When the fire ceased and Nurse Roslyn stepped back to her place of honor, the entire student body started cheering. It was the first time that I had seen Xavier so much as crack a smile the entire time he was on the platform. Until he realized that the fire Nurse Roslyn created with her magic charred his clothing.
Alina stepped forward and thrust the cloak over him as quickly as possible so he could cover up.
‘This definitely isn’t a place that values modesty.’
Xavier turned around and Rodrick gave him a brief handshake. I could see from where I stood that Rodrick’s grip was firm.
I watched as the second initiate walked up to the platform and went through the exact same process. He gave the oath, withstood the branding, then Nurse Roslyn set him ablaze with golden fire magic. Only Jake was rather slow to hand him his cloak once the fires died down. The young man had to cover himself with his bare hands.
‘You piece of shit, Jake! Give the young man some dignity.’
Then it was my turn.
Lothar came down the steps to the left of the platform and offered me his hand. I took it. It was probably the most gentle gesture he had shown me since the first time we met. But then again, I was trying to kill him the first time we saw one another. He escorted me up to the steps and toward the center of the platform. Once I was there I could see a square shape in the flooring. I stood at the center of it and turned toward the entire student body. I was only fortunate that the hood of my cloak went over my eyes and I could barely see their faces under its length.
Rodrick came up from behind me and set his hands on my shoulders. The instant his hands touched the material a shiver ran down the length of my back and made me jolt. A few of the girls in the crowd giggled. I hoped Rodrick didn’t notice.
“Repeat after me,” he said, the same as he did with the other initiates. “I, Riley Blackburn, give myself over, body and soul, to the way of the lycanthrope.”
“I, Riley Blackburn, give myself over, body and soul, to the way of the lycanthrope.”
“I will commence with classes to discipline my lycan instincts and conduct myself with honor and fortitude.”
I swallowed hard, feeling his hands grip my shoulders and getting a little tighter. “I will commence with classes to discipline my lycan instincts and conduct myself with honor and fortitude.”
The oath felt different when I was repeating it. The gravity of his words wasn’t wasted on me. I was giving up everything I knew. And I knew next to nothing about the world I was entering. One I didn’t even know existed until a little over a week ago. Not to mention that Alina was just about the only kind soul I met since I got here. But I was determined. I wouldn’t sulk, I wouldn’t cower, and I wouldn’t allow myself any pity. If I was going to be apart of this world, I would master every single skill that I could.
“Now state your intention to the academy before you are reborn into the lycan realm,” Rodrick ordered. His hands felt as though they were gripping me with a good amount of his strength. Almost as if he was trying to tell me to watch my step. I instinctively knew what he was trying to communicate. He didn’t want me revealing too much to the other students. He knew that Ellinor had offered me a place near her family. The other students need not know. It would imply favoritism.
“To join the Vontex and master their ways,” I said with a booming voice, making sure everyone could hear me.
A few whispered in the crowd. Becoming a Vontex was clearly a high ambition. One that others perhaps longed for but weren’t certain they could attain. I already beat McKenzie’s record for the number of days to complete the trials. I would beat her to joining the Vontex.”
“Now shift,” Rodrick commanded.
I removed the cloak and thrust it behind me so it wouldn’t get charred by Nurse Roslyn’s magic flames. I heard someone grab it. It was Lothar. He stood by ready with the hot iron rod in his hand. I shivered at the sight of it. He gave me a small nod. A hint of encouragement?
I faced the students once more but I didn’t look at them. I had been in front of audiences countless times. I sang before them and played my guitar. I was used to being the center of attention and forced to show off my talent.
‘This isn’t any different. It’s the same. Just shift already.’
I knew better. Deep inside, this was different. It wasn’t singing or playing an instrument. It was proving my worth and showing that I could handle the future that I desired.
I shut my eyes and started to shift, gritting my teeth and doing everything in my power to avoid screaming or groaning from the small amount of pain I still felt. My clothes shifted along with me just as they had in the forest. Then I stood tall on my hind legs, watching my fingernails turned to claws. I was a fully-formed lycan. My body was covered in black fur but my paws were white. Flecks of silver were etched over my face. And I knew that if I wasn’t careful, the crowning magic inside me would show. I held it in with all my might, then waited for Lothar to do the inevitable.
He appeared before me and ordered me to kneel. I did so. Then I watched as his eyes flashed with regret. It was quick but I saw it. He didn’t want to hurt me. Before he could give it a second thought, he thrust the iron directly into my left shoulder just above my shoulder blade. I tried as hard as I could to not howl or make a sound. I failed. I cried like an infant cries. Only when a lycan cries it’s more like a booming bolt of lightning shooting through the air and causing a terrible thunder to echo throughout the hall.
Lothar stepped back and jumped off the platform with my cloak in his opposite hand. Then Nurse Roslyn walked right up to me and let the flames of her magic consume my entire body. I was forcibly shifted back into my human form. And for the strangest reason, her magical flames didn’t hurt me. Quite the opposite. I got the most delightful tingling from them as they curled over my skin and turned the brand into something as hard as marble. The red burn turned purple, then a deep shade of black. I had been branded by the academy as a lycan. My future was set in stone. And my path toward becoming a Vontex was that much closer. I felt the oath I took only seconds before harden inside me and take on a new meaning. I was devoted to a different kind now. A supernatural way of life that both excited and frightened me.
Lothar tossed the cloak to me once the flames started descending down my body and turned into nothing. Just in time for me to thrust it over my body and cover my naked flesh.
The students roared in cheers and Lothar came back on the platform to escort me off. I couldn’t help but smile. And when I peered back at Rodrick, he was clapping as well. I think a smile might have even cracked over his usual severe expression.
“Welcome to our new students,” Rodrick said once all three of us were presented together before the audience. Xavier took my hand along with the other young man and lifted them into the air. We had accomplished the impossible. But it came at a price. One most initiates paid with their lives.
Alina walked over to me and escorted me back to the entrance where I could stand outside and take a deep breath of fresh air.
“Was it as bad as you thought?” she asked.
“Worse.”
She rolled her eyes. “No need to be dramatic. Now, let’s go back to your dorm and get you changed into proper attire. I have some new clothes for you that I think you’ll like.”
“We’re headed to see my family already?” I asked.
“It will be dawn soon. Now that you’re a lycan the sunlight won’t harm you. Plus, we like to make sure students swear the oath before saying goodbye to their families. It ensures that they don’t get cold feet and try running away.”
3
Alina wasn’t lying about the clothes. I felt like a new woman. And I had a sneaky feeling that maybe Alina and I had quite a few things in common. The first batch of clothes she gave me was comfortable and relatively cheap. Perfect for destruction as I endured the trials. These clothes, however, suited me perfectly. Tight fitting, the perfect combination of torn up with a hint of sass and sex appeal. A c
ouple pieces with lace that graced over the top of the material. Then the final touches. A couple of pairs of tight distressed black jeans with leather boots that strapped up halfway to my knee. It was the way I dressed when I was with my bandmates. And I always made sure to avoid my dad when I looked this way. His criticism would inevitably follow and most of the time I just didn’t want to deal with that.
A touch of McKenzie’s lipstick and I was out the door, feeling a little sly at knowing I was borrowing more of her things and she would probably never know. The girl had treated me like a threat since the second I arrived. So she could suffer the consequences.
I put on my leather trench coat and headed down the stairs, feeling better than I had since Devon first bit me in a slimy bathroom pub. Where my senses weren’t my own and I nearly gave myself over completely to a stranger. Only for him to kill me before I had the chance.
I shook my head and forced the thought from my mind. I was a new woman. I felt as though the flames of Nurse Roslyn’s magic had shed every part of me that I once felt I had to apologize for. I would no longer hold back and I wouldn’t allow any vision my father had for me dampen what I wanted. I was a lycan. A strong supernatural creature who could ensnare any man she wanted. Not that I would. I just liked the idea. The power surging through me was practically intoxicating.
“Look at you,” Alina said as I opened the heavy wooden door and shut it behind me. “Feel better?” she asked.
“Much.”
“Good. I’ll escort you wherever you want to go today. Then we’ll head back here for classes to resume tomorrow night.”
I nodded and followed her out to see the large SUV that carted me here the first time just outside the drawbridge. The sun was starting to peak over the trees outside the tower, shining over the vehicle’s black paint.
“No motorcycles?” I asked.
“This is the last day you’ll see your loved ones for a very long time. You deserve to be in the best comfort we have available. Plus a girl riding with another girl in the back doesn’t particularly appeal to me. Or the cat calling that would follow from disgusting lorry drivers getting the wrong idea. Do you like the sound of that?”
I shook my head, feeling like a moron for suggesting it. “I guess I thought I might get my own motorcycle.”
“Can you drive one?”
“Well…”
She opened the passenger door for me. “You’ll learn. But not today. Now get in.”
I did as she asked and buckled up. The forest looked so much different as daylight touched the tops of the trees. The realm where the vixra hid the lycan was unlike anything I had ever seen. The forest was thick and lush. The flowers were always blooming. The Thames river was sparkling as the sun’s light graced over its length. And we were alone. Separated from the rest of mankind. I was left wondering if this was how the vixra wanted it. After all, we were dangerous. Especially when first bitten.
We drove down the dirt path through the trees until we reached an open meadow.
Alina reached for the dashboard and pressed a button, almost like she was opening a garage door. Only this one activated the opening where we would get back on the highway. I saw the same light open up before us as the ripple of magic started stirring, leading right back into the realm where humans knew nothing about us. Hell, I used to be one of them.
I watched as we drove right through it, seeing the space between realms get thinner. The edges of the forest turned into buildings as the bushes turned into cars, speeding by us until we passed through and sped onto the highway. A few cars honked at us as we simply appeared out of nowhere, probably giving a few lorry drivers the fright of their life.
“Live with it,” I spat. I guess I had one too many beep at me as I walked the streets over the years. It was always some crusty man that couldn’t get a girl if his life depended on it.
Alina grinned as she changed lanes and took the exit out of London.
“Wait!” I cried.
“What?”
“There’s a stop I need to make in Camden before we head back to my dad’s home.”
“Why Camden?”
“That’s where my band is. I need to tell them. Well, I need to tell them something so they know I won’t be coming back.”
My heart sank. Out of all the things I was being forced to give up, this was the worst. I didn’t want to quit the band. And the thought of giving up on my music made my stomach turn over. I worked too hard and came too far to give up on it. But I wasn’t being given the option. With my oath came a sense of duty. One I suspected was born inside me when the flames touched my skin. I was bonded to it. My music would have no choice but to take a back seat for a while, no matter who it disappointed.
“Tell me which way,” Alina said as she headed back in the other direction.
I directed her then sat there in silence for a while until she broke it.
“Why the long face?” she asked. “Are you close with your bandmates?”
I threw her a sarcastic glare, like that was the stupidest question ever asked. “They’re the only ones who ever encouraged me to be myself and lead my own life. So yes, we’re close.”
Alina shrugged her shoulders. “You may be forced to follow the lycan way now but no one will tell you what you can and cannot accomplish in L.I.T. It all depends on how hard you work for it.”
I nodded, trying to accept her reassurance. In truth, I didn’t even know what sort of studies were involved. The thought was intimidating.
Once we got to the flat where I thought I would be living I got out and stared down the door without knocking. Before I could take a step up the stairs Alina got out and leaned against the door with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Take all the time you need,” she said. “Today is yours.”
I stroked the nape of my neck as my nerves mounted. This was going to be so much worse than standing before the entire student body at the academy. Standing in front of large audiences was easy for me. It was practically drilled into me from a young age. The tension between friends I valued since I moved back to England, however, was another story.
‘Think of Dirk. You can’t find out what happened to him if you don’t stay at the academy. This is the only way.’
I stepped back away from the stairs and glanced over at Alina. “Did you mean what you said?” I asked her.
“Which part?”
“About Lothar?”
She snickered. “He’s rough around the edges but he occasionally lets people in.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because we were together for over a year.”
I nearly cringed right in front of her. Not because the thought of him being with another woman made me feel anything but because I couldn’t imagine why Lothar would let someone like her go. Alina was… well… gorgeous. Long red hair, bright green eyes, freckles speckled over her nose and pixie-like cheekbones, along with a badass curriculum vitae of hunting werewolves by night. I wasn’t a plain girl by any means but I didn’t think I could measure up to her. At least not yet.
“Why the long face?” she asked.
“I just…I-” I was stammering. It wasn’t a good look. If anything it made me appear jealous. Or worse, offended. “I don’t know who I can trust anymore. My senses were on fire from the moment I arrived at the academy. I swear, I couldn’t look at a man without wanting to…to…”
“Jump him and tear his clothes off?” she giggled. I was left there blushing like a fool. “Did that get better after you finished the trials and became a lycan?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you still want to jump Lothar?”
“No, not exactly. I know he was trying to help me the entire time he was mentoring me. But at the same time, I’m new to this. Everything is heightened and I’ve already made so many mistakes.”
“Falling prey to Devon wasn’t a mistake. You were his victim. All humans are. Our bodies give off a scent that attracts them so we can t
urn more into our likeness. It ensures we don’t die off. It’s just part of being what we are. Besides, just because Lothar doesn’t dislike you doesn’t mean he’s in love with you. I only meant that he doesn’t seem to completely despise you like he does all the others. Mostly I was trying to get you to relax before the ceremony began. It can be quite daunting.”
I scoffed. “Really? So you lied to me?”
“I might have exaggerated.”
“You thought convincing me Lothar had feelings for me was going to soften the blow of a brand?” I spat.
She shrugged. “It got your mind on other things. Besides, most girls like the thought of having an admirer. Especially a man like Lothar. And I meant what I said. He doesn’t seem to have the same instant disdain for you that he does other people. His tolerance isn’t easily earned.”
“And that’s a good thing?”
“If you were true in your oath and you want to become a Vontex, then yes. Otherwise, he’s your mentor. Remember that at all times. The last time Rodrick caught a mentor and a student being naughty he banished them both.”
My eyes widened. “Is this your idea of messing with me?”
She rolled her eyes and gently pushed me away. “Quit stalling. Go say goodbye and we’ll head to your father’s house.”
I groaned and walked up to the steps, feeling as though I was stepping up to a hanging noose that was awaiting me. My hands instinctively reached for my neck, making sure the leather trench coat covered the bite scar Devon left behind. I knocked on the door three times and waited.
Light footsteps came down the stairs and I heard the lock being moved. Luella opened the door in her waitress uniform. Her eyes bulged and her jaw dropped. Then before I knew it she latched onto me in a giant hug that nearly toppled us both over.
“Where the hell have you been? I called you over and over but you didn’t answer! I thought the guy from the pub might have hurt you. Or worse!”
‘If only you knew.’
“I’m alright,” I said as she pulled away. “I just needed to figure some things out. So much happened and I couldn’t process it all.”
Restrike: (Lycan Academy of Shapeshifting: Operation Shift, Book 2) Page 3