Gracie's Dragon

Chapter 2

Gracie woke up early Friday morning knowing she had a lot to get done that day. It was finally her eighteenth birthday! It was an important milestone. Her mom had always woke her up on her birthday with a muffin, a candle and a birthday song. She missed those days.

Today there was a full day of school, a meeting with the realtor to finalize the purchase of her house, and then her friends were taking her out for her birthday.

As soon as she opened her eyes she knew that something was different. Something was just...off.

Looking around her room she was puzzled because everything was just as she'd left it last night.

The light was still off but she could see everything in her room clearly. Her clothes for today were hanging on the back of her desk chair. Her shoes were just to the side of the chair. The orange backpack she used for school was by the door ready to go. The paperwork for the realtor was in her backpack ready to go. Her room was clean and no one had been in her room.

What was it she was feeling?

There was a slight tremor running through her whole body. Almost like a slight electric current that was flowing just beneath her skin. She brought her hands up to push her hair back from her face but stopped midway. Looking at her hands she was shocked to see a tiny glow coming from the tips of her fingers. If she didn't know any better she would think someone had painted glow in the dark polish on her nails while she slept.

Reaching over, she went to cut the bedside lamp on. Before she could touch it the light clicked on and she froze. Her hand was still several inches from the switch.

Her breathing escalated and she starred at her hands in disbelief. They were shaking now but the glow had disappeared. Afraid of what might happen, she slowly moved her hand and pointed at the light. It clicked off and the glow came back to her fingers. She did it again. The light came on and the glow on her fingers went out.

"Okay. You can handle this, Gracie," she coached herself. "You just are not going to be able to be in a dark room with anyone around you." She could just imagine what Thomas would say about that. He had a flirty comment for everything.

Wondering what exactly would happen, she pointed at her shoes. One of them lifted up into the air but didn't do anything else. She pictured in her mind the shoe coming to sit on her bed. She was astonished when it floated over to the bed and sit itself down near the bottom.

Getting up shakily from the bed, she went into the bathroom to get ready for school. There were a few mishaps. She accidentally turned the hot water off while she was in the shower. The cold water definitely woke her up. She also made the shampoo bottle explode. She made the mental note to not point at anything today. She was going to have to be hyperaware.

Gracie quickly finished getting ready and went out to her car. She was hesitant to drive but knew she needed to get on with her day. She had planned on stopping for some coffee on the way to school.

Putting her bags into the passenger seat, she was circling around when she noticed an envelope under her wiper. Gracie looked around but didn't see anyone around. She cautiously picked it up and found her name on the front and an address on the back.

Frowning in confusion, she opened it and pulled a letter out. It was thick parchment, not your typical paper. Before reading the letter she looked at the name on the back. Claire Dunlap.

The name rang a bell. When she was young, four or five, she remembered a woman who came to visit her parents. They seemed to know her and they always welcomed her. She hadn't visited often, maybe once or twice a year. She had stopped visiting around the time Gracie turned twelve. She had just assumed that she had moved and that was why she stopped coming to see them.

Turning the letter back over, she began to read.

My Dearest Gracie,

I must apologize for being out of your life for so long. It was unavoidable and I know that I have missed so much. I hadn't heard of your parents passing until recently. I am deeply sorry for your loss. They were great people. Selflessly taking you in and loving you as though you were their own. I don't make friends easily but they came to my best friends.

There are some things they were meant to inform you of on your eighteenth birthday. As they are not here I will do the honor. I do ask that you keep an open mind, dear girl. Some of what I have to tell you will sound fanatical but I promise it will be the truth.

First, as you know, you are adopted. Your parents loved you. When I came to them asking if they would raise you they immediately agreed. I had known your mother couldn't have children of her own but I also knew that you would never want for anything.

Your birth parents were Steven and Cynthia Easterly. You may not believe this but they were not of this realm. As you may have already discovered you have certain powers. One of those powers is the ability to open a portal between realms. Your powers become active on your eighteenth birthday. I can teach you how to control them and use them. Your family line has always had the most power and it can be overwhelming at first.

I would love to explain it to you better in detail.

I know it is unorthodox but please would you meet with me? For your safety so no one would be able to discover who you are I have had to move repeatedly. Go to the address on the back of the envelope. I am anxiously awaiting your arrival.

Sincerely yours,

Claire Dunlap