Fairy Bad Day (5 page)

A second later her mom appeared with a crossbow in her hands and killed the creature before it could turn and dive a second time. Emma had instantly burst into tears, which her mom had mistaken for fear rather than joy. But how could she be scared when her mom was there to help her? And even better, now that she had the sight, she would be able to go to Burtonwood. It had truly been a perfect day, and together she and her mom spent the next two hours planting a series of tiny electromagnetic wards to stop any more phoenixes from returning to the area.

With that thought she shut her laptop and went to bed. Thinking of her mom just reminded her of how much was at stake. And as she drifted off to sleep, she desperately tried to come up with the perfect Plan C so that she could convince Kessler to change his mind. Her future depended on it.

CHAPTER FIVE

S
o how much sleep did you get?” Tyler asked the next morning as he carefully studied her face. “I bet it was six hours. No, actually, make that five hours. Am I right? I bet I’m right.”

“Shut up, Tyler.” Loni cut him off with a glare as Professor Vanderbilt started to hand out a photocopied article on how to dismantle a hand grenade. “But seriously, Emma, are you okay? You do look a little tired. Maybe you should go and get checked out again by the nurse.”

“I’m fine.” Emma yawned as she took one of the copies and passed the rest of the pile just as Professor Vanderbilt held up a hand grenade.

“Okay, everybody. I want you tell me three situations when you might possibly need to use this weapon.”

“When you’re in the food court fighting fairies,” Glen called out from the back row, and the rest of the class started to laugh. Emma sighed and slunk down in her chair. Obviously her fifteen minutes of fame weren’t quite up yet.

“Good idea, but remember we frown on hurting civilians,” Professor Vanderbilt said in a mild voice—with a hint of sarcasm—before turning his attention back to the rest of the class. “Does anyone else have any ideas?”

Brenda immediately raised her hand, but before she could speak, Principal Kessler appeared in the doorway and nodded for Professor Vanderbilt to join him. Emma felt her mouth go dry as she studied the headmaster. His tanned narrow face was grim, and his straight gray hair was pushed back off the top of his forehead as he talked to Professor Vanderbilt in a low voice.

She turned to Loni and Tyler. “I bet this has something to do with his meeting with the Department yesterday. And maybe it will explain why I couldn’t find him anywhere.”

Loni nodded in agreement, but before she could reply, Principal Kessler finished his conversation and walked up to the podium.

“The Department’s got word that a zombie virus has been released over in the western suburbs,” he said, which instantly caused a murmur of confusion to go racing around the classroom. Even though there was some cross-training between Burtonwood and the other Departmental branches, zombie hunting definitely wasn’t something that any slayer normally did. “However, their efforts to reverse the virus at stage two have been impeded by a clan of nearby crocus demons.”

Ah.
Emma and the rest of the room nodded in understanding. Now it made sense, since while some demons were solitary, crocus demons were notorious for hunting in large packs. And they were deadly as well, especially to zombie hunters.

“The Department’s demon slayers are already stretched thin, so they’ve asked everyone at Burtonwood to help,” the principal continued, his voice laden with authority. “The seniors and juniors have already been informed and will be joining us. People, this is serious.
It’s code blue.
”

Emma turned to Loni in excitement. Code blue meant fighting. Finally something was going her way. She was going to get some real field hours
and
, more importantly, the chance to prove herself once and for all as a great slayer of things other than fairies. In short, the perfect Plan C had fallen into her lap, and Curtis had better watch out, because soon she would be back in her rightful spot as dragon slayer. The surge of relief she felt was overwhelming.

“So here’s the drill,” Principal Kessler said in a cool voice. “We’ll be pulling out in an hour to launch a preemptive attack on the crocus demons so the Department can get on with their job of containing the zombies. In the meantime, there are agents waiting in the gym to brief you. Questions?”

No one raised their hand, but after the principal had dismissed the class and they all started to pour out the door for their briefing, Curtis finally coughed. “What about me?” he asked as he glanced down at his cast.

“I’m sorry, Curtis, but you know the rules. If you’re injured, you stay here. No exceptions.” Principal Kessler shook his head as he came over to where Curtis was sitting.

Emma got to her feet and shot him a smug look. She normally didn’t delight in other people’s misfortunes, but she couldn’t help but think that karma was starting to work with her on this one. However, before she could follow Loni and Tyler out of the room, Principal Kessler stepped in her way so that only she and Curtis were left in the room.

“Emma, we need to talk.”

“We do?” She frowned. “Is this about the explosion on Saturday? Because I swear it wasn’t my fault, and most importantly, no one was hurt.”

“Except you,” Curtis pointed out in an unhelpful voice from his chair.

“He’s right,” Principal Kessler said. “You’re injured too, which means you have to stay behind. You and Curtis can start work on your assignment.”

Emma felt like she had been hit by a truck. “But that doesn’t make sense. There’s a demon crisis about to unfold and you’d rather that I stay back here and do an assignment? Please, you can’t leave me behind.”
With Curtis.

“I’m sorry, Emma, but it’s not open for debate,” Principal Kessler said.

“This is all because of my eye patch, isn’t it?” She reached up and pulled it off her eye. Ouch. “Well, now it’s gone. Does that mean I can go?”

“Just because you’re not wearing the patch doesn’t mean your eye’s better. It’s policy. I’m sorry.”

“But I can help,” Emma pleaded while secretly trying to refocus her left eye, which felt a little fuzzy. Not that Principal Kessler needed to know that.

“That’s right,” the headmaster cut in. “You can help. By doing your schoolwork. These questionnaires are based on field observations, so while neither of you is fit to slay, there is still plenty you can do. In the folders you can see how I want the reports written up, and Mrs. Barnes will issue you the passes. You know this is twenty percent of your grade, right?”

Emma couldn’t believe it.

“Please,” she tried again. “We all know that fairies aren’t exactly the epitome of evil, and as for dragons, well, I think I know better than Curtis how to slay one. I mean—”

“Emma, I think you’re forgetting yourself,” Principal Kessler said in a commanding voice. “This assignment still has to be done, no matter what you think of it. End of discussion. Now I’ve got to go join in the briefing.”

She stared in openmouthed frustration at the door Principal Kessler had just walked through. Up and down the corridors she could hear the sound of running feet as students prepared for the mission, which just made her feel even worse. But her pity party was interrupted by a coughing noise next to her.

Her eyes narrowed.

“This is all your fault,” she said, spinning around and glaring at Curtis. Her eye was a little less fuzzy but it still hurt like crazy, and there were now all sorts of shadows dancing in front of it.

“My fault?” he started to say before he frowned and studied her face. “
Hey, Jones, are you okay?
Your eye looks really sore and your face is pale. Maybe you should see Nurse Reynes.”

“No thanks.” Emma shook her head and immediately regretted it as the world started to swim, but she did her best to ignore it. There was no way she wanted to go back to the infirmary. Infirmaries reminded her of hospitals, and hospitals reminded her of her mom.

She shut her eyes to try to hold back the memories that were starting to seep out. The ironic thing was that after risking life and limb battling dragons every day, her mom had been in the hospital for a simple concussion and had ended up catching an infection that spread to her lungs and killed her. All within four days.

“Are you sure? Because it really doesn’t look that good.” Genuine concern seemed to be etched across Curtis’s chiseled features, and for a moment she felt like he had read her mind and knew the real reason she didn’t want to go.

“I’m fine,” she said in a tight voice as she reminded herself that he was the person standing between her and her goal. “Besides, if you really want to help me, you can go and tell Kessler to change his mind about the designation.”

Curtis tightened his jaw. “Look, I know you’re bummed, but you can’t keep taking it out on me. It wasn’t like I planned this.”

“Oh, really?” Emma narrowed her one good eye at him. “Well, it’s funny that up until five weeks ago everyone thought it was my spot. I mean, for the last seven years, I’ve topped dragon studies, but you wouldn’t know that because you didn’t take any of the classes, yet suddenly you’re an expert?”

“It’s not that simple.” As he spoke he leaned forward so that his brown eyes were staring directly into hers. His tanned face suddenly seemed far too close to her as she watched his white teeth bite into the fleshy part of his full lower lip.

“Is that right?” Emma blinked as she realized she had been staring at him. She dragged her gaze away, almost as annoyed with herself as she was with him. For a moment Curtis looked like he was going to answer, before he suddenly shut his mouth and clenched his jaw.

“Look. I know you’re not happy, but this isn’t the ideal situation for me, either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emma demanded, before realizing she knew exactly what he meant. How embarrassing to be stuck with the laughingstock of the entire Academy. As if reading her mind, he didn’t bother to reply as he awkwardly got to his feet and flicked his tie back over his shoulder before reaching down for his crutches. As he did so, his white school shirt strained with the effort. Emma ignored it. Just because he had big muscly arms did not mean he was a better dragon slayer than she was. Once he tucked the crutches under his arm, he paused and seemed to study her for a minute before merely shrugging.
As if he was so above her that he didn’t even owe her an explanation.

“I’ve got to go and get changed for the assignment, but then I’ll meet you in the office so we can get our pass-outs, okay?” he said in a businesslike voice. Then, without another word, he swung his way out into the corridor, leaving Emma seething with indignation.

CHAPTER SIX

Y
ou know, as much as I like to listen to you complain about Curtis, I’ve got to get ready,” Loni said fifteen minutes later as Emma watched her friend race around her tiny dorm room, excitedly packing her slaying kit. “And if you’re going to just sit there, you could at least make yourself useful and pass me that subsonic blaster.”

“Yes, but it’s so unfair,” Emma insisted as she obediently reached over and handed her friend the small handheld weapon that was sitting on the dresser next to the bed. Then she returned to her brooding. “I mean,
why
is Curtis getting such special treatment anyway? Maybe he has some compromising photos of Kessler. Probably bought them on eBay and decided to use them as blackmail to get my spot.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely it,” Loni said sarcastically as she continued to methodically pack her weapons, her brow knitted in concentration.

“Or, maybe his parents are mega rich and promised to donate a new wing to Burtonwood?” Emma continued. “Oh . . . or the retinal-scanning machine that turned up last month? That could’ve been from them.”

“Yes, or it could’ve been from the Department, like we were told when it first arrived,” Loni said as she unsheathed one of her knives and held the blade up to the light. Once she was satisfied, she added it to her bag and turned her attention to a pile of wards that was sitting on her comforter, looking like metallic buttons. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but you can’t blame Curtis. Besides, we all know what an amazing fighter he is.”

“Of course I can blame him. My life has turned to chopped liver ever since he was chosen to become a dragon slayer. Coincidence? I don’t think so. And what’s with all that hair? He should get it cut.”

Loni put down the screwdriver she had been using to reconfigure the voltage on the tiny wards and blinked. “What’s his hair got to do with anything?”

“It’s just annoying.”

Loni stopped and smirked. “Do you like him?”

“Like him?” Emma looked at her friend like she was crazy. “Of course I don’t like him. Curtis Green is my archenemy—with emphasis on the ‘arch.’ Oh, and get a load of this. He told me that he doesn’t want to do the assignment with me either.”

“Really?” Loni marveled. “It’s almost like he knows something.”

“
Humph.
Whose side are you on?” Emma demanded as she gently scratched her sore eye and then got up and started to march around Loni’s tiny dorm room, careful not to step on the tangle of wires and circuit boards that had migrated from the desk and were now scattered across the floor like a spaghetti explosion.

No one had been more surprised than Loni herself when she’d shown an aptitude for electronics several years ago, though after careful consideration she decided that it was because she was a Taurus and was therefore good with her hands. Plus, as a die-hard shopper, she loved the chance to pore over gadget catalogs. Personally, Emma couldn’t see the attraction.

“I’m on the good side.” Loni zipped up her kit bag and swung it over her shoulder. “And the good side is about to go and find some demons, so if you don’t mind, I’ll be off. And by the way, I don’t think you should keep scratching your eye like that. Maybe you should put the patch back on?”

“My eye’s fine. That nurse was totally overreacting,” Emma said before letting out a long groan. “And I’m an idiot. I’m sorry. We shouldn’t even be talking about me when you’re about to go out on your first code blue. Are you scared?”

Loni turned and shot her a rueful grin. “A little bit. But apparently today is perfect for me to take risks and let the world see how much I can shine.
Oh, and for some reason I need to stay away from the color orange, so no carrots for me.
”

“Well, don’t take too many risks,” Emma lectured. “With the demons or with the carrots.” Then she gave her friend a big hug. “And don’t let Tyler talk you into making any stupid bets like seeing who can be the first one to kill a demon and cut off their horns.”

“Don’t worry, I talked to Tyler just before you came in, and he sounded too scared to even think of betting on anything.”

“Well, that’s good. Make sure you both take care, and don’t forget to text me as soon as it’s all over.”

“I will.” Loni lost her stern expression. “And Emma, I know how upset you are about everything that’s happened, but blaming Curtis isn’t going to help. So please, try and be nice to him when you’re working on this assignment? You might even find he’s not so bad.”

“You cannot be serious.” Emma gave a stubborn tilt of her chin.

“I’m saying it for your own good,” Loni pressed on. “Because the longer you obsess over the fact that Curtis has ruined your life, the tougher things are going to get. Besides,” she wheedled, “when you think about it, this isn’t about Curtis Green. The bigger issue is about you trying to convince Kessler to change his mind and make you a dragon slayer like your mom. Remember?”

Emma closed her eyes for a moment. She knew Loni was trying to understand, but she couldn’t really. After all, her parents were alive and well and living in Idaho, and while they both liked their jobs with the Department, Emma never really got the feeling it was their calling. Ditto with Loni. She said she wanted to be a goblin slayer, but Emma secretly knew her friend would’ve been just as pleased with whatever she was given, and as long as she grew up and married a nice sight-gifted Pisces guy (preferably on the cusp) her life would be happy. But it wasn’t like that for Emma, and finding out she might lose dragons was just like losing her mom all over again. Even thinking about it left her feeling empty and desolate.

However, short of throwing herself in front of the bus and making Kessler take her with them on the mission, Emma knew she didn’t have much of a choice. She gave her friend one final hug and reluctantly headed back to her room and got changed.

It was Burtonwood policy never to wear a uniform when you were doing any patrolling, and so Emma quickly slipped into a pair of jeans and the first clean shirt she could find. She was just checking to see that she had all her books when she glanced out the window and caught sight of Loni hurrying over to the bus that was parked in the second parking lot just in front of the woods that wrapped around Burtonwood like a comforter.

Another jab of disappointment went racing through her as she thought of Curtis and
—hey, what was that black shadow hovering over the bus?

Emma’s eye started to throb with pain and she snapped it shut, while acknowledging that ripping off the patch and trying to prove her point to Principal Kessler really hadn’t been such a good idea. Especially since now, not only was her eye incredibly itchy, but it also appeared to be seeing big globby things.

She opened it again and peered back out the window, but instead of the dark shape disappearing, it had now taken on a definite form, and Emma felt a cold shudder go through her as she realized the shape had wings. This could not be what she thought it was. But after another look, it was confirmed.

A dragon!

She tried to focus her eyes to identify which breed it was, but everything was still blurry. She quickly grabbed her binoculars and raced back to the window, but even with a better view, she still didn’t recognize the species. It was small for a dragon, a lot darker than they usually were, and it didn’t seem at all affected by the fact that it was daylight. Even more disturbing, despite the fact that it was flying across the sky, no one on the ground below seemed to be paying any attention to it. Then, without warning, the dragon disappeared from sight, leaving Emma to wonder if she had imagined it.

Maybe she had? Nurse Reynes had said there was a small chance that she had mild concussion, so maybe it was all just a dream. After all, she was at Burtonwood, a place filled to the brim with sight-gifted students. So why couldn’t they see it? And more important, why was the dragon on campus in the first place? There were wards everywhere. Not just for dragons but for all elementals. In fact, Loni, who spent a lot of her spare time helping the tech guys maintain the equipment, used to joke that there were wards on the wards, all of them pulsing out positive electrons designed to keep Burtonwood elemental-free.

Emma rubbed her aching eye, but before she could figure out what it all meant, the creature suddenly reappeared in the sky, like a dark angry blot. Then she watched in horror as it made a dive directly toward the bus, where Brenda Vance was standing. Emma dropped the binoculars onto the ground as she realized that not only was this very real, but that the dragon was hunting.

Without pausing, she raced to the door and out into the hallway. Her legs pounded on the ground, her chest started to burn, and her shoes rubbed as she forced herself to keep going. Finally, she burst through the building doors, past the overhanging bougainvillea, and along the gravel path to where Principal Kessler was checking equipment and ushering everyone onto the bus.

“Thank goodness I caught you in time.” She panted as she came to a halt and tried to catch her breath. “There’s a dragon on campus. And it’s hunting.”

Principal Kessler looked annoyed. “Emma, I thought we’d talked about this. Anything else can wait until after this operation is over.”

“What?” She frowned for a minute before shaking her head in frustration. “No, you don’t understand. There’s a dragon. D-r-a-g-o-n. And it swooped so close to Brenda, it—”

“Oh my God. Emma Jones, you are so pathetic.” Brenda appeared holding a box of sonar gear, her hair looking remarkably un-dragon-ruffled. “Not only are you pretending you can see an invisible dragon that can break through our wards, but you’re trying to involve me in your delusions.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Emma stared at her. “Why would I pretend?”

“Oh, let me think. Hmm, now, why would the girl who is
obsessed
with following in her dead mom’s footsteps suddenly think she can see a dragon just days before the induction ceremony?”

“That’s not true.” Emma turned to Principal Kessler and shot him a pleading look. “I swear. I saw it. I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.”

“Really, so where is it now? And why didn’t anyone else see it?” Brenda retorted, and Emma twisted her head as she valiantly searched the skies. They were completely dragonfree.

“Okay, so I’m not quite sure where it went,” she was forced to admit before she turned to Principal Kessler and shot him another pleading look. “But it was definitely a dragon. It must’ve broken through the wards somehow.”

“Of course it did.” Brenda rolled her eyes. “Because that’s just so—”

“That’s enough,” Principal Kessler cut in as an angry scowl marched across his face and his pale blue eyes narrowed. “Brenda, you can get on the bus, and Emma, I can assure you that no elemental has ever broken through the wards, and if it had, the ops team would let me know.”

“But—”

“But nothing.” Principal Kessler cut her off. “I want you to continue with your assignment.
Now.
” Then, without another word, he climbed the stairs and signaled for the driver to start the engine.

“Wait—” Emma started to yell as the bus pulled away from the curb, but it was no good and she was forced to stand and watch it disappear out of the parking lot. Suddenly, there was a coughing noise behind her and she turned around to where Curtis was standing, leaning forward on his crutches. He had changed out of his uniform and wore a simple white T-shirt underneath a plain blue hoodie that stretched across his broad shoulders and seemed to make his tanned face look even tanner. He also had a very confused expression on his face.

“Um, Jones, did you just tell Kessler that you thought you saw a dragon on campus?” He knitted his brow.

“I
did
see a dragon on campus,” Emma corrected as she continued to scan the skies. Then she turned to him and let out a reluctant sigh. “Unfortunately, it’s gone now, and Kessler didn’t believe me.”

“But how is that even possible?” Curtis’s face went pale. “It’s daytime and we’re in a built-up area that is warded up to the eyeballs. Not exactly ideal party conditions for a dragon.”

“Thank you, but since I have studied dragon behavior for the last seven years and did actually grow up with one of the most famous slayers in the world, I do know that. However, I also know what I saw. It was a dragon. Why won’t anyone believe me?”

“Oh, I believe you. For the last five weeks you’ve done everything in your power to convince Kessler you should be the dragon slayer, so it doesn’t really make sense that you’d suddenly try and make him think you’re crazy.”

“Exact—” she started to say before Curtis’s words hit home. She frowned. “Okay, so it’s not ideal that Kessler now thinks that I’m crazy, but if we can track down this dragon, then he will realize I’m telling the truth,” she said before she noticed that Curtis was staring at her in disbelief. “
What? Why are you looking like this is a bad idea?
After all, you’re the dragon slayer. I thought you would be jumping at the chance.”

Curtis glanced down to his cast. “First, I’m not too hot in the jumping department right now. Second, I never track anything until I have my kit with me. And third, but most important, we’ve got an assignment to do.”