The Once and Gifted King [ON HIATUS]

Chapter Three: Trouble [1,148 Words]

"Neil! Get back here!"

Zeke and I rolled our eyes at each other. Rhys looked worried.

"Zeke has some exchange students from England staying at his place. They don't get along," I explained. Both boys were pounding the ceiling as they ran upstairs. Zeke hurried downstairs, probably to avoid a confrontation. Rhys and I waited on the couch in the front room.

"Blake... calm yourself. You'll do it again."

Rhys and I heard a strange growl from Blake.

"I-I can't help it!" His shout turned into a pained roar. We ran upstairs.

I stopped at the top of the stairs, heart pounding. Neil was there, just as he was supposed to be, but Blake...

"Not again," I whimpered.

"A dragon?"

Luckily, the dragon was small, if any luck could be gleamed from the situation.

Zeke rushed up the stairs behind us.

"What's going on?" he inquired. Neil and the dragon turned to face the three of us. The dragon growled menacingly. Zeke stopped in his tracks.

"Get away!" Neil yelled. "I'll distract Blake. He's mad at me." The glittering blue dragon turned to Neil and showed its fangs. I had a hard time believing that was Blake.

Rhys nudged me to get out of the daze I was in and helped me downstairs. I reached for Zeke, but he wasn't there.

"Zeke?" I looked back, bu he was nowhere to be found. I wanted to go back up, but Rhys tugged me away. "Let go of me! We can't leave Zeke!"

"This is all wrong," Rhys said with a strained voice. "There's nothing we can do. We don't understand anything that's going on, so let's get out of the way." He was strong, and kept pulling until we were on the main floor. I tried to resist him, but he wrapped his arms around me. I flashed back to Threshold, but this was more of a protective embrace than a kidnapper's clutch. I watched from his arms.

While I was struggling with Rhys, Neil was talking with the dragon.

"Blake, get back to yourself. I'm sorry for insulting you. Please, you're scaring the neighbors."

Blake growled, but it wasn't as fierce as before. He seemed to be struggling within himself.

"That's it, calm down. It's no big deal any more."

The dragon purred. Neil looked utterly confused. I couldn't blame him because I felt the same way. Blake's tail twitched in evident pleasure as Zeke materialized next to him. He was scratching Blake behind the ear, just like you would with a dog. Slowly, Blake started transforming back into himself. It looked like it hurt. Once Blake was a sandy-haired teen again, he was panting and sweating on the ground. Zeke rushed to his side and helped him to sit up.

"Thanks," Blake said weakly. Then he glared at Neil. "I don't believe that you're sorry."

Neil hesitated, and then said, "I'm not."

Blake lunged at him, but Zeke managed to hold him back.

"Hey! You don't want to trigger that transformation again, do you?"

Blake sagged in Zeke's arms. "It's his fault," he said with venom. Neil walked past them and down the stairs. He raised an eyebrow at Rhys and I, and then went into the TV room.

"Git," Blake spat.

"How did you guys ever become roommates?"

Blake stared at Zeke. "I was a dragon, you were invisible, and the only thing you can think about is us?"

Zeke looked down at me. "Everyone has stories today," he said simply.

Blake followed his gaze. "Oh, you're Gwen, right?"

I nodded.

Blake frowned. "Did I... breathe fire on you?"

His question startled me, and I didn't know what he was talking about.f

"That was me," Rhys said. I realized Blake meant my burned sleeve.

"You can breathe fire, too?" Zeke asked.

Blake shrugged. "It's all fuzzy. I don't know what I can do, or why I do it."

"Join the club," I said darkly.

"What about Neil?" Zeke asked. He was way too excited by all of this.

Blake shrugged again. "He's a git. That's all I care about."

"Gwen, we should get going."

I turned to face Rhys. "What about Zeke? What about Blake and Neil? We can't leave them!"

Rhys sighed. Blake asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm being hunted, okay?" Rhys said, anger coloring his voice. "I can use fire, though I can't control it either. That's how Gwen got hurt. Someone came to my house and demanded I get in his car, but I ran."

"We believe he's after Rhys because of his power, which puts all of us in danger, because we have power too."

"Why didn't you go with the person?" Blake asked with disdain.

"Because he pointed a gun at me!" Rhys shouted. I worried he would catch fire again.

"Rhys, stop," I said, but he didn't seem to hear me.

"I burned down my house, and when I got out of the inferno, he was there with his black van and silenced gun. What was I supposed to think?"

Both of his arms burst into flames, from fingertips to neck. I jumped back, falling onto the bottom stair steps.

"Rhys, stop it!" I said again. I had to shield my face with my arm because it was so hot. Rhys looked down at me and paled. The fire instantly went out.

He pulled me up. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I glared at him. "Keep control of your emotions. Can't you tell it's anger that triggers these powers?"

Rhys bristled. "You're one to talk, getting angry over us being angry."

"I'm angry because I'm scared!" I yelled. I could't control the tears as they streaked down my face. "I don't understand a thing that's going on. You come to my work with your hand on fire, I float six inches off the ground, my best friend turns invisible, and now there's a dragon in his home! Oh, and don't forget, there's someone hunting us!"

My voice faltered and I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see Rhys any more. I didn't want to see anything. I held my hands over my eyes, trying to stop the tears. Instead my breathing came in sobs. I wiped my eyes as best as I could and hugged myself. I thought about sitting in the family room, but Rhys pulled me close as I stood from the stairs. I hardly knew him, yet he knew exactly how to comfort me. I sobbed into his chest, a fresh wave of tears joining the lines on my cheeks.

I hated crying in front of people.

The floor rocked with an explosion. I looked up and Rhys opened the front door. We hurried out to the porch, looking for the source. I had to stretch, but I found it. My breath caught in a lump in my throat.

My house was on fire.