The Forbidden Oracle

by Devyn Forrest

  “Of course, since I was voted leader of the second-year girls, I wanted to introduce myself again, for those of you who are new,” Margot continued. “I’m Margot Despereaux, a witch from Parisian origins. I come from a two-thousand-year line of French witches, many of whom were involved in nearly every portion of French history. One of my relatives was a dear friend to Marie Antoinette and was put on trial after the humans chopped her head off! Burned at the stake, the poor woman but no less remarkably powerful.”

  Margot’s eyes glittered as she looked at all of us.

  “This year will be a remarkable one, I can just feel it,” she smiled. “Our classes begin in only a few days, which means that we have an entire host of activities before then. As you all know, there is absolutely no drinking on campus—”

  At that, the red-haired Riley sprung up from her chair and walked toward the kitchen. From behind a line of cabinets, she brought out several trays of little cups and began to walk toward us, grinning wildly. She reached the red couch first and dropped down, gesturing for me to take one of the cups.

  I did and glanced into it, finding it bubbling. With just a sniff, I knew it was champagne.

  “Absolutely no drinking, no sexual activity and we all must treat one another like we’d want to be treated,” Margot continued beaming at everyone. She took her cup and winked at us provocatively. It was clear she wanted to be a different kind of leader... the kind that knew how to march far outside of the rules, without letting the professors know about it.

  “Let’s drink up, shall we?” she stated, thrusting her cup into the air.

  We all followed suit as she cried, “To Origins Academy! May we all have a beautiful year.”

  We all drank our cups of champagne. Immediately, my head grew fizzy and I turned toward Celeste, who seemed a bit taken aback. In my ear, she murmured, “We had a professor looking after us last year. I guess this year it’s just Margot and all the alcohol we can get our hands-on. That is as long as no one is looking.”

  Margot seemed to sense the unrest in the room. “I suppose you’re all wondering how we’ll get away with it? Well, it’s simple. I cast a small spell across the living area and our bedrooms here on the second floor. If you’re in the middle of a drink and you think you might be caught, you only have to mutter these words — boire belay. When you do, your drink will immediately transform into whatever’s deemed legal around here.” She scoffed. “Of course, the rules in America are so strict. I started drinking champagne when I was only ten years old. In France, they know you can handle it. In America, they just handcuff you with the rules, don’t they?”

  We had all finished our first drinks. Margot snapped her fingers, drawing another few bottles of champagne out of the cabinet. It was remarkable that she had such control over her powers, far and away more than Celeste. Celeste had mentioned once that witches came into their powers at different times—and that she had been relatively hesitant about hers and she didn’t know why.

  Margot, Riley, and the vampire girl whose name, I learned, was Zelda, marched around, pouring us another round of drinks. Margot reached me last and poured a little too much until the bubbles began to fall from the top of my cup. Droplets of champagne dropped onto my dress. I gave a little yelp and tried to wipe it off.

  “Oh, shoot, I’m sorry. I didn’t see what I was doing,” Margot smirked and started to speak even louder as she continued, “I suppose you’re the only new girl, aren’t you? Perhaps I should do a little introduction? Everyone! This is Ivy. Ivy Whitestone. Earlier today, she told me that she was ‘like a fae or something.’ Didn’t you, Ivy?”

  My cheeks burned bright red and I could feel every single pair of eyes on me. I shivered against Celeste, trying to draw up any kind of response, but I was frozen.

  “What’s the matter? Are you one of those faes that doesn’t know how to speak?” Margot shot, feigning a worried look.

  “Yep,” I tried and held my ground.

  Someone in the back of the room giggled and then another joined in.

  Margot jutted out her bottom lip. “That’s really too bad. But I do expect that you’ll have to speak in some of your classes with the faes. Perhaps it would be best for you to speak with Riley.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be grouped with the faes, actually,” I said—and immediately regretted it.

  Zelda, Riley, and Margot looked at me curiously and then one another. Riley scoffed, whispering, “What do you mean? Where else would you go?”

  “It’s simple, Ivy,” Margot said, sounding like a teacher giving instructions. “In this school, we’re all given specific classes to ensure that we get a handle on our powers: even I—perhaps top of the witch class—need guidance. Then, we come together, all of us, to learn more about the supernatural world, its history, and how we can become a part of the backdrop of its world. Some of us will have rather normal lives, of course.” Her eyes burned toward Celeste as if the fact that Celeste and her mom and dad had opted for a simple existence in Hillside Falls. “And some of us will go on to be diplomats, helming the higher-order in the supernatural realm. I know you’re new here, Ivy. And perhaps there’s a great deal you need to learn about our world. But I advise you to pay attention and never speak out of turn.”

  I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at her damn antics. Who did she think she was. Margot paused, drawing her tongue across her lower lip. It felt like she was studying me, trying to get a better read on what I was all about.

  But finally, too much time had passed. The other girls were watching her and giving me too much attention didn’t make any sense.

  Her voice returned to its fake chipper state.

  “Anyway, before Professor Springer comes in to give us another list of instructions and rules, I wanted to tell all of you that the first party of the year will be held tonight— by the docks, as usual. It’s important that you don’t speak about this anywhere outside the walls of this second-floor dormitory. The party begins after eleven. Make sure you leave in staggered groups—no more than three girls at a time. We all have to be back in our beds by five in the morning, which is when Professor Springer comes back to check on us.”

  “Doesn’t have a life, that one,” Zelda whispered. I immediately noticed her accent was British.

  Of course, the arrogant, brash vampire was British—suited her perfectly.

  When Professor Springer appeared in the doorway, Margot muttered boire belay under her breath. I glanced into my cup to find it filled with coke, instead of champagne. Even the bottles on the counter in the kitchenette had changed to coke bottles, instead of champagne.

  Shit, now that was pretty cool! Margot was good.

  “Good afternoon, ladies,” Professor Springer announced. She walked with authority, her head held high and her ass was jutted out behind her.

  A few of the girls behind me snickered.

  “I wanted to walk you through a few more ground rules, even though I’m sure that Miss Despereaux has gone over everything.”

  “I didn’t miss a thing, Professor Springer,” Margot said, her voice syrupy sweet.

  Professor Springer cleared her throat. “Very well. What you must know is this. Curfew is 10:30 PM. There is absolutely no alcohol at all on-campus whatsoever. If you are caught with it, you will be suspended.”

  A few other girls behind me giggled. I rolled my eyes. Why were they so obvious?

  Professor Springer didn’t seem to care. Maybe she was used to everyone laughing at her wherever she went?

  “And of course, there are to be no boys in the dorms, whatsoever.” She cleared her throat. Her eyes grazed over us like she was trying to make heavy eye contact with each and every one of us, as a kind of warning. “And what’s more, it’s important to keep your powers within safe spaces. Several of you are not accustomed to your powers or are just coming into them. We need to ensure the safety of all students. Being caught using your powers outside of the presence of teachers will result in suspension. Understand t
hat these rules are put in place for a reason. Follow them accordingly! Have a great night and thank you.”

  Professor Springer turned to the kitchenette, reached for a cup, and poured herself a bit of coke. I felt completely mesmerized. Sure, kids had gotten away with shit at Hillside Falls High. People had had sex in locker rooms when teachers were walking past, or in the bathrooms, or they had gotten busted with weed.

  But this? This was obviously a level I couldn’t understand.

  She drank from the coke and a moment later, even more girls started to laugh. She finished the drink and placed it back on the counter and then stood with her hands on her hips.

  “I’ll see you, witches, in first class on Monday. Good luck to all of you. Rest up this weekend.”

  She spun toward the door and moved out, slamming the door behind her. Margot turned toward all of us and muttered, “Boire belon,” which was apparently the spell that would turn the coke back to champagne. Again, my drink filled with bubbles.

  “What a fucking dipshit,” Margot spat and burst out laughing. “Rest up this weekend? As if!”

  Chapter Ten

  I couldn’t have imagined what it meant to party at a supernatural academy.

  While we were getting ready, Celeste looked almost panicked and changed her outfit at least three times. Each time, from dress to dress to crop top to dress, she seemed sluttier and meaner. I wanted to laugh and point this out, but I figured this wasn’t the kind of thing you said when someone was nervous.

  “What are you wearing?” Celeste demanded, realizing that I hadn’t changed out of my yellow dress.

  “Umm. This! I’m not trying to impress anyone?”

  “No.” Celeste clucked her tongue and raced for my wardrobe, where I had begrudgingly hung up all of my clothing items. She flicked through each one, shuddering at the selection. Finally, she arrived at a slinky black dress, which I had taken from aunt’s closet when she’d told me it was too small for her.

  “This is fine,” Celeste said, inspecting the garment. “But, we have to order you some new stuff.”

  “You know we don’t have a lot,” I shot, feeling a bit hurt that I even had to explain this to my best friend.”

  Celeste flung the dress across the bedspread, sighing. “I know, Ivy. I’m sorry. Just get dressed! I already hear some of the other girls heading out. We have to allow a few minutes in between. Professor Springer usually goes to bed around 10:30—and there’s a girl up there listening to her snoring, just to make sure. But we have to be quick. The girl who listens to the snoring always gets mad if we’re not fast.”

  I took off my yellow dress and replaced it with the black one quickly. The mirror reflected back me—or a version of me that I hadn’t really realized I could become. My light brown locks hair wafted beautifully down my back and shoulders, and my breasts surged up from the V-cut in the dress. The dress highlighted my long, thin waist, and my shapely legs stretched out from under the tight hem.

  “Damn,” Celeste approved, giving me a sneaky smile. “They aren’t going to be able to resist you.”

  “Who’s ‘they’?” I demanded.

  Celeste shrugged. “Any of them—whatever. Come on.”

  Celeste and I waited until another troupe of three girls wandered out from the second-floor dorm and then started counting. After about four minutes, we took delicate steps into the hallway and then retreated down the steps. From the staircase, I spotted the girl listening in for Professor Springer’s snores.

  She gave me the thumb’s up as we passed.

  Once outside, Celeste and I stretched our legs into a run. I’d never felt this free before, this wild with adrenaline. The night air had thinned, stripping away the thick humidity from the afternoon. It felt like drinking cool water.

  We took off our wedged sandals and moved around the back of the girls’ wing to the grassy courtyard, our toes easing across the green blades. To the left were the football fields, the baseball field, the soccer field, the tennis court, and beyond that was another wing of the school, which Celeste told me now was where a lot of her classes were held. The campus did operate a lot like a university campus—like Louisiana State University, where my dad had gone and taken me several times for sporting events.

  There was a breathless beauty to nighttime on campus for the first time. The night sky was jet-black and enormous. I felt like we were running on the inside of a snow globe with the sky littered with bright stars. Celeste and I couldn’t help it; we wanted to be quiet, but we burst into laughter when we reached a line of beautiful oaks, covered in hanging moss.

  We staggered to a stop and looked at each other. For the first time, I realized I hadn’t thought about the prophecy in a few hours. I had been allowed to forget—for just a brief period of time—that everything was about to go to absolute shit.

  “Come on. We’re close,” Celeste stated, her eyes dancing. She gripped my hand and yanked me the rest of the way, through a thick haven of trees. As we rushed through, our feet were scrambling over twigs and I heard the first signs of the party. Behind it was the slow rush of the waves, and the light laughter from the teens.

  We burst out of the tiny forest to find the party uproarious, stitched out across the beach, docks and along the pier. It seemed that this particular dock was used only by the school itself, which meant that there were only a few boats latched up to the wooden planks. A big sign hung over the top, which read “ORIGINS SUPERNATURAL DOCKING ONLY.”

  Celeste smirked, whispering, “But there are spells all over this place. The sign is redundant. It’s not like anyone who wasn’t a supernatural could ever see it...”

  We approached the party. Each class had about fifteen girls and fifteen boys, which meant that the entire school was around one hundred and twenty people—which was pretty small overall. When I had told this to Celeste, she just shrugged and said, “It’s not like they take everyone. It has to be small because we get specialized training from the teachers.”

  The party had a DJ off in the corner beside the dock that was perched up on a stand. It pumped some hip-hop songs that had literally torn across all the radio stations all summer long. My ears buzzed as I watched the teenagers dance the night away everywhere. They drew their hips together, grinding against each other like they were dirty dancers. The drunker ones seemed like they were ready to fuck asap and I could see the desire in their eyes.

  “Let’s grab a drink,” Celeste smiled, tugging me toward the side table. We grabbed two beers and drank them down, both of us greedy to feel the way the rest of the school did already.

  On the far side of the dance floor, I spotted Margot. She had sidled up alongside none other than Ezra, the ridiculously looking hot vampire, and had snaked her hand over his shoulders. He was wearing sunglasses and a black tank top, which showed off the half-sleeve tattoo that snaked his arm. He seemed not to make any sort of move toward her. It was clear they knew each other since Margot was whispering non-stop in his ear.

  I wondered what they were talking about.

  But there wasn’t time to think about it—and besides, it didn’t fucking matter.

  Celeste and I bounced out onto the dance floor. We kept to ourselves for a bit, dancing against each other and laughing. I could feel envious eyes on us. It was probably a weird thing to see two people who had literally been best friends since birth. Like, who did we think we were to love each other so damn much and have such a good time?

  As we danced, though, Celeste jabbed me in the side with her elbow.

  “Ow! What is it?” I asked.

  “Shhhh,” she hissed. “I wanted to point him out...”

  My eyes flew across the crowd to where she pointed. Sure enough, there he was, the guy I had seen in my vision, the one that I needed to worry about Celeste’s unprotected sex.

  “It’s Peter,” she said, staring at him while she stirred her drink.

  “I know. I’ve already seen him,” I explained.

  “Right.” She gave me a
curious look. “You really do have this, don’t you?”

  I shrugged. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  “Anyway,” Celeste said, swatting her hand through the air. “I’m going to go talk to him. We haven’t made out in like, three months. I’m going absolutely crazy.”

  “Just be careful,” I told her, giving her a half-smile.

  “Jesus Christ. You’re worse than my mom,” Celeste shot. “You going to be okay?”

  “I’m good. Go play, girl!”

  I watched as Celeste pounced on her prey. She literally did, too. Her hands sprung over his shoulders, making him turn around. He beamed at her and mouthed the word, “Hi.” I turned my eyes away, not wanting to gawk too much. Sure, I was painfully interested in what happened. But I knew Celeste would update me.

  A moment later, a girl appeared beside me. I could smell her perfume—floral, like lilacs, maybe. I turned up to peer into the eyes of Riley, the fae-elf with sharp ears and long, beautiful red hair.

  “Hey there. You’re looking a little lost,” she said, giving me a sly smile.

  I shrugged, wanting to play it cool. “Just need to grab a drink.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Riley said. “These things are hard when you’re new.”

  I was a bit confused. Why was Riley suddenly being nice to me? But I shrugged and let her walk alongside me as we weaved toward the drink table. The selection had grown pretty insane since we had arrived, with beer, wine, and even cocktails and champagne glowing with the light of the moon. I wrapped my fingers around the base of a wine glass and turned toward Riley, who still stared at me with increased interest. She grabbed a glass of wine, too.

  “So, I wanted to ask you—what you meant about you not knowing where you’ll be when classes start?” Riley began.

  This again. Great. I cast my eyes to the ground, feeling my cheeks heat up. My lips parted as I stumbled around, looking for the right words. “It’s...” I began. “It’s kind of a complicated situation. Like, I really wouldn’t even know how to describe it. It’s basically a result of my family bloodline.”