Everly Academy

by V. B. Marlowe

  Everly Academy

  (Everly Academy Book One)

  V.B. Marlowe

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used factiously.

  Copyright © 2018 by Tiffany Nicole Smith. All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be copied or reproduced in any matter whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Printed in the United States of America.

  Cover design by: Deranged Doctor Design

  Contents

  200 Years Ago

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  Dru’s Story

  200 Years Ago

  Once upon a time, witches wreaked havoc throughout the land. They killed livestock, burned down entire villages, and ruined crops just for sport. Worst of all, they stole children from their beds during the night and ate them. Humanity couldn’t take any more. If they didn’t put a stop to the violent rule of the witches, the world would eventually be destroyed.

  The seven rulers of the major kingdoms came together to devise a plan. There was King Reginald, the king of Switzerland; King Bastien of France, King Topher of England; Chief Flying Eagle of the Native American Apache Tribe; King Agostino of Italy; King Mateo of Spain; and King Triton of the sea. The witches’ destruction had even reached to the depths of the ocean. The sea witches joined their sisters by creating massive storms, shipwrecks, and killing valuable sea life.

  The worst of it was a day that is written down in history as The Day of Tears. One day in an Italian village, hundreds of schoolchildren were playing in a field, celebrating the first day of spring. Brightly colored kites dotted the sky as the children chased each other in innocent glee. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of lightning, and playful shrieks turned to screams of terror. The teachers watched in horror as a circle of fire engulfed the children. They tried to reach them, but rings of flames made it impossible. The circle closed tighter and tighter around the terrified children like a snake squeezing its body around its prey. Within minutes, the screaming stopped and there was nothing left but a blackened circle filled with charred bones. That was the last straw.

  The seven kings called together all the strong and able-bodied men of their kingdoms and proposed a challenge. They offered the men gold and riches in exchange for the heads of witches, setting off a worldwide witch hunt. The men, driven by the prospect of being able to provide for their families for a lifetime, accepted the challenge. Almost every witch was apprehended and destroyed, but the strongest, the Moonhaven Coven, was able to elude capture.

  The Moonhaven Coven, seeing the destruction of their fellow sister witches, vowed to get revenge on the kings and men who had hunted them down. The witches, cunning as they are, knew the best way to hurt them was to punish their children, their daughters especially. They cursed the children of the kings as well as several of the huntsmen’s children, knowing it would crush them to watch their children suffer.

  The witches wanted the children to suffer long, so they didn’t kill them immediately. They cursed them with immortality along with other heinous curses. The coven put a stipulation on their curse; if the girls had not found a way to break their curses by the one hundredth blood moon, they would die.

  Bea, a fairy whose job it was to protect princesses, did the best she could to soften the blows. She blessed the children with a gift to go along with their curse. She gathered as many of them as she could find who would come with her, and she hid them away in a secret location where the witches couldn’t touch them. She promised their fathers that she’d keep their daughters safe, even long after the men had perished.

  Because witches live for turmoil, they created seven elixirs. An elixir would be given to anyone who killed another cursed child. They wanted the children to turn on each other like savages.

  With her magic, Bea created a secret world for the girls who were entrusted to her—a world no one could enter without her permission. There the girls live and wait, either to break their curses, or to perish once their time was up.

  1

  TAKING A DEEP BREATH, Molly Dillinger ran her fingers over the short blond curls that ended at the nape of her neck. One person stood ahead of her, waiting in line to be interviewed. To pass the time, Molly went over the usual interview questions in her head. What school did you graduate from? What was your major? When did you decide that you wanted to become a teacher? How would you handle a difficult student?

  Clasping the manila folder which held eighteen copies of her resume, Molly glanced around the crowded conference room. The job fair was full of tables, one for almost every school in the district. She’d already had six interviews, and none of them had given her a definite “yes.” It wasn’t supposed to be that hard. Molly had been hearing for years how there was always a need for teachers, so she couldn’t understand why she was still scrambling for a job when school was set to begin in a week. The last thing she wanted to do was leave the job fair unemployed. There was only an hour left, and she was determined to impress one of those principals.

  As the interviewee, a guy who looked like he was about twelve, left the table, the woman ahead of Molly took the vacated seat. Molly gave herself a last look over. She smoothed the sides of her knee-length navy-blue pencil skirt and made sure she hadn’t spilled any coffee on her crisp white blouse. On instinct, she reached for her long blond locks only to remember she had chopped them off two days before. Her short pixie cut would take some time to get used to and she’d regretted doing it the second the first clump of tresses had hit the floor. It had been a knee-jerk reaction to discovering her fiancé cheating on her with her best friend. Clay had always loved Molly’s hair, so she’d cut it off as a punishment to him. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize until afterward how stupid it was.

  Molly’s turn came sooner than she had expected. She cleared her throat and took a seat across from the principal of Roosevelt High.

  He was a thin, bald man in a pinstriped suit and silver-framed glasses. The name plate on the table read Principal Edward McGraw. He held a yellow legal pad in front of him and grinned. “Good afternoon. Tell me about yourself.”

  Molly handed him her resume. There wasn’t much on it, not much that had to do with teaching anyway. She’d worked at Dairy Queen during her senior year in high school. In college she’d worked at a veterinarian’s office, as a lifeguard at a community pool, and as a receptionist at a hair salon. It wasn’t until Molly sat to type up her resume that she realized her mother was right about her having a lack of focus. Her employment choices were all over the place.

  She cleared her throat again and checked her posture. Head up. Shoulders back. “My name is Molly Dillinger. I graduated from UCLA this past May with a degree in Secondary Education. I did my internship at a charter school called The Imagine Institute, and it was an amazing experience. I taught tenth grade Language Arts.”

  Principal McGraw nodded and scribbled on the notepad. Molly suspected the man was bored and playing a game of Sudoku instead of listening to her. A friend had warned her that these principals already had people in mind for their open positions and that job fairs were just for show. Molly felt as though she were wasting her time, but what other options did she have?

  Finally, McGraw
stopped writing and studied her face. “You look young.”

  The Kiss of Death.

  Molly nodded. “I know. I’m twenty-three.” She could easily pass for a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old. Molly stood at five foot seven, and her weight fluctuated between one hundred twenty and one hundred thirty pounds. With a button nose that had always been described as cute and doe-like hazel eyes, even Molly had to agree that she looked sort of like a Precious Moments figurine.

  Principal McGraw twisted the pen in his hands. “Roosevelt is a rough area. Are you sure you can handle a position like this?”

  Molly’s shoulders dropped as she forgot all about her perfect posture. She was prepared for this. The principal saw a small girl who looked the same age as the students she would be teaching and assumed she wouldn’t be able to handle it. She answered a few more of his standard questions half-heartedly and then breathed a sigh of relief once she was excused. She wasn’t getting the job, so why waste any more time?

  Molly weaved her way across the crowded conference room, through the lobby, and out the side doors that led to a small gated area filled with plants and benches. Resting her folder on a bench, she took a seat on the edge of a giant flower pot holding a spectacular rose bush. Molly took a moment to observe her beautiful surroundings. The area was lined with ceramic-tile benches. Placed sporadically throughout were bushes full of colorful flowers and exotic-looking plants. She recognized two of her mother’s favorite flowers—daisies and hydrangeas. Speaking of her mother . . .

  Checking her phone, Molly saw she had five missed calls from her. There was no way she was calling her back anytime soon. Her mother would only scold her for quitting law school to pursue teaching—a career that would barely pay her enough to make ends meet. Molly tried not to feel hopeless, but that was quite a task when one was without a job, fiancé, or best friend.

  “Mint?”

  Molly had been so lost in her thoughts that she jumped at the sudden interruption. A short, plump woman wearing an impeccably tailored purple suit held out a metal container holding several small, white candies.

  “Sure.” Molly took one and held it between her thumb and index finger. “I’m sorry. I didn’t notice you approach.”

  The woman had brilliant silver hair brushed up into a bun and round red cheeks. It wasn’t a normal gray that came with old age, but a shimmering sterling. A golden, decorative pin stuck out of her bun. Molly couldn’t quite make out what it was. Maybe some type of bird. The woman smiled broadly. Molly thought it was a nice smile—kind and almost grandmotherly. “Sorry to have startled you.”

  She had an English accent and sounded like she was from another time. Molly thought she reminded her of a character from Mary Poppins.

  The woman placed the mints back into her silver satchel purse. “I needed a break from all the people inside. What are you doing out here?”

  Molly took a deep breath. “I came to the job fair looking for a teaching position. I did a handful of interviews, but I don’t think I’m going to get any of them.”

  The woman’s clear, blue eyes lit up. “Well, I guess we both happen to be in the right place at the right time. I’ve been interviewing all morning but have yet to find the right candidate for my vacant position.” She looked Molly up and down. “You, however, might be perfect.”

  Molly opened her mouth and then closed it, not sure how to respond. “What? But you don’t even know me. What makes you think I would be perfect?”

  The woman patted Molly’s knee. “Oh, I’m a great judge of character, and I can read a person’s spirit. Do you have a resume?”

  Molly hurried to grab her folder from the bench and handed the woman a resume. She didn’t remember her inside, and someone like her definitely stood out. However, the room had been packed with people, so it was possible that she had simply missed her table. The woman took the page, giving it a quick glance. “Yep. You’ll be perfect.”

  Molly’s heart fluttered. “Seriously? Can you tell me about the job? What school? What would I be teaching?” Molly wasn’t particular. She just needed a job and a paycheck.

  “This is a special school for young women only. These girls are the offspring of very, very important people. The school is secluded and unadvertised.”

  Molly frowned. “So, these girls, they’re the daughters of celebrities and government officials or something?”

  The woman nodded. “Yes . . . or something. I’m Ms. Beatrix, by the way, headmistress.”

  Molly let the title of headmistress roll through her mind, thinking of how fancy the place must be. “Nice. What subject would I be teaching?”

  “First you should know that this school doesn’t work like other schools. Every girl has her own curriculum, and she only takes the subjects relevant to her. The schedule is very open and flexible.”

  Molly loved the sound of that. “That sounds amazing.” Although teaching a different curriculum to each student did seem a bit overwhelming. “How many girls would I be responsible for?”

  “All of them.”

  “All of them?”

  “There are only ten young ladies.”

  Molly couldn’t believe her luck. All along she had been picturing classrooms overcrowded with students. During her internship she’d had thirty-two students per class. Now she’d only have ten? “When do I start?”

  “Next Sunday. I’ll pick you up and take you to the location.”

  “Wait . . . Sunday? Pick me up?”

  “Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that this is a live-in position. Room and board and everything you need will be taken care of.”

  That was a lot to take in at once. Molly thought about her apartment. She would have to pack up everything and move just like that. “Um, okay. Can I see pictures of the place?” If she was going to be living somewhere, shouldn’t she at least see it first?

  “Don’t worry. Your accommodations are immaculate. More beautiful than you could ever imagine. This is a very prestigious school. Do you want the job?”

  Molly felt like something about the situation was off. It seemed too good to be true. She needed to ask additional questions to get more details, but she wasn’t sure what to say.

  The whole situation sounded entirely crazy and ridiculous to Molly. Had she been in a different place in her life, she might have said “no” immediately, but Molly was ready to get away from her overbearing mother and anything that reminded her of Jessica and Clay. A mysterious adventure that provided an escape from her suffocating life might be exactly what Molly needed. Her mother wouldn’t approve. Jessica would tell her to forget the job and stay close to her. Clay would have told her she was being stupid.

  Beatrix stared at her expectantly with one eyebrow raised.

  “Yes. Yes! I want the job!”

  Ms. Beatrix stood and smoothed the back of her skirt. “Excellent. We will pick you up on Sunday night. The name of the school and the location will be revealed to you then.”

  Before Molly could ask any more questions, the woman hurried away and disappeared through the garden’s exit. Although Molly was still a bit uneasy about the secrecy, she was excited. She texted her mother:

  Mom, I got a job!

  2

  DOROTHY DILLINGER WAS A supermom times ten. She made sure Molly and her brother Carson had the best of everything: the best schools, the best teachers, the best clothes, and the best opportunities. Weekends were spent visiting museums and taking lessons neither Molly or Carson would ever find use for. By the age of twelve, Molly had been forced to take ballet, piano, violin, French, Spanish, horseback riding, and gymnastics. Even with all that, she had to find time to be a high-badge-earning Girl Scout and debutante. When she wasn’t doing that, she was engaged in play dates her mother set up with the children of high-society parents.

  “It’s all about who you know” was Mrs. Dillinger’s favorite saying. Carson, six years Molly’s senior, had fulfilled his mother’s expectations by becoming a dentist. He was currently engaged to a
governor’s daughter, and Mrs. Dillinger couldn’t stop going on and on about it. Mr. Dillinger, on the other hand, didn’t care either way. He just wanted his children to be happy and independent. Molly had always been closer to her father.

  Molly possessed one flaw her mother couldn’t stand. She always had her head in the clouds. Mrs. Dillinger would often say to her husband, “I don’t know what we’ll do with that child. She refuses to live in reality.” Molly couldn’t disagree. She found reality either too cruel or too boring.

  Molly sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, having a conversation with her mother over the phone. She had already rolled her eyes so many times they hurt.

  “Have you lost your mind, Molly? You are ready to give up your apartment and pack up all your belongings on the word of some kook you met outside of the job fair. She can’t even tell you the name of the school or where it is? I have to say, you’ve made some terrible decisions in your life, but this is by far the worst. I really don’t understand you sometimes.”

  Molly pictured an older version of herself on the other end of the phone. They shared the same blond hair and hazel eyes, but Mrs. Dillinger’s hair was much longer, of course. “Yeah, well, of course it sounds crazy when you say it like that,” Molly retorted. That wasn’t exactly true, though. The more Molly thought about it, the crazier it sounded. What was she doing trusting the word of a complete stranger? For all she knew, Ms. Beatrix could have been some nut job who had wandered in from the street. She wondered if she was making a monumental mistake.

  Molly imagined her mother tapping her foot angrily as she spoke. “Did she discuss your salary? Benefits? Did you sign a contract? Did you fill out any paperwork that people fill out when they are beginning a new job?”

  Molly grabbed an empty suitcase and began tossing in small piles of folded clothes. “No. I’m sure I’ll do all that once I get there.”