by Bob Dattolo
She shrugged, “Sort of?”
“Why do they do that?”
Angelica patted my back, “Damn, you’re freaking adorable. They do that because they’re dragons. They risk running into a more powerful dragon, but many times it won’t be that big of a deal anyway.”
“Umm…what?”
Samantha gestured outside, “It’s like this. I want to know if anyone comes here, but I won’t necessarily stop them. Stopping a weaker dragon is one thing, but if you stop a stronger one? They could come back and take your head off. So, them coming and hanging out at the pool? It’s not like it’s going to wear out. They could break something, but it’ll most likely be a chair or something like that. I can deal with that. It’s when they get in here that there have been some minor issues. I had plans at one point to put an outdoor bathroom in that people can get to, but it’s on hold until I’m out of the academy. Or forever, if it goes wrong.”
“Damn. That’s crazy. And, what about your parents and family? They can’t stay here?”
She shrugged and started moving us towards the door, “That’s a stranger one. Arguably, my parents can stay here if they want to. It’s just that I don’t want them to.”
What the hell?
Laughs from the other two. “My God, so cute!” Another pat from Angelica, “If she lets her parents in here, they’ll start treating it like it’s their place. That could cause issues. If there are rules set up, then that’s one thing. I take it you don’t have those?”
Our host shook her head and held the elevator doors for us, “No. I put out a blanket no visits thing until I make it or don’t.”
“This is so weird. It really is.” They didn’t derail my questioning as we descended. “I’m not even sure what to ask now. I guess…if someone does go up there and lands and wanders around, what about clothes? I mean, I get that dragons don’t care, but let’s say they could get into the floor and the elevators? Or the stairs down? Do they just wander around with their balls out in the lobby?”
“No. For a place like the hotel? It’s customary for them to have clothes for dragons that do that and didn’t bring their own to change into. They’ll have something like sweats or something basic that has the hotel name on it. Something like that. It’s like free advertising.”
“Oookay. So much to learn. That means that you can shift and carry your clothes with you?”
“Yup. You haven’t seen the arm bags yet?” Parece handled that one.
“Since that doesn’t even remotely ring a bell, I have to go with no. At least not since my memory has started working.”
“It’s like a backpack, just with stretchy straps. It goes around our arms and holds clothes. So, if we want to fly somewhere, we load it up, strap it on, and then fly. Then we land and get dressed again.” She acts like it’s completely normal. Which I guess it is. To a dragon.
No one stopped us in the lobby, and we were on the street a minute later, each of them stretching wide and taking a deep breath.
Okay, I was too. What can I say? When in Rome, maybe? It felt good, crazy good, so they know their stuff.
Angelica recovered first, “All righty, which way do we go? I’m staaaarving.”
Samantha looked both ways, then nodded to the right, “Let’s head that way? There are a few good places to eat. Well, more than a few. I just mean close enough for us to not want to eat someone. What’re you all in the mood for?”
“Meat.”
“Meat.”
I smiled, “I’d like a light salad and some tepid water?”
Three glares.
“Meat? Something…rare?”
Their glares changed to smiles, “Good. There’s a fantastic place up here. They come around with platters of meat and you pick what you want.”
My stomach growled, but I wasn’t the only one to experience that. “No wonder you wanted something close. I really do feel like attacking someone.”
“Right. It’s not too far, either.” We started walking, letting me see LA on foot for the first time that I know of. It’s kinda cool, honestly.
“Some of the shops around here look really cool!”
She nodded, “They are. Some of the smaller places have the best stuff.”
“Any places selling magic? Grimoires? Anything like that?”
Laughter from all three of them. “Oh my fucking God, seriously? Yeah, this is LA, there’s a dozen of everything you can think of.” She nodded down a side street, “There are two bondage clubs that way within a dozen blocks. Three tattoo places. Two magic stores. You name it, this town probably has it.”
“Do you mind if we stop at one at some point? Doesn’t have to be today?”
“We can do that. Hell, if we stay here for a month, Lord knows you guys will want to head out on your own to see something. We can go together or separate. I don’t know if you want to hide what you’re buying?”
Hmm, interesting line of questioning, “No? I’m not even in the market for anything, but I know you guys all have grimoires, right?”
Nods from all three. “Everyone in school does.” Angelica sighed, “Except you, right?”
“Right. I had the one that I bought in town that got shredded along with everything else, but that’s it.”
She grimaced, “Still no clue who did that?”
“No. Everyone else left pretty quickly, so it’s not like I could ask them. Well, those that left.”
“You didn’t want to ask Levi?” Angelica laughed at her own question.
“Right. As if he wanted to talk to me? Once Ryan left, he just hung around and stared at me. I’d say undressing me with his eyes, but he’s seen me naked enough and is a dragon.”
“Undressing you? No. Peeling your skin off while you scream? Yeah. I can see that one.” Parece and Samantha laughed at my former roommate. “Please, as if that wasn’t going through your head as well.”
“No, you got that one. I swear, save his life and magic, and he still holds a grudge.”
Samantha hit my arm, “You killed his parents!”
“Well yeah, but like I said? They were kinda busy fucking me up at the time. I’m not obligated to let someone do that to me just because they’re his parents. To be clear? If any of your parents show up and do something like that to me? I hope you don’t hate me, but I’ll fucking tear them to pieces too if I can.”
More laughter. “I think you’re mostly okay from that angle.” Samantha directed us down a side street, “I doubt my parents will do anything like that, but maybe? If they do? Feel free to kill them.”
“Same here.” Parece shrugged at my look, “I get why he’s pissed, but I wouldn’t expect someone to put up with crap like that. At all. Now, if you started it, then maybe I’d be pissed. I’d be upset either way, though.”
“Me too.” Angelica sighed, “I love and hate my parents for the shit they’ve done. I’d get vengeance for them, but if I thought what the other person did was just? No way. They can fight their own battles that way.”
“Huh, good. Thank you. At least I don’t feel like a freak for what I did.”
Their response was cut off as Samantha headed through a door. I’d been smelling a bit of heaven, yet I wasn’t expecting this to be the source of it. Let me say this about that. Oh. My. God. So, so good.
The girl at the counter looked us up and down as soon as we walked in, then smiled as she caught our eyes, “Thank you for joining us today. Four? Or are there others in your party?”
No one said anything to me as I looked over the other people waiting. They looked kinda pissed that we were being talked to, yet none of them said a word.
“Just four.” Samantha answered for us.
“Wonderful. This way?” The girl didn’t bother looking at the others waiting there before turning and leading us in through the darkened restaurant. The place smells even better inside. Our path wound us through a number of tables before she headed up a small flight of stairs to an elevated row of tables along one side. The m
ore I smelled and looked around, the more I realized that every person up here is a dragon. She stopped at a table, “Is this to your liking?”
I smiled with the girls, “This is perfect. Just in time, too, because we’re starving. We drove all night from Montana and just dropped our stuff off at the hotel.” Angelica’s stomach chose that moment to growl loud enough for the norm to hear it.
“Oh! Okay, please be seated. I’ll have them start coming around immediately!”
“Thank you. We appreciate it.” Samantha slipped her some money before she left, and we took our seats.
Parece’s eyes darted around a little before she fired up her silence spell. This should minimize who can hear us from beyond the edge of our table. “Let me guess? You were going to ask about the table? Why we got seated? All of that?”
She guessed? The other two laughed at my expression, “Umm, yeah? I mean, there were a ton of people waiting already? This place is packed, so I figured we’d be waiting?”
She looked around the space, “Nope. No waiting unless this section was completely full.” She looked down the row, “Nice places tend to have seating like this. It mimics perches, basically? It’s not just for dragons, but it tends to be more heavily used by us. Or mages. Rarely a norm up here unless they’re with someone else. If there is an opening and no reservation for it, we get seated as soon as possible. No one wants to fuck with a hungry dragon or mage when they can retaliate with magic if they want to be dicks.”
“That’s just crazy!” I looked around again, “So…it’s not just me that likes being high up like this?”
More laughter.
Angelica patted my hand, “No. You can’t really fly yet, so you’re not used to it. Being high like this is pretty normal for dragons. We all love it. We can see farther. That sort of thing.”
“Weird, but okay.”
Our discussion was interrupted by a handsome guy sweeping up to the table, “Good evening, ladies! I have the platters headed this way, but I wanted to take your drink order and see if you wanted any sides or appetizers?”
We exchanged glances without saying anything, and Samantha answered for us, “No apps. Just lots of meats. We’ll pick sides from the platters. Otherwise? Would you recommend anything to drink?”
“Alcohol?”
She looked to us before shrugging, “More than likely not.”
“We have a fantastic line of flavored iced teas and mojitos?”
We each ordered a drink before he disappeared. I just had to ask, “Alcohol even though we’re only 18?”
Parece tapped her temple, “Dragons. Mages get drunk like a human does, but dragons? We can do it, but it takes a ton to do it. We aren’t stuck to the 21 and over thing. That being said? I tend not to drink much.”
“Same. I don’t know many that do unless they like a specific drink. I’ve never seen my parents drunk.” Angelica nodded off to the side, and we were rewarded with a line of guys and girls carrying platters that made my mouth water.
Oh my God, I think I’m gonna like this.
Chapter 5
My stomach was still pleasantly full nearly two hours after we left the restaurant. I could tell the others felt the same way. We’ve been hitting small stores and boutiques looking for clothes for me, with the others also picking up things here and there.
I couldn’t help slowing as we passed an electronics store. Samantha nudged me towards the door, “C’mon, let’s get you another laptop.”
Fuck. “Umm, I know we’ve talked about this, but I need you three to answer me.”
“Umm, okay?” She smells a little uncertain, just not too bad.
“Did you wreck my stuff? My laptop? Either physically, through magic, or request or tell someone else to do it in some way?”
They exchanged looks before Samantha nodded, “I can answer that. For me, obviously. I did not have any involvement in your stuff being wrecked in any way. I didn’t even know it happened until you showed us everything in your closet.”
She smelled honest.
“I wasn’t involved in wrecking your stuff in any way. I didn’t know it was happening either.” Angelica also smelled honest.
Parece tugged my hand towards the door, “C’mon. I had no involvement in anything like that happening. I didn’t wreck anything. Didn’t ask for it to happen. Nothing like that. I didn’t realize it had happened until you showed me before the trial.”
Thank God. She smelled honest. Again. “Thank you. I just…I shouldn’t care so much about a laptop, but this means something to me, you know?”
She smiled over her shoulder, “What would you have done if it ended up being one of us?”
Fucking hell. “Umm, I don’t know? Probably not buy another one, I guess? And less clothes? And probably work on a way to get back at you when we’re back at school?”
“Huh, sounds about right. Good thing it wasn’t us. Now c’mon, new laptop. Your phone’s good, right?”
“Yeah. I replaced that. Just not the laptop and all of the clothes.”
The girls looked at the bags in my hands. It’s a good amount, just not everything. “One laptop, coming up!” Samantha corralled a young guy to help, and we walked out a half hour later lugging yet another bag.
“Where to now?”
“Umm, let’s go drop your stuff off? What do you want to do tonight? Go to a club? Just hang out at the hotel? We can get a movie fired up in the theater?”
Hmm, I like her thoughts, “I’m okay with either. Or even something else.”
“My vote’s for club.” Parece’s eyes lit up.
“You know what? Me too. Can we get into one?”
Samantha smiled at Angelica’s question, “Can we? You damn well know it. C’mon, let’s drop everything off and change. There are a ton of fantastic clubs to get into.”
We headed back to the hotel, continuing the chit-chat the entire way.
It’s so weird. It really is.
Even though Parece was my roommate, she didn’t like me. Samantha hated me. Angelica and I were allies, but she ditched me at the end due to lies people were spreading about me and what I had planned. No idea who had been doing that. As much as I want to find them and bust their skull wide open for fucking with me and making that last week a living nightmare, I have to salute their ability to get the entire class believing that I had these nefarious plans to murder everyone and collect their powers.
Now we’re hanging out like friends, all the while the three of them are pretty much making plans on how to kill us and steal our powers in school. Now, maybe they don’t act on it, but if the chance comes up? What I’ve been learning is that very few of them will fail to act on it if they feel they can get away with it. Especially if they think the other person would be a threat to them. After all, why pass on draining them dry now if they’re more than likely going to turn on you later in the trial? You’d be one stupid bitch if you passed it up only to have them slice your throat later.
I saw that with too many bodies in the trial.
Yeah, so turning on people is a way of life for too many of the students.
Even if they like each other. Even if they’re friends.
When the trial started, we had to spend one hour in a huge room with weapons all over the floor and hanging on the wall. The doors closing signaled the start, and two kids went down nearly instantly, being taken down and killed by their allies. Then more went down within like ten seconds.
One was a girl that was dating the guy with her. The last things she said was you said you loved me. His response was that he loved her power. Then he killed her. I’m happy to say that he didn’t make it.
Making it through the trial is all about personal power and your allies. Enough power will compensate for a ton. But enough allies will do the same. The problem is that if you have two allies with you and you get hurt? You have to determine whether or not calling one will result in them killing you and draining you. Taking advantage of you being hurt. Now, if there are two,
then maybe they won’t risk it because the other will attack them when their back is turned.
It’s a fucked-up mess, it really is.
One that I don’t understand.
To me, an ally is someone you stick with. You help. You guard. Protect. I helped kids that I literally never talked to in person before. Fuck, except for me, Levi, the guy that hates me the most in the entire school, wouldn’t have made it out of the trial at all. I could have killed him. I could have left him to lose his magic. Instead, I saved his ass and threw him across the final challenge in front of me. Even risking not making it myself so that he could make it.
Yet the others don’t feel that way.
I think they want to, though. They’re just brought up in such a way that failing to take advantage of the situation may mean that they in turn are killed by someone else. Or maybe they don’t test highly enough, and their own parents kill them.
So bizarre. Seriously.
That means that even this time together? Travelling around the country in the same car? Sleeping in the same space? Sharing meals? All of the normal friendship type things? None of that may matter to them when the blood starts flying during the trial or challenges are being made mid-year. Again, they’d be so stupid to pass up an opportunity only to learn that the other person has the upper hand later on.
I can see their thinking. I just don’t…it doesn’t really register to me. Even with these three. Unless they come for me, I don’t see me planning to kill them. Or anyone, really. Hell, I only wanted to kill Levi because he was a constant dick to me. Threatening. Making fun of. Constantly ragging on me about being a stricken and how he’d kill me. Rape me. Drain me. All of that. And yet I still didn’t kill him when I had the chance.
Which I get that I’m gonna pay for at some point.
Honestly, I probably should have killed him. I just couldn’t push myself to do that. I seriously hope he changes his mind. I really, really do. I don’t expect it, but I hope he does. I’ll be so pleasantly surprised by it all.
Our time back at the hotel passed quicker than I anticipated, with the girls finding clothes to wear in no time flat. Given my extensive knowledge of fashion, I was dressed far faster than any of them.