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Chapter 81

The first human Emma saw was a trainer who was hastily shooing the baby wild dragons in pens. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Emma, and he quickly straightened himself as he looked at her with a nervous smile etched into his old features. Wrinkles from years of old age and smiling was noticable on his face, and a few gray hairs on his head and face proved the count of years he had seen.

"Hello young lady, are you looking for something?" The man asked, stopping his sweeping and smiling at Emma. The girl stared into the man's eyes and saw the usual milky white of the blind.

"More like someone. I'm looking for a boy that works here. He's a fire mage, red hair, white eyes, deeper voice. Know anyone like that here?" Emma asked the old man who quietly scratched his grey beard. Suddenly his head perked up, and his eyes seemed to glow a bit.

"You mean the boy who joined around three months ago, yes I believe I know exactly where he is. What's your business with him?" The man eyed Emma curiously, and Emma gasped in realization that the man wasn't actually blind, but rather a light user.

The old man seemed to pick up on her suprise, and looked away from the girl. He raised his hand, and the room grew brighter from an unknown light source. A small, glowing dragon came from the man's hand, the dragon the size of a small bird. The small dragon had a yellowed paper in it's mouth, a checklist of sorts.

"I-I need to take back a stolen item, a book from our libraries that has a high value." The girl stuttered from shock. 

"I had no idea the boy would do such a thing....he's in the hatchery right now, so if you want that book back, be quick, for I don't like scuffles I sat my roof." The man tossed a key to the girl, and she mumbled a thanks and began her trek down the halls. The scent of wild dragon hatchings and warm milk wafted through the building, the scent of lavender spread across the halls in an attempt to calm anyone. But it didn't help Emma release her tense muscles, and each step she took only seemed to make her tense up more.

"How are things in there Emma?" Joel asked through the link with caution. He was staring though Emma's eyes, but didn't understand where they were.

"I'm heading to the boy right now, but I'm not too confident that the boy will just give me the book." Emma replied with a short tone. She wasn't to pleased with the boy, his theft of the book caused Emma to rely on her stored anger over the days, and using that anger on her own friend...a twist of guilt latched onto Emma, and she pursed her lips, opening the wooden door to the hatchery.

Inside was just as she had seen it when she was a little girl. One mothering dragon laid in the corner with hundred of hatchlings, her emerald green scales glinting like stars in the warm torch light. The heat in the room was beyond hot as the dragons played all around the room. A fireplace had been boxed off from the dragons and prevented them from touching the flames in fear the fire would destroy the shine on their still developing scales. The motherly green dragon raised her head, grinning as she saw Emma walk in.

Emma scanned the room with her grey eyes, looking for the red head that was somewhere in the room. She had spotted a door on the other side of the chamber, and a light creeped out from under the cracks of the wooden door frame. Emma carefully stepped over multiple dragons, some of their small eyes watching as she moved around the room. The small hatchlings had a sense of comfort around her, running their heads against the girls legs whenever they had the chance.

Emma patted the dragons while walking, her eyes drinking up the sight of all the different colours of hatchlings in the room. When she finally reached the door, her hand quietly turned the nob, telling the hatchlings to stay back for a few minutes. The small dragons listened, but a few stubborn ones sat and watched up close. Emma gave a pleading look to the grown female dragon, and it gave a hiss to the stubborn hatchlings, sending them running away from the emerald green dragons glare. She thanked the dragon for her help, then returned to the door.

Quietly opening the door was a hard task, for each time she tried to open the door more, a loud noise would sound from the door. Taking a deep breath, Emma yanked the door open, her eyes adjusting to the new and blinding light. When her eyes refocused, she saw the boy with red hair frozen, leaning against a table with side red eyes staring directly back at her. Sprawled out on the table was the book she was searching for, it's blood red cover untouched. Around the precious material was multiple tools that laid across the wood, ready to be used.

"I knew I would find you." Emma said with venom in her voice. The boy stayed frozen, his bright white eyes wide as dinner plates. His aura was shaking with fear, and Emma could feel Joel growling in the back of her mind. He grasped the book and rushed to the window, unlatching the lock of the window with haste. He was quickly pulled back by his collar, the book flying back onto the table where it once sat. The boy tried to claw at the hands holding him and preventing his escape, but after a good look at the girls cold grey eyes, he froze, thinking of a way to get out of the situation.

"W-wait! You don't understand! I'm trying to help-" The boy was cut off by Emma yanking his collar; silencing him with one motion while her patience ran thin with the boy and this blasted curse buzzing in her brain. The boy whimpered in fear, but made no move to stop the girl as she lifted the blood red book in her hands.

"I don't listen to bullshit." The words were cold, but the boy didn't care. It hadn't changed since the day she shoved it under her bed. The dark veins pulsating around the black dragons silhouette, the pattern growing bigger than the last time. The lock was still intact, it's shining metal latched onto the side of the cover. Emma groaned, letting the boys collar fall from her grasp. He hugged his face, covering any injuries that he may possibly get from Emma's actions.

When the voice spoke to her, it sounded panicked, unlike how it used to be, a calm and reading tone. Emma smirked when she heard it's worry, the three words echoing in her mind that seemed to make the whole world uneasy.

"You found it."