by K L Rymer
My heart thumps in my ribcage, but I don’t show the Black Dragon any fear as he lingers over the threshold, a hulking figure of a man.
He’s still in his human suit. I’m wearing my academy uniform once again. A simple grey blazer.
Matthew Humphrey III removed all our colors, reverting our blazers back to their neutral state. He even removed the academy emblem and replaced it with a crest of a hideous, black dragon.
The Black Dragon and I don’t speak. Or should I say Diafol.
Two months I was trapped in his Oblivion, and he will pay. Dearly.
I bet he thought he could break me and make me lose my mind, but I persevered.
No one can torment me in the end. I’m Bryn mother fucking Williams. The queen of snark and constant references.
Diafol offers me a wry smirk, turning back to the stairwell. “Come. Your new headmaster would like to meet you.”
The taste of bile arrives in my throat. He’s the last person I want to see, but again, I raise my chin and follow Diafol out of the common room and all the way down Mendacious tower.
We walk through the deadly silent halls of the academy. Students veer away from us, heading in the opposite direction. Some whisper behind my back, and I feel like a dead man walking, yet I hold my head higher.
I will not cower.
Before long, Diafol stops in front of Myrddin’s old office, and I glare at the golden plaque on the door.
“Headmaster Humphrey...”
Yeah, right.
Diafol knocks once, and the sound reverberates through the hall.
“Enter,” a cold voice demands from within, and my stomach clenches.
I’m not feeling so audacious now as Diafol opens the door, allowing me to enter first (such a gentleman).
My eyes land on that cruel, black-eyed man behind Myrddin’s old desk. Well, actually, no. It’s not Myrddin’s desk.
In fact, it looks like a completely different room. All of Myrddin’s memorabilia has vanished, and now it resembles a typical headmaster’s office.
I’d do anything to hear the “choo choo” of the model train again, and the swinging pendulum of the grandfather clock.
Those cold, loveless eyes don’t leave me once, and slowly a smirk curls across Matthew senior’s twisted, bearded face.
“Hello, Bryn. We finally meet... again...”
I don’t speak. I don’t move a muscle as I stare daggers at that creep.
We’ve met once before, back in first year after I almost killed Mattie with one of my fireballs. He’d cried for my expulsion, but Myrddin put him in his place.
“Sit.”
At first, I decide to ignore him and remain by the door, but then Diafol pushes me toward the desk, and I have no choice.
Sit I must.
The Black Dragon shoves me down into the cold, wooden chair, keeping his massive hands on my shoulders, and now I sit several feet away from the person I hate most in this world.
Matthew Humphrey III studies me for a long, long while, and once again, I don’t break eye contact.
He really is one ugly bastard: pointy chin, soulless eyes, and crooked nose.
How on earth did this man father Mattie? He was the hottest boy at the academy. Still is.
The man speaks, and his voice is like ice. “Rest assured, Bryn Williams, that I do not wish to harm you... yet. I need you alive, for now.”
“Oh, how very considerate of you.”
Matthew senior bares his teeth then glances up at Diafol. The dragon nods and digs his claws into my shoulders.
I cry out.
“That’ll teach you to be insolent with me, girl. I am your headmaster, and you will address me with the utmost respect.”
I glare at him through half-closed eyes, and all I see is red. “You... you will never be my—”
A scream spurts from my lips as Diafol cuts deeper, and a tear drips from my eye.
His claws burn like liquid fire, and my body shakes.
Matthew senior leans back in his chair, watching the show unfold with a sneer on his thin lips.
The cruel bastard’s loving this.
“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with you once I’ve defeated Myrddin. Matthew’s mother is feeling a little lonely inside my drawer after all...”
I come back to my senses, staring at him in disbelief. What the hell is he...?
Slowly, he pulls at a drawer inside his desk, taking out a glowing, glass orb, and the goosebumps prickle my skin.
I think I have a very good idea of what, no, who that is...
“Bryn Williams... I would like you to meet my wife, Patricia.”
A blackness slithers its way down my spine as I gape at that glowing soul.
It’s... Mattie’s mother...
Chapter 4 – Matthew
I double over in pain, as if I’m suffering from a massive heart attack. My chest constricts, and for a moment it’s like all the air has been forced from my lungs.
It’s my father... He’s pressing on my mother’s soul, and I clasp my chest, sweat dripping down my temples.
He’s telling me that he finally has Bryn and that he’s ready for me.
It’s a declaration of war.
I stand on the sidelines as the dragon babes line up, and they’re all still so young. Except for Jack’s Buddy, who’s getting bigger and bigger by the day, the rest are still small.
They’re all about to take their first flight. Brynmawr and Gwyneira already took to the skies as they hover like kestrels.
The babies are so eager to join them up there as they cry and cheer, and I allow myself a smile.
They sound like preteen school children now.
As I’ve said, dragon babies grow very, very fast.
Sparkle Hearts squeals for joy, and she sounds just like Felicity. “Oh my god! This is so exciting, I’m totally excited, aren’t you excited, Shadow!?”
The red-eyed wyvern stands beside her, baring his sharp teeth with a snarl. Damien and Fel insist on putting them both together since they kind of adopted the pair, but the shadow dragon looks pissed.
He can’t stand the pink dragon after all.
“Why do they put me next to you?”
Even his voice sounds pure evil. It’s coarse, gravelly, and plain old nightmare-fuelling.
He’s going to be one scary-ass dragon when he’s full-grown and observing him now in all his fanged, hissing glory, I’m confident we can beat Father.
I’m not so self-assured with Sparkle Hearts though.
“Shadow! Be nice to your sister,” Felicity scolds.
Shadow Stalker hisses, eyeballing the pixie as if she’s his next meal. “She’s not my sister...”
The rest of Mendacious wait behind their dragons. Jack is first, who hangs behind Buddy. Then it’s Thomas and Maximus; Nora and Zelina; Angelina and Azure; Zahara and Elvira; Felicity and Sparkle Hearts, and finally, Damien and Shadow Stalker.
Myrddin grips his gold pocket watch as he has allocated the babes a time. Buddy will be first since he’s the biggest; he could fly pretty much the moment he was hatched.
“On the count of three, Buddy...” Myrddin chimes.
The horse-sized, brass dragon steps forward, readying his wings. He glances over his shoulder at his titan rider, and they share a silent nod.
As you guessed, Buddy isn’t much of a talker either.
Myrddin counts down, a crazy gleam in his sparkling, green eyes. “One, two... three!”
The dragon breaks into a run, lifts his wings, and now he takes off into the sky. The other dragons ooh and ahh as he vanishes into the clouds at an alarming rate, and soon he joins Brynmawr and Gwyneira.
Now they look like three kestrels.
Maximus is up next. The smug, golden dragon strides forth, and the other babies give him furious looks.
“This is how a real pro flies...” he utters.
“Shut up!” Zelina barks.
“You suck!” Elvira hisses.
&n
bsp; Maximus likes to rub it in the other babies’ faces that he was the first to talk, and for that reason, he’s not very popular. He spends more time with his rider, Thomas, then he does with his own kind, and they read nonstop.
For preparation, they read all about the mechanics of flight in birds. I’m sure Bryn would have been of some use there since she has the zoology degree, but as far as I know, dragons do not have hollow bones like birds.
They’re not like animals in the human realm.
“Remember, Maximus, it’s just as we read. Drag, then lift, drag, then lift...” Thomas mutters behind him, lifting his arms up and down.
He looks like a nerd. Sorry, my inner asshole’s coming through, but I used to bully kids like Thomas for a living.
Myrddin counts down again and the golden dragon sprints ahead, and just like the professional he is, he stretches his wings and takes off. He gets no cheers from the other dragons. Elvira boos and Zahara joins her.
It’s Zelina’s turn next, and Nora’s hair wriggles like snakes. She’s anxious.
“Be... be careful now, Zelina!”
Zelina rolls her eyes. “I will, Mum...”
I should point out that that was sarcasm. The babes don’t actually refer to their riders as mum or dad.
Nora is a tad overprotective, and it gets on the green dragon’s nerves. I don’t know what the gorgon is so worried about; Zelina’s built for flight. She’s one of the slimmest, most streamlined of the bunch since she’s shaped like a snake.
Zelina fans her wings as Myrddin starts to count, and just like Buddy and Maximus, she’s soon air bound.
Nora sobs, throwing her hands over her eyes. “I... I can’t look!”
Zahara scoffs. “Pfft, get a grip.”
Zelina makes it in no time, and now five dragons circle in the sky like a flock of buzzards.
Next up is my precious Azure. Unlike the others, she’s nervous, but my cruel ex-girlfriend places a hand on her scales.
“It’s all right, Azure. If you trip, I will levitate you.”
That may be classed as cheating, but it’s not like this is a test.
Azure takes a deep breath through her nostrils, releasing it back as a plume of smoke. Her eyes catch mine once she spreads her beautiful, blue wings, and I grin.
“Good luck, Azure. You can do it. I know you can,” I say.
That’s all it takes for the pretty blue dragon, and once Myrddin reaches three, she splays her wings and the wind carries her away.
Angelina didn’t even have to levitate her in the end, and I know how powerful that vampire is.
She made me and Gwyneira float once.
It’s Elvira’s turn. Since she’s a wyvern like Shadow Stalker, she extends her forelegs and navy wings, and the wind sweeps her way.
Zahara screams. “Whoohoo! Knock ‘em dead!”
Elvira joins the others in the sky, and our flock is getting bigger and bigger.
It’s Sparkle Hearts’ go now, and the sweet pink dragon jitters with excitement.
She’s the smallest of the lot now even though she was born first, and she really is like her rider.
She looks to Shadow Stalker. “Wish me luck, Shadow...”
The wyvern hisses his tongue at her like a serpent, and it’s obvious he doesn’t wish her any luck. He’s probably hoping she falls and hits her head.
I don’t think that evil son of a bitch likes anyone to be honest, and worst of all, Damien doesn’t correct his antagonistic behaviour. It’s always Felicity who has to be the one to reprimand him, and it’s caused many fights between the hopeless lovebirds.
“Good luck, Sparkle Hearts! I know you can do it!” Felicity cries.
“Do us proud!” Damien chimes in.
The bubble-gum pink dragon beams. She’s the only dragon who can smile and not look scary. She even has dimples.
“I’m so excited! I’m... I’m going to fly!”
The pixie and the dragon jump up and down, and the sound’s grating.
They’re so high-pitched.
“Kill me now...” Shadow Stalker winces as their squealing hurts his ears.
Myrddin chuckles, “Ready, Sparkles? You’ll do great, I know it!”
She bats her eyelashes (she’s the only dragon with eyelashes too; dragons normally have a white film over their eyes like a cat), and she’s such a flirt. “Thank you, Professor Myrddin...”
The wizard starts his countdown. Sparkle Hearts readies her pink wings, and the light reflects the shimmering patterns off her scales.
She really is sugary sweet; I have no idea how she’s going to fight in the upcoming war. She’s too bright and conspicuous.
When Myrddin reaches three in the countdown, Sparkles lifts herself up off the ground, but then she loses her balance and rolls forward several feet.
The silence that follows after is deafening. No one draws a breath. Only the sound of Felicity’s whimpering can be heard.
“S-Sparkles?” she whispers, concern growing in her large, blue eyes.
The pink baby dragon doesn’t get up for some time, and dread sweeps through my body.
Shadow Stalker watches with bated breath, and for once he expresses another emotion other than apathy.
It looks like concern.
Maybe he does care about that grating, strawberry-scented dragon.
Finally, Sparkles rises to her feet, tears brimming in her shiny blue eyes. “I... I failed...”
All the life and previous zest has left that sweet pink dragon, and now everyone’s hearts break.
Even Damien looks as if he wants to cry as he holds onto his sobbing pixie. Thomas, too, appears torn, and Zahara for once doesn’t say anything inappropriate. Nora’s chin hangs loose, and Jack is silent. Nothing new for the latter.
Angelina’s sympathetic, and she’s usually a cold bitch.
Felicity cries right along with her dragon, and it’s no surprise. We feel what they feel. So we fail right along with them.
It’s the strongest bond in the world after all.
The pixie shakes her head. “No... you just have to try again. You’ll get there, Sparkles... I promise.”
The light in Sparkles scales diminishes by the second. “No... I’ll only look stupid.”
Shadow Stalker narrows his red, burning eyes, and now he crawls forward, stopping beside Sparkles.
“Just... just follow my lead, Pinkie...”
The pink dragon gapes at him spellbound. “Shadow? What are you doing?”
He hisses, jerking his head around as he glares into her big, blue eyes. “What does it look like? I’m helping you. Now shut up, and copy what I do.”
The spark returns to Sparkle Hearts as her scales illuminate once again, and now she stretches her wings at the same time as Shadow.
Everyone cheers the moment they both take flight. Felicity buries her face into Damien’s chest.
Their dragons just worked together as a team. It almost seems like destiny at work.
Now all nine dragons hover in the clouds, spreading far and wide as they release their flames.
Soon the colours of brass, gold, green, blue, navy, pink, and black flashes across the sky, and my heart pounds.
I’ve never seen anything so terrifying and beautiful, and I just wish Bryn were here to see this.
Looks like we may be able to save her sooner than I hoped. All our dragons can fly.
Don’t worry, Bryn. We’re coming for you.
Chapter 5 – Bryn
I weave through tables in the dining hall with a tray of lackluster food, and every pair of eyes is trained on me.
Ah, shit. It’s like first day all over again.
Everyone hates me. Or at least this time they’re scared of me. I have a price on my head after all.
People keep their heads down. In fact, no one talks, and it’s the most oppressing atmosphere I have ever come across.
What gives?
I find the table at last and a lump lodges in my throat.
> It’s the old table I used to share with my fellow Mendacious, and it’s not the same.
The academy is lonely without them.
My mind drifts back to the day we all met, and I remember how prepared I was to have a tower all to myself; I honestly didn’t think any other student at the school would get sorted into Mendacious, but they did.
We may have been a small house but boy were we mighty, and look how far we came. We’ve sat on the friggin’ Round Table (we’re Merlin’s army).
Sure, some of our group may have gone a little wayward. Thomas, Jack, and Nora totally ditched us for their new lovers after the V-day ball in year one, and Felicity even went over to the dark side with the insufferable yellows of Magnanimous.
Only when I cast my gaze around the dining hall now, there are no more yellow, blue, or red blazers. There’s just gray.
Sad, miserable gray...
Matthew senior has wiped us all of our individuality.
We truly are being oppressed.
My eyes find Orion. Just in case you needed a reminder, he was or still is, I hope, Nora’s sexy merman from year one.
He really is breath-taking, and I’m still happy for the gorgon for bagging herself the hot merperson (maybe merperson is more appropriate).
He sits with a host of other sea creatures. Meh, marine animals aren’t my strong point. They do have a marine biology course at my school, but I did like Finding Nemo...
There’s a hot siren girl on his right, a mermaid on his left with long, luxurious red hair, and my heart stops when she brushes her locks with a fork (it’s Ariel!). There’s a Selkie too, and a Kraken shifter.
Yes, they exist, and he has the tentacles to prove it.
Orion nods and I nod back.
We never really spoke much, but he acknowledges that I’m the friend of his girlfriend, one who’s MIA by the way. I’m sure he’s concerned about her.
I spot Clara then, Jack’s succubus. She gives me those “come hither” eyes, and I hope she knows I don’t swing that way. But I suppose it’s in her nature to be sexual. I mean, I can’t say I’m not tempted with her alabaster skin and inky black hair...
She’s the personification of lust.
