Dragon Freak- Book 1 of the Freaks Series (Complete)

Preface. They're not listening. I am screaming and no one is coming. The music is too loud, I am trapped. I can see their faces, laughing, jeering. Something inside me is roaring, wanting to get out, to protect me. It can't. I am not strong enough. I feel each slice of the broken bottle as it cuts into my skin, over and over. The breed from my school standing around me, each taking turns to carve me like a Christmas ham. One of the males, Rodrick, he kneels next to me. I cringe as his tongue swipes up my cheek, catching the tear flowing freely from the corner of my eye. "Aww, Brown is crying." He called over his shoulder. Another face appeared above me. A vicious smile curving her pale features. "Aww, do you need your mummy?" She taunted pressing the glass into my stomach and leaning on it. Gathering my strength, I fought back the pain and found my voice. "I am a DragonSpire," I growled. Rodrick and Vivian launched back, away from me, their eyes wide with sudden fear. "Did you see her eyes, they were glowing?" Rodrick whispered. Vivian nodded. "H-her skin looked like scales," Vivian muttered in reply, both trembling slightly. "Enough! She's a freak. Just finish it!" Martha, the leader of the pack snarled, advancing on me with the bottle. She jammed it into my stomach. I screamed once more before blessed unconsciousness took me away. Journal of Francesca DragonSpire Dear Diary, I asked mum this evening to kill me..she laughed!  Honestly, I am not surprised by her mockery of my earth-shattering pain! 'Argh, parents suck!' Note, I am screaming, silently so the parentals cannot hear. They do not understand a thing. They have no IDEA what I am going through, my whole world is ending, and they do not care one bit.  (Note to self; do not tell them, they will get way too much enjoyment from the prospect.) They suck beyond all rational thought and explanation, and they wish I were male. I hate being me, and I can't stand my school. I go to a public Breed high where bullying (they say,) is a one-way ticket to expulsion.  Yeah right, I guess the headmaster forgot to read the memo. My peers pick on me the worst, as I am the only eighteen-year-old vampire, without her fangs! If bullying were a punishable offence, I would be the only one left in my class. I told my parents and asked them to move me to a new school. Mum says, if I were not so stupid, then the others would leave me alone. They picked on me because I was ridiculous. One of my teachers told me to walk away and ignore them. I wish it were that easy, I do. Unfortunately, they follow me. After not getting the response I wanted from my mother, I went to my father. Dad says I do not have my fangs because I am a late bloomer, and knowing me, I will be late for my funeral. He followed up his little speech with "if you were a boy, these problems would not exist". Yeah, thanks, Dad. You should get a medal for the parent of the year. However, I digress. Danny Gillett; used to be my best friend. We dated, like three or four times in pre-school, but he kept stealing my orange juice. Now Danny is such a loser! He got his fangs on the first day of school this year! All the others think he is so amazing, but I know him. For instance, Danny still sleeps with a teddy bear named Harold. (See looser!)  Who cares if I do not have my fangs yet? I wonder if it hurts. The parentals won't breathe a word about the transition. For all I know; the human stories could be true. Well, anyway! Today was the worst day EVER! Miss Crawly, my Human studies teacher, ordered us to study a human over the holidays. We record all events our 'subject' participated in, and I thought it was a little too close to stalking for my tastes. The parentals said if I get anything lower than a C+, they will send me to live with Grandma in Queensland. I only knew of one human; she was an older woman living down the street. I studied her for the whole holidays. She was the most boring assignment. I even rearranged her garden gnomes into playful patterns on her front lawn, and I painted happy faces on all her pumpkins growing in the back yard, just to shake things up a little. Unfortunately, when my subject hobbled out into her back garden, she saw the pumpkins clutched her chest and fell to the ground. I was concealed in shadow, trying to put a dress on her scarecrow. I rushed over to see if she was all right. Her lips were blue, and her heart was not beating. I called an ambulance; I stayed with her until they arrived before slipping back into the shadows. I heard one of her neighbours said; she died of a heart attack because some horrible kids had painted her prize-winning pumpkins. I felt terrible; my human subject was dead because of me. By the last day of the holidays, I knew that I was doomed to fail. I thought I could talk the crazy teacher out of her insane scoring. I was explaining to her what happened to my subject. Ha. No, go! The old hag gave me a D-, and a rumour started around school that I stalked the human I studied and chucked her over the weir!  I am so boned. When the parentals find out, I will be pigmy-fied. (Hang on there's a parental practically tearing down my door.) Gods! I get no privacy! The parentals invade without notice and when I complain they say, "This is not a democracy; you can have your say when you start paying rent". Yeah, I know! It is not as if I missed the memo, Jeez! It's like listening to a lousy remix! I wish just once; I could tell them to pull their lip over their heads and swallow. I can picture it now. I am running down the street chased by two rabid vampire parents wielding fry pans after my creative suggestion. Fear factor- 98%. (Note to self- no go on the head swallowing.) I may have forgotten to mention it earlier, but I am an only child; therefore, I cannot shout middle child syndrome and get away with things like Danny can. Unlike the other kids, the parentals force me to associate with; I love to read instead of talking. I prefer a book than the company of others. My parent's friends think I am strange. My mother's colleague, George, sneers and pokes me with things; telling me I smell like a human! The parentals think it is funny; I, on the other hand, want to hit him with something, like a piano. Oh, wow, that thought fills me with an incredible sense of glee. My horrible Aunt Selene, whom I despise with each breath, owns a big king poodle name Vane! This dog is the devil himself. The first chance he gets, he sinks his teeth into my leg and growls. I get in trouble for upsetting her baby! Stupid mutt!  The rest of my freakish family are afraid of Monique Montcastle. Ha, I am not! Well, not as much as they are. I do not know her well and have not seen her in years. Grandma is weird. Mum says she is vicious, cruel and would probably make me pull the legs off animals or something. Casper, my cousin, supposedly did that last year.  What a thing to say about your mother. Mine not included. She is a freak, and not in a fun way! I met Grandma once or twice when I was little. All I remember is, she had bright pink hair and blue eyes. She said to my mum once; she was glad I took after my grandfather! Out of my whole family, I only love my Father's Father. The great Lord Dresdorian DragonSpire. The Parentals are more afraid of him; then they are my grandmother. I do not know why they fear him so much. Poppa rocks! He is the coolest male on the planet. I love him to death. When he is around, I can relax and be myself. The parentals would not dare do anything to me with Poppa in the house. I want so much to go with him when he leaves. Mum and Dad threatened me with my life if I breathed a word about anything to him. My mother even went so far as to burn me with a white-hot poker once. I told the teachers at school. Oliver Brown wasn't my name. I was Francesca DragonSpire. My Parents enrolled me under a false name. I still carry the scar branded into my side. I remember screaming so loudly; I thought my lungs would burst. My dad sat at the table, not moving, reading a paper. I could not sleep on my side for weeks. Sometimes the smell of burning meat still gives me nightmares. Oh, No! The Parentals are yelling about my D-; they're coming up the stairs. Queensland, Grandma and Pygmies here I come. (Please gods, let them send me away.) Frankie DS   The heavy beats of waking the demon by BFMV blasted in my ears. The mp4 tucked in the small skull handbag leaning against my thigh.  I asked for an I-touch, but the parentals were scabby about paying out for one last Christmas. However, mum got a diamond bracelet and dad his motorcycle. I was stuck with an MP4 looking like a USB stick on steroids. My eyes flittered around, taking in the scenery passing by. I caught my reflection in the darkly tinted glass window. The fluorescent red hair dye clung in thick strips to my waist-length black hair. I coiled it haphazardly on top of my head held up by two bright green "size 10" knitting needles. I sneered at the face staring back at me. The Kohl eyeliner and red lipstick was a mask to hide the churning ball of fear and self-righteous teenaged anger coiling me in tight knots. I turned away from the glass, and my scorn filled gaze. I peered through the windscreen as we drove up a broad chestnut treelined driveway. The full moon illuminated the vast landscape, dotted with big old trees whose trunks rivalled the width of than a truck. Their branches reached towards the sky, like fingers grasping for the stars above. The long drive curved around through the trees. The tyres of the shining Rolls Royce crunched on the driveway as we made our way up to the house. I arched one thin brow at the most prominent, creepiest mansion. It looked like someone imported a castle owned by the Addams family. The placed drew me in. I felt as if somehow, I had been here before. The sense so strong, I searched my brain for any memories. The mansion was depressingly scary. I fell in love immediately, the vine-covered masonry walls, uninviting, and a little menacing surrounding darkened windows. There was a tower; its window covered in thick greenery. Within the centre of the large round driveway, was a giant water feature. A white marble image of Zeus. The Greek king of the Gods. He was holding a lightning bolt in one hand, while water flowed over and around him. His face set in stern concentration. I wondered if he would aim a lightning bolt at the parentals house. I studied the front of the massive structure; my eyes ran from left to right, up and down the grey stones. Gods, this place is enormous, I thought. "Look its Lurch; I wonder where Thing is hiding." A human man waited in front of the big brownish steel and studded doors leading into the keep. I felt a shiver chase up my spine.        "Damn goose walked over my grave," I whispered. Mark Stanton, esteemed chauffeur to the Montcastle Estate; held the door open as I climbed out of the car. He chuckled; the corners of my lips lifted slightly in mocking amusement. The thick three-inch, knee-high rubber wedges covered in little silver spikes, made dull twin thuds on the stones of the driveway. Black and red lace and cotton swirled around my ankles as the skirt of my dress, fell into place. I peered around me over the lenses of my round glasses. "Go on; he doesn't bite. Your grandmother has been up since before nightfall; she is anxious about meeting you again. Try and take it easy with her; she is not what you think." Mark kept his voice low, only for my ears. "Really, and what do you think I've been told?" Turning my head to peer at him from over the round rims of my sunglasses. "Probably the same things I was when I applied for the position here." He stated. I made an affirmative noise in the back of my throat. "Hmm. Fair enough. Thanks for the ride, Mark." Turning from him, I approached the broad stone staircase looming in front of me. "Welcome Miss DragonSpire. Lady Montcastle is expecting you. If you would follow me, I will take you to her." The older man, another human told me in a stoic voice, once I stood before him. I rolled my eyes behind my sunglasses. "Now I meet heaps of humans, where, were these two guys last term?" The human picked up my bags and walked inside. It was either follow or stand on the front steps all night. I barely managed to keep my tongue behind my teeth before a snide comment shot out of my mouth.  Aunt Selene had been yelling at me for the past eighteen years. "There are two rules a young woman must always remember. It is rude to lurk in doorways and to steel another women's husband should be punishable by death." The last I figured was her bitterness towards Uncle Henry, who ran off with a younger vampire. If I were him, I would have staked the old bat to make sure of my continued peace. Instead, he left the rest of us to put up with her vile humour and sociopathic behaviour.  I crossed the threshold cautiously, my eyes scanning my surroundings. My jaw dropped. The foyer was beyond huge. I would hate to be the poor bugger having to clean this antiquated museum. I thought covertly looking around me at the several suits of armour and ancient tapestries hanging from the walls. As Mark suspected, the parentals said nothing useful about Grandma; besides her being mean, nasty and stuff. They never once said anything about her being loaded. I hit the jackpot! Awesome, expensive tech here I come. "So, they finally let me have you. Good, it is about time, come in here and show your grandmother what they have done to you. Gods know they have had enough time." I jumped at the sound of a voice coming out of the shadows to my left. Done to me, what did she know? I had not breathed a word about the things happening under the parentals roof. I was suddenly nervous and found myself lightly rubbing my stomach. Horrible memories tried to invade, but I squashed them ruthlessly, jerking my hand away from my abdomen. "Stay calm, Frankie, she does not know anything?" I muttered stalking into a formal sitting room. I relaxed my face into my usual expression of bored disdain, not allowing any of my inner apprehension show. I spotted the owner of the voice instantly. A woman sat comfortably in a high backed wooden antique chair. About sixty years old with long hair bound in a long bright blue braid coiled into a bun on top of her head. Her blue eyes were sparkling in her heart-shaped face. She was strikingly beautiful. I could just see the tips of her fangs between her slightly parted lips now kicked up at the corners in a small semblance of a smile. "Hello, Francesca. I am Monique, your Grandmother; please come in." I crossed the room with more confidence than I felt. "Yes, I know who you are. I remember you from when I was little. Thank you for allowing me to stay with you." I replied stonily. Grandma smiled at my tone. "It is alright to be apprehensive, my dear. I understand, no doubt my sister filled your head with nonsense concerning what type of vampire I am." "Yeah, she said you were nasty, and you would keep me locked away somewhere. You would probably torture animals in front of me." I told her truthfully, with a careless shrug of one shoulder. Grandma's eyes narrowed, and she hissed through her teeth. I forced my body to stay where it was when I wanted to run. Fear coursed rapidly through my blood. "That sounds exactly like something Selene would come out withy sister has no sense of when to keep her forked tongue behind her teeth, do you not agree?" she snapped. I nodded, surprised to find I was slightly amused as my grandmother fought to calm her rising temper. Finally, she managed a small smile. "Please sit Francesca. Tell me a little about yourself? I have not seen you since you very young; I am curious about the young woman you have become." "I would rather stand if that is all right with you? I have been sitting for hours. I am eighteen years old and only child. Apart from my human studies class, I am an A+ student. I like music, preferring to read than socializing with my peers. I find polite chitchat irritating and useless. Even though I was born to them, I am nothing like Holly and Benson. I hoped I was adopted, and my real parents would turn up one day and stake the fangers." I replied courteously though somewhat dryly.  "We have much in common. I infinitely prefer books over people. A book does not force you to make polite conversation with persons you do not like. As for you and adoption, I am sorry to tell you dear, but it is not so. I was present at your birth and staking your parents would be inadvisable. The mess would be atrocious." I was surprised; Grandma was not angry. I nodded my head. A small smile threatened to breakthrough. "For the sake of preparation, I must ask. Do you have your fangs?" One elegant eyebrow slightly raised. I rolled one shoulder, uncomfortable. I'd known the question was coming. I had braced for it, but the burn of humiliation stung anyway. "No," I answered in a contemptuous whisper. "Well, that is interesting. Your mother led me to believe, a human woman died. That you were directly involved, I cannot see how, as you do not have your fangs." She sounded a little confused. Sticking my fingers in the sides of my lips, I pulled them wide and opened my mouth, showing her, teeth gums, tongue and throat. The sides of her mouth curved up slightly again. "I did not kill her; it was an accident! A human studies assignment g wrong, unfortunately. The old lady grew pumpkins in her back garden. She was so boring. I wanted her to do something other than sit in her living room knitting. I did not know; her pumpkins were prize-winners. I painted faces on them. One night I was standing in the shadows of her back garden. I was about to put a ball gown on her scarecrow when she walked out of her house. She took one look at her pumpkins and clutched her chest. She died before I could get to her. I did CPR and called the ambulance. It was a heart attack; I heard a neighbour say." I replied quietly, guilt still eating me alive inside. "Oh, Francesca I am so sorry this happened to you. Your neighbour probably already had a heart condition. You could not have known; she would have a heart attack my dear. It is not your fault. I am also sorry to say Holly has lied to me about the incident, it figures. I thought it sounded a little farfetched. I despise liars." I heard her mutter getting swiftly to her feet. To my surprise, she towered over me. Great, a giant vampire grandparent; the wish of every fledgling! I thought sarcastically. "I didn't lie about anything." I bit out, back straight, chin high, eyes snapping with the rise of my temper. My grandmother smiled a little albeit mysterious smile. "Not you, my dear, Selene and Holly. Never mind that now. I like the fact you do not have your fangs; there will be less of their nonsense to reverse. Welcome to my home Francesca. I am glad you have come." I lifted my eyebrow in a mirror image of her earlier action and took a step back. Grandma was studying me silently again. "Yes, is there something you wanted to ask?" Leaning forward slightly. "That's it, that's all there is? 'Welcome to my home!' Nothing else, no humiliating speeches, taunts or lame jokes?" I asked acid, lacing my voice. My anger and humiliation ran deep; I braced myself for the worst. Grandma stunned me into shocked silence. "I would never taunt you. I was twenty before my conversion; you will get yours in time. Fangs are not the be-all and end-all of life. Selene has always harped on about them. I, on the other hand, do not care one jot if you never get them. If you are happy and healthy, I have no issue. Just between us Francesca, your great Aunt did not get her fangs until she was twenty-five. Our parents thought that she might never transition." To say I stood gaping like a big, freakish cod was the understatement of the century. I blinked, stepping back rapidly, my back came up against a thick doorjamb. I was suddenly very unsure and a little afraid. I hated surprises, and this was a big one. "Grandma, Grandma, where are you?" Startled, I turned in time to see my cousin Casper. Mum said Uncle Lance and Aunty Rose sent her to an institution for the criminally insane. Casper walked groggily down the grand stone staircase. The hatred I felt for my mother flashed through me. "Sweetheart, what is it? Are you feeling alright?" Concerned, Grandma crossed swiftly to Casper's side. Interesting, mum said Grandma would not give a flying jot about me. I noted, intrigued. "Yeah, I'm okay, I've been like this all night. I had that nightmare again. The one about the cats pulling their legs off and throwing them at me. Gods, it is so gross." She said, shuffling closer. When she yawned, I saw she did not have her fangs either. "I'm sorry you didn't have a good sleep. If a cat pulled off its legs darling, it would not be able to walk, let alone throw anything at you." Grandma slid her arm around Casper's shoulders. I faced my cousin. "Hiya Spook." I greeted with a small, humourless grin. "Hey, Frankenstein, you're finally here! It's about time. When Grandma said, you were coming to live with us; I was so excited. Take a load off man." Casper winked before yawning again. "I heard you're insane and your parents locked you up?" I told her seriously stepping away from the door. "Ha! No, I had a nightmare I was dumb enough to tell Selene about. She ranted and raved. I was already moving here; I was having some problems at my old school. Dad told Selene they were sending me here for more discipline. He played on the stories Selene tells about Grandma." She replied, screwing up her face. Grandma chuckled. "I hate that fanger; someone should have staked Selene centuries ago," I muttered savagely. Casper agreed, running a hand through her unbound blond hair. "So, you stalked and killed some humans. The rumour mill said you tried to pass the corpses off as your Human Studies assignment." I rolled my eyes and laughed softly. That was very inventive, I thought. "Oh, that was a good one!" Grandma winked at me. I grinned. "Inventive and new! A lot better than the one from school. When did you hear that?" One thin dark brow arched. "Bout two days ago, Dad rang, said he had just spoken to Aunty Millie. He was leaning towards the BS factor and rang to share the good news that Grandma was taking in a serial killer." Casper counted with a shrug. "The parentals threatened, If I got less than a C+ in my report, they were sending me here. My Human Studies teacher gave us an assignment; we had to follow a human subject for a week or so. I followed an older woman from down the street. She was so damn boring I painted faces on her prize-winning pumpkins, she had a heart attack and died. I got a D- for the assignment, and the parentals sent me to Grandma. Anyway, I don't have my fangs yet, and I certainly do not have the yen to kill any humans." I grumped sourly in response. "Shake it off cuz; I don't have my fangs yet either. They will come when they come. Alas, I am not in a hurry." Casper said, waving it off. Grandma put soft hands on our shoulders. She sighed with us and muttered something about idiots only getting taller and no brighter. "Don't worry girls. We know what is true and what is not. Even if fools constantly surround us." We both nodded. With a hand, still, on our shoulders, Grandma led us into the dining room for dinner. "Is everything alright, dear?" Grandma asked. I hesitated in the doorway to the dining room. I had only sat at a table a dozen times in my life, and those times were when Poppa was around. On all the other occasions, I was to sit in my room where I kept all my food. "Yes, ma'am, I'm fine. Thank you." I answered flinching when the door to the kitchen swung open. A woman pushing a trolley laden with food smiled at me. "Jensa Fenton, this is Francesca DragonSpire, my granddaughter. She has come to live with us, like Casper." Grandma informed the human woman cheerfully. "DragonSpire! Gracious, I know your grandfather very well. He and I've been close friends for over thirty years. It is wonderful to meet you; at last, he told me all about your wonderful taste in Christmas dresses. You can call me Cookie, everyone does. Why don't you sit across from Miss Casper?" Cookie grinned. "I assumed Poppa didn't have friends because everyone is afraid of him?" I asked hesitantly. Cookie laughed sliding covered plates onto the table. "Oh, they are terrified of him. However, he keeps that side of himself all wrapped up and tucked away in my presence, or he doesn't get fed. He's quite partial to my apple crumble and Boiled fruit cakes." She said in a conspirator's whisper. I grinned, instantly liking the woman. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you Cookie," I replied before she bustled back into the kitchen. I was stunned to find; scary old Grandma was having the same problem as my cousin and me on the moronic family front. Aunt Selene was her older sister and started the same kind of crazy BS about her. Being so closely related to demented fangers, I asked her why my mother told the same stories as Selene. Surprisingly, she answered without tearing my head off. I figured she would brush me off with something along the lines of 'it was a long time ago dear, I'd rather not talk about it'. "After your Grandfather, William died. Several agents from child safety arrived out of the blue. They entered my house and took Holly. No explanation. Only a warrant to remove her from my care I fought for three years to find Holly. You can imagine my shock to find my sister in possession of my child. The council finally relented and told me why Holly was taken from me. An anonymous call reported I was emotionally unfit to care for a child. Selene moved to New South Wales when word reached me that I knew. The council denied me access. My daughter did not even know I was her mother until she turned fifteen. Lance, accidentally let it slip one night during dinner." Grandma suddenly appeared every inch the feared vampire; mum had always warned me about, and there was a dangerous twinkle in her cold blue eyes. Casper suddenly reached for the older woman's hand; she squeezed it tightly, comfortingly. I hesitated before I too reached out. "All this soul-bearing is making me hungry, shall we dig in?" She said, taking the lid off one platter. Roast Chicken. It had been so long since I'd eaten anything other than a frozen dinner. I had a feeling that in this house if they were going to serve food like this all the time, I was going to need bigger jeans. When I told Casper, she laughed, sending me a conspirator's wink. Grandma grinned. It was going to be cool to have someone laugh with me instead of at me. Maybe failing the first semester was going to be good for me after all.