“After she’s got her egg you can meet her, if you want. She’s very, very quiet and shy, but maybe you and your friends can get her out of her shell.”
She’s got high expectations of me. What have I got myself into?
“Of course. We’ll be at Flamethrower’s.”
“The burger place?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’ll take her over. Thank you, really. I owe you one.”
I smile sheepishly. “It’s fine, really.”
“I’ll let you get back to lunch now.” She backs away in embarrassment, calling her companion to follow. “See you tomorrow.”
That was awkward, but I’m a mentor now. I just need to be laid-back and gentle like Marco was; that helped me when I was learning. There’s nothing worse than having a mentor who will push you too hard. I don’t want to overwhelm the poor girl.
“Hey, what was that about?” Rocky glances at Lilac as she returns to her friends.
“Oh, she asked me to mentor her sister. She’s a triplet, so Lilac could only mentor one.”
My brother beams with pride. “Well done! You’ll do great!”
“Is the sister hot?” Braith leans closer over the table.
“Braith!”
She holds her hands up with a shocked expression. “I can’t wait forever for ya, Hazy. I’ve got needs. But, I’m always here whenever you decide to switch teams.”
Rocky and I decide to ignore her comment, as he pulls me close to him in a hug. “Haze, you’ll do fantastic. It’s a huge responsibility, though.”
“I know. I don’t need the lecture, okay?” I giggle playfully, squirming in his arms.
“You’re not going to tell her about the markings, are you?” Braith’s tone turns serious, and her signature grin has been wiped from her face as she anxiously awaits my answer.
I can’t burden Violet with what’s happening. She is not involved, and I intend to keep it that way. If she were to see my markings, however, I’ll come clean. I wouldn’t be comfortable lying to her and breaking her trust so early on.
“No. She doesn’t need to know.”
Rocky nods his approval, while Braith sighs: “Good. We don’t need to drag more people into this mess. But, if you’re going to be a mentor, I want you to know that you can ask me for advice any time.”
“Thanks,” I mumble, smiling half-heartedly as she grins excitedly.
I really should be asking Marco for advice. He was my mentor, after all, but this stupid separation thing is still crap. If I need anything, I guess I’ll just write to him. But I know that Braith reads anything she delivers, so I’m not sure that’s a good idea.
Oh well.
I guess I’ll just wait and see.
* * *
“What time do you think she’ll be here?” Braith asks again.
“I dunno. Give her a chance.”
I’ve invited Rocky, Braith and Wes to meet the girl that I’ll be teaching. She might see them occasionally and I want to minimize the number of awkward encounters.
“Oh, great,” Rocky sighs irritably and puts his face in his hands.
Braith looks towards the door and points excitedly. I follow her gaze and I’m pleasantly surprised to see Marco come in with Mason and Sadie. A few others follow who I don’t recognize, but I don’t care about them.
He’s finally cut his hair. It’s now short and tufty like Mason’s, but it suits him better than looking like a surfer. My face heats up at the thought of him looking more handsome than usual. As they all sit down, I see how miserable he looks. Previously he told me how he didn’t like any of his old ‘friends’. He doesn’t want to hang out with them. But I realize that he has no choice, as I’m always with Braith or Wes, so I suppose he doesn’t really get the chance to hang out with the group anymore.
“What’s he doing here?” Rocky groans.
“He’s got a face like a smacked ass.” Braith waves her hand in Rocky’s face to silence him. “I don’t think he’s happy with them.”
“I wouldn’t be,” I say.
I find myself staring at him, half-hoping he would notice me. His eyes are locked on the table, although he isn’t engaging in any of the conversations.
“When is this chick coming again?” Braith whines, with her chin resting on the table.
“Braith, I still don’t know,” I slap her hand away as she tries to poke me with a fork. “I need the toilet.”
“You know where it is?” my brother asks.
“Yes. The eagle bush, I remember.” Before they can follow me, I rush into the bathroom to give myself a minute to think.
I can’t just leave him.
I can’t believe money is standing between me and my best friend. Surely I should ignore it and pretend everything is normal? I may be in debt for the rest of my life but maybe it will be worth it?
What am I thinking?
It’s horrible. Either way, the outcome won’t be good.
With a heavy heart, I go to re-join the others, but I’m yanked inside the boys’ toilet when I pass by the door. With my heart racing, I panic as the person’s grip tightens.
What do I do? A cold stream of water shoots out of my hands and at the person’s feet, making them jump back in surprise.
“Haze, stop!”
How can I not recognize that voice?
Squealing happily, I jump into Marco’s arms and snuggle into his chest. For a moment he tenses up, before relaxing and muttering in my ear: “I just wanted to talk to you.”
“In the toilet? How did you know no-one was in here?”
“I took a chance.”
“Ew.”
“Whatever; just be glad I didn’t hide in the girls’ toilets.”
Without letting me go, he starts fiddling around in his pocket and shoves paper in my hand. Money, to be exact – a lot of it. “What is-” He cuts me off as someone knocks on the door from the outside.
“Mr White? Is everything okay in there?” a man’s voice rings out.
“Yeah. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“A commoner wants to come in, so you’d better hurry up.”
“My protector,” he whispers, seeing my confused expression. “I just needed to talk to you; letters aren’t the same.”
“I know. But we haven’t found a safe area to meet yet. Either protectors or other students go to the places we’ve already scouted.”
Braith and I have looked around, behind shops or secluded areas, but each is visited too often to use. It’s getting frustrating; we may never find a place.
“It’s okay.” He rests his head on top of mine. “We’ll work around this, I swear.”
“So, the money...?” I don’t feel comfortable putting it away; I don’t want it. It makes feel like I’m using him for his money.
“For the fines. Both of them. I don’t want Aqueous’ working funds to run dry.”
“No, don’t-”
Messing my hair up with his chin, he sighs: “Hey, in that first letter you told me it was my fine, and it’s true. If I didn’t have a protector it wouldn’t have happened. As for the second one, I’m just being nice.”
“No, please...” I try to shove the notes back in his pocket, but he holds my arm back. “I won’t be able to pay you back...”
Smiling widely, he strokes my back softly. “Talking to you is payment enough.”
“Mr White!” The protector bangs continuously on the door.
“I’ve got to go.” His eyes glaze over as he backs away. “I hope I can see you again soon.”
“Please, another minute...” I bolt to block the door stubbornly, my hand practically glued to the handle.
He rolls his eyes at me, amused. “No. You’ll get in trouble.”
“If you won’t come out, I’ll come in!” the protector warns.
Effortlessly, he pushes me out the way and kisses my cheek softly, staying a second too long, making my skin burn in embarrassment. “I’ll write to you tonight, I swear.” He turns
to leave before swinging back around and brushing my fringe back gently. “Stop hiding behind your hair. How am I going to see your pretty face if your hair is constantly blocking it?”
Before I can object, he’s gone. I can hear his protector scolding him outside, and Marco brushing him off. It was nice to talk to him again, even though we talked about crap. I didn’t even ask him for mentoring advice.
“I knew you were in here!”
My head snaps up as Rocky enters the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
Oh crap.
“Rocky, I-”
“No, I’ll talk,” he warns, his face contorted into anger. “You and Marco are not one person, I don’t know why, after every opportunity you have to get away, you go running back to him!”
“He’s my-”
“Look, Violet is sat outside waiting for you! You’re just standing around in here, wasting yet more of your life talking to that prick!”
Violet’s outside?
Why am I still in here then?
I side-step around him to get out the door; he follows me out, his eyes narrowed and waiting for my answer. “I need to see her. We’ll talk later.” As he opens his mouth to retort, I kiss him on the cheek before rushing outside.
Violet is the first person I spot at the table. A smaller version of Lilac, she has chin-length curly ginger hair and dull grey eyes. Her face is small and covered in freckles, and she is a lot shorter than my friends, who practically swamp her in size. Her skin is pale and her frame is quite chubby.
“There she is!” Braith points at me excitedly, making Violet look up timidly.
“Hey.” I greet the new girl, but she just smiles back shyly.
“Can she talk?” Wes asks, eyeing her up suspiciously.
Lilac did say that her sister was quiet and shy, so we need to be patient with her; she might open up if we give her time. Rocky sits down looking sour. He won’t meet my gaze, instead crossing his arms stubbornly.
“Can we see your egg?” I ask her softly.
With a sharp nod, she lifts a large cream egg with brown splotches onto the table, making my heart sink slightly. It’s a rare dragon, so how am I supposed to attend her higher training sessions as a commoner? All the premiers in her Year are bound to attend too, so I could get swamped in fines each lesson.
“Woah,” Braith picks up the egg, handling it with great care. “This one is huge. It might beat Asteroid in the size department.”
“Our dragons will be happy to have a new friend,” Wes comments.
“Can I see them?” Violet speaks up for the first time, but her voice is a barely a whisper.
“Yeah, sure. They’re outside.”
Rocky stays sulking at the table as we go outside, not excited in the slightest for her to meet our companions. Cerberus is the first to spot us, yelping and jumping around as we approach. Surprisingly, Violet runs towards her and starts fussing over the brown dragon, who can’t get enough of the attention.
“Aw! It’s so cute!” Braith coos as Aqueous and Asteroid join in.
In fact, all the dragons in the paddock want to be touched by Violet, trying to squeeze as close to the fence as possible to join in on the fun. Drea is also vying for a chance to join in, as well as Fortune and Exquisite.
This is…unusual.
“What is going on?” Wes murmurs. “This never happens!”
“I guess she’s just really good with dragons?” I throw in unhelpfully, still trying to wrap my head around the scene before me.
Violet beams at us, petting Fortune with one hand and an unknown dragon in the other. “What are their names?”
Wes pats Asteroid on the neck, who noses the unknown dragon out the way to be petted. “This is my companion, Asteroid.”
“This is Damayanti!” Braith squeals, her arms locked around her companion’s neck.
Aqueous’ concentration breaks off when I stroke his nose, and he looks at me with over-excitable eyes. “My partner is Aqueous.”
Violet ignores the other dragons to stroke my partner; he practically melts in her eyes. “A black common dragon,” she breathes. “You’re lucky.”
“Yeah, I know.”
The ginger girl glances at her little pink flowery handbag, out of which her egg pokes. “I hope mine is as funny as these guys,” she murmurs, mostly to herself.
This girl is mysterious. She’s as quiet as Lilac said she would be, but she seems comfortable around dragons, which is understandable I guess if she doesn’t really like people. She will have a great companion at this rate; maybe that’s what will bring her out of her shell.
“Can we go to the shops quickly?” Wes suddenly asks, opening the gate to let our companions out of the paddock.
“How come? Are you bored already?” Braith clambers onto Damayanti’s back, swinging her legs like a child.
“No; we need to get our textbooks for the year and our dragon amateur kits. Not to mention Violet needs her starter kit,” Wes says, matter-of-factly.
Fuck, I forgot about that. The shops only sell them today, otherwise we have to pay double to get the textbooks from school.
“Yeah, we have time.” I glance at Rocky through the restaurant window, and motion him over as he looks up with a quizzical glare.
As he lumbers outside he raises an eyebrow when he sees Violet playing with the dragons in the paddock, but makes no comment about it. “Yes?” he mutters through gritted teeth.
“We’re going to the shops to get our dragon kits and textbooks. Are you coming?” I play with my fingers sheepishly.
“Fine. Whatever.”
I’m going to have to do a lot to make things up to him. I don’t even know why I should anyway; he’s the one making a huge fuss out of nothing. Marco is my best friend; how can he expect me to just drop him with no notice? I refuse to do what Maya did.
I won’t drop Marco for some idiotic reason.
Rocky will just have to live with that.
32
Chapter Thirty-Two
“You’ll need to explain again; I’m still not getting it,” Rocky says, tapping the table impatiently.
Braith sighs, opening Bonfire’s book again, the Original fire elemental. “Before Bonfire bravely investigated Draca’s lair in the mountains, the Original Elementals had no idea why Draca would attack them with such ferocity and hatred. His discovery was that Draca wanted the Original Elementals for their elements, which the dragon thought could be obtained by swallowing the Original Elementals whole.”
“How did he find that out from looking at the damned thing?” Rocky tries to take the book from Braith, only for her to yank it back protectively.
“Let me finish!” she whines, kicking her feet against the table childishly.
My brother puts his hands up apologetically. “Fine, fine, continue.”
Before continuing, Braith takes a deep breath, probably for effect. “However, due to the markings on the Original Elementals’ backs, Draca struggled to swallow them, as Bonfire found out, because the markings would heat up and burn its throat until it coughed them back up.”
“Bonfire got swallowed?” Wes’ eyes widen in amazement.
“Yes, shh!” Braith puts her finger against his lips, making him move his chair back in disgust. “Anyway, if I may,” she clears her throat, glaring at all three of us around the table. “I will finish. Bonfire managed to escape, leaving an enraged Draca behind him.”
For a few seconds no-one speaks, until Rocky sighs and squeezes the bridge of his nose irritably.
“Are you done now?” he asks.
Braith closes the book excitedly. “Mm-hm! Whaddaya think?”
“At least that clears up why Draca wants us,” I chip in before Rocky or Wes can start asking questions. “Good job, Braith.”
Her eyes light up like a Christmas tree, and she leaps across the table to sit on my lap. “Thanks, Hazy! Your approval means the most to me, let’s kiss it out!”
As she leans down to kiss me, Rocky
yanks her off and pushes her lightly back into her seat, his eyes burning with fury.
“Braith, you’ll tell Marco, won’t you?” Wes asks sheepishly.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll tell ‘im, although I’m sure he’d prefer Hazy telling him.”
My eyes burn slightly, but I quickly blink any forming tears away. I miss Marco, but we still have the letters; he’s even started spraying his cologne so they smell like him. Every letter reminds me of when he kissed me in the bathroom, which makes me squirm with embarrassment. He’s kissed me like that before and it’s been no problem, so I don’t understand what’s different this time.
My brother snaps me out of my daydream by huffing irritably. “He’ll have to deal with you instead; I’m sure he doesn’t care that much.”
“He does, believe me,” Braith shoots back, glaring at Rocky to keep silent.
“So...” Wes leans on the table, obviously trying to change the subject. “Draca...”
“The solution is easy, dude. Don’t get swallowed.”
“Braith, that’s not a solution. How am I supposed to prevent that?” Wes sighs irritably.
Tapping her chin lightly in thought, she suddenly jumps up and bangs her hand on the table. “We eat loads of hot stuff, then it’ll be even more unpleasant for Draca!”
“That’s beyond stupid.” Rocky rolls his eyes, leaning back in his chair and staring blankly at the table.
Braith’s lip quivers slightly in mock hurt. “You come up with an idea then, jackass.”
“You’re a jackass.”
“No, you!”
“I’m not arguing about this-”
“You’re a huge jackass, I bet you’re only like that to compensate for something.” She shoots a quick glance at his crotch.
My brother goes bright red, his mouth open in shock. “That is not true and you know it!”
“Maybe that’s why Ciara-”
Before Braith can finish her sentence, Rocky shoots up and flips the table on her. “Fuck you!”
Damayanti rushes over, nosing the table off a shivering Braith. The girl snuggles into her companion’s chest, her brown eyes wide with fear.
Elemental Dragons Book 1: Blood and Water Page 25