“Come on, that means introduction will start soon.” Rocky grabs my hand and hurries me down the aisle.
Once we close the door behind us, Cerberus bounces in a circle, yapping.
“I’m sorry, Haze. They’ll forget about it tomorrow, I promise.” Rocky strokes my cheek with his thumb before quickly leading me down a dusty street.
Shops and restaurants line the street on either side, buzzing with activity. Dragons lie around lazily, enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Secondary students and adults laugh in shops, trying on silly items or telling jokes.
“We’re actually allowed visitors in Aria,” Rocky explains, noticing my fascinated gaze. “Mum has visited me a couple of times.”
I struggle to remember the woman who gave birth to me. The strict rules in Primary Towns mean that you don’t see your parents while you’re there; no letters or anything. I haven’t seen my mother since I was six, when I was taken away from her to live in Primary Town.
“How is she?”
“She’s fine. She cried when we first met up. She wanted to know everything, you know? What grades we were getting; who we had a crush on; how many fights we had. It was crazy. The next meet-up will be in two weeks. She’s dying to see you.”
“I’m glad she’s okay.”
We approach a large tiled area, bare of any shops. Weeds sprang from between the cracks, making the place look older than it probably was. A large hole was blocked off in the middle, surrounded by black scorch marks. Bare earth lay underneath it, yanked out of the ground by something, possibly a dragon or a student with a temper. It’s cordoned off by a few wooden poles with yellow tape wrapped around them. A few kids had already gathered. Some older students were hanging around too, there to give support to the younger ones. A short bald man in a black pinstriped suit stood in the middle, his expression locked into a scowl. A large black and red dragon sat next to him, scanning the kids with what I can only call distaste. Its mouth kept opening and closing, almost as if it were baring its teeth.
“Ugh. It’s Mr Reedman.” Rocky scowls.
“He’s not nice, I presume?”
“Not in the slightest. His dragon, Eruption, is a bully too. Nasty piece of work.” He turns to Cerberus. “Stay on the outskirts in this meeting. You know how harsh he is with the new kids.”
Cerberus narrows her eyes and nods, her gaze locked on Eruption.
“Where are the eggs?” I ask.
“You see that cart over there?” He points to a large wooden cart with a sheet covering its contents and a clipboard pinned to the side.
“How many are in there?”
“There’s five cabins that can each house twenty kids, so up to a hundred.”
“The eggs must be tiny.”
“As soon as they’re given to you, they grow to the right size. The egg recognizes the body heat of its owner.”
My egg is in there, somewhere. Will it be okay cooped up in that tiny little cart with ninety-nine other eggs?
“How long do they take to hatch?”
“You spend a day looking after it; carrying it around with you everywhere. Then, once it has a good enough memory of you, it hatches. It recognizes you as its parent.”
“So, tomorrow?”
“Yep. Exciting, huh?”
“All First Year students remain here. Everyone else must leave!” Mr Reedman booms, glaring at some of the people in the front row.
“I’ll be right here when he finishes, okay? I’ll even bring Marco if you want.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t be nervous.” He kisses my forehead, hugs me and slowly walks away, casting glances behind him. His eyes are reddening, which makes my eyes fill up too.
He’ll be waiting for me once I’m done, then we can have a proper catch-up.
“Bye,” I mutter, turning back towards Mr Reedman.
“Now, First Years.” A dark smile widens on his face. “I will be your Head of Instructors from now until you leave. That’s fifteen years old to nineteen years old, for any of you imbeciles out there. There will be no messing around, no slacking and no failing.”
Mutters rise from the crowd until Eruption opens its mouth and roars at the front row, its sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight. A tall blond man steps out from behind the cart, his eyes scanning the group in front of him. He must be a few years older than me, so I don’t know why he’s still hanging around.
“This is Raymond Stirling. He is the head of the Cindaraans, which you will learn more about later. See any you like, Raymond?” The man turns to the blond boy, smirking slightly.
“Oh yes.” Raymond’s eyes lock onto me, making me shuffle uncomfortably. “I’m sure we have a few future Cindaraans here.”
I don’t know what Cindaraans are, but by the way the two of them keep smirking and eyeing up the crowd, I guess it can’t be good. I’ll have to avoid them.
Mr Reedman turns to the hulking dragon at the front, stroking one of its horns gently. “This is Eruption. Do behave around him – he holds very deep grudges.” He turns towards the cart and tears off the clipboard, making it wobble dangerously.
The poor eggs! Be careful with the little things!
“We’ll start with common dragons, shall we?”
I’m in trouble.
“Only one? How unfortunate! Hazel Adams, please step forward!”
The crowd parts, fear on all their faces. No-one wants to be first. Heck, I don’t even want to be first.
I stop in front of the suited man, trying my hardest to make sure my hands don’t shake.
“You poor girl. Not only are you a commoner, but you’re also related to Rocky Adams. He got Eruption and I electrocuted, you know.”
Oh crap.
“Do you think you’re special, Miss Adams?”
My voice doesn’t work for a few moments. I’m not a huge fan of public speaking. “N-no, sir.” My voice barely comes out as a whisper.
“Good. Now, would you like your egg, Miss Adams?” He walks towards the cart, patting the soft sheet.
“Yes please, sir.”
“So polite!” he exclaims sarcastically, before rummaging around in the cart and pulling out a small, cream-coloured egg. “No, not this one...” He puts the egg back and pulls out a small grey spotted one; I recognize it from the book. Common eggs only come in the grey spotted colouring, and are no bigger than a tennis ball until they connect with someone. “Here you are!” he holds out the egg to me, but as I go to take it, he snatches it back. “Go and catch it!”
Before his words can sink in, he throws the egg into the air. An angry roar makes some people behind me scream, and a brown blob catches the egg in mid-air. Cerberus looks down at the bald man, her amber eyes glowing with hatred.
“I thought as much,” Mr Reedman mutters. “Miss Adams, you’re dismissed. Do you want to be escorted away by Eruption?”
The large dragon rises to his feet, his red eyes locked onto me. Cerberus lands in front of me, blocking my view of the terrifying creature. She is holding the egg gently in her teeth, and nudges it into my hands. For a second I see the outline of the dragon inside, a small lizard creature illuminated orange by the sunlight, before the egg grows to three times its size in my hands.
“Well done. The dragon has connected to you. Now leave, you stupid little child.” The bald man turns back to the clipboard. “Let’s move onto uncommon dragons now, shall we?”
2
Chapter Two
“Do you think it’ll be okay?”
Cerberus looks at the egg, and then nods slowly. She isn’t sure either. The two of us lumber along slowly, with me clutching the egg close to my chest as if it would be snatched away and thrown again. I’ve only been here a few hours and I already know that the next few years are going to be hell.
If my dragon dies, I’m out. When your companion dies you’re considered a ‘Nothing’, as the vast majority of the population has dragons. Most Nothings are lucky to have a job or their own place. Most are le
ft to rot on the streets.
“What right did he have to do that? I’ve done nothing wrong, and neither has the egg.”
Cerberus looks at me apologetically and nuzzles my shoulder. Mr Reedman is holding a grudge against me because I’m related to Rocky, and it was probably an accident.
“Hello, Hazel.”
The silky voice makes me jump as Raymond steps in between Cerberus and me, a dark smile on his face.
“Um, hi.” I clutch the egg closer to my chest, ready to fight him if he tries to hurt it.
“If your dragon lives, come and see me. The Cindaraans could use someone like you.”
“Like me? Why?”
“So they know what a pathetic human being looks like.” He twirls his finger, a few clumps of dirt rising into the air around his hands. “I will be seeing you around.”
With that, the dirt plummets to the floor and he turns and walks back to the Square, wiping any hint of emotion off his face.
“Where’s Rocky? I want Rocky.” My eyes sting again, and this time I just let the tears flow. I’ve already had enough. I just want Rocky to tell me that everything will be okay.
The brown dragon looks mortified and jumps into the air, quickly leaving me alone. I sink to my knees, resting my cheek on the grey egg. Despite all that’s going on, I want it to be warm and happy.
After a few minutes, Cerberus returns and the drum of feet tells me that Rocky isn’t far behind. “Haze!” He pulls me to my feet and draws me close to him in a hug. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“He threw it!”
“Threw what, Haze?”
“The egg! I don’t know if it’s okay...”
He pulls away and looks me up and down. “It’s grown, right?”
I nod and wipe my nose with my hand. “Yeah.”
“Then it’s perfectly fine.” He smiles slightly, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Don’t lie to me!”
“Shh. I’m not lying. If it wasn’t okay, it wouldn’t have connected to you.” He brushes a few tears from my cheek. “It’s fine.”
My grip on the egg relaxes a little. He’s right. If the dragon wasn’t fine, it wouldn’t have connected to me in the first place. It feels alright too. There aren’t any cracks or signs that the dragon is injured or dead.
“Here, I’ve brought you something to carry it in.” He holds up a small black backpack, worn from years of use. He unzips it and holds it out for me. “Put it in there. It’ll still be close to you, but it’ll be easier to carry.”
Gently I lower the grey egg in and zip it up. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Do you want something to eat? You’ve had a lot of excitement for one day.”
“I dunno.”
He rolls his green eyes, which are beginning to sparkle with their usual mischief. “Yes, you do. You know where to go, Cerberus.”
* * *
Rocky takes me to a small restaurant just outside of the Square. When we passed by, First Years were still receiving their dragons, although they weren’t having theirs thrown about like tennis balls. Not many people are around; the restaurant is only just starting to bring out the menus for dinner. Small round wooden tables form the main seating at the front of the restaurant, but two larger tables for bigger parties are pushed up against the wall at the back. A small counter is also at the back, with a door leading into the kitchen. A few potted plants are scattered on each table, and the floor is made of cracked marble.
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Rocky grins cheekily.
“Hazel!”
I recognize that voice. “Maya!”
Maya has beautiful long black hair and dark skin. She’s wearing a tight-fitting blue dress, which is unusual; she didn’t like dresses the last time I saw her.
She stands up and we hug silently. I’ve missed not having my girl best friend around. At least now I can talk to a girl who isn’t completely up herself.
Rocky breaks the silence. “Where’s Marco? Did he bail?”
Maya pulls away, her hands on her hips. “Did he ‘eck. He’s in the bathroom. He’s so nervous he’s practically spent all day pissing.”
Hands are clamped around my ears and Rocky hisses: “Don’t use that language around her!”
“She’s fifteen! She’s probably heard it all by now!”
I wriggle out of Rocky’s grip. “Marco’s nervous?”
Maya smirks. “Yeah. He’s scared you’ve changed and don’t like him anymore.”
“I was scared about you guys not liking me!”
“You were?” Rocky looks puzzled.
“Yeah, I thought you guys wouldn’t want to hang around with me seeing as you’re older.”
“Don’t be stupid!” Maya rolls her eyes. “Rocky was up at three o’clock this morning watching every train that went past and hoping you were on it.”
“Really? I was up at three too!”
“You two are sad, sad people.” Maya grins, nudging me playfully.
We all sit down and start flicking through the menu, chatting playfully among each other.
“Are you sure Marco hasn’t bailed?” Rocky crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. He isn’t fond of my best friend.
“I’m pretty sure he’s masturbating now,” Maya jokes.
I butt into their conversation before Rocky can flip. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“It’s the door by that plant in the shape of an eagle.”
“That’s two plants behind one another, you numpty,” Rocky grins.
Hauling the backpack over my shoulder, I walk towards the ‘eagle’ bush and go to open the door when it swings open in front of me.
“Watch where you’re going!” a deep voice hisses.
Marco.
He’s a little taller than he used to be, and his jet-black hair is long enough to almost fall over his eyes. His face is covered in spots and a few stray hairs, but apart from that he hasn’t changed much. His expression softens upon recognising me. Self-consciously, I sweep my dirty blonde fringe over the right side of my face, not wanting him to see the scar and how ugly it’s become since he left.
“I’ve missed you,” he says.
“It hasn’t been the same without my partner-in-crime.” I agree.
He smiles and brushes my hair away from my face. “Hug?”
It almost feels like slipping into a mould when hugging Marco; it’s so familiar. Before he left we were inseparable. Teachers at Primary Camp were terrified to split us up when the time came. I’m glad to be around my friends again.
“How was your first day?” he asks, still not willing to let go of me.
“Crap. Mr Reedman threw my dragon in the air and said I was stupid.”
“You are stupid.”
“Thanks.”
“He’s always in a bad mood. I think he’s got something prickly wedged up his ass.”
I sigh. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”
We finally pull apart, and he goes to open the door again.
“I actually need to go to the toilet.” Nudging him playfully, I say: “Sorry to disappoint.”
“And here was me thinking that you were trying to pester me,” he grins. “See you in a minute.”
I quickly went to the bathroom and checked on my dragon so I could re-join the others. Still no sign of anything wrong with it. It’s just so tiny and delicate, I’m afraid that even bumping into something would cause a crack. I carefully replace the egg in the backpack and head towards the door. I want to catch up with my friends, and I’m sure they’re dying to talk to me too.
“Hey,” Marco greets me as I approach, causing Rocky and Maya to stop arguing. He looks uncomfortable, his eyes darting back and forth from Maya to me again. Did something happen?
Placing the backpack on the floor, I smile at him. “Have you ordered yet?”
“No, we can’t decide what we want.” Rocky flicks through the menu slowly.
“How’s the egg? Can I see it?” Maya reaches for th
e backpack.
“Be careful.”
“I will, don’t worry. Once the egg is in this state it’s near impossible to break it,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Watch her drop it and make an omelette,” Marco jokes.
“Thank you, Marco,” Rocky scowls, his green eyes shooting daggers at my uncomfortable friend. “The little thing has been through enough excitement for one day.”
“What do you mean?” Marco asks, glancing up from the menu briefly.
“I told you, Mr Reedman threw it in the air.” I shuffle uncomfortably.
He pauses. “I thought you were joking! So, he really said you were stupid?”
“He said what?” Rocky’s hand slams on the table, making me duck my head in embarrassment.
“Anyway,” I quickly change the topic to avoid further arguments. “What elements are you guys?”
“Fire,” Maya says proudly. “It’s pretty cool.”
“I’m fire and dark. First of my kind, apparently.” Marco fiddles with his thumbs.
“Wow, so you’re pretty rare, huh?” I tease. “I should sell you to a museum.”
“I’m glad your sense of humour hasn’t changed,” he rolls his eyes. “So, what are you then? You ate worms when you were little; does that make you earth?”
“I did not eat worms.”
“You did. Someone was always on worm duty until you were three.”
“Sorry to disappoint then, but no. I’m water.”
“So, if we need an umbrella, you’re it?”
“Hilarious.”
We all flick through the menu a bit more, until we decide just to get burgers; no-one is really looking anyway. Maya gives me back the egg after a few minutes, saying that it will be small when it hatches.
“What was life like when we were gone, then? Pretty bleak, I’m guessing,” Marco smirks, his brown eyes giving away his teasing.
“It was okay. I only had Ciara and Naomi to talk to though, so that was pretty boring.”
“Oh yeah? What did they talk about?” Maya leans on to the table, stretching her arms.
“Boys and sex mostly.”
She laughs and turns to Rocky, who looks horrified. “I thought you wanted to leave her with good influences?”
Elemental Dragons Book 1: Blood and Water Page 2
