It was obvious they were planning something, but what? Liam didn’t know. He was starting to feel twitchy again, and after giving that first big kick of surprise, his heart kept pounding, only this time it didn’t feel good. This time, he didn’t have any idea what he should do or where he should go.
Was this how Perrin had felt, when the three other boys had bullied him?
As Liam stared at Andrew, a slow, wild anger started to burn through his uncertainty.
I’m not prey. I will never be prey.
But he could still be hurt.
They could still hurt him. They could still hurt other kids.
When Andrew crooked a finger at him in unmistakable invitation, he started forward. He glanced around at the buildings and the open land on the other side of the school fence. He still couldn’t see Hugh or any of the other guards.
Moving toward the other boy, he slipped one hand into his pocket.
And turned off his phone.
Chapter Four
The sun felt hot on his head and shoulders as he crossed the asphalt expanse toward the other two boys, and he burned with energy.
He also had plenty of time to think things over, just as he had when Andrew had tried to punch him at morning recess.
What am I going to do? What should I do?
Maybe those were two separate things.
Other questions occurred to him. What would Dad do? Or Uncle Graydon, or Hugh? Or Mom?
Trying to figure that out was much trickier than trying to hold on to a cloaking spell. They were all very different people, which meant they might make very different choices from each other.
Maybe that meant there was more than one right way to deal with something, and maybe . . . more than one wrong way to deal with something too.
To be sure he dealt with this in the right way, he might have to grow up some more. His dragon side liked that idea and tried to push to get bigger, but he managed to stay in control of that for now. Eventually his dragon side would win and he would go through another growth spurt, but he could postpone it for a while.
The only thing he knew for sure was that dealing with cows was easy compared to dealing with Andrew and the tools. As Hugh had said about the cows (or hunting any other kind of prey), take only what you need, kill them quick and don’t let them suffer.
When he reached the stairwell the other boys straightened from the railing and started over to him, both walking with a bit of a swagger and darting glances at each other.
Were they egging each other on? Where had Brad gone?
Giving the area outside the playground one last glance, Liam jogged lightly down the bare, concrete steps in the stairwell. There was nothing at the bottom of the stairs except for a few dried leaves, and a metal, locked door that led into the school building.
Nobody would be able to see what happened down here, unless Hugh or one of the other guards flew directly overhead, which they might choose to do, but he hoped not. He wanted to figure this out on his own.
Turning, he put the concrete wall at his back and looked up at the other two boys who stood at the top of the stairs. Then the predator in him went quiet and waited.
Come on, he thought. I was fast earlier, and that surprised you, but I’m just a first grader and you guys are third graders. There’s only one of me, while there’s two of you.
Andrew and Joel must have arrived at the same conclusion, because after exchanging a grin, they bounded down the stairs after him.
Okay, then. He got ready.
Andrew said, “How’s your back? I heard you fell down earlier and got a boo-boo.”
Joel snickered.
“Maybe you’ll fall down again someday soon,” said Andrew. The expression in his eyes had turned hectic, and he looked excited. “Maybe you’ll get more than just a boo-boo. Maybe you’ll lose some real blood.”
Anger flared, bright and hot like the summer sun. Liam leaped at the other two boys, and before they could do anything, he shoved them against the wall, one hand around each of their throats. Shock bolted over their faces, as they slapped and kicked him.
He was too mad to really feel the blows. Leaning his weight on his arms, he held them pinned in place, and he felt the flutter of their pulses in his hands.
“I don’t know why you need to bully other kids,” he said. He thought of the teacher’s books he had read that morning and some of the potential causes for disruptive behavior. “Maybe you’re going through a rough time, or maybe you’re just plain nasty. I don’t like any of you, so I don’t really care.”
Andrew hit at Liam again. “You’re making a serious mistake,” he growled. “There are three of us and only one of you, and I will hurt you bad for this.”
Liam’s anger burst into outright rage. Leaning harder on his hands, he stuck his face into Andrew’s and hissed.
Heat boiled out of his mouth, along with a lick of flame. It startled him so badly he stopped doing it.
Did I just breathe fire in my human form?
The other two boys quit struggling and stared. Andrew breathed, “What kind of Wyr are you?”
“Uh,” said Joel. Tears ran down his cheeks. “Uh, uh, uh. I never meant any of it. Swear to God. He made me do it.” He jerked his head toward Andrew.
Liam started to feel bad that he made someone else cry, but he forced himself to toughen up. None of them had gone easy on Perrin, or, he suspected, Marika either.
“Swear you’ll stop,” Liam told him. “Leave Perrin and Marika alone. Don’t pick on anybody else, ever again.”
“I swear,” said Joel.
Letting him go, Liam wiped his hand on his shorts. As Joel raced up the stairs, Liam turned his attention to Andrew, whom he still held pinned.
He told the other boy, “You can try hitting me in the back again or hurting me some other way, but I know to watch out for you now, and anything you try is only going to make me mad. If you don’t stop hurting people, I’ll come find you. I’ll hunt you down. That’s what I’m made for, hunting things. And when I find you, I’ll pound your face into the sidewalk.”
Joel had gone red, but Andrew’s face turned chalk white. His eyes darting around the stairwell, he whispered uncertainly, “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I can start now, if you want,” said Liam.
Moving too fast for the other boy to stop him, he flipped Andrew around. Bracing one hand at the back of the other boy’s head, he pushed Andrew’s face hard against the concrete wall.
Andrew cried out, “Okay, okay—I believe you! I swear, I’ll stop! I’ll stop!”
Breathing hard, Liam listened closely to what Andrew said. Like his ability to identify a person’s nature, his truthsense wasn’t very well developed yet, but he could still hear the ring of truth in the other boy’s voice.
The thing was, Liam still didn’t believe him. He thought Joel would probably keep his word, but Andrew seemed different from Brad and Joel. There was something wrong with Andrew, something really bad that ran deep. He might stop for a while until he stopped believing that he would get caught, but sooner or later Liam thought he would hurt somebody again, because he liked hurting people too much.
But Liam wasn’t old enough to fix anything like that. The only thing he could do was scare Andrew badly enough to make sure that future stayed far away.
Leaning forward to put his lips near Andrew’s ear, he tried another hiss. Heat boiled out between his lips again and singed the ends of the other boy’s hair. Crying out, Andrew cringed against the wall.
That would have to do. Satisfied, he let him go, and Andrew bolted for the stairs.
Turning to follow the other boy, Liam climbed the stairs, and as he looked up he discovered Marika hanging over the railing and staring down at him. She wore a solemn expression, and her gray eyes were huge.