by K L Rymer
I remember what happened now; I’m not going to pretend I have amnesia. After the realization that my new shield had an engraving of a red dragon, my tattoo burned like hell, and I passed out.
There’s still sand in my mouth and nose, but I digress. It’s not the first time my tattoo has burned me. This obviously means something.
It’s time.
I have to speak with Myrddin.
“Felicity, back off. She’s in pain.”
It’s Damien.
Felicity huffs and jumps down from the bed, and I keep the sheets over my head. I’m really not in the mood for their soap opera drama. Leave that for the Jessikas, Rows, and Lauras of this world who would gladly pull up chairs and eat popcorn.
Unfortunately, Zahara has other ideas as she rips the sheets from my face, and now I’m exposed. “Come on, get up. You can’t hide from us forever.”
I grumble and place my hands over my face. “Go away.”
“Now, now, that is no way to speak to your friends, Ms Williams.”
Alarmed, I remove my hands and peer up into the calm green eyes of Myrddin Emrys—my father. The headache returns as I realize I finally have to tell him. That my magic is telling me it is time to wake the Red Dragon...
The headmaster wears a cornflower blue suit with luminous stars. Mr. Tanaka stands on his right-hand side.
Finally, the headmaster gives me a wrinkly-eyed smile. “Hello, Bryn.”
“H-Hey, Professor...”
The grin never leaves his face, despite my dull enthusiasm. “I believe you made some progress today, isn’t that right, Mr Tanaka?”
He looks to the instructor, and I groan. It feels like I’m being interrogated by two of the nicest policemen in the world (good cop, and good cop again). It will be hard to keep anything from them.
“That’s right,” Mr. Tanaka replies, peering at a tall blonde that I hadn’t noticed before.
My insides squirm. Angelina...
What is she doing by my hospital bed?
“It was Ms Ambrose. She took Ms Williams by surprise and helped her form her first weapon. A shield.”
I grind my teeth. No way is that bitch getting the credit.
“Ah, splendid teamwork, Ms Ambrose.” Myrddin beams at her warmly, but the vampire remains cold. “Teamwork is something we admire at this school, as well as bravery. You have far more than proved yourself as of late, so I award your house fifty scores!”
My fellow housemates all have mixed reactions. I can see they’re happy that our humble little house is finally getting the recognition it deserves, but not by the hands of someone like Angelina. It should be by someone pure, kind, and true. Not that any of us are those things of course since we’re all Mendacious.
Since she joined our house, things have seemed a little better for us. She regained the respect of the academy after she helped Myrddin stop Mattie, so immediately she became the most popular girl again. Yet she decided to stick with us and forget about her old house Ingenious. She had every right to want to be sent back and could have even requested to be sent to Audacious after her valiant efforts last summer.
Still... she’s nothing but poison. And we of Mendacious would do well to stay clear of her.
Angelina folds her arms, keeping her pointed gaze on me. “Thank you, Professor.”
Myrddin offers her a bow of respect and turns back to me. “Well, Ms Williams. I think it’s quite obvious what our cause of action will be next. You are to continue training with me in the company of Ms Ambrose.”
I sit up, aghast. “What?!”
The headmaster smiles, bringing the beautiful blonde around to his side. She’s nearly as tall as he is. “Don’t look so horrified, Ms Williams. While you two may not see eye to eye, it’s clear that Ms Ambrose is the one who could help you now. After all, you both share a common enemy. The same boy broke both of your hearts...”
Please, as if Angelina has a heart to be broken in the first place. Yet I do remember the psychotic glow to her eyes last Valentine’s Day when she tried to kill me. We all do cope with grief in different ways, and if you were half-vampire too, it would just add to the deadly mix.
Why am I making excuses for her?
I have no idea how she truly felt about Matthew, but either way, rejection is hard. He rejected me, and it still stings.
I don’t meet the vampire’s eyes. But I do know she’s not smirking anymore or lapping up every ounce of my delicious misery.
In fact, she’s quiet.
“My office 6 am sharp. I look forward to working with you both, ladies.”
Oh, fuck. It’s just like last year with Mattie when he tried to bring us closer. Then I fell in love with him and now look at me, sitting on a hospital bed with sand up my ass.
I will not make friends with Angelina (and falling in love with her is a whole different story).
Myrddin bids us all farewell and marches out of the hospital ward. On his way out the door, Macson releases an audible groan, and the headmaster rolls his eyes. “Oh, would you please stop with that racket, Mr Teal. You are free to go. The nurse healed you hours ago.”
Macson stops and glances up at Darius and Caleb, the only two by his bedside. He may be popular, yet people still don’t give a shit. (He can go ahead and die quietly.)
One by one the others take their leave. Damien approaches Felicity, placing his arm around her shoulder, but she nudges him away and rushes out of the room. Zahara passes Macson and spooks him, and the poor fae hides under his bedsheets.
Jack towers above Nora and Thomas as always, ducking his head under the door as the three of them head out.
The only one who remains is Angelina.
I raise a brow. “Why are you still here?”
She fixes those azure eyes on me, and the blood rushes through my ears. “Seriously, what do you want, Angelina? You win, okay? Without you, I never would have discovered my shield, and without you, we never would have stopped Matthew. So you can go now. You don’t need to rub it in my face anymore.”
She doesn’t say anything; she just keeps her icy blue eyes on my hazel ones. Finally, she opens that full mouth. “The Red Dragon.”
My heart thumps. What? How much does she...?
“You can’t hide it from me, Bryn. I’m part vampire. I can hear your pulse.”
I hold my tongue and look away, refusing to tell her anything. She steps closer, wafting her perfume all over me. Except it’s not perfume, but her natural scent.
She smells of vanilla.
“You needn’t bother. I already figured it out. Matthew rides the White Dragon... and you will ride the Red one.”
My heart starts up again, and she gives a silent nod. “I knew it.”
Next, I clamp my jaw and glare at her. “You know nothing, Angelina.”
She arches a perfect brow. “I was there that day in Professor Jones’s class, Bryn. The legend about the Red and White dragons? Dinas Emrys?”
Oh, so she was listening that day.
If I recall, she told Matthew that that class had been boring, but she was still taking it all in. Maybe it has something to do with her being part vampire; she can absorb information without paying attention. Still... selective intelligence. That’s even worse than just being plain old dumb.
The girl did make it into Ingenious at first, and those students are sharp. They can do calculus in their sleep.
No one at the school even knows about the prophecy. Sure, they know now that Matthew rides the White Dragon, but not about me.
Not even my Mendacious friends know. Not that I wasn’t free to tell them, I just thought it was best. The last thing I needed was more people relying on me to succeed.
Finally, Angelina produces her wicked smirk, and there’s the bully I know and love. “So, need help waking the Red Dragon?”
Chapter 5.
I enter Myrddin’s office and scowl at that perfect waterfall of bleached blonde hair. Angelina turns in her seat, giving me a sour look. “You’re
late.”
I look at my watch. “Yeah, by two minutes.”
She shakes her head, then mutters. “And we’re all supposed to rely on you.”
Oh, that does it.
I slam the door and storm over. “Look, Angelina. I didn’t ask you to be a part of this. So if you don’t like the way I do things, leave!”
Angie’s eyes flash blue, and I’ve long stopped being afraid. I’m not scared of her bullshit anymore. Besides, I can just summon my shield.
Next, she presents her sinful smirk, and now her pearly white fangs are on full display. “You don’t want to disappoint the headmaster now, do you, Bryn?”
Her voice is like sweetened honey, dripping down your throat and making you sick, and I grumble, dropping into my seat ever so gracefully.
Silence rings throughout the room, apart from the swinging pendulum of the grandfather clock. I have no idea what to say to Angelina. We have nothing in common, apart from being dumped by the same asshole, but that’s not much of a conversation starter, is it?
“Hey, remember when asshole dumped you so he could date me? But then he later dumped me anyway, and now we’re both depressed?”
Didn’t think so...
“Myrddin’s your father, isn’t he?” Angelina says suddenly. “A shame... that would just make disappointing him a lot worse.”
Alarmed, I whip around and gawp at her. “How... how do you...?”
She turns my way, giving me that beautiful, deadpan expression. “I’m a highly gifted vampire. I can smell DNA through blood alone. Everyone’s blood has its own unique scent, but with genetically related individuals... there’s a slight similarity.”
I keep my stunned gaze on her. The audacity of this bitch. And also, the perv! She’s been smelling me...
Those molded lips curve into a perfect grin again. “You want to know what your blood smells like?”
I narrow my eyes. “No, I don’t, you fucking weirdo. Stop smelling my blood!”
“Fire. It smells like fire, Bryn. Use it as inspiration.”
I bite my cheek and glance away, seething. So, is she saying that fire runs through my veins? Just like the fire from the mouth of that red beast that I am supposed to wake?
The headmaster pops into existence next with a cheery smile on his face, and I want to go back to bed. I need to find out who his drug dealer is. No one should have this amount of enthusiasm at six in the morning.
“Hello, ladies.”
“Good morning, Professor...” Angelina purrs seductively, and I glare at her.
She better not go there... That’s my dad!
Luckily, her vampire charms don’t work on Myrddin, and he takes his seat, offering us tea. We both decline.
I wonder why we don’t just make a start and get this over with. Screw the pleasantries.
“Who else are we waiting for?” I ask.
Myrddin gives a contented sigh, placing his porcelain cup on the table. “Mr Tanaka, of course. I thought it best that he should join us and help you form your weapon.”
I groan. The last thing I need is that handsome face distracting me. It’s hard enough in class.
Soon there comes a knock at the door, and Myrddin tells them to enter. It’s the instructor and the headmaster stands, offering the man a respectful bow in Japanese fashion. Mr. Tanaka does the same, and now all four of us teleport to one of the oases.
We always end up in a new one every time, and I’ll never grow tired of being teleported to these beautiful places.
When we land, I emit a loud gasp. We stand atop a mountain, overlooking the most gorgeous valley that I have ever seen. The colors are so enhanced from the crisp, blue sky, to the stark white of the snowy mountains, and I drop to my knees, taking it all in.
Wow...
We’re definitely not in North Wales anymore, despite the hundreds of dragons flying overhead. These are oriental dragons and come in various forms. Some are blue, some are black, and some are red. And others are striped, bearded, or whiskered. Then there are dragons with long, serpentine bodies with either three-claws or four-claws, and dragons with heads shaped like a lion, a deer, or a turtle.
They are nothing like Gwyneira. They’re peaceful, beautiful spirits, and they’re not here to harm us, just as we’re not here to harm them.
We can trust one another within the peace and harmony of this land.
“That’s right, Bryn,” Myrddin says. “These dragons won’t harm you. Though the odd one or two may if provoked, you’re in good company. As you’re probably aware, dragons of the east are very different from those of the west.”
As he speaks, one of the smaller dragons floats down toward me with scales of bright jade green, and it swirls around my head for a few moments before disappearing into the sky again.
The dragons give Angelina a wide berth, and I don’t blame them. I’m staying far away from her, too.
“Mr Emrys is right,” Mr. Tanaka replies. “These dragons will help guide you and help you find your strength.”
I peer at the instructor, and he offers me that wise smile beneath the pink petals of a cheery-blossom tree, and not for the first time I wonder how old he is. Like Myrddin, he seems older than time itself.
Today he wears a black kimono, channeling his inner Samurai again, and I hope we’re going to practice swordplay today.
“Not today, Bryn, I’m afraid,” Myrddin chimes in, reading my thoughts again. “First you have to form your weapon.”
I sigh, closing my eyes. Angelina grumbles behind me, and I bite my tongue, resisting the temptation to bark at her. But I don’t want to disturb the peace of this realm.
Everything’s just so chill and zen.
Myrddin clasps his hands. “Now, shall we begin?”
I nod and wait for further instruction.
The instructor steps up close, and my stomach tightens. “Now, it’s as we practiced in class, Bryn.”
I hold my arm out, imagining my essence like a ball in my hand.
“Now, spread the magic and let it take form.”
I’ve done this a thousand times already, but I go on, envisioning myself playing with my magic like Play-Doh. My red energy trickles down my arm, covering my body. So far I form my shield, but nothing else.
Soon, I sense hundreds of eyes, and I know the dragons have all come down to watch me, and it’s like being in class again.
To my surprise, I hear their thoughts. Though they speak in languages like ancient Chinese, there’s no denying that they all have a unique voice. And they sound eerily human. Some sound like women and others children. The largest have voices like men, and I wonder if Gwyneira possessed thoughts too.
If so, then she had blocked me from entering her mind completely. Like Myrddin said, western dragons are hostile and they don’t trust humans. Whereas eastern dragons are spiritual, benevolent spirits that use their strengths to help mankind.
Maybe Gwyneira had allowed Mattie into her mind. She had formed an alliance with his family after all, so there had to be some trust there.
“Don’t lose hope, human Bryn Williams. You harbor infinite power, and will do many great things.”
I shiver as that voice rumbles deep in my bones. A dragon is talking to me, directly implanting its thoughts into my head. It has the voice of an old, wise man.
I’m tempted to open my eyes, but I know that will ruin my focus. So long as I’ve got my dragon cheerleaders, I have hope.
A new dragon appears, and I can sense that this one is female. “Do not despair. We know you can save our brothers and sisters in the west.”
Wait... save them? I thought I was prophesied to ride a dragon so I could kill another one in battle. I was never told anything about saving them.
Suddenly, my magic bursts to life and the ball I envisioned in my hand finally takes form.
A lump clogs inside my throat. My weapon... it’s forming.
I open my eyes, drawing a breath. A shining, bright red light materializes in my hand, e
xtending all the way down to the grass, and tears drip down my cheeks.
Finally...
The light soon goes out, and in its place is a long, glowing red sword, and I turn it in my hand, gazing in awe.
It’s the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen, and best of all... it’s mine.
Beaming from ear to ear, I peer up at a red, lion-faced dragon. He floats above me with a giant, wingless body. He bares his teeth with a snarl, but I know he’s only trying to smile.
Behind me is a similar blue dragon. She’s more slender but with a head shaped like a deer, and instead of four claws like the red dragon, she possesses three, and lacks the flaming beard.
They both have cat-like, amber eyes, and I can’t look away from them. Unlike Gwyneira’s icy blues, which were cold and piercing, these dragons’ eyes are warm and friendly, allowing you to gaze deep into their souls and see all their ancient wisdom.
“Well, Bryn,” Myrddin finally says, coming up beside me. “I think it’s finally time.”
I smirk, gazing down at the sheer red blade before me. I’m so ready.
Here I come, Red Dragon.
Chapter 6.
Now that I have my weapon, I can train properly with the rest of the class, and so far I’ve won every battle.
I’ve learned how to parry and dodge oncoming attacks, and how to use the environment to your advantage (such as standing in front of the sun so you can blind your opponent). Not only that, but I’ve also learned how to use my sword to deflect an oncoming projectile, such as a bullet from Angelina’s gun, or an arrow from Zahara’s bow.
We’re not all fighting with the same weapons after all. So it’s best not to get too comfortable with one method.
At first, I failed to hold up my sword in time before Zahara’s arrow hit me, and in the end, she grazed my cheek. It’s a good job I moved my head away at the right moment; I’d have an arrow wedged deep into my eyeball right about now.
But now I evade every projectile that comes my way with ease, which is a surprise as I was never good at sports, and was always picked last in team.
