Dragon Conjurer 5, page 7
“Right.” I smirked lightly at her choice of words as I pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway. “Thanks.”
Dr. Hastings gave me a slight nod and closed the door between us.
I stood in a state of shock mixed with the usual hot and bothered that the good doctor always left me in for a moment, but then I mentally shook myself and realized I held a half-eaten peach in one hand and a cherry Blow Pop in the other. I laughed softly at myself and started down the hall toward the elevator.
My head was dizzy as all the new information bounced around my brain like ping pong balls trapped in a whirlpool. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that my DNA was actively mutating. I had so many questions.
What would this mean for me long term? Would I start to act like a monster? Would I grow horns or scales or tentacles? What if my humanity was altered along with my genetic code, and I became a horrible person?
What if I hurt someone?
What if I got one of my teammates hurt?
“Ugh, stop it,” I scolded my warped reflection in the shiny metal door of the elevator and tucked the Blow Pop into my pocket for later.
There was no point in spiraling down a rabbit hole of “what if’s” and “oh, no’s.” Besides, maybe the mutations were a good thing. If my new connectional awareness of Ky and the merging with Goldie’s hearing were both because of the changes in my DNA, then maybe all the changes could be just as beneficial.
Maybe a physical or mental connection with Beyblade or Thor was a single training session away. Maybe my new awareness of dragons would allow me insight into where they came from, or why they were so different from other monsters.
I had to admit, even though the creep factor of talking with monsters was incredibly high, it was a tremendously useful ability.
I thought back to my team’s camping mission in Canada and the Wendigo we fought several weeks ago. I’d been able to understand the hideous, antlered creature, and that was probably thanks to the mutations that were actively reshaping my genetic structure right that very second. It had been an advantage in that battle to understand the beast, and this recollection made it easier to rid myself of the last remaining remnants of anxiety from my meeting with Dr. Hastings.
I would plunge forward and assume the changes in my genes were as beneficial as the rest of the changes in my life had been since I accidentally stumbled into this world of magic and monsters.
The metal doors slid open silently on the second floor and jolted me out of my internal reverie as Bruce and Johnny stepped into the elevator.
“Morning,” I said with as much politeness as I could muster for the egotistical assholes.
“Fuck off,” Johnny grumbled and averted his eyes, but not before I caught sight of the deep and angry-looking bruise that ran down the length of his jaw and neck.
Bruce kept quiet as he pressed the button for the sixth floor. His shoulders were slumped forward, and I could see the shadow of partially healed bruises peeking out from the collar of his uniform.
The blond douchebag and his team had been especially quiet as of late, and I figured the increasing intensity of the monster situation had finally neutered his ego enough that I was no longer worth his time or energy.
I took a moment to look them over as they stood wearily in front of me.
They looked exhausted and worn thin from the stress of nearly daily missions. Dark circles darkened the skin under their eyes, and their hair was mussed like they’d been pulling at it anxiously. They smelled vaguely like they could both use a good shower, and a general sense of awful flowed off of them like a dark cloak.
I almost felt pity for them. Almost.
Even without any big baddies or displaced monsters coming our way since the Hydra, things had been far from quiet. All the teams were sent on daily missions, and more than a few had been sidelined with more serious injuries which only served to increase the load for the remaining teams. I’d heard from someone in Romine’s class a few days ago that one team leader had come back with the bones of her leg so badly mangled, they’d had to do emergency surgery and piece the fragments of her shattered femur back together with surgical pins. There was a rumor floating around the Academy that she’d never walk again, but that felt more like unfounded gossip than fact to me.
The elevator doors slid open again when we reached the sixth floor, and Bruce and Johnny trudged silently into the hallway and toward their room without another glance in my direction.
I shrugged to myself and headed in the opposite direction toward my suite as my stomach began to rumble. I’d only eaten part of that peach for breakfast, and it had clearly caught up to me. My thoughts turned to all the delicious options that awaited me in our fancy, stainless steel fridge as I walked the last few yards up to my door.
I pushed the door open and nodded at Nick on the couch where he was playing a video game, and I went straight to the kitchen to rummage in the fridge.
“You look like me, dude,” Nick chuckled over his shoulder.
“I didn’t have much breakfast,” I said and pulled a protein pack of cheese, turkey, and almonds from the fridge. I leaned over the marble countertop as I peeled the plastic cover off and started to eat.
“So, what did the sexy doctor want?” Nick asked before he shouted in frustration as a digital enemy on the huge TV sliced his character’s head clean off. “She finally fuck your brains out or what?”
“Uh, no,” I laughed. “She did have some interesting news about my blood samples, though.”
“Dylan, you’re back!” Steffi called as she opened the door to her room and bounced lightly into the common area.
The fairy-girl landed delicately on her knees on the leather couch beside Nick and peered over the back at me with bright gold eyes.
“Hey, beautiful.” I smiled at the pink-haired girl as I walked over to give her a kiss.
“Dyl was just about to tell me what Dr. Hastings wanted with him.” Nick smirked and laid the game controller down on the coffee table.
“No, no, that can wait,” Steffi interrupted before I could say anything.
“We have a visitor!” Nala’s voice sang from where she was walking out of Steffi’s room.
I turned around with a confused grin on my face, but then my mouth went a little slack as I stared at the gorgeous, Japanese goddess beside Nala.
“Hello, Dylan.” Ronin’s lightly-accented voice trilled through my mind, and she sent me a tiny wave. “How are you?”
Chapter 5
I couldn’t help but smile at the stoic Samurai warrior I’d met during our trip to Japan more than a month ago.
It was odd, it felt like so long ago and at the same time like barely a day had passed since I’d last laid eyes on the beautiful Japanese girl.
Ronin was gorgeous with long, glossy black hair that was currently pulled away from her face in a half-ponytail while the rest hung loose around her shoulders. She was petite with a full hourglass figure and luscious curves, and her penetrating dark eyes glistened above a spattering of child-like freckles dotted across her high cheekbones and sharp nose. Her upper lip was just a bit too full, but it only added to the allure of her fiercely beautiful features, and I found myself staring at those lips for a few seconds longer than I meant to.
“Ronin, you’re here,” I said with a hazy grin.
“Yes, hello.” Ronin smiled softly at me and stood as tall as her petite frame allowed. The mid-morning sunlight glinted off her glossy black hair, and she looked like an anime dream come true.
“It’s so good to see you,” I walked over and hesitated a moment.
I wanted to hug the long-haired warrior, but I wasn’t sure how she would respond. Ronin had been sort of standoffish with us at first, and she’d told me at the time that she was waiting for us to prove ourselves. I’d hoped that our battle with the Magumau Ingu, who had started to stir up trouble in the lava of Mt Fuji, had shown Ronin and her brother Phoenix that my team and I were serious about our mission to protect the world from monsters.
“It is good to see you, as well, Dylan,” Ronin said and stepped forward to wrap her arms around me with only a little of the intense reserve she’d shown me in Japan.
“Hey! I didn’t get a hug,” my blond best friend whined playfully as Ronin pulled away from me. “Where’s the love for Nick?”
“Get over here,” Phoenix’s joyful voice rang out from the door as he walked in from the hall to join us in the common room. “I’ll hug you!”
“Phoenix!” Nick hopped off the couch and proceeded to give the Japanese guy the most dude-bro hug I’d ever seen, complete with back slapping and a chest bump. “I was wondering where you were.”
“The rest of our cadets and I were grabbing a little meal,” Phoenix said as he walked over to me and patted me firmly on the shoulder. “It was a long flight.”
“Hey, man.” I smiled at the Japanese guy and gave him a swift hug.
“Who else came with you?” Nala asked with just a hint of weary suspicion in her voice.
Phoenix tried to cover a sharp burst of laughter with a cough as his sister gave him a withering glance.
“Three other cadets have joined us on this mission to America,” Ronin answered and folded her hands politely in front of her. “But first, I must tell you, we saw the recording of your battle with the Hydra.”
“It was crazy,” Phoenix interrupted his sister. “I was so afraid you were goners, and then you summoned that new dragon. Wow.”
“You were all magnificent,” Ronin agreed, and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. “It was very fascinating to watch.”
“You guys saw that?” I asked as I rubbed nervously at the back of my neck, and I hoped Ronin didn’t think I was trying to show off.
“Yes.” The petite Japanese girl nodded. “They broadcasted it live across all the networks at MAJK. The headmistress has added it to our academic databases so all the cadets can study it further.”
“‘Can’,” Phoenix laughed. “She practically made it mandatory.”
“Wow,” I gasped softly. “I didn’t know that.”
“I bet they broadcast it at the European and African Academies, too,” Nick said smugly.
“Probably not in Russia, though” Steffi mused. “They wouldn’t want to show up their own Dragon Conjurer.”
“We’re going to be, like, legends now.” Nick smirked.
“Alright, nymph-boy, calm down.” Nala rolled her eyes.
“What? This is so huge.” Nick’s huge smile was infectious. “Just a few months ago we weren’t even a complete team, made up of a green and a yellow, and now they’re using our missions as examples of how to get shit done. It’s so cool.”
“It is pretty validating,” Steffi agreed with a smirk.
“You guys are amazing,” Phoenix said. “You’re a really cohesive team, and you work really well together. Plus, you have the dragons.”
“This new dragon of yours…” Ronin gazed at me with open curiosity. “Will you tell us about him?”
“Yeah, of course.” I smiled. “He’s a storm dragon, but I guess you saw that on the video. His name is Thor.”
“How appropriate.” Ronin smiled at the name. “Is he as large as he appeared in the video?”
“Yeah, he’s pretty big,” I chuckled. “I thought it was a little weird because when I first summoned Ky, he was only about the size of a German Shepard.”
“But he was so large when you visited us in Japan,” Ronin said with surprise. “Has he grown that much in such a short time?”
“Yeah,” Steffi said with a proud smile. “He grows so fast.”
“It is remarkable,” Elisabeth said in her softly accented voice. “Ky has grown noticeably even since I have joined the team.”
“He doesn’t look like the images of any of the dragons I’ve seen before,” Phoenix said and tilted his head slightly to the side like a confused puppy.
“Thor is Norwegian,” I said. “At least I think he is, I summoned him with old Norse words.”
“Impressive,” Ronin said.
“I assume you two did all the introductions before I got back?” I glanced between Nala and Nick.
“Of course.” The blond dude nodded.
“Yes,” Nala said with a bright smile. “Ronin arrived a little while after you left so we took care of it.”
“I haven’t been introduced to you, though,” Phoenix said, and he reached a hand out to Elisabeth.
“That’s what you get for prioritizing food over social obligations,” Nala teased.
“Leave the man’s stomach alone,” Nick said with mock offence. “When ya gotta eat, ya gotta eat!”
“I’m Elisabeth.” The red-haired girl smiled politely at Phoenix and shook his outstretched hand. “I am from AMIE, my cousin and I came here to AIMM a few weeks ago on a mission much like the one that brought Dylan, Nala, and Nick to Japan. I was lucky enough to be assigned as a permanent ambassador for my Academy, and I was assigned to round out Dylan’s team as the first five-person group at AIMM.”
“That’s great,” Phoenix said as a broad smile lit up his face.
“So, the video is really spreading around MAJK?” Nick asked with a barely veiled attempt at steering the conversation back to all the clout that would bring.
“Yes,” Phoenix replied. “I will say, though, I was a little concerned about all the firearms your team carried.”
“The firearms?” Nick laughed. “We were fighting a Hydra with, what, a dozen heads? And it was the guns that concerned you?”
“The laws are much different in Japan,” Ronin explained. “It is very American to have such free access to firearms.”
“Well, it is America,” Nick chuckled. “I rely on them more than the rest of the team, though.”
“Yes.” Ronin nodded. “I recall that your powers are more defensive, yes?”
“Yeah, at least for now.” Nick shrugged. “I’ve been working on exploring more of what I can do. I figure since I’m still just a yellow rank there’s got to be a whole lot more I can do with my powers.”
“That is a sound theory,” Ronin said, and her lips pursed thoughtfully.
“So how have things been in Japan?” Nala asked. “Things have been pretty crazy here, but no displaced monsters in a while. Mostly just the usual and a lot more multi-monster attacks.”
“They’re getting a lot stronger, though,” Steffi added. “And their numbers are growing, as well.”
“I still think they’re forming alliances,” Nick huffed.
Headmaster Burkhard had dismissed the idea when my best friend suggested it a while back after a mission where some imps had been working together with a band of gnomes. I was pretty sure the Kingpin look-alike agreed with the theory, but he didn’t want to just spread panic among the cadets. There was unprecedented cooperation between monsters that had never been seen in any kind of proximity, let alone working together before.
“There was a huge, displaced monster issue in Japan just a few days after your battle with the Hydra,” Phoenix said.
“What was it?” Nala asked with wide, ebony eyes.
“It was a Kraken,” Ronin said.
“Woah,” Nick gasped. “A Kraken? Like Davy Jones’ pet cephalopod that dragged Captain Jack Sparrow into the ocean at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest? That Kraken?”
“Yes,” Phoenix laughed. “That Kraken, but real.”
“What happened?” Elisabeth asked, and her green eyes glittered with intrigue.
“Normally, Krakens linger around the Scandinavian seas,” Phoenix explained. “So, our Academy was pretty unprepared for it. It started stirring up a dangerous riptide off the coast of Tokyo, and dozens of fishing boats were destroyed before it was over.”
“And because they are a deep ocean-dwelling monster, our cadets were wildly unprepared to handle the situation,” Ronin added. She kept a completely stoic expression as she spoke, and I couldn’t help smiling at how level-headed the Japanese beauty was.
“I bet a water bender would have really come in handy,” Nick said.
“Very much.” Ronin nodded.
“It took three teams to finally destroy the beast,” Phoenix said.
“So, how did you guys kill it?” Nala asked with awe and concern in her chocolate eyes.
“Unfortunately, my brother and I had already been dispatched on another mission,” Ronin said, and a frown creased between her dark eyebrows. “We were unable to help.”
“Dragon was sent out first with several others,” Phoenix said. “But when it was clear they wouldn’t be victorious by themselves, MAJK sent out two more teams to aid him in the mission.”
“Woah,” Steffi gasped. “It took three teams to take the thing down? How big was this Kraken?”
“Very big, larger than a school bus from what Dragon said, and none of our teams are as strong as yours,” Ronin said and glanced around at my teammates.
Steffi, Nala, and Elisabeth blushed softly at the high praise, and Nick’s face contorted into an expression of smugness unmatched throughout all of human history.
“So, how did they take it down?” I asked.
“They finally managed to slice off enough of its tentacles that it couldn’t swim anymore,” Phoenix explained. “And it just sort of sank into the ocean.”
“But it was still alive?” Nick asked with horror.
“It was.” Ronin nodded once and pressed her lips together in frustration. “I regret that this is the case. Had my brother and I joined in this fight, I would not have allowed the Kraken to live.”
“You cannot know that for sure,” Phoenix told his sister. “You are strong, but this is a displaced monster we’re talking about.”
“I know what we are talking about,” Ronin calmly stated, and she sent her brother a very sisterly, side-eyed stare. “My words were not said lightly. A monster like the Kraken should not be left alive after crossing into MAJK’s jurisdiction.”
Phoenix raised an eyebrow, but he smiled with a bit of pride at his stoic sister, and my own grin widened a little as I considered the determination in Ronin’s sharp, ebony eyes.
