Going Down in Flames (Entangled Teen)

by Chris Cannon

  When she emerged, Merrick sat reading through a file and Medic Williams was gone. The sound of her heels tapping on the tile caused him to glance up.

  “Much better. Now you look like this whole incident was a mild inconvenience.”

  She tossed the overnight bag on the bed. “Do you think they’ll try again?”

  “If they do, we’ll be ready for them.” He pointed at her ankle bracelet. “What is that?”

  Torn, Bryn decided to lay her cards on the table. “Zavien trusts you, but I’m not sure why you’re helping me.”

  He chuckled. “Just you asking that question is an example of why I think you’re worth protecting—and helping. Since I work for the Directorate, no one ever questions me. While the Directorate is wise, some of their views are outdated. I’d like to help update some of the laws and modernize their way of thinking. You could be the catalyst for those changes.”

  “Ferrin would have a heart attack if he heard you say that.”

  “Exactly. Which is why I’d appreciate it if you didn’t repeat this conversation.” He pointed at her ankle. “Back to my question, why are you wearing that?”

  “There’s a protection spell on one of the charms.”

  “I suggest you wear it as a necklace. It could be too easily lost.”

  “I used to keep it in a locket. I should’ve been wearing it when I came in.” Maybe it was in the bag. She unzipped the two outside pockets. The sight of her dragon necklace in a plastic bag brought relief. “Here it is.”

  She transferred the key to its former home. The weight of the necklace felt comforting.

  “Why don’t you wear the charm by itself? The dragon is tacky.”

  “I like the dragon.” Since he hadn’t reacted to the sight of the key, she probably could wear it by itself if she wanted. Good to know.

  “We need to work on your taste in jewelry and fashion.” He reached for the overnight bag and pointed to the door. “Shall we?”

  When they exited the building, she realized where she’d been this whole time. “The medical offices are in the science building?”

  “Green dragons take science courses to become medics. It makes sense.”

  “I think I want to become a medic.” The words slipped out.

  “That would be one way to take care of yourself. You’d have to petition the Directorate to be allowed into the medical program. I don’t think they’d object.”

  Right. “They object to everything about me.”

  “They have to come to terms with your existence sooner or later. If you choose a profession which helps other dragons, I think they’d see that in a positive light.”

  Bryn came to a dead halt as the repercussions of his statement sunk in. She wanted to do something which had no application in the real world. If she chose to become a medic, she’d have to stay in dragon society.

  “Damn it. That wasn’t part of the plan.”

  “Did I miss something?”

  She shook her head and continued walking. “Sorry. I realized something that made me feel stupid.”

  “Care to share?”

  “No.”

  He didn’t push for information. She was grateful.

  Students flooded the sidewalk as the first class of the day ended. Bryn moved in front of Merrick to walk single file. A group of older Blue males walked toward her. The young man in front looked at Bryn like she was something he found on the bottom of his shoe.

  “Too bad the poison didn’t do its job.”

  Before she could respond, Merrick stepped in the young man’s path. “Apologize.”

  “Why should I?”

  “Do you know who I am?”

  The young man struck a cocky pose. “No, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

  His friends laughed.

  “My name is Merrick Overton.” Students stopped walking to listen. “I’m here as legal representative for the Directorate. What happened to this young lady is appalling. Your comment is unacceptable. Unless you’d like me to thoroughly investigate your entire family, I suggest you apologize.”

  The young Blue flashed a fake smile. “Sorry.”

  Bryn dug her nails into her palms. His apology wasn’t sincere. He wished she were dead. All the stupid threats she’d dealt with since coming to school hadn’t frightened her because she didn’t think anyone would actually try to hurt her. Now, she knew better, which made the threats far more disturbing. It made her want to fight back.

  Merrick stepped aside, allowing the Blues to pass. Then, he placed his hand on the small of her back. “Let’s move along.”

  The rest of the walk to her room was uneventful. Octavius and Vivian nodded to her. A few other students waved or offered smiles. Most stared through her.

  When they reached her dorm room, Merrick produced a set of keys and opened the door. The room was much the same as her old one, but with a black and gray color scheme. She stood in the doorway to her bedroom, taking in the differences while she focused on not falling apart.

  “What can I do?” Merrick asked.

  “I’m about to vibrate out of my skin. I need a Slam Man. Can you take me to the gym?”

  “I’ll call Coach Anderson. Why don’t you change clothes?”

  Bryn closed and locked the bedroom door. She walked to the armoire on the right and found it empty. Had someone taken her things? Wait, there was another armoire. It felt like her brain wasn’t operating at full speed.

  She dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt, hung Merrick’s outfit neatly on a hanger, and carried it back into the living room.

  Merrick glanced at the clothes. “I billed those to the Institute. You can keep them.”

  Her hands shook as she placed the hanger on the bedroom doorknob. “I need to hit something.”

  “Coach Anderson is coming over. She’ll speak to the medic and ask what you can do.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that.” Unable to sit still, she paced the room. “That Blue meant what he said. He wishes I were dead.”

  Merrick stepped into her path and placed his hands on her shoulders. “He was showing off for his friends.”

  “You’re wrong. He meant it. I’ve learned to read other dragons. The truth is in their eyes. Some are curious. Others are disgusted. Most pretend I’m not here. He’s one of those who believe I shouldn’t exist. He’s the type who would try to kill me. And it’s not like I can threaten him back, because I’ll be the one to get in trouble, which is not fair, and I’m so mad that I really want to hit something. ” Her voice cracked as her emotions swirled out of control. There was only one person who could make her feel better right now.

  “I want Zavien.”

  “I’ll find him.” Merrick’s voice was kind. “Until he arrives, I’ll have to do.”

  She followed him to the desk where he picked up the phone and dialed a campus extension. As he spoke, he placed an arm around her shoulders. Closing her eyes, she took comfort in the simple gesture. When he hung up the phone, a knock sounded on the door.

  “That should be Coach Anderson. Maybe she can help.”

  Coach Anderson walked in, holding a jousting stick. She was followed by a student carrying a Slam Man. He was huge, and his smile reminded her of Keegan. It was probably his cousin.

  “Glad to see you’re up and about.” He gave a genuine grin on his way out the door.

  “Thanks.”

  Coach Anderson moved the Slam Man into the living room and then measured the distance to the walls with the jousting stick. Once she was satisfied, she turned to Bryn.

  “I understand you have emotions you need to work through. For the next two weeks, you can hit the Slam Man with the jousting stick. There will be no punching or kicking. Medic Williams will have my head if I compromised your recovery.”

  Bryn took the stick. “I can live with that.”

  Holding the jousting stick a gut level, Bryn swung at the Slam Man. With every blow, she thought: Stupid Directorate. Stupid Blues. Stupid
dragons. Stupid, screwed up life.

  It wasn’t as satisfying as kicking would’ve been, but it helped.

  Ten minutes later, Zavien walked through her door. She dropped the stick and ran to him.

  He caught her in a hug. “What’s wrong?”

  She ranted about the Blue dragon and all the other threats she’d received. He stroked her hair and made soothing noises. When she became hoarse, she stopped talking.

  He gently loosened her hold so he could lift her face. His own face was a mask of concern. “What can I do?”

  “I don’t know. This helps.” She laid her head on his chest.

  “I need to return to my classes.” Coach Anderson spoke from the couch.

  Holy hell. She’d forgotten there were other people in the room. Face burning, she stepped away from Zavien.

  “Thanks for the Slam Man.”

  “Keep him as long as you like.”

  “If you need anything, call my office.” Merrick placed a business card on the coffee table and followed Coach Anderson out the door.

  When they were alone, Zavien led her to the couch. “Later, I will yell at you for not telling me about all the other threats, but right now, you need a nap.”

  She sat next to him, lifted his arm, and snuggled against his chest. He didn’t seem to mind. “I hate this. I don’t want to be this angry. It doesn’t feel right.”

  He stroked her arm. As she listened to his heartbeat, some of the tension left her body.

  “I’m impressed you aren’t burning the building down.”

  She hadn’t thought of that. “Me, too.”

  “It shows you’ve achieved a level of control.”

  Right. “I don’t feel like I’m in control. It’s hard to explain. Being close to you helps. Otherwise, it feels like my skin is crawling with electricity.”

  He stopped stroking her arm. “That’s an interesting choice of words. Hold out your hand, and we’ll do an experiment.”

  She had no idea what he wanted, but did as he asked.

  “I’m going to create an emissary and pass it to you. See if you can sustain it.”

  A small ball of white light appeared in his hand. He set it on her palm. It grew larger.

  Whoa. “Am I doing this?”

  Within seconds, the ball of light grew from the size of a golf ball to a tennis ball.

  “Cool.” She could feel her anger pouring into the ball of electricity. It doubled in size.

  “Don’t make it any bigger,” Zavien said.

  It grew to the size of a basketball.

  “Bryn, you need to stop.”

  “I’m not doing it on purpose.” The ball of light grew brighter. She focused on it, trying to pull the power back, to make it smaller. Instead, it sizzled and popped, shooting out sparks.

  “Stop funneling your energy into it.”

  Come on. This shouldn’t be so hard. Shrink. Go out. Fade. Nothing worked. She shoved it at him. “Take it back.”

  He placed his palm under the bundle of electricity. It wouldn’t budge. “Bryn, you have to make it stop, or it’s going to explode.”

  She concentrated on the electrical power hovering above her hand. Fingers of electricity crackled as they snaked out with forked tongues. The mass of electrical current grew to the size of a beach ball. She felt the hair on her head rise and stand on end.

  “Do what you do to put out fire,” Zavien yelled.

  Snow… Cold… Ice… The ball of electricity flickered and then morphed into a giant snowball which dropped to her lap. Cold, wet mess seeped into her clothes, soaking her, Zavien, and the couch.

  He stared, openmouthed. “You can make ice?”

  Teeth chattering, she shoved the heavy, wet snow off her lap. “Didn’t I ever tell you?”

  “No.” He sounded offended. “You can make fire, ice, and electricity.”

  She stood and shook the snow out of her hair. “I fed the electricity. I didn’t make it.”

  “You almost blew up the dorm, so that counts in my book.”

  “If that’s true, then I have four elements. Mr. Stanton thinks I change my coloring using Quintessence.”

  He blinked but said nothing.

  She giggled. “Maybe I should have Garret pass me an emissary of wind and see what happens.”

  “Not when I’m around, thank you very much. You’ll turn it into a tornado.”

  “Hah, hah.”

  “This is…big,” Zavien said. “We should talk to Mr. Stanton and ask his opinion on what it means. Go change into dry clothes, and I’ll call him.”

  Did he want to say something he didn’t want her to know about? At this point, the lure of warm water outweighed her paranoia. Halfway to the bedroom door, her stomach growled loud enough for Zavien to hear. Food. She needed food. She turned back to him with a hopeful look on her face.

  He waved her toward the bedroom. “We’ll pick up lunch on the way.”

  A fast, hot shower and dry clothes later, she followed Zavien to his dorm room. It was the mirror image of her room, except messier. Boxes of camping equipment filled his living room. While he was in his bedroom changing clothes, she spotted a bag of marshmallows and helped herself.

  When he came back out, she showed him her new trick. “Look what I can do.”

  She held the marshmallow between her thumb and index finger. One quick blast of flames from her fingers resulted in a toasted marshmallow.

  “If you’re going to do that, we should make s’mores.” He rummaged through the camping supplies until he found graham crackers and chocolate bars, which he lined up on the coffee table. Bryn flamed several marshmallows, creating half a dozen s’mores.

  Chocolate oozed out the sides of the graham cracker when she took a bite. Melted marshmallow stringed from her lips, and cracker crumbs fell on her lap.

  Zavien laughed.

  “You try it.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Not that it did much good.

  He bit into his s’more, and marshmallow stringed out onto his chin. She laughed at his stunned expression.

  “The marshmallows are too melted,” he claimed.

  “Fine, I’ll eat yours.”

  He snatched a second s’more before she could hoard them all.

  This felt good. Whether it was due to the sugar high or being playful with Zavien, she didn’t know. It no longer felt like her skin was crawling with electricity. She finished off a third s’more, leaned back against the couch, and contemplated the giant ball of lightning she’d grown.

  “Maybe I used Quintessence to make the electricity.” She held her hand out, planning to test her new theory.

  “Stop,” Zavien yelled.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “I have the first fifty pages of a research paper in that desk. I don’t relish the idea of it being blasted to smithereens.” He stood. “Go clean up and we’ll call Stanton.”

  Bryn walked back to his bathroom. One look in the mirror made her laugh. Strings of marshmallow and chocolate decorated the lower half of her face. Once she was presentable, she joined Zavien in the living room, where he waited by the door.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Bryn, I’m sorry about what happened.” Mr. Stanton’s face showed remorse. “It’s my dormitory. I should’ve protected you better.”

  Touched by his concern, she gave a sad smile. “You couldn’t have known.”

  “I’m glad you’re all right. Zavien told me some amazing things on the phone. Have a seat. Let’s eat first, and then we’ll visit one of the labs.”

  “Afraid I’ll blow up your office?”

  “Yes.” His tone was so sincere it made her laugh.

  A student knocked on the door. Mr. Stanton answered and accepted two flat boxes. Bryn inhaled, and her mouth watered. Pizza.

  She sucked down the first piece without bothering to use a plate. Zavien set a can of soda in front of her, along with an inch-thick stack of napkins.

  “What are you implying?” she ask
ed.

  “I’ve seen you eat.”

  She rolled her eyes and grabbed two more slices of pizza.

  “Are you always this hungry?” Mr. Stanton asked.

  Since her mouth was full, she nodded.

  “You might have increased appetite due to your constant use of Quintessence,” Mr. Stanton said.

  “I never thought about it. I use it in place of makeup, too.”

  “Amazing.” He looked at her with admiration. “You have such control.”

  “Medic Williams said I was a natural. She suggested I study Quintessential medicine.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea. I can slot you into the classes required for a medical degree starting next year.”

  “How long would it take?” She crossed her fingers and hoped he’d say two years.

  “A basic degree in Quintessential Medicine takes four years. If you specialize, another two years are required.”

  Damn. “Are there other things I can do with Quintessence? I don’t know if I can stay here that long.”

  “Let’s leave career counseling for another day,” Zavien said. “I want to find out how you made the ball of lightning grow.”

  Once they were done eating, Mr. Stanton led them to a lab below ground level. Stainless steel tables and cabinets sat against bright white walls. The chemical scent of disinfectant irritated her nose. She was afraid to touch anything because the entire room appeared sterile. Mr. Stanton insisted they wear flame retardant lab coats.

  “I’m not producing nuclear power,” Bryn muttered.

  Zavien helped her into the heavy garment. “Humor him. If that ball of lightning had exploded, your room would’ve been rubble.”

  “Really?” Good thing she hadn’t known that at the time.

  Zavien placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned down until they were face-to-face. “No matter what you produce, think small.”

  Hard to think of a snappy comeback when he was within kissing range, so she nodded to indicate she understood.

  Zavien produced an emissary and passed it to her. She concentrated on keeping it alive and under control. It grew to the size of a grapefruit and held.