2

Chapter 2

The eastern gate of the Central Plaza, Cornell Academy, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2050, Planet: Grimoire

Although both Harper and Daryl heard the news of what happened, neither of them responded to the summons. They had far too much work to do, and they weren't even supposed to be on the roster of active, much less reserve volunteers. The fact that they were being pestered could only mean one thing. Their siblings had gotten involved and whatever happened wound up with them going into a probation office. Later they received notification from Officer Brinton about the situation.

At that point, Harper finally quit working on his project. He'd been fussing with it too much and any more would probably destroy his progress. That was the last thing he wanted to happen. A sigh escaped him. He cleaned up and hurried to the portion of Cornell Academy that would allow him to intercept Daryl before he headed to the dorms and began yelling at the sisters and brothers. No doubt, Daryl hadn't heard the complete story yet.

As expected, Harper caught Daryl as he fumed in a hallway while looking at all the current events. "Are you finished with your final lesson of the day?"

Daryl looked at Harper in consternation. "Uh, yeah, I am as a matter of fact." He exhaled slowly and leaned his head against the wall. "I don't know what to do about them."

Harper figured he was talking about their siblings. "Most of that is just trash talk." He nodded to the articles spewing out from different agencies.

Daryl cheered up when Harper told him the good news. "Oh really? I guess that is reassuring that this is nonsense." He cut off the rumor dumps and then realized that Harper had cleaned up quite a bit. "So, I take it that you decided to quit before you ruined the final assembly?"

Harper nodded. "Yeah, not only that but I decided it was time to heed Grifton's request that we meet him tonight."

The two brothers exchanged worried glances. It wasn't often that Grifton Tinroy would seek them out willingly. Something must've happened beyond the mess today that might've also affected him directly.

"Oh right, didn't he have a warehouse in one of the outlier buildings?" Daryl frowned.

Harper nodded. "I think so." He cleared his throat. "From what I heard, Sapphire, Anara, and Sherpa were putting out fires and such." Harper shook his head in amusement. "The other hotheads went after the culprits and beat the snot out of them."

Daryl grunted in disgust. "So typical," He muttered. "Not only that but apparently they'd decided against trying to stop the fires and then the only ones they apprehended weren't even the real instigators?" His disbelief made Harper shrug.

"Evidently that is the case indeed." Harper conceded. "Now, shall we go meet Grifton and do so before he accidentally walks into a river somewhere?"

With all the craziness going on, Harper could see that happening. The dismay registering on Daryl's face suggested that he hadn't even considered that possibility.

"Yeah, we better go and make sure he hasn't done that." Daryl agreed amiably. "Besides, we're meeting him at the Jade Palace."

Yes, the food was scrumptious. "I'm going to foot the bill this time," Harper mentioned. "So, I'll also include portions for the others once we've eaten our fill."

They were always hungry these days. Which might have to do with all the hours they committed to studying, working, and earning extra credits to graduate early.

Though they still had about three more years to go. From what they heard it generally took nine to twelve years to finish the entire graduate programs that Cornell offered. They had five years under their belts and were nowhere near completion. Well, the others weren't, but Harper had eighty percent completed credits.

Daryl glanced at him. "So how close are you to finishing?" He looked amused. "I doubt you're doing this without calculating the possibility of early graduation."

Harper shrugged. "On the last review, I was at eighty percent completion." However, he heard that some of his credits might be revoked. That information annoyed Harper because he wasn't sure what was behind the reasoning for the revocation. He'd filed a complaint but had yet to hear news about the review that was still in the process of occurring.

Therefore, Harper had chosen to work on the projects that kept him inside the city rather than go hunting lately. For all he knew it was the hunting that was behind the problem.

Daryl sighed. "Still no news about the potential revocation, huh?" He'd guessed what bothered Harper. "I still think there's a jealous official behind that decision."

Harper shrugged. "Either that or a jealous senior who pulled strings which means I'm screwed either way." Not for the first time Harper disliked the hidden politics running the curriculum. Of late, it was clearly known that politics caused all kinds of problems for the working students. Specifically, the ones who couldn't study and lounge around leisurely doing no practical combat. As did the elite spoiled aristocrats who didn't have to work as hard.

Daryl gnashed his teeth and sighed. "I'll admit, I'm glad that Grifton isn't one of those losers."

While Grifton Tinroy was a senior who would also graduate early. He was recognized as a genius who came from an even worse background than the eight siblings had.

He knew nothing about his ancestors, much less what he might be capable of doing in the future once his draconic heritage kicked into full potential.

Harper and Daryl figured it was going to happen one day when Grifton least expected it. They kinda hoped that they would be around when it did happen. They could at least help him become accustomed to the changes in his body when it occurred.

"That reminds me, where do you think we'll find him wandering around?" Daryl nudged Harper. "Didn't you say that he was affected by what happened?" His gaze rested on a familiar figure.