Chapter 18: Wrong Gem

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Wrong Gem

As Jared stood in the middle of the hall, hands hanging at his sides, watching Zoey walk away.

’No.’

He ran through it again, trying to make the pieces fit. The shaking head. The solemn expression. The little glint in her eye, which could mean anything. Disappointment. Resignation. Relief. He had no idea which one it was.

’Did she not awaken? Or did she get something tiny? A beetle? A snail?’

He took a step after her, then stopped.

’Don’t push.’

If she had failed, pushing would only make it worse. If she had gotten a weak beast, she’d talk about it when she was ready. He knew that much from a lifetime of hospital waiting rooms. People told you things on their own schedule.

"Let’s go home," Zoey called, without turning around.

Her voice was perfectly flat. Not sad, not cheerful, just a calm, even tone. She was totally selling it. If he hadn’t known her better, he would have believed every word.

He followed a few steps behind, hands in his pockets, eyes on the back of her head.

[Wow.]

’Don’t.’

[She’s good. I’m genuinely impressed. That’s the best poker face I’ve seen all week.]

’I said don’t.’

[You’re walking behind her like a puppy that’s been told to stay. It’s heartbreaking.]

’I’m no puppy.’

[You’re a very worried puppy.]

He ignored it. They crossed the lobby, pushed through the big glass doors, and walked out into the sunshine. Their mother’s silver car sat in the same spot, Zoey slid into the driver’s seat. Jared got in on the other side and shut the door.

The engine started.

She backed out of the space. She turned onto the road. She said nothing at all.

Jared’s silence lasted about 40 seconds.

"Can we at least talk about it?" he said.

Zoey kept her eyes on the road. "Talk about what?"

"You know what."

"I really don’t."

"Zoey."

"Hm?"

"I’m trying to be supportive. If you didn’t awaken, that’s okay. There are other ways. Plenty of people never awaken, and they still..."

"Oh my goodness, stop it."

He blinked. "What?"

She hit the brake a little harder than necessary and pulled over to the curb. She put the car in park, turned in her seat, and looked at him with an expression halfway between exasperation and laughter.

"I can’t actually stand your countenance," she said. "You look more sad than me. It’s unbearable. It’s like sitting next to a wet cat."

"I’m not..."

"I made it, Jared."

He stared at her.

"I made it," she said again, quieter. A grin broke across her face, wide and helpless, and all her careful composure fell apart at once. "I awakened. I got a B rank beast to start ."

Jared opened his mouth.

Then he closed it. His brain had gone blank.

And before he could stop himself, before he could think about it, he reached across the seat, grabbed her by the shoulders, and pulled her into a hug.

She yelped in surprise. Her arms flailed once, then slowly wrapped around his back. He held on tight. She smelled a little like warm goo.

He didn’t care.

’You made it.’

His chest felt tight. His throat felt warm.

’What was that?’

He let go almost immediately, pulling back with a jerk, and stared at his own hands. He had no idea where it had come from. He wasn’t a hugger. He had never been a hugger. In his old life, the closest he had come to a hug was patting a patient’s shoulder while looking at the ceiling.

’I was just happy for her. That’s all.’

Zoey sat very still, a faint pink creeping into her cheeks. She straightened her jacket, patted her hair, and looked out the windshield.

"That was... nice," she said.

"It was reflex."

"I know."

"I didn’t mean anything by it."

"I know."

[Aww.]

’Please stop.’

[I can’t. That was too sweet. Two teenagers in a car, one of them blushing, the other pretending he doesn’t know why his heart is racing.]

’It’s not racing.’

[It’s at 108 beats per minute. I’m monitoring.]

Jared dropped his head back against the seat and covered his face with both hands.

Zoey cleared her throat, shifted the car into drive, and pulled out into traffic. Neither of them said another word until they reached the house.

* * *

When they got home, Zoey kicked off her shoes, ran into the kitchen, and came back with a big pitcher of orange juice and two glasses. She poured a generous amount into each and handed one to Jared with a flourish.

"To me," she said.

"To you."

They clinked glasses.

"Here." She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small green gem, holding it flat on her palm. "Take a look."

Jared leaned in.

"A Poison Lizard," Zoey said proudly. "B rank. It consumes blood and makes poison from it. It can kill whatever blood it feeds on."

"That’s actually pretty good."

"It’s amazing."

"It’s fairly terrifying."

"It’s amazing and terrifying." She hugged the gem to her chest. "Mom and Dad are going to be so glad. I have to tell them."

She whipped out her phone, thumbed out a long message, added three exclamation points, deleted one, then sent it with a squeal.

A moment later, the phone buzzed in her hand. She read it, laughed, and held up the screen. A single line from their mother, a flurry of hearts and sparkles.

"They’re proud," she said, beaming. "They said we can celebrate when they get home."

Jared nodded. He was still holding the glass, rolling it slowly between his palms. He had been thinking about something for a while, something that had been nagging at the back of his mind since the documentary.

"Zoey," he said. "Can I ask you something? It’s a stupid question."

"Ask away."

"We’re rich."

She raised an eyebrow. "That’s not a question."

"I mean, Mom and Dad are rich. They have a whole ass guild. A big and good house.So why can’t they just get us higher ranked beasts?"

The kitchen was quiet.

[Oh, wow.]

Jared winced.

[That’s a stupid question. You were right to warn her.]

’Thank you.’

[It’s the most spoiled thing I’ve ever heard. "Why can’t Mommy just buy me a dragon?" I can’t believe I’m sharing a body with you.]

’I’m not asking for myself.’

[You’re asking for a friend. A friend who’s very rich.]

"I don’t think it works that way," Zoey said slowly.

Jared looked up.

"Mom and Dad aren’t like that. They’d rather we merit it." She shrugged. "They could have bought me an A rank. They’ve got the money. But they said a gem you earn is worth more than one you’re handed. That’s why they let us test at the association. They want us to start from the bottom."

"I got a B rank."

"You got an SSS rank."

"That was..." He hesitated. ’Luck. A basin. A sun.’ "...a gift."

"Exactly. We’re not starting too badly," she said. "And besides, we can always get our own gems later. In raids. In gates. Or we could buy one if we get desperate. It’s not like we’re stuck."

Jared smiled slowly.

It wasn’t the answer he would have liked. Part of him still thought it was a little silly, a family with that much money making their kids start from scratch. But it made sense. In a strange, stubborn way, it was fair.

He knew if this were his original earth, most rich people wouldn’t hesitate to get their kids a head start.

’They sound like decent people.’

He thought about the documentary again. About how the strongest beasts came into the world. It wasn’t through luck or bargains. The best beasts, the highest ranked ones, came from slaying and subjugating a dungeon boss. Every gate had a boss. Every boss was proportional to the gate. A rank gate, A rank boss. A rank boss, A rank beast. It was a clean, simple rule.

’Which means Julius couldn’t have slain an SS rank boss.’

The thought arrived whole.

He frowned. The documentary had never said how Julius got his new gem. It had mentioned the SS rank DragonSlayer Dragon, repeated it a dozen times, but never once explained where it came from. There was no footage of a dungeon. No boss fight.

’Did he buy it?’

It was strange. An SS rank dungeon was the kind of thing that would have made headlines for months. There was no way Julius had slain one, or even encountered one, without anyone noticing.

He kept the thought to himself. It wasn’t his business. Not yet.

"So," Zoey said, clapping her hands, "we start training."

"Now?"

"It’s noon already."

"It’s barely noon."

"That’s late. We’ve wasted half the day." She tucked the Poison Lizard’s gem back into her pocket and stood. "Come on. I want to see what this thing can do."

"What about lunch?"

"We’ll eat after. I’m too excited."

"Tell me about this lizard of yours," Jared said, climbing to his feet. "I mean, your little dragon."

She stopped.

"Haha," she said flatly. "Very funny. Coming from the guy with a dragon that can’t even fly."

"It’s still a dragon."

"If you say so."

"It’s a dragon, Zoey. You know that, right?"

"I think, It’s a very large lizard with a bad attitude." She was clearly referring to the fact it burnt their roof.

"That’s literally the definition of a dragon."

They both burst out laughing. Zoey wiped her eyes. Jared leaned against the counter, shoulders shaking, and for a few seconds the whole kitchen glowed with a warmth he didn’t quite know what to do with.

When the laughter faded, Zoey straightened her jacket and grinned.

"Okay," she said. "I’m ready. Let’s test this thing in action."

"Let’s do it."

* * *

The back yard was still a wreck.

The patchy, scorched grass. The cracked stone wall. The tree with half its branches missing. The roof, still glazed with a thin layer of melting frost.

Zoey winced. "That’s going to be a long conversation with Mom."

"I’ll handle it."

"Obviously."

She walked out to the middle of the training ring, held out her gem, and let it fall. It cracked against the dirt, and green light flared. The Poison Lizard unfurled, long and sleek, whipping its tail. It tasted the air, glanced around, and slithered over to sit at her feet.

"Hi, buddy," she whispered.

Jared stood a few feet away, digging through his pouch. His fingers brushed across the gems, cool, warm, humming faintly. He barely looked down. He picked one without thinking, and tossed it into the dirt.

’Okay, Ground Dragon. Let’s...’

[Rex.]

’What?’

[That’s not the Ground Dragon.]

His stomach dropped.

The gem cracked. Dark green light exploded outward, thick with the smell of wet bark and swamp water. The ground shuddered. A hulking shape rose out of the glow, covered in vines and moss.

The SwampGorilla stood up straight and scratched its chest.

Jared stared.

[Oops.]

Zoey stopped in the middle of reaching for her lizard. Her mouth fell open. She looked at the gorilla, then at Jared, then at the gorilla again.

"What-t". She stammered.

"What is that?" she asked.