Sora raced up the stairs to her grandfather's room, taking two steps at a time. When she reached the door, she saw he was once again lying in bed, for a second, she thought he had fallen back asleep, but then he opened his eyes and called for her.

His voice sounded weak and weary. Sora hoped that her grandmother hadn't left for the shrine. She didn't want him to be alone.

"Come in," he said. "What is all this noise?" Sora knew he was talking about all the people jostling around in the kitchen below, waiting for them. She moved to her grandfather's side, taking a deep breath in order to gather her thoughts.

"There is a problem, and I think we might need your help. Can you come downstairs?"

He nodded and told her he'd be there in a minute. She left him and headed downstairs to her friends. When she entered, she saw Ben, Mo, Katie and Drake sitting around the big table. Kiba was also inside, resting his head on top of Katie's feet.

"So your grandfather is a member of the Order," Drake stated and nodded approvingly. "I've never met an Order member before."

"I think that's the whole point," she said taking the empty seat next to him. "He said that my mother, who was also a Dragoncaller, was left to his care after her parents were killed."

"Dragoncallers," Ben muttered under his breath, but everyone heard him anyway and turned to stare at him. "You've been talking about that for a while now. What is it?" he said not hiding his annoyance once he had everyone's attention.

"Dragoncallers are humans that have the power to control dragons, and they can also channel a dragon's powers," explained Drake, and he seemed to be annoyed as well.

"And she's one?" Ben pointed at Sora, a look of mild disgust on his face.

Sora favored him in response with a slow, dramatic eye roll. "Get over it."

He's face suddenly lit up as his eyebrows shot up with understanding. "Wait a minute," he said, and he was once again stabbing a finger at her. "You are the one that stopped me when I was about to fry this guy," he said motioning toward Drake.

"For the record, you weren't about to fry me," said Drake, but Ben ignored him and rattled on.

"I could hear a voice in my head telling me, no, ordering me to stop, and then it was like I had no control over my own body. You're telling me that was you?" He was now standing up and staring down at Sora accusingly.

I guess he really hates being bossed around, she thought and shrugged in response to his question. Wait until he finds out about the school fire. She couldn't help but smile at the thought.

Ben looked like he was on the verge of losing it, he moved toward Sora menacingly, but at that moment, her grandfather entered the crowded kitchen. Everyone immediately straightened up in their seats, giving the old man their full attention. The little Japanese man appeared tired and weak, but he still had an air of power and wisdom that made them all stare waiting anxiously for him to speak. He demanded and got their full attention just by walking into the room.

"What happened?" he asked no one in particular and took the empty seat at the head of the table.

Sora turned towards Drake who gave her a reassuring nod and a brief smile. She smiled back but her smile was halfhearted, not reaching her eyes. She diverted her attention to her grandfather and told him everything, starting from the school fire almost three months earlier.

During her recollection, Ben squeaked out a few noises of shock mixed with anger and annoyance, but he held his tongue before actually saying something, which Sora knew was very hard for him.

Her grandfather listened carefully without interrupting and whenever she missed something, Drake would jump in and fill in the voids or provide further explanation. Sora was grateful for his reassuring presence. She reached under the table, grabbed his hand and gave it a firm squeeze once they had finished their story. The familiar jolts between them making her more alert. She left her hand there, lightly touching his fingers to keep the jolts coming.

"I can't help you," said her grandfather quietly. Everyone jolted from their seats shocked. They were too unnerved to speak and just stood there. After a few silent moments went by, they all found their voices at once. In the midst of all the noise, Sora's grandfather raised his hand and one by one everyone fell silent.

"I can't help you, but," he said again placing extra emphasis on the last word. "The Order can. We need to take you to them so they can protect you."

"Where are they?" asked Drake his eyes bright with the possibility of a way out of this mess.

"Japan," said Sora under her breath. She was back in her seat, eyes locked on her grandfather. He was staring back at her trying to make his words as clear and concise as possible. Sora immediately understood that going to the Order was their only option to keep safe. She flicked her eyes over to Mo. He was standing quietly, his eyes darting from face to face. Even he was unable to offer another plan. This was out of his league, and for the first time, he seemed lost.

"You mean we have to go to Japan?" asked Ben, falling stunned back into his seat. He looked like he was going to be sick, and Sora could commiserate.

"The Order has a large faction there. The headquarters are located in a secluded place. Only a handful of us know of its existence. You will be surrounded by the Order's strongest members. You will be safe."

Sora knew that by 'us' he meant the other loyal members of the Order. She didn't want to agree but she nodded all the same. She felt so lost herself that she was in no place to volunteer any other solutions. She was relieved that someone else had a viable plan. Even if it did involve moving to Japan. At least they'd all be together. But then she realized they wouldn't. Sora turned to Katie with a sad look in her eyes, Katie was thinking the exact same thing, her eyes were watery with tears.

"You two can leave tomorrow. I will notify the Order of your arrival," her grandfather said motioning to Ben and Drake. "They are not used to having dragons live with them, but I am sure they can make it work."

"What about the rest of us?" asked Sora as she noted the looks of shock in both Katie's and Mo's eyes.

"You don't need to leave. No one else knows you are a Dragoncaller, and dragons are barely interested in humans. We never hurt humans, we never bother with them." Drake blurted out. Sora stared into his black eyes, noting that he looked relieved. He reached under the table and took her hand. His fingers slowly intertwined with hers and held on tight.

She couldn't tear her eyes off him. Sora felt her throat constricting shut as she struggled to speak. Her nostrils flared a couple of times and a heavy wave of sadness hit her chest, rushed to her heart. Her eyes stung with unshed tears. Don't cry, she told herself firmly. Desperately, she fought the tears back as she tried to collect herself. She hardly ever cried, not even after the death of her parents. That's when she knew what she felt wasn't only her sadness.

"What about the other Collectors?" she asked.

A bitter smile formed on Drake's lips. "Without any dragons around, you won't have any powers. You will be normal again. There is no way for them to find you."

Normal. Sora let the word sink in her mind. She didn't want to be normal anymore. She wouldn't trade the sparks forming between their intertwined fingers for anything. She felt the electricity traveling from Drake's hand throughout her entire body. Another moment of sadness hit as she realized that this might be the last time she experienced this feeling. She felt the flames gathering in the inside of her palm but Drake didn't let go of her hand, instead he gave her a sad smile that broke her heart. "We will go to Japan," he said, then he turned away from Sora and spoke to her grandfather. "Just Ben and I."

Sora couldn't rip her eyes off their hands. Between their clasped palms, little flames sparked to life. They were their flames. Somehow Sora had managed to sync her feelings with Drake, and she could now feel his powers channeling through her body. That was his fire flaring out of the pores of her palm. She was so enchanted by the feeling that she didn't even notice the commotion right in front of her.

Ben had thrown his chair to the floor and was yelling at all of them, pounding his fists forcefully on the table, his rage growing with each passing second. "I am not going to Japan. The whole point was to be free, to not take orders from anyone and now you want me to follow your commands? Just like that? No fucking way!" he screamed at them. Then, without warning, he rushed out the back door. Kiba jumped up and raced after him.

Sora immediately was on her feet and out the door before anyone could stop her. The second she let go of Drake's hand, a numbing feeling spread across her heart. She already missed the static electricity and the fire.

She headed to the backyard, whistling sharply for Kiba to come. She noticed that the rain had stopped but the sky was still filled with heavy, dark clouds. The big dog had Ben's jeans clamped firmly in his jaw, but he immediately released him and ran to Sora. Kiba was on high alert, his tail parallel to the ground, evident that he was ready to jump and attack Ben in an instant if necessary. "Are you okay?" Sora asked her old teammate. Thinking of him that way made her realize how much their lives had changed in such a short time.

Sora turned to find the rest of the group crowded in the doorway. When she diverted her attention, Ben took advantage and darted in the opposite direction. "Wait!" yelled Drake after him and Sora cursed. Everyone was in the yard staring after Ben in stunned silence, wondering what to do next.

Sora shot her grandfather a brief glance. He nodded and replied slowly, "Iku."

Sora nodded. That was one of the few Japanese words that she understood. Sora repeated the order to everyone else. "Let's go," she said her voice steady and sure, urging them on after Ben.