B0075M2D1U EBOK (12 page)

“
Wait. There are
four
Kings? I thought your dad was the King?” I questioned.

Brennan nodded, “Yes. He is, but there are four Royal Courts, named for each of the four elements: earth, water, fire and air. Our father is King of the Earthen Royal Court. The four Royal Courts together make up the Royal Counsel. I suppose I would compare it to your United Nations.”

I tried to grasp everything Brennan had just told me. “Sooo. Lemme see if I got this,” I said. “Dragons used to pop on over to our world in herds during a Blue Moon in the medieval times and dragon slayers used to kill them. They almost became extinct, so your family and the other three Kings of the Royal Counsel decided to protect them by forbidding them to come here anymore. They did some hocus pocus, then bibbidy-boppidy-booed the law into some magic book and now some crazyass dragon decided to break the law, somehow managed to break the spell on one of the portals, and sneak through to our side during a Blue Moon?” Whew. That was a mouthful.

Anya was nodding her head enthusiastically. Brennan smiled. “Exactly,” he said, seemingly pleased.

Anya spoke up again, excited that I was now catching on to their tale, “Back then, some dragons used their powerful magic to protect themselves and turn themselves into dragonflies. But when the portals were closed and the law forbidding them to travel here was sealed in the Book of Feylinn, they were trapped here, forever bound to their new forms.”

I looked at her with doubt, “You mean, dragonflies are actually real dragons? Are you telling me that a teeny-tiny dragon fly could turn itself into a frickin’ fire-breathing dragon?” I held up my hand and pinched my index finger and thumb together, to emphasize the teeny-tiny part.

Anya giggled and shook her head, trying to contain her laughter at my obviously ludicrous statement. “No, no, noooo. Of course not! But the dragonflies that exist today, are in fact, dragons in their oldest and truest form in this world. But, of course, hundreds of years have passed. They have evolved and grown and adapted to this world in their own way. I have yet to meet a dragon over 800 years old, so the dragonflies that exist here in your world are very distant relatives…cousins – you could say – to the original dragons of the 5th and 6th centuries. They do, however, still have a touch of dragon magic in them. Dragonflies are connected to Fey still to this day. They bring good luck you know. It is said if you can catch a dragonfly, they can guide you to a powerful path of transformation.”

Uh. That’s kind of freaky. “What kind of transformation?” I asked.

Anya answered, “Ohhh…anything really. Could be something small…like changing your way of thinking about a certain topic…or it could be big…like a physical transformation.”

“
What do you mean – they can guide me?” I pressed.

Brennan spoke up now, with a touch of impatience and warning tone in his voice, “The dragonfly is the essence of true magical transformation. It is a descendent directly from our world that lives in your world. That is very powerful stuff Ruby. To harness its power takes a very special talent…Strong magic. It’s why they are revered so highly in so many different cultures here. Shamens, Emperors, and other rulers of Earth’s past all knew this. But you know… over time, things like this get forgotten… they become merely legends – fairy tales. Just remember, whenever you are in the garden or the forest, to respect the little dragonfly. They can bring you luck and balance… and can be used in your favor if you are wise.”

Huh. Who would have thought a little dragonfly buzzing around was a direct descendent from the almighty fire-breathing dragon? Actually, I never really thought dragons existed, so I guess not too many people would. I’ll have to remember to pay attention to those little buggers next time I see them flying around the yard. Maybe they will bring me some good luck and help me not be such a spaz around Nick.

There was a hell of a lot more to fairies than I ever knew. I don’t know how I went through my life, seeing these enchanted magical creatures, interacting with them almost every day, and not really thinking about all the politics that go on in their world. This really was quite complicated, as Anya had said. “Sooo,” I started, looking between Anya and Brennan, “What the hell are we supposed to do about it? I mean, can you catch it? Can you kill it? Do you bippidy-boppidy-boo it back over to Fey and put him in dragon prison or something? And how did he manage to break the spell guarding the portals anyway?”

Anya replied, “We need to figure out where Sirrush is nesting. Then, we should be able to track him. We were consulting with our Father and the Royal Counsel while we were home. We haven’t had to capture a dragon in nearly 500 years. There seems to be some…some disagreement, as to how we should proceed. As for how Sirrush was able to break the spell on the portal, that, we still do not know.”

“
My Father thinks someone in his Court has betrayed him,” Brennan said begrudgingly, looking quite annoyed. “If I ever find out who it was, I’ll kick his little fairy ass. And then I’ll sic your dog Toto on him too.” Brennan winked at me.

I smiled. Ah…now that was the Brennan I was used to. Tough guy, cocky remarks with random
Wizard of Oz
references.

“
So,” I said, “How do we find his nest?”

“
Weeee
don’t find it,” Anya corrected me. “Brennan and I will find it.
You
stay out of it.”

I frowned. “No way,” I said. “I am not gonna just sit back and let crazyass Cyrus burn down the whole town.”

“
It’s SIRRUSH,” Brennan corrected me.

“
Whatever,” I said dismissively and rolled my eyes. “I am not going to just sit here and do nothing. So you may as well include me in your little plans.”

Brennan was shaking his head at me, “No way Ruby. Absolutely not. You’re
not
getting involved in this.”

“
I already
am
involved.”

Just then, the back door opened. “HEY GUYS!” It was Leo yelling. “Where have ya been dude?” Leo came strolling out to the swing. “Man, way to blow me off, loser,” he said as he punched Brennan in the arm. I swear I will never understand guys and their need to hit each other for friendly greetings.

“
Sorry,” Brennan answered and shrugged his shoulders casually, “Family stuff. Wanna hit the lake?”

“
Yeah! C’mon. Lemme grab my stuff and we’ll bounce. Later, Scoob!” Leo said as he and Brennan walked back into the house. “Catch ya later, Kansas!” Brennan lightly said to me as he turned and shrugged, giving me his “Ha ha” cocky smile as he followed Leo into the house. I called after him, “This conversation isn’t over Brennan!”

I looked at Anya, ready to continue the topic. “Uh uh, Ruby,” she said, shaking her head at me. “We are
not
going to talk about it anymore right now. Besides, I hear you have some big news to share with me? About a certain Mr. Hotness? Hmmm?”

“
How did you know?” I exclaimed.

“
We have our ways…” Anya smiled.

I’ve got to admit, the girl was good at changing the subject. And I was all too happy to tell her of my recent kissing escapades with Nick. That crazyass dragon had been here a week already… I suppose another few hours weren’t going to make that big of a difference. Besides, it’s not like I could go dragon hunting on my own. And Nick Martino was a much more fun topic of conversation than some stinky, old fire-breathing dragon.

Anya and I sat in the garden, gossiping until we could barely see each other in the moonlight. My mother leaned out the back door and gave me the ten-minute warning. “Time to come in soon Ruby,” she said, “It’s getting late.”

“
Well, I should be getting home too,” Anya said as she rose from the swing and leaned over to hug me goodbye.

“
Wait. You don’t mean
home
home, do you? You mean the cottage, right?”

“
Oh yes! The cottage. Brennan and I will be here for…well…until the situation is under control. Father and the Royal Counsel are still in discussions trying to decide the next course of action and, until then, we are to keep an eye on Sirrush and keep them abreast of what’s going on over here,” Anya answered.

“
Good.” I smiled, relieved that my fairy friends would be nearby. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“
Definitely. And I’ll want to hear all about your fourth date with Mr. Hotness!” smiled Anya.

“
Does the walk on the beach really count as a date?” I asked.

“
Of course,” she assured. “He called you. You made plans. He came. He kissed you! I would consider that a date.”

I nodded, “Huh. I guess so. Okay then. I’ll talk to you tomorrow!”

Anya POPPED out of the yard and I went upstairs to my room. I sat on the window seat in my bedroom, stared out the window towards the lake and watched for any sign of a flying dragon. I didn’t know how I could possibly help catch him, but I was definitely going to try.

Chapter 14

It was Monday morning and I had the entire day to blow off. I love summer vacation. I decided I would call Jeremy and find out if he had anything juicy to share with me about his s’more eating excursion with Michael. I hadn’t talked to Jeremy since he took off Saturday night at the beach. After the earful I got from Anya and Brennan last night, I was ready to just chill out. After lounging around and taking in some useless Saturday morning T.V. (there was a
Dawson’s Creek
marathon on! I loved that show when I was a kid!) I called Jeremy on his cell and we planned to meet in town after three when he got off work. Jeremy worked at the local book store. It was great for me because he let me use his discount when I wanted to buy a new book. Usually I just went to the library, but sometimes I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on a new book…like when P.C. Cast’s latest
House of Night
book came out. I was at the book store having Jeremy ring me up the second it hit the shelves. Sexy vampires and suspicious evil plans to take over the world? Come on! That is good stuff!

I met Jeremy at the book store and suggested we hit the Dairy Queen. I needed ice cream. Bad. Even though I zoned out and spent most of my day staring at Dawson and his other Creek friends, thoughts of fire-breathing dragons still swam around in my head. I had to somehow help Anya and Brennan. Of course, I couldn’t tell Jeremy any of that though. Then, there was the anticipated fourth date with Nick. I wasn’t sure how much more tension I could deal with today and ice cream always soothed my nerves.

I sat down at the picnic table across from Jeremy with my giant bowl of ice cream and started the inquisition, “Okay. So tell me, how yummy were the s’mores with Michael?” I asked.

“
Not as yummy as Michael himself,” Jeremy teasingly answered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I laughed at his remark as he shoveled a mouthful of his gooey peanut butter ice cream into his mouth. I swear, that kid orders the same thing every single time we go for ice cream. Doesn’t he realize there are about a thousand other things on the menu?

Jeremy told me every detail of his campfire date with Michael and then went on to tell me how they spent all day on Sunday together too. “I’m so bummed Michael had to leave this morning,” Jeremy pouted. “But he said they’re heading back up here to camp again at the end of the month. And they’re planning on staying through the Fourth of July weekend! Isn’t that just fantabulous?”

“
For sure,” I nodded. “I’m glad you guys hit it off. He’ll be back up here before you know it,” I added.

“
So tell me Miss Ruby,” Jeremy said, as he crossed his legs and casually placed his hands folded over his lap. (Geesh, he looked like a talk-show host interviewing the unsuspecting guest who’s about to be surprised by some baby-daddy.) “What has been going on with you and Mr. Ballssss, hmmmm?”

“
It’s Mr. Hotness to you, thankyouverymuch, and actually, lots!” I laughingly corrected him. “Nick is taking me to dinner tonight!”

“
Well hot diggidy-swizz! Yayyy!” Jeremy giddily clapped his hands in excitement. “Where are you going? What are you wearing? Details! I want details!”

“
Rebecca’s, and I don’t know yet,” I answered while I held up my hands to inspect my fingernails. “But, I do know that I have to re-do these horrific janky nails. This polish is from over a week ago! It’s gross.” Jeremy grabbed my hand to inspect my nasty nails. “Oh yes you do, honey. Ick. I’m shocked you let them go this long Miss I-have-to-own-nail-polish-in-every-color-known-to-man.”

“
I know, I know,” I shook my head, “Things have been a little busy. Plus, I was working in the gardens a lot with my mother, so they would’ve just got more wrecked. I’ll do them before he picks me up tonight.”

“
And what time is that, anyway?” Jeremy asked.

“
Six. So I have about another hour before I gotta head home, shower and re-do these nasty things,” I said disgustedly shaking my hand in front of Jeremy’s face.

“
Well, how ‘bout we just walk around town for a bit. We can figure out where you should go on your fifth date!” Jeremy smiled as he pulled me up from the picnic table.

“
I love your optimism, Jeremy!” He is such a good friend to me. I couldn’t help but feel all warm and fuzzy around Jeremy. He always knew just the right thing to say to make a girl feel good, which is so weird, considering he’s not into girls at all. He should give sensitivity lessons to all the guys in my high school. I wished I could tell him all my troubles with the fairies and the dragon that seemed to be lurking around our town, but I had already promised Anya and Brennan that I would keep the fact that they were fairies a secret. Plus, I just don’t think Jeremy would understand. He would most definitely freak out. And, more drama in my life was just not what I needed right now.