The Dragoneer Manual

Chapter 24 - The Pond

In front of her dorm, Teak bid Rory and Jay goodbye with a sleepy hug. Rory smiled, wishing for a moment that she knew how to love as genuinely, as easily, as Teak did. When Teak left, Rory and Jay stood in silence for a moment, until Jay boldly suggested they walk to the pond, which was a little ways past the training grounds on the edge of the forest.

Not feeling tired anymore, Rory agreed, and they walked side by side, the slightly chilly air licking at their faces. Rory turned to look at the freshly scabbed cut on Jay's cheek.

"Does it hurt?" She asked, pointing at it.

"I didn't even feel it when it happened. It kind of stings now," he said, shrugging.

"Were you scared today?" Rory asked.

Jay continued walking for a moment in silence, looking down at his feet.

"Hmm... Maybe a little," he said. "Were you?"

Rory nodded her head.

"Uh, yeah, a lot!" she laughed, and it felt like a relief for both of them.

"That mega-form came out of nowhere," Jay said. "It's never happened to me before, although I've heard of it."

"What causes it?"

"No one's entirely sure, which is what makes it so unpredictable. But sometimes demon energy remains active even after the death of the vessel, and if several have been killed, that energy can combine and make an even more powerful monster."

"So... sort of like the boss version."

Jay lifted one corner of his lip in a smirk and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, like the boss version, Rory."

"What?" she exclaimed, responding to his judging look.

"Nothing," he said, averting his eyes goofily. "Just didn't realize you were a gamer."

"Well, life used to be pretty boring I'll tell ya," she said.

"What did you do? Before this, I mean," Jay asked.

"I worked at a bookstore slash comic shop type thing."

"That's cool. I used to love bookstores slash comic shop type things."

Rory smiled.

"Is that how you found the manual?" he asked.

Rory nodded, impressed at his astute inference.

"Yes," she said. "One morning, we got a stack of books delivered, but there were only five, and they all had different covers. The packing slip said they were delivered from Arthur Wood LLC. And there were instructions on what to do with them."

Jay widened his eyes.

"Really?" he said. "What did the instructions say?"

"It said to place the books in the bookstore on the least visible shelf, and to charge nothing for them if a customer wanted to buy one. Then, at the bottom of the slip, it said that if the person reading this should feel called to take one, then the very fact of them working at the bookstore was fated. Which was interesting."

"Wow," Jay replied. "Arthur Wood really did not hold back on that packing slip."

Rory giggled. "Yeah, so, when I looked at the cover of the book and saw it was the Dragoneer Manual II, I almost had a heart attack. The Dragoneer Manual I was my most prized possession of my childhood, but as I grew up I was told by many people that it was just a fantasy book, and that I should get over it. I really kick myself for doing this, but when I was 17, I actually threw it out when I was having a particularly difficult month of my life."