After Darkness Falls: After Darkness Falls Book One

by Sage, May

  Chloe saw Gwen write down a few notes, but she couldn't bring herself to claw her attention away for long enough to get out her notepad. She'd have to copy her notes later.

  Two hours flew by at the speed of light, and in no time, they were told that they'd see him again on Monday.

  Chloe left as fast as her feet could carry her.

  "That was something," Gwen said, stunned.

  "Yeah. Something…"

  Part of her wanted to bow out of the course; she didn't need it, and this class would likely take up a lot of her attention. But she knew she'd be there on Monday.

  She wondered if that was because she liked the class, or if something else was at work.

  "You will attend this class for a year and a day."

  "Hey, what's a fledgling?" she asked Gwen. The question had edged her mind when the professor had called her that.

  "Oh, a kid, I guess? Like a teenager, not quite grown up yet. I think that’s also what they call birds when they can't fly yet. It's mostly used about vampires in this world. A fledgling is a young vampire, not quite in control of their power yet."

  Oh. So he'd called her a little girl. Nice.

  "Can we make a voodoo doll of Fin Varra or something?"

  Gwen laughed. "Didn't you hear? 'No power can affect my sexy ass,'" she grumbled in a poor—and hilarious—imitation of the professor's voice.

  They laughed until they reached the great entry hall.

  "I'm starving. You?"

  Chloe almost followed Gwen, who was edging toward the cafeteria, but she caught herself at the last moment. "You go ahead. I have something to do first. I shouldn't be too long."

  She headed back to the dorm, took the white box from her bedside table, and walked right back to the Institute, heading straight to the red-doored tower.

  She half-expected someone to appear in front of her the moment she crossed the threshold, but the curving staircase was empty. Determined, she walked up each flight of stairs, ignoring the little voice whispering that being here wasn't quite wise.

  Irritated

  By the time she reached the top of the tower, Chloe was out of breath and her legs were screaming at her.

  The door of a large, tower-wide circular study was open, and five vampires were watching it, like they'd been expecting her. Four among them seemed amused. The fifth was glaring at her.

  Yeah? Well, get in line, Levi. She was pissed too.

  Ignoring everyone else, she walked straight to him and placed the box on the desk in front of him.

  "Thanks, but no thanks. I can't take random, outrageously expensive presents from strangers."

  It wasn't who she was.

  Chloe considered retreating now that she'd said her piece, but that might have seemed cowardly. Instead, she glared at him, waiting for his retort.

  "And you were under the impression that coming here to tell me that was necessary?"

  She shrugged. "You invaded my place without an invitation. That's called payback."

  "Feel free to come by mine any time, Chloe. This is work. I don't care for interruptions."

  "Well, tough luck, asshole."

  One of the vampires in the room disguised a laugh with a cough.

  Levi sighed and closed his leather-bound journal.

  "You're the protégée of an acquaintance. You came to Scotland in January with a spring jacket. I don't particularly want to explain to Charles that the student he sponsored died of pneumonia. If the coat was ‘outrageously expensive,’ blame my assistant. He likes spending my money."

  "Guilty," said a man behind her.

  She turned to glance at a striking dark-skinned guy who had pulled out a bag of popcorn and was shamelessly watching them.

  "You bought it?"

  "Yes, girl. I have great taste, right?"

  "Yes, it's very…look, that's not the point. I'm a functioning adult, not a charity case. If I need a damn coat, I'll buy a damn coat. I have a credit card for that."

  "You tell him!" a woman added encouragingly.

  Chloe was feeling more and more foolish at every moment. She'd made a bigger deal of this than it was, hadn't she?

  "Well, if I offended you, I apologize. May I go back to work now?"

  It was probably past time she left.

  "Yeah, sure. Thanks for the sleeping draught, by the way."

  "Wait, how does that work?" the assistant asked. "He can give you draughts, but not coats?"

  "Because draughts don't cost an arm and a leg," she mumbled.

  She didn't think they did, in any case.

  The assistant snorted. "Girl, no offense, but the draught, the coat? Same difference. It's peanuts to him anyway. He accumulated billions before billionaires were a thing."

  Oh. Well, that certainly explained why he thought it was okay to send her coats that cost four figures.

  "Look, in my world, people don't give expensive shit for nothing, and I don't like having that sort of dynamic with anyone."

  "And what, pray tell," said Levi, very slowly, enunciating each word, "do you believe I'd want from you, Chloe?"

  She avoided his eyes. "It's not okay on principle, all right?"

  Every time she opened her mouth, she felt like remaining silent might have been a wiser idea.

  "Sweetie," said a tall, beautiful blonde, joining them and opening the box. "Ancients don't really understand human interactions. For thousands of years, it was quite all right for Levi to buy anything he liked for anyone, male or female. Society has changed quite a bit over the last two centuries or so, but it can take the old ones a while to adapt."

  Shit, that made a lot of sense.

  "All right. Sorry I flew off the handle."

  "Good to see you can be reasonable,” Levi said. “Take the damn coat and go. I have work to do."

  Chloe almost heeled like a good little girl. His tone accepted no argument, but that tone was bugging her nearly as much as his smug, annoying grin.

  Instead, she did it again. Let her mouth do its thing without using her brain first.

  "Have you ever thought of getting that broomstick removed from your posterior?"

  What. Was. Wrong. With. Her.

  Blair had clearly told her who—what—Levi was. She really shouldn't have been talking to him like this, as though he were just a random guy in the street.

  Maybe she had a death wish.

  The others weren't even trying to hide their laughter.

  "Seriously, you're just so tense and high-handed. Sounds like you need…"

  The next instant, she was hit by a tornado that pushed her against the wall. Chloe questioned why her bones hadn't shattered in the process. Levi was caging her with his arms, teeth bared. His dark eyes were glowing blue.

  "You will not question my authority, child. You will not dismiss me. You will behave."

  Each word echoed around the room, amplified, sounding like a growl.

  And for some strange reason, Chloe was…amused. Like this was what she'd wanted all along. To piss him off. And she’d been looking forward to doing it all day.

  She had no fucking idea why, but poking the bear was…fun.

  "So that's what you look like without the broomstick," she said.

  Maybe she had hit her head.

  Levi took a step back and pointed to the door. "Go. Just go."

  "I will. As long as you promise me you understand that I will not be bought."

  "Chloe, I am so very close to snapping your neck like a twig."

  Do it.

  What the fuck? She had never, until this day, exhibited any sort of suicidal tendency, so the thought popping out of her clouded, deranged mind shocked her. So much so that she finally did what she was told and headed out the door.

  She'd just started down the flight of stairs when her coat flew out of the study, falling right on her head. The next instant, the door was closed.

  Damn him. He definitely had a thing for having the last word. She walked down, feeling like she hadn't entirel
y lost today's argument.

  Although it did look like she had a new coat.

  Blades and Fangs

  Chloe couldn't decide whether she was giddy or horrified at her conduct. She hadn’t just acted like an immature, spoiled brat; what shocked her was not feeling like she was in control. She hadn't consciously chosen to say any of the crap that had spewed out of her mouth. Chloe had wished she could blame someone else, something else inside her. Her symptoms sounded too much like schizophrenia. Should she speak to someone about it?

  She reached the hall and found it mostly empty; one lesson had ended twenty minutes ago, and the next bell had already rung. She stilled. There was no one around her at all, but it truly felt as if someone was watching her. She glanced outside at the already dark sky; night fell at four-thirty in this part of the world.

  She could see the courtyard littered with training witches and sparring huntsmen. Chloe surprised herself, realizing how much she envied them.

  She loved practically everything about this place, and part of her wished she truly belonged here. But she didn't. As soon as she finished her studies, she'd leave it behind. Join a finance firm somewhere. Maybe a bank. A week ago, that would have sounded like a considerable improvement over her situation. Now, she couldn't imagine a more boring fate.

  Remembering that Gwen was waiting for her in the cafeteria, she crossed the entry hall and walked in.

  Chloe smiled when she saw Gwen chatting away with some of the hunters they'd hung out with the previous day; she surprised herself by remembering their names—Natalie, Tris, Chris, Bat, and Jack, of course.

  She picked up a plate of lasagna and a salad before joining them.

  "Here's our Cheetah."

  "All right, anyone have another nickname submission? I accept applications, please."

  "Doll-face?" Natalie proposed.

  "Angel cheeks," said Bat, chewing on a mouthful of his burger.

  Chloe sighed as she sat down. "You all suck at this. How about you stick to my actual name?"

  "No way," said Chris, shaking his head for good measure. "Huntsmen go by nicknames. It's a thing."

  There were nods all around the table, except from Gwen, who was too busy laughing at her.

  "Good thing I'm not a huntsman, then. Huntswoman? Is that a thing?"

  "It should be," Natalie grumbled. "But no. The order is too old to not have a few sexist attributes. But the head of the entire order is a woman, so there's that."

  From the corner of her eye, Chloe saw Jack stiffen.

  "Really?" Gwen said, eyes wide. "I mean, witch covens are often matriarchal, because women tend to have stronger magic, but I definitely didn't expect that from huntsmen."

  "Throughout our history, we've had three hundred and seventy-four high guard—as we call them. Three hundred and seventy were men. The four exceptions are the most badass human women this world has known. And one of them is his mother." Tris pointed to Jack, who remained entirely stoic and silent.

  Ah. There was a story there.

  Deciding she'd exceeded her daily quota of nosiness, Chloe stuffed a bite of lasagna in her mouth and chewed slowly to stop herself from asking him an intrusive question.

  Gwen didn't.

  "How does your ego deal with having a mother like that?"

  Jack's glaring game was almost as strong as Levi's. "Just fine, thank you."

  Tris snorted. "By ‘fine,’ he means he lives in another continent so he doesn't have to report to her directly."

  Jack chucked his knife right at her. She caught it effortlessly and threw it back before returning to sipping her tea. The entire exchange lasted under a minute.

  "Do you guys often throw sharp things at each other?" Chloe asked.

  If so, perhaps they shouldn't make a habit of eating with them.

  "Just those two. It's fine, they're cousins."

  Apparently being related gave them leave to attempt murdering each other without cause. Good to know.

  "Don't sweat it, Cheetah. Even if Jack shot wrong, Tris will always catch her knife and never miss a shot. She's a fledgling."

  Chloe lifted a brow. She'd heard that word three times, the first two to describe her.

  "A born vampire?" she asked, remembering Gwen's explanation.

  Tris beamed. "My dad's from one of the founding seven, so he can, you know, have kids. My parents aren't putting any pressure on me to turn. I figured I'd wait until I look old enough to have beer in any country before freezing my face."

  Fascinated, Chloe asked, "Can I bore you with a thousand questions?"

  The girl shrugged. "Shoot."

  Holy shit, where did she start? "Do you drink blood?"

  Tris shook her head after a moment of hesitation. "Well, I don't need to—yet. But over the last few years, I've definitely preferred my steak blue. And tartare is life. Dad says if I get to a point where blood smells like candy, I need to turn. Or go insane, one of the two."

  Holy shit. Could she write a book about this?

  "That's pretty awesome, in a rather gruesome way. So, are you different from us in any other way?"

  Tris tilted her head, giving the question a moment of thought. "I don't know. People are very different from one individual to the next. I'm faster than most people, but Jack beats me. Some fledglings have magic, or an affinity with animals, or even the ability to charm people, like actual vampires. My thing is weapons."

  Her grin had a slightly alarming edge.

  "What weapon?" Gwen asked.

  Chloe wasn't surprised when Jack replied, "Every weapon. She grabs it, she knows how to use it. It's incredibly frustrating."

  "You love me, really."

  Jack smiled at his cousin. Chloe hadn't been sure she liked the guy until then, but that smile? It explained why she'd been intrigued enough to go on his race, why his confession about putting her in danger hadn't entirely infuriated her.

  Suddenly, she realized something: although he didn't compete, the reason he ran with the rest of the huntsmen was to ensure no one got in trouble.

  The guy was marshmallow wrapped in steel. All soft inside. He cared about his cousin; he cared about his men and women.

  "Hey, are you guys doing another race? I think I could totally use the cardio," said Gwen.

  Looking surprised, Jack glanced at Chloe, who shrugged. She’d just verbally sparred with an ancient vampire. What was a little huntsman race?

  "Sure. Next weekend. This week is pretty light; the teachers are just reminding us where we were last year while you newbies get a feel for the classes. After next week, trust me, we'll need to unwind."

  "Awesome. Can we tag in?"

  "Sure thing. It's going to be at the Coscnoc, mid-day."

  "Coscnoc?" Chloe repeated.

  "The third hill," said Tris. “It's forbidden without an escort because there are some major hexes and traps, but Jack got the all-clear for a paintball race. It's gonna be sick."

  Sick sounded about right. "Hexes and traps?" she echoed, feeling like a parrot.

  Tris shrugged. "It's just around the caves. We'll mark the area."

  That sounded mildly less threatening than a bunch of angry werewolves.

  "All right. Let's do it."

  Beyond the Veil

  Jack had not been kidding when he'd said the first week on a full schedule was going to be taxing.

  In addition to Paranormal Introduction and Advanced Immortal History, Chloe opted to take Law Introduction, Advanced Business, Alchemy 101, and Latin. Blair had advised against taking more than two major subjects and even suggested that AIH, Alchemy, and Latin might end up being too much. Chloe hadn't gotten what she meant, because AIH was only four hours per week, Alchemy, one, and Latin, two. But she soon realized that even the kindest, gentlest, and most encouraging teacher—Miss Penny—gave tons of homework. For every hour spent in class, she had to spend two or three researching stuff just to keep up. Suddenly, she understood the sheer size of the library—and why most students spent all t
heir time there.

  It was impossible to research any of the paranormal courses online, and even the generic subjects were rather different when taught by a sup.

  She'd been warned about Mr. Silver, but the worst professor was, by far, Alexius, who taught Alchemy 101. The man was a flirt. He flirted with everything—male, female, even with his damn potions—and his students were too busy giggling and batting their eyelashes to really listen to what he said. Then, he gave tests, and when they failed, he sighed dramatically and professed his disappointment.

  Chloe watched the whole thing, entirely bewildered. How was everyone falling for it?

  But she remembered the first time they'd met, in the staircase behind the red door. She'd fallen for his charms too, then. Why weren’t they working on her anymore?

  She didn't quite understand it.

  To Chloe’s relief, she did get along with most of the students in her classes. Outside, she often met the little ravens who rarely failed to greet her, one way or the other. Some screamed from the sky when they were busy with their affairs. Others came to fly around her at their leisure. One, in particular, often made a point to sit on her shoulder and peck at her blonde hair.

  She took to carrying some peanuts with her so that she could reward them appropriately.

  "You know that's not normal, right?" said Viola, an eagle shifter and one of the students in her Latin class.

  Chloe shrugged. "What's normal here, really?"

  Normal was overrated.

  Chloe did well enough, overall. She started three steps behind most of the students here, but she had one advantage: her memory. It had always been above average, and for what it was worth, her annoying habit of replaying her life as soon as she returned to her own room gave her an edge. She could listen to each lesson twice, and memorize it even better.

  She didn't see Levi, and that was a great thing. Remembering the way she'd gone crazy the last time she'd seen him, she deliberately stayed away from the red door. She still cringed when replaying the scene in the middle of the night.

  One thing disturbed her. She would have sworn she felt eyes on her, particularly when she walked alone outside of the school. But Chloe knew it probably had to do with the people who were looking for her back in the real world. She was projecting, that was all.