The Dragon Ember

Chapter Ten: Lana

"Calvin!" I shouted after the boy. He sped off almost inhumanly fast down the gravel drive, ducking down a copse of trees that separated the gravel driveway from the main road. Then I heard the sound of flapping, and then silence. I thought I saw the faint silhouette of a dragon rising to the clouds in the mists before he disappeared entirely.

Panic started to rise in my chest, not that there wasn't any there, to begin with. I don't know how, but Reed knew. I knew she had to. I saw how she just stared at Calvin like they were about to lay into each other. What could I say? She thought I didn't know anything. How was I going to explain away a dragon?

I stopped, my knees hitting the rocks under me. Breathe in roses, blow out candles. I inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth like I was about to blow out some birthday candles. I breathed in and out for a few moments before my mind started to clear and the panic subsided a little.

Then I started planning. Reed was definitely going to ask where he went. He went running into the woods, and I lost sight of him. He was running really fast, so I don't think that we'll catch up to him. It was weak, but it would have to do. I got up from the gravel path and made my way back to the house. The door exploded open a few moments later, and Reed had a terrified expression on her face. Her eyes darted around until she saw Lana and then relaxed. "There you are." She panted. "Where is Calvin."

I started. I had never seen Reed so scared. Why... "He ran off, into the woods. He was running so fast, I couldn't stop him."

Reed crossed the gravel in an instant and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm so glad that you're safe."

She let me go and I looked up at her. Her perfect brown skin was marred by wrinkles of worry and fear on her forehead. Her dark eyes seemed even darker in the cloudy weather. "Are you okay?"

Reed's face returned to her easygoing smile in an instant. "Yeah. I was worried about you is all. When I came back inside you and Calvin were gone. I thought he might have...well I don't know what I thought. All that matters is you're safe." She smiled and beckoned inside. "I don't think that we'll have to worry about Calvin. He just needs some space. He'll be back soon."

I breathed an inward sigh of relief. Well, that was...too easy. "Are you sure?" I said, "Shouldn't we go looking for him."

"Tell you what," She took me by the arms, "If we don't see him in an hour we'll go rescue him from the woods again, okay?"

"Okay"

Reed gave a small smile. "Right, now let's go eat. The food is getting cold."

I followed Reed inside and we made our way to the kitchen, all the while my brain mulled over the events over those past few minutes, though it all seemed like it happened so long ago. I saw him fly away, up into the clouds. I mean, he flew! I knew he could turn into a dragon and everything, but I never thought that he could actually fly.

Reed and I sat down at the bar, and she began serving us food. "Orange chicken or kung pao?" She offered two of the styrofoam boxes.

I grabbed the orange chicken absent-mindedly and began eating robotically, only briefly acknowledging the deliciousness that was orange chicken. My mind was still laser-focused. Why had Calvin run away like that? He stumbled and ran as a man possessed. He was off of the bar and out of the house before I could even react. Something about Reed and Calvin's conversation had really spooked him, but what? What did he know?

"You thinking about Calvin?" Reed asked.

I started, looking up at Reed with glazed eyes. "Huh? Oh, right, yeah. He just bolted out of the house. So fast that I didn't have the chance to stop him. He looked really scared."