The Crystal Dragon Series Collection Read online

“Suddenly being told I was adopted?” I give her a tight smile, trying to ignore the pang of pain in my chest at the word ‘adopted.’ “It’s okay. Every family has something, right? It doesn’t really change anything.” I swallow and step past her into the house. “I’m just going to go shower before I run to the store, okay?” I peel off my work shoes before shuffling up the stairs to the shower.

  Once I’m under the cascade of hot water, I close my eyes, letting my body relax. As I do so, a now familiar conversation rises in my memory.

  “Crystal… we have something to tell you,” dad murmurs as he stops me from going to my room.

  “Can it wait until tomorrow?” I sigh. “I’m exhausted.”

  “I know, sweetheart, but this has already waited long enough.” I notice he doesn’t meet my gaze. What’s going on?

  “Okay…” I relent, letting him lead me to the couch. He and mom sit on the couch across from me. Their bodies are stiff with tension. “…Mom? Dad? What is it? What do you need to tell me?”

  They hesitate, glancing at each other before looking back at me. My apprehension rises. “Crystal, honey… there’s no easy way to say this…”

  “Say what?” I demand. “And why are you trying to be so sweet? You never call me ‘sweetheart’ and ‘honey’ so often. What are you hiding from me?” Even as I ask it, I know in my heart exactly what they’ve been hiding for sixteen years.

  “…You were adopted,” dad finally says. I stare at him, wanting to deny what he said. Surely he meant something else. Adopted? Me? But even as my mind spins, the words settle inside of me and I can feel their truth. All my life, I wondered. But I never brought myself to actually consider it. And now, here it was in front of me, put into words.

  “I…” I choke on whatever I was going to try to say next. Adopted. I knew I didn’t fit in. I didn’t belong here. I always did and said the wrong things… it all made sense now. I wasn’t even theirs. They probably regretted their decision to… adopt me. That’s why they were telling me now. Money was low because dad had lost his job… they were going to cut me off! Send me out on my own at the uncertain age of sixteen! I don’t know anything about how to take care of myself. I’m still in high school, after all!

  “Honey.” Mom’s- Janet’s- voice pierces through my spiraling thoughts. “Please don’t think that this changes anything. We still love you. We just thought you had a right to know, and that you’re old enough now to understand and be able to handle it… just because I didn’t give birth to you doesn’t mean you aren’t ours.”

  I bow my head to hide the tears welling up, trying desperately to swallow them away. This does not hurt me. I’m fine. Getting too worked up about this is ridiculous. They still love me. She just said so. Still, the doubt made my heart ache. I stand abruptly, turning away from them. I can’t think of anything to say, so I don’t. I just flee back upstairs and fling myself onto my bed, the ache in my heart spreading throughout my body.

  I blink and realize that tears are again running down my cheeks. I press my hand to my chest, alarmed as always at the physical pain I feel. My thoughts have settled down the last couple of weeks from their announcement, but one nagging doubt continues to eat at me. I’m not good enough. I never have been, and now… well, I’m not even family. My stay here could be terminated as soon as I’m no longer of use. I have to show them I can be good enough. I can be beneficial. I can help the family. …The family that isn’t even mine. A sob suddenly escapes me and before I know it, I’m having another meltdown.

  After a few minutes, my sobs reduce to shuddering breaths and I’m able to finish my shower. Drying my hair, I pause and peer at my reflection. My light brown hair is dark with water, bringing out my eyes more than usual. The blue-gold irises glint in the light. I want to think they’re beautiful, but it’s difficult when they set me apart. Especially thanks to the secret they harbor. I blame them, in part, for me being an outcast amongst my peers and even family. “And now I know why,” I sigh before turning away from the mirror and heading to my room.

  Once I’m dressed, I braid my hair, which still ends up going halfway down my back. I pull at the strands, tempted to cut it shorter. I decide against it. I love my long hair, even if some of the boys at school teased me about it. I head back to the bathroom to put on some makeup to hide the fact that I’ve been crying before grabbing my wallet and my keys. I open my door to find my little sister, Kiki, staring up at me with big brown eyes.

  “Where are you going?” she asks.

  “Just shopping,” I reply.

  A big grin spreads across her face. “Can I come too? Pleeeaaaaasssssseeeeee? I promise I’ll be good!”

  I chuckle. “Alright, fine. But we’re on a tight budget, remember?”

  She nods seriously, then pauses. “What’s that again?”

  “It means we can’t buy things we don’t need. So we can’t get you a bunch of candy like we used to, okay?”

  Kiki’s face droops, but she nods and agrees to obey the demands of the budget. I smile and lead her to my old car. After prying open the doors, I manage to convince the car to start. It’s a bumpy ride, but we survive the trip to the store.

  The shopping trip doesn’t take long, despite the over-energetic nine-year-old running around the cart. Everything goes smoothly… until I mistakenly take the candy aisle to get up to the front. Kiki stops dead in her tracks, staring down a bag of chocolates. “Kiki… I can’t. I don’t have enough money,” I gently remind her, taking her hand to pull her away.

  She looks up at me with devastation written on her face. “Please? There’s nothing you can do? You sure?”

  “I’m sorry,” I murmur, looking up as someone approaches. Immediately embarrassed, I turn, dragging the sad Kiki behind me. A hand on my arm stops me. Startled, I spin around and come face to face with a handsome boy about my age. He’s a little taller than me with light brown hair that goes down to his ears. He’s wearing gloves without fingers, like biker gloves. They match his denim jacket. His warm brown eyes and charming smile make my heart skip a beat and cause blood to rush to my cheeks. I duck my head, trying to hide the deep blush burning on my cheeks.

  “Excuse me.” He takes his hand off of my arm and smiles. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

  “H-help me? Why?” I ask, my brain sluggish as my eyes seem incapable of leaving his.

  “Well, maybe I have a soft spot for beautiful damsels in distress,” he winks, handing me a chocolate bar and twenty dollars.

  “What… the chocolate isn’t this much…” I begin, but he stops me.

  “I know,” he chuckles. “The chocolate is for her; the money is for you. But if you feel bad about taking it, perhaps you could pay me back by agreeing to go on a date with me?”

  I stare at him in disbelief, mentally going over myself. My hair- nothing special. My eyes, usually off-putting. My worn, sad looking clothes… there was nothing special about me whatsoever. So why was this stunning man even giving me the time of day?

  “My bad,” he chuckles. “I probably should have started with my name. I’m Brandon.” He pauses and looks me over before pulling out a pen and a sticky note. He quickly scribbles on it. “Tell you what. Here’s my number. Text me if you decide to give me a chance.” He hands it to me, his fingers brushing mine. His piercing eyes lock onto mine one more time. “It was wonderful to meet you…”

  “Crystal,” I manage. “And it was great to meet you too.”

  He smiles and bows his head a little before turning and walking back out of the hallway. The world seems to freeze around me and his smile is all I can see. I’m in a daze. I always thought I would be more alarmed once this ‘twitterpation’ that everyone talks about hit me, but now… it’s startling, but also delightful. I can feel the smile on my face making my cheeks start to ache.

  That’s when I feel the little hand grab onto my empty one and tug. “Crystal! That boy was sooooo cute!!! Do you like him?”

  “Oh…” I shake myself out
of my haze and face my little sister. “Well, he sure was nice, wasn’t he? Now then, let’s go buy our food.”

  After dinner, I finally manage to seclude myself in my room. Climbing onto my bed, I cross my legs and lean forward, staring at the small red phone in my hand. Brandon’s number filled the screen. Never before have I second guessed such a small handful of numbers… never before have I been so anxious to type out and send a short text.

  Scolding myself, I shake my head and clutch the phone tighter. Even if it wasn’t about him asking me on a date, there were still those twenty dollars to repay, and I would much rather repay his kindness how I can. He chose for that repayment to be a date. “That’s it,” I mutter to myself, clicking on the text box to prepare to type. “I’ll think of this as repayment. It’s nothing to worry about, I’ll just go and have a good time with him, and everyone will be happy.”

  I blow out a sharp breath, then let my fingers fly. Hey, Brandon. It’s Crystal. I’ve thought about it and decided that I will go on that date with you. Where and when were you thinking?

  The reply comes within minutes. That’s fantastic! I was worried you wouldn’t want to go on a date with someone like me. I’ll do my best to show you a great time! What do you like to do? Hiking? Laser tag? Movie?

  Whatever sounds fun to you, I guess. I am a pretty active person, but movies are great too.

  Alright. Then how do dinner and laser tag sound? Tomorrow at seven? And could you meet me outside the store where we met? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable and feel like you have to let me know where you live or anything.

  That sounds perfect. I’ll see you then.

  Sleep isn’t easy to come by that night, nerves racing through my body, electrifying me. My brain won’t stop. Around three in the morning, I groan and flip onto my stomach and finally drift to sleep.

  When my alarm goes off early the next morning, I’m confused and disoriented. Sitting up after turning it off, I try to blink away the stinging in my eyes. That’s when I remember why I’m up so early today. Mostly because Kiki then opens my door and bounds in, looking more refreshed than seven o’clock deserved.

  “Crystal! You’re babysitting me today! ALL day!” she excitedly reminds me. “Mom and dad won’t be back until tomorrow, right?”

  “They should make it back sometime tonight,” I yawn, swinging my legs off the bed. “You can go and ask them all about it while I get dressed, okay?”

  “Okay!” she agrees, leaping out of my room and back down the stairs. Sighing, I pick an outfit for the day before heading to the bathroom to force a brush through my thick hair. Once it’s back in its usual braid, I head down the stairs to join my family for breakfast. My parents leave as soon as we’re done to investigate a potential job for dad.

  The instant the car pulls away, Kiki’s attention becomes riveted on me. “So what are we going to play today, Crystal? Can we go to the park? I have a new game idea! You’re a good fairy, and I’m a bad guy who wants to capture you, and…”

  “Sure,” I sigh. “We can go to the park.” Her eyes light up as I grab the keys to the car. Chuckling, I usher her inside, then jump in myself and start the rickety old car. The weather is perfect when we get to the park, and I catch myself eyeing a bench nearby. Kiki begs me to play her fairy game with her, but I manage to convince her to play with the other kids on the playground.

  After watching for a while, I decide she’s safe and having fun, so I relax and lay down on the bench, closing my eyes against the bright sun. The warmth of the sunlight warms my cheeks and I sigh contentedly. I love the summer. I was looking forward to this warmth for a long time.

  Almost without my noticing, the background noise of children playing and laughing and adults conversing with each other slowly fades away. Everything else follows suit until I find myself slipping into a dreamless, peaceful sleep.

  *****

  I wake suddenly, sitting bolt upright, feeling that something is wrong. I scan the park, but nothing seems to be wrong besides that it’s much emptier than before. In fact, everyone seems to have left. I glance at my watch and grimace guiltily when it informs me that I have been sleeping for hours and it was now past noon. I quickly stand up, hastily searching for Kiki. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a black van pull up, followed by a white one. My apprehension rises as I notice the tinted windows.

  I race around the playground until I finally find her, curled up in the bottom of a slide, sound asleep. As I approach her, I glance back at the vans. A group of large men dressed in dark leather is pouring out of the vehicles… and begin heading our way. Panicking, I quickly wake Kiki up.

  “Crystal? What… what’s wrong?” she mumbles, rubbing at her eyes.

  “No time to explain,” I quickly say, pulling her to her feet. “There are bad guys here, so I need you to run and hide and don’t come out until I come to find you, okay?”

  “Okay,” she replies, still half-asleep as she slowly obeys, shambling off among the slides, ladders, and rope bridges in the playground.

  Now to see if I’ll have time to hide before they get here… I’ve only just thought this when I turn and find my world consisting of black leather and the smell of sweat. Scrambling backward, I look up. Right into a big, red, angry looking man’s face. Around his neck is a black collar with sharp studs sticking out. Gulping in fear, I turn to run, only to find two more of them have snuck around behind me.

  I’m trapped.

  Spinning back to the first guy, I first try to talk my way out. “Who are you? What do you want?” I demand, allowing my voice to shake as I speak.

  He doesn’t respond for a moment, then suddenly chuckles and points behind me. I spin around just in time to see another couple of people grab Kiki and begin to tie her up. She stares at me, her eyes glistening with fear and confusion… and trust. She believes in my abilities to save her- to save both of us. My gut clenches in fear. This was a profoundly different situation than my fighting techniques class.

  Taking a deep breath, I steady myself and will my body to stop shaking. My body settles naturally into the stance, my eyes closing for a moment so I can compose myself. When they fly open, I spring into action. Leaping at the man tying Kiki’s hands behind her back, I quickly recall how to bring down people- men- bigger than me. My foot hits its mark, and he goes down hard, a gurgling yelp caught in his throat.

  I want to check that Kiki is okay, but I remind myself that I can do that after I face the rest of these thugs. Turning to the other one by Kiki, I quickly analyze the position he’s standing in, preparing to use this against him. But before I can move, I’m grabbed from behind. One big hand is pulling my arm behind my back and forcing my hand up towards my head. His other hand is holding a knife to my throat, the icy blade stinging against my hot skin.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he growls. I freeze, pretending to comply. He grunts, pleased that I’m no longer putting up a fight. What he doesn’t realize is that I’m merely waiting for a good time to strike. While he’s busy tugging me back towards the vehicles they arrived in, I look around and quickly make a plan.

  Now I just need a distraction… Even as I’m thinking this, I hear a car coming. Yes! That should work! But I’m quickly caught off guard as the thug holding me abruptly lets go of my neck and jumps to the side, ducking behind a large hedge to hide from the approaching car. I fly after him, my arm being pulled so hard and fast it dislocates. The pain is so intense and unexpected that I instinctively start to scream.

  The thug immediately clamps his hand over my mouth, pulling back so hard my scream comes out more like a choked gargle. His hand is also covering my nose, so I can’t breathe. I struggle to take a breath. I soon feel my body begging for oxygen- my lungs are threatening to burst. I then start to get dizzy, tiny black and purple spots swirling before my eyes. Desperate, I start kicking behind me, trying to hit him, my thoughts focusing on my need for air. With every kick, I get weaker. Now past being merely desperate, I hurt badly e
nough that I actually believe that I am going to die.

  Completely overwhelmed with panic at the thought, I find it impossible to think through the fear of death. Right before I lose consciousness, I swing my head back, hard, in a last, desperate attempt to live. I feel my head hit his, and then there’s a sensation of falling.

  After that, I don’t feel anything at all.

  Chapter Two

  Quick Thinking

  Returning to consciousness was a bit like swimming out of thick black water. Sensations return in bits and pieces. The first thing I notice is the soreness in my shoulder. It takes a few moments for me to recall why it would ache. They dislocated it. I gingerly move my arm a little, relieved when it responds. They must have popped it back into place, I realize. Blinking open my eyes, I’m startled when the black water doesn’t go away. No, not water… but I certainly couldn’t see much light.

  Swallowing the panic that rises in my throat, I focus my thoughts on figuring out as much of my situation as I can. I try to lift my hands to my face to remove whatever is restricting my vision, only to discover that they are bound with rope. They are tied in front of me, however, so I can reach my face. My fingers brush a rough sack which wavers loosely around my head. Attempting to get to my feet nearly topples me face first when yet more rope stops their movement. Ironically, the only thing that saved me was the ground suddenly moving in the opposite direction. Straining my ears, I hear gravel crunching beneath tires, as well as two men talking in low voices.

  I must be in the back of one of those vans I noticed at the park earlier… Gah! How did I get in this predicament? Where’s Kiki? How am I going to escape from a moving vehicle while essentially blind and without the use of my hands or legs?

  I try to call out to my captors, only to realize that there is even a gag in my mouth, tied around my head. What comes out is a muffled growl of exasperation. Before I can think of another thing to try, the van stops. An unsettling silence replaces that of the engine and the gravel crunching. I try to slow my frantic heart as footsteps approach the vehicle.