by Erin R Flynn
“You’re nothing,” she spit out, wheezing in pain. “I will rule this school like I always do and the sheep will follow my name and money as they always do.”
“Hey, I don’t think you said that loud enough,” I taunted, noting how many people weren’t fond of being referred to that way. They had names and money as well.
“Most of us were laughing at you, Blake,” a guy said as he stepped out from the crowd. “You might have been queen bee at your high school, but here you’re just the desperate freshman slut people are laughing how easy it is to lay as long as they can keep your mouth shut. Or fill it with something.”
Oh damn, ouch.
I enjoyed that a bit too much.
“You did this to yourself,” I chuckled when she gave me a death glare. “You lost, Blake. Accept that and pull the pieces together and whatever pride you might have left instead of the next bullshit. Because you involved a lot of people who will be pissed at your lies. This goes way beyond you and me or the school this time.”
“My father is insisting she be expelled,” Lucca declared as he joined us, narrowing his eyes at her. “He’s Alpha of the bears in this area and school board president and you started a panic that there was an explosion at the school which most alluded to being a fucking attack. Are you nuts? All because you hate Tamsin?”
“He’s not the only one,” Mason added as he joined us. “My father’s Alpha too and agrees. The bears are banding together to get rid of the threat at the school.” He looked at Blake, smirking at her. “You. Not Tamsin. They’ve declared you the threat to get rid of. Congrats, you got that notoriety you wanted. Now choke on it as I doubt any of our schools will take you after this.”
21
The next morning the whole school was abuzz about Blake’s parents yanking her out of school before she could officially be expelled. I had a feeling that would improve my life at school but that was a vendetta that wouldn’t go away anytime soon.
She was crazy obsessed like that. I’d never met anyone whose mind was so twisted and full of vinegar like hers was.
Still, it was nice to not turn every corner and expect trouble.
No, I decided to go look for it.
I texted Izzy and Mel that I had a craving from the vending machines and I needed a break from the whispers. I did, and I couldn’t deal with one more lunch with everyone staring at me right then, but it wasn’t the goal.
I walked into the student union, glad it was cleared out for lunch, and found the stairs down. My luck wasn’t enough that there were signs leading me to the portal to Faerie.
No, but my magic knew the way. Down to the basement, a right turn, and a long hallway brought me to the last door on the right where it was.
That door had a sign and I noticed there were others labeled with specific portals. Cool, so it was the area, not right up front for anyone but not too hard to find.
I was shocked when the door was unlocked but then again, why lock up a dead portal?
And dead it was. Honestly it looked like one of those arches for outdoor weddings but perfect and built into the floor. Yeah, it had a base that looked like it almost melted into the floor, completely immovable.
Moving closer, I studied the wood, thinking it looked almost like two trees grown and bent to make an oval. And the flowers and plant life scattered over it were actually dead but more like petrified.
Drained of color almost. It was as if a photo of it had been taken with a black-and-white filter.
That wasn’t terrifying. What the fuck was on the other side then if all the color was gone?
I sighed, not willing to let fear stop me from getting answers. If I wasn’t going to be reasonable or logical and warn anyone what I was doing, I certainly wouldn’t listen to fear.
I set my stuff off to the side and reached for the portal. I gasped as my magic flared and shot through the portal frame. It raced around the frame and brought back just a touch of color to that line, and the middle activated.
It looked less like a mirror than other portals I’d seen and more like ethereal water. I wanted to study it more, worry about this choice now that I knew I could do this, but I wasn’t going to be the idiot stuck somewhere because they hemmed and hawed too long.
I stepped forward and it did feel like going through water, leaving me gasping as I came out on the other side.
And into nothing.
There was nothing, only darkness. There was absolutely no light, and I blinked like I was in a completely enclosed room with not even a window or crack of light.
I gasped as magic leaked from me. It felt good though, like a tingling after stepping out of warm water and into cold air. It didn’t hurt or even ache like when I used the reservoir.
It stopped and I realized a radius around me of a few feet was less dark. Still not light, as there was no light there, but not devoid of all light and a vacuum of darkness like it had been.
So Faerie did need fairy magic to survive.
I swallowed loudly. Did that mean all the rest really were dead? Was I truly the last then?
I decided to have my internal debate back on my world as I’d gotten some answers and that was enough. I definitely wasn’t going to pull a cliché idiot character move of pushing forward without consulting logic.
I stepped back through and the portal disappeared the moment I let go of the frame. I felt a bit drained but not bad, like yeah, after a good workout, and slowly I started to feel more energized like that too.
Deciding that was enough for the day, I mentally made a list of what I would need next time I went there. Lamps and flashlights for sure.
But why go back? After a bit of thought I realized there were portals all over the world to places. What if this portal was just to one dead spot of Faerie?
What if the population had shrunk to not sustain the whole world—which I had no clue the size of—and that was the “dead zone” I’d went to? Seemed logical, right?
Right?
I hoped someone agreed so I wasn’t the last. That was too depressing and scary to imagine. I hit the vending machines and ate my feelings along with my worry, camping out in a corner so I was alone at least.
My phone vibrated and I checked it to see I had a message from Craftsman saying he got our field trip approved and we were heading out after classes to NYC through the faculty portal. Right, he’d drained some of the reservoir into the school’s wards but everyone agreed it really wasn’t fair for a student to be providing so much power.
So he wanted to take me to Veritas Portas.
It sounded fancy and a bit intimidating but it was Latin for “truth gates,” which was actually “ostium veritatis” when I put it in Google’s translator so it was a bit of creative freedom too. I was excited though, not just for a chance to get off campus but to see with my own eyes what else this magical world had besides a university.
And some alone time with Craftsman. Non-crazy time. We were going to New York to shop. That sounded… Like a date.
I swallowed loudly when I realized that, wondering if I should change.
Tamsin: I’ll meet you at the admin building after I drop off my stuff and grab what I need. Are you feeding me dinner?
Craftsman: Are you asking me on a date?
Tamsin: Do you want to eat dinner with me when we can without eyes or whispers or not?
Craftsman: It’s a date, love. I’ll take you to my favorite spot.
Oh boy, I was going to freak if he took me to some fancy place. I didn’t do well with that sort of thing and I’d had my fill for a few more weeks after the ball.
No, he knew me better than that, right? He might come from some snooty family but he was an offshoot and clearly didn’t act like the elite.
Then again, what did I know? I barely knew him.
Class with Campbell distracted me as she went over a graphic section of a large band of witches in Asia all about world domination. They were using blood and guts in their spells.
After t
hey, and their movement of treating humans like insects to do with whatever they wanted, were defeated, all their spells and writings were burned so none could try the same again.
Yeah, good, glad the consensus was to destroy any spells that involved human organs. There was no way the outcome was reforesting the planet or growing crops.
No way when it sounded like a horror movie.
Just as class finished he sent me a text he would be a bit delayed and would meet me at the admin portal at four.
No problem. It worked out perfectly as I had ample time to change then and even talk to Darby to set up a schedule for the weekend.
The online high school was accepting my credits from freshman year since I’d had A’s, which meant I could start at sophomore year.
And the first everything of what I had needed arrived. We were going to dive into human geometry so I didn’t fall behind on my class at Artemis. We added it to the schedule and plans on the walls of our dorm room.
Darby found it immensely amusing that Izzy had everything all planned almost down to the minute. He’d made several jokes that she had to schedule her time to take a shit.
She wasn’t that bad but at least he didn’t tease her to her face as she was sensitive about it. She was efficient though, and I was cool with such a plan when it worked.
I was sure we were getting more done than any other freshmen, and that meant we could actually enjoy our free time instead of worrying we had other things to do.
Something I planned to take advantage of that night.
“Anything you want from Veritas Portas?” I asked him as I flipped through my closet to think of what I wanted to wear.
“Lots, but nothing there is cheap, Tamsin,” he muttered as he looked over the materials from the online school. “You pay for the hookup, the convenience, and discretion. It might be a chain store but the founders were smart, each store opening when they had more children so there wouldn’t ever be fighting for the company. From there more opened so it’s all family—”
“But still competitive for theirs to be the best,” I muttered, filing that information away for later. It might be helpful.
“Exactly. NYC is one of the top ten and she prides herself on that. Katrina Calloway would do anything to keep that or push herself up that list higher as that’s reflected in the cost of items too.”
“What’s the discretion then?” I asked casually as I ended up picking out nicer jeans and a cute shirt that meant to hang off the shoulders.
“There’s a lot sold that people wouldn’t want people to know they bought,” he answered, sounding distracted. “Fine, most would brag they had the power to need a reservoir but that could make them a target. Vamps wouldn’t want others to know they bought an aid to control their bloodlust because they’re so stressed and you know it’s all balanced. Or some crystals to amplify their power because it’s weak.”
“Makes sense, sure,” I agreed as I pulled off what I was wearing. I turned to set my clothes in the hamper since my pockets were empty and I found Darby was no longer distracted. “Who says I don’t pay you for the tutoring?”
He flushed at being busted, all the way up to his ears even, which was sort of geeky sexy. But he didn’t turn away.
“I think we should do three sessions the next two days so you’re not trying to cram it all in, but the first six sections of high school level math should be something we can breeze through. Some seems a refresher in the algebra you’re going to need.”
“Got it.” I got dressed and tossed my leather jacket on the bed for later.
Darby looked up the weather in NYC and it was still pretty warm, so no leather jacket then. I went with a sturdy purse and loaded up what I needed.
“You act like you’re getting ready for a date,” he grumbled.
“No, that’s a whole other process,” I teased him, never having been on an official date like that so no clue what I would do. “This is for my impression into the big leagues, not here. You made it clear Ms. Calloway was someone I should dress to impress and not make it look like I was.”
“Smart.”
“I have my moments.”
He didn’t say anything until I looked at him. “You have a lot of those moments, Tamsin. I’m sorry I ever doubted you or them.”
“Aww, I told you I’d grow on you.”
He snorted. “Like a fungus for sure.”
“Fine as long as I don’t stink,” I purred. “I could live with being a nice blue cheese.”
He rolled his eyes at me, probably wanting to lecture me it was a bacteria in the cheese, not a fungus. Whatever, it was a form of mold and seriously, close enough.
I checked what I had again, wondering why Izzy wasn’t back yet, but she was walking down the hall as I headed out. “Good, I wanted to ask if there’s anything you wanted from this place?”
Her eyes went wide. “Tons, but you’re not popping over to Target, Tams. The cheapest thing there is probably a hundred dollars.” She nodded when Darby snorted. “Yeah, probably more. Even something a hundred dollars might be too much a ‘trinket’ for Veritas Portas. I’m good, have fun. I want to hear everything when you get back.”
“Should I take pictures?” I teased her.
“Not allowed,” Darby warned me. “You could get banned for life if you even hinted at what’s there on social media or took a picture.”
“Damn, that’s some privacy,” I chuckled, thrilled down to my toes to hear that. I waved goodbye and found myself plotting instead of just a quick trip and the real fun being dinner with Craftsman.
Who looked delicious as he jogged up to the building a few minutes later. He was wearing my favorite look on him, nice jeans, work shirt, and tie.
Fine, I liked all of the looks on him but this had layers of sexy.
“You good? I can wait,” I offered.
“All handled, we’re off, I promise,” he replied, reaching for the door and opening it for me.
“Can I ask what it was about?” I muttered, getting there was something else going on I wasn’t understanding.
“I’ll tell you later, privately, I promise,” he said under his breath before leading me to a room off the main hallway. There were several teachers in there and I realized it was their lounge and sort of hangout spot.
“Enjoy your first visit to Veritas Portas, Ms. Vale,” Professor White said with a smile. “It’s something all of us remember even if we grew up in the world.”
“Thanks, I’m excited,” I admitted. I turned to find Craftsman standing at a portal and about to reach for it. I blocked his hand and met his gaze. “Wait, show me how to do it.”
He scrunched up his eyebrows. “Absolutely not. A week of magical schooling is not enough to teach you portals.”
I sighed, rolling my eyes at him. “I’m not saying to open one anywhere like you or Edelman can. I’m saying show me how to activate a standing portal like this.” I held up my hand to hold off his arguments and the others I felt coming as other teachers were ready to jump in. “If there was an emergency and you were hurt, I have no knowledge how to even get through a portal.
“I’m not saying I want to activate them or jump ship out of here or—I think I’ve shown I deserve enough trust for this. I’ve done everything you or the headmaster have asked, Salzman too to help me and protect me. I’m saying I want to know how to activate a portal for my safety. What if there’s one in the houses I inherited and haven’t seen yet? What if I need to escape?”
He sighed. “I understand what you mean, but the problem with established portals like this is they have to be set, so blindly activating a portal and jumping through means you won’t know where you’re going.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, I get that, but if every Ward in the world comes barreling through that door, anywhere but here sounds like a fabulous place. Even if they could follow, I have more options to run other than the no other doors in this room.”
“She makes a valid point,” Coach K
han muttered, shocking me down to my toes.
Craftsman nodded, sighing as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Your word you won’t fuss around with this or get cracking on to jump ahead of the others?”
“Emergency situations where I see no other options only,” I promised, even holding up my hand like that mattered.
“Fine. Touch the portal. That’s it. It’s already set. You just have to have the magic to activate a portal to use it if you don’t know how to set it.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and gave him a look like I wanted to strangle him. “So I just spent five minutes convincing you when all I had to do was just push open the damn door?” I growled and touched the frame. “Teenage girls aren’t drama, it’s twenty-something Brits. For the love of wasting time.”
Several people chuckled and I felt magic pulled from me, the portal frame filling in with a soft light.
“Are you okay? How do you feel?” Professor Campbell asked, studying me closely.
“Fine, hungry, but I’m always hungry, why?” I wondered.
She let out a shocked laugh. “Oh, no reason, you just pumped enough magic in it that we could all use that portal and it was your first time and you’re not even winded. And you had your magic surge and drain in my class not two hours ago.”
“I’m sorry?” I offered, glancing to Craftsman for help, but all he did was shrug. I gave a wave to the room and walked through the portal, deciding it was best to not make things worse.
Not every situation could be salvaged, after all.
22
I remembered to step out of the way this time so Craftsman didn’t crash into my back. I glanced around and was awestruck by how cool the place was.
It sort of reminded me of a branch of a subway station but way smaller and cooler. We were in the main room but there were five hallways we could walk off to wherever.
Then to my right was main counter and whatever was back there for the employees or storage. A chime sounded as if letting them know we were there.