Breath of Fire

Chapter Eleven

     "Damn, will those girls ever give up?" I said as I opened up my locker to find a pile of rotting meat inside of it. Penelope and her friends had been trying to get me to quit ever since I got here but two months later here I still was. I know, I was beyond surprised when I realized the exact amount of time I had been in the dragon realm, but still no luck with my powers. My "teachers" we getting ever more frustrated with my lack of magic and I was going insane trying to get my powers to work when I actually wanted them to. It was as if they were hiding. Whenever I sat down with Terrence, Blaise, Caspian, or Elios, my magic was nowhere to be seen but as soon as I finished up with them, it came back out at the most random of times. It was beyond frustrating!

      "You really should tell one of the professors about this," Blair said as she helped me clean out my locker.

      "No way! That means I'd be letting them win and I'm not letting those girls believe they have me spooked me for one second! I can handle them on my own!" Though I made sure to sound confident out loud to Blair, I secretly thought about how screwed I was. Penelope's bullying was getting worse and worse but what could I; a lonely human in a world full of dragons, do against her! If I went running to the professors that would only make things worse. Everyone would know that I couldn't handle Penelope and her cronies on my own and nobody likes a tattletale!       

      "Well I think you should, but it's your life," Blair replied with a frown as we collected our textbooks and started making our way back to the cottage to study. We were outside and walking over the fields when I noticed Penelope and her two friends huddled together in front of us. I motioned for Blair so that we could stay clear of them when I realized that I didn't want to. Blair was right, I couldn't keep letting things continue the way they were otherwise who knew what kind of dangerous stunt would come next! I squared my shoulders and made my way towards Penelope trying not to let my fear get in the way. If I could handle men in black hunting me my entire life, than certainly I could handle a trio of school bullies!

      "Here, I believe you left this in my locker," I said, tossing the bag of rotten meat down at Penelope's feet. It gave me a sense of pride to watch her nose crinkle up at the smell. But as her and her friends suddenly stalked towards me in fury, I came to the conclusion that maybe this wasn't the best idea...these were dragons after all and I was just a tiny little human with a soft, easily burnable outside shell to them.

     "Blair, go get help," I managed to squeak out before Penelope and her friends transformed into their dragon forms and circled around me menacingly. I sighed a little in relief as she dashed away but the danger was not over yet. I found myself ass on the ground as Penelope used a giant dragon foot to kick me towards her friends. I groaned in pain as I soon found myself curled up in a ball getting kicked back and forth between Penelope and her friends like I was a soccer ball. Let me tell you, it was not a fun feeling to be passed around like an inanimate object.

      And then suddenly, I wasn't. As quickly as the game of "pass the human" had started, it ended. I opened my eyes to find that I was still in the air, floating in a ball with the air whipping my hair around me as flecks of earth, fire, and water swirled all around me creating an impenetrable barrier protecting me from harm. It reminded me of the portal I had taken to get to the dragon realm, only this time I wasn't going anywhere. Not only was I still stuck where I was in midair, but I couldn't breath, my lungs were filling with water and it felt like the weight of the world was weighing me down as dirt pressed all around. As if that wasn't enough, my skin felt like it was on fire and as I managed to catch a glimpse of my arms, I realized that it was! What the hell was going on!

     "Help!" I tried to gasp around the water in my mouth but to no avail. I coughed, spluttered, and choked all at the same time as I tried to get oxygen into my system but nothing seemed to work. My vision swam before me and I couldn't see anything but the barrier that was both keeping me safe from Penelope, but also killing me. Even in my half dead state, I noticed the irony of my situation. My powers, which only ever came out when my life was in danger, were once again saving my life, just as much as they were causing me to be in further danger. The barrier around me was impossible to see through until suddenly I felt as if lips were being pressed against mine and precious air filled my lungs once more as my body sank to the ground. I blinked furiously as I caught sight of Elios in front of me with a worried but happy grin on his face. What the hell is he smiling at! I thought as I frowned. This was so not the time to be smiling. I coughed up water as it continued to fill my lungs. And then suddenly, that stopped to. I blinked in shock as Caspian strode over to me and kissed me. Despite the bizarre circumstances, I couldn't help the way my body reacted and kissed him back. What is wrong with you girl! Your about to die and all you can do is think about kissing?!

     "What the -" I started to say. But before I could finish my sentence, there was Terrance, kissing me as well. His lips surprising soft against mine. I found myself grinning in response as the wind died down, the water evaporated and the weight of the earth lifted. Now that the elements were gone I was able to focus on my surroundings and found that Blair had arrived with Elios, Caspian, Terrance, and Blaise and that they had formed yet another circle around me, though this one was free of Penelope for which I was eternally grateful for.

      "Blaise, your turn now," I heard Caspian say as he looked towards Blaise. I had no idea what he was talking about, all I knew, was that I was happy to be breathing with my feet firmly on the ground again.

     "No way in hell! I am not giving up my freedom for some puny human!" said Blaise.

      "Blaise!" Terrance, Elios, and Caspian cried out in frustration. I lost track of their arguing as flames suddenly sprung back to life around me, burning my flesh. I screamed in pain as I collapsed to the ground and twisted left and right to try and put them out. Nothing seemed to be working and I screamed one more time before I passed out - but not before I saw Blaise's face hovering over me, looking angrier than ever.

                                                                                                    ***3rd Person POV

      While Sammy was getting passed around like a soccer ball, Blair had dashed off in search of her brother and his friends. When she couldn't find them in any of the classrooms she decided to run straight to professor Pyrion and lo and behold, there was her brother.

      "Quick! Sammy needs your help! Penelope and her friends are about to kill her!" She informed them as soon as all five of them turned to look at her. With a groan of frustration, Blaise, Terrance, Elios, Caspian, and professor Pyrion followed Blair back out into the open field where they all gasped in surprise at the sight before them. There was Sammy, floating in the middle of the air between Penelope and her friends. She was surrounded in what looked like the portal they had used to bring her to the dragon realm but something was different about this. They could sense Sammy was in danger and it was clear that the powers in play were coming directly from Sammy. There was no question about it this time.

      "She needs her mates," professor Pyrion exclaimed as he turned to look at Terrance, Elios, Caspian, and Blaise. They all turned to stare at him in shock. Blaise glared angrily at his professor while the rest just looked on in stunned silence.

      "She's our -"

      "You mean -"

      "But she's human," they said as Blaise continued to glare in silence.

      "Now is not the time to argue with me, go and save your mate, I suggest trying a kiss as they are good for breaking spells, curses, and all other magical related problems," professor Pyrion declared,

       Elios nodded in agreement and soared up into the air to give his mate a kiss. As he did so, he could feel the bond start to form but he knew now was not the time and sighed in frustration as he pulled away and rejoined the others on the ground. Then came Caspian, followed by Terrance.

      "Blaise, your turn now," Caspian said as he looked towards Blaise.

      "No way in hell! I am not giving up my freedom for some puny human!" said Blaise. He did not want to give up his freedom. He liked being single and every hatchling knew that once you met your mate you were bonded for life.

      "Blaise!" Terrance, Elios, and Caspian cried out in frustration. Blaise grumbled and hissed but couldn't deny that a part of him was dying to know what it would be like to mate with Sammy. If he was being honest with himself, he had been wondering ever since he had first seen her at the bar. But that didn't mean he wanted to give up his life for her!

      Before he had a chance to argue further, they heard Sammy scream in pain as more flames erupted over her skin. The sound rocked Blaise to the core and he didn't even notice himself swooping over to her and kissing her. The instant he did, the flames died out leaving a passed out Samantha in his arms.