Lorelei's School of Deviltry, Semester One: An Academy for Supernaturals

by SF Benson

  Chapter Nineteen

  The crux of our plan hinged on getting Samantha and a faculty member in the same place at the same time. I seriously didn’t see it happening. It seemed beyond anything we could do.

  Milos suggested coercing a faculty member to help us out. We just had to find the right one. Immediately, we ruled out the headmistress. Undoubtedly, I would be blamed for stirring up trouble where none existed. Who we needed was someone a little more malleable. Instantly, I thought of Mr. Olin.

  The mage seemed easily duped. Besides, he already considered me an instigator. If I played my part correctly, Mr. Olin might forget his personal feelings about me and check into our allegations. If not, I might find myself effectively removed from campus along with the others.

  Before I could put things into motion, however, I had to deal with the much-anticipated humiliation waiting for me in Politics. As soon as I agreed to step down from the election, I realized I’d have to deal with Kamila flaunting her unearned win. When I pushed open the door, I soon discovered she hadn’t planned on being gracious. Miss Vamptastic was practically crowing her victory to anyone willing to listen.

  I rolled my eyes. Why on earth did she have to be so obnoxious? Something told me Kamila would have been that way whether she was a vamp or a human. Thinking I could take my seat unnoticed, I found an empty desk at the back of the room and sat down. As I opened my bag, I heard her chilly voice.

  “Ah, the loser has finally arrived.” The words practically curled from Kamila’s blood-red lips. Other students draped over the vamp who was busy holding court in the front of the room. She leaned back on Professor Malachi’s desk and crossed her long legs. Bouncing her stiletto-clad foot, Kamila said, “Will we hear more of your eloquent, yet inappropriate words, during your concession speech?”

  All the vampires standing near her looked my way. Some drooled. Others scowled. Suddenly, I had an idea of how a piece of meat in a butcher shop felt—threatened and utterly alone. If somebody would pass me a roll of wrapping paper, I’d gratefully hide.

  Hide?

  Since when did I shirk from a challenge?

  Rather than allowing Kamila to get under my skin, I pushed back my shoulders and held my chin high. Better. “There won’t be a concession speech since I didn’t concede. It was more like I was convinced to step down.”

  Low murmurs bounced around the room. Kamila held up a palm and it stopped, feeding her lust for power. “I didn’t picture you as a sore loser, but that is an inherent issue for Lilin. You think you’re supposed to win at everything. You think you’re entitled.”

  “Look who’s calling the cauldron black.”

  She shook her head with a smirk. “Seriously? You can’t do better than a tired old comeback?” Somebody laughed. “Don’t worry, succubus. I won’t hold it against you.”

  “But I will hold it against you, Miss Tesarova, if you do not get your rear end off my desk.” Professor Malachi strode past me with a steaming mug and his briefcase. The scent of freshly brewed coffee trailed behind him.

  Kamila’s cheeks pinked as she hopped off. In a contrite voice, she said, “Sorry, Professor—”

  “I don’t want to hear it.” He set his cup down. “I also don’t want to hear anything about failed campaigns.” He removed a stack of papers from his bag and placed them on the edge of the desk. “I have your argumentative speeches done. Please collect your papers and go over the attached notes. You’ll spend today’s session reviewing them. I expect the corrected papers turned in by week’s end.”

  Groans went around the room. Students began shuffling toward his desk.

  “No one had a perfect paper. Some…” Professor Malachi glanced at me and continued, “Some of the papers, however, were better than others. Miss Martin, may I have a word in the hall?”

  My body tensed as my breath snagged on something in my chest. What on earth had I done to warrant a personal conversation before class even started? He gestured for me to grab my backpack.

  Oh, that morning was not going as anticipated. I tried hard to inhale and dragged my feet after the instructor.

  Once we reached the hall, Professor Malachi pushed the door closed behind him, sealing out the grumbling and whining. “Young lady, I didn’t call you out here to scold you.”

  “You didn’t?” I asked meekly.

  “No.” He leaned his shoulder against the wall. “I overheard Miss Tesarova’s remarks. You shouldn’t have to put up with her bad behavior.”

  I shrugged. What was I going to do? Complain? To whom?

  Professor Malachi said, “It’s my opinion that you stood a great probability of beating her.” He gazed into the distance for a moment. “May I ask why you stepped down?”

  “I had no choice,” I said truthfully. “The headmistress—”

  “Say no more. I totally understand.” He handed me one of the papers he held. “You were one of the few students who did a commendable job on the assignment. With a few tweaks, it would be worthy of an A.”

  Wow. I didn’t know what to say.

  Wait!

  Why was he giving me my work in the hall? Had I been dismissed from class? Did someone forget to tell me I’d been thrown out of school?

  Rubbing my temple, I slipped my backpack over my arms. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m giving you a pass for today. The assignment is the only thing we’ll do in class. Students who don’t need the help can go to the library to work on it.”

  I exhaled loudly. Seriously, I had expected worse. Suddenly, my mind turned to the vamp I hadn’t seen yet. Milos snuck out from Torin and Nico’s room bright and early. At least, I figured he had since I didn’t notice him leaving.

  “What about Milos Petrovich? How was his paper?” I was curious since we worked on it together.

  Professor Malachi’s lips lifted to one side. “I suspected you helped him with it. Mr. Petrovich isn’t as eloquent a writer as you are, but the same holds for him. If he does a few tweaks, he’ll receive an A as well.”

  “Mind if I tell him?” I asked eagerly. Milos deserved to hear something good.

  “I figured you would.” The teacher handed me Milos’s paper. “Have a good day, Miss Martin. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Actually, the early dismissal worked in my favor. I could put our plan into motion.

  §

  It my first official trip to the advisory wing of the admin building. Frankly, I could have avoided the area all together. Not a sound could be heard, other than my footsteps echoing across the highly polished floor. Every so often a door would open, and the noise was like a crypt vault unlocking.

  Mr. Olin’s office was at the end of the hall. It was an overcrowded room with old tomes stuffed onto shelves and piles of papers stacked high on his desk. Honestly, I wouldn’t have known it was a piece of furniture if I hadn’t seen him sitting on a chair behind it.

  “Take a seat, Miss Martin,” he said without glancing up.

  “Where?” Even the chairs were full of books and file folders.

  “Just—” Mr. Olin finally made eye contact. “Oh, I see. Well, state why you’re here. Be quick about it.”

  Oh, if that were only possible…

  Time for my award-winning performance. “I’m trying hard to fit in, Mr. Olin. You know, toning down my viewpoints?”

  He lowered his pen. “I’m glad to hear it. Is there anything I can help you with?”

  Sucker!

  “Yes. I’m having issues with my dorm adviser, Samantha Rivers.”

  His forehead furrowed. “What type of issues?”

  Gripping my backpack strap, I leaned against the wall—the only available spot of clean real estate. “She seems strangely unaware of the needs of Lilin. I tried to talk to her about Genesis, and she had no clue what I was talking about.”

  Mr. Olin frowned. “That’s odd. Dorm advisers reflect the species of the dorm. Is there anything else I should know about Miss Rivers?”

  “Well…” I
had to punch it up in order for him to investigate. “I thought Samantha might be helpful with the legend of Keleva and Draven. She didn’t seem to know it. She couldn’t even lead me to the right resources in the library.” I sighed and rolled my eyes for effect. “So disappointing.”

  “Disappointing indeed,” Mr. Olin muttered. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. There is definitely something wrong if Miss Rivers cannot expound on such simplistic Lilin facts.” He rose to his feet. “I’ll speak with Mistress Lorelei about the matter. In the meantime, keep this between us. No need alerting Miss Rivers.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Anything else, Miss Martin?”

  “No, sir. That’s all.” As I stepped into the hall, I fought to hide my smile.

  Surely, it couldn’t have been so easy—insert a lie and feed liberally. If Mr. Olin doubted my story, he didn’t let on. How long would it take him to go straight to the headmistress?

  I got my answer sooner than I imagined.

  Clip-clop-clump.

  Mr. Olin nearly knocked me over as he barreled down the corridor. He didn’t even stop to see if I was all right.

  I watched as his loping footfalls grew faint. He made a left at the hallway leading toward the headmistress’s office.

  Mission accomplished.

  The next part of our plan was Milos’s responsibility. His assigned duties with Frigz gave us a chance to know what happened with Mistress Lorelei. Until we heard from Milos, the only thing left to do was continue planting the seeds of chaos.

  §

  London met me right before lunch in the lobby. She grasped my elbow and pulled me into the commons room.

  “How did things go?”

  “Mr. Olin is on board. He headed to the headmistress’s office before I even left the building.”

  “Great! Time for me to do my part.” She reached into the cross-body purse at her side and pulled out a micro tape recorder. London depressed a button, and the tiny cassette started up. Quickly, she pressed the switch again. “I knew this thing would come in handy one day.”

  “Put it away before someone sees you.”

  London had to trick Samantha into believing the vampire adviser was there to see her. It was up to me to get the imposter outside the dorm.

  “We’ll take action before lunch…” London let the words die on her tongue.

  Samantha was coming.

  “Hurry up!” I exclaimed.

  My friend ran over to the front door and slipped out just in time. The dorm adviser came into view with a scowl on her slender face.

  “Why aren’t you at lunch?” She folded her arms.

  “There’s someone here to see you.”

  “Who?” Her gaze darted around the lobby. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “He’s outside. He said he couldn’t come in.”

  Samantha’s jaw dropped. “Ahhh, I know who it is. Go into lunch. I’ll take care of it.”

  Part of me had hoped to see the scene for myself. I’d have to listen to the recording later with everyone else. My stomach grumbled, reminding me I had skipped breakfast.

  Chapter Twenty

  London caught up with me before I left my room. She pushed me back inside and slammed the door behind her.

  “What’s wrong?” I said.

  “You have to listen to this.” She removed the recorder and pressed the button.

  In a matter of minutes, our illustrious adviser implicated herself.

  “What are you talking about? I’ve done nothing wrong,” she said.

  A male’s voice replied, “Not true. I was in Lorelei’s office when Olin barged in, accusing you of improprieties. Care to explain?”

  “I’ve done what’s needed. Times have changed, Cedric.” London was impersonating the adviser from Bloodbath Hall. “If we’re not careful, someone will figure out how to break the curse. Then, what happens?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me,” he said flatly. “After all, it wasn’t my ancestor who broke Morcana’s heart.”

  “My great-great aunt was a fool. No one in their right mind would fall for a bloodsucker.” Samantha’s angry tone softened. “No offense.”

  “None taken. You still haven’t told me what you’ve done.”

  She sighed. “As long as Lilin think they’ll be in trouble for socializing with vampires, I don’t have to do anything else.”

  “But the latest student isn’t being compliant.” It sounded like an accusation.

  “Lilith Martin thinks she’s above the rules. She thinks I don’t know about her and the vampire sneaking around on campus. I’ll have to take more drastic measures, but I must be careful. I think she already suspects something.”

  London stopped the recording.

  “Hey!” I wanted to hear the rest of it.

  She lifted her finger to her mouth and then pointed at the door. Somebody was eavesdropping. It was probably my sister. I pushed past London and reached for the knob. Before she could stop me, I opened the door. It wasn’t my sister.

  Swallowing hard, I said, “Uh… Hi, Samantha.”

  She mumbled something I didn’t understand. Instantly, my limbs froze right along with my voice. Behind me, I heard London gasp. My guess was the same thing had happened to her. Then the imposter entered.

  “Such fools! Did you really think I wouldn’t see through your ruse?”

  Unable to answer, we simply stared at Samantha. She waved her hand. A gust of wind pushed me across the room. My back hit the wall, but I didn’t slip down. I hung there like a frigging ornament.

  A smirk edged Samantha’s lips as she folded her arms over her chest. “Question is, what should I do with you?” She glanced at London before walking over and removing the recorder from her frozen grip. “You won’t be needing this.” Samantha ejected the tiny cassette, and it burst into flames.

  The toxic odor filled the room, making me gag. I wanted to cough but couldn’t. My eyes filled with tears, but they wouldn’t fall. We were in serious trouble.

  Samantha the witch behaved as if her actions were normal. “A fitting punishment would be sending the two of you to Tophet. A few years in juvie might teach you a lesson.” The evil female smiled at me. “You really should stop snooping around. My job has been to keep supes, all supes, separated for centuries. What do you have to say about that?” She cackled. “I forgot. You can’t say anything.” She wiggled her fingers and my lips twitched. “Better?”

  “W-why are you doing this? We’ve done nothing to you.”

  “Stupid girl. Your presence is insulting. Ever since Draven shunned Morcana for a simpering succubus…” Samantha shook her head as if she’d lost her train of thought. “As long as I live, vampires and succubi will never find happiness with each other. It was my solemn vow before I left my ancestral lands. Then, you come along and complicate matters.”

  While Samantha was engaged in her ridiculous rant, I noticed shadows beneath the door. Someone else was in the hall. I hadn’t had the opportunity to tell anyone I was up there. Maybe London had a contingency plan.

  “But sending us to detention seems a little harsh, don’t you think?” I asked.

  Samantha tilted her head to one side and tapped her chin. “What would you have me do? Have you expelled? Would that keep you away from the vampire?”

  “Yes!” I lied. At the moment, I would have promised to send Milos to Hell if it would have freed London and me. “Send me home. I’ll be out of your way. It’s not like Milos will show up in my hometown.”

  For a second it seemed like the witch would consider my offer. Then, her mouth twisted. “No. I get rid of you and then…” She pointed her manicured finger at London. “I’ll still have this meddler to contend with.”

  “Get rid of the entire Lilin pack. None of us really want to be here. You’ll still have other students in Amatory Hall to manipulate.”

  Before she could utter another word, the door banged open and Mr. Olin, Nico, and Milos rushed into the room.


  “No one’s going anywhere!” Mr. Olin yelled. Two gremlins ran in behind him.

  Samantha’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not dumb enough to take me on, Barric!”

  Black threads flew from her fingers, breaching the distance and wrapping around Mr. Olin’s body. His hands twitched, but he failed to raise them.

  “You see. No one can stop me.” She practically floated across the floor as the wavering strands, like vines, crawled toward his neck. “Not even your pesky trolls.”

  Samantha held out her palm, and several more threads sped toward the contorted creatures. They retreated from the room before the vines reached them.

  “Now, back to the matter at hand.” She wiggled her fingers at Nico and Milos. “Care to join him?”

  The guys opened their mouths, but nothing came out. Samantha must have worked her nefarious magic against them too. Right then, I regretted ever setting foot on the campus. It didn’t matter that I met a great guy like Milos or wonderful friends like London and Nico. As I watched the life drain from Mr. Olin, my body tensed. Would my friends and I be next?

  “Not so fast, Samantha.”

  The unexpected voice came from the hallway. Mistress Lorelei crossed the threshold. Her eyes glowed an eerie purple. Dribble dripped from her mouth as it opened, revealing rows and rows of spiky teeth. The headmistress’s human body, undulating like a snake, faded and took on a flecked leathery appearance. Her head twisted from side to side. She pointed a curved talon at the witch.

  In a slow, deliberate voice, Headmistress Lorelei said, “You are done here.”

  “I don’t think—”

  In a blink of an eye, the administrator reached out and raked her claws across the witch’s body. She didn’t even get a chance to scream as droplets of blood flung around the room. Samantha Rivers fell to the floor.

  Gradually, our headmistress morphed from monster to human. When the process was over, she stood before us licking the crimson from her fingers. She patted her towering black hair into place as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.