Spearwood Academy Volume One (The Spearwood Academy Book 1)

by A. S. Oren

  I stare at my fingers. Droplets of blood form on small cuts. I didn’t even feel the sting of them until he pointed them out.

  “Come on, Avvi. We’ll show you where the infirmary is. Let the servant do his job,” Horace says as he pulls me up off the ground by my arms.

  Once I stand, I pull away from his grasp. I can’t stand when people touch me and I don’t know them. The servant stands as well. I pick up the blossoms by their shared stem before I place the glass in his gloved hand. “Please be careful, they’re the last two. Thank you.”

  “Of course, Miss.” My cheeks heat up. His voice has a rich English accent, my inside nearly melt.

  Horace reaches out and pulls on my arm, taking my attention away from the servant. I take my arm out of his grasp again. Can’t he take a hint? I don’t like to be pulled around. I follow him to another door that leads into the school. Before we enter, I look back to see the servant picking up the pieces of glass and placing them into a small wooden box. Where did it come from?

  THE FABULOUS DR. QUINN

  “I really don’t need to go to the infirmary, They’re just small cuts.”

  Horace glances over his shoulder at me. “Well, we can’t have you getting an infection. I was going to show you where it was anyway.”

  I sigh. I guess I can’t have any control over what I want to do right now. I want to go into my room and call Edgar; I miss him so much already.

  “I’m sorry, but am I the only one who wants to talk about how Fire here pawed Mirren? That was epic!” Dante says while putting a casual arm around my shoulders. I duck out from underneath his arm. For a moment, he frowns, but quickly covers it with a smirk. He folds his arms behind his head.

  “It was amazing. Where did you learn to shift just your nails like that? We won’t be taught specific changes like that until our fourth year,” Amr says.

  I shrug. “I don’t know how I did it. I was angry . . . no, beyond angry; I was enraged. Those things he said about my father were repulsive, and all I wanted to do was hurt him. It just happened. I’ve never changed like that during the day.”

  They all go silent. Triton speaks first. “Did it hurt?”

  He seems to be overly curious about whether or not I experience pain during transformation. “I didn’t feel the pain until I realized what I had done. Why do you care so much about whether I feel pain or not? You asked me a similar question on the jet.”

  He clears his throat. “No reason. I’m just curious.”

  “But why?”

  Before he can answer, the group stops in front of a door. ‘Infirmary’ is above it in gold lettering. Horace claps his hands, and the door opens for us. I can’t help but to wonder if they don’t realize they have two arms and hands. It must be a boring job to be on door duty.

  We walk into a large room, but it’s not as big as the fitness center. White contains us from every corner. Cots stand in long lines on either side of the room. The white almost hurts my eyes, but I have nowhere else to turn my gaze.

  “Mr. Mathis? What have you done now!” says a man’s voice. I turn my attention to an office in the back of the room and a man—at least I think they are a man. His light brown hair sits past his shoulders in feminine waves. He wears a royal blue, silk button up and black slacks, all paired with black pumps with red soles. A five o’clock shadow lines his jaw. Is he a cross dresser or androgynous?

  Dante holds his hands up in front of him. “Whoa, Doctor Quinn, no need to get testy. I haven’t done anything, this time.”

  “Keywords, this time. So why have you and your little followers come here?” His eyes fall on me. “Oh my goodness!” He rushes at me. I wish I knew how to run in heels that well. I could barely walk straight when I had to wear dress shoes that didn’t have any height to them.

  “You’re the new arrival! Oh, look at you! You’re adorable! Spin for me.”

  He wants me to spin for him? I hesitate for a second before turning in a small circle. I feel like I’m Katniss and he’s Cinna.

  “I love your hair! I could do so much with it!”

  I push a strand behind my ear. “Um, thank you.”

  He flips his hair over his shoulder and puts a hand on his hip. “I’m the fabulous Doctor Taylor Quinn. It is nice to meet you, Miss Clementine.”

  “She needs her fingers looked at. She cut them on some glass,” Amr says.

  I roll my eyes. “I’m fine, really. I’ve had worse scrapes while working in the family orchard, and I survived just fine.”

  Dr. Quinn takes my hands in his. Light blue nail polish covers both of his short ring fingernails. He tuts as he looks at the cuts. “How did this happen?” he asks.

  “Lusk Mirren. He took her necklace from her and broke it on the ground. You should’ve seen the way she put him in his place though. He’ll never forget that. The reminder is on his face. It was amazing to watch!” Dante says.

  “So you’re the one who did that to Mr. Mirren. He left a few minutes before you got here. Wanted me to fix his face. I tried, but there was no getting around the magic put in those scars. He was not happy when I told him the only way they would be healed is if the one who gave the scars to him healed the skin themselves. He’s cursed with those marks until the end of time unless you decide to fix them for him.”

  “Fat chance of that happening,” Dante says with a laugh.

  I frown. “I cursed him?”

  “Yes. None of my healing tactics worked to repair the scar tissue. When that happens, I can only assume it was put there by magic. Healers often see the issue with patients who were turned into werewolves during the full moon.”

  My eyes widen. “Werewolves? You mean they’re real?”

  “Of course, sweetie. You didn’t think we were the only magical shape shifters to roam this Earth, did you?” He leads me over to a chair. “Sit.”

  I take a seat. I have so many questions now. What other creatures from my books are real? I have so much to learn about. I don’t think one lifetime will be long enough to fit all the facts in. Only one question comes tumbling out of my mouth while he grabs something from a medicine chest on the wall. “How did I curse him? I don’t know anything about magic, yet. I’ve never done anything supernatural in my life.”

  He turns to me and rips open a small paper package and pulls out what looks like an alcohol swab or wet wipe. “Funny thing about how our form of magic works, it’s not obvious unless we know about it. You could’ve been using your magic and never realized it. In the case of performing a curse without having the knowledge to perform it consciously, it usually happens when great emotion is inflicted.”

  He kneels down in front of me and takes my hand in his. “This will sting for a second.” He runs the wipe over each of my fingers. I wince at first, but soon get used to it.

  “With the curse on Mirren’s face, I saw you felt remorse for what you did. Most would’ve left it as a permanent gaping wound that would be infected and kill him slowly. You healed the wounds and left the scars, meaning you weren’t entirely forgiving.”

  He tosses the wipe into the trash bin, and I look down at my fingers. The cuts and stinging have disappeared. Even the dried blood from Mirren has been wiped away. “Thank you.”

  “No problem, sweetie.”

  “What will my punishment be for cursing Mirren?” I ask. Will I get expelled before I’ve even started?

  Dr. Quinn and the boys laugh. “You won’t receive punishment for that. You healed his face already.”

  So they don’t have punishments for violence in this school? What the Hell? No wonder those two were fighting in the courtyard.

  “Dr. Quinn!” someone yells through the door to the infirmary. The servant opens the door. Two boys with a third draped between them come into the room. The boy in the middle of them is the one who had been fighting with Mirren before I intervened. Looks like his injuries finally caught up with him after the adrenaline wore off.

  “Put him over here. What happened?” Dr. Quinn as
ks, rushing to the boy’s side.

  “Mirren. He got in a fight with him earlier. Then the new girl stepped in. He thought he was fine, but he collapsed a few moments ago. Mirren did hit him in the chest pretty hard,” says one of the boys who had helped carry him.

  “Stupid boy. He should’ve come here as soon as it was over. He may not have felt it then, but he is feeling it now.” I can’t help but to watch as Dr. Quinn waves his hand over the fallen boy. “He has four broken ribs, bruising of the liver, a fractured pelvis, and a broken cheek bone. He’s going to be in here for a few days.”

  A pull within me wants to stick around and be here when he wakes up, but I bet we’ll just be in the way. “Can you show me how to get back to the dorms? I think I need to lie down for a little bit.” In truth, I just want to call Edgar. I need to hear his voice and remind myself what I am doing here is the right decision. I may’ve stepped into a new, mystical world, but I also stepped into one where violence goes unpunished. Will I survive here?

  CALLING HOME

  The boys showed me how to get back to my dorm from the infirmary, and they told me one of them would come get me for dinner later.

  “Thank you,” I say. I almost want to invite them inside. It would be the nice thing to do, but I want to call Edgar. For that, I need privacy.

  I put my hand on the knob, and the beep sounds from the other side. Walking into the room and closing the door behind me, I let out a breath. It’s not even noon here, and I’m already emotionally drained.

  I walk over to one of the white loveseats, take the black card out of my back pocket, and hold it out on my hand. It flies through the air, taking her shape. “How may I assist you, Miss Clementine?” she asks before bowing.

  I take a seat and stare at her. She looks so human, and, yet, she can fold up into a business-sized card in a matter of seconds. It doesn’t seem possible . . . many things that have happened today shouldn’t seem possible, but they still happened.

  “No need to be so formal. You can call me Avalon, and there is no need to bow.”

  She seems surprised by my request and almost bows but catches herself. “I understand.”

  “Do you know what time it is in Bellingham, Washington?” I ask.

  She goes silent for a moment, and her eyes move back and forth. “It is six in the morning.”

  “Edgar shouldn’t be out on the Orchard yet. Can you please call my home phone? I would like to talk to my father.”

  “Of course.”

  She goes silent again before a dial tone rings throughout the room. I’m not sure where it comes from: her or the room.

  “’Ello?”

  “I made it to the school in one piece.”

  “Avvi! Do yau like it?”

  “It’s big.” I’m not going to tell him about the fight or the fact that the locket is broken.

  “Yeah? Do yau have yaur own dorm?”

  “Yes, I basically have an apartment to myself. No one can come in unless I let them, and I can’t have anyone in my room.”

  “Good. Yau doin’ all right?”

  I try to smile. I know he’ll be able to hear my unhappiness otherwise. “Yeah, I’m fine, Ed. It’ll just take time to get used to their way of life here. It’s worlds apart from the Orchard.”

  “I see. Well, I need to get out to the Orchard and start work with the Hands. Call mi if yau need anything. I love yau.”

  “I love you too.”

  The line goes dead. Edgar is a man of few words. I’m lucky I got that long of conversation with him over the phone. Even though it was short, just being able to talk to him was enough to relax my racing heart and give me courage to continue learning about this strange, violent place.

  THE FIRST NIGHT

  I pick at my penne in garlic sauce with roasted cherry tomatoes. I had been hungry before the food got here. The guys at the table next to us talk, not caring that I’m right here.

  “Did you see what that girl did today in the courtyard?”

  “No.”

  “I was there. It was epic. She practically tore Mirren apart.”

  “I guess we have to watch our backs with her?”

  “Yeah, she might kill someone next.”

  I stab a noodle with my fork. The table flinches and glances over at me. Shouldn’t they have better manners?

  “Don’t pay any attention to them, Fire. They’re just a couple of douche bags, which have no business being around a lady!” Dante yells, causing the table to stand and move. Now, we’re the only ones up in the loft.

  I peer over the iron fence down at Mirren. He sits alone, attacking his bloody steak with verve. I wince when his eyes meet mine. He’s not glaring though. No anger shows in his eyes. I don’t understand. I gaze back at my plate. I can’t believe I curse a guy on my first day. That shouldn’t be possible.

  Thunder cracks outside. I jump. “I thought the weather was always beautiful around here?”

  The guys all shrug. “Not always. Sometimes they let in the natural storms and stuff. Sometimes it’s nice to have a thunderstorm,” Triton says.

  The tension that had plagued all of them this morning has gone. I don’t know what was with all of them, but I guess they reached an agreement over whatever they didn’t like.

  The moon’s pull inches over me by the second. I don’t have very long. I glance around the table. They’re almost done eating; perhaps I can excuse myself now without appearing rude.

  “I love thunderstorms. It’s nice that they do that every once in a while.” I put down my fork and stretch my arms above my head with a groan. “Well, it’s been an eventful first day, guys, but I should get back to my room. I’m beat.”

  They all stand at once. “We’ll walk you there,” Dante says.

  “You don’t have to do that. I can find my way back.”

  “Nonsense, we’ll walk you,” Horace says.

  “Yeah,” Amr agrees.

  I sigh. I hope I don’t change in front of them before we get there. “Okay.”

  I stand, leading the way to the dorms.

  “How do you like it here so far, Avvi?” Amr asks.

  I shrug. “It seems interesting enough. I like the horses. Though I have no idea how I’ll find my way to all my classes in the morning. I’ll need a car just to make it to all of them on time.”

  “Don’t worry about that. We’ll help you get around, and you also have your P.A., right?” Horace asks.

  Triton clears his throat. I glance at him, but he doesn’t say anything. Maybe he just had something caught in his throat. “Yeah,” I say. I pick up the pace. I don’t have much longer.

  “Then you have nothing to worry about,” Dante says. He throws an arm around me again, but I still sidestep out of it. If I was closer to the shift, his arm would haven’t brought me to my knees.

  My heart hammers in my chest. The thunder outside rumbles the school as we make it to the dorms. I all but run to my door. I have to regain myself as I turn to look at them. “Thanks for walking me to my dorm. Goodnight.” I give them a smile before slipping inside and closing the door. At least none of them tried to invite themselves in.

  ~*~*~*~

  I lay on the marble floor of my room in my dragon form. I sigh as the rain pelts my window. At least at the barn I could look out the hayloft at the stars. Here, I can’t even see the sky through my window. I have nothing to look at and no one to keep me company. Like a bird in a golden cage, I’m stuck. I thought at least here I would get to feel the air under my wings again. Is that why they wanted me here? So they could keep me trapped in my room at night?

  MR. MAGIC TUTOR

  I think I prefer sleeping on the cold dirt ground to hard, cold marble. They may’ve given me a bed, but I would bust it in my dragon form. I guess they gave it to me so I could take naps. Otherwise, that big fluffy thing will never be used.

  With cracking elbows, I push myself onto my hands and knees and stand. Going over to the closet, I grab one of the awful uniforms I will no
w have to wear daily. I think I would be okay with wearing a white polo shirt if I didn’t have to wear it with a skirt.

  Once dressed, I dig my hairbrush out of my suitcase. Normally, I wouldn’t care what my hair looks like, but now I’ll be going to school with boys my age, and some of them are cute even if I wouldn’t tell them that. I don’t want to appear as if I don’t care at all about my appearance.

  I start the tedious task of working the brush through my curls when a slight knock at the door echoes into my room. I glance at the clock. It’s not even six thirty. Horace said he would walk me to breakfast at seven. Who could it be?

  I open the door, and to my surprise, the blue and green-eyed servant stands on the other side holding the box I saw him placing the pieces of my broken locket into; he bows and holds it out to me.

  I take it and open it. It all looks to be there. “I’m sorry, Miss. I wasn’t able to find the entire locket. The silver screw is missing. I searched the entire court yard, but I was unable to find it.”

  The screw is the part of the locket that allows me to open it and place a picture inside. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. It’ll show up, or I’ll be able to get a new one. Thank you for working so hard to find it all and return it to me.”

  He blinks for a second before bowing. “Of course, Miss. I will always be at your service if you need me.”

  I can’t help but to feel a blush overtake me at his words. The only thing that would’ve made it better would’ve been if he had said, ‘As you wish.’

  He turns to leave. “Wait,” I say.

  He turns back around. “Yes, Miss?”

  “What is your name?”

  “My name, Miss?”

  It’s as if no one has ever asked him that before. I’m unable to look at him as I say, “Yes, in case I need your services.”

  I glance up to see him smile. “My name is Kearn.”