Fairy Bad Day(14)

“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.