by Bob Dattolo
“I am. But what does that have to do with anything?”
She smiled at me as she raised an eyebrow, “What does that have to do with anything? We may be ancient by your standards, but we did our time in an academy. We know what it’s like. The danger. As far as we can tell, you’re a singular dragon. I have never heard of one like you before. I have never even dreamed of one like you before. Yet here you are. And you run the risk of being killed in the trial. I’m not sure we can risk that.”
Ira grunted, “We all know how hard it is to pull someone from the academy. I don’t know that I’ve seen anyone ever get fully pulled without going through the reduction in power or the mortmagi.”
“I’ll never have those put into me again. If I knew for a fact you three would try to force those into me? I’d try to kill everyone in this room before dying. I’ve had them in twice. Never. Again.”
The temptation hit me to try to kill them right now, but I held off. I can see that each of them are really contemplating what I said and realizing that I can possibly do it. I can shift faster than they can, and once I do that, I can let their spells mostly bounce from me as I tear them apart with my claws.
Ira stood taller, “We have no plans to do that.”
“Still, though,” Imogene frowned, “if she dies in the trial, what then?”
“I don’t know. We can’t help her. I doubt we can pull her. We just have to trust that she can make it.” Dillon nodded at his own words, all the while reeking of worry.
The three researchers shared a moment of silent communication before she turned back to me, “We had planned to meet with you and then leave. Frankly, none of us expected that you would really have the form that you have. None of us…integrated? We never would have dreamed of that. Your magic? No words. We will be staying now to monitor the trial.”
Ira cleared his throat, “We cannot help, but we will be monitoring everything.”
They really want me to make it through this it seems. Lovely. That’s not entirely sarcastic, although it is a little.
It took a while to get through a long good-bye, but then I was allowed to leave again. No clothes, but I didn’t bother shifting to dragon. It’s not worth it. Who am I hiding from? It’s not like I care, so…whatever. I have more on my mind now than boobs and who can see ‘em.
No Levi on the way back, which is a shame. Plenty of others. Plenty of comments. Far too many of them revolved around clothes or phones or laptops.
It’s like the entire freaking class is in on this craziness.
Parece and Samantha are in the room when I make it back. They each look between me and the door before focusing back on me as I grab some clothes. They don’t say a word as I slip into the bathroom to wash my feet, then come out and get dressed. Finally, Samantha breaks the silence, “Why were you naked?”
What to say? I’m so agitated that I want to give her a sarcastic or flippant response. Instead, I open for direct, “Why do you care?”
Her eyes narrow and she sniffed, “You were with at least three strange dragons. What happened?”
“Again, why do you care?”
Parece stands, holding her hand up, “Please stop. What’s going on?”
My gaze locks on hers, “I’m sorry? What’s going on? Is that what you asked me?”
“Yes!” She throws her hands in the air, “Seriously, Maddie! Something’s happening or something happened, I can’t tell which. Up until the past week, even when people were tearing into you, you weren’t so cold. The past few days have been getting worse and worse.”
“We have a trial starting in three days and people are fucking with me. You expect me to be okay with that?”
“No. She expects you to be you.” Samantha’s soft voice stops my initial response.
“What does that mean?”
“How you’re reacting isn’t like you.”
“Well then maybe I’m starting to realize just how few people here I can trust?”
She cocked her head and didn’t respond for a minute. When she did, I was shocked that she stood up, “I’m sorry. I don’t…I’ll leave. Something’s apparently up, and…I’ll leave you alone.”
She walked from the room without looking back at either of us.
My roommate watched me, not moving a muscle, then she also headed for the door. “I’m so…I’ll leave you alone too.”
Silence in the room as she left.
Good. Now I’m in a room with people I can trust fully.
Chapter 32
Monday had me out of bed, alarm off, at 4:30. I was just instantly awake and standing next to my bed, looking around.
Parece never came back in last night. Her bed is still the same. Her scent is fading. Where did she sleep?
Everything that I own other than the sheets I was sleeping on and my PJs is in the closet, with the door firmly closed. Once I was sure of that, I stripped my bed and shoved everything into the closet, slipped into more presentable clothes for breakfast, then closed the door firmly and left the room behind.
The hallway is deserted this morning. No voices nearby. No sounds of people up and about. There are normally people around at 5 or a bit after, so I’m shocked that no one is out at all at 4:35. Does 25 minutes mean that much to people? I guess it does.
I’m not the first to the caf, which is a shocker given what I was seeing on the way here, but it’s only two people so far. They barely even register that I’m there, which means I get to ignore them and grab food.
My growling stomach has me piling the food onto my plate before finding an open corner table and sitting with my feast. I’ve never considered myself a stress eater, yet I seem to be. At least a little. Or maybe a rage eater? That might also be it.
I made it most of the way through my food before the door opened and two more people came in. They didn’t do more than look at me on their way to get food and to separate tables.
Then Angelica, Kynal, and Gage came in. They slowed as soon as they saw me, then moved on to get food. When they turned around and headed for a table, my heart dropped when I realized they weren’t heading this way.
What the fuck?
They sat on the other side of the space, all facing me. Their faces were completely blank when they looked at me, then it’s like they purposefully tried to ignore me and turned away to talk amongst themselves.
What the fuck just happened?
Are they really the ones fucking with me? Is that it?
Simmering rage rode me hard as I finished my food and then dropped everything off at the return and walked out. No one said anything to me the entire way.
The room was pretty much empty the rest of the time I was there, with no sound coming from Paige and Riley’s side. I was showered and off to class early, but I still should have seen or heard at least one of them.
I was, by far, the first person in basic magic. Kaylee was second, stinking of fear as she took her seat. “What the fuck happened?”
She twitched at my voice and didn’t want to look at me for the longest time. When she did, she had tears in her eyes, “If you were gonna kill me anyway…you didn’t have to pretend to be my friend.”
Oh my fucking what? “What?!?”
Tears trickled down her cheeks as her scent of fear drove through the moon. “I heard what they’re saying. How you’re only pretending to be my friend so you can kill me.” She turned away. “I thought…I’ve been so alone this year. No one will even talk to me. I thought…I thought you were my friend.” Her voice dropped to a whisper at the end.
“What the fuck happened? I am your friend! I have no plans to kill you. None.”
She sniffled and wiped her eyes, “That’s not what people are saying.”
“Who? Who’s saying that?”
“Everyone. I heard it from like eight different people. How you were gloating about it. How you got me to trust you. How you’re gonna…do things to me before you kill me.”
You have to be fucking kidding me. “I don’t
know how to prove to you that I mean what I’m saying right now.”
She looked back, “Can I…can I cast a truth spell on you?”
“Do you know how to cast one?”
“I have one that I was never able to cast before, but I can try?” Her scent changed, but it didn’t make sense.
“You can cast it.”
Her magic flows, and she has way more than she ever moved before. It’s pretty impressive. It’s like she has a ton moving, then when she goes to cast, it fades, making the spell fail.
That happens nine times before the power level stays up, and I can feel the spell kick off. It’s a truth spell, just like she said.
She sniffled and wiped at her eyes through the entire thing. “Please don’t lie to me. Are you my friend?”
“I am. And your ally.”
“Everyone is saying that you’re planning on killing me. That you’re gonna rape me. Hurt me. Make me beg.” Her scent changed again, fear riding her hard. “Is that what you’re planning?”
“I have no plans, zero plans, to hurt or kill you or drain your powers. I have no plans to set you up so others can do that. I have no plans to rape you. I can’t even think about having sex with someone after what I went through. I have no plans to torture you or hurt you or make you beg. None.”
She sniffled and wiped her eyes again, “You were…that was all true.”
“It was.”
She wiped her eyes again, “Why would everyone be saying that?” Her spell died.
“I have no idea. Something fucked up is going on around here. More so than usual.”
Others began streaming into the room. Most gave me odd looks before quietly taking their seats. Parece looked…cold. Samantha looked the same. Paige and Riley varied, but leaned more towards cold. Distant.
Levi, on the other hand, laughed when he saw me. “There you are, stricken. You counting down the minutes until you get to die?”
“I have to get a calculator and figure out how many minutes are in 4,000 years. I tried to do it in my head, but I kept getting distracted by your stench.”
He laughed, “That’s funny. You could use your phone. Or your laptop.”
More rage. “What did you say?”
He laughed again, “You’re so adorable. So stupid. You have no clue what the fuck is happening around here. Around you. You think you’re in control? You’re not.”
“The challenge circle is right out there any time you want to go for it.”
His smile turned cruel, “And take the fun out of it? I plan on riding you until we get into the trial. Then if no one else gets to you first? Then I’m gonna really ride you. Look at you. You’re fucking pathetic. You have one ally, and it’s Kaylee. She can’t help you for shit. Once that clock starts, you’re prey. The entire school has your number. All of us. I’m praying I’m first, I really am. You’re too stupid to keep allies that can help you. You’re too stupid to not antagonize and threaten people. You think you’re this big, bad dragon? It’s Monday morning. By this time Wednesday, you’re gonna be running for your life as the entire school hunts for you.”
Then, much to my shock, he turns away and smiles as he stares at the board in front of the room. I’m at a loss for words, something that hasn’t really happened in school so far. What he said strikes way too close to home, yet…I don’t know what to say to it. The looks from everyone around me makes me think…makes me think that it’s way more than just one person after me. Pushing me. Tearing everything to hell.
How could everyone be in on it?
Classes drifted in and out of my focus until we got to practical application. Mr. Bailey was in front of the room as we all entered. With my footing so uncertain, I didn’t demand that he apologize to me. I know I have to reek of uncertainty mixed with confusion and fear, but I can’t help it. I really can’t. My position was precarious enough, but now? Something changed. I just don’t know what.
Mr. Bailey watched us all for a bit after the bell rang, then pushed up from where he was leaning against his desk. “In our last class, I wasted a lot of your time, when time is precious this close to your trial. In light of that? Since I focused on one student, who shall remain nameless and too stupid for words, I will work with the rest of you and not her.”
What the hell, man.
He turned to me, “Stricken? Since you were the focus last class, you get to go stand in the corner over there while the rest of us work on our lesson today.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I’m the teacher, and I say. You do.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Fair? Hmm…let me think how much I care about your concept of fair.” He paused for a moment, then smiled, “Oh, wait, I don’t. Corner. Now.”
“No.”
“Corner. Now.”
“No!”
“Then leave the classroom. Right now.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?!? You’re supposed to be our teacher!”
A girl I haven’t really spoken to at all on the other side of the room speaks softly, “You’re really trying to kill all of us. That’s why you want to fuck up these classes for us.”
Accusatory eyes surround me. Everyone but Kaylee is watching me with the same look on their faces.
Levi’s laughter follows me out of the room as I grab my things and run. The rest join in as the door closes.
What. The. Fuck?!?
No one stopped me in the hallway as I wandered. What the fuck is happening? I feel like…I don’t even know what. I won’t say that the school had my back before this because it didn’t. Everyone was sort of against me, but it wasn’t so…coordinated, maybe? What the hell changed? What did I do to Parece to make her turn against me? What did I do to Angelica, Gage, and Kynal?
Something. Happened.
I don’t even know who I can ask that I can trust to tell me the truth. At all. Kaylee isn’t in the loop enough to be told much. She’s a known ally. They’re either out for her as well…no, no either. They’re definitely out for her. She’s been attacked several times. Physically. Magically.
Is it seriously everyone in class against me? Us?
Lunch started out fine. I was the first there. By far. I got my food and sat, and everyone started coming in after that. I swear every single one glared at me. Including kids that hadn’t really done that in the past. Stared? Yeah. Made comments? Yeah. Laughed at me? Yeah. But glared?
No.
Muttered comments from so many of them. None of what I overheard made sense to me.
The pressure kept building around me as more and the place filled. Angelica, Gage, and Kynal followed suit, only making it worse by pretending like they were going to sit with or near me, only to turn away and walk to the other side of the room.
Samantha, Parece, Paige, and Riley sat at the next table, but didn’t say a word. They only stared with cold looks on their face.
I couldn’t help putting my face in my hands as I struggled not to cry. Not to give in and simply end it. With everything that’s happened since coming here, I didn’t feel like this. Despair flowed through me, and I know I reeked of it.
Shane’s laughter made my shoulders jerk, and I didn’t need to look up to know that he was sitting at a table on the other side. Levi, Ryan, and Wes sat a moment later. Three of them made it obvious they were sniffing, smelling me. That has to be Wes, Shane, and Levi. Ryan’s the only non-dragon in their group now.
“Now there’s the smell I’ve been expecting. Now you’re getting it, trash. You’re nothing.”
“Go fuck yourself, Levi.” The defeat in my voice was evident even to me. It’s just not worth trying to fight through it.
“Oooh, big talk. Lacking your usual fire there, stricken.” He laughed more. “I hope you’re ready for me. I’m gonna be balls deep in you, whore.”
That’s not worth responding to for the dozenth time.
Laughter from around us. Including Samantha’s table. That made the despair worse, which
elicited even more laughter.
“My God, I don’t know how you made it through three challenges the way you did. You have the luck of…I don’t even know what.” Shane laughed again.
“Go to hell, Shane. I’m right here if you want to challenge me too.”
“Yeah, nah. Not worth it, slag whore. You’re gonna die in less than two days. Hunted by everyone here.”
More laughter when I don’t respond to that.
“I plan on getting to you first, but I won’t be too sad if someone beats me to you.” Levi sighed, “You’re gonna die in front of everyone. I hope you enjoy the experience. I know I will. You’re gonna scream when I’m fucking you. I just know it.”
I still didn’t raise my head, “I’ve screamed while being raped before, Levi. You or anyone else doing it won’t be anything new for me. Just remember, the last two assholes that decided to rape and beat me? I fucking killed them both. Hard. They screamed for the longest time before I let them die. They’re the first of a planned long list. First two scratched off. El and Annie. They regretted everything in their fucking lives when I was done with them.”
Silence filled the room in a ripple, making me look up to find literally everyone staring at me that’s not talking to someone else at their table that I knew could hear me. Then they too looked at me.
What the fuck?
Rage from Levi’s table. “What. Did. You. Say?”
What the fuck? Levi is half standing, leaning on the table. The others there with him are staring at me with their mouths open.
“What the fuck? What the hell is wrong with you?”
He stood the rest of the way up, “What did you say?”
“I don’t know what your fucking problem is, Levi. I really don’t. I get that you’re pissed at a stricken for killing your parents, but that has nothing to do with me.”
“Tell me what you said!” His voice came as a partial roar as his skin roiled.
Looking around the room again didn’t help until I stopped at Samantha’s table, “I don’t understand what the fuck is going on. What did I say? I’ve said way worse to him and he’s laughed about it. What the fuck? I feel like this entire place is going crazy.”
