“Soda is in the fridge,” Edgar said as he took his seat. “Help yourselves.”
I found a pop and joined him and Mason at the table, but found I wasn’t really hungry and picked at some fries and half a burger on my plate.
Edgar and Mason, on the other hand, got along immensely well; they joked around at dinner, both using their hands to talk. If I had any more doubts about us being related, watching Mason and Edgar move exactly the same way squashed them.
I was starting to think that this was going to be a good thing. Mason had never had a father figure, and Edgar was a well-rounded, kind individual, setting aside the fact he was much older than our Dad would be. Still, he could be really good for Mason.
I was starting to get excited when Edgar put his burger down, wiped his hands, and told us he had something he wanted to talk to us about.
My stomach tightened. I knew it, this was it, when the other shoe dropped, and he told us the conditions of us living with him.
“I travel a lot for my job,” he began. “I’m gone more often than I’m actually here and many of the places I go are sadly not suitable for two young adults who should still be in school. Unfortunately, because of this, I cannot house you two, at least during the school year.”
I frowned and slowly shook my head. “What?” He dragged us from Jersey, gave us rooms, to tell us just kidding? “What do you mean?” I asked sharply, and I’m sure he heard the frustration in my tone. “You can’t just bring us here and then say you’re going to dump us somewhere else!” I hadn’t realized it, but I somehow got to my feet and was glaring at him intently. My hands were poised at my sides, palms open and facing him, but what I intended on doing, I hadn’t the slightest idea.
Mason’s eyes were wide to see me so furious, but Edgar, he just sat there, grinning widely.
I caught his gaze sliding to the necklace, but when I followed it, saw nothing out of sorts. I cleared my throat, cheeks flushed, and sank back into my chair.
“I suppose I should’ve started this conversation differently. What I meant to go on to say was since I cannot be here to stay with you, I’ve had you enrolled in boarding schools not too far from here.”
“Boarding school,” I choked out. The last thing I wanted was to be thrown into that type of environment with a bunch of rich, spoiled brats who never worked a day in their lives and didn’t understand the first thing about the real world. “What’s wrong with public?”
“Trust me, this school is exactly what you need. It’ll give you both the structure you’ve been missing, and I believe you’ll find you quite like it.”
I groaned, holding my face in my hands even as Mason said he was up for it.
“I’m friends with the headmistress,” Edgar told us. “Wonderful woman, and of course I’ve gotten you the best lodgings they offer. And let me tell you, a high school diploma from these schools and a recommendation by the headmistress will get you into any college you want so long as your grades are decent. Unfortunately, Mason does not qualify for the advanced curriculum at the main school, so he’ll be attending the sister campus just down the road.”
“We can’t go to the same school?” I questioned, hating this idea even more.
“He said we’re right down the street from each other,” Mason said, smiling. He seemed excited about the idea of boarding school.
Course he did, traitor.
But the longer I noticed how happy he seemed at the idea, the more I told myself to let him have this chance. He’d suffered as much as I had over the years and deserved a real chance to show the world what he could do. Get the education he deserved. Even if he wasn’t in this advanced curriculum, whatever it was, a private school would be better for him. Give him a chance to make some new friends and not have to worry about where his next meal would come from.
I shivered though, thinking of what this meant for me. Boarding school. Not exactly the place I pictured myself in at any point in my life, but what did I have to lose really? “You sure there’s no other option? We can’t do some satellite homeschooling thing and travel with you?”
Edgar looked directly at me with a reassuring look. “Some of the places I travel to are not exactly safe, and I swore to your mother I’d keep you safe. You’ll fit in better than you think, Everest, I promise. And if you want to get into a good college, this is your best option.”
I tilted my head, curious as I asked, “Are you… going to help with college?”
“Of course, I am. When I said that I was going to take you two in, I meant it. And, that includes paying for college. I want to set you up with as many opportunities as I can. If you want to study history, I want to make that possible. This school is the first step.”
“Why doesn’t Mason qualify for my school?” I asked.
“You and I can speak to the headmistress about that tomorrow.” He leaned back in his chair, glancing from Mason to me as if considering his next move carefully. “I know this is not ideal, but these schools are quite fun. I went there myself. Some of my best memories. Your mother attended as well.”
“Really?” I perked up at that, wondering if it was a good thing to go the same school or not. What if she had a bad reputation? Was the girl that always got into trouble and caused problems? I did not want to deal with Mom hanging over my head without her even being there.
“She loved it,” Edgar assured me. “And, you will be walking distance from Mason. You two can visit each other during your free time. I’m going to get you phones too, so you’ll be able to stay in touch with me and each other.”
“I think it will be fun.” Mason nudged my arm. “Come on, Everest, at least give it a chance. Please?”
Edgar had laid out plenty of reasons for me to just go with it, but I did not like the idea of going to a different school than Mason where I could not keep an eye on him. Then again, he did say we would be right down the street from one another. And I doubted he wanted his older sister hovering around him all the time while we got settled into this new life.
“Okay,” I said, somewhat reluctantly. “I guess we’re going to boarding school.”
He whooped with excitement, but I still wasn’t so sure about this. I reached up, fiddling with the heavy necklace still around my neck. My fingers stopped running over the sapphire when I swore it grew hot before it cooled off again.
I caught Edgar’s glance at the necklace, right before he stood, asking if we had room for ice cream.
He was up to something.
I just hoped I figured out what before it was too late.
Nine
Everest
I knew I was dreaming. I saw Mom again, crying as the man held her close, but there were more people around, a flurry of them rushing around, until that loud boom came again. This time, it didn’t wake me, but I still didn’t get to see what happened.
I reached out, screaming for Mom to look my way and tell me what was going on. Then she was gone, and the dream shifted.
I tried to go back, but had no idea where I was, or how to control what I saw. Images swam past me before I landed on something solid and stared around.
It was real, so real that for a moment I forgot I was dreaming.
A voice in my mind said I should be frightened with how vivid it was. My body moved up and down, and I finally looked down to see I rode on the back of a giant, crimson dragon with wings stretching far out on either side, pumping as we rose higher and higher into the sky. The scales beneath my hands were smooth as glass, and the beast was powerful. As it growled, the sound vibrated throughout my entire body, and suddenly I wasn’t scared anymore.
But I was certainly wearing something interesting. I was covered in all black leather and bits of chainmail, a sword at either hip, and when I reached up, felt a heavy necklace around my neck. I frowned, but the dream was suddenly no longer under my control. I stood as if I’d done this hundreds of times before, and held my hands out before me, focusing on the air around us.
I closed my eyes
and felt a heat move through my body, starting in my gut. It pushed upwards, and when I opened my eyes, my hands glowed with a violet mist. I drew my right hand back, then shot the mist forward. It exploded outward then spread, surrounding the dragon and me in a strange shield.
I looked around, and saw others approaching from behind, in perfect formation with me and the dragon I was on. Each had another rider, a woman, and their shields quickly appeared as we grew closer… closer to what though?
I could’ve stared at the shields for hours, entranced by the intense hues and the shock that went through me to feel the magic of the others.
It was beautiful, peaceful almost, until I heard the screams.
Drums beat far below, and the screams were joined by the clanking of iron against iron. Large plumes of black smoke rose thickly into the air, and I crouched lower, drawing one of my swords as I planted my other on the scales to keep my balance.
When the dragon dove and we broke through the clouds, I stared in utter horror at the devastation below. Bodies littered the ground as more fought, dragons and humans.
But that wasn’t what made me beg myself to wake up.
Headed straight for us, roaring in fury, were black and white dragons, absent riders. The red one I was one roared in answer, and flames dripped from its mouth.
A battle-cry fell from my lips too, and the second we clashed with the other dragon, my body was launched through the air, sword held fast in my hands, ready to bring it down on the head of the first dragon I reached.
My blade penetrated its heavy hide and thick skull, and its body fell through the air, crashing to the ground. I yanked my blade free, searching for the dragon I rode, but when I leapt off, a black one flew out of the smoke and snatched me out of the air as I screamed—
My eyes flew wide, and I sucked in a panicked breath, checking to make sure my body was in one piece, and I had not just been eaten by a dragon.
I fell back to the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Since as long as I could remember, my dreams had been more active than anyone else I talked to, but I’d never dreamt something that felt so… so real.
I reached up and flinched when I felt the necklace still there, swearing it was the same one from my dream.
“Course it was, idiot, you fell asleep with it on,” I mumbled.
I rolled over and forced my eyes closed to try and get a bit more sleep since it was still pitch-black outside. This time when I dreamt, it wasn’t a dragon I saw before me, but a shadowy figure stepping out of a doorway. I wasn’t scared though and stayed put until a sliver of silver moonlight fell across a familiar face.
Slade.
He stared back at me with those crystalline blue eyes, but this time they were harder, and I felt his pain. He stopped a few feet away and said nothing, his face set in anger. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but I couldn’t get the words out.
“They’re coming for you,” he whispered, and I flinched at the harshness in his voice.
“What?” I managed to gasp. “Who?”
“It’s you they want… they’ll never stop… never…”
Shouting jerked me completely out of my slumber just as a roar had sounded right behind me, coming from the darkness.
“Everest!” Mason yelled at the top of his lungs, jumping up and down on my bed.
I jolted, a bit shaken by both dreams, and telling myself the latter wasn’t going to come true. I was never going to see Slade again, not after moving out of state, but what he said stuck with me, putting me on edge.
I took a breath to get my thoughts in order and rolled my eyes at my brother. “Mason. Stop jumping on the bed.”
He stopped, leaping off the edge and landing on the ground. “Uncle Edgar says if we get up and get ready quick, he’ll take us shopping before going to check out the school.”
“Shopping? You’re excited to go shopping?”
“Yeah, why not? Aren’t you supposed to be excited about it, too?”
“Why?”
“You’re a girl, aren’t you?”
I chucked my pillow at him and told him I’d meet him downstairs.
He chucked it right back, smoking me in the face, but bolted before I could return the favor.
I got up and found my way to the bathroom down the hall, taking a quick shower to freshen up and tame my hair from my crazy night of dreams. Back in my room, I got dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved V-neck tee, purple, and debated for a few minutes if the necklace was too much with this outfit.
I almost didn’t put it on, but knowing Mom had worn it once upon a time, and seeing it in my dreams, had me reaching for it and slipping it on. Too much or not, it belonged on me, as weird as that thought seemed.
Dressed and ready for whatever today might bring, I headed downstairs to join Mason and Edgar. Breakfast was already laid out on the table, bacon, eggs, pancakes, and muffins. He asked how I slept and I forced a smile saying perfectly.
Mason went on and on about how great it felt to have his own bed and I had to agree.
Edgar switched topics to the boarding school and let us know while we were out today getting some much-needed necessities, he’d get us some normal clothes, but we would need a few sets of uniforms to wear.
I cringed at the thought, and Edgar smirked.
“It’s not all bad, promise. Black pants or skirts with a black blouse and a jacket with the school insignia on it as well as a simple tie. It could be a lot worse, promise.”
“I take it you had to wear it, too?”
“Back in the day, we had to wear a full suit every day, so believe me, I understand your pain. But on the weekends, you don’t have to wear uniforms at the school,” Edgar said. “So, I thought we’d run by the mall before we went into the meet the headmistress. You can pick out a few fun things for your dorms, too while we’re there. Personalize them a bit. Have some fun.”
Something about the word dorm made me feel like I was going off to college. For a moment, a bright future flashed before my eyes. Getting through high school, moving onto a good college and getting a degree. Working in a museum, or maybe even following in Edgar’s footsteps and traveling the world, exploring ancient ruins.
Truthfully, despite my hesitancy, I was hoping all of this was for real. That we really had this mysterious rich uncle who popped in out of nowhere to help us. But, the other part of me just felt like it was too good to be true.
And I couldn’t stop myself from hearing Slade’s warning in my ears again.
“Everest? You sure you slept alright?” Edgar asked, and I smiled again.
“Yeah, I’m good, just excited and nervous is all.”
“You’ll do just fine, both of you will, trust me.” He tapped the side of his nose and winked. “I have a sense for these things.”
An hour later when we arrived at the mall, Edgar told us we could each pick out twelve outfits, not part of our uniforms, and three pairs of shoes. His expression said he’d seen how little we had to take with us and was ensuring we were well stocked.
I opened my mouth to say it was too much, but Edgar gave my hand a little squeeze.
“Really, Everest, it’s my treat. This is part of taking care of you both and to be honest, it’s been a very long time since I’ve been able to take care of anyone. You two are all the family I have left aside from your mother. Let yourself go a little crazy,” he added quietly, and I decided what the hell.
Growing up, I got used to Mom picking us out new clothes once a year when school started, and usually, they came from thrift stores and flea markets. The first new clothes I bought I didn’t get until I started my job at the museum. Everything else was borrowed from Mom, or purchased as cheaply as possible which always meant used. We ducked into the first store, and Mason disappeared with Edgar while I roamed around the racks.
A saleswoman came along to ask me what I was looking for and I choked up when I started to explain my great uncle was helping me get some new things for a new life. Tears burned in my eye
s and I hadn’t the slightest idea why, but the woman took my arm and guided me along.
“Say no more, hon. Let’s get you all dolled up, huh? Tell me about this boarding school. Think there’ll be some cute boys?”
Before long, I was in the dressing room trying on cute jeans and tops to match, some sweaters, and scarves, anything a girl could ask for. She was amazing, talking about boys and classes. I hadn’t felt this excited in forever, and when I came out in my last outfit, Mason and Edgar were in the chairs waiting.
“I like it,” Mason said, hopping up to look at me in another pair of jeans and a dark violet sweater. “I got all my stuff already.”
“You’re a boy,” the saleswoman teased with a wink. “Boys are easy.”
“You have your outfits?” Edgar asked.
“Yeah, think so. I’ll bring everything out…” My mouth fell open as I finally took a first look at the price tag of the shirt I wore. “Uh… maybe not.”
“Don’t even think it. You’re getting the outfits. Miss? Would you be so kind as to start bringing everything to the register for my grandniece?”
“Of course.”
“No Edgar, really, this is too much,” I whispered, but he waved off my worries.
“Think of this as me making up for not being around when I should’ve been.”
I wanted to keep arguing, but I could tell he wasn’t about to back down, so I gave up and headed back into the dressing room. I changed into my clothes and joined him and Mason at the register. I mentally cursed at the total, but he paid it without a second thought and asked us what we wanted to shop for next. I was more than willing to let Mason lead the way when we passed by a kiosk selling makeup and brushes.
“Would you like some new cosmetics?” he asked.
“No, I mean I don’t need them.”
“Everest, please, get whatever you need.”
I found a set of brushes, an eyeshadow pallet with purples and blues that I liked, some blush and powder and handed them over to the woman running the kiosk. She bagged them for me, and Edgar paid before we moved on. There was a uniform store we hit next, but that was easy enough to find what we needed. They even sold the suit jackets; we just had to add the insignias once we got to the school.
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