Lunar's Tears: Chapter 4

Chapter 4


Dragona's face was illuminated by a fire that spread across his palm. His smile was menacing, and his eyes were taunting. He waved his hand, and the fire went out. A torch was held by someone at his side. It was one of those medieval torches you saw in fairy tales, with thatch that burned bright. It was Thor. His expression was exactly the same as Dragona's, only he gave a more daring impression than Dragona. At Thor's side, was Kallista. Kallista's eyes were bright, and alive.
Dragona clicked his fingers, and a flame burst into life on his palm again. He leaned close to me and whispered softly, "Are you afraid, Alex?"
"How- How do you know my name?" I stuttered.
"Are you afraid, Alex?" He just whispered again.
A filthy hand came out from the darkness behind me, grabbing my arm in a tight grip. I squirmed, but the hold only got tighter. I looked up to see the thing holding me, only to find it was a boy from my school. He'd moved from Ireland, and I kept away from him. His black eyes glazed over me, then pushed me to the floor. For someone who was so small, he was surprisingly strong. I tumbled to the ground, and curled up on myself. Tom, the boy's name, snarled at me. He raised his hand, but Kallista was suddenly in his way. They glared and snarled at each other for a while, before Thor coughed, drawing all attention to him.
"Alex, we need to talk to you," he declared.
"How do you know my name?" I demanded, first.
Thor shrugged, "Your parents told us."
I narrowed my eyes. "They're in Australia for three weeks."
"They told us a while ago."
"Then how have I never heard of you?"
"Does it matter?" Dragona interrupted.
"Yes," I clarified.
"You have magic," Kallista blurted.
"Straight to the point," Dragona murmured.
Despite myself, I laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" Dragona asked.
"Well, you're so funny. Saying I have magic and all." I waved a hand, which seemed more dainty than usual.
"But... We're not joking," Kallista said.
"Right," I said, sarcastically, "And next you'll be telling me that vampires and zombies exist."
"Well..." Thor started.
"I HATE zombies!" Kallista finished.
"You have got to be kidding me," I said to myself.
"Actually, we are. We investigated your life, practically stalked you, came inside your dreams, endangered the whole magical community, just to have this huge practical joke to amuse our sad little lives," Thor said, matter-of-factly.
I stared at him. "What was that about a dream?" I enquired.
"Oh, nothing. I never said anything about a dream. We're just your usual random people," Thor replied.
Tom continued to stare at me, his lip curled back revealing his teeth.
"I'm sensing he doesn't like me," I said waving to Tom.
"No, he absolutely hates you. You disgust him," Thor said.
"Ignore him. He's just a little tired," Kallista explained.
"He's always tired," Dragona mumbled.
"Does he always look like that when he's tired?" I asked, staring at Tom.
"No..." Kallista murmured.
"Well, I don't mean to be rude, because it's nice that you popped in, but I really need some sleep, so if you could just leave..."
"Well, Alex, we can't just leave. What you know, it could be dangerous. It could change your life forever. But I must ask you; are you ready?"
A shiver ran down my spine, and my hands tingled. I opened my mouth to speak, but my breath caught in my throat.
A beeping sound suddely surrounded me. It echoed off every wall, filled my ears.
"Thrice..." Dragona hissed.
The ground shook, and I fell to the ground. My vision was spinning, going black, white, black, white.
"She's waking up!" Kallista and Tom said at the same time. Suddenly, I was plunged into darkness.
A few minutes later, the beeping stopped, and I opened my eyes to find myself in my room. I was drenched in my own sweat, as well as feeling exhausted. I rubbed my eyes, and yawned. I lifted my head for ten seconds, then dropped it back on the pillow. I half groaned, half yawned, and I slowly drifted back into a watery, comfortable sl-
"ALEXANDRA AMELIA DRAKE, WAKE UP THIS INSTANCE!"
I sighed, and called back to my Mum in my sleepy and grumpy tone, "Okay!"
I pulled my school uniform on, and trudged downstairs. I trailed my feet on the floor, my eyes intent on the ground. I kicked my foot off a dining chair as I entered the room where my frantic Mum was serving breakfast. I shouted out in pain, and hopped into my seat. I frowned, as I sat between my brother and sister, both delaying eating the sloppy porridge inside their bowls. I frowned, and began eating.
When I had finished the cardboard, I ran back upstairs to brush my teeth. I looked in the mirror to find black marks around dull green eyes. After I'd finished in the bathroom, I picked up my schoolbag. I didn't care if my homework was left behind on the table. I didn't care if anything was left behind in the madhouse. Let's face it: Today was going to be an awful day no matter what I did.