Chapter One: The Bite.

He scrambled around the plants, cages and workstations as the beast selected him as its prey. The starving serpent surged forward, one of its sharp fangs piercing his left arm. The mighty fang splintered and snapped off as the beast quickly retreated to watch his poison work, another fang already growing to replace the one lost. Ryan screamed in pain as his legs gave out under his weight. He struggled to breathe as black and white spots danced in his vision. He looked up as the basilisk began to strike again. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. His body felt as if fire was running through his bloodstream. Before the serpent could take a chunk from him a large blue phoenix broke through the green house windows and started spewing ice everywhere.

The ice started to eat at the serpent and in less then a minute the basilisk had been frozen to death. Ryan smiled weakly at the gorgeous bird before something in his stomach twisted and knotted sharply. As he screamed hoarsely he yanked the broken fang from his arm, but it wouldn’t help. From what he was feeling he guessed the venom was starting its job, eating him from the inside out. The pain surged through his body from his eyes to his toes. But as soon as it came it was gone. Ryan laid panting for breath, curled up as the pain faded to nothing. He opened his eyes slowly and carefully, his vision was blurred and colors layered over his range of vision, but he could still see. The concerned phoenix leaned over him and sung a melody before it started to fly around him as Mistress Auri rushed into the green house quickly.

“Mr. Mason!” She exclaimed as she stopped in front of me, “How did this happen? I want an explanation!”

“Kane ma’am, he released the basilisk he was suppose to be taking care of. It was starving and attacked, the professor was running us out but I was too slow and it bit me.” I explained shaking, as I made sure my sleeves were down.

“You were bitten! How are you-“

“This phoenix ma’am, it healed me with its tears.” I lied.

The mistress’ brightened as she looked over at the bird.

“A real phoenix! A magical creature rarely seen by the human eye, and yet here one is standing beside you. You are very lucky Mr. Mason, without this creatures help, you would be dead by now. Run along to see the nurse.” She said turning to the frozen basilisk.

Ryan nodded but didn’t see the nurse, instead he ran straight to the dorms, ignoring the pain in his muscles. He tore one of his old, over stretched shirts and made it into a makeshift bandage. Afterwards he went into the meal hall to be subjected to all the stares. The whispers started as he sat down in his regular seat. They all started rumors that he had slain the basilisk with his bare hands. His friends and many other people, mainly the whole school wanted to know what happened in Herbal Healing, how he survived, how he killed it and every time he was asked he refused to give anything away. The only thing he would give out was that a phoenix had supposedly healed him. Ryan still hid the still present wound under his gothic styled shirts; he was still scared, no one is supposed to survive a basilisk bite. The colors were still present in his vision, but he kept quiet about it. About that and the short stabs of pain that seem to appear every now and then.

He didn’t know what it meant but he swore to start researching in the morning. He was sore and wanted to sleep. He ignored his friends comments that it was to early, but the day had been hectic and there was only a week left of the school year. The next few days Ryan spent the time he wasn’t in class searching the main library. But it really didn’t reveal anything; all he found out was that no one survived. The last day of the year came quickly and soon they were enjoying their last dinner in the meal hall before summer. The tables were filled will sugar coated treats; they were sending them home hyper for their parents. As soon as everyone had finish the Mistress escorted everyone to the train, and before anyone could really think they were on their way home. Ryan stared mutely out the window as the train returned to London. He was far from happy. He didn’t have a home to return to with happy mothers and fathers ready to greet their sons or daughters, he stayed at an orphanage called Prim Rose. It was an old building made of aged wood and rusted windows. The head of the place Mrs. Wellen, a widow of a very rich man, ran the place with a firm hand. She started the place after her husband had died, it was his dying wish and she could not ignore such a plea. Ryan had a room on the top floor; he was one of the oldest that lived there, since many were adopted before their eleventh birthday. He has no memory of how his parents were killed, just that they were dead.

As the train slowed to a stop Ryan grabbed his backpack and strapped it on before head off onto the platform to wait for his luggage. When all that together he made his usual trip in a taxi to the end of Birch road and walked the rest of the way to the only place he had to live in. Mrs. Wellen greeted him on the way in, but was to busy with the arrival of a set of six-year-old twins whom could not understand why their parents weren’t coming back. He carried his things to his room and sat on his old bed that was placed in the corner of the room.

He stared at the trinkets that lingered on his nightstand. A photograph of his parents, a music box that belonged to his mother, and a small sculpture of a beautiful snake that he had bought when he was seven. He pulled off the stained piece of fabric from his arm before covering it with his sleeve and quietly sneaking into the bathroom. He took a roll of gauze from the box of medical supplies and dressed his wound properly before he was called down to the main hall to help with the distraught twins.

After hours of helping Mrs. Wellen clean, cook and look after the younger ones Ryan was finally allowed to return to his room. In the darkness of his space he began unpacking his things. His many odd colored long sleeved shirts hung with his tight black pants and his boots were taken off to place on the floor of the closet before he crawled into bed, somehow wishing this summer wouldn’t last very long.