Dragon Rings

Ch. 12: Lunima (Unedited)

I paced my room, my mind whirling with the day's events. Sammi's accident, Kai's reappearance, those damned rings.

"Calm down, Yami. You're freaking out over nothing. It's just coincidence." Shadow was lounging on my bed, obviously unbothered by anything.

He hadn't come back since the incident in Star's house.

Shadow was messing with my hair, or at least trying to. His hands slid through me just as my knives passed through him. I turned my music up to drown out his unceasing voice. Seriously, who talks about different ways to use daggers for twenty minutes? Shadow.

Then I looked up and it was him. The man. He had pulled me out of the wreak that had once been my house. They said I had simply been knocked senseless my the hurricane, but I knew better. The man dragged me out, checked to see if I was alive, then left.

Chandler.

He knew it too. I saw the realization in his eyes. Shadow was yelling at me to leave. I don't know why he was angry. Probably because my mind was telling me I had to get out, and what better way than an angry teenager.

My mind is fucked up, in case you couldn't tell.

Now here we were, in my room. I suppose somewhere in the back of my head I knew I shouldn't be alone, and ta da! Shadow showed up.

"You're a fucking idiot if you think I have to let this go. Kai shows up, Chandler appears, and Sammi's hurt." I huffed and sat on my bed beside Shadow, pulling the box onto my lap.

Shadow shrugged and stood, walking over to my desk. "Yami, let it go. It's nothing more than a coincidence. Kai... Kai shouldn't have showed up again. We can continue our research without his help." Anger flashed across his face. Reminiscent of the hell that man put me through.

Oh shit. You guys think... Right. Joell said... Uh, let's get this straight. We did not date. Joell thought we did, and my God she never let it go.

Kai was the one who helped me research on the dragon that attacked me. We never really got anywhere, though we argued enough to last a lifetime.

Bottom line: Kai is as fucking crazy as I am. He believed in the dragon story, and as everyone that didn't come from my mind says, dragons don't exist.

Right.

Whatever.

Meanwhile, I did one of the things that I should have never done. I opened that damned package.

I couldn't help myself. I ignored all common sense and opened it. It was rather bulky, but inside it was mostly silky cloth. Nothing special, just a ton of black silk stuffed inside a paper package.

Inside the cloth, however, was something very unusual. It was beautiful, really.

A silver and red short sword, about the length of my forearm. Not just any sword either. The blade was dark red, but the hilt was made out of a intricate silver dragon. The blade looked like it was bursting out of the roaring dragon's chest, like the blade was stained with the dragon's blood.

Beautiful.

Shadow whistled from my bed, where he had reclaimed his space. "Aww, did my little Yami get a love gift? Pff. What kind of guy sends his girl a weird-ass dagger?" I rolled my eyes. My conscious apparently didn't like Kai's little gift. Picking it up, I turned the blade over, inspecting it. Damn, it must have been expensive. My mind might not have liked it, but hot damn that's how you pick up a date in my book.

"Yo, Yami, you okay kid? Are you so starstruck by this guy that you're actually speechless?"

I was gonna respond, but a little note fluttered to the ground, disturbed out of place by my inspection.

Luna,

I'm sorry about this, but you're in danger. Those rings, you know why they've come to your friends, don't you? I told you once, and I'll tell you again. You can't escape this. Something's coming, something bigger than the two of us. I wanted to speak to you in person, but it would have been impossible with your friends. At least your sister could give this to you. Use it to protect yourself.

-Kai

I bit my lip and folded the note in half, setting it on my desk. The weight of the slim silver chain on my neck seemed heavier than before. I needed space, some fresh air. I snatched my old-fashioned satchel - don't judge, I like old stuff - and gently wrapped the sword in silk and put it in. I didn't want Joelle or The Wolf to see it, so I had t bring it with me. Besides, it was too bad ass to ignore.

I walked out of my room, passing Joell's room as I went. Pausing, I pressed my ear to her door. She and Sammi were giggling like third graders, probably talking about boys and that damn dance.

Lame.

I continued on, slipping on my knee-high black boots. Black over more black, the way I like it. Black skinny jeans and a black tank top under my black hoodie. Honestly, sometimes I like to wear color, maybe blue or purple or red or white, sometimes even pink.

Those are the days I fear I'm turning into Joell. Or dying. Can't decide which one is worse.

Dying would probably be less painful. Either way, I grabbed my keys and slipped out of the house, quietly shutting the door. Joelle and Sammi would never notice I left. I walked over to the shed, where my motorcycle leaned against the side.

I grabbed the handlebars and walked it down the winding path in front of the house. Somehow The Wolf had managed to buy the house, one of the secluded places in Corpus Christi. It was about four acres and fenced in all around. Joelle called it magical, a place out of fiction. Honestly, how she could call the three room house magical was far beyond me.

Once I got to the front, I punched in the code and started up my bike while the gate slowly slid open. I was gone before it finished opening.

※

I sighed, settling against the massive boulders that made up my hiding place. Three boulders leaned against each other, creating a cave, nice and shadowy, that faced a cliff. Far below, waves crashed mercilessly against the sharp rocks jutting out of the water. It was a calming place, and I had found myself waking up here after a fight with Ms. Lupine or a nasty run in with upperclassmen, who seemed to love to make fun of me.

Ironically, I had found this place two years ago, when three senior guys had dragged me to the edge and were going to throw me over. I don't really remember what happened, but I must've been knocked unconscious because I woke up under the shelter of the boulders. Even if I had found it by almost dying, it was my little sanctuary.

The moon glowed softly over the water, and I felt my nerves slowly unwind. Pulling the silk-covered sword out of my bag, I unwrapped it. Studying the beautiful blade in the glistening moonlight, I let my mind wander.

It reminded me of the little swords I played with as a child. Crazy, yes, but no one cared that much when my adoptive parents taught me. The Japanese people aren't particularly interested in orphans, especially when they weren't Japanese. I was an expert by the time I was seven. Joelle listened to music and made friends. I played with swords. We were opposites, even back then. Life was good until the accident...

Startled, I forcefully pulled myself from the memories, locking them away once more. I hastily wrapped the blade back up and shoved it into my bag. Taking a shaky breath, I closed my eyes, trying to erase the thoughts from my mind. Just remembering that day made my heart race and my gut twist with terror.

Instinctively, I reached up to the silver chain around my neck, clutching the pendant, wanting the comfort. It was like an old friend, always there. Ever since that day six years ago.

Eventually, the soothing sound of crashing waves and the cool, comfortable stone lulled me into a peaceful sleep.

My last thought was of the pendant hanging around my neck.

The golden dragon, twisted into a circle and clutching a diamond in its claws.