A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters - Martin Harry Greenberg [60]
I was floating, suspended between earth and the heavens, moving freely as if underwater, clouds all around me.
I gasped at the change, then gasped again when cool air rushed into my lungs, with a taste of rain and spring on the air. I breathed again, filling my body with energy and light, lost in the sensation.
The clouds eddied around me, heavy with mist, white and intangible. I started to try to tread the air, to see if I could turn, but my hands passed through the clouds, collecting the heavy drops within. I couldn’t move.
Something else could, though. I caught the movement out of the corner of my eye. There was a rumble, like far-distant thunder on a sunny day. I saw a huge form moving in and out of the clouds, flowing like a snake. I had a quick glimpse of scales that glittered all colors of the spectrum, then a huge head reared up before me.
I’d seen enough to know a dragon. No wings, just a fierce, lovely face and huge teeth and claws. A museum print come to life, the only source of color in the white billowing clouds.
My throat closed at the memory, lovely and fearful at the same time. “I saw—”
“A dragon,” Wan said.
“Yes,” I licked my lips. “Wan, what . . . who . . .”
“Kate,” Wan placed his palms together and bowed his head to me. “You are the Wise One, Bearer of the Scale, chosen of the Emperor Dragon, Lord of the Dragon Kings, Ruler of the Weather, and the Waters of the World.”
I stared at the small talking mouse on my coffee table for one solemn moment, and then reality came crashing in. “Bullshit.”
Wan jerked his head up. “Wha—”
“That is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard,” I started to struggle up out of the sofa cushions. The dogs opened their eyes for a moment, then returned to their naps. “Of all the stupid—” I glared at him as I fought free of the cushions. “How stupid do you think I am?”
“Kate,” Wan looked up as I towered over him. “Kate, please—”
“Bullshit,” I snarled. “Tell me again how the Emperor Dragon has chosen a fat, middle-aged woman from Toledo, Ohio. Go ahead, I dare you.”
“Our enemies have sought me over the centuries to gain control of the jade necklace that bears the talisman of the Wise One,” Wan replied. “But once you touched the talisman, you became the target. They will now wish to kill you, Kate. I have placed you in grave jeopardy. Doctor McDougall knows this. He will return, hopefully bringing his colleagues wise in the ways of magic, to protect you.”
It had been a mistake. The doctor had demanded to know why they were attacking us, and Wan showed us the necklace concealed in the hilt of his sword. It had been so tiny, and so lovely. Heavy pieces of jade, with an odd-looking circular medallion that had looked like mother-of-pearl, with all the colors reflecting in the light . . . I had reached out, just barely brushing it with my fingertips. . . .
I closed my eyes, and for a moment I could feel the jade on my skin, heavy and cool on my shoulder-blades . . .
I shook myself from the vision and opened my eyes. Wan was staring up at me, a satisfied look on his face. “It calls to you, does it not?”
“Wan, that is ridiculous.” I rolled my eyes and threw my hands in the air. “That’s as crazy as—”
“Talking to a mouse,” he snapped.
I glared at him, and ran my fingers through my hair. “I need to pee.”
Wan crossed his arms over his chest. I could feel his tiny glare on my back as I walked away.
I sat for a bit after my business and stared at the floor of my Green Bay Packer themed bathroom without really seeing the yellow and green of the bathmat. Magical necklaces . . . ninja rats.
And what about McDougall? He’d stitched up my hand in ER and then rescued us, throwing lightning around, his stethoscope still around his neck. Those sharp grey eyes, warning me from leaving the protection of his wards. Where did he fit in all this?
This was nuts. Well and truly unbelievable. Wise One, chosen by the Elemental Forces. It was just crazy.
But then again, so was the idea of a talking mouse.
I rolled my eyes, sighed, and went to wash my hands. I needed to know more.