Dragon Conjurer 5, page 19
My eyes went blurry, and I felt my head start to dip forward slightly with exhaustion. I shook myself awake and sat up straight in my chair, though. It wouldn’t look good for the only Red Rank in the entire Academy to be caught snoozing during a ranking ceremony.
“Finally, we have an entire team to promote,” Burkhard declared with a bit of a smug smile. “Mr. Cooper’s team has demonstrated an impressive level of understanding of their individual powers, and a remarkable cohesive cooperation in their ability to use their powers together.”
It felt like the entire room turned to look at us in the back row, and I could feel the rage of Bruce’s wounded ego as his eyes bored into mine. I couldn’t help but notice that no one on his team had earned a new rank, and that must have hurt enough on its own.
My entire team ranking up?
This was definitely a harsh slap to his pissant face, and I honestly loved every second of it.
“Ms. Bernard, our ambassador from the European academy has proved her value to us and earned herself a second Yellow stripe.” Burkhard declared as Dr. Hastings held a folded uniform with double yellow stripes along the arms. “If you please, Ms. Bernard.”
Elisabeth smiled shyly as she strolled to the front of the room and accepted her new uniform and rank.
“Thank you, sir,” the French girl’s gentle voice flowed musically through the microphone.
“You are quite welcome.” The Headmaster nodded kindly at her before he continued. “Ms. Jefferson has demonstrated a new level of her abilities that has proved to be essential to her team’s success, and she has also earned another stripe, bringing her to the level of Orange Three.”
Nala smiled confidently as she bounded up to the stage and accepted her updated Orange uniform. She nodded her thanks to Dr. Hastings and Burkhard before she jogged to catch up with Elisabeth on her way back to their seats.
“Yes!” Nala celebrated as they lowered themselves into their chairs. “Steffi, I bet you’re next.”
“Ms. Foster has earned her fourth Orange stripe due to her inventive new uses of her abilities,” the Kingpin look-alike said.
“‘Inventive,’” Steffi murmured with a bright smile as she rose from her chair. She strolled happily to the front of the room and collected her new uniform.
“Thank you, sir.” My fairy-girl nodded at the headmaster.
A ripple of laughter sprinkled in with the usual applause as Steffi rose off the floor to flutter back to her seat.
“Show off,” Nick teased when the pink-haired girl tucked her wings back into place and sat down beside me.
“Yes,” she sighed happily.
“Mr. Walters,” Burkhard’s voice boomed out once more.
My best friend’s blond head practically whipped forward as he launched himself from his chair.
“Your development in communicating, as well as your immensely beneficial contributions to your team’s success, has created an interesting dilemma for Dr. Hastings and me,” Burkhard chuckled.
Nick’s excited pace slowed down with hesitation as he approached the stage, and I noticed his hands twitching nervously at his sides.
“You see,” the Headmaster continued. “We felt that promoting you one stripe was simply not enough, and so we have promoted you to Yellow Four instead.”
“Two stripes?” Nick nearly shouted, and the room broke into gentle laughter at the nymph’s child-like joy.
Our whole group let out loud whistles just to goad our favorite nymph on a bit, but then he got control of himself and nodded respectfully at the headmaster as he gathered his new uniform from Dr. Hastings.
“Thank you, sir,” Nick said in a forced serious tone.
“No need to thank me, Mr. Walters.” Burkhard smiled like a proud father. “You’ve earned it.”
I chuckled heartily as I watched the fidgety nymph do his best not to sprint back down the aisle to us, but he managed to sort of look calm until he dropped into his seat again.
“So fucking cool,” Nick whispered excitedly.
“You’ll be an Orange rank in no time,” Nala assured him.
“They grow up so fast,” Steffi sighed and scruffed Nick’s blond hair.
The nymph was so stoked, he didn’t even bat her away, and he clutched his new uniform like a kid on Christmas.
“Congrats, dude.” I reached over to clap my friend on the back. “You deserve this, you all do. I’m really proud of you guys.”
“You’re next, cutie.” Steffi winked at me.
“Oh, definitely,” Nala agreed. “He said the whole team was getting new ranks.”
“He also said that’s never happened before,” Elisabeth reminded us with a smug smile.
“Last, but certainly not least, Mr. Cooper.” The Kingpin look-alike’s voice rang out over the speakers once more. “Your extraordinary leadership skills and the addition of a fourth dragon to your roster have kept your team safe on increasingly difficult missions. You led your team to an impressive victory against the Hydra, and this has become an invaluable example to us all in such uncertain times. I am pleased to present you with the rank of Red Three.”
My face felt warm as I stood from my seat and walked up to the small stage to collect my new uniform, and I couldn’t tell if the cadets were cheering loudest, or if it was my girls overpowering most of them. The cheers continued while I nodded my thanks to Headmaster Burkhard, and I knew no one could even hear us exchanging a few words up here anymore.
“Thank you, sir,” I said.
“Well done, Mr. Cooper.” Dr. Hastings smiled at me, and I could have sworn she shot me a sly wink.
“Thanks,” I said with a grin, but I didn’t dare return that wink with Burkhard staring right at me.
Then I turned to head back to my team, and my eyes went wide with surprise as I found the majority of the assembled crowd had gotten to their feet. I spotted Ronin, Phoenix, and even the three reserved Japanese cadets had joined in on the standing ovation, and Ronin’s small hands clapped together furiously as she smiled brightly up at me. I was unsurprised to see that Bruce’s team was one of the few that remained grumpily silent in their seats, and even the girl with the shattered leg clapped her heart out from her seated position. My team hooted and hollered loudly from the back row as I made my way a little self-consciously to them, but I couldn’t help laughing as Elisabeth, Nala, and Steffi all started blowing me kisses.
The second I sat back down, the three girls clamored in their seats to plant kisses on my cheeks and lips, and I could hear several whistles rising up from the cadets closest to us.
“Alright, girl,” I chuckled as I pried my face away. “There is literally an entire Academy of cadets watching.”
“Good,” Nala snickered and patted her dark curls.
“Hell yes, let them bask in the sight of a genuine Red Three,” Nick declared triumphantly. “And Bruce’s team didn’t get a single rank.”
“Alright, let’s all just settle down,” I suggested, and I tried to fix my hair since my girls had groped it into disarray.
“Oh, come on, Dylan.” Nala grinned. “You have to admit, it feels pretty good, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, yeah, it does,” I admitted, and a feeling of pride slid through my chest.
“Well done, everyone,” Burkhard called out over the continued applause. “I know you will all continue to make AIMM proud as you improve your skills and discover the true limits of your individual abilities. Thank you for your attention, and now you may carry on about your day.”
“Come on, let’s go find Phoenix and Ronin,” Steffi said as the cadets began to disperse.
“Not so fast.”
All of us jumped as we realized a pair of black-suited guards had materialized behind us out of absolutely nowhere.
“No,” Nick instantly refused. “Whatever it is, we’re--”
“You and your team are to come with us,” one guard announced.
“Ugh, come on,” Nick grumbled. “You’re killing my vibe, man.”
“Somebody’s getting hangry,” Nala said in a sing-song voice.
“Yeah, it’s been at least an hour since I needed second breakfast.” Nick practically pouted and rubbed at his stomach. “So hungry. How am I supposed to take the ring to Mt. Doom on an empty stomach?”
“Follow us,” the second Man in Black guard declared with the tiniest possible bit of a smirk.
“Perhaps we have a mission?” Elisabeth mused.
“Maybe,” Nala agreed. “Let’s find out.”
“I am so amped up from promotions that I kind of hope it is a mission,” Steffi said as she sent me a giddy smile.
“Same, actually,” Nick chuckled.
“Me, too!” Elisabeth agreed. “We have our very own Red Three to see in action today.”
“Mmm… dragon man with three stripes on his uniform,” Nala mused. “That I’ve gotta see.”
“Ladies, you’re killing me,” I groaned as we started following the guards out of the assembly hall.
“Oh, you love when we love on you,” Nala chuckled and slipped her hand in mind.
“I do,” I agreed, and then I lowered my voice as Steff snuggled under my other arm. “But if you’re gonna keep carrying on like this, I’m gonna need to have a private meeting with all three of you.”
My girls giggled and blushed at the words, and I decided this private meeting was definitely going on my to-do list.
We followed the suited guards toward the Headmaster’s office, and I started to suspect my beautiful French girlfriend was correct about an impending mission.
Until the Men in Black opened a nondescript door just before Burkhard’s office, and the Kingpin look-alike was already there to greet us.
“Welcome!” the headmaster boomed.
“How did he get here before us?” Nick whispered to me. “It’s like he’s got secret passageways all through the Academy or something.”
“I don’t know,” I chuckled.
“I decided the unheard-of occasion of your entire team earning new ranks deserved a proper celebration,” Burkhard declared as he gestured around the room.
The conference room was roughly twice the size of our suite’s common area, and three large tables were piled high with a delicious brunch buffet. There was a small table filled with elegant champagne flutes and a few bottles of the finest looking bubbly I’d ever laid eyes on. One buffet table had a ‘make your own waffle’ bar complete with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream. Another table was laden with so much freshly cut fruit and breakfast pastries, it looked like the legs would give out under the weight. The third table had huge platters of crispy bacon, sausage, eggs, and fresh rolls that still steamed, and there was even a butcher block carving station at the end with a huge hunk of roast beef under a heat lamp.
“Damn,” I muttered.
“Fooood,” Nick sighed like he’d died and gone to food heaven.
“Help yourself, Mr. Walters,” the headmaster chuckled.
“You’re drooling,” Nala teased with a roll of her eyes.
The door opened once more as Ronin and the rest of the Japanese cadets filed into the room to join us.
“Ah, lovely,” Burkhard clasped his hands together. “Welcome, cadets. Please, enjoy some refreshments with your host team.”
“Thank you, Headmaster.” Ronin offered a polite bow.
“Please, know that, if it were within my power to do so, you’d all be receiving additional ranks as well,” Burkhard said.
“It is an honor just to be here and learn about your Academy,” Phoenix said with a friendly smile.
“Well, I won’t keep you, enjoy the food.” The headmaster gestured at the tables where Nick was already busy loading up a plate.
“Sir, do you have a moment?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, I have some other business to attend to.” Burkhard grimaced a little as he looked off in the direction of his office. “The headmaster’s work is never done.”
I imagined his desk was piled high with paperwork this morning, and the ranking ceremony had probably put him behind schedule already.
“I understand,” I said as the bald man nodded and strolled from the room to leave us to it.
“I’m going to get something to eat,” Steffi said as she turned to Nala and Elisabeth. “Care to join me?”
“Sounds delightful,” the red-haired girl said.
“I’m almost as hungry as Nick,” Nala laughed, and they strolled over to the tables of food.
“Well done, Dylan.” Phoenix reached his hand out to me. “Red Three, very impressive.”
“Thanks,” I said and shook his hand. “I tried to get Headmaster Burkhard’s ear for a moment to share our findings from SEEKR this morning.”
“I suppose you didn’t manage to hold his attention long enough to tell him?” Ronin frowned softly at the door Burkhard had disappeared through.
“No.” I shook my head. “He seems really busy and distracted this morning. I wonder if something’s up.”
“Well, we can try again later. For now, let’s eat.” Phoenix smiled at the huge spread of delicacies behind us that had already suffered the fate of a hungry Nick.
“I am quite famished.” Ronin nodded. “Shall we?”
“Yes, it smells amazing,” I agreed and waved a hand gentlemanly in front of me. “After you.”
Doppelganger and Kitsune hadn’t hesitated to load their plates with a healthy assortment of bacon, eggs, cantaloupe, red and green grapes, and slices of wheat toast. Wisp went for the waffle station and stood awkwardly at the machine a moment before Steffi offered to show her how to operate it.
“Thank you.” Wisp smiled kindly.
“No problem,” Steffi said with a giggle. “If you don’t make your own waffle, have you even had brunch?”
“No!” Nick called around a mouthful of bacon and eggs.
“You know, I gotta agree with him on this one,” Nala laughed, and she waited patiently behind Steffi as Wisp opened the waffle iron to pry her golden-brown delight from the machine.
“What were you guys thinking about doing today?” I asked Phoenix as we grabbed plates and started to load them with the delicious-smelling assortment of brunch options.
“Wisp, Kit, and Dop wanted to continue the day with training.” Ronin scooped a serving of fruit salad onto her plate. “They were rather disgruntled to be interrupted with the news of the ranking ceremony.”
“Yeah, Nick and I were on our way to get something to eat when the guards found us,” I chuckled at my best friend as he shoveled a heaping spoonful of fluffy eggs into his mouth. “He was pretty irritated to have his dietary needs delayed. Training sounds good, though.”
I loaded my plate with a pile of steaming eggs, a few extra strips of bacon, a bowl of fruit salad, and a decent chunk of the roast beef. Phoenix similarly filled his plate, and Ronin opted for a lighter array of eggs, toast, and fruit. Then the three of us made our way to the table, where the other girls sat together daintily eating their meals.
“I agree,” Phoenix said. “Perhaps we can all get in a good session together after this.”
“Sounds good to me,” Nick mumbled through a mouthful of sausage.
“Feeling better?” I teased the insatiable nymph.
“Mhm,” my bottomless pit of a teammate moaned with satisfaction. Then he shoveled in a huge bite of waffle that dripped with syrup and strawberry goo.
“Think you’ll be able to handle a training session after this?” I chuckled.
“Yeah.” Nick grinned. “That sounds good.”
“Wisp, Kit, Dop.” Phoenix turned to the three stoic cadets at the other table. “Mind if we all join you for that training session after this?”
“Very well, I am curious to see the Dragon master in action again” Doppelganger said with the slightest crack in his stony facade. “But we mean to train, not to socialize.”
“Of course, the training room is serious business,” Steffi agreed with an exaggerated expression.
“You guys can pick the monster,” Nala offered.
“Wonderful.” Wisp smiled.
I could feel the female Japanese cadet had begun to warm up to us, and even Kitsune seemed less reserved around us. It was Doppelganger that was the hard nut to crack, but I knew my team and I would win him over eventually. I could see the cracks in his stern armor already, and with enough time, I felt confident he might even call us friends.
I glanced over at the three more serious cadets’ plates, and I realized they had finished their meals and now sat quietly waiting for the rest of us to finish so we could head off to the training rooms.
I hurried to clear my plate so as not to antagonize them more than they already were by the delay of the ranking ceremony, and it appeared that Steffi and Elisabeth did the same. Nala finished at her normal speed, and Nick looked like he was debating going back for a third plate.
“Come on, let’s get to training,” I said before he could make up his mind. “My dragons are itching to get out again.”
“Sounds good to me.” Steffi smiled.
“Is everybody done?” Nala asked the room in general despite the empty plates before us.
“Uh…” Nick hesitated as he eyed the still-full buffet tables. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Very good,” Ronin said and stood from her chair. “Let us go to the training room.”
“Finally,” Kitsune grumbled good-naturedly.
“Come on,” I chuckled.
“Seems a waste to leave all this good food behind… Hang on a second.” Nick jogged over to the table and grabbed two raspberry turnovers before he followed us out into the hall.
“Do you ever stop eating?” Wisp asked with genuine concern in her eyes.
“No,” Steffi and Elisabeth said in unison.
“Not if he can help it, at least,” Nala laughed.
“I want to change into my new uniform before we start,” Nick said, and he finished off the last of his flaky raspberry pastry as we entered the training area. He stopped in front of the bathrooms and held up his new four-striped, yellow uniform in his hands.
