I was poking the glowing gem with my finger when the ring on my right hand literally began burning into my skin. With a tiny yelp, I yanked it off and dropped it on the floor.
The gem that usually changed color with my mood had turned a fiery red, even brighter than when I was as angry as I could get.
"What the...?" I whispered as the necklace on the lamp glowed so much that the whole room was engulfed in a pink light. A low humming filled the air.
Then, a quick burst of wind blew my red-blonde hair from my face, and just as suddenly as it had started, the weird necklace-ring reaction ended. I realized I was gasping for breath. My heart thudded in my chest. Slowly, I knelt down and lightly brushed my fingertips over my ring, and the overly-sensitive stone set in it turned from red to a dark grey. The metal didn't burn me, so I picked it up.
As I was sliding it back on my finger, confused about what had just happened, the door to Will's room flew open.
"Nina! Um, hi!" Will said a tad too loudly, crossing the room to stand in front of the lamp.
She took the necklace from it. I noticed she was panting, like she had been running to get back to her room. "Forgot this. My...lucky necklace. Can't write an essay without it!" And she was out the door again.
Out of habit, I began twisting my ring around my finger, despite what it had done to me last time I had it on.
Something smelled fishy, and it wasn't just that pile of trash in the other corner of the bedroom.
Will had gotten home right as we were sitting down to dinner. Her hair was in disarray and there were a few scratches down her arms and legs.
"What, did you get attacked by a cat while you were writing your essay?" I asked as she sat down. Susan snorted.
Will pulled her sleeve down to hide the scrape. "I tripped on the sidewalk outside."
"So, um..." Susan said to avoid an awkward silence. "Will, we were just discussing how you and your friends were going to show Nina around tomorrow."
"Oh, right." Will said, nodding along. Her acting skills were brilliant, but I had known her for so long that I could tell she was trying to cover something up. Something was wrong.
I poked at my mashed potatoes with my fork. The stone in my ring was slowly turning brown, which meant I was frustrated. Why wouldn't she tell me what was going on? I mean, we used to be like sisters. Now she wouldn't even meet my eyes.
After dinner, Will went straight to bed, claiming she was pretty much wiped out. I followed. As soon as I closed the door behind me, I asked, "Will, what's wrong?"
She turned her head to look at me from her position on her bed. "Just stuff."
I rolled my sleeping bag out on the floor, having to clear away junk to do so. "What kind of stuff?"
"Oh, you know. Boys. Friends Boyfriends." She blew a piece of red hair from her face.
I decided to drop it for now, instead asking, "So where are you going to show me tomorrow? Any hangouts? A mall, maybe?"
"Sure. Hay Lin's family also owns a restaurant, so we're probably going to eat lunch there." Will stared at the ceiling.
I couldn't think of anything else to say to continue the conversation, so I kept making a bed on the floor for myself in the silence. Will fell asleep about ten minutes later. I noticed the necklace was in her hand.
It took me about five minutes with Taranee to realize that she was afraid of everything. We saw a spider on the sidewalk, and she literally tried to jump into my arms. Hay Lin had to pick it up (which, in truth, that part sort of grossed me out, too) and put it in the grass. There was also a similar reaction when a squirrel jumped out of a tree five freaking yards away. Let's just say that by the time we had sat ourselves down at the Silver Dragon, Hay Lin's family resaurant, I had heard enough about germs and rabies. I sat between Irma and Will, as far away from Taranee as possible.
"So, Nina, where are you from?" Cornelia asked. She had also gotten on my nerves, too, what with her stupid egocentricism. The fact that she was way prettier than me didn't help, either.
"Venice." I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling. I knew what kind of reaction I was going to get out of her.
Her eyes bugged out of her head. "As in, Italy? Really?"
Will, who was in on the joke, started laughing, and so did I.
"No. As in Oklahoma." I said, then faked an Italian accent. "Do Iya talk a like this eh?" It wasn't that funny, but everyone cracked up anyway. Cornelia's face turned a shade of red I didn't even think was possible for human skin to turn.
When Will stopped laughing, she turned to me. "Remember in second grade when we had that boy convinced we were from Italy?"
I laughed even harder. "Yeah, and that gluing your dog's shedded fur on your coat and wearing it in public got you all the girls there? God, that kid never had a chance!"
"Aww, you guys are bonding again!" Hay Lin said, excited.
If the group hadn't been distracted by Will and me, they would have seen what I saw then: a man with a blonde ponytail looking into the window, grinning maliciously when he saw Will.
We were all walking to the mall via a shortcut though a back road when Hay Lin suddenly stopped and turned pale.
"I hear something." She gasped, a look of alarm on her face.
Caleb whirled around. "What is it?"
"Cedric." She whispered.
"Who?" I asked.
No one answered my question.
"How far away?" Matt asked, hovering protectively behind Will as she clutched her "lucky necklace" tightly.
"He's getting closer."
Then we all heard it. A weird slithering sound, definitely something heavy moving over the concrete. A hiss.
"Snakeface," Irma muttered.
Will took a deep breath and glanced at me. "Nina, don't...freak out or anything, okay?"
A large shadow fell over the wall behind us, whatever was casting it about to turn the corner.
"Why would I-"
"Guardians, unite."
Light so bright that I had to cover my eyes filled the alley for about two seconds, and then the girls all emerged wearing outfits that put the fairies in that one TV show to shame. All were dressed in turquoise and pink shirts and skirts (except for Taranee's spandex-like bottoms), along with green and turquoise-striped tights and strange-looking shoes.
Oh, yeah, and they had wings.
"What...?" I was at a loss for words as Matt transformed into a winged, masked, crazy-haired, buff guy.
The hissing was so close now that it echoed off the walls.
"We'll explain later." Caleb, who remained the same, mumbled to me.
All of a sudden, a face appeared around the corner. At least five feet long and three feet wide, it had an ugly, grinning mouth filled with sharp teeth and eyes surrounded by a red mask-like skin. The face was followed by a big, muscular torso covered scales, and a super long, super thick green snake tail. The monster had to be at least twenty feet tall.
"Hello, Guardianssss."
Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited my story last chapter. I'm really excited about this story! Also, I am always accepting requests and ideas, so feel free to PM me if you have any thoughts or comments or anything like that.
Thanks again! :)