Chapter Three
The late autumn breeze lifted the trio's hairs and had Lykan in a cool and calm relaxing state. That is, until AnnaBeth opened her large mouth and began blabbering.
"So why are we here? And where the hell are we going again?!" She muttered, giving Lykan a bored and annoyingly bossy look.
Ashton kicked a stone off the pavement. "We're going to the mountains. To be specific, Archeleos Mountain."
"What the f- HELL no am I going to some freak-ass mountain that ranges at about the height of 7 kilometers!"
"Do you even know your math right?" Lykan muttered, annoyed.
AnnaBeth rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Whatever! I'm just not going!"
"Good. So we'll have one less dead body dragging us behind." Lykan muttered happily, standing up from her seat on the stairs.
AnnaBeth scowled at her but made no move to counter-attack. Ashton hesitated though. "A-Anna, c'mon. Please? For me? Please? Please? Pretty please?" She had on her adorable puppy-dog eyes, and it made AnnaBeth's features soften immediately.
"B-But.. A mountain? Really? What the hell are you guys even planning on doing there?" AnnaBeth mumbled, all hints of annoyance leaving her voice and instead worry replaced it.
Lykan sat back down and frowned. "We're going to save my daughter, Sapphire."
"Holy shit, you have a daughter?!"
Lykan blinked. "I'm surprised Ash didn't tell you."
Ashton gave a growl but Lykan ignored it. "Yes, I have a daughter."
AnnaBeth laughed meanly and rolled her eyes. "Figures. You're too damn close with your boyfriend Daryl to begin with anyways."
Lykan ignored her and turned to look at the ground. "A few weeks ago, she was kidnapped by-"
"-a monster." Ashton breathed out, afraid of the beast that bared its fangs when the two had walked in on it stealing Sapphire away.
AnnaBeth stared at the two in disbelieve. "Don't tell me you two still believe in monsters?! They're No. Such. Thing."
Lykan stood up and glared at her. "Oh really?" She walked up to AnnaBeth and wrapped her fingers around AnnaBeth's purple necklace. It looked exactly like the pendant that Sapphire gave her in the dream. "Then what happens if I do this?" With one quick pull, the necklace left AnnaBeth's neck, causing her to gasp in sheer surprise.
"N-NO! Give it back. I'll -" She paused when a sudden overwhelming feeling came upon her. She felt as if she was going to barf. Her insides were jumping up and down like little peasants on a harvesting day. "No." She whispered, the magical purple aura swirling around her like a cloud.
"W-Wha... AnnaBeth?" Ashton slowly neared the other girl, hesitant in every step. But she did nothing to stop what was happening. Instead, she turned to Lykan. "W-What?!"
"She's a dragon." Lykan said plainly, staring at the transformation of the girl. She was transfixed at the purple light flowing around AnnaBeth.
Ashton turned to AnnaBeth and her jaw nearly dropped. "A dragon?! What the f-"
"Damnit, Lykan!" AnnaBeth growled, her teeth sharpening with every second. Her eyes turned to a deep, light, shallow red and her skin got a little darker. Beyond the edges of her arm, was little spikes that looked sharp enough to cut through bark. Her body shivered as if something inside of her was tearing her apart, and a long red tail emerged from behind her.
Ashton stared until she couldn't take it anymore. She turned away and stormed off. Lykan let her be, considering she had the right to be pissed.
AnnaBeth snarled and snatched the necklace away from Lykan. She quickly put it back on and raced after Ash, muttering 'Wait!' and 'hold on!'
Lykan stared from a distance as AnnaBeth tried to explain why she was a dragon and how it happened. Turns out, she was a dragon since birth but she was sent to this school for a normal life and a new start. The necklace, was apparently, a type of magical option that helps you stop the transformation if you're a 'creature'. She wore it everyday, except at night, where she flies to the top of trees to munch on forest animals. It was the only way she could survive.
At first, Ashton looked disgusted- but after registering AnnaBeth's look of sincere and pain, she forgave her for not telling her and began getting used to the... eating-raw-animals thing.
Lykan looked down at her own pendant and squinted her eyes. "Sapphire... Does this mean... That I'm a creature too?" She shivered at the thought. "Hell no." She whispered, turning away from the two girls to climb back up the stairs.
Just as she was about to enter school again, Ashton called out to her.
"Ika! Where you headed off to?"
Lykan turned around and sighed. "It's time to go."
The two girls exchanged looks of nervousness but nodded even so. The trio made their way through the school and out the front entrance, and together they walked to the foot of the mountain in silence.
For a minute, there was actually peace between the three. But then, "Are we seriously gonna walk all the way to this shit hole dump of a mountain?" AnnaBeth piped up, looking annoyed again.
Lykan sighed and rolled her eyes. "None of us have our driving license yet, so unless you wanna crash and die. Our best bet is to walk."