— WHY DID YOU DELAY, IDIOT?!
— I was studying! – She retorted, since the way he had spoken and his unreal presence allowed her to have a more intolerant reaction.
— Then stop studying and come to the Dragon Room immediately! – He ordered and disappeared immediately.
— Who does he think...
Garo-lin gritted his teeth and managed not to scream what she thought of that in the hallway.
After having a week acting like she did not exist, it just sprouted up in that sphere and gave him a command?!
With her mind set on giving a good answer to the dragon, she marched toward the room, knowing that there would be no witnesses other than the Dragons themselves, and no longer need to be – exactly – polite in front of them.
***
— Why did you take so long, useless?!
Garo-lin stood in the doorway, deciding whether to ignore that reception or reduce the number of Dragons in the world.
— Do not worry, Garo-lin – said the Metal Dragon, writing in a notebook, taking notes from a book, unbelievably seeming to study. – He just wants to use you as an excuse to run away.
Realizing that it was not just her, but all the other Dragons seemed to be studying, she understood what Sumerin was talking about. Sfairul practically slept on top of an open book, his head turned to the wall to try to disguise it. The Royal Dragon did not seem to be reading, but only observing a single point on the page as his mind wandered through an unknown world. Zawhart had two piles of books in front of him and he was so intent on what he was doing that he did not seem to notice her presence there.
— Let's go! – The Fire Dragon took her by the collar of her robes and dragged her out.
— What...
— Let's go!
Hoping that if she obeyed, he would at least explain what was happening and the reason for calling her, she let herself go.
However, after walking through a few runners without a certain course, she had to ask:
— Where are we going?
— To a place where there is no one.
— Why?
— To continue your training.
— But why? I don't need more...
— Because the absolute I want!
She let out an angry sigh, realizing that she could not really find anything out of him while the dragon's thought was fixed on doing something. Then she slipped deftly and escaped from her claws, stopping in the middle of the road and saying, determined:
— If you want a place where no one goes, I know one. But you have to promise that you will answer my questions!
***
— How can the heir of the Dul'Maojin Institute not know all parts of your property?
— And what difference does it make if I know every corner here? – Asked the dragon as he scanned the deteriorated spot.
Garo-lin had known for some years that his refuge was not frequented by anyone other than creeping animals, insects and spiders, but he never imagined that he too would be ignored by his own owners. Maybe that was why she had always liked that forgotten corner.
— Everything is falling apart – he informed unnecessarily, since it was visible. – It needs to be demolished.
— No!
The answer was quicker than Garo-lin's sense of prudence, and she received a crooked look from Dul'Maojin, who asked,
— Why should not I demolish if I'm the owner and can do whatever I want with my property?
Unappealing, she tried to get an answer that sounded acceptable and intelligent, but nothing occurred to her.
— I like it here – was the best he could think of, leaning against the side of the window. – It's quiet.
— Did you sneeze? – He indicated the burned walls, like someone looking for the culprit.
— It was already like that when I arrived – Garo-lin replied, without lying, but not saying everything.
She did not know if he knew her sister's story in that place, but it was not a subject she should be involved in, so she chose not to say anything. And, acting swiftly, before the dragon found another reason for not giving him an opportunity to speak, he asked:
— Are you going to answer my questions?
He made only a gesture to go on, not seeming to listen to what she was saying and thinking that the mosses on the wall deserved his attention.
Still, there was nothing to hear: Suddenly, all the questions that came to Garo-lin's mind seemed stupid and, in a way, embarrassing.
What would you ask? Why had he ignored her for a week and only called her now, on the pretext that he needed to train her to get out of school? Why exactly talk to the Fire Dragon? Would not it be wise to talk to the Royal Dragon, whom she knew would have an answer and listen to it? She could not help herself: she, too, gradually regained her posture before the Assignments. And that made her feel that it was a very wrong thing to be there with Krission Dul'Maojin, as if there was no problem at all.
— Just because we're Dragons does not mean we never study – he said, partially guessing her thoughts.
— If you study, why did you used me as an excuse to escape? – She seized the opportunity to undo the silence she had created.
— It was no excuse!
— The Metal Dragon said that...
— I finished it – he said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall, showing all his bad mood that she did not believe him and forcing him to admit that he was a kind of good student. – It took me a week, but I finished.
That left her with no arguments:
— A whole week studying?
— Of course it was a week! Was not that the time when I did not use the sphere? It was a week! If I had finished earlier, I would have called before!
Again, his reaction left Garo-lin not knowing what to think. Remembered what Kandara had said about his brother, who, unlike her, he was true even in his own way.
During this period of Assignment, despite all the taunts, one thing she could not deny: his mentor never lied. He might have said many things she should not or believed to be true, but she had not once deceived her. Then he'd say that he would have called her before if he had not been busy – not simply forgetting or reminding her that it was of no importance – that he made all his thoughts of that week fall to the ground.
— What's it? – He asked, noticing her disorientation. – Are you falling in love with me to stare at me with that domed expression?
— No, NO! – That was all her indignation allowed to say, and in order not to lose herself, she added – As if it were possible!
— Yes, a vilashi should not dream that high – he agreed.
— Unbelievable! – She turned away, wondering where she was going to dig a hole to bury herself after she'd been forced to listen to it.
— Wait, Garo-lin!
She stopped. Even with all his soul shouting that he should leave soon, the fact that the Fire Dragon called her by name, as if she were somebody on the same level as him, had as strong an effect on her as an uncontrolled sneeze.
— I told you I'd continue your training. – He used a more serious tone of voice to persuade her that she would not continue the joke.
— Are you really going to make my almaki a first-rate one? – She turned, questioning, hands on her waist, in a pose typical of the mothers of Godan village. – Even inside the Black Gates will you continue to go against what is right?
— And what's right, vilashi? – He challenged her – If I started, I'll finish! I do not care what others think! I am the Fire Dragon and you are my protégé and I will finish training you! Now, come back!
— I'm no longer your protégé... – she mumbled, obeying and approaching unwillingly, since it did not seem to matter to the dragon whether he was officially responsible or not.
When he got her attention, he began to explain, counting his fingers:
— You have learned to release your almaki as you wish. It is capable of producing a flame that doesn’t liv
e for just one moment. You can handle colors and shapes to produce explosions... and you managed to use a fireball to attack.
— Yes – she agreed, not understanding why he checked all that.
— For someone like you, even it wasn’t so bad... I'm really a good mentor. – He seemed satisfied with that path of his thinking.
Garo-lin simply gave a sigh to those who thought it best not to answer. The dragon continued:
— But that's not all you can do with a fire almaki. Creating shapes and colors like you did with the explosions is simple. The flames have no heat and are just beautiful and easy to make. We have no greater intentions for them. Now, if you want to use them to attack, they need to be able to attack. They must have enough strength and coincidence.
— Coincidence? – She did not understand the word out of context.
The dragon, realizing she had not said a word, tried to find a better way to explain himself, but all he could say was:
— You got it!
— Consistency? – Garo-lin tried.
— That! It must have enough strength and conciseness!
Leaving aside the grace to see the Fire Dragon fumbling and confused in her own absolute words, she remembered what she had done in the quarry.
Using a first-order almaki to strike now had a very broader meaning. Doing so would hurt people, as he had done with the pirate. It could have been an extreme reaction at a turning point, but it was not the best solution for her. Using his almaki in this way could be normal for the Fire Dragon or the almakins, and they were what they were exactly because they had that trump card.
However, this form of thinking went against all the principles of her people. Perhaps it was by these same inherited principles that they lost their roots and became vilashis, forced to live in a nomadic way until they could settle on the lands of Almakia. But it was also these principles that let them live in that quiet way and give value to the small things that passed away from the attention of the almakins.
However, between being dangerous with her uncontrolled sneezing and being dangerous with the ability to plan destruction with her almaki, she preferred to control herself. At least that way he could make decisions before he could do something worse than he would regret for the rest of his life. Had never seriously hurt someone with your sneezing, but now had a clue what could do.
Thinking quickly on all these points, it was really best to continue accepting the training of the dragon, since he offered him this opportunity even though it was not his obligation.
— And for the flame to be able to attack – he continued confidently, as if his confusion had not happened – it needs to condense so much energy to the point of being more solid than it is attacking.
This reminded her of the request of the heiress of Fire and of the way she had threatened it, and the question escaped:
Like a weapon?
The dragon stared at her in doubt, and she realized that it had not been a good idea to speak with such certainty. So that he would not force her to tell how she knew, there was no other way but to continue, trying to sound as innocent as possible:
— So a flame, more or less like that – she mimed. – That you can cut it as if it were real... – but your voice trailed off at expression.
— Something like that, made with almaki, can do more than hurt, vilashi... you saw someone making a gun.
— Not exactly...
— It's poisonous – he said, and there was a sinister tone in his voice. Concentrated Almakis are connected to what we feel. If we cause a wound, with a very strong intention, there is no cure. The injury will consume the person.
— I... I've never heard that an almaki can be poisonous.
She glanced at the part of her scorched hair that insisted on falling in front of her face and became worried. Now aware of the risk she'd had when her throat was threatened by the Heiress of Fire, a delayed dread made her think of the possibility that there might be some of this poison effect crawling through her head. Not letting her imagination lead her to improbable conclusions, she tried to dismiss those thoughts and decided not to reveal the threat to the dragon, since that would imply having to tell exactly what that threat was:
— After the time I created the mombelula for my brother, I began to wonder if there were other similar ways of using the almaki.
Even though Dul'Maojin had not lost his mistrust of the answer without much connection, at least he had convinced himself that no further explanation was necessary. Then he jumped straight and without warning into the demonstration, clapping his palms and opening, making with this gesture flames that instantly came together and condensed, creating what looked like a spear. Garo-lin jumped back instinctively, even though there was no danger to her. The heated air around her, as a result of almaki's concentration, was enough to keep her distance.
This might not be a real spear, but the flames were so controlled that they could give the impression that way. Perhaps someone who had not seen the dragon handling it would not know for sure that it was made of almaki. And, by the way he held it, it was clear that there was a weight and that it could cause even damage, not just by burns.
Then, with a quick gesture, he used it to hit the wall that Kidori's Shion had once used as a nest. Unable to resist the impact, it finally collapsed in its entirety, raising a cloud of stone dust and scattering pieces on all sides.
Coughing and pulling away not to be hit, Garo-lin did not even have time to realize what the rumble she had heard and the ground beneath her. Instantly, the dragon grabbed her and ran up the stairs, down them in time. Soon after that, all that floor collapsed along with the wall, only standing upright the stones that had the support of the plants that covered them.
— A controlled almakil can be very useful – he informed her, placing her on the floor and admiring the damage she'd done.
— To destroy things?! – She asked, still not believing what the dragon had done with her refuge.
— I am the Fire Dragon! – He defended himself. – You think I would not have to destroy anything to show you a Family Secret?
And again, Garo-lin had the sensation of the ground fading beneath your feet, even though he was right there.
— A... a Family Secret?
— The Fire Secret is about being able to use your almaki to conjure things, as if they came out of nowhere. It's not like a simple flaming fire that looks like a weapon and requires a lot of training, even in the first order. It's not something you could do without fainting on the first try... destroying a wall that was already falling is nothing. I can do much more than that, but surely you would be blessed.
Garo-Lin stared at him for a while, trying to decipher what the dragon meant by that. Realizing that something was not right in what he thought was a great phrase, he tried to make her worry about something else:
— Do not think I'm teaching you that, vilashi!
— As if I could learn a Fire Secret... – she grunted in response.
And he really was right. Learning something like that was far beyond your means. Suddenly, the idea of why it was a Family Secret became clear to her. Only those who were born as a Dul'Maojin could dedicate their almaki to something so powerful. The same should happen to the other Dragons. If it were so simple to run a Secret and all the lower souls could easily reach that level just by devoting themselves to a trained training, what would Almakia do? Surely there would be more Fire Dragons, who could be as convinced and cruel as the existing one.
Garo-lin's thoughts stopped and she stared at the dragon.
Convinced he was, without a doubt. But now, to say that he was cruel sounded more like a wrong impression.
— What's it? Were you angry? He asked worriedly.
Realizing that she was staring at him, she disguised herself and looked ahead of him, suggesting that it was exactly that.
Your refuge now consisted of a ruined building with only two surviving walls and a staircase leading nowhere. She picked up a stone
that had rolled up to her foot and threw it into the rubble with a sigh.
— Command to rebuild – he declared, understanding that she somehow liked the place.
— It will not be the same.
— Sumerin makes just what were. – With the scorched walls, the mosses, all the same.
— No need...
— Damn, I forgot – the dragon grunted suddenly, fighting himself. – Vilashi! Let's eat!
— What?! – She did not understand exactly how he could change his attitude so quickly.
— Do you know what it's like to study for hours? If Vinshu brings me any more books, I burn him! – He pushed her to walk at once and not just stand there as if waiting for that place to create life and rebuild itself.
***
Garo-lin had never wanted so much in his life to run, skip the Black Gates, and disappear.
Yes, she had the best dishes served in the entire Fire Capital, sitting in the most comfortable chair that could have existed, and even the bowl in front of her seemed to have been made of the purest, most transparent material in the world. But the dazzle of all this was easily blocked by the fact that she was in Almakia, in the Fire Capital, inside the Dul'Maojin Institute in the Dragon Room, having lunch with the Dragons themselves. Not knowing exactly what to do between them was as frightening as the delightful possibilities that lay before his eyes.
— Tasty! – Kidari said cheerfully as she chewed on a piece of chicken she had just showered with her salty orange juice.
Grinning at the kodorin, who, on the other hand, felt completely at ease – to the point of thinking that the Lightning Dragon would not mind if she put salt in her juice – Garo-lin glanced around the table. With a start, his eyes met with Nu'lian Gillion's, who seemed to have been watching her ever since the Dragon Leader had forced her to sit at the table against his will. Seeing that he had been caught, he simply gestured for her to serve, but kept a heavy look that made her uneasy. Then, still not confident, she took a spoonful of anything and placed it on her plate, not intending to actually eat it.
Almakia_The vilashi and the Dragons Page 26