Dragons and Mages: A Limited Edition Anthology

by Pauline Creeden

  Hearing his gargled attempt to draw air proved my aim had been true. Not waiting for him to recover, I cradled my limp arm with my good one and ran back the way we’d come. My pace didn’t slow even when I spotted Drew and Thomas. I wanted to put as much distance between myself and Grobin.

  “What happened?” Drew called out behind me.

  I heard Thomas’s and Drew’s footsteps, but I didn’t turn to confirm it. This outing had been a huge mistake. It might have just cost us our entire planet if Grobin managed to break my arm.

  “Kat! Stop!”

  Thomas’s urgent command registered in my head, letting me know I’d made yet another mistake. I couldn’t charge out of here injured and upset. If I caused a scene, then our activities would definitely be reported. My steps slowed down well before we reached the gate.

  Drew finally caught up to me. “What’s wrong with your arm?”

  “Grobin pulled it out of the socket?”

  Thomas appeared shocked. “Did he attack you?”

  “Let me fix that,” Drew said at the same time.

  I ignored Thomas. I shifted my body enough for Drew’s outstretched hands to feel how to fix the damage. Unlike Grobin, Drew’s gentle touch whispered across my skin, causing me to resist a shiver, which I knew would only cause me more pain.

  “This is gonna hurt. Try to relax.”

  I knew the drill. This had happened before. Spreading my feet in a wider stance to remain steady, I nodded. “Do it quickly.”

  Drew manipulated my arm perfectly. In an instant, the intensity of the pain stopped as the joints realigned with a satisfying pop. Unnecessarily, I reached over to touch my shoulder, confirming its correct positioning.

  “Thanks, Drew.”

  “We’ll talk about this later.”

  I’d never heard him sound so angry while directed at me. Drew needed to let this go. I couldn’t look at him again, knowing I’d see the anger etched all over his face. Instead, I turned to face the gate, stepping away from Drew’s sudden fury. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter 8

  OTHER THAN A slightly stiff and sore shoulder, I didn’t have much more to show for my time with the slaves in Dome 5. Although I had a healthier respect for keeping my distance from the slaves, I didn’t believe all of them could be as bad as Grobin. What he had done only reaffirmed to me that we needed to do better for all our citizens, free or slave.

  As soon as Drew and I left Thomas’s company at the exit to the dome, I noticed Drew kept glancing over at me. I couldn’t let him stew over it any longer. “Just say it already!”

  Rounding on me, Drew planted his feet and crossed his arms. I’d never seen him look so fiercely protective. “What were you thinking, going off alone with that guy? And what exactly did he do to you?”

  I mirrored his stance, yet as I crossed my arms, I barely kept myself from wincing. Did he think I was incapable of taking care of myself? “Nothing he won’t be regretting for the next couple of days.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “Fine. He wanted something more than I was willing to give because he told me next to nothing about the seeds.”

  “And?”

  “And, I probably dislocated his knee and made it so he’ll have a hard time swallowing for a few days.”

  “Was that why he hurt you?”

  “No, that was after he twisted my arm behind my back. Look, it’s over now. I didn’t learn anything useful about the seeds, but I did get a first-hand look at what the slaves have to endure. We need to fix that situation.”

  I reached out with my left hand and touched his arm. Getting a moment alone to process what just happened sounded amazing right now, but I had to make sure Drew would keep this incident under wraps.

  Drew shook his head. “I can’t believe that’s what you got out of all that back there.”

  “You can’t say you agree with what you saw.”

  “No, but we’re just kids. We can’t do anything about their situation.”

  “Not today, maybe. But in a few months, we’ll be entering the workforce. We’ll have a voice for their rights. It has to start somewhere.”

  “I guess. I just don’t see the point. Are you planning on working in the mines?”

  “No, but I don’t think keeping those people in squalor is making them any more productive. Their job already sucks; they don’t need a terrible life outside of it as well.”

  “Fine. I see your point. Now, back to your problem with that guy.”

  “It’s done, Drew. And don’t you dare tell anyone about it. Promise me.” My hand squeezed his arm, where it still rested on him. Indecision raced across his expression. “I mean it.”

  “Fine. For now.”

  “Good. Hey, look. I’m going to head back over to the ‘ponics lab and see if I can start a few more experiments before going home. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

  Drew’s hesitancy seemed almost comical, but he finally nodded after staring at me for several seconds. I must have looked convincing enough, even though my insides shook with a delayed reaction. Why didn’t he leave already?

  As soon as Drew rounded the corner, I lifted my hand to gently massage my shoulder. This little incident better not ruin my chances of winning the gladio tourney. Surely, Drew acted fast enough to put the joint back in place for it to only be tender for a day, maybe two.

  Walking slowly, I eventually found myself back at the ‘ponics lab. It should be late enough for everyone to have already left. The peace I always found in the presence of the green, verdant growth sounded amazing right now. Maybe there, I could process what Grobin tried to do with me.

  Entering the lab, I almost cried out in relief. Silence reigned in the deserted lab. Heading straight for my assigned work station, I slumped down onto the floor, holding my arms around my stomach. Tears overflowed to run down my cheeks and land in wet patches across my forearms.

  So absorbed had I become, I failed to notice Ryker enter the room. He must have heard my crying and came to investigate. Reaching out, he squeezed my shoulder to comfort me.

  I cried out in pain as if he had stabbed me with a knife, shocking both of us. He lost his balance, where he kneeled and ended up landing on his rear beside me. Grabbing my shoulder in an attempt to massage the pain away, I immediately sobered. “I’m sorry, Ryker. You startled me.”

  “Likewise, but I think it’s more than that. Did you hurt your shoulder?”

  Nodding, I hastily wiped the moisture from my cheeks. Hopefully, I didn’t look haggard enough to concern Ryker. Of course, I didn’t get that lucky.

  “What happened? Does this have anything to do with you talking with the slaves?” Ryker shifted to his knees, his hands hovering over my shoulder.

  I could tell he wanted to help me, but I couldn’t imagine what he could do. Not trusting my voice, I simply nodded.

  “Katherine, this is serious business. If you’re too injured to win the gladio game, then it could put the whole prophecy in jeopardy. C’mon. We need to get you some medical treatment in the main research building.”

  “No! I mean, I don’t want to cause any commotion. Can’t we just forget about it?”

  “No. Get up, Katherine.” Ryker stood and held his hand down for me.

  Not really seeing any other choice, I reached up and took his assistance. Even the simple act of standing jarred my shoulder and caused me to wince. Obviously, this was more serious than I originally thought.

  “Katherine, you know you can trust me with anything. Did one of the slaves hurt you?”

  Maybe if I answered his questions, then he’d let it go. “Yes. But he’s not going to be bothering me or anyone else for a while.” While he escorted me out of the school and toward the research building, I gave him a brief synopsis of events. To his credit, Ryker merely nodded his acknowledgment, without a word of admonishment.

  “I’m just curious about something.” Ryker paused while he stared straight ahead.

  “What
’s that?”

  “Did you use your new ability to show you where to hit him like what happened with the sparring match?” Ryker turned to me.

  I frowned. Did I? Pursing my lips, I realized there hadn’t been time, or at least I hadn’t noticed any such help. Shaking my head, I answered, “No, I don’t think it was there. Sorry.”

  By now, we had reached the entrance to the research facility, which ended our conversation. Ryker led me down several halls until we reached a room marked ‘Medic’ on a plaque next to the door. Having never visited a medic before, I didn’t really have any idea what to expect.

  A woman turned around at the sound of the door closing behind us. With a ready smile, she stepped over and glanced us both over. “What can I help you with, Ryker?”

  Ryker gently pushing me forward. “Katherine wrenched her shoulder. She’s a contender for the gladio games, and we need to make sure the injury isn’t too serious.”

  “Really? My brother was a finalist in the gladio games back in the day. Take a seat up here on the table, and I’ll check it out. Which side is it?”

  “Right.”

  “Figures, huh? I suppose you’re right-handed.”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. Sorry, my fingers are a bit cold.”

  My skin prickled with chills when she gently palpated my joint. I hissed when she reached the spot where the tendon had stretched too far.

  “Dislocated it, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. My friend put it back within minutes.”

  “That was lucky. Okay. I’ve got just the thing to make it better. I’ll give you a cortisone shot as well as a mild pain reliever. Try to rest it for at least 24 hours, longer if possible.”

  She must have seen the rebellious look on my face.

  “You’ll thank me later. I promise your sparring will be much better if you can actually raise your arm during the match. Take it easy, or spar left-handed. That’s a good skill to practice as well, you know.”

  I’m pretty sure she chatted merrily along simply to distract me from the air injection she had prepared. Pressing the instrument against my arm, I barely felt the sting of the micro-mist pushing through my skin. Almost instantly, the pain dulled.

  “Wow! That stuff’s amazing.”

  “Yes, it is, but don’t get any ideas about using that arm right now. The injury is still there; the medication just blocked the pain signal from reaching your brain. Off you go.”

  Leaving the office, I felt so much better. Unexpectedly, Ryker pushed me to walk in the opposite direction of how we’d come in. His change seemed strange. Was this the part where he betrayed me after all? “Where’re we going?”

  “I want to show you the test gardens. Remember the ones Meary talked about. It might give you an idea of how you could use the information the slave gave you.”

  “Everything he told me was useless.”

  “Don’t be too hasty.” We reached a set of double doors that opened at our approach. He gestured for me to enter the open space ahead of him.

  An incomprehensible amount of greenery surrounded us. It instantly reminded me of the vids from history class. Our whole world had looked like this before the dragons left.

  “This is the test garden?” Now I understood how Meary could have such a bountiful harvest to bring home. Heck, I couldn’t even see the far side of the garden.

  “Yes. Come and look at this area. They’re already working with the same seeds as our group.” Ryker walked away.

  Only then did his words register in my overloaded brain. How could I make a name for myself unless I did something different than the accomplishments here? I’d set myself an enormous task. How could I compete with resources such as these?

  Several people moved around the garden in the distance, pulling me out of my reverie. I couldn’t accomplish anything with a closed mind. I needed to take notes, open my mind to my surroundings, and think about new ways to apply what Grobin had shared with me.

  As we walked, Ryker spoke about the different experiments currently in progress. We stopped countless times. At each location, Ryker handed me some new greenery to sample. Even the more bitter leaves left me wanting more, simply because they had a flavor and texture different than the disgusting gruel we had at every meal.

  Even hurrying, we barely covered a quarter of the space inside the test garden when Ryker moved toward another exit door. Just short of the door, a commotion caught our attention. Ryker shoved me behind a row of plants and spoke urgently. “Wait here for me. Don’t let anyone see you.”

  “What’s going on?” Ryker rushed in the opposite direction, either not hearing me, or not caring. What the heck? My heart raced as I tried to figure out what happened. It seemed preposterous for me to hide after so many other people had already seen me in the garden with Ryker.

  I sat cross-legged and picked various leaves off the miner’s lettuce sprouting between the tall plants shielding me. A familiar voice sounded beyond my line of sight. Instinctively, I attempted to shrink even lower to the ground even as I leaned in to listen to the conversation.

  “How come it wasn’t brought to my attention? We can’t have a group of students attempting to access classified data.”

  “I didn’t realize you wanted to know. I investigated the incident immediately and found several seniors interested in historical documents. I’m not even sure why some of those old things are classified in the first place.”

  “Did they say what they were after?”

  “Nothing specific, just something about discovering family lineage.”

  “Hmm, that doesn’t sound terrible. Why do you think they all decided to look at the same time?”

  “They were friends. Chances are good, they wanted to find out who had more prominent ancestors than the other. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

  “I’ll be coming back to you if it turns into anything bigger. Trust me on that! On another note, what’s this I hear about one of your students wanting to win all of the games in the Tatsu tournament? I trust you put that idea down.”

  “I did. But it sounds as though your sources inaccurately reported their story to you, Silas. My student doesn’t have any intention of winning all the games. She’s only interested in gladio.”

  “Well, that’s good to hear. The last thing I want is to have an upset between the domes, especially at a time like this. Have you had any luck with those new seeds Blair brought back?”

  “I already set my brightest students on it. I’m sure we’ll have great success…”

  “You better,” Silas interrupted rudely. “I don’t need to tell you how few resources are still at our disposal. With the last dragon scale almost completely disintegrated, we no longer have the ability to create an abundance of food. In only another few years, we’ll be reduced to eating dirt if you don’t come up with some brilliant solutions.”

  I sputtered and choked on the bit of leaf I’d swallowed just as Silas admitted the dire situation our domes faced. Immediately, my hands flew to my mouth to restrain any further noise emitting from me. Did Silas just admit to having a dragon scale? Or was that a code word for some secret project? In any event, the end result seemed to spell disaster for our population.

  Silas strode past where I hid. My heart jumped to my throat. Luckily, his gaze remained firmly fixed in front of him as he took decisive steps out of the garden. He never even knew how indiscreet he’d been with Ryker. Now I knew the truth. But what could I do with it? How could I change anything?

  Quickly, I turned away from the path. Pretending more interest in the plants around me than I truly felt, I fidgeted while I waited for Ryker’s return. Mere seconds later, Ryker cleared his throat behind me and whispered for me to follow him. Even though I expected him to appear, the harsh sound still caused me to jump in surprise.

  I scrambled to my feet and joined him behind another copse of broad-leaf plants. “What did Silas want?”

  “Nothing. He just asked me about your e
scapade with the restricted data. Don’t worry. I covered for you. Just don’t do it anymore. Okay?”

  Ryker’s dismissive tone didn’t make me feel any better. Plus, he’d left out the ‘we’re going to starve’ part of the conversation. I would bide my time and figure out what we could do about it. Until then, I’d have to concentrate on the one thing I could do.

  Well, I could do it in a few days once my shoulder had time to heal. I’d win the gladio game, and my girlfriends would win the rest of the games. Then we’d see if it did anything toward bringing the dragons back to Heliok. Although I still didn’t understand the correlation between the games with the dragons. Ryker’s journal supported my suspicions, but maybe I’d learn more as I kept reading through it.

  Even the lush surroundings couldn’t prevent my mind from racing through all the problems suddenly cropping up. Maybe I simply started paying more attention, but it felt as though something bigger was afoot. Too many references kept pointing to the dragons for me to ignore it.

  What if our ancestors started the Tatsu tournament to remind the dragon riders to keep up their skills? If so, then someone had literally dropped the ball in keeping the connection alive. Heck, nobody even believed the dragons had once existed. Yet, Silas just confirmed it by announcing the failure of the last dragon scale.

  I had to know more. I couldn’t keep silent. Besides, Ryker said I could trust him about everything. Now, he’d get the chance to prove it to me. “What did Silas mean about the dragon scale disintegrating? Is that code for something else, or is it a real dragon scale?”

  Ryker sighed long and loud. His steps never faltered as he turned to glance over at me as we continued to walk toward another exit than Silas had taken. “I’d hoped you’d missed that part.”

  “No, it was loud and clear. Is it real?” I couldn’t let Ryker figure out a way to avoid answering me.

  “Yes. It’s true.”

  “Well, don’t leave me hanging. Where did it come from?”

  “Someplace you’re not supposed to know about. Can you just drop it?”