Dragon Assassin Academy - Year 1 Read online

Custodian McPherson grunted and walked in the direction of another dragon assassin who had been holding his hand in the air for about a minute now.

  “Let’s hear what you have to say, young man.” Custodian McPherson barked out, intimidatingly.

  Why couldn’t everyone just keep quiet so the custodian would buzz off.

  From where he stood, I hoped Custodian McPherson couldn’t hear my heart beating feverishly. It was the kind of palpitation that showcased a deep-rooted fear.

  A few seconds after the custodian had spoken, the now standing assassin drew himself up confidently.

  “Over the last four years, since the end of the war with the dragon clan, we have been at the receiving end of numerous attacks on our school. We know from strangers passing by our kingdom that they have an academy in their territory, training to kill us, the same as we do here for them. I…”

  As the assassin graduate was speaking, he was cut off by the custodian irately clearing his throat. The graduate kept silent in order to hear the custodian’s comment, and so did the multitude of students in the large hall.

  The custodian’s eyes had anger inscribed in them. From the way that the murmurs started up once more, one could quickly tell that the crowd of people knew what wrong the assassin had done.

  “What is the third rule of the Holy Six Elders?” The custodian yelled out.

  This time around, his tone was so emphatic that it seemed as if it shook the pillars that held the entirety of the cafeteria. Before the assassin could chant the wordings of the rules, all students; graduated assassins and freshman years equally, responded in unison.

  “No Earth Walker must speak to a stranger from outside of the walls!”

  “And what do we do to those who fall short of the rules of the Dragon Assassin Academy?”

  There was a moment of silence, and during that moment, the custodian rotated his head around, expecting some of the students to respond to him.

  “Death by the burning dungeon!”

  Oh no! Poor guy!

  As soon as everyone muttered the punishment for the erring member, a unit formed from amongst the assassins grabbed him tightly by his arms and led him through the door. They would be heading towards the West Gate where the burning dungeon was located. The custodian followed them, and the other students joined in the procession to see him burned to death. It wasn’t really ‘to death’; it was a figure of speech. The man would receive a few lashes and have his skin set on fire with the help of some oil, which was a symbol for cleansing betrayal. It wasn’t like that sort of treatment was novel to us, but I still considered it grotesque.

  “Should we follow?” Hannah asked.

  I couldn’t tell whether she looked terrified or curious.

  “I don’t think I can watch it. Not yet.”

  “Maybe that is just the lesson we need in order to advance for next year. To give some sort of courage. You know… see ‘death’ and that.”

  “I’ll vomit!”

  “How can you become a Dragon Assassin if you vomit when you see blood?”

  “I’m a great healer. My magic is stronger than most. That’s where my strength lies.”

  “Okay, you tell that to the dragon who comes after you with a knife.” Hannah laughed.

  “That would be stupid. As long as the dragon doesn’t actually kill me, I’ll heal back to normal in a few hours.”

  “Really? That’s your tactic; to play dead and then heal. You don’t think that it’ll hurt like fuck?”

  “Maybe I’ll kick the dragon’s ass so badly, I won’t get hurt. I have been practising a lot with my sword.”

  “Fine, you keep dreaming, girl! I just have to up my game so that I can protect you.”

  “Bring it on! We’ve got fencing next on our schedule, right? Let’s see who wins.”

  “Sure, that’s later, now let’s go!” Hannah said, pulling me off my seat and pushing me along with the stream of students trailing out of the cafeteria and towards the West Gate.

  When we arrived at the dungeon, and the guilty man had been strapped in chains with his naked back turned upwards, it was Guardian Sherlove who took to the whip. He wasn’t a beefy man, but his muscles bulged.

  “Ten lashes,” Guardian Sherlove announced the punishment.

  The pupils gasped. That was harsh.

  “But, I’ll deduct five since your information proved useful.”

  He unfurled the long vine and snatched it up into the air and back down to hit over flesh. A long red tentacle immediately snaked over the man’s back. Guardian Sherlove repeated, striking once more in exactly the same spot. The skin tore, and a line of blood slowly seeped to the surface.

  “I can’t watch this,” I moaned into Hannah’s ear.

  She shushed me, keeping her eyes on the scene.

  At the third hit, the man cried out of pain. I closed my eyes and wished I hadn’t come. I heard the fourth whip followed by a louder cry, and then regretted opening my eyes after the final lash. Blood was running down the man’s back, yet, Guardian Sherlove didn’t hesitate to spray a light layer of oil on his back, and then lit it to let it flame. The man screamed repeatedly as the flames ate at his back.

  A flicker of a torch next to me made me jump and unintentionally grab the bucket of water saved in a corner for emergencies, and threw it over his burning back. The second after my impulse action I realised that the school have strong rules against stopping a Guardian from carrying out his duties.

  Guardian Sherlove, who was a good friend of my father, turned angrily and stared at me with a look mixed with both fury and apprehension.

  Shit! That was my second foul this week.

  I didn’t breathe, awaiting my punishment.

  3

  CHAPTER 3

  Sherlove tossed the young man his shirt in one fluid movement at the same time as he seemed to be contemplating how to handle the situation.

  “Everybody, back to your classes!” he roared. “Except you, Miss White.”

  I swallowed hard. A ball of worry formed in my gut, and I think it must have been on fire.

  I saw Hannah trying to catch my eye, asking if she should stay. I didn’t want to complicate matters or make them any worse so waved a discrete hand at her from behind my hip, indicating for her to follow the other students.

  A span of silence stretched even after everyone had cleared and we were alone in the dungeon.

  “You should know better, Jade.”

  “I know,” I huffed, all my emotions breaking loose.

  “You are Guardian White’s daughter for crying out loud. I know he has taught you the academy rules.”

  “I just panicked.”

  “Your legacy doesn’t allow you the luxury of panicking.”

  “I know, but I did. Are you going to whip me?”

  “Yes, officially…” he didn’t grab the whip though, but pulled a knife from his belt. “Give me your top.”

  “What?” I ran my hand over my top, thinking how naked I would be without it.

  “I can’t whip you, so give me your top.”

  I tentatively pulled it over my head, covered my breast and bra with my arm, and handed my top over as instructed. Guardian Sherlove made a cut on his hand with the knife and smeared blood in a straight line at the back of the top.

  “When you speak about this Jade, you will say that you received three lashes, and if anyone wants to see the scar on your back you say you’ve already healed.”

  He handed the top back to me but didn’t let go as I pulled it. I looked up at him and saw the way he was staring at me.

  “Yes, okay. That is what happened.”

  “That is what happened,” he repeated and let go of my top.

  I put it on quickly and scurried out as fast as I could.

  My classmates and I filed back to class, absolutely dejected and horrified. I hadn’t even begun to imagine how traumatic the sight would be until I had witnessed it myself. The custodian was obviously sending a warning with the
message: ‘This is what happens to you the next time you defy me.’ I thought it was a bit extreme; after all, all the man had done was talk to some strangers to garner enough information to help us! But who was I to question the authority of the holy elders?

  I paired with Hannah just to see how good she had become handling a sword. Surprisingly, she was getting really good at it. Definitely, not as good as I was but her skills were becoming increasingly impressive.

  I was still distracted by my thoughts of the man burning in the dungeon but Hannah seemed more eager to know how I was doing, seeing the blood on my top. I felt so bad lying to her but was more scared of what could happen to me if anyone found out the truth so I moved a bit extra at times, pretending that my back stung. I told her to stop fussing over such a minor punishment and to come at me with her full force.

  She attacked me headlong, just as I had imagined that she would do in a real battle. But I saw the loopholes in her attack – the blindsided manner in which she attacked left her vulnerable in many ways that I used against her. Finally, I pinned her against the wall with the edge of my sword against her neck. We were both panting breathlessly.

  “Good. Very good. But still not great. We’re fighting dragons, Hannah. You need to be a great warrior if you’ll ever stand a chance of defeating them. They are either going to kill you, or you kill them. Remember that next time,” I said to her.

  I freed her neck and she smiled modestly at me. A sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead.

  “That’s the reason you’re the number one in our class, Jade. You’re so good. But I assure you, one day, I’m going to beat you,” she said determinedly.

  I applauded her. “That’s the spirit!”

  We grabbed our bags and headed to the changing room. Sparring always left us sweating profusely. Some students even smelt so strongly that we ended up bathing down by the lake before the next class. I dreaded our next classes – dark spells, water spells, and history. I was terrible with dark spells and the history classes only made me frightened of the dragon clan. I wanted to rip all their heads off every single time I heard of the horrible things my people had suffered at the hands of those dragons. I could barely listen anymore.

  But our teachers were unrelenting in their mission to equip us with all the knowledge we needed to fuel our hatred for the dragon clan. I knew they were being intentional about it because hatred was a powerful tool necessary to control the Earth Walkers. We’d fight as long as we believed that the dragons were our enemies. That hatred energised us. I could see it, especially in the eyes of the students who had lost their family members in the dragon attacks. There was always something that hardened inside them; their eyes became darker and narrower with that hatred, their jaws clenched with the sweet thought of revenge. I’d seen it happen so many times that I’d begun to wonder whether these classes weren’t just propaganda methods designed to keep us subdued. But I wasn’t fool enough to question the decisions of the elders because I’d seen the victims of the dragons. I knew what they could do and I, too, believed that they deserved to be vanquished.

  My hatred for the dragons was almost as much as for the next person. I had never been personally affected by them – both my parents were still alive and I was the only child – but I knew people who had been affected by the dragons’ spewing fire. My friends and their families had all lost someone dear to them in this battle. My parents had fought for a while before my mother retired. I could see the weariness in their eyes every time we talked about the war. I knew that they, too, had lost many friends and extended family members.

  Secretly, all I wished was for this war to end. Soon, my class would be shipped off to carry on where our parents had stopped. I desperately wanted the war to end though, before it was my turn. Sure, I may be the strongest in my class but it was a little different to be in a real battle. I was fearless, yes, but I didn’t want blood on my hands.

  “Does this get any more boring?” Hannah cradled her head in her arms on the table and sighed.

  “Nope. Dragon History Class is pretty much the most boring class ever invented. Who wants to know about their culture?” I replied while I leaned back in my chair and studied the ceiling. A map was painted there. “Holy Elders, I crave a cup of tea.”

  “Better yet, a Dragon Ale,” Hannah replied and giggled.

  “Yes, a drink of blood would be just to my liking,” I went on sarcastically.

  Hannah sobered up. “What do you mean, Jade? The Dragon Ale is made of-”

  “According to legend, when King Philip, an old Earth Walker king, had slain the Dragon King with his sword, there was blood everywhere, and King Philip put some drops into his flask along with his elderberry juice. Once back in the safety of his own castle he added Ale to the concoction and toasted his friends, letting the flask be passed around the table. I know today the blood has been replaced with a drop of Bloodrot, since…well, probably since we aren’t that good at killing Dragon Kings anymore.”

  Hannah was staring at me, her big, green eyes wide.

  “Do you think that story is true?”

  “Apparently you need to listen to this class.” I retorted sarcastically.

  “Oh please, I have a hard enough time concentrating with all these wars going on,” Hannah said.

  I couldn’t blame her. We were almost on the brink of yet another war. Everyone in the academy was on edge. Nobody had time to think or worry about history.

  As if prompted by my thoughts, Guardian Nelson swooped into the class. His face was a mask of unreadable emotions.

  “There has been another attack.” Nelson stood in front of the classroom and refused to meet our eyes. Our teacher exhaled and his whole body slumped over, as if it took all his remaining energy to share the bad news. “And I don’t think it’ll be the last attack we see this week, so please everyone, walk with caution outside.”

  What? Had the dragons started striking on this side of the wall now?

  4

  CHAPTER 4

  It was as though the defeat had infected the entire school with a spirit of mourning. Faces that used to beam like the sun were as gloomy and dull as the shadows setting at dusk. Custodian McPherson changed the way that the formation lined up. Instead of the usual pattern of having the units of each guardian taking on watch roles in the academy, they each dedicated some part of their respective units to watching the walls.

  Warring rehearsals and dark spells were added as an extra activity – and were compulsory.

  Every day the guardians and custodian met and decided on strategies to plan the revenge mission on the dragon clan.

  My father was always gossiping about it all, although I was especially surprised when he told me that I was joining the meeting one day.

  We were sitting at the breakfast table and my father looked particularly uneasy, pulling his fingers through his blonde hair repeatedly.

  “You’re a great warrior, Jade,” Father said, as if he was trying to convince himself of something which was out of his control.

  It only succeeded in making me more nervous.

  Why was I joining meetings at guardian level?

  I knew that Father wanted me to get some experience, but I definitely wasn’t ready yet. None of the first year students ever went out to face real combat.

  “I can’t go on a mission, right Mother?”

  I looked her way and she nodded even though I could see that her blue eyes wanted to scream no.

  “I have done it plenty of times,” Mum murmured.

  “But you stopped being a Dragon Assassin. Why?”

  She froze, looking at Father. “That story is a part of the past, Jade. We don’t talk about the past.”

  “And we don’t talk about why the dragons don’t just fly over our kingdom and turn our territory to ashes, which we all know they are strong enough to do.”

  “They have their reasons.”

  “And what are those? Because they are not murderers? Are we the bad guys?”


  “Jade! That’s enough!”

  I closed my mouth as I heard on Mother’s tone that I had gone too far, but crossed my arms and pushed my breakfast away from me.

  I had long since known that mother was hiding something from me. Otherwise, why else would she refuse to share such vital information with me? There was something about her past that she didn’t want anyone knowing. I was her daughter; her only child who was about to go on a suicidal mission. The least she could do was arm me with the essentials I needed to survive. I was so mad at her for it. Did she really want me to die? Maybe, I was overreacting. I was pretty sure that she must have a good reason for keeping that part of her life hidden. I just needed to be patient with her and when she was ready to tell me, I believed she truly would.

  “Whatever it is you have to hide about your past, just know this, Mother, I’ll be leaving soon. Who knows what might happen? I may not return. Would you really want me to leave without knowing the truth about whatever it is you have to hide from me?”

  Mother sighed deeply and rubbed her temples. Grey hairs had begun to cover her head, starting from the temples.

  “Jade, I have a painful past that I’m not willing to share with you right now. If you want to hear about my past then promise me that you’ll survive,” she said.

  I could have chuckled if this wasn’t a serious situation. It was so typical of my mother to try to use what she knew I wanted more than anything in the world, to blackmail me into surviving.

  “I don’t want to go, Mum.”

  Mother shared an exasperated look with my father. Father’s lips were clamped shut, a clear signal that he didn’t know what to say to me. Mother remained stoically quiet too. Eventually, Father sighed.

  “We believe in you, Jade. You’re strong and you’re the best warrior in your class. This is your duty to our nation. This is your chance to serve. It’s an honour. Do you know how many students in your class would kill for a chance like this?”

  I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t care less. I just didn’t want to die.