by Lan Chan
There was a collective intake of breath. The professor frowned. “I asked for history. Not superstition.”
I thought that was rich considering we were sitting in a classroom with at least six kids whose skin was more leathery than the upholstery in the dorm common room.
“It’s not superstition,” Charles said. “My brother says –” The professor held up her hand to cut him off.
“Yes, thank you, Charles. I’d rather not teach my lesson based on the conjecture of Max Thompson.”
Oh, so this was Max’s little brother? Did that make him a lion shifter too? He sure fit the bill. The bell rang then and everybody jumped up off their seats. My desk mate slid the text book off the table and carefully packed it away in her backpack.
“Thanks,” I said.
She just looked at me blankly and walked away. I rifled in my pocket for my timetable. Next up today was Introduction to Runes. I walked out the door and looked around for the right classroom. Someone tugged at my sleeve.
“Are you lost?” It was Charles.
“No.”
He was almost as tall as I was. I couldn’t hide my timetable when he craned his neck to see it. “Come on.”
He dragged me through the hallway, dodging other kids going in all directions, and into a classroom around the corner. Once we were inside, he dropped me like a hot potato and ran to catch up to his friends. I suppose for a twelve-year-old that was pretty chivalrous.
The room was mostly full. There were about twenty students and the teacher had not yet arrived, so they were running wild.
My little desk mate sat on a table close to the window reading a book. The spot next to her was free. I was making a bee-line for it when Maddison swung around in her front seat and flagged me down.
“Are you sure that’s how you want to start your year?” she said. The girl beside her smirked. “I mean, you’re pretty small for a senior. Sitting next to the runt might stunt more than just your growth.”
She snickered with her friend. Maddison might have been whispering, but it was a loud whisper that more than a few students around us heard.
“Lay off it, Maddison,” Luther said. “Why don’t you leave her alone?”
I wasn’t sure if he was talking about me or the other little girl. When I glanced over, my desk mate hadn’t moved. But the hands holding up her book were balled.
“Woooo. Luther loves Cassie!” another kid teased.
“I do not!” Luther said.
“Then why are you defending her?” Maddison hissed. “Do you have a thing for runts who are only at this school because of who they know?”
It was the worst case of pot calling the kettle black that I had ever seen. “Come sit with us, Alessia.” It wasn’t a request. The icy steel of her eyes suddenly locked onto me. I was being ordered around by a kid. Hell no.
Dragging my feet, I walked up to Cassie. “Can I sit here?”
She looked up at me with those light green eyes. They were misty. “You’re making a mistake,” Maddison called out. When Cassie didn’t say no, I plonked myself down. As a result, Maddison and her friend shot me a look of pure evil.
Great. It was my first day and I had already made enemies with twelve-year-old bullies. How did my life come to this?
20
Runes turned out to be more interesting than I had guessed. If I ignored the fact that all of my classmates couldn’t get into a PG-rated movie, I was so engrossed that I was disappointed when the bell rang. By the end of the lesson, I sort of understood what some of the symbols were that Nanna had taught me to use on the arcane circles. Had she known too? Or was she just as in the dark as I was? Basil seemed to think no one had ever clued her in.
Cassie shared her textbook with me again. This time, she didn’t slink off right away. “I have to get back to the senior campus,” I said. “You wouldn’t happen to know the way, would you?”
It was a long shot, but I was surprised when she nodded her head. “I don’t want this to sound indelicate, but you can talk right?”
This time, she managed a weak smile. “Yes.”
I had many shortcomings but painful shyness wasn’t one of them. Thank goodness. Trying to talk to Cassie as she led me back to the senior campus was like pulling teeth. Mostly, I just yakked on and on while she listened quietly beside me. Fifteen minutes later, I spotted the bridge I’d crossed getting here.
“I think I can find the way from here. I don’t want you to miss any more of your lunch time.”
She looked like she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite get the words out. “See you tomorrow? And I promise I’ll remember to bring my own books.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “You can look at mine.”
I waved at her and hurried to get back. My stomach was rioting. Who knew studying could make you so ravenous? I couldn’t wait to find Sophie before I lined up at the buffet. Since I was late, the line in front of me was huge. Go figure. I was staring intently at the food, my stomach growling. Somebody behind me chuckled.
I glanced back and saw just a broad chest. Tilting my head brought me into eye contact with dark grey eyes on a handsome face set against light brown hair. If I didn’t know they were supernaturals, I would think that half of these boys were on steroids. The three-quarter-sleeve shirt he wore was stretched to the point of straining.
He grinned down at me, his smile lighting up his face. My stomach dipped. He dropped his head beside my ear. “The line’s moving.”
I was so befuddled that someone like him was speaking to me that the meaning behind his words didn’t hit me until seconds later. “Oh!” It was the lamest response ever but it was all I could get to come out of my throat. Whipping around, I closed the gap in the line and made sure to keep my gaze forward. All the while I imagined his attention on my back. I wiped my palms on my jeans.
“I’m Adam,” he said. For a second, the old paranoia reared its head. Why was he speaking to me? I could imagine my feelings were on display on my face because his expression became pensive. “Sorry, I’ll back off. But before I do, can I suggest the ravioli? It’s so good.”
He picked up a bowl of the pasta and set it on my tray. Then he did the same for himself. After that, he kept his word and ignored me. I chose some garlic bread and a salad to go with my pasta. A sidelong glance told me Adam chose the garlic bread as well but instead of salad, he’d opted for onion rings.
Picking up a ring, he offered it to me. “I’ll share my lunch if you consider speaking to me.” A smile tugged his lips. I had trouble swallowing. Suddenly I understood how Cassie might have felt. I wanted to respond, but every time I tried, his pretty face overwhelmed me.
I bit down hard on my tongue, fighting the urge to make a snarky comment about him breaking his promise not to speak to me. Would you look at that? I was learning. Considering how poorly antagonism had worked in the past, I went for graceful calm.
“Everything is free,” I said. “That’s hardly an incentive.”
“And yet you’re speaking to me.”
“Touché.”
There were too many faces in the dining hall. It was like looking for a kitchen witch in a haystack. “You’re welcome to sit with my friends and me if you want.” Adam pointed to a table in the very centre of the room. I almost tripped over again when I saw the others at the table. Bradley and the group of Michael’s bloodline. Not a fun prospect. I wasn’t even sure why the thought of sitting with them seemed to rub me the wrong way. A part of me still remembered the feral determination on Bradley’s face when he’d tried to break past my protective circle.
“You’re a Nephilim?”
“Ariel’s blood.” Ariel. The one who watched over the earth and its creatures. That kind of explained the animal magnetism.
Habit had me scanning the few tables with lonelier occupants. No, no, no….bingo. “I’m going to sit with my friend.” I pointed to where Fred was hunched over his tray on a table right up against the back of the room.
“Well then, I guess we’ll just have to meet again soon.” He honest to God saluted me before he left. Shaking myself out of the stupor, I joined Fred. The poor guy jumped a mile when I set my tray down in front of him.
“Hey. I’m glad to see you’re out of the infirmary.”He was so pale I’d put him back in if I didn’t know any better.
“Thanks. I was kind of hoping to stick around in there for a bit longer. It was so peaceful.”
The volume in the dining hall was distracting at best. Deafening otherwise. I could see what he meant even if I didn’t share his logic. Hospitals were the pits. It was hell on earth. But that might just be my bias showing through.
“How has your morning been?” I asked Fred.
“Uneventful. I had Low-Magic Spellcasting and then Potions and Alchemy.”
“Did you see Sophie in Potions?” I was so dense I hadn’t checked what her timetable looked like.
“No, but I saw her walking with the dwarf girl to Dimension Integration.”
“What in the world is Dimension Integration?”
He chewed on his steak to give himself time to think. “I wanna say it’s the supernatural version of Sociology. We learn about how the different species interact in the outside world.”
“Does that include the humans, or are we just talking fangs and teeth here?”
That brought a smile to his face. The first real smile I’d seen. He was sweet-looking when he lost the shadow of fear. “I think what you’re referring to is Hiding in Plain Sight. It’s mostly the vamps and shifters who have to take that class. The ones who grow up cloistered in the supernatural towns.” He set his fork down. “I heard a rumour while I was in the infirmary that you have to spend mornings in the junior campus.”
I skewered a tomato. “Jeez. Gossip travels fast around here.”
“You’re telling me. You think cell phones are bad, you should see the mirror networks around here. Literally everyone saw me drop dead during that first manticore sweep.”
“At least you stuck around. Most of the others ran even though they were probably leaving behind people they care about.”
At that moment, I caught sight of a prism of colours gliding through the hall behind Fred’s shoulder. Brigid’s head did a one-eighty Exorcist-type turn. It was like she had radar and I was her target. For some reason, I smiled when she skewered me with her eyes. Because now I couldn’t help thinking about when Golden Wings had hesitated before she flew off. I wondered if it was Brigid she’d seen.
“That’s not necessarily a good thing,” Fred said.
“How could it possibly be bad?”
“In this world? Survival is the most important thing. Trust me, there are some on the admissions board who probably think we were stupid to have stayed.”
“Well, you know what I say to that?” I gave him a one-finger salute. He smiled again despite the sombre expression he had on before.
“I leave you for half a day and you’re already turning into a bully,” Sophie’s voice said. She slammed her tray down beside me. Fred jumped again.
“Everything okay?” I asked her.
“Everything is fine.” I waited. One second. Two seconds. Three – “Okay, everything is not fine! I used some of those rosehips in my Spellcasting class and it turns out they’re hexed. Everything in the trial building is. The magic in them is so potent my spell backfired and almost set the building on fire.”
“Are you serious? What kind of spell were you working on?”
“Making soda that gives you added strength.”
I could see where this was going and it wasn’t pretty. “So essentially, you were making something with the potential to explode?”
“It did explode! And now I’ve got detention to clean it up.” She wailed and I only just pushed her tray away before her forehead landed on the table.
Another body slid in next to Fred. Diana barely glanced at him, but he shrank further into himself. “You haven’t heard the best part,” Diana said. “Her detention supervisor is going to be Max Thompson.”
Sophie made another pathetic sound. I clamped my mouth shut and concentrated on chewing so that I wouldn’t burst out laughing. It worked for about five seconds and then I caught Diana’s eyes and it was all over.
“I’m glad you both think it’s so hilarious!” Sophie snapped.
I tried to rub her back reassuringly but she wouldn’t have any of it. “He freaks me the hell out!” she wailed again.
“Why? Because he’s so gorgeous?” Diana asked.
A flush crept up Sophie’s neck. “Between Max and Kai, I don’t know how either of you handle it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
And now Diana was throwing me the look. Sensing that this was heading into dangerous territory, I segued into another topic.
“So a Nephilim named Adam spoke to me while I was getting my food,” I said. Diana’s mouth dropped open.
“What did he say?”
At that very moment, her brother arrived with Trey.
“Nope,” Roland said, hearing the last part of our conversation. “I’m outta here.”
They turned around and went to find another table. The decent thing to do would have been to take Fred with them. Although Fred seemed happy enough to be invisible while we chatted.
“I can’t believe you gave up an opportunity to sit with the Nephilim,” Diana said. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I wanted to sit with my friends.”
“Screw friendship!” Sophie announced. “You’ve seen what these guys look like right? They’re literally Academy royalty. More than that, they’re supernatural species royalty!”
“Oh right, so if Max asked you to sit with him, you’d ditch us?”
Just as I thought, that shut her right up. “What classes have you guys got next?”
None of them had to check their timetables. “I have Properties of Metals,” Diana said. “Then Weaponry and Combat.”
It turned out we all had Weaponry and Combat later on. Sophie and I had Arcane Magic, and Fred was in something called, Dead Languages.
Sophie looked at the timetable I had smoothed on the tabletop and frowned. “How come the room where your next class is isn’t where I’m going?” she asked. “Look.” She’d fished her timetable out of her bag and spread it next to mine. “Same class, different room.”
Diana came around to have a look. She inhaled sharply. “Ummm...That’s a third-year magic user’s room.” She pointed to my timetable. “Sophie’s is the normal class for students our age.”
“No,” I said. “Is this some sort of joke? I have to take History and Demonology with twelve-year-olds, and now I have to take this class with third-years? Can I sneak into your class?”
“I don’t think that’s going to go down well.”
The bell rang at that point. I raced to my room and threw textbooks into my bag while avoiding Basil’s questions. I was nowhere close to remembering the layout of the school so I had to use the wall navigation system. It was because I was staring at the ground that I didn’t see where I was going and ran straight into the back of somebody in the doorway. The top of my head bounced off what felt like a layer of steel.
“Ow!”
His scent hit me before I righted myself. My stomach dropped out like it would if I were going up a roller coaster. “This isn’t happening,” I said, as Kai flattened himself against the doorframe and waved me inside.
“Well?” he said, when I didn’t budge. “I thought you were in a hurry to get in here.”
What I wanted to do was either punch him in the face or turn around and run. Both might be construed as him getting under my skin. There was no way in hell I was going to let him think that. So despite my better judgement, I forced my feet in front of each other and entered the room.
21
My heartbeat thumped in my chest, going a hundred miles a second. I stopped dead and tried to take in the room we were in. It was big
ger than the gymnasium of my last school. All of the seats were located at the front of the room with a huge empty space in the back. The floor was made of whitewashed concrete, and the walls shimmered with reflective specks that made it seem as though it was glowing from the inside.
There were over fifteen students in the room and they all turned in my direction as I entered. But my main concern was the Nephilim at my back whose very presence made all of the hairs on my neck stand up.
There were a few empty seats. Unlike the junior campus, we weren’t made to share desks. Grateful for that small mercy, I found the closest seat, in the middle of the room, and sat down.
My backpack served as a barrier between me and some of the eyes. I placed it in front of me on the desk and methodically took out my textbook. Somebody tapped on my desk. Sighing, I turned to the right and found myself the recipient of a wide smile.
“Told you we’d meet again,” Adam said. “Though I didn’t think it would be this soon. Are you sure you’re in the right place?”
Flustered by my encounter with Kai, I blurted out exactly what I was thinking. “Believe me, if I didn’t have to be here, I wouldn’t be.”
“Charming as always, Blue.” Kai walked slowing down the aisle. The room was wide with a high ceiling, but it felt like the air had been sucked out. I had trouble taking in a breath as he sauntered past and took a seat at the back.
“I see you’ve managed to poke the brooding giant,” Adam said.
I burst out laughing at the comparison. Now that he sat behind me, I couldn’t see Kai’s reaction, but I felt a slow wave of awareness brush against my skin. Like someone had run a cold finger down my spine.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I heard Brigid say. She was just inside the door but was coming closer by the second. She slammed her books onto my desk, her body wedged between my desk and Adam’s. “I think you’re in the wrong place,” she hissed.
I wish.
“Why don’t you talk to whoever worked out my timetable?” I pointed behind me. “Better yet, my House Captain is back there if you want to give him an earful too?”