by H. M. Gooden
Excitement beginning to bubble up inside of her, Mai looked eagerly at Naunet.
"How do I start? Please, I'm ready to learn all that you can teach me."
Naunet nodded approvingly. "The first step is to let go of what you think you are and just feel the water around you."
Mai closed her eyes, doing as Naunet said and feeling the water around her, cozy and supportive, like home. She let her tension drain away to be replaced it with calm and a sense of heat began to rise up from within her core. This time, it came from a place of peace, not rage, as it had when she'd encountered the dark man. Her body tingled with a strangely strong, but not entirely unpleasant sensation. When it stopped, she opened her eyes and looked down at herself.
What she saw was both astonishing and beautiful. Her legs and body had been altered into shiny blue-green metallic scales that covered an elongated version of her body. She could see that she still had arms and legs, but the proportions were not her usual ones and were more similar to the snake dragons she'd seen depicted in art while growing up. When she saw her reflection in the water she gasped. She saw herself as a dragon with the traditional thick eyebrows and bearded appearance she remembered from statues at the gate of Chinatown in San Francisco. She sat admiring her reflection until Naunet spoke to her in an amused voice.
"Are you done yet? We still have work to do. Transformation is only the first step. There is much more to learn tonight and in the nights to come."
Mai felt her face heat with embarrassment, although her reflection in the water didn't change.
"Sorry, my lady."
Her words echoed, not sounding anything like her usual voice. It was deep and watery instead, like thunder over the ocean. It was all so strange and exciting.
Naunet waved her hand, brushing away Mai's apology.
"It is to be expected when you return to your true state. You have shed your human body like a snake does and begun something new. Now I want you to practice going between forms. This is deeply important."
Mai nodded and concentrated, but nothing happened.
Naunet smiled and shook her head.
"Of course. This is little more tricky. You need to find that heat again, but this time, imagine yourself back in your human form."
Mai concentrated again on the warmth and on her human shape. It took several tries until she finally felt the sensation filling her up. This time, her reflection was that of a human when she looked. She was surprised by a disquieting sense of sadness and looked to Naunet for reassurance.
The woman nodded, giving her a sympathetic look.
"It's normal to feel sad. As a dragon, you are much more powerful. Most creatures feel a sense of loss when they take human form, as though they have lost an arm or a family member. This will become easier with time. Now, I want you to change back again."
So Mai did, changing back and forth several times. She worked with Naunet for the remainder of the night, picking up what the goddess was asking of her quickly, with a mind as fluid as the water itself. As Naunet had promised, Mai had power and it seemed to grow exponentially over the course of the night. Endless repetition bled into the darkness and as her body slept, her powers grew.
WHEN MAI AWOKE IN THE morning and opened her eyes to the sight of a bed across from her with another girl sleeping in it, she was initially confused. Finally realizing where she was after the first few foggy minutes, Mai sat up in bed, fully awake.
"Evelyn, wake up!"
Evelyn stirred in bed, making faint grumbling sounds of protest, still half asleep. She rolled over, opening her eyes blearily with a grumpy expression.
"What?" she mumbled, with a voice like sandpaper.
"I met someone last night! Evelyn, I know what I am now!"
Evelyn opened her eyes a little wider and looked at Mai's face. Seeing her excitement, she groaned and rubbed her eyes.
"Okay, okay, I'm up. Let's wake the other two if you've got a story to tell. I don't want to hear it twice without coffee in my veins."
Mai nodded and jumped out of bed. She ran to the kitchen, started the kettle, then knocked on Vanessa's door before going to the couch to wake up Cat. With varying degrees of enthusiasm, the girls slowly congregated around the kitchen table, each holding a big cup of coffee. She was almost bouncing with excitement, but waited until they were all sitting and had had a few sips of coffee before she began her story.
"I met Naunet last night!"
As she looked around the table at the blank faces of her friends, she realized they had no idea who Naunet was and quickly backtracked.
"I had a dream last night where I met a water goddess called Naunet. She was sent by Robin to help me learn about my power."
Cat looked instantly awake and excited.
"No way! That's awesome! What'd you guys do?"
Mai described the events of her dream and when she reached the end, Cat, Vanessa, and Evelyn looked at each other, then at her.
"Show us!" they said simultaneously, before bursting out laughing.
Mai blushed, not comfortable with all the attention. "Okay, but do not panic. I am really big and look like a dragon, but it is still me, and I can still talk and everything. Promise me that you will not panic?"
They nodded and waited while Mai looked around.
"I guess I'll try here, I'm kind of big for inside a house, but this space should be okay. I think." Mai suddenly looked at them with fear. "But what if it wasn't real? What if it was just a regular dream last night and I didn't really change?"
She looked at them for reassurance and Vanessa gave her a quick hug of support.
"It was real, I'm sure. The best way to know either way is to just try. If I've learned anything about this crazy world we've fallen into, it's that the weirder something is, the more likely it is to be true. Just go ahead, we're all here for you."
Vanessa stepped back, giving her a warm pat on the shoulder for good measure.
Mai nodded and closed her eyes, tilting her head back and taking a deep breath. As the others watched, she seemed to shimmer and blur. When she opened her eyes again, Mai was standing in front of them in a true dragon form.
"Holy crap!" Vanessa exclaimed, then covered her mouth to hold back her shriek of excitement. She walked around the new dragon form of her roommate, examining Mai from all angles. Mai was almost eight feet tall and ten feet long from her head to her tail. She perhaps wasn't as massive as the girls would have expected a dragon to be, but she was still large. Mai had to crouch slightly to avoid touching the nine-foot high vaulted ceilings of the apartment, but had enough room to sit comfortably.
"That's so incredibly cool," Vanessa said, with a huge smile. "How do you feel?"
Mai took a deep breath then let it out, rippling the air in the apartment with her exhalation.
"I think I feel like you do when you get home from work and put on your pajamas. It's like I'm home and in my most comfortable clothing."
"That's awesome," Vanessa said.
Mai bent her head in agreement, a smile curving her dragon face.
"What do you think of my voice? Pretty sexy, hey?"
CAT STARTED TO LAUGH. Not only was it completely disconcerting to be talking to a dragon in the living room, but knowing that it was Mai, a proper 19th century Chinese girl who was saying 'sexy', was totally out of the realm of something that happened. Cat knew they'd finally left reality and entered into bizarro world. Vanessa had mentioned she'd been teaching her how to speak 'modern', but it still threw her off.
Mai started laughing too, a big booming sound like thunder in her dragon form. Everything was so unreal and amazing. The other two girls joined in, but after a few minutes the laughter died down. Mai turned back into her human shape and they all sat down at the table. It was difficult to follow conversation for the next few minutes due to all the excited questions and frequent interruptions, but they finally managed to calm down. With Mai's dream fully discussed, Evelyn described hers, changing the mood from that of a
party atmosphere to one that was darker and more intense. While the details were irritatingly vague, Cat was happy to hear what Evelyn had seen.
"It sounds like our final battle will take place on a bridge," Cat said with certainty, after Evelyn had finished speaking.
Vanessa still looked skeptical. "We can't know that for sure. The dream could be about the past, like her other ones."
Cat thought about the possibility, before shaking her head in disagreement.
"Nope, that part's over. Evelyn was dreaming about the past so that we could find Mai. She's here now and she's met her teacher. We're all working on our abilities as well. I think this is our warning to let us know things are coming, sometime soon." Cat turned to look at Evelyn. "Do you remember anything else about the dream? You said it was dark and foggy, but could you smell anything? Feel anything? Do you have any other details?"
Evelyn focused, closing her eyes and going back into her memories. She opened her eyes. "I remember smelling fish and salt, and I think I remember the faint smell of lilacs nearby as well."
Cat nodded. "That goes along with what I've been thinking. I'm pretty sure that your dream means we'll be facing Dub on a bridge in the dark, although they have flower sellers along a lot of the bridges all year round so it doesn't really help pinpoint a location. But now that we have a rough idea where, maybe we can decide when that moment should be. I've been thinking about it ever since we last spoke to Robin."
Cat turned back to Evelyn.
"What if we could pick our moment? We could chose a day and time when our powers will be the highest and Dub will be weakest. Either the spring equinox or the summer solstice would be best from a traditional perspective, although I don't think we'll get that chance, since Dub would be unlikely to do this when the sun is at its peak. Do you think we could arrange it so that it could happen in the daytime? I know it's dark in your dream Mai, but maybe that's just the effect he has on the area around him?"
The others looked at Cat with uncertainty.
"How can we plan for any of that?" Mai asked, doubtfully.
"We can't, but it would be nice to at least try. With all of the old tales coming true, maybe we should use the powers on days that would be in our favour."
Vanessa shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I mean, it's completely beyond our control, but at least it's a plan, of sorts. With all of us having teachers now, we should try to work on using our powers together as much as possible. Cat and I had a chance to tag-team with that evil lady last time, but I think Mai should come now as well to start learning how to use her powers in a fight."
Evelyn agreed. "Now's definitely the time for us to stick together. While we're here, we don't go anywhere without each other."
"But what about when you guys leave again?" Vanessa pointed out the obvious problem.
Cat shrugged. "There isn't much we can do about that. We have to go to school until something happens. I highly doubt our parents will be that understanding. Also, I don't really want to repeat grade eleven."
Vanessa growled with frustration. "Oh well, at least we have something to tell our parents. I'm going to think of this as a breakthrough. At least we're still getting hints of what's coming."
Vanessa got up from the table and made herself some toast.
"All this talk is making me hungry. Let's eat then see if the old people are awake so that we can go and explore."
Cat sighed, her initial excitement crushed. While she'd love to think they could pick a time and place for the battle, she knew that it was beyond her control. Vanessa could always find a way to point out the flaws in any argument she had, even without trying. Hoping Evelyn would get more information over the next few days or weeks, Cat followed her sister into the kitchen to start the day off with a hearty breakfast.
CHAPTER TWELVE
It was nice and sunny for a change and the girls were strolling around the tourist area by the wharf with their parents. Both Mindy and Marie-Jean were interested in the wares of the local artists, set out to tempt the tourists, but they did more looking then buying. Peter was fascinated by the way the city was laid out, but couldn't get anyone else interested so mostly just randomly said 'fascinating' or 'that is so funny' when he was in the older areas of the city or anywhere near a hill, which meant that he said a lot of things that no one really listened to. The girls were enjoying the day but were also on edge due to the possibility of a surprise attack.
They were just planning what to eat for supper when Evelyn's head jerked up from a stall selling paintings of the bay. Cat noticed her looking around in suspicion, which led her to begin to examine the area as well. She wasn't sure what Evelyn had sensed, until she noticed a nearby hot dog vendor.
The man selling the hot dogs looked utterly normal and nondescript. He had average brown hair, was a little overweight in the midsection, and had a seventies-style moustache. There was nothing that would make anyone look at him twice. Until Cat saw that he was lacking an aura. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Cat turned to Evelyn.
"Take our parents home," Cat whispered. "Take them to get groceries or something. This time, Vanessa and Mai will stay with me and we'll approach him together."
Evelyn sighed, disappointed at being relegated to chaperone, but in agreement with her plan.
"Okay. But be safe and don't take long. I'll be checking in and that's a promise, so make sure you answer right away this time, okay?"
Cat nodded, gave her friend a quick hug then turned to her parents.
"Hey Mom, Dad, I need you guys to go with Evelyn and her mom. We have to take care of some business before supper."
Her mom looked alarmed but her dad just nodded.
"Of course, Cat. Be safe, okay? We'll wait at our place until you guys get back. Don't be long!" He admonished her lightly, wrapping his arm around Mindy and giving her a tight squeeze. Marie-Jean, sensitive as always, had already noticed what her daughter had seen and came to stand beside Cat's parents.
"Come on, let's go get some ingredients for a good old fashioned gumbo tonight. I'll make it special, so we'll need to start now if we want it to be ready in time."
Mindy put a brave smile on her face. "Sure. I'm tired anyways. Cat, Vanessa, please be careful. I'll see you soon."
Mindy hugged her girls tightly and upon noticing Mai's forlorn look, gave her a quick hug as well. Mai looked startled, but Cat noticed that she hugged her back after a short pause.
And then they were alone, just the three of them. Mai looked nervous, but Vanessa seemed excited. Cat wasn't sure what to do, but figured that a good place to start was to go buy a hot dog. Walking over to the truck, she smiled politely at the man.
"Can I have one, please?"
"Of course, Miss. What would you like on it today?" The man smiled blandly back at her and spoke with an oddly refined British accent.
"Just relish and mustard, please and thanks," Cat replied.
Vanessa came up beside her while Mai hung back uncertainly. Cat observed the man's surgical precision with the knife and wondered if he was someone else from history that was a scary serial killer, since that seemed to be the type that Dub went for as helpers. Cat looked over at Mai, who was standing near the back of the truck, and noticed that her face had paled and her eyes had become very wide. From the angle at which she was standing, it looked as if Mai could see into the back of the truck and obviously, what she saw was unpleasant.
Mai knew that Cat had seen her expression change, but she shook her head slightly, trying to appear as invisible as possible. Cat turned her attention back at the man. He was still there, seemingly oblivious to the interaction between the two girls and to Mai's presence in general.
Cat watched as he put relish and mustard on the hot dog, trying to note as many details as possible. He was so average, she thought, noticing again his boring shade of brown hair, medium build, and even the name tag he wore with the name "Al" clipped to his dark blue shirt. As Cat waited, he neatly finished off her hot dog and pres
ented it to her.
"That'll be two dollars fifty please, miss. Thanks for stopping."
He gave her a polite smile as he handed the hot dog over in exchange for the cash, and Cat smiled back, carefully taking the hot dog without touching him before turning her back to him while Vanessa and Mai stood to the side and observed. The man continued to serve other customers that were beginning to line up. It looked as though the girls had just beaten the rush.
Mai and Vanessa sat on the curb beside where Cat had parked herself with her hot dog. As Cat watched the man interact with customers, she could see auras flickering around and coming toward him. Nothing obvious to anyone else, but she could see the same flow of auras that she'd noticed before with those who were connected with Dub. People's normal auras dimmed, becoming tarnished as though stained with dirt when they got too close. She stood up when she finished her hot dog and ambled slowly to a place about half a block away, with Vanessa and Mai trailing closely behind. They talked amiably about random things until they stopped, ostensibly to window shop at a shoe store with their backs turned to the hot dog vendor, but still able to monitor him in the mirror-like facade of the store.
"What did you see that freaked you out, Mai?" Cat asked, turning to look at her with concern.
Mai shrugged. "I am not sure, I mean, there is no way I could know for sure, but he had vats of liquid in the back of the truck and it was not hot dog water. It felt like blood to me."
When Cat looked nauseated, Mai rushed to add a qualifier.
"It did not look like where he would be cooking the hot dogs though."
Cat stuck out her tongue and made a gagging sound.
