Chapter 2

“Wait a minute- are you saying that I can turn into a dragon? Me?”

“That's the whole point of being a dragon.” Colin stood against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He was impatiently waiting for me to believe his crazy.

Dragons and all other creatures alike have been known to humans for decades now. I knew the basics. Dragons are born, not changed or bitten. Dragons have a rider, which is normally another dragon who cannot change. Dragons like in colonies. I knew the simple stuff.

And above all the simple, basic facts, was the single biological rule that I could not ever be a dragon.

“This is ridiculous. I am human. I was born human.” My arms flew up in frustration to make my point. My entire family prided itself on being supernatural-free. Purebred humans. He didn't say anything back to me. He looked out at the window that displayed the insides of the dragon colony. I had never seen the inside of one before.

The colony was a magical building protected from humans that housed hundred of dragons. It was amazing, and huge. Small apartments made up the walls, a window in every one of them that showed the town square far below. Shops surrounded the bottom level like the inside of a mall, and in the middle was a fountain. The shop most visible from this window was labeled “Potions, spells and more” on the front.

I looked over at him. He was small with a lean build and skinny features. Colin might be small, but he could be a dragon too. I’d met a few werewolves and even one of my teachers had been a warlock, but never a dragon. They kept to themselves and stayed out of human affairs.

“Why don’t you change?” I was curious what he would look like as a dragon.

“It doesn’t work like that. I can't. I'm a Rider. I don't transform like you do.” Colin was a Rider. If I was smart, I would have guessed that. Of course he can’t transform, that would be too convenient.

“How would you know that I can transform then? And how would I even go about doing that? I was born in a Suburbia, I can’t get anymore human!” I said, exasperated. My hands gestured wildly as if trying to explain such simple things to a small child.

“Okay, you know what, watch that guy. See him standing by the window across from us? Just watch.” Colin pointed at a figure with a green shirt on. He had broad shoulders with blond hair slicked back on his head. He looked to be around twenty five or twenty six.

The guy in the window across from us turned over his shoulder and appeared to be yelling at someone else in his apartment. A girl showed up behind him moments later. She patted his shoulder, and the man opened up the window. What was he doing?

The guy jumped out of the window, and the girl leapt after him. I watched as the guy curled into a ball and an elusive green smoke appeared around him. Seconds went by before I saw it.

I saw a large, greenish blue dragon soaring in the air, and the girl riding on his back. It was so majestic. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen in my entire life. A dragon, right before my very eyes! It had yellowish spikes and green eyes.

“There. That man, Ethan, transformed with ease. The girl, Annie, is a Rider like me. She can't transform, but possesses dragon-like qualities that allow her to ride her dragon.” I stared out the window, watching the two slowly descend toward the ground and the girl hopping off just before the dragon turns back into the man.

I watched them walk into one of the bottom rooms labeled Colony Elementary. I guessed from the name that it was a school for younger kids who lived here. I was amazed. It was like a miniature society within this huge building, and was completely cut off from the rest of the world.

“So what you are saying, is that I could do the same thing?” I pointed out the window with a bewildered look on my face. Colin just nodded. I looked down at the ground, and noticed that we were on the highest floor. The sudden realization made me sick.

Colin opened the window and a wave of noise came through. The glass must have been soundproof, because down below the entire small town bustled about. I peered down from a safe distance. I didn’t want to get anywhere near an open window like that.

“Now it’s our turn.”

“What?” I asked, dumbfounded. I turned my attention away from the miniature town and stared hard at Colin. Was he crazy? I was very human, and jumping from so high up sounded like suicide no matter what species.

“You jump out, transform, and then I land on your back. Then we slowly drift down to the bottom. It’s not that hard.” Colin explained with the look of someone who was truly bored with arguing about this. Meanwhile, it probably looked like I was having a mental breakdown. I avoided anything more than a few feet off the ground. There was no way I was jumping out of a window on the offhand chance that I was actually a dragon.

I shook my head vigorously.

“No, no, no, thank you. Not today.” I had a pleading smile on my face. My hands felt clammy, and my heart was pounding out of my chest. I was deathly afraid of heights, and he didn’t even consider that it might be a problem for me.

“Colin, you shouldn’t rush him. Sam is new to our ways, and doesn’t understand a dragon’s natural instinct yet.” Colin’s grandfather came up behind me. There was something almost mystifying about the way he moved. It was as if the power he possessed carried him even though he was older than the hills. Age had almost no effect on him, it seemed.

“Right. Of course. Could you give us a ride down then?” Colin said, looking down. The tone of his voice was flat. It was disappointment that flashed in his eyes when he looked at me, and I wasn’t sure why it hurt so much.

“Too lazy to take the stairs,” His grandfather commented as Jac stood up on the old man’s shoulder.

I watched as the older man transformed into a dragon. A bluish haze engulfed him until his human form was missing. What replaced his human self was a much larger dragon. His scales were a dark ocean blue, and his underbelly shimmered with a pale yellow. The red lizard, Jac, still rested near the dragon’s face, looking a little less than unimpressed. I felt myself bounce up and down at how amazing a dragon looked like up close. I looked over to Colin who was doing his best impression of bored.

“Get on already,” Jac said impatiently. I was hesitant. I wasn’t actually going to ride down on this dragon right? I thought the transformation was cool, but the transportation method lacked the same enthusiasm from me.

“I think I’ll take the stairs.” I spoke cautiously, backing away and smiling nervously.

“Not today, you won’t.” Colin said from behind me. He gently pushed me back toward the dragon. This was crazy. I didn’t like heights, I didn’t like falling, and I certainly did not like this idea. Why not stairs? Everyone could use a good cardio from time to time!

Colin pushed me to his grandfather's side. He mounted first, and then wrapped his legs around the outer body to ensure he wouldn’t fall off. He gestured for me to get on behind him. I shook my head. No way.

“I don’t like heights.”

“Just get on already, we don’t have all day.” Colin said impatiently. The pressured stares from the three of them had me moving faster than I liked. I hesitantly mounted behind Colin. I wonder if they could feel me shaking with fear. Colin grabbed my arms and wrapped them around his waist with no hesitation. It was surprisingly nice, and I felt safer just holding on to him. And then Uda Wei started to move, and I completely panicked.

I gripped Colin’s waist so tight that I could feel his heartbeat, and I buried my head into his back with my eyes closed. If I couldn’t see the height, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?

It was worse. I felt him dip down, my entire body swaying forward, and just at the last second, jutting upward suddenly. I felt the air hitting me at what seemed like a million miles an hour. When I felt that we had landed on what I hoped was solid ground, I still didn’t release my grip.

“You can let go, we’re here.” Colin said, sounding slightly irritated that I hadn’t let go yet. I slowly let go, and felt him slide off of Uda Wei’s back. I did the same, but didn’t land on my feet quite as gracefully. I managed to trip and land face first in the grass below me.

“He can’t even get off properly.” Colin complained with a sharp glare in my direction. I was getting annoyed. Did he really have to be rude? Did he have to say such mean things? It’s only been three hours since I woke up and I am coping pretty well. Waking up in a new place with only dragons was stressful, and I wasn’t even sure if I was safe. I haven’t gotten to call my brothers to make sure I was safe yet.

I pushed myself off of the ground. I was trying to stay calm. Do not bite the boys head off, he is just an impatient prick. It took a lot out of me to keep my restraint in. I dusted my dirt covered jeans off and looked around.

The small town was bustling about, with people carrying grocery bags and little kids running around playing tag in the grass. There were no streets, or cars, but I suppose if you are a dragon, there’s no need for cars. I watched as a mother and her three kids walked into the bakery labelled “Magical Muffins”, and chuckled to myself. Magical anything sounded amazing. I looked over at the store called “Potions, spells, and more” and felt myself drawn toward it.

“I’ll pick you boys up in an hour, okay?” Grandfather Wei spoke for the first time since he transformed. Colin shook his head to correct him.

“We’ll be headed to the Undercity later to meet Ethan and Annie. I’ll just ask Ethan to drop us off later.” He said before grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the “Potions, spells and more” store.

“You two lovebirds have a good time now!” yelled both of his grandfathers in unison.

I laughed when I saw Colin’s ears turn red from the embarrassment.