But I didn’t have time to think about it.
“Good morning, Miss Whitestone,” Professor Chesterton said. “I wonder if you could, please follow me to my office.”
I wanted to spit out that I obviously didn’t have a choice. I was on a horrible ride, figuring out the next steps of my future, and it wasn’t the kind of ride you could just get off whenever you wanted. But instead, I kept my mouth shut and followed him down the long, empty hallway, back toward his office.
Once there, Headmaster Chesterton said, “I’m sure you understand it’s been a bit of an issue, having you here.”
I wanted to tell him that it had been a bit of an issue in general, just being there.
“I’ve been preparing some kind of solution for your classes,” he continued. “Given the fact that who you are must remain a secret, from the students and even from the majority of the teachers, I’ve left it up to myself to come up with a strategy of attack.” He paused for a moment and forced the door the rest of the way open. Standing next to the fireplace was a little, stooped old man with furry grey eyebrows, a little grey beard, and an old sweater that made him look more like a librarian than any kind of supernatural. The second he spotted me, his face lit up. He looked at me like he’d seen me before like he was reuniting with me after many years away.
I didn’t return his smile. I did step into the office with Professor Chesterton, meandering toward the edge of the desk and leaning against it. I blinked at both old men, waiting.
“Good morning, Miss Whitestone,” the man said. “My name is Professor Baxter Binion.”
The name meant nothing to me. I flashed Headmaster Chesterton a curious expression, before saying, “Hello. Good to meet you.”
Again, he looked at me like the light shone out of my ass.
“Professor Binion will be focusing his attention solely on you, Ivy. He is well aware of the situation and was also a very dear friend of your mother. He is aware of her past and what is to happen.” Headmaster Chesterton continued. “He is from your mother’s tribe, Ivy.”
His words instantly made the hair on my arms stand up straight. Aunt Maria explained that they were after us, wanted to make us pay for what Mom had done. I started to shake my head and felt my heartbeat kick up a notch in my chest. I was sure they could both see my demeanor change to a frightened one when I watch Professor Binion took a step closer.
“Ivy, it’s ok. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to protect you, to train you and make sure you come into your full powers. Maria is well aware that I’m here. We are your team, so to speak.” He said, trying to reassure me.
I took a step back and felt the wall behind me. I looked at both of them again before I spoke. “So, how will this work?”
Professor Binion didn’t answer, exactly. He flashed me a warm smile and said, “It’s difficult to explain. All you need to know is that I have your very best interests at heart. I know this must be challenging for you. I dare say you haven’t known about your powers for very long.” He took a delicate step forward, scrunching his eyes. “It all began in your dreams, didn’t it?”
I swallowed and it felt like there was an acorn in my throat. “Nightmares, more like,” I told him.
He nodded. “Yes. Realizing that there was something so confusing in your mind—that you could see things. You knew things about people that you couldn’t fully understand. Isn’t that right?”
“It’s always been a little bit like that,” I told him, surprising even myself with my honesty. “I never knew it was anything more than intuition. Like, my mom and dad always told me I was just a normal kid, so I had no reason to believe anything else.”
“I understand,” Professor Binion nodded.
I had been completely untrusting of him before. But now, as he peered at me, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm. Was it possible that someone in this situation actually had my best interests at heart?
“So. You’ll really help me? Help me understand what’s going on?” I whispered. “It’s a bit of a fucking whirlwind.”
Headmaster Chesterton coughed like my swearing was inappropriate. I didn’t really care.
“We’ll figure this out together,” Professor Binion said, taking a step closer to eh desk and then leaning against it. He crossed his ankles and laid his hands in his lap as he continued. “We have worked out the following. I will be posing as a teacher, just like all the rest. You will be in all my classes. We will allow the students to think your powers will be along the lines of a fae for now as you come closer to the birthday in three weeks. Does that make sense?”
I nodded in agreement. I had to trust him. He was the only person who seemed to think he understood.
“Very good,” He said, pushing himself off the desk. He passed me a class schedule. “In the meantime, you’ll learn about all the races just like any other student here at Origins, so no alarms as raised. Twice a week, we have private tutoring sessions that are actually quite normal among some students that need more one on one time to really focus on either their powers or understand their heritage.”
Professor Binion gestured for me to follow him out of the room and down the hall, then up a winding staircase. “Headmaster Chesterton said we could use this private classroom,” he explained. “I think it’s terribly appropriate for us to have a great deal of privacy. Yours is a very particular case.”
“How much do you know?” I asked, my voice catching.
He paused for a moment, seemingly wondering how to respond. “I know a great deal more than I probably should,” he said. “And it’s put me in great danger, being here.”
“What do you mean?”
He didn’t answer and placed his hand on the doorknob. The outside read, Room 1201. He pushed it open and moved to the side, granting me access. I entered and walked to the other side, peering out the window. I could see out over the Gulf: glittering turquoise water beneath an impossibly blue southern sky. I caught my breath at the beauty of it and suddenly felt an ache in my belly. I was already feeling homesick. I wanted to share this view with Aunt Maria, but it would have been better to share with my mother. I knew she loved the south—and the Gulf—more than anyone else in the world. How often had she grabbed my hand and told me to look out the window on a long drive? “Look. We have to appreciate all this world has to offer; the bad and the good. There’s always so much good,” she’d said.
Once inside, Professor Binion clipped the door closed and sat at the desk. He gripped the edge of it and peered at me. I don’t know what I’d expected.
“Nobody has trained anyone in the art of being an oracle since your mother,” Professor Binion said. “And I must tell you now. I was the man who was supposed to train your mother.”
I gaped at him. Was that why he had looked at me like he knew me? I knew I looked a lot like her when she was younger.
“Were you raised in her tribe?” I whispered.
He swallowed. His face seemed to age ten years in one moment. “Your mother grew up in my tribe of shapeshifters,” he explained. “I was very close to her mother and father. I was their next-door neighbor, in fact. When she was born, it was such a remarkable thing knowing she would be the next oracle. And the fact that her mother and father were chosen as the parents... It was more than our community could have ever prayed for.”
I gaped at him.
“She never told me about the prophecy she had seen,” Professor Binion continued. “She had only just become my student, at that point and she was coming into her powers beautifully.”
“When did you learn about what she saw and chose,” I murmured and walked closer.
Professor Binion looked down at his hands. “It was a few days later. She knew she couldn’t tell anyone. She was meant to bring peace among humanity and the supernaturals races, but we weren’t sure what would happen if we lost the oracle. I think they all sensed it would bring about some kind of end-time, so; we knew if they found out they would have killed her on the spot. That is whe
n she confided in Maria and then myself. We helped her devise a plan that would allow her to leave and disappear, so no one would ever find her. And it worked well.” He finished and cleared his throat.
“I did as much as I could and she adapted quickly and became very powerful. By that time, she was showing powers in ways I couldn’t have dreamed of. She didn’t leave till about ten years after that. By that time, I had begun to think of her as a daughter rather than a student. We had been through so much, Ivy. When she disappeared, her parents demanded that I tell them everything I knew. Of course, I told them I didn’t know, so they banished me. I think so they could try and track my movements.” He chuckled at his last words.
“So you have been waiting for this to happen then,” I said, casting my eyes to the ground.
“Yes, I promised your mother. The three of us, your mother, Maria and I made an alliance that I vowed to follow through on,” Professor Binion stated.
There was an enormous elephant in the room. I wanted to ask so many questions at the information, but at the same time, I felt at ease knowing it just wasn’t me and my aunt fighting this thing. I had a teacher that knew exactly what I was up against and I knew I wouldn’t be alone anymore. I felt a wave of sadness take over as I looked at Professor Binion.
“You must hate me. You’re why Mom had to go into hiding. All of you...” I murmured. I felt the sudden weight of the entire situation and it didn’t really good at all.
Professor Binion took two strides forward, closing the space between us and then took my hands in his. “No, child. You have it all wrong. You are everything to us and what we strive to protect so we can all have a future. You are so special, Ivy. We love you as much as your parents did.” He said, giving me a smile.
I felt the warmth and passion in his words and finally relaxed. I watched as he walked back over to the desk and began talking again.
“I was more in-tune with your mother than any other shapeshifter in the tribe,” Professor Binion said. “I have more empathy for her situation than I can really describe. She was struggling with something—something I couldn’t understand. I wish she would have told me. But I understand why she couldn’t.”
“And now, I’m about to be seventeen,” I said, realizing it was coming so fast.
“You’re about to be seventeen,” he echoed sadly. “And I know that means plenty of responsibilities on your young shoulders, but I am here to help you, so you’re not overwhelmed. It also means that others will have an easier time tracking you until you start learning your powers.”
“Aunt Maria explained there are tribe members trying to find me.”
“Yes. We are aware of other shapeshifters in Hillside Falls, trying to track you down. Your mother’s spells are quite thick, but it has weakened considerably since her death. When she had cast her spell, it was like she left a signature. But it was invisible, the signature. You can only see it if you know how to look for it.”
“Is Aunt Maria going to be okay?” I asked, feeling uneasy.
“Yes, for now, she is,” Professor Binion said. “So lets me here every Tuesday and Thursday evening around 6 pm, just after supper.”
I nodded in agreement. Professor Binion walked toward me and touched my elbow, guiding me toward the door. “I think we’ve said enough for today. Just know that no one knows who I am. I’m just a new teacher at Origins.” He said, smiling at me as we left the classroom together.
Chapter Thirteen
Lunch was an hour and a half long, a period of resting and eating and socializing with other classmates before going off to the next half of classes that were on my list. I waited in my room until I heard the chattering of the other girls in the living area, proof that they’d all been released for the morning. Slowly, I crept to the door and glanced out, hunting for Celeste.
But the minute I opened the door, my eyes found Margot’s. She stopped in the center of the living area and stared at me, bringing a snake-like smile across her face. She tilted her slender hips and said, “Well. There she is. We were all wondering what you were up to this morning, Human—and it seems that we have our answer, don’t we? Sleeping the hours away.” She forced her bottom lip out and made it bounce, mocking me.
“I orientation,” I said, jutting out from my room. I was sick and tired of feeling like this Margot girl was going to toss me around—even if her powers were stronger than mine just now. “I just got out early.”
Margot arched her brow. “Oh? You did? Why don’t you come tell me all about it.” She gestured for me to approach her, like someone beckoning to a kitten. “We can sit together at lunch, just as girls, and have a good old fashioned conversation.”
“I don’t think so,” I stammered. Dammit. I was still a bit fucking tired from all the chaos that morning, and I wasn’t sure if I could come up with any kind of interesting or damning thing to say to Margot just then.
Suddenly, I heard Celeste’s familiar footfalls behind me. She snaked her arm over my shoulder and squeezed it. “You ready to get something to eat? Or is Margot here still masturbating to the pleasure of making fun of the new girl.”
Margot’s jaw dropped. She glared at Celeste and said, “You better watch your back, Celeste. I saw your powers today. They’re borderline pathetic.”
Celeste rolled her eyes, although I could tell the insult cut her deep. “Whatever, Margot. You know I come from a much longer line of witches than you do. And it’s always been written that the British witches are far more powerful than the French. You’re always getting bogged down with your frivolous parties while we get the actual work done.”
Margot’s cheeks burned red. Celeste grabbed my hand and yanked me toward the door. We scrambled down the steps without speaking and then swept across the grass in the arboretum. Celeste continued to grumble to herself, seemingly lost in whatever had happened in her class that morning. I knew better than to pity her. Hell, if anyone could really understand her powers—I knew Celeste could. She never let anything get her down for long.
The lunch area was outside, just beyond the football fields. There were several long wooden picnic tables, stretched out in the shade beneath the trees. Staff members in black robes loaded up another big table with delicious-looking, steaming food — chicken wings, potatoes, bread rolls. A little grill off to the side featured a chef, who seemed to prepare food right there when you ordered it—burgers if you wanted, or quesadillas or eggs.
“This is fucking different than Hillside Falls,” I said under my breath, just loud enough for Celeste to hear.
“Ha. You think they’d let us eat that shit?” she teased. “No. We’re the ‘best of the best’ or whatever. And some of the parents go out of their way to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to Origins. I guess they have to spend it somehow.”
We piled our plates. I was careful to scan the crowd, trying to avoid any sign of Margot or her cronies. I was grateful that when they did arrive, they sat over to the side of the lunch area. It seemed like they had other gossip to attend to.
From where Celeste and I sat, I spotted the three kings—Raphael, Quintin, and Ezra, seated beneath the biggest oak tree in the clearing. Ezra wasn’t eating—and, now that I was paying attention—neither were any of the other people I knew to be vampires, including Zelda. She sat angrily next to Margot, staring straight ahead and nodding at whatever Margot said.
Of course. This made sense.
“What do they eat, then?” I asked Celeste, who was in the middle of telling me something about her early-morning class.
“Who?” she asked, arching her brow.
“The vampires,” I returned.
“Oh. Um. I think I heard once that the school brings in shipments of blood. Like, the kind that’s prepared in a lab. I’m pretty sure that’s how most vampires eat. It’s not like they could just go around drinking human blood.”
“Right,” I murmured. I watched Raphael sit next to Ezra and tear into his chicken wing. He looked every bit the Lycan he was�
��although everything about it was powerful and sensual and really fucking alluring. I remembered grinding up against him at the dock party. God, maybe I should have gone for it.
“Oh, god. There’s Peter.” Celeste said softly, her eyes flashing.
Sure enough, Peter sauntered across the lunch area, grabbed a plate, and began to fill it with potatoes, vegetables, rolls.
“He’s a vegetarian,” Celeste whispered, saying it like it was the most romantic thing in the world.
“God. You’ve got it bad,” I said and rolled my eyes.
“Maybe...” Celeste moaned.
I was frankly surprised when Peter turned his body toward our table and began to march toward us. He gave Celeste this sneaky smile, then sat beside her. “Hi,” he said, sounding a bit anxious, like he wasn’t sure what he was doing or if it was right.
“Hi,” Celeste returned, her voice a bit too cheerful.
I glanced down at my food, realizing that I didn’t really want to sit there and be “in on” their little romantic charade. I ripped open my roll and filled it with a little bit of chicken and cheese, and then told Celeste and Peter I’d see them later. I returned the plate to the front table and then took off back toward the main building.
I knew the library was located on the east side of the main building. It was enormous, built up kind of like a European church, with brightly colored stained-glass windows, ceilings that stretched up to the fourth or even fifth floors, and countless rooms and nooks and crannies, easy to get lost in. I had seen it when I had my tour but knew it would be largely empty since most people were at lunch and waiting for the next round of classes.
I wandered in through the foyer. The librarian didn’t even glance up at me when I entered, seemingly lost in her own data processing or whatever. I wondered what kind of supernatural would decide on a career at the library?
There was so much I still didn’t understand about this world. I wandered to the far wall and read up on the different areas of the library — Supernatural Historical Texts, Spell Guides, Vampire Lineages, Potion Recipes... The list went on.
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