“Great. You can have a few minutes to rest and then we’ll take you over.”
Maya rolls her eyes as I talk, which is just rude.
What the hell happened to her? A minute ago, she was vulnerable and in tears, and now she’s rude and uninterested. If that’s the way she’s going to be, we’ll take her to the hotel and leave her to it. Seeing as she can’t appreciate what anyone is doing for her, why should we help her further?
“I am not going anywhere without any clothes.” Maya pushes my brother away roughly as he tries to help her stand.
She’s deliberately being difficult.
I’ve had enough. “Fine. Wait here.”
I’m thankful that I’m able to leave the bathroom for a bit, to give myself a chance to cool down. Sifting through my drawer, I look for anything that could fit the injured girl. She’ll have to make do with whatever I find.
“Hazel!”
The door swings open, slamming against the wall and leaving a large grey mark. Wes runs up to me, his eyes wide with excitement.
“I’ve got a lead!” He presents me with a small black leather book with the title: Markings.
I take the book from him and flick through the pages, surprised by sketches and photographs of lions and leopards with elemental markings. “Where did you...?”
“Ray found out about my markings,” he confesses. “He convinced his Dad to buy the book for him. Apparently, that bookshop has an entire shelf on elemental markings on anything!”
“Which shop?”
“'Advanced Readers’. The one that students are barred from entering.”
“Of course.”
He scuffs his foot on the floor repeatedly. “But...”
“But what?”
“I told Ray that you and Rocky also have the markings. He wants to see you two after the meeting tonight.”
Fuck me.
I don’t want to go anywhere near him after what he did today! Plus, I hate the Cindaraan HQ. It’s gloomy and I feel as if my every move is being watched. One step out of line, and they’ll know.
“Look, Wes I-”
“I know you hate it! But Ray can get us information! We can’t turn this down, we can’t afford to.” He looks up at me with big, sad eyes. “It won’t be for long, Hazel. Please?”
I really want to say no.
“Ugh, fine.”
Fuck!
His gaze brightens again and he takes the book from me. “Yes! I’ll go tell him. I’ll say that you don’t feel well so he won’t keep you for too long!” Before I can say anything, my friend has rushed back outside, slamming the door against the wall again.
There’s too much going on.
I can’t keep up.
Remembering the clothes for Maya, I pick out an old pink top and black shorts. Both are tatty, but they’ll have to do. A soft paw strokes my leg, and I look down just as Normie decides to climb up my body, leaving me no choice but to hold him like a baby. Aqueous chirps from my bed, repeatedly pointing at the beige cat with his claw. The cat doesn’t reply, just closes his eyes and purrs in my arms.
Apparently, I’m forgiven for having him neutered.
With Normie in my arms, I return to the bathroom, and realize how cramped my stall is with four people in it. Everyone inside is shooting filthy glares at each other, but I don’t ask about it.
“Here,” I throw the clothes to Maya. “Put them on.”
She scrunches her face up. “Don’t you have anything better?”
“Fine.” I snatch the clothes away from the ungrateful girl. “You can wander around naked. Rocky, pick her up.”
“N-No! I’ll wear them!”
“Make up your bloody mind!” The clothes smack her in the face as I throw them at her again, this time with more force.
She looks taken aback by my sour attitude, but I’m not going to apologise. Why should I? She’s the one being an ungrateful brat.
“Hazel, come outside,” Marco whispers and leads me outside, shutting the stall door behind him.
He looks at me expectantly, his body language relaxed. He wants me to talk to him, but I don’t feel like talking.
“I’m not apologising.” I grit my teeth.
He chuckles and tucks my hair behind my ears. “You sound just like Rocky, you know that?”
I don’t reply, just cross my arms like a sulking toddler.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
With a sigh, I voice my concerns. “Ray wants to see Rocky and me tonight. Wes told him about our markings.”
My friend raises an eyebrow. “Wes told him?”
“Ray found out about his somehow, so Wes spilled the beans when Ray got him a book about elemental markings from the non-student bookshop.”
“Oh? Is it helpful?”
“I haven’t looked through it yet.” Normie stretches in my arms, purring once more as he settles down.
My friend is silent for a few seconds before sighing. “Please don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t need to relax, okay?”
At this point, Maya and Rocky emerge from the stall, Maya now wearing the clothes I offered her. My brother looks angry; he’s had enough of Maya as well.
“Let’s go.”
13
Chapter Thirteen
Escorting Maya to the hotel is a nightmare. Many Cindaraans we pass call us traitors and throw rocks at us, but our companions fight them all off. No-one dares to touch Marco with Drea flying above their heads, her stony gaze locked on the crowd, waiting. Cerberus and Aqueous shoot electricity and water at the crowd’s feet, making them back off. For some reason Normie decided to come; he’s currently sitting on Cerberus’ back, ears swivelling and nose twitching at all of the noise and new scents. He probably thinks we’re going to go to a place full of food, and doesn’t want to miss out.
He’s going to be disappointed when we arrive.
“Magma!” Maya suddenly shouts, waving her arms excitedly.
Her companion limps towards us, one of his feet drawn up next to his chest. He looks pretty badly beaten up, and one of his horns has been snapped off at the base, leaving a short stump. He noses Maya affectionately but pulls away upon noticing her injuries. He whimpers softly, his emerald-green eyes wide with concern.
At least her companion is okay. I heard that having your connection broken is like dying; part of you can never be replaced.
“Let’s keep going, the longer we hang around the higher the risk that Ray will come along.” Marco nudges Rocky forward who shoots him a venomous glare but listens to his advice anyway.
The yellow walls of the hotel soon come into view. I feel a pang of sadness that this is where I’d seen Mum for the first time. She hadn’t been able to come to see us since; she’s been too busy with work. Rocky and I still get our allowance each week, which isn’t much compared to others, but it’s enough to buy meals when we want to go out.
Rocky stops at the door and hauls Maya onto Magma’s back. “This is as far as we go.”
“Okay,” is all she says.
Magma turns and limps through the entrance. Maya doesn’t even look back at us.
No ‘thank you’? Really?
“Where to?” Marco breaks the silence, making me inwardly relieved.
Rocky shrugs. “I dunno.” He tears his gaze away from Maya. “What time is it?”
My friend checks his watch, and his eyes widen. “Haze, we need to go back and get our costumes, we’ve got ten minutes!”
“So? Mr Knight won’t mind,” I shrug.
“Mr Reedman is taking the lesson today!”
Before Rocky can question us, we’re tearing down the road.
Cerberus follows us, her mouth wide open in the wind. She probably thinks we’re playing some kind of fun game, and she doesn’t want to be left out. Drea flies overhead, Aqueous clinging to her tail for dear life.
“Take Cerberus! I’ll meet you on the field!” Marco and Drea break off, running in the opposite direct
ion.
What the hell am I supposed to do with Cerberus?
My cabin finally comes into view, so I throw the door open. Grabbing my costume from my drawer, I rush into the stall to throw it on. Aqueous clings to my back the entire time, which doesn’t help.
When I’m done, Cerberus is waiting outside for me. Upon noticing me, she stops chasing her tail and lowers herself to the floor. Aqueous chirps and climbs on her back, taking a seat next to a frazzled Normie. The brown dragon curls her tail towards her back, motioning for me to climb on.
“Really? Are you sure?”
The dragon growls her approval. Carefully, I climb onto her back. Her scales are rough and slightly warm, but they don’t scratch my skin. As soon as I’m comfortable, she rushes forward in a sprint. Taken by surprise, I lean forward and wrap my arms around her neck, squeezing my eyes shut. A furry ball presses against my stomach, meowing and wailing loudly.
Why does Mr Reedman want to take the lesson anyway? He has Monday to Thursday lessons, and he just makes us have one to ones with our mentors anyway! He wanders around to make sure we’re working, but he’s never taught us once.
Cerberus dodges people who are blissfully unaware of her in the street. The field isn’t too far away from my cabin, so I don’t have to endure this for long. The brown dragon screeches to a halt, kicking up dirt and grass into my face. She stops a few metres from the large crowd that has gathered on the field. She allows me to get off before trotting over to Rocky, who looks amused at her performance. Normie still clings to my shirt, his ears flat on his head and his eyes wide with terror.
“Hey, you almost killed me!”
Marco jogs up to me, Drea trotting at a steady pace beside him.
“Huh?”
“Cerberus almost ran me over!” he wheezes, stopping to get his breath back.
“Well, you’re fine now.”
He pries Normie off me and strokes his head. “Aww, he’s spooked.”
“Well, you were. Why wouldn’t he be?” I tease, jabbing his shoulder.
“Everyone sit down! The lesson is starting!” Mr Reedman booms, his face bright red with anger. A tiny vein throbs on his head, which students have nicknamed the ‘volcano’; it appears when he’s furious.
Immediately everyone drops to the floor. All conversations end and all dragons sit patiently with their partners.
“Today you will be working with your element to attack each other. It is time your mentors taught you and your dragons some offensive and defensive moves.” Many people exchange worried glances. “All water Elementals will be in the river and all earth Elementals will be in the ditch so they can get used to their environments.” He shakes his hand dismissively. “Off you go.”
Marco grabs my arm and pulls me close as people push and shove to get to their places. Normie clings to my friend’s waist, making him wince and mutter under his breath. When the coast is clear, we make our way over to the river, where the others have already waded in. My heart thumps at the thought of attacking my best friend, or him attacking me, for that matter. He hasn’t let go of my arm yet, and I can tell he’s uneasy. We undress and wade into the river in silence, with me keeping my back from everyone. Aqueous wades in next to me, while Drea settles on the riverbank with Normie sat between her front legs.
“What are we going to do?” I ask, breaking the awkward silence.
He’s silent for a few seconds before sighing. “Let’s get into the shallows.”
I follow him silently until we are able to stand up, our waists above the water.
“Are we doing offensive or defensive?”
He dodges my question. “I don’t know why you’re learning this stuff this year. I only started a few months ago.” He looks up at me again, his eyes burning with fury. “We’ll do defensive. I’m not attacking you.”
“Okay. Whatever you think is best.”
Inside, I’m panicking. I’ve never seen him so upset over a lesson. These moves must be bad, otherwise he wouldn’t want me learning them.
“You need to create a wall of water in front of you,” he explains. “If you struggle creating it from thin air, use the river water. Just push your arms up, hands balled into fists.”
I do as he says, but for the first few times I’m just picking up a small amount of water from the river. However, Marco points out that each time I try it grows bigger, which makes me feel a little better. Finally, after a good fifteen minutes of trying, I’m able to throw up a wall of water in front of me that’s big enough to cover my body, head to toe.
“Good.” Marco’s mood hasn’t improved. “Now you need to try curling the water around your body like a ball.”
He pushes me towards the ground, arms and legs tucked close to my body. With my head bowed, he tells me to think about a thick layer of water covering my body. I find this easier to do, and have water surrounding me, front and back, as a defensive shell. With no warning, I’m hit by a ball of fire. It explodes against my defence, flinging me into the river. I’m shell-shocked for a few seconds before remembering to form an air bubble around my head.
I’m too scared to return to the surface.
I can see silhouettes swimming above me. A few people dive down with their air bubbles before returning to the surface again.
They’re looking for me.
My body hits the bottom of the river but I don’t care; I’m too scared to move. Despite the scratchy sand rubbing against my skin I make no move to swim upwards.
Aqueous comes into view and paws at my side. He opens and closes his mouth in his air bubble, but I can’t hear his quiet yaps. He grabs my hand with his claws and tries to pull me to the surface, but I’m not sure if I want to. I could get attacked again.
But Marco will be worried.
And Rocky.
At that point, I decide to swim up to the surface. My brother will be worried sick once he finds out; I don’t want to keep him waiting if he already knows. Upon emerging from the dark water a familiar face throws himself at me, clinging to my waist as if I was going to sink.
“Are you okay?” Marco whispers in my ear while hugging me tightly in his arms.
“I’m fine. I just got scared.”
“I know. I was scared too.”
“How despicable.”
I look up fearfully at Mr Reedman, who is standing on the riverbank, smirking. It was him. It must have been. Marco wouldn’t do that to me, and it came from the opposite direction anyway.
“That behaviour would have got you killed,” he glares at me coldly, his face expressionless. “You need to react faster. Come on, attack me now.”
“Leave her alone!” Marco pulls away from me and puts his middle finger up at Mr Reedman. “She hasn’t learned any offensive moves. She’s staying on the defensive side.”
The strict teacher shakes his head. “She needs to learn offensive moves! Otherwise you’ll get her killed!”
“Why do we need to learn this?” I demand. “I don’t understand!”
“You could get attacked at any moment!” Mr Reedman starts pacing up and down. “Everyone needs to learn to fight because I said so!”
Marco opens his mouth to argue more but Mr Reedman storms off. He pauses for a second to kick Drea in the leg, making her hiss and jump up. Eruption lands behind her and grabs her tail, making the white dragon roar in fury and attack him.
“Drea, no!” Marco clambers onto the riverbank and tries to get between the two fighting dragons, only to be held back by other students standing nearby.
My friend’s companion bites Eruption’s wing, shaking her head violently. The black and red dragon howls in pain and hooks Drea’s leg with his claws and trips her up. The white dragon isn’t prepared to back down, however, and swipes at him, leaving long claw marks on his front leg. She then jumps up and spreads her wings to propel herself into the air, only for him to bite her wing and yank her back down to the dirt. While she’s down, she lets go of Eruption in the confusing fray, allowing him to pi
n her head down with his foot. She can’t move or her head will be crushed by the larger dragon. He bares his sharp teeth, gloating over his victory.
However, he isn’t done yet.
His teeth plunge into her neck, making her squirm and scream in pain and fury. Blood flows down her face, her mouth open in a horrified scream.
“No! Stop!” Marco’s screams can barely be heard over his companions’.
Mr Reedman looks on smugly, not intending to help.
Then Aqueous flies towards Eruption, breathing ice-cold water at him. The large dragon looks up only to jump back as cold water blasts his face, rendering him unable to see. This gives other dragons the courage to help. Soon Eruption is surrounded by dragons, big and small. They look ready to pounce on the large beast, their claws digging into the dirt and their wings spreading out to propel themselves forward in a coordinated attack.
“Enough!” Mr Reedman finally intervenes, waving Eruption over to him.
The large dragon roars at his enemies, before he lumbers over to his companion with one eye closed, the one that Aqueous hit. His mouth is covered in Drea’s blood, staining his teeth crimson red. The two of them walk away, not even bothering to apologise or explain themselves.
I look back at Drea. Marco is leaning over her, his head on hers. I hesitate about approaching; he might not want me to interrupt. Quickly I wrap my towel around myself to hide my markings.
I can’t just leave him alone.
As I get closer I can see tears rolling down his face. He hardly ever cries; he’s really worried about her. If I were in his position, I’d be crying bucketfuls like he is.
The second I crouch next to him, he buries his face in my hair with his arms wrapped around my waist. Drea’s chest rises and falls slowly.
She’s still alive.
“There!”
Three people in white uniforms crouch next to Drea, holding shiny silver boxes. One briefly looks over the wound.
“She’s alive, but we need to fix her up immediately.”
The people push Marco and me back, which he surprisingly doesn’t react to. He stares blankly at Drea, fear written all over his face.
Elemental Dragons Book 1: Blood and Water Page 11