Venom and Earth Read online

  “I’ve missed you too.” He wraps his arms around my waist, squeezing me slightly. “Look, there’s something I need to tell you…”

  As I look up at him, he doesn’t meet my gaze and his face heats up.

  “What is it?”

  “I just…” he trails off, his face getting redder and redder.

  “I… I don’t really know how to say it…”

  “Just say it,” I tease. “You haven’t seen me for weeks; who knows when we’ll be able to talk again?”

  He looks into my eyes with an emotion I don’t recognise before resting his chin on my head. “I… I don’t want to be friends anymore.”

  Tears begin to form in my eyes as I recoil from in shock. “What?”

  My friend sighs, unable to meet my gaze.

  “I-”

  “Did I do something wrong?” My lip trembles as a tear rolls down my cheek. “I know we haven’t seen each other as often as we used to but…”

  My heart breaks at seeing the pain on his face. What has brought this on? I don’t understand how a few weeks of separation make him want to end such a long friendship?

  “Hazel-”

  “Why?”

  “This isn’t you’re thinking.”

  “Oh really?” I fume back at him, crossing my arms. “You want to dump me after sixteen years of being friends over a couple of weeks? What about before I came to Aria, huh? I was gone for a year and that didn’t bother you.”

  “Just listen to me!” He takes my hands, his own shaking.

  “Fine, explain yourself.”

  “I… I love you.”

  “I love you too, what has that got to do with anything?”

  “No, I love you. As in more than a friend. I don’t want to be your friend anymore because I want more. I want to be with you.”

  This makes me pause. He loves me? How did I not realise?

  I suppose on some level I did, we always were extremely close. During my first year in Aria things have been different. I don’t think about him the same way that I used to. He’s my best friend, but I also want more than that.

  “I love you too.” I murmur, ducking my head in embarrassment.

  Cupping my face in his palm, he pulls me close to him, until we meet in the middle. Unlike kissing Tyson, Marco is more gentle and caring. Every touch sends shivers through my body, and I can’t help but press as close to him as possible. He squeezes my hand gently, the kisses getting more heated and urgent. Finally I pull away, breathing heavily with a red face.

  He chuckles, stroking my cheek with his finger. “You look flustered.”

  “And you look like a tomato.” I tease, tapping his bright red nose.

  Scrunching up his nose, he brushes my fringe out my face. “Not even five minutes in and you’re already insulting my appearance.”

  “Shut up, I love your appearance.”

  “You didn’t like my old hair.”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Why do you think I cut it?”

  My mind drifts back to that time in the river when I was learning to create air bubbles. I’d told him that I didn’t like the surfer look.

  “You shouldn’t do stuff for me. You should do stuff because you want to do it.” I scold, stroking his hair.

  “I wanted to do it.” He says. “I wanted to impress you.”

  “You impress me anyway. A hair cut doesn’t make a lot of difference.”

  He smirks and pulls me in for another kiss, this time with his hand trailing down my back. I didn’t realise how much I wanted this until now. Slowly he grips my shirt though freezes when I pull away.

  “You want some help?” I suggest, pulling the shirt over my head.

  “I think I’m in Heaven.” He breathes, pulling me in for another kiss.

  * * *

  I don’t know how long we’ve been in this room, and I don’t care.

  Marco stops mid-kiss and looks towards the door. “Did you hear that?”

  “Hear what?” Instinctively I cover my bare chest.

  I don’t want to leave yet.

  A loud knock on the door makes us both jump, and the colour drains from Marco’s face. Trembling, he presses his finger against my lips, but does not look away from the door.

  There’s another knock, louder this time. “Mr White? I know you’re in there.”

  “Shit.”

  Marco jumps up, passing me my clothes and hurriedly putting his jacket on. “Go hide.”

  “Is it your protector?” I whisper.

  Nodding, he edges towards the door. “Go hide.”

  “I don’t want you to go yet,” I sniffle, my eyes welling up again.

  “Haze, please.” He shoves my shirt over my head and pushes me behind a tower of crates. “I don’t want you getting in trouble.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “I know you don’t, but I do.” Brushing my hair away from my face with a finger, he kisses me one last time before backing away towards the door.

  Holding in sobs, I crouch behind the tower, clutching my legs to my chest. A quiet click tells me that Marco has opened the door and let his protector in.

  “So, Mr White. What are you doing in here?” a male voice scolds.

  “Nothing.”

  “Yes, you are. What is- oh.”

  He’s found me.

  “That’s-”

  “Clearly not yours.”

  Confused, I peek around the corner, to see his protector holding a black bra in his hand.

  Oh shit.

  “I just-”

  “No need to explain, Mr White.”

  “What?”

  The man laughs and throws my bra at Marco, who awkwardly stuffs it in his pocket. “You’re young. I know that finding time to entertain must be hard with someone breathing down your neck.” He laughs once more and pats Marco on the shoulder. “Just tell me next time, and I’ll keep my distance, okay?”

  “Um, yeah. Sure.”

  “Come on, let’s go. I heard your dragon got into a fight with one of the reporters.”

  As the door slams behind them, my tears flow freely. After a few seconds, I regain my composure and wipe the tears away.

  We’ll make this work.

  The guy said he’d keep his distance; he didn’t say he needed to know who Marco was ‘entertaining’. Maybe we could use that as a loophole?

  My heart is beating so fast I think it might explode in my chest. Sniffling, I get up and leave, letting the door slam behind me. My companion creeps out from behind a tower of rubbish, his turquoise eyes lighting up when he sees me. Yelping in happiness, he rests his face on my shoulder, licking my ear.

  “Come on, stop it!” I giggle, pushing his head away playfully.

  The black dragon sniffs me carefully, looking confused.

  “Do I smell of Marco?”

  He nods sharply, tipping his head to one side as if to say: how did that happen?

  “I’ll explain on the way home.”

  * * *

  “Normie!” I crackle the food bag again, expecting to see a little cream flash fly at my feet.

  “He hasn’t come home yet,” Wes mutters. “Do you think he’s okay?”

  “He’s never away for this long… Maybe we should put up posters?”

  Nodding mutely in agreement, Wes grabs his jacket from the drawer. “I’ll go print some off. You stay here in case he comes back.”

  “Okay.”

  As he leaves, I’m secretly grateful he wants me to stay here. I’m still excited about seeing Marco earlier, and how we spent hours just kissing and touching each other, though I’m a little disappointed that the furthest we got was me going topless.

  I’m lulled to sleep by the gentle chatter in the cabin. It feels like only a few minutes before I’m woken again.

  “Sorry, Haze. I just want to go out for a walk,” my brother mutters, brushing strands of blonde hair out my face.

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Sleepily following my brother
outside, he nudges my shoulder to wake me up a bit. “Come on, I’ve been looking for you all day and no-one knew where you were.”

  My thoughts flash back to Marco, and a large smile grows on my face. “Sorry. Those reporters were following me around; I had to hide in an alley until they left.”

  My brother narrows his eyes suspiciously, but nods curtly. “I see. Are they bothering you a lot?”

  “Yeah – every time I teach Violet or I’m with her.”

  “You know you can come to me if you want to hide somewhere, don’t you?”

  “I know.”

  “Next time come find me, okay? We can hang out in my cabin for a bit; better than a dirty alley.”

  “Thanks.”

  “It’s no problem.” He brings me in for a hug, resting his chin on my head. “You know I’d do anything for you.”

  “Did you want to walk just to tell me stuff I already know?” I tease.

  He rolls his eyes playfully. “Don’t get snarky. I think sometimes it feels nice to get a little reminder, you know?”

  “And you remember I’d do anything for you, right?”

  “I know. Except for cutting off all contact with Marco,” he jokes.

  My heart falls instantly. I can’t tell him about me and Marco; it would break him. Unlike when I was with Tyson, I’m sure he wouldn’t hesitate to beat the life out of Marco.

  This is going to be hard, but I’m not giving Marco up.

  6

  Chapter Six

  For the third night in a row, Aqueous sneaks out of the stables, careful not to let the door slam behind him. Asteroid follows, not able to meet her friend’s gaze.

  Both of them have felt guilty about Normie all day. It was their fault; they let the small cat climb through the hole. They promised him he would be home in time to sleep for most of the night.

  Shaking his head to disperse those thoughts, Aqueous follows his brown friend as they sneak through the streets, thankful that they don’t run into any guards tonight. Cerberus and Drea are already there, but Fortune and Exquisite are not; they must have fallen behind.

  Aqueous and Drea lock eyes and he dips his head, grateful for her support. Earlier, while that green dragon was threatening him, Drea had stepped in and protected him. Once the reporters had fled with their dragons, they had waited while their companions were inside a filthy building, apparently confessing their love for each other.

  Aqueous’ concentration is broken by the familiar hiss of Exquisite behind him. As always, the dragons all nod to each other, and Fortune takes the lead, lighting the way. This time, Aqueous is first in after him, anxious to see if Normie has returned. Instead, upon entering the room, they see the hole has grown. It is now large enough for even Drea to crawl through, despite the size of her wings. It looks as if it collapsed during the day, as if something bigger crawled through it.

  Fortune and Aqueous glance at each other, unsure of this new development. Is it safe to go through? Would Normie be on the other side? If they went through, would they come back?

  As the others enter the room, they crowd around the hole, chattering indecisively about whether to go through or not. It could be dangerous; they might never see their companions again. The thought of leaving Hazel makes Aqueous’ tail droop sadly. She’d never know what happened to him, unless he died. Then she’d feel their connection be ripped apart. Exquisite silences everyone with a sharp growl, her slim tail glowing brightly. Nudging Fortune close to the hole, she snaps at everyone to follow suit. Everyone is going through together, whether they like it or not.

  Fortune growls but crawls through the hole, huffing with effort. Each dragon looks at the others, wondering who will go next. Asteroid and Cerberus look towards Aqueous, expecting him to follow the white dragon. Sighing softly, he follows the arrogant dragon, immediately being swallowed by blackness. The air is thick and hot, and sharp rocks scrape against him, dislodging a scale near his chest. A small orange flame temporarily lights the way ahead, and he feels slightly calmer about the white dragon being in front of him. A yelp stops him in his tracks, and the fire that Fortune was breathing is snuffed out.

  Afraid, Aqueous is unable to move, even when Drea crawls behind him and nips his tail. He calls out to Fortune, but gets no reply, not even an ember. Drea pushes on his backside to encourage him forward. As he crawls further, a dim light up ahead encourages him to move faster, hoping to get out of the dank hole and find Fortune. The tunnel finally widens out, ending in a dimly lit room. It looks like a dining hall, with metal tables screwed to the floor and a large buffet tray in the middle.

  He lifts his head to taste the air, but there is no sign of Fortune. A flicker in the corner of his eyes makes him turn around. He is suddenly engulfed by a large, scaly body. Growling in surprise, Aqueous tries to fight back, but the body squeezes him harder, making black spots dance in his vision. Just as Drea exits the tunnel and calls out, he faints.

  7

  Chapter Seven

  Aqueous has disappeared. My companion must have left overnight, possibly to go for a walk, and hasn’t returned. Asteroid has gone too; either she left with Aqueous or went separately.

  Wes jogs frantically around the street, searching in every one of their usual hiding spots. “Where could they have gone?”

  “I don’t know… Maybe they could be looking for Normie?”

  My heart has been in my throat ever since I discovered my companion was missing. I’m sick with worry. The protectors could have found out about Marco and me and taken him. Or he could have been taken in the night.

  “We need to get Rocky; the more people searching the better.” My friend runs off before I can answer.

  We’re soon at my brother’s cabin. A large group is huddled outside, seemingly discussing something. I follow Wes up to them until I’m yanked back by a woman in a suit.

  “Premiers are around; keep back.”

  “But-”

  The woman pushes me so hard I fall backwards. She stands over me threateningly. “Last warning. Stay. Back.”

  Wes runs inside without noticing what’s happened, so I have no choice but to stand back and wait. Turning my attention to the circle, I’m surprised to see Sadie sobbing into Mason’s shoulder in the middle. Both of them have been crying; their eyes are red and puffy.

  “Haze!” Marco waves over to me, also looking upset.

  “M-”

  “Don’t answer, you’ll get fined,” he shouts to me. “Drea, Fortune, Exquisite and Cerberus have gone missing.”

  Is this connected to Aqueous and Asteroid? Have they all been taken? My eyes fill with tears, but I blink them back.

  “Has Aqueous gone too?” Marco calls out to me.

  His protector steps towards him, muttering in his ear and glaring at me. Heeding Marco’s warning, I nod mutely.

  “We’re organising a search party. I’ll keep an eye out for him, I promise.”

  Nodding, I take another step back and try to ignore the mutters of the crowd. After a few minutes they disperse. Marco is with Mason and Sadie, the latter grabbing his hand and sniffling softly. He quickly yanks his hand out of her grip and drops back a few steps as if he’s been stung. If it were any other situation I’d be jealous, but I have no time to care with my companion missing.

  “It’s clear.”

  I didn’t notice Wes peering around the door, or the fact that he was keeping a lookout. My brother runs over to me and hugs me.

  “We’ll find them,” he breathes.

  “I hope he’s okay.” I press close to his chest, unable to hold back the tears.

  “They’ll be fine; we’ve just got to find them first.”

  “Do you think we should split up?” Wes butts in, annoyed that we’re wasting time.

  “I think so,” Rocky pulls away from me and starts scanning the small forest behind the cabin. “We’ll find them more quickly.”

  “We’ll be better in a group,” I chime in. “With almost your entire cabin searching for
Drea, Fortune and Exquisite they might find our companions with them as well. There’s no point in us splitting up with so many people searching for them.”

  My brother looks as if he wants to argue, but reconsiders and nods mutely.

  “Where should we go?” Wes asks, though it’s more directed at me.

  “Maybe into those woods? I only saw one group go in there.”

  My brother nods. “Sounds good to me.”

  * * *

  Despite spending all day searching, none of the groups have found any sign of the lost dragons. What’s worse is that even more have disappeared throughout the day; they seem to be vanishing into thin air. After standing around and chattering for a while, Rocky’s cabin decided to call it a night and try again tomorrow.

  I miss my companion; it feels weird wandering around without him. At school it was all anyone could talk about. Lessons were cancelled so we could continue the search. I think even the teachers are worried. With the reporters around, it won’t look good for the school if a load of dragons go missing.

  “Haze, do you want to stay with me tonight? It’ll be safer,” Rocky had asked me after we finished the search.

  Too tired to protest, I agreed and got my stuff to stay the night. Now I’m sitting silently with Rocky, unsure of what to do.

  After a long sigh, Rocky says: “You can have the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

  “Rocky, no-”

  “Yes. I’m not in the mood for arguments.”

  “Rocky!” A blonde girl jumps on Rocky’s lap, throwing her arms around him. “I’m so, so sorry about Cerberus. Are you okay, baby?”

  “Not really, honey.”

  I shudder as the girl, his girlfriend Ciara, starts covering him in kisses and coos over and over about how sorry she is.

  “Beat it, Hazel. Rocky needs some space.” She thrusts her hand in my face before returning to cuddling my brother.

  Rocky says nothing, so I sigh in annoyance and sit on the floor. I have nowhere else to go at this point; it’s too dark for me to go home.

  I miss Aqueous. He must be hungry, tired, even hurt, maybe, and I have no idea where he is. Staring blankly at the door, I’m surprised to see all the protectors get up and stand in front of it awkwardly, chatting among themselves. An older man clears his throat and calls for silence as the entire cabin turns to look at him.