The Last Phoenix- Book 1 of the Legends of Henge Series

Chapter 30

Arielle Clements

I split off from the group quickly, making my way to the Water Sector. Technically, we weren't allowed to shift outside of the Dorm and School Sectors unless we had direct instructions to do so from a teacher, but I had my reasons for breaking the rules.

Plus, it related to the quest in a way.

I knew a few Boto and I had a message that I wanted to send. The Water Sector was one of the prettiest and oddest places in Vale. For any shifter that was a land dweller, you were essentially out of luck. The entire sector was underwater, hence the name.

The only land road in the entire sector was a dredged up strip of sand down the middle. In the center was the only building above water, the Sector Headquarters. I checked to see if anyone was around before shifting into a form of dragon.

There were many types of dragons, but most were not actually fire breathers. Fire breathing dragons were just the most arrogant and impulsive of the Dragon Clan and so Ni-Fi's got the idea that they were the most probable to be around.

The form I took on now was a water dwelling dragon. My scales were a dark murky green, nearly black, and speckled with little bits of what looked like moss, but were in fact a part of me. In dark water these could flash in a form of communication.

The strip of sand divided the Sector into two parts; the Salt Water and the Freshwater. I dived headfirst into the Salt Water. I enjoyed swimming here when I was younger. The slice of the cool water felt welcoming to me, rather that the warmth of the sun. Usually I'd find an abandoned cave but this time I headed straight for the deepwater housing lit up in the distance.

I burst through the large bubble of air around the buildings and started down the road. It had been awhile since I'd been here but the people still smiled and greeted me, even though I was still a dragon.

The buildings here were different that many of the buildings in the rest of Vale. A large majority of the housing was built from dead coral, giving them odd shapes that twisted in every which way. Their lawns were strewn with shells and water-smoothed stones. The gardens were essentially non-existent, though a few people had aquatic plants in their own little bubbles of water, magnifying the small plants in odd ways.

The house I stopped at had a sign on the door reading Mallowley. This was the place. I stepped back and shifted back into my own curly hair, shivering without the warmth of my scales. The Water Sector was always colder, but it's what I preferred most days.

I knocked on the rough white washed door and waited. "Coming," I heard a voice call from inside. A girl several years older than me opened the door. Her hair looked rough with salt water and bleached blonde with sun. Her eyes flashed a chartreuse coloring in surprise. They were beautiful, but they were full of hate.

I really couldn't blame the girl. After all, the last time I'd seen her, I'd managed to hurt her in ways deeper than the skin. I felt the rush of guilt I'd been expecting, but I still felt weak in the knees after I'd gotten over my initial shock. I'd been trying to avoid seeing her.

"Get out," she snapped quietly.

"Kailani," I whispered.

"I said get out, Arielle," she said again. She didn't sound angry, but I knew her well enough to know that she hated me and she'd never forgive me.

"I'm here to see Farindah," I told her firmly, refusing to let her stop me. "It's about Asteria."

"So you're pretending you cared about us now?" she spoke calmly, but I knew there was a fire just below the surface. She brushed by me and I just got a glimpse of her long blonde hair before she turned the corner.