Dragon's Eye (Avery Rome Book 2) Read online

  “Read it. Then you can go get Calley and be in bed at a proper hour, for once.”

  That wasn’t likely to happen, but it actually sounded kind of nice.

  Chapter two

  Eve had made a point of getting Avery up hours early the next day. Then she gave instructions to her, which included procuring the supplies needed for the mission, a pack to carry it all in, and a nice outfit of clothing that was more manly than seemed proper, not being a skirt or dress, but did fit with what the other students had worn the day before. There was makeup as well, since that was supposed to be part of her camouflage for her current mission. Eye liner, blush and lipstick. She had to carry that with her and fix it no less than every two hours.

  Avery was sent in on her own, having a single sheet map of the building, with locations listed on it so she wouldn’t be too easily lost. It was nerve wracking, but she managed to find her first class easily enough, and reported in to the instructor of that class session. Mrs. Elroy.

  She was an older Human lady, with long silver and black hair, who was dressed in a slightly more official seeming fashion than most of the students. The boys all had pull over shirts on, with the girls having either that, or things that were more elaborate. In a few cases, they wore considerably less than the males did. Some glanced at her, when she came in, speaking softly to the woman in charge, who was stationed at the front of the group.

  “I’m Avery Rome. I was instructed to report in here, by Commander Moffet.” As far as she knew there had been no further instructions that she was supposed to go over with the woman.

  There was an icy smile in her direction, the words that came out not seeming well pleased with her.

  “Principal Moffet. This isn’t a military organization. I was told that you might have a few words for the class? We’ll take roll first. Then you can do that.”

  Avery nodded, since that was her understanding of things as well. The class itself, while the home room, was also an English lesson. She already spoke that language, but Moffet had assured her that it would focus on writing skills, not just speaking. That kind of thing would be useful for her, she knew. Her education had been light on that kind of thing.

  She was pointed to a desk, which was near the back of the room. It was a good position, since it meant she could see everyone in front of her, while they wouldn’t know if she were about to go for them. Not that she’d be doing that. It would prevent easy ambush while she saw to her lessons.

  After the instructor, Mrs. Elroy, ran through a list of names, marking them off if they were present and not absent without permission. Then, seeming slightly annoyed, she waved at Avery. It was a summoning.

  “We have a new student, which I’m certain the more observant of you managed to get. Avery, you have something for us? Pay attention class… History is being made here today. Like it or not.” Then, without saying more, the lady stood back by several steps. Avery sort of marched to the front, her voice feeling frozen in her throat.

  Right until she turned to face them. Then a smile bloomed over her face suddenly. Even if she didn’t plan on doing anything of the sort.

  “Hello! I’m Avery Rome. I’ll start with the things that everyone is going to care about as you explain it to them later, then go back over the whole story for you all? There will be time for questions at the end.” She winked, which wasn’t a thing in her world.

  It was in Zack’s however. Eve’s as well.

  All of the eyes were on her, which should have left her stammering, but oddly didn’t. She was blaming magic for that one. Or at least whatever Zack had done. The pages hadn’t been reeking of power or anything, but it seemed to be having a real effect now.

  “I’m a Shifter. In this case that means I turn into a Dragon. Like all Dragons I have two other forms. A large horned Dragon, and a humanoid winged form. We can go over that later? I’d shift now to show you what it’s like, but I can’t talk in those states, so it would make doing the rest of this difficult right now. I’m also a murderer, which I’m certain everyone will want to know about when you speak of this. After that happened, I was placed in three years of intense military training and then deployed to the Congo as a guard for the CDC doctors there during the last Ebola outbreak.” It hadn’t been that, to be fair, but most of these kids wouldn’t know the difference in disease names.

  Everyone was staring at her. No one really seemed that scared, however, so she smiled again.

  “Now, for the story portion of things.” She took a deep breath, tried to stand straight and went directly into it. “When I was twelve, almost thirteen the time of my first change came upon me. My people, The Gray, have a ceremony for that. Unfortunately, they’re also a group of bigots that think that Shifters are superior to everyone else in the world. To them, the best thing you can be is a Raccoon, which most of them are. Everything else is fine, except for serpents. Those are considered unclean. Tainted in a way that corrupts the passing of the world. Dragons of course are considered very close to the worst thing you can possibly be, given that.”

  She looked at the class, who seemed riveted, except for one tousle-haired boy in the back who was trying to sleep through her speech. That was fine, since there was no test coming on it.

  “We traveled constantly. If you can imagine a group of Amish people living as Gypsies you wouldn’t be that far off. Though really we were more like Mennonites. That meant we were just in a wooded space, the caravans parked for the night nearby. There was a bonfire. I was dressed in a burlap tunic, which was huge, so that it wouldn’t trap me when I changed. Most Shifters, the rest of them, just strip down for that, but I mentioned the Amish part, right?”

  That got a few people to chuckle a little bit. Clearly the more intelligent ones.

  “I won’t go into the speeches and all that, since it’s pretty boring, but when I changed for the first time, not knowing what was going on, the men of The Gray attacked me. Trying to kill me instantly. They failed. I…” She swallowed, the scene coming back for her, the scents were powerful, filling her nose. “The gunfire was deafening. I’d seldom heard that kind of thing before. I was giant, but didn't know what was going on. I only knew that I was being hurt and that I was starving. I’d been told there would be hunger, but it was vast, compared to what I thought would happen.”

  No one spoke, the room silent for a while.

  “So I fought. Poorly, but I’m not kidding about the size and power of that form. If I changed in this room to that shape, the west wing of this school would be destroyed. My point here is that the others didn’t have a lot of chance. Most of them ran, as I killed the others. I…” She stopped, not knowing if she should tell these people everything. Then, not meaning too, she just went on. Dread filled her as she did it. “The Dragon… I… Ate several of them. Six men died that night. The leader of the group, my grandfather, Torvo, claimed that my mother had been eaten, but that was a lie. She’d run away. I remember that. Not that it will have helped her. As my mother, she’ll either be exiled for having me in the first place, or killed for it. The Gray tend not to be forgiving that way.”

  Avery took a few moments, just to breathe, then forced a pleasant look to her face.

  “Sorry, I don’t love that part of things. After that, the Human government allowed the President of the Shifters to intercede and have me removed from their custody. How I avoided prison, I don’t really know at all. It was never discussed with me. Instead I was sent to battle camp. Military training. Almost all Shifters have to serve as mercenaries, since we heal when we change shape. That means we don’t die in battle nearly as easily as a lot of other groups might. I was there for three years, not having another place or family to take me in that would. Then, near the end of that, I was given special training. That part… Line walking… It lets me go to other worlds. Different realities and even different places on this Earth. It’s considered a high-end skill, so the Shifter Nation is allowing me to come here and join you. It was my decision to try this. Hop
efully I won’t be attacked or bullied too much.”

  That line got a chuckle again, for some reason, even if she’d really meant it.

  “Any questions?” Honestly she didn’t expect any, but half the people in the room put their hands up in the air. She hadn’t seen that kind of thing before, but understood they were requesting attention. Pointing to the person on the front left hand side, she waited. The girl there had glasses, and was very thin, but seemed interested enough.

  “That’s awful, the thing with your family. I… Are you okay?” The words were different than Avery would have expected. Kinder and actually worried about the issue.

  Several of the others started to nod a little bit as well, to show they shared the concern.

  “Most of the time. I have flashbacks, but I shouldn’t become violent over it. Everyone here should be safe from me.” She gave a watery smile then, only to be interrupted by one of the boys who was sitting in the middle of the room. He had dark black and brown hair, but light skin. His eyes were an interesting green color however. There was gold in the center.

  “I think she was asking about your emotional state, not if you’re dangerous to us. No one being that honest can be that dangerous. You’d have hidden things if you wanted to trick us.” It was clear that he was making a point for the others, not for her. That got her to nod.

  “Ah. Well, it isn’t easy. It isn’t just the deaths. The murders. What I learned as a child still carries with me. I hate myself, most days. I’m an unclean Death Serpent. A Dragon. That puts me below everything else. Even you wicked Humans. If it makes you feel better we are considered above Demons. The only difference is that Demons don’t care what anyone else thinks of them.”

  The same boy who’d spoken out of turn did it again. Clearly he was a bit undisciplined, bold and insightful, all at the same time.

  “Demons are real? I’ve heard some things, but… I don’t know, that one sounds wrong, doesn’t it?”

  She lifted her shoulders, which probably seemed a bit phony. Then she spoke again, not certain about what she was planning to say.

  “They are very real. Yes. Dangerous as well. Some more than others, but there are enough of them in this area that being careful that way makes sense. Never make a deal with them. I have that directly from the Greater Demon that owns this area. He’s not the worst being ever, but told me that he’s not to be trusted, personally. I work with him, since he’s The Line Walker. I’m a line walker, so there’s a connection there.”

  Hands went up again, so she moved one over from the first girl. It was a different female, who had long blonde hair and a face that was made up as well as Avery’s was. Possibly better. She looked a bit like her mother, though, which was hard to think about at the moment. The hair color was different at least, being less red.

  “The Cannibalism thing is horrible, but understandable. You know not to eat us, right? So, we’re all actually safe that way, even if you shifted around us?”

  Several people in the room groaned then, but Avery nodded. It was one of the first things she would have asked, herself. If she said anything at all.

  “I do know that. It wasn’t my plan at the time, or anything that I liked. The Dragon thinks differently than I do. Not totally, it’s not like I’m not in control, but that first time, it made sense to me. Now, even in that form, I won’t do that. Not even if I’m being shot or attacked. It’s happened since then, in training. Being around me should be very safe for all of you.”

  The pretty girl nodded then, though she still seemed a bit troubled by it.

  “Okay. That was messed up, big time. How they attacked you? It isn’t like you had a choice right? You just… Changed. You can’t be blamed for being what you are. No one would do that. No one who was good.”

  Avery nodded then.

  “Right. Most Shifters subconsciously choose their form, at their first change. So a girl that loves horses might become one, even if her family are all Raccoons. It’s a magical process. With Dragons it’s different. We originally came from a different reality, thousands of years ago, I think, so we breed true. Not often though. There are only about twenty-seven of us. In the entire world. I don’t know who my father is for certain, but clearly he was black and a Dragon. I guess that narrows the pool down to two or three people? I met one of them, who pointed at either his brother or father, since he never met my mother.”

  It was a bit much to be sharing, but the words just came out. Again, Avery was planning to blame the papers that Zack had shown her the night before.

  The next question, coming from a heavy-set boy, who had tan skin, brown eyes and dark hair that was neatly combed, wasn’t one at all.

  “That thing with the government letting you go just makes sense. After all, you were attacked, with guns, by a mob of people. All you did was defend yourself. No one would be punished for that, given that kind of thing happening to them. They, The Gray, probably couldn’t hide what had taken place, if they even knew to try and do that. So, you wouldn’t be in trouble for that at all. I bet that’s why they just let you go.”

  Avery blinked, but interestingly the instructor, Mrs. Elroy, nodded.

  “That’s probably what happened there. Keep that in mind when you’re talking about this later, everyone. Avery called it murder, but legally it almost certainly wasn’t that at all.”

  Standing in the front of the room, she felt exposed suddenly, but managed to take the next question, once Mrs. Elroy gestured for her to do so.

  This one was another girl, since the front of the room was mainly filled with those, the boys, and apparently Dragons, were set toward the back. A few males were forward however, so it might have been happenstance.

  “Um, what was life like, living with your people, growing up? That sounds really different.”

  It was. She looked at the girl and nodded.

  “There were a lot of sermons, religious talks about the Changing God. We traveled all the time, so that influenced how we lived. The men hunted for food, and stole from Humans, since, you get the idea, it’s all right to take things from the unclean. I was trained to cook, clean, sew and raise children. As well as languages, so that I could haggle for fabric and food when I grew up. If I’d been a Raccoon, like my mother, I’d probably be married by now. Shifters don’t have children easily, as a rule…”

  One by one she pointed at people, most of whom wanted to know about Shifter culture, The Gray and in a few cases, about her military training. She simply answered what they asked of her, being brutally honest, even if she kind of wanted to cover up some of the things.

  Near the end, a boy from the back raised his hand. He actually had an interesting question that no one else had covered yet.

  “Do you have any powers, like, now? As a human?”

  She smiled then, and nodded.

  “Oh, sure. I’m really strong, personally. Like, I can lift the front of a decently large car with one hand, if I can balance it well enough. I’m faster, too. I can sprint at about fifty miles per hour? Not for that long. Endurance stuff is harder for me, meaning I need to do it more for training. My senses are different. I can see thousands of more colors than most of you can. My hearing in the low ranges lets me kind of make a picture of things around me, if they’re moving. That’s a bit like seeing through walls. I don’t think I feel pain as much either, but that’s harder to tell. A few other things like that.”

  Mrs. Elroy, seeming a bit more impressed than she had at the start of the session, nodded then.

  “All right, we’ve managed to waste most of the class session on this. I’d like two pages about this from everyone by Friday. Complete with an outline. Actually do it, this time. Thanks, Avery. Now…” A bell rang then, as everyone stood up.

  Interestingly, one of the girls and the dark haired boy who’d kept interrupting out of turn, moved toward her, instead of the door. The young lady was the one who’d been worried that Avery might want to eat them all.

  She spoke first.r />
  “You get five minutes to get to your next class. Where is it?” She held her hand out for the schedule that Avery was holding, the girl making a face then. “All the way across campus, of course. You’ll need to hurry. Head to the left and walk to the other wing. It should be on the left-hand side, near the far end. Room eighteen.”

  She smiled then, since it was helpful and sounded accurate to what the map had shown her earlier. The boy nodded.

  “Which lunch do you have?”

  The other girl rolled her eyes, but didn’t seem upset or anything.

  “Second, with me. Look for me there? You can sit with the popular girls. It’s that or the goths, apparently, given your choices right now.”

  There was a soft chuckle then.

  “Right. Well, that is a step up or two from being with me and my friends. You should probably do that first one and pick being popular. Talk later? You really do need to run now.”

  She walked quickly, finding that she had adequate time, even after losing a minute to speak with the Humans there. That any of them bothered to include her on the first day, even for a moment, was better than she’d figured on happening. Not that she wasn’t going to be on the lookout for violent attack. That and name calling. If that one happened, while it might harm her feelings, she’d simply have to grin and bear it.

  Eve had suggested that one as being the most likely. Probably with it being implied that she was either a slut, or a prude, though only the last one really fit her. Other things might be used as well, such as her racial makeup, her hair, or her slightly stilted speech patterns. That one was just true, since she really forgot to speak all the time and didn’t always do it well by Human standards when she managed it.

  The next several classes went smoothly, even though it was clear that she was going to need to focus on mathematics for a while, in order to catch up with her fellows in that class. Even if she was taking the most rudimentary course offered for that subject. She understood a lot of it, but didn’t know all the names for things. Chemistry was easier for her, even though it required algebra. She’d been taught that subject, specifically so she could make bombs and chemical weapons. A lot of that crossed over, so it made more sense.