Gatekeepers Book 1: Darkness

Training

For the first time in over a month, Draycos left the interior of the prison he had been kept in. However, he wasn't being as quiet as when he first came.

"Let go of me!" he shouted as Zero unfurled his wings and flew out of the cave where Poseidon's office was located. "Put me down right now, you perv!"

Smack. Using his tail, Zero had smacked Draycos straight across his face. Even though it wasn't the first time Draycos had been slapped like that recently, he was still stunned by this unexpected reaction from the small dragon.

"Shut up," Zero growled, annoyance clear in his voice as he flew out the opening in the grotto and out into the open sky. "I've had enough of your rudeness; I may be much more easy-going than most of the others you've met, but I'm still the head of a royal family. There's only so much hitting and name calling that I can handle before taking action."

Draycos heard none of Zero's usual lax mood in his voice and kept his mouth shut; he realized he had gotten on the dragon's nerves. They flew in silence for a while before Zero sighed.

"Sorry," he said. "I guess I let my emotions get the better of me for a moment there. But I suppose it's somewhat my fault for messing with you so much."

"No, you're fine," Draycos told him. "Everyone needs a chance every once in a while to vent and blow off some pent-up steam. I'm the one who should be sorry here. I hurt you yesterday and keep calling you names. Anyone would get irritated about that."

"Then let's both agree that we're at fault here." Zero began to lose altitude at this point. Another floating rock island came into view below them, much smaller than the others Draycos had seen before. The top of it was completely flat, and a lone dragon was standing in the center, arms folded across its chest and eyes closed. As they got closer, Draycos saw that the dragon was Vertex.

Vertex opened his blue eyes as Zero landed on the ground before him, dropping Draycos to the ground as he did. Draycos landed right on his butt.

"Ow ow ow ow ow, why'd you hafta drop me like that?" Draycos moaned as he stood up and rubbed his butt.

"Sorry, Draycos. Guess I'm still a little irritated."

"Are you two done with that routine yet?" Vertex questioned, a serious glint in his eyes. "We can't waste any time; we have to ensure Draycos is able to pass the assessment test or this will all be for nothing. The council can't pull any strings to help him get in the tournament, otherwise Draycos won't be able to prove he has the strength to be of any use to them."

"Righto, Vertex." Zero looked down at Draycos. "As we've already said, we're focusing on getting you to pass the assessment test. Do you remember what you need to pass it?"

"Uh, a total score of ten or more, right?"

"Correct. Vertex, what's your current assessment on Draycos's abilities?"

Vertex stared hard at Draycos upon Zero's question, lost in thought. He spoke up after a few seconds. "Based on what info I've gathered so far, I'd have to say his endurance is three, his attack, defense, and speed are all one, and a zero for magic."

Vertex sighed. "So, he would only get a total of six right now? We got some serious training to do over the next month."

"Indeed." Vertex held up his right hand, and a bright flash of light was produced from it. After the light faded, a large silver metal stopwatch appeared in his previously empty palm. He handed the stopwatch to Zero, who turned his head to looked at Draycos.

"Okay, kid. Start running."

"Huh?" Draycos was perplexed by this order. "Why?"

Zero snorted. "Isn't it obvious? We've already started the training. Go run ten laps around the perimeter of this rock."