* * *
Tommy peeked around the corner. He had followed his mother’s men carrying the rolled up rug since they came in. He was almost going to pretend he hadn't seen anything, but there was what looked like a bit of a lizard’s tail sticking out of the roll that caught his eye. It looked just like Izzy's tail, he thought. His mother had never liked that iguana, and Tommy didn't believe Izzy would run away. It has been more than a year, but he had not forgotten.
So, here he was, scared, but following his mother’s men to the level where the giant incinerator lived. Tommy ducked into the storage closet down the hall from the room and peeked out the gap in the door. The men were having trouble with the door. They finally struggled their way through, the door snapping shut behind them. He could hear the squeak of the doors, followed by a dull thump. His mother’s men left, eying the door, brushing their hands off and laughing. They went down the hall and stopped by the Golden Door. Tommy couldn't believe his eyes. What were they doing? he thought. He even considered saying something. Before he could, they opened the door and went in. He heard their loud voices and a laugh. A feeling of dread came over him, but he couldn't move. He watched as the Golden Door opened, but couldn't take it any more and slammed his eyes closed. He couldn't help but hear the dull pop, once and twice, and the sounds of something metal hitting the floor. Burnt hair smell shoved up his nose, popping his eyes open. He watched as the Golden Door closed slowly, shoving the two piles of black ash into the hall.
Tommy quietly went into the incinerator room, shutting the door carefully behind him. He looked around, not seeing the rug, and then went to the big double doors to the incinerator. He opened them, seeing the flames just starting to lick their way around the pile of paper on the floor of the incinerator. The rug barely fit, and was bent almost in two to make it. Even more of the tail was exposed. Maybe his parents had used Izzy for something, making him into a giant, and he had died in the process. Cremation was as good as anything, but Tommy almost started crying. He had hoped Izzy had run away, at least then his only real friend would have been free.
Tommy started to close the door when the tail twitched. He gasped.
Without thinking, he reached in, tried to yank on the rug. It was too heavy, and already starting to smolder. With no other option, he grabbed the tail and pulled. It shifted a bit, exposing a bit more. Tommy pulled again, and the tail slid some more, followed by two feet. Tommy calmed down, gathered energy, and whispered a command. If I only used a little, and only Air, maybe no one would notice with the distraction of the furnace flames, he thought. He focused a flow of Air into the roll, and pulled again. The body pulled out more, and Tommy saw feathers, and a smear of blood. Fear, and then anger, at his parents for lying to him exploded. They had done something horrible to Izzy and then beat him!
He poured more Air in, wrapping it around the body. It worked! The giant lizard body pulled out of the rug down to its shoulders. The fire started to grow, so Tommy took some of its energy to directly lighten the weight and pulled again. The body was hung up in the rug on something.
Tommy twisted the Air, turning the lizard's body at the same time as he pulled. Slowly at first, then with a wet sound, the body slid out of the rug and out of the door of the furnace. Tommy saw the hole in the creature's chest, blood oozing from it, then the giant fangs, one covered in blood. He instinctively reached out with Spirit to feel if Izzy was still alive. He could feel the draw from the hole, and could sense Izzy was alive. He poured healing energy into the hole, gambling his lizard’s life against getting caught. Tommy watched as the hole very slowly filled in. Good enough for now, he thought.
Breathing hard, Tommy slowly let go of the energies. The fire, now freed, leaped to life. The furnace started crackling and popping as the flames devoured the paper and rug. He stared as the lizard-man opened its eyes, and weakly tried to prop itself up.
“Izzy?” Tommy said.
The creature put its hand to the wound in its chest, and then looked at Tommy.
“Yeah, I guess I healed that.”
The lizard-man started to get up.
Tommy held up his hand. “Wait, Izzy, they think you are dead!”
“Isssseee?” The lizard man said.
“What? Yes, you are Izzy, I'm Tommy, remember?”
The lizard man looked at Tommy, his hand slowly feeling the scar on his chest. He looked confused. “Ssommee?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Tommy said, “I don’t suppose you remember much.” Tommy smiled brightly for a moment, then scowled. “I have to find you a place to hide. They won't be looking for you,” he said, looking to the furnace, “but you're much too big to keep in my room anymore.” He looked at Izzy, who hadn't taken his eyes off him. For the first time, he ignored the voice that told him he was a failure, this was a terrible mistake. Tommy felt, for the first time, like he could do something good.
“Once I can figure out how, I'm going to take you where you can be free. I know an old Dragonway, now it's like a farm. I'll have to sneak you out, but the owner is a friend of the family, she's nice. I haven't been there in years, since before she adopted those boys, but she said I have such a way with her animals that I have a standing invitation to come anytime I want. Her name is Feabee O'Park...”
The End
Bonus
Take a sneak peek at Two Empty Thrones,
the next book in the Five in Circle series.
***
Two Empty Thrones