THE COLLEGE
"I'll come." Asakti said, "If just to get away from
here."
Things really couldn't get any worse than they were right now. The prospect of
leaving didn't affect her much. In fact she didn't even need to pack. All she
needed would be where they were headed. Adventure...
"Ok, let's go to college." Draca grinned.
"College?" Asakti asked. No way she was going to a college.
"To pick up two more of our kind and then we're off."
"Into the great unknown." Asakti added.
Draca shrugged, "I guess you could call it that."
The college was built on a large green
field. The buildings were painted white and lay sparkling in the sun. Long
walkways in park-like gardens made for easy studying.
'I hate this place.' Kale signalled her.
'I know we've been here for hours, but Mikhail doesn't know their names.' Draca
said for about the 100th time to Kale. It was hot and their search was far
from over.
"Where did you see them last time?"
"At the gates."
"That doesn't tell us much..." Draca said.
'Ryuen honey...' Draca signaled.
"Yes?"
'Can you tell me if you feel anyone like me around?'
"Sure! There are 4
people around you who are like you."
'I know... anyone else.'
"hmm... Yes! 2 more, 100
metres forward behind a big tree."
Ryuen told her.
Draca thanked him and smiled as she heard him already moving on in the game he
was playing. Could that dragon even keep his attention focused?
"This way!" Draca gestured and hurried to the tree.
Behind it they saw no-one. There was a small field that around lunch would be
swarming with students, but not know when afternoon classes had begun.
"Hello?" she tried.
"There's no-one around." Asakti sighed, this was all turning out to
be rather dumb.
'Anyone out here?' Draca broadcasted.
'What are you doing! Do you want people hearing us?'
'I thought that was obvious...' Draca said, smiling in the shadows.
"Who are you?" a male voice suddenly asked from above them.
"It worked." Draca couldn't help smiling at Kale. "Hi! My name
is Draca and I want to make you two an offer."
"I don't need a thing." the girl said chilly.
Athail, though his eyes were still perched on Asakti couldn't help but shudder
when he heard the cold voice. he looked up and saw a face that went exactly
with the image he had gotten from the woman. Scandinavian with blond hair and
icy blue eyes.
Mikhail inched a bit closer... "Hi." he said, "You want to hear
this."
"Mikhail?" the male asked.
"I thought you had never spoken to any of them!" Athail called out.
"I haven't... not really. He's helped me a bit with my math."
"What are you doing with these people."
"I know we look rather strange, "Draca said, "But we are all
connected."
The male jumped down from the tree, his face open and smiling, his posture
strong and confident. Asakti looked at him and though he wasn't bad he looked
like a real family man. Dull.
"My name is Ille. Who are you."
"Draca." Draca said, "These are Kale, Asakti and Athail. You
know Mikhail already."
"I do... but I have misjudged him."
"What is all this." his sister asked.
"Don't you see it, Wedlyn? They are like us. They have our secret."
"I wouldn't call it a secret." Draca said.
"It is for us." Wedlyn said bitchy and turned away.
"Wedlyn! Wait a sec." Ille turned back and shrugged. "It takes
her a while to get used to the idea that she isn't normal anymore I
guess..."
"You seem to take it very well." Kale noticed.
"I never pretended to be normal in the first place."
Mikhail couldn't help but find that a bit ironic. He looked the most normal of
all of them. The small circle at the edge of his eye was so faint it could
have passed of for a birthmark or a faded henna-tattoo.
They all started moving again, following Wedlyn across the field.
"They won't go away, sis." Ille shouted at her.
"You're making a scene!" Wedlyn called back.
"You are!" Just come back and we'll talk calmly."
The young woman sighed. She hated it when her brother was right. But he was
and talking in a group was less conspicuous than shouting over a field. At
least she assumed they would be talking...
"I'll make this short so I won't have to disturb you for a long time. I
am from another planet. I came here because my father asked me to bring along
any of our people I encountered. I am what people call a finder, a searcher.
Someone who finds people and gets them to dragonplaces where they can impress
a dragon.
"You can't find who matters!" Wedlyn nearly shouted.
"Wedlyn..." Ille said.
"Who do I need to find?"
"Our father."
"Again the familiar story... Maybe my dad knows something, or maybe Kale
can even help. he knows more about our race than I do."
"Nove line, right?" Kale asked.
"How did you know?" Ille asked.
"The looks. I have hears about the Nove's. Most of them migrated to
Siberia, but there are also small colonies on other planets... but Siberia
would help you get started."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that." Draca nodded. "You are free to come or
go."
"I'm coming..; I don't know about you sis, but I want to learn more about
my heritage."
"So you can tell your girlfriends all about us."
"Ille looked hurt... "I told you, I couldn't help that. She was with
me when I..."
"Shifted." Draca helped.
Wedlyn turned around, looking resentful. "I can't really leave you. So I
will come too."
"Then I suggest we go. Our car is in the parking lot, but what I really
need is a large open space where we won't be noticed going elsewhere."
"It's that there are so many places left around here like that..."
Kale said.
"There is the mountains..."
"Perfect." Draca smiled. "Can we get there on foot from
here?"
"Sure... in maybe half an hour."
"Then I'll leave the car here."
"How are you going to get dad's keys back?" Athail asked.
"Magic."
'Ryuen... can you get these keys here?' Draca asked.
"A game? I like!" her dragon said and transported the keys from her
hand to Athail and Mikhail's father who no doubt spilled the coffee Draca saw
he was drinking when the keys appeared through Ryuen's link.
"Can we all do that?" Mikhail asked when he saw the keys disappear.
"To be truthful, I wasn't the one doing that. Now let's go."
Kale shrugged when the two boys looked at him. The woman was as much a mystery
to him as she was to them.