The Blood of Dragons

by Victoria Mercier

  “I want to see Dramer,” I said defiantly.

  “Dramer?” he let go off my fist and looked deep into my eyes. “You won’t see him until you graduate.”

  I experienced a moment of vertigo. The world turned into a carousel. Until I graduate? Does he have an idea of how much time will pass? Of course, he does. Saaron makes it to keep Dramer from me. He’s stupid if he believes that he can stop me.

  “I will take you down. I promise,” I hissed. A decision clarified in my head for the first time, I will attend the academy, solely so I could defeat Saaron.

  “That’s fine with me.”

  He left.

  “We have 18 minutes to another class.”

  “How much cost a visual upgrade?” I asked.

  “It depends on the outlook you’re looking for,” Creep asked, then after few seconds of silence added. “I’d like to say that your quarrel with a demi-dragon Saaron was impressive. To my knowledge, no one except a demi-dragon Dramer has ever challenged him openly.”

  “He’ll regret it.”

  Chapter 13

  I know that Creep’s proper name is Rebecca and she supposes to be a fairy. I just can’t stand fairies it seems. I upgraded her visuals to a smooth-looking lady with feathered wings.

  “Technically, I’m still fairy, but I look like a… harpy.”

  “You look pretty. That’s the most important.”

  I decided to give Creep a second chance and so I’ve begun calling her Rebecca. After Saaron had left, we rushed to the next class.

  Extended History of the Prime Powers.

  It was interesting to learn that fairies indeed existed and that they looked nothing like Rebecca. I told her that I felt scammed by the revelation. Surprisingly the fact that elementals were also counted as one of the prime powers. They weren’t technically descendants of the hated Titans, but over the years Titans’ power bled into the earth and elementals had begun to be born. But the show belonged to the dragons and unicorns. They were the most powerful in the academy and city.

  I’d tried to claim the seat at the end of the auditorium, but these seats had been already taken when I arrived. Rebecca explained that these classes are mixed and for some students, it was the first class of the morning.

  When the harsh-looking teacher with squinty eyes finished his lecture, my eyes tingled. So what that the class was packed with useful information? I craved to make something happen, not sit and listen to preachers. History or not, I didn’t care.

  I almost darted out of the class, when the teacher gave us permission to leave.

  “Miss Flare,” he called after me. Fucking perfect.

  I stopped and tried to remember his name. Rebecca had whispered it to me at the beginning of the class, but I forgot.

  “Yes?” I called back noticing predatory gazes of other students who flowed around me.

  “Please, stay.”

  The breaks between classes were only 5 minutes. I didn’t mind losing behavior points as long as it was my fault.

  The teacher towered over the long solid desk. He was indescribable. Black short hair, average face. Nothing to remember. Well, except that he was harsh.

  “Mr Raminov,” Rebecca had whispered into my ear and I repeated it aloud.

  “I was notified about your late arrival and decided to lend you a hand.”

  “That’s very nice of you, but I don’t need it.”

  Corners of his mouth pointed down. Other than that, his expression was unreadable. He stood silent for a moment then turned away.

  “I’ve heard that you came with a demi-dragon Dramer, yesterday,” Mr Raminov said. “You should take care. You’re new, found in the Wasteland. You have the right not to know about the inner politics of this place.”

  I recalled a conversation between Dramer and Nix. They’d been speaking about different factions that struggled for power. So, the academy was the same?

  “Why are you telling me this? I don’t need your sympathy.”

  “It isn’t sympathy, Miss Flare. Merely precaution. Now, hurry up for your next class.”

  My eyes narrowed trying to grasp the meaning of this. When I darted out of the auditorium, crowds in the corridors already thinned.

  “How much time until the next class, Rebecca?”

  “One minute.”

  “Fucking great.”

  *

  I arrived on time for my next class against all odds. Just barely. My naked ass touched a cold wood a second before the professor declared its beginning. At which point my points would be deducted. This place didn’t show much mercy. Was this what Mr Raminov tried to tell me, but couldn’t do it without speaking riddles? Now, this class deserved a bit more credit. While the professor didn’t seem to be concerned with the chaos, something told me to be careful with this one.

  “Welcome everybody,” the professor’s gentle voice grasped my heart. “Please, call me Ignelion. It’s a new class, formed this year, alongside other changes that will be revealed later this week.”

  A buzz was real. Even Rebecca fluttered her feather wings with manic excitement.

  “Rumored changes.”

  “What do you know about them?”

  “Nothing. The academic staff is tight-lipped.”

  “The academic board decided to push you harder than before,” Ignelion said ignoring the commotion at the back of the class. “Now, I’ll call you to the front of the class so we can start working on your inner powers.”

  The buzz changed into a murmur and then it died down. Everyone’s attention was on the professor. Someone raised a hand, but Ignelion ignored his students wholesomely.

  “Girell.”

  So, it began.

  A sinuous, long-legged blonde walked onto the scene and turned toward us. She didn’t look terrified or embarrassed. Being a center of attention was her strength. I heard comments from the male part of the class. Guys judged her pretty.

  “I don’t like it, Rebecca,” I murmured. “I won’t be a freak on the stage.”

  Before my personal assistant had a chance to utter a word. Ignelion spoke up.

  “Girell here possesses 5 percent of draconic blood. This is borderline. Anything less than that and the elevator wouldn’t allow her to enter the Dragon House after the 6 p.m. If a person possesses less than 5 percent of draconic, unicorn, elemental or fairy blood, it will display one of the supernatural powers instead.”

  The revealed truth was like a blow to the head for Girell. She blushed furiously and looked ready to burn to a crisp. Ignelion had no shame. He shouldn’t do this to her. My inner fire came to life. I was ready to punish the bastard for his cruelty when Girell snapped and spun toward him.

  “How can you reveal my personal information?!”

  Oh yes, I forgot that dragons possessed an unmatched temper. Ignelion couldn’t blame her for the rageful reaction. Though, he didn’t seem concerned.

  “There is more I can say,” he nodded toward the stack of papers on his desk.

  Despite the anger, a cold calculation in her eyes stopped her from attacking him. I wouldn’t be able to restrain myself. Girell struggled. Her so-called beautiful face now distorted by the wrath. The display evoked a host of reactions that ranged from a derisive laugh to stunned silence. Was I the one only who tried not to jump on my desk and join Girell.

  “Girell show us what the weakest among dragons is capable of.”

  This was too much. For her and for me.

  Girell shot ahead to punch the professor for publicly humiliating her. At the same moment, I left my seat and advanced on the bastard. Girell’s fist met an invisible wall that sparkled with a plethora of strange runes and held Girell. But on my side, there was nothing to hold me off. My fist connected with Ignelion’s chin sending him reeling toward the wall.

  A ghastly silence fell over the class. I expected Girell to look thankful or at least neutral, but her eyes had daggers in them.

  “What have you done, bitch?” Girell asked. “Did I fuc
king ask for help, moron?”

  What was it now? Was this for real? Usually, people thanked me for saving their asses. This was rude.

  “Do you want to fight?”

  “With you? Anytime,” Girell smirked.

  Something didn’t feel right. I didn’t notice it before, perhaps because of that strange barrier, but now I knew it. Girell wasn’t the weakest of the dragons. Her draconic blood was below demi-dragons but higher than everyone here. Including me.

  So, what was this…

  Ignelion let out a laugh, then he stood up. He didn’t look like a man thrown against the wall. It stopped Girell from going after me and for a second I wondered how could I beat her? She was stronger than lieutenant Rox and didn’t possess jewels I could kick.

  “Flare, is it?” Ignelion said as he approached his desk. I wanted to take a step back, but my feet remained sealed in place. “Very interesting. Thank you, Girell, for your assistance in the play.” Ignelion snapped his fingers and the room… froze. Even Rebecca ceased to flap her wings. What kind of magic was this?

  “What have you done?”

  “Don’t fear. It’s all part of the class.”

  I realized that only Ignelion and I remained animated while the rest of the students didn’t move.

  “Did you stop… time?”

  “Yes.”

  “Not an easy thing to do, but necessary. My class is designed to find exceptional students. Only those with 40 percent and more draconic blood would take a bait and attack. It’s a part of draconic nature. Unicorns and some fairies believe that dragons must be tamed. Unfortunately, the purity of draconic blood will only go down, until no dragons remained.”

  “Who are you? And what do you want from me?”

  “I’m here to find and train exceptional students. Except you and Girell, this class is devoid of talents. Most of these dragon teenagers don’t have more than 10 percent of draconic blood.” Ignelion sat down on the desk with half of his bottom. “After yesterday’s incident, I decided to check you out myself. Dramer’s wrath is still felt within these walls. He was the sole reason why they had to rebuild the academy here, underground, and now hearing that you came with him. Hell, I can’t wait to see what the next months will bring us.”

  Chapter 14

  Fortunately, the accident with Ignelion’s class didn’t leak out. Strangely, no one was talking about it. I’ve inquired Rebecca about the class, but she possessed no memory of the class. Actually, when I checked my timetable, it showed no Ignelion’s class at all. What the fuck was that then?

  As much as I wanted to consider myself lucky, Saaron made sure to demolish my illusions. He deducted 25 behavior points after the morning visit. It brought my total to 70 and I was banned from leaving the Dragon House.

  Rebecca explained that the academy’s corridors were enchanted, and it was possible to reach unicorns’, fairies’, elementals’ and supernaturals dorms without going up through the winds. However, this ability was currently disabled because of my low behavior points. The possibilities of the magic were puzzling. Apparently, I was marked by the forbiddance spell that would keep me from other dorms or common rooms. Until I earn more points, I was confined to the Dragon House.

  It sucked.

  “The Dragon House has a lot to offer. A swimming pool, a magic training room…”

  “Wait did you say, a magic training room?”

  “Yes. It’s always supervised, but students are free to practice their magical abilities there.”

  The sound of this enticed me. Well, except, I didn’t know any spells. All the magic that I’ve managed to muster, apart from the fire, came out of blue. Still, if I could hone my spells.

  *

  The first week passed without another major incident. I’ve learned the benefits of staying out of the radar of Saaron. While I’ve been avoiding other students, the snippets of their conversations reached me. Saaron was feared, like a king of Titans himself, within these walls.

  He rarely visited the Dragon’s canteen, but when he did students bowed as if he bullied them all into submission. Even two dragon students of a level seven followed suit. Everyone except me. I found no reason to bow to anyone. If Saaron thought I was offensive, then he could expel me. Obviously, he wouldn’t do it. He’d make me a slacker and send me to the place where others like me dwelled.

  Students darted their shocked, scared eyes at me, and fortunately, Saaron has ignored me during his visits. I knew that his attack would come soon. There was no way he would let me show a lack of respect in front of everyone. Either, my behavior score would soon plummet to 0 or something simultaneously spectacular would occur.

  After the week’s last class about rules governing of the Great York City, I retreated to the library. On Friday’s evenings, this place appeared deserted. Like the rest of the underground academy, the library consisted of five sections plus a common area. I was forbidden to access any of them except the dragon’s section. At that moment it didn’t bother me. I craved seclusion. Dragon students turned out to be a bunch of weirdos. A part of me sensed their need to rage, but their expression held cold facades. Ignelion’s words haunted me. Unicorns strived to tame dragons. Indeed, the majority of the classes taught how to turn off our inner fire. I shuddered at the notion of losing it. It felt like losing a limb.

  Rebecca navigated the way deeper into the library where towering forest of bookshelves spread in every direction. A love of books was a recent discovery. When two days ago I couldn’t put away a story of a kidnapped princess and a heroic rescue, I found my calling. Rebecca informed me that daily visits to the library may earn me a point or two. Not that it’d been a reason why I came here this evening.

  I missed my friends. They were somewhere in this complex. Why couldn’t I see them? And Dramer, I longed to be touched by him.

  In the depth of the library, Rebecca found a comfortable sitting area. A gentle yellow light seeped from the ceiling.

  “So, what are you looking for?” Rebecca asked.

  There was no doubt that my personal assistant was a handy thing. I could find my way in the labyrinth of the underground academy thanks to her. None the less, I had a strong hunch that the main job of Rebecca wasn’t advising but spying on me.

  The basic spells for Dragons sucked hard. Nothing there was useful. Rebecca explained that until Dragons extinguished their inner rage, they wouldn’t let us learn anything serious. Actually, it was the first-year exam. A display of mental control over the rage. No matter how benevolent it sounded, there had to be a catch, and I intended to find it. There must be books on the subject. I’ll have to dig the truth myself. A bother that I can’t use Rebecca to locate it for me.

  I’d clearly overestimated my chances when Rebecca notified me that midnight arrived. Weekends were free. So, I didn’t need to wake up the first thing in the morning. I planned to sleep tomorrow the entire day.

  “Flare, why don’t you tell me what you are looking for?” Rebecca appeared behind me.

  The little shit gave me a fright. The library was dead silent.

  “Why are you following me?” I hissed at her. She supposed to leaf through the clothing catalog in search of sexy underwear. It was a decoy to buy time. I couldn’t risk alarming the staff of the academy.

  First of all, I needed to establish what were the consequences of damping our inner fire. Would my personality or magic suffer? Anyway, Ignelion made it look like something bad and I suspected that his motives were genuine.

  “Because I finished the catalogs you left me,” Rebecca answered without a shade of suspicion, which I found suspicious.

  “Go back and do it again,” I said with a sweetness in my voice. Not suspicious at all. Maybe Rebecca’s too stupid to notice?

  “Flare…” Rebecca began then her voice pitched higher and she fled without a word of explanation.

  Whoever approached me from behind possessed some serious skills. I could sniff a beast or a trap from a hundred yards. And yet, someone be
at me.

  I spun on my heel ready to fight. My magic was still mostly suppressed and only embers stirred where a volcano should be. Before I manifested my magical fire, I’d been a fighter. I fell to a low crouch, my palm straightened and pointed at the intruder’s vital spots.

  “Girell?” I blurted. “What are you doing here?”

  She snorted as she gracefully stepped forth. Her high heeled boots made no sounds.

  “I could ask you the same,” she said with a smirk. “And my real name isn’t Girell. I’m Elleria. Fourth-year.”

  A fourth year? This meant she’d passed the first-year exam, but her inner fire seemed to remain intact. Either she’d learned how to cheat on an exam or there was something else about her. Plus, what was she doing in the library after midnight?

  “Nothing of importance,” I answered. “Elleria.”

  She snorted again, revealing pearl white teeth.

  “Follow me. Tracking you among all those bookshelves has made my head spin enough.”

  Without waiting for my reaction, Elleria headed in a seemingly random direction. I had no idea what to do, therefore I reverted to trust my gut. And right now, it was pushing me toward Elleria. What about Rebecca? Should I wait for her or maybe leave her a message?

  “Are you going?” Elleria asked softly before entering an aisle. I shot after her. Being lost here was out of the question. With Rebecca gone, my chances of finding my way back to my room equaled zero.

  Either Elleria let her personal assistant lead the way or the woman possessed a sixth sense. Still, trailing behind her, we’d left the towering bookshelves and entered old-looking room crammed with books, magazines and yellowish stacks of papers. I loved this place the second my foot stepped in. It had a high ceiling and a balcony overlooking the main space. The only wall that was devoid of the books had a red-bricked firepit built-in. Flames happily dance inside it. A mesmerizing sight if you ask me.

  I shook off the hypnotic feeling and focused. Elleria lost interest in me and took a seat near the firepit.