by Skyla Madi
Class was starting in an hour so I took my time getting ready. I slid into a tight pair of denim jeans, threw on a polo shirt and finished with a navy blue jacket. I didn’t dress up because I had to clean the auditorium this afternoon. My stomach twisted at the thought of being alone with him. That was never a good idea. When we were alone we either, kissed, fought or had meaningful conversations. I wasn’t up for any of those today. Okay, that was a lie. I was up for at least one of those things.
A lot of thoughts were occupying my mind and although I slept well, it still wasn’t enough to de-stress my life. I shut the door with a hard thump and slowly but surely made my way over to my first class.
“Ruby!” Mila’s voice forced me to turn around.
I smiled at her as she approached me. She looked so strange in a pair of short denim shorts and a tank top. Beautiful, but strange.
“We have —”
“Agrobiology.” I groaned. “I know.”
“It’s my second favourite class, next to Botany.” she squeaked, tucking a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear.
“Really? How is that even possible? It’s completely pointless!”
She shrugged her narrow shoulders. “Not for me, it’s good to know what plants we can turn into medicine and stuff.”
I scoffed. “Still boring…”
“Well, what kind of goddess do you want to be?”
I glanced sideways at her. “What do you mean?”
“Well, we can wield the elements right?”
“Right.”
“So when we graduate from here we move to other communities. There, we can work normal jobs or we can work for our kind—like helping to sustain the earth, healing nature and things like that. Or, you can get a more low-key job like teaching, or researching—oh and some of us get drafted.”
That didn’t sound good. “Drafted?”
She exhaled. “Didn’t you learn anything from Lillian in the cabin?”
I shrugged. Honestly, I was thinking more about the blood coursing through her veins than the information she was telling me.
“Sometimes the higher power forces gods into fighting vampires and other underworldly creatures—and sometimes gods choose to fight vampires.”
“No way…” I gasped in disbelief.
It was like a dictatorship. This higher power guy had a lot to say about what goes down in our world.
“Yep, now come on, we’re late,” she urged, grabbing my forearm.
***
When we made it to class, we weren’t late at all. Students were still trickling into the room and finding a place to sit down.
I leaned closer to Mila’s ear. “We aren’t late.”
She giggled. “I know, but I didn’t want to risk it.”
We sat at the end of a long desk in the back row.
“So do you know what you want to be when you leave here?” I asked her as I laid my books down on the table.
Mila sighed. “I don’t know... I’d like to be a doctor or a researcher. I haven’t decided yet.”
I frowned. I didn't want a boring job like sprouting flowers and healing tress, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to spend my life researching or being hunted by vampires. After here I planned on going back to Bridgewater and maybe travelling the world with Camilla. Could I still do that?
“What will happen to Eli if I decide I don’t want to be in a community?”
Mila flinched a little. “Eli would be assigned to someone else or he’d be drafted to the higher powers army. It can go either way.”
I didn’t want to do any of the careers Mila mentioned and I sure didn’t want to abandon Eli.
“And if I decide to run away from it all?”
Her eyes widened and she leaned in close. “No, that’s dangerous. Your powers become weak outside communities. Our energies are connected. On your own, you’ll be lucky enough to even use your magic. Not being in a community is like putting a chicken in a wolf’s den and telling him not to eat it.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You’re comparing goddesses and vampires to chickens and wolves?”
“No, I’m comparing powerless goddesses and vampires.”
I thought about Mum and how she conjured the ball from the fire, it wasn’t enough to hurt Hank.
“The last thing you want is to do what your mum did. Harsh, I know, but look what happened. Just do your best and hope you get a job that keeps you safe. Then marry a nice god and have a cute little family...”
I zoned out after that. I wondered how Mila would react if I told her I didn’t want a god? That I wanted a guardian angel who was a million times stronger and a million times sexier than any god. What if I told her it was Eli that I wanted? I wanted to tell her, I wanted advice on what to do. I opened my mouth, but clamped it shut. I couldn’t tell. Raina would no doubt be pressuring her for more ‘dirt’ on me—even more so now, since I punched her in the face.
My string of thoughts was interrupted as Rylan walked through the door. He spotted me immediately and I gave him a small smile, but he quickly averted his gaze. Unlucky for him there were only a few seats left and he had to walk past my table to get there.
“Hey,” I greeted him as he walked by.
He didn’t reply. He didn’t even look at me. I guess he was still pissed about last night.
“What’d you do to him?” whispered Mila.
“Nothing.” I didn’t do anything, did I? “I mean, I said I wouldn’t go to the dance with him, but—”
The way she was looking at me stopped my word flow. “What? Why are you looking at me like I’m crazy?”
“Why’d you say no?”
“Because, I didn’t even know there was a dance, and also because I don’t like him like that and I didn’t want to lead him on.”
“You could have gone as friends.”
My brows furrowed. “Then you go with him,”
Mila sat back in her chair, biting a smile. “I can’t, I’m going with Gabriel.”
“No, you—wait what? When were you going to tell me?”
“When you had a date, then I wouldn’t feel bad. I don’t want you to go alone,”
I folded my arms across the table. “I don’t care about going alone. I don’t feel that way about any of the boys at this school.”
Except Eli, the one guy I couldn't date.
“Oh Ruby, just do it,” she begged.
“I thought being with guardian angels was forbidden?” I whispered to avoid being over heard.
“It is, sexually,” she replied ever so quietly while glancing cautiously around the room. “You can hang around them, but intimacy is out of the question.”
“Won’t the higher power zap you with lightning or whatever it is he does?”
Mila laughed. “First of all, he doesn’t zap people, he’s just the ruler and protector of our kind—like a king, and second of all, the higher power only finds out if someone reports it. If you are in love or having sex with a guardian angel and no one knows, then how can the higher power find out? He can’t watch everyone, he’s too busy, but if someone reports it then necessary steps are taken to prevent further intimate interactions.”
So I could be with Eli in private? It would be okay if no one saw us?
“Okay, settle down,” called a statuesque woman as she entered the room.
The way she carried herself drew my attention from my own thoughts and onto her. She was gorgeous and tall. Her long caramel hair draped and curled around her shoulders, bouncing with every step she took. She turned her large, green eyes on the class and smiled a pageant winning smile.
“That’s Miss Willow,” whispered Mila.
She was a mature woman, but stunning nonetheless.
***
After Miss Willow began the lesson, I zoned out and as the bell rang, signalling the end of class, I couldn’t exactly recall what’d happened in agrobiology, mostly because my mind was fixated on the whole goddess career thing and on seeing Eli in the auditor
ium later.
The rest of the day was the same. My brain was too full of my own problems to absorb any more information and when I entered the auditorium my brain was threatening to explode. I scanned the room and luckily for me, there were at least seven other students sweeping and packing away mats. Good, the less one on one time, the better.
“Ruby, I was starting to think you weren’t going to show up.” Eli said, stepping out from behind a wall. “Just like breakfast.”
My eyes drank in the sight of him in his uniform. Jesus Christ. It wasn’t fair.
I chuckled nervously. “And miss out on cleaning a sweat-filled auditorium? I wouldn’t dream of it.”
A broom slamming to the floor stole my attention and my nervousness spiked as I watched the students put the brooms away and start to collect their bags.
“See you tomorrow,” Eli called out to them as they exited.
“It’s all clean?” How late was I?
“Not even close.” Eli chuckled, picking up a cloth and spray bottle.
He handed me the products. “Start wiping down the seats.”
“You aren’t serious?”
“Dead serious.”
I glanced around the room. The auditorium had at least four hundred seats.
“There’s so many seats.” I protested, wringing the cloth in my hands.
“Well, then you better get started.”
I scowled at him and strolled idly over to the beginning of the first row. I sprayed the seat and the back support once each and then wiped it down with the microfiber towel. This was going to take me forever.
***
I reached about one hundred before Eli came over and stopped me.
“That’s enough for today.” He said, taking the bottle and towel from me
I glanced at the huge clock on the wall. I’d been cleaning for an hour and had only done a hundred seats.
“Sorry I’m so slow, I’m just tired.” I confessed, brushing the palms of my hands over my shirt.
He smiled. “That’s okay, do the rest tomorrow.”
I said a quick goodbye and left. I didn’t want to hang around and become even more of an inconvenience to him. I had to keep our relationship professional.
Going back to my dorm room was depressing. I couldn’t help but feel like I had accomplished nothing today. My door jarred a little before opening so I kicked the base of it, sending the door slamming against the wall. I stepped inside and was immediately stopped in my tracks. It felt different. I didn’t know how or why it felt different, I could just tell. I glanced around my room until my eyes rested on a letter that perched threateningly on my pillow. I’d told myself over and over this was all a sick prank, but right now my confidence wavered. Forcing myself to move, I made my way over to the bed and picked up the letter. Slowly, I opened it.
Ruby,
I have Camilla.
I told you I could make you come to me.
See you soon,
H.
The Ungodly
A frightened shudder tore its way down my spine as my hands began to shake uncontrollably. My knees met the hard floor as I dropped and gasped. I felt like vomiting, crying, and screaming all at once. I quickly controlled my breathing, trying desperately not to panic. I couldn’t give Eli the idea that something was wrong, not until I decided what to do.
I no longer thought this was a joke. It was Hank, but how’d he manage to get the letters to me? I shook my head, that didn’t matter. What mattered was saving Camilla. I needed to leave Sage and I needed to leave as soon as possible.
It was like a switch. I was no longer emotional. I was angry and determined—numb. Camilla and Aunt Jen were the only family I had left and I was not about to lose them.
I grabbed my lesson timetable out of my bag and looked at tomorrow’s set up. Damn! No good! Tomorrow I had spares, mostly, which meant Eli would be spending most of tomorrow with me. I needed to leave tonight, it was my only option.
I raised my bag above my head from the bottom. Papers, pens and books fell out. I rushed to my wardrobe and threw in a few clothes. A pair of sweat pants, a pair of loose jeans, a few singlets and two jumpers. I had to wait for dinner to grab some water and food as an emergency supply. I needed to keep my energy up while traveling.
***
I paced the room until dinner time. My nails were destroyed. I’d bitten them to calm my nerves, but it didn’t work.
Knock, knock. I jumped, knocking an empty bottle of water off my desk. I bent down and picked it up, tossing it in the wastebasket as I made my way to the door and twisted the handle.
“Hey,” I called as I pushed the door open, trying to keep my voice as even as possible
“Why are you so nervous? You’re making me nauseous,” he cringed.
“Oh,” A cold sweat began to form on my forehead and I swiped it away with the back of my hand. “I have a test tomorrow, for fluviology. Very nerve racking,” I lied.
Eli gave me a ‘that’s not the truth but I’m not going to argue’ frown, which I returned with my best ‘would I ever lie to you’ smile.
***
We headed towards the dining hall and the whole way I was trying desperately to keep my emotions under wraps. When we entered the hall we sat by ourselves, just like last night, and dinner was mini Hawaiian pizzas. Despite my nausea and stress over Camilla and somehow breaking out of the school, I forced myself to eat. Quickly into the dinner, I noticed Eli only picked at his food.
“Relax, it’s just a test,” he said, eyeing me suspiciously.
“I know, it’s just…” I thought of another lie. “It’s my first test here and I want to make a good impression.”
Eli smiled, looking like he was beginning to believe my story. It made me feel like crap.
“How far away from my old town am I?” I asked out of nowhere.
He shrugged. “About a four hour trip. Why?”
I searched my brain frantically for a response. “I thought that maybe I could visit them. You know, down the track.”
Eli nodded, pushing his plate away. “Maybe, yeah.”
I took another bit of my pizza.
“Do you think you could do me a favor?” I asked, casually.
He eyed me warily.
“Do you think you could get me a few bottles of water and some extra food? When I study, I get really thirsty and peckish, and I can’t focus when—“
“Okay.”
I blinked. “Okay?”
Well that was easier than I expected.
“Yes. I’ll do that for you.”
“Okay...cool.”
The rest of dinner was quiet. Eli spent most of the night sitting and watching me, trying to analyze what exactly was going on with me. Every time I met his gaze I’d look elsewhere, scared to give anything away.
When dinner came to an end, Eli ducked into the kitchen before we left and brought out two bottles of water and a few slices of mini pizza wrapped in plastic. I followed him from the hall, strolling slowly beside him jus to buy us more time.
“You’re acting very strange tonight…” Eli said as we walked side by side back to the dorm. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. Like I said, it’s just test nerves.”
It didn’t feel good lying to him, but I didn’t have a choice. Saving Camilla was my problem and my problem only.
“Are you sure it’s not because of what I said because I...I didn’t mean—what I meant to say was—”
“Eli,” I interrupted, not looking at him. “You don’t have to explain anything. I’m okay, really.”
He exhaled and kept walking slowly beside me. As we walked, I soaked in as much of his appearance and smell as I possibly could, and when he dropped me at my room and I closed the door behind him, I couldn’t help but shed a tear. This was possibly be the last time I’d ever see Eli. I shook my head and abruptly wiped away the tears. I didn’t want to think about him right now. I didn’t need another reason to back out of d
oing this.
Family came first.
***
I lay on my bed, planning how to get past the door lady. On my way in, I noticed it was Mrs Ploit watching the girl’s dorm tonight. She was quite old, but extremely alert. Getting past her would be difficult, and there was no way I could out run the guardian angels if I was caught. My only choice was a distraction. I hadn’t taken a lot time to observe the lobby in my short time here so I was going to have to wing it.
***
Finally it was midnight—the time I’d chosen to leave. I didn’t particularly want to leave at night, but it was the best chance I had to get out without being spotted. Unfortunately, it was also the best time to be ripped apart by vampires.
I tied my hair into a tight bun and threw a beanie on top. Next, I slipped into a pair of runners and tied them tight. I unfastened the guardian angel whistle from my neck and replaced it with the ruby I’d received for my birthday. Lastly, I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door. I stood in the hallway for a few seconds.
Silence.
I quickly, but quietly made my way to the lobby and I spotted Mrs Ploit behind her desk. She was typing away on her computer, humming a song I couldn’t decipher.
I needed to get past her somehow. I searched the area for any kind of distraction. I noticed a vase of flowers on her desk, filled to the brim with water. I focused hard on the water, willing it to fall over.
Nothing happened.
I waved my hand at it.
Nothing happened.
God damn it! I gritted my teeth and clenched my jaw. If there was a time I needed my powers to work, it was now. I closed my eyes and took two calming breaths, before trying one last time. I focused on the water and then on Camilla’s face. The water in the vase shuddered before pushing up one side of the glass and causing it to tip off her desk and onto the floor with a loud smash. Water, flowers and glass went everywhere and Mrs Ploit leaped out of her chair to peer over her desk.