by Devyn Jayse
She turned to the boy. "Yes, but you will be getting a far superior education, and upon leaving the program you'll have DRAC resources on your side. We expect excellence. Again, time after eight in the evening is yours. On weekends, you may choose to return home or remain at DRAC. Please note that we fully invoke the nondisclosure agreement that you signed. You may not reveal any knowledge gleaned from within these walls or anything relating to the program. Failing to comply can result in death."
At this she raised her hand and we watched in horrified fascination as her fingers transformed into claws. She made sure to look each one of us in the eye and said, "I have no qualms with killing you. Do not mistake my tolerance for friendship. My role is to keep DRAC secrets safe, and if that means getting rid of you, so be it." Her claws retracted, and she smiled menacingly at us.
More and more I was beginning to second-guess my decision to enroll in this program. Seeing the hidden supernatural world was an incredible gift, but was it worth the risk?
"I'll be showing you to your wing." Isidora turned and we followed.
Beatriz walked up to me with Pol by her side. We continued down the hall side-by-side.
"Are you guys as tired of speeches as I am?" I asked them.
"That was amazing." Pol's fingers formed an imitation of a claw.
I laughed. "Amazing that we might all be killed?"
"Follow the rules. Don't tell anyone." Pol smiled his lazy smile. "Seems pretty simple."
"Think about how big these secrets are. How strange is it that we're able to see all this but none of our family can?" Beatriz asked.
"We're special," Leire added from behind us. "We're allowed to see things others can't." She shoved Beatriz out of the way in her hurry to catch up and move to the front of the line.
The Center was a confusing place that was full of interconnected hallways and many closed doors. I wondered if anyone knew what was behind all those doors and who kept the keys. As we walked, I noticed small red triangles on the walls. They pointed in the direction we were moving.
Our instructor took us three floors up and led us to a large door. She stood in front of it, facing us. We waited. I was getting a little tired of these talks.
"You'll find your living quarters within. You may have noticed as we were walking down the hallways the red triangles." She pointed at the ones on the wall behind her. "Those triangles will point the way to your wing. Follow them so that you don't get lost."
Well, that explained it.
"Once you enter, choose a room. There are twelve rooms within, one for each of you. There is one common area. Remember to be respectful when you're sitting there because others may hear you. Your luggage is waiting inside."
"Why is there a big door?" Pol asked.
"It's been sound-proofed and fire-proofed for your protection," Isidora answered. "There's also a study room and a reading space in addition to a television room. Kindly respect each other's spaces. As dragons, we take privacy very seriously and entering someone's room without permission will be punished. You'll find the according punishments listed in the handbook. Each room has a handbook as well as your textbooks. Go through them and we will start tomorrow. You've had a long day, so you'll be dismissed. A meal will be served in the cafeteria. Someone will come and get you to show you the way. Stay in your wing until then."
She pushed open the door and Leire ran in quickly, moving to opposite end of the floor. Beatriz and I rolled our eyes and followed at a more sedated pace. Some of the others ran ahead, following Leire's example. I chose the room that was next to Beatriz's. It was also as far across the floor from Leire as possible.
I was beginning to think the more distance I had from her, the better my time at DRAC would be.
Nine
The next day we were guided out of our wing and back to the cafeteria. I found myself beginning to differentiate the hallways and creating a map in my head. Seeing the triangles certainly helped. At the door to the cafeteria, our guide told us that we were to report to the room next door within half an hour.
Unlike the night before, this morning the cafeteria was bustling with people. Beatriz and I gave each other wide-eyed looks.
"They're so beautiful," she whispered.
I took in all the different men and women sitting at tables or standing in lines to get their meals. Each person had a tray with food on it and they laughed and ate with gusto. Beatriz was right. They were beautiful. Each person seemed to glow with health. Were they all dragon shifters? I looked for Christopher, but I didn't spot him or the other four I had seen him with that day.
A few heads turned our way as we entered. I elbowed Beatriz as I realized we were the only two still standing by the door. "Let's get some food," I said.
We made our way through the packed room to the line. I picked up a tray and gave one to Beatriz. Without thinking I took any and all food offered and piled it on my plate. I was too distracted by the presence of the supernaturals to notice the growing mountain of food on my tray.
A voice behind me laughed. "The new DRIP has quite the appetite, doesn't she?"
I turned toward the voice to see who he was talking about. Deep blue eyes met mine. I looked down at my tray and saw the small mountain of food I had accepted from the cafeteria lady. My face flushed.
"Personally, I think people with a healthy appetite are interesting," his friend said. "It's the ones that refuse to eat that you should be suspicious of." He turned to me and gave me a kind smile.
The two of them represented what I imagined warriors to be. Both were well-formed, muscles evident under their shirts.
"Who's holding up the line?" another voice called.
I felt my face heat up even more as I moved away. In my haste, I stumbled and my tray nearly flew out of my hands. One of the men grabbed it. "Easy there. Don't lose your food mountain."
"Thanks," I mumbled and escaped to the table where Beatriz was sitting with the rest of our group.
"Who were they?" She gaped at me as I sat down.
"I don't know."
"Do you think one of them is Diego's Enforcer?" Maribel chewed a mouthful of cereal.
"Enforcer?" I asked.
She nodded. "He's apparently Diego's right-hand man. He's the second strongest dragon shifter here."
"Do you think we'll meet Diego?" Beatriz asked.
Quentin laughed. "What would he want to do with us?"
"Isn't there some rule that he has to meet us? Wouldn't he want to know who's roaming around the Center?" Beatriz dug into her food.
"I think he leaves that to the less important people," Quentin said.
At his comment Guillen turned his head. He frowned.
Kevin elbowed Quentin. "They can hear you."
"What?" Quentin knit his eyebrows.
"The dragon shifters. They can hear you. All the shifters have super hearing. Didn't you listen to them yesterday? Why do you think they sound-proofed our area?" Kevin raised his sandwich to his mouth and bit into it.
"I don't know." Quentin shrugged. "I thought they didn't want us to hear them."
Maribel looked thoughtful. "Do you think they shift into dragons and spit fire?"
"He can hear you," I whispered to her.
Guillen's gaze turned to me. He got to his feet and walked over to us. "Are you all done? It seems like you're more interested in talking than eating. You have five minutes to finish your meals and meet me outside."
We slumped in our seats at the reprimand. We quickly ate and shuffled outside to wait for him.
He led us across the courtyard to another section of the building. He made us file in and said a final, "Behave," before he walked away.
The room was small. Twelve desks with seats were waiting for us. A middle-aged woman sat in a large desk in the corner. She had emerald green eyes and hair the color of cotton candy. She looked up at our entrance. "Wonderful, you're here. Sit so that we can begin." We settled into our seats. "Welcome to Dragon Fundamentals. My name's Car
lotta and this is where you'll learn the important stuff. You have each been given a Code of Conduct. You should have found them in your rooms yesterday. Have you all read them? Raise your hand if you have. Be honest."
Three-quarters of the class raised their hands. I was one of them. I always over-prepared.
"Very well. The rest of you be sure to read the codes of conduct especially since it could be a matter of life and death." She gave us a warm smile before continuing. "Some fundamentals about dragons. We are territorial creatures. There are certain places that are off-limits. Disobey and cross into the territory that is not yours and you will be at risk of harm. Your actions have consequences and most dragons kill first and ask questions later. Do you understand me?"
I exchanged a worried glance with Beatriz and Pol.
"There also seems to be a little misunderstanding. The leader of dragon shifters is Diego. He rules over all shifters in Barcelona and outer areas, not just dragon shifters. He will be informed of your progress or lack thereof. Any creature under his roof is under his protection and rule. Don't reward his protection with disobedience and mediocrity. Now, do you have any questions for me?"
"Would we be able to ride the dragons?" Kevin asked.
Carlotta scowled. Her voice was fierce. "We are not horses for you to ride."
Kevin sank in his seat.
I was thankful that I didn't ask that question. I could tell from Maribel's expression that she had been about to ask the same thing.
Leire spoke up. "Will we ever see a dragon? We keep hearing about dragon shifters, but I haven't seen proof."
I gaped at her nerve. We saw Isidora's hand turn into claws. That move seemed to be a favorite amongst the instructors around here.
Carlotta looked at Leire coolly and turned away as if she hadn't spoken at all. Leire's face burned red; she clearly wasn't used to be ignored.
Beatriz raised her hand. After Carlotta gave her a nod, she asked. "Will we meet Diego?"
Carlotta pressed her finger to her mouth. "That is uncertain. A lot of it will have to do with your progress in your studies. Now, pay close attention to what I'm about to tell you."
The instructor gave us the history of how dragon shifters had settled here in Barcelona and what measures had been taken to ensure they remained a secret. After half an hour of dragon history, I was ready to leave. Despite its name, Dragon Fundamentals was pretty dull.
Carlotta may have noticed our waning interest. "Let me show you the protected areas so that you do not accidentally wander into them."
We filed out of the room behind her. This time Leire didn't shove her way to the front of the line and instead was only a couple of people ahead of me.
"Can you believe her nerve?" I whispered to Beatriz
Beatriz looked ahead at Leire. "She's going to get herself in trouble. She acts like she's better than the shifters themselves."
Leire heard us and dropped back so that she was walking alongside us. "Gossiping about me?"
"You're antagonizing the instructors," Beatriz said.
"They wanted us to ask questions. I'm asking questions."
"You could change your tone," I advised.
Leire's head snapped toward me. "I didn't ask you for your input. You're not even supposed to be here."
I was taken aback. How did she know?
Malice flashed in her eyes. "You took his place."
She didn't know about Christopher. She thought I was the reason the other guy was kicked out. "I didn't take his place. He lost it himself by saying he had other things to do."
"You aren't one of us. You don't belong here, and you're going to be leaving soon. I'll get you out of the program, you'll see." She gave me one nasty look and flounced away to the front.
Ten
After Dragon Fundamentals, we were ordered to go back to our rooms and change into the outfits that were laid out on our beds. I found a green shirt and dark pants made of loose cotton. I raised the clothes to my nose and sniffed them. They smelled freshly laundered. I slipped them on and waited by the wing entrance.
Beatriz, Maribel, and Pol were already standing there with Kevin and Quentin. We all were dressed in identical outfits.
"Your hair goes well with this color," I told Maribel.
"Thanks." She raised a hand to tuck a strand of purple-blue hair behind her ear. Her charmstone earrings winked at me.
"What lesson do we have now?" Quentin asked.
"Didn't you read the schedule yet?" Kevin asked him. "And what would be your guess based on what we're wearing?"
"Enemy Combat and Self-Defense?" he asked.
Kevin nodded. "Yeah. Are you ready for me to make an enemy of you? I'm going to declare war and then beat you to a pulp."
All of us laughed. In the short two days we had been together we already knew that Kevin was the most peaceful one of the bunch. The only thing I didn't understand about him was his friendship with Leire. It seemed that they had hit it off immediately and usually paired up in the cafeteria.
Speak of the devil.
Leire ambled out of her room. Somehow the uniform looked different on her. Beatriz and I exchanged looks. Beatriz leaned over to me and asked, "What did she do to make it that form-fitting?"
"Looks like she tied up her shirt from the back," I said.
I was right. When Leire walked up to us, I saw that she had tied a knot in the back of her shirt so that it was tighter against her body. Beatriz hid a smile behind her hand.
A tall man showed up at the door. He had short, cropped hair the color of honey. His eyes reminded me of the sky on a winter day, gray and stormy and the way he stared at us felt like he was holding his anger at bay.
"Are you all here? I'm Enzo. Okay, let's take you to the training grounds." The man turned on his heel and marched away. We scrambled to keep up with his fast pace. This time we went through the courtyard to another section of the Center that we hadn't been before.
It was an open space with people training everywhere. Groups of men and women were stretching, running, or doing flips. In the center was a ring filled with sand where two men grappled with each other.
The air smelled of sweat, sand, and grass.
"Do you think we'll see the Enforcer fighting?" Maribel asked.
"That would be amazing," Pol chipped in.
"I heard he's so good he needs several people to fight him at once," Beatriz added.
Enzo led us over to the ring and pointed at the men fighting. "These men are dragon shifters. Watch them."
The men increased their speed and suddenly all I could see was a blur of motion. My eyes couldn't keep up with their movements. People near me exclaimed.
"Shifters are faster and more agile than humans," Enzo said. "As a result, you're at a disadvantage when it comes to fighting them. That doesn't mean that shifters will always win. It just means that you have to be more creative and thoughtful when it comes to combat. That's why in this class we attack first and ask questions later. Understood?"
I nodded and so did the others around me. The men in the ring continued to fight.
Enzo went on. "Supernaturals have come to an agreement to remain hidden from the non-magical world. Many have tried to change the dynamic and make humans aware of our existence but they were stopped by the rest of our community before they could do too much damage. Revealing the truth would only serve to create an imbalance in the world, so we hide. A privileged few, such as yourselves, have been invited to enter our world. Always remember: this is an honor and not a right. Reveal our existence and the penalty is severe."
As he ended his speech, a loud thud sounded and one of the shifters lay on his back in the middle of the ring. He had blood spilling from open cuts all over his body. Within seconds, though, the cuts knit together, and his body healed. Other than the blood, he looked as if he wasn't in a violent fight only moments ago. He got to his feet. It was one of the men who had teased me in the cafeteria, the one with the blue eyes. I glanced at the other fight
er and saw it was his friend. He noticed me staring and gave me a wide grin. "Careful. Don't be a klutz in the ring. You'll get hurt."
I flushed as the others in my group turned to stare at me.
"Any questions so far?" Enzo asked the group.
"Who decides the laws?" Quentin asked.
"We have several regulatory bodies that come together and write the laws that we all follow."
"Do they rule over humans too?" he asked.
"Supernaturals have a moral obligation to protect humans because we're stronger. If people don't adhere to that, the community will take care of it."
"How?"
"Internal pack justice in some situations when it's shifters. There's also a Vampire Council. And there's a Supernatural Bureau of Investigation that will step in if necessary, but they're the last resort. Most supernatural communities are self-governing, and the model has worked so far." Enzo turned from Quentin and continued to address the group. "As DRIPs you have been given charmstone amulets. They declare you to other supernaturals as members of DRAC, so be sure to have them on display or you'll just be taken for another human. That said, you may end up a target due to them as well."
"What do you mean?" Maribel asked, concerned.
"Communities coexist peacefully as long as there is no friction," Enzo said. "But some may attack you in order to instigate other groups. That's why it's integral that you learn proper enemy combat and self-defense. You'll be trained in the many different methods enemies can attack you and learn how to engage them so that you have the opportunity to strike before they do."
"Who would attack dragon shifters?" Quentin asked.
Enzo looked around at us. "Does anyone have a guess?"
"Other supernaturals."
"Other shifters."
"Dragon shifters are in control at the moment. However, power shifts," Enzo said matter-of-factly.
"Vampires." I remembered that Guillen had mentioned friction between shifters and vampires.
Enzo nodded. "Yes, vampires and shifters do not have the best relationship. Your entertainment industry has got that right at least. You'll learn to fight all manners of supernaturals. But to start, you'll have to learn to fight against your own."