by Bob Dattolo
“April Alexander.”
“I take it she’s not all that friendly?”
Her eyes lit up a little, although her smile was much smaller than I was expecting, “Not at all. How about you? Are you rooming with Parece again?”
“No. They split everyone up that was here so that we’d have an incoming student. I have Eva, at least based on the paperwork I saw. I didn’t catch her last name.”
“What is she?”
“Water mage.”
“She nice?”
“Nice? It’s all relative here, isn’t it? She didn’t outright attack me, so things are looking up. I bought her a small basket of things that she destroyed, so there’s that. I’m thinking she isn’t accepting my overture of at least non-hostile roommates.”
I got a laugh from her, which is good. Her scent started calming down more, going from fear to a mingled bunch of scents. “How was break?”
She shrugged, then looked around again, “Good? Nothing much happened. You? Did you and the others fight at all?”
“Umm, honestly? No, we didn’t fight once. We barely had any arguments, either, which is shocking for being with people for three months straight.”
“Holy cow, are you serious?”
“Yeah. They’re actually really nice when they’re not in this hellhole.”
“You’re allies with them this year, aren’t you.” Her shoulders fell.
“Nope. We’re not enemies, but we’re not official allies. They’re in the same groups they were in last time, subject to change with new roommates and all of that. So it’s just me again. If you want to be allies, we can. If not, I get it. I can leave you alone. I know I got you sucked into some crazy shit last year and targeted.”
She nodded, then shook her head, guilt and fear coming from her in competing waves.
Ugh. Okay, I guess that’s my cue to leave? “I’ll leave it up to you. For now, I’ll assume you don’t want to be.”
A soft, “I’m sorry,” came from behind as I left. I managed not to cry by focusing on the thought that she was at risk due to me last year. While she would have been a target anyway, she was dragged into my bullshit, and I don’t like that.
Hopefully, she’ll find a group that she fits into and she can have people backing her that aren’t magnets for being attacked.
When I arrived back at our room, I was shocked to find Eva at my desk, looking through one of my grimoires. Seeing that on top of seeing my closet door open a crack made my blood boil instantly. Had she been friendly, I might have let her look in my books. I never would have let her go into my closet, though. Not after what happened last year.
She reacted as if scalded and tried to shove the book back into its spot, only to knock the others down, “I, uhh, I wasn’t…” she stopped and walked away from my desk to her dresser, where she started putting things away again.
She froze as I started talking, voice dipping into a low whisper, “Did I give you permission to open my closet door? To look in my grimoires?”
A heady mix of fear, uncertainty, and building anger started coming from her. “I didn’t go in your closet!”
Hmm, that’s not quite a lie, but it is. She blinked as I tapped my nose, “See now, you think I’m not a dragon, when I am. I smell that you didn’t quite lie but did with that answer. I never said you went into my closet. I asked if I gave you permission to open my closet door. You most definitely opened it.” I moved over to the door and sniffed the handle, “I can smell that you touched the handle. I can smell that you were here. The door’s open, which I never let happen if I can help it. Even if I’m in the room. You doing it isn’t a debate. What is is whether or not I gave you permission for that.”
Her anger finally built above the other scents, and she turned, “You don’t tell me what I can and can’t do in my own room!”
She wasn’t expecting me to walk up and stop directly in front of her, “This is your room. This is also my room. It’s our room. You have your side. I have mine. I won’t be touching your things, so I expect you to not touch my things. Especially since I was being friendly, and you smacked my hand. The next time you open my closet door, touch my things, or touch my books?” My smile grew, “Then maybe we get to play.”
It was serious work to pull back on my murderous intent as I crossed to my desk chair and sat, putting my shake cup down. “Don’t think that I’m a pushover because I was being friendly. That’s not the case. If you want to be friends, I’m all for it. If you want to be allies, I’m all for it. If you want to be enemies, I’m all for it.” Her fear started going up again. “Until you make up your mind which it’ll be? Don’t think you can mess with my stuff without me messing back.”
It took her long minutes to respond, “What’re you gonna do? You’re a twig compared to me. I can break you in half with one hand.”
“I’ve had bigger try to break me and they failed. You do you. I’ll do me. Being friendly doesn’t mean weak.”
She didn’t respond to that, so I spent the next few minutes staring at her and making her twitch every time she caught me doing it. Her scent wavered between fear and anger, which I rather enjoyed.
My mind began to wander, so I left her alone and looked at my stuff. There are spells on the closet to stop people from messing with things, which I thought also stopped people from opening the door. Apparently not. If that’s the case, how did that work?
My hair stayed dark as I reached out with magic and felt the spells. It took me more than a bit to realize what I was feeling and to pick through the various layers. Interesting. Very interesting. There’s a loophole here. The spells will stop others from opening the door, but there are loopholes in the freaking magic. Any administrator here can open the door. Which is to be expected. Then it excludes anyone from outside the room unless you specifically grant them authority to do it. But that’s only for outside the room. For those inside the room, you have to exclude them. If you don’t, then they can open the door.
You know what? Fine, then I specifically exclude anyone from being able to open the door.
The spell adjusted and I felt that it would now only open for me and administrators, and I let a small smile form.
Which she caught and stared at for a moment before continuing to unpack.
Instead of saying anything to her, I started drinking the rest of my shake and turned back to my other things. Can I cast something to protect them? Given what I felt with the door and what I’ve learned about magic, I think I can.
Which means that I let the magic build as I focus on everything that I want. I want protections against people destroying everything. Stealing anything. I don’t want people to be able to touch my grimoires or my laptop or my phone. They can touch other things, but not take them. I don’t want anyone going in my drawers in the desk or the dresser. That took a while to work through, but I was able to do it without making it look like I was pulling magic. Once I knew it would work, I triggered the spell and felt it settle into place on everything in here that’s mine.
I’m thinking this should be interesting. Maybe I shouldn’t have worked in some protections that cause pain, but I’m not about to change that.
Chapter 17
There was a knock at the door and a girl called out, “Eva, it’s me!” My roomie opened it to show a new girl there. Another pretty girl, although nowhere near as big as Eva is. Fire affinities never are, so there’s that. She’s also a dragon. She catches me immediately, then ignores me as they hug.
“Hey, you found me. Come on in.”
“Yeah. I followed your scent.” She sniffed, and it was obvious to me that she’s trying to figure out what I am. “How do you like it so far? It’s weird for me being back in the states. I haven’t been here for three years.”
“I was back over break for a bit, but you’re right, it’s weird. I’m missing the accents.”
That’s funny, I can pick up differences in how people are talking, but it’s not like talking to a native. Just
certain sounds that twist things just a little.
“Same.” The dragon sat on one of Eva’s couches and looked around the space, “Not a lot of personality in here. You gonna hang anything?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna buy new stuff, though. You?”
“I think so?”
Eva’s eyes darted to me, “How’s your roommate?”
“Good. Bronze dragon.” I can smell Samantha on her, so that’s informative.
“Powerful?”
“Very.”
“Dominant?”
She waggled her hand, “She is, but she’s pretty level.”
“We allying with her?”
“Not sure yet? She has a group of four it seems. Decently strong. They didn’t lose any through last year or through the trial.”
Eva grunted, “Okay, that’s good.”
“Right?” The dragon’s eyes focused on me, “What’s with your silent roomie? She’s just staring?”
My shake cup ran empty, so I shook it and threw it out.
“She’s perving on me. Waiting for me to take a shower so she can watch me.”
“That true, whitey? You waiting for her to take a shower so you can watch her and flick the bean?”
Since she was talking to me, I looked back at her, “That’s a solid no. If I wanted to flick the bean, I’d do it right here in front of both of you.” She tilted her head, so I nodded at her, “Yes, just like you’re smelling, I’m telling the truth. Even though you can’t tell easily, I’m a dragon. So I’ve been naked in front of the entire school. I’d think nothing of masturbating in front of them. Same as you.”
Her eyes widened in shock, causing Eva to look at me again, “What the fuck? Is she telling the truth? Is she a dragon?”
The other girl sniffed again and again, “She’s telling the truth, but I can’t tell! She doesn’t smell like one or the other. More like…both, which I’ve never smelled before.” More sniffing, “What’s up with your eyes? Your hair?”
“Fluke of being me. No one knows why I have white eyes or hair.”
Another look from Eva.
“She’s telling the truth.” The dragon sniffed more and leaned forward, “What’s up with you? What’s your affinity? Why do you have scars on your face?”
Hmm, “Do I get a name first?”
Slow nod from her, “I’m Tiffany.”
“Nice to meet you, Tiffany. I’m Maddie.” No response back. “Which do you want answered first? What’s up with me? My affinity? My scars?” My debate about asking why I should answer died before I got it out there. She’s not being completely antagonistic or bitchy, so it doesn’t hurt to play along.
“Any of them. You’re weird.”
“Huh, thank you? I came in second in the International Weird contest, so it’s nice of you to say. I didn’t get the golden pencil sharpener or the tiara like that bitch from Idaho got for winning, but at least I’m recognized by my fans.”
Now she smells annoyed. As does Eva.
“Are you gonna answer? Or do I have to force you?”
That deserves a smile, “You can try to force me. Maybe you can get it out of me. On the other hand, why take that route. Isn’t it better and easier just to get along?”
Her hair lit up, although her magic doesn’t seem to be going for anything in particular, “Do you really want to get into this?”
“I could be wrong, but you’re the one that asked the questions. Not me. I know what’s up with me. So getting into this? By all means, if you want to start something, go for it. I’m deliberately not starting anything.”
Eva shoved clothes in her dresser, “She’s like this. I don’t get her.”
“There’s something about her. I can’t place it.” Tiffany sniffed again.
“I’m also right here. Unless I’m invisible again? I hate when that happens. People bumping into me. Farting and picking their noses, thinking no one is there. It’s a mess.”
The glowing hair faded as the dragon stared at me. I expected some sort of verbal attack, I really did. Instead, I got a nearly calm response of, “What’s up with you? Let’s start with that one.”
Hmm, “Okay, I can do that. What’s up with me? It’s all sort of combined together, it’s just that no one knows why. I’m a dragon. Not that I knew that. As far as I know, my parent were both mages. That’s where the scars come from. My parents. My first name is Maddie, but that’s not the name I was born with. As far as I know. Just like my last name isn’t the same. It’s Stricken.” Shocked scents from both of them. “I see you’re understanding where the scars are from now. I’m a modern medical and magical marvel. The mortmagi came out and my eyes healed, although the scars didn’t. My magic came back. I made it to school about two months before the end of first year and didn’t even know I was a dragon. As for my affinity? To the best of their ability to test me, I don’t have one as we currently know it.”
“That’s impossible!” Eva’s angry voice stops me cold for a moment.
“You’d think so, but Tiffany can smell that I’m telling the truth. I don’t fit any known affinity. I’ve been tested by cops. Psychiatrists. By researchers for the dragons. They don’t know why I have white. They can’t identify my affinity, although they have loosely given me one that I won’t mention. I don’t fit into the current breakdown. So that’s what’s up with me. As for why I was staring when you got here? It’s because Eva decided to open my closet door and look in. She decided to read one of my grimoires. I didn’t give her permission. I don’t like that. It feels rather like an invasion of privacy especially on the back of how things ended last year. I was thinking through that when you arrived.”
She didn’t respond at first, then sat back and looked over at Eva, “She’s telling the truth. To all of it. Nothing in there was a lie.”
“What? That’s fucking impossible! Everyone fits the affinities!”
“Don’t I just love being one of a kind.”
Eva stared at me longer, then shook her head, “I gotta pee. Be right back.” She disappeared into the bathroom as Tiffany’s posture changed and I knew she was her dragon persona.
“Let me speak with your dragon.”
“You are.”
She tilted her head and sniffed, “You are speaking the truth, yet…you…”
“I am. Why are you out?”
“You don’t smell right.”
“I know. Like I said? No one knows why.”
“I am dominant but don’t find it necessary to fight for first. I protect what’s mine and watch out for them. What are you?”
“Dominant, but mainly when it comes to me. You want to lord it over others? Go for it. You want to lord it over me? I’ll feast on your intestines before you die. That being said? I’m a unifier. My goal is to graduate this madhouse and get the fuck out of here and on with my revenge. I want as many of us to graduate as possible. We lost more than 50 percent of our class in the trial, and I don’t want to see that happen again.”
She sniffed the entire time, “50 percent? So many?”
“Started with 88 and had eight opt out of the trial. We lost 40 within it. It was a bloodbath.”
More sniffing, “You said revenge? Against what?”
I tapped my face, “I was a stricken. I was nine when my parents did it and threw me away. I spent four years with a woman that saved me in an alley. Then more than four with an earth dragon. I was his pet. Every person that touched me more than once? They’ll die when I find them. That’s my revenge.”
She twitched as the water started in the bathroom. “I believe I need to think about this more.”
“Do it. I’m here.”
Her posture changed and she studied me closely, tilting her head, “You’re not changing back?”
“The word you’re looking for is integration.”
Eva joined us, breaking up the dragon-centric conversation. “I have to finish unpacking. You done?”
Tiffany didn’t respond at first, finally getting out, “Ye
ah, I’m done.”
“Good. Want to go get a small bite? Dinner’s in about two hours? We can get away from the trash smell in here.”
“Yeah, I’m okay with that.”
I’m so tempted to say something about the trash smell being one of them, but I’m not going to. Let’s not antagonize them even though I know she means me. I also know that Tiffany is kinda freaked right now. From her posture to her scent, it all tells a story. One that she’s very, very unsure about.
I spent the rest of the afternoon wondering what I should be doing. With no announced allies, it leaves me sort of hanging when it comes to being with people unless we’re in public. People will assume that any time spent in a room that doesn’t involve sex to mean that you’re allies. Since we’re keeping any ties outside of the public eye, that means that without Kaylee, it’s just me.
While I’m okay with that, it means that this year is going to suck unless I can get some real allies around me.
Chapter 18
Dinner has been weird the past few days. No, who am I kidding? All of the meals have been weird. All of everything has been weird. The new students are…insular, I’ll say. I haven’t seen many cases of people getting along between the groups. Not them to us, not us to them, not them to the other groups. It’s making for strange conversations in the halls, tons of comments, slightly fewer arguments, and yet no challenges.
So far.
As of an hour or so ago, I heard that we have 118 students now for this second year. Only the three we heard about a few days ago aren’t here. Two dead, still. As you’d think. Then Tim in Mexico. He sent another email that was shared and he’s telling people that it’s kind of weird being a norm, but a hell of a lot less dangerous.
I kinda feel for him.
I know he was weak, but I kinda thought he’d at least go to the end and leave with 25 percent. Nope. Not according to what he wrote.
The newcomers picked up on his message and tried to twist it to mean that all of us who were here last year are also weak and ready to run to Mexico to be saved.
Even Levi is back. He’s back, and he’s up to his old shit. He made it back just after breakfast today and looked pissed when he ran into me in the hallway. He didn’t say anything worth relaying but did let slip that he was following us with the spell. As if we didn’t figure that out. He also kinda alluded to telling Samantha’s parents where we were at times.
