

Dragon Wars: A Dragon Novella

Written By: Rich Scribes

Copyright© by Rich Scribes

Second Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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-1-

I inhaled deeply and savored the crisp air. I knew this had to be some sort of dream. Mostly because I was on a mountain peak, and I was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops. I just felt right. I couldn't explain why nor did I really care. I felt the mountain tremble a little, and then...

"Bryce Walop...hello...thank you for joining the class. What is the answer to the question on the board?"

"X=52," I responded to the teacher. I heard the class chuckle.

"That would be right, I suppose, if we weren't in English class," Professor Wilson replied. I started to turn red. I really didn't need to review this. I was exempt from this final this year. I turned my head and saw her...Ziora, the most beautiful girl in the world. A knot formed in my stomach.

"Mr. Walop, we all know that you don't have to be here. I did excuse you for the remainder of the year." Mr. Wilson pointed out.

"Yes, I know, and I'm going to reconsider it," I mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Apparently I'd mumbled louder than I thought.

"I said...I would like to reconsider my answer to the question." I smiled lopsidedly. A few of my classmates tittered as it was obvious what I'd meant.

"Too. Late. Ziora, you had your hand up. Answer the question please." I looked again in her direction.

"The author of that line is William Shakespeare." She replied hesitantly. She bit her bottom lip for a moment before continuing. "The play it's from is the 'Tempest', and the character that says it is Prospero."

"I see that you are doing your homework." Mr. Wilson commented. Ziora smiled, and I couldn't look away. Then a big ass head with brown hair shoved his way into my view. He lipped 'turn around' and so I did. That was Ziora's boyfriend. The bell rang which made me jump a little because of the stare down I was still receiving. I took my time so that I could walk behind her, hoping that her boyfriend wouldn't notice, until...

"Mr. Walop. I need a word please," Mr. Wilson called over the random chatter that was leaving the room.

"Mr. Wilson, listen I'm sorry."

"Bryce, I know that you being exempt from the final doesn't challenge you. Honestly I don't think I can challenge you..."

"How about we keep that between you and me sir," I smiled. Mr. Wilson smiled in return.

"We only have around a week and a half of school, so I will make you a deal, okay? You help one of my students with their final project and you don't have to endure anymore of my lectures this year."

"Wow, let's make a deal, huh?" I smiled. I was going to take this deal. I wanted to go to the computer lab, because that is where I spent most of my free time. You guessed it, I'm a geek, but I prefer to think of myself as a hybrid geek. I know a lot about computers, yet I wasn't picked last to play kickball. My mind is that of a young teen male: homework, eat, sleep, study, hangout, think about the cheerleading squad, and then repeat. "Okay, you have a deal. Who is the student?"

"Ziora..." Mr. Wilson replied. My mouth dropped open. I didn't know if I was excited or scared shitless about this. Mr. Wilson who was quite perceptive for a man who wore that much tweed, chuckled at me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you..." I sputtered.

"Ziora, third row by the door. She is having trouble with the final essay and her speech, which, of course, is Shakespeare." Mr. Wilson replied. I didn't even think this was possible: me helping the hottest girl in school.

"Uh sure I guess. You sure there isn't anyone else that could help her? I mean I barely got an A + in your class." I think I was going to hyperventilate.

"Good, I expect to hear good things from you about helping her. I will let her know that you will tutor her, and we will go from there." He said. I was clearly dismissed. He handed me a scribbled note that would act as a hall pass, and I floated out the door. Then reality brought me back to the floor. What the hell had I just agreed to?

The day went by in a blur. Any other day I would have willed the clock to buzz the dismissal bell, but today I didn't want that to happen. I was so nervous about this study date...did I just say date? With Ziora. I just needed to act like Ricco Swave and everything would be okay. I stepped off the bus without even knowing what I was doing. My whole day had been a big fog. The girl that I had a crush on actually needed my help. Probably more out of habit than coherence I stood the proper distance in front of the bus before the bus driver allowed me to cross. The weather was always warm. I love living in Florida. The idea of snow was cool. The idea of shoveling and parkas? Not as cool. My mother was outside planting more trees, and my dad, was of course, at work. That was it for the Walop family. I was an only child.

"Uh, hello, Bryce. I know you weren't going to pass me without saying hello," my mom said playfully.

"I didn't want to interrupt your tree hugging." She grinned and tilted her ugly floppy farmer hat that hid her fair skin from UV rays and burns, and smiled at me. She had the best smile. It made me feel safe.

"Hi, mom," I said with extreme exaggeration. Ziora flitted through my thoughts, I hope I didn't make a complete geeky fool of myself.

"What's the matter, sweetie? Someone bothered my baby at school today? On the bus?" She stood up wiped dirt from her knees and made her way towards me.

"Mom, I think those trees need more attention than I do." All I really wanted to do was go inside.

"Valiant effort, sweetie, but I'm your mother. That means your business is my business."

"Yeah, I know you are the CIA when it comes to infiltrating my life, but I'm just a little tired. I was up studying for an algebra exam," I attempted as an explanation. The statement was only half true. I didn't need to study, though I did sometimes. English wasn't the only final that I was exempt from, I was exempt from all of my finals. I was actually watching late night TV.

"Oh, fine, I'll let you go. There is a snack in the fridge." She said as she went back to planting.

I walked inside but only grabbed a soda out of the fridge then went to my room to lay down. I stared at my ceiling again hoping I didn't blow this study thing with Ziora: thinking being that if I helped her get a decent final grade this could be my shot. Then I heard a car pull up and screech the brakes to stop. Awesome. Life wanted to taunt me. I should mention another thing, Ziora lived across the street from me. The most amazing person that I ever laid eyes on was my neighbor. Yes, I know I sounded nerdy, but cruelty knows no bounds. I got up from bed and looked out the window to watch life happen. Her boyfriend dropped her off today. I watched her as she spoke to him. She had long black hair, and beautiful green eyes. Perfect skin. Perfect teeth. All the guys at school had tried to hook up with her before she hooked up with her boyfriend, who was the quarterback of the varsity football team. She had fallen victim of the head cheerleader dating the quarterback scenario. One time she smiled at me, but not really. Her smile had been geared towards her boyfriend who was walking right behind me in the hallway. Still I had gotten really close.

She was saying something to her boyfriend as she got out of the car then glanced towards my window. I froze in shock much like a deer in headlights. Then I ducked hitting my head against my wall. Damn thing was always in the way. I tried to calm down telling myself that it wasn't like she was going to come to my house...then wait, she could come to my house: because I was her study partner. Great. My first conversation was going to be about stalking. I heard the car drive away then heard Ziora say hello to my mother. My mother exchanged a few words with her that I could hear. Well she was in the right place at the right time. Maybe our orange grove needed my attention. I stood up to see if she went into her house because I couldn't hear her anymore. It seemed like she had. Whew, everything was safe now. The doorbell rang and that got me all nervous again. Maybe she had walked up to my door, and rang the doorbell. Oh man, what was I going to do? The only thing I could do, duh: answer it. I walked downstairs like I was trying to avoid something, and when I opened the door I heaved a sigh of relief. It was only my friend, Nelson.

"You suck!" he blurted as he walked into my house.

"Well, nice to see you too." I closed the door to my house and joined Nelson.

"Two things I have to complain about," He practically shouted as he plopped onto my couch.

"Only two today? Slow day?"

"One, you were exempt from that stupid algebra test, and two you live next door to Ziora."

"You have to study. That is a foreign concept to you, but you have to. I don't mean read up on that erotica crap that you read to get ready for prime time," I said with disgust. I only thought middle age women read that crap. I was so wrong. Those books were springing up left and right in our school, like a bad roach infestation. "What is the big deal with Ziora?" I was trying to play it off that she wasn't the 'it' girl in our school.

"Liar!" Nelson tossed me a look filled with revulsion.

"She is just like any other girl. There are a lot of them out there, you know." He knew I was lying even more. There was no one like her. I only had one more year before I was shipped off to college. The only time I would see her during that time was during summer vacation.

"Well, she is just a girl that is in your garden talking to your mom." He laid back down on the couch. "Do you have chips or anything?"

"Now you tell me this?" I was starting to panic, and that excited knot in my stomach formed once again. She was on my property and talking to my mother. I quickly rushed to one of the windows in my living room to verify that Nelson wasn't lying. There she was, having a conversation with my mom about my mom's orange blossoms probably.

"Dude, go outside and talk to her..." Nelson prodded.

"I'll have plenty of time to do that..." I walked over to the couch. I guess she really wanted to get started on the assignment.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I'm supposed to help her with an assignment for English class." I said. Nelson put his hand in a fist and bit it.

"What! Lucky bastard...let me help the hot chick. My tongue works just fine around the ladies. Yours ties itself in knots."

"You're stuck on a third grade reading level. Shakespeare would be like reading latin."

"Cliffnotes." Nelson replied proudly.

"Hmm...good idea, too bad you didn't use that for your own English assignment."

Our conversation was interrupted as my front door opened. Nelson looked at me filled with joy.

"There is this lovely girl that has requested to see you." My mom said indicating Ziora was in the house. Nelson still had the cheesy smile and was hopping all around, which wasn't helping my nerves.

"Um...living room..." I responded as I stood up with my knees slapping together because I was nervous. I walked over to meet Ziora, and Nelson followed. She looked even better up close. Nelson almost ran me over when I stopped in front of her.

"Hi!" Nelson's overly enthusiastic voice made me jump a little.

"Hi..." Ziora said, as she shifted a little. "Marvin, right?" She bit her bottom lip again. I guess this was a nervous habit.

"No, I'm Nelson, but I think I can really adjust to Marvin." Nelson's grin somehow got bigger.

"So...having trouble with the English final, huh?" I know it was a stupid question: why else would she be here? My mother was just standing behind her, taking this all in.

"Yeah, thanks for helping me, Brent." She said with a smile. My heart dropped a little. After all these years living next to each other she didn't know my name. We even had half our classes together, but I wasn't going to let that put a damper on things.

"Uh...uh...my name isn't..."

"Bryce...he's Bryce," Nelson sputtered out.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that..." She blushed.

"I think he wouldn't mind that you called him that either." Nelson said again.

"I'm kind of fond of my name. I've had it for a while now." I said.

"I really do apologize. I'm not the best with names. I've seen you both at school. I know we're in some classes together. English is just the worst for me. Remembering all the different names. Who wrote what. What character said what and in what story? Who were they talking to...it stresses me out."

"You're not going to be stressed out on my watch. We will get you speaking Shakespeare in no time, well just as long as you get my name correct." I smiled. Wow a complete and coherent sentence. I wasn't doing too bad. Nelson, however, was almost drooling on my shoulder. Ziora smiled at me, and, again, bit her bottom lip. That was driving me crazy...in a good way.

"How about you kids do your homework on the counter in the kitchen? The lighting is better there," My mom said. My mom was still behind Ziora, and pointed down at her, and mouthed, 'so hot'. And then she walked right past us and into the kitchen to wash her hands. I shook my head and smiled. The three of us now walked from the hallway into the kitchen area, Nelson almost glowing with excitement. My mom went and grabbed some snacks for us and then went back outside to do more tree hugging.

"So, the issue with you and Shakespeare is memorization?" she had all her work laid out now in front of us. Nelson just stared at her like she was not of this world.

"Well, that's a big part of it." Ziora stopped to think. "Honestly...everything!" she smiled. "A two year old may as well have written what I've done so far."

"Looks a bit like what Nelson would write, actually."

"Which one would be worse?" Ziora smiled. I couldn't believe that it was this easy to talk to her. We continued on with her assignment. She picked out a long dialogue from 'The Tempest' and I helped her decipher it. Then she put it into an essay format for the first part of the final. Nelson on the other hand was just gawking at her all afternoon, until his mother called the house to ask him to come home. This made Ziora realize how late it was and said she had to go as well.

"Thanks...you may have just saved my English grade." She said smiling at me. She had an addicting smile, and I loved it.

"Well, who would I look at next year if you flunk out..." I was saying before I could stop myself. I hit forehead. Oh, brain, why did you fail me? She probably thought I was some type of creep. I looked at her to find she was blushing.

"Well, then I'm glad you had some type of incentive." She smiled. I walked her to the door and we both said good bye.

"What a little hottie she is." I heard my mother say from behind me as the door clicked shut. I smiled. My mom was right, but seriously...she was my mom! There was no way I was having this conversation with her.

"She is just a girl that needed help with her final project from school."

"She is a very attractive girl that needed help..."She winked at me again. "Come on, help me make some dinner."

We sat down to eat some salad and spaghetti, again alone without my father. He was never home it could be morning or it could be night, and he didn't disappoint with his lack of presence.

"That girl Ziora couldn't keep her eyes off you, huh?" My mom mentioned as she poked at some lettuce.

"Are you serious?" I smiled. I couldn't help it. "She has a man, who probably could toss me into the end zone," I pointed out.

"And what about you? You have letters pouring in from all colleges willing to give you a free ride. You could've graduated this year if you wanted to."

"Yeah, but I'm the guy that her boyfriend cheats off of to stay on the football team so that he can get girls like that." At least that is what the stereotypes were in all the movies, and they were pretty much right on.

"High school relationships don't last."

"Where is dad?" I attempted to switch the topic. I couldn't talk about Ziora anymore. Reality was reality. "Working late, as usual, I see."

"Bryce, what he does is really important. You should try and cut him some slack," my mom said.

"It is easy to cut him some slack when he isn't around," I watched her reaction as I drank. "What does he do exactly? We don't ever talk about his important job." My mom stopped eating, and her jaw tightened. That always happened. Maybe he was a pimp or a drug dealer. We did have a nice house, and I could get whatever I desired.

"Mom, just tell me, is he a pimp in Miami?"

"Bryce!"

"It's a legit question. You never tell me, so my brain goes crazy with ideas." She smiled at me. She knew that there wasn't any harm to my question.

"One day you will find out what he does, but right now you have to trust me." That is how every conversation ended: that his job was of great importance. No more questions. The only thing I knew for sure was he wasn't president of this country. Or I would have noticed a difference in living.

Mom kept bringing up Ziora, and I kept switching the subject. Finally I said that there was no way Ziora would give up Mr. MVP for a guy like me. She didn't like that argument, so she stopped talking about Ziora. I went upstairs after washing the dishes, and just went online to check my email, and search the web until I went to bed.

I was about to log off completely until a red icon indicating I had an email blinked on the screen. I took the pointer and dragged it to the corner, and clicked on it. The subject line read anonymous. Oh, I love me some emails from porn sites. I didn't open the email and was about to log off, and again the red email light blinked. I rolled my eyes. This spammer was becoming annoying. If I wanted to, I could run a back trace with a computer code that I created, but I didn't want to track it. it would take some time. I was tired and my brain was fogged up with thoughts of sleep, well, trying to sleep. I had the same dream each night. The same one from my dream during class. I awoke from the dream in the same spot every morning with my alarm clock mocking me blinking 7:00. I wanted to jump from the mountain, knowing full well I would be able to fly and no harm would come to me. I couldn't ever get that far.

A third blinking email light came through yanking me away from my thoughts. Okay, time to see what this was. I clicked the email and this time the subject line was 'danger'. Nelson had to be playing with me right now, so I clicked on the email. The subject line read 'danger', and the 'from' field read anonymous.

"You're in danger. They will be coming for you. You will be the one to bring balance to a society that is ready for war."

-2-

Wow, Nelson went all out on this one. He must have been watching too much late night TV like I was doing the past few nights. He must still be upset that I didn't make a move on Ziora. I logged off my computer not paying any mind to what the email said and went to bed...

I awoke at 7:30 I was running late! I never slept past 7:00 this was the first time that I have had a decent night sleep that I could remember. And, I didn't even have that dream. Which was good and bad because not having the dream did allow me to sleep, but at the same time it was so damn good. I took a quick shower, and tossed on some shorts and a t-shirt. I raced downstairs where my mom handed me a toasted pop tart that I hadn't been expecting to be toasted and almost dropped it. The bus was about to pull away, and I yelled 'stop' of course, all the kids were making faces at me and pointing at me...wasn't the first and it wasn't going to be the last time I'm sure.

"Sorry," I said to the bus driver, Cheryl, as I climbed the steps.

"Don't worry about it, doll, just hurry and find a seat," She said with her raspy voice. She was a heavy smoker ( I could smell the nicotine on her breath smacking me in the face.) I started moving towards the back of the bus, and my heart jumped at the same time a knot formed in my stomach. Ziora was on the bus, and she was sitting by herself. How did she find a seat? We were one of the last stops, stupid question, she probably talked one of the freshmen to give her the seat. I was trying to scan the bus for another person to sit with, but everyone was occupied.

"You know...Bryce is your name, right?" She smiled. "You could sit with me." The sound of her voice was mesmerizing.

"Uh...sure," I muttered. She scooted over and let me have the outside of the seat. I unbuckled my book bag and placed it on my lap. I kept enough space between us that she didn't have to worry about me touching her. Why was she on the bus?

"I don't bite, you know, unless I'm provoked." She smiled. I held my cheesy smile in check. Just a week ago I didn't even say ten words to this girl and now we were having another full conversation.

"You know, I'm really sorry for not knowing your name. I guess I should have made more of an effort to get to know you, since we live right next to each other and all."

"Well, there is the fact that crossing the street can be so dangerous." I said as she smiled.

We talked until we arrived at school, and after I got off the bus I discovered why her boyfriend hadn't driven her to school. His muscle bound ass came through the crowd to get Ziora.

"Baby, I'm so sorry I couldn't pick you up today. I was running late and I didn't know where my keys were." He explained.

"They were probably in your pocket, you dumb jock." I muttered a little too loudly apparently.

"Yo, Shawn, this kid right here is talking smack." This skater kid shouted out. Oh what happened to the days when the jocks and the skaters were enemies? I was about to haul ass, but I felt a hand grab my shoulder and spin me around.

"You have something to say, geek?" Shawn was a big kid, bigger than me by probably double.

"Hope you don't throw an interception in gym class." I said shrugging. If I did get a beat down it would be my first.

"Shawn, leave him alone." Ziora pulled on his arm pleading.

"No, babe, he has to go down," Shawn replied. "To the ground." Oh, why didn't I just skip school today? Ziora was trying to hold him back, but she failed, because a fist greeted my face, and Shawn wasn't lying: I did go down to the ground. There was a circle of students around us, but I didn't think Shawn was going to make another move. He had made his point. He could take down a geek. I stood up and touched my face which started to swell, and I knew it was going to leave a big bruise. The circle started to get bigger around us, and I knew that was going to bring attention of a few teachers. As if on cue Mr. Olgera pushed through the circle with two security monitors.

"What is going on here?" He looked between us both.

"Nothing, sir, Shawn was showing me how gravity works in his world. I wasn't really that impressed." Shawn gave me a look as to say that I was lucky a teacher was there.

"How about you all impress me, and get to homeroom," He commanded to us and the crowd. I knew within a few minutes that this would be all around school, and, of course, video internet outlets. Video phones were everywhere. I walked slowly into school rubbing my face. Shawn did pack a punch. I went to homeroom, and signed in. Since facing English was not something I could handle I decided to use my free pass from Mr. Wilson and go to the computer lab.

I entered the computer lab and signed in. This was one of the only places in the school I could just relax. The only people that hung out here were geeks, and students that needed to get a computer assignment done. Being the end of the year very few people were here. A stressed out looking freshmen in one corner, and maybe a couple of sophomores that were more interested in flirting than typing. The teacher that ran the lab loved when I was in there, because then she could take a coffee break for the whole period. I was basically the one helping any student that needed the help. Once she saw my face, she lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

"Bryce, nice to see you again." Ms. Hayes said.

"Feigning for your caffeine fix?"

"Well, since you mentioned it, yes, yes I am." She smiled with her yellow smile and left the room. I rolled my eyes, trying to figure out how that lady had a job. I was in my place of peace with a bruised face and that's what mattered. I wasn't going to the nurse. Everyone would expect that, so I stayed here. Then all of a sudden my phone made a pinging sound. A text. It was a text from Nelson, of course.

Why didn't you tell me you got beat up? He asked in his text. I didn't really want to bother with this conversation right now, so I put the phone by the computer keyboard and ignored it. Nelson was always trying to be into the latest gossip, and tried to hang out with the cool kids. What he didn't realize once they got out of high school they weren't going to be all that cool, but I was going to let him figure that out all by himself. My phone went off again.

Dude, you have to tell me what happened! I rolled my eyes. One more time and I would have to turn my phone off. My presence had killed the romance of the sophomores, and the frazzled freshman had finished printing something a moment ago and left. All alone. I went on the internet to check some websites. Some of them were blocked off due to the school's firewall, but come on: I wasn't exempt from all my classes for nothing. I hacked the firewall, and started searching the web. Then my phone pinged a third time.

Go on mymovies.com you have over 100,000 hit already. Look under boy meets FIST of thunder. I quickly typed the web address into the URL bar, and looked up what Nelson told me to look up. There I was: a thirty second video of me hitting the ground faster than a sack of potatoes. I touched my face again. It hurt. Well, at least I got my first high school ass beating out of the way, and all it took was the end of my junior year.

The day went by snail slow. Of course, I was a celebrity at school. Well, one of these celebrities that went to rehab. There was a lot of whispering and pointing. Lots of 'that's him' comments. I tried to block it out, but even Nelson was in my face. At lunch he was grilling me about the whole ordeal.

"So, tell me the specifics. Did you try and steal Ziora away from him?" I was getting annoyed on how much he was fixated on this girl. Jealous? Maybe, but I'd didn't even talk about her as much as he did.

"No, she had nothing to do with this." She really didn't. I just didn't like she was with the king of all douche bags. I sat down outside with my tray of food. Nelson joined me.

"Yo, Bryce," a voice said from behind me, "Something has been bugging my computer, and I can't figure out what it is." I looked up to see Trent. Why did it have to be today where people had to ask me questions about computers? Trent sat down next to me. Great, now I had to actually talk to this kid. He wasn't a bad guy. He was actually pretty cool, especially since he didn't ask me about the stupid fight. I just was in a foul mood and didn't want to talk to anyone. The reason I tolerated Nelson is because I have known him since kindergarten.

"Well, bring it to school tomorrow, and I will help you with it." I took a bite of my sandwich.

"I'm being proactive about this." Trent said as he pulled out his laptop.

"You didn't even know I was going to say yes, very optimistic of you to bring it in." Trent smiled, and handed me his laptop. "I have a free period next period, so I will look at it and give it back to you." I told him. He nodded. I placed his laptop gently into my backpack. I didn't have any books since I really didn't have any real classes anymore, and all the text books had been handed into our teachers. Being a geek did have its advantages.

After lunch I walked into the computer lab again, and of course Ms. Hayes was happy to see me.

"I know, Ms. Hayes. You look low on caffeine."

"You are such a wonderful child," she replied.

"Too bad I can't say the same for you as a teacher," I muttered. I think she heard me because she turned and gave me a dirty look, but the coffee won the battle, and she left the room. I took out Trent's laptop and pressed the power button. And was greeted by a background of busty vixens. I knew right away what the problem was.

I managed to fix his laptop in ten minutes. All it had was a spyware virus. I cleaned it out amped up the security to his computer and it was up and running. I had to tell him to give his computer some time off from busty vixens. Since I'd forgotten to arrange a meeting place to give him back the laptop I'd have to find him after school. I must have zoned out because I heard someone sit down to use a computer. I looked up and... it was Ziora. Out of all the days that we had alone time together, today had to be the day.

"Bryce!" Her face lit up. I had no clue why, maybe she was going to say sorry for her boyfriend's actions.

"Wow, right on the first try."

"Well, it isn't every day that I put a name to a face and then that face gets punched. Are you okay?"

"Well I had to make sure you remembered my name somehow. And yeah I'll live. Maybe it'll improve my looks." She smiled at me, and moved to the computer next to the one I was sitting at.

"I'm sorry about that, really. Sometimes he can be an asshole."

"Sometimes is an understatement. But if you want to keep insulting him I'm not going to stop you," I replied, and she looked at my face and seemed surprised.

"You don't have a bruise or anything," She remarked as she gently touched my face.

"What can I say? I can take a hit." I said as I reached up to take her hand away, but instead of letting go she held it. We both blushed. "Am I safe? Is he going to come in here in a roid rage?" Ziora smiled as she let go of my hand. I couldn't stop staring at her. This was the girl I had a crush on almost my whole high school life and here she was, looking back at me. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Are you one of those cool kids that have to hand in late work?"

"Yep you guessed it. I was one of those kids that thought I was too cool for school, well school work at least." She smirked.

"Well, it finally caught up to you. So what is your assignment?"

"I have to write a paper for my economics class: current events. How this recession will affect us in the long term."

"That probably wouldn't take that long to research. Would've been a good paper too, along with a decent grade, if you weren't too cool," I said playfully.

"I know I slacked off big time." She said as she logged onto the computer. "How are you doing on your finals?" I didn't want to brag or anything to her.

"Well, you know I had to pick my favorite letter when it came to some multiple choice questions. Or, I'd make an interesting pattern, on the scan sheet." I replied. I didn't want her to know that I was exempt from every final I had. And as soon as I said that Nelson walked into the room. This guy had the worse timing ever.

"Well, here's Mr. I-don't-have-to-take-one-final." Nelson said. I just shook my head.

"Oh, he was just telling me how he liked to wing it on multiple choice," Ziora commented.

"Hi, Ziora," he stammered. She smiled and raised her hand in greeting.

"So, you're a genius? I just thought you were good at English."

"Genius is an understatement for him," Nelson blurted.

"What my publicist is trying to say is that I study hard, and cheat off the right people," I said. Ziora smiled at me. "But don't you actually have to get your paper done, instead of wasting time talking to a geek and a half?"

"You're right."

"Hey, that is why I'm exempt from my finals." I playfully said. She smiled and began to work on her paper. Talking to her was so easy. All these years I'd spend afraid of her were wasted. I could've said 'hi', and she would have said hello back. I guess it was a little too late.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I directed my attention to Nelson.

"I just made a interesting pattern for the scan sheet for the biology exam and left. I didn't study and probably will have to go to summer school for that class." He shrugged.

"Great strategy to get out of the house during the summer time." I was multitasking: talking to Nelson and searching the web. I logged into my email account. There they were again. Three emails all with the subject line: 'you're in danger'. This was the best time to ask Nelson why he was sending these to me. "Did you also send these wonderful emails to me during the ten minute final from your phone?" Nelson glanced at my computer screen but a look of confusion crossed his face.

"Those aren't from me, man."

"I have received a bunch of these emails within the past few hours. I guess whoever is sending this is spamming me." I said as I logged off my email account and started scanning the web again. I glanced at Ziora to see if she made any progress, and she only had her name on top of the page.

"You know...this isn't the S.A.T. right? You are not going to get any credit for spelling your name correctly." I sensed something bothering her, but didn't ask. "How about I help you through this tedious task." I smiled. She smiled back. Nelson offered to help as well, but I told him that she wanted to get an A not a D-. Nelson just sat and surfed the web. I hacked the firewall that he could get into any site that he wanted to.

Surprisingly, we got through her paper quickly. She hugged me as a thank you, and, of course I turned red.

"Look at you! Working overtime with Ziora. It was only yesterday she didn't know your name. Now she is hugging you. Tomorrow she will be yours. Not that you'll know what to do with her." Nelson said as we continued to make our way to gym class.

"Yeah, and I will be the new tackling dummy for the football team if that ever occurred. I like looking less like a piñata believe it or not. Besides, she will not go for a guy like me. She is dating Mr. Popular or Pack a Punch." I rubbed my face absently. Even though my bruise was gone and all pain of the punch was gone, which I would really like to know how that happened, because he punched me pretty hard.

Once I got on the bus I took my regular seat. I'd quickly gotten the computer back to Trent, because I wanted my own seat on the bus. I zoned a little bit until I heard now a familiar soft voice:

"Is this seat open?" Ziora asked. I struggled to un-tie my tongue. What was she doing on the bus again?

"Uh, no, but almost all the other seats are also open." I replied. Then called myself an idiot. This was Ziora. This was a girl that you let sit with you even if the seat was full.

"Well, you know, if I'm sitting with you then I'm not going to have to sit with those little freshmen." She said playfully as she sat next to me.

"Freshmen are people..." I paused briefly. "So, why are you on the bus again?" I wanted to ask about her boyfriend but...Ziora looked down and sighed.

"Well, he and I got into an argument after he..."

"Beat me like I kicked his sister?"

"Something like that." She winked at me playfully. "But, I did tell him his behavior was uncalled for, and that he should apologize to you." She finished. Wow, something must be going on here.

"Am I on some TV show? I mean, you have lived across the street for years and we never spoke. All of the sudden you are chatting while we ride the bus, and even defending me." This was all just so out of the blue. I glanced at her, and her face was crest fallen. Way to go. "I'm sorry. Trust me: I don't mind having you talk to me. Not at all. It'll boost my popularity at school. We all know I need that."

"Well, maybe you can help me get a little geekier like you then I can skip final exams next year," she grinned. "Oh, help me finish up my English project, tonight?"

"I knew you were working some angle." I rolled my eyes playfully but nodded. We talked all the way to our stop. I guess she was really trying to make up for lost time.

From being punched in the face at the beginning of the day to a wonderful bus ride with Ziora I decided the day wasn't that bad after all. However, when I entered my house I felt that feeling dwindle down to nothing. Something wasn't right.

"Hey, mom?" No answer. A big clue that something was wrong that I hadn't notice until now was that she wasn't outside hugging any trees. "Mom..." still there wasn't an answer. I heard a strange noise from the kitchen. I discovered her curled up on the floor. She looked up at me. She'd been crying. "Mom, what's wrong?" I knelt on the floor next to her.

"Something has happened to your father. He died at work today," She choked out between sobs. Then, as I sat there in shock, she began to cry again.

-3-

This was a mistake. Had to be.

"Something...happened..." She sobbed. "No specifics..."

"How?" I had heard my mom say she didn't know. I hadn't known that my dad worked in a dangerous field. I really didn't know what he did for a living. All I'd known was that it was really important from what I had been told by my mother. I couldn't ask him because I only saw him a few times a week, and that was in passing, since I got into high school.

My mom took a couple of steadying breaths before answering. "Like I said, I don't' know. They will let me know when they have something to tell me. The main thing is to keep you safe."

"What do you mean: keep me safe? Dad died today, and you are worried about keeping me safe. That makes no sense, mom. This is all surreal." My anger starting to get the best of me.

"You have no idea what this means, Bryce." She attempted to sit up. I helped her. I hope she wasn't worried about the money. I could care less about that.

"Yeah, I know what this means...I won't ever get to see dad again. Even if it was a few minutes a week." I spat out, anger pushing my voice.

"Bryce..." my mom shifted to her knees and put her hands on my shoulders. "If what I think happened is what actually happened then you are in great danger. You need to be careful." She hugged me.

"Yep, okay, mom." I was going to have to be strong for her. I certainly couldn't burst out crying in front of her.

"I'm going to make some calls. See if they can give me any news. Stay in the house, please," She pleaded before she walked out of the room. I went to my room and sat in front of my computer. I just let everything go, and just cried. How could this really happen? And, why was my mom talking crazy and saying that I was in danger? And, what was my dad into that was so dangerous that it had cost him his life? I let the tears roll down my face. What a damn rollercoaster ride today had been. I needed to take a nap. Maybe this was a nightmare. Maybe the day hadn't happened yet, I was still really sleeping. Then the doorbell rang. I'd forgotten I'd told Ziora to come over to finish up her project. I grabbed my bath towel and wiped the tears from my face. Should I lie? Telling her that my dad was dead...I didn't think I'd be able to get the words out. I went downstairs and answered the door.

The knot in my stomach formed, but this time I let it go. I avoided eye contact with her, because I was sure my eyes were red.

"Okay, I think we can get this out of the way quickly, and then we can just hang out if you want," She sounded so happy and hopeful as she stood there waiting for me to allow her in. I didn't know if I wanted to be around anyone right now due to the circumstances. I glanced at Ziora's smiling face then quickly looked down again. How could I say no to her?

"Yeah, we did a lot the other day," I said softly. I invited her in. We went into the living room to do the project. She sat down, and I sat next to her, but left some room between us both. She began to arrange her papers around us and then started working. She talked but I hardly listened. I nodded a lot and said 'that is good' or something like that. She didn't seem to question the lack of talking from my end. Then I heard a soft voice say, 'thank you'.

"Huh?" I jumped a little.

"We're done," She replied. "Are you alright? You seem a little, well, a little more off than usual."

"Oh, yeah, you know me. I'm way out there," I responded. I attempted a smile but it didn't quite work.

"So, did you want to do anything?" she smiled, as her face lit up.

"You know, I'm not feeling too hot. I'm going to call it a night." Crazy talk I know but it had taken a lot of effort to get through these last couple of hours.

"Uh, it is only 7:00."

"Good point, but it's been a rough day. I feel like I'm eighty seven, so I may as well go to bed as if I was."

"Wow, I can only imagine when you get into your thirties what it will be like," she said playfully. I smiled weakly at her and then looked down again.

"You sure everything is okay?" She placed her hand on mine. I quickly pulled it away.

"Yeah, just feeling sick that's all. Don't want to contaminate you or anything."

"Okay, well, then I'll let you rest." We both stood up from the couch, and I walked her out. She said that she would see me tomorrow, and I said the same. Finally, I could go just lay down and cry myself to sleep.

There was something different about this mountain. I was standing on dirt. The sky was dark, but it wasn't night time: it was just that the storm clouds were covering up the sun. The thunder claps penetrated the clouds and sounded off in my head. What was going on here? Why wasn't it peaceful like all the other times? Then I heard a loud roar from behind me. I spun around to see what was making the sound. Why wasn't I running to save my ass? That is what any logical person would do, but I didn't. I couldn't see what the source of the roar was because it was hovering over the storm clouds. Then I heard it again right above me. Then all of a sudden the storm clouds went from dark grey to fiery orange, and that is when I saw a flame come right at me...

I awoke in a cold sweat. I looked at my clock radio and it read 6:15 in the morning. I was making good time for school. But now back to my dream. What the hell was that thing in it? And why was I having this dream? The other ones were so peaceful. Then the dreadful feeling drenched me. My father's passing wasn't a dream; it was reality. I got ready to go to school anyways. There was no use staying around the house and dwelling. My mom still didn't know what actually happened.

I went downstairs, and my mother was sipping some coffee.

"How are you holding up?"

"The best I can, Bryce." She replied weakly. She hadn't gotten too much sleep. I felt bad. While she was up all night probably letting family know what happened I'd gone to bed, and I'd been having crazy dreams.

"I'm going to school, mom. I can't just sit around here thinking about all this."

"Oh no you are not." She quickly said looking up from her coffee.

"Why not?"

"They may be out to get you. You have to stay here until I know we can keep you safe."

"Mom, what else did you put in that coffee?" I understood that she wasn't in the right frame of mind, but keeping me safe? From what? The school food? There had been that taco incident in the seventh grade, but I pulled through it.

"If anything happens to you, your father's death will be in vain," she continued. What in the world was she talking about? I was getting angry again.

"Mom, I'm out of here. When you start making some type of sense, then talk to me. I can't handle this right now." And I left the house.

I waited outside patiently for the bus. My mom didn't venture out. She wouldn't want to cause a scene. Ziora joined me at the bus stop a few minutes later. I gave her a weak smile, but I didn't feel like talking to her. She must have known that something was up, but I wasn't ready to fess up at this point and time. I was glad that the bus finally came. I let her on first, and she took an empty seat in the back of the bus, and I took the first seat. No one liked that seat, I was lucky today because a lot of the freshmen had today off so the bus was basically empty. I could sense Ziora looking at me. Her gaze was burning a hole in the back of my neck, but I didn't look back.

Once at school I didn't wait for Ziora to get off the bus I just kept going. Suddenly I felt a burning sensation like a million matches had been lit and held against my bare skin. I saw a figure in a black hood staring at me. I couldn't see the person's face, so I didn't know if it was a student or a teacher. I shivered at the heat seemed to vanish all at once. I shook my head then continued towards the school, but then there was the figure staring at me from the entrance of the school. What was going on here? Everyone, including the security team, seemed oblivious that this person was there. I rubbed my eyes and opened them back to find the figure was gone. What was going on with me? All the stress I was under had me seeing things.

I walked into homeroom and dropped my head down on the desk. When the teacher reached my name for attendance I merely raised my arm to indicate I was there.

"You look like complete crap," Nelson commented after everyone's name had been called.

"Thanks I was going for that look. I'm glad I pulled it off," I remarked. I really didn't want to let Nelson know what was going on in my life right now.

"Have you heard the news? Ziora is as single as you and me," Nelson said. That was not what I'd expected.

"She didn't mention anything to me last night."

"Last night?" Nelson questioned with his brow raised.

"Yeah, she needed help on her final paper for English, remember?"

"You are so in, you know that right?" Nelson exclaimed. The bell rang saving me from that conversation.

I decided that I was going to English class. If I didn't I had a feeling Nelson would skip one of his classes to talk about Ziora. When I walked in Ziora wasn't there yet. I quickly took my seat, and took out a book. I needed it because it would make me look busy just in case Ziora tried to talk to me. If it were any other day I would have been happy to find out her and Golden Boy had stopped their relationship.

I stared blankly down at the open book on the desk and glanced up when I heard someone take a seat next to me. It was Ziora. I smiled but dropped my eyes to read the same word over and over again on the page. I flipped the page from time to time to make it look legit. I could sense her looking at me. She probably thought that she had done something wrong. I would eventually tell her the truth regarding everything, but I still felt to raw. My feelings of anger and sadness were a potent combination. Class finally started. Ziora shifted her seat.

Throughout the class all I heard was droning. I couldn't decipher one speech form another, not even Ziora's. Coming to school, perhaps had been a bad idea. I couldn't get my mind around that my father wasn't alive, or how my mom was acting as if my life was in danger. What was up with that creepy ass figure in the court yard? The bell rang to rush me out of my thoughts. I quickly packed my book and left the class.

I decided I was going to give the computer teacher a coffee timeout. I entered the computer lab and no one was in there. Well, at least I didn't have to smell stale coffee smacking my face when she spoke to me. I sat down and sighed. I turned on the computer, and, of course, hacked the firewall. I logged into my email, and there wasn't a message saying I was in danger. It was an email from my dad...

-4-

I didn't bother to read the subject line. I quickly ran the pointer to the email and clicked on it.

Son, if you are reading this it is too late for me. I am gone. All my life I have tried to protect you, so that you didn't have to lead the life that I use to live. I didn't want you to lead that life, but as I type this I can no longer protect you. I tried to protect you from so much. Probably too much. Right now this makes no sense to you, and you probably think I've lost my mind but I haven't. Your life is in danger, and there is no time to waste. You will soon find out what I mean by everything in this email, but you need to trust me. You must go into hiding. They will come after you and try to kidnap you.

My eyes started to well up, but I continued on with the email.

Son, you are the key to preventing a war between your people. If you can't do this the world is in trouble. I'm sorry that I wasn't around, but I needed to do what I could to prevent this war, but it looks like I have failed. This cannot happen to you. You must succeed. Do not let my death be in vain.

The email ended. What in the world was going on here? Why would my father send that to me? And, what was he talking about my people? I rubbed my temples. I heard footsteps and a door click shut. Ziora came into the computer lab. This had to be the worse timing ever.

"Hey," She smiled at me. She didn't come close to me but lingered near the desk.

"Hey..." I responded back to her.

"You seem a little off today..." She started to say but then hesitated.

"Compared to what? You don't really know me. You started speaking to me only a few days ago." I said harshly. It wasn't her. It was me. I wasn't in the mood to talk especially now, with all this crazy crap going on. "I'm sorry...I'm just having a bad day."

"I know...your behavior isn't like your usual self; even if I have only known you a couple of days. You can talk to me. You know that right?" she said. I didn't know that for sure if I could confide in her with my problems. I wanted to, but should I?

"What did you get on your final?" I didn't want to confide in her just yet.

"A-" she responded. "You know I just might need to pick your brain a little more so that I can actually get into a decent college after senior year." She sat down now. I stared blankly at her. I heard what she was saying but it didn't register. My mind was focused on something else. I just needed air maybe. I shouldn't have come to school. My mom had been right. I attempted to say something but I looked like I was constipated. So, I just got up and left without warning. I felt bad leaving her in the computer lab all by herself, but I needed to be alone right now.

I stepped out into the court yard which was deserted due to finals week. Then across the way I saw the cloaked figure. I couldn't distinguish if 'it' was a male or female. I really hope it was a guy because they were jacked up. A sense of dread welled inside me at the person just stood there looking at me.

"We finally meet," The cloaked figure spoke in a raspy tone.

"Listen, all my homework has been submitted this year, so if this is the principals' way of saying I have to take a final exam...well, hey I'm unprepared but why not?"

"Come quietly and there will be no problems." How cliché and bizarre...time to go. Only my legs didn't want to cooperate with me, so I stood still instead of running. Then I saw the mans' arms starting to glow red through his shirt. Was I seeing things?

"Wow, cool special effects." I choked out; my legs were still not wanting to run. Suddenly Ziora showed up.

"Leave him be," She commanded. Wow, now a girl fighting my battles for me? Great. Then I noticed her arms glowing green. What was going on here?

"Oh, Ziora. You betray me. I suspected this, that is why I decided to come and do the job myself.

"You will not hurt him. You would have to go through me." She asserted. Where did this tough girl come from? Didn't know whether to find this sexy or intimidating.

"I'm pretty sure your arms shouldn't be lighting up like that! You need a nurse," I sputtered franticly.

"Bryce, this isn't the time." Wow, she just shut me up.

"Ziora, move out of the way. You are no match for me," the man threatened. I couldn't see his face, but, by the way he stood, I could sense he was an intimidating figure. The glowing red arms didn't help either. "I will not leave here until I have...Bryce."

"Zelter, I will not let you have him!" She proclaimed. Wow...she did care. My legs started to cooperate with my brain but only to work in reverse. I stumbled backwards. The red glow began to pulsate ominously.

"So be it. I thought you would be my little solider. We could have ruled together but..." The man lifted both his arms and shot a blazing fireball at me. Instinct which I didn't know where it came from, had me jumping out of the way. The fireball blazed as it made contact with the ground.

"Oh crap!!!" I leapt up from where I'd landed only to have another fireball come at me. I dodged it, and it hit a tree behind me.

"Leave him alone." I heard Ziora say as I got up and started running again, but the man somehow blocked my path before I'd gotten very far.

"If you keep this up we can never be friends," I looked around to see where Ziora was only to see her getting up weakly. Damn, what was I to do?

"Oh, I think we'll become great friends," The man snarled.

"Not with social skills like that," I retorted. Ziora staggered in front of me.

"We have to get out of here," She whispered.

"I had that idea long before you did," I remarked and began to move backwards. Then the man shot another flame at us, but this time it looked like it came from a flamethrower. I dove to the ground and expected to feel the fire at any moment...only I didn't. When I looked up, Ziora had an eerie blue and white bubble surrounding us: the fire was dancing around it but couldn't penetrate it. Well, at least not yet.

"I can't hold this much longer." Ziora said through gritted teeth. I watched as her face strained with effort.

"Let them go!" Another voice was shouting. The fire disappeared, and Ziora nearly collapsed as she released the force field.

"Bryce, Ziora. Run!" The voice commanded. So familiar... then I finally noticed that it was my mom.

"Mom, what..."

"Bryce, go!" She was shouting as she stared down the hooded man.

"You actually think you, a pesky human, can stop me?"

"We have to go, and now," Ziora pulled on my arm.

"No! I'm not leaving her!" I ran towards my mom.

"Bryce, don't..." Ziora tried to stop me, but she couldn't. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the man make another attempt at me with a fireball. Ziora quickly zapped it down with a giant green flame of her own, but the whole thing was a little too close to me, and the collisions of both fireballs sent me flying into a large tree.

"Bryce!" my mom cried out. There was a small cut on my hand where I tried to brace myself, and I'd hit my head pretty hard.

"I guess my life really is in danger, huh?"

"Give him to me, and I will let you live." The man proclaimed. Ziora rushed to my side.

"We have to get out of here. We can't let him get to you."

"I'm pretty sure he already has." I groaned. Then the bell rang to let out class. Wow, saved by the bell.

"We will finish this later," the man growled before he ran off. Kids started to fill in the courtyard. No one seemed to be freaking out from the blazing fire then I noticed there was no fire.

"I put them out. Didn't want people questioning," Ziora said with a shrug.

"I didn't see you do that."

"Well, you were hardly functioning at top capacity."

"Yeah, well...wait!" I turned my attention to my mother. "Mom! What are you doing here? You're going to embarrass me!"

"Bryce, I just saved you, and Ziora. Speaking of, you have a lot of explaining to do, young lady, but not now. We have to move and quickly." She hugged me before I could stop her. "Bryce I know you don't believe this, but you have to believe me this was not an isolated incident. They will try and get to you. Once you are out of the way there is no stopping them."

"Who are you talking about? What are you talking about?"

"There is no time now, Bryce, but she is right. We have to go and now. I have two more finals today, but I can make them up. You're more important "

"I think that is the least of your worries." I said.

"Come on," my mother said as she led the way to the car.

We got home without any crazy crap happening. I remained quiet during the short ride home, but inside, I was actually flipping out. I was like a duck on the pond; calm over the water, scared as hell under it.

"What is going on, mom?!?" I practically shouted once we got inside.

"Bryce, I don't think I'm the one that should tell you," my mom wearily replied.

"Uh, I was almost the main course of a BBQ. So, if not you, then who?"

"Bryce, dear, I think we all have explaining to do. Especially you, Ziora. You better start talking." Ziora just looked at the kitchen floor avoiding all eye contact.

"Um... I really don't know how to explain this. I mean it won't make any sense now," she began but then bit her bottom lip. She always did that when she was nervous.

"Ziora, I saw what you did for Bryce. Only one of them could have done that. You must be one of them." My mother stated as she placed cookies and chocolate milk on the kitchen counter.

"One of whom?" I looked between them in confusion. The silence was deafening and I began to feel like they were hiding something from me. "One of whom?" I repeated.

"Bryce, are you going to have a fit?" Ziora smirked as she watched me.

"If it gets the job done, yes, yes I will. One of you please start explaining. I seem to be so important for some reason."

"Um... I don't know if I should start or not. Mrs. Walop, shouldn't you start?"

"I don't care who tells me what. I just need answers." I was losing my patience with the both of them. I was majorly freaked out. My life was threatened, Ziora could kick some ass, and my mom was hiding something from me.

"Well, Bryce, perhaps it is best to start with..." My mom said quietly, "That your father wasn't exactly human."

-5-

"What are you talking about? He was human enough to die!" Probably not the best phrasing, but as I was distraught I hoped she'd forgive me eventually.

"Hold it! Your dad is..." Ziora muttered almost to herself as sadness covered her face.

"Now, you know why I was such a sour puss in school today," I said harshly.

"Bryce, you don't know how they are. They are mainly like us, but not," My mother continued. "Ziora, you are going to have to help me out here. Explain to him, please. Since you are one of them. I meant the younger ones, but you are still one of them." My mom was practically begging her. Ziora sighed, and, by all the indications I knew I was in for a story time session.

"Well it is hard to explain..."

"Try me. I'm pretty smart. I can pick stuff up quickly."

"Well, I am, or, we, I must say, are Dragalyns..."

"Yes, that is what she is, and what they are," My mom interrupted.

"Did you just say that you guys are drag queens?"

"No, Dragalyn. It is a long story, and quite a complicated one, as well. We are half dragon and half human..."

"Dragons? The mythical creatures that fly? Come on, you guys are expecting me to believe that?" my skepticism was evident.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you believe me right now. You saw what a powerful one is capable of," Ziora replied.

"Mr. Flamethrower? Please, any crazy person with a penchant for gadgets could do the same thing." I was still in denial.

"Bryce, your dad tried to protect you from this, but he couldn't. you have to listen and go into hiding," My mom pleaded.

"That is the same thing that he said in his email..."

"Email?" My mom nearly dropped her cookie.

"Yeah, that is short for electronic mail," I responded annoyingly.

"I can't believe..." Ziora muttered

"He knew that they were after him. He knew his time was coming." My mom had tears filling up in her eyes. "If they get you his death will be in vain."

"Who are these people that you are speaking of?" I was switching back to panic mode. Denial was not an option unless I just wanted to be stubborn. It was crazy and far-fetched, but why would my mom lie?

"Bryce, I don't think we are qualified to tell you anymore to what is going on," my mom sounded so sad as she said these words.

"Then who? Dad? Well, guess what? He isn't here anymore." I was frustrated.

"I have contacted one of your father's friends. He will be here in a few minutes to take you away, and he will explain everything to you. I think it is best this way." My mom said. Ziora shifted uneasily. I could tell that she was hiding something from me. I just knew it.

"What's wrong?" I asked once she finally made eye contact.

"Oh, nothing. Just a little nervous that is all. So much has happened today. I haven't used my powers in such a long time," She responded, as she dropped her eyes. She definitely was hiding something. The doorbell rang, and we all jumped. We were all on edge. I wanted information and I wanted it now. I just hoped this was the person that my mother had mentioned.

My mother went to answer the door. There was a quick and muffled conversation between the two. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I could guess that the person was advising my mother what to do next. After a minute or two I heard footsteps making their way into the kitchen. I looked down at the figure that came into the kitchen. He was a small little guy.

"Mom is this the guy that is supposed to protect me? He can't even get up on the kitchen stool."

"Bryce! Your manners!"

"I think he needs protecting," I mumbled. This earned a shove against the kitchen counter.

"Mind your manners," the small man said to me. Okay this guy meant business. "And, don't be rude to your mother."

"Okay, you're winning me over." I said. Ziora quickly shifted her face away from the man. The man leapt agilely onto the vacant stool. I could see this guy was someone not to mess with.

"We must move with haste," The man instructed.

"I guess you are not one for introductions. And you tell me to mind my manners," I mumbled again.

"Good point...my name is Zalie," he said, and that seemed to be it. I was going to let it slide because I needed to know what was going on. He seemed to notice Ziora but he didn't pay her any attention at that moment. "We have to move you to a safe place because they will be after you. You have what they want, or at least what they need."

"Okay, I have heard that so many times now. Who are they and what do they want?"

"I will tell you all this when we get to a safe place. You need to be out of sight in order to be protected," Zalie said. "Nancy, your life is in danger as well. You must go as well."

"I don't think so, Zalie. He would have killed me if he had the chance at the school," she said.

"You are alive because he wanted you alive. He has nothing to fear now. Your husband is gone." Zalie said.

"Thanks for the reminder, Zalie." I said.

"I must tell the truth. Zelter is the most powerful Dragalyn now. If you escape him it is because he let you, not because you succeeded against him." Zalie continued.

"Well then why did he let us go?" My mother questioned.

"That is a good question. He did have you right where he wanted the boy. How did you survive?" Zalie questioned. He seemed impressed that I was still alive and well after my brief encounter with Mr. Popularity.

"Well, Ziora here helped me with that, didn't you?" I said. She stood silent and faced away from Zalie. I found this odd, why would she not want to be noticed? She was one of them.

"Hold on a moment, did you just say Ziora?" Zalie questioned as he hopped off the stool and made his way to her. He slowly made his way to face her, and then looked up, "You!!! How dare you come into this house!!!" he growled.

"I guess she rejected you to prom, huh? Don't worry that is a long ass line." I said trying to ease the tension. Ziora now turned around to face me and my mother, she was crying.

"Ziora, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Don't you dare care for this one!" Zalie said.

"A little harsh isn't it?" I asked the small little man.

"Zalie, what is going on here?" my mom asked.

"I'm not being harsh at all, considering the fact she is one of the reasons that your father died."

-6-

"Excuse me? What do you mean by that?" I gaped at Ziora who was literally squirming with discomfort.

"Her father is the one that killed your father," Zalie explained in a cold tone.

My mother gasped before sputtering, "How can that be? Her parents are lawyers."

I just stood there. I felt as if ice water was pumping through my veins. As I continued to gape at her she took on a strange blue-ish hue. My heart suddenly felt like stone.

"Nancy, don't be a fool. Your husband hid too much in order to protect you, and Bryce. Look at her. Look at me. We are not limited beings. Sadly, your husband is no longer with us. He fought to keep our race and your race in peaceful harmony."

"Ziora, please, tell me this guy is lying," I pleaded when I finally found my voice. I knew the truth already but wanted her to say it. The girl I'd crushed on for years wasn't even human. Oh, and (small detail!) her dad killed my dad. Ziora remained silent, but the blue glow was more pronounced than before.

"Well?"

"I..." she attempted to say but the sound of her sweet, soft voice sickened me.

"What!" I was shouting now. I wanted her out of my house.

"You don't understand... I didn't know it would come to this. I was supposed to just watch you..." her voice broke and sob soon followed.

"So, you being nice to me. You wanting to talk to me... it was all a lie? You needed information for your father?" I was angry. "You saving my life was just for show: An act. You wanted to make it look like you were on my side?"

"No!" She blurted out as she wiped the tears off her face. "After talking to you, after watching you for so long, I..."

"Get out..." I snapped. "Out of my sight. Out of my house."

"But..."

"I don't trust you, and I don't care about you...get out and tell your dad to..."

"Bryce, you have to listen..."

"No...get out, and I don't ever want to see your face again!" I said. Ziora accepted that it wasn't any use to argue with me. She nodded before she walked passed me. Her shoulder brushed mine.

"I'm sorry." I heard her say then she walked out of my house.

"Zelter will come. We have to move you," Zalie said. I don't know why hearing that news about Ziora made me believe everything that was said, but it did.

"This is the most surreal nightmare. I hope I wake up soon." I mumbled to myself.

"We must go. Zelter will be along shortly," Zalie continued. "Nancy you'll refuge amongst our people, too. Get going pack the necessities."

"Uh, what about me? You guys know I'm still here, right? Do I have any say in this?"

"No," Zalie said quickly.

"Wow, a short response from a short man," I muttered. I felt a hand smack the back of my head.

"Again mind your manners boy," Zalie growled. "Nancy, pack your things. I will wait here. Be quick. We have little time." Zalie said. My mother nodded before she hurried off to pack. He raised an eyebrow at me. I interpreted that to mean: are you a two year old who can't get his own bag packed? So, I grabbed my back pack and went to get clean underwear. I made it back to the kitchen in two minutes, and with the time I had left while my mom was getting ready I decided to closely examine Zalie. Outwardly, he was like any other human much like Ziora. Of course, he was smaller than most, but looked like anyone else. He was white, had a shaved head and a long wide nose. The most interesting thing about him was a tattoo on his neck that I couldn't see all of.

"Ready," my mom said making me jump.

"Good, let's move," Zalie commanded as he made his way towards the door. Once outside we ran into a big problem. The guy in the hood was standing in my driveway.

"So, old friend, why are you trying to keep him away from me? Why not just had him over, so that we can control this world and open up our world again."

"Aren't you sweating your ass of in that creepy outfit? I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt and I'm sweating my ass off." I said.

"Bryce...shut up," Zalie growled under his breath.

"You betrayed our people. You are a traitor... I'd die before giving you the boy."

"That is what you said about his father, and look how he ended up. Why don't you save yourself the bother and hand him over," my would-be captor suggested menacingly.

"Not happening."

"So be it then, old man," the man's arms started to glow red again.

"Uh, Zalie, I've seen that glow before. It's not a good thing. I think it means he is going to open up a can of whoop ass." I said none to calmly.

"Not to worry, young Bryce. He won't be able to hurt me." Zalie sounded confident even as a fireball landed squarely in Zalie's mid-section sending him cart wheeling into the flower beds.

"Oh crap." I said.

"Now, let us continue our conversation from earlier, young man." I stepped in front of my mom. Not that would do any good. A flash of green light sent the man flying into the street. It was Ziora I knew before I even spotted her.

"You have to believe me that I'm sorry. That I'm on your side," She said. I still had a lot of anger stored towards her, but she'd just saved my life twice within the last hour. Before I could say anything Zalie joined us. He seemed disoriented and extra cranky, "Girl, just leave us. You do not belong here with us. You belong with him." He pointed to the man that had been sprawled on the street but was now standing up. He came closer to us again.

"So, Ziora again you try to ruin my plans. So be it." The man shrugged and without warning he shot a flame of fire from his hands at Ziora. She again surrounded herself with a force field.

"This is our time; we must go now..." Zalie urged.

"What about Ziora..." I looked towards her and she was now on one knee struggling to keep the force field up.

"Go!" She shouted.

"Well, there you have it. She is telling you to go," Zalie said my mom had barely moved since coming outside, was in shock. My dad never had brought work home with him, and I was suddenly glad for it. We started to run away from the fight, but I knew he was going to chase us down. Ziora seemed to be no match against him, but she was trying.

"I don't think you could move that fast," I commented to Zalie in between heaving breaths.

"We are feeble and slow and he will catch up to us." All of a sudden Zalie made an obscure hand gesture, and three small green beasts appeared out of nowhere. They looked an awful lot like dragons; mini dragons. One scooped me up and let me ride it; the other two did the same to Zalie and my mom.

"Whatever you do, Bryce don't come back for me. Keep going," Zalie ordered before he halted his own 'magical dragon'. Ours kept going. My mother was frantic. I was so surprised by what was going on that I couldn't put a feeling to it. Thankfully the dragons seemed to know where they were headed. We continued on in this way for several minutes.

"Halt," Zalie said as he appeared next to me. I nearly slid off my dragon. I looked at Zalie and noticed that his left arm was burnt.

"Told you not to mess with the BBQ." I said. We dismounted the dragons, and they vanished.

"Zalie, are you alright?" My mother, who had regained her voice, asked him.

"Yes, I am, but I cannot defeat him. Only delay him. He will come after you, Bryce until he succeeds, or we kill him."

"Wonderful choices to make me feel better." I muttered.

"We must go into hiding," Zalie said.

"I need to know what is going on, Zalie! You aren't going to keep me in the dark. I want to know why there is this guy trying to fry me up for dinner. And, what's with the dragons? Riding them? Talking to them? My brain can't comprehend anything more right now."

"Zalie, he needs answers. Answers that only you can give him. Answers that will clear up who he really is," my mom said.

"Do you know how many times I have seen this in a movie? Too many times to count. I'm just Bryce Walop. A high school kid that found out that the girl that he likes, well liked is a super freak."

"Boy, we must first get you and your mother to safety, and then I will explain everything."

"Where are we going anyway?"

"You will see, but we must move. I only slowed Zelter down. He will regain strength and come after you."

"What about Ziora?" I blurted. "She did save my life twice."

"We must treat her like an enemy right now. They are clever. All that could have been was just a ploy to get you to trust her, and then she would turn on you and me at the most convenient time," Zalie responded, as he wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"Always negative, huh?"

"No more. We must go. Grab each other's hands," he directed. I was a little hesitant, but I did what he asked. So did my mom. His arms were glowing a grayish color, and then what seemed to be a hologram of a dragon surrounded us. I had just enough time to think before everything went white. I felt numb. I couldn't feel anything. I tried to squeeze my mom's arm, but I couldn't. Then I felt my feet hit the ground. Almost instantly I threw up.

"Well there goes yesterday's food."

"You will get used to that, boy. At least, I hope so. Your mother did." He commented before he started to walk.

"You can't give me a minute?" I asked after wiping my mouth. "What exactly did we do just now? Teleport?"

"Boy, I knew you were a geeky-genius, but this is going over board," Zalie smirked. Giving up on informative conversation for the moment, I turned my attention to my surroundings. We were surrounded by wild life, were we any better off here?

"If that guy doesn't get me, I'm sure a big ass bear will," I muttered. I was beginning to feel a little better. I examined the wilderness some more. I really didn't know where we were at this time, I looked at my mom, and she looked a little calmer than before. "In your element, huh, mom?"

"We must continue to move," Zalie urged. My mom hadn't said much since the whole school incident. She really hadn't had time to grieve for my dad. Nor had I, but, right now, I guess, we needed to survive. "Just up this hill and we will be at the hiding spot."

We walked a few minutes in silence. After we got up the hill there was a cave.

"You are not being serious right now?"

"Boy, we must stay hidden. He will not think to look for us in the wilderness. Here we hide until we form a plan, and I call upon the proper people," Zalie explained.

"This will be good enough," My mom said. I wasn't going to win so I gave up.

"Lead the way, small leader." We followed him into the cave. It was a little cold and damp. Zalie snapped his finger and a fire appeared out of nowhere.

"You have to teach me that," I exclaimed. "That would be a fun party trick."

"We don't even know if you have the power of the Dragalyn," Zalie said.

"Well, Mr. Fireball wants me for something," I retorted as I looked into the fire.

"This is true, but you haven't shown any types of abilities to show that you are a Dragalyn. At least not yet."

"How about we start from what in the world is a Dragayln?" I suggested. I was frustrated. My mom settled herself near the fire.

"Being one cost your father his life," She remarked quietly.

"Dear Nancy, don't say that. He was the greatest one ever."

"I shouldn't have took him away from his world. Maybe if he would have married his own kind maybe Bryce would be a lot safer."

"Mom, what in the world are you talking about?" I was confused.

"Nancy, don't you worry about it. He knew what he was doing. He loved you, dear, and that is all that matters. He loved both of you, and that is why I must keep you safe. His death will not be in vain," Zalie continued.

"How about we start with what in the world is a Dragalyn," I repeated. "And we can work towards what in the world my mom is talking about."

"Boy, you finally had a good idea." Zalie said. I just rolled my eyes. "I hope you are prepared for a long story, because this is one."

-7-

"This may be hard to believe, but there are two worlds that are shared on this earth. One of course is the one that you know of, and the other is the Dragon World."

"That's original..." I said quickly. He gave me a dirty look and continued.

"Our race and world was separated by a portal deep in a mountain that no human can ever reach," Zalie continued. That reminded me of the mountain I kept dreaming about. "Our people used to live side by side with Dragons. Yes boy they are real..."

"You are talking about the fictional reptilian creatures? Not the one that scooped me up a few hours ago?" I questioned. I didn't want this to be true, but I knew it had to be true, based on what I have seen up till now.

"Yes boy they are real and not some piece of fiction. They are beautiful creatures! But they can be the most vicious and dangerous creatures. " Zalie eyes narrowed as he stared into the fire. "You see Dragons are very powerful, and they are extremely difficult to kill. Their skin is extremely difficult to penetrate, their swift movements through the sky makes them hard to capture, there is no matching their power." Zalie sighed. He must have seen some crazy stuff back whenever he was young. "We used to live in harmony with them. They are magical creatures that lived in the mountains, and allowed us to live in our villages. Our people even possess some of the power of the Dragon. That is how closely associated we are with the creature. There was one man that the Dragons respected. I would dare say the Dragons feared him. And, that was your father..."

"Wow, you know more about my father than I did," I said in such frustration that he was telling me about my dad, and I really didn't know anything about him.

"Boy! Your father was a great man..."

"Don't you mean a great Dragalyn?"

"Our society is just a fragile as humans, yet we are more powerful. We are still men and women." Zalie coughed. "We have been around for centuries. You see, we don't age like the humans do. Our bodies age at a much slower rate." Zalie explained. I don't believe this. These people lived basically forever.

"So where did you guys come from?"

"Well our Dragon world was or is still called Dragonlaire. Dragons and Dragalyns co-existed just fine with one another. Your father was the leader of our people. We had a treaty set up between us and the Dragons..." Zalie continued. "Your father was the strongest one of us, yet he never abused his power. He knew full well that it could create a war..." Zalie paused for a moment, and twirled his pointer finger at the fire, the fire started to form figures...Dragons.

"How did he communicate with the Dragons? Do they talk Latin or something?" I was intrigued by this world I have never heard about. I was thirsty for more information.

"To this day I don't know. All I know is that he could communicate with them. You see when your dad was younger he was granted powers that none of our kind had."

"How..."

"Well, this is going to seem odd, boy, but he saved a baby Dragon," Zalie informed me.

"Why did they need dad's help when they are more powerful than you guys?"

"Yes, boy, they are more powerful than us... We were hunting one day out in one of the fields when we saw a young Dragon falling from the clouds. We'd never seen such a scene. Usually Dragons learn to fly with their parents, but this one seemed alone. We waited but, to our horror the small dragon hit the river. Knowing that the young dragon could drown if not helped in time your father wasted no time wading in after it. The Dragon was trying to make it to the bank but with its injury could not. Your father attempted to help. At first the little Dragon snapped at him, but soon enough it realized that it needed your father's help. Your father was a very talented Dragalyn. He slowed the river current down with some of his powers.

I finally jumped in to try and help. Of course your father didn't need my help, he was far more powerful than I could ever hope to be. We soon had the Dragon on land. We saw that there was arrow that was shot through the wing of the creature, and it was poisonous. Then all of the sudden a blistering wind came from above followed by a roar. The Dragon's mother landed. Your father did not seem afraid of the big creature. I wanted to run for the hills. You see the Dragon thought we probably were the ones that shot the child down. But your father knew that we were innocent, of course. The Dragon mother didn't care; it quickly breathed a long line of fire at your father, and what I saw left me in awe..." Zalie continued and the awe was evident in his voice. "He manipulated the Dragon's fire so that it danced around him." Zalie paused so that the magnitude of what he just said would be emphasized.

"So, I saw you do that before," I commented. It still impressed me I guess.

"That was nothing. Listen to what I'm saying. I did a cheap trick. Your father manipulated one of the most powerful forces ever. No other Dragalyn had ever done something like that. I was in shock, and so was the Dragon. Your father at that time tried to communicate the best he could with the adult dragon, trying to advise that the baby dragon didn't have that much time. It was dying. Your father quickly tended to the Dragons wing upon examination the Dragon was weak as the poison was taking effect. I thought it was too late, but your father knew better. You see, boy, your father was a man of the woods. He went into the woods leaving me with the Dragons, and went to get the proper ingredients for the cure. It seemed to take forever, but he was back within ten minutes. He brought some plants back from the woods, muddled them together and applied them to the wound. At first the Dragon was not taking to the ointment but I saw no panic on your fathers face. Then about an hour later the infant dragon started to come around. The mother Dragon hovered, as it was intrigued by this strange event as I was. The infant Dragon was soon alert and well, so the mother Dragon awarded your father special powers. Powers beyond what any other Dragalyn had, one major power was the power of communication with the Dragons. Your father humbly accepted her gratitude." Zalie said as he had painted an impressive portrait of my father.

Excited by this insight encouraged him to tell me more, "What other powers did the Dragon award my dad? And, how do you guys just have regular powers? How long ago did that story take place? How do you get to your world? Where is it anyway? Did you and my dad grow up together?" I quickly asked.

"It's getting late. There is much to tell, and I'm glad you are eager. At the same time, we must be ready to fight against Zelter. It's unfortunate, but I, by myself, am no match for him."

"What is the next course of action?"

"Your father had setup a series of hiding spots for you. So, we will continue to move you until I figure out what to do. We will move in a few hours," Zalie responded.

"Hold it!" I wasn't going to sleep without knowing why this man is after me. "You told me a great story about my father, but now I need to know why this guy wants to toast me over open flames."

"That is a question I don't have an answer to," Zalie said as he avoided eye contact with me. I shook my head for a moment, and then fear and anger overwhelmed me.

"What do you mean you don't know?" I shouted. I turned towards me mom, she had drifted off to sleep, but all she did was just stirred a little from the sound of my voice. I lowered my voice. "I need to know, I need to know what to do."

"Your father did tell me that you always needed to know everything," Zalie said. "He was proud of your clever mind, and your need to be thorough." Somewhat floored by this compliment I pleaded.

"Then help me, Zalie."

"All I know is that your father seemed prepared for this. He told me where to go and how to keep you safe. In due time, I will tell you more stories about our kind. So that you will know what you are. But now, we need to rest," Zalie said. I couldn't really argue with him any longer. I was too tired, and he wasn't going to answer my questions. So, I laid on the cold cave floor and closed my eyes. I half hoped that when I woke up everything would be as it was a week ago.

-8-

"Boy..." I heard someone say, and a stinging sensation on my face alerted me. I opened my eyes to see a blurry small figure in front of me. I rubbed my eyes, and Zalie came into focus.

"What?" I was groggy and slowly sat up.

"We must move and now. I heard movement outside. I think they found us."

"What? But how?" My mom whispered in panic. "I thought we were safe."

"I don't know, but I hear too much movement outside," Zalie whispered. I glanced outside, but it was still dark. I must have been only sleeping an hour or so. Zalie had extinguished the fire. We were engulfed in darkness. Then I heard it outside; footsteps.

"Maybe it is an animal," I said hopefully.

"Boy, I know it isn't. No animal tromps around like that."

"So, get us out of here. We can teleport. I'll be okay this time."

"That type of power takes a lot of energy. I don't think I could get us far," Zalie replied back.

"Anywhere is better than here!" I said.

"Good point," Zalie responded.

"I know." Then all of a sudden I felt a tug in my midsection, then wind whipped and whirled around us, and then I felt the numbing sensation fall over me. Then we landed, and I hit the ground hard, but I felt grass under me.

"Bryce." I heard my mother call out to me. We were still surrounded by darkness, but I did see the sun coming up.

"Yeah, I'm over here." I answered.

"Where, boy?"

"I'm here. I'm fine," I said as our shadows all united under the dark sky.

"We must walk from here. I'm too weak to use any more of my power."

"Where exactly are we going? And where are we?" I asked as I took a step forward only to have my foot sink into water.

"Swamp," Zalie responded. I could tell he was smirking. "Follow me." He said, and we followed his small outline.

The sun rose sending a blaze of heat over the swampy marsh we were trekking through. We had to be in Florida again. I didn't think our previous location was though. I was getting thirsty, and apparently, provision hadn't been on Zalie's 'to-do' list.

"Are we nearly there yet?" I asked as my sneakers kept making the squishing sounds due to them being water logged.

"Bryce, stop complaining. We will get there when we get there." My mother scolded.

"Not if I die of dehydration."

"Boy, quiet. We are almost there. I see the house at the distance."

"No wonder no one would come looking for us here. There are probably alligators waiting for their dinner," I complained as I looked ahead at the small house that was basically on a dock that led to a river. Florida was famous for alligators. I still haven't seen one up to this day I guess there was a first time for everything.

"That is the point, boy. Zelter will not look here to find you. It is out of the way, and it is somewhere none will look," Zalie said confidently that this was a great hideout. "I helped your dad pick this place out, before..." He stopped talking for a while and just walked. My father knew his end was near when he decided on this place, and so did Zalie. Yet, my father had kept going, kept doing what he had to do to make sure I was safe when my father was gone. How important was I? And why? What powers did I have? Up to now I seen what type of powers these people had, yet I had none. Maybe I'd never have them and that would save my life. Or, maybe I did have them and that would also save my life. Only time would tell.

We kept getting closer to what I now called Alligator Den. I wasn't feeling particularly safe. I'd make a nice alligator snack. My mom was looking every which direction like someone or something would come out of the grass lands and attack her. I don't blame her after what happened yesterday. Then I heard a southern voice.

"Zalaye is that your small ass?" So far this guy seemed okay in my book.

"Oh Zalgon...must you be so loud?" Zalie said.

"Shit, how else will I tame these alligators," Zalgon said as we neared his house. He came walking to us. The man had a full head of red hair. His stature was imposing at least over six feet tall. His arms were huge. He wore just a vest without a shirt under it, and ripped jean.

"Come give me a hug..." Zalgon said to Zalie, as he made his way to us. Right after he reached Zalie he picked him up and hugged him. It looked like an overgrown boy hugging a teddy bear. He looked me over and nodded his approval before wrapping his massive arms around me.

"Thanks, I always needed some affection." I said as he put me down. Zalgon then bowed low to my mother gently and kissed her hand.

"I'm sorray about your husband, me lady. He was a great man."

"Thank you," My mother said softly as tears started to form in her eyes.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Get ya'll in da house. It is not safe out here, ya know," Zalgon said. Zalie nodded, and then waved me and my mom to follow. I didn't feel safe inside either.

When we entered Zalgon's house my jaw dropped. There was really nothing to it.

"Sorray, Zalaye, you know we were taught to live off the land, and basically nothing else. Living tis long on tis side of the portal is not easy." Zalgon said.

"I feel like I'm in a red neck witness protection program," I mumbled.

"Bryce..."

"Well, mom it is the truth. Where am I to sleep?" I was tired, hungry and grumpy.

"Boy, mind your manners. This is just temporary. Plus, you have lived a life of luxury up until now I'm sure you can handle the living arrangements for a while," Zalie scolded.

"Sorray, kid, I know you lived nice, but sleeping on some cots I have for ya'll won't ya do any harm. No, sir" Zalgon smiled.

"So what's next?" I asked.

"The kid don't have no patience, do he?" Zalgon looked at me and smiled. "Just like his old pa."

"We wait. Rest now."

"He wants me out of the picture, doesn't he? This Zelter guy?"

"Kid, you are too important to our peopal. We will protect you." Zalgon said. I didn't know why these people needed me. How could I help these people out?

"What was my husband doing when he was killed? Why couldn't you guys protect him?" My mom blurted out suddenly. She wanted answers.

"Well...that is a tough question to answer darling... we don't know. Ya see he kept secretive to what he was doing because he didn't know who he could trust." Zalgon said.

"Does anyone know anything? Someone has to know something! Why is Zelter dead set on my destruction?" I said. Zalie and Zalgon's vacant expressions gave me little hope of answers. "So, I'm guessing you guys know squat..."

"Bryce...be polite," My mom interjected.

"Sorry, mom, but I have someone that is trying to kill me. I don't have time to be polite."

"The kid is right. We don't know exactly what he wants with him. Our best guess is that you can open the portal to the other side," Zalgon flinched when caught Zalie's eye.

"Genius!" Zalie muttered.

"Portal to where?"

"Zelter's power is strong, but it is also limited. Even when he was friends with your father it was obvious that he was jealous. Your father's power had a depth to it that none of our kind has ever had. Your father was the one that closed the portal. Now Zelter is probably wanting to open it, but he isn't powerful enough."

"Hold it! Did you say that they were friends? Some friendship that was, huh?"

"Boy..." Zalie started.

"Loosen up, Zalie. The kid is right. Zalfer did not see the true nature of Zelter. He only wanted to get close to him to see if he could persuade him to open that gate," Zalgon said.

"Zalfer was the best leader our people ever had. Respect is due and should be given," Zalie stated sternly while shaking his head at me.

"How about this: once I know the whole story maybe then I can actually show respect. Maybe once my mother can get some rest and have some peace of mind that her only child will not be turned into a smore then I will show some respect. All you have been able to tell me so far is a story about how things used to be! Which, you know, back story is awesome, but the present is kind of full of danger. Especially towards my well-being. Which, I think is important."

"Ouch, Zalie he does have a point," Zalgon smiled. This big galoot was starting to grow on me.

"Boy, in due time. Trust me." Zalie did his calm impression at this point.

"Yeah, whatever," I muttered as I walked into the kitchen and went through a door that lead to the back porch. I couldn't believe all this crap was happening to me. Just a few days ago I was freaking out about what I was going to say to Ziora. All that seemed so long ago and so trivial. Answers... I needed them but was not getting them. I had this man trying to kill me at every turn, and a short little man hiding crap from me. I heard the door creak open, and I turned to see my mother walking towards me.

"Bryce, give them some time. Your father trusted these men. I think it is only fair if you trust them," my mom said gently.

"Mom, how can you be so calm about all this?" I looked over to the river bank. I definitely knew there were alligators in this damn river, and this porch suddenly felt too low. Didn't know what was worse being their lunch, or being a BBQ for that guy Zelter.

"Your father knew you were special. He knew you were going to grow up to do great things..."

"Like what? Run his pack of crazy people? I don't want it. I just want to be a teenager, mom."

"We don't even know if that is what he wanted from you. All I know is that he wouldn't have died or gone through so much trouble to keep you out of harm's way..." her voice caught. She paused before continuing. "That is why I haven't gone crazy. He lived his life protecting yours." My mom put her arms around me. I began to cry. I let it all out. It was too much right now for me to handle. I was overwhelmed. I really had no one that could relate. Maybe my mom, but did she really know what I was going through?

"Let them have their moment!" I heard Zalgon whisper to Zalie through the screen door.

"Fine..." I heard Zalie respond. I paid no mind to them. I just needed to rest.

"Let's go inside and get some sleep." My mom said as if she was reading my mind. We went back inside.

"Boy, you must rest. We do not know how long we should keep you here, but right now I think we all need to rest and recover. The last dragonportation took a lot out of me. If we need to run right now I don't think we'd be able to escpae."

"Don't worry, you worry puss. I have enough power to do all that. I remember ways of Dragonlaire though, I'm not supposed to use them freely. How you think I got these fashionable boots?" He put his big foot out and showed us his cheap leather boots. "I dragon port to a crazy place where no one looks twice at me, a big ass store it was."

"You're out of the loop aren't you?"

"Mostly I keep to myself ya know. Me and my buddies in the river."

"Buddies?" I hoped that he did not have alligators as pets.

"Yeah, the alligators keep me company." Zalgon smiled.

"You sure the voices in your head don't keep you company?"

"Aw, shucks, kid, no voices in here except mine." Zalgon smiled. "But we need to rest now." The cave nap hadn't helped and seemed so long ago. Zalgon settled, Zalie, my mom and me on some cots in a small room off the main area of his hut. When I awoke it was to a bright sun glaring in my face.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head." I heard Zalgon say to me. I sat up, and rubbed my eyes trying to refocus them.

"How long was I out?"

"You slept through the whole day, sweetie," My mom answered. She sat on her cot but it looked like she hadn't slept much.

"I was going to wake you, boy. However, your mother stopped me," Zalie muttered grumpily. "We must find out what your father was up to, and what Zelter wants with you."

"But where do we start?" Zalgon asked as he handed me what I nearly hoped was a normal egg sandwich.

"I don't know... I just don't know," Zalie replied wearily.

"Well, that is a good start to pointing us in the right direction," I mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich. We needed to come up with a plan and quick. Our lives were in jeopardy. We sat in silence while trying to come up with a plan, but no one was really helping. I wasn't really thinking Zalgon was going to come up with one, but I had better expectations Zalie would have.

The sun ebbed away to dusk. The sounds in the swampy marsh we were in had both multiplied and amplified. It was soothing, though, listening to nature. We'd made no progress brainstorming, but we had survived another day. But then I saw it: the red glow that over took the night sky. I had this ominous feeling.

"Come out here. We won't hurt the kid."

"Zelter," Zalgon stated. "Oh boy, I haven't been in a fight in years. Let's get this show on the road." I was starting to freak out, and I saw my mom do the same. I could see in her eyes that she knew that running wasn't going to help matters any this time.

"You two stay here," Zalie commanded.

"Ya heard the man. You guys do not come out there. There is a back door as you know. Wait a few minutes then go down the steps. There's a boat docked at the bottom. Go east."

I couldn't keep myself from saying, "I think I'm better off with that guy out there than the alligators." This was not a good situation. Either alligator food or being a BBQ. I guess my only option really was to cruise with the gators. I saw the two men go outside. I heard mumbling, but I couldn't hear complete sentences. As I tried to clear my head a random thought came to me: how did this guy know where I was? By the way Zalie spoke about my dad, he was very careful that I wasn't going to be found at these hideouts. Then I heard Zalgon say, "Yow, that's gonna leave a mark!"

"Bryce, let's go see if we can help." My mom said.

"Mom, I think it is to dangerous out there."

"Bryce, are you willing to let those two die for you?" my mom said harshly.

"Well..."

"If your father was still alive..." She continued. I couldn't believe that she was brining my dad into this conversation, especially during a time like this. "It is only a matter of time before he comes in here. Might as well try to help the situation... like I did."

"What?" I looked up at her, she was standing, and I was still sitting on the ground.

"Oh, dear, how do you think he found you?" her face twisted into a sinister grin. "I have been feeding him our location."

"Mom...please say this is some sort of weird reaction to the grief."

"Oh, I've waited for this day to come. Get up! Move your ass outside that Zelter can take you away." She grabbed me and yanked me up. She was a lot stronger than I thought. She started to pull me out the door. Once outside there wasn't fresh air like the night before, but instead there was fire dancing all around us. Zelter must have lit everything on fire. Then I started scanning for everyone. I could see Zalgon sprawled on the river bank. I hope he wasn't dead. Zalie was battling away with Zelter.

"Ah, there she is! My favorite girl..." Zelter practically cooed. Zalie stopped for a second which was just enough time for Zelter to hit Zalie with a fire ball. Zalie enforced a mini force field to attempt to block it, which, I think, saved his life. However it still did enough damage to send him flying towards Zalgon. Zalie quickly got up. I guess the fire ball wasn't as strong as I thought it was.

"You! You are the one that has been leading him to the boy."

"Oh, Zalie, don't act so surprised," My mom exclaimed all the while dragging me towards Zelter. The fire continued to dance all around us. There really wasn't any other place to go but inside the house. "Zelter approached me a while ago and has enlightened me on all the things your father had kept from me. Your father was content to keep his power all for himself. I thought when we married I'd be queen in a realm beyond imagination. But no! He stuck us in a suburb! Your race has all the great things in life. Your life expectancy is at least three times more than any human being. Your powers will bring respect. I want that, and Zelter is the only one willing to help me become one of you."

"You fool!" Zalie uttered, clearly shocked. Zelter cackled and flung a fire ball towards Zalie. He fell to the ground trying to avoid it. Zalgon was still prone on the river bank.

"You can't wield our power. It is too great. He is lying to you. No human being has ever been able to contain these powers," Zalie warned.

"Well, I'll be the first," my mom boasted. I couldn't believe I was hearing this. Tears started to form in my eyes. How could my own mother do this to me? I really had no parents.

"Why, mom?" I heard myself ask as I sunk to my knees.

"Oh, Bryce, honey," She soothed softly, " I wanted to be one of you. If you give Zelter what he wants then we can live in harmony." She gently touched my face. My life, my world, was stuck in a whirlwind. I had no idea what was going on. This only happened in the movies. This had to be a bad dream. This couldn't be real. Any moment my alarm clock would sound.

"Bryce! Let's go." My mom was attempting to rouse me from my stupor.

"He ain't going nowhere, darling," Zalgon's deep voice declared. He whistled and fear washed over me as I watched three alligators come into view. They were snapping their jaws and hissing at my mom and Zelter. "I told ya they are great company, and they can whoop ass too!"

"Aww, how cute. You brought your pets to play," Zelter snickered. Then he did a random hand gesture and six other men appeared.

"This can't be any good," I whispered under my breath. My mother heard me.

"You see, Bryce, there are others that want to aide Zelter create a better world. A world that your father was too short sighted to see," my mom sneered.

"I guess we need more alligators." Zalgon whistled some more, and three more alligators joined him on the river bank.

"You think you're going to stop us?" Zelter questioned. Zalie came back to the fight and started to fight Zelter again. The six guys seemed ill prepared for Zalgon's special alligators. Me on the other hand I just stood there. It was silent for a few seconds, but a ringing sound was reverberating in my head. Then a pair of green eyes with white teeth came snapping at me. A blue whisp of air saved my ass.

"Boy, they are supposed to help us! Get out of the damn way..." Then a fire ball exploded in front of Zalgon knocking him to the ground again. How these guys survived all this is beyond me. I looked around, and I saw the alligators retreating into their watery home. Zalgon and Zalie seemed barely alive. They couldn't win against seven of these 'Dragalyns'. I guess my time was up.

"Come," my mom urged as she grabbed me by the arm and started to pull me closer towards Zelter. "They tried to win a fight they simply couldn't win."

"Well...well...well so, we meet again, young Bryce." Zelter said. He slid off his hood. This man looked like he was in his early thirties maybe mid-thirties. He had a crew cut and a light beard. His grey eyes looked deep into my own. "You see...I need you. Your father was such a stubborn man. He thought the best thing for our race was to live out here in this part of the portal. Some of us didn't like that idea, but your father had so many followers; he was so strong that no one dared to oppose him. I did the only logical thing there was to do: kill him." Zelter smirked.

"You bastard!" I shouted and threw myself at him. It wasn't much of a fight. A couple of his cronies soon had me subdued, and then tossed me on the ground. I didn't bother getting up.

"It is over. We have won. Our world and this world will unite, and we will rule all of it. Your foolish father thought that we had to live in peace and harmony with this world? Why? I didn't get the logic. We are stronger than these people that call themselves humans. We are far more superior than they are, so why not rule them?" Zelter kept going on and on about how his people were better.

"So, why do you need me?"

"Ah, the question of the century," Zelter muttered as he circled me like a vulture. His goons surrounded us while he and I were in the middle. "You see, your father put in security measures for things like this..."

"You mean a hostile takeover?" I replied.

"Oh, I like the way you think," Zelter stated as if giving me a compliment. "And yes. However I didn't know what type of measures he took. So I needed someone on the inside..." Zelter smiled and he looked at my mother who had remained outside the circle. "You see, I knew she would come running to me eventually. She wanted to be one of us. She wanted to live as long as we did, and have our powers. Your father just showed his power off to her, and I knew she wanted it. She wanted the power and the life we lived. I just had to be patient. As she grew older, she knew that she wanted to live longer, and there is the problem with that race: their longevity. I simply needed to let her know there was an offer if she ever was inclined."

This man was off his damn rocker, "How old are you?"

"I am three hundred and ten years of age," Zelter claimed as he stood in front of me.

"Yep, thought so. Old age has gotten to you." I replied.

"You will not live long enough to see your next year on this planet. But that is neither here or there. You see, your mother dug up some information on what your father was planning..." Zelter stopped and looked at my mom again. "Your father was in love and trusted your mother. What a fool. He told her that he created three keys that were the gate way between our worlds. Three keys that can also open the gate. Three keys that would enable me to merge the worlds together." He said.

"Again, why does this involve me? You know you can just let me leave. I think I was adopted."

"Oh, you see your father wasn't the leader of our race without reason. In order to use these keys I needed the blood of the person who created them, along with their locations. You are the heir to him, you are his blood..."

"Wow, too bad for me I wasn't really adopted," I muttered. "So, what you want a blood sample?"

"Oh, no, Bryce, I need you. It is complicated. The blood has to be spilling from your body during the time of the opening of the gate while the world's mesh."

"Wow, isn't that a little harsh? You guys don't know how to make things easier, huh? I'd think one of those tubes from the doctor's office would have been good enough."

"We need the locations, Bryce." My mom said as she crossed the barrier of goons.

"What? Dad didn't tell you? That sucks, huh?"

"He claimed I had no need to know and refused to divulge that information." She said. I'd never heard my mother sound so bitter. Where had the woman gone who'd soothed my grief only a couple days ago? In her place was a cold hearted bitter woman. As if my mind and heart weren't already reeling.

"Get up..." Zelter took me by the arm, and pulled me up. "You will help us, and then you will die."

"Oh, wow. That's a great way to get me to come with you. You know you could have asked nicer." All of a sudden the wind started to pick up. A blue gust of wind knocked everyone to the ground including myself, but Zelter remained standing.

"We have to go. Right now." I heard a soft voice say to me. It was Ziora. She helped me up, and we started to run. Zelter threw a fire ball at us, and we both hit the ground.

"Hold my hand. We have to dragon port."

"No, I need to go back for Zalgon and Zalie," I shouted over the roar coming from Zelter.

"We have no time for this," she pleaded.

"Well, we have to make time," I announced. I wasn't leaving without them. The six men were getting up and coming after us. I knew this wasn't going to work, but I needed to try and save them. They had tried to save me.

"I don't think I can do both, Bryce. That dragon port the first time left me tired. I'm not used to using my powers like this." We both glanced around as animalistic growling filled the air.

"Yee, haw! Let's go! Zalie hop on. They gonna take care of the rest," Zalgon declared in the distance. The six men turned around to see what all the commotion was only to see the two of them vanish out of sight into the tall grass.

"Get them, you fools. We can't let them get the boy," Zelter was yelling. Another two guys went down. Then I saw an odd shadow coming towards us: Zalgon was riding an alligator and Zalie was holding on for dear life. The whirlwind that Ziora had created helped put out the fires, but I doubted that Zelter was going to quit.

"My buddies came back to help out, but we don't have much time. Zelter will regroup."

"Come on! Everyone hold hands. We have to go now. Like he said... my father will regroup. Maybe even call more re-enforcements." Ziora said. We all joined hands. The same feeling that hit me the two previous times hit me again, and in a few moments later we landed in front of my house.

"What are we doing here?" I asked as the waves of nausea passed. "Ziora?"

"Boy she is not in good shape." Zalie said. Zalgon was holding an unconscious Ziora in his arms.

"What happened?" I took her from Zalgon and tried to bring her inside. But Zalgon's big hands grabbed my shoulder. "Let go."

"Kiddo, we have to check it out first. We don't know what is in there," He explained. That made sense. "Let us check it out first, and then we can tell you if it is safe or not."

I nodded in agreement as I held Ziora. I moved to a little gazebo my mom had set up amongst her trees. At least in here we weren't visible to every passer-by and neighbor. Ziora saved our lives. What happens if that horrible conversation a few days ago was the last conversation I was ever going to have with her? Would I be able to live with myself? Zalgon walked back out of my house and motioned to come in. I hurried inside and placed Ziora gently on the couch.

"What happened to her?" I asked Zalie. I doubted Zalgon was full of answers.

"Boy, some of our powers take up a lot of our energy source. Eventually our exertion can kill us. The more experienced and practiced one becomes the easier it is to use these powers, which means less energy is used. She is not used to using her powers. She's young-for a Dragalyn- and unpracticed. I doubt Zelter trained her properly to use these powers."

"Will she come out of this?" There was a silence in the room. "Zalie? Zalgon?"

"I don't know. She is young. But she was foolish to do what she did."

"What...she saved our asses! You should be thanking her." I exclaimed.

"We don't know her intentions still," Zalie said.

"Well, right now I'm thinking she is on our side. Pretty sure that her almost dying proves that," I said. Zalgon plopped himself onto the vacant couch.

"Boy, I'm telling you she can't be trusted."

"And I'm telling you she can, at least for the most part."

"Boy, two worlds hang in the balance. This isn't the time to test loyalties." Zalie said. I don't believe that he was saying this. Ziora risked her life for us.

"What is the next course of action?" Zalgon asked after a few moments. Zalie and I exchanged quizzical glances. It seemed that he didn't know what to do anymore than I did, but I had something in my mind even if it might be a long shot.

"I think I should track my father's email and see where he sent it from. Then go search wherever that turns out to be." I suggested. Zalie only looked at me, and I could feel Zalgon staring at me.

"Boy, it is up to you. We have no choice in the matter. They are going to keep coming after you until you are caught." Zalie responded. "You say that your father contacted you? When?"

"Well, I see you don't know everything." I smirked. "Right around the time he passed away." The dreadful feeling spread in my stomach knowing my dad was really gone. The sickening revelation that my own mom had betrayed him; she betrayed all of us. I wondered if he known, or, at least, had suspected at the end.

"Boy, why didn't you tell me this?"

"Well, maybe because of all the fire balls and dragons and the fact that my dad's dead." How was this guy expecting me to remember that when my life was being threatened?

"You must attempt to track it..."

"Well, look at us. We finally have a plan." And a plan we needed to have because if Zalie was right they were going to keep coming, and I couldn't keep running.

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