Keep him fighting, stay close, stay alive, Zrig chanted to himself as he circled the shadow warrior. He hissed and bared his teeth, then sprung, twisting away at the last moment to avoid a bolt of deadly energy. The shadow warrior lept after him, swinging his sword, and Zrig felt a sting on his back flank before he managed to get away. Furious, he whirled, panting, but instead of going in for another strike he let the Shadow Warrior regain position. Zrig side-stepped over one of his fallen companions while the Shadow Warrior turned to watch him. Zrig didn’t have to make another futile attempt to kill him, he only had to keep him fighting.
The shadow warrior’s form flickered, and he half turned his head for just a moment. Zrig’s heart thumped faster. It was coming. His moment. He was about to see the realization of his plot. He slunk closer, waiting, watching.
The shadow warrior sent another bolt of energy at him. Zrig sprang backwards while the rock where he’d been blackened and sizzled. Too much distance! No! Zrig scuttled forward though his paws burned on the hot rock. Just in time, too. The shadow warrior’s form began to fade. Almost laughing, Zrig sprang forward and caught hold of the warrior’s boot just as he disappeared.
A shock ran through Zrig’s body, leaving him stunned. When he opened his eyes again he knew his plan had worked! He had followed the shadow warrior into the shadow realm!
He heard voices, an elderly human female in a harsh, scolding tone, “Spencer, the bell rang five minutes ago? Why didn’t you go to class?”
It took Zrig a moment to realize this woman was speaking to the shadow warrior. How dare she? Was there no honor in the shadow realm? Did she have no fear of the warrior’s wrath?
The shadow warrior shrugged, and as Zrig looked on him he realized with joy that the stories were true. In the shadow realm, the shadow warrior was only a little child! How easy it would be now to destroy him.
Zrig tried not to laugh as the old woman continued to scold the shadow warrior. Neither of them had noticed Zrig, lying there in the grass beside them. He looked into their foolish, unseeing faces and anticipated leaping up and shredding them both to ribbons, leaving them brutally wounded to die a slow and delicious death.
“Your teacher looked out the window and saw you tearing around out here all by yourself. Didn’t you notice the other children had gone in?”
The shadow warrior gave her another shrug.
It was the last thing he would ever do. Zrig spread his claws and leapt. He smacked into something soft and bouncy.
“Oh!” the woman said. “What a funny little lizard! Sorry, it startled me. It just jumped at your shoe.”
Zrig shook himself, then looked down. He was only a tiny hatchling!
No!
Friday, January 23, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
#89 Old and Young
After the first dance, Annie followed Tom as he limped out onto the wide porch. “That’s enough for me,” he said as he dropped into a chair. “Tell me, Annie, why does a pretty young girl like you waste your time with a tired old soldier like me?”
Old? Why had he said old? “You’re not old,” Annie tried to make her laugh light. “You can’t be a day over twenty.”
“Things aren’t always as they seem,” Tom said, and there was a thoughtful sadness in his voice that made Annie’s insides chill. Did he know? He couldn’t know her secret.
She knew she had to tell him, but not yet, oh no, not yet. One more evening, that’s all. Then she’d tell.
They sat on the porch together while inside the music started up again.
“Well, even if you are a day over twenty, I prefer you to any of those other silly boys in there. You suit me fine.” Oh dear, Annie thought as soon as she’d said it, what a terrible thing to say. How can I lead him on like this? I have to tell him. Have to tell him now. She tried to find words to begin, but nothing would come.
“Would you mind going for a little walk?” Tom asked. His voice sounded heavy, as if he had something he wanted to say too. Annie’s heart beat faster with fear, dread, and excitement. If only, if only she didn’t have this awful secret. If only this wasn’t all a sham.
Together they strolled through the village in the moonlight, slowly, because of Tom’s bad leg. Neither of them said a word for a long time.
“Annie, I’ve got something to say to you,” Tom said.
I have some thing to say too, Annie thought, but I wish I didn’t have to say it.
“There’s no other girl I like as much as you, and that’s the plain truth.”
Annie suddenly burst into tears. “Oh Tom, you’re going to hate me, I just know it. I hope you can forgive me. I’m so, so sorry, I would never have done it if I’d known this would happen!’
“Annie, what is it?” Tom asked.
“I’m old, Tom! I’m old. I’m a shriveled old crone that you wouldn’t even look at if you saw how old I really was.”
Tom didn’t say a word.
“There’s a pool in the wood,” Annie whispered, choked through her tears. “If you wash in it in the moment before sunrise, it makes you look young again. But it only makes you look young. I’m still old inside, oh Tom, I’m so sorry. I should have told you sooner, should have told you before…”
“So it was the pool!” Tom said.
“What?” Annie asked.
Tom laughed and picked her up and swung her around before setting her down again on the path.
“It was the pool,” Tom said. “I thought maybe it was the village, but it was the pool. Annie, I have two things to say to you now. At first I was only going to tell you the same thing you’ve just told me.”
Annie took a step back from him, not daring to let the hope leap up in her heart.
“I’m old too! Or I was, until I walked into this town. Folks were treating me different, like I wasn’t a bent old soldier, but a fine young man back from the wars. I didn’t understand it until I got a good look at my hands, at my face. I’d turned young again. I didn’t know how it happened until now. I’d forgot all about sleeping by that old pool in the wood, and stopping to wash when I woke up before dawn.”
Annie was laughing now, still crying, but laughing too.
“Now the second thing. Annie, I haven’t got many years left in me, but what I have, I’d give them to you, if you’ll have me.”
“Of course, Tom, of course!” Annie said.
And arm in arm, they went back, slowly back, to the dance.
Old? Why had he said old? “You’re not old,” Annie tried to make her laugh light. “You can’t be a day over twenty.”
“Things aren’t always as they seem,” Tom said, and there was a thoughtful sadness in his voice that made Annie’s insides chill. Did he know? He couldn’t know her secret.
She knew she had to tell him, but not yet, oh no, not yet. One more evening, that’s all. Then she’d tell.
They sat on the porch together while inside the music started up again.
“Well, even if you are a day over twenty, I prefer you to any of those other silly boys in there. You suit me fine.” Oh dear, Annie thought as soon as she’d said it, what a terrible thing to say. How can I lead him on like this? I have to tell him. Have to tell him now. She tried to find words to begin, but nothing would come.
“Would you mind going for a little walk?” Tom asked. His voice sounded heavy, as if he had something he wanted to say too. Annie’s heart beat faster with fear, dread, and excitement. If only, if only she didn’t have this awful secret. If only this wasn’t all a sham.
Together they strolled through the village in the moonlight, slowly, because of Tom’s bad leg. Neither of them said a word for a long time.
“Annie, I’ve got something to say to you,” Tom said.
I have some thing to say too, Annie thought, but I wish I didn’t have to say it.
“There’s no other girl I like as much as you, and that’s the plain truth.”
Annie suddenly burst into tears. “Oh Tom, you’re going to hate me, I just know it. I hope you can forgive me. I’m so, so sorry, I would never have done it if I’d known this would happen!’
“Annie, what is it?” Tom asked.
“I’m old, Tom! I’m old. I’m a shriveled old crone that you wouldn’t even look at if you saw how old I really was.”
Tom didn’t say a word.
“There’s a pool in the wood,” Annie whispered, choked through her tears. “If you wash in it in the moment before sunrise, it makes you look young again. But it only makes you look young. I’m still old inside, oh Tom, I’m so sorry. I should have told you sooner, should have told you before…”
“So it was the pool!” Tom said.
“What?” Annie asked.
Tom laughed and picked her up and swung her around before setting her down again on the path.
“It was the pool,” Tom said. “I thought maybe it was the village, but it was the pool. Annie, I have two things to say to you now. At first I was only going to tell you the same thing you’ve just told me.”
Annie took a step back from him, not daring to let the hope leap up in her heart.
“I’m old too! Or I was, until I walked into this town. Folks were treating me different, like I wasn’t a bent old soldier, but a fine young man back from the wars. I didn’t understand it until I got a good look at my hands, at my face. I’d turned young again. I didn’t know how it happened until now. I’d forgot all about sleeping by that old pool in the wood, and stopping to wash when I woke up before dawn.”
Annie was laughing now, still crying, but laughing too.
“Now the second thing. Annie, I haven’t got many years left in me, but what I have, I’d give them to you, if you’ll have me.”
“Of course, Tom, of course!” Annie said.
And arm in arm, they went back, slowly back, to the dance.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
#88 Oh Deer
Soon as I got past the sheep shed in the back field I saw something on the other side of the barbed wire I sure wasn’t expecting. It was two deer. Took me about two seconds to realize they were both fake. Their fur weren’t quite the right color, kind of too reddish, and one of them’s antlers was missing a prong and I could see the plaster, or plastic or whatever they were made of, white in the broken place.
Who woulda put two great big lawn ornaments like that out in the middle of a sheep field? I looked around on the other side of the barbed wire and didn’t see any houses. There was a vineyard, a corn field, a stand of trees, a big ol’ hay stack made of yellow bales like gigantic bricks, but no sign of anything that would tell me what these deer were here for.
They sort of made it look like it was Disneyland, like I was on the jungle cruise ride and there were some fake animals peeking at me from out of the shrubs. Curious, I climbed through the barbed wire and went up real close to one of the deer. I’d almost touched its nose when I heard the crack of a rifle and a prong exploded off the deer’s antlers.
I dropped on my stomach in the grass and yelled, “HEY!” as loud as I could. Why would someone be shooting at me just for touching their stupid fake deer? Another shot made the fake deer above me jerk. It settled a little crooked in the grass. It wasn’t me they were shooting at. These deer were here for target practice!
I couldn’t quite tell where the gunshots were coming from. I crawled along through the grass, trying to put distance between me and the deer before I tried to stand up. Then I put a little more distance just in case whoever was shooting was a really bad aim. Then I decided not to move until the gunshots quit. I took off my baseball cap and flagged it in the air, in hopes of signaling the fake deer hunters that they’d better knock it off or they might kill someone.
Whoever it was eventually ran out of bullets, I guess, and after I’d counted to a hundred I felt safe standing up again. There were a couple of kids coming across the grass, big kids in plaid shirts, each one carrying a rifle. It suddenly occurred to me that I wasn’t on Grandpa’s property, and I wanted to be on the other side of the barbed wire fence by the time they got over here.
Who woulda put two great big lawn ornaments like that out in the middle of a sheep field? I looked around on the other side of the barbed wire and didn’t see any houses. There was a vineyard, a corn field, a stand of trees, a big ol’ hay stack made of yellow bales like gigantic bricks, but no sign of anything that would tell me what these deer were here for.
They sort of made it look like it was Disneyland, like I was on the jungle cruise ride and there were some fake animals peeking at me from out of the shrubs. Curious, I climbed through the barbed wire and went up real close to one of the deer. I’d almost touched its nose when I heard the crack of a rifle and a prong exploded off the deer’s antlers.
I dropped on my stomach in the grass and yelled, “HEY!” as loud as I could. Why would someone be shooting at me just for touching their stupid fake deer? Another shot made the fake deer above me jerk. It settled a little crooked in the grass. It wasn’t me they were shooting at. These deer were here for target practice!
I couldn’t quite tell where the gunshots were coming from. I crawled along through the grass, trying to put distance between me and the deer before I tried to stand up. Then I put a little more distance just in case whoever was shooting was a really bad aim. Then I decided not to move until the gunshots quit. I took off my baseball cap and flagged it in the air, in hopes of signaling the fake deer hunters that they’d better knock it off or they might kill someone.
Whoever it was eventually ran out of bullets, I guess, and after I’d counted to a hundred I felt safe standing up again. There were a couple of kids coming across the grass, big kids in plaid shirts, each one carrying a rifle. It suddenly occurred to me that I wasn’t on Grandpa’s property, and I wanted to be on the other side of the barbed wire fence by the time they got over here.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
#87 Saturday Nights at Grandma's
When I was a little girl, how I loved to go to my grandmother’s house! She had a pink guest room and a big fluffy bed piled high with pillows. I had a little dresser drawer all my own, where grandma kept a set of pajamas just for me.
I took a pan of cookies out of the oven and checked the clock. Adri would be coming over any minute now. While I moved the cookies from the hot pan onto the rack I remembered how my grandmother used to always have a special tin filled with my favorite baked treats.
When I came over, Grandma would pour me a big glass of milk, and I’d sit down at the table and eat cookies while we talked. It was hard at home, with my dad out of work and my mother gone so much, and always tired and worried whenever she was there. Grandma’s house was a perfect escape. She always made me feel like a princess.
I went to the guest room to make sure the bed was ready for Adri. I took down another pair of pillows from the closet and set them by the head of the bed. Pajamas in the drawer, washed and folded and put away since her last visit, a toothbrush waiting for her in the cup by the sink. I smiled at my white-haired reflection in the bathroom mirror and thought how it didn’t seem so long ago that I was the grand-daughter.
Grandma had a special set of dolls that she had collected. They had costumes from all over the world. She would let me take them out of their glass case, look at them one by one, take off their shoes and dresses and put them back on ever so carefully. We would pretend they were talking to each other, telling each other of their adventures.
Dinner was nearly ready, and still no Adri. I sighed at the clock again, then went out the front door to look down the street. She lived only two blocks away, near enough that she often biked over on her own. The street was empty.
My grandmother had a special set of dishes for me when I came over. They had roses on them. After dinner, when we’d wash up, she would put them back in their special place in her china cabinet.
I’d just finished setting the table when my cell phone rang. My heart thumped a little harder as I saw Adri’s name flashing on the screen. “Hi, Grandma?” Adri’s voice came over the phone.
"Hi, Sweetie,” I said. “I’m ready for you to come over.”
“I’m sorry, Grandma, I can’t make it tonight,” Adri said. “I’ve got a big project for school due on Monday, and there was soccer all day today so I haven’t started yet, and mom says I have to clean my room too before I can come.”
“That’s all right, darling,” I said, trying to hide the cave-in inside me. “We’ll try again in a couple weeks.”
“That’ll be great, Grandma. Thanks. Love you!”
“Goodbye, dearest,” I listened to the silence, then gently closed my phone.
I sat down at the table and stared at the empty dishes, and for the first time thought that maybe my grandma had needed me just as much as I needed her.
I took a pan of cookies out of the oven and checked the clock. Adri would be coming over any minute now. While I moved the cookies from the hot pan onto the rack I remembered how my grandmother used to always have a special tin filled with my favorite baked treats.
When I came over, Grandma would pour me a big glass of milk, and I’d sit down at the table and eat cookies while we talked. It was hard at home, with my dad out of work and my mother gone so much, and always tired and worried whenever she was there. Grandma’s house was a perfect escape. She always made me feel like a princess.
I went to the guest room to make sure the bed was ready for Adri. I took down another pair of pillows from the closet and set them by the head of the bed. Pajamas in the drawer, washed and folded and put away since her last visit, a toothbrush waiting for her in the cup by the sink. I smiled at my white-haired reflection in the bathroom mirror and thought how it didn’t seem so long ago that I was the grand-daughter.
Grandma had a special set of dolls that she had collected. They had costumes from all over the world. She would let me take them out of their glass case, look at them one by one, take off their shoes and dresses and put them back on ever so carefully. We would pretend they were talking to each other, telling each other of their adventures.
Dinner was nearly ready, and still no Adri. I sighed at the clock again, then went out the front door to look down the street. She lived only two blocks away, near enough that she often biked over on her own. The street was empty.
My grandmother had a special set of dishes for me when I came over. They had roses on them. After dinner, when we’d wash up, she would put them back in their special place in her china cabinet.
I’d just finished setting the table when my cell phone rang. My heart thumped a little harder as I saw Adri’s name flashing on the screen. “Hi, Grandma?” Adri’s voice came over the phone.
"Hi, Sweetie,” I said. “I’m ready for you to come over.”
“I’m sorry, Grandma, I can’t make it tonight,” Adri said. “I’ve got a big project for school due on Monday, and there was soccer all day today so I haven’t started yet, and mom says I have to clean my room too before I can come.”
“That’s all right, darling,” I said, trying to hide the cave-in inside me. “We’ll try again in a couple weeks.”
“That’ll be great, Grandma. Thanks. Love you!”
“Goodbye, dearest,” I listened to the silence, then gently closed my phone.
I sat down at the table and stared at the empty dishes, and for the first time thought that maybe my grandma had needed me just as much as I needed her.
Monday, January 19, 2015
#86 Making Friends
The ocean wants me dead.
I know this for a fact. I learned it as a very young child, when I’d go visit my grandpa in California. My grandpa practically lived in the ocean, and his idea of the best way to teach me to swim in it was to have me just follow him out into the waves while he fired off advice faster than the swells were smacking me in the face. He knew I’d get knocked down a few times, get tumbled over in a blinding, churning froth of sand and salt, and then be picking grains of sand out of my ears for days afterward, but that was all for my good. It would help me get over being afraid of it.
It would have worked great if I lived near the ocean. As it was, I only saw the ocean once a year, and every time I got in it, it pounded me. So deep down, even though I was an adult now, I felt that the ocean was still going to try and kill me every chance it got.
Ready? Lin signed impatiently, already up to her hips in the surf. I stood with my toes digging into the sand and nodded, trying to make my body language say, sure I’m ready. There was no way, with my limited sign language, to explain to her how I felt about the ocean, and how it was all my grandfather’s fault. I hoped she couldn’t see the fear in my eyes.
She put her fists on her hips and waited for me to come out into the water. Why did we have to go to the beach today? The waves out there were as tall as I was. I made myself jump in and start paddling toward my doom.
A family was playing in the surf, kids with life-jackets on, and a dark gray mop dog paddling bravely along side them. Lin clicked her fingers in the air, the sign for dog, and pointed with a smile. I nodded and pantomimed the dog’s frantic strokes, paws striking out right in front of his raised chin. The dog’s owner shot me a sharp look, as if she thought I was making fun of their dog. Well, I was, sort of, but not in the way she thought. She didn’t know Lin couldn’t have heard me say, “Yes, I see the dog, he sure is cute the way he swims.”
I tried hard to keep Lin in my sight as we got closer to the place where the waves were breaking. If she got in trouble, she could yell and I’d hear her. If I got in trouble, I wasn’t sure what would happen. Maybe I’d have to depend on the people on shore to hear my screams. No, Lin was keeping an eye on me. I saw her check on me just before she dove under the first wave.
I hate this part, I hate this part, I thought as the wave started to crest over me. I dove late, felt the massive pressure of the water push me down, but then I shot forward under it and the back of the wave lifted me up again. Gasping, surprised at how easy that had been, I clawed my way toward the next wave with all I had, dove, and came up in the calm swells beyond.
Lin was already there, floating peacefully on her back, a slight smile on her face. The water was deep out here, I could see the bottom well below my blurry, kicking toes. But the swells were gentle, the ocean almost friendly. I stretched out on my back and it cradled me, held me up, with the sky bright overhead.
It was like that good feeling after you’ve just made a new friend.
I know this for a fact. I learned it as a very young child, when I’d go visit my grandpa in California. My grandpa practically lived in the ocean, and his idea of the best way to teach me to swim in it was to have me just follow him out into the waves while he fired off advice faster than the swells were smacking me in the face. He knew I’d get knocked down a few times, get tumbled over in a blinding, churning froth of sand and salt, and then be picking grains of sand out of my ears for days afterward, but that was all for my good. It would help me get over being afraid of it.
It would have worked great if I lived near the ocean. As it was, I only saw the ocean once a year, and every time I got in it, it pounded me. So deep down, even though I was an adult now, I felt that the ocean was still going to try and kill me every chance it got.
Ready? Lin signed impatiently, already up to her hips in the surf. I stood with my toes digging into the sand and nodded, trying to make my body language say, sure I’m ready. There was no way, with my limited sign language, to explain to her how I felt about the ocean, and how it was all my grandfather’s fault. I hoped she couldn’t see the fear in my eyes.
She put her fists on her hips and waited for me to come out into the water. Why did we have to go to the beach today? The waves out there were as tall as I was. I made myself jump in and start paddling toward my doom.
A family was playing in the surf, kids with life-jackets on, and a dark gray mop dog paddling bravely along side them. Lin clicked her fingers in the air, the sign for dog, and pointed with a smile. I nodded and pantomimed the dog’s frantic strokes, paws striking out right in front of his raised chin. The dog’s owner shot me a sharp look, as if she thought I was making fun of their dog. Well, I was, sort of, but not in the way she thought. She didn’t know Lin couldn’t have heard me say, “Yes, I see the dog, he sure is cute the way he swims.”
I tried hard to keep Lin in my sight as we got closer to the place where the waves were breaking. If she got in trouble, she could yell and I’d hear her. If I got in trouble, I wasn’t sure what would happen. Maybe I’d have to depend on the people on shore to hear my screams. No, Lin was keeping an eye on me. I saw her check on me just before she dove under the first wave.
I hate this part, I hate this part, I thought as the wave started to crest over me. I dove late, felt the massive pressure of the water push me down, but then I shot forward under it and the back of the wave lifted me up again. Gasping, surprised at how easy that had been, I clawed my way toward the next wave with all I had, dove, and came up in the calm swells beyond.
Lin was already there, floating peacefully on her back, a slight smile on her face. The water was deep out here, I could see the bottom well below my blurry, kicking toes. But the swells were gentle, the ocean almost friendly. I stretched out on my back and it cradled me, held me up, with the sky bright overhead.
It was like that good feeling after you’ve just made a new friend.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
#85 Raising Dragons 6
I had come to dread going to the weir, so much that I’d started having to leave earlier because it seemed to take me longer to get there every day. It wasn’t just the exhausting work, and knowing that I was missing out on study time. Now I had the added dread that someone might have seen the advertisement I’d nailed to the wall of the supply shed and decided they wanted to buy Aspen.
On my way to the weir I passed another advertisement, this one huge and plastered to a smooth stone wall. Professor Crumpadon’s Guaranteed Entrance Exam Preparation Course for the Royal Academie of Magiks. The amount he was charging people to take the course made me raise an eyebrow. Down at the bottom in very small print I noticed something I hadn’t known. The words said, in very large and flowery language, that Professor Crumpadon was in no way officially offiliated with the Academie. He certainly hadn’t told me that.
Across my mind flitted the idea that I might go and ask him for help. But he would just ask me to endorse him again, and I still felt too betrayed by him to do that. Besides, he wouldn’t help me. He didn’t care about me. He just wanted people to enroll in his course.
When I got to the weir, the manager gave me an urgent wave. “You’re late!” he scolded. “There’s a fellow here want’s to look at your dragon. I told him you were due at five o’clock and he’s been waiting.”
I sized up the man who wanted to buy my dragon. He was about my parents’ age, just a bit of grey in his hair, and had a solid, kind look to him. He hadn’t seen me yet. He was standing in front of Aspen’s cage, and she was right there on the other side of the bars, watching him with equal interest. Well, that was a good sign.
“Hello, I’m Tomas. You wanted to see me about my dragon?” I said.
I took Aspen out and led her to the open field above the weir, all the while the potential buyer, a Mr. Cooper, chatted with me about dragons. I could tell he loved them as much as I did.
I showed him all of Aspen’s tricks, then called out, “fly!” and she launched into the air. I made a circle with my hand over my head, three times, which she obeyed by racing around the markers at the edge of the field as fast as she could go.
Mr. Cooper glanced at his pocket watch and gave a nod of satisfaction. “She’s beautifully trained, and decently fast. Were you thinking of racing her?”
“I hadn’t considered it,” I said.
“You’ve named a fair price,” the man said, “And I’m glad to pay it, but I’d also like to ask if you’d be interested in coming to work for me as her trainer. Dragons bond with their first trainer, no one else will be able to get the same performance, at least not for a long time. Besides salary, I’ll offer a cut of what she wins in the races.”
This wasn’t what I expected. A chance to sell Aspen, get her out of the weir, and also a chance to still be with her, to work with her. It seemed wonderful.
But something stopped me.
“I’d like to work for you, sir, but I can’t take your offer right now. I’m enrolled at the Academie, and I won’t be able to devote my full attention to Aspen’s training.” It was as if half my soul was being ripped out of me as I said, “I’m getting out of dragons for now, you see.”
“Yes, I see,” Mr. Cooper gave me a disappointed smile and shook my hand, then offered me his card. “Of course I’ll still buy your dragon. And promise me this. On the summer holiday, come and see me.”
“Yes sir, thank you,” I said, still aching inside.
I almost gave in when I heard Aspen's plaintive warble. She had craned her neck around to look back at me while Mr. Cooper led her away.
"Goodbye, Aspen," I called out, trying to reassure her with a calm and cheerful voice, "See you this summer!"
Aspen tugged on the lead, trying to get back to me.
"Go on, girl." I said. "It's all right. go on!"
Mr. Cooper shot me an understanding smile, then patted Aspen on the neck and said something that calmed her down so that she followed him quietly out of the yard.
I counted out the rest of the money I owed into the manager's hand, then left the weir forever. Sad as I was, as much as I missed Aspen already, I felt surprisingly light as I walked back to school, as if a heavy burden I'd been carrying for a long time had suddenly left me. I couldn't say if I'd done the right thing or the wrong thing, but it was what I had decided to do, and I wasn't going to waste time regretting it.
read the first part
On my way to the weir I passed another advertisement, this one huge and plastered to a smooth stone wall. Professor Crumpadon’s Guaranteed Entrance Exam Preparation Course for the Royal Academie of Magiks. The amount he was charging people to take the course made me raise an eyebrow. Down at the bottom in very small print I noticed something I hadn’t known. The words said, in very large and flowery language, that Professor Crumpadon was in no way officially offiliated with the Academie. He certainly hadn’t told me that.
Across my mind flitted the idea that I might go and ask him for help. But he would just ask me to endorse him again, and I still felt too betrayed by him to do that. Besides, he wouldn’t help me. He didn’t care about me. He just wanted people to enroll in his course.
When I got to the weir, the manager gave me an urgent wave. “You’re late!” he scolded. “There’s a fellow here want’s to look at your dragon. I told him you were due at five o’clock and he’s been waiting.”
I sized up the man who wanted to buy my dragon. He was about my parents’ age, just a bit of grey in his hair, and had a solid, kind look to him. He hadn’t seen me yet. He was standing in front of Aspen’s cage, and she was right there on the other side of the bars, watching him with equal interest. Well, that was a good sign.
“Hello, I’m Tomas. You wanted to see me about my dragon?” I said.
I took Aspen out and led her to the open field above the weir, all the while the potential buyer, a Mr. Cooper, chatted with me about dragons. I could tell he loved them as much as I did.
I showed him all of Aspen’s tricks, then called out, “fly!” and she launched into the air. I made a circle with my hand over my head, three times, which she obeyed by racing around the markers at the edge of the field as fast as she could go.
Mr. Cooper glanced at his pocket watch and gave a nod of satisfaction. “She’s beautifully trained, and decently fast. Were you thinking of racing her?”
“I hadn’t considered it,” I said.
“You’ve named a fair price,” the man said, “And I’m glad to pay it, but I’d also like to ask if you’d be interested in coming to work for me as her trainer. Dragons bond with their first trainer, no one else will be able to get the same performance, at least not for a long time. Besides salary, I’ll offer a cut of what she wins in the races.”
This wasn’t what I expected. A chance to sell Aspen, get her out of the weir, and also a chance to still be with her, to work with her. It seemed wonderful.
But something stopped me.
“I’d like to work for you, sir, but I can’t take your offer right now. I’m enrolled at the Academie, and I won’t be able to devote my full attention to Aspen’s training.” It was as if half my soul was being ripped out of me as I said, “I’m getting out of dragons for now, you see.”
“Yes, I see,” Mr. Cooper gave me a disappointed smile and shook my hand, then offered me his card. “Of course I’ll still buy your dragon. And promise me this. On the summer holiday, come and see me.”
“Yes sir, thank you,” I said, still aching inside.
I almost gave in when I heard Aspen's plaintive warble. She had craned her neck around to look back at me while Mr. Cooper led her away.
"Goodbye, Aspen," I called out, trying to reassure her with a calm and cheerful voice, "See you this summer!"
Aspen tugged on the lead, trying to get back to me.
"Go on, girl." I said. "It's all right. go on!"
Mr. Cooper shot me an understanding smile, then patted Aspen on the neck and said something that calmed her down so that she followed him quietly out of the yard.
I counted out the rest of the money I owed into the manager's hand, then left the weir forever. Sad as I was, as much as I missed Aspen already, I felt surprisingly light as I walked back to school, as if a heavy burden I'd been carrying for a long time had suddenly left me. I couldn't say if I'd done the right thing or the wrong thing, but it was what I had decided to do, and I wasn't going to waste time regretting it.
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Friday, January 16, 2015
#84 Raising Dragons 5
“I expected better from you, Tomas,” Professor Elzen said.
I didn’t say anything. I could feel the weariness right down to my bones. I had studied for his exams while working at the weir, a book open under a dull yellow lantern while I chanted the lines I was supposed to memorize to the rhythm of the shovel as I pushed mountains of dragon dung. I’d done my best, it wasn’t like I’d neglected my studies. There just wasn’t time.
“I’m sorry, sir,” I said.
“You realize that if these grades don’t improve, you will not be returning to the Academie next year.”
Not return. Go home. What a relief that would be, to not have to keep Aspen here in the city, but to take her back home. But then what about becoming a mage?
“Does this have something to do with dragons?” Professor Elzen asked.
I nodded. Professor Elzen knew, everyone knew. The scent of dragon was impossible to entirely remove, though I did my best not to reek of it. For some, it was a mark of distinction. But for me, it meant I wasn't putting my heart into my studies.
“I have a dragon,” I said. “I raised her from a hatchling, and I brought her here with me. She’s staying in the weir up the side of the mountain. But I can’t afford to keep her there unless I work.”
Professor Elzen nodded. “You will have to decide what it is you really want, then. Would you rather be a dragon keeper now, and never a mage, or would you rather become a mage now, and then perhaps a dragon keeper later.”
“I suppose,” I said, “that I wouldn’t want to waste my potential.”
Professor Elzen chuckled kindly, “Tomas, we are all of us an unfathomable well of untapped potential. No matter what course you choose, you could have chosen infinite others and excelled in any one of them. That is why you must decide what you want most. Becoming a dragon keeper is a respectable profession, and I would not criticize that choice. But you are here at the Academie, and to me that says that somewhere inside you is the desire to become a mage. If that’s what you really want, you will have to set some other things aside for a time.”
I have to sell Aspen, I thought.
No. How could I?
“Thank you, sir.” I stood up. “I’ll think about what you’ve said.”
“Good.” Professor Elzen stood up too and offered me his hand.
I left the building, turning my collar up against the bitter wind as a light snow began to whip across the campus.
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I didn’t say anything. I could feel the weariness right down to my bones. I had studied for his exams while working at the weir, a book open under a dull yellow lantern while I chanted the lines I was supposed to memorize to the rhythm of the shovel as I pushed mountains of dragon dung. I’d done my best, it wasn’t like I’d neglected my studies. There just wasn’t time.
“I’m sorry, sir,” I said.
“You realize that if these grades don’t improve, you will not be returning to the Academie next year.”
Not return. Go home. What a relief that would be, to not have to keep Aspen here in the city, but to take her back home. But then what about becoming a mage?
“Does this have something to do with dragons?” Professor Elzen asked.
I nodded. Professor Elzen knew, everyone knew. The scent of dragon was impossible to entirely remove, though I did my best not to reek of it. For some, it was a mark of distinction. But for me, it meant I wasn't putting my heart into my studies.
“I have a dragon,” I said. “I raised her from a hatchling, and I brought her here with me. She’s staying in the weir up the side of the mountain. But I can’t afford to keep her there unless I work.”
Professor Elzen nodded. “You will have to decide what it is you really want, then. Would you rather be a dragon keeper now, and never a mage, or would you rather become a mage now, and then perhaps a dragon keeper later.”
“I suppose,” I said, “that I wouldn’t want to waste my potential.”
Professor Elzen chuckled kindly, “Tomas, we are all of us an unfathomable well of untapped potential. No matter what course you choose, you could have chosen infinite others and excelled in any one of them. That is why you must decide what you want most. Becoming a dragon keeper is a respectable profession, and I would not criticize that choice. But you are here at the Academie, and to me that says that somewhere inside you is the desire to become a mage. If that’s what you really want, you will have to set some other things aside for a time.”
I have to sell Aspen, I thought.
No. How could I?
“Thank you, sir.” I stood up. “I’ll think about what you’ve said.”
“Good.” Professor Elzen stood up too and offered me his hand.
I left the building, turning my collar up against the bitter wind as a light snow began to whip across the campus.
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Thursday, January 15, 2015
#83 Raising Dragons 4
Visiting Aspen always made me feel better.
I’d been worried about keeping her in a weir, but the one they had near the Academie was a nice one. It had been dug into the side of the hill, carved out of a limestone deposit, so she had a real cave to crawl back into, instead of my rock pile I’d made for her at home. Her green scales were shiny and the white fur around her horns and down her back had been washed and brushed. Gold eyes bright, claws neatly trimmed, she was getting the pampered life, that was for sure.
It wasn’t until I’d brought her back from taking a walk together on the grounds that I noticed a piece of paper wired to the bars of her enclosure. I wasn’t sure if someone had put it there while we’d been gone, or if it had been there before and I just hadn’t noticed.
NOTICE, it said, OF UNPAID SERVICES. My eyes popped wide at the amount due. Scowling, I put Aspen back in her enclosure. She stared at me curiously, as if wondering what was wrong.
I marched to the front desk. “I thought everything was paid for,” I showed them the bill. “What’s this?”
“Your account was paid up until the end of last week. These are this week’s charges,” the clerk said.
I stared at those numbers in disbelief. Of course Professor Crumpadon had said he’d pay for my dragon’s boarding while I was in his entrance exam training course. That ended one week ago, with the entrance exam. I hadn’t thought about this at all. Who was going to pay for Aspen to stay here now? I couldn’t keep her in my room, she wouldn’t even fit unless I took out all the furniture and forced her to curl up in a knot. I didn’t have time to take her home. She wasn’t strong enough to carry me yet, and walking would force me to miss the first two weeks of classes.
I could sell her.
No, never. I’d raised her from a hatchling, and in a few months she would be strong enough to carry me. I couldn’t give her up now.
But the money. My weekly stipend from my scholarship would only cover a fraction of this cost.
“I don’t have the money,” I said. “But I can work. I’m good with dragons.”
“A mucker’s pay won’t cover the enclosure she’s in, but we could move her to a smaller one,” the manager said. “Come on up here after lectures tomorrow, and we’ll get you started.”
“Thank you,” I said, relieved, in a way, but my heart still sinking. When was I going to study? When was I going to sleep?
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I’d been worried about keeping her in a weir, but the one they had near the Academie was a nice one. It had been dug into the side of the hill, carved out of a limestone deposit, so she had a real cave to crawl back into, instead of my rock pile I’d made for her at home. Her green scales were shiny and the white fur around her horns and down her back had been washed and brushed. Gold eyes bright, claws neatly trimmed, she was getting the pampered life, that was for sure.
It wasn’t until I’d brought her back from taking a walk together on the grounds that I noticed a piece of paper wired to the bars of her enclosure. I wasn’t sure if someone had put it there while we’d been gone, or if it had been there before and I just hadn’t noticed.
NOTICE, it said, OF UNPAID SERVICES. My eyes popped wide at the amount due. Scowling, I put Aspen back in her enclosure. She stared at me curiously, as if wondering what was wrong.
I marched to the front desk. “I thought everything was paid for,” I showed them the bill. “What’s this?”
“Your account was paid up until the end of last week. These are this week’s charges,” the clerk said.
I stared at those numbers in disbelief. Of course Professor Crumpadon had said he’d pay for my dragon’s boarding while I was in his entrance exam training course. That ended one week ago, with the entrance exam. I hadn’t thought about this at all. Who was going to pay for Aspen to stay here now? I couldn’t keep her in my room, she wouldn’t even fit unless I took out all the furniture and forced her to curl up in a knot. I didn’t have time to take her home. She wasn’t strong enough to carry me yet, and walking would force me to miss the first two weeks of classes.
I could sell her.
No, never. I’d raised her from a hatchling, and in a few months she would be strong enough to carry me. I couldn’t give her up now.
But the money. My weekly stipend from my scholarship would only cover a fraction of this cost.
“I don’t have the money,” I said. “But I can work. I’m good with dragons.”
“A mucker’s pay won’t cover the enclosure she’s in, but we could move her to a smaller one,” the manager said. “Come on up here after lectures tomorrow, and we’ll get you started.”
“Thank you,” I said, relieved, in a way, but my heart still sinking. When was I going to study? When was I going to sleep?
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Wednesday, January 14, 2015
#82 Raising Dragons 3
I knew I had passed the entrance exam the moment I completed it. I knew that I’d be accepted to the Royal Academie of Magiks. What I never dreamed was that I’d get a full scholarship, with room and board, and a small stipend to cover books and other expenses. On the last day before classes began , as I dropped my stack of just-purchased texts onto the small desk in my tiny but private – something I’d never experienced before growing up in a household of twelve – room, I felt an extreme sense of satisfaction. Things were going perfectly, all my dreams about to come true.
There was a pleasant little knock on my door frame.
“Come in,” I said.
“Congratulations, Tomas! Congratulations again,” said Professor Crumpadon as he came in the room to shake my hand.
“Thank you,” I said, surprised to see him.
“Well, this is a nice spot, even better than you had over at the course,” he smiled. “I am so pleased with how well things turned out for you.”
“Yes,” I said. “Thanks for your help. If it hadn’t been for you, I might not have come.” I had, in fact, decided not to, until he showed up at our door, looking for me, on account of my application to the Academie. Top ranking application, I might add.
“You’re very welcome, and now, I’ve come to ask you if you might be willing to do me a little favor in return.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. I would be starting school tomorrow, and would be very, very busy with my studies. “What did you have in mind?” I asked.
“Seeing as how you’ve done so very well with my entrance exam preparation course, I was wondering if you might be willing to come with me on some little recruiting excursions. I go about to the various primary schools in the city and let the students and faculty know about my training course, for any who might have their eye on the Academie. If you could come along and perhaps say a few words of praise for my training course, perhaps let them know what you’ve achieved, I would be much obliged.”
I stared at him. “You invited me to come and take your preparation course so that if I did well on the entrance exam, I could endorse you.”
Professor sputtered. “Well of course that’s why I did it. Why else did you think I’d go hunting up talented young wizards from all over the countryside?”
“But you didn’t tell me,” I said. “I thought…” I didn’t know what I thought. I thought Professor had invited me because he thought I had potential. Because he thought it would be a shame if I turned down my chance to take the entrance exam.
“I’m only asking. I think it would be ungrateful to you to refuse me, but if you feel you don’t want to help me in return, after all I’ve done for you.”
“All you’ve done?” I asked. Had he been there all those days and nights I spent practicing magic in my room, until mother nearly despaired of me ever doing my chores?
“You said yourself you wouldn’t be here without me,” he said.
Maybe not, but I wasn’t going to have him take all the credit for my success. “Perhaps not, but I’m afraid I won’t have time to do what you’ve asked. I have my studies to attend to.”
“Very well,” Professor said, his voice turned cold. “Good luck to you, Tomas.”
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There was a pleasant little knock on my door frame.
“Come in,” I said.
“Congratulations, Tomas! Congratulations again,” said Professor Crumpadon as he came in the room to shake my hand.
“Thank you,” I said, surprised to see him.
“Well, this is a nice spot, even better than you had over at the course,” he smiled. “I am so pleased with how well things turned out for you.”
“Yes,” I said. “Thanks for your help. If it hadn’t been for you, I might not have come.” I had, in fact, decided not to, until he showed up at our door, looking for me, on account of my application to the Academie. Top ranking application, I might add.
“You’re very welcome, and now, I’ve come to ask you if you might be willing to do me a little favor in return.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. I would be starting school tomorrow, and would be very, very busy with my studies. “What did you have in mind?” I asked.
“Seeing as how you’ve done so very well with my entrance exam preparation course, I was wondering if you might be willing to come with me on some little recruiting excursions. I go about to the various primary schools in the city and let the students and faculty know about my training course, for any who might have their eye on the Academie. If you could come along and perhaps say a few words of praise for my training course, perhaps let them know what you’ve achieved, I would be much obliged.”
I stared at him. “You invited me to come and take your preparation course so that if I did well on the entrance exam, I could endorse you.”
Professor sputtered. “Well of course that’s why I did it. Why else did you think I’d go hunting up talented young wizards from all over the countryside?”
“But you didn’t tell me,” I said. “I thought…” I didn’t know what I thought. I thought Professor had invited me because he thought I had potential. Because he thought it would be a shame if I turned down my chance to take the entrance exam.
“I’m only asking. I think it would be ungrateful to you to refuse me, but if you feel you don’t want to help me in return, after all I’ve done for you.”
“All you’ve done?” I asked. Had he been there all those days and nights I spent practicing magic in my room, until mother nearly despaired of me ever doing my chores?
“You said yourself you wouldn’t be here without me,” he said.
Maybe not, but I wasn’t going to have him take all the credit for my success. “Perhaps not, but I’m afraid I won’t have time to do what you’ve asked. I have my studies to attend to.”
“Very well,” Professor said, his voice turned cold. “Good luck to you, Tomas.”
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Tuesday, January 13, 2015
#81 Raising Dragons 2
I had nearly forgotten about my letter from the Academie when Professor Crumpadon showed up.
It was my little sister that told me someone had come to see me. I found my visitor in the kitchen chatting with mother, while two of my little brothers were trying to play catch-me-if-you-can under the rungs of his chair. He was laughing and snatching at them, missing on purpose, and sending them into wild giggles of their own.
“Hullo, Tomas,” he said, turning a bright smile on me. “My name is Professor Crumpadon.” He had dark-brown eyes, a round, bald head, and his fine mage’s robes bulged over a very well-fed belly. “I wanted to talk to you about your application to the Academie. You were one of the top ranked candidates, you know.”
“I didn’t know,” I said.
“Your mother tells me you weren’t planning to go take the entrance exam.”
“No, I wasn’t,” I said. “It’s an awfully long ways.” My excuses were sounding quite feeble. “Mum can use me here at home.” One of the top ranked candidates? I had no idea. Was that true? That meant I had a chance to get in. “And then there’s Aspen.”
“Aspen?” The professor asked.
“My dragon. She’s molting right now. I can’t leave her.”
Professor wanted to see her, so I led him out back to her enclosure. I wished he could have seen her on a better day. Her scales were dull, even her eyes had lost their gleam. She rubbed herself against the enclosure fence, muttering miserably in her long throat.
“Hi Aspen,” I said. She stopped scratching to look at me reproachfully. I wanted to get her opinion of Professor Crumpadon, dragons are a very good judge of character, but she didn’t purr or hiss, just groaned and went back to rubbing her flank against the fence.
“What a magnificent creature,” Professor Crumpadon said. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to leave her. Have you thought about bringing her with you?”
“Bringing her with me?” I asked.
“We could put her in a weir. There’s a fine one not far from campus.”
Could never afford it, I thought. “I don’t think she’ll like it much,” is what I said.
“They’ll take good care of her,” Professor said. “And if you’re worried about the cost, I’d be willing to cover it while you’re preparing for the exam. You see, I have a preparation course for hopefuls to the Academie, and I’d like to invite you to enroll, free of charge. Transportation, your room and board, everything will be covered. And, in your case, I’ll even board your dragon for you.”
All I could do was stare. I couldn’t believe it. I might get to go to the Academie after all.
“Do you have any further objections to coming to the Academie with me?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “None at all.” I laughed and shook his hand. “Thank you, Professor!”
He laughed too. “Good. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
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It was my little sister that told me someone had come to see me. I found my visitor in the kitchen chatting with mother, while two of my little brothers were trying to play catch-me-if-you-can under the rungs of his chair. He was laughing and snatching at them, missing on purpose, and sending them into wild giggles of their own.
“Hullo, Tomas,” he said, turning a bright smile on me. “My name is Professor Crumpadon.” He had dark-brown eyes, a round, bald head, and his fine mage’s robes bulged over a very well-fed belly. “I wanted to talk to you about your application to the Academie. You were one of the top ranked candidates, you know.”
“I didn’t know,” I said.
“Your mother tells me you weren’t planning to go take the entrance exam.”
“No, I wasn’t,” I said. “It’s an awfully long ways.” My excuses were sounding quite feeble. “Mum can use me here at home.” One of the top ranked candidates? I had no idea. Was that true? That meant I had a chance to get in. “And then there’s Aspen.”
“Aspen?” The professor asked.
“My dragon. She’s molting right now. I can’t leave her.”
Professor wanted to see her, so I led him out back to her enclosure. I wished he could have seen her on a better day. Her scales were dull, even her eyes had lost their gleam. She rubbed herself against the enclosure fence, muttering miserably in her long throat.
“Hi Aspen,” I said. She stopped scratching to look at me reproachfully. I wanted to get her opinion of Professor Crumpadon, dragons are a very good judge of character, but she didn’t purr or hiss, just groaned and went back to rubbing her flank against the fence.
“What a magnificent creature,” Professor Crumpadon said. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to leave her. Have you thought about bringing her with you?”
“Bringing her with me?” I asked.
“We could put her in a weir. There’s a fine one not far from campus.”
Could never afford it, I thought. “I don’t think she’ll like it much,” is what I said.
“They’ll take good care of her,” Professor said. “And if you’re worried about the cost, I’d be willing to cover it while you’re preparing for the exam. You see, I have a preparation course for hopefuls to the Academie, and I’d like to invite you to enroll, free of charge. Transportation, your room and board, everything will be covered. And, in your case, I’ll even board your dragon for you.”
All I could do was stare. I couldn’t believe it. I might get to go to the Academie after all.
“Do you have any further objections to coming to the Academie with me?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “None at all.” I laughed and shook his hand. “Thank you, Professor!”
He laughed too. “Good. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
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