by Cheree Alsop
That set both him and Lark off again. It was cute to see the witch and warlock hold each other as they laughed. I was so glad Lark had somebody. She had survived so much. The fact that she was no longer alone made everything we had gone through at the Mythic labs worth it. If we could end Chutka once and for all, perhaps I would be able to keep my promise of her safety.
“Come on,” Dara told me. “We have combat training to begin.”
As we climbed up the stairs from the basement, her finger slid across the name written on my wrist. A pang of sadness filled me. I hadn’t forgotten Sparrow. In fact, the little dragon was never far from my mind. I caught myself searching everywhere I walked in the Academy. I had spent nearly an hour before dinner checking through each plant in Professor Seedly’s classroom for any sign of the little dragon even though the professor had told me he hadn’t seen her.
“She’ll come back when she’s ready,” the tall, thin professor had reassured me. He ran a hand through his crazy white hair, upsetting the birds in the nest on top. “She’s just spreading her wings both figuratively and literally.”
“But what if she’s in trouble?” I had argued. “How am I supposed to save her if I don’t know where she is?”
The professor didn’t appear at all concerned by my tone of frustration. Instead, he had replied, “Mr. Briscoe, did you ever consider the fact that perhaps she decided it was time to be on her own? Sylph dragons mature very quickly. Maybe she’s ready to find her own kind.”
I couldn’t help the pathetically lost tone to my voice when I replied, “But I thought you said there weren’t any more sylph dragons in the world.”
He clucked his tongue and replied. “I didn’t say there weren’t any more, I said there were very few.” He had winked then and gestured to the plant I had accidentally helped to name. “Take it from Gerald. She’s safe somewhere in this crazy world, and she’ll return if she wants to.”
The thought of her not returning made tears burn in my eyes as I followed Dara up the stairs. Maybe the dragon wasn’t a baby anymore, but she was tiny and the world outside of the Academy was huge. It may have been safer out there given the fact that we were going to try to summon Chutka the Shambler, but I still hated the thought of Sparrow alone in the world. Maybe she didn’t need me, but a big part of me needed to protect her. She was a part of my pack, and I would do everything I could to keep her safe. But she had to be here for me to ensure her safety.
When we reached the main floor and slipped from behind the unicorn painting, the sound of commotion from the cafeteria sent me running.
“What’s going on?” Dara asked.
We both stopped in the cafeteria doorway and stared in shock at the scene.
Werewolves, vampires, warlocks, witches, students with orange scales, cat eyes, feathers, or tentacles stood on tables and crouched under them as food flew through the air. Laughter, yelling, and jeering filled the room. A glance at the door to the kitchen showed Mr. Handsworth standing with all four of his hand-tipped tentacles on his hips as he glared at the scene. Spaghetti rested on his bald head and a spattering of broccoli cheese soup colored his white apron. A chuckle nearly escaped me before his eyes locked on mine. The anger in his gaze smothered my mirth completely.
I saw something fly at me from the corner of my eye. I caught a chicken leg before it smacked into my face. The laughter faded as everyone looked at us. Something in my expression must have told them I was serious, because students began to climb down from the tables and out from underneath them.
“What happened here, Rhett?” I demanded when I spotted the werewolves around the tables in the corner.
The werewolf lowered his gaze. “We, uh, thought it would be fun to have a food fight seeing as how we’ve never had one before.”
As much as I couldn’t argue with that, my want to laugh or join in was kept in check by Mr. Handsworth’s continued glower. Dara didn’t appear to care because she laughed anyway.
“Have you gotten it out of your system?” I asked the werewolf.
Rhett glanced around at the other werewolves. They nodded quickly.
“We have,” Rhett replied.
I swept my gaze over the rest of the cafeteria and lifted my voice. “Have the rest of you gotten it out of your system?”
I don’t know what had turned my position at the Academy from a lone werewolf sitting with an ostracized Grim at a table against the wall to a leader the students apparently respected. I had a sneaking suspicion Alden had been telling stories of our escapades again, because a hint of fear showed in the faces of the students who looked to me as if the food littering their clothes, heads, and, in some cases, multiple faces, was forgotten. Every student nodded.
“Good,” I said. “Now, Mr. Handsworth and his staff were kind enough to provide this food for your little battle. Please show your appreciation to him by cleaning the cafeteria and the kitchen from top to bottom.”
“Yes, sir,” Rhett said.
A series of similar statements followed from the other students.
I didn’t like the title, but that moment wasn’t the one in which to correct him. The Headmistress would soon be addressing the students about their expected roll in what was to come. I was anxious to get started with my part of it, so I took the initiative.
“Everyone here is in danger.” Dara gave me a surprised look, but I crossed my arms in front of my chest and continued with, “You have no doubt heard of some of our battles against demons.” I glanced behind me and saw that my team had come to see what all the commotion was about. Alden’s cheeks turned red at my searching look, answering my unspoken question. I looked back at the students. “Our biggest battle is soon to begin, and you will all be involved if you so choose.”
“I’ll fight beside you,” Rhett said without hesitation.
“Me, too,” another werewolf yelled.
“And me,” a vampire joined in.
I lifted a hand before anyone else could get caught up in the enthusiasm. “I appreciate it.” I looked back at my team. “We all do. We can use all the help we can get, but it will still be dangerous. My team and I have fought hard to ensure that Haunted High is a safe place for each of you to learn; now we’re asking that you join with us in doing the same.”
Worry showed in several faces. I looked from one student to the next. “But we won’t be throwing you into the fight unprepared. For the next several days, your studies will be taken over by training of a different kind. Those of you with magic affinities will be tutored by Lyris Welkin and Brack Smalls. The rest of you will join us for demon combat training.” I smiled at one of the smallest werewolves who had come with me from the Den. “But don’t worry. You won’t be asked to act beyond your abilities. We have a place for each of you and will strive our best to ensure that you are safe and feel as prepared as we can help you to be.” The little werewolf nodded.
I gestured to the students behind me, making plans as I spoke. I hoped I wasn’t going beyond the Headmistress’ allowance, but since the scope of an assistant professor hadn’t been exactly outlined, I took liberties where I wished and chose to suffer the consequences later.
“We’ll divide you up by your heritage so that you can be trained by those who know your strengths as well as your weaknesses. Trust your leaders, but don’t be afraid to ask questions. And if you feel lost, come find me. We’ll make sure you have a place where you fit in.”
“When do we start?” Rhett asked.
The expectancy in the air was charged with excitement. I decided to take advantage of that. “As soon as this cafeteria is spotless to Mr. Handsworth’s standards.” I glanced at the cook and he gave me a nod of approval. “We’ll begin training tonight. Werewolves to the forest with me. The rest of you will find your respective tutors from my team and join them where they request. But for now, get to work!” Laughter followed my barked command and the students quickly took the towels Mr. Handsworth gave out and began to clean.
“We’re sta
rting their training tonight?” Lorne said in surprise. “What are we supposed to do?”
“Vampire things,” I replied. “Fighting, arguing, drinking blood, strangling people you don’t want to talk to.”
My attempt at a joke fell flat.
Lorne and Jean exchanged glances. “Vicken was our leader. We don’t know what we’re doing. We’re not exactly teachers here.”
Lyris and Dara both nodded.
“I hate other people, you know that,” Dara said.
“Yeah, Finn,” Lyris agreed. “We’re winging it.”
I motioned for my group to move away from the cafeteria door even though the chaos of cleaning beyond ensured that nobody could overhear us. When we were out of sight from the other students, I leaned against the wall.
“I’m winging it, too,” I admitted. “I don’t know how to be a leader.”
“Right,” Brack said. He was as solemn as I had ever seen him. “Alphas are born knowing how to lead.”
I stared at him. “You’re kidding right?” I looked at each of them. “Do you know how many mistakes I’ve made? I’ve nearly gotten you guys killed way too many times!”
Alden grinned. “Well, that’s true.”
I shook my head. “I’m worse at this than any of you.” I met Dara’s gaze. “I run toward trouble. Vicken’s always getting mad at me for it. You know that.”
“But you’re brave,” Lyris said.
“Or stupid,” I reminded her.
“Finn,” Dara began.
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “I not saying this to be hard on myself. Trust me. I deserve that. But what I’m saying is that no one is born a leader, at least as far as I know. Even Professor Briggs became a teacher out of circumstance. He wasn’t any more ready than we are. Yet look what we’ve learned!”
“To fear him?” Alden put in helpfully.
I chuckled, thinking that Briggs would like that response. “Yes, and to listen to him. He needs us to respect him in order for us to learn from him.”
“How are we supposed to get other students to respect us?” Alden asked. He shoved his white hair out of his eyes. “I can’t even get them to pass me the ketchup at lunch.”
I smiled at the thought that he was joking, but the seriousness in his light blue eyes made my smile disappear.
“You’re right,” I realized aloud. “There’s only one way to get them to respect any of us. We can tell them stories, but there’s no reason for them to believe any of it unless we show them.”
“What are you thinking?” Dara asked warily.
I shrugged. “If we want to teach them how to fight demons, we need to show them we know what we’re talking about.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Lyris said.
Lark’s eyes lit up. “I know where some demons are!”
I nodded. “Me, too. Think Headmistress Wrengold will approve a fieldtrip?”
The answer was no, of course. There was no way we could get hundreds of monster students to the worst part of the city.
“There’s demons closer to the school,” Alden said in a voice that told of how much he hated the idea of returning to the demon world beneath the cemetery.
“But how do we get in without Mezania?” Dara asked.
“We don’t,” I replied. “There’s too many demons down there. We don’t want to endanger students needlessly.”
Silence fell over the corridor. I couldn’t blame my team for their reluctance in training students who might not respect what they had been through. There had to be some way to let the students see that we knew what we were doing without putting anyone in danger. I, for one, wanted to avoid as many encounters with demons as possible, but that went against what my team needed.
“What if you show them?” Dara said.
Her suggestion took me by surprise. “You mean memories?” I asked.
She nodded. “Like you did when you were trying to get Professor Briggs and the others not to kill Conrad. Show the students how we fought the demons, the Wiccan Enforcer, the Demon Knight, and the Darkest Warlock. They’ll have to believe us then.”
“It won’t be just stories,” Alden said excitedly.
“I don’t know if I can push that hard,” I admitted. I looked at Dara. “Even with your help, sharing memories with the professors was difficult. How do we show all the students?”
“You do it with our help.”
I turned to see Rhett watching us from the doorway to the cafeteria. The other werewolves crowded behind him.
“We know we made a mess,” Rhett apologized. “Maybe we can help make up for it.”
“How would you help me share a memory with everyone?” I asked in confusion.
Rhett grinned. “You really aren’t good at being a werewolf, are you?”
I laughed. “Not at all. Maybe I needed to spend more time at the Den.”
“Definitely not,” Rhett replied, his dark eyes glittering. “You got us away from there just in time.” He crossed to me; the other werewolves followed. Other monster students began filing out of the cafeteria. Scents of cleaners, lemon, and a lingering hint of spaghetti colored the air.
“There’s just one question,” Rhett said.
“What’s that?” I asked warily.
“Can an old Alpha learn new tricks?”
I grinned. “I’m not that old.”
He held out his hand so that it hovered just in front of mine. “This is a trick werewolves learn by the time we’re toddlers. It’s how we have conversations without our parents being involved.” His eyes held sorrow at the loss of his father. “I guess you could say it was our own way of rebelling, only we didn’t know it at the time. Now push something at me.”
I sent him the memory of us fighting the Demon Knight in the basement. Details like jumping through demon fire, using Mercer’s imitation flames to protect my team, and borrowing Dara’s strength to grip the key on the Demon Knight’s chest came back full force. I was there again, forcing my mind to remain calm while Lyris and Brack chanted, willing my grasp on the key to be sure despite the pain of the fire, and taking a chance to protect the students who didn’t know of the doom beneath the school.
When I pulled away, my fingers shook from the force of the memory. I leaned against the wall with my gaze on Rhett.
“That looked like a rough night,” he commented, his eyes wide.
I forced a smile. “It gets better.”
“I can hardly wait,” he replied wryly.
He turned to the next werewolf, a girl named Star who had already made several friends among the monsters.
“I’m going to share with Star and as many students as I can push to,” Rhett told me. “Then she’ll share with another werewolf who will do the same. We can easily reach everyone in here.”
“I can give you strength to reach more,” Dara offered.
Rhett shook his head. “Given the memory your boyfriend just showed me, you deserve a break. He wouldn’t be here without you, and we wouldn’t be here without him. We owe you.”
Dara shot me an embarrassed smile as Rhett turned to the other students.
“Close your eyes,” he told them. “Clear your minds. I’m going to show you how our Alpha saved your lives.”
Chapter Ten
By the time Rhett and the other werewolves finished sharing the memories of my team defeating each of Chutka’s subordinates, along with our run to Lark’s basement to trap demons, and the vanquishing of the Darkest Warlock at the Maes headquarters, I felt exhausted. I couldn’t avoid the looks of awe mixed with horror on the faces of the students who looked at me. Even my own team had amazed expressions.
“I told you about the Darkest Warlock,” I said to Alden in an effort to wipe the hero-worshipping look from his eyes.
“I know,” he replied breathlessly, “But it’s not the same as seeing it! You should tell us all of your stories that way!”
I glanced at the other students, then looked away from their stunned exp
ressions and said quietly, “I don’t think so. I think showing them was a bad idea.”
“Why?” Alden replied. “You didn’t expose them to danger, and now they have to believe what you guys have been through. It was a great idea!”
I glanced at Dara. The hint of a smile ghosted around her lips as if she found humor in the new adoration I was receiving.
“Stop laughing,” I told her.
“I’m not,” she replied as her mouth split into a grin. “I’m admiring your bravery.”
I fought back a growl of frustration and faced the students. “Let’s call it a night.”
“Now?” a vampire called out. “But after seeing all of that, I’m ready to learn how to fight demons!”
“Yeah,” Adalia from Mrs. Mellon’s class said. “You guys defended us. It’s our turn. We’re not going to cry in a corner while some demon lord tries to take over our school.”
“Demon Prince,” Dara corrected.
“And he’s trying to take over the world, not just Haunted High,” Lark put in helpfully.
“All the more reason to start training,” Rhett concluded. “We’re with you.”
I couldn’t deny the excitement in the gazes around me. My team had asked for me to help them gain the students’ trust. With the expressions on the faces that looked up to us, the team would have no problem getting the monsters to follow what they said.
“Fine,” I gave in. “Let the training begin.”
A cheer went up from the students. My team began to divide the monsters into groups the way we had decided.
I caught a glimpse of Professor Briggs standing near the unicorn photograph that hid the entrance to the basement and walked over to him.
“I, uh, meant to give them a pep talk in the cafeteria, and it sort of got out of hand,” I said.
The professor nodded. “I noticed.” He glanced at me. “And I saw the memories.”
I lowered my gaze. “I didn’t mean for you to.”
Professor Briggs watched the students for a moment before he said, “You’ve been through a lot, Finn.”
“We all have,” I replied quietly with my gaze on my team. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”