by Sariah Skye
Braeden exhaled, a vapor of dry smoke escaping through his nose. "Are you in trouble?"
I shook my head. I wasn’t…well, not yet. "No but I still need to operate with caution. Okay? Until I know more about what is going on."
He nodded with a sigh that in his dragon form, sounded a bit more like a growl. "Okay. I will do what you say. But please—I know Kiarra seems a little eager but she is a very kind dragon. I really think you will like her if you give her a chance so perhaps you can meet with her again, sometime on your terms and not feel so—blindsided?"
I cringed, but forced a smile. "I will try," I spoke through gritted teeth.
"All right," he said, satisfied. "Well, stay safe, sister…and let me know if you need anything."
I nodded. "I will."
"Okay." He craned his neck down to give my side a nuzzle with his nose, and I wrapped my arms around his large snout and planted a kiss right between the nostrils. He snorted at the gesture, causing a puff of smoke to come out and I giggled.
"Silly fairy dragon," he retorted, sticking his long dragon tongue out at me. I laughed and flicked him off.
He began flapping his wings and he was airborne. "Stay safe!" he called after me as he went higher into the sky.
I nodded and gave a wave. "Bye brother!"
He hovered in the air, probably waiting for me to make safe passage through the portal.
"Nicodemus, you are well, I hope?" I asked, trying to be formal with the stern dragon.
"Of course, and you as well?"
"Yes."
I reached out towards the portal, palm first trying to feel it’s energy. It was cold, calm…no one had passed through since I’d came through. That also meant that I had been in Anarach for a couple days as well, but that wasn’t surprising. I spent the rest of the night after dinner in my 'family' home, sitting up with Grandfather for a few hours setting up his page and teaching him how to navigate it, even setting up a World of Warcraft account for him to putz around on even though the internet connection understandably wasn’t the greatest but he was still excited. He was playing well into the morning, as I crashed out on his large bed. Thankfully I managed to avoid seeing my mother again who had entered his chambers in the morning to inquire what he wanted for breakfast but I pretended to be asleep. She didn’t even question my presence or acknowledge I was there, and I was glad for that.
"Oh, per Maxxus’ request, I can assure you that no one but you have crossed during my watch in weeks," Nicodemus said. "It has been very quiet."
I nodded. I wasn’t surprised this is what I would hear but I thanked him for his information anyways.
"Safe passage, Leorah," he said, as I stepped through the portal feeling myself get whisked away from my old home and to my new.
After a few moments disorientation, I stepped out of the portal in the woods in Minnesota, taking a quick scan of the area for anything suspicious.
It was early evening or late afternoon (though it was still morning in the dragon realm) but it was hard to tell by the sun’s position as it was hidden behind a thick covering of clouds overhead, gray and looming with a low rumble of thunder in the distance. A storm seemed imminent and it was a good idea to get on the highway before it hit, not wanting to get stuck in the woods during a downpour.
My purple Dodge sat untouched in the spot I left it. I fished my car keys out of my backpack and unlocked the door and slipped inside. I was relieved when the engine turned over and I spun out of the clearing onto the makeshift dirt, brush-covered path that would lead me eventually to the dirt road that would lead me to the highway.
I was on the highway barely a minute when it started raining. It wasn’t hard yet but I knew it probably would be—I could feel the energy charge in the air and it would probably be wise to pull over and wait it out or else risk turning the twenty-minute trek into an hour.
I pulled off at a gas station about a mile and a half down the road—a truckstop that was well-lit with a diner and a coffee bar. I grabbed a blue hoodie sweatshirt out of the backseat and pulled it over my heather gray t-shirt and pulled the hood over my hair. I shoved my long, red braid down my back and made a mad dash into the truckstop for some coffee and a snack.
"Crazy weather, we’re having eh?" the cashier, a middle-aged man wearing a fishing hat and a plaid shirt asked from behind the counter, setting down the fishing magazine he was reading.
I nodded, shaking myself off like a dog. "Yeah, really!" Although it was just a storm, not all that unusual for Minnesota in September. But I just humored him.
I shot him a pleasant smile and went to the coffee bar and grabbed a couple of sugary donuts and brought them to the counter along with a tall cup of dark coffee with French vanilla creamer. "Been raining long? I’ve been out of…eh…town for a while."
He gave me a dumbfounded look. "Long? Try three days straight! Not a ray of sunshine. Sirens have been going off for nearly twenty-four hours; nearly every two hours. Straight line-winds. Tornado came awfully close, just outside of that little town Pineville."
My mouth fell open. "Oh my god! That’s where I’m from!"
He gave me a sympathetic smile as the warning sirens started going off outside.
"Oh my…." That was one thing I had only experienced once, a tornado warning. Thankfully it was only a wind event but cramming an entire four-plex into the small cellar of the complex with my cat screeching and the neighbor’s dog howling was not a pleasant experience. "My cat!" I scrambled for my phone in the front pocket of my backpack, slung over my shoulder and pulled it out. "Shit. Dead." I rummaged for the charger in the large pocket. I quickly covered my mouth, realizing I'd just sworn out loud in front of a stranger—sometimes I noticed humans had these weird hang ups about words. The truckstop guy didn't even flinch though.
"Need this?" the cashier asked, producing a couple of chargers from under the desk.
I sighed in relief. "Oh thank you!"
"Normally I charge the truckers five dollars a charge but for you, it’s on the house. You look like you’ve had a rough go of it," he said. We compared chargers to my phone, found one that fit and he handed it to me.
"Thank you so much," I said.
"So where were you? Must have been pretty far off the grid if you didn’t know about the storms in Pineville?"
I raised a suspicious brow. Calm yourself, I said in my head. He’s just a nice guy working a truckstop…Minnesota nice, remember? Not everyone was going to be after me. At least, not out here.
"Yeah I was…up north. No cell towers or nothing. Pretty rustic," I explained. Yeah I was up north. Wayyyyy north.
"Sounds heavenly," he said with a laugh. "Now grab your coffee, and donuts, you’re going to need ‘em. We don’t have a cellar but the bathrooms are surrounded by plumbing and reinforced walls. I’ll keep up with the radio and let you know when we need to go. In the meantime, I hope you’re not planning on heading out in that?"
I sighed. "No…. I guess not. Though I would like to get to my cat. She’s probably scared shitless."
"Can a neighbor grab her?"
"Well my friend was looking out for her. I just hope she’s still there or she took her or…something," I handed the man a five-dollar bill and some change and he placed it in the register.
"Well I sure hope she’s okay," he said. His back pocket started playing a Country song and he mouthed "Excuse me" and grabbed it.
I left him to his phone call and I took the phone and my goodies to a table across the room away from any windows. The sirens had already stopped so I was hoping whatever it was was gone. I plugged the charger into the outlet over the table and shoved it into my phone. It took a minute to start up but when it did, it started chiming like crazy. I had twenty or so missed text messages.
Just wanted to let you know I checked on Sona. Everything is okay.
Checked on Sona again. She seems a little spooked, must be the weather. Call me when you can so I know everything’s okay.
That g
uy stopped in today, asking about you. I didn’t know what to say. I just said you were out of town for a few days and left it at that. He left shortly after.
Leo? Everything okay?
There were about five of those, asking if I was okay before Leo, given the weather I took Sona with me to my place. I didn’t want to leave her just in case there is a tornado or other bad weather. Let me know what’s up, I haven’t heard from you and we’re worried!
Leo! Did you hear about the tornado? Went right by the shop! So glad I closed early, someone could have been leaving and gotten stuck in it! Call me NOW! I need to know you’re okay! OKAY!?!!
That was the latest one from Kit. I breathed a sigh of relief, at least I knew my cat was safe.
Leorah…. I’m sorry for the abrupt way I left. Things are just…a bit overwhelming. I know I’ve said that already. I don’t know what else to say. You didn’t have to leave town. I’m guessing you went home. I hope you found what you needed. I’ll come by and check on you in a couple of days.
Did you hear about this weather? It’s really crazy. I don’t think it’s entirely natural. I will explain later. Please call me. –Gabriel
I let out a low-whistle. Not natural? What else could it be?
As if on cue, I felt a rattling. Quiet at first and then progressively got louder. The building started shaking, causing the racing memorabilia, and truck and beer advertisements that were hanging on the walls to shake and fall.
"Oh my god!" The man behind the counter dropped his cell phone and pointed out the glass window and door.
I shifted in my seat to see what he was talking about. My mouth fell open in horror, seeing the dark clouds over head dropping lower and lower, churning and shifting into a full-fledged twister. It didn’t seem very large but I know it didn’t have to be to do a lot of damage.
The man behind the counter had apparently found his dropped cell phone and was yelling into it. "Daisy! Get the kids, there’s a tornado outside the store! No I’m not kidding, just go to the basement! I know the sirens stopped going off, just do it! I can see it heading right for us! I gotta go—I gotta yell outside to the truckers!"
I didn’t have to be asked. There was a side door that led to the truck area of the stop, with long parking spots for truckers to sleep off the day, diesel gas pumps that accommodated the large cabs and loads. I took one more glance at the tornado, it was struggling a bit, touching down and lifting back up, thinning out. I was hoping it would dissipate before long. Still, didn’t want to risk it.
I shoved open the door, feeling the heavy air and wind try to push back. I managed to get it open and started yelling at the top of my lungs. "Tornado! Tornado! Get inside! Tornado!"
There were about six trucks either parked or getting fuel. The one getting the fuel stopped and stared at me and I pointed towards the west. He let out a yell, ungrasped the gas pump and quickly shoved it back in the slot. I saw his mouth moving but the wind was roaring so loud it was all I could hear.
The trucker—a tall man with a cowboy hat, jeans, red flannel shirt and cowboy boots started running through the stop pounding on trucks and yelling. I assume he was yelling "Tornado!" too but I couldn’t know for sure. Even with my sensitive dragon hearing I couldn't hear anything over the wind howling outside.
Random truckers started rousing from their cabs or their dinners in the front seat and were starting to dart across the lot into the building. One trucker—a middle-aged woman wearing a Harley t-shirt and with tattoos up her arms—carried a small toy breed dog that was shaking and yipping. The barking of the tiny dog was all I could make out; voices I couldn’t distinguish so much.
"In here!" I struggled to hold the door open for the shocked truckers against the gusting wind. The sky was beginning to turn a particularly menacing shade of yellow and I knew that was not a good sign.
I took another glance at the twister. It was beginning to be more organized, staying on the ground longer and thickening its funnel. I could see from far away the debris getting kicked up. Thankfully there wasn’t much out there—the truckstop, the highway and large corn fields as far as the eye could see. I knew there were some farm houses tucked away aside those fields but I couldn’t see them.
"In here, in here!" The man behind the counter herded the truckers like sheep into one of the bathrooms; which were more centrally located in the building. I stayed outside to watch as it spun closer, we didn’t have tornadoes typically in Anarach so it was actually rather fascinating to watch.
"Miss! You should really get in here!" The man behind the counter insisted.
I nodded and said "Coming!" though over the roar of the wind I’m sure he couldn’t hear me. I waved him off and he shrugged and shut the door, with himself and the truckers inside.
"Did you hear about this weather? It’s crazy. I don’t think it’s entirely natural." The text message from Gabriel rattled on in my head, in his voice as I watched the thing spin, inching ever so closely to us.
The sound was deafening. Imagine the sound of your washing machine spinning rapidly on the fast cycle with a heavy load inside, times a hundred. It banged in rhythm but still was mind-numbingly loud especially on my sensitive hearing. It seemed to be avoiding everything—not that there was much to be avoiding but it wasn’t hitting any utility poles or signage.
It wasn’t a thick funnel at all but despite the black clouds—and I do mean black with the alarming yellow hue below the funnel was stark white like a bleached white sheet. Now it was perfectly formed up and down. It had no tail, and didn’t change shape as it spun closer and closer.
Not natural. Gabriel’s voice echoed again in my head.
I don’t know how I wasn’t panicking. My heart was palpitating, my fingers were feeling a bit nervous and twitching. At what, I didn’t know.
Wait, I did know. They felt the same way now as they did when Gabriel was performing his summon the wind trick.
Perhaps it wasn’t natural, perhaps this tornado was summoned by magic.
"So I should be able to disable it, right?" I said to myself. The only problem was I didn’t know how.
Concentrate.
Despite wanting to watch desperately, I reluctantly shut my eyes. I tried to feel the energy surrounding me. It was raw, powerful and charged. A bit like how it felt when I crossed the portal and it felt warm, like someone had just gone through it. You could feel the particles of energy buzzing around, alive.
I envisioned the funnel in my mind. Strong and powerful. I knew it was getting close—real close as I could feel the spinning more intensely, hear the deafening roar. It didn’t let up; it was constant.
Reaching out my hands I said quietly, "Go away, go away, go away…do not harm us…" I pictured my hands around each side of the funnel, holding the charged particles in my grasp. I pushed my palms together and just kept imagining getting smaller and smaller.
And smaller.
And smaller.
As it spun closer and closer, I could feel the hair raise on my arms and the back of my neck. Thunder rolled and rumbled the walls, shaking them like an earthquake. The lightning was so bright it was blinding and nearly constant; I could see it through the lids of my eyes.
I dared to open an eye when the thunder started lessening. It was dark for a few moments, no lightning and I heard no wind. Everything was still.
I began to breathe a sigh of relief when the loudest, most bone-rattling crack of thunder I have ever heard shook the building, knocking just about everything off the walls, bringing them crashing to the ground and blew the glass walls and windows from out of their frame, causing shards to rain down.
I screamed and tried to duck, pulling the hood of my hoodie over my head. Thunder roared again, this time with a brilliant flash of light and I saw the funnel, larger this time, very thick and strong barreling towards me and the truckstop at top speed.
"Shit.." Was all I could say, to no one in particular. Perhaps it was naturally caused if my magic wasn't affecting it. Or p
erhaps I just didn't know what I was doing, and the magic was too strong for me. After all, I had only performed magic maybe three times in all my life, now. The magic could easily surpass my skill. Even dragons who could channel lightning and weather had their limits, this far surpassed them.
I wish I had had a chance to speak to Gabriel about this storm before it rolled in. Surely he must be convinced of its magic origin to bring it up to me, even given how we parted. He was a Knight and his job was to assist me. Surely he couldn’t be wrong.
Hell I didn’t know sorcerers existed until a few days ago.
"Come on pink power…do your thing," I mumbled to myself, trying to steady my stance against the counter, leaning on it for balance through the roaring winds trying to knock me down.
I closed my eyes again. Even if this wasn’t magic-created, perhaps I could at least lessen the severity of it. I did it before without knowing it, I could at least try to do it again.
A few yards away, from behind the bathroom door, I could hear shrieks and panicked barking. Fear had taken over the patrons of the truckstop, and even through the cacophony of the storm I could hear them screaming, yelling comforting words to each other, praying. The sole animal of the group was barking and whining ferociously. I could hear its owner trying to console it through her own tears.
I summoned up all my gumption and resolve. I didn’t know how to do it, but I had to try to save these people. If this was magic caused, they didn’t deserve to go out like this. If it wasn’t I would never be able to live with myself years later if I didn’t at least give it a good attempt to subside this insane weather.
I closed my eyes again, picturing the twisted white funnel. I held my hands out, willing myself to feel that tingle I felt when I had increased Gabriel’s wind magic in my apartment.
My hands started to quiver. I could feel the energy of the storm. It felt violent and angry. Determined and strong. It was out to destroy. I could almost hear it saying "I’m coming for you…."
