“Why?”
“That down there is Dr. Jekyll, and Mr. Hyde will come out in a couple of minutes.”
I understood that analogy and should've known that she would take me straight to Lucian's seat.
He seemed agitated as he stared over at the small entrance where Becky would emerge.
Arianna's words were still fresh in my mind, making me fidget.
“Aren't you supposed to be on the other side?” A girl with short mousy blonde hair twittered at Sammy.
“Oh, bite me,” she snapped back, and squished through to the only two empty chairs in the row, right next to Lucian. She took the first one and forced me to sit down next to him.
I stared at the crowd, anywhere but him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, finally looking at me.
I gave him an assuring smile, and he gave me a quick kiss on my temple. His hand folded over my leg. He smelled amazing, but by his clenched jaw and his firm grasp around my leg, I could tell he was uptight.
“Where's Becky?” I stretched my neck to see if I couldn't spot her somewhere.
“She's still inside going over some strategies with Mia.” He called the professor by her first name.
“So, she helps?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation neutral.
“Not really, but she gives one hell of a pep talk.”
I giggled. A hint of a smile appeared on his face too. I remembered how big George was that first day when he’d stood in his dragon form in front of me, and the one that killed my father. I didn't have faith that a pep talk would do much good.
“We Will Rock You” from Queen started to play, and it didn't take the crowd more than a few seconds to get up on their feet and clap their hands with the rhythm. “What's this?” I shouted.
“It is Becky's song. We each have to choose one to be introduced by before a claim,” he shouted back.
Just as the music started, George exploded into his huge dragon form which made me stare like an idiot. Again.
He looked so evil that it struck fear into everything that owned a soul. I still thought the humans were crazy to even consider doing this.
The crowd went ballistic when the coliseum's walls vanished. Sand dunes appeared in the distance and the air became humid. I gawked andpulled my Tee away from me to fan myself. The Coliseum’s floor changed into sand, and George growled.
“What's this?”
“The dragons can choose any type of scene they're comfortable with. Moon-Bolts’ are desert freaks,” Lucian explained. “Like their temperament isn't enough.”
“Is this going to turn ugly?” I sounded scared.
He didn't reply because Becky had appeared. The Dragonians jumped to their feet and started to cheer and whistle like mad. A traditional gladiator outfit, modified for girls, hugged her body perfectly, and the tiny metal skirt showed off her slender legs. Knee-high boots and a black Tee under her vest made her look sizzling hot. The guys made cavemen sounds, and I rolled my eyes. Typical.
The music stopped, and Professor Mia walked right to the middle of the arena. She had a white flag in her right hand, and when she lowered it, a big lightning bolt came shooting out of George's mouth.
Becky blocked it with her shield, but it didn't look like the wisest choice, as electricity ran through the metal. If she wasn't immune to it, she would've been on the ground shaking like she had that night at the lake.
George kept breathing lightning bolts aimed directly at Becky. I hid behind Lucian, unable to handle seeing one of my best friends take such a beating.
“C'mon, Becky, get up!” Lucian yelled. “Use your lightning.”
“Her lightning?”
He didn't answer.
I hated not getting an answer; this was so confusing. My Tee crinkled up inside my fists, and my skin started to feel baked from the sun's heat. I flinched every single time the lightning zapped her shield. It sounded like thunder, and when I had finally gathered enough courage to peek, I hid again as George threw Becky to the ground. It wasn't a fair fight, and I wished that somebody would help her. Sammy shouted things for Becky to watch out for, but I doubted that Becky could hear it.
George blew out another thunderbolt and hit Becky directly in her gut. She flew through the air and fell on her back. My heart stopped. She just lay on the floor, lifeless.
Suddenly, she did a back flip, righting herself once more, and I took a deep breath. My heart started to pound heavily as the whole coliseum went crazy.
She egged him on, showing him with her index finger that she wanted more.
George growled and breathed out another lightning bolt. It bounced off her body and headed straight back at him. He released another one and repeated it over again. Every single one backfired on him. She finally took control, catching the last lightning bolts in her bare hand. The entire Coliseum gasped. She then threw it back at him. After that, the lightning bolts only seemed to harm George. She was so fast that he couldn't block or dodge them as he was pelted with his own weapon.
“That's it, Becky!” Lucian roared with a huge grin.
George stammered as Becky went Zeus on his ass. She gained more confidence with every counter attack, or maybe she’d just realized George didn't have anything over her anymore. It wasn't natural to see such a small person like her fighting against a beast of George's size, and winning.
He flew toward the crowd, trying to escape, but smashed against the invisible force that protected us. His talons made a screeching sound as he struggled to grab onto something solid.
“Yeah, it sucks when your perfect little place bites you in the ass!” Lucian yelled, and the students nearby laughed.
He landed on the sand again and gave it everything he had. Becky dodged and slid just like the gladiators in the movies. She caught most of the lightning bolts, and George finally went down. The crowds cheered and she raised both of her arms in triumph.
Suddenly she collapsed, as if a sniper had taken her out.
I jumped up while everybody booed.
“What happened?” I shrieked. “Is she okay?”
“Relax, Elena.” Lucian held me back by the arm. “He's such a coward.”
“What happened?” I demanded.
“She's fine. She'll be out for a couple of hours, maybe a day,” Lucian said.
Sammy cussed right next to me.
“He forced her ability on her. Our human form is too weak to carry them. That’swhy your dragon is the keeper or what some would call the‘carrier’,” Lucian explained, not taking his eyes off Becky's motionless body. “The lightning he breathes out is actually Becky's. He was born with it, but it never belonged to him. Becky is the true possessor. He just gave her the full dosage of what it feels like to carry that kind of power, and it always knocks humans out stone cold. She'll be fine, Elena.” He gave me a side hug, as a tear rolled down my cheek. “But it's very cowardly for a dragon to do that, and you'll see this behavior only around the Chromatic ones.”
“Do all of them do that?” I asked still shaken.
“Only when they know that the battle is lost,” he said.
The Dragonian side still cheered as Constance and another student carried her away on a stretcher.
“So what's going to happen now?”
“George is Becky's. Doesn't matter how bad he's going to resist at first, if he's part of a dent, he'll end up as tame as a lamb. We don't know what it is they are going through, but it's some sort of transformation that makes them stay together forever.”
“You mean like a couple?” I wanted to know if it was what Becky spoke about on my first day.
He chuckled. "Yes, Elena. She's part of his foretelling. It's just a matter of time before he dents. I would give my left arm to be part of a dent." He smiled. He was really nuts, but then again he had tried to claim Blake twice.