Dragon Town: a Loon Lake Supernatural Thriller

How Long to Live?

"It's okay. I can ride my bicycle there."

"Yeah, she can ride her bike." Valentino crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. "You're going to need me here. This crime scene needs a special touch. Am I right?"

Tonya wasn't sure what that meant, but she knew the chance to slip away when she saw it. It was a long walk from where she found the body, on the shore facing the water spout in the lake, to her dorm on the west side of campus. She retreated along the beach, hobbling over stones with the equivalent of plastic hair nets on her feet.

When she was finally out of sight, she hid around the corner of one of the science buildings and texted her aunt that the police had beat her to the scene. She should meet Tonya by the science building instead.

When she arrived, Helen pulled Tonya into a warm embrace. When they stepped apart, Tonya felt like she was looking into the future. Now that they both had white hair, she couldn't ignore the family resemblance. Helen had the same bone structure in their face, and pale, clear skin Tonya saw in the mirror every morning. Except Tonya's skin was smooth, and while Helen wore her hair back in a ponytail, Tonya let hers hang free like the mother she grew up with, Helen's sister. Tonya wishes this were some kind of family visit instead of an emergency.

"What do you know?"

Tonya sighed. Of course Helen would want to get straight to the point. "I'm not sure. There was a body. The insides were gutted, like an animal ate them, but I'm afraid that's not what happened. There weren't any bite marks on her coat, on the outside..."

"You think an animal ate its way out from the inside," said Helen, finishing her thought. "She must have gone missing in the summer, along with all those other swimmers. Except her dragon's egg hatched."

"I don't understand how this could have happened. I found the swimmers. I brought them all back." Tonya felt a painful lump in her throat.

"Hush, it's not your fault." Helen wiped a tear from Tonya's cheek. "You barely got out alive."

Tonya sniffed. "I found the nest. I found them all. We beat the dragons, so what happened?"

"Describe to me exactly what she looked like when you found her."

Helen listened intently and when Tonya was finished, she said, "it could just be a coincidence. A girl could have drowned, and wolves could have started eating her."

"Wolves, in Loon Lake? It's not exactly in Algonquin Park here. I've never seen a wolf inside city limits."

"A bear then. What proof do you have this is supernatural?" Helen's eyes narrowed, a dangerous sparkle lit there.

"It's just this feeling." Tonya's stomach turned again, like it was packed with eels, wriggling past each other.

"Sounds like an attack of guilty conscience to me, but you're not responsible for this. Just tell me everything you know."

Tonya wasn't sure what to say. The twisting sensation in her gut was a secret she had been keeping since she rescued the other swimmers. She should tell her aunt that she was sick, and that there was something wrong with her, yet every time she got up her courage to confess, she couldn't. Tonya opened her mouth, determined this time to tell her aunt the truth, and ask for help.

Instead, she said, "well, if it's my not my fault, it must have been werewolves."

"Very funny," said her aunt.

Tonya tried to take a deep breath but her diaphragm felt cramped and she wound up panting for breath. "I should go. If you hurry back to the beach, you can probably get a look at the body before the cops take it away."

"Didn't you take pictures on your phone?"

She hadn't even thought of it. The sight of that girl, and the pain she must have suffered to die like that..."Don't you think the police would've thought it was suspicious, if I started taking selfies with the corpse?"

"I'm just being practical. If we want to know what really happened..."

"I know, I know, we can't leave it to police. I'm sorry."

"Come here." Helen cupped Tonya's head in her hands. She put her ear to Tonya's forehead, as if listening for something. Helen clucked her tongue then held Tonya in place while she bent down and listened to Tonya's chest, and finally, to her stomach.

Helen's head jerked back. She looked Tonya in the eye but didn't say anything, instead she put her hands on Tonya's stomach. "When were you going to tell me?"

"There's nothing to tell."

"I felt something moving in there."

Tonya broke away. She shook her head vehemently. "You're imagining things. Leave me alone!"

"I sensed magic on you."

"From the body. It had magic all over it."

"I'm not talking traces of magic that transferred to you when you touched the body. You're practically glowing with dark magic."

"Death magic? Are you crazy? I haven't channeled any death magic, not since we fought Waldock and that was your idea. I never would have done that if you didn't trick me into it. You have to know that."

"There was no choice. How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"That's why people don't trust you."

"I'll never do something like that again, okay? Promise me if you're in trouble, you won't try to hide it from me? I won't judge. I want to help you." Helen's eyes were wide, down turned.

"I swore in front of the whole City Council at our trial. I don't use death magic. Isn't that enough for you?" Why couldn't Helen just believe her?

"Of course, you wouldn't. I said dark magic."

"Okay...So, what is this dark magic you think you detect on me?"

"Inside you."

Tonya's stomach sank. "There isn't. I'm fine." She backed away.

"You know what's wrong. There's a Dragon's egg inside you, just like the one that hatched inside that poor girl. What I can't understand is, why didn't you tell me?"

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2024 update Good news! This story is revised and published as Double Dead Magic.

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Maaja