by LJ Swallow
"Of course, you have work.” She chuckles. "I'm surprised you didn't head to the library the minute you returned to the academy. Surely you've completed all your assignments."
"I have, but remember I'm still attempting to find more information about the academy's past. I've been a little distracted recently, with all the blood magic and rescuing the girl I love from witches."
Her eyes widen and mouth parts. "Jamie."
"Crap. Sorry. Was that insensitive?"
"No." Maeve stands and takes her half-empty coffee cup. "I don't want everybody tiptoeing around what happened. Besides." She places her lips on mine. "A girl always likes hearing a guy loves her."
She holds out a hand, which I take and squeeze. Why did I ever worry I wasn't enough for her compared to the other guys?
Early in the term, only hardcore nerds like me visit the library, so I'm unsurprised when only a handful of students sit around the desks near the bank of computers, and none at the study desks. Once exam time arrives, the place will be busier. I spot April at a desk near the entrance and wave to her before walking by. I wasn't entirely truthful with Maeve—I'm headed to the witches' sanctum again. The key nestles in my pocket and I pull it out as I approach the door leading inside.
"Hey, Jamie." I halt at April’s voice from behind.
In the past, Matt told me April’s interest in me was more than my brains, but I never thought so. But, I'm crap at reading signals, so who knows? I hope Matt was wrong.
I turn. “Hey, April." The small girl stands with her arms wrapped around a blue-covered book, similar to the others containing asylum records that I've studied in the sanctum and library. Is her light brown hair blonder? Her smile is definitely bigger than usual.
"Have you ever read Dracula?" she asks nonchalantly.
"Uh. No. The book is banned at the academy. Why?"
"I have. Did you know some students here are related to the vampire who humans know as Dracula?"
I frown at her bizarre conversation. "Yeah. I heard. That's the reason the book is banned—prejudice and lies."
She snorts. “The book is fiction. Who cares?"
Weird. Has she joined in the Walcott vs. Petrescu battle? I've never seen her with any Petrescu kids; she usually hangs on the periphery of the Walcott girls groups, and around Gilgamesh guys since her Walcott friends date them. "Prejudice is everywhere. That's why we learn the true history of all the races, April."
"Hmm." She proffers the book to me. "Read this. It's eye-opening."
"I'm not interested in reading Dracula. I'm busy studying more important things."
“This isn’t Dracula. I dug through more asylum records this weekend, when you were away, and finally found something useful.” She shoves the book at me again. “You have to read this.”
Interest piqued, I flick open the musty-smelling book to see black scrawled handwriting on vellum pages. Dates. Meals. The same as every other book recording patients' details. "Right. Thanks."
I'm too polite to hand back the book and tell her I'm searching elsewhere now, especially as she looks at me like an expectant puppy. "Where did you go this weekend?"
I blink. "Home."
She points at my neck. "Who attacked you?"
Crap. I hold my hand against the bruise. "Maeve," I say. “Making out.” I’ve no idea why I said that—a subtle hint I’m unavailable?
"Wow. Has Andrei turned her?"
"What the hell?" I can't help my voice rising, annoyed when she breaks into a quiet laugh. "Funny, April."
She nibbles the corner of her lip and studies me closely. Is she interested in me? "Maeve is odd. You all are."
"Right." I glance at the doorway behind me. I've three hours before I'm due to meet Maeve and don't want to waste them. "I know. We attract attention."
“I hope you find the book interesting, Jamie,” she says. “I went through my father’s office library for that.”
“Why does he have the academy records in his library?”
“Because he’s a history professor at Cambridge, remember?” she asks semi-sarcastically. “You’ve met him.”
“A long time ago. I meant, I’m confused why this book isn’t with the others, in the academy library. Seems weird that our books are kept in a human university.”
She looks around and then moves closer. “Read the book and you’ll see why.”
“Have you read this?”
“Yes.” Whispering her answer, April ambles away. She’s the odd one and always has been; the girl is more comfortable in the library than with people. But other students said the same about me and now look—I’ve moved from one extreme to another.
Tucking the book under one arm, I make my way to the sanctum.
The day we heard something strange in the sanctum continues to play on my mind, despite everything else that’s happened. I’m uneasy because I’ve never heard anything before, and Maeve’s visions always mean something.
But what?
I don't believe in ghosts, but unless I find an explanation in one of these books, I may need to reconsider this.
I sit in one of the heavy wooden chairs at a scratched desk and place April’s book in front of me. Although I’ve read a lot of the asylum's records, I’m always apprehensive about what I’ll find. The treatment these people received terrifies me. Some issues people were treated for were nothing to do with mental illness; these were people who refused to fit society’s norms—including a lot of women with incarcerated for ‘hysteria’.
I’m also convinced some of the patients weren't human, but part of my world.
I flick through the book and discover an unobtrusive slip of paper marking a page titled The Curious Case of Mr. Dobbs.
Mr. Dobbs was a young man suffering from delusions and violent outbursts, and following a month of unsuccessful treatment, he was transferred from the main asylum to a separate building. All patients who were considered the greatest danger to themselves and others were housed in this area to ensure staff and patients’ safety.
Unfortunately, when moved to the closely watched building, Mr. Dobbs’ insanity grew. The man swore he experienced night visits from people who lived inside what he called "the bowels of the building". The doctor noted his delusions about white-faced men who stole his blood, which staff recorded as spilled on the floor some mornings. They believed Mr. Dobbs tore his skin with his teeth when escaping the restraints used on him each night.
The doctor also noted that several patients recently left this part of the asylum without permission and never returned. Three night staff members were dismissed despite denying they assisted the patients escape. Mr. Dobbs claimed the white-faced men came for the missing patients and took them away, and he grew fearful he'd be next.
His fear grew so much that he began to claw at the walls and scream at night until the doctors took him from the building back to the main asylum and ensured he was supervised at all times.
Once moved into the main building, his distress lessened, but Mr. Dobbs wouldn't let go of his delusional belief creatures posing as men lived inside the asylum.
Mr. Dobbs survived for another year before he died of consumption.
My fingers stick to the edge of the notebook as my horror grows.
A building separate to the rest of the academy.
Petrescu house.
Is this why most of the academy’s historical records are hidden?
Petrescu house still holds secrets.
What the hell exists in that place now? There are basements beneath the academy buildings. Is something sinister beneath Petrescu? I try to be neutral, but I’ve never fully trusted vampires—they instigated rebellion and formed the Dominion. I picked up the prejudice from my parents, who often claimed vampires want to hold more power than they’re allowed. I turn away and push hair from my face, mind running in a million directions.
As if dealing with Blackwoods isn't enough, now I'm sure there's something darker at work inside the academy than a Dominion
infiltrator.
Chapter Forty-Three
MAEVE
I carry the half-empty popcorn carton in one hand against my chest, as we walk from the movie theatre and into the hallway. Other moviegoers wander by, and I smile as a boy dressed as the main superhero character tugs at his mother's hand and shouts out a catchphrase.
Jamie holds my hand—he's hardly let go since we walked into the movie, where we sat together with the popcorn between us. For a couple of hours, I lost myself in a different reality and forgot recent events. This is a normal day out for families and friends, or dates like us, but now the normal is unusual to me. I went to movies with Tessa a couple of times a month, and being here reminds me we haven't spoken for a while. Tessa is busy with her new friends, and we've drifted the way friends do when one leaves town.
I'll catch up with Tessa next time I'm home—but who knows when? I still sense relief from my parents when I see or speak to them, and they they don't mind if I skip scheduled home weekends. This hurt at first, but now I tell myself Mum and Dad believe I've found the help I need.
"Do you want to go for something to eat?" asks Jamie as he drops empty drinks cups into the bin we pass.
"I'm full of popcorn." I fill my cheeks with air. "Sorry."
"All good." He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and I shiver as his finger touches my skin. "But we've a few hours before lessons to do something else. Or have you had enough? Do you want to go back to the academy?"
The academy. My real-life floods back in, and I dam the thoughts before the squirming in my stomach becomes panic. "Definitely not. I'm enjoying my time away. With you."
For weeks, Jamie never smiled, and now each time he does, the happier I feel too. I understand—not knowing if you'll live or die one day to the next would change anybody's perceptive on life. My vision was interrupted. He survived. If I hadn't arrived at the academy and told him, he may not be alive.
Unless I created the situation that put him in danger. Sometimes when I think too hard about my visions, my head scrambles. I can change what happens, but how do I see the future? Do I affect the future by changing events? Now I'm aware Blackwoods use temporal magic, this worries me more.
Especially now I've their energy in my veins.
"Maeve?" I blink at a concerned Jamie. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I squeeze his hand. "I hope you're enjoying your time out too."
The smile becomes a grin. "Hell, yeah."
Tugging Jamie closer, I rest my head against him as we make our way through the large entrance to the theatre, past the cardboard cut-outs advertising the latest films and to the exit. We walk by a small coffee shop close to the doors and the aroma of fresh beans reaches me.
"Maybe a coffee?" I ask. "The academy's coffee isn't great. I'd like a decent one."
"You got it."
I sit on a small metal chair at one of the round wooden tables outside the coffee shop and watch people trickle by now the crowds have left. Families with small children. Couples. Friends. No vampires, shifters, or witches.
As far as I can tell.
Jamie's tall figure attracts attention from a couple of younger teen girls in the queue behind him, who whisper to each other. Enamoured by his toned physique and good looks, one girl drops her bank card on the floor beside him. Did she do that deliberately? No—she's pink and flustered as Jamie bends down to pick the card up to hand to her. The smile from Jamie as he meets her eyes sends her cheeks pinker. How did this guy never notice the effect he has on girls? He bewitches without trying—the way he did me the first time I saw him.
Once I recovered from the fact that I'd seen his death.
Jamie pays for the coffees and brings two tall cups over to us, under the girls' watchful eyes. They turn away with disappointed looks when he reaches my table. I stand and immediately press my lips to Jamie’s, and he looks at me in surprise.
I'm lucky to have the friendly, gentle Jamie in my life to temper the intensity of the others. Not that I don't love Andrei's intense broodiness or Ash's brash passion, but Jamie is different. He offers me something none of them can. Himself—plain and simple, with nothing to hide. He’s certainly the polar opposite of the fourth guy who’s rooted in my life and doesn't want to be.
And if I'm shallow, there's no denying Jamie’s as hot as the other guys. Unable to resist, I slide my hand around to his backside and squeeze. He mocks gasps and shakes his head. "Honestly, Maeve."
I pull him to me, and he kisses me too, brief and chaste, aware of others around. "What can I say? You're irresistible. Just ask the girls over there."
"What girls?"
I chuckle. "Never mind. Let's go."
Holding our coffee cups, and hand in hand, we head outside towards the car park behind the movie theatre. Jamie pauses. "If you don't want to head back, how about we take a walk? There's a park close by."
I eye the sky, a brighter blue than normal for spring, but with sparse grey clouds. "What if it rains?"
He tips his head upwards too. "I don't think so."
"I admire your weather prediction skills."
I truly want to spend more time with Jamie. Every day, I straddle the human and supernatural, and when I'm with him I'm a step further into the ordinary. The other guys never thought to keep an important side of my life with ordinary dates, but to be fair, we haven't had much chance. Somehow, I can't imagine Andrei sitting through a movie. And Ash's picnic date definitely took a step further than normal.
The park is a short walk from the busier area of town, and we chat about the movie as we walk from the shop-filled streets and reach the edge of the green oasis in the middle of the grey. Leaves bud in the branches above us and purple and blue pansies smatter the ground on the other side of the path, creating more colour for the drab town.
The place has a magic effect on me without any magic cast by either of us. Nature. Peace. Serenity. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. The spring scents around me push away the traffic fumes, and I'm as absorbed here as I was watching the movie.
We sip our coffees and wander the path in silence for a few minutes, our hands firmly clasped together. A large Alsatian charges across the path to catch a ball and I almost trip over as the dog runs in front of me. A middle-aged man shouts out an apology and calls the dog back to him.
A slender woman wearing fitness gear walks towards us pushing an empty stroller and focusing on her phone. Close by, a small brown-haired boy runs in circles on the lawn, calling out to her when he finds a large stick.
"We need to spend time away from the academy more often," I say and tip the remaining coffee into my mouth. "Time like this—not fun days out pursuing, or running from, enemies."
I say the words lightly, but the truth behind them hurts.
"I agree, but we need to be careful. I don't think the professors like us leaving campus in the current climate."
I smile at his newsreader description. Current climate: cloudy with a chance of death. "Perhaps we should ask Professor Whitlock to chaperone us."
Jamie halts by a bin and drops his cup in. "Did something happen between you two at the Blackwood house?"
The day greys, and not only because clouds build above us. "We promised not to talk about the world we left behind for today."
"I'm not—I'm only talking about Tobias. Did he know the Blackwoods?"
"Jamie, I want to forget. Please."
He presses his lips together and continues to focus on my eyes. "When I mention him near you, there's a strange energy."
"Yes. I've told you this before. We’ve a connection."
"No. A new energy."
I look towards the elderly couple meandering across the lawn with their small white dog. How much can I tell him? Tobias doesn't want the curse mentioned, concerned that others may respond differently to him if they knew, and Jamie definitely would.
Tobias needs to tell the others about the curse—the situation affects us all.
I can’t talk about the
curse, but I also can't keep everything a secret. I promised not to. Turning back to Jamie, I struggle with my next words. "I kissed Tobias."
Jamie drops his grip on my hand. "What the hell, Maeve? Why? That was wrong!"
"I'm not discussing this with you if you react like that," I say stiffly as people around turn their heads towards us.
"He took advantage. You were vulnerable," Jamie mutters.
"No. I said I kissed him. And stop freaking out; nothing more will happen between me and Tobias.”
"Why?"
I sigh. "Ask Tobias."
Jamie takes my hand again, but his face has shadowed. "Tobias was at the academy for a year before you arrived. However hard I try, I struggle to see him as anybody but Professor Whitlock. He’s not ‘Tobias’ to me."
"Try harder." I nudge him. "Jamie, he put his neck on the line for me. Be grateful Tobias was with me at the house.”
He studies my face carefully. "And he definitely didn't take advantage?"
"We were in a strange situation. I guess that created something between us." I moisten my dry lips. "That situation is over with now."
Jamie’s eyes search mine, and I arch a brow, warning him not to touch my mind. "Okay. If you’re alright, I’m sorry for overreacting." He takes my hand again.
I give his fingers a small squeeze. "Well, now we're talking about all things academy, you can share that information you found."
At the start of our date, Jamie insisted he tell me the outcome of today's research, and I put my hand over his mouth to shush him. I wanted our date to be a strict 'no academy talk' afternoon and told him, unless what he discovered was life-threatening, not to say anything until tonight. He agreed, but I knew that by the end of the afternoon he'd tell me.
Jamie leads me to a graffitied wooden bench with wrought metal legs to the side of the path. "Uh oh," I say in a jokey tone. "Serious talk."
"Another clue, I think."
I sit beside him and shuffle close. "A clue to which mystery? We're juggling a few."