Firebolt

Chapter 19

THREE,” I yelled at him. “So he's got more! Lucian, what if you're just wasting your time? I mean, you know of only three abilities. What if he uses another one that might claim your life?” I could feel my voice rising.

“Elena, I have no choice. I promised him!” Lucian threw his hands up in aggravation.

“You were only kids!” I shook my head, trying to understand.

“I can't break my promise and let him become evil. Urgh! Forget it. You're just a girl who knows nothing. You'll never understand.”

My hands fisted into balls of fury. I was glad we were close to the main building, because otherwise I would never have found my way back. Shaking, I forced myself not to yell at him for being so stubborn. He was just going to get himself killed.

He left for the weekend without even saying goodbye or hello when he came back on Sunday afternoon.

I didn't go for my morning run with him on Monday so I was surprised to find him close that afternoon as I went to Arianna's Enchantment lesson. She didn't like it one bit that he was hanging around, keeping an eye on her.

Tuesday was Cheng's turn. We spoke about the Rubicon, not just Blake but the previous one as well. There were four they knew of, but the museum in Elm only carried two. The Rubicon before Blake was killed by King William. The people celebrated for a whole month. The picture that popped into my head was comical. People drank, passed out, woke up, drank some more, and for some reason they danced around a roaring bonfire. He led me toward the coliseum today during our walk, and we stopped in front of the two huge stone dragons at the entrance.

“They aren’t the same as Grimdoe are they?”
     “No,” Cheng said. The detail on them had started to fade, and when I softly glided my index finger over the carving, a bit of sand fell to the ground.

“But they will wake up when they are really needed,” Cheng said cryptically.

“What?” I yanked my hand back as if I had been burned.

Cheng just chuckled.

“Are you playing with me?” I asked through a huge grin.

“No, they will wake up. But they haven’t for a very long time.”

The idea of the dragons breaking through stone imprinted on my mind as we talked about them. There were four altogether, and they had something to do with the elements of nature. They weren’t anything like Grimdoe.

Just before we said goodbye, Cheng asked me if I wanted to come with him this Saturday to Elm. He really wanted to show me the Museum of Etan; well actually, it was the Museum of Paegeia, but when the creepers consumed Etan, they changed the name.

Feeling excited about the upcoming trip, I entered the dorm whistling. Sammy and Becky looked at me puzzled.

“What?” I protested. “I really like spending time with Cheng.”

Becky lifted her head from her pedicure. “Elena, he's a geek.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “So, he's the geek that's going to help me pass History.”

Rolling her eyes, she went back to painting her toes. “Just don't fall for Cheng. Lucian is already worried about other guys tutoring you.”

I huffed. “I don't care what Lucian thinks.”

“Are you two still fighting?” Sammy asked, sitting on the couch.

I ignored her question. He was the one that didn't want to speak to me.