Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
All I knew was that I felt drawn to him—doubtless only because my Drake had taken such a deep interest in him. But I didn’t know if I wanted Avery to know that—to know I sometimes had…feelings about him. And seeking him out in the middle of class would certainly give him some strong clues in that direction.
So I tried to ignore my Drake as he pushed the feelings of worry and concern for Avery into my brain, tried to ignore him even though my stomach was twisting in knots and he kept on repeating,
Danger…DANGER…DANGER!
while he showed me Avery’s image again and again and again.
It was like someone shouting in your ear, like trying to ignore the fire alarm going off and the house filling with smoke. It was unendurable.
At last, I couldn’t take it anymore—the feeling of dread and worry for my roommate had reached such a pitch that I had to go make certain Avery was safe. Leaving my books and pencils at my lab table, I headed for the door of the physics classroom.
“Excuse me, Mr. Santiago—where exactly do you think you’re going?” my Physics teacher, Mr. Hollsworth demanded.
Hollsworth was one of the Norm teachers—non magical humans—employed by the school and bound by strict non-disclosure spells so that they can’t report the strange and magical things they see in Nocturne Academy on a daily basis. He had nondescript gray hair and deep creases on the sides of his mouth, probably from frowning disapprovingly at students, as he was frowning at me now.
I had no words for him—no explanation to give. My Drake was coming forward much more than I liked, and his madness made him difficult to control.
There was no reasoning with him, as one could reason with a regular Drake. When he found someone he hated, he was relentless. And likewise, when he found someone he…loved? Cared for? Felt possessive of? I didn’t know the right word. But when he found someone like that—someone like Avery—he was even more relentless. Or so I was finding out.
My Drake didn’t actually hate my Physics teacher, but Mr. Hollsworth was standing in the way of something he wanted—in this case, to go and make certain Avery was safe. I didn’t say a word. I simply turned to face my teacher and let my Drake come forward enough to look out of my eyes.
My own eyes are obsidian black, with no other colors at all in their dark depths. But my Drake’s eyes are burning, fiery red and when you look in them, you can see his madness. You can feel it reaching out for you, wanting to drag you into his twisted world of hate and pain and confusion. I let Mr. Hollsworth see that now.
“Oh God!” He stumbled backwards, nearly losing his balance and falling over as I turned the burning gaze of my Blood-Drake on him. “You…you have to go? It’s all right—just go,” he babbled. “Here—take the hall pass.”
He fumbled behind him for the ridiculous pass he uses—a rectangular, brick-shaped metal weight that weighs nearly ten pounds or almost five kilograms. He claims that students are less likely to steal or lose it because it’s such a cumbersome burden to carry around.
He handed it to me with trembling hands and I took it—or rather my Drake took it. His strength was flowing through me, humming like a dark, electric current. He took the weight from Hollsworth and gripped it in my/his fist. I felt him squeezing and the thick metal weight began to change shape. In moments it had gone from perfectly rectangular to a mangled mess—a lump of metal dough distorted until it was barely recognizable.
“All right, all right!” I shouted mentally at my Drake. “You’ve made your point—come on—let’s just go!”
Without words, I/we handed the ruined hall pass back to the Physics teacher, who took it with his mouth gaping open like a fish trying to breathe air. Then we left the classroom and headed for the gymnasium, which is located deeper in the castle that houses Nocturne Academy.
I didn’t know if the warning my Drake was sending me was true or not, but we were going to find out.
4
AVERY
The roar was deafening—literally—my ears were ringing as it echoed off the high walls of the little-used gymnasium. Juan whipped around, looking over his shoulder, and I tried to focus on what—or was it a who?—coming through the gym door.
At first I couldn’t see anything—my vision was still blurry from having my head used as a punching bag. But I could sure as hell hear the roaring.
“Mine…MINE…MINE!!!”
The last statement was a bellow so loud it seemed to shake the rafters and the ground below my feet. I stumbled and would have fallen if several of the Drakes hadn’t still been holding me by the arms so Juan could punch me without having the bother of my hands getting in the way when I tried to shield my face.