The Curse Begins

by Abby James

  This time when we approached stops the bus driver kept his foot flat to the accelerator and passed each stop without even slowing, leaving a line of stunned faces behind. Now this was weird. I glanced around to confirm I was the only one on the bus. That’s when the creeps ran beneath my skin like marching ants. And I wanted off.

  I pressed the button when I spied another stop up head and slid across to the aisle. As we approached I rose and made my way closer to the front, but the driver kept the bus speed steady.

  “Hey, this is my stop.”

  His reply was to inch the speed of the bus up a few more ticks. We whizzed by yet another stop and this time I swear we were over the speed limit. Jesus, this guy had a beef about his job, either that or... No, don’t think about it.

  I pressed the closest button a few more times. “Hey, I want to get off at the next bus stop.”

  Again I got no reply. I should go up the front and have a word with him. But I didn’t. Instead I clutched the handholds behind the seat and stared out the window. I was being a scaredy cat. Why? Because I didn’t want to go to the front of the bus and find it was being driven by a corpse, or some other such weird supernatural creature with glowing eyes and fangs for teeth.

  God, you’re being ridiculous. I had to get off this bus, and the only way to do that was confront the driver. He’d been a normal looking guy when I’d gotten on and paid my fee.

  I slung my bag over my shoulder and made my way to the front.

  “Stay behind the yellow line, lady.”

  Thank god he was human. “Oh good, you can talk. You’ve missed a heap of stops back there. You’ve over run my ride by about four stops at least.”

  “Sit tight, little lady, we’re almost at our destination.”

  “I’m sorry, we? I’m not getting off at the bus depot.”

  He looked over his shoulder with a big grin, exposing his bottom missing tooth. “I’d sit down if I were you.”

  “Are you going to stop at the next stop? Because I’ve had enough of this ride. And now I have to walk for miles to get home.”

  “No walking needed.”

  Maybe the guy was on drugs. “Can you pull over now? I know it’s not an official stop, but given you’ve taken me out of my way—”

  “One more warning, lady. Sit down.”

  If he was going to get mad, so was I. The asshole had practically kidnapped me. I stepped forward, one foot crossing the yellow line. At that moment a monumental force propelled me backward, compressing in on my chest. It felt like I was being elongated as I was flung through the air up the center aisle. I landed all the way toward the middle of the bus, skidding along the dirty aisle floor on my back. When I finally came to rest, I remained curled in a ball, hands shielding my head.

  “You all right back there?”

  His voice drew me into myself. That’s when I noticed the bus was no longer driving. I slowly unfurled, and looked down the aisle to the front and the driver, who’d gotten out of his seat.

  He strode up the aisle toward me. “You all right? That was quite a tumble. Mind you, I did warn you to sit down.”

  “Holy shit, you’re crazy,” I yelled, trying to get to my feet, but my legs wouldn’t work properly.

  He held up his hands as if to placate me. “Easy does it. Slow down. You will feel a little woozy at first. It can take a bit of getting used to with your first time.” He reached down to take my arm. “Let me help you.”

  I smacked him away. “Don’t you dare touch me.”

  He stood and backed away, both hands raised again. “Suit yourself. That was me after my first time. It arouses your survival instincts, doesn’t it? Makes you feel vulnerable.”

  I didn’t like where this conversation was heading. It sounded like the sort of conversation a serial killer would have with his victim before he completed his final deed.

  “But you needn’t worry. Ain’t nothing getting in here that the casters don’t want through.”

  I had scooped myself up into one of the seats, but my legs felt like jelly. I doubted they would be able to carry me off the bus. “Casters? What’s that supposed to mean? Holy shit.” I looked out the bus window. I stood, wobbly legs forgotten and collapsed into the seat in front of me.

  The driver chuckled, “you sure you don’t want my help?”

  “What is this?” My voice faded away at the end, swept up as it was in the impossibility of what I saw.

  “Darkwells.”

  “Which is?”

  “The finest supernatural academy in the world.”

  “Supernatural?”

  “They told me you were green.” He slouched onto the seat beside me, forcing me to shuffle along. “This is where the supernaturals on this continent go to strengthen their craft and learn to fit into life out there,” he jerked his head in the direction we’d come.

  “But we haven’t traveled that far on the bus, where is the city?”

  All I saw was a giant sprawling castle amongst a forest of trees.

  “On the other side.”

  “The other side of what?”

  “The veil. The casters created this parallel slip in time and space. It’s like a tear in the universe and we’ve ended up on a separate dimension that runs parallel to the one we’ve just escaped. It’s a place where people like us”—he indicated me and him with a flick of his hand— “can further our skills or, in your case, learn your skills, in safety, where wissend can’t accidentally stumble on us. It also keeps the skurks on the outside.”

  “What are wissend and skurks?”

  “Wissend are the ignorant, the people on the outside. The every day folk. Skurks are street supes.”

  “You mean supernaturals?”

  “Yeah, those that practice their craft illegally.”

  “There are laws for supernaturals?”

  “Sure. How else do the council keep order and prevent all out war against the differing supe factions? That’s why we have the academy. Not only does it enable us to further our skill and obtain the highest level of achievement with our abilities, but it’s also a safe environment where the differing supe factions can mingle and get to know one another and learn to trust each other. That way when we re-enter the world outside, everyone is less likely to try and kill each other.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Not everyone does. Most of us are a pretty decent kind of supe. But some are more aggressive by nature. It’s already too much for them that we gather here as an inter-factional group. And the law can be pretty complex. So it’s good to learn all of that. You don’t want to get caught by the cleaning crew.”

  I exhaled. My shoulders drooped while my head sped its three sixty loop.

  “Sorry, that’s probably a lot too soon. Supe cleaners are like the police. They make sure our identities are hidden to the greater world. But you don’t need to worry about that. You just need to get through your first week.”

  “Why? Is it hard?”

  “That depends on how easily you’re willing to let go. Just listen to the teachers and do your exercises and, well, the rest will have to unfold.”

  “I never asked for this.”

  “None of us did. Whether you asked for it or not this is your future. Once a supe always a supe. You can’t change your fate.” He stood. “You’re best to go along with it. That way it will be less painful.”

  I tried to stand again, but found my legs were still weak.

  “Are you willing to let me help you now?”

  “Looks like I don’t have a choice.”

  He slung my arm over his shoulder and helped eased me out from the seat. Once I stood I felt a warm current run along my arm where we touched. And the same warm current tingled at my hip where we also joined, pushed close together as we were while I tried to move out from behind the bus seat. I kept quiet about that and instead asked, “why don’t my limbs work?”

  “It’s something to do with crossing through the time space continuum to reach h
ere. It messes with gravity, which then messes with your body, and I didn’t really listen in class when that was all being explained. But it will lessen the more you cross.”

  “You can leave here?”

  “God yeah, this isn’t a prison. But not until you’ve completed your first level of training. They have to make sure you’re not a risk to yourself or anyone back in the normal world.”

  “How long will that take? I have people I’ve left behind. They’re going to worry about me.”

  But it did mean I had left behind the ugly incident with Mr. Tucker and the messy fallout.

  “We all have people we leave behind. How long it takes depends on you. Like I say, you listen to the teachers and do your exercises and you could be making a trip back through the portal before you know it, say in a few months.”

  I stopped, halting our momentum. “I can’t be here that long and not let anyone know I’m safe.”

  “You’ll have to take that argument up with the dean.”

  I had every intention of doing just that.

  “And my name’s Bailey, by the way. Don’t expect you will be seeing me much, unless you get the green light to cross back over anytime soon.”

  “Samara.”

  “I knew that. Although they didn’t tell me much more about you, only that you were green.”

  “Is that common? Not knowing anything.”

  “Nah, it’s rare. Most kids have grown up in a supe home. They see their parents practicing and understand most of the laws before they set foot in Darkwells.”

  I stopped walking.

  “You all right? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

  “Supernatural abilities are inherited?”

  “For the most part, yeah.”

  “That would mean my parents were…”

  “Supes, yeah. You know nothing about your parents?”

  “They both died when I was five.”

  “Ouch. That’s tough. Sorry about that. I’m surprised the council didn’t send out someone to keep an eye on you as you grew.”

  “Oh my god. They did.”

  I shook my head, but was unable to speak. Nathan was a supernatural. He had to be. That’s why he gave me all that extra attention. And why he continued to stay in contact with me after I was out of the system. “Nathan.”

  “He your boyfriend?”

  “My caseworker. He was the man the, what did you call them? council, sent to keep an eye on me.” Was that the only reason he paid me so much attention and stuck around for so long?

  “They’re like the government. They run the show out there. In secret that is.”

  “I can’t believe any of this is true. I mean I know it’s true as I’ve seen some weird stuff in the last forty-eight hours, but I just can’t believe that it’s really true. That I’m not crazy and it’s all a hallucination. A supernatural academy?”

  Bailey helped me down the few steps of the bus.

  “It’s all true, Samara. The life you’ve been living was the lie. This is your new future.”

  He swept his hand outward to encompass the expanse that was Darkwells Academy.

  5

  By the time we reached the giant metal doors at the entrance to the academy, I felt fine.

  “Thanks, but my legs feel fine now.” I withdrew my arm from Bailey’s neck.

  He smiled the smug smile of someone who felt they deserved congratulations.

  “Thanks for your help.”

  “In more ways than one.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “When I arrived here it took me two hours to recover before I felt strong enough to walk again. Until five years ago everyone made their first entrance through these doors on a stretcher.”

  “What changed?”

  “Darkwells discovered a new sort of supernatural, a very rare faction. There’s not a lot of us about.”

  I couldn’t give him the trumpet call he wanted, but I was eager for him to finish.

  “Healer.” He splayed his hands either side and straightened in pride.

  I realized too late that it was his big reveal.

  He deflated, hands dropping to his side. “Yeah, I know it’s not sorcery or telekinesis but I have saved lives.”

  “You have? That’s awesome.”

  He shrugged. “It’s why I get bus duty. Now everyone gets to walk through the doors rather than be carried. In the early days of the portal people died from the crossing. The casters had to modify their incantations, or whatever they do, numerous times before it was safe. And now thanks to supes like me, there’s no threat.”

  “You’re a handy person to have around.”

  Was that the smallest flush to his cheeks? He ducked his head for a brief moment, which reinforced my thought about the faint tinge to his cheeks, before turning his attention to the entrance doors.

  “Welcome to Darkwells, Miss?” He turned to me with a questioning expression.

  “Wright.”

  He nodded throwing out his arms. “Welcome.”

  On cue the giant metal doors clunked and creaked then trundled open. I couldn’t help but think creepy thoughts like I was about to enter into a vampire’s lair or some other dangerous place. If he noticed my hesitation, Bailey didn’t show it as he strode forward, turning a circle while looking at the ceiling like a proud tour guide at the Sistine chapel.

  One step inside and Bailey was forgotten, as was Mr. Tucker and the skurks. The cavernous majesty of the entrance foyer dwarfed everything that had come before in my life. Our bodies were cast as elongated shadows across the high polished marble floor. My eyes followed the shadows and then farther to the distant door and the long expansive corridor disappearing into the depth of the castle. It was the only exit I could see, beside the door we’d entered. A Portrait hung over the door and on every inch of wall that wrapped the circular room.

  “Who are the people in these paintings?”

  “It’s a history of faculty members. Everyone who has ever taught at Darkwells.”

  “That’s a lot.”

  “The place is very old.”

  “How old?”

  “If I remember my history lessons, it was first founded in the 1700s.”

  “You’re joking?”

  “I never paid much attention during A history of the supernatural, so I could be wrong. But the place is ancient. The east wing is the original building. It has been expanded on over time, as the need arose. The supernatural community was at its height during the sixteenth century, then we had the Cruces war late sixteenth century. I don’t really remember. But the last expansion of Darkwells was completed by the end of the seventeenth century.”

  “That would explain why it looks like a gothic castle.”

  I arched my head back to look at the frescos running the length of the vaulted ceilings.

  “The turrets are my favorite and the crenellations that run the east and west wing walls. There’s even a loophole and sally port on both sides.”

  “Cool, and they are?”

  “Back then they had to defend themselves against warring tribes and the king’s soldiers.”

  “Sounds like you remembered something of your supernatural history lessons. But if the place exists in a parallel dimension how is it anyone knew of it?”

  “This is a new development. When it was built the magic weavers…that’s your witches, mages and sorcerers—we group them together and call them casters—weren’t as powerful as they are now. They didn’t have the knowledge or skill to perform such a huge feat as create a rip through time and space. That’s the power of places like Darkwells Academy. The knowledge expands and improves when it is shared. The library is awesome. You gotta hang out there sometime. They have every text imaginable on every thing to do with the supernatural. Darkwells is the place to come if you want to be the best you can be. You should consider yourself lucky to be here.”

  “Why? Don’t they let everyone in?”

  “Most. But some aren�
�t worthy. They don’t deserve the knowledge that Darkwells can supply.”

  “The skurks?”

  “Yep.”

  “I think I’ve met some of them already.”

  “I’m not surprised. Their leader is ex Darkwells. Turned rogue. Bastard.” Bailey’s expression soured. I’d expect him to spit on the ground in disgust if we weren’t walking through the high polished halls of the academy

  “Apparently Scullion was an excellent student. He was well respected and liked here. There was no reason for him to turn to the skurks.”

  “How did he know about me?”

  Bailey cast a quick sweep of the hall, then lowered his voice. “I reckon he has someone inside Darkwells feeding him the information on all the recruits. He tries to get them before they enter, when they’re newbies. That way he can mold them. Force their allegiance.”

  “Is he really powerful?”

  “As I said, he is good, but McGilus is better.”

  “Whose he?”

  “Darkwells dean. And most of the teachers here could whip his ass I’d say.”

  “What sorts of—”

  The clacking of high heels on the marble halted my question. A tall, rounded woman strode toward us wearing a pencil skirt and fitted blouse that cupped her amble breasts. To draw the eye, as if a male’s eye would not be drawn enough, she left the first two buttons undone. Bailey straightened forgetting about me and turned to give the approaching woman his full attention.

  Her eyes flitted to me. “You look healthy. Well done, Bailey.”

  Bailey straightened some more. “Just doing my job, Ms Rhinecroft.”

  “And a very good job, too. I’ll take Miss Wright from here.”

  “Anything you say, Ms Rhinecroft.” He didn’t move, keeping his attention fixated on Ms Rhinecroft.

  “The dean is waiting, Miss Wright. Come along.”

  I gave Bailey a quick look, but he was still staring at Ms Rhinecroft. She was good-looking enough, for a woman whose age was creeping up to forty. At least that was my guess. She’d clipped her jet black hair back off her face, which accentuated her startling blue eyes, but her figure, most notably her cleavage, was what likely turned the male students to puppies.