Firebolt

Chapter 24

IT WAS A loud siren that had a strong sense of foreboding connected to it. The sound made me clutch my ears as if they were going to fall off. Becky and Sammy looked at each other with huge eyes. That wasn't a good sign.

We ran out of the room as students descended from the stairs around us.

"What's going on?" Becky asked one of the girls.

"We all need to go to the auditorium," a girl with a red prefect badge on her blazer said, and moved with the crowd.

Becky grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the stairs behind her. It felt like it took forever to reach the lobby, not to mention getting to the auditorium.

Students poured through the doors on both sides. Becky led me to a seat in the back row and plopped me down hard. She looked around, frantic, standing on the tips of her toes. Everybody around us had frantic expressions on their faces, and some of the girls even cried.

George spun Becky around, and she started to kiss him like crazy.

"Do you know what's happening?" I asked George, who had his arms still wrapped around Becky.

"It's not good, Elena." He spoke in a fast, tight voice.

A cold shiver ran up my spine as I tried to think about the reasons behind that horrible siren.

"The last time they sounded the alarm was the night the king and queen died," Sammy said in a tiny, squeaky voice.

"What?"

Lucian finally reached us. He pulled me from my chair and hugged me tightly. I really hoped that it didn't have anything to do with his parents. His heart was pounding as I laid my head against his chest.

"Do you know what's going on?" Becky asked.

I looked up to hear his answer, but he just shook his head. The grave look on his face didn't suit him. He was the bravest guy I knew. It wasn't a good sign if Lucian was scared too.

The auditorium was almost filled with students, and everyone around us wanted to know the same thing. What the heck was going on?

Master Longwei came in, and I didn't like the look on his face. His eyes looked dark and his lips were pressed together in a thin line. He had a huge crease on his forehead. Everyone started to settle down as he ran up the podium's stairs.

"The King of Lion sword has been stolen." Master Longwei blurted it out over a microphone. Thick silence saturated the auditorium. Then the room filled with noise, as most of the students started to cry out in panic, yelling questions of how, when, and what now?

"This isn't good." Lucian spoke first and rubbed his face with his free hand.

"How could it be stolen?" Becky asked, fear lacing her tone.

"Silence!" Master Longwei's voice roared and the sound bounced off the walls. "There is no reason to panic yet. Members of the Royal Council are searching for it as we speak. However, we have to keep guard for any sign of danger. Dragonia will be one of the first places they attack if this is war."

"Typical," George uttered.

"Should that news make us feel better?" I asked Lucian as Master Longwei carried on speaking about the plan of action.  He just squeezed my hand with a terrified look.

"We will have the groups up in place first thing tomorrow morning," Master Longwei said, and then he called out names I hadn't heard before. Blake and Lucian were the last of the five names, and they were ordered to meet him in his office.