Dragons and Mages: A Limited Edition Anthology

by Pauline Creeden

  “I bet that caused a stir,” I muttered, pulling on my lip while I continued to scroll down. I’m not exactly sure what I thought this would produce, but maybe I could speak with several previous victors of the game to ask them their opinion of the trophy itself.

  About halfway through my scrolling, the last names stopped appearing. With so few people left on Heliok, we no longer used the old-fashioned convention of a secondary name. Usually, indicating which dome you called home provided sufficient identification. Plus, we used fingerprint credentials to eliminate any confusion.

  I did wonder if my family descended from the Harmon’s. That could explain where my drive to learn the skill originated. Or, maybe I just idolize Dad and want to do everything he enjoys.

  At this rate of non-discovery, I’d find myself graduated before anything useful appeared. I must have missed some connection. But what, I had no idea. Sighing with frustration, I sat back in my chair.

  There had to be some workaround for the classified data. Surely, one of my classmates could hack into the servers to gain access. Why would they restrict access to it in the first place?

  A hand dropping onto my shoulder practically gave me a heart attack. Jumping several inches up from my chair, I barely restrained my frightened squeal. Whipping my head around, I discovered Drew standing behind me.

  “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Several seconds passed before my thundering heart calmed down. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “For your information, I didn’t sneak up. I said your name twice, but obviously, you didn’t hear me. What’s got you so zoned out?”

  “Grandma’s story from last night. What about you guys? I saw you all got here before I did.” I swiveled my chair to face Drew seated next to me in the vacant cubby.

  “Same for all of us. I came to check out the exact location of the treasury building. Alyssa wanted to find out the family connections with the artifacts and if any mention of them came up again since the people moved to domes.”

  “Well? What did you discover? Anything useful?” My friends never ceased to amaze me. All of their ideas had merit, and I hoped our combined forces could come up with a bigger picture than just what Grandma Talya could remember. After all, the story could have changed quite a bit through the various retellings over the past two hundred years.

  “Strangely enough, my original query on the building specifically came back with a classified data tag. So, I decided to search for the migration pattern of the people before they entered the domes. That’s when I found my first clue. It came back with a map of various cities, but much of the information had redaction marks on them.”

  “That sucks.” Could nothing go right?

  “Oh, it gets better.” Drew didn’t sound discouraged in the slightest.

  I bent over, elbows planted on my knees with my chin resting in my palms. “Do tell!”

  “I kept digging through hundreds of useless data until I found one picture of the treasury building. The picture showed a street name as well as the block number. Armed with that new data, I did another cross-check until I located the exact spot where the building used to sit.”

  “And?”

  “It’s actually not that far from here. I’d say it’s about five miles from Dome 3, due east.” Drew’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction at having completed the task he had set for himself.

  Grinning foolishly alongside him, I knew we had reached another dead end. Forget the fact we didn’t have any vehicles to go that far outside the dome, but our pressurized evac suits simply didn’t have enough air to last as long as we’d need if we tried to walk the distance. My family knew all about the limited air supply in the evac suits.

  Just as I opened my mouth to say as much, the first bell rang—our ten-minute warning for class. Why couldn’t school wait for a change? We would definitely return to continue the quest.

  Alyssa called Drew away from me, even as she waved a greeting. As much as I’d like to hear what she’d researched, I knew I could catch up with her during our ‘ponics lab.

  I glanced over to discover Anna and Violet had already left. We’d have plenty to discuss during lunch. Disgusted by all of the delays and interruptions, I reached down and picked up my bag. Slinging the strap over my shoulder, I turned to head out of the other exit, making a shorter trek to the astrophysics lab.

  Ryker stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, and his eyebrows drawn down sharply over his piercing eyes. The smile froze on my lips. What was he doing here? Why was he glaring at me?

  Shaking my head, I sounded so dramatic. Of course, he wasn’t here because of me. Maybe he just got some bad news and wanted to use the research lab in private and wished we’d hurry up and leave. I rushed to pass him. No sooner did I get beside him when his words stopped me in my tracks.

  “Didn’t I tell you to let it go?” He leaned in close, his lowered voice practically growled with displeasure.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are you spying on me?” I squarely faced him, my eyes never wavering from his. Surely, I’d misheard him.

  “Not at all. But whenever students attempt to access classified data, the nearest professor or security guard gets sent an alert to investigate. Imagine my surprise when I received six pings almost simultaneously. You’re lucky that I responded before anyone else could get to it.”

  What the heck? Could the government really be so scared of us finding something that they’d go to these drastic lengths to shut us down? I definitely wasn’t going to let this go now.

  “You’re wrong, Ryker. We weren’t doing anything wrong. We just wanted to verify some historical facts we’d learned about. How were we to know that the simple questions would be restricted? Besides, why would anyone care what material had been used to make the gladio trophy?” I crossed my arms defensively, unconsciously mirroring Ryker’s pose.

  “Yes, Katherine; why would you care? And what does that have to do with the old treasury building or the changes in leadership in the last thirty years? Whatever you kids are up to, please just stop. You have no idea what trouble you’ll find yourself in if you persist with this.” Ryker reached out and gently grabbed my bicep.

  The eager expression on his face seemed in direct contrast to the words leaving his mouth. I could swear his eyes tried to impart some other message to me, but I had to have mistaken it. I pulled my arm away. “I’m going to be late for class.”

  Chapter 5

  I HAD TO get away from him before I said something I’d regret.

  “I’m not the enemy here, Katherine. Let me walk with you.”

  I wanted to tell him to leave me alone. But my curiosity eclipsed my common sense. Did he think an enemy existed? Did he know something which could help us learn the truth behind Grandma Talya’s stories? “Are you sure about that? It’s hard to tell with all your threats these days.”

  He leaned closer to me, increasing my discomfort. He pitched his voice so low I had to strain to hear him. “I had dreams of my own before I became Silas’ research assistant. But I had to set all that aside for the greater good. We all have a job to do here. I can’t help it that I report to Silas. In the past year, he’s implemented strict guidelines regarding the classified data access.”

  Why should I stay cautious? I stopped to face Ryker. “So, what’s he trying to hide?” At any other time, Ryker’s conflicting emotions would have amused me, but not today. I needed answers. “Should people be worried about what he’s planning for us?”

  Now I know I saw a spark of concern flash through his expression. Clearly, I just needed to ask the right kinds of questions—the ones which wouldn’t get Ryker in trouble for answering. “Maybe I will decide to trust you.”

  Ryker nodded. “We should talk about this later. Come and see me during your ‘ponics class. I really don’t want to make you late for class.”

  This abrupt change of mood seemed so odd, but I could hardly complain, given my limited options. After all, he did ag
ree to talk. This could be the break I’d wanted. Nodding my agreement, I rushed down the hall, reaching my desk at the same time the final bell rang out.

  Hopefully, I hadn’t messed up a golden opportunity. What if Ryker changed his mind while I sat here in class? For two days in a row, this astrophysics class failed to keep my attention for more than a few seconds at a time.

  Time crawled by. Every glance at the clock only proved time no longer moved. The bell rang. With my bag already packed, I jumped from my chair and beat everyone else out of the room. I couldn’t worry about how my actions surprised more than a few students.

  Running headlong down the hallway, I avoided the worst of the crush of students just now leaving their classrooms. I arrived at the turnoff to the ‘ponics lab faster than I ever had before. Unfortunately, the nerves had me arriving breathless and with a sheen of sweat covering my brow.

  With a quick scan of the room, my heart sank. Ryker wasn’t here. That’s odd; he practically lives here. My stomach clenched painfully. Today, of all days, he managed to slip away right when he agreed to speak with me.

  Fear crept up my spine. What if Ryker changed his mind? Or worse, what if he set me up? I’d almost convinced myself of the worst-case scenario when Ryker entered the lab from another side door, a book held in his hand.

  Surprise registered on his face, morphing quickly into a genuine smile. “You got here fast. I normally have a few minutes to myself between classes. Put your things in the cubby and come join me at my desk.”

  I cursed even the small delay. A few seconds later, I seated myself across from him at his desk. Glancing at the wall clock, I figured we had a few minutes remaining of relative privacy before the first student would arrive.

  Ryker’s fingers tapped out a rhythm on the cover of the book he brought in. It almost seemed like he wanted to attract my attention. I didn’t have time for niceties. “What book is that?”

  He snatched his hand away from the top of it as if it had burned him. “This? Oh, it’s nothing, just some of my private notes.” He pushed it to the side of the desk before clasping his hands. “What would you like to ask me?”

  What was the deal with the book? I’m sure he brought it out for a reason. I tore my eyes away from the book to look at him. “What were your dreams?” That came out of the blue, it seemed. Maybe I should clarify. “Before, you said you had dreams of another life before getting this job. What were your dreams?”

  He reminisced for a moment, his expression softening. “Believe it or not, I wanted to go and find a dragon. I thought if I could bring them back, then I could save Heliok. Crazy, huh?”

  My mouth dropped open inelegantly. I’m sure it was attractive. I couldn’t help it. His dream mirrored mine almost exactly. “How? I mean, what made you believe there were dragons in the first place?”

  “You aren’t the first generation to grow up with Grandma Talya’s stories, you know.” Moving backward in his seat, Ryker smirked.

  Why had it never occurred to me that kids before me would have heard Grandma Talya’s stories? It made sense that she would’ve started telling them long before our births.

  Several students entered the classroom right when a chuckle escaped my lips. I stood up to go to my work station. I didn’t need to draw attention to my private conversation with Ryker. “Thanks for sharing with me.”

  “Katherine?” His tone caught me off guard; it sounded almost desperate.

  “Yes?”

  “I’d like you to read this.” He pushed the book across the desk.

  “Your notes?”

  He stood up, stopping just short of me, so nobody else could hear him. “It’s a journal I’ve kept over the years. Maybe it’ll help answer some of your questions and keep you out of trouble.”

  I simply stared at him. Now I knew what dumbfounded felt like. Was trying to lure me in to trust him, or did he really want to help? After all, he did work for Silas.

  I needed this chance. Reaching over, I picked it up. My fingers discovered the worn spots on the edges of the journal’s pages. What entries warranted so much review?

  Forget class. I wanted to flip it open and start reading right here and now. But I couldn’t. I had three more classes and gladio practice standing in my way. It figured, my whole day already had enough activities to drive me crazy with curiosity.

  “We can talk about it after you’ve read through it. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of questions.” Ryker stepped away to take his place at the front of the lab.

  I watched him go; the book tightly clasped in my hand. Maybe I could take it back to my station and read it between my regular tasks. Glancing over to Ryker, he gestured for me to put it in my cubby. Drat! Now, I’d have to wait, even though it practically burned my hand with my desire to open it right this moment.

  Just before the class bell rang, Ryker came over to my grow bed, ostensibly to check my progress. More than a little curious, I looked up at him expectantly.

  “Your crop appears healthy.” His eyes darted over to my classmates to make certain we remained private.

  “Yes, I’ve implemented the new growth protocol with the extra lines here. See?” I pointed over to the section of the crop where it began growing vertically to maximize the yield.

  “Great job.” He leaned his hip against the water trough and crossed his arms. With his back toward the rest of the class, he lowered his voice. “I know you have a close group of friends, but I’d like to ask for you to keep the contents of my journal private until we’ve had a chance to discuss it.”

  “Okay, sure.” I struggled to manage my expression. I’d already planned to sit down with my friend at lunch. Now, I’d have to wait until after school.

  “You’ll know what I mean when you get through. I can tell you’re disappointed.”

  I shrugged, wanting to play it off like it didn’t mean anything to me. “I get it. I mean, it’s your book, and you’re entrusting it to me. It’s only fair that I play by your rules.”

  Ryker grinned before he pushed himself away from the table. As he passed me by, he patted my shoulder. “I think I made the right choice.”

  I watched him go. What did that mean? Ugh, I hated waiting. It seemed like all the fun and mysterious things took too much time. I wanted answers like yesterday.

  Alyssa stepped over to me, staring after our teacher. “What was that about?”

  Before I had the chance to answer, the bell sounded. The commotion of gathering our supplies and leaving kept us busy until we walked side-by-side toward the Commons. Should I bring up the book at all, or just keep it to myself until I’d had a chance to review it? I didn’t want to alienate my best friend over something potentially trivial.

  I had to say something; it felt too important to keep to myself. I told Alyssa about the odd confrontation with Ryker before first period and then about the book. The look on her face told me she thought it just as strange as I had.

  “So that’s what Ryker meant at the end of class. Well? What’re you waiting for? Open that book and see what’s inside!” She shook my arm, ready to rifle through my bag if I didn’t hurry up.

  “No, what you just heard was Ryker asking me to keep the contents of the book to myself until I’ve read through it and discussed it with him.”

  “Surely, that doesn’t mean you’re going to keep it from me. We share everything.”

  I’d wanted to avoid this hurt look on her face. So little happened in our world which could cause a stir, and I held a mystery in my bag, but I wasn’t at liberty to share it. “I’m sorry, Alyssa. I promised Ryker. You know…”

  Interrupting me rudely, Alyssa rolled her eyes. “You and your promises. I know; I’ll just have to wait now. I get it.”

  By then, we’d reached our table in the Commons. Strangely, Patrick sat at our table, along with all our usual group of friends. I looked at Anna since he sat next to her. “What’s going on?”

  Anna leaned over the table to whisper. “Patrick wants to hear our
plan. He won’t agree to help unless he knows everything.”

  I thought this sort of thing might happen. Just as with Alyssa and the mysterious book, Patrick wanted to know what excitement we had planned for the Tatsu tournament. Grateful for the opportunity to change the subject from Ryker’s book, I nodded and sat down.

  From what our group had decided the night before, I laid out the plan for Patrick. He readily agreed to our skills assessment. Obviously, he liked the idea of creating a name for our dome. Even if he didn’t enter the tournament, he could always claim ownership of our winning dome. “So our best option is to remind people of the risk and discourage as many people as possible from entering this year.”

  Several students stopped at our table just as I reached the end of my spiel. Knowing they lived in Dome 5, only spelled trouble. Even though I wanted to ignore them entirely, they wanted to make a scene. Leanne’s first comment confirmed my suspicion.

  “So, you’re too good for our group in aerobiology, and now you’ve gotten it into your head to ruin the Tatsu tournament for all of us? What gives you the right to call the shots?” Leanne’s friends flanking her nodded their heads like marionette dolls.

  Drew turned around to defend me. “Are you afraid of a little competition, Leanne? After all, that’s what the Tatsu tournament is all about. Don’t you have enough talent to hold your own?”

  Leanne bent over until her nose practically touched Drew’s. “Join me in the cage, and I’ll show you how to mind your own business!”

  We didn’t need a brawl in the Commons to draw attention to our group. I stood up to interrupt the ensuing argument. “Leanne, the Tatsu tournament is open to every student. The purpose of the games is to showcase our individual strengths. Nobody’s stopping you from competing. Nothing’s changed except your attitude. I suggest you get in the cage to lose some of your aggression because it’s misplaced here in the Commons.”

  “You don’t get to tell me what to do!” Lifting her chin, she turned to her friends. “We’re through wasting our time here. Let’s go.” They pushed their way through the crowd, which had grown around us, effectively ending the show.