Dragon Within (Book One) Read online

  “Good luck getting your driver’s license.” Brandy gave me a peck on the cheek. I had already told my friends earlier that my parents were taking me to the DMV right after the party.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “Don’t run over any pedestrians.” Steve snagged a cookie from the box before I could close it. “They take away points for that.”

  “You know so from personal experience, do you?” I asked.

  Steve put on his most innocent and angelic expression. “You wound me deeply, Abigail. I’ll have you know on the very rare occasions when my parents actually let me borrow the car, I am a perfect driver.”

  Kyle snorted. “Yeah, right. Why do you think they don’t let him drive the car?”

  “You’re one to talk,” Steve said. “At least I never drove into the side of a building. What was up with that anyway? It’s not like the school gym suddenly appeared out of thin air.”

  Kyle cast a sideways glance at Brandy. “Shut up, Steve.”

  But knowing when to quit had never been one of Steve’s strong points. “Were you asleep?” he asked, pretending not to notice the dark look his friend was giving him. “Or shall we blame it on a certain blonde cheerleader in a bright red miniskirt?”

  “I said shut your trap.” Kyle shoved him.

  “Why don’t you shut it for me?” Steve shoved him back.

  “Maybe I will.” Kyle tackled Steve around the waist and they went rolling across the ground.

  Brandy sighed. “I swear, dating a teenage boy is like dating a toddler. Sometimes I feel more like a mother than a girlfriend.” She moved to break up the mock fight. “Quit it both of you, before one of you really loses his temper.”

  “But mommy, he started it,” Steve whined, then laughingly danced out of the way when Brandy swatted at him.

  Trudy giggled as she followed me to the van. “I wish I could find a boyfriend as funny as Steve.”

  “So why don’t you ask him out?” I put the cookies in beside the ice chest. “I think he likes you.”

  “Really?” She looked over her shoulder. Brandy and the boys were walking toward Kyle’s yellow Jeep. “Did he say something about me?”

  “Steve is not going to talk to me about a girl,” I said. “We aren’t friends like that. Up until Brandy started dating Kyle last year, I barely even knew Steve. But he really is a great guy. I think the two of you would be good together.”

  “Maybe.” Trudy turned back to me. “Did you ever think about dating him?”

  “No.” I closed the trunk and leaned against the van. Steve waved at us as Kyle’s Jeep rolled past blaring rock music. We waved back.

  “So, why not?” Trudy asked. “I mean, why don’t you want to date him if you think he’s such a great guy?”

  “He is great,” I said. “Cute, funny, nice, not stupid even if he does act like it sometimes.

  But...I don’t know. I just don’t see him as boyfriend material. For me, I mean. You should totally go for it. It’s not like you have to wait around for him to make the first move.”

  “I know. But what if he says no? That could make things really awkward. You guys are the only friends I’ve made since I moved here and I don’t want to mess it up before school even starts. Maybe you could ask Brandy to ask Kyle to ask Steve if he likes me.”

  I did my best not to laugh. I could tell Trudy was really stressing about this whole Steve thing and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “Yeah, I could do that.”

  She grinned. “Thanks, Abby. You’re the greatest.”

  We all climbed into the van and headed for the DMV. Curtis sat in the back with his headphones on, watching the video he shot at the park. Me and Trudy sat in the middle, but this time Trudy didn’t chatter on at me as she had on the way to the park. She sat looking out the window with a little smile on her lips. Thinking about Steve probably.

  As for me, I spent the drive alternating between worrying about failing to get my license and wondering about the strange wind. Before you start thinking I might be a little weird, let me make it clear, until that day at the park I had never in my life had any kind of thoughts like maybe I made the wind blow. I’ve never tried to move a pencil with my mind, or read somebody’s thoughts, or predict the future. To me, it was all nonsense. Movie stuff. It couldn’t happen in real life.

  So, at the time, I couldn’t really figure out why the idea of me making the wind blow had attached itself so firmly to my mind. I knew it wasn’t possible, so why was I obsessing about it? Now, I think it’s because some deep part of myself already knew the truth I was soon to discover.

  Every time my mind would start to drift toward what happened at the park, I would firmly turn it back toward thinking about my driving test. I had passed the written test with no problem and done fine driving around town with my parents, but today I was going to be driving with a stranger who would be deciding whether or not I got my license and the idea was making me really nervous. If I failed I didn’t know how I would ever face my friends again. Even Kyle had passed on his first try.

  It was at least ten degrees hotter standing in line at the DMV than it had been outside. I found myself starting to wish again for a cool breeze, only to snatch the thought back, afraid I might actually make it happen. Then I wanted to laugh at myself for being so ridiculous, even though the feeling that it wasn’t really so funny lingered at the back of my mind.

  By the time it was my turn, I was dripping sweat again. My instructor, Mr. Sanders, was a tall, thin man with a receding hairline and thick glasses. Dressed in gray slacks and a white button down shirt, he kind of reminded me of my science teacher, Mr. Henley. Only without the ever present tie. I’d never see Mr. Henley without one, not even in the supermarket.

  We got in my parent’s minivan and I turned the air conditioner on full blast before pulling out into the street. One of the perks of taking my driving test in August was that the road was mostly empty. My hometown only boasted a population of about twenty thousand and that time of year most people were still on vacation.

  Thanks to my dad’s coaching, I already pretty much knew what Mr. Sanders was going to ask of me and I soon calmed down as I went through the familiar motions. I did a great job, if I do say so myself, and I was feeling really confident about the whole thing until we returned to the DMV and it was time to parallel park.

  I have never understood why anybody needs to learn how to parallel park. I’ve never been

  anywhere you couldn’t pull into a normal spot. My dad even had to set up a course in the parking lot of an empty department store so I could practice because it was the only place in town where I could do it.

  In a small lot behind the DMV, two old cars were parked bumper to fender with a space in-between which did not look as if it was big enough for the minivan.

  “Are you sure there’s room?” I asked after Mr. Sanders directed me to park.

  “Of course,” he said. “Your van was measured and the cars parked with enough space to leave several inches on both sides. But take your time, most people find this to be the most difficult part of the test.”

  If those words were meant to reassure me, then it wasn’t working. I thought to myself that I sure wished those cars were a little further apart and no sooner had the thought left my mind then both cars rolled in opposite directions.

  Not a lot, maybe two inches, but they definitely moved. I looked to Mr. Sanders to confirm I wasn’t losing my mind and had really seen what I thought I’d seen. But he was making a notation on the paper attached to his clipboard and didn’t seem to have noticed anything strange.

  I told myself he didn’t see it because it didn’t happen. Nerves were playing tricks on my eyes. Only I couldn’t convince myself of it. I saw those cars move and I couldn’t unsee it no matter how much I might have wanted to.

  After parking the van in the now wider space and then pulling it out again, I drove around to the side of the DMV. Mr. Sanders congratulated me for passing my test with flying col
ors and told me to come on inside to get my license. I smiled and nodded but didn’t say anything. I didn’t trust my own voice to sound normal.

  In a tone which sounded suspiciously like Brandy, I sternly told myself I was being ridiculous. Cars could not move by themselves and I certainly could not cause them to move. I repeated these words to myself over and over again as they took my picture and presented me with my first driver’s license.

  I wasn’t nearly as excited as I thought would be with my mind preoccupied as it was. But I think I put on a pretty good show for my family and Trudy. It was a good thing Brandy wasn’t there, she would have seen right through my fake enthusiasm like I was made of glass.

  On the way back to my house, Trudy was going on and on about how great it was I had my license and how she couldn’t wait to get hers, and blah, blah, something else, I don’t know, I wasn’t really listening. Can you blame me? I was starting to get scared I was losing my mind. I could see no other reason for a person to think the sort things I was thinking.

  My mind was so preoccupied with thoughts of men in white coats and padded cells, I never even noticed the red Volkswagen sitting in the driveway until I had gotten out of the van and was standing right beside it.

  I frowned, trying to think of who we knew that drove such a car. Then the front door of my house opened and out came Brandy, Kyle, and Steve, all grinning. I looked over at my parents. They were smiling expectantly back at me. Curtis had his camcorder out and was recording. Only Trudy looked as uncertain as I felt. It took a bewildered moment for me to realize the Volkswagen belonged to me. My mouth fell open and a tiny squeak came out.

  “I think that means she likes it,” Dad said.

  “Do you like it, honey?” Mom asked. “Brandy helped us pick it out.”

  “It...it’s too much.” But my protest was a weak one. I’d had my eye on one of those cute little

  cars since I was twelve.

  “You deserve it.” Dad gave me a hug. Up to this point my friends had hung back, giving me a minute with my parents. “Why don’t you go for a drive? Have fun, but be careful.”

  “I will. I...” Then I started to get a little teary myself, which was totally embarrassing. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome, honey.” Mom squeezed my hand, then she and dad went into the house as my friends crowded around me.

  “I hope that look doesn’t mean you failed your test,” Steve said. “If so, then this is probably not a good time to ask you to take us out for a ride.”

  “Of course she passed.” Brandy handed me a key ring with a silver rose attached to it. “After all, you did.”

  “Another strike to my heart.” Steve pressed a hand to his chest. “Kyle, your woman has a sharp tongue.”

  “Don’t I know it.” Kyle slid his arm around Brandy’s waist. “But it’s one of the things I like best about her.”

  “I bet it is.” Steve wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  Kyle scowled. “Don’t make me bust your lip.”

  “Not a chance,” Steve said. “You’d have to catch me first and you aren’t that fast.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  Brandy made a face as she stepped away from Kyle and reached for the passenger side door of my new car. “I’m calling shotgun. No way am I riding in the back with these two baboons.”

  “I don’t mind riding in the back,” Trudy said, smiling at Steve.

  “Well then your chariot awaits, my lady.” Steve pulled the backdoor open and bowed.

  Trudy giggled. Brandy rolled her eyes. I went around to the driver’s side, then realized something which made me pause. “Wait a second, we aren’t all going to fit.”

  “It’s okay,” Curtis said. “I want to stay and work on my video anyway.”

  “Are you sure?” I really hated to go off and leave him behind.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. It’s cool.” Not that he would have said any different if it wasn’t.

  “Okay, then. See you later.”

  He lowered the camcorder. “Later.”

  The rest of us piled into the car and hit the back roads outside of town for a couple of hours, cruising along with the radio blasting. Nothing to see out the windows but reddish shaded sand and the occasional four wheeler, but it was fun anyway.

  I was completely relaxed, having forgotten all about the weird things from earlier that day. Until a guy rode past us on a black motorcycle. He was wearing a helmet, so I couldn’t see his face, but he was also wearing a leather jacket and something in the back of my mind insisted it was the same guy from the park.

  After that, my good mood kind of evaporated. Brandy was the only one who seemed to notice, but though she kept giving me looks from the corner of her eye she didn’t say anything. When we got back to town, we decided to stop at the burger shop. And there, I could have sworn I saw the same guy sitting with his bike idling at the corner, but he took off before I could get a good look. I tried to convince myself he wasn’t the same guy. Couldn’t be. Otherwise, he was following us and that was way too creepy to think about.

  I tried to keep up with the conversation while we ate but my mind kept wandering. By the way

  Brandy was looking at me I could tell she was dying to ask what was up, but she wouldn’t do it in front of the others and with Trudy spending the night at my house, I would have at least until tomorrow to figure out what I was going to say to her.

  Back at my house, Brandy pulled me aside from the others and whispered into my ear, “Call me as soon as she’s gone.”

  I didn’t have to ask who she meant. “Okay. I will.” And I would, because there would be no chance of getting out of it. I only hoped I had thought up a good story by then.

  CHAPTER TWO

  I never intended to talk to Trudy about what was going on. Or what I thought was going on. I didn’t intend to talk to anybody about it. Not even Brandy. Especially not Brandy. And if I couldn’t talk about it to my best friend, the one person in the world I never kept secrets from, I certainly couldn’t talk about it to a girl I barely knew.

  The only reason Trudy was staying over was because her parents had a work thing and they didn’t know anybody else to leave her with. So it was either she stay with us, or at home. Which, yeah, a fifteen year old really ought to be able to stay overnight alone at her own house, but you know how parents can be.

  Anyway, I blame the slip of my lips on the late hour and the cookie dough. It was way past midnight and I was both exhausted and amped up on too much sugar. My mind was full and I don’t know, I guess I needed to empty it out. It’s the only excuse I can come up with.

  There we were, sitting on my bed eating junk food and watching music videos, when I turned to Trudy without even thinking about it and asked, “Do you believe in weird stuff?”

  Trudy frowned. “What do you mean?”

  As soon as I said the words I could have kicked myself. I felt like such a goof. But once the words were out I couldn’t put them back in. “You know, like moving stuff around with your mind, or something.” I shrugged like it was no big deal and took a sip of my soda.

  “You mean telekinesis?”

  The word sounded vaguely familiar, like maybe I had heard it in a movie or something. “What’s that?”

  Trudy smiled. “Moving stuff around with your mind.”

  “Oh. So...you know about all that?”

  “Sort of.” Trudy popped a couple of pieces of chocolate drizzled popcorn into her mouth. “Why?”

  “I don’t know. Just curious.” I focused on the TV, where a commercial for acne cream was playing. “So, how do people get it? This telekinesis thing, I mean. Is it like a disease, or something?” I was doing my best to sound as offhanded and unconcerned as possible.

  “No.” She giggled. “There’s a bunch of theories about it, but most everybody agrees it’s something you’re born with.”

  “But if you were born with it, wouldn’t you know?” I asked. “I mean, you wouldn’t start moving things around all o
f a sudden for no apparent reason.”

  Trudy paused with her soda halfway to her mouth. “Do you think you have telekinesis?”

  “Of course not.” I tried to laugh but it sounded weak even to my own ears. “Because that would be crazy. Right?”

  “It depends.” Trudy lowered her soda down to her lap. “What happened to make you think a thing like that?”

  She wasn’t laughing at my stupidity or inching away in fear of my insanity, so I decided to take a risk and tell her about the cars. “Today, at the DMV, when I went to parallel park, I was afraid the cars were too close together so I wanted them to move and then...they did. The instructor didn’t see but I...I think I did. I think it was real.” I stared down at my soda can. “Pretty

  silly, huh? To imagine I moved those cars by thinking about it. People can’t really do that kind of stuff. It’s impossible.”

  “Nothing is impossible.”

  I looked up, afraid I would see in her eyes the kind of look I would be giving somebody who told me they could move objects with their mind. Only I didn’t see that kind of look. Her expression held some concern, but mostly wonder and growing excitement. She believed me, which was pretty awesome because at that point I wasn’t sure I believed me.

  “You made the wind blow at the park.” It wasn’t a question.

  “No.” I hesitated. “Maybe. I don’t know. This is crazy.”

  Trudy looked around the room, then finished her soda in a couple of gulps and sat the empty can on the bed. “Move that.”

  “I can’t.”

  “If you can make the window blow, you can move a soda can. Come on. I want to see.” She pushed the can toward me. “Make it float.”

  “I don’t know how.”

  “Concentrate. Try.”

  I felt really silly, but I stared intently down at the can anyway and ordered it to move. I concentrated so hard I gave myself a headache and the can didn’t so much as twitch. “This is stupid.” I flopped back on the bed and kicked the can off onto the floor.