Fire Bound Dragon

by Elizabeth Rain

  Fire Bound Dragon

  Rule 9 Academy, Volume 2

  Elizabeth Rain

  Published by Elizabeth Rain, 2020.

  Copyright Page

  While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  FIRE BORN DRAGON

  First edition. April 20, 2020.

  Copyright © 2020 Elizabeth Rain.

  Written by Elizabeth Rain.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Join Me!

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Join Me!

  Thank You for Your Purchase.

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  CHAPTER ONE

  The mouse, that wasn’t a mouse, reached up with a bloodied paw and scratched behind his ear. Sharp nails dug deep and sent blood and fur flying every time he shook his head. The insistent buzzing inside his brain was agony, driving him on as he scuttled along the darkened corridor of the building. His nose wrinkled at the smell of aging brick and mortar, nothing at all like he was used to. No matter, it was the least of his worries. He hurried past the series of blinking red eyes in the security cameras high in the walls that would have picked his progress up had they been designed to catch something so small. It was late, and he was the only living thing left in the building.

  The master had counted on that. The creature barely registered the compact package he carried, though it sat heavy between his small shoulders, attached with scraps of leather and cloth to hold it secure. He needed to reach the place in his mind. He had a clear picture of it there where the master had planted it and he knew where he needed to go. Master had promised the pain would go away when he did.

  His fast little feet moved him past several rooms, all locked. Not that they would have hindered him. The bottom of every single door cleared the floor by at least two inches. Plenty of room for him to scoot beneath. But none of them were the one. His nose twitched as he picked up the scent he was searching for ahead of him, in the room on the left. As he neared, the bright eye of the moon cast darkened shadows into the hallway from the small window in the door’s center.

  There! He was so close. And then the pain would be gone. Thick dark whiskers drooped and brushed the floor like little dust mops as he ran, perhaps the only outward clue that remained of what he was, in his other world where he belonged. He was a Gimlet. His race retained a peculiar ability to change their appearance and size to whatever suited. His master had decided small and brown with a long naked rope-like tail best served his needs; so that was what he had become. Anything to end the pain like master had promised.

  He gave nary a pause as he scooted beneath the doorway, his body stretching low and long and close to the floor to scurry under. Once inside, he glanced around to confirm what his well-developed hearing and sense of smell had already told him. He was alone.

  He reached up and gave another scratch even as his small body grew and lengthened. The long quivering snout receded and the ears grew straight and long, forming a dense carpet of shaggy hair that clung like a Brillo pad to his head. Brown fur became brown skin and he shivered, missing its warmth as he stood naked and cold in the master’s classroom. His true form was about the size of a small cat, with human features and prehensile hands as dexterous as any primates.

  Cabinet, cabinet, cabinet... follow the nose... yes I will.

  Slapping at his head, he ran along the row of cupboards lining the walls, yanking them open and closing them in disgust when none of them held what he was looking for. Not until the very last one.

  Pulling it open, the buzz in his mind became an agony that made his teeth grind so hard he feared they would shatter. The creature stared at the skeleton of a wolf, formed and sutured together with wires and screws and washers at the joints. He had no idea what the master had used it for and didn’t care. It didn’t concern him. He was only interested in one particular nut, attached to one particular bolt, that was neither. Instead, his large green eyes, dark with pain, spotted the gold-on-silver anomaly almost at once. His eyesight was twice as sharp as that of any cat.

  A sharp darting pain made him clutch his head in both hands with a squeal of agony. He banged his head into the cabinet door repeatedly. Make it stop, make it stop!

  The voice in his head was clear and he heard every word, forcing him to pause and listen.

  Just this one last thing and it will all be over and you’ll be free. No more pain, I promise.

  He reached out one slim pale finger, a long sharp claw curling in and under at the end. He hesitated for just a second, struggling to remember something important.

  He shuddered when the pain lanced through his skull like the dull edge of a razor, a whimper of distress floating in the air.

  When that whisper entered his consciousness again, he listened.

  Reach out now and turn the button towards the window... there... now push it in!

  The resulting explosion could be heard in the town of Bitterroot, over a mile away. It sent startled residents tumbling from their beds in a tangle of sheets and blankets and running to their windows in a panic to see what had happened. The room the bomb had occupied itself was gone. Nothing was left to resemble the classroom that had held so many students for so many years. The surrounding classrooms and hallway sustained notable damage as well. Contractors would be busy for weeks around the clock to ensure school opened on time. That is—after the officials of Drae Hallow finished with their investigation into what had caused the explosion in the first place.

  The damage had been so complete and had burned so hot that there was nothing left of the insignificant creature from another world that had detonated the explosive device.

  But the voice had delivered on its promise. There was no more pain.

  SIRRIS AND I STOOD with Thomas and stared at the damage to classroom building C. It was a three story brick building and once upon a time someone had taken their time on the masonry that made up the top pediment and the intricately designed cornice that had run along its upper edge. Much of that was gone.

  The entire upper left corner of the building was a yawning black hole, the windows blown outward for a hundred yards in every direction, which explained why the crime scene tape had been moved so far back. That was how far it had blown the evidence. The remaining ragged edges of the hole in the building were painted in charcoal black from the powdery residue of the explosion.

  We stared at Will Bennett’s Classroom. I had no illusions as to whether it had been an accident. That it had happened to his classroom when many of us had witnessed his very personal backside flying through a trans-dimensional portal into an alternate dimension just a few short weeks ago, was
alarming. He had to be responsible. But I couldn’t see how.

  Thomas cleared his throat beside us. “Come on, we’re late and I don’t want to miss this. Maybe they’ll have some answers for us.”

  We fell in step and headed for the Commons Hall and the set of Drae Hallow Council rooms in the basement below where we’d been the semester before; both with permission—and without!

  We weren’t known for our ability to follow the rules, but we were plenty good at breaking them.

  Looking around as we bounded up the steps to the building that housed the library, cafeteria and several other meeting rooms in the basement, I reminded myself that we were on holiday. We were supposed to be in Breathless on the other side of the mountain, enjoying a much-needed break with our families. But we knew why we were here, why they’d called us when most of the rest of Rule 9 campus stood empty. I just wasn’t sure how they thought we could help.

  The halls echoed beneath our feet as we walked the scant distance and opened the door. Voices below drifted up and I made out the distinct deep tenor of Mayor Seul. The more acidic and bitter voice of Carol Shamon responded and I gave a light shudder. She was not my favorite professor. She had helped get rid of Will Bennett. With the rest of us she’d stopped his army of demon wolves and hungry Macu from bringing down the shield. Together we’d protected Drae Hallow and Rule 9 Academy against discovery from the outside world of non-magical humans.

  When we walked into the meeting room, most of the council was already there, but nobody had taken their seats yet. Nick Seul stood talking to his father, his eyes meeting mine as he responded to something the mayor said and frowned. Mayor Seul nodded in our direction.

  Lucas Seul addressed the room. “Okay. We’re all here, I believe. Let’s find our seats and get this under way. He moved to take his own and I realized there was one more person in the room I hadn’t noticed. Jerry Waverly, Sirris’ father, moved to a chair. His eyes warmed on his daughter, who hadn’t been expecting him. We should have been. If there was anyone that could understand what had happened and unearth the proper clues, it was Sirris father.

  “All right, then. Let’s get started. As you all know, the explosion occurred just after 3:00 a.m. this morning. Thank God no one was in or near the building so it hurt no one. The room as most of you know was the former classroom of Will Bennett who... left us this past semester for another position... elsewhere.” He lied.

  A select few of us knew that wasn’t where Will Bennett had gone, but the mayor was in no hurry to spread fear and unrest among the citizens of Bitterroot.

  “We have little information yet about the explosion and that is why I have invited Jerry Waverly to visit and help us with the investigation. He’ll be working with Ms. Hodges and Miss Lara Bing.” He paused and directed his gaze to an unfamiliar face at the other end of the table.

  “Which brings me to a couple introductions.” He indicated the smiling young woman, hands steepled in front of her, brilliant blue eyes lit with humor.

  “This is Lara Bing. She hails from the Seattle area and the Magical Cell there. She’ll be teaching Dark Beasts and How to Survive Them this semester in Will Bennett’s room after the repairs are complete. In the spring she’ll be taking over for Mr. Bennett in Potions and Poisons class.”

  Her eyes left his and moved down the length of the table to include all of us all with a nod and a smile. Her eyes lingered on me for such a brief second. I was sure I’d imagined it.

  “... and it also gives me great pleasure to introduce someone new to you at least.” He reached down and took the hand of a beautiful woman with brilliant auburn curls and snapping blue eyes that seemed familiar to me. I noticed she didn’t stand, and then I realized she couldn’t. She reclined with all the grace of a queen on her throne in the wheelchair pulled up to the table. The Mayor continued. “Let me introduce Wendy Seul, my wife. She will teach Shifting 101 at the Academy this semester.” I watched her eyes catch his and the love was obvious between them. I swallowed the sudden envy that rose like acid in my throat. My parents were divorced and our relationship was a work in progress at this point. As her blue eyes roved along the table in welcome, I understood where Nick got his sharp blue eyes. I wondered, though, why Nick hadn’t mentioned her at all. He’d had plenty of opportunity to do so.

  The mayor inclined his head with a nod to Jerry Waverly, who cleared his throat. “Yes, well. I’ll be staying in one of the empty rooms in the staff dorm for the next few weeks while we investigate. Thank you Ms. Hodges for offering your lab’s facilities for us to meet and compile necessary information. I agree, I don’t think this was an accident. I’m hoping that together we can understand what happened in there.” His voice dwindled into the silent room. He nodded in Professor Bing’s and Feather Hodges direction and they both returned his smile.

  There was a mixed response to his quick speech. Many recognized that Jerry’s uncanny expertise and contribution to their magical world was without question. Theirs were the voices of respect unquestionable support. Others, those who were of the firm opinion that the human world had no place in the fantastical world of magic, were less accommodating. Since coming to Rule 9 at the beginning of the year, I had found that prejudice was not exclusive to the human community. It was alive and well here as well. It seemed mistrust and suspicion flourished everywhere.

  The Mayor was talking again. “You’ve walked through the scene in the less damaged area, anyway. Did you see anything that caught your attention as unusual?”

  I realized they directed the question at both Lara and Feather, as well as Jerry Waverly.”

  Feather, who had been silent and watchful, reminding me of her niece Fern who was my roommate, spoke up.

  “Yes, well. I’m not sure I noticed anything specific this morning, but I do think we’re going to need a lot more Ziploc bags for collecting evidence.” Her attempt at levity to lighten the meeting fell short. A few forced titters along the length of the table was all she got. It was early and we wanted to be on vacation, not sitting in a meeting back at school. There was more than one person sour on the subject at the table.

  “Right, then. Well, for now I guess that’s it. I wanted to let everyone that might have a vested interest in this know what was going on...”

  I didn’t catch the rest of what he said, my eyes flashing to Carol Shamon’s pinched expression.

  “Has anyone looked into the Dark Faction and their involvement. This is the kind of thing they’d be behind.” She interrupted him.

  Several nods further down the table said she wasn’t the first to wonder. Feather Hodges’ eyes flashed and I wondered at the hint of temper I saw there.

  “Is it?” the mayor asked, eyes cold as they met hers. “So far, there has been no sign of any involvement by the movement. We’ll deal with the evidence that presents itself. I don’t want to speculate on what I know nothing about.” He finished, the dig deliberate.

  She said nothing more, but she wasn’t happy at the rebuttal.

  And then everyone was getting up. The meeting was over.

  Together we moved to intercept Sirris’ father. We moved down the hall and up the stairs together, walking towards the staff dorm and where he had set up temporary housing for the next couple weeks.

  Jerry spoke up. “It’s a wonderful thing we’re at the Tuttles. Bunk in with Kimmy so you aren’t alone.”

  Sirris nodded. “I might spend some time with Sadie too, if she’ll have me.”

  I gave her shoulder a friendly shove with mine. “Idiot. I was thinking of visiting you. We could set up a girl pad and get Kimmy and her sisters together. Think popcorn and movies and no adults?”

  Jerry groaned and we shared a smile.

  Sirris looked around us, satisfied we were alone. “So, you gonna tell me what the startled look meant when the Mr. Seul mentioned collecting evidence?”

  My eyes flew to his guilty face. I’d missed that.

  Like his daughter, he glanced around before reaching i
nto his pocket and pulling out a small baggie. He held it up for us to see and I made out three long strands of what looked like coarse horse hair.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I have no idea. But it caught my eye when we took a quick walk through and it just seemed an odd thing to find in a science lab. Maybe it’s nothing. I mean, it was Potions and Poisons. Still, I will know more when I get it to the lab.”

  We left Jerry Waverly at the staff doorway. It was time to return and a long way down the mountain in the snow. There were two weeks left of vacation before the second semester started in mid-January. It would take longer than that for all of us to recover from our battle with the Macu and the Demon wolves that had tried to destroy the shield protecting Drae Hallow from the outside world.

  THE SNOW CRUNCHED UNDER my feet as I stomped my boots to warm them. An early thaw and subsequent refreezing had left a hard crust on the snow. Next to me, Thomas stood. Sirris was at my shoulder, kicking at the icy crust, scattering the glittering chards downhill. Like all of us, she waited for the door to fade back and let us in.

  “Enough already. It’s freezing out here.” I grumbled, shivering. I wasn’t sure why we always had to gather and wait on first days. First days of school after summer break, and first days after any other holiday breaks were over.

  Any other time any of us could trip that switch that allowed us entrance. Any Magical could. I figured the enforced wait had something to do with the mayor wanting to be able to come and greet us on our first days back.

  Movement at the front snagged our attention.

  “About time,” Thomas growled amid shaky nods. We all funneled in. The mayor spoke to us, but we were too far back and the shuffle of too many feet made it difficult to hear what he said.

  Thomas moved up beside Sirris. “Don’t you think it’s kinda odd your dad hasn’t let you know how the investigation is going?”