Going Down in Flames (Entangled Teen)

by Chris Cannon

  “I thought maybe he’d stopped coming after us because he’d married and moved on with his life,” her mom said. “I should have known he wouldn’t let this go.”

  It was a lot of information to take in. Bryn closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “Let me see if I have this right. Technically, I’m not supposed to exist. The fact that I do exist is a threat to dragon society. Ferrin happens to be the most influential man in dragon society, and he sees my existence as a personal insult. I’m being forced to attend a school where the entire student body will view me as a mutant. Have I left anything out?”

  Chapter Five

  “You shouldn’t trust the people who first offer to be your friends.” Zavien spoke in a voice laced with sympathy. “They’ll be on the hunt for dirt to pass along to their real friends.”

  This was impossible. How could she make it through four years without friends? She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Needing to focus her frustration somewhere before she set the apartment on fire, she stood. “Dad, I’m going down to the studio to kick the hell out of the freestanding bag.”

  “Wait. I have a better idea.” Her father pointed at Zavien. “But first let me make something perfectly clear. If you ever sneak into my home to visit my daughter again, I’ll put your head through a wall. Do you understand?”

  “Got it.” Zavien winked at Bryn. “See where your temper comes from?”

  Bryn appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood, but she couldn’t manage a fake smile. It felt like she was drowning.

  “Don’t worry,” Zavien said as he walked toward the door. “We’ll figure this out.”

  ...

  Bryn’s dad placed his arm around her shoulders. “Nothing relieves stress like setting things on fire. Let’s go practice your breath weapons.”

  Destruction sounded good.

  Hidden behind an industrial-size Dumpster in the alley behind the studio, Bryn burned through her stress, literally. Setting things on fire was cathartic. Just for fun, she imagined Ferrin’s head wherever she aimed her flames.

  She torched one last trash can full of papers. “I do feel better.”

  “Good.” He pointed at the flames. “Put that out and it will be time for ice cream.”

  Bryn focused on snow and ice. A cold sensation built in her chest. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and shot a stream of ice at the trash can, drowning out the flames.

  Sitting at the butcher-block table in the kitchen, Bryn worked her way through a bowl of chocolate ice cream while her dad ate straight from the carton.

  Her mom joined them and handed Bryn a black velvet jewelers box. “My father gave me this for my sixteenth birthday.”

  Bryn popped the box open and gaped at the bracelet nestled in the gray silk lining. Talk about bling. Interconnecting snowflakes the size of quarters made up the bracelet. At the center of each snowflake was a diamond the size of a dime.

  “Are those real?”

  “The bracelet is made of diamonds and platinum. When my father gave it to me, he was so proud. At first, I thought he was proud of me, but then I realized he was proud he could commission a piece like this and pay for it. He always cared more for money than people.”

  Her grandfather sounded like a jerk.

  The light played off the diamonds, but it didn’t distract Bryn from the elephant in the room. “Have you spoken to your families recently?”

  Her mom gave a tight smile. “For the first few years, we wrote letters, but they were returned unopened. I sent your birth announcement, hoping if they heard about you, it would make a difference. It was sent back like all the others.”

  Sorry she’d asked, Bryn secured the bracelet on her wrist. “Do you think I’ll meet your parents once I’m at school?”

  “Even if you come into contact with them,” her mom said, “I doubt they’d recognize you as family.”

  She could fix that. “I’ll wave this expensive bracelet in their faces and yell hello until they do.”

  “That’s my girl,” her dad said.

  “What about your family?” she asked.

  “They didn’t respond to any of the letters, either. I was an only child, and so were my parents, so the odds of you bumping into any of my relatives are slim.” He clapped her on the shoulder. “On to a happier topic. After dinner tonight, we’ll take you flying.”

  Excitement bubbled in her chest, or maybe that was her wings trying to unfurl. “You’re going to teach me how to fly?”

  “There’s supposed to be a heavy cloud cover tonight,” he said. “No one should see us.”

  “In the meantime,” her mom said. “We need to go shopping for your new school clothes. You can call Beth to go with us.”

  …

  An hour later, Bryn’s mom parked their car in front of Beth’s house and honked.

  “She’ll never hear the horn if she’s listening to music. I’ll go get her.” She was three feet from the car when Beth flew out of the house, crossed the lawn, and tackle-hugged her.

  “You can’t go.” Beth sniffled. “Make your parents change their minds.”

  Hugging Beth back, Bryn blinked rapidly, attempting to keep her tears under control. “I tried. It didn’t work.”

  Beth let go of her and backed up a step. “This sucks.”

  “That’s kind of the theme of my life right now.” Aware of how little time she had to spend with her best friend, Bryn tugged her toward the car. “Come on. We have shopping to do.”

  Once they were in the car, Beth launched into a campaign-to-keep-Bryn-home speech. “Mrs. McKenna, you should keep Bryn here. She’ll be in more danger at some school where no one knows who she is.”

  Sadly, those words were true.

  “I’m sorry, Beth. What’s done is done. Buckle up.”

  When they reached the mall, Bryn headed for the clearance section of the juniors’ department where they normally shopped.

  “We’re not shopping there.” Her mom led them to a store that featured dress clothes in the window.

  “Seriously?” Beth pointed at the female mannequin wearing a long red plaid skirt and a cream-colored, cable knit sweater.

  Bryn sighed. “I have one mind-blowing word for you…panty hose.”

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather face the stalker?” Beth deadpanned. “Speaking of which, shouldn’t we be keeping an eye out for him?”

  “He’s only approached Bryn when she’s been alone, so I think we’re fine. Come on, girls.” Bryn’s mom marched into the store.

  Bryn followed, surveying the boring blouses she’d never willingly wear.

  Her mom held up a white, button-down blouse with blue pinstripes. “This is cute.”

  Beth snorted but didn’t comment.

  Bryn grabbed the price tag hanging from the sleeve and flinched. “Why are we shopping here? It’s expensive.”

  “We live frugally most of the time. Today we’re splurging.”

  Bryn frowned at the bland clothes. “If we’re splurging, can we buy some fun colors?”

  Beth waved at Bryn from a few clothes racks over, holding up a red blouse with thick black stripes. That was more like it.

  Her mom whispered, “I thought you might want to blend in.”

  “I’m the daughter of rebel outcasts,” Bryn whispered back. “I should look wild and untamed.”

  Her mom chuckled.

  Beth waved a black blouse with silver thread woven through it.

  “I love that one.” Bryn joined her friend. They picked out a dozen striped and patterned shirts, which a saleslady placed in a dressing room.

  Beth moved on to skirts. She picked one off the rack and frowned. “Why are they all so long?”

  “They’re standard length,” Bryn’s mom said.

  “Standard for who?” Beth asked. “Nuns? Oh crap. Tell me you aren’t going to an all-girls school.”

  Bryn chuckled. “No. There will be boys.” And one boy in particular she wouldn’t mind wearing a shorter skirt for.<
br />
  After Bryn tried on the blouses and skirts, it was time to face ugly reality. “Where do they keep the stupid panty hose?”

  Beth darted across the room and came back with a package, which she thrust at Bryn. “Check these out.”

  “Thigh highs?”

  “If you have to wear something, you might as well wear something cool,” Beth said.

  Bryn held the package out toward her mom. “What do you think?”

  “Don’t tell your father.”

  Bryn went to investigate the thigh highs and found a clearance table covered in lingerie decorated with various animals.

  “Are those bumblebees?” Beth pointed at an orange bra.

  Bryn smiled. “They’re cute.”

  Beth picked up a lime green bra with pink flamingoes. “You have to get this.”

  “Good thing none of my blouses are white.”

  After they paid for everything, Bryn’s mom said, “I have a few errands to run. You two can go grab a cookie and meet me at the car in half an hour.”

  “Me want cookie.” Beth did her Cookie Monster imitation, which she’d perfected when they were in kindergarten.

  Bryn laughed and slung an arm around Beth’s shoulders. “Come on.”

  While they waited in line, Bryn did her best not to think about all the things she’d miss. Beth sniffled.

  “Don’t,” Bryn warned. “No tears until we drop you off.”

  “I make no promises.” Beth swiped at her eyes.

  Bryn studied the menu posted on the back wall. “We should split the colossal cookie.”

  “The last time we did that, you puked,” Beth reminded her.

  “Please. I was ten, and we’d just eaten a large cheeseburger pizza.” Bryn grimaced. “Mustard on pizza should be illegal.”

  “Agreed.” Beth moved up to the counter and placed their order.

  Bryn carried the plate, which felt heavy in her hand. The twelve-inch cookie, covered in every topping known to man, had to weigh over a pound. And for the first time, she wasn’t worried about the calories. That might be the one true plus to her weird, new life.

  While they ate, Beth talked about everything except Bryn leaving. Which was good, because the more she thought about it, the harder it was to swallow the cookie over the lump in her throat. She took another bite and felt something plop onto her chest. A glob of white icing and some toasted coconut had jumped ship.

  Beth rolled her eyes and shoved a stack of napkins at her. Then she grabbed a wad of napkins and stuffed them into her purse. “I’ve used all my Kleenex,” she explained.

  Bryn checked the time on her cell. “We should go.”

  “I hate this.” Beth stood, grabbed the plate, and chucked it into the trash can.

  “Me too.”

  “You can come home on weekends to visit, right?”

  Could she? “I’m not sure.”

  “You better text me.”

  Crap. “No cell phones allowed on campus.”

  Beth clutched at her chest. “That’s inhumane.”

  “I know.”

  On the ride back to Beth’s house, Bryn gave up and let the tears flow. They’d gone to school together since kindergarten. The idea of life without Beth on a day-to-day basis made her chest ache.

  “We’re having a sleepover for your birthday.” Beth sucked in a breath. “You’re not just going to fly off into the night and disappear.”

  Oh, the irony.

  “Sounds good.”

  “I’ll call Destiny and Britney. They’ll want to see you…” Beth’s voice trailed off as she let out a sob.

  Bryn wanted to stamp her feet and yell, “I don’t want to go.” Not that it would do much good, but the crushing weight pressing down on her chest made it hard to breathe.

  “We’re here,” her mom said from the front seat.

  When had they pulled into Beth’s driveway?

  Beth hugged her. “Don’t go.”

  “It’s okay,” Bryn lied. “We’re going to have the sleepover to end all sleepovers. We can still talk on the phone and Skype and email.”

  Honk. Honk.

  “Uh-oh.” Her mom turned and waved at the black truck parked at the end of the driveway. “Your dad wants in the garage. We need to move.”

  Beth climbed out. Bryn stayed in the backseat of the car where she was and closed her eyes. Part of her still held out hope that if she fell asleep and woke up, this nightmare would be over.

  “We’re home,” her mom said.

  Bryn lugged her new school clothes up the fire escape steps and hung them in her closet. Feeling wrung out, she collapsed on the bed. What seemed like a short while later, someone was shaking her shoulder.

  “Wake up,” her dad said. “We’re going to teach you how to fly.”

  The allure of flying had lessened, but it still seemed pretty cool, so she rolled out of bed and followed her parents up into the attic and out the hatch, which led to the roof. The moon was hidden behind a thick layer of clouds.

  A buzz of anticipation filled her body. She shifted into dragon form. Her muscles and joints protested less than before. Maybe it became easier each time.

  “Flex your wings,” her mom instructed.

  The sensation of flexing her wings felt like contorting her arm to scratch an itch on her shoulder blade. “Now what?”

  Her dad shifted and walked to the edge of the building. “Follow us.”

  Both of her parents jumped off the building. No warning. No instructions. They just extended their wings and took off.

  “Are you crazy?” All that was going through her mind was the “If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you?” speech. In her case, the answer was no.

  Her mom circled back and landed. “What’s wrong?”

  “You can’t expect me to ignore sixteen years of common sense.”

  Her dad landed with a thump. “Once you’re airborne, your dragon instincts kick in.”

  Should she bet on that? What if her instincts were messed up? “Can’t we start on the ground and flap? How do you fly if there isn’t a building to jump off?”

  “When we’re on the ground, we can lift off. This is how your father and I learned to fly,” her mom said. “We thought it’d be easiest.”

  Bryn gazed at the pavement three stories below. “If I die, I won’t have to go to dragon school.”

  Extending her wings, she took a deep breath and threw herself off the roof. Air ripped at her wings as she plummeted into the darkness. Her heart jackhammered in her chest. She twisted her body, trying to orient herself. Which was the ground and which was the sky?

  Flap, her instincts screamed.

  She extended and contracted her wing muscles. The air felt thick and warm. Her descent slowed, and her body leveled out. She gained altitude, and the air cooled. Now it felt like she was swimming in cool water. Her pulse returned to normal as the night air flowed around her body, caressing her scales. Flying was exhilarating.

  Somehow she knew the burning sensation in her stomach was fire waiting to be released. She flew until she was above the clouds. In a moment of personal triumph, she blasted fire into the heavens.

  Her dad swooped in by her side. “Good job. Now, see if you can keep up.” He shot through a cloud.

  Bryn took off after him. Narrowing her eyes to slits, she banked and climbed higher. She watched her father’s moves and imitated them until they seemed like second nature. Soon, she had no trouble keeping up with him. Then her mom shot past him, and she had a new target to follow.

  Where her dad had been all muscle and power, her mom’s maneuvers appeared effortless. When her mom executed a diving roll, Bryn tucked her wings, shifted right, and laughed as the world spun. This was better than any roller coaster she’d ever been on.

  After righting herself, she broke through the cloud bank where her mom had disappeared and saw the rooftop to their building below. Her mom landed, sending up a mild spray of dust. Bryn hit the roof with a bone-jarring thump
and pitched forward. Debris shot high into the air and then rained back down on her like dirty snow. Yuck. She’d have to work on that.

  Her dad landed next to her. She turned to speak, but growled when she realized the dragon next to her wasn’t her father.

  “Relax,” the Black dragon said in a male voice. “I’m a friend of Zavien’s.”

  Another thump sounded. Bryn turned to see her dad advancing on the stranger.

  “He knows Zavien,” she shouted.

  Smoke came from her father’s nostrils. “What do you want?”

  The Black dragon shifted to human form. His dark hair was streaked with silver. The charcoal-gray suit he wore hung perfectly on his lightly muscled frame. He resembled the television version of a CEO.

  “I seek what the Directorate wishes to hide.” His tone seemed a little too dramatic. “I mean you no harm. Quite the opposite.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gray velvet box. “I brought you a gift.”

  He opened the box to reveal a gold key-shaped pendant decorated with red and blue gemstones. It was beautiful. Only an inch long, it looked like it would open an antique jewelry box.

  Smoke shot from Bryn’s nostrils. The scales on her snout heated. She shifted to human form. “Sorry, I don’t have that under control yet.”

  Her parents shifted and stood next to her.

  “Who are you?” Her dad’s tone was less than friendly.

  “My name is Onyx. I’m the leader of the Revisionists, and I believe your daughter will be the key to the Directorate’s downfall.”

  And now the key didn’t seem quite so shiny. “I don’t want to be the key to anyone’s downfall. I don’t even want to go to that stupid school.”

  Onyx gave her an aren’t you cute smile. “Zavien told me you had a Red’s temper.”

  Bryn elbowed her dad. “Could you put his head through a wall?”

  “There will be no fighting.” Her mom stepped closer and held out her hand. “Thank you for the gift, but it’s time for you to leave.”

  Onyx passed it to her mom. “Sorry to disturb you.” He faced Bryn. “Zavien knows how to contact me if you need help.”

  Bryn was about to tell him where he could shove his help.