Dragon Bone Page 4

  "I can't dance," he protested, but with so many other bodies pressed up against him it was easy to step into the beat and move with it. Vel slipped his arms around his waist and nodded to the side. Elstrin looked over to see a tiny plastic bag of white powder exchange hands. "Drugs?" he asked needlessly.

  "Yeah. Put your arms up," Vel laughed, looking completely at ease. His own arms stayed where they were, warm through Elstrin's uniform. "It's not too hard, is it? If anyone offers you that stuff, don't use it unless I say so. You don't know where they cooked it up in. Have you done anything before?"

  He shook his head. Vel grinned and slid away. Elstrin watched him locate someone skilfully quickly, steer him to the wall and talk. He was barely gone two seconds when someone else stepped into his space. The new guy looked older, maybe eighteen, his shirt open and neck gleaming with sweat. "Hey," he greeted, speaking as he danced. Elstrin quashed the initial urge to step back when he leaned closer. "Having fun?"

  "Uh—sure. I didn't know so many people would come." What the hell did you talk about while dancing? "I mean, what if they find the drugs?"

  "Wow, you're paranoid," the guy laughed. He reached in his pocket and took out a little bag of pills. Elstrin wondered if there were actually ten people in here who didn't carry illegal substances. "It's simple. We just make them disappear." He popped a pink tablet into his mouth and washed it down with Elstrin's beer. "Want one? It's just E."

  Elstrin wasn't a complete fool—he knew that when someone said a tablet was 'just E', it was probably something else that could give his inexperienced body a heart attack. "I'll pass, thanks."

  "You sure? The high's incredible—"

  "Sorry, darling, he's busy," Vel said, coming out of nowhere. He held two miniature bottles the size of his thumb. He smiled sweetly at the guy and grabbed Elstrin's arm, hauling him away to a marginally quieter patch of corridor. "I was watching. Next time, just tell them you don't use but you'd like to dance anyway. They'll stop pestering you, but then you'll have to escape when they start trying to feel you up. Anyway, these are poppers. They're probably the best thing to start with."

  Elstrin took the little vial and examined it. "How do you know so much about partying? You're what, sixteen?"

  "Give or take. A lot of it came from my big brother. He practically owned the dance floors." Vel tapped his bottle. "You pinch one nostril shut, open the cap and inhale. Don't take a tiny little sniff and don't let the smell bother you. Don't drink the stuff inside, or do any other drug while you're on this, unless you want to die. Ready?"

  "Yeah," Elstrin said. It looked innocent enough. He brought it up to his nose, exhaled through his mouth and twisted the cap off. It made a curious pop and he breathed in deeply. Initially he wanted to cough from the horrible smell, but before his brain could figure out a name for it he'd already forgotten about it. A hot rush seemed to spread through him from the inside out, racing to his fingers and toes, swishing back along his bones. The lights grew noticeably more vivid and confusing—the heavy beat shook like a giant's footsteps. He glanced around and all he could focus on were the multitude of bodies, muscles shifting under the colours, uniforms stretched across skin. "Whoa," he muttered, unsure if he was swaying or not. "How long will this last? It's… pretty amazing."

  "Careful with that," Vel laughed, grabbing the bottle and putting the lid back on before the liquid inside could spill. "Few minutes. You can keep sniffing it but the high gets shorter each time." He slipped the popper into Elstrin's pocket and gave him a little shove towards the crowd. "Now get in there and have some fun."

  The music seeped into his blood with each beat, shaking his eardrums. He lost track of Vel immediately, but his body felt fluid and weightless, and dancing was suddenly the simplest, most exhilarating thing ever. He didn't know how long it took, but eventually he was aware of someone dancing with him, a grinning face and pale blond hair looming out of the thick dance lights. This time Elstrin went forward first, his hips and shoulders moving in tandem with the man's, the room dim and bright and immensely colourful. Arms went around his shoulders and he couldn't help but smile—it had been a long time since he'd felt this at ease with a stranger embracing him. He put his hands on the man's waist and stepped closer, feeling heat spread out from where their uniforms or skin touched, and suddenly some reckless voice inside his head reminded him that he was just sixteen and really should do what sixteen-year-olds did in parties. The voice turned into a bolt of warmth that shot into his groin. He closed his eyes briefly and wondered where the hell the sensible voice went, but then the guy's arms slid down his body, onto his ass, and when lips touched his ear he stopped thinking. "Let's go," the stranger murmured, still grinning, and tugged him from the pseudo dance floor.

  Elstrin followed, a little disoriented and very much horny now, his eyes unable to settle. He looked at the man's thick golden hair and wanted to touch it. The grip on his wrist was firm and purposeful. He stumbled a bit, righted himself, and managed to walk down two flights of stairs without tripping. The music was muffled but the floor still thudded, from the drug or not he couldn't tell. He leaned against the wall as the man unlocked his room with a swipe of his key card. They walked in; the soft click of the door closing sent a bit of nervousness through Elstrin, though it was largely eclipsed by the arousal rushing through his blood.

  "Um," he said.

  The man opened the top drawer beside the beds and took out a foil package and a small bottle of lube, holding them up deliberately for Elstrin to see. "So you don't freak out afterwards," he explained, stripping off his shirt. He glanced over his shoulder and smirked when he realised Elstrin hadn't moved. "It's still early, kid. I just thought you were cute. Feel free to walk out and enjoy the rest of the night and I'll do the same."

  "Uh. Nah. I think I'll stay." The hesitation was still there, but as he watched the guy undress

  before him without a single ounce of embarrassment, revealing a very nice body, the tightness at the crotch of his pants refused to be ignored any longer. He stepped forward, but a second later he was pinned against the door and being kissed, ravenously, hungrily, as if the other guy was as desperate as he was. There wasn't even space to moan—he just tried to gasp in as much breath as he could— never felt so good just from a kiss. The room throbbed. He was rolling his hips up without consciously commanding it, wishing the guy would do something about it since apparently his wrists were pinned too—finally, the man broke away from his mouth to suck and lick his way down Elstrin's neck. He felt light-headed and flushed, simultaneously wishing for that tongue on his cock but enjoying what it was doing to his collarbone and chest. Pleasure kept blanking his thoughts out like waves smothering a beach.

  And then his pants were halfway down his knees, fingers were on his hips and he looked down to find the man just beginning to lower his head, eyes closed and lips soft—Elstrin jumped at the sight, something rushing and colliding with him the wrong way. There was warmth, wetness, pressure—

  "Stop," he gasped through the immediate flood of fear and adrenalin. "Shit, stop—" A memory of heat, too wet, a small jerk like he'd knelt on a nail, slack teeth—

  Elstrin shoved the man off. He sprawled on the floor with a surprised grunt, hair falling over his face. "What the fuck?" he demanded, but Elstrin was already doing up his pants, hands starting to tremble violently.

  "I—I'm sorry," he stammered, groping behind him for the door. He found the handle and almost fell out as it swung open. "I can't—"

  He couldn't think. He fled, trying hard not to outright sprint down the stairs, passing cadets on their way up. He needed a shower. He needed to be alone. He needed—oh god, he needed to calm down. He stumbled out of the building and into the chilly night, dashing towards his building. On the front porch, he sank down against the wall, curled up into a little ball and tried to force his shaking to stop. Shit. Shit, what just happened?

  The same thing that happened the last three times someone tried to blow you, an irritated
, tired part of his mind told him. Life's fucked. Common knowledge. Gotta get over that crap.

  Right. Get over it. This was new and different. Elstrin hauled himself to his feet, though the movement almost made him puke, and trudged up to his dorm. One glance at the empty, dark room spooked him out like nothing else. He grabbed a towel and escaped to the bathroom. Though that too was empty, the hot water chased off some of his shivers, and this kind of wetness was not—no. Don't think about it. He turned his thoughts away. He dried off very thoroughly when he was done, went back to his dorm and switched on all the lights. He huddled in the corner of his bed, wrapped in a blanket. Tried to doze, aware that there was training tomorrow. Tried not to doze, afraid of the nightmares. Couldn't doze anyway. He stayed there for a long while, staring at the air, exhausted and still skittish. He wanted to convince himself that he had no reason—no right—to be scared. Soldiers didn't shy away from a bit of blood.

  Except it hadn't been a bit of blood. It was shattered bone and lumpy-hot brain matter, a startled choke then nothing, all of it sliding down—

  Elstrin ripped the blanket away and stood up, clumsily lacing his boots again. He couldn't stay here. The memories would strangle him if he had nothing to distract himself with. He went downstairs, hunched from the cold, and peered at the list of names tacked to the wall of the apartment, lit dimly by a single light. Vel wasn't there. He searched the next building, then the next, until he finally found his name on Apartment A, which he guessed meant Vel had been one of the first cadets to arrive at HQ. Elstrin checked the room number and, praying that Vel had returned from the party, went upstairs and knocked softly on the door.

  "Vel?" he called quietly. It was a minute before the door opened to reveal the boy, his hair completely messy, his eyelids already drooping even as he looked Elstrin up and down. "Can I stay over tonight?" Elstrin pleaded, not knowing what he'd do if he was denied.

  "It's two in the morning," Vel mumbled, letting go of the door handle to stagger back into bed. He smelled like alcohol. He didn't make an effort to close the door or move the blanket over his body, which Elstrin took as an invitation.

  "It is? I'm sorry," Elstrin said, relief crashing over him. He shut the door behind him and toed his shoes off, then climbed awkwardly into Vel's narrow bed, settling as comfortably as he could in full uniform. Eventually he gave up and took his shirt and pants off, by which time Vel was already snoring softly. Somehow, it was soothing, knowing that there was someone here who didn't know, and he was able to tug a corner of the blanket up for warmth without feeling the urge to run away. He didn't care if it looked wrong. Sleep took him. He dreamt of sticky things and a pair of empty, glassy eyes.

  Chapter 5

  Elstrin was woken up by an alarm clock that wasn't his and an accidental elbow in his face.

  "Sorry," Vel grunted sleepily, before there was sudden motion and the blanket was whipped away.

  "What the fuck?" he yelped, far too loudly for Elstrin's slightly aching head.

  Elstrin sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes in a vain attempt to regain a little more consciousness. He looked at the other bed; Vel's roommate, identifiable only by a mop of spiky brown hair sticking out of the blanket, was still sound asleep. "You said I could stay. Kinda."

  "Oh my god, I hate hangovers," Vel grumbled, stretching hugely and pointing accusingly at Elstrin. "Tell me we didn't fuck."

  "Um. No. We didn't." Man, he felt like shit. "I just… I should get back to my dorm."

  "Yeah. Wow. Okay. And I need to kick this lazy lump that calls himself my roommate up. See you at breakfast."

  "Sure." He put his clothes on, checked that he had his key card, and walked to his dorm. There was noticeably less activity around him than usual: it seemed like quite a few cadets had more to drink than Vel. He brushed his teeth and splashed cold water on his face, wishing the dark rings under his eyes would go away. The cafeteria was only half-full of sleepy-looking cadets, and the buzz of conversation was low and slurred. Elstrin had a light breakfast, waited for Vel for a while, but when he didn't show up, he went outside, taking deep breaths of the cool, wet morning air. He paced around pointlessly, picking up pebbles and tossing them, until the gate opened to let out a bunch of soldiers. It really was an impressive piece of ironwork, that gate—looming at least ten metres tall and twenty wide (he supposed it occasionally let tanks through), welded right into the thick wall that separated cadet area from HQ. It seemed more ominous in the morning gloom. It opened with surprising speed considering its huge size, but always just a crack, and he'd never even glimpsed what the other side looked like. He wondered how thick the wall was, and why it was even necessary to have a wall there in the first place.

  There were only around fifty cadets to meet the hundred soldiers that came through the gate, holding two wooden swords each. Elstrin's heart sank when he saw the weapons: he had been looking forward to the mindless exercise of running laps. Stag was at the lead, followed by Snow. The colonel raised an eyebrow at the meagre bunch but made no comment as he called the role. Elstrin yawned, barely noticing Vel rush to the field just in time to answer his name. They were assigned a lieutenant each; Elstrin got paired up with Snow, which may or may not be a good thing. The guy was strict, but on the other hand he might be persuaded to go easier on the training.

  "Nice party last night?" the lieutenant said casually, leading them away to a quiet part of the training grounds. The strengthening sunshine lit up his hair brightly as he handed Elstrin one of the swords. The wood was solid and heavy, much better than the flimsy plastic swords he'd used at school's PE classes.

  "It was okay," he mumbled, swinging the weapon around a few times, unable to muster up much excitement for it. He glanced back. A few more cadets were trickling out onto the field, but they were being held there, presumably until everyone late had arrived so they could receive whatever punishment together. He spotted the blond guy from last night and looked away quickly.

  "You don't seem hung-over." Snow brought his sword in front of himself, fluidly dropping into an attacker's stance, and motioned for Elstrin to copy him. He began to guide him through a series of slow warm-ups that got him used to the weight and balance of the weapon.

  "I'm not."

  "Kept awake by strange noises?" Snow guessed, throwing him an amused glance. "No."

  "Hm. Jog five laps then come back here. Hold the sword like this and switch hands every so often."

  Elstrin set off obediently around the training field, joining other cadets but speaking to nobody. He focused on his breathing, inching his adrenaline up. He was feeling better by the third lap, his mind already setting itself back into training mode. He returned to find Snow draining a bottle of iced water for no apparent reason. "Uh," Elstrin began, wondering how he should ask without sounding weird, but Snow waved a dismissive hand and dumped the bottle aside.

  "Go ahead and do another five if you want. Just don't tire yourself out."

  Nodding, Elstrin jogged again. After his first lap Snow joined him easily, slowing down so they were side by side, matching his movements perfectly even though Snow was taller and hadn't even studied the way he ran. They didn't talk, and after a while Elstrin blanked him out. A small breeze tickled his face as his muscles woke up properly. The idea of training with weapons, even substitutes for real ones, was sounding better by the second. Still, he finished the laps first, finding comfort in the rhythmic thump that his boots made in the dirt. Snow stopped with him. "Okay, I'm ready."

  "Actually, you're not. What's that in your shirt pocket?"

  Elstrin froze, his brain stunned for a moment as he remembered he still had the popper that Vel

  had given him. How the hell had Snow known? With no other choice, he took the little bottle out and handed it over. "A friend gave me that last night."

  "Amyl nitrite. How interesting." Snow examined the label but didn't open it. "Which friend?"

  "Um. Vel Matthews. He wasn't—"

  "Matthews? Him?" Elstrin fo
llowed Snow's pointing finger to see Vel beginning his jog, his red hair easy to spot amongst the cadets.

  "Yeah. He—"

  "I know. He wouldn't deal drugs, but I suppose he'll know every supplier within a ten-mile radius. I'll go talk to him later." He pocketed the popper and tapped his sword against Elstrin's. "We'll be doing this the whole day, and it's harder than it looks. Pay attention."

  "Huh? Do you know Vel?"

  Snow sighed and relaxed his stance again. "His older brother served in the Mernot Army a few years ago. They look pretty much the same, and judging from what little I've seen, act the same too. It's no surprise that boy signed up right after we put the notices up, considering his family background."