Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight (5 page)

"You're free to go," Mr. Ingram said,
gathering up the paper and pencils. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Danny nodded. He slung his backpack over his
shoulder and ran out of the huge room before Mr. Ingram could
change his mind. He couldn't wait to get home, despite the scolding
he knew was waiting for him. Quickening his step to a jog, he moved
down the narrow hall, toward the entrance to the bottom half of the
school, where he knew his mother would probably be waiting for
him.

The hall was oddly quiet, as opposed to the
usual collection of voices. The overwhelming silence was a little
disturbing. Danny picked up the pace some more, almost turning his
trot into an all-out sprint. He reached the glass doors faster than
he thought possible. Peering outside, he failed to see his mother's
car and sighed at the prospect of imprisonment within the deserted
halls of the school for much longer than he cared to be there.

Time passed, with it so did the comforting
light of the sun. Danny slumped down against the brick wall next to
the glass doors. Boredom set in as he stared beyond, hoping with a
pleading desperation that his mother would show up any second.

With time to kill, Danny retreated inward,
working through the events of the day. Everything seemed so normal
until...
how could I have done what I did?
Danny pondered
the question, seeing the fight in his mind, trying to discover how
he had bested the largest boy in his grade.

Unable to unravel the riddle, Danny sighed,
resting the back of his head against the cool wall behind him.
Whatever had happened, whatever he'd done, whatever it meant was
lost to him. At the least, he would get the respect he deserved,
maybe Steven would leave him alone from now on. This wish brought a
slight smirk to Danny's face.

An abrupt rumble forced him from his
thoughts, the walls quaked around him and the floor shook beneath
him.

"Earthquake?" whispered Danny, struggling to
regain his footing and find a doorway to shelter under. The shudder
lasted for a second only. Danny peered out, underneath the
threshold of the gym doors. "In Indiana, I doubt it," he said,
answering himself. "What was that?" he asked the looming
darkness.

Danny crept out into the middle of the
hallway and glanced beyond the glass doors. Against his better
judgment, he decided to investigate.

He stalked down the shadowy hallway. The
overhead lights remained off, leaving the dull auxiliary lights to
illuminate the way. To his right, he passed the door to the boys'
restroom; to his left, a long line of blue lockers. Danny noticed
his own locker as he skulked by.

Halfway down the hall, the school shuddered
again. With nothing to dive under for shelter, he forced his back
against the steel lockers, making a loud clang; he buried his face
between his knees and wrapped his arms around the top of his head
for protection. He'd learned the posture during tornado drills and
figured it would work in his current circumstance.

Just as quickly as it had started, the
shaking ceased, the floor stilled once again. Looking up from his
cradled position, he noticed small pieces of the ceiling falling
like snowflakes, shaken loose by the sudden tremor.

Danny pushed himself to his feet and began
walking down the foreboding hall once again.

Danny finally reached the cross-section of
the hallway. The hall continued ahead of him, leading to the shop
classroom and a smaller gym. To his left, a pair of steel doors
marked the entrance to the main gym. To his right, another hall led
to the home economics classroom, stairs went up to the rest of the
school, and two glass doors opened to the outside, a sudden
vibration alerted him to the possible origin of the commotion.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Danny
turned right and began walking down the hall. It was a short cut to
the science labs. Enclosed by the school on three sides, the area
beyond the outside path served as a parking lot and a
courtyard.

From his position halfway down the hall,
Danny made out the familiar road that led into the large expanse.
He still couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The ground
rumbled beneath him once again, as if objecting to some unseen
event.

Danny decided to use the brick wall as cover,
throwing his back up against it for reassurance. He shuffled along
the side, toward the glass doors and whatever lay beyond.

Inches away from the panes, his hands began
to tremble. Pressed against the brick, he couldn't make out
anything except for the familiar path to the opposite side of the
school.

Building up his courage, Danny crept up to
the doors and peeked out, only to find the brick blocking his view.
He would have to go outside.

Forcing the heavy doors open,
ever-so-slightly, Danny heard strange noises coming from around the
corner. Shuddering thuds echoed throughout the enclosed schoolyard.
The ground rumbled and a loud bang thundered from somewhere beyond
his sight, as if something large had just collided with the school.
He almost forgot that the doors would lock behind him if he allowed
them to close. He didn't want to be stuck outside with whatever lay
beyond. Untangling his backpack from his arms, he positioned it
between the glass door and the doorsill, keeping it open.

Satisfied with his escape route, Danny crept
along the wall and peeked around it. What he saw took the breath
right out of his lungs; it caused his heart to pound in his chest
and made his legs turn to rubber.

With pearl-colored teeth that gleamed in the
light of the lamp and shiny black claws that danced and scraped at
the cement, the dragon's almond eyes darted in random directions,
as if searching for prey. The creature's scales reflected the soft
light, causing them to glitter with a rosy hue. About the height
and width of a large car and the length of a bus, the dragon looked
slender—like a snake, with the addition of powerful arms and legs
complete with wickedly sharp talons and a pair of wide-spread
wings. Elongated, similar to the head of an alligator, the dragon's
head sprouted twin smooth, ebony horns that narrowed to frightful
points, originating from just behind its brow.

"A dragon!" Danny said in a hushed tone. The
dragon jumped, swatting at some unseen foe. It was the most
beautiful, most frightening creature that he had ever seen.

Then something dark, distorted by an aura of
thick black smoke, pulled his attention away from the dragon. Danny
peered closer, searching for details—for a split-second he thought
he saw a form in the swirling mist. He could make out a head with
red eyes, thin, lanky arms and long, wiry legs. Something silvery
gleamed in the thing's outstretched fingers, as it batted at the
larger form of the dragon. The churning smoke dissipated, he could
see that the dark creature's weapons were long, sharp claws.

Danny couldn't believe his own eyes. He took
a few steps forward to get a better view. However, on the second
step, he failed to watch his footing, felt his shoe catch, and
stumbled forward. He tumbled to the ground with a grunt; he caught
his weight by placing both hands flat on the cement.

Where there had once been the sound of
combat, an eerie silence followed. Gulping down his fear, Danny
looked up to find the gaze of the dragon and the wicked red eyes of
the smoky creature locked on him.

The soft brown eyes of the dragon shone with
small flecks of gold, endless, intoxicating and almost
friendly.

Below the hypnotic gaze of the dragon, Danny
found the penetrating stare of the dark humanoid. The wind picked
up in earnest, causing the thick smoke surrounding the creature to
part momentarily. Instantly, Danny made out an array of pointy
white teeth that seemed distorted in a vain attempt at a smile. It
was most certainly not a greeting of friendship.

The black creature took three elongated steps
toward Danny and leapt into the air with amazing speed.

Unable to move, Danny watched helplessly as
the black thing barreled down on him. He closed his eyes and waited
for the pain to come—yet it never did. Instead, he heard a
high-pitched screech, like a wounded animal. Opening his eyes, he
saw the dark creature before him, too close for comfort, its torso
wrapped in black talons. The thing screamed; it lashed out at him,
the thin, silver fingernails flicking within inches of his
face.

With a deep, throaty growl, the dragon flung
its enemy to the opposite side of the yard. Danny watched as the
black thing flew through the air, thudded against the brick wall
and then fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Danny felt the eyes of the dragon upon him
and turned to meet the creature's penetrating glare. He could hear
a deep growl, originating from somewhere within the dragon's body.
It must be a warning, he was sure of it. He didn't know how or why,
but this creature had protected him, now it was telling him to
leave.

Out of the corner of his eye, Danny noticed
movement; he turned his focus toward the black creature that had
attacked him. His eyes went wide, it was getting up.

The dragon followed Danny's gaze, turned back
toward him and growled again, this time much louder.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Danny
whispered, no longer in shock. He quickly regained his feet and
bolted for the glass doors.

Pausing in front of the doors, he retrieved
his book bag from between them, passed through, and forced them
shut behind him. Taking off at a dead sprint, he whipped the
backpack over his shoulder just as he turned the corner. His sudden
speed caused him to brush against the lockers, but it didn't slow
him down.

His heart raced and his breath was heavy, but
Danny didn't stop until he reached the doors at the end of the
hallway. Enveloped by bright white lights, he stopped. Looking
beyond the thick-paned glass, he saw the red glint of metal and
recognized the compact car.

"Mom!" he yelled, pushing the doors open,
practically leaping to the side of the car. He pulled on the
handle, finding the car door locked. "Unlock it!" he yelled, taking
a quick glance over his shoulder, half-expecting to see the shadowy
creature behind him. Turning back, he pulled on the handle for the
second time, his attempt coinciding with the click of the mechanism
to unlock the doors. "Mom!" he yelled again, finding the door
locked.

"Danny, just wait," her voice was
muffled.

Risking another quick glance behind him,
Danny took a deep breath. The sound of the automatic locks clicking
almost caused him to jump. Exhaling, he pulled at the lever, opened
the door, got in and slammed the door shut behind him.

The inside of the car was warm and welcoming
as a twangy country song played on the radio.

Danny's mom looked at him with obvious
disappointment. "We have a lot to talk about, young man," her tone
was serious and accusing.

"I know, Mom," Danny said, looking around for
anything out of the ordinary. "I know."

back to top

anny was wide-awake, still in his bed when his
mother came to wake him for breakfast. With nightmarish dreams and
jumbled, confused thoughts, sleep had been rather difficult.

Grounded for a week, despite attempts to
explain his actions, Danny sighed and began his day.

The bus ride to school seemed normal enough,
although Danny was in no mood for Alonso's stories.

Alonso simply shrugged and told his tale to
someone else.

Danny was going through the motions, heading
toward midday. To his surprise and relief, Steven Rooney kept his
distance during gym class. Whether it was because of the white
bandage on his nose or Mr. Ingram's watchful eye, Danny couldn't be
sure. In either case, he was glad to be left alone for once.

"You okay, man?" Chris asked during their
baseball game, the gym activity for the day.

"…Not sure," said Danny, looking at a fellow
student getting ready to bat.

"Well, you sure waffle stomped Steven Rooney.
I heard that was an epic fight."

"I guess," said Danny, though he wasn't
thinking about Steven, his thoughts were far away. He wanted
desperately to tell Chris what he'd seen the night before, yet he
knew Chris would never believe him. Danny wasn't quite sure if he
believed it himself.

"I guess?" mimicked Chris. "You broke his
nose, man. The story has been going around school all morning.
Heck, I just found out myself. I'm surprised you didn't call me to
tell me last night."

Danny turned and looked at Chris. Danny could
see that he'd hurt Chris's feelings. They
were
best friends,
after all. "I'm sorry," said Danny with a shrug. "I just, have a
lot on my mind right now."

"Hey, I understand. I get the same way after
a wrestling match. It's easy to second-guess yourself," said Chris
with a comforting smile.