by C. G. Cooper
“How?” I somehow choked out, a piece of crust falling from my mouth.
“We’re Destuctors, too.”
What? I shook my head, not understanding.
“But you never, I mean, I found out about mine and you never…it was…” The words didn’t fit. I couldn’t put all the frustration I’d felt, all the scary memories I had, into a sentence.
“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you,” Mom said, getting up from her seat and sitting next to me. “We thought it would be better if you didn’t know.”
“But you’re a lawyer and dad’s a consultant. Or is that a lie too?”
I don’t know why, but I was really mad. Maybe it was everything catching up to me, the time alone, the long flight…
“That’s what we are, honey. We haven’t used our gifts since before you were born. We were trying to live a normal life.”
“And you thought lying to me and taking me from place to place, new schools every year, you thought that was normal?”
I’d never talked to my parents that way. I was the good kid that was never in trouble, never raised my voice.
But if they were mad they didn’t show it.
“It’s a lot to take in, I know,” said Dad. “But at least we’re together.”
I scrunched my eyes shut, trying to control the nasty words that I wanted to throw at both of them like jagged rocks.
My eyes opened. “What did you mean about this being our home?” I asked, needing to change the subject back to something more manageable.
“Our family has owned the property this house was built on for over two thousand years.”
My ears must not have heard that right.
“How?” I asked, suddenly wanting to know more.
“Our last name, Dragon, comes from the Latin word Draconem. Our earliest ancestors were Roman nobles. Lake Como had been a summer vacation spot for the Romans, and at some point the property was given to the Draconems by the emperor himself. There were points in history where the rise and fall of governments took the land out of the family’s hands, but they always did what was needed to get it back.”
Romans? Emperors? This was all news to me.
“So we own this place?” I asked, the need to explore filling my brain. But then it all stopped. Reality hit me like a punch in the face. “Wait, does that mean we’re going to live here now?”
My dad nodded.
“But why? Why now?”
Everything was going right in my new school. I had friends for a change and I liked the town we lived in. There was even a girl that I might have a chance with some day.
“It’s not safe anymore,” my mom said, squeezing my hand.
“What happened? Does it have something to do with the way you…look?” I asked.
My dad winced at the question. Mom touched her face and nodded.
“I don’t want you to worry, but I was…taken,” she said.
Shivers ran up my back and I stared at her.
“Mom.”
“I’m okay, thanks to your father.”
I looked over at dad, who was shaking his head.
“I should have been there,” he said.
“You didn’t know,” said Mom. Her eyes shifted back to me. “Things are changing. There are people who want what we know. They want to take what we have and twist it for their own purposes.”
“You mean like Jacee?”
Like I mentioned earlier, Jacee Trevane is one of the most famous people on the planet. Most guys want to be him and every girl I know wants to date him. If there was a picture for cool in the dictionary, Jacee’s picture would be there.
But there was another side to Jacee. He was a Destructor. Not only that, he was an evil Destructor. He’d tried to recruit me, but Kennedy had stepped in. In the process, one of Jacee’s loser friends almost killed Kennedy. That was how I’d found out about my other gifts.
I guess I should tell you that I’m not just a freak because I’m a Destructor. No, that would be too easy. I’m a triple freak. You see, there are three different kinds of gifted people: Destructors, Growers and Healers. Destructors you already know about. They can move things with their mind, no wizard wands needed. The Growers are tight with the earth. They can make plants grow really fast and stuff like that. The Healers do what you might think, they heal people. From closing cuts to mending bones, they can do it.
Well, I have all three gifts. Kennedy told me there was one other guy who’d had all three, but that was over two thousand years ago.
Anyway, back to Jacee. The guy was bad news. Kennedy had even told me that the pop superstar was connected with governments and secret groups all over the world. He had one thing on his mind: world domination.
“Yes, exactly like Jacee,” my mom said. “But he’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s a long story, but there are gifted individuals who have been in hiding for years and are only just now coming into the open. There have been rumors of a force, probably a person, being behind it all. Jacee is the least of our worries. He’s just another pawn of a growing menace.”
“And they took you?” I asked, trying to understand what she was telling me. Jacee was supposed to be the bad guy, at least that’s what I had in my head. For some reason the idea of there being more, like the dark side of the force or something, sounded crazy. Was there really a swarm of bad guys getting ready to swoop down on us?
“They took me, but I’m here now.”
“Why did they take you?”
“They wanted information.”
“About what?”
She looked to my dad and he nodded.
“They were after something very valuable, something hidden.”
It clicked in my brain.
“The thing under our house,” I said.
“Yes. But it’s safe now, and so are you.”
“But what is it? Why did they want it?”
Mom paused like she wasn’t going to say, but then she did.
“It’s the history of our family, of the gifted. It not only details the origins of our kind, it explains how to control our gifts.”
“That’s it?” That didn’t sound too bad.
“No. That’s not it. Have you read about the Dark Ages in school?”
I nodded.
“Well, let’s just say that it didn’t exactly happen the way historians tell it. The Dark Ages came about after a brutal battle between opposing sides of the gifted. Our side, the good side, ruled the Western Roman Empire. Their side wanted it. We won, but just barely. The journal Kennedy brought back, the one we’d kept hidden for years, contains every secret we have. From battle training to enhancing our talents.”
Now that sounded bad. It was like reading the other team’s playbook in football.
“How did they find out about it?”
“We don’t know.”
“And what do they want to do with it?” I asked, having a feeling I knew the answer already.
My mother shrugged. “What does any megalomaniac want? To take over the world.”
Chapter 5
The Choice
The rest of the day was a blur. I kind of remember getting a quick tour, but by then my brain was mush. By the time dinner came around I was passed out in my parent’s room, a huge suite that looked liked it belonged to an emperor.
I woke up the next morning to my dad snoring. They’d slept in the bed with me, but my mom wasn’t there. She walked out of the bathroom a minute later and whispered, “Good morning.”
She looked tired. Not the tired from when you stay up all night, but the kind of tired that feels like someone threw a huge wet blanket over you. Her smile didn’t have the sparkle I was used to. I wondered what they’d done to her, how they’d taken a piece of her spirit. The anger in my belly growled.
“Are you ready for breakfast?” she asked, braiding her hair down over her left shoulder. I always thought she looked so much younger when she did that.
“I’m starving,” I said, scooting t
o the edge of the gigantic canopied bed.
“I’m not surprised, silly. You conked out before the welcome feast.”
She led me out the room, leaving my dad to his soft snoring.
“Welcome feast? You didn’t tell me about that. What did I miss?”
“I did tell you about it, honey, but by the time I did you were sleep walking. You almost walked into a wall!”
Jeez. I must’ve been tired because I didn’t remember that. I should’ve tried harder to sleep on the plane. Lesson learned.
“So what did I miss?”
“Well, all the other kids were there, and they were each assigned to their rooms.”
The sudden rush of butterflies in my stomach fluttered with alarm. I’d missed something really important. If everyone else had been there, I was the loner. I imagined them all making friends and then looking up with funny smiles when I walked in. It was the same thing that happened whenever I went to a new school. You always got that look from the other kids like you were some kind of weird science experiment the adults had brought in to make them laugh. I thought I was done with that. Guess not.
“What about me?” I asked.
“Well, that’s what I need to talk to you about.”
My heart sank deeper.
“About what?”
She looked around to see if anyone was listening. No one was close, so she kept talking.
“The other kids were separated into their gift groups, Growers with Growers, Healers with Healers, and Destructors with Destructors. The fact that you’re…”
“A freak?” I asked, my mouth bitter and dry.
“No, honey. You’re special, that’s all.”
“I’m tired of being special, mom,” I mumbled. I wanted to find a quiet hole and hide there. It was happening again. I was a freak amongst freaks. I knew what would happen even if Mom didn’t. Kids are kids even if they do have gifts. Another place I wouldn’t have any friends.
Mom lifted my chin with her hand and looked into my eyes. “Benjamin Dragon, you repeat after me. I am not a freak.”
I rolled my eyes, but I said it. “I am not a freak.”
“Good. Don’t let me catch you using that word again. You’re a Dragon.”
Even if I wouldn’t be saying it in front of her, I sure would be thinking it. Why did adults think it was so easy to say something and then POOF it became reality?
We continued walking and mom kept talking.
“I think it’s best if you keep the range of your gifts to yourself.”
Here it was.
“You want me to lie.”
“No, I want you to feel welcome, and if the other kids find out you’re extra special…”
“They’ll think I’m a freak,” I blurted.
Mom gave me a dirty look, but didn’t make me take it back.
“I need you to figure out which gift you’d like to work on.”
“Why?”
“Because that will determine the group you get put in.”
Images of Harry Potter and the Hogwarts houses popped into my head and I almost laughed. Was there a sorting hat, too?
“So if I want to work on being a Grower that’s who I get put with?”
“Exactly.”
I’d missed an important piece of information. Mom and Dad had talked about the other kids the night before, but they’d never told me why they were all here.
“Why are we doing this, Mom? Why are all these kids here?”
It was like a shadow passed over her face for a split second, and then it was gone.
“We need to train you.”
“For what?” Were they worried that some of us freak kids were going to turn into Jacee Trevane and they wanted to train us to be good gifted kids? I didn’t get it.
Again there was the worried look in her eyes, and I thought she wasn’t going to tell me. But she looked down at me and said, “You can’t tell the others anything, but I promised not to lie to you.” She looked around again, then back down at me. “We have to train you for the coming war.”
+++
Breakfast didn’t taste so good after that. Mom had left me to think about my decision, and my mind kept going back to the memory of flying over the Roman Coliseum. I’d read all about how slaves were trained to fight in the arena and die for their masters and the emperor. Even though it sounded cool when you were pretending or playing a video game, I didn’t want to be a gladiator.
As I poked at my omelet and swirled the straw in my orange juice, I imagined walking out into the Coliseum, thousands of people roaring for blood and guts. My legs shook just thinking about it.
But I had to make a decision. Mom said it was up to me. Even though I was only ten, they were making me choose something that could change my whole life. At that moment I wanted someone else to tell me what to do, that way, if it turned out being wrong, it wouldn’t be my fault. I was tired of things being my fault.
Weeks earlier, I’d wanted to be older, bigger and stronger, but now I was beginning to understand that if that happened, I had to be responsible for myself. Being left all alone in my old house made me realize that I didn’t want to be the grownup. I just wanted to be a kid, go to school, maybe play some sports and have fun. What I was supposed to be doing on the shore of Lake Como was the exact opposite of what I wanted.
Someone bumped into me and I almost knocked my plate off the table.
“Oh, hello, Benjamin,” said Kennedy through a mouthful of cereal. “And how are you this fine morning?”
The sight of him eating Captain Crunch cereal with those colored berries made me relax a little. I was eating adult food and he was eating kid food. Funny.
“I don’t know,” I answered, pushing my plate away.
“Have you made your decision yet?”
I looked up with what must have been a look of horror because he winced.
“Oh, you haven’t have you?”
I shook my head.
“And why not?”
I looked at him and cocked my head to the side. He understood immediately.
“Ah, I almost forgot. Your situation is a bit unique, isn’t it?”
I nodded.
“Well, if you’ll take an old man’s advice, I say go with your gut. Figure out what your favorite thing is about your gifts and go with that.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way. While I liked the idea of helping people who were hurt, and the idea of making a tangled jungle hideout was cool, I really loved one thing most of all: flying.
I smiled and Kennedy smiled back. “You have your answer?”
I nodded.
“Good, now tell your parents before you chicken out. We begin training within the hour.”
My stomach twisted at the mention of training. Once again the images of swords and spiked maces flashed in my head, but I got up from the table and went to find my parents. They’d want to know that I’d decided to train as a Destructor.
Chapter 6
The Group
Neither of my parents seemed overly excited that I’d decided to train as a Destructor. Dad’s smile was strained and Mom did this frowny face reserved for the rare occasion when she doesn’t get her way. I wondered if they wanted me to be a gentle Grower or a peaceful Healer. They probably saw the jobs of those groups being less dangerous. While my nerves told me I should’ve gone with one of the others, something in the back of my head told me that being a Destructor was important, and that it could help people, too.
They gave me hugs and wished me luck. Dad handed me the backpack I’d brought from home and gave me a pat on the back.
“You’ll do awesome, buddy. After all, you are a Dragon.”
I tried to smile, but it probably looked more like I’d just sipped sour milk. I wanted to be strong, to show them that I could live up to their example, but the little kid in me still wanted to hide.
Kennedy escorted me to my new room on the opposite side of the mansion, nodding to people we passed along the way. T
he place really was huge, so there was time to talk.
“Now, before you meet your new friends, I want to give you a couple ground rules.”
Great. Rules on top of dropping me in with a bunch of strangers. This was getting worse by the minute.
“First, don’t mention your last name and don’t ask for the last names of others.”
“Why not?”
Kennedy shrugged like it was no big deal. “It’s just a precaution.”
I wanted to ask what it was a precaution for, but he was already on to the next rule.
“Second, don’t pry into people’s pasts. Some have come here after very trying ordeals. The last thing we want to do is bring up bad memories. This is a fresh start for all of you. Let’s make sure we honor that chance.”
So did that mean that I couldn’t ask the other kids about their favorite colors, what they liked to eat and what video games they liked best? Instead of asking, I figured I’d just (like my dad said all the time) “play it by ear,” whatever that meant. If it meant listening instead of blabbing, I was good at that. I’d made a sort of art out of staying out of the way. You learn to do that when you’re the smallest kid in class. Never stick out.
Kennedy opened a massive door and strolled in. I hung back a couple steps, wondering what I would find.
The room wasn’t as big as my parents’, but was still way bigger than anything in my old house. There were three sets of bunk beds lined up against one of the long side walls. I could see that four of them had been claimed, the sheets messed up and stuff on top of them.
Four kids looked up from where they were sitting on a beige family style couch that was shaped like an O with one part cut out, or like a donut with a bite taken out. I recognized Roy immediately, but my excitement at knowing someone melted away as the look on his face made it pretty obvious he wasn’t going to admit he knew me.
There were two girls with really straight black hair. One had a streak of white in hers and the other a streak of pinkish purple. The last kid was at least a head shorter than Roy, but still bigger than me. He had dirty blonde hair and looked at me like I was a something he’d just scraped off the bottom of his shoe. He was tossing a quarter in the air over and over again.
