by Skyla Madi
A small lady sat behind a desk and she cleared her throat, unaware of our approach. I surveyed her white hair. It was bunched into short curls on top of her head and she pouted her purple stained lips. Her head snapped up when my shoe scuffed on the over-polished tiles.
“Is this the new student?” She asked, skipping the greetings.
“Yes.” Eli said. “Ruby Moore.”
She dropped her grey eyes to the sheets of paper in front of her. “Three zero eight.”
She handed Eli a key and we proceeded up a flight of stairs and down a wide corridor. My knees grew shakier with every step and my stomach filled with butterflies. I swallow hard, ignoring the irregular beat of my heart. Please, don’t let anyone exit their rooms right now, I prayed. My dress was dirty and torn and I didn’t see my hair or face looking any better.
“What is the time?” I asked Eli.
“Seven o’clock.”
“And what time is breakfast?”
“Eight o’clock.”
I looked down at my filthy, torn dress and cringed. It was such a pretty dress and I wanted to wear it again. Eli slowed his pace and I found myself trying really hard not to step on the back of his shoes.
“Can we hurry this up? I don't want to be seen like I rummaged through a trashcan and fought a possum for scraps.”
“It’s right here. Room three zero eight.” He stopped in front of the door out and handed me a small silver key.
Eagerly, I jammed the key into the hole and the door unlocked with ease. I heard a girl’s giggle and I dove inside the room. No one was seeing me like this.
The room was nothing like the cabin. It was very small and smelt like old books. The windows were dusty and the walls were an off white.
“Don't forget breakfast is at eight.” Eli said with a smile, closing the door behind him.
I didn’t have time to fully appreciate the nonsensical size of my room. Breakfast was in an hour and I needed to get out of this ruined dress. I ran to the nearest cupboard and wrapped my fingers around the handles. Please have fresh clothes, please have fresh clothes. I yanked open the wardrobe and it was packed full of clothes.
“Yes! Fresh clothes!”
I made yet another mental note to thank Mila when I saw her next. I picked out a pair of baggy, black cargo pants and a sky blue tank top. I figured I wouldn’t stand out if I was dressed casually. I ran to the bathroom to shower. The shower in my dorm room was mediocre compared to the one I had in the cabin. When I emerged, I ran a brush through my wet, tangled hair, cringing as I ripped through big knots.
“Seven fifty.” I whispered to myself, putting my shoes on by the clock on my bedside table.
I had no idea where the common room was, and according to the map on the back of my door, it was halfway between the girls’ dorm and the boys’ dorm. I estimated that it was a two minute walk. I left my dorm room, and immediately two girls came over to me.
“Ruby?” The girl with the full head of brown curls asked. She had big expressive green eyes and thick dark eyebrows. It was actually very beautiful on her.
“Yes?” I said cautiously, dragging it out longer than necessary. Oh no. My heartbeat accelerated and my cheeks began heating up.
“I’m Sam and this is Cloud.” She pointed to her leggy blonde haired friend.
I nodded once. “Hey.”
“Would you like to sit with us at breakfast?” Sam asked.
“Um…” I hesitated, searching for an excuse. I didn’t have one and they knew it. “Sure...”
At least I didn’t have to worry about getting lost now. We exited the girl’s dorms and the sun greeted me by kissing my skin. The sky was blue, the air crisp, and the sun was shining gloriously.
“I take it you’re a goddess?” Cloud smiled.
Her blonde hair was illumined by the sun’s rays and when she smiled, so did her eyes. Damn it. Maybe everyone here was good looking.
I nodded.
“Sweet. We’re guardian angels in training.” Sam added.
It was something I’d guessed already. Their thick, fit bodies and height gave it away. They looked way too hard and strong to be goddesses. I wasn’t going to lie. I was a little jealous—practicing hand to hand combat with people that look like Eli? Yes, please. Where can I sign up?
The rest of the conversation was a blur. I wasn't paying attention to anything they were saying, at all. I was too busy appreciating the school’s architecture and thinking about breakfast and the classes that would follow. I snapped back into focus as we reached the common room steps. Butterflies fluttered around my stomach and I felt like vomiting. The room was alive with chatter and gossip. Boys mingled with girls and Eli, Tay and other guardian angels were sitting around big tables, chatting away. The teachers’ table was filled with older men and women and I wondered which ones would be teaching me. My gaze dragged back over the tables and eventually met Eli’s eyes. He shot me a smile and a proud nod when he saw me with my new friends. If he approved of them, then maybe I was in with the right crowd.
“Over here.” Cloud announced, tearing me from Eli’s gaze and pulling me over to a spare space ate one of the long breakfast tables.
“I’m glad Sam and Cloud found you.” Mila said, joining us.
“Yeah, me too…”
Sam leaned forward, stopping a few inches from my face. “Oh my god, so is Eli, like, your guardian angel?” She asked in a gossipy high school tone.
I almost cringed away from it. “Yeah, I guess he is.”
“That is so hot!” Cloud squealed, drawing the attention of some nearby students. I sank a little lower in my chair. I really didn’t want attention on the first day.
“He’s so hot.” Added Sam, smiling widely at me. “Do you think he’s hot?”
God, yes. “Uh…” I chuckled nervously. “I…he—he’s all right, I guess.”
Sam and Cloud both narrowed their eyes at me like I was crazy.
“Fine.” I sighed, feeling stupid for giving into them. “Yes, I do.”
“Tay is cute, too.” Cloud giggled, leaning on her elbow.
“Yeah, he’s good looking, but he doesn't compare to Eli De Luca.” Sam announced, dramatically placing the back of her hand on her forehead and pretending to faint.
I bit my lip against a laugh. I guess Eli had the same effect on all of the girls here, not just me.
“When are you getting your bonding tattoo?” Cloud asked.
I arched a brow. “Bonding tattoo?”
They nodded.
“The guardian tattoos.” Mila nudged me with her elbow, prompting me.
“Oh, the tattoo…” I’d forgotten about that. “I don't know.”
A large hand engulfed my shoulder and I jumped, whirling around in my chair. Eli released my shoulder and took a step back. I don’t know why I freaked out. After the night I had—and the morning—I was a little on edge. I looked at Sam and Cloud, they were regarding me strangely. Great. They probably thought I was a weirdo now.
“Gwydion would like to see us.” Eli informed me.
I slid my chair out and it made an annoying scraping noise, drawing even more attention to me. My cheeks flared and I tilted my head so my hair draped forward, working as a curtain between me and the other students. I didn’t straighten my head until we left the hall and all of the stares behind.
“I didn’t get to eat.” I complained as we exited out the door I came in.
“This won't take long and we can go get something to eat after.”
Like a date? I smiled at my inside joke. “Okay.”
No more words were spoken as we walked over to the teacher’s side of the campus. They didn’t have dorms like the students. Their accommodation were mini houses scattered everywhere—their own little community. It seemed out of place in comparison to the very old, gothic architecture of the rest of the school.
We approached a large, wrought iron gate and to the left of it was a small booth. Eli and I walked toward the booth and the man
inside extended a piece of paper and a pen towards me.
“Sign this.”
Without reading, I signed my name along the dotted line at the bottom. Eli took the pen and signed his name after mine. The young man in the booth stamped the piece of paper three times and hit a button. The large gate squealed open and we were able to pass through.
“What was that for?” I asked Eli when we were far enough from the booth.
“Students aren’t allowed in this area, so on the rare occasion that one does come for reasons such as this, there is proof that it was strictly professional and that the student wasn’t pressured, etcetera.”
I frowned. “So it’s protection against student-teacher relationships?”
“I guess so.”
“What about other parts of the school? There are plenty of places a student and a teacher can have an affair.”
“I never said the system was fail proof, but extra protection is worth it.”
The teacher’s campus was cute. Small houses lined each side of the streets, complete with mail boxes, street signs and telegraph poles. We turned up the first small street and approached a small brick house. I was nervous. I had no idea what to expect.
Eli raised his fist to knock on the door, but Gwydion opened it before his hard knuckles touched the wood. Gwydion’s dark grey eyes flicked between Eli and I.
“Time for your tattoos.” He smiled at us.
My Guardian Angel
Eli was first to get his tattoo and I waited on the other side of the room, chewing my nails nervously. Gwydion approached me with a tiny vial in his hand, pulling a tiny scalpel from his yellow robe pocket.
“I need your blood.” He said, extending his hand to me.
I glanced at his hand. I already knew he needed my blood. I was just trying to convince myself to go through with it. It’d never been a goal of mine to tattoo my skin. Some called it art, I called it unnecessary pain. My pride nagged at me. I didn't want to look weak in front of Eli, so I placed the back of my hand in his. I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut but I didn't, for the same reason.
Eli gave me a reassuring smile as Gwydion sliced my hand and caught the drops of blood in his vial. I became increasingly light-headed and it was either because I didn’t have breakfast or I hadn’t seen my own blood in so long. Gwydion screwed the lid on the vial and pulled another out of his pocket. This one already had liquid in it—it was clear, and when he opened it, a petrol like scent filled the room. He poured it over my cut and it stung like hell.
“What the—” I bit my lip in hopes to ease the pain, but when it started healing I forgot all about the pain. I was too amazed.
The sudden hollow echo of knuckles rapping on the door was the only thing that managed to take my attention from the now healed cut. Eli rose from his chair as Gwydion opened the door. A deep mumble echoed throughout the room and Gwydion stepped aside.
“Your Shar is here.” Gwydion announced as a really tall, really tattooed man stepped into the house.
Eli sat back down as the Shar approached him and unpacked a tattooing kit from his bag. Without a word he plugged it in, switched it on, and started tattooing Eli's left wrist.
According to Eli, a Shar was an angel who bonded guardian angels to their charges. This tall, fat, tattooed guy was a Shar? I pictured them… well, a girl, for one, and heavenly. The Shar cleared his throat disgustingly and I cringed. How charming. Eli smiled at me occasionally, probably because he saw the horrified look on my face. The tattoo gun was loud and shaky, almost making me change my mind about getting it done. It was funny. I kept thinking like I had a choice to get the tattoo or not. Gwydion had a lot of strange things in his weird man-bag, who knows what he’d do if I tried to run.
***
After an hour of watching Eli get tattooed and not flinch once, it was my turn. The man covered Eli's wrist in a bandage and called me over. Uneasily, I pushed myself out of the chair and took Eli's place by the Shar. Eli’s eyes settled on me as Gwydion cut him and collected his blood in a vial. I tried hard to focus on the bare room around me as the Shar prepared a new needle. Gwydion brought Eli’s blood over and the Shar started the tattoo machine. Once the machine started, I no longer cared about looking tough in front of Eli. I squirmed as the needle came closer and closer to my skin. Before it touched, I squeezed my eyes shut and my body began to tremble in fear. Why did these machines have to sound so scary? The needle contacted my skin and slowly, I opened my eyes. I looked at my wrist, it was dirty with ink. I dragged my gaze to Eli—he was chuckling at me. My body ceased shaking—the pain from the tattoo gun wasn't nearly as bad as being sliced with a scalpel, but it still wasn't pleasant.
Within an hour it was done. Before he bandaged it, I glanced down at the little black feather that tinged red in the light. I loved it. He rubbed a strange, citric smelling cream on it and bandaged it tightly.
“Now to bond you.” Said the Shar. He had a deep baritone voice that echoed around the house.
He gestured for me to stand up and for Eli to come over. “Grab her hand.”
Eli extended his left hand and I took it with my right. His touch was electrifying and we locked eyes. He felt it, too.
The Shar chanted and hummed in another language for a few minutes but I didn’t feel any different.
“We’re done.” He grumbled and I let go of Eli’s hand.
I watched the Shar curiously as he packed up all of his things and left in a hurry.
“Well he wasn’t what I was expecting.” I muttered to Eli.
He chuckled. “Let me guess, more stereotypes?”
Prior to my vampiric state, my mother and I lived among humans and therefore I’d had no encounters with guardian angels and Shars. I only went off what brief stories mum had told me. The rest I had to imagine for myself. Apparently going off angel cartoons and movies was inaccurate—no—stereotypical.
The beginning of a laugh escaped my lips, but I suppressed the rest when I looked at Gwydion. He seemed a little uncomfortable at our personal joke. He strolled to the front door and opened it. I guess it was a hint for us to leave. “Leave the tattoos bandaged for a few days. The cream the Shar applied should help it heal quickly.”
We thanked Gwydion and headed outside. After a few minutes of walking, I realized we weren’t going back the way we came.
“Where are we going?” I asked, curiously.
He didn’t look at me. “Parking lot.”
Silently, I walked along next to him. When we made it to the car park, the gravel crunched noisily underneath our shoes. I tried not to be overwhelmed, but the unrelenting sea of black SUVs was daunting. How’d the guardians know which one was theirs? They all looked exactly the same. Eli stopped and pulled a set of keys from his back pocket, hitting a button. The lights on the car next to me flashed briefly. I looked at Eli, confused.
“I promised you food.” He smiled, opening his door. “Hop in.”
I felt my own smile forming. “Nice car.”
His green eyes lit up. I guessed he liked cars. “It’s an Audi Q5.” He stated proudly.
“I have no idea what that means...”
He shook his head at me. “Just get in.”
I sighed. Typical boys and their toys. Car talk was difficult for me. Not only was it excruciatingly boring, but I also had a hard time following it. I jumped into the passenger seat and inside, the car was very nice. It had cream leather seats, lots of space and a small seven inch screen built into the centre console.
“We’re going to a small bakery in Sage town down the road from here.”
I clipped my seatbelt in. “Sage has a town?”
“Yeah, it’s only small and is run completely by our kind.”
I relaxed into my seat as Eli turned the car on. I was happy that Eli and I were going to be spending a little time alone together. There were a few things I wanted to talk to him about.
“So,” I began, watching the green trees whip by. “What else do you do at Sage beside
s saving young half vampires?”
He licked his lips against a smile. “I don’t do much else. When I’m not assisting Mr Aleksandrov, I run the senior student guardian classes.”
“You teach Sam and Cloud?”
He nodded, glancing at me sideways before looking back at the road. “Yeah and the rest of them.”
Curious, I asked. “Are they any good?”
“They’re exceptionally good.” He looked at me again, but this time he beamed cheekily. “They do have me as a teacher, after all.”
I laughed. “How modest of you.”
***
It didn’t take long before we pulled up in front of the bakery. Eli wasn’t exaggerating when he said the bakery was small. It was barely as wide as the width of Eli’s car. Despite its smallness it was awfully cute with its pink and white paint. There weren’t many people walking around the town, but the ones that passed by us gave friendly nods and waves.
I could live here.
When the shop assistant asked us what we wanted I chose a blueberry muffin and strawberry milk. Eli had a sausage roll and a caramel latte. The lady hands us a table number and we take our seats outside.
“What happens in your classes?” I asked, taking the conversation back to guardian angels in training.
Eli crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair as I picked at my muffin. I tried hard not to stare at the muscular ridges along his forearm, but I wasn’t going to lie, my eyes definitely drifted.
“A lot of kicking and punching. Running, sparring and different kinds of practice drills.”
“That sounds awesome.” I sighed. “They’ll be doing all the cool stuff while I’m stuck studying leaves and moving bodies of water.”
“That’s just as important, if not more.”
The metal table was cold on my elbow and I rested my head on my fist. “I just feel like it’s useless. Like I’m useless.”