Hi everybody.  This is the book i have been writing, about a boy who controls lightning.  I will continue to update.  tell me what you think.

The Journey of Kiran

By Alex Brockman

Prologue

    A tall figure in a hood that obscured his face was walking down a street, making sure that his head was unseen.  He made his way through the Roman streets, hoping that he wouldn’t get hit by a passing carriage. Eventually, he came to the third house on the lane and pulled some keys from his pocket, but not with a hand, with claws.  He stepped inside and saw a woman on a chair across the room.  She was plump, and obviously pregnant.  The clawed man removed his hood to reveal a green face, covered in scales, and a large set of wings.  Any normal woman in this situation probably would have passed out.  But this was no ordinary woman.  This woman had been married to this dragon, for that is what he was, for twenty years and she wasn’t going to leave him anytime soon. The dragon sat down in his favorite chair and let out a deep long sigh.  The woman looked up with concern showing on her face.  “What’s wrong’’ she asked.  The dragon’s voice was low and sounded like stones hitting each other. “There was a fire in the library where Bartemus works.  He hasn’t been seen since.’’  The full reality of what her husband had just said hit the woman. “But if Bartemus is dead… then that means that you’re the last dragon!” The dragon just hung his head. “What should we do?” The woman asked.  “We either have to move, or,” he paused to let out a sad chuckle, “we die” he said.  These cursed dragon hunters are going to pay for this, the woman thought.  But she said, “Well, I’ll go pack our bags”.  She walked into the next room, and looked for something in which she could put her belongings.  She heard a knock at the door and a gasp, followed by the sound of her husband spewing fire, which sounded a bit like a balloon deflating.  The dragon burst into the room, nostrils smoking.  “Quick, out the window!” he shouted.  “I’m not leaving you!”  Came the reply, equally loud.  He pulled her close, and in his most serious voice, “We must protect our unborn child.” The woman sadly realized that he was right and grabbed him in a hug. “Go, now!’’ he said, and pushed her out the window. Making sure that she was safe, he turned around, feeling a bit of flame starting in his throat. This was going to be over quickly, but his wife would be able to escape. The first group of hunters was soon just a pile of ashes. But then a dark figure stepped through the door, bearing a sword that made the dragon’s stomach twist. Yes, it would be quick. With this sword, incineration was not an option.

1

        Marcus was quite sick of running.  A year ago he had entered a track team, and things had gone well for a while, until he had broken his ankle.  He had decided never to enroll in running sports again.  While in some cases this was good for his health, it meant that he was quite slow, and that he couldn’t outrun the bullies that were on his tail for long.  This time, they had seen him with a new girl at school, whom they apparently thought attractive.  As if they stand a chance with any girl, with their limited vocabulary and ugly faces. Sadly, what Marcus was thinking was true.  The three bullies that were chasing him were fifteen in a thirteen year old class.  And as for faces, one had an accident with boiling water when he tried to dump a pot of hot dogs into his mouth, figuring out later that the water was boiling, one had an outbreak of zits, and one had a giant mole on his face.  I hope that that’s a cancerous mole.  Marcus disliked moleboy most of all, he had and as he looked behind him he noticed that Moleboy wasn’t behind him anymore. Uh oh.   He wasn’t surprised when the most stupid of the boys jumped out in front of him.  This was the same tactic that had worked yesterday.  Wow it only took two months for them to figure out this one. He was about three blocks from his house, so if he could get past the idiot in his path, he would be fine.  And I have a plan.  He ran until he was about three feet away and stopped, crouching close to the ground. He felt the boys that had been chasing him trip over his back, landing all three in a groaning heap. He ran the three blocks home without looking back.

     Marcus quickly unlocked the door, checking inside to see if his stepdad was home.  His mom had married him because he was always such a nice man when they were dating.  He had even let Marcus play with his set of real swords. He had continued to be a good dad until Marcus’s ankle broke.  Then he realized that children are expensive.  He was still ok until Mrs. Brown, Marcus’s mom, had died.  He had started drinking then.  Then came the day that everything had changed.  Marcus had been pushing a vacuum plug into a stubborn socket when the old plastic had shattered. Then his finger slipped onto the now revealed plug.  He knew that pain would start coming.  Oh he had felt something, but it wasn’t pain.  It was power. Like he could run a hundred miles, or lift a thousand pounds. He felt like he could take on the whole world.  He sat there, just basking in it, while his clothes smoked and his watch got fried.  His stepdad, who was totally drunk, had decided that since his son wasn’t moving, to whack him with a piece of plywood.  Wood is NOT a conductor of electricity.  The   energy has to leave somewhere, so the result is an awesome explosion. The Police had definitely not believed that a boy was touching a plug, and enjoying it.  So they came up with the result that Jack had been cooking drugs, ruining his reputation legally and with neighbors.   Suddenly Jack needed someone to be angry with.  Marcus.  So Marcus would sneak up to his room before his stepdad noticed him, if he could.  Today, he wasn’t lucky.  Jack heard him and told him to bring some beer.  He gave his son a look of evil and shooed him away from the TV.  Grateful, Marcus ran up to his room, locking the door.  He pulled out his homework and was about to start working, but when he tried to turn his lamp on, it wouldn’t work.  This would be a big problem for most people, considering that the lamp worked fine and the bulb had just been replaced, leaving only the plug.  But Marcus just pulled the plug out of socket and started fingering the wires. He loved electricity.  He got done with the wires and settled into a comfortable position to read his history.  Downstairs, he could hear his slightly drunk, not to mention crazy, stepdad yelling at the TV.  It was going to be a very long night.

     It took Moleboy, whose real name was George, about three seconds for his nerves in his eyes to connect with the nerves in his brains.  He knew that Marcus would already be gone, but he sent the other two to try and catch him, and had to whack Hot Dog face for trying to yell after Marcus, because in this part of Colorado Springs, the houses were so close that yelling would send neighbors running.  He had his own business to take care of.  He pulled out his phone and dialed his dad’s phone number.  “You called?” he asked.  “Why yes, I did.” Came the reply.  “You are going to Hawaii.”  George did not like the way this call was going.  All George new about Hawaii as that it was an island, and he hated the ocean, because he knew that the closest living relatives of dragons lived there, the sea serpents. “Why should I go there?” He asked.  The reply didn’t sound very patient.  “Because we have tracked a bit of dragon magic to that area, it’s time for your first hunt”.  George’s future suddenly looked bright.

     Marcus was just finishing lunch period when he was spotted by Hot Dog Face.  He had already been shoved in the locker that day, and had no wish to be staring at a Hannah Montana poster for another two hours. So he took off down the hall.  With his stomach full, he knew that he would be even slower than usual.  He passed by several classes and then rounded a corner, only to hit a dead end.  He turned around just in time to see a fist coming at him, smothered in ketchup. Ironic.

     Marcus woke up in a locker room, but not the one he was used to.  He checked the time and realized that he had only been out for five minutes. That meant that they couldn’t have left the school.  This meant that he was in the girl’s locker room.  Thank God it’s past gym time.  He thought.  It was actually a good tactic.  If a teacher or girl saw him here, he would be dead.  So he had to get out of this maze without running into anyone.  That wasn’t so bad, but then he heard a sound behind him.  Hot dog face must still be here.  Marcus was beginning prefer Moleboy to this freak.  So, he did the best thing that he could think of and took off running.  He almost ran into the bathrooms, but then heard water running and went the other way.  He was checking behind him to check for Hot Dog Face when he felt himself slam into someone.  It was an angel.  Do you know those moments when time seems to slow down?  Like right before you fall off a bike?  As that moment happens, you have time to think.  Or you can waste that time in utter amazement.  Marcus chose the latter of the two for about five seconds, then realized that the angel was actually Ester, the new girl that he had met at school the other day.  And on her back was a magnificent pair of blue wings.   But they soon turned orange. “Y-you’re an angel, n-no w-wonder you’re so pretty” Marcus managed to stutter. Her wings turned perfect pink that matched her blushing face.  Then she heard the Amazing Hot Dog and her wings turned jet black.  “Quick, you have to hide me!” she said, about to break into tears.  Marcus thought for a moment.  If she were an angel then she wouldn’t have to worry about Hot Dog face. “On one condition.” He said. She swore.  More proof that she isn’t an angel.  Marcus thought.  “Give me your address, I want you to tell me everything” more bad words were said as she gave him a slip of paper.  Marcus turned around and, for the first time, readied his fists to take out Hot Dog Face.  And he had a reason to fight.

     George was having a great time. He had been delighted to learn that he was taking a plane, and staying away from the sea.  He was currently sitting on the beach, sipping a shake.   The trip had gone well, except for the fact that he had been stung by a jellyfish. And he had forgotten why he was there. Oh well.  I love my life! He thought happily. Oh, he could get used to this.

     Marcus needed another plan.  He was definitely not as strong as the fifteen year-old, so he only ran up to the bully and gave him a small punch, so that he would look like an easy target.  The bully was more surprised than hurt, but it would still leave a sweet bruise.  I have wanted to do that for so long.  Marcus wasn’t quite sure why he was risking his butt for the strange girl, but there was no backing out now.  He saw Hot Dog face stagger forward.  Marcus took off down the corridor and dove into the bathroom section of the locker room.  He dove into a shower stall, but first made an imprint of his boot in front of a stall.  Hot Dog Face saw the imprint and instantly tried to kick down the door.  There was a scream from inside, and a girl with dirty blond hair, who looked about fourteen, came out.  Bridget. “I thought we broke up!” she screamed.  The thing about Bridget is that she was the champion boxer in the school.  The bully was on the floor, groaning, within ten seconds.  “That should teach you, James.” She said sweetly, and then walked out to get the principal.  So James is his name.  Marcus made a quick exit.

     Ester was watching all this from her hiding place in the next stall.  Her wings were changing colors every second.  They finally settled for a rainbow of colors.  She didn’t know if she should let that boy into her house, but he had kept his side of the deal and also gotten rid of a real pest.  Well, he definitely couldn’t come see her parents, and phone lines could be monitored.  She would have to follow him home.

2

     Marcus was positive someone was following him, probably Zit Face.  He knew that The Pimple wasn’t going to be dumb enough to do something like James had just done.  So, Marcus crouched down and pretended to tie his shoe, but really picked up a rock.  He started walking again and casually threw it behind him. “Ow, that really hurt!” Marcus spun around. “Ha!, I knew it was… oh, sorry” he said as Ester gave him a look of evil.  “Are you okay?” he asked.  “Yeah, I’m fine” she said, and her look softened a little.  “Listen, those wings weren’t real, they were, um, they were a costume.”  Marcus gave her a look, “Yeah, you have a costume that changes colors, and you would have done anything to have kept it from hot dog face.”  She decided to find out who “hot dog face” was later.  “It, um, I, uh, the… okay, I give up, they were real.” Marcus had almost hoped that they weren’t, because then he would have been able to put the whole accident in the same mental storage box where he had put the plug accident.  “I want you to explain” he said.  “Is there anywhere more private where we can go?” she asked.  “Let’s go back to my house” he said.  On the way back, he kept glancing at her, like he expected her to sprout horns, as well as wings.  She looked fairly normal with a small nose and a loose splatter of freckles, with brown hair that hung to her waist.  The only things abnormal about her were her eyes.  They were the deepest brown and when you saw them, you were caught like a deer in headlights.  The walk home seemed to last forever, but when they finally got there, Marcus remembered his stepdad.  For the first time in his life, he hoped that Jack would be drunk.  It would mean that they had a better chance of getting upstairs alone.  Marcus was in luck.  Jack had had a bad day at work yesterday, and was trying to get rid of the numbers floating through his head.  Ester and Marcus were able to easily sneak upstairs without being seen or noticed.  “Okay” She said.  “Where do I start?” “May I see the wings?” he asked.  She blushed and pulled off her coat.  Her wings were draped around her T-shirt, like a giant pink blanket. “They’re amazing!”  He exclaimed. “You really think so?” she asked, her wings turning blue.  “Yes, but… why do they do that?” He asked.  “Do what?” she said.  “Change color.”  “Oh, that” she said, as if it meant nothing. “They change color with my emotion, red for anger, white for peace, blue for feeling good, green for feeling bad, yellow for curiosity,  or mischief,  orange for surprised, and black for fear.”  Marcus decided that he would find out what pink meant later.  “So why do you have wings?”  He asked.  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She answered, hanging her head.  “At least give me a chance!” he exclaimed.  “Fine, it goes a bit like this,

     A long time ago, when men were trying to make gold from lead, a scientist by the name of Dr. Kishi had discovered the way to make the gold. He had a powdery mixture that, when mixed with water and poured on lead, would make gold.  The problem was that he would have to be there for the two hours it took for the mixture to start working.  So, he went to get lunch.  He took the slip of paper that had his mixture on it and went to catch a fish.  While he was gone a bug walked into the mixture and then fell into some mercury.  The strange mixture and mercury combo turned into a portal, and out stepped two dragons.  One held a sword and shield, and one held a spear and bow. When they saw the strange place they were in they dropped their weapons, completely surprised.  They started sniffing the different things in the lab.  The female got hold of one that made her sneeze.  When dragons sneeze, flame tends to be unstoppable.  The flame ignited a stash of chemicals on the wall.  When the building exploded, the dragons were already gone.  But they flew over the scientist, and he saw them go.   He knew, somehow, that the dragons had caused the explosion, and also knew that these weapons that the beasts had dropped could easily kill these creatures.  He wanted revenge.”

     “And that pretty much sums it up; do you need to know anything else?”  Marcus was speechless.  “I can name two things wrong with that story.” He finally managed to say.  “To start with, those were dragons, not humans, and also, dragons are huge fiery beasts, not curious and human size.”   She laughed, though Marcus didn’t believe that this was funny. “Two common misconceptions. To answer your second question, all earthbound dragons are slightly taller than humans, and not the creatures that they are made out to be.” “And to answer your first question, during the Roman period, all the female dragons were killed, leaving two male dragons.  One died, and the last married a human.  She became pregnant with twins, but the dragon was killed before the babies were born.  One was born with wings, and another was born with the ability of to control fire, yet his son could control water.  Since then, people that control the elements water, fire, earth, and air have been born as descendants from that line, and winged dragons are always born from the other child.”  Marcus didn’t believe for a second that this was true, but he knew that this girl was a terrible liar.  Suddenly, an idea clicked in his head.  “I’ve seen the wings, but if you show me the dragon magic, then I’ll believe you.”  Her wings turned solid blue.  “Finally, someone practical!  My magic is weak because I’m a winged dragon, but get me a cup of water.”  Marcus was intrigued, so he went and got some water. She sat down and closed her eyes, concentrating hard.  And, to Marcuse’s amazement, the water started gently moving.  Then, in one quick movement the water flew out of the glass and separated into a million droplets.  It was an impressive sight, and Marcus just sat there looking like an idiot with his mouth hanging open.  The water started spinning faster and faster, making a rainbow of color as the sunlight struck them.  Marcus inched closer and closer, until he was about a half inch away.  Ester’s wings turned yellow and she gave him a mischievous look.  Uh oh.  The water was quite cold as it slammed into his gaping mouth, leaking all over him.  He was actually quite glad, because it shocked him back to his senses.  “Uh, so…. Are there other wizards out there?”  He was handling this remarkably well, considering that his whole life and everything he knew had just been turned around.  “Of course, weren’t you paying attention?”  He just sat there trying to absorb all of this.  He finally thought of something to say.  “How do you know all of this?”  She grabbed her backpack and pulled out a book.  She gave it to him and he casually flipped through it.  To his surprise, all the things that she had said were in the book.  His mind was spinning faster than it had ever been before. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.  “Could I be a wizard?”  He asked, thinking about the plug for the first time in two months. "Well... it’s possible, but unlikely." She replied, shaking her head. She thought for a moment, then began spouting questions. "Have you ever been burned?" "Yes." "Can you breathe underwater?" What a weird question! Marcus thought, puzzled. "No, can you?" She laughed softly. "Yes" Marcus was about to make a scornful reply, then he remembered what she did to the water and fell silent. She continued, "How long can you hold your breath?" Marcus held his breath for fifteen seconds, and then let it out. She shook her head again. "When you fall, does the grit hurt your face and get stuck to your clothes?”  “Yes.” “Then no, you’re not a wizard.”   Marcus was mildly upset, but he already knew that that would be the answer.  To his surprise, after handing him the book, Ester had been more interested in his room than in their conversation, and her wings were poking different things.  They were obviously very agile.   “Who is this?” she asked, pointing to a picture of Marcus’s mom. “She’s my mom… well, she was.”  Ester stared at him with her deep dark eyes.  He was once again transfixed.  He realized that it must look like he was staring and turned away, feeling the blood rise to his face.  She laughed and then said, “It’s all right; my eyes did that, not yours. Winged humans’ eyes tend to transfix anyone who looks into them.”  Marcus sat there trying to absorb all of this.  He had been doing a lot of that today.  Ester was the one who broke the silence.  “Who was that man downstairs that we were trying to avoid?” Marcus sighed and held his head in his hands.  “It was my stepdad.  All he does is get drunk and yell at the TV.  I can’t let him see me when I come home, or else he will make me his beer fetcher for the rest of the day, and then find ten more ways to make me miserable.”  Now Ester had something to absorb.  “But don’t you have at least one parent?”  “No, my dad disappeared when I was born, and my mom died of cancer a couple of years after marrying Jack.” Ester wondered for a moment. “Is it possible that your dad is still alive?”  She asked.  “It is completely possible, but I don’t think that I would want to meet him, if he abandoned my mother.”  Ester could tell that this conversation was hurting him, so she quit asking questions.  So they started talking about school and other casual subjects.  Ester found that he was completely useless sports, so he had taken special courses while most kids had done football.  He was a whiz at first aid  and could do CPR on newborns or ninety year old men. He could also tell you all of the periodic elements, in the correct order.  She was also impressed that he knew how to temporarily paralyze a person by cutting the correct nerves.  Marcus was surprised to find that she was a martial arts black belt.  She had trained with a man who was a fire wizard in his late eighties. He had showed her how to use her wings to her advantage in a battle. He had lived in Hawaii, where she had been before moving to the Colorado town.  Marcus knew after an hour that they would have been friends even if the locker room accident had not happened.  He also picked up multiple facts about dragons during their talk. For example, dragons are attracted to each other in different ways, which helped dragons connect in a large world.  Dragon hunters are also attracted to dragons, which often ended up in bullying or dating.  The elements earth, water, fire, and air were used in ancient Chinese culture, though they were actually first introduced by dragons.  At one point, Marcus wanted to know something. “Why do you keep fighting them?”  Ester looked at him and said plainly “We want to go home.”  “But aren’t you already home?”  He asked back.  “No, we want to go back to where the first dragons came from, and the only way to open a portal that lasts more than a few seconds is to have the powder that made gold mixed with mercury.  There are portals that open around magical creatures, but they don’t last long enough.”  Marcus started thinking about the story of the dragon hunter.  Suddenly, something popped into his mind.  “What did you say the first Dragon hunter was named?” She gave him an odd look.  “Kishi, why?”  Marcus turned pale and started shaking and mumbling to himself.  “No wonder he’s so mean, I should have seen it when she told me about hunters, I should have tried to do something!”  To Ester, it looked like he was going crazy.  “What’s wrong?”  She asked.  He turned and looked at her straight in the eye.  “I know a bully named George that lives right down the street.  His last name is Kishi.”  

     George Kishi Senior was sitting in his favorite chair.  His wife hadn’t been very creative, and had given birth while Mr. Kishi had been hunting a particularly stubborn dragon.  So their son was also named George.  Mr. Kishi had been delighted until he had realized that Georges IQ was about point one.  Now Kishi was thinking about sending him to Africa next, on another mission, but only if this one was successful. He asked a butler bring him some wine and decided to look for dragon magic on his specialized radar screen.  There was an odd blimp on the screen down the road, but it was green, which meant that magic wasn’t actively being used, and there would have to be hundreds of dragons to create that much inactive magic.  He zoomed in closer to the target.

     Now it was Esters turn to be pale.  “What do you mean?”  he looked at her closely “It means that we are twenty-two houses way from your worst enemy.”  Ester jumped up and started panicking “I have to tell my parents, what will dad say I, I, I,” and stopped with a sigh.  “I HAVE to tell mom.”  Marcus looked up at her and to her surprise said “No, don’t.”  “Why not?” she asked.  “Because” he answered, “If we tell them, then they will probably just run away.  And that would end any hope of catching the biggest threat to dragons.”  She realized that he was right. “I’ll think about it” she said.  “But either way, I have to go home now” then she turned and said “Oh, thanks, for not freaking out or anything” and grabbed him in a quick hug.  She shrugged her coat over her wings and then walked out.  About twenty seconds later, Marcus remembered that she had forgotten the book.  He ran downstairs just in time to see Ester rounding corner and walking straight into Marcus’s worst enemy.

      James and the Pimple had just finished pigging out at a burger shack and were going to see if George had come home yet.  They knocked on the door and were answered by a man in thick glasses.  “Is George home?”  They asked.  The man took one look at them and decided that these freaks did not need to be friends with his son; George’s grades were bad as it was.  The last thing he needed were two more idiots in his life.  So he just shut the door and walked back to the blimp on his screen.

     Jack was drunk again.  He had found a picture of a very buff man online, and had put it on an online dating site.  The first woman to see him in real life had treated him to a good thwacking with her purse.  So he was now trying to shrug it off with beer.  He had been headed to the fridge to get more when he had ran into Ester.  He saw Marcus next, whose head was spinning.  What do I do!? Thought the boy franticly.  Jack grabbed Ester’s arm, who had just caught the scent of beer and knew what that meant.  Jack turned his head and looked at Marcus.  “Ith dith yo golfend?”  “Uh, hi?”  Ester said.  “See pitty.” Jack managed to mumble. It took him a moment to regain the balance that he had lost with those words. “You ith come wif me!?” Jack yelled at the struggling girl, and started heading toward the living room.  Suddenly, something sparked in Marcus.  It was anger.  This man had completely ruined his life, used his college fund for a new TV,  fridge, sound system, DVD player, and drunk the rest away, made Marcus his personal butler, kept all friendly people away, and now was trying to hurt the only person that Marcus could consider a friend.  And Marcus knew that he could do something about it.  “Put! Her! Down!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, but his voice didn’t sound like his own.  It was low and gravelly and sounded like stones hitting each other.  Jack looked at his stepson and did the dumbest thing he could have done.  “Ith you beeim dithreepecful?”  That was the last thing he managed to say because at that moment, Marcus started floating.  His eyes turned a bright blue and a twenty syllable word popped up in his head. He screamed it out loud.  The book in his hand disintegrated and he had just enough time to say two more syllables that kept his clothes from being fried, though he could only save his underwear.  This shocked Jack back to his senses.  He did another stupid thing and flung Ester away, who hit the wall where Jack’s old set of weapons were displayed.  This made Marcus even angrier than he had been.  He spoke another word that popped into his head and the DVD player floated toward him “You WILL be punished for your wrongs!”  He shouted at Jack.  And then the most amazing thing Ester had ever seen happened.  Solid blue lightning streaked out from Marcus’s fingertips, toward the old cassette player. He’s the… But that’s impossible!  The explosion was spectacular, and Jack couldn’t believe his eyes.  “NO!  You broke it!”  Marcus smiled.  “Yes, I did. And I am going to do the same thing to everything else you care about.  Say goodbye to late night shows.”  And then Marcus did what he said he would.  Everything that Jack had ever shown any interest in, except for the weapons, went into a pile in the floor. He saved the TV for last.  And then, before the groveling man, Marcus said fifteen more syllables.  Something clicked in Esters head.  I know those words. Uh oh. She did the smartest thing she could and grabbed a shield from the wall.  Power rushed into her.   This is no ordinary shield.  That was the only thing she managed to think before Marcus exploded in a ball of lightning.  All the items and Jack flew against the wall opposite of Ester, the nonliving things exploding.  Marcus, strangely unhurt, gently settled down to the ground.  He was so tired that could barely stand.  He just had time to hear Ester say one word.  Kiran.  She rolled the r, and he knew that word.  It was his last name. That was what he thought as he passed out.

     Mr. Kishi was staring at the little blimp, trying to figure out what it was.  Then he saw something.  A little red was showing up in the green.  Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then the red exploded.  It filled the entire five foot square screen within two seconds.  Kishi screamed and backed away.  It can’t be! He thought. Then, the power became too much.  The screen exploded and Kishi was thrown against a wall, glass hitting him and causing blood to stream down his face, but he hardly felt anything.  It didn’t matter.  The Kiran was alive.  The dragon savior had been born.

     Ester was staring at Marcus’s limp body.  She couldn’t believe that the only kid she had ever trusted with her secret was the Kiran.  She looked around at the whole room, and she realized that the police would be there any minute.  She ran to Marcus and listened for a pulse.  He was breathing fine, and his heartbeat was healthy.  Then, she heard sirens outside the door.  She grabbed him and the shield then ran to the window, throwing off her jacket.  They were both surprisingly light, and she carried them with no problems. But it would still be a long flight home. 

3

James walked Zit Face back to his house, then turned around and started heading home.  He thought that he would have chili for dinner, and his stomach was rumbling.  He was close to his house when he looked up and saw a giant crow with jet black wings.  His first instinct was to duck into the nearest bush, but then he saw that the crow was carrying a person.  He ran up to the spot right under the crow and saw it waver, and start to lose its grip on the person.  Then he saw the face, and it wasn’t a beak.  It was a girl.

       What do I do?  Ester thought between breaths.  She had tried putting Marcus on her back to fly, and then slung him over her shoulder, but both interfered with flying.  So she had settled for holding him under the arms.  But then couldn’t keep her grip on Marcus any longer. And then, against her will, she did something no she would often think about throughout her whole life, wondering if she could have made things better, and kept what happened from happening.  She dropped him.  He fell downward, toward the inevitable.  Ester closed her eyes.

     James just had time to hold out his arms before the boy fell on top of him.  James knew that the kids at school thought he was stupid, but he did have some intelligence.  Well, he liked to think that he did.  But he knew enough to check for broken bones.  The boy seemed fine, except for the fact that he was in underwear. And then James saw the boy’s face.  It was the boy that he had so often bullied at school.  And shoved in lockers.  What does he have to do with the flying fairy?  Then James blacked out.

     The flying fairy was angry.  This boy had saved Marcus, but then had started rough handling him for no reason at all.  She had angled her feet toward the ground and then started falling closer.  She realized when she was about a foot away that the boy could be checking for broken bones, but by then it was too late.   His head hit the road with a thud, but he looked unhurt, only unconscious.   Ester looked at her options.  She could try to carry Marcus home, but she had nothing to cover her wings with, and all that were left of his clothes were either ashes in his hair or necessary to keep him decent.  Besides, I can’t cover all my wings with one pair of underwear.  She definitely couldn’t fly him all the way home, so that left only one option.  I'm going to regret this.  She reached down and started shaking the unconscious boy with skin that looked like it had been through a wash machine.  James mumbled and started to wake up.  He wouldn’t move for five seconds, then sat up and yelled one word. “Fairy!”  Ester couldn’t help herself; she giggled like a girl whose boyfriend just told a joke.  Then she got serious.  “Look at me boy.”  She said.  James looked at her and then nearly passed out again.  “I need you to help me carry this boy home.  You will help me if you know what's good for you.”  James looked up and muttered “fairy” again.  Then Ester got an idea.  “I am a fairy, but not just any fairy; I'm uh, the tooth fairy.  And I’ll, uh, give you extra money when you lose a tooth if you carry him” she said, pointing to Marcus. James thought about it for a minute.  “But I’ve already lost all my teeth.” He said, sighing.  Ester thought for a moment.  “I’ll help you lose one.”  She said.  James’ face brightened and he picked up Marcus like a sack of potatoes.  What have I done?  She thought.

     George was very angry.  His father had called him an hour before, while George was at the beach.  He was going on about how there was a huge blast of dragon magic when George had hung up, before he had gone deaf from all the yelling.  His father had even told him that the Hawaiian dragon child wasn’t important.  George still didn’t understand why one dragon kid was so important, but apparently he was.  So now George was stuck on a plane going home.  There wasn’t much hope of his father deciding to let him back to the island nation until this kid was dead, so he needed to find the kid quick.  I can’t survive without a vacation.  I will kill that kid quick!

     James was huffing by the time he got home.   He had settled for running because he had wanted to get a tooth out for the tooth fairy.   He had had to run alone because the tooth fairy had insisted on scouting the area above for what she had told him were fairy hunters, people who wanted all the teeth in the world for themselves.  Following the dot that as flying above him in the sky, he came to a large house with cows in the five acre yard, and they were stuffing their faces with hay.  The tooth fairy landed just a foot away and looked like she was thinking.  James grew hopeful.  “Are you thinking about how to get my tooth out?”  “No, I've already figured that one out, but where can we put Mar… I mean that kid.  I know! We’ll put him in the barn.”  James thought for a moment.  “Tooth fairy, why do you live on a farm?” he asked.  “The, uh, the teeth make good cow feed.”  She answered without thinking.   She opened the door to the barn and hustled James inside.  “Put him down here.” She said, pointing to a pile of hay in the middle of the floor.  She grabbed a blanket from the wall and covered Marcus up with it.  “Fairy, why do you want this boy so bad?”  He asked completely innocently.  She thought for a moment.  “He's about to lose three teeth.”  She said absently.  Then she looked straight at him.  “It’s time for you to go.”  She said.  James became very sad.  “But I haven’t had my tooth pulled out yet.”  He said, and started pouting.  “Oh yes” Ester said, and after walking him to the door, said “Curl back your lip.  Oh, and close your eyes” and she raised a fist.  “This might hurt a little.”  She let her fist fly.  It hurt a little.

     Marcus was in a strange world.  A griffin flew overhead, and a large dragon, the type you read about in most fairytales, was chasing it.  Some centaurs were visible through the trees of the forest he was in, and fairies were flying an inch from his nose. Suddenly, a boy jumped out of the trees about five yards away. But this was no ordinary boy.  This boy had fire in his eyes, literally, and his hands were also aflame.  And he had a flaming sword.  With a scream that would curdle milk, he charged at Marcus, arms raised.  Marcus instinctively ran to the edge of the forest and plunged in.  He only ran for five feet before coming to the edge of the woods.  And beyond was a landscape scorched by fire.  He ran as fast as he could.  Suddenly, he saw a group of fairies at his heels.  Oh good, they must be here to, hey, what are you doing?!  He thought as the fairies started to grab his jeans and pull him down.  He turned onto his back just as the boy landed on his stomach.  He looked at the nearest floating speck of light.  “You stupid f” He never got any further, because at that moment the fire boy plunged his sword in.

     Ester was doing her homework and looking at Marcus, the Kiran.  She was about to solve history problem number forty when Marcus sat up and yelled “Fairy!” so loudly that the horse in the next stall nearly spooked.  Ester laughed harder than she had in years, yet Marcus was finding that her sense of humor was very different than his.  “I feel like I've been kicked by a horse!”  He said.  Ester looked at him and then to his complete and utter surprise, fell to her knees at the foot of the haystack he was in.  “Kiran” she said.  “How may I serve you?”  Now it was Marcus’s turn to laugh. “I don’t know how you know my last name” he said, “but I am definitely no king.  Or anyone else that deserves bowing to.  So what’s the joke?”  Ester sighed.  “I had hoped that you would understand more with that outburst of power.”  She said.  “This is going to take more explaining.”  Marcus suddenly remembered what had happened at his house.  He laughed. “I had the strangest dream while I was asleep” he said.  “I was immune to electricity , and you had w… oh.”  As she raised her shirt to her belly button that was covered with two blackish green wings.  “And in case you haven’t noticed.”  She said, “You are in a barn!”  Marcus thought for a moment. “How did I get to be in a barn?”  He asked, avoiding the harder questions, like “why can I shoot lightning out of my finger tips that can blast a man and all of his belongings against a wall?”  Ester sighed.  “You don’t want to know.”  She said.  He thought again.  “How do you know my last name?”  He asked.  She looked up at him. “Let me show you something.”  She said.  “Remember that book I showed you?  It had a very important story in it.  You accidently fried it, but I copied the story of the Kiran on to some paper with a photo copier.”  They exited the barn and Marcus saw some cows.  “How many animals do you have?”  He asked.  Ester laughed.  “Two horses, five cows, two goats, a cat, a dog, and a chicken.  Oh, and a bearded dragon.”  They came to the house, but before they got there, Marcus asked something.  “Are you going to tell my parents about me, and where am I going to live now that I fried my house?”  Ester thought for a moment.  I will let you decide if you want to tell my parents about you.  But unless you have a better option, you will have to live with us.  But if you don’t tell my parents, you’re staying with Bessie!”  And then she laughed.  Marcus thought for a moment.  “I think that for now, we’ll have to be secretive.  But in the morning, Bessie may make me decide otherwise.”  Ester laughed again.  “Then let’s go in through the back door.”  She led him around to the back of the house and to a screen door.  They made their way up the stairs, and Marcus could smell cookies baking in the other room.  I haven’t smelt that since mom died.  He thought, and had to suppress a sigh.  He was halfway through the living room when he saw a large cage. “What lives in there?” “That is our bearded dragon” she answered.  “Would you like to hold him?”  Marcus’s face brightened.  “Yes I would!” he said, slightly too loudly.  “Honey, is that you?”  Yelled Ester’s mom from the kitchen. Ester gave him another one of her evil looks.  “My room is straight up the stairs, second one on the right.”  Marcus took the cue and ran .u p to the cage He grabbed the lizard and hurried up the stairs.  He went into her room and stopped.  He was in a room where every wall was covered in either pictures of dragons or dolphins.  The room was completely littered with dirty clothes, and there were trophies on the dresser.  When he blew the dust off of them, he could see that they were of kids doing karate with wings.  He had just finished putting a trophy down when he heard someone coming up the stairs.  He dove under the bed just before he saw the door open.  “Young lady!”  He heard someone with a feminine voice say.  “This room is a wreck!  You need to clean this place fast, and… why is Leonardo in your room?”  Oh crud, I forgot the lizard!  He thought as Leonardo scuttled out from under the bed.  He heard the voice again.  “You put that lizard up, and then clean your room!”  He heard the heard the door slam, then Ester’s face peeked under the bed.  “Sorry about that.  My mom is kind of a neat freak, though in this case she’s probably right.”  Marcus laughed.  “Here” he said.  “I’ll help you clean your room.”  With both of them working, it only took a few minutes.  After they were done, Ester told him that she would go put Leonardo up and change into clothes that were better for her wings.  Before she went, she handed him some pieces of paper.  He started reading.  At the top was a heading with three words; real, possible, and fake.  Possible was circled.  Under that the word KIRAN was spelled, all in capitals.  Then this article;

     Kiran means light in Hebrew.  The Kiran in the magical sense is a dragon child with the ability to control electricity.  It is a well-known fact among dragons that the ability to control the elements fire, water, earth, or air is a gift given to each dragon child.  Yet it is thought that a combination of all the above, the magical form of light, electricity, is a special gift given to the rare Kiran.  Of the three dragon children that managed to get to the magical world where dragons came from, and back, only one brought back any information on this mythical creature.  He told us that in that land, there is born a dragon that can control lightning.  He told us that only one of these dragons can be alive at a time.  The one that was alive, once thirteen, would be crowned king, as these dragons are extremely powerful and reach a level of knowledge that many adults never reach after the first coming of age, as puberty begins.  It is thought that if one dragon was not born in the magical land that could control lightning, then he would be born on earth. Two dragon children have claimed to be this way. It is thought that if this happens, then at rare moments of power, the Kiran can separate the four elements from a single bolt, and thus control all at once, though they are weakened.  More facts about the element lightning are below.

  Marcus was shaking.  He read the article twice, just to make sure it was real.  There was no pretending that it didn’t talk about someone just like him, but he didn’t want the whole world dumped on his shoulders.  Maybe there is something in the next chapter that proves this is wrong!  He thought franticly.  And then flipped the page and read on. 

     The element electricity is not mythical, it is real.  It is the magical form of light, and can be made out of other energy, or by mixing all four elements’ power.  If all four types of dragon power mix together, in the amounts forty percent fire, and twenty percent all the others, then an unstable lightning bolt is born.  This tactic was used in the battle of Carnage Hill, and it gave the dragon children the advantage.  It is also, as with all other elements, a consuming magic.  It sucks the life out of the user, making them feel tired or even pass out.  Here is a list of instances where the power of lightning was used;

     Marcus barely glanced at the list, but then he saw something at the bottom that caught his eye. The heading said “Myths about the Kiran.”  So he read that part too.

     # 1  the Kiran can fly, even though he doesn’t have wings.

     # 2  the Kiran is invincible.

     # 3 the Kiran’s eyes turn a sky blue when he fights.

     Marcus laughed as he read the second part.  Obviously, none of these are true, he thought.  Then he felt someone tap his shoulder.  He turned around and saw Ester standing there, smiling, in a white T-shirt with wholes cut in the back for her wings.  “So, are you invincible?”  She asked.  They both laughed, but then Ester’s face got serious.  “Do you believe me now?”  She asked.  Marcus was about to say something that had to do with not being anything but a Colorado city boy when there was an explosion from downstairs.

     George arrived at the airport with a bad feeling.  His dad was not someone to be messed with, and hanging up on him had been a bad idea.  But now he thought he had a good idea.  He went up to a girl that he thought pretty and leaned against a wall right beside her.  “Hey sweetie.”  He said.  “Do you know a boy that can shoot fire out of his fingertips?”  He decided that she wasn’t so pretty when her fist was flying at his face.  He met his dad with a black eye, but it wasn’t so bad, considering that his dad’s face was obscured by bandages.  George was glad, because it meant that he couldn’t see the angry expression that his dad was bound to be wearing.  He nearly hid, but by then it was too late, his dad had seen him.  He was dangling a foot off the floor within a few moments.  His father leaned in close.  “Why did you hang up on me!?”  He asked, his voice just above a whisper.  George started shaking.  “Never mind.”  Said the human mummy.  “Some things are better explained in private.”  He grabbed his son and dragged him away from the airport doors, and the people that were starting to stare.

     “What was that?”  Asked Marcus, his voice shaking a little.  Ester sighed.  “Probably my little brother and sister.  He’s a earth wizard and she's an air one, so they often want to kill each other.”  She giggled.  “You should see them when they want the same toy.”  Marcus gave her a weird look.  “I thought that they would have wings, not wizardry.” He said.  “My dad is a fire wizard, and my mom is a winged dragon child.  So we have both in the house.”  Ester answered.  After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Ester broke the quiet.  “What do you want to do, Kiran?”  Marcus was starting to get frustrated.  “I am NOT the Kiran!”  He nearly shouted.  “I’m immune to being shocked, that’s it!”  Ester gave him a look.  “You don’t remember what happened in your house, do you?”  “It’s foggy… I think I punched Jack and he passed out.  But that doesn’t make sense!  Jack is tough!”  Ester sat down right beside him.  “I want you to cup your hands into a ball.”  She said.  Marcus was intrigued, so he did what she said.  “Now close your eyes.  And say this.”  She said seven syllables, and Marcus repeated them flawlessly.  “Now look in your hands.”  She said.  Marcus looked down, and in his hands was a ball, but not just any one. 
It was made out of electricity.

     “So the Kiran is alive.  And powerful.”  Kishi senior said as he turned off the tape that showed the outburst of power.  George was shocked.  “But father” he asked “Why do you hate the dragons so bad?”  Kishi looked at him with hatred in his eyes.  “Let me show you something.” He said.  He led his son back to his study, and then pulled out a key.  He unlocked a safe, and then grabbed the sword that was inside.   He looked at his son.  “Hold out your hand.”  He said.  George obeyed.  In one quick movement, he had sliced his son’s hand.  George felt the pain come, and with it, Hatred.  He needed to kill.  He needed to kill dragons.

     The strain of all of this was just too much for Marcus, he passed out.  Ester sat looking at him for a moment.  She couldn’t drag him back to the Barn, so she put him in her walk in closet, on some pillows, and covered him with a blanket.  The next day was Saturday, so she was going to be able to spend the next day teaching him how to be a dragon.  She was about to fall asleep when at eleven o’ clock, she heard scuttling and saw Leonardo walk into the closet.  She was too tired to get up, and just fell asleep.

     Mrs. Rudolph, Ester’s mom was going upstairs to check on her daughter.  Ester had been up fairly late last night, saying that she wanted to do her homework with Bessie.  But even staying up late, she would normally be up by now.  So, Mrs. Rudolph was now in her daughter’s room, thinking about life.  She remembered the first time that she had met Joshua A. Rudolph, and fallen in love.  Her wings rose up from where they had been resting on her shoulders, and they were solid pink.  She looked around, and thought that Ester had done a good job of cleaning this place.  Then she noticed that the closet door was cracked.  I told that girl to keep that door shut!  She went to check and see if everything in the floor was shoved in the closet, and was surprised to see Leonardo sitting on a bundle of clothes.  Then she saw that the bundle had a head.  It was a boy.

     Ester was having a wonderful dream.  She was having the dream that every girl wishes she could have.  She was floating in chocolate.  She woke up with a start, and saw that her closet door was open.  She jumped out of bed and grabbed for the book of spells, thinking of a forget me, but then remembered that it was just a bunch of ashes. So she ran in to the closet with nothing but a stupid excuse and determination.

     Marcus was in fairy world again.  He had seen the griffin and was waiting for fire boy to come, as he knew he would.  When fire boy did come, Marcus used the stupid plan and threw a rock at him.  It landed with a satisfying thud, right in the forehead.  Fire boy kept coming as if the rock meant nothing.  He closed in, and Marcus never had a chance to do anything but wait.

     He woke with a jump.  He couldn’t come to remember anything for a little while, but then it all came rushing back to him.  When he had seen that ball of lightning floating in his hands, everything that had happened at his house came back.  He realized that he had been keeping his eyes shut, and then opened them.  He looked up with surprise.  The once clean closet was now a wreck, his encounter with Fire Boy had obviously left him fighting the covers.  But that’s not what surprised him.  What surprised him was that there was a woman with a beautiful set of wings staring down at him.

     Ester’s mind was flying.  All she knew was that if her mother found Marcus in Ester’s closet, she would flip.  There was a rule in their house that no boys were allowed to come over without her mother’s permission first.  Seeing a boy sleeping in the closet would not bode well.  She slammed the door open just in time to see Marcus lift his head up to stare at Mrs. Rudolph.  Uh oh.  Ester thought.  “Ester, is this a boy in your room?”  Mrs. Rudolph said, in that way that parents talk right before you get in trouble, so that they try to sound calm.  “Uh…  yes?”  Ester ventured.  Mrs. Rudolph turned around, toward
Marcus, and she didn’t look calm any more.  “YOU!  GET OUT OF MY DAUGHTER’S ROOM!!!”  Ester realized that she couldn’t let Marcus take the blame for this.   “Mom, it was my fault.  I uh… I invited him over to help with school, and he… uh, fell asleep.”  Mrs. Rudolph turned around and looked at her daughter.  “So you invited a boy over, without my permission, and he just fell asleep?!”  She asked.  Ester looked at Mrs. Rudolph strait in the eye.  “We had a long night and uh…”  Then Marcus, who had been quiet for a while, spoke up.  “It’s okay Ester, she can know.”  The angry mother turned and looked at him, her face hard as stone, until she recognized the words he was saying as magical.  Soon, there was a little ball of electricity in his hands.  “Oh.”  Was all Mrs. Rudolph was able to get out.  The lizard, who had been sitting silent until now, darted into the little lightning ball and, to everyone’s surprise, remained unharmed.  “He must have bonded with you.”  Mrs. Rudolph muttered under her breath.  “Marcus looked at her quizzically.  “What?’’ he asked.  Mrs. Rudolph sighed.  “This is going to take a while to explain.”  She said.  Marcus was amazed that she was taking this so well, since he felt his world was crashing down around him.  He was also amazed at how fast she could turn an awkward situation into a good one.  Before he knew it, he was sitting in the living room of the house, the smaller children herded outside, and Mr. and Mrs.  Rudolph were sitting across from him.   “So, where do I start?”  asked Marcus.  “Who is this?” asked Mr. Rudolph.  So they had to explain everything, starting with the school accident.  When they had finished, Marcus looked at the Ruldolphs.  “Your turn.” He said.  So they told him everything that they could in a short time.  He learned of three men who had disappeared into the world of dragons, better known as Galtrainia, and come back.  He also learned how two had come back with finds such as magical creatures, but one, who was insane, had come back with news of something else.  A metropolis.  And it was full of dragons, all of whom were puny in comparison.  And he learned more valuable things than that.  He learned more about his father.  “Why is my name Kiran?” he asked.  “Your father probably named you that when he saw your magic potential.  Every wizard baby gives a sign, such as sparks, as to what his element is.  Do you know your father’s name?” Mr. Rudolph asked.  Marcus thought up the name immediately.  “Jeffery Longhorn.”  The Ruldolphs sat back in their chairs, blinking in surprise.  “We had expected powerful, but not that powerful” said Mr. Rudolph.  “Who is he?”  Asked Marcus.  Ester, who had been quiet up till now, laughed.  “Only the most powerful man on earth!”  She said.   “If there ever was a leader of the dragon children, it was him.   He probably saw who you were, and managed to convince your mom to make your last name Kiran, in order to give other dragon children a clue when they meet you.”  A thought occurred to Marcus.  “Ester said that portals pop up around magical creatures, what other magical creatures are there?”  Mr. Rudolph thought for a moment.   “There are some mermaids, small gryphons, and most commonly, sea serpents, though different creatures have slipped through over time.  Anyways, back to dragons and magic.  Magic comes in two varieties, spell and elemental.  The spell you used was likely an emotional spell, your anger at him caused you to… er, explode. You can use that one for healing, but this family normally doesn’t use that magic, it is easier to mess up.  Elemental magic is the control of element, nowhere near as taxing, but less specific effects.  You will learn how to use that while you are here.” Marcus brightened a little from the gloomy mood that seems to set over someone who suddenly learns that he is king of an entire species of powerful beings.  “School stops next week for the summer.” Mr. Rudolph continued.  “So you and Ester will be training together.”  Marcus had a fleeting image of the pavement coming closer to him, then laying sprawled on it while people surrounded him, pointing at his ankle, but it soon passed.  Ester looked at him.  “Let’s get started!”

4

     All Marcus remembered of that day was that he got beat up pretty good.  By a girl.  Ouch. He soon learned what Esters waist length hair was for.  She would put something in it, such as a dagger, rock, or in this case, a stick, and swing her head around hard.  When he asked her how it didn’t pull her hair out, she said “Dragon child hair, don’t let down your guard!”  And had proceeded to show just how strong her hair was.  She also told him that it was very important he learned how to fight without his element before doing anything with it.  “Imagine being a rock wizard and throwing a fist at an enemy, only to have a meteorite fall from who knows where and crush you.  Not a pleasant thought.”