“Change back! Both of you change back!” He was yelling. Students were screaming and running away or watching in horror. The lion stood up and shook himself off. Crouching low, he charged back to the zebra. I threw myself out of his way, forgetting I was a dragon.
The lion leaped again. Professor Atkins cried out a word and a force field of orange magic surrounded the zebra. The lion squalled in pain as he hit it headfirst. The force field shattered. The rebound from the magic knocked Professor Atkins off his feet. He landed on the ground and didn’t move. More students were screaming.
The moment of magical protection was enough for Terra to realize what was happening and shift back into human her form. The lion recovered to find a girl with hands full of green fire standing where the zebra had been moments before. He backed up. She was no longer easy prey. I relaxed; confident the lion would change back too.
But I made a huge miscalculation. The lion spotted Willa, still in her doe form.
Not on my watch. I soared through the air and landed so hard between Willa and the lion the ground trembled. I lowered my head and growled in the lion’s face. Stay away from my friends. I thought I saw something human appear in his eye, but it faded. The lion jumped toward me and roared. Powerful magic hit me square in the face and knocked me over. The ground under me shook. Students were screaming and running again, trying to get out from under the building’s awning.
My ears were ringing. I was on my side and I was disoriented. The ground and the sky all blended together in a swirl of green and blue. I shook my head and growled, trying to set things right again. Willa. I had to save Willa. The world righted itself in time for me to see the lion take off after my friend again.
A flash of white collided with the lion, knocking him over. Hudson. Wolf and lion squared off. Two other wolves emerged from the crowd but stopped instead of rushing to Hudson’s side. Why wouldn’t they back him up? My ears were still ringing. I couldn’t get back on my feet. Fear gripped me.
Hudson was large for a wolf, but he wasn’t the size of the lion. I pushed myself forward and swiped at the lion with my front paw. I wasn’t quick enough. Huge canine teeth sunk into a spot between my talons and scales. I screeched in pain and shook him loose. Bright red blood stained my scales.
Hudson hit the lion again before he had a chance to recover. The lion twisted at the last second and grabbed Hudson in his claws. He rolled over the top of the wolf, putting himself close to Willa. He made to run after the doe again, but Hudson managed to bite down on one of the lion’s back legs before he could get to her. The white wolf had red gashes across his belly and down his side.
This had to end. Now. Professor Atkins was still on the ground. I was frozen in indecision. We needed help. I didn’t know what to do. The lion growled and turned on Hudson. Something inside me exploded. These were my fellow students. My classmates. My friends. I was not going to let someone hurt them, tear them apart. I swung my tail and hit the lion in the side, knocking him off Hudson. The wolf jumped up and limped to my side. Together we squared off against the lion.
The lion was more cautious this time. He approached slowly, crouched against the ground. Stalking us like prey. I wanted to burn him to pieces, make him pay for hurting my friends. The heat inside my chest turned white hot as flames rushed to meet my anger. My humanity took over just in time. No. The lion was a student too. I couldn’t hurt him. He had to change back to human form. I stared at him and felt his intention. He was gathering his strength to roar again. He was going to knock us off our feet and get his prey.
“Change back!” I said. It came out as a roar.
Change back! This time I screamed inside my mind. My instincts took over again. Magic rushed through me. I took the words, and I pushed them out with the magic. Change back.
The lion shook his head and pawed at his ears. Hudson whined beside me. My anger surged once more. This lion would listen to me. They would all listen to me. I was a dragon. I was in charge here. Magic flared again. I anchored my will behind it. This was not a suggestion. It was a command. Change. Back.
There was a pop inside my mind. My classmate Gary sat where the lion had been moments before. His eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted. I looked around. All the students had changed back into their human forms. I tried to shift back too, but my dragon’s adrenaline was still too high. She wasn’t ready to let me go just yet. Professor Atkins ran toward us. Blood dripped from his nose. I closed my eyes and took two deep breaths and then tried to shift back into my human form again. This time my dragon let me go.
“Hudson, you’re bleeding!” Blood seeped through his white shirt. He wasn’t the only one. I looked around at the students, Terra sat on the ground while another student put pressure on wounds on her back. Gary was bleeding through his pants and shirt.
“You are too,” Hudson said with a grimace. He sat on the ground with a thud. I was? My hand was throbbing. I had a deep gash between my thumb and index finger. My brain hadn’t even registered the pain.
Gracie flew over to us. I’d never seen her fly in human form before. The only thing my brain
