Chapter 7

I woke up to an empty bed this morning. I half expected to have a repeat of yesterday morning, but Colin was nowhere to be seen.

I sat up in bed. I couldn’t help when my fingers gingerly touched the bump that formed just above my left eye. Now that I think about it, going to sleep right after having a head injury was not the best idea. Suspected concussions and sleep were never a good mix; I may have ended up in a coma. Then a thought occurred to me. If I were a dragon, I would heal faster, wouldn’t I?

I sighed and slowly got out of bed. I wasn’t a dragon, no matter how many times these people insisted I was. As soon as I stood up, Colin and Alalai burst through the door. They were both carrying food in and I caught a whiff of a muffin. The perfect comfort food in my eyes.

“Morning, guys.” I was half asleep but I managed the pleasantry. I zombied my way across the room and tried to pass by them to get to the bathroom. It didn’t work out.

“We brought you food,” Alalai was earnestly holding out a small plate with a warm muffin on it. I thanked him, and took the muffin. I tried again to pass through their barrier of worry. I was fine. I felt fine. My head had a dull ache but it didn’t feel nearly as bad as last night.

“Doesn’t your head still hurt? Maybe you should lay down.” Colin suddenly sounded like a doting parent. It was kind of freaking me out. Last night he didn’t give a care in the world, but now he looked worried.

“I’m fine. Besides, I’m not one to lay around a whole lot.”

“Right,” Alalai agreed, “You are the Zodiac after all, of course you’d be fine.” Alalai seemed to renew hope in me. I nodded without really thinking. I couldn’t keep up this Zodiac nonsense for much longer. My eyes followed a long blue tail that swished from behind Alalai.

“You have a tail?” I stared down at the blue tail swishing back and forth. It reminded me of a cat tail. It was skinny and long, and came from a small hole cut in the top of his pants. How had I missed it last night?

“Yes, but when I’m in Undercity, I tuck it in. People like to pull on it.” Alalai was happy to explain anything I asked him. Since I never met a troll before, I did have a lot of questions. I thought it was amazing how little humans knew of the supernatural. We knew they existed. There were even activist groups trying to get them the rights they lacked but humans had a way of ignoring problems like that.

“Not that amazing. You have a tail too, you know,” Colin remarked. His mood changes were making me dizzy. We made our way to the kitchen.

Colin poured himself a glass of orange juice and walked over to the counter where I was sitting. I plucked it out of his hands as he passed. I gulped it down in one swig. I hadn’t realized before then just how thirsty I was.

“That was mine!” He shrieked. Colin ripped the empty glass from my hand and went to fill it up again. He was muttering under his breath. The food and drink tasted too good to be just regular human food. I remember that some magic users could enhance food, but I didn’t know dragons could do that too.

Grandfather Wei walked into the kitchen. He came up to me and bowed low.

“I must apologize for my behavior last night. I was not in my right mind.” The old man looked older than he did yesterday. He was so full of life before, but now he seemed tired. I reached up to the bump on the left side of my head and put my hand over it.

“Oh, this? It’s no big deal. I feel fine, really.” I tried to sound as convincing as possible. I wasn’t going to feel bad for stepping in the way. Alalai should never be put in harm's way again. He is safe here.

“It was unbecoming, all the same.” Grandfather Wei didn’t sound any less sorry than before. Colin looked around for a moment, and then did a double take.

“Where is grandpa?”

“He went to speak with Ms. Agnes about your friends predicament.” Grandfather Wei paused, “It seems we are at full capacity until the new birds fly the coop.” I didn’t understand what that meant. New birds flying coops? Not a clue.

“We’ll be needing to travel to the council soon. We must announce you as a Zodiac before the council convenes for war.” Grandfather Wei looked me up and down with a serious look. It was only my second day here, and they were already announcing me to the council. They had no proof I was the dragon zodiac like they claimed.

Something else caught my attention too. War. Was it between the witches and the warlocks? They’ve been at odds for centuries, why would they go to war now of all times?

“The council doesn’t meet when there is war between the factions unless there is a peace treaty meeting. If not today, we may not get another chance to declare you.” Colin explained. It seemed he could tell what I was wondering about.

“I’ve got to go get changed. Where are we meeting them?” Colin stood up and looked at his grandfather.

“We leave in an hour. Ethan has offered to give you two a ride.” Grandfather Wei took a sip of steaming coffee.

I followed Colin back into the other room. He was shoving clothes and such into a backpack. I noticed that he placed a few plastic bags in the side pocket of his army green bag. I gave him that suspicious look to imply I knew what those were for.

“In case you puke,” He pointed at the bags he was shoving into the bag. I ground my teeth together. This jerk was going to be the death of me.

“I don’t get sick from heights!”

“Oh yeah, sure. I have total faith.” He retorted, as if he already knew whatever came out of my mouth would be a complete and utter lie. I hated that he saw me as a weak and defenseless human. He knew almost nothing about me, and yet seemed to know just what buttons to push.

“I won’t need them,” I said again. I couldn’t stand the way he laughed after I said that. I mean, if we were flying for more than the average eight seconds, I probably would get sick. But that wasn’t something he had to prepare for so blatantly. Being afraid of heights was a natural human instinct. And I was human.

“Whatever. It’ll probably be an overnight thing, and we haven’t been able to get you any clothes yet, so just use mine.” He stuffed another pair of pants in there. Colin was taller than me by a few inches, but I was bulkier. My shoulders were broader from years of swimming and Cross country. I walked into the narrow closet and was bombarded with the fact that I didn’t have my own clothes still. I missed my apartment. My closet. My clothes.

“I- I want my clothes…” My voiced choked on my words. They were so neatly organized by color, and I could tell he took the time to press the nice ones before hanging them up.

Colin stared at a wall guiltily. My family was in another world it seemed. If I really was the Zodiac, I would have to leave the human world behind. Was I really willing to give that up? I was stuck in between two worlds, the human one, and the magical one.

“There’s something about your family that you should know,” Colin still had his back toward me. He was counting out two pairs of socks on the ground. He was trying his hardest not to look at me.

“What’s that?”

“They’re anti-supernaturalists. Your father takes us to court in almost anything he can. And he isn’t below waving a sign around in our faces either.” Colin informed me. My parents? Anti-sups? Those hate groups are accredited with some of the worst hate crimes in America. It was impossible. My mom was a florist, for heaven’s sake!

“Anti-sups? You’ve got to be kidding.” I didn’t see the joke but I tried laughing anyway. Colin didn’t reciprocate the half-hearted laugh. He sighed deeply and slumped his shoulders forward. There was ringing in my ears that got louder with my panic.

“Think about it. How did your brothers know to call us?”

“What if they are dragons too?” I half-heartedly suggested. “My family wouldn’t harm a fly. It’s impossible.” I could feel everything falling into place. All the strange things they did when I was a kid. Late nights, unexplained bruises. I should have seen it sooner. I couldn’t stand that thought. A hate group? Anti-sups? What if they had hurt supernaturals just trying to live their lives?

“If they were dragons, you would be here with them. Your brothers brought you here because they were afraid. They couldn’t let you stay there knowing you were a dragon.” My eyes watered. No. That wasn’t right. They would never hate me like that. But then, why am I here?

Colin finally turned around, and walked toward me silently. I didn’t move as he wrapped his arms around me and embraced me. I didn’t blink.

There was a moment, in which everything snapped. I lost all control, I couldn’t even think straight anymore. It wasn’t just my parents. It was everything. Somehow I was supposed to become a dragon when I lived as human my whole life.

I tried to pull away from Colin. I scraped at his back, and screamed in frustration. There was a ripping sound in my clothes and I noticed a soft red cloud around me.

I kept thrashing around. My head crash against the ceiling accompanied by a loud thwack. The floating shelves holding up trophies crashed to the ground. I kept growing taller still. I got bigger and bigger, and yet Colin still clung to my neck. He wasn’t going to let go of me.

“You’ve finally changed into a dragon. I’m glad.” I stopped thrashing around when he spoke. There wasn’t even a hint of fear in his voice. I was several feet taller now, and Colin hung from my neck. His feet weren’t touching the ground anymore.

My parents, my family, anti-supernaturals? I couldn’t stand the thought of them hurting anyone. I have to think about Colin. He must be scared of me right now. I have to calm down.

And then it hit me like an out of control train. I was a dragon.

I lowered Colin back to the ground. I waited for him to let go. But he didn’t. His arms were still clasped tightly around my inhuman neck.

He wouldn’t let go.

“Change back, now, okay?” Colin didn’t even falter. All of that, and he wasn’t even a little bit afraid. I felt myself shrink back down. My bones cracked and realigned themselves. My skin became soft and fleshy instead of scaly. I watched as that calming red mist shrouded us and I was suddenly human again. I fell to my knees.

I found myself with my head in the crook of Colin’s neck. It was comfortable and warm there, and I didn’t want to be anywhere else at that moment.

I realized that he would never leave me. No matter what I did, or how I hurt him, he’d always be there. And damn if that didn’t scare me.