Dragon Conjurer 4, page 20
It kind of reminded me of being a plain old college student again, and while I’d just been complaining about it, there had been something fun and simple about that life. AIMM was more than amazing, though, and it wasn’t as if I would’ve gotten to fight monsters and save the world back at Berkeley.
And that wasn’t counting all the fame and glory bestowed upon me by students and staff alike from around the world.
This wasn’t even the best part, though. Now, I had the best group of friends I could imagine… and I was fucking three of them.
I looked around at my team, and they were each deeply engaged in their food. Nick had almost finished an entire Hawaiian pie by himself, and as his eyes rolled back in his head, he looked like he was in junk food heaven.
Steffi had moved on to a piece of cake, and she took a small bit of chocolate frosting on her finger and dabbed it to my lips.
“Hey, sexy,” I said quietly as I tasted the chocolate and smiled down at the pink-haired girl. “You make getting food on your face look hot.”
“I do not have food on my face!” Steffi spluttered as she frantically wiped her lips with a napkin. “Dylan, don’t tease me.”
Nick sighed heavily across the room, and I was about to roll my eyes at him when I noticed he didn’t look irritated at all. He looked like he really, really needed to get his own girl to eat chocolate frosting off of.
“You good?” I asked with a wry grin.
“Yeah… I was just thinking about how displaced monsters might mean more displaced girls from other academies,” the nymph mumbled through a bite.
“Living the international bachelor’s dream,” I laughed. “Girls from all over the world…”
“If you don’t keep snatching them up,” Nick snorted.
“Nick, are you angry Dylan snatched me up?” Elisabeth teased, and the nymph chuckled through his food.
“Not even slightly,” He assured her. “Don’t worry, it’s not like that. Just living that lanky dude life. It’s a struggle.”
“When you meet the right girl, she’s going to adore you, Nick,” Steffi told the nymph as she leaned up on her elbow and looked at him intently from across the room. “You don’t need to worry about that. Now, let’s see… the international bachelor life. Lia’s friends were pretty hot…”
“They were gorgeous,” my blond friend admitted, “but I’m not sure Russian Barbies have the vibe I’m looking for. Dylan knows what my dream girl’s like.”
“I do,” I snickered. “Hey, maybe we’ll go back to Japan sometime?”
“Then there’s always Africa,” Nala pointed out.
“Yeah… that’s true.” Nick put his hands behind his head, leaned back, and smirked. “Look at me. Saving the world, not tied down by three beautiful women. I’ve got all the options. I’m the lucky one here.”
We all chuckled at his shit-eating grin, and I was relieved he hadn’t gone down a rabbit hole of romantic longing.
“This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Nala said in a leisurely tone. “I love to relax with the four of you--”
A loud rap at the door rang out, and Nick dropped his arms and glared at the dark-haired beauty.
“Why did you have to say ‘relax?’” the nymph asked as he dragged himself off the couch. “You cursed us, and now we’re never going to get to chill.”
Nick pulled open the door, and one of the gigantic Men in Black was standing there. He came complete with sunglasses despite his current basement location, and my nymph friend crossed his arms at the sight.
“How did you find us?” the blond demanded. “I thought we were hiding down here--”
“Burkhard wants you,” the giant man interrupted. “Now.”
Chapter Twelve
We arrived at Headmaster Burkhard’s office before we’d fully had a chance to wipe the pizza grease from our faces.
The Men in Black had ushered us rapidly upstairs to the hallway outside the headmaster’s door, and then they’d silently abandoned us in front of the luxurious room.
Nick paused in the hall, wiped his still-cheesy hands on the pants of his uniform, and looked at me.
“I guess this is it, man,” the nymph said in a low voice, and I could hear a touch of nerves. “No matter how many times we get summoned, I never totally get used to it.”
“I know what you mean,” I muttered. “Things are getting so crazy. I can’t even imagine what’s coming next. Well, here goes nothing.”
One of the thick, ornately-carved wooden doors was halfway open, and I peered through to the office inside and knocked once.
“Come in and sit,” the headmaster said in an urgent tone. He raised a beefy hand toward a collection of low-backed chairs in front of his desk. “Close the door behind you, please, Mr. Walters. We have a lot to talk about.”
Nick gulped as he pushed the huge slab of wood shut, and then my four teammates and I settled in the low-backed chairs before Headmaster Burkhard.
No matter how many times I’d been inside the massive Kingpin look-alike’s office, it never ceased to set my nerves on edge. The room was scaled to the headmaster’s giant size, and in contrast to the design of the rest of the academy, it had richly-paneled walls and gilded crown molding. The carpet was plush and yielding beneath my feet, and the paintings on the walls and the sculptures in the corners also whispered of wealth.
Regardless of his intimidating office and persona, the headmaster’s attitude was always welcoming, and today was no exception. I knew he was more than grateful for everything I’d done since I’d gotten to AIMM, and I was always happy to keep proving my worth.
“Greetings, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Walters.” Burkhard nodded his shining head toward me and Nick, and then he addressed the women on our team. “Ms. Foster, Ms. Jefferson, Ms. Bernard. It’s nice to see you, despite the circumstances.”
“It’s always a pleasure, Headmaster Burkhard,” I said with a slight bow of my head. “How are you today?”
“I’m good, at least personally, and I hope you’re all well,” the headmaster boomed. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about all of your recent activities, as usual, and I’d love to hear more about your training and whatever else you’ve been up to, but there isn’t time today. I’m afraid the global situation is continuing to escalate, and this means even more work for my top team. Another mission has come up, and I’m afraid this one may be your most dangerous yet.”
“What’s going on, Headmaster?” I asked as I leaned forward onto my knees. “It sounds serious. You said things are getting worse worldwide? Have you seen more coordinated attacks?”
“Things are absolutely getting worse,” Burkhard said as he leaned back and regarded us with a solemn expression. “Sentient monsters, coordinated attacks, and monsters that are simply in the wrong location. And now, strong monsters have even invaded AIMM’s own backyard.”
“What do you mean by our backyard?” Steffi asked with a worried frown. “There are new monsters nearby?”
“Yes, they are very close,” the headmaster replied. “Have you heard of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest? It spans the border of California and Oregon. It’s only about four-hundred miles north of here.”
“I’ve been camping there with my family,” Nick answered. “We used to go there all the time, since it’s not super far from where I’m from. Is something seriously going on there?”
“Why do you think they’re so close?” Nala asked before the large, bald man could answer the nymph. “Do you think they’re plotting to invade the academy? What if they want to set all the monsters free?”
“Shh,” I said as I put my hand on my ebony-eyed girlfriend’s arm. It really wasn’t like her to be scared like this. “It’s okay, Nala, we’ll figure everything out.”
“I’ll get to all your questions,” Headmaster Burkhard said in a kind voice. “I understand your concern that a serious monster threat is so close. Let me tell you how it started. For a few days, hikers and campers have been reporting odd things to the authorities in Southern Oregon. At first there were casual reports to ranger stations, but then things got so bad, the police started getting calls. There were odd noises reported, but the main thing they mentioned was a strange, rotten smell coming from fresh bodies of water. There are lots of mountain lakes in the Rogue River-Siskiyou, not to mention the Rogue River itself, and while the water is usually clear, it currently stinks like a swamp.”
“Ewww,” Steffi said as she wrinkled her nose. “That sounds unpleasant.”
“Indeed, Ms. Foster, but on the other hand, we’re lucky there were outward signs of the threat before the next imminent attack,” Burkhard said as he regarded the pink-haired girl for a moment. “And we’re even luckier the AIMM team was made aware of these anomalies in the forest’s water, which gave us the chance to monitor the situation.”
“Wait, before the imminent attack of what?” Nick asked. “You still haven’t told us what monster we’re dealing with--”
“I’m getting to that, Mr. Walters,” the large man thundered, and the nymph shrunk back in his seat. “We’ve managed to keep this under wraps for now, but if we don’t do something soon, it’s going to get bad rather quickly. Not only are lots of people going to die, but there’s a huge chance that all of AIMM’s secret work could be exposed.”
Damn, this man really could go on without getting to the point.
“It’s a big problem, and the monster is…?” I asked as I tried to rein in the headmaster.
“It’s a Hydra,” Burkhard sighed loudly, and he leaned forward and clasped his meaty hands into fists on top of his gleaming desk. His eyebrows furrowed in concern, and he eyed each of us in turn for our reaction.
None of us spoke or moved for what felt like a full minute, and a dozen images from my late-night study sessions flashed before my eyes. None of those evenings portrayed the Greek legend as anything smaller than a house, at the very least.
“A… Hydra?” I finally gasped. “What the hell is a Hydra doing in Oregon? Talk about displaced…”
“Exactly, Mr. Cooper,” the headmaster said as he looked down at me from under thick eyebrows. “It’s very, very concerning. It’s at least as big a problem as the Mega-sus, if not worse. Our scientists are trying to figure out how it got here, but regardless, it’s arrived, and even without any casualties, there’s already been major damage.”
The huge man pushed a couple large, glossy photographs across his desk, and he gestured for us to look at them.
As we all stood and gathered around the desk, I squinted at the photos, and they were clearly before and after shots of some kind of natural disaster.
“On your left, you’ll see a photo of a small mountain lake a week ago,” Burkhard continued. “As you can see, it was surrounded by living plants and flowers, the water was so clear, you could see the pebbles on the bottom, and it was full of fish. I’m sorry to say that the picture on the right is the same lake now.”
“Absolutely everything is dead,” Elisabeth mumbled as a small tear sprang into one of her pale-green eyes. “How could this have happened?”
“Ugh, that’s so sad,” Nala said with a shudder as she pushed into the group to see the pictures. “This looks awful.”
The lake was about a hundred yards across, and it was in a gorgeous mountain setting surrounded by tall pines. The sky was pure blue with fluffy clouds, and another snowy peak in the distance contributed to the picturesque nature scene. In the first photo, the water in the lake was clear, and I could imagine schools of trout below the surface. Many-hued wildflowers grew in clumps around the edges of the beach, and the photographer had even managed to capture a bright blue butterfly.
It looked like a postcard.
In the second picture, the once-pristine water was covered by what appeared to be fuzzy green algae. The stems of the flowers were a dry, dead brown, and the blooms were shriveled. The only sign of wildlife was a thick swarm of black flies over the diseased-looking water, and I could practically smell the swampy air.
“This is clearly an environmental emergency,” Steffi gasped. “How did the Hydra do this so quickly? Can it spread?”
“It’s an emergency on many levels, Ms. Foster,” the headmaster answered. “At the very least, the entire national forest could be destroyed, and there are far graver consequences I’ll get into in a minute. But Mr. Cooper, do you care to venture a guess about what happened to the lake? I’m assuming your background in mythology has taught you something about Hydras.”
“I do have an idea,” I said as I nodded and tried to keep a smile off my face. The Hydra destruction in Oregon was absolutely horrible, but I always got a little excited when I got to show off my monster nerd prowess. “I’m thinking the lake was probably affected by the Hydra’s poison. Everyone knows of the Hydra as the Ancient Greek monster with nine heads, but it was also very toxic. It was said that when Heracles killed it, he had to protect himself from the fumes.”
“Correct,” Burkhard said. “Thank you, Mr. Cooper. Right now, this Hydra is poisoning the lakes of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, and that’s bad enough. But Ms. Foster, you mentioned spreading, and this is something our scientists have modeled. If the poison gets into the Rogue River itself, that watershed supplies water to thousands of people, and they could all die. If it reaches the Pacific Ocean… well, you see what I’m saying. We must do everything we can to avoid a massive tragedy like that, and a lot of the weight falls on your team’s shoulders, with Mr. Cooper at the lead, of course. Go on, Mr. Cooper. I want to see what else you know about the Hydra.”
“It’s often depicted as having a dragon-like body with nine serpents emerging from its neck, although the exact number of snakes varies from myth to myth,” I said to the bald man and the rest of the group. “The Hydra would emerge from marshes and terrorize the people of Lerna in Ancient Greece.”
Headmaster Burkhard nodded and pushed a third picture across the desk. It was a depiction of the Hydra from Ancient Greek art, and the headmaster shrugged a little sheepishly.
“Our drones couldn’t capture a photograph up in Oregon,” the huge man admitted as he drummed his thick fingers on the top of his desk. “The monster was spotted briefly as only a dark shape on video. But I was assured it was at least… somewhat similar to this artwork.”
“How big is it?” Steffi asked with her mouth gaping open. “We just fought a giant Quetzalcoatl, so I wonder how they compare in size.”
“You did?” the headmaster asked in confusion.
“Training session,” I clarified. “We were kind of hoping to stay ahead of the game, and Steffi really delivered.”
“Well,” Burkhard said as he considered my blushing fairy-girl. “I am impressed. I wasn’t aware any of our cadets knew how to program such large monsters.”
“Oh, it’s--” Steffi tried, but Nala cut her off.
“Yeah, Steff’s kind of a big deal when it comes to computers,” the dark beauty bragged.
“It will certainly serve you all well,” Burkhard replied. “Particularly given the circumstances. We’re not entirely sure about the exact size of this Hydra, so I want you to prepare to fight something extremely large. In addition, I know the Quetzalcoatl has a fierce wind attack, but it’s probably nothing compared to the Hydra’s poison, so I’m afraid you’re going to be in for a tough battle. Mr. Cooper, what’s the biggest problem you’re going to run into when you’re trying to fight a Hydra, other than its toxins, of course?”
“It’s a hell of a big problem,” I replied as I sat back in my chair and rubbed my head. “There are different versions of the story, but they all say essentially the same thing: if you cut off one head, two-- or even more-- will grow back.”
“It’s just like the Siguanaba,” Elisabeth quietly chimed in.
“What did you say, Ms. Bernard?” Headmaster Burkhard asked as he cocked his head to the side.
“It’s what the Siguanaba said,” the French redhead repeated slightly louder. “When Dylan and Dr. Hastings spoke with a Siguanaba, she told Dylan ‘for every one you kill, two will rise.’”
“Shit,” I breathed. “You’re right. This could be what she was talking about.”
“Very astute,” Burkhard responded as he widened his eyes a little. “I heard of the Siguanaba’s message, but I hadn’t thought of it with regards to this Hydra. Thank you for that insight, Ms. Bernard.”
“Do you think the two monsters could be communicating?” I asked. “How could a Siguanaba in AIMM’s basement talk to an Ancient Greek beast?”
“There’s no way to know exactly how monsters around the world are coordinating right now,” Burkhard explained. “We know they’re working together, but the means of communication are unknown. If the Siguanaba was actually speaking with the Hydra somehow, or heard about it, it would have disturbing implications, to say the least.”
“And it’s worldwide,” Nala marveled. “The Siguanaba is from Central America…”
“And like I said, the Hydra originally came from a swamp in the Ancient Greek region of Lerna, and that’s in modern Greece,” I replied.
“I wish we’d trained with a Hydra before,” Steffi said as she nervously twirled a strand of cotton candy hair around a finger. “If they’re going to be so close to the AIMM facility…”
“Headmaster Burkhard, do you think the Hydra knows about AIMM?” Nala asked.
“If it’s communicating with the monsters within our walls, I suppose anything is possible,” Burkhard said with a frown. “But fighting displaced monsters has quickly become our top priority, so we’re right on top of this. As soon as there was a sign of trouble, we started keeping a close watch on the situation and preparing for the worst.”
“I sure hope these beasts aren’t closing in on us.” Nick shook his blond head. “And if the Hydra moves north, it will be even closer to my family.”
