Diamond in the Rough: Semester One: Jewel Academy Book One

by Jami Klein

  “Who’s your favorite vampire?” he asked in my ear as she coalesced into existence behind me.

  “I liked Gary Oldman, but I’ve got to say Dominic Purcell in Blade Trinity was pretty hot as well.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said.

  “Classic movies.”

  “If you say so, but I’ve come to seal our deal.”

  I knew what deal he meant and I wasn’t sure if that was dread or anticipation in my stomach. “You found something out about my dad?”

  He nodded and handed me a small wooden chest. “You don’t even want to know what I had to do to get my hands on this. Read them now, because I’ve got to get them back into the closet before she comes back from her staff meeting.”

  I clutched the box tightly and bit into my lower lip. It felt heavy like there were years and years of letters kept inside and I wondered what I would find once I opened it. I sat down on a large rock placing the box before me as I slowly lifted off the lid.The first item I spotted was a yellowed black and white picture, that may have once been in sepia tone – in it my father was dressed as a Count Dracula and the woman he was standing next to a Frankenstein’s bride. I perked a brow and turned the photo over.

  Sam and Veronica Samhain Dance 1987.

  I placed the picture to the side of the box and pulled out a blue envelope with Veronica’s name written – in my father’s distinct cursive handwriting.

  “Did you read these?”

  Andrei sat down next to me on the rock. “Nah, didn’t seem right. I’d have to look her in the eye and if there was something really freaky in those letters, I’d never be able to keep it from her.”

  “Do you think I’m invading her privacy?”

  “It’s not like she would have shared it with you. If it brings you some answers about your father, it’s worth it.”

  I sensed he was sincere, and I slid the letter from the envelope and began to read.

  Dear Vee,

  I don’t know how to keep them from trying to use my skills in ways I don’t want to use them. I thought that coming to the Academy would keep me safe, but honestly, I’m feeling it’s more of a danger to you – to us both. I’m going to get out of here. If I just quit using the power it can’t harm anyone, can it? That’s what the essay was meant to teach. Some powers shouldn’t be used – then nobody can ever corrupt the power wielder. Elsa is angry, still. I am worried she may try to cast a spell that might hurt you out of jealousy. Please, take the amulet I gave you and never take it off. It’s the only thing I know that will keep you safe. I’ll always love you, Veronica, but I’m a dangerous person and the last thing I want to do is cause you unnecessary pain. Keep the amulet, and remember all of our good times – especially the ones at Hellion.

  Forever yours,

  Mark Bragg

  As I read over the last line, I wondered what my father meant by if he just didn’t use the power? Had someone tried blackmailing him into doing things with his mental prowess that he didn’t think were right? If so, who was that someone? And who the hell was Elsa? I pulled out another letter and noticed it had my father’s name.

  “So we could have been brother and sister,” Andrei said. Apparently, he had decided to read the letter over my shoulder after all.

  “Could you not,” I huffed. “Why is the name Elsa familiar?”

  “Elsa Carrier maybe?”

  “That witch from homeroom. I wonder if that’s why she hates me.” I unfolded the next letter.

  Dear Mark,

  I will never understand why you chose to make a laughingstock of me to the entire Academy! We had been going strong for nearly two years – two years, and you just threw it away for that trampy writer library rat! I am an upper-level witch and we could have practically ruled the world together, but you had to go and hook up with Veronica and now, I swear on everything I believe in I am going to make you pay for it. You’re pathetic and weak and you may have been born with some of the strongest mental abilities in modern times but you refuse to use it – it’s like mining raw oil and never having it refined – useless! I can’t believe I ever agreed to date you, and worse yet, that I lost my virginity to you just for you to go hook up with someone else! I hate you, Mark Bragg, and for as long as we both live I swear I’m going to exact my revenge. Someday, when you least expect it. Mark my words.

  Elsa Elizabeth Carrier

  “Ewwww,” Andrei and I said at the same time.

  “Where’s the brain bleach?” I asked. “How did your mom even get this letter?”

  “My mom has ways.”

  “So gross. My father was involved in a love triangle.”

  “No, I think Ms. Carrier didn’t get it in her head it was over.”

  A sudden unease washed over me as I glanced back down at what she had written, I hate you, Mark Bragg, and for as long as we both live I swear I’m going to exact my revenge. My eyes fall on the final line and I sucked in a breath, Someday, when you least expect it.

  “The list of suspects keeps getting longer. Why didn’t he tell me all of this?” I asked, feeling a rush of gloom fill my chest as I remembered him. Andrei sighed and took the box.

  Just keep moving forward, Lola. In time, I promise everything will begin to make perfect sense. I paused, glancing around and furrowing my eyebrows – I could have sworn it was my father’s voice, like a whisper in the breeze, meant to enlighten only me – as if he had never really left my side.

  “You okay?”

  “I don’t know. I hear voices sometimes.”

  He winced. “Do you think you’re losing your mind?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Good. People who think that, generally aren’t. It’s when you’re convinced that the parade of white rabbits carrying giant carrots is real, then it’s time for the really good meds.” He paused and pursed his lips. “So you want to do this now? Or do you want me to fly up to your room in bat form and accost you in your bed?”

  “Now who’s watched too many movies.” I thrust my wrist at him. “Go ahead. Take your pint.”

  “What happened to your bracelets?” He asked as his hand encircled my wrist.

  Rats! I should have known that he’d sense they were gone. “That’s my little secret.”

  “That’s not a little secret,” he said.

  “Will you keep it for me?”

  Andrei nodded. “As long as you don’t renege on our deal.”

  “I won’t.”

  He leaned his head down and I winced. “Is this going to hurt?”

  “Just for a few seconds.”

  I felt his teeth prick like two needles at the Red Cross. I felt the pull of my blood through my veins and I got scared. I could feel my pulse banging against my flesh at both wrists. Could he hear it? I remembered what Priscilla had said about open wounds and bloodlust, but what would the sound of a rushing – and terrified, pulse do to in addition to that? Would it send Andrei into a blood frenzy like a raging wolf? What if he didn’t stop? What if he drained me dry?

  “Be calm. I would never hurt you.”

  I heard the vampire hiss in my head, like I had Stefan. It should have calmed me, but it didn’t.

  “How are you doing that?” I asked.

  Andrei continued to suck the blood from my wrist. It didn’t hurt anymore. It didn’t feel much like anything. It wasn’t so bad once you got used to it. I wondered if those those were planted in my head from Andrei.

  “No,” his hiss was back in my head. “I didn’t need to calm you. You came to your senses all by yourself.”

  “Are we going to always be able to talk to each other like this?”

  “Yes.”

  I knew from experience that could come in handy.

  “What do you know about demons?”

  Andrei choked on the blood, but continued to answer me in my head. “I know enough to avoid them, why?”

  “I think there’s one on the loose here at the Academy. I think it killed Delia Br
agg, my cousin.”

  Andrei didn’t seem surprised by the revelation. “Did everyone know?”

  “The last name kind of gives it away.”

  “I never knew her. I think my dad and Delia were involved in something. They died around the same time.”

  “I thought Stefan Harte killed Delia?”

  “No, he found her and you know how rumors start.”

  “I do indeed,” Andrei said and lifted his mouth from my wrist. His teeth were covered with my blood and I couldn’t control a shudder of revulsion.

  “That wasn’t so bad,” I said.

  “You’re putting yourself in danger for no reason. You don’t know if there really is a demon around. You just have the opinion of a half feral lion. Just because he believes a demon killed Delia instead of him, doesn’t mean it’s true. That’s the catch-22 about being able to skim thoughts and read minds.”

  “Or maybe, she was killed by a vampire.”

  I hadn’t heard Stefan approach, but he stood directly behind Andrei. The glint of glowing golden eyes flickered towards me.

  “It can speak?”

  “Get away from her, Andrei.”

  “I’m all right,” I said, but I wobbled when I stood up too fast. Too much blood loss.

  “What have you done, you stupid idiot?” Stefan snarled.

  “You should mind your own business, pussycat.” Andrei spat, as he turned to face him.

  “She is my business. She’s under my protection.”

  “What a coincidence, she’s also under mine.”

  “Guys, there’s no need to fight. It’s all right. I trust you both.”

  “You shouldn’t,” Stefan said.

  “Leave my little diamond alone. She’s adorable when she’s being so naive.”

  “I could snap your spine in two with just a flex of my fingers.” Stefan wiggled them at

  Andrei.

  “And I could hold you with my will while I drained every last drop of blood from your body.”

  Stefan lashed out with a punch so brutal and fast, I felt the wind of it. But Andrei had turned to mist. His mocking laughter was crisp on the night air.

  “Thank you for an enjoyable evening. If I find anything else out, I’ll let you know.”

  “He can be annoying,” I admitted. “But he’s a good guy, for a vampire.”

  “Go back to the dorms,” Stefan said. “You’re useless to me tonight. The blood loss has made you weak. You know he can control you now?”

  “And I can control him. Trust must start somewhere. I’m sick of all these secrets and lies. I need to know the truth. And we’re all going to have a part to play in that.”

  Stefan turned into a lion and ran off into the forest.

  “Glad you’re on board with this,” I said and headed back to the room.

  Chapter Eleven

  When I got up the stairs, though. A warning hit me. Something was going down inside my room. I was going to risk Priscilla being pissed off again, but I needed to know what I was walking into. It was easier this time to slip my consciousness into the room.

  “You don’t control the coven, Priscilla!” Maya said. “You may think you are the leader and all, but Abigail and I both have more powers than you do. And since you’re outnumbered, I think that majority should rule, and we should choose someone else to lead the group.”

  “This is my coven, Maya. I started it. Who do you think you are, coming in and trying to disrupt it?”

  “You keep on acting like you’re stronger than me – you’re not.”

  “I will burn the hair from your scalp,” Priscilla threatened. “If you hadn’t messed with magic you didn’t understand, Delia would still be alive.”

  “Guys, don’t fight,” Betty said, trying to be the peacekeeper.

  “Don’t blame me for that. You know who's responsible,” Maya retorted. “If she hadn’t decided to steal my spell, then maybe she wouldn’t have wound up dead.”

  “You’re heartless, Maya. You only care about yourself.” Priscilla stood up. I wondered if I should make like I was invisible again. If I didn’t move or make a sound, Priscilla probably wouldn’t notice that I was eavesdropping again.

  “If you don’t start taking a more active role with making the spells work then Abigail and I will be forced to act without you. Without the coven’s magic protecting you, you may end up being the next to die. Especially, if we awaken the demon.”

  Were these idiots summoning demons? Stefan would kill them. It would explain how the demon got inside the Jewel Academy.

  “You don’t know the first thing about summoning a demon,” Priscilla said.

  Well, that was good. But then, Maya chuckled.

  “Heh, if you only had a clue how strong I really am you might retract that statement.”

  “Whatever, I don’t have time for this. You two, get out. Betty stay here.” Priscilla pointed to the door and Abigail and Maya left.

  I willed myself invisible and they clomped down the stairs right next to me. I wasn’t sure who I wanted to listen to more. But in the end, I decided to stick with Maya. What had happened with Abigail? Just a few days ago, she was on Priscilla’s side.

  “She’s getting pathetic and dictatorial. I can’t stand her anymore.” Abigail muttered.

  “Could have fooled me. You acted like you were her best friend the other day,” Maya spat at her.

  “She was the most powerful of the three of us to start, and you know it.”

  “Yeah, but it was you and I that summoned Lined – not Prissy witch.” Maya hissed. “Ever since Delia died she has been a total waste. She might as well be a freaking diamond.”

  Who was Lined? Was that the name of Stefan’s demon?

  “I had hoped that her new roommate would make a welcome fifth – too bad she is a freaking diamond.”

  They moved out of my range and I switched back to Priscilla and Betty.

  “I need you to back me on this,” Priscilla was saying. “You need to stand up for yourself. They’re out of control and someone is going to get hurt.”

  “But what if they’re right? If we can get the power from the summoning, no one would ever dare to hurt us.”

  “I can’t believe you’re this stupid. Just because they’re founding families doesn’t protect them as much as they think it does. Abigail is a skip generation witch and Maya is a Giles. You know what that means.”

  I didn’t, but I knew where to find that stuff out.

  ***

  I made my way to the library. There was no way I was going to go back to the dormitory until Priscilla had a chance to settle down.

  “Oh,” Ms. Barnes’ surprised voice echoed in my ears as I nearly ran straight into her. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again until tomorrow.” I hid my blush and pretended not to know that my father loved her and left for her safety.

  Yet if he really loved her, how could he have married my mother?

  Ms. Barnes was waiting for an answer. I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I have some things I need to study. Can you tell me where I can find the founders’ archive?”

  “For Jewel Academy? There were only three families involved with founding the academy, but you can find all the information on aisle twenty-one.” She pointed toward the direction of that aisle, and I smiled widely.

  “Thank you, Ms. Barnes. I appreciate it.”

  I made my way down the aisle and quickly found an old book dated from the year 1799 – when Jewel Academy had first been secretly founded as a special school for gifted pupils – though I knew this was just a cover-up to keep the students’ actual reasons for attending from the public. I flipped to the first page and found a passage regarding the founders and smirked as my eyes wandered across the page and spotted a familiar name: Rudolph Giles – Maya’s great-great-grandfather, if my suspicions were correct. I took a few pictures to help me research more at a later time, but I made a mental note of everything I read. After I replaced the book on the shelf. I moved to the opposit
e side of the library where witchcraft and its history could be found. The first volume I pulled out was a collection of stories regarding genetic inheritance, and skip generation possibilities.

  A skip-generation witch is a witch born to two seemingly normal non-magical humans: those who exhibit no remarkable senses or powers whatsoever and yet somehow produce offspring who begin showing signs of power typical in their pre-pubescent years through adolescence resulting in chaotic situations when untrained witches or warlocks either intentionally, or accidentally, utilize skills that are paranormal or supernatural in nature.

  Had my father been a skip generation witch? And that’s why his spell on the candy man had been so powerful?

  These individuals often wind up institutionalized and rarely receive adequate instruction on their natural skillset. Persons who are skip-generation witches often lose their mental facilities and become careless, power-hungry and driven by greed. It is critical to a skip-generation witch to find a proper instructor or tutor to avoid the temptation and lure of otherworldly power. Skip-generation witches are likened to a baby venomous snake – they do not fully understand their power, nor its strength, and often create havoc when spellcasting without guidance.

  I blew out a sigh. Was that why my father had forsaken his magic and lived his life as a near mundane human? And then I came along and threw a wrench into his plans.

  But this was a problem for Priscilla’s coven. I had thought that Maya was the stronger one. Clearly, that was only in dominance not in actual ability, but what did that say about Priscilla? If Maya was influencing Abigail in a negative way – so she could amplify her own spells based off Abigail’s natural skills, that meant that Abigail was basically being used and Priscilla’s coven didn’t mean anything to Maya in the long run.

  What was Maya’s angle and where did being a Giles come into play with it? I might have to admit I had been eavesdropping so that Priscilla could fill in the gaps. Why did it seem like for everything I uncovered, ten more questions popped up? As much as I hated it, I had to return to my dorm.