Playing with Fire

Playing with Fire- Chapter Five

Welcome to chapter five!!! I think I may be getting into a little bit of writers block, as well as artists block (is that even a term?...). Anyway, my goal is to finish this chapter by Friday, which I will do. Even if I have to stay up all night thinking. So, continuing on, Chapter Five of Playing with Fire!

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Everything was put on hold. No classes, no training, nothing to do except for wait while the Trainers panicked. Never before had a Dragon Master disappeared while still at the stage of Xuétú. Occasionally, as proven by Master George, a Zhǔ would go into hiding for multiple reasons. But someone who was still a child and had no way of leaving the Dragon Isles?

The Trainers didn't know what to do. They searched every nook and cranny of every building on every island. They took ladders down to the water. They even traveled by boat onto the mainland, in case Lucas had somehow made it off the islands.

All I could think about was the crazed look in his eyes when he tried to fight me, the brown shroud that covered his normally sunshine yellow Běnzhí. Did those things have anything to do with his disappearance? Something about him had been seriously off, and I worried that whatever was controlling him had caused him to vanish. Sure, he was cocky and annoying and sexist, but that didn't give anything the right to kill him. He was just a kid, barely thirteen years old.

Everyone was quiet, but Hayden and I were the most silent. We'd been the last ones to see him that night (well, morning) and if anyone discovered that piece of information, we'd be in trouble. If they found out about the summoning, well... Not even Hayden's status could save us. Murdering a Dragon Master was the biggest crime a person could commit, resulting in a painful, drawn-out death.

The two of us spent all of our time together, worrying in our heads about what would happen. We would usually escape to our ledge so we could have some peace from the constant check-ups and searching of the Trainers.

Three days after his disappearance, Hayden and I were meditating in the moon-like cave. We both just wanted a chance to escape from the craziness and meet with our Dragons again.

Soon enough my Línghún was inside the Core, with a pair of silver eyes to talk to. What's going on, Yín sè? Where has Lucas gone? And what was wrong with him earlier? I don't actually know, little one. I've tried asking The Dragon of Good Fortune, but I can't find his Běnzhí anywhere in the Other World. It's like they disappeared together. Has that ever happened before? Where you can't find one of the Dragons?  A sigh. Not unless they've been summoned, but even then. There's always a small piece of them that remains in the Other World, a conduit to access their full Diànyuán. So how are we going to figure this out? Figure it out? Do you have any idea how dangerous one would have to be to remove a Dragon from the Other World? No way are you getting involved in this. I have to! What if the next one to disappear is Hayden, or me? Anyway, something just isn't right and somebody has to fix it! You can't risk yourself like that. I won't let you. Well, that's just too bad then, isn't it? I heard a low rumbling all around me, like a deep growl. Yín sè wasn't happy. Why don't you want me to put a stop to this? Someone at least has to find whoever or whatever made him disappear. It's not that I don't want somebody to figure it out. Just... not you. I don't want you to get hurt. I admire you wanting to help, but it could be dangerous for you. Thanks. For what? For caring about me. No problem, little one. I'm still going to try to find him. And figure out what's going on. Well, I expected that. Just... please be careful. I'll be with you the entire way.

I let myself drift back to my body, rebuilding the boundaries around the Core so nobody but me could enter. After sitting for just a little while longer, I heard Hayden stirring beside me and opened my eyes.