Dragons and Destiny (Animage Academy Book 1) Page 11

  I sighed, and it came out as a rumble. He was right. It would be nice to play with new magic. But how was I supposed to connect with it? It didn’t help that everyone was very vague about what kind of magic each animage had. We were always told it was because animages needed to discover magic on their own, but I thought that was a load of bull. They were just hiding the fact that they didn’t really know. More and more I was starting to suspect the Academy was just a fancy place to corral all the animages until the adults were sure they weren’t going to loose their crazy magic on unsuspecting humans.

  Something whispered in my sensitive ears and I whipped my head to look over my shoulder. None of my friends were looking at me. I lowered my head and scratched my ears with one of my front feet. There it was again, a whispering. It tickled my ears, and I sneezed. A small flame shot out of my mouth, landing a few inches from Willa. She fled across the field, white tail up, her doe running in long bounding leaps. Oops, again.

  Before I could change back to human form and apologize, the field rang with the sound of a terrified braying. Someone was in trouble. I whipped my head around just in time to see a lion take a huge leap and grab onto the back of a zebra with its claws. The zebra brayed again.

  Instinct took over. I leaped into the air and landed hard next to the two fighting animages. Without pausing to think, I grabbed the lion with one of my clawed feet and threw it across the field. I smelled blood—salty and metallic. The blood was streaked across the black and white hide of the zebra on both shoulders.

  I froze in between the zebra and the lion. The crackling of the fire within me drowned out all the other noise around me. I was torn between wanting to stop the lion and wanting to attack the zebra like prey. Terra. The zebra’s name was Terra. My mind circled around the idea like a snare. She’s not an animal, she’s an animage. She needed to be protected.

  Professor Atkins voice broke through the crackling in my mind.

  “Change back! Both of you change back!” He was yelling. Students were screaming and running away or watching in horror. The lion stood up and shook himself off. Crouching low, he charged back to the zebra. I threw myself out of his way, forgetting I was a dragon.

  The lion leaped again. Professor Atkins cried out a word and a force field of orange magic surrounded the zebra. The lion squalled in pain as he hit it headfirst. The force field shattered. The rebound from the magic knocked Professor Atkins off his feet. He landed on the ground and didn’t move. More students were screaming.

  The moment of magical protection was enough for Terra to realize what was happening and shift back into human her form. The lion recovered to find a girl with hands full of green fire standing where the zebra had been moments before. He backed up. She was no longer easy prey. I relaxed; confident the lion would change back too.

  But I made a huge miscalculation. The lion spotted Willa, still in her doe form.

  Not on my watch. I soared through the air and landed so hard between Willa and the lion the ground trembled. I lowered my head and growled in the lion’s face. Stay away from my friends. I thought I saw something human appear in his eye, but it faded. The lion jumped toward me and roared. Powerful magic hit me square in the face and knocked me over. The ground under me shook. Students were screaming and running again, trying to get out from under the building’s awning.

  My ears were ringing. I was on my side and I was disoriented. The ground and the sky all blended together in a swirl of green and blue. I shook my head and growled, trying to set things right again. Willa. I had to save Willa. The world righted itself in time for me to see the lion take off after my friend again.

  A flash of white collided with the lion, knocking him over. Hudson. Wolf and lion squared off. Two other wolves emerged from the crowd but stopped instead of rushing to Hudson’s side. Why wouldn’t they back him up? My ears were still ringing. I couldn’t get back on my feet. Fear gripped me.

  Hudson was large for a wolf, but he wasn’t the size of the lion. I pushed myself forward and swiped at the lion with my front paw. I wasn’t quick enough. Huge canine teeth sunk into a spot between my talons and scales. I screeched in pain and shook him loose. Bright red blood stained my scales.

  Hudson hit the lion again before he had a chance to recover. The lion twisted at the last second and grabbed Hudson in his claws. He rolled over the top of the wolf, putting himself close to Willa. He made to run after the doe again, but Hudson managed to bite down on one of the lion’s back legs before he could get to her. The white wolf had red gashes across his belly and down his side.

  This had to end. Now. Professor Atkins was still on the ground. I was frozen in indecision. We needed help. I didn’t know what to do. The lion growled and turned on Hudson. Something inside me exploded. These were my fellow students. My classmates. My friends. I was not going to let someone hurt them, tear them apart. I swung my tail and hit the lion in the side, knocking him off Hudson. The wolf jumped up and limped to my side. Together we squared off against the lion.

  The lion was more cautious this time. He approached slowly, crouched against the ground. Stalking us like prey. I wanted to burn him to pieces, make him pay for hurting my friends. The heat inside my chest turned white hot as flames rushed to meet my anger. My humanity took over just in time. No. The lion was a student too. I couldn’t hurt him. He had to change back to human form. I stared at him and felt his intention. He was gathering his strength to roar again. He was going to knock us off our feet and get his prey.

  “Change back!” I said. It came out as a roar.

  Change back! This time I screamed inside my mind. My instincts took over again. Magic rushed through me. I took the words, and I pushed them out with the magic. Change back.

  The lion shook his head and pawed at his ears. Hudson whined beside me. My anger surged once more. This lion would listen to me. They would all listen to me. I was a dragon. I was in charge here. Magic flared again. I anchored my will behind it. This was not a suggestion. It was a command. Change. Back.

  There was a pop inside my mind. My classmate Gary sat where the lion had been moments before. His eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted. I looked around. All the students had changed back into their human forms. I tried to shift back too, but my dragon’s adrenaline was still too high. She wasn’t ready to let me go just yet. Professor Atkins ran toward us. Blood dripped from his nose. I closed my eyes and took two deep breaths and then tried to shift back into my human form again. This time my dragon let me go.

  “Hudson, you’re bleeding!” Blood seeped through his white shirt. He wasn’t the only one. I looked around at the students, Terra sat on the ground while another student put pressure on wounds on her back. Gary was bleeding through his pants and shirt.

  “You are too,” Hudson said with a grimace. He sat on the ground with a thud. I was? My hand was throbbing. I had a deep gash between my thumb and index finger. My brain hadn’t even registered the pain.

  Gracie flew over to us. I’d never seen her fly in human form before. The only thing my brain was able to concentrate on was how graceful she looked soaring through the air and landing next to us. I knew it was odd to notice something so simple while chaos was erupting around me, but I couldn’t seem to get my brain to focus on anything else.

  Gracie was now crouched down in front of me, staring in my face.

  “Sophie? Sophie? Are you all right? Talk to me.” She was right there but her words sounded like they were coming from very far away. Hudson cried out in pain, and reality crashed back around me again in full focus. Hudson and Willa were next to us. She had a towel pressed against a long gash running down his torso. I waved Gracie off.

  “Gracie I’m fine, I promise.” She didn’t seem convinced, but she helped me stand up anyway. I couldn’t remember when I’d sat down in the first place. Professor Atkins had reached us and was kneeling next to Gary. He saw me watching him.

  “He’s ok. Just knocked out from the strength of your command, Sophie. Have you e
ver done that before? Forced someone to shift back into human form?”

  I started to shake my head but stopped when it pounded as I tried. “No,” I said instead. “I’m not even sure how I did it. I just knew he needed to shift back before someone was seriously injured.”

  “You did well. I see the dragon’s protective instincts are coming alive in you. It will be interesting to see if they manifest any differently than your father. Next time, though, try to focus it on just the one student. Not everyone.”

  “Wait, I forced everyone out of the animal form?”

  “You did,” Hudson said. He stood up slowly. “I felt the command in my bones. It was like I was getting pushed through a tube. Then bam, I was human again.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” he said, laying a hand on my shoulder. “Your quick thinking saved us. I didn’t even think to use magic, all I wanted to do was fight like a wolf.”

  “And that, my friends,” Professor Atkins said, “is the conflict of an animage.” The rest of the students had gathered around us. A couple of them were helping, passing out water and towels. Most of them were still just standing around and staring in horror. Professor Atkins continued on like this had been a totally normal day in class. “When you share your body with an animal, you share their instincts too. And they can take over when we least expect it, especially in young animages like yourselves. That’s why meditation is so important. You cannot let your animal win. Today, though, I think rest might be more important. Everyone is dismissed. If you’re injured, let’s get you to the healing wing.”

  Most of the students raced toward the gym as soon as the professor released them. Gary was still unconscious. Hudson was swaying on his feet and Terra couldn’t stand.

  “Um, Professor, I can carry everyone over to the admin building. It’ll save time. If that’s okay?” Professor Atkins looked at the state of his students and nodded.

  “You’re not too tired?” I shook my head. “Okay, go ahead, I’ll meet you there.” He stepped back and shifted into a large black stallion. It was the first time he’d shifted in class. The horse shook his head and then galloped off.

  “Willa, Gracie, will you help Hudson get up on my back?” I asked.

  “I’m fine, Sophie,” he said. But the towel wrapped around him was already soaked in blood and even as he talked, he grabbed ahold of my shoulder and swayed. Willa and Gracie moved in and put his arms around their shoulders. I stepped back and shifted again.

  “Can you carry me too so I can help Hudson stay on?” Willa asked. I nodded. Even in dragon form moving my head made it throb. I lay down on the ground so she and Hudson could climb up easily. The extra weight on my back was weird but didn’t bother me. Once Willa and Hudson were settled on my back, I scooped Gary and Terra up in my front feet as gently as I could. Gracie pushed the remaining students back so I could take off without knocking them over.

  Taking off with my front paws full and people on my back presented a challenge. I couldn’t put weight on my front feet, and I also couldn’t stand all the way up. I took a deep breath to steady myself and then pumped my wings twice as hard as I normally did. After all the excitement the cool wind of flight was welcome. I soared low over the tops of the Academy buildings, and in less than a minute we had arrived at the admin building. I landed on my back feet and laid Terra and Gary down as gently as I could. Then I pressed my whole body against the cool earth so Willa could help Hudson off. I contemplated just staying there and taking a nap in my dragon form. The ground felt terribly comfortable. I forced myself back off the ground and into human form.

  As I was shifting back, Professor Atkins emerged from the building with Nurse Sunny and a couple other professors in tow. Gary, still unconscious, rose off the ground and floated through the doors directed by one of the professors. Professor Atkins and Nurse Sunny helped Terra and Hudson. I was just getting ready to follow with Willa when Mrs. Winnifred emerged from the building.

  “Well, it’s certainly been an exciting morning. Sophie, I was just coming to find you. Will you please come with me? Headmistress Adiana would like to see you for a moment.” I knew what that was code for. What was he doing here? My adrenaline was wearing off. I rubbed my head for a moment, trying to stop myself from snapping at Mrs. Winnifred. She was just the messenger.

  “Tell the headmistress not right now, I’m busy.” Willa’s eyes widened. Mrs. Winnifred’s polite smile didn’t waver at my curt tone.

  “It’s very urgent and will only take a moment of your time.” She wasn’t going to leave me alone until I went with her, that I could see. I looked down at my hand that was bleeding through the cloth I had hurriedly wrapped it in.

  “Fine,” I said. “I’ll be right there, go on without me,” I told Willa. She didn’t move. I just shook my head, and she shrugged before heading to the healing wing. I followed Mrs. Winnifred instead.

  We bypassed the usual conference room and actually went to the headmistress’s office. The conversation inside the room stopped as Mrs. Winnifred opened the door and announced my presence. My dad was there, like I suspected. The headmistress too. Tension filled the room. I walked inside and noticed Chief Winston was sitting at the conference table. What did the head Upholder want with me?

  As I entered, I remembered how I must look. My hair was a mess and had fallen out of the tight braid I’d had it in that morning. My outfit was bloodstained and wrinkled beyond repair, and my tights were ripped in multiple places. I couldn’t help but consider what these respected professionals much think to see me in such a state.

  “Sophie! What happened?” My dad was taking stock of me from top to bottom. I was touched by the concern I saw in his eyes. As he and Headmistress Adiana ushered me to a chair, I related the major points of what had occurred during shifting class. I was too tired to offer more than a brief summary. Someone pushed a glass of water into my good hand. I drained it in one gulp. While I’d been talking, Dad had wrapped a bandage around my hand without me even noticing.

  “That’s my girl! You show them who’s boss.” I smiled awkwardly. It was still weird for me to get so much of Dad’s attention. He never bragged on me like this, especially in front of other people.

  “I knew those protective instincts would kick in sooner or later. You forced your whole class to change back into human form?”

  “Yeah, accidentally.”

  “That’s impressive, my girl. That takes an immense amount of power. It’s something I’ve never done before.”

  “It was the only thing I could think of.”

  “Show’s you’ve got good instincts, like your old man,” Chief Winston said. He had remained quiet while I was telling the story. “It sounds like Animage Academy is still the wild and exciting place it was when I was here.”

  “You know having all these new animages around makes the magic and the shifting volatile here, Harold.” Headmistress Adiana pointed out. “I’ll leave you all too it, I must go and check on my students.”

  Harold? Chief Winston was one of my father’s best friends, but even he didn’t refer to the head Upholder as Harold. This was weird. After she left Chief Winston turned his attention to me.

  “Sophie, you may be wondering what I’m doing here today,” Chief Winston said.

  “Little bit.”

  “The Upholders need your help.” I barely stopped myself from scoffing. The Upholders, the most elite supernatural fighting and law enforcement group in the world needed my help? Not likely. This was getting weirder by the second. My incredulity must have shown on my face because the chief smiled.

  “Upholders aren’t omniscient, you know. We are willing to take help wherever we can get it.”

  “What can I help you with?”

  “How much do you know about your friend Willa’s mom?” I stiffened. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this line of questioning.

  “Not a lot,” I admitted.

  “That makes sense. I’m sure Willa doesn’t like to tal
k about it.”

  “Talk about what?”

  “Well, a few years ago Willa’s mom had a terrible accident. She was playing with a power she didn’t understand and it well—addled her brain to a certain extent. As you know, we can’t have unstable witches running around that might expose us to the humans. Willa and her mother have been on the run, hiding from the Upholders for years. Your father mentioned Simon is a skilled Finder? Well, Willa is what we like to call a Hider. She’s quite skilled in concealment and illusion spells. Maybe she’ll consider joining the force after graduation.

  “We were able to track Willa and—uh—convince her to come to Animage Academy after she was revealed. Her mother, however, is still eluding us.”

  “Is Willa in trouble?”

  “No, no. And her mother is not in trouble either, we just need to find her to get her somewhere she will be safe. Can you help us? Can you find out from Willa where her mother is?”

  “You want me to convince Willa to tell you where her mother is?”

  “Not exactly. Willa has made it clear she’s not going to help us. What we need from you is to find out from Willa, as her friend, and then let your father know.”

  I felt icky, and it had nothing to do with the blood and dirt that covered me.

  “I’m not going to betray my friend.” My father tensed up behind me. Chief Winston looked at him and he came around to stare at me.

  “Sophie, you have a responsibility to help the Upholders with this.” I stood up. The two men crowding me made me feel small.

  “I’m not in the mood for a lecture about responsibility, Dad. Betraying my friend and doing the Upholder’s job for them is not my responsibility. Has Willa’s mom hurt anyone? Is she dangerous?”

  “Not physically,” Chief Winston admitted. “She’s never hurt anyone, supernatural or human. But she’s volatile, and she needs to be off the streets. There have already been incidents where she’s been exposed to humans, but we’ve managed to fix those. The more it happens, the less likely it is that we are going to be able to keep control of it.”