by Jami Klein
"What's our schedule for tomorrow?" I asked, following Priscilla to a room at the end of the hallway on the sixth floor. Number 13. I wasn't sure if that was a joke or not. When I wasn't so brain dead, I'd count the rooms and see if we really were the thirteenth room on this floor. Shouldn’t the last room be numbered six or seven, if there were thirteen of us?
"Tomorrow’s Saturday," Priscilla said, as if I was a moron. She flopped on a bed that was decked out with throw pillows and stuffed animals. The other bed in the room was bare, with a lumpy looking mattress. However, all my bags were neatly stacked at the headboard. Had we even packed sheets for me?
I turned to ask Priscilla another question, but she had put on headphones and was reading a book. I dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone. No signal. And my battery was running low. But I had all my books and music already downloaded. Fishing around for my power cord, I plugged it back in so it would have a full charge for later, and began the depressing act of unpacking.
After I unpacked everything and stowed my empty luggage under the bed, I put all my clothes and school supplies away. But I didn't have any bedding. Priscilla was still lost in her book, so I decided to see if there were any extra sheets and blankets kicking around somewhere.
The hallway we were in was eerily quiet, but I heard noises coming from the floor below us and made my way down there. There was a large room that took up the entire floor. I saw a ping pong table, some old-school video games, a dart board and a bunch of couches. There was an enormous wide screen television that was playing The Bachelor, The Bachelorette or some other dating reality show. Most of the kids that weren't playing games were riveted to the screen.
I was about to leave when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. But when I looked straight at it, it was gone. Glancing away, I saw it again. This time, I didn't turn my head, but tried to get a better look at it. It was a creature. Not human, but I wasn't sure if it was a shapeshifter or not. It was hiding behind a glamour of shadows and with the stupid bracelets on, I couldn't get a good read on the mind behind the cloaking spell.
Moving towards it, I realized it was standing in front of an alcove that led out to a balcony. The closer I got to the figure, the more it shifted out of my line of sight. But it was beckoning me to keeping coming. This probably wasn't a good idea. It would serve my mom and Agent Fines right if I got killed and eaten by a goblin on my first night.
The balcony was shaped in a half circle and it overlooked the floors below and above us. The heavy, fabric curtain that had been pulled back to show the room, swung down as I walked to the railing. It cut off all noise from the common room and the grating voice of the television announcer gleefully spewing schadenfreude all over the TV show.
"Okay, I'm here. Show yourself."
For a moment, I didn't think anything was going to happen. I looked up and down and didn't see much of anything. The other balconies on this level seemed to be empty, but across the building, I could see into the shifter's balconies.
I ducked close to the curtain when Stefan stepped into the alcove across from me. What was he doing? He gripped the balcony rail with white knuckles and then leaped up and over the railing. Unable to stop myself, I peered over my railing and saw him jump from shifter balcony to shifter balcony until he reached the ground floor where I lost sight of him.
"Where the heck is he going?" I wondered, still peering over the edge.
“Don’t fall,” a slick voice said in my ear.
It took all I had not to jump. I gripped the railing tighter and ignored the tingles of danger going up and down my spine. I recognized Andrei’s voice. Swallowing hard, I turned to face him.
He was smirking at me, a hint of fang showing.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be here,” I said, trying to take deep breathes to calm my heart. I didn’t want to excite the vampire into doing something that was going to hurt a lot – for me.
“I’m not.”
Jerking my thumb over my shoulder, I said, “Doesn’t look like it’s a hard and fast rule that we have to stay put.”
“There’s a lot of us and not that many admins. As long as it stays peaceful, we don’t get hassled too much. You should join us out at Hellion Falls. We usually have some sort of Fall Festival get together – you know where we all sneak out; all of the factions and we go have a major raging party down there complete with kegs and the whole jazz”
“Really? And the teachers haven’t figured that out yet?”
“Well, I’m sure they have. But they never come bust it up. It’s pretty much unspoken Jewel Academy tradition.”
“Do the Enforcers have a problem with it?” I asked, wondering if it was worth the risk.
“They’re the biggest keg hogs on the planet.”
I hid a grin.
“If you want, I can take you there some night so you can get familiar with the place.”
A night time excursion with a vampire? That didn’t sound like a bright idea at all. But then again, the really fun stuff seldom was. “Where’s is it?”
“It’s on the grounds, but it takes a bit to get out there. There are a couple of footpaths. The easiest one to find runs the length of the wrought iron fence starting at the gate. It runs off toward the left of the gate back toward the trees. It’s a hike though. At least two and a half miles. Unless of course you’re with me, I can get us there faster.”
I wonder if he meant he could fly. I tried to picture flying with a vampire and my brain shut down. “How big is this place?”
“The acreage here is massive. I forget how many square feet but I’ve heard it takes about two full days to fully walk the landscape,” Andrei said.
“Hmm, well it’s a good thing I enjoy hiking,” I replied.
“You shouldn’t walk around here alone. Not everyone here is a white-collar criminal.”
I opened my mouth to tell him I wasn’t a criminal at all, but of course I was.
“What about the Enforcers? Aren’t they here for our protection?”
Andrei snorted. “They don’t have any real authority here. Not yet. They’re high school kids same as us. Headmistress Magee does her best to keep everyone in line, though.”
“This is one weird high school. Do you attend classes during the day?”
Andrei looked at me like I was an idiot. “Day walkers are a little too old to be in high school. And speaking of which, I’ve got to get to class before I get detention…again.”
“Night school?” I grinned.
“There’s no other kind for us. But before I go, the reason I came up here was to offer you a deal.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What kind of a deal?”
“You want those bracelets off? I can break them. I’m not effected by the anti-magic spell. My powers aren’t magical, they’re supernatural.”
“What do you want in return?” I said suspiciously.
“What all vampires want. Blood.”
I eyeballed the drop from the alcove. I wasn’t a werewolf or werelion, so I’d probably break every bone in my body on the way down. I opened up my mouth to scream for help, but Andrei held up a finger.
“I don’t require much. A pint a month until Yule break.”
I did a quick calculation in my head. “Four pints of blood?”
“Agree, and you’ll be free of those bracelets tonight.”
Tempting. So tempting. I hated that I was actually considering it. My dad and I had given blood to the Red Cross a few times. It couldn’t be much different. And I really would feel better if I wasn’t hindered by the nullification field the bracelets constantly emitted.
“How would you take the blood?”
Andrei reached out and took my hand. Unlike everyone else I knew, he didn’t flinch back when the bracelets touched him. His fingers were cold, but strong. I resisted the urge to yank my hand away. I didn’t want to offend him. He was the closest thing I had to making a friend today. I had a feeling that Priscilla and the r
est of her coven wouldn’t have peed on me if I was on fire.
“I would drink from your wrist.”
I couldn’t stop the shiver that came over me. His dark eyes were intense and slightly tinged in red.
“Would it hurt?”
“Not if you’re willing.”
It was the perfect solution. I should be jumping at the chance to be free of the bracelets. There were warnings flashing in my brain vehemently opposed to being Andrei’s blood donor. But I didn’t know why.
I pushed out with my mind out of habit and felt the familiar creep of nausea as the bracelets blocked me, but when our eyes met, I caught of spark of something he was keeping from me. Something that he was hoping I wouldn’t know.
“Are there side effects?” I was hoping he’d joke about giving me some orange juice and a cookie, but instead something flickered in his eyes. I ignored the stabbing pain in my temple from the very slight use of my power.
“No,” he said.
I yanked my hand away at the obvious lie. I hadn’t even needed to use my power. He had been that obvious and now I felt like I was going to throw up. “Go to class and leave me alone.”
Andrei shook his head, his lips twisting in derision. “You’re making a mistake.”
“I’ve made them in the past and I’ll keep making them.”
Stepping back, he gradually faded into mist and then floated off the alcove balcony.
“Nice exit,” I muttered. I craned my neck over the side to see if I could track where he was going.
“What are you doing?”
I spun around, my fists raised ready to do battle.
Priscilla raised an eyebrow at me.
“You need a bell around your neck,” I murmured, dropping my hands. Throwing up or passing out right about now seemed like a good idea.
“You shouldn’t be staring over at the shifter balconies. You might provoke one of them.”
“And then what happens?” Would everyone gather round like it was Fight Club or something?
“As I said, I don’t need a repeat of my last roommate. Come on. You shouldn’t be wondering around all alone at night.” She waved me back inside.
“Why? Is it not safe?”
“Vampires, werekin, and witches.”
“Sounds like a sick metal band.”
Priscilla frowned at me when I threw horns and banged my head.
Okay not a metal fan. And still no sense of humor. Fine.
“Until you make alliances, you’re going to be vulnerable. Just like every other high school out there.”
She was right. “What do you know about Andrei?”
“I don’t run with the blood sucker crowd.” Priscilla wrinkled her nose. “But he’s a player. If you caught his eye, it’s just because you’re new. Don’t let it go to your head.”
“I’ll try not to,” I muttered as we strode back into the room with the glued-to-the-TV students. I motioned toward them as we moved down the hallway, “What’s so engrossing about watching The Bachelor?” I asked.
“The lure of true love conquering all, I suppose.” Priscilla favored me with another one of her sneers.
“I don’t think that’s love.”
“Doesn’t matter as long as people believe the lie.”
“What lie?”
“That they can change the bad boy into being good.”
Like Andrei? But it wasn’t Andrei’s red tinged eyes that I was thinking about. Stefan’s golden eyes came to mind.
“How long has Stefan been here at Jewel Academy?”
“Ever since he was a little boy. Why are you so curious anyway? He’s death on four feet.”
“I like cats.” I muttered. It was true. I had found a litter of feral under a dumpster on Grand Avenue. Even though they hissed and scratched, I managed to bring them to the local shelter. My mother had a fit and had threatened me to make me get a rabies shot, but my father had managed to settle her down and they compromised with a Mag-Scan. The magical chamber had confirmed I didn’t have any diseases, but it had flagged me as a mentalist—which aided in my parents’ decision to home school me in magic and send me to a mundane middle school.
“He’s a lion, not even close to being domesticated,” Priscilla said.
She opened the door to our room and I walked in—my eyes darting to my bed and the neatly folded blankets that had somehow magically appeared there. I frowned and pointed at the bedding.
“Where did that come from?”
“Headmistress Magee brought it for you. Like magic.” She chuckled.
I sat down on the mattress edge and pursed my lips. Had she been spying on us? Reading my mind from a distance? I really shouldn’t be this paranoid, but anything was possible here. “What do you know about her?” I asked.
“Magee’s been here forever. One of the founding members of the school. Other than that, I don’t know that much. She does know how to throw one hell of a party when it comes to Samhain.”
“She mentioned decorating for Halloween.”
“Yeah, it’s my favorite time in this place. The local kids go nuts.”
I twisted one of the bracelets around my wrist. Maybe I’d have them off in time to celebrate Samhain.
“You said you were in for mind control. Who did you do it on?” Priscilla asked.
“Some pervy jerk that had it coming.”
“He had it coming?” Priscilla arced an eyebrow at me. “You sound like a gangster. What did you do to him? Make him act like a gorilla or something?”
“I made him give my mother a raise and buy me a car.”
Priscilla gaped at me. “Shut up. You can do that.”
I waggled my wrists. “Not anymore.”
“Better be careful saying things like that. Pretend like you’ve learned your lesson and they’ll get off your case.”
“I did learn my lesson.”
“That’s the spirit. You probably also shouldn’t go around telling people you did that.”
“Yeah, the Enforcers,” I muttered.
Priscilla sighed. “There are more than just the Enforcers to worry about here. Having those things?” She eyed my bracelets and grimaced. “I would do everything they asked me to do to get them off as quickly as possible. It dangerous to have your powers bound around here.”
“I noticed. What else can I do to speed up the process?” I wondered if she would mention brokering a deal with a vampire.
“Just do what Magee asks and stay out of trouble. I’m sure they’ll take the bracelets off soon enough. Until then, I would steer clear of anywhere dark around this place, like secret alcoves the upperclassmen use to make out with their baes.”
I cringed.
“I don’t have a bae.”
“Uh huh.”
After what I had seen earlier, Priscilla’s words were hella unsettling. I didn’t know whether to push for more information or shut my mouth, but Priscilla answered the question for me as she hit the light and plunged us into darkness. I guess it was bedtime.
“Goodnight, Lola.”
“Night,” I murmured, leaning back against the mattress.
I stared up at the ceiling thinking about Andrei and Stefan. as my eyes fluttered toward the ceiling. Tomorrow, I’d hit the library and archives to learn everything I could about my father. Since arriving at Jewel Academy, I had learned two very important things: my father had been sent here, which meant that like me he wasn’t always perfect. And, secondly, it wasn’t nearly as safe as Agents Fines and Jackson had assured my mother and I that it would be.
Chapter Four
Mornings always came earlier than I wanted them to, but today was different. Today was the first day in ages that I could learn something new about my dad. There was even the possibility that I could learn things my mother didn’t even know. The blankets Headmistress Magee had given me were surprisingly comfortable, and I was thankful I hadn’t been given one of those itchy wool Army blankets – prison blankets. I tossed them from my body and gl
anced over to see Priscilla sleeping soundly with one of those fancy embroidered eye masks for blocking out the sun.
It had a black cat seated beside a broom and witch’s hat in sequins on it. I shook my head. How fitting. She certainly had the diva witch game down pat. I grabbed my clothes and headed into our bathroom down the hall. It was outfitted in the same golden theme as the witches’ staircase. I was pretty posh and I wondered if the rest of the campus was as fancy. I hurried to shower. I was super anxious to learn more about my dad. When I finished and emerged from the showers everything was still quiet for a Saturday morning. I snuck back into the room and just as I was about to shut the door, Priscilla popped up into a sitting position.
“Where were you?” Priscilla asked, taking off her sleeping mask and tossing it her bedside table.
“I went to take a shower. I got lucky. There wasn’t a line.”
“Not at this goddess awful hour.” She yawned. “Why are you up so early?”
“I’m going to check out the library.”
“On a Saturday? Why would you go do that?”
“I like reading.” I hoped she left it at that. I really didn’t want to get into a long heartfelt discussion about my dad. Priscilla didn’t seem like the warm fuzzy type that I wanted to spill my guts too. Not yet anyway.
“Hmm, well I recommend the Archive.”
“Which one?”
Priscilla giggled like I said something funny again. I was getting sick of that reaction, but I wasn’t about to show my ignorance by asking for more information.
“You need to check out the rituals some of the old world witches used to do around here. They really messed up the land.” She got up and stretched.
“Old world? How old?” I asked.
“It had been going on for generations, but the first to consecrate the land were the Native Americans. There’s some crazy stuff that goes on after dark here. Uneasy spirits and magical creatures that got out of the lab.”
“Wait, is Jewel Academy is built on Native American burial grounds?” This was like the start of every eighties horror movie that my father forced me to watch with him. “Or like Jurassic Park for mad scientist mages?”