by K.W. McCabe
Chapter 2
The Recollections of Todd Burns – Anno Draconis 3-20-0020
The dragons’ arrival was a terrible and fascinating time. It felt much like opening a favorite book and discovering favorite bad-ass characters were actually real – and coming for you. To many, the dragons’ arrival was a nightmare born into reality. To me, their presence gave man the chance to prove he could rise to the challenge.
I’m not too proud to admit I was wrong, horribly wrong.
Humans fought. Our fear of dragonkind created a unity which was almost beautiful. After years of fighting amongst ourselves, at last we banded together against our common enemy. Maybe it wasn’t surprising, considering our predilection for war. Perhaps it was inevitable.
So we fought – and we died. Dragonkind was too alien, too terrifying, and too impossible to accept. We would have fought and died to the last man, but they didn’t allow it. They came among us in human form. And I, even I, fell under their spell.
Dragons were beautiful and terrifying in any guise, but the appearance they took to end the war was the most terrible of all. The only safety from that form? Never let their gaze touch one at all.
So, I give warning. Beware, those who have not seen them in that guise yet. They are only recognizable by these two things: Their exceedingly perfect beauty – and their eyes.
Anno Draconis 1-17-0051
It was torture. It was ridiculous. Cecily should have known Brian would be too much of a cretin to wait a few more days. They’d broken up for less than a week, damn it, and he’d picked her of all people! Jessica McEvans, the one person Cecily had hated since the first grade.
He’d done it on purpose.
Tara nudged her. “Cecily, if you don’t stop staring at her, she’s going to notice!”
Cecily and Tara were the only two sitting at the food-stained, slightly rusted cafeteria table. If others had been sitting with them, it would have been humiliating. Cecily dragged her eyes away from the two people who’d just made her Most-Wished-To-Be-Eaten-By-A-Dragon list. She hunched her shoulders, ignoring Tara’s sigh of relief as she focused on her food. Eating the school’s tasteless food was hard enough. Usually she forced herself anyway. But pretending she didn’t care about Brian stressed her out, draining her determination. She pushed her food away. “Thanks, Tara. It’s been hard.”
Tara nodded, her eyes dark with sympathy. “Yeah, I see what you mean about him being a jerk. I mean, seriously. Jessica?”
“Thanks, Tara, I needed that.”
“Yeah, I know.” Tara grinned. “Now, let’s bounce out of here and head to class.”
Cecily calmed as they walked away from Brian and Jessica. Sad as it was, she was even more relieved when she and Tara headed to the locker room for their next class. Phys-ed was the only class Cecily had that Brian and Jessica didn’t attend. Tension eased from her shoulders and she exhaled. Finally, she could breathe.
She and Tara changed into their t-shirts and gym sweats, then exited the locker room’s back door onto the cool grass of the field. The large brown-haired coach, Mr. Ferguson, was talking in his deep gravelly voice to a student, so Cecily still had a few minutes to warm up. She focused on stretching as she sat on the grass, bending all the way over until her breath blew warm against her legs.
She’d started her toe touches when she felt Tara nudge her hard. She frowned and looked up. Everyone was frozen, focused on two figures in gym clothes walking toward them on the field. Coach Ferguson stood so still, for a moment Cecily thought he wasn’t breathing. His dark brown eyes were wide, and his face white. Beside her, even Tara who was always fidgety and distracted, was silent.
What was going on? One of the two guys walking forward was the cutest guy Cecily had ever seen: black hair, tall, at least 6’1” . . . even Brian didn’t compare. But what was the big deal?
She frowned and focused on his face – and saw his eyes. They were green, but not a normal green. His eyes shone emerald green and at the center, instead of pupils, were black slits.
She swallowed. Dragon.
The black-haired male swept his green gaze over the group before walking up to the coach and motioning his companion over. His friend, blonde-haired with sapphire, black-slit eyes, stepped up beside him.
Tara poked her. “There they are!”
Cecily threw her an exasperated look. It was impossible for Tara to be quiet for long. Even the possibility of being eaten by a dragon wouldn’t change that.
“I see them,” she hissed, and turned forward as Coach Ferguson cleared his throat.
“Class, I want to make an announcement. Derek and Tariq are the two new students joining the class.”
The black-haired male called Derek nodded. His glance fell on Cecily and she froze. The feeling was the most uncomfortable experience she’d ever had, almost like drowning. Distantly, she remembered her father’s grim voice. Never look into their eyes, Cecily. Never do it. Not unless you want to fall under their spell.
It was so much worse than that. His gaze made her freeze, made her almost wish he would do something.
When his eyes drifted away from hers, she exhaled and slumped, her heart rate slowing. Tara touched her arm, and Cecily shook her head. “I’m fine.”
After that, she kept her eyes focused on her feet. Coach Ferguson welcomed them, sounding as though he wished they’d find some other class to terrorize. She heard him tell them to join the group.
Oh, no. Hopefully they wouldn’t sit next to her and Tara.
“Can we join you?” Derek’s green gaze pinned her to the ground.
Cecily closed her eyes. The amount of bad luck she’d had this week was insane. And that was being kind. Being forced to mingle with two dragons was the type of situation which suggested disintegrating karma of epic proportions. She looked up and opened her mouth to speak. When nothing came out, she settled for a begrudging nod.
“Awesome, thanks.” He nodded to Tara as he and his friend settled in the grass and began their stretches.
After a few minutes, Coach Ferguson, still ashen, ordered them to the track.
By the time they finished their laps, Cecily’s shoulders felt stiff. She’d stared straight ahead as they jogged, avoiding any head movement which would cause her eyes to meet theirs. Even Tara was subdued. They stopped as soon as Coach Ferguson called time.
Derek spoke. “Well, it was nice meeting you. In case you didn’t catch our names, I’m Derek, and this is Tariq.” Derek motioned toward his blond companion, who gave them a disinterested nod. Derek continued, “We’ll be here for the rest of the school year, so I figured we should get to know everyone. Don’t you think?”
Cecily flushed. “Yeah, sorry. My name is Cecily and this is Tara.”
Tara nodded mutely, her eyes wide as she stared at the two males.
“Nice to meet you.” Derek cocked his head. “Hopefully, next time will be less awkward, right?”
Cecily blinked. There was no safe way to respond. No one was rude to a dragon. Ever. Even if they hadn’t “officially” eaten anyone since the end of the dragon wars.
“Um, yeah, nice meeting you. Got to go to my next class, bye.” She grabbed Tara’s arm and turned to leave.
Once they’d walked far enough away, Tara finally spoke. “They didn’t seem so bad.”
Cecily stared at her. “Are you kidding me? You were about to crap your pants! You didn’t say one word the whole time!”
Tara waved her words away. “I was just focusing that’s all.” She tilted her chin. “It’s not like they tried to do anything.”
“You mean anything as in going dragon and eating the entire class for lunch?” Cecily said, wincing as she thought of her father.
“Basically.”
Cecily made a face and Tara giggled as they headed toward the locker room to clean up.
The Recollections of Todd Burns - Anno Draconis 3-20-0021
Dragonkind proved their
superiority in every way. Our famous beauties—actresses, actors, and models—were nothing compared to their ugliest human form. In sophistication and intelligence, they outclassed; in riches, they excelled. In art, they made us weep with the beauty of their creations. The most painful to us was their reaction to our medical science. They laughed. Then they showed us things we’d believed existed only in fairytales under the guise of magic. They had thousands upon thousands of years in which to perfect their knowledge – and it was vast.
However, they suffered from one obvious flaw. They were jaded, and bored. Sleeping for millennia was just a nap for them. Waking up to a changed world provided something different to investigate.
We know next to nothing of dragonkind’s communal society other than the perfect front they present. But encounters with young dragons show this: They are different from their immortal elders. They have awe, wonder, and an insatiable curiosity. They are also prone to defy the rules, thoughts, and deeds of their seniors.
They are, in fact, much like our own human children.
Anno Draconis 1-17-0051
What had drawn Derek to that human girl, Cecily? Why did it feel like he knew her? It didn’t make sense. He’d never seen her before. And why did it feel as though he’d been waiting for her to appear?
Derek barely noticed the students stumbling out of his path, and soon the hallways cleared, becoming easier to walk. The students dissappeared inside the rooms lined up and down on either side of the hall. He and Tariq were very late for their next class. Navigating Cathedral High’s worn hallways was as difficult as dealing with his brother, Sahak.
Derek and Tariq finally entered the classroom, opening the door and badly startling a small, black-haired woman standing at the front. She stared at them, her golden skin going pale, then pressed a trembling hand to her chest and cleared her throat. “I’m Mrs. Fong. Would you two be the ones scheduled to join the class?”
All the humans seemed so anxious around him and Tariq. What was it humans did when they attempted to soothe someone? Ah, yes. Baring teeth. Humans called it “smiling.”
Derek bared his teeth. “Yes, just tell me where we should sit.”
Mrs. Fong’s eyes shot to his teeth and she paled even further. She pointed a shaking finger at two desks in the rear of the room.
Fire of heavens, even smiling scared humans. Derek shrugged and motioned Tariq to follow him to the seats in the back. After running around the hallways for who knew how long, sitting in the drab, orange and gray, plastic and metal chairs would be a relief. Derek took one next to a pimply faced kid with drab hair, and bared his teeth, trying to be friendly. The teen promptly dropped all his pencils and stammered apologies while scrambling to pick them up.
He sighed. He’d have to figure out why baring his teeth wasn’t putting humans at ease like it should. He turned his attention back to Tariq who was twisting in his seat and grimacing.
“Derek, are you quite certain we can’t take the option Macsen offered us? At least the chairs at the corporate office are cushioned.”
Derek leaned back and stretched his legs, brushing the feet of the student in front of him who jumped, yelping. Why were all these humans so tense? He adjusted his position, then answered, “Of course I’m certain. We already tried the position, and you remember how it turned out.”
“It wouldn’t have turned out that way if you hadn’t messed with the imports data sheet and screwed with Sahak’s hoard. If you weren’t from Queen Saranyu’s favorite clutch we both would have been fried.”
Derek shrugged. “You know I’ve been trying forever to get them to let me fulfill the requirements the way I wanted to. I was sick of the corporate office. Every young draakon from every clutch first hatched before the awakening goes to that damn office. And the elder dragons always teach the same thing. Humans are easily led. Humans are impressionable. Humans are so stupid they tried to destroy the very planet they call home . . . .”
Tariq gave him a puzzled look. “Well, they did.”
“Maybe so, but I would rather find out first hand than listening to lectures while directing the human masses. And you have to admit the classes here are more interesting than running figures and data sheets all day.”
“Not by much,” Tariq muttered, crossing his arms.
“And I’ll still be able to fulfill my requirements before the deadline to present myself.”
“Whatever, I just don’t understand why we have to be in a high school to do it,” Tariq scowled.
Derek frowned. Attending the high school was nearly as good as living with humans in their natural habitat. All the humans at Severio Corp. were highly trained, carefully vetted, strictly controlled. Tariq knew that, so why was he being difficult? “You don’t have to stay. You’ve already completed the last of yours.”
“You know why I’m here. I don’t have the choices you have.”
Derek pursed his lips. He didn’t want to bare his teeth in the manner of dragonkind. It might scare the humans. He shrugged instead. “Well, if you’re going to tag along, keep your groaning to yourself. I intend to learn while I’m here, even if you don’t.”
The last bell rang and Derek and Tariq exited the room, Ms. Fong's silent stare brushing their backs as they left. They had talked the entire class time and she’d not told them to be silent even once.
Cecily waited impatiently with Tara for Daniel on the discolored front steps of the school. Cecily frowned as she surveyed the school grounds. They were almost empty. Curfew meant no hanging out at all except for scheduled events. Daniel was back in school, but walked with a limp, so he took longer to join them.
“Thank God classes are over.” Cecily fanned herself. “It always feels like the more you stare at the clock, the slower it goes.”
“Yeah, today was insane,” Tara agreed.
“I just wish . . .” Cecily stopped as Brian and Jessica exited the rust-stained front doors and halted in front of them.
“Hi, Cecily.” Jessica tossed gold hair out of her blue eyes and smirked, ignoring Tara. Brian stood with his hands in stuffed in his pockets, his brown eyes glinting.
She willed herself calm. “Hello, Jessica.” She ignored Brian and glanced back to see her twin brother limp to her side.
Daniel scowled. “Brian, you jackass, what are you doing here?” His dark eyes flashed. “You already had your chance with my sister.”
“Daniel, it’s cool,” Cecily said.
“No, it’s not.”
Brian stiffened, his hands tightening into fists. “What are you going to do about it? I already kicked your ass on the field.”
“I was following the rules on the field. But now,” Daniel gave an exaggerated look around the school grounds, “we aren’t on the field.”
Cecily shook her head franticly. Everyone knew Brian was a hothead. Daniel couldn’t afford to get in a fight with an injured knee. “Daniel, it’s okay. Your knee–”
“My knee is screwed for this entire season because of this weak ass player who–”
Brian charged, knocking Daniel to the ground with a painful thud, twisting Daniel’s injured knee awkwardly as they fell.
“Brian stop! You’ll hurt him!” Cecily yelled, diving toward Brian, trying to drag him off of Daniel.
Jessica jumped toward Cecily, hauling her away from Brian. “You heifer! Get off him!” She pulled back her fist to swing, but Tara grabbed two handfuls of Jessica’s long blonde hair and yanked hard.
Cecily straightened, but before she could decide whether or not to lay into Jessica, Derek walked up.
“Do you guys need help?” He sounded amused. Tariq stood beside him, his mouth twisted in disgust.
Tara, Jessica, and Cecily froze.
Jessica recovered first, yanking her hair out of Tara’s fist. “Well—”
Cecily shot her a murderous look before turning back to Derek. “That’s my brother Daniel, and the idiot he’s fighting is Brian.”
They
all looked at the two boys who were rolling around on the ground still trying to kill each other.
Derek looked back up at Cecily. “Do you want me to help your brother?”
She nodded reluctantly. She didn’t want his help, but Daniel’s knee had already been hurt badly enough.
Derek walked over and grabbed Brian upright by his arm, dragging him away. Brian cursed, turned, and froze when he saw who it was.
Derek looked him in the eye, his voice menacing. “I think you need to go.”
Brian nodded, his face white, and walked away. Surprised, Jessica called his name then scurried after him.
Daniel pushed himself off the ground, favoring his re-injured knee and grimacing with pain as Tara came to his side.
Cecily turned to Derek hesitantly. “Thanks for helping.”
He shrugged. “It’s cool, I’m glad I could help.” He glanced at Daniel who limped awkwardly. “I think I’ll make sure you guys get to where you’re going. He doesn’t look like he could defend himself if the other kid came back.”
Cecily blinked. “It’s okay, you don’t have to. We can get home on our own.” She didn’t want more of his help. Nothing good would happen if Dad saw her with dragons.
“No, I insist,” Derek said. “I wouldn’t want anything else to happen.”
Cecily glanced at him, avoiding his direct gaze. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Derek shot a look at his friend standing off to the side who still looked disgusted. “You coming, Tariq?”
Tariq rolled his eyes. “I’m coming.”
Cecily paused, glancing over to make sure Daniel was okay. He had an arm around Tara’s shoulder while she whispered in his ear. Seeing them together was weird. She felt like a third wheel. She turned her eyes toward the ground and focused on walking.
They were all quiet until Derek spoke. “So what was that all about?”
Cecily startled and looked up at him. “What? Oh, the fight?”
He nodded. “Is that normal behavior?”
She shook her head. “No, but Brian’s been hating on my brother since the university scouts started soliciting him. Daniel’s already been accepted into Lymans for June.” She bit her lip. “If he graduates from there, he’ll receive full dispensation to travel to any enclave in the western hemisphere. He’ll have the chance to be vetted for liaison positions in any dragon-run corporation, but if his leg is damaged permanently it could ruin everything."
Derek nodded, appearing thoughtful. “Well, as I said, I’m glad I was there to help.”
Cecily shot him a furtive look. “Yeah . . . thanks. I really do appreciate your help.” She shook her head. “If you hadn’t shown up, he might’ve been hurt even worse.”
“Any time you need help, just ask.” Derek stopped.
She looked around, surprised. They’d arrived at her house and Tara was helping Daniel hobble up the stairs to the front porch. Cecily frowned at Daniel’s heavy limp and turned back to Derek. “Thanks again.”
He tilted his head at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “It’s nothing. Maybe now you’ll say ‘hi’ when I talk to you in class.”
She nodded and gave a half-hearted wave goodbye, then turned toward the house. Crap. Daniel and Tara had already disappeared inside. Tara would’ve already told Dad all about the fight and the dragons.
Cecily plodded up the stairs. She knew who waited for her behind the screen door. She reached the front porch and looked up at her dad. He stood in the doorway, his low cut black hair peppered with gray, and a frown creasing the golden brown skin between his gray eyes. He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at them and he already knew.
“Get inside.” He sounded old and tired.
She winced. “Dad, they–”
“Tara already told me, Cecily. Get inside. Now.”
She bowed her head, her stomach sinking with guilt, and went.
(Keep an eye out for The Dragon’s Call – Coming Soon!)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
K.W. McCabe is a Californian transplant to Minnesota. She lives there with her family where she tries very hard to stay warm in all the snow. She has loved fairy tales, Sci-fi, and fantasy all her life, and has been writing stories and poems of that nature since she could first spell. She has worked, in the past, as a library assistant, a baby sitter, a counseling hotline intern, and as a case manager. She maintains that art and writing can only be done when inspired, and inspiration comes from a sufficient amount of laziness. Currently, she is working on Dragon Kin.
Contact her at:
https://kwmccabe.blogspot.com
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