Out of Time Chapter 16--Return of the Magi

From that day on, Noddah rarely left my side. Honestly, he kept me sane.  He might not understand what I was doing in my homework, but he often made me laugh by offering to set it on fire. My teachers would probably not take kindly to “But my dragon burned up my homework!”

Noddah traveled the campus in my backpack, often complaining loudly about my stinky socks. Many people were convinced they were going crazy when they heard my backpack asking when it was going to be time to eat. At night, he would curl up on my stomach, almost like a cat. Sometimes, he snored.

What amazed me most, though, was how he always managed to stay out of sight. When I asked him about it, he explained that he was used to hiding. There were still “paladins” convinced that all dragons should be exterminated.

I became so wrapped up in school that I nearly forgot my friends in 1888. It wasn’t until I had a dream of Tatiana getting slammed with a blast of powerful magic that I thought of returning.

As the blue light faded away, I realized Noddah and I were in the infirmary. A small group was gathered around one bed. Tyren, Sai, Stefan the healer vampire, and Gordon all stood around what I guessed was Tatiana. She seemed to be part wolf as she was rather furry and still had wolf ears and a tail.

Tyren saw me first. Her eyes were tired, and worried, which scared me more than anything else.

I strode the bed, Noddah on my head. “What’s going on?”

Sai and Stefan released the healing magic they had suspended over her chest. “It is no good,” Stefan growled. “We cannot heal her when she is stuck in this state. The magic required is too complicated.”

Tyren rubbed her eyes. I could tell they had been at this for a while. “I sent Tatiana and her wolves on patrol. Gordon went with them. They were ambushed and a stray blast of magic hit Tatiana square in the chest. For some reason, it caused her to shift back and forth several times. However, she got stuck between phases.”

“So, shift her into a human.”

Stefan snorted. “That can only be done by a werewolf.”

“Did you try a werewolf healer?” I asked.

“Of course,” Stefan snapped. “Tyren thought of everything.”

Tyren held up a hand. “He is only trying to help, Stefan.”

I pulled my goggles over my head, regarding Tatiana’s aura through them. It was bright green, and it was warped slightly. Wiggling my fingers, I said, “I have an idea. I can’t really explain it, so you’re going to have to trust me.”

As Noddah took up a perch on the man’s shoulder, Sai shook his head. “Do not attempt anything on your own, M.C. The spell could drain you.”

Tyren strode around the table and put her hand on my shoulder. “Draw on my energy.”

“I don’t really know how to do that,” I admitted.

“Then I shall give it to you. Do whatever it takes to save her.” We exchanged a meaningful glance that only two mutual friends could understand. Honestly, I hadn’t known that Tyren cared about Tatiana at all until that moment.

I took a deep breath and focused on using my magic to untwist Tatiana’s aura. As I worked, I noticed that the magic I used had tendrils of royal blue in it, as well as its usual light blue. Tyren fed me her energy the entire time. For once, I was the leech, not my vampire friend.

The operation took an entire painstaking hour of carefully twisting and untwisting Tatiana’s aura. It was slightly reminiscent of untangling my grandmother’s yarn. Once we were done, we dropped into chairs given to us by Sai and Stefan. The vampire and the mage quickly stepped in and finished healing the werewolf.

Tyren and I panted in our separate chairs. I was exhausted, and I was sure she was as well. She tried to leave, but Gordon grabbed her arm and forced her back into her chair. “Sit and rest,” he commanded, patting her on the shoulder.

Our eyes met, and Gordon smirked at me. I poured every ounce of dislike I felt for him into my return glare. Clearly, I had been away too long. Noddah returned to his perch on my shoulder.

Tyren smiled at the dragon. “It would seem Noddah has taken a liking to you.”

The dragon grinned a toothy grin. “Yes, Lady, I do. He is a funny creature, but I like him. He is good.”

“’Lady?’” Gordon repeated, an eyebrow arched at Tyren.

“Yes. She was my guardian, therefore I show her respect. Now, M.C. is my partner.”

Gordon laughed. “Well, I suppose he can use all the help he can get, even if it is from an overgrown lizard.”

If I hadn’t been so tired, I would have slugged him. Nobody talks about my dragon in such a demeaning manner. His tone oozed debasement so thick I could have caught it in a bucket and sold it.

Noddah wasn’t going to stand for it, either. He sniffed. “And who are you?”

“Gordon.” I was slightly surprised that he didn’t throw the whole vampire heir bit in there.

Naturally, I had told Noddah about Gordon. The dragon snickered. “Oh, I have heard of you. I do not like you.”

Without knowing why, I added, “Gordon is the vampire heir.”

This seemed to surprise the dragon. “He’s the what?”

“The vampire heir,” Tyren repeated with a strange force that I didn’t understand.

Noddah regarded her for several seconds before shrugging his scaly shoulders. “Then he is not worthy of his father’s heritage.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Gordon growled.

Noddah just elevated his nose. “I don’t like you. You are not good.”

“Noddah, please,” Tyren said tiredly.

“I’m with him,” I muttered.

Tyren groaned. “You do not even know him.”

I couldn’t believe it. She was so not taking his side. “I’ll have you know that dragons are excellent judges of character. I trust Noddah’s opinion.”

“Thank you.”

“He only knows what lies you have fed him about me.”

I was on my feet. “I have not fed him lies! He can see your aura! He knows that you’re a tool without me telling him!”

We both took a step towards one another, but Tyren was between us before I could knock him senseless. “Mikhail Constantine! I will not have you insulting Gordon when you know nothing about him. I am going to have to ask you to leave until you can regain control of your emotions.”

She didn’t even look at me. It was worse than a glare from her. Storming out of the infirmary, I slammed the door for good measure. After a few wrong turns, I found the training room.

Noddah and I blasted the walls with fire until we were worn out. Sai found us splayed out on the floor, panting. He sat down next to us and admired the new burn marks on the walls.

The man remained silent, so I spoke first. “I can’t believe she took his side.”

Sai nodded.

“I mean, she doesn’t like him, right? He’s a flirtatious jerk!” I quieted for a minute. “Was I in the wrong?”

Sai let out a long sigh. “My young friend, you might not be wrong about his character, but quarreling with Gordon is not right. Tyren does not need disunity amongst her leaders.”

I raised myself on my elbows. “Her what?”

“You are the mage heir, M.C. That makes you a leader. You are on her council of sorts.”

I frowned. Putting me in charge of anything was never a good idea. However, that gave rise to another thought. “So Gordon hasn’t tried to take the possession of general?”

Shaking his head, Sai frowned. “No, he has not. If anything, he only seeks to get on Tyren’s good side.”

“That’s odd, considering his ego.”

“Maybe he realizes that Tyren is much gooder than him.”

I tweaked Noddah’s ear. “Better.”

“I think there is some truth to that, my young dragon.”

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Sorry this is late, guys. I got a job! Yay! Yeah, I'm pretty happy. Anyway, that meant I haven't been at my computer, and I'm not up as late as usual, so I didn't get around to posting yesterday.

Anyway, new chapter! Yay! Again with the movie/show/song chapter titles. Silly M.C. ;)

I love Noddah. He's hilarious. So much fun to write in his voice, too.

So, M.C. hates Gordon. What do you all think? Can you believe Tyren is taking his side over M.C.'s? Cruel.

Have a good week!