Dragon Conjurer 4, page 15
“How’d it go?” Steffi whispered.
“Yeah, did you even get any sleep last night?” Nala added with a wink.
“It was…” I thought back to my night and how eager Elisabeth had been for me to have her. I cleared my throat and began again. “It was good, yeah.”
“Oh, I just knew it would be,” Steffi purred. “She is so amazing.”
“Just don’t forget about us!” Nala teased.
“I could never.” I smiled down at the girls. “In fact, I’m thinking the four of us are going to have to get together sometime soon.”
As if on cue, the common room door opened, and Elisabeth walked over the threshold.
“Good morning, team.” The French girl grinned.
“Well, now that we’re all here,” Nick said, and he jumped up from the couch and put his hands on his hips. “I think it’s time we go get some early lunch. Well, lunch for me. Late breakfast for all of you.”
Elisabeth laughed and moved from in front of the doorway, and she made a dramatic sweeping motion with her arms to direct her teammate to the hallway.
Nick pressed his hands together and nodded his head at the French girl in a sarcastic display of thanks, and then he made his way through the door.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes, and the girls and I followed his lead out into the hallway.
“It should be late enough that we miss the breakfast rush,” Nick added as I closed the door behind us. “Which is perfect because my three granola bars earlier did not suffice.”
“So, really, you should be thanking me for sleeping in,” I added.
“Uh-huh, sure,” the nymph snorted.
Our five-person team made our way down to the cafeteria, and as we walked, we found that Nick was right. Yesterday, I’d had to use Beyblade to forge a path through the lunch rush crowd, but today was a completely different story. The hallways were almost entirely empty, except for a few lone cadets rushing to their destinations and a handful of staff members doing various jobs.
We made it quickly and easily to the large cafeteria doors, and when we entered, the scene inside was much the same as it was outside. Usually, we had to claim the first open table we saw before it could be taken by another team, but this time, we had the pick of the litter.
Well, almost.
Most of the tables only had four chairs attached to them, since all teams except for us were made up of only four members. It seemed like Burkhard was hard at work to implement the changes I’d suggested over the past couple weeks, though, because there were already a few five-person tables in the cafeteria.
After getting our food, we found our way to one of those larger tables, and we dug into our smorgasbords of delicious breakfast dishes.
“Real food has never tasted so good,” Nick sputtered between forkfuls of syrup-drenched waffles. “I feel like all we’ve eaten the past few days has been granola bars and energy drinks.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I missed actually sitting down at a table to eat.”
“It’s no French cuisine,” Elisabeth added with a smirk. “But it’s pretty good.”
“So, what’s the plan for today?” Nala asked before taking a bite out of a strip of bacon.
“I was thinking we could do some training,” Steffi suggested, but then she glanced at me and fluttered her long eyelashes. “If it’s okay with our team captain, of course.”
How could I say no to those eyes?
“Training sounds good,” I agreed. “No sense getting lazy just because we got to sleep in a bit. The monster attacks aren’t gonna let up anytime soon.”
“And Team Dragon always keeps up their A-game” Nala sent Nick a gap-toothed grin, and the nymph snickered through a mouthful of pancakes. “Plus, we’re all well-rested for once, so let’s do something productive with all our energy.”
“Great!” Steffi popped an orange slice into her mouth.
“I think it would be cool if we could fight some of the monsters we saw last night,” Elisabeth suggested.
“Yeah, I forgot to ask,” Nick said as he shoveled a banana into his mouth. “How did your research go?”
As I thought back to last night’s library exploits, all the images flooded back into my mind. Then I remembered the ancient painting of the organized army of monsters, and my blood ran cold. I made a mental note to tell Dr. Hastings or Burkhard about what I’d found whenever I saw either of them next.
“It was… productive,” I answered. “I didn’t find out much about gargoyles, but Steffi found an old Indian artifact that showed some historical evidence of monsters working together. So, that was cool.”
“We have access to the entire Japanese database now,” Nala added. “So, we found a bunch of monsters that none of us had even heard of before.”
“Nice!” Nick chugged his cupful of orange juice before slamming the glass back down on the table. The nymph let out a loud burp, and Steffi wrinkled her nose.
“Well?” the fairy-girl asked. “Are we ready to head downstairs?”
I glanced around at the piles of empty plates and bowls on the table and hoped all the food I’d eaten wouldn’t decide to revisit me during our training session. Maybe I could convince Steffi there was some “wait thirty-minutes” rule for training like there was for swimming.
But then again, I was feeling great today after my time with Elisabeth and a full night’s sleep. Even my dragons seemed eager to jump back into the game already, and I grinned as I felt them shifting under my skin.
“Yep.” I stood up from the table. “Let’s go.”
After dropping our dishes off at the dishwashers’ window, the five of us strolled down the hall toward the elevators. When we got off at the first basement level, we made our way to the first available training room, and Steffi and Nala started to talk through the options we had at our disposal. It turned out, the girls had different ideas about what we should face, though.
“Well, I think we should fight something new,” Nala mumbled.
“I’m telling you,” Steffi argued, “we should perfect the methods we already have, not learn something totally different.”
“What do you think, Dylan?” Elisabeth asked.
“Well, I think both ideas have their merits.” As both Nala and Steffi arched their eyebrows at me, I realized the middle ground wasn’t the right answer. “By which I mean, why not do both?”
“Both?” The word came out of the mouths of every single one of my teammates, and I looked around as they all stared at me expectantly.
“Yeah,” I continued. “Monsters have been working together more and more, so I think we should have a multi-monster fight. But I also think we should mix it up a little bit.”
“What do you mean by ‘mix it up?’” Nala asked.
“We’ve been fighting a lot of hordes, right?” I pointed out. “Well, instead of quantity, why don’t we practice with quality?”
“So…” Steffi said slowly, as if she were chewing on her thoughts as they escaped her lips. “We fight a few strong monsters, instead of a whole swarm of weaker ones?”
“Exactly!” I grinned at the fairy-girl.
“What monsters do you think will be good for the job?” Nick asked.
“Well,” I mused and tapped my chin, “what kinds of weaknesses do you guys think you have that we could work on?”
“I definitely want to practice flying,” Elisabeth answered. “I felt a little stiff in the air yesterday.”
“I kind of have the same answer as El,” Nick added. “I want to practice shooting while riding on Goldie.”
“Okay, what else?” I asked the rest of the group.
“I want to play around with my powers,” Steffi answered. “I’ve been theorizing about whether or not I can use my energy defensively.”
“That’s a great idea!” I exclaimed.
“If it’s okay with you,” Nala started, “I kinda wanna see how I can work with your dragons a little better. Either by protecting them while they fight, or by doing some kind of dual attack, or something. Maybe even give them an order or two? Unless that’s not okay! I don’t want to bother them--”
“That sounds amazing, Nala.” I smiled at the dark beauty. “My dragons all love you, so I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to pull some cool shit with you.”
“Well, what about you?” Nick asked.
“Me?” I frowned. I hadn’t really thought about my own strengths and weaknesses, since I was so focused on helping my teammates develop their own. “Well, if Ky is going to be working with Nala, then this could be a good opportunity to work on my shooting skills.”
I was always up for some gunplay.
“It’s settled, then!” Steffi smiled around at us. “Come on, girls, let’s go choose some monsters.”
Steffi hopped on the computer to start sifting through the various monsters at our disposal, and Nala and Elisabeth peered over her shoulder and periodically made suggestions or pointed at the results on the screen.
As the girls worked, Nick and I hung out and waited for them to make their decisions so we could start training, and I found my eyes wandering over the cinched waists of the three girls stooping around the console.
“So, you said you guys found a cool ancient artifact?” Nick asked as we sat down on the hard tile floor.
“Yeah, it was hidden pretty deep in the Japanese database,” I responded. “Well, not ‘hidden,’ but it took Steffi a while to locate it, so I don’t think it’s being kept in a very relevant file at the moment.”
“That’s crazy.” The nymph shook his head. “What did it look like?”
“It was like an army of monsters,” I answered. “And not like the gargoyle army from yesterday. A real army. Like, they were in ranks. And they had a commander that looked… almost human?”
“Holy shit,” Nick breathed. I glanced over at him, and his skin looked a few shades paler than usual.
“Yeah, I had the same reaction,” I chuckled.
“So, what does it mean?” Nick asked.
I shrugged. “Who knows? I plan to tell Hastings and Burkhard about it, and hopefully they’ll have some answers.”
“Do you have a theory?” the nymph probed.
“Sort of,” I answered. “Apparently, it’s been hundreds or even thousands of years since we’ve seen monsters work together like this, right? Well, I think that could be for one of two reasons. Either those intelligent monsters almost got entirely killed off, and they had to go into hiding to avoid being exterminated completely. Or they realized they didn’t have the numbers to take on the entire human race, and they went into hiding so they could grow their numbers.”
“Let’s hope it’s not that second one,” Nick muttered.
“Yeah,” I murmured in agreement. “I hope you’re right.”
“Okay, boys!” Steffi’s bright voice interrupted my thoughts. I was glad to be torn away from the worrying details of my conversation with Nick, and I pushed the darker topics to the back of my mind.
“Hope you’re ready for a pretty awesome fight,” Nala added with a grin.
I got up from where I’d been sitting on the floor and dusted myself off. The three girls smiled up at me as I strolled over to join them, and I couldn’t help but grin back at the warmth my lovers exuded.
“Alright, let’s do it,” I announced and rubbed my hands together. “Training session number--”
“Not so fast, Mr. Cooper.” Dr. Hastings’ husky voice echoed through the bright hallway.
I whipped around and caught sight of the beautiful scientist standing in the doorway of the training room. I didn’t know how she’d managed to sneak up on me in stilettos, but I wasn’t complaining.
The sexy doctor was wearing a low-cut, navy-blue pencil dress that hugged her curves and exposed just enough of her cleavage to get my mind racing.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your training,” the gorgeous woman purred. “But I’m afraid I’m going to need to steal Mr. Cooper away for a few tests.”
“Already?” I asked. Yesterday when she’d performed my physical exam, Dr. Hastings told me I’d be called back in a few days. I didn’t expect her so soon.
“Yes,” Dr. Hastings responded. “You are my top research priority right now.”
“Lucky bastard,” Nick muttered only loud enough for me to hear.
“We were just about to start the fight.” Nala crossed her muscular arms across her chest and frowned up at the older woman.
“Oh, it won’t take long, Miss Jefferson,” the good doctor answered. “I won’t hold onto him all day.”
My teammates glanced at me, and I shrugged. I knew we needed training, but I also needed answers to the questions only Dr. Hastings could answer. Plus, this would give me the opportunity to share the information I’d uncovered from SEEKR.
Oh, and it would also give me another chance to spend some alone time with the good doctor.
I swallowed as I recalled the feeling of her hand on my thigh, and I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind so I wouldn’t become visibly aroused in front of my teammates. I didn’t think the girls would mind, but Nick had made me promise to keep all my sexual exploits to myself.
“Don’t worry, guys,” I assured my teammates. “We can do the fight as soon as I get back.”
“Hurry back.” Steffi placed a kiss on my cheek and squeezed my hand.
I squeezed back and smiled at the others. “Be back soon. I promise.”
Then I turned and followed Dr. Hastings as she click-clacked down the hallway toward the elevators. I trailed a little ways behind her so I could keep an eye on the swaying of her hips as she walked, and I ogled her perfectly round ass that strained against the fabric of her dress like it wanted to escape from its cloth prison.
“So, what kinds of tests are we going to do today?” I asked.
“Blood tests,” she responded as she glanced down at me out of the corner of her eye. “I was able to get some samples from a few of our monsters that we can use as comparisons.”
“Wait.” I halted just as we reached the elevator doors.
“Yes, Mr. Cooper?” Dr. Hastings rested her sultry gaze on me.
“You want to compare my blood…” I trailed off.
“With monster blood, yes,” the doctor finished for me.
The elevator doors opened with a bright dinging sound.
Then we boarded the elevator, and to my surprise, Dr. Hastings pressed the button for the second level of the monster containment area, instead of the infirmary where I’d had all my other blood tests administered. As she scanned her I.D. badge and the elevator began its descent, I let my mind wander, but I couldn’t imagine why she’d want to compare my blood to the blood of monsters.
I shuddered to think about what she might find from a study like this.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Cooper,” Dr. Hastings purred, as if she could read all the thoughts racing through my mind. “I have a few theories.”
I glanced over at her and was surprised to see her turn toward me and reach a hand out toward my face. My breath caught in my throat as Dr. Hastings’ palm cupped the side of my face.
She narrowed her sharp gray eyes, and the corners of her bright red mouth lifted into a sly smile.
“You are a fascinating young man, and I am very much looking forward to learning as much as I can about you.” Dr. Hastings lowered her hand and turned away just as the elevator doors opened.
I took a deep breath while I struggled to keep my blood flow in order, and then I gladly followed the doctor off the elevator.
Chapter Nine
Dr. Hastings led the way down the hallway of the second-floor monster containment area, but we didn’t continue down the path we’d used to reach the Siguanaba. Instead, the blonde scientist made a sharp right turn at one of the junctions, and we continued past rows and rows of cages filled with monsters.
I struggled to keep up with the doctor while my eyes roved all over the strange creatures around me.
“Where are we going this time?” I asked as I reached Dr. Hastings’ side.
“Monster Medical Testing,” she replied.
“You have a medical area just for the monsters?” I inquired.
“How did you think we performed our tests, Mr. Cooper?” The gorgeous doctor glanced over at me with a sly smile.
“I guess I didn’t think it through,” I admitted.
After a few moments of walking, Dr. Hastings and I reached two huge, steel doors. There was a grate in the floor directly in front of the door, and I glanced upward to see a second, identical grate in the ceiling. The emergency button on the wall nearby indicated that the grates opened up and made way for a security gate that would cover the doors in case a monster escaped.
I shuddered at the thought, but there hadn’t been any monster escapes yet, so clearly, AIMM knew what they were doing.
Dr. Hastings removed her I.D. badge once again and waved it under a sensor on the right side of the door.
With a loud clanging sound, the metal doors swung open, and we walked through. On the other side was a short hallway, and then another set of metal doors. This time, instead of an I.D. scanner, there was a number pad and a round, cone-shaped device to the right of the door.
Dr. Hastings entered a series of numbers on the pad and then leaned down until her face was directly in front of the cone device that stuck out of the concrete wall. The doctor used her thumb and forefinger to spread her eye open, and that’s when I realized that the cone-thing was a retinal scanner.
Man, AIMM really was all about that spy shit.
A couple seconds later, there was another clanging sound, and the doors slowly swung open. As the metal scraped across the ground, the room on the other side came into view.
The Monster Medical Testing area was immense, and it looked like a secret villain lair from a James Bond movie. There were wires and cables running all across the ceiling, and dozens of tubes and pipes transporting various colors of liquid covered the walls.
In the center of the room, there was a huge cylinder, similar to SEEKR, that ran from the floor to the ceiling. The center of it appeared to be a cluster of pipes filled with glowing green goo, but the bottom was more of a command center, with screens and buttons covering the area. It looked like the TARDIS console from Doctor Who. It even made a similar whooshing sound as the green goo got sucked through the pneumatic tubes and sent who-knew-where.
