Chapter Eighteen
Eleven-year-old Melody Margaret Tanniym, known to her friends and family as “Mimi,” sat across from Evangeline, sucking noisily on the straw in her massive strawberry milk shake. She stopped for a second, swallowed, and then pushed the last half of the shake away. “Thanks, Eva. That was really good.” She said it without the oomph she normally did. And that worried Eva.
Mimi Tanniym was a live-on-your-toes, climb the walls, take-life-by-the-balls kind of girl. Not a moment went by when she wasn’t thinking about what fun she could have next, what adventure she could go on, what goal she could reach. Part of this might have been because Mimi was not fully human. She was a dragon.
But part of it was just Mimi.
So when she shoved her favorite flavor of milkshake away and smiled, Evangeline knew damn well the smile was forced and something was eating Mimi alive.
“What’s going on, Charmimi? Friend issues?” Eva asked. She visited with Mimi every once in a while just to check up on her and the dragon community. A part of Eva felt it was not only her duty, but her birthright.
“Charmimi” was Mimi’s nickname. It was a mixture of “Charmander” and “Mimi,” because once upon a time, the young dragon had been very much into Pokémon. Now she was into a video game called Overwatch. Last week it was a video game called League of Legends. Evangeline was pretty sure next week it would be something else. She could only imagine what a nightmare gifting for the holidays was for her grandfather and closer friends.
“Nope,” she said. “I don’t have friends. Friends are too much work. They always want to talk, always expect you to talk back, and I’m a busy person.”
“Mimi, you’re eleven.”
“Yeah, so?”
Eva pursed her lips and narrowed her gaze. “Okay… then what is going on with you?”
Nothing, why?” Mimi lied boldly.
Eva took a deep breath and simply cocked her head to one side. Seriously? the look said.
“Your skirt is too short,” Mimi said offhandedly. If it had been anyone else telling Eva that, she would have taken it to heart. She was sensitive that way. But Mimi’s skirt was even shorter, and they were both wearing black leggings because neither girl believed a woman should be caught dead in something she couldn’t both run and fight in. Because otherwise they could very well end up dead.
Mimi’s outfit was very similar to Eva’s, in fact, which made Evangeline wonder if their kind had a certain taste for specific fashions. They both wore denim skirts, black leggings, combat boots, and tee-shirts. Mimi’s shirt, however, had some sort of four-legged robot on it with the words “Efi will not be happy about this,” written underneath. Eva’s shirt was a plain white tee, and she wore a fitted black leather jacket over it with crystal studs. She liked shiny things. It was in her blood.
“Not going to work,” was Eva’s matter-of-fact reply. She raised her brows, crossed her arms over her chest, and waited.
Mimi’s tight, fake smile fell and she sighed. Then she took a deep breath, splayed her hands on the table, and blurted, “They think they’re better than me. And I know how that sounds, but I mean they really honestly think they’re better than me, and there’s no other way to say it.”
Evangeline blinked. “Who thinks they’re better than you?”
“Every single stupid-ass boy in my training group,” Mimi growled, her gaze becoming distant, and her face contorting into one of frustration. “Neanderthal dragons, I swear. It’s like being in the army or something. They don’t believe females should train.”
Eva felt a heat in her chest. Male ego was eventually going to be the death of all men everywhere, she could swear it.
“But Calidum put me in the group and he’s the trainer. So… he must think I’m supposed to be there, right?” She asked the question so innocently and with so much fear but bravery, it almost made Eva sick. “And now that the king is dead, word is Calidum is going to be king….”
“You listen to me, Mimi, and listen well,” Eva said, leaning forward. “A change in the Dragon Realm has been a looooong time coming. Time and again, our male dragons fall to misfortune and in battle because the former king prevented females from training for combat.”
Mimi nodded solemnly. “I know. And my grandfather tells me stories of how in the past, the females fought alongside the males. Some of them are talked about in our legends, even - they saved other dragons.”
“That’s right,” said Eva. She knew of one dragon in particular who was both female and exceedingly legendary. “And since Arach took over, our numbers have only dwindled. We are now a dying race.”
Mimi nodded again, but the discussion was clearly not cheering her up. It was like preaching to the choir.
Evan went on. “Now that the jackass who’d once called himself king of the realm is gone and the courts are in charge until the new king is appointed, things are finally reverting to how they once were. People will realize again that equality was our best means for survival.”
Mimi nodded, but Eva could tell she wasn’t convinced. She had good reason. Eva knew Mimi was one of the unlucky females who would be trailblazing a clearer path for generations of dragons to come. Like the suffragettes, she had a heavy burden to carry. For one, she had to be brave enough to hold her head up high in a class filled with idiot boys and stand firm for her right to be there. Then she had to prove that right over and over again by defeating them in training exercises. On the other hand, the boys wouldn’t be expected to prove a goddamned thing. Because they’d been born with penises.
What was worse, training courses were misguided in the first place. At least, that was how Eva felt about classes, anyway. The worst forms of classes where people were supposed to receive training were human public schools. As an entire planet of adults, humans could not get along. Despite the miles between them and the safety barriers of roads, walls, and fences, they repeatedly and continuously went to war. They bickered about everything under the sun. And they were adults.
What could they possibly expect their children to do when they, at an adolescent age, were smashed together under the same roof – all of them coming from different backgrounds and cultures, different financial states, different beliefs in general – and told to sit quietly side by side, mere feet from one another, shut the hell up, and learn something for nine hours straight every day? Adults had more control over themselves than adolescents! And they were destroying one another!
In reality, their expectations of their children were perhaps not quite realistic. There were sure to be fights. There was certain to be frustration. There would be children who needed attention desperately, young minds who only wanted to fit in. And then there would be their victims. This is where bullying came in, the fire whose fuel was parental politics and differences in opinion.
Granted, dragon training was not human public school, but there were similarities, to be sure. Such as the current bigotry amidst them.
It would fall on Mimi’s shoulders to fight all of it. Eva wasn’t surprised the young dragon didn’t feel like finishing her milkshake. She was waging a one-woman war. She probably had no appetite whatsoever.
“Are you the only female in your training group?” Eva asked.
“Yeah. Well, there are only six people in Cal’s group. He’s benchmarked for king, you know.”
Eva had heard as much. She’d never met the dragon, Calidum, but he was rather legendary himself. Rumor had it, he’d worked with a band of people purporting to be “angels.” Or something like that. He’d been seen in quite a few battles against things like phantoms and wraiths over the last few years. It was actually surprising to Eva that she had yet to meet this amazing beast in the flesh.
“Cal, huh?” she teased.
“He insists,” Mimi said with a blush.
“You must know him well, then?”
“Well… he was there for my first transformation.”
Eva’s brows raised. “Lucky guy.” A dragon’s first transformation was a monumentous thing, being both monumental and momentous. It was special, or so she understood. After all these years… Eva had yet to experience her own.
Mimi shrugged. “I guess.” She glanced out the window, then back at Eva. “They almost didn’t let him have a class at all this time,” Mimi said. “Wanted him to start acting like a king rather than a trainer or something.” She laughed softly, and Eva’s heart lightened a little to see real humor glint in the girl’s eyes. “He told them that a king was supposed to lead, and that was exactly what a trainer did. He shut them all down in front of the whole class.”
“Didn’t Arach also help train from time to time?” Eva asked.
“Yeah, and I think that’s part of what was bothering the council. They didn’t want the new king acting like the old one. What they don’t get is that a good king can still do some things a bad king does. Just only the good things.”
Eva smiled. “You’re wiser than your years, Charmimi.”
Mimi shrugged. “That’s what Angel and Rhee say too.”
Mimi was definitely wiser than her years, and she was clearly more mature than her years as well. Eva supposed that was why all of her friends were grownups. Angel and Rhee, or “Rhiannon,” were another two friends of Mimi’s, also adults. They had a few supernatural secrets of their own. But Eva knew them. She knew a lot more than anyone would guess.
Mimi slid the milkshake back across the table toward her and stuck the straw between her lips. Apparently her appetite was back.
“Drink up,” Eva said. “You have a lot of male dragon ass to kick in class tonight.”
Mimi smiled around the straw, but kept drinking.
“If you don’t mind, I think I might go with you this time. Meet this teacher of yours myself.” And make damn sure he doesn’t put up with any sexist bullshit from his students, she added mentally.
Mimi pulled away from the straw and leaned in. “Those guys are checking you out.”
Eva glanced at the table Mimi nodded to and found that two young men were extremely focused on one another and steadfastly refusing to look in her direction. One of them swallowed nervously and cleared his throat. The other was holding in his gut and leaning back to stretch his arms over the seat, flexing as he stretched. Classic “I’m not checking you out, but check me out,” moves.
She was reminded of the raven puffing out its feathers, and all at once, Eva felt tired.
She was pretty sure her boss was going to try to kill her. She’d made a terrible mistake going to work for the Entity. She had no place to go and no one to turn to for help. And suddenly, she felt exhausted. She was tired of fighting, tired of fear, tired of boys. Every male she knew behaved like a child – selfish, possessive, immature. She wondered if there were any men left in the world.
She sighed and shook her head, turning back to Mimi. Mimi cocked her head to one side and narrowed her gaze. “You know, I’ve never been able to tell what kind of dragon you are,” she said, changing the subject. “You smell like dragon, don’t get me wrong. But not like any dragon I’ve ever met.”
“Well, that’s because I’m not like any dragon you’ve ever met,” Eva said honestly. She was only half dragon, actually. The other half was very different. To that end, the half that was dragon was different too. She was, as the Entity constantly reminded her, legendary. She didn’t fit in with the dragons, and she didn’t fit in with her mother’s kind. She was a half-breed, a mixed race, a very special mutt. That thought made her smile.
But Mimi’s narrowed gaze became suspicious. Smiling, but suspicious. “You’re not the Great Gray, are you?”
Eva almost laughed. Almost. But the truth was, Mimi was cutting it close with that one.
“Nope. I can honestly tell you I have no relation whatsoever to the Great Gray.”
According to dragon myth, there were originally three legendary dragons: The Great White, the Great Black, and the Great Gray. Lore told that each of the three Legendaries could become any kind of dragon he wanted. Along with immense strength and powerful magic, this was their unique ability.
The Great White, whose name was Anharidan, was all-knowing and venerable. He ruled the day. The Great Black, whose name was Bantariax, was kind and welcoming, but a bit of a trickster and impulsive. He ruled the night.
The Great Gray, Korridum, was given the realm of twilight to watch over, and according to the myth, this was not enough for him. In his anger, he killed the Great Black in the night and planned to kill the Great White. But Anharidan knew. He knew everything.
The Great Gray was confronted. During this confrontation, he vanished. Never to be seen again. Rumors were that he traveled far, perhaps even changing dimensions and sliding through realms, going by the name Kaelin. In other rumors, he’d gone by the name Calum. But in every story, he was a rebel and a trouble maker, dodging authorities moments before he would have been caught. But they were just rumors.
Of course, the Great White was nowadays nowhere to be found either, and as far as most dragons were concerned, the legend of the three dragons was a story and nothing more.
Eva knew it to be something more.
Mimi smiled, probably proud that she’d managed to get the frown off Eva’s face, and continued to drink her shake.
Eva looked up at the snack shop window to watch the people walk by outside. They were dressed in flip flops and short shorts. The morning rain had passed, opening the way for sun and post-storm humidity. Seattleites were taking their opportunity for scant clothing.
As Evangeline gazed indifferently out the window, a white cat leapt onto the window ledge and peered back at her through the glass. Eva blinked. The cat had blue, blue eyes. Familiar eyes. And strange as it was, Eva couldn’t help but get the feeling the cat was disapproving of her skirt.