Chapter 6

"What the-what the hell was that?" Jake finally managed to speak as they ran down the street, struggling to keep a good grip on his skateboard.

"It's clear I know magic," Lian scoffed, continuing to hold on to the still-blinking Trixie and Spud as they raced along, "It's strong stuff, but it gets rid of the shade demons, but now we have to run!"

"If it got rid of the demons, why?" Jake asked, still confused as they turned into an alley and started to slow down, feeling winded from how fast they were going.

"They can track it!" Lian stopped running at the middle of the alley and came to a cool stop, releasing the two humans as she smiled a little at her fellow dragon, "Hey, at least we're all safe now, right? Calm down." Jake nodded as he also came to a stop, a little bewildered at the attitude of this girl. On one hand, she was insulting and mysterious seeming, almost sinister, but then she was friendly and obviously capable but helping him and his friends out, unsure of just where to pin her but starting to at least appreciate her.

Trixie and Spud finally stopped blinking as they crouched on the ground panting, Spud looking up at them with wide eyes.

"Whoa, we were going really fast just then, weren't we?"

"Yes," Lian smiled actually sincere as she helped him up, seeming to be impressed with his comment, "It's called dragon speed, it's very quite fast to humans I've realized, sometimes undetectable, but you recognized it."

"Hey, I felt it too!" Trixie claimed as well, brushing herself off and patting at her hair, "At least, my hair did feel it."

"So what do we do now?" Jake asked, looking to her and a little surprised to find her pulling out the sandwiches and stuffing them quickly into her bag.

"Hmm." The girl gave that same mysterious, guarded smile as she stood back up, slinging her backpack on her back as she eyed them all with a somewhat nervous glint in her eye, Jake noticed to himself. "I have to go now."

"What?" the trio exploded at her, dumbfounded. Lian immediately looked down at her feet, shifting from side to side like she was already ready to flee.

"But you can't just leave us!" Trixie exploded more, "Whatever that magic light thing is you do, we're obviously gonna need it to be safe from the mess you got us into!"

"They're following my magic trail, so if we split up, it'll give you a better head start and a chance to get clean away. I'm saving you from my mess." The three all looked uncertain at each other, with Lian quickly reaching under her shirt and pulling something off, slipping something in Jake's hand as she pulled him forward and looked him clear in the eye, her voice low and stern as she spoke to him.

"Keep that with you at all times, it's a light talisman. It'll keep you safe and help me find you later. Don't take it off at any time or it won't work. I'll be back."

She started to run off, but then turned back and addressed the three of them this time, this time even more serious and low.

"And do not tell your grandfather anything about me or this meeting, understand?" the three nodded, and Lian smiled as she saluted and then suddenly ran off, around the corner before they even managed to blink again.

"She is so weird!" Trixie exclaimed, shaking her head as she looked down at Jake's hand to see it glowing. The teen opened his hand to look at Lian's strange gift, a small clear crystal charm on a string shaped like a crescent moon, the little rock glowing faintly and pulsing a little against his skin, almost like it was alive.

"What is that?" Trixie gasped, her eyes wide as she stared.

"Guys, look at the shadows," spud quickly alerted them, looking around in wonder. The other two looked up to see most of the shadows in the once shaded alley reduced back almost to the ends of the street, Jake looking at the charm in wondering but impressed as he slipped it carefully into his pocket just as he felt his phone ring.

"Uh oh," Spud said knowingly, smacking his forehead as they all caught a glimpse of the caller ID, and Jake gulping as he held the phone away while answering.

"JAAAAKE!"

"Jake!"

The trio looked up as they entered the shop to see Grampa waiting for them angrily, his hand on his hips as he glared at his grandson especially.

"You did not come to dragon training today, young one, and it was not a scheduled day off."

"Sorry, gramps, something important came up-" Jake started to explain, confused and cowed as his grandfather's glare worsened so that even Trixie and Spud shivered at the chill of it.

"What were you doing then?"

"I…" and then Jake froze, remembering what Lian had told him and feeling the talisman in his pocket, gripping it hard as he looked his grandfather in the face nervously.

"I….can't tell you." Lao Shi's face exploded in first shock, then hurt, then rage, going up to his grandson and even from his short stature sending another chill up his spine as he glared at him.

"Why not?"

"I made a promise to someone."

"Who?" Jake gulped, and Trixie saw him shaking a little, quickly stepping in between the two with quick thinking.

"A source! Yeah, just a source, helping us on this thing we have to do for the school paper, but it's no biggie!" Jake looked at her in surprise, but Trixie grunted for him to just go with it, the boy smiling and nodding as genuinely as he could as he straightened up.

"Yup, just a school project for class-"

"The paper-" Spud corrected quickly

"The paper!" then all three chuckled nervously, Lao Shi eyeing them with suspicion as he continued to glare angrily for a few more moments, his face calming as he simply sighed and pointed to the back.

"Fu Dog is expecting you in the back with more important news than your….paper project." The trio continued to smile awkwardly as they quickly shuffled towards the back, Jake looking back at his grandfather going upstairs and feel distressed at the displeased look still on the old man's face. Now that Gramps had more trust and he more maturity, he rarely ever lied to his grandfather anymore, the tension between them now something he hadn't experienced even back in his starting days of mistruths.

I hope this girl is worth it, he thought to himself, at least trying to smile for Fu as they entered the back of the shop.