The Witch of the Western Gate: Dragon's Gift

by P. K. Brent

  “That makes a tremendous amount of sense,” said Blue.

  “I find it highly commendable that wolven are so honorable in their dealings with women,” said Stella thoughtfully.”

  Talon nodded, looking very pleased. He turned to the basket.

  "Bubble baths," said Talon. "Plus fancy creams, bath salts, and oils. You take this Stella. This basket is for a lady,"

  "Are you sure?" asked Stella. "Wouldn't your Aunt like it?,"

  "I would like you to have it," said Talon, decidedly. “Do not be concerned that I’ve slighted my Aunt. Wolven women do not use scented products. It lessens their sense of smell.”

  "Then thank you, Talon. So thoughtful of you. I just love fancy bath products,” crooned Stella.

  "My plaisure," replied Talon, looking very pleased.

  "Thanks for explaining about Wolven courting rites, Talon,” said Blue. Even after all these years I still don't know everything about Wolven customs."

  "Happy to help," said Talon, with a slight nod.

  Since Talon had opened himself up to explain Wolven mating rites, Blue wanted to reciprocate and open up to him also.

  "You haven't known me for very long Talon, so I maybe should explain about Rafe and I. Because we have been such close friends for so long I guess people expect us to develop a romance. But the expectations cause pressure, so I don't like to think about it. I'll always love Rafe no matter which way our friendship goes."

  "He is most fortunate for your gift of friendship to him," replied Talon, inclining his head toward Blue.

  Chapter 16

  At that moment there was an ear-splitting scream. Talon jumped to his feet and leapt over the half wall that marked the entranceway to the restrooms.

  “Ivy!” Blue hollered, running over there with Stella close behind.

  Ivy was down on her knees, groaning in pain, her eyes rolling back into her head.

  “She, she, look!” screamed Andrea Barnswell, pointing to Ivy’s behind where a werewolf tail swooped gracefully out from the back of Ivy’s cheerleading uniform.

  “Oh my god! She sprouted a tail!” A crowd was starting to form.

  In a flash Talon had his arms around Ivy and was helping her up. He made a high pitched trill, like a birdcall. Soon as Ivy was standing, Blue and Stella grabbed her while Talon wrapped his coat around her waist.

  “Such a joker this one, with the fake tail,” Talon said casually to Brando as he and Rafe ran over. “So funny! But I think she has become ill with la grippe.”

  “Yes, the flue is going around,” replied Brando. By now, Blue and Stella were hustling Ivy into her full length coat.

  “I don’t feel well, Andrea. I’ll let Brando take me home.” Ivy was able to speak now.

  “What about the tail? I saw the tail,” insisted Andrea. “One minute she’s fine then she screams and falls over and there’s a tail.”

  “Oh don’t fall for that,” said Blue. “She has a tail and a fake nose she puts on. Just a joke. I mean, really Andrea! How can you be so gullible.”

  “Sorry, Andrea,” said Ivy, playing along. “It would have been funny, but I got a terrible stabbing pain in my stomach. I think I’m coming down with something.”

  Brando jingled the car keys.

  "Come on guys, time to go! It's getting late and there still is school tomorrow. Mr. Schwartz is closing up soon."

  “OK, I’ll see you tomorrow Ivy. My ride is nearly here,” said Andrea.

  Out in the car, Rafe sat in front with Brando. Talon, Ivy, Stella, and Blue were jammed into the back. Stella had to sit on Talon’s lap and he wrapped his arms around her looking very pleased. Blue noticed that Brando had been texting, and only closed his cellphone when he had received a reply. He put the car in gear and started to drive. But he was not driving toward Ivy’s house, he was taking the route to Smokey Hollow Road, to the dead-end road where only his family and Grandma Lily lived.

  Ivy was starting to get over the initial shock and pain of sprouting a tail.

  “What is wrong with me? Blue! I know you know and you better tell me! What is going on!"

  Ivy grabbed her tail and pulled it around in front, dusting Blue’s face with the fuzzy end. It was a beautiful tail, long and graceful with long, thick, silvery white hair, and the end tipped in black.

  "Oh my god! I do have a tail! Ivy frantically pulled on her tail. "It won't come off! I'm a freak!"

  “Ivy, there’s something I need to tell you, and I need you to stay calm and listen,” replied Blue, wondering how the heck she was the one who got stuck breaking this news to Ivy.

  “You are going to be fine. The tail will go away on its own. But…”

  “Get to the point!,” demanded ivy.

  “You are a werewolf,” said Blue. “You are starting your first change. You probably feel sick, and it hurts.”

  “No! It can’t be!”

  “Yes, you are a werewolf! You must know deep down, Ivy, that you are different. Your hearing and sight are way better than average. Your sense of smell is way better. Your physical strength and metabolism much higher.”

  “I just want some painkillers and I want to go right to bed,” exclaimed Ivy. “I ache all over. I have a tail. This can’t be happening to me!”

  “I know it’s hard to accept,” replied Blue. “But your mother was a werewolf. Not Aunt Elizabeth, but your real mother, Yvonna, who died when you were a baby. She was a hereditary werewolf and it passed down to you.”

  “Oh my god!”

  “It’s not as bad as it sounds.” Blue was starting to babble. “You’re not the only one.” Brando, Rafe, and Talon all shook their heads subtly. OK, thought Blue. I guess they’re not ready to come out to Ivy. They probably are afraid she can’t handle this and will go bonkers. So the fewer people she knows about them the better.

  “Where are you taking me? This is the wrong way! I always thought you were the weirdo, Blue, and now it’s me. I’m the big freak!” Ivy wailed.

  “It’s alright, Ivy,” said Brando. “Calm down. I’m taking you to see my mom. She’s like a nurse for special, uh, problems like this, making your first change. She’s helped other girls through it. You’ll be fine.” Brando half carried, half dragged Ivy into the Mantooth house.

  “You mean there’s more?” screamed Ivy. “It’s not just the tail?” Suddenly she stiffened all over in a scream and passed out on top of Blue. Blue looked down and could see Ivy’s hands. Both had gone furry.

  “I’m sorry Ivy. I’m so sorry.” Blue was starting to tear up. “I’m sorry I was mean to you. I acted like you were the mean one, but I was really meaner. Everything here is new to you and it’s hard. I didn’t realize before how hard. I didn’t know you were going through this. I’m so, so sorry!”

  Brando quickly home then carried Ivy inside the house and placed her on the bed in the guestroom, with his mother hovering over the girl.

  “Ivy will be alright Blue,” said Nona Mantooth, noticing Blue’s tears. “The first change is hard, but then it gets easier. She’ll be fine and she’s stronger than she seems. She’ll adjust.”

  “I want to stay,” said Blue.

  Nona shook her head. “It could take hours. The best thing for you to do is go to school tomorrow and act like everything is fine. Just say Ivy came down with a stomach virus. If anyone asks about her sprouting a tail just say it was a joke and she wore a fake one. The more normal you behave the easier it will be for Ivy to return to school.”

  "But people saw Ivy grow a tale right in front of thei eyes! They must all know she's a werewolf."

  "People don't want to believe in the paranormal," replied Nona. "They'll be more than happy to accept your explanation."

  “I guess you’re right,” said Blue reluctantly.

  “Brando will drive you and Stella home. Ivy's father and Aunt Violet are on their way. Violet has some potions that will ease the pain. They’ll both wait up with me and help see Ivy through this.”

  “Alright,” said Blu
e reluctantly. “But I can guarantee you, Ivy is going to be furious when this is over, and she finds out that no one told her this could happen. I know what that's like.”

  Chapter 17

  As Blue entered the McChesney House, Took flew out the door with LeRoy flapping behind him, silent and intent, which meant they sensed danger.

  "What the heck!" stammered Blue, as they nearly knocked her over. Took flew at top speed up and over the roof of the house toward the backyard with LeRoy close behind him. Took was strong enough now to break through the magical barrier. If Took got away then he'd be seen. Word would get back to Zerelda and the Witch Council would step in and exterminate Took and all the other water dragons. Paranormals could not risk having fantastic and magical creatures discovered. In an instant Blue had made up her mind and summoned her power. She felt a surge of energy then willed herself to leap to the top of the entryway roof. Then with another leap she was over the dormers and on top of the roof, bounding along the roofline. It amazed Blue that ordinarily she was a poor athlete, but once her power was summoned, her athletic ability became superhuman. That of course was the reason why she never used it among mundane folk. It would draw too much attention to her. The Wolfen had a similar predicament. They were always superb athletes, whether in human or feral form. But they could not draw attention to themselves by participating in sports with mundanes. Also, it wouldn't be a fair competition if they did.

  Blue lept through the air, her purple poncho jacket billowing out behind her like a cape. At the end of the roof, standing on the peak, Blue stopped and raised her arms, levitating fifteen feet into the air. "Night eye, find them," Blue commanded. With that spell every living thing was surrounded by a soft yellow glow, allowing Blue to see it in the dark. Far below, Blue could see the pale, glowing form of LeRoy come to an abrupt halt. He now was squawking and exuding a low guttaral growling sound, that Blue could hardly believe was coming from a parrot. "Arrrrrgh! Arrrrgh!" Next to him was Took, flying in one place about six feet off the ground, buffeting with his wings a sickly green glowing manshaped form. Blue immediately knew who it was and she lept from the roof to the nearby top of a pinetree. It bent down nearly halfway then swoosh! Blue jumped off to the next tree. She ran half flying like this from pine tree to pine tree, sometimes leaping twenty-five feet from one to the next, making her way to the back fence where the glowing shapes were in turmoil. Finally Blue jumped from the last pine and floated gracefully to the ground, landing in front of Quantrill Reynard. He was hissing fiercely at Took and LeRoy. Took buffeted his head with powerful wings and LeRoy now had a firm grasp of his pantleg, preventing him from jumping over the fence. Quantrill was covering his head with his hands, yet he sensed Blue was there and glanced at her hissing, fangs fully exposed.

  "OK, let him go," said Blue. "Everyone calm down." Quantrill was seething with anger. The pale green glow made him look even more creepy than usual.

  "Quantrill! What are you doing here?" demanded Blue.

  "I merely stopped by to speak to you," said Quantrill. "Then I'm attacked by these two foul beasts."

  "Well, you should have called," replied Blue. "I really don't care for people stopping by my house uninvited, especially not this late at night."

  Blue became painfully aware that she was in the dark, alone, with a very old, very angry, and very dangerous vampire. Yet she was not going to be intimidated or act hospitable, when he had clearly overstepped his bounds. Quantrill straightened to his full height and glared at Blue, but she resisted the impulse to back away.

  "Why were you lurking around the yard, Quantrill? If you were waiting for me, why weren't you on the front porch."

  "Really!" huffed Quantrill. "This is not the time to pepper me with impertinent questions."

  "This is really is not a good time to come to my house," replied Blue. "Its late, I'm tired, and I have school tomorrow."

  Suddenly Quantrill lunged toward Blue, lightening quick, grabbing her right arm.

  "I don't want you socializing with those dogs, those butt sniffing Wolfen," he growled.

  "Ka-boom!" Blue blasted Quantrill with a shadowflame, acting on reflex, barely processing what her instincts told her to do at the moment Quantril put his hands on her. The shadowflame should have knocked him back against the fence. Instead, Quanrill stood there stunned with a surprised look on his face. If she hadn't been so terrified, Blue would have laughed out loud.

  "Retreat!" bellowed LeRoy.

  Blue slipped out of her coat, which Quantrill was still holding, and ran toward the house, leaving Quantrill to hold the coat by the collar. She heard a snarl behind her and knew that Quantrill was close behind and that even with her powers at full strength, the vampire was faster. Blue heard a loud thump, followed by cursing. She turned in time to see that the tag team of LeRoy and Took had worked in perfect unison to trip Quantrill. Blue flew toward the house then turned to see that Quantrill was on his feet again and lunging toward her at incredible speed. Also, Quantrill's gang of vampires scaled the fence and were swarming over the McChesney grounds and toward Took. Blue stared in amazement, but not at Quantrill. Behind him LeRoy twirled in a circle and grew larger and larger. When he stopped, it was not LeRoy standing there, but the kilted warrior she'd met earlier. In one leap LeRoy was between Blue and Quantrill, swinging his sword in Quantrill's direction. He barely missed. Quantrill escaped the blow and rolled away on the ground. Then Quantrill was up and bolted with a fierce burst of speed away from Blue and LeRoy, toward the little dragon. Quantrill caught Took by his tail and dragged him up and over the fence, followed by his gang. Quantrill had Took and he was gone. Blue pumped up the energy needed for a shadowblast, one of her strongest spells. It was not an instant cast like the shadowflame, but standing for a few seconds, she'd had the time to pump up the energy. The terror and excitement of being accosted then chased by an angry vampire had helped. She cast the shadowblast over the fence, where she'd last seen Took struggling. It was a futile move. Quantrill was long gone.

  LeRoy took up position behind Blue, and glared in the vampyres direction. He took a final look then entered the McChesney house, dragged Blue inside, and in a snap the door was bolted. The locks clacked automatically into place, responding to strong security spells that sensed danger. Blue and LeRoy staggered into the ladies' parlor exhausted, where Blue collapsed and LeRoy wrapped her in a quilt. LeRoy focused all of his attention on Blue, concerned that all the excitement and rough handling by Quantrill had been too much for the girl. Blue sat in a rocker in front of the fire, frantically rocking back and forth. She was in shock and stared catatonic across the room, not responding for a minute.

  "They won't kill Took right away," LeRoy reassured Blue. He had returned to his usual crow form.

  Blue snapped her attention to LeRoy. "You, buster, have some explaining to do!"

  "I do?" asked LeRoy innocently.

  "Yes! All these years and I never knew that you were a shapeshifter?"

  "I'm not," replied LeRoy calmly. "I'm cursed. The hag was able to modify the curse some but she couldn't break it. I'm in the form of a crow most of the time. I remain as a crow until I need to defend the McChesney House or one of the McChesney kin. I remain loyal to the House of McChesney, as I was centuries ago, when I was but a McChesney druid wandering the moors of Scotland."

  "Wow," was all that Blue could think to say. "Just wow."

  LeRoy preened and smoothed some feathers, looking very pleased with himself.

  "Why did you say I should be roasted on a spit, back in the ritual room when I invoked you?"

  "I didn't want you to think it was me, LeRoy the crow, so as the kilted warrior I acted nasty. You were never in danger."

  "I see," replied Blue, her eyes narrowing. We'll talk more about this later. Right now Quantrill has me so distracted, and we must get Took back!"

  "You should have suspected," said LeRoy. "Afterall, Cormac McChesney would never have left his daughter alone and undefended. Not only do I protect you w
ith my life but there are fierce enchantments on this house as well. You should have guessed."

  "I should have," replied Blue. "I figured Cormac had protections up, all around, but I never knew that you and the hag were household guardians."

  Suddenly the silence was broken by an angry yell.

  "Belladonna Louisa!" Quantrill hollered from outside. "Blue!" The crystal chandelier shuddered and tinkled at the vampire's voice.

  "You may think that you have won this round, but it has in fact only begun. You will learn to mind me yet!" The burled walnut chest in the entry hall groaned softly, diappointed with the recent turn of events.

  "Quantrill!" replied Blue. "Don't come back. Ever. Unless it is to return Took!"

  "Oh, I will be back," replied Quantrill. "Rest assured, I will be back. Also, first thing tomorrow I will advise my Aunt Zerelda that you were harboring a dangerous dragon in your house. The Witch Council will be very interested to learn that you not only haven't exterminated the dragon infestation, but you have turned one of them into a housepet!"

  "You really know how to treat a girl," sneered Blue. "Just stay away from me, you snake, Quantrill!"

  "Your vicious little dragon and all his vermin friends will be hunted down and killed! You must learn your place, Blue, and you must learn to obey your betters!"

  "You come near me again, Quantrill, and I'll blast you silly!" replied Blue.

  Finally Blue's senses informed her that the irate vampire had left. Blue slumped into the chair and pulled the quilt onto her lap. She waved at the fireplace and the flames lept higher. LeRoy nudged Blue gently once more then hopped onto his perch in front of the fire and gazed at her, while she rested in the rocker.

  "What are we going to do?" asked LeRoy.

  "Rescue Took."

  "I know that, but when and how?"

  "I don't know," replied Blue. "I'm going to text my friends now to see what they think."

  Chapter 18

  "I told you," said the iron turtle bearing swordplant, directing his comments to the other household furnishings.