Elysium

by Sylah Sloan

  “Good evening, children.” The woman slid over a notebook and a pen. I watched and followed suit as Nik and Violet wrote their names and headed off to a door I hadn’t noticed before. As we went through the door, a small hallway greeted us, an elevator on one side and a set of descending stone stairs on the other.

  I didn’t know why the questions popped into my mind, but I looked behind me and stared at the old woman. “I thought Arcanes didn’t age? She looks kind of old.”

  “That was Ms. Paryk. She isn’t an Arcane. She’s one of the humans working for the Manor.” Violet spoke as she started to head down the stairs.

  Nik cleared his throat and spoke before she took the second step. “I’m all for being fit and all, but it’s still kind of early, so can we just take the elevator?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at the pained expression on his face. He looked like he was in really good shape, but as I looked at the endless stairs, I also shared his non-enthusiasm over the trip down them. Violet let out a frustrated breath and walked back towards us, pushing the button on the wall next to the elevator. I vaguely heard her muttering something about elevators breaking all the time, getting stuck in between floors, and crashing. Nik heard it too, and we looked at each other smiling.

  The elevator doors opened soundlessly, and we all entered. The doors closed, and I leaned against the back wall, my palms sweating as my heart beat hard against my ribs. As the elevator descended, I knew we were going to the very bowels of the Earth. At least, that’s what it felt like to me. Even though we were in the elevator, the air seemed to become chilled and the pressure felt like it was increasing. I had never liked small confined places, and with two other people in the elevator, it was like a tight, suffocating box.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Nik spoke with concern in his voice, and I saw the same emotion reflected in Violet’s face.

  “I’m fine. I just don’t like small places.”

  “We’re almost there.”

  As Violet spoke those words, I suddenly felt better, happy and excited. I knew Violet was making me feel this way, and I gave her an appreciative smile. The elevator made a slight dinging noise, and the doors slid open. We walked out of the elevator and into a large room.

  “This is the common room. See how there are several hallways branching off?” I nodded and watched as Violet pointed out the four hallways. “Each one leads off to different classrooms, except the last one on the right. That one leads to the cafeteria, auditorium, natatorium, and other facilities. Most of our classes will be in hall A.” She pointed to the first hallway on the left. Someone called her name, and she ran over to them.

  Another person called Nik, but he just waved and stayed by my side. “You can go. I’ll be fine by myself.” Honestly, I didn’t want to be by myself though because I felt kind of exposed.

  “Nah, it’s cool. I see those guys all the time. You look kind of freaked out anyway.”

  “Just a little.” We smiled at each other, and he pointed to one of the stone benches against the wall. I followed him, settling onto the cold surface and watching the people around me. Most of them huddled in little cliques, not any different than what I had seen back at my other school. The elevator made the distinct dinging noise again, and I looked over at it. Out walked Dorian and his crew, Porscha wrapped around him like they were attached at the hip. His eyes searched around the room and then settled on me, a big smile spreading across his face.

  “Meadow, the vampire. How are you this evening?” He seemed genuinely pleased to see me, but I had a weird feeling about him.

  I could see disgust all over Porsche’s face and knew she hated me, for the interest her boyfriend was blatantly showing in me. The worst part of it all was I wasn’t doing anything; it was totally her boyfriend doing it all. I smiled, not wanting to seem rude. Even though I didn’t feel comfortable around Dorian, he had shown me nothing but kindness. Dorian’s eyes flickered over to Nik, disinterest written all over his face. Nik seemed unconcerned, his body relaxed, his arms crossed lazily across his chest. He still wore the Yankees cap, the bill pulled forward so that his eyes were shadowed. I had a feeling he had purposely done that to avoid looking at Dorian.

  “What are your classes? Maybe we have some of the same.”

  “I’m not sure.” It wasn’t a lie. I really had no idea what my classes were. I knew they were with Violet, but I was still going in blind. He stared at me for several moments, making me feel really uncomfortable. I was thankful when he gave one last smile and left. Porscha stared at me as they walked off, her long blonde hair brushing her back and her dull hazel eyes so focused on me that the hairs on my arms stood up.

  “Don’t worry about her. She’s like that with any girl Dorian talks to. Congratulations though, you get to be his flavor of the month.”

  I could hear the teasing tone in Nik’s voice, but there was also something else underlying that. I just couldn’t tell what it was. I looked up as I heard Violet approach, her musical voice calling for us.

  “Ready? I want to show you a few of the activity rooms before class starts.”

  I nodded and followed her, stopping when I saw Nik still sitting on the bench. “Hey, are you coming with us?” He smiled at me and shook his head.

  “I’m just gonna hang with some of my friends for a little bit. I’ll catch up with you in class though. See ya.”

  I watched him walk over to a group of guys, each one of them patting Nik on the back like they hadn’t seen him in ages. Violet hadn’t waited, and she was halfway up the hall. I ran to catch up with her. “Where are we going?”

  “I want to show you my favorite room.” She led us down the hallway, talking about anything and everything.

  I looked around, taking in the beauty of it all. The floor was a white polished stone—marble maybe—the walls rough-looking cobblestone. Built-in sconces were placed at intervals, the light not as harsh as fluorescents, but just as strong. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, if vampires are the only Arcanes that can’t tolerate sunlight, then why is it classes are at night and everyone attends?”

  “Well, vampires aren’t the only ones who can’t tolerate sunlight. They are the only ones who fry from it, but there are other Arcane who can’t handle ultraviolet rays. Some, like demons for example, can go out in the sun, but it drains their energy and makes them vulnerable. Between you and me,” she stopped and looked around, her voice going soft, “I say it’s because they are descendants of fallen angels, and because of that, they can’t handle pure light.”

  I stared at her, not knowing what to say. I hadn’t read the complete manual for each type of Arcane, and all of the information she told me was new and exciting. “Really?” She started to laugh, and my face fell from excitement to annoyance. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her.

  “Oh stop. Only half of that was a lie. I mean, they are descendants of fallen angels, and who knows; maybe that’s why the light drains them. I just made the whole pure light thing up. Don’t you think it sounds mysterious?” She laughed. “Anyway, Arcanes are nocturnal by nature, not to be confused with naughty by nature.” She started to laugh again at her own joke, but then sobered up and looked sad. Her bottom lip popped out, and as I stared at her, my irritation faded. “Didn’t your last school teach you all of this?”

  I hated lying, but like usual, I hadn’t gotten the all clear from Mikhail to spill everything. I didn’t even know if I would if he said it was all right to. “My school was different.” I left it at that. I quickly changed the subject. “Just show me the stupid room.” There was no anger in my statement, and I could tell Violet knew that. She smiled and started to walk again, pointing out the cafeteria as we passed it, the natatorium, the game room, and about a dozen other rooms. I was shocked to see how big this area was. “Why do they have the school underground?”

  “For protection from the sun and … other things.”

  I wanted to ask what “other things” she was talking about, but I didn’t
want her to think I knew absolutely nothing, which I didn’t, but still. “I guess that makes sense. How far are we down anyway?”

  “I don’t know for sure, maybe one hundred feet. Don’t quote me on that though. Ah, here we are.”

  We stopped in front of a set of double doors, the wood so polished I saw my reflection.

  “This is my favorite room.” She smiled and pushed the doors open.

  I followed her in, the room pitch black, and I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. Suddenly the whole room lit up, and I looked around in awe. It looked like a dance studio or something, polished pine wood floors, a stage on one side, and blue mats stacked on the other side. What really had my attention was the black grand piano in the corner—its very own spotlight showcasing it in all its glory.

  “Is that what I think it is?” I walked over to the concert grand piano and ran my fingers over the smooth, black surface. It was at least nine feet of beautiful craftsmanship, a big difference from the Francis Bacon I pretended to use back home.

  “What, a piano?” Violet said with sarcasm in her voice.

  I gave her a look and sat down on the bench, running my fingers across the exposed keys.

  “Do you play?”

  I nodded, gently pressing down on the keys. The sound that came out of it was a beautiful melody of notes.

  “So play something.” She walked over and sat down next to me.

  “You really want to hear something?” She nodded, the look she gave me telling me that she wouldn’t have asked if she didn’t. Since I had moved in with Marie, I hadn’t played—the school’s piano so much of a novelty I could only stare. I looked back down at the keys, the cool ivory like silk under my fingers. “What do you want to hear?”

  “I don’t know, surprise me.”

  I started to play chopsticks when Violet elbowed me in the ribs. “No, something cool. Play some crazy note work.” I smiled and stopped playing, knowing exactly what I should play.

  I closed my eyes and let my fingers dance over the keys, a smile covering my lips as the notes of Beethoven flowed out. I stopped playing about five minutes into it, opened my eyes, and looked over at Violet.

  She stared at me with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open. “That was beautiful What was it?”

  “Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. It’s my favorite. It’s been forever since I played it. I forgot how beautiful the song was.”

  “I have a great idea!” Violet clapped her hands together, a huge smile on her face. “I’m going to perform at the Winter Solstice celebration. You should play my backup music!”

  I was shaking my head before she was even done. “No way. I’m not even that good.”

  “Are you kidding me? That was excellent. Please?” She looked at me with big eyes, batting her eyelashes and putting on the most pathetic expression.

  I really didn’t want to do it, but how could I turn down a face like that? “I’ll think about it. When is this celebration?”

  “Next weekend.”

  “What? No way, I can’t get any kind of song ready in that short of time.”

  “It’s not a big deal. You can totally play this moonlight song. I hadn’t picked a song anyway, and that one is perfect. It’s not like anyone will see you anyway. You’ll be behind the piano and off to the side.”

  I felt slightly relieved by that, but could I really do it? Have all those people watching me, critiquing my playing? What if I played horribly? I had never played in front of anyone, well aside from the piano instructors and my foster families, but they didn’t really count. Violet actually wanted me to play in front of the whole school. At least, I assumed it was the whole school. “It’s in front of everyone?”

  “Yeah, but don’t let that scare you. Believe me when I say you play perfectly, and it will go great with my routine. You’ll at least think about it, right?” At my nod she squealed and looked at her watch. “We better go, or we’ll be late.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I followed her out and back into the common room, where she headed off into another long hall. Every room we passed was filled with students looking no different than me. I don’t know what I expected, but seeing normalcy in a school that was anything but seemed almost surreal to me. I guess I thought there would be werewolves sitting at desks or faeries with wings looking back at me.

  I went into my designated room, pretty normal looking in regards to any other room I’d been in. Every seat was filled except two in the back—two that Nik had saved for us. Before I could get to my seat, a guy that looked about my age stopped me with a smile and a hand on my shoulder.

  “New student, right?”

  He wasn’t wearing a uniform like everyone else, so I took him to be the teacher, though he looked no older than me. I nodded and smiled, my heart beating so fast, and my palms sweating. Everyone was staring at me, which only made my symptoms worse.

  “I’m Mr. Crandall, your Arcane History teacher.” He turned us fully to the front of the class and displayed me to everyone. Eyes bore into me, and I swallowed roughly.

  “Students, I’d like to introduce Meadow Caldwell. She…” I looked over at him when he didn’t finish his sentence. He picked up a clipboard and flipped through some of the pages. “Well, it seems I don’t have all my information on you. Would you like to tell the class where you’re from and what species you originate from?”

  I stared at him for a couple of seconds and then faced the class again. I wasn’t sure what he meant by “species”, but I would have to go with it. Maybe no one knew about my past, maybe only Mikhail, Cadeon and I knew what really happened. Since Mikhail had told me to keep my true identity secret because of the danger of revealing such a rare fact, I knew no one could know the truth. I just really hated lying to people, especially people who were genuinely kind to me like Nik and Violet. “Um, I’m Meadow.” Students snickered, and I felt my face get hot. Mr. Crandall dropped the clipboard on his desk, but I had a feeling it wasn’t an accident. The room got quiet, and I continued. “I’m from Serenity Springs, and um…” I looked back at the teacher and then back at the class. “I am a vampire.” I hoped that was what he meant when he said “species”, and if not then I was sure the room would burst out in laughter. No one laughed, though, and I sighed.

  “Thank you, Miss Caldwell. You may take your seat now.”

  I was so thankful he didn’t make me elaborate on anything. I sat down next to Violet, before he changed his mind and asked more questions.

  The rest of the day passed by quickly and before I knew it, I was following Violet to the cafeteria. There was a small line leading into the room, but it thinned out, and we made our way in. It was a large room, nothing like the cafeteria back at Serenity Springs High.

  “Are you hungry?”

  I nodded, surprised that after only a couple of hours, I was thirsty, and not for water.

  Violet made her way towards a long table, off to the side, and stopped in front of it. Several greeted Violet, giving me a curious once over, before greeting me as well. I had at least one class with each of the people sitting at the table so it wasn’t like they hadn’t seen me today. It did make this a little less awkward.

  “Let’s go get some food.”

  I mimicked her and set my bag on one of the empty seats, then followed her into a small hallway leading into a kitchen. A salad bar was set up in the far corner, and I could smell the delicious aroma of something cooking from behind the swinging double doors. Everything looked really good, but my appetite was for something a little … different. “Um, Violet?”

  “Yeah?” She didn’t look up from the salad bar, piling a large portion of lettuce atop her plate.

  “Is there anything for me to … drink?” Even after everything I had been through, all the creatures I had learned about, it was still weird knowing and saying that I needed blood. She looked at me with a little bit of confusion, but then I saw the light click on. I looked around nervously, which was stupid, I know, because I
was surrounded my all sorts of creatures.

  “Over there, in that fridge.”

  I followed her finger to where a large cooler sat. I don’t know how I missed it when I came in, because bags of dark red blood hung from hooks inside it. I walked over to it and stared at the bags through the glass, my mouth watering, even though I felt disgust for the way I responded to it.

  All four types of blood were available, and I laughed inside at how strange this whole situation really was. I grabbed a bag of O positive, since that was what Cadeon had been giving me. I knew the blood probably wouldn’t hold me over until school ended, so I grabbed a cinnamon roll and a bottle of lemonade. The combination was weird, to say the least, me holding a bag of blood, a cinnamon roll, and a bottle of lemonade. I felt slightly better when I watched two guys go over to the cooler and grab several bags out a piece. They smiled at me as they passed, each noticing the bags in my hand.

  “Get what you wanted?” Violet said, as she bit off a chunk of celery, her eyes dropping to the bags in my hand.

  I nodded, and we walked towards the register. It was at that moment I realized I had no money. “I can’t pay for any of this.”

  “No problem, I got you covered.” She smiled that happy smile of hers, and we advanced to the front of the line.

  “Name and ID number,” the older woman behind the register stated blandly.

  “Violet Fender, 2387. I’ll also be paying for Meadow Caldwell, although I don’t know her number.”

  She looked over at me, her expression asking me without words if I knew it. I shrugged and shook my head.

  The lady working the register glanced at both of us and entered something on her keyboard, presumably our names. “Ms. Caldwell has an account set up. Would you still like to pay for her?”

  Violet looked at me and raised her eyebrows. She was probably just as surprised as I was I had an account. I had no idea where that money came from—I had nothing to my name. I would have to remember to ask Mikhail or Cadeon about this later.

  “I guess not,” Violet said as we both paid for our meals and went off into the main part of the cafeteria and sat with the other students.