The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  My stomach lifts into my throat and my palms sweat, but I smile inside, knowing he’s going to be dead in two minutes.

  He pushes me through the hallway. It smells like blood and death. I hate vampires.

  Except Gwen. Her, I love. I know she’s inside, waiting for me, as a client. We were reunited after she was detained and questioned. We trained together this last few months, and when I requested her for England. Lorri agreed she was a good fit.

  The man walks me past a desk with other men. They leer and I want to stab their eyes out with my fingernails but I don’t. I bat my lashes and smile as sweet and Southern as I can.

  One man reaches over, touching my neck. He can’t smell the witchy magic on me. I’ve made a cloak that prevents them from seeing me for what I am. His calloused hand runs down my neck. He nods and gives the other man a thumbs up. They all laugh and talk over each other, very fast and aggressive.

  Suddenly a beautiful girl with long lashes and her fangs hanging out over her lips, comes to the top of the stairs in the massive lobby. She smiles at me seductively and shouts something coarse at them.

  The man pushes me and shouts, pointing at the beautiful girl, not knowing she’s my best friend. I look as scared as I can and glance about the room uncertainly. She shouts at me, waving a hand. I climb the stairs, stopping just short of the last one, wincing when she grabs my arm and drags me up the next step. The men below cheer. She mutters, “The hall is full. Room by room from the back.” I nod, pulling my face from hers. She backhands me, striking like a viper. The men cheer again. As she drags me down the hall, their voices echo off the wallpapered hallway.

  When we get to the first room I grip the doorknob, unlocking it with magic and casting a silencing spell as I enter. I don't see the gore or the girls or the horror shows inside. I block those out. I learned that the first time I saw blood- torture in Whit’s dungeon. I don't like to see any of those things.

  I see only eyes. They grow wide as Gwen grabs the girl, compelling her to be silent and to go home, out the back door. His eyes get dark as I slam him against the wall and unleash every bit of angry vengeance upon him I can muster.

  We hit each room. Dorian is in the back, clearing the way for the trail of girls who leave. He clears their minds and lets them go, free of what they have lived through. Several rooms have girls who cannot be saved. They are dead or dying, and to the point it is a kinder fate to close their eyes for them.

  When we get back to the stairs, Gwen is covered in black blood and I am covered in hate. I don't mean to let it get to me but I can’t stop myself.

  The men in the lobby are back to playing cards and drinking. Gwen leaps from the second floor, clearing the stairs and landing hard on one guy’s throat, taking him to the ground. I float down, buzzing with electricity. I pin a guy to the wall as Gwen guts another. A man grabs for me but I use air to fire back at him.

  His screams are music to my ears.

  Dorian comes up behind us, grabbing the men and sucking each of their souls rapidly. He can do it slowly or not. In a crowd like this one he’s fast and efficient.

  When we are done and the blood bath is over, he sighs. “God they tasted good.”

  Gwen shakes her head. “We’re finding more and more of these places. We have to stop this, it’s sick.”

  “If I were you, I’d feel better knowing that my brothers and father weren’t alone in their version of a good time.” Dorian shrugs. Sometimes he’s such an ass.

  Her eyes narrow. “Funny, I don't feel better.”

  He laughs and slaps her on the back. He winks us back to London. I have overcome the dizziness and nausea. Only took a million winky travels but I got it.

  Gwen nods at the common room. “Want to get a drink?”

  “No. Say hi to Landry for me, and make sure he went to Germany and found that coven that's taking the babies.”

  “I think that's tomorrow’s job for him.”

  I cock an eyebrow. She lifts her hands. “Sorry, right. I’ll make sure he went and found them. Jeesh. Don't go all Lorri on me.”

  It makes me smile. That, and the fact Landry is still pissed I’m his boss. I don't think he’ll ever recover from being passed over for promotion. But Lorri follows a strict law she swears by. Give the power to the person who wants it the least, never the one who wants it the most.

  Gwen waves at me as she walks inside. “Whatever it is you’re going off to do, don’t.”

  She knows me too well. Far too well.

  Dorian gives me a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  I offer him my hand. “You headed back to the US?”

  He nods.

  “Can you drop me off on your way?”

  His eyes narrow but he takes my hand.

  When I’m standing outside the huge mansion, Dorian shakes his head. “You sure?”

  “Yup. I owe him.”

  He grimaces and he’s gone.

  Henry answers the door, raising an eyebrow. Not the sort of greeting you expect from your granddaddy. I offer a simple wave, but he turns back inside, leaving the door open. I hurry into the house and down the hall. Marcus has the most beautiful artwork I’ve ever seen. There is one painting I love the most. It’s him, Dorian, and Blue Eyes all standing in front of a house. The painting is during the Renaissance and the house is so beautiful it makes me want to be there so bad. Life looks simple.

  Ain’t none of us ever gonna have that.

  That's a fact I’ve come to live with.

  I hurry into a bedroom, one I have slept in before but not the one with the obsidian devil rock door. I stand in the middle and call the corners, flashing glamour around the room. I create a set of seats on one side, vanish the bed and furniture, replacing it with a stage and pole. I darken the windows and add lights to the ceiling so they dance around the room like a nightclub.

  I add one mirrored disco ball to the middle of the room. I spin in a circle until I feel the right clothes there and the blood-soaked ones gone.

  I snap my fingers to start a song there is no way he will forget from the 2000s. “Dirrty” by Christina Aguilera. I turn the volume up by spinning my finger. Then eye the dark wooden table he will be sitting at and snap my fingers again. A stack of one-dollar bills make a pile next to a glass of scotch and a lit Cuban cigar in a dish. I hurry to the curtain at the back of the room and blow three girls to life. One is a blonde with the longest legs ever seen in a sailor girl’s costume. Second, is a brunette with bit of meat on her bones; she’s fit and thick and mocha skinned in an army outfit but for strippers. Thirdly, is a redhead with a curvy body with a belly-dancing outfit. Each is dressed exactly right.

  “WHAT IN THE HELL—!” Marcus storms in shouting. I see his face through the curtain. It’s like a double mirror. He pauses and looks around. “If this is a trap I’m going to be very disappointed.” He sits at the table with the money and lifts the lit cigar to his lips. He can’t smell me. The cloak protects me so I know he has no clue who is doing this. He even looks a bit uneasy. I almost giggle.

  I slap the blonde on the ass. She heads out onto the stage, dancing to the song. She is very good at what she does, dancing and twirling around the pole. I make certain they don’t do as good a job as me; I have been practicing. I don't need to be shown up by my own magic.

  He’s smiling and drinking his scotch, nodding his head with her long legs. The song switches to “I’m A Slave 4 U” by Brittany Spears. A grin comes across his face as the redhead comes out, belly dancing. The blonde flits off the stage, vanishing on the other side of the room. The redhead’s perfect body jiggles, captivating him.

  He swallows hard as the brunette comes out, marching. She stands at attention and then rips most of her clothing off to reveal a bathing suit underneath. She and the redhead pretend to tussle a little. Marcus is clapping, throwing money and grinning with the cigar in his teeth.

  The girls run off the stage and vanish as I turn the volume up a touch and change the music to
“Little Red Riding Hood” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. The wolf howls and I start to walk onto the stage in my red cloak and basket. I drop the basket and leap onto the pole, spinning and sliding down it with my legs in the air. The whole thing is a ridiculous workout, who knew?

  His jaw drops as does his cigar. He freezes. I hang upside down on the pole, unclasping the cloak and letting it drop. All I have on is a red bikini.

  He leans forward as I slip around and start dancing again, using the pole and showing him my moves. The smile on his face is worth the hours of effort I have put into this, actually learning and not just using my magic. Pole dancing is a workout in the future, and I get it now.

  I dance to the front of the stage and slide the bra straps down, and he nods his head.

  I turn around, like I’m shy.

  He’s off the chair and sliding across the stage before I can even stand up. He grabs as I snap my fingers and Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” starts playing.

  “Sometimes I think I might never actually love, not genuinely, and then a girl like you comes along and I wonder.” He grins wide and I know just where this is going.

  I tap the floor lightly. “Uncle.”

  He laughs and all the glamour fades away. I can’t focus on him and the magic.

  Everything about him mesmerizes me. He was made for me, or I him. I know that now. We’re over a hundred years into this non-relationship, I see it.

  He lifts me up and carries me to the bathroom. He runs the water, filling a massive tub. He pours in bath salts, making me cock an eyebrow. “Wow, really? Never saw you as a bath salts kinda guy.”

  His back stiffens. “It smells nice.” He sounds surly again. “The lavender is good for you.”

  I nod, not saying any of the sarcastic remarks that flit about in my mind. I climb into the water, wincing at how hot it is. He gets in, clearly not noticing. The bath is so large we don't have to touch, but he lifts one of my feet from the water and massages.

  “On a scale of one to ten—”

  “Seventy-five.” He cuts me off with a grin. “I never imagined you would finally fulfill the wager, firstly. Secondly, I never imagined you would truly do the one thing I told you I wanted. You’re always so obstinate.”

  “I am not.”

  “Right. Well, let’s agree to disagree.” His eyes meet mine. “I honestly don't know how to love anything, but I swear I could love you.”

  “I don't think I could ever love anything, Marcus. I like you, a lot. I like you in ways that scare me sometimes. But I know my heart and it won’t ever let go of the past.”

  “Not ever?”

  “No, not ever. I am stuck here, broken and bitter. I want to forget. Every day is spent with witches and vampires and ghosts and pain. I don't know if I believe the world has any love left in it.”

  “You are a girl after my own heart.” He nods slowly, his azure stare not leaving mine. “Promise that if you ever think it might be possible, you will let me know.”

  “I swear it on my life.”

  His eyes narrow. “Why do I get the impression that is not worth much to you?” He makes me laugh.

  I sigh, remembering something we can do together. “I know of a family that needs to be dealt with. They live near Lydia. I have to rescue the kids. You can eat the mom.”

  His eyes twinkle. “Let’s go now.”

  He’s going to love killing that woman. I just can’t let the kids suffer. Not when they lived such amazing lives with Diane.

  Chapter 21

  I walk into the small house we share and lay my keys down on the desk. Gwen closes the door behind me and scowls. “I think we might be the worst drivers ever.”

  “Officially.”

  Gwen sighs and strolls into the kitchen to make tea. She doesn't love it like she did when she was human, five hundred years ago, but she drinks it. I suppose she always has.

  She makes me drink it too. I tried explaining sweet tea, but she won’t even give it a chance. So I am stuck drinking her hot not-so-yummy tea.

  I look out at the cute red car we bought and sigh. The driving lessons have been going for three weeks and neither of us is getting very good at it. Seeing the car reminds me of something. “Marcus offered to buy us a chauffeur.”

  She laughs and pulls out two mugs. “Did he actually say ‘buy,’ like he might purchase us a servant?”

  “He’s an animal.” A knock at the door draws my head back to the front entryway. I shove up from the table to get the door, making a face when I see Landry’s scowl. I turn back toward the kitchen. “It’s for you.”

  “Actually, Lorelei, that coven you asked me about a couple of weeks back, I found them again.”

  The poor guy, he and Gwen have searched high and low for it after I told him I wanted it done immediately. He’s been searching since that day.

  Gwen beams when she gets to the door. He holds a hand out. “I found it.”

  Her eyes light up and her Scottish gets thick. “I’m gonna scalp your wee behind if you’re telling us lies, Landry. This won’t be funny.”

  He crosses his heart. She squeals and runs into the kitchen to turn the tea off.

  I smile at him genuinely. “I don't know what ‘scalp a behind’ means, but you have perfect timing. She was making tea.”

  He winces.

  We grab his hand when he steps inside and we close the door. He lands us in a meadow. Dorian is there already. “How are the driving lessons going, ladies?” He smirks when he sees us. He’s so shady and evil sometimes. “What are you getting good at doing in the real world?”

  I pull my hand from my jacket and lift my middle finger up for him. “Your mom.”

  He cocks an eyebrow, a bit disgusted maybe. I shrug. “In the 2000s you’ll get it.”

  Landry points to the dark forest ahead of us. “They have a settlement of houses, small ones. They’re like shacks. They bring the children here and I don't want to know the rest.”

  “Ditto,” I add and start to walk toward the dark trees. They’re eerie—so dark and black against the white snow on the ground. I crunch along, hating the snow but loving the boots Lorri got me. I imagined that when I moved to a place with snow I would be excited. Louisiana don't get much snow. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

  I. Hate. Snow.

  I dislike a lot of things but I hate the cold. I miss having the warmth against my skin. I miss the breeze being something I want to feel. The cold hateful wind and the way it blows the snow at you is something no human should experience, not on purpose.

  This German forest is just the sort of place humans should avoid.

  It reminds me of something from Hansel and Gretel. I expect we will stumble upon a gingerbread house at any second. But crunching along the woods we discover something much worse.

  She must be a siren. To me the voice is soft and beautiful but my instant hate and dislike of her makes me wonder. I turn to see Landry and Dorian both letting the voice call to them.

  Gwen grabs Landry by the arm. He’s obviously forgotten about the one day spent on sirens and selkies.

  “Let them lead us, they can’t be killed.”

  She gives me a hateful stare. I touch her head with my finger, pushing the song from her brain. She no longer hates the woman singing. She scowls. “Siren?”

  I nod.

  We turn and follow the two men into the snowy forest. They turn to the right when I would have kept going straight. We stay back, scared of the trap they’re walking into, but I say better them than us. Gwen grins at me. We both are clearly thinking the same thing.

  A blonde woman in a white dress that nearly matches the snow, steps from behind a tree, singing and swaying as she calls to them. I flick a jolt of reality at Dorian as he gets close to her. It looks like blue lightning and strikes him in the back of the head. His head shakes as he turns around, suddenly able to see her for what she is.

  He vanishes, reappearing behind her, gripping to the throat.

  She says something in
German. He responds speaking through his teeth. It’s frightening to watch Dorian get angry. I flick the same jolt at Landry when Gwen gives me the stare, letting me know it’s time to free him too.

  Landry does the same thing. I hear a voice behind us and stomp my foot as hard as I can. Pieces of earth shoot up in the shape of spikes. A woman screams causing Gwen to turn and run that way. She tackles a dark-haired woman in an old-fashioned brown dress. The woman jolts Gwen but Gwen subdues her, holding her in a headlock and hovering her fangs over the woman’s throat.

  The lady in white is speaking with Dorian, regardless of being held at a very uncomfortable angle. “What is she saying?”

  “The coven is trying to protect the children. She says they’re luring demons and evil to try to find out what’s killing the children.”

  That doesn't sound too far-fetched but I rarely believe anyone anymore. “You think she’s lying?”

  He shrugs. “I think everyone is lying, apart from about six people.”

  Landry scans the area. “We should search their homes.”

  “No. Bring her to me.”

  Dorian winks and the witch is standing in front of me. I step to the side as she bends forward and loses her last meal on the snow. It’s mostly dark blood. I point at it. “That's a bad sign.”

  Dorian scowls. “Some people just like blood.”

  “Yeah, vampires.” I lift her beautiful face to mine, stabbing my fingernail into her skin. Her dark blood runs down in a slight trickle. I drag my finger across it and place it on my tongue. I wince at the sour taste. “She’s clean.” Good things rarely taste good. It’s sort of the opposite of how you’d expect. True evil tastes the best. “Someone who kills kids wouldn't taste this clean.” Her eyes dart about the forest. Landry’s eyes follow hers. “We’re surrounded.”

  I turn, seeing women in dresses all slinking from behind trees and dead-looking bushes. When Dorian lets go of the one in the white dress, she instantly drops to her knees.