Jessamine placed Ambers's hand back by his side and got up. She just couldn't sit there and wait for what was to come. She needed to do something; she was getting antsy sitting there waiting. Shaking her arms out, she walked away from the living room. She saw the people in her house, but she could care less for them even if they were celebrities. She needed some time alone away from all of this, from all of this mess.
Escaping into her bedroom, which was the door next to the kitchen, she sighed heavily, hoping that all of the feelings that were racing through her would evaporate. Glancing around the room, she didn't know what she should do. She felt as if she needed to be out there in that world looking for that goddamn Dragon that did all of this. She felt obligated. But what could she do? She was just a teenager who should be worrying about the homecoming dance that weekend. It was just another four days away.
Fuck!
She still needed to find a dress and shoes.
What the hell? I shouldn't be thinking about that nonsense.
Sitting down on her bed, she placed her head in her hands. What was she supposed to do? The world that was supposed to be a getaway was getting more complicated because of the world that she had kept a secret from everyone was getting even more complicated. What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to keep both worlds separate? With every single passing day, the two worlds seemed to be crashing into each other, merging into one, instead of being two separate beings.
Grunting in frustration, Jessamine decided that she will work out the problem that was at hand right now, and that was dealing with what had happened with Ambers. She needed to wait and see what her father had to say about this one.
Leaning her head against her pillow, she heard the back door being slammed. She knew it was her father, and he seemed highly pissed off. He wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight whatsoever, she could tell. Getting up, she rushed out of her room at the same time that her father walked out of the kitchen. He didn't even turn to look at her; he just kept moving forward. He moved fast and swift.
Everyone glanced at him and started to follow him. She joined the flow of the people following him: Echo, Berry, Merrick, and her little brother, Jacob. Merrick stepped in front of them and stood next to her father. The two men looked ominous and all powerful. Their prowess resonated from every pore in their body. Anyone could see that they were powerful. Both of them were probably the most powerful beings in their little supernatural species that was in the pack.
Hollings looked over Ambers and sniffed. “The spell that Berry cast over him seems to be wearing off.”
Merrick sniffed the air and nodded. “That seems to be correct, Hollings, but if you don't want your house to be ruin, you might want to get him out of here within the next couple of minutes. He's gonna go straight into the change once the spell wears off. Berry didn't stop it...Hell, none of us, evoked witches, can. We can only delay it for a minimal time.”
Hollings cursed under his breath. “I'm not sending out any one until we have caught this maniac. Can't you delay it anymore? For a couple of days at the most?” He sounded desperate and annoyed. Jessamine had never seen her father act like this before. He always seemed stoic and strong, but now there was something different about him. Something that was desperate for this nonsense to be over and done with.
However, something spoke up in Jessamine that told her that she would be safe with Ambers. That she will be able to take care of him and herself if that Dragon appeared. She already did it once, right?
“I can take him for a test run tonight,” she said softly.
Everyone turned around and looked at her like she was some crazed loon. Her father had a crazed glare to his eyes. “No.”
“But...”
“I said no and that is the end of it. You will listen to me and that is that!” His screamed bellowed out into the room. The sound resonated against the pictures that were hanging on the walls. Everyone took a step back in awe and fear. No one knew what to do next. All of their faces played the same conundrum: should they leave or should they stay?
Out of nowhere, her mother placed a hand her husband's shoulder. “Dear, now listen to me before you decide not to let her go. She has been here with this boy for hours, waiting for you to get back. She can take care of herself. She already fought the Dragon by herself. She is old enough to take care of herself. Let our little bird fly for once…by herself.”
Hollings stared into his wife's eyes and nodded. “Jessamine, you will take him for a quick tour of his powers, but then I want you back here by,” he checked his watch, “ten thirty. He needs to get home. I'll call his foster parents to have them keep their cool and not worry about him.”
He started to move forward, and the crowd of people split down the middle like the Red Sea for Moses. He headed for the kitchen to call Ambers' parents. Jessamine's mother followed him, but the difference between the two was that she had Jacob by the shoulder, shooing him upstairs to get ready for bed.
Jessamine turned back around to look at who was left. “Who wants to help me move him to the backyard?”
Ambers really didn't know what was happening to himself. All he knew was that he felt his body being carried by a couple of people, but why were they moving him? What happened to him? Was he dead? He didn't feel dead, so that was out of the equation. Was he knocked out? Probably, his head did hurt.
All he knew was that one second he felt this weird mist caressing his body, and then the next second he was knocked out. Everything went black. However, before all that, he was being chased by a Dragon. There was another murder, and he was told by Officer Hollings to get to his house immediately. So what did all this add up to?
Ambers felt himself gaining back control of his body, slowly. He started to blink his sleep crusted eyes. He saw that Jessamine, Berry, and Echo were crouched down above him. Before he could say anything, he felt the mist come back. The mist caressed and swirled around his body, faster this time. And this time it was excruciating. He felt his bones and muscles starting to morph and shape into his Dragon form.
He screamed on top of his lungs because of the pain. Wasn't this supposed to be painless? he thought. It wasn't whatsoever. It was some of the worst pain he has ever dealt with in his life. He didn't know what to do. He felt his bones break and reattach in another form. He felt his skin turn scaly and harden. He gasped and felt himself get bigger in size. How did any of them go through this? It was killing him, he knew it. His foot snapped in half and formed into the Dragon’s foot. He wanted to scream, but no sound came from his lips.
Jessamine shushed him. “It’s okay. The first time is always the hardest. But for you it is the hardest because most of us have already dealt with the change at an early age when our bodies are still growing. You're almost grown, so you're bones and muscles aren't that willing. Shh, it's going to get better.”
He bit back the remark that he wanted to scream at her. It was offensive and cruel. An excruciating pain shot up in his back before he could think of anything else to say. His back arched and he knew that this wasn't going to be good whatsoever. He cursed in his mind and wished that he could change right then and there.
As if some higher being heard his pleads, Ambers was lifted into the air, while the white mist encompassed his whole body. And then the pain dispersed from his body. He felt giddy and high, all of a sudden. Then it stopped as fast as it had come.
Noise from near and far reached his ears. He felt different and stronger. Ambers felt as if he could take on anything that tried him. He was supercharged. From his peripheral, he saw little movements heading up and down. It didn't strike him at first that they could be his wings until he saw that the things were scaly and shiny just like his arms.
WTF!
Ambers was in his Dragon form for the first time. How did this happen? Shaking his head he saw that Echo and Berry stared at his brilliance, while Jessamine smiled wickedly. He wanted to say something to them but didn't know if he could or not. However, he saw Jessamine jump into the air and transform into her Dragon self. She hovered next to him, craning her neck over in the direction towards Lake Michigan as if she wanted him to join her for a test run of his abilities. He nodded and started to fly off in that direction.
