I didn’t know how to respond. I crossed my arms hard and stared straight ahead. The clock ticked on the radio. Always, my birthday—on October 31, Halloween—had been a really beautiful occasion. Me, Celeste, Aunt Maria, and Zoey had always decorated, eaten too many sugar candies, and worn silly costumes. With Celeste and Zoey being witches, they had always concocted little potions for us to experience with. Like, you would drink one potion and feel complete euphoria, or drink another one and feel the way you did when you were five years old. We would erupt into laughter with one another.
This year was going to be pretty fucking different.
“I suppose we’d better keep going,” Aunt Maria stated and then pressed her foot onto the gas pedal and eased back on the road.
The ride out to Origins Supernatural Academy was a full hour. I toyed with the radio, but just for something to do with my hands. Aunt Maria had always been a music lover, since she said, growing up in her tribe, she hadn’t experienced much in the way of our music. I remembered when I was really young and my parents were my dad had shown my mom tons of country western stuff that she grew to love. I had caught them dancing in the kitchen on several occasions, with Dad whirling her around and around. Those were the memories that would fill my eyes with tears and make my heart feel like it would implode in my chest at any moment.
“There are many spells around Origins Academy,” Aunt Maria explained. She cleared her throat. “You can feel them if you center your body. Inhale, exhale. We’re about ten miles away, and the air feels thicker—more electric.”
“It feels the way home used to,” I said, agreeing with her. I could barely feel it, but I knew it was there.
“Right. Exactly,” she said nodding. “Although, because this is an entire academy—with some of the best, brightest, and, of course, richest supernatural children in the world, the place is overwrought with spells. It’s borderline impossible to find, which is exactly why your mother arranged this in the first place. It’ll keep you safe, hidden for the most part.”
I sucked in a breath at her words and turned toward abruptly. “Wait. What? My mother arranged this? When?” I asked, shocked beyond belief.
“A year before she passed away. We have a close connection at the school. He is very familiar with our situation and has taken the oath to keep you guarded and safe at all costs.”
I didn’t know how to respond. I felt like I’d just been given my death date—my own birthday—and told that I had to learn all about this magical realm before anyone would find me if I was going to survive.
“What about you?” I asked, just realizing that they will still be looking for her as well.
Aunt Maria turned to me and smiled. “Don’t you worry about me, honey. I’m gonna be just fine. I can still kick some ass even though I’m fifty-one years young.” She winked at me, trying to make me smile.
We snaked down from the highway, taking up a gravel road that ducked into the forest. We were just a bit away from the coast. I remembered Celeste telling me about those beautiful evenings she spent with various boys at the academy—even the one I was a bit frightened would knock her up. I still hadn’t stopped prodding her about having more safe sex. “You know, condoms would be a good thing, you know!”
I had a feeling that safe sex wasn’t exactly covered at Origins Supernatural Academy since there was so much other shit going on.
The academy slowly peaked out of the forest, all five floors and several wings of it—looking like an old-world English castle, right there at the edge of Louisiana. I shivered as we made our way up closer to the magical looking estate. It was impossibly big, made of thick, grey stone, the kind of place you could get lost in if you weren’t careful and headed down the wrong corridor. Hillside Falls consisted of a football field, a soccer field, a tiny basketball arena—and a collection of classrooms and lockers. I had mastered it in a few hours.
“Holy shit,” I whispered as we parked the car. “Celeste didn’t mention just how regal it is.”
“It was built hundreds of years ago,” Aunt Maria explained. “By a very pureblood line of witches and warlocks. They wanted to uphold their community in the midst of so much havoc. After many lines came over from their old countries, they were struck with the hatred exhibited by humans. It seemed that many of the human lines came to the United States to escape feelings of well. They call us evil, often—as you know.”
“But my dad never did,” I said, giving her a side-eyed glance. “Why was he so willing to marry Mom? To be with her? If he knew...”
Aunt Maria shrugged. “The minute they looked at one another, there wasn’t any denying that they were meant to be together. Well, that is what your mother always told me. She revealed only bits and pieces of her past to him, telling him that she wanted nothing more than to leave it behind. She knew that he was the man for her. And they built a life together, a beautiful one. Truly. They didn’t even get pregnant with you for a few years. I know that Coralia felt that she was given a great gift in your father and for having you. Both of you were her greatest loves of all.”
Aunt Maria was making me tear up again, but I quickly wiped the tears away before she noticed. I watched her shut off the gas and turned to look at me again.
“It’s time,” she said.
School wasn’t going to start for another month, but the Academy grounds were bustling with grounds workers, eager to make it beautiful for those first few weeks—when parents and guardians came in and saw where all their long-held supernatural money went.
I knew that Aunt Maria and I didn’t have much of anything. As we marched up the steps, I murmured, “How are we going to afford this, anyway?”
“Your mother has already taken care of everything, Ivy. At least that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about.” She said, trying to lighten the mood a little.
The doors were heavy, thick wood, with little golden carved handles and stood at least fifteen feet tall. Aunt Maria thrust open the door on the right and took a delicate step into the foyer. The ceiling stretched three stories up and featured a stunning mural—in which several different types of races—magic, shapeshifters, faes, and vampires, all stood in a circle, their eyes cast toward an image of the earth.
I paused, watching her move deeper into the belly of the academy. Not wanting to lose her—and frankly surprised she knew where she was going—I wandered after her. My eyes continued to trace every space as we passed by; the stone walls, the enormous fireplaces, the long portraits and paintings of various old headmasters, all of whom seemed to be of one of the races that were painted on the above ceiling mural.
As we entered the second hallway, I spotted a portrait that seemed oddly familiar to me. It was of a very old man wearing medieval clothing, holding a helmet to his side. His face was somber, and his cheeks gaunt. He was entirely handsome, but his eyes told a different story like he had seen visions of the future, and he didn’t like what he’d seen.
Without thinking, I spun toward the painting and stopped frozen in front of it. The man’s eyes looked almost exactly like mine, bright blue, electric and glowing.
My eyes traced down his muscular frame, his long legs, and to find a little plaque at the bottom.
Of course.
It was Dramatis; Dramatis Thereonis—the man who had written the Scripture from the original tribesman text.
And beneath his name was a single word: Oracle.
“I didn’t imagine him like this,” I murmured to myself as I lightly touched the plaque, thinking that somehow it would communicate with me if I did.
Aunt Maria smiled. “I have heard he was quite a man. We had all learned him when we were just kids and your mother had vowed that somehow, he arranged for her to find that book. We’ll never know-how. But it was certainly fascinating that he could see so many centuries into the future. He was extremely powerful.”
After a moment, we continued down the hallway, toward an enormous door that read, “Headmaster Theodore Chesterton” o
n it. Aunt Maria rapped her knuckles over the door and a firm voice told us to enter.
When we did, we found a middle-aged man seated at a large desk. A salt and pepper beard had fully taken over the bottom portion of his face, and he had neatly slicked back short hair. He peered at us with twinkling purple-blue eyes. He wore a spectacular black suit, one in the fashion of much-older English ware. He looked like he’d stepped out of the pages of a Regency novel—something I had read back at Hillside Falls. I imagined I wouldn’t get so much reading in here at Origins.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” his voice was deep and thick but also pleasant. “Please. Come in. Sit. Would you like something to drink?”
We shook our heads and smiled. We sat infancy, vintage chairs and looked at him. Aunt Maria seemed even more nervous than I was. I guessed it was the only solution to keep me safe.
“I never thought I would see the day when Coralia Whitestone’s daughter entered my chambers,” Headmaster Chesterton said. He beamed at me, but not without a sense of sympathy. Then he turned to Aunt Maria. “You’ve been in hiding for how long now?”
“It doesn’t really matter, Theodore.” She said and gave him a weak smile.
“I suppose not,” Headmaster Chesterton agreed. He switched his eyes toward me, seeming to assess me. “Your message was rather compelling. We haven’t had an oracle within the ranks of this school—ever.”
“We are aware. I’m sure Coralia informed you of all this before her passing,” She stated, shifting in her chair. I could feel the sarcasm in her words. “Coralia and Ivy are the only ones who’ve been born with the gene for over a thousand years.”
“I’m well aware, Maria,” Headmaster Chesterton said. He shot up from his chair and rounded his desk, standing close to me. “I imagine that it will be quite difficult for you, starting at this new school before your powers really come to fruition.”
My stomach burned with apprehension. I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. I wanted to tell him I was ready, that I didn’t need this kind of passive-aggressive bullshit. But of course, this wasn’t my world. I knew next to nothing.
“As agreed, I need the nature of Ivy’s powers to stay hidden. At least until the latest time possible,” Aunt Maria stated sternly. “It’s imperative that we keep her safe at all costs.”
Headmaster Chesterton clucked. “You do realize that Origins Supernatural Academy has the greatest magical protection in the world. A school over in India often says that their protection is better than ours—but I was able to find it in no time at all when I went for a visit two years before. I mentioned to them that their security should be doubled, but they just laughed in my face—serves them right if there’s a breach.”
“I doubt that’s something we should ever wish on children,” Aunt Maria retorted. Her darkening hazel eyes followed him as he marched to the side of the room and poured himself a cup of tea.
“Yes, well. It’s good to have this meet, Miss Montague. It’s quite rare that we ever have a student begin in her second year. However, I’m told that you’re quite close to Miss Celeste Winters, which means she can have the pleasure of showing you around. I think you’ll find the environment here to be quite different than Hillside Falls High.”
I shot him a light smile across my lips, still trying to figure him out and if his intentions were sincere or not.
“We’re addressing the issue of your situation. That is, we haven’t anyone to teach you how to become what you are, at this time,” Headmaster Chesterton continued.
“During the morning hours, everyone will take normal classes as they still have to
integrate within human society and understand the basics of the human way of life.
Then our secondary schooling is what is more in-depth for our students as they all learn about the supernatural side of our world, their heritage and powers. Everyone deserves time to flourish within their own class. Do you understand?”
“But you’re saying that since I’m the only oracle at this school, I’ll require my own special teacher,” I affirmed.
“Precisely,” Headmaster Chesterton said.
“And regarding security...” Aunt Maria continued, seemingly trying to draw the topic of conversation back to why she’d come.
But Headmaster Chesterton just waved his hand. “I don’t think it should be such an issue, Maria. As I said before, we have the best security across the world. I’m glad to welcome dear Ivy into the fold. I know she’ll become every bit the oracle the world needs.”
Chapter Seven
Outside, Aunt Maria looked worried and seemingly lost in thought. I stopped walking half-way to the car, and my stomach was filled with panic.
“What is it?” She asked.
“Does he know everything?” I asked.
Aunt Maria took out the car keys and then looked at me. “No. Of course not. Your mother only told him what he needed to know and that is it.”
“So, when you were going on about security, and he was like yeah, yeah, everything’s great; it’s because he doesn’t understand the nature or depth of everything.”
Her eyebrows furrowed in frustration and she took a step in front of me, grabbing me by the shoulders. “Ivy, he can’t know. The prophecy is difficult to explain. Only those in the know can truly understand it and at this moment, there is only three of us,” she explained.
“So I’m just going to come here and hope that people like Headmaster Chesterton protect me. Is that it?” I asked before her words sunk in. “Three of us? Who is the third person?”
I watched a small smile played at Aunt Maria's lips. “Your new teacher.” She winked and opened the car door. “Get in.” She said.
Jesus. This was all getting to be too much.
“Just trust me. Trust what your mother has put in place to keep you safe. Coralia was a very smart and powerful woman. That’s all I can really tell you.” She explained and reached over and ran her hand down my hair. I closed my eyes and leaned into her hand, savoring the moment and then exhaled.
“I get it, Aunt Maria. I trust what you and Mom have done or setup, but you have to understand that I’m curious and am going to ask questions.” I said and smile.
“I get it kiddo. I get it.” She said, looking at me. We held the moment like this, staring into one another’s eyes, realizing that everything we had ever known about one another’s worlds was about to shift.
She started the car and said, “Let go home. Should I call Zoey and Celeste for dinner?” She asked.
“Pizza?” I said, flashing her a smile.
She nodded and smiled. “You’re going to be the most powerful woman in the world. And still, you’re a sixteen-year-old who wants pizza over everything else. I swear to God, nothing beats a teenager.”
As the car snaked its way back down the road, back toward the highway, I played with the radio station for a few minutes. I felt a thud in my belly, knowing that in less than a month, I would be returning to Origins Supernatural for good.
While there, my powers would come to fruition.
While there, I would learn to become an oracle. I would learn to become this—being that was meant to instill safety and peace to the world among humans and supernaturals.
But just now, I was allowed to just be a teenage girl and take the pepperoni off the pizza and banter with Celeste about which boy in the band we’re obsessed with is cuter.
These were pure times. And they were all the more perfect because they were coming to a close.
ON SEPTEMBER 1, WE packed up the last of my suitcases and tossed them in the back of the car. I blinked down at the summation of my life, stitched together in three suitcases and a backpack. Leaving the bedroom, I’d had since I was literally a baby was a strange thing like I had left my soul back there and was just carrying my zombie-body forward.
It was difficult to explain.
Aunt Maria and I jumped in the vehicle and started the short drive over to Celeste’s house, which was quiet, and was als
o taught with tension. These were the last moments we would have together for a few weeks. I worried about what would happen to her while I was gone, whether she would be safe at the house alone or not.
When we reached the Winters’ house, Celeste was already out front, putting her own suitcases into the car. Over the past week, we had talked endlessly about the upcoming weeks at Origins. “I can’t believe you’re going to be a student there!” she said over and over again. “My best friend in my favorite place! I’m going to go crazy.”
A second later, Aunt Maria yelled out of her window. “Hey! Come on, guys! What’s taking so long.”
Zoey appeared in the driveway after that in a beautiful floral yellow sundress that showed off her figure. She flung her purse over her shoulder as she sauntered to the passenger door, sat down and shut the door. “What’s the rush, lady. We have lots of time.” She said, letting out a playful laugh. She looked over her shoulder at us in the backseat. “Are you ladies ready?”
We both smiled and nodded, settling in our seats as Aunt Maria pulled out of the driveway and onto the main road.
TEN MINUTES INTO THE drive, Celeste’s lips found my ear. “My mom has been on the phone with your aunt for the last week, telling her that it’s going to be okay. That Origins Academy has top-notch security and that’s there is nothing to worry about. Mom is also making me swear not to say anything about your race or what power you might gain. Obviously, it will get out soon enough, but in the meantime, my lips are sealed shut, or I’ll be in shit until eternity.” She explained, wiping her hair from her face.
“Jesus, I’m sorry.”
Celeste laughed, although her eyes looked sad. “You’ve been normal all your life. I guess your ‘normal’ just ran out.”
The drive over to Origins was cheerful. Celeste was all-out wild with conversation, chatting about what would happen when we got there. Her mom seemed similarly excited since she had gone to the academy when she was younger and had really fond memories.
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