The Bay City fog rolls in, dark and gloomy. It feels as if I have been trapped inside the clinic for a lifetime. I am restless, wanting to take my bow and arrows out for a practice run. But I know I can’t, that I am not allowed at the training center any more. And it’s not like I can just take a bow and arrows to a park or something. I never thought I would miss anything about Weapons, but I miss the feel of the bow in my hands, nocking the arrow, aiming….
It has been a long day in the clinic…countless injuries and illnesses. The last patient leaves well after dark, and finally we are able to release the woman with the cut throat. I am covered in blood, as usual. So is Entho. I offer to clean up.
He agrees and tromps into the house to prepare dinner. When I enter the kitchen I am surprised to find a more elaborate meal than usual – potatoes smothered in cheese with broiled chicken. We eat in relative silence – I am just not that hungry. I can’t seem to get Winter out of my mind, and every orphan that comes into the clinic distresses me beyond reason.
“I’ll do the dishes,” Entho mutters. He seems to have picked up on my mood.
“Okay, thanks.” I push my chair back and turn down the hall that leads to our front door. Thunder claps loudly outside, and there is a quick flash of lightning that illuminates the entry for just a moment. Rain is pouring outside, not the usual drizzle we get this time of year but a rough pounding on the tile roof like angry stones pelting down from the sky.
A chill runs through me, through the entire house. I am anxious to get cleaned up, to get under my covers and read some more, hoping for a good night of sleep, something that has eluded me since I met Winter…and the two boys who came into the clinic.
For some reason, their faces swim before my eyes each night as I try to sleep, and an odd thrill runs through my entire body. Boys…who would have thought I would be thinking about boys? Thann especially catches my attention, and I keep seeing him smiling at me, hearing his voice offer to help me look for the package…
I flash back to Weapons…to the silly girls giggling and whispering in the dorms…usually about Glendon and Reese, the most popular boys there. Disgust and fury would creep through me at them, and I vowed to never be like them. But Thann…another Light Skin. Like me. I shake my head, realizing I am no different than those ridiculous girls.
As I round the corner for the stairs, something unusual catches my attention on the floor. It is by our mail slot. Entho gets all of his mail deliveries at the clinic. I can’t remember the last time we received any correspondence from this mail slot. I turn back toward the front door, reach for the small beige envelope on the floor. Slowly, I bring it up to my face, squint my eyes so I can read who it is for.
It is addressed to me. Miss Teak Frain. The writing is intricate and embossed in gold. I look at the return address and instantly drop the envelope to the floor, as if it were burning my hands. It is from the Assessment Center.
I am stuck in place…clamped to the stone floor for several minutes as if I have glue on my feet and can’t move, even if I want to. In time, I pick up the envelope, run upstairs and light a candle. I plop onto my bed.
My hands tremble as I open the letter, the thick envelope crinkling under my fingers. Thunder explodes outside as I pull a piece of paper out of the envelope and open it up. I am afraid to read it, not sure if I even want to know what it says. I finally muster up the courage to look at it, at first scanning it quickly, then reading it again slowly, cautiously.
Dragon Assessment Score
Teak Frain
348/350
Prepare to attend Dragon Academy
Harcourt Training Stables
3500 West Valley Mountain Drive
Harcourt Township
August 8, 2087
9:00 a.m.
A driver will be sent to pick you up.
I am in shock for a few minutes. I can’t seem to get a grip on this new piece of information. Dragon Academy? I had given up on it. My mind shoots off into what seems like a million different directions. Suddenly the thought of leaving Entho terrifies me. How will he get by without me? I am enjoying learning about healing…. but dragons…I love dragons. And…and what about Winter? How am I going to help her if I am away at Dragon Academy? But dragons…the pull is strong.
I launch myself off of the bed and run full speed back to the kitchen where Entho is cleaning up the dishes. I hand the letter to him, speechless, waiting for his reaction.
He wipes his hands on a towel and takes the letter from me. Reads it. I wait, shifting back and forth from one foot to the other.
“Congratulations!” He smiles at me, his brown eyes twinkling. “I’m proud of you.”
As I watch Entho, something shifts inside of me. I think of all of the lost years with him…of the resentment and anger I felt for him over losing my mom and then being sent away to Weapons…of how he is a father to me now…and I am finally able to be a daughter. I bite my lower lip, coming to an abrupt decision. “I am not going.”
“What?” Entho raises his voice at me, something he has rarely done.
I look up at him, find his eyes. “I want to stay here….with you….I…I...like healing.” It isn’t a very convincing rebuttal.
“Nonsense!” Entho argues. “You have loved dragons ever since you were little. I was the one who kept you away from them.” He sighs, his lips pointing down. “Teak, I have enjoyed having you with me in the clinic. I’m as proud of you over that as getting into Dragon Academy, and placing first in Weapons, but you must follow your dreams, not mine.”
“But what will you do…without me in the clinic?”
“Well, with all the money I’ll save not putting you through Soldier Academy, I’ll hire an assistant. I’m sure whoever it is won’t be as good as you, but…” His voice trails off. Then he smiles at me.
“Isn’t Dragon Academy going to cost money?” I ask.
“Yes, but not nearly as much as Soldier Academy. Didn’t you ever stop to think that everyone in Weapons is a Red Cloaker?” He seems to be enjoying himself. “That cost me a load of money!”
“But I hated it.” I wait for a scolding – to hear how ungrateful I am. I immediately feel guilty – I can’t remember ever seeing Entho joking around, and I don’t want to ruin it.
“I know,” he soothes. “But now you’re going to Dragon Academy…just like your mom!”
“I am not.” I stubbornly stick out my chin. The thought of going away, of meeting new people, being taunted… or worse because I am a Light Skin…it doesn’t sound appealing any more. “I am staying right here and I am going to become a healer, like you.” Once the decision has been made, I feel lighter, happier. “And I am not leaving Winter, either. She might need me.”
Entho breathes in and out, strums his fingers on the counter. He is deep in thought, the silence between us thick and heavy.
“Teak…” He turns his head, gazing at the door with foggy eyes, as if someone were on the other side listening in. He speaks, his voice throaty and low. “I’m safe here…because of what I can offer the Alliance. It’s getting bad out there…in the city. You…you must leave. You’ll be safer in the country – at Harcourt – than here in the city.”
“Harcourt?” I ask, remembering Thann and Koree. I am sure that is where they said they came from.
“Yes, of course,” Entho answers. “It says so on the invitation.” He hands it back to me and I read it again. Sure enough, it says Harcourt. Dragon Academy is at Harcourt. I don’t know why that didn’t register with me before.
I think of the two boys who came to the clinic, how exciting it was to talk to them…and how scary and uncomfortable it was. Images of their faces dance in my mind, like they have so many times, and even though I want to see them, want to be with them more than anything, and I want to learn about dragons and become a dragon trainer, the thought of leaving Entho and Bay City scares me deeply. “I am not going. And that is final.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“Teak, you have to go. The city
…I fear...”
“What?” I interrupt. “What is happening?” I turn my entire body toward Entho, searching his eyes for answers that don’t seem to be there.
“Nothing, nothing.” He stops talking for a moment, his eyes meeting mine…sad smoky brown eyes… along with something I have only seen once before in them…fear. He speaks quietly but firmly. “For the love of the Angels, you have to go.”
I don’t understand why he is being so stubborn and cryptic. I can tell he knows something and won’t tell me what it is. I narrow my eyes at him and wrinkle my brow, shooting him the most rebellious look I have ever come up with. “I don’t care. I am staying here. I am going to become a healer. And that is final.” Like a small child, I stomp my foot on the floor.
“Teak, it’s too late. You chose Dragons. You can’t just change your mind on a whim. It’s the law…you took the Dragon Assessment and passed. You have to go.”
“What if I don’t?” I ask stubbornly.
Entho swallows, looks down at the floor, then back up to me, sadness flowing from his eyes like a bleeding wound. He answers with one word, but it is enough to convince me.
“Imprisonment.”
Chapter 16