Forced Magic (6 page)

“Hey dragon,” I said with another giddy giggle, ”looks like
we're famous.”

Then I passed out.

I woke up to a strange, but familiar, sound I couldn’t
place.  Then it hit me. Ducks. It was the sound of quacking ducks. I sat up
.

The dragon had flown us to the pond at Reid Park. It was
still dark. I looked at the pond and I could see the faint outline of ducks as
they lazily floated. I found comfort in that sight and sound. They were normal
ducks. After all I had just been through, It was nice to hear something as
normal as ducks. At least, I thought they were normal. Remembering the bobcats
and the laughing squirrel, I had no idea what animals might be tied to the
magical world. I stood up, shivering as a cool breeze blew through my torn
T-shirt and hit my skin.  Looking down I could still see the letters that
spelled out ‘It’s All Good’ across the front.

 “Yeah Right
,” I said softly to myself.

I heard a sound of paper being crumpled behind me and I
quickly turned around, crouching, ready for another attack. It was the dragon.
It was sitting on the duffel bag. It had another paper bag, full of tacos, it
smelled like. I walked over to the dragon as he unwrapped one and began to eat.
As it munched on the taco, the dragon reached into the bag again and tossed a
taco at me.  My stomach growled loudly as I unwrapped the taco. I ate it in a
few bites, then a burrito was tossed at me.

“Thanks,” I said in a scratchy voice.

My throat was dry. I walked over to a nearby water
fountain.  After I drank what felt like a gallon of water, I walked back toward
the dragon. I surprised myself at the thought that I was so calm and accepting
of the dragon now. I sat down on the bench next to it.

“Hey, uh, thanks for helping me out.”

The dragon stopped chewing and looked up at me. Its eyes
were green again. It turned its head away from me, almost snubbing me. I got
the feeling it was upset at me still.

“Hey are you still mad about that hat? I would have never
thrown it at you if you hadn’t laughed at me. Besides, you burnt some of the
money and flew off.”

The dragon continued to ignore me.

“You don’t have to get so mad.”

I was beginning to get upset again. This stupid lizard had a
knack for making me angry. The dragon reached down and picked up the end of its
tail, then looked at me with its narrowed eyes glaring at me.

“You’re mad because I bit your tail? You kept on smacking me
with it! I told you to stop but you wouldn’t listen.”

The dragon pushed the tail at my face.

“I’m sorry,” I said through gritted teeth.

At first the dragon stared, its tail still in my face. It
was obvious that my halfhearted apology wasn’t completely sincere, but after a
few moments it put the tail down. It turned away, reaching into the bag,
slamming a taco down on top of the uneaten burrito still in my hands. I was too
hungry to be upset. “Thanks,” I said again. I inhaled the food and sat there
staring at the dragon.

Here I was, sitting next to this magnificent creature, while
we munched on tacos and burritos. How did it get the food?  If the food had
been unwrapped, then I would have thought that the dragon just crashed into a
restaurant, terrifying everyone in sight, as it scooped up burgers and tacos.
But the food was wrapped. It was prepared. I had a sudden image of the dragon
flying through the drive through, ordering food, paying for it with a twenty,
and flying off as the drive through person shouts, “Thank you!” The absolute
ridiculousness of this image started me laughing. Once I started laughing, I
couldn’t stop. It grew into hefty guffaws. I was breathless and lightheaded. I
looked over to see a puzzled expression on the dragon's face. Its nostrils
flared. This started me laughing again. My whole body was shaking and tears
were streaming out of my eyes. As I finally started to calm down, I looked over
at it. It had an enormous smile on its face. It opened its large mouth and let
out a loud “HUH” sound followed by the rumbling growl of laughter. This started
me up all over again. I fell off the bench I was laughing so hard.

The dragon stood there looking at me. A strange grumbling
sound was coming from its throat. It grew louder, until finally, it opened its
mouth and a loud “huh" came out. The grumbling continued. Short bursts of
different colored smoke shot out of its nose, like party favors at a New Year’s
Eve party.  I finally closed my eyes and, by breathing deeply, I began to calm
down. The laughter was just what I needed. The dragon continued to laugh. Now
puffs of colored smoke came out of its nose. It looked down at me and shook its
head.

I thought back to the battle and felt a rush of pride at how
well I did. My heart began to beat and I felt the adrenalin pumping through my
body. I felt great. What an adventure. I felt like I could take on the world
and win. Nothing could go wrong. I even felt like I could take on whoever
wanted to kill me. After all, I had taken care of Booger and the snot brigade.
If they were the best that could be thrown at me, then I would be fine. I and
the dragon could handle them, no problem. If only my brother had been there to
see. He left too soon. At the thought of my brother I stopped. My brother
didn’t know who I was. It wasn’t that he didn’t recognize me. He said that he
didn’t have a brother. The seriousness of the whole situation came rushing back
to me. There were forces working here that I had no control over. I needed
answers. Where was this wizard?

I looked around me. The park was quiet, dark and kind of
eerie. I wasn’t sure if this was the best idea, but, considering everything that
happened, the idea of talking to someone who might be able to explain this
craziness to me was a risk, at this point, that I was willing to take. I had a
million questions about everything from the dragon to why my brother didn’t
remember me. I felt depressed. “What am I going to do?” I said out loud.

The dragon had been staring at me again.  It seemed to sense
my mood change.  It reached into the bag and tossed a taco at me. I caught it
and began unwrapping it. I decided to take this opportunity to ask some
questions. I needed a distraction from thinking about my brother. I just didn’t
know where to start.

“Do you have a name?”  I asked, as the dragon started eating
tacos again.

It gave me a sideways glance. It had an annoyed look on its
face as I realized how stupid the question was. The dragon was still new to the
world no matter how smart it was. I sat there for a moment.

”Do you want a name?”

This question seemed to surprise the dragon. It stopped
chewing and stared across the pond, its amazing eyes rapidly changing color.
Finally the eyes went back to green. Slowly it nodded its head 'yes'. It wanted
a name.  The dragon got up and stood in front of me. I had its undivided
attention now. Its tail was moving back and forth. I knew I had to do this right.
One mistake, one bad name and I was sure I would get smacked again with that
tail.

”OK, I guess what we have to think about is what is a good
name for a dragon.”

The tail twitched slightly then went back to swaying gently.

“You’re not a pet, so Spot or Fido is out.”

The tail swayed.

“Even though you did fetch those green things pretty well.”

The tail swung at my face, I closed my eyes flinching for
the smack that never came. I opened my eyes. The dragon was looking at me with
a thoughtful look on its face. Something I had said got its attention.

“What? What did I say?”

Something I said had caught the dragon’s attention. What was
it? Was it a clue to what it wanted to be called?

”Green?”

The tail twitched. I flinched again. I pushed the tail away
and got up.

“Look you stupid lizard. This is getting us nowhere. If you
expect me to sit here, with the threat of being hit by your tail, as I try to
guess what name you want, you are crazy. If it ain’t green, then what? Fetch?”

The dragon nodded its head.

"Fetch?” I repeated, ”But that’s ridiculous that’s not
a….” 

“Fetch.” 
I thought.  Looking at the dragon, it
seemed to fit. It was a good name, Fetch.

“Ok, Fetch, that’s now your name.”

The dragon’s eyes turned blue for a second and its silver
scales glowed. Fetch’s eyes went back to green and its tail twitched excitedly.
It was great to see this dragon so happy. Fetch looked like a little kid who
had just got news of a trip to a favorite amusement park. I had to smile a
little.  

“Ok," I said. “On to the next question. Are you a boy
or a girl?"

I fell to the ground as the tail swung around and knocked me
flat. I jumped up, my face stinging where the tail had hit me.

“What did you do that for?” I said, “How am I supposed to
know the difference between a male and female dragon?”

Fetch swung his tail around again, but this time, I was
ready for it. I jumped back. The tail swung by missing my head by inches.

“This isn’t helping me learn, dragon.”

Fetch stood there, muscles taut, ready to jump on me. I was
ready for it, and, with a speed that surprised me, I wove to the right as he
sprang. He jumped past me, and, before I realized what I was doing, I jumped on
Fetch's back and wrapped my arms around his neck. I got close to the side of
its face, trying to figure out where its ears were.

“Now you listen to me. I am just trying to figure this
entire thing out. I never asked for you to hatch on my leg, but we are in this
together and we've got to stop fighting each other. Maybe this wizard can explain
things, Ok? I am just asking questions so I can learn what is going on. So
please stop smacking me with your tail.”

I could feel Fetch's muscles relax a little, and when I was
sure it wasn’t going to attack me, I let it go. When I got off Fetch's back,
the dragon walked away. He stopped at the edge of the pond and looked across
the water. What gave this dragon the right to be so sensitive and angry all the
time? It had played jokes on me. Was it just a bad sport? I mean, I should be
the one who was upset. After all, Fetch did fly off and leave me alone to face
Booger and the snot brigade. Where was this dragon then? Where was Fetch when
Booger broke my nose? My hand shot up to my face. My nose was fine now. In all
the commotion I hadn’t realized that Fetch had obviously healed it. I felt bad.
I realized I really had no right to be mad.

I looked at the dragon. It sat perfectly still. It was hard
for me to grasp that, just a few short hours ago, it was nothing but a lucky
rock I had put in my pocket. Fetch didn’t have any more idea as to what was
going on than I did. No matter how smart Fetch was, it was new to this world. I
walked up to Fetch, standing a little behind it.

“You know, I have always been embarrassed that I never
learned to speak Spanish. I mean, here I am living in the southwest my whole
life, and I never learned to speak a language that so many of my friends knew
how to speak. I always felt dumb. That’s how I feel right now. I always loved
reading about dragons, but never learned enough about them to help me know what
they were. So I guess what I am saying is, I am an idiot, Fetch. Could you help
me out?” 

Fetch looked back at me. Turning around Fetch nodded 'yes'.

“Ok,” I said taking a deep breath, “Are you a male dragon?”

Fetch nodded 'yes'. Relief washed over me. A strange
rumbling sound came from him and he opened his mouth, letting out a loud burp.
It smelled like tacos. Fetch walked over to me and sat down next to me. We both
looked over the pond. Across the pond, you could hear the animals at the zoo
moving around and making noise. I guessed that was a sign that the sun would be
rising soon. I had no phone or watch, so there was no way of telling what time
it was. I began to wonder if the wizard was going to show. I remembered his cryptic
words. I had to believe he had some answers for me. I looked up and scanned the
park around us, looking for another blue ball of light, or my beautiful
assassin fairy ready to pounce on me, finishing the job that the smelly snot
heads had started.

“You fixed my nose?” I asked Fetch.

He nodded his head slightly as an answer.

“Thanks, great job on my hand too. You’re getting better! I
still have all my clothes this time.”

He looked at me for a second as if trying to decide how to
react to my teasing comment. He ducked his head down and placed it against my
chest and gave me a playful shove backwards. I fell back, almost completely
flipping over off the bench.  I laughed and sat up and gently smacked his
snout. It felt good to play a little like this.

I started worrying about this wizard.  What was his name, 
Johnathen?  We sat there for a while and I took time to take in everything that
had happened today. My life had become a book. I think I would like this book
if I was reading it, but it seemed a little different when you are living it.
In the books you can say when a person is in pain. In life you feel it. The
overwhelming sensation of pain. The gripping, strangling hold of fear. Just
thinking about it gave me a new respect for the heroes in my favorite stories.
A duck took flight across the pond. Fetch and I jumped, ready for action.
Realizing it was a duck, I slowly sat back down on the bench. All the muscles
in my body were stiff from tensing up ready to attack a duck.

“Man. I’ve got to calm down,”
 I thought.

I was getting tired of waiting. Where was this wizard? I
wanted answers from this Johnathen. That strange pulse that I had forced out of
my body.  Was it some sort of magic? Then the simple fact that I had caught
Fetch's fire and was able to use it. All of these things were amazing to me.

"How could I fight like I did?"

I had actually faced green monsters. I hit them. I actually
did pretty well. Heck, with some help from Fetch we won the battle. Up until
that moment I had never truly been in a real fight. I always avoided
confrontation. Pretty much ran away from fights.  But now, in one day, I had
more than one scuffle with a dragon and fought off an army of green snot
creatures. I felt a swell of pride and felt like I could take on the fairy on
my own at that point. This felt great, but it also felt wrong.