by Devyn Jayse
"Yeah," we all murmured.
He laughed. "You can tell me the truth. I won't tell anyone," he said with a conspirator wink.
"It's different," I said.
Quentin snorted.
Christopher gave him a wide grin. It made him appear younger than he already looked. "Have you gotten accustomed to where you are?"
I gave him a blank look and at a glance I noticed the others giving him the same.
He waved at the courtyard. "You're in the Center with dozens of dragon shifters around you. Have you come to terms with the existence of magic or are you still being blown away?"
"Still being blown away," Quentin admitted.
Christopher gave us a curt nod. "It's going to take you some time to get adjusted to it. I don't think you ever fully get used to it. You never get over how wonderful this magic is."
"What do you do?" Beatriz blurted.
I elbowed her, horrified. A flush rose to her face. Pol and Quentin bit back their grins. Christopher gave her a sideways glance. "What do you think I do? I'm a simple dragon shifter."
She narrowed her eyes. "I don't think so."
"Why do you say that?"
"The Enforcer wouldn't be paying such close attention to a simple dragon shifter."
"Oh, so the Enforcer only pays attention to important dragons?" Christopher said with an undercurrent of laughter in his voice.
She shook his head. "No, but it makes sense, doesn't it?"
Christopher smiled. "Yes, it does. You're observant. Talking to the Enforcer ups my street credit, doesn't it?"
Our instructor, Enzo, called out. "Pol. Beatriz. You're in the ring."
Pol and Beatriz got to their feet.
Christopher took that as his cue to leave. "I'll see you around, Vanessa."
We watched him walk away. Quentin turned to me. "He's more important than he claims to be."
I nodded. Christopher's self-deprecating chatter didn't distract me from the truth. Christopher had somehow forged my entrance into the program. I had to find out what his role in the Center was and what it meant that I was his knight.
Eight
"Leire." The instructor said her name like a warning. She was testy and clearly had lost all patience for Leire's constant talking back. We were in our Dragon Fundamentals class and the past half an hour had consisted of a heated exchange between Leire and our instructor, Carlotta.
Leire had a stormy expression on her face. "What?"
I glanced at Beatriz. She wrinkled her brow.
"You're getting perilously close to breaking one of the thirteen rules," Carlotta warned her.
"What thirteen rules?" Leire's voice was surly and combative.
"They're the thirteen most important rules for dragon shifters."
Someone raised their hand.
"Yes?" Carlotta gestured at them to speak.
"I didn't see any 'thirteen rules' in the Code of Conduct," said Iris. "Do they just apply to dragon shifters or to us as well?"
"That's because they're not in there. And yes, they apply to you."
"Why wouldn't the rules be in the Code of Conduct?" Iris was confused. After a glance around the room, I could tell that the rest of us were also.
"You only discover them when they're broken," Carlotta explained.
Voices broke out.
"What do you mean they're only listed when they're broken?"
"We're punished for doing something we didn't know was a rule?"
"That doesn't make sense."
Carlotta called for silence. She gazed at us stoically. "It's not up to you to decide what makes sense."
"It must be the contrary nature of dragons," Quentin whispered to me. "Do you think the rules exist, or do they make them up to punish us wherever they want?"
"Who knows?" I shrugged and shook my head. These dragon shifters became stranger every day.
Carlotta's face whipped around to us and Quentin sank into his chair. I stayed still, trying not to draw the dragon's attention.
"What's a dragon's knight?" Pol asked. I was thankful that his question caused Carlotta to shift her gaze to him.
"When they go to bed early," someone joked. I was pretty sure it was Franco.
Carlotta frowned and ignored the bad pun. "Why do you ask?"
I couldn't believe Pol asked. Beatriz kicked his chair and shot me an apologetic look. Pol shrugged it off. In a casual voice, he said, "Every dragon story usually has a princess or a knight. I don't see any princesses here. Are there knights?"
Carlotta studied him as if trying to figure out what he knew. I tensed at her expression. She had never looked more like a dragon and Pol never looked more like her prey. Aware of the sudden tension, the rest of the class quieted and looked back and forth between Pol and the instructor. I tried to make myself as small as possible.
"Usually knights slay dragons and save the princess," Carlotta said finally. "But in dragon shifter lore the knights usually save us from princesses."
"What do you mean?" Pol leaned forward.
The instructor made a face. "Princesses aren't sugar and spice and everything nice like they're depicted. They can be bitter and vindictive and insistent on getting their way no matter who it hurts."
Ha. Sounded like Leire.
"Like dragons?" a voice asked from the back.
"Like dragons," admitted the instructor. A sharp smile appeared on her face. She didn't seem to take offense. On the contrary, she seemed quite proud of the accusation. I shook my head. Quentin was right: it was their nature.
"How do knights save dragons from princesses?" Pol continued.
"Well, once a dragon names his or her knight, it creates an obligation between them. The knight is now responsible for defending the dragon."
My heart sank. Christopher had been surrounded by four dragon shifters when I had stepped up and demanded that they stop bullying him. Pol, Beatriz, and Quentin all turned in their seats to look at me. The instructor noticed and frowned. I sank into my chair farther.
Was I supposed to fight four dragon shifters? There was no way I could do that no matter how many self-defense classes I took with Shaima.
"Is there a reason you wanted to know about this? Are you considering becoming a dragon's knight?" the instructor asked Pol. The class snickered at the thought of lanky Pol fighting off dragon shifters.
It appeared that nobody had told Carlotta what Christopher had done. I wasn't surprised because I had made sure that that rumor hadn't spread at all. But now Pol had ensured that it would. I wondered what the fallout would be.
Carlotta glanced at the clock. We still had a few minutes before class ended, but it was clear she had had enough of us. "You're dismissed. Go bother one of my colleagues."
I quickly gathered my things and left the class.
"Vanessa, wait!" Pol struggled to catch up with me.
I didn't want to wait for him, but I knew there was no way to avoid him. We were heading to the same class after all. He caught up with me. "Hey, don't be mad at me."
"Why did you do that? Why did you ask in front of the whole class?" I hissed at him.
"I was curious. I wanted to know what kind of pull Christopher had. Aren't you curious about what it means?"
I was curious, but I wasn't about to admit it to Pol. "Now everyone knows."
Pol shrugged it off. "No one had any idea what I was talking about except for the instructor, and she can't think you're a knight." His eyes became intense. "Vanessa, we need to find out as much as we can about this. Like you said, the more we know about this world, the better prepared we would be if they ever take the charmstones away."
"Why are you worried about them taking away your charmstone?" I asked him with a frown.
His expression became blank. I wondered what secrets he kept and if they were as explosive as my own.
Nine
"This is definitely the place," Pol said.
We stared at the building's entrance. We were huddled on the street cor
ner across from Shades, the vampire lounge that the waitress Greta had told us about. We had stood there for half an hour observing the different supernaturals walking into the lounge.
"You guys really want to do this?" I asked my friends.
"Yes," Maribel said. Beatriz and Pol had agreed to come, but Quentin had decided not to join us. He said he had coursework he had to catch up on. Instead, Maribel came along, and she was eager to see new supernaturals.
"So, let's go in." Maribel strutted ahead of us. She crossed the street and made her way to the entrance of the vampire lounge. The bouncer looked down at her. Maribel gazed up at the tall supernatural. She stood several heads above Maribel, making our classmate look tiny in comparison. The giant bouncer reminded me of a yeti. I wondered if she was hot because of all that fur covering her body.
"Yes?" the bouncer asked Maribel.
"This is Shades, right?" Maribel asked her. We were sure of the address, but there was no sign over the door. We were only sure we were at the right place due to the stream of supernaturals entering the building. And the huge supernatural bouncer standing outside.
"Who's asking?" The yeti glowered at Maribel.
"Someone who wants to see the inside," my blue-haired friend replied.
"Why should I let you in?"
"What do you gain keeping us out? There's no reason for that."
"All four of you are human." The yeti pointed at us.
Maribel flashed her earring and showed her the charmstone. The yeti snorted, "I know you have a charmstone. How else could you see me?"
Maribel didn't seem abashed. Pol walked up to the bouncer. "We're not going to cause trouble. We're just excited and want to see some supernaturals in action."
The yeti-bouncer turned to him. "You're a little young to be in there."
"Is there a rule about keeping us out?"
"No rule," the yeti grunted.
Pol gave her a winning smile. He was charming and he knew it. He had a lazy confidence that, for reasons I couldn't figure out, could melt even the strongest of resolves. The corners of her mouth tugged upward. I tried to keep a straight face. It was fascinating to see Pol's charisma in action. It was his own special brand of magic.
"We won't be too long. We have to be back at the Center by eleven," he told her with a mischievous wink.
The yeti moved aside grudgingly. "Don't be too long. Have a good time."
Pol gave her a lazy grin. "Thanks." He walked into the lounge and the rest of us quickly followed him.
"That was amazing," Beatriz whispered to me.
I nodded. "He has a talent." I wondered if his talent was more than it appeared to be.
Pol caught me staring at him and beamed. "Impressed?"
I laughed.
We stood there taking it all in. I didn't know about the others, but I was overwhelmed at the different varieties of supernaturals around us. There were so many vampires that I was overwhelmed. They were absolutely beautiful. Among them were creatures with pointed ears, sharp teeth, claws, and appendages that looked like leaves. A couple of the creatures had wings. I didn't know what most of them were.
The hostess approached us. "Four in your party?"
"Yes," Maribel said.
"Follow me," the hostess said and she sashayed away. We followed her as she took us halfway through the restaurant toward the DJ booth. I nudged Beatriz when I realized that the DJ was a vampire. Her eyes lit up in excitement. The music was loud and vibrated my whole body down to the bones. Greta was right: it would be easier to gape at the supernaturals here. We could barely hear ourselves think, and I doubted shifters would be able to hear us talking about them.
We sat down at the table the hostess pointed at.
"This is incredible," Maribel yelled. "Look at all the vampires."
We all nodded. All the vampires had a shining quality about them, something like a glamour that made their features look eerily perfect. It was uncanny.
"Is that blood?" Beatriz asked, pointing at a vampire. The vampire had her fangs extended and was holding a martini glass full of a deep-red liquid. She took a sip and licked her lips. Beatriz had a queasy look on her face. "Where do you think they get the blood from?" she asked, not tearing her eyes away from the thirsty vampire.
"I don't want to think about it," I said. My mind went to humans and small animals.
Maribel picked up a menu off the table and pointed at an item. "It says what it is right here."
"What is it?" I asked.
"'Blood is sourced fresh daily from willing participants.'" She glanced up. "It even lists the blood by type. Do you want a round of A-positive?"
Beatriz made a face. "No!"
A waitress appeared. "Food or drinks?" We ordered some appetizers after some deliberation.
"I want to check out the dance floor. Who wants to join me?" Maribel asked.
"I will." Pol slipped out of his chair and extended his hand to Maribel. She grabbed it and they made their way toward the crowd of writhing bodies.
"This is crazy," Beatriz said.
"I know, right?" I couldn't believe that I was in a vampire lounge. I still had a difficult time fully accepting that this world was real to begin with.
Our waitress came back with our appetizers and we ate them as we stared at the supernaturals around us. Pol and Maribel came back laughing with stories of all the creatures they had danced with. "A fairy danced with me!" Maribel exclaimed. "This is so cool! Don't you want to go and dance with the supernaturals?"
Beatriz and I shook our heads. We were overwhelmed with all the people in the lounge. I needed time to process it. Beatriz just wanted to admire them from afar.
"Anyone need to use the restroom?" I asked. Beatriz and Maribel declined, preferring to gape at the many creatures around us. I went to the restroom alone, making my way through the throngs of supernaturals. I entered the restroom and saw a vampire applying lipstick and two nymphs gossiping about a minotaur. I tried not to stare at their inhuman limbs. I would have to tell Pol about the minotaur. It was the one supernatural that I knew he wanted to see.
I finished my business and washed my hands. As I left the restroom, somebody bumped into me.
"Excuse me," I said automatically.
"Oh, you're excused, all right," a gravelly voice replied.
I looked up and stepped back. A vampire leered at me and leaned closer to my face. "What's a pretty morsel like you doing in a dodgy place like this?"
I didn't respond. My heart rate sped up as his smile widened. My gut screamed danger.
"I haven't had breakfast yet," he mused, taking a step toward me. His eyes went to my neck. "I could use a little snack like you."
"Umm, not interested," I gulped.
The vampire threw his head back and laughed. It made me shudder. "Since when does food say it's not interested in being eaten?"
I licked my lips and I saw his eyes follow the movement. I looked for an exit, but he had cornered me with my back against the wall. The only option was to go back into the restroom, but I would effectively trap myself in there and I would have no escape if he followed me in.
I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.
He stepped closer. I clutched my pendant and the vampire's eyes narrowed in on it. "Oh, and you are a forbidden snack. All the sweeter to consume."
He leaned forward, and I braced myself, preparing to use my self-defense training when a voice said, "What are you doing here?"
The vampire hesitated, his eyes narrowed. He glanced over his shoulder. He straightened and turned around after he saw the person who had interrupted him.
I almost gasped in relief at the familiar face. It was one of the dragon shifters from the cafeteria. He didn't seem to notice me because he was so intent on the vampire.
"Percy, who are you terrorizing now?" the dragon shifter said. His gaze casually slid over me and paused as recognition washed over him. He blinked and his eyebrows knit together in a frown. "What are you doing here?" He turned
back to the vampire. "You know better than to mess with our initiates, Percy."
The vampire sneered. "You're not worthy, shifter scum."
I stood there frozen as the two supernaturals glared at each other. Just when I thought the tension would be unbearable, the door of the restroom opened, breaking the showdown. The vampire straightened, turned on his heel, and moved past the dragon shifter. "I could get a better breakfast," he murmured as he left.
The dragon shifter's head turned to watch him leave then turned back to me. His eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?" he asked again.
I licked my lips, my throat dry.
He looked down at his watch. "It's almost eleven."
Shit.
"Are you here alone?" he asked. His voice had softened after he must have seen the terror plastered onto my face.
I shook my head.
"Get the rest of your group and make your way back to the Center. If you're lucky, you'll make it on time." He pressed his lips together. "I'd walk you back, but I have something."
"Thank you." I don't know how I managed to speak.
"Don't mention it. Just head back before you get into more trouble."
I ran back to the others. "We have to leave! It's almost eleven!"
The others scrambled to their feet and we hurried out of the vampire lounge.
After sprinting for several blocks, we returned to the Center to find the large door closed. We all exchanged concerned looks.
We were too late.
Ten
"Do we knock?" Beatriz asked tentatively.
It was past eleven at night. We had stayed too long at the vampire lounge, Shades, and as a result, we missed curfew. The four of us stood outside the Dragon Research and Authority Center dumbfounded by our stupid mistake. The dragons had warned us not to be late. The massive door was closed tight.
"It can't hurt to try," Maribel replied. She walked up to the front door and knocked. Nobody answered. We glanced at each other.