Dragon Spirit- Bond of Vengeance Read online

  Dragon Spirit

  HUNTRESS HIGH 3

  BOND OF VENGEANCE

  CORY REYNOLDS

  DRAGON SPIRIT

  Copyright © 2019 By Cory Reynolds

  All Right Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner what so ever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2019

  ASIN B07M5S7NXD

  www.EpicYA.com

  FREE BONUS STORY

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  Click HERE to get the story.

  CHAPTER ONE

  MORGAN OPENED HER EYES and didn't know where she was. Everything was dark. It was a car. That she knew, but why was she laying in the backseat of a car? She looked at the floor and saw Audi floor mats. Then she remembered the cemetery.

  The memories gripped her like a cold hand around her throat. Sadie had disappeared after trying to kill her, and then Brian had disappeared too. Then she and The Tutor had carried her unresponsive dad into the front seat of the car. They stopped to grab a few things from the house, fed their pet rat, and then she had crashed on the back seat of the car. She could see from the faint lighting coming from the dash that her dad was still there. Also, ‘It,’ was still there. Somewhere, out in the night was the dragon, but it was also with her now, in the back of her mind. It had been there during her trial against the adze, but it hadn’t went away. And she had taken it for her survival instinct.

  She didn't want to move or even stay awake. Going back to sleep would detain the inevitable for now. Soon she would have to face her new reality, but not right now. She closed her eyes and drifted off again.

  “We're here,” said The Tutor.

  There was the familiar orange morning glow now showing through the back window of the car. She sat up and saw lots of trees. They were driving through a forest.

  “Where are we?”

  “The school,” said The Tutor. Even if it was just the driveway, it didn't look anything like a school. There should be some signs along the road. The kind that warn you of kids in the street.

  “What time is it?”

  “Nine. We drove all through the night and I'm tired so just don't bother me with any questions. You'll find all the answers you want in just a little bit.” Regardless of what had changed from passing the trial, he was still a jerk. At least she could depend on that.

  They were approaching a small building just off to the side of the road. The sign attached to the front of the building said, “Kentucky Animal Association”. Kentucky was one of the few states that she and her dad had never been to. Then she saw the men with guns standing next to it.

  Three tall men had stepped out of the small building with rifles. They were wearing black clothing and had frowns on their faces. Not the welcome she was expecting. The Tutor rolled down his window as he came to a stop. All three of the guards were glaring at her.

  “Hey Bill, what's with the guns?”

  “You didn't hear? Last night was a mess. None of us got any sleep,” said one of the guards. She hadn't noticed it before, but standing next to the guard was a bright white tiger. It looked her direction and she ducked her head down. She had heard of guard dogs, but guard tigers?

  “Why? What happened?” asked The Tutor.

  “You'll never believe it. I can't talk about it now if that's a recruit in your car.”

  “Okay, can you let us in?”

  "Sure, but you won't be able to get back out. The whole place is on lockdown until further notice." Morgan felt a tinge of fear. What if she changed her mind about this school? If she remembered correctly, the only real reason why she had fought the adze was to free her dad. That hadn't gone as planned since he was now in some kind of coma. Now she hoped that someone here could get draw him out of it. The Tutor turned in his seat to look at her.

  “This is where you get out. Normally I would see you in, but I've got a meeting off the grounds that I can't miss.”

  “What if I don't want to get out? I don't want to be stuck here.”

  “Trust me, if the witches have an interest in you, then this is the best place for you right now. For both of you,” he said as he nodded toward her dad in the passenger seat. That wasn't the most comforting pep talk that she had ever heard. Even though The Tutor had driven her crazy, now she was afraid to leave him.

  “Can I call you if I need you for anything?” He smiled and she figured that he was taking the question the wrong way, but she was surprised by his answer.

  “Listen, I know that everything is scary right now. If even half of what you described to me really happened last night, I would say that you're the most resilient girl that I've ever met. Remember that your trial was created just for you, and you passed it with flying colors. Your first week here will be a new experience, but it will be a walk in the park compared to the last 24 hours.” Instantly she felt more at ease. Why couldn't he have been a little more like that during the trials?

  “Okay, if you say so.”

  “Just one word of caution, watch your back. Your arrival may be a surprise to a lot of people. The tale of the Dragon Huntress is just an urban legend to most of the students.” Her fading worry came back even stronger but before she could say anything, another presence filled her emotions with confidence and she heard a thought come clearly into her mind.

  You can do this.

  Then The Tutor was motioning for the guards and she got out of the car as two of the guards opened the passenger door and lifted her dad out onto a stretcher that they had produced from the guard building. The third guard with the white tiger was gone, but she felt like she had to step carefully in case it was hiding behind a tree.

  They carried her dad to a van on the far side of the building and lifted him into the back. She looked down at the uneven pavement and saw something pointy and metallic running the width of the driveway. Right away she realized that they were for puncturing the tires of cars. Tigers and tire spikes, like they were guarding a foreign dignitary instead of a school. Unsure of what to do, she looked at The Tutor who was smiling at her.

  “Don't worry. Just follow my advice again and you'll be fine.”

  “When did I follow it before?”

  “When I told you to think about what your mom would do. Make decisions like she would.” That should have set her off but it didn't. After last night, her entire perception of the world had changed. Right now she was just thankful for any advice she could get. She grabbed the duffel bag filled with clothes and her mom's sword and closed the car door.

  “Is it still against the rules to tell me your name?” she asked.

  “No, that time is over. I'm Ryan. See you around, Morgan,” he said with another grin as he rolled up the window to the Audi and turned the car around. Now it was just her and her dad and the two guards. And a hiding tiger.

  CHAPTER TWO

  MORGAN AND HER DAD rode with the two guards in the van. The short ride didn't change her opinion of the so-called school. Just a little further into the woods, she saw a lake as well as a big red barn with cows milling around outside. It reminded her of a farm that she and her dad had lived across from when she was in fourth grade, and it had the same terrible smell.

  They reached a two-story building that looked much more like a farmhouse than a school. There were even a few chickens walking around the front yard to complete the look. Nothing suggested that this was anything more than a country farm.

  They
got out and she followed the two guards as they carried her dad through the front door. Inside, there was a long counter and a waiting area. They set her dad down in an adjacent room before heading back out.

  “Should I wait here?” she asked.

  “Yeah, we have to get back to the entrance. Someone will be with you soon.” She sat down to wait on a chair against the wall. The clock on the wall said that it was now 9:10am and she wondered where everyone was. Five minutes went by. She stood up and looked over the counter. She couldn't see much of anything besides a couple of large desks and the doors to several more rooms. If nobody realized that she was there, she could be waiting for another hour.

  There was a small bell in the middle of the counter. She tapped the top of it and then quickly stepped back. She could have sworn that she had she heard a quick growl when rung the bell. After seeing the tiger just a few minutes ago, a part of her wanted to walk right back out the front door but right now she was feeling more confident than she had ever felt before. Ever since she had heard the voice in her head again.

  She stepped back up to the counter and peered down at the floor. What she saw was unbelievable. Lying on the floor was a male lion with a huge mane, and it was staring back up at her.

  This time she did turn and take several long strides to the door. Enough was enough. Just as she reached it, she heard a woman's voice.

  “Hello, can I help you?” Morgan turned and saw a tall woman coming out of one of the other rooms. She had a multicolored dress on and a matching hair tie holding up long black dreadlocks. She looked and sounded like someone native to Africa, not Kentucky.

  “Hi, I'm here to register, I think.”

  “Are you sure? You look older than a first year.” She had a friendly enough smile, but she didn't know what would happen if she said the wrong thing. Whatever the wrong thing would be in a place like this.

  “Yes, I just finished my trial last night.”

  “Where's your tutor?”

  “He left me at the gate. He didn't want to get stuck here.”

  "All right, here's an entrance form for you to fill out. The principal will probably talk with you when he's out of his meeting." The woman left a clipboard on the counter and Morgan slowly approached. As she took the clipboard, she snuck a peek at the lion that was still lying on the floor on the other side of the counter. "Don't mind Leon, he had a long night. Snoring is the only thing he plans to do today."

  The woman stepped back into the room that she had stepped out of and Morgan returned to the chair to fill out the form. It had the regular questions that you would expect on a school entrance form, but then she came to one that stumped her:

  “What is your spirit animal?”

  Something in her memory flashed back to the previous night when Brian had mentioned something about a dragon. She still didn't know what he had been talking about, but she knew that it had something to do with the new voice in her head. She began to write a ‘D,’ but changed her mind and erased it. She decided to skip the question and move on to the next.

  Again she was stumped when she was supposed to list her parents. The conversations between her dad and The Tutor made it seem like there was some controversy about her parent's relationship. She decided to skip that one too.

  She slumped in her chair. She didn't want to answer any more questions. If the stress of last night wasn't getting to her, the new stress from today definitely was. She looked to the door of the room where her dad laid in a coma. She just wanted to close her eyes and fall asleep again. It was an odd feeling, knowing that there was a sleeping lion just several feet away and feeling so tired.

  CHAPTER THREE

  MORGAN BOLTED UPRIGHT in her seat when a door at the opposite end of the large room opened and a girl that looked her same age walked through and plopped down in the chair next to her. She had spiky, rainbow colored hair and a jean jacket that said, ‘Rebel,’ on the chest pocket. The woman from the other room stepped out again.

  “Miss Livingston, what are you here for this time?” asked the woman.

  “The usual. I'm here to see the principal.”

  “You'll have to wait in line. He's in an important meeting right now.”

  “After last night, he will be in important meetings all day. Will I have to miss breakfast?”

  "I think we’re all missing breakfast today," said the woman with a smile as she returned to the other room. The girl turned and looked Morgan up and down.

  “Are you a transfer? I heard that they started another school in Italy like this one.”

  “No, I just passed my trial last night.” The girl leaned back for another look at Morgan.

  “You look older than me. How old are you?”

  “I'm almost 17.”

  “I thought so. You couldn't have had your trial last night.”

  “Well, I did.”

  “Where's your proto?”

  “My what?”

  "Your spirit animal." Morgan didn't know how to answer. She was getting tired of this conversation, so she didn't reply. "That's what I thought, you don't have one." Morgan kept silent. She wasn't going to start her stay here as the school joke because she claimed to have a dragon that she had only vaguely seen once before. Sometimes silence was the best policy.

  The door to one of the rooms past the counter opened and several people came out. The first one was very tall and had a flannel shirt that reminded her of a lumberjack. The astonishing thing was that he had a bright red cardinal resting on his shoulder like he was a tree in the forest outside.

  Next, there was an older man wearing a suit with patches on the elbows. In his arms, he carried a large raccoon that he dropped gently to the floor. He smiled and winked at her as he and the raccoon rambled past them.

  Last out of the room was a woman with dark pants and a purple shirt that turned and walked the other direction. She didn't look happy. As she reached the door on the opposite end of the room, she stopped to glare back at Morgan. That's when Morgan noticed the black leopard standing alongside her. In the back of her mind, Morgan felt the presence of the dragon change from confident to defiant. The exact opposite of what she should have been feeling in the presence of a panther. Just being in the room with a lion should have been enough to make her curl into a ball and weep.

  The tall woman stepped out and said, “Miss Livingston, you can go in to see the principal since you're in such a big rush.” The girl next to her stood up and turned to Morgan.

  “Welcome to Huntress High, Wannabe,” she said as she turned and walked into the principal's office. Morgan looked for the woman with the panther but she was already gone. She looked down at the questionnaire again and tried to read the next question. Her vision was getting blurry as she fought to keep her eyes open. She let her eyes close.

  This time when the door at the other end of the room opened, she was surprised to see Brian come through and sit down next to her.

  “You did it, Morgan. You finished the trial.” He looked excited.

  “Yes, but how did you know about it? What happened to you at the cemetery?”

  “Shhh, there’s a sleeping lion on the other side of that counter.”

  “I know.”

  “Where’s your spirit animal, Morgan?”

  “I don’t know.” Brian was acting really weird. Suddenly the lion jumped up on the top of the counter and began to stare at her. She jumped up, but Brian stayed in his chair.

  “Where’s your spirit animal, Wannabe?” She wanted to look at Brian, afraid he would leave her again, but she was afraid to look away from the lion. She knew it would pounce on her. She turned her head to the side and looked at Brian for a split second, but he had disappeared again. That's when the lion leapt at her.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “WAKE UP, WANNABE.”

  She awoke to the distinct feeling of her chair being kicked. She dropped the clipboard and saw the other girl walking past the counter. She had fallen asleep again and had a really weird dr
eam.

  “Are you coming?”

  “I think I’m supposed to talk to the principal.”

  “You’re on the same level that I’m on, so he told me to show you around. I bet he thinks it’s punishment but I think it’s going to be a fun, so try to keep up.” Morgan grabbed her bag and picked up the clipboard, placing the unfinished questionnaire on the counter as she tried to catch up. The door to the principal’s office was closed and she wasn’t going to barge in. At this point, she was just happy to get past the entryway.

  They walked to the door on the far side of the room and she expected to find a classroom, or a stairway leading to more rooms. What she found was an elevator door.

  “Rule number one, don’t let anyone down here that isn’t supposed to be down here. Got it?”

  “Got it,” said Morgan. The elevator opened and it was huge inside. Large enough for a tank, or something bigger if it could have fit through the previous door. The door closed and the girl hit the first button.

  “Rule number two, don't ever look like this again. You look terrible.” The girl took a sniff. “You smell terrible too. You need a hose down.”

  They descended, and when the door opened, the real surprises began.

  The other girl walked out of the elevator, but Morgan just stood there speechless. The door began to close and she had to stick her foot in to stop it. It opened again and she stepped through into a giant cavern.

  She couldn’t call it a cave. Those were dark, quiet holes in the ground that you could pay a tour guide to walk you through. This was like an underground village. There were doors set into the rock walls all around the cavern and a metal railing all around the perimeter.