Free In the Shadow of the Dragon King by J. Keller Ford

knees to his chest and buried his face in his arms. If only she would talk to him. If only she would acknowledge the betrayal.
    If only his parents had never left.
    His car rumbled down the drive. He jogged downstairs, desperate to feel the cold air on his face. To feel his skin freeze. That pain would be far easier to deal with than the ripping apart of his heart and soul.
    He pulled down on the front door’s handle.
    The door didn’t budge.
    He entered the code into the security panel, but the red light stared back at him in mocking indignation.
    A frustrated growl ripped from his throat. “Really, Lily? You changed the frigging code?”
    He banged his fist on the door and sprinted upstairs. Back and forth he paced, clenching and unclenching his fist. It was bad enough she’d lied to him, but to keep him a prisoner in his own home?
    He paused beside two black-and-white photographs on the wall, each paired with its newspaper article. The first: his father dressed in flight gear with a lopsided grin on his face, standing beside an F-18. The headline: ‘Decorated Air Force Pilot, Edward Heiland, Lost in Tragic Accident’. David knew the article by heart: a training mission in the Gulf of Mexico. Two planes collided. His father’s body never recovered.
    His gaze flitted to the second frame, a photo of his mom in a floral dress, a contagious smile accentuating her sparkling eyes. The headline: ‘Havendale Mourns the Loss of Widowed Philanthropist, Jillian Ashley Day Heiland—Infant Son to Inherit Millions’. According to the article, she’d died within hours of his birth.
    But it was a lie. All of it. David swallowed the raw emotion choking his throat. He fought against the anguish, desperately wanting not to feel the torment. They’d left him, abandoned him, never wishing to be found. He clutched the bedpost.
    Heartache pushed its way up, twisting and turning his insides. His bottom lip trembled. Why? Why had they left him? What could have been so bad they couldn’t take him with them?
    He took a breath and tried to rationalize, considering the puzzle piece by piece. Lily said they’d loved him. He knew Lily was afraid, afraid of him dying if he went where they were. If that was true, perhaps they were protecting him, but from what? He sat on the bed, the drawing of the dragon and his parents staring back at him. Enormous waves of energy and feelings crashed over him, suffocating him. Drowning him.
    Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony filtered through the pool of emotions. His stomach fluttered. He closed his eyes, swam to the surface and answered his phone.
    “Hey, Char.” He wiped a stray tear from his cheek.
    “David! David! Oh my gosh!”
    His heart leaped, almost stopped. “Charlotte, what’s wrong? Are you all right?”
    She sucked in a deep breath. “David.”
    Her sobs sucked years from his life. His nerves shattered. “Char, calm down. Take a deep breath and tell me what’s happened.”
    Her voice lowered to a whisper, her words broken. “Mr. Loudermilk—Mrs. Fenton. They—they want to— ”
    “They want to what, Char? Slow down.”
    Charlotte inhaled, her breath so deep David thought for sure she’d inhale him through the phone. She paused for a moment. “Okay, okay.” She exhaled. “I was outside about to roll the garbage cans to the curb when I heard Mr. Loudermilk and Mrs. Fenton talking in her backyard. Mrs. Fenton was arguing with him, telling him she didn’t care if some guy named Bainesworth owed Mr. Loudermilk favors. She was tired and wanted to go home. Then she got all pissy. She threatened him. She told him if he betrayed her, she’d cut him from navel to nose. Then she wanted to know when they’d find out if you were the one, and how long would they have to wait to get rid of you. Mr. Loudermilk got all snarky and told her to shut up, and there would be hell to pay if she messed everything up. He said they’d know soon enough about you, at which time he would inform somebody