” the dragon said. “I’m with child. My powers are limited and I cannot fly. I can, however, eat them. While they look like tasty snacks, I believe Denver would notice a few chewed-up boys. I’ve been hunted before. I’d like not to repeat that.”
“You want me to do something,” Jacob said.
“I want to use you as a channel,” the dragon said. “I will add my power to yours. You will toss these boys away from Noelle so her friends can save her.”
“I don’t want to be hunted either!” Jacob said.
“Noelle will think it’s me,” the dragon said. “Her friends and the boys are unable see our power. They are too caught up in themselves. We have to stall long enough for the police to get here.”
“Noelle will be hurt,” Jacob said. “Even with your power, I can’t hold them all off. There are too many and they are too . . .”
“They are on drugs,” the dragon said. “They enjoy this sport of blood and lust.”
Jacob shivered with disgust.
“And yes,” the dragon said. “I’m sorry that Noelle will be injured, but she will.”
“It will destroy her,” Jacob said.
“You can’t destroy a child like Noelle,” the dragon said. “But she will be hurt. So will you and Noelle’s friends. There’s simply no other way.”
“You’re sure?” Jacob asked. “And the dogs?”
The dragon gave him a wry smile. Jacob groaned.
“The dogs will be injured too,” Jacob said.
“Less than the humans,” the dragon said. “This is a human battle. Now, let the dogs off leash.”
Jacob unhooked Buster and Sarah. The dragon seemed to speak to the dogs. Buster got between Noelle and the boy with the bat. Sarah refused to move from Jacob’s side.
“She loves you very much,” the dragon said.
Scooter got up and encouraged Sarah to move toward the center. Sarah and the dragon stared at each other for a long moment. Jacob wasn’t sure what was going on, but Sarah looked up at him and then moved into the fight.
“Are you ready?” the dragon asked.
For a moment, he wished he were back in bed with Jill. He remembered her face in the moonlight. He remembered what she looked like when a tear ran down her cheek. He saw her in the silly mask from the party in Santa Monica. He wished he could transport himself to Jill.
He glanced at Noelle. She was the bravest girl he’d ever met.
“Wait,” Jacob said.
The dragon turned her attention to Jacob.
“Delphie says that dragons cannot affect the course of human-to-human interaction,” Jacob said.
“That’s correct,” the dragon said.
“I’m no dragon,” Jacob said.
Jacob went to the boys around Noelle. He pushed down his sleeves to cover his hands and jerked the baseball bat out of the boy’s hands. He set the baseball bat where the boy with Wanda would find it. He took the knife from the boy near Noelle and threw it blade down into the grass. Jacob thought for a moment.
“You’ve done all you can do?” the dragon asked.
Jacob scowled. The dragon wanted him to do something else, but couldn’t tell him. Jacob looked from boy to boy. He looked at the dogs. Glancing back at the dragon, he saw that she was staring at Noelle.
Of course.
Noelle had been taking martial arts since her mother, Nuala, had broken her cheekbone. He had spent long hours teaching her Brazilian jujitsu. The boys joked that she was particularly ruthless. Jacob dropped down and crawled under the fire ring.
“Noelle.” Jacob shook Noelle awake.
Noelle eyes focused and she looked up at him. She gave him a confused look before noticing the fire ring and then the boys. She gave a tiny squeal. She grabbed onto Jacob in fear, and then pushed him away.
“Okay, okay,” Noelle said. “I’m okay.”
Jacob helped her to her feet.
“They are going to attack you,” Jacob said. “What do you do first?”
“I assess the strengths and weaknesses of my opponents,” Noelle said. She looked at the boys closest to her.
“What do you do next?” Jacob asked.
“I prepare myself because this is going to hurt like hell,” Noelle said.
“Exactly,” Jacob said.
“Um, why are they frozen?” Noelle asked.
/> “The dragon cannot affect human interaction,” Jacob said.
Noelle nodded as if that were obvious.
“Are you ready?” Jacob asked.
“I’m ready,” Noelle said.
Jacob slipped out of the fire ring. He repositioned the dogs.
“You know, the boys are high. Anything they say will be suspect, especially if they say they saw something as crazy as a dragon.”
“Duly noted,” the dragon said. “Are you ready?”
“Noelle?” Jacob asked.
“Ready,” Noelle said.
Jacob nodded to the dragon
And time returned.
Chapter Two Hundred and Forty-Seven
Enough
For a brief moment, everything stood still and Jacob’s mind raced. He hoped he wouldn’t die. He hoped Noelle wouldn’t be injured. He wasn’t sure what happened if you injured a pregnant dragon, but he was fairly certain it was not good. He felt a nudge against his leg. He glanced down and Scooter was now standing next to him.
When he looked up, everything was in motion and his mind was still. He felt the dragon’s power like a heartbeat. All sound disappeared except for the heartbeat.
Beat. He raised his hand and the leader of the group flew back against a tall pine.
Beat. He moved his fingers back. The leader slapped against the branches as he rose up the tree truck.
Beat. Jacob touched his index fingers to his thumbs and flicked the boys away from Noelle.
Across the grove, he saw Wanda reach Noelle. The girls moved back to back to fight with the boys nearest them. The boy with Wanda picked up the baseball bat.
Erik, Wanda’s father, yelled something at the boy, and he nodded. He hit several boys’ legs with his bat. Erik was attacked by two boys at once.
Wanda and Noelle were overrun with boys.
Jacob had been so focused across the grove that he didn’t see the punch coming at him until he was struck in the face. Jacob weaved a second too late and felt the impact of a second punch. He rotated, turned in place, and pushed the boy to the side. Thrown by Jacob’s unchecked his power, the boy flew ten feet before hitting the ground. Jacob took a step and another boy confronted him.
His human mind panicked. He was overwhelmed with the rage that pulsed through each of these boys. The dragon beat marched forward, but Jacob had lost his focus.
The boy in front of him hit him once more in the face and Jacob fell to the ground. Through the chaos of running legs and fighting, he saw that Wanda was getting pummeled. Noelle fell next to Wanda. A boy kicked Buster out of the way to get to Noelle.
His mind flooded and his entire life felt futile.
How had his world become like this?
Why were young boys trading away all of their opportunity for rage?
Why was being right more important than getting along?
Why did the world give in to violence and power games?
Somewhere deep inside, Jacob heard a human heartbeat. He heard his mother tell him that someday he would know just exactly what he was. He heard the dragon laugh.
One word came to his mind.
Enough.
“Yes,” he heard the dragon say.
He knocked the boy in front of him off his feet and stood.
“Enough!” Jacob yelled. “I have had enough!”
He raised his hands and the boys in the grove rose twenty feet off the ground. The young men looked horrified.
One young man opened his mouth and pointed to him.
“Imma get you.” Jacob read the boy’s lips.
He dropped the boy to the ground. The boy’s legs broke like toothpicks and terror moved through the rest of Jacob’s hostages.
He felt a hand on his right shoulder. He turned to find his father standing behind him.
Jacob blinked. He had no idea if his father was actually there or if he was looking at a dragon-induced illusion.
“I love you, son,” Sam said.
Without releasing the boys, Jacob hugged his father tight. He felt more than saw Sarah rub her head against his leg.
“I can’t do it anymore,” Jacob said.
“I know,” Sam said. “Every man has a moment when he realizes he has to fight for what he believes in.”
“One tiny inch at a time, they’ve taken so much,” Jacob said. “Now we’re fighting with each other over stupid stuff because the bullies refuse to talk about real issues.”
Sam gave him a wry look. He looked around the grove.
“Maybe it’s time for the powerful few to stand up and say, ‘Enough,’” Sam said.
“But you said . . . You said never, ever . . .”
“I had no idea the world would become like this,” Sam said. “Girls assaulted by thugs their own age. Drugs, guns . . . hard work that means very little in the face of bullies disguised as businessmen . . . I don’t think anyone could have predicted this.”
Erik ran over from across the grove. Sam turned toward the street.
“The police are almost here,” Sam said.
Jacob watched his father. The boy Wanda was with helped Wanda and Noelle up.
“How are you here?” Jacob asked. “Why can I hear you?”
“You needed me here. You willed it.” Sam smiled at him. “I’m having my afternoon nap with Delphie at home. After all, we have a long night ahead of us.”
Wanda, her friend, and Noelle jogged over to Jacob.
“But . . .”
“Set them down on my count.” Sam turned to Bestat. “You need to change.”
“I can’t hold them without her!” Jacob said.
“You’ve never needed me,” the dragon said. “You only needed to decide you were in the game.”
The dragon faded. The woman appeared. There was not a hair out of place on her head and her linen suit looked freshly pressed. She gave Sam a bright smile. She kneeled down to pet Scooter.
“You’ve been in a fight,” Sam said.
“Good point,” Bestat said. Before their eyes, her hair was ruffled, her shirt torn, and her face bloodied.
“Girls, you need to go back to where you were,” Sam said. “Son.”
Noelle and Wanda nodded. They ran back to where they were. The boy with Wanda jogged back to where he’d been standing.
“Erik,” Sam said.
The plumber nodded and followed the girls back to where he’d been.
“Now,” Sam said.
Jacob set the boys on the ground only seconds before the first police cruiser drove up onto the grass. An unmarked car approached from the other side. Sergeant Aziz ran in front of a swarm of police officers. He found his brother and hugged him tight. The boys scattered and the uniformed officers chased them down.
Jacob felt another fist slam against his face.
“Seriously?” he asked the boy in front of him.
He shot the boy across the grove in front of a uniformed officer. The officer slipped zip ties on the boy’s arms and legs, and moved on. Jacob whistled for the dogs. They trotted over to him and he clipped on the leashes. He saw that Bestat had walked over to him. He gave her a sly smile. She flagged down a uniformed officer.
“Officer,” Bestat said. “I’m a diplomat from Egypt. I was here with my son’s girlfriend and we were attacked. We were separated and I haven’t been able to find her.”
“There are two girls over here,” the officer said.
Jacob followed Bestat to where Noelle and Wanda were being treated by paramedics. Wanda reached for Frankie’s hand. He grabbed on. Bestat kneeled down next to Noelle. Erik shook off a uniformed police officer and ran over.
“How are they?” Jacob asked the paramedics.
“Are you their father?” the paramedic asked.
“I’m Noelle’s uncle.” Jacob glanced at Noelle and she smiled. “Wanda’s father is . . .”
“Right here,” Erik said.
“They seem to be mostly bruised,” the paramedic said. “They both have defensive wounds. They sai
d they were fighting this bunch. We won’t know if they broke any bones until they get to the hospital. You have insurance? ‘Cuz the trip to the hospital is pricey.”
“Of course,” Jacob said at the same moment as Erik said, “Uh . . .”
“We’ve got this covered.” Jacob put his hand on Erik’s shoulder.
The paramedic nodded and helped the girls onto stretchers. Bestat stepped into the ambulance with Noelle. The paramedics took off with a scream of sirens toward the hospital. Jacob looked back at the grove. The police were rounding up the boys. Sergeant Aziz walked over to him.
“Did any of you see a young man about this big, low-slung jeans . . .?” Sergeant Aziz asked. “We’ve been told he’s the leader. No one remembers him leaving, but we can’t find him.”
“Haven’t seen him,” Erik looked at Jacob. “You?’
Jacob shook his head.
“That’s a shame,” Sergeant Aziz said. “He’s wanted in two states. I guess he goes from school to school, gets the boys hooked on meth and violence, and then disappears to let them take the rap.”
Jacob turned his right hand over. The boy screamed on his way down the tree trunk. He landed on his rear at the bottom of the tree and began to wail. Jacob raised his eyebrows at Sergeant Aziz.
“Is that him?” Jacob asked.
Sergeant Aziz looked across the grove at the boy and then back at Jacob.
“Must have climbed the tree to watch,” Erik said. “Fell out.”
“Imagine that,” Sergeant Aziz said. “Just a second before we got here, I could have sworn I saw these boys floating above the ground.”
Sergeant Aziz looked at Erik and then at Jacob.
“Nothing?” Sergeant Aziz asked.
“Where’s Detective Red Bear?” Jacob gave the sergeant a bright smile.
“On leave,” Sergeant Aziz said. “But I would guess you knew that.”
Jacob nodded. They watched a uniformed officer arrest the boy that was with Wanda.
“My brother,” Sergeant Aziz said.
“Why are they arresting Frankie?” Erik asked.
“He’s been a part of this,” Sergeant Aziz cleared his throat and swallowed hard.
“I need to go to Wanda,” Erik said. “When we’re done, we should talk to the police, because Frankie saved my Wanda today.”
Silt, Denver Cereal Volume 8 Page 28
