The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  “These look like the doors to the Blackrock area on WOW.”

  Blake’s comment causes me to crack a smile, but I don't let it slow my steps. Sirens and dust fill the air behind us, the noise hushing slightly as we enter the large foyer.

  America is in its final stand. We were the last to suffer Lillith’s wrath but she’s here now.

  I smell the evil perfectly. The stain of the evil is everywhere. The air tingles with it.

  “Invisibility might have been more badass than winking, just saying.”

  I turn back toward Blake. “You say that now. But if we were walking anywhere that was more than a block, you’d change your vote.”

  He shrugs. “I’d rather be invisible right now.”

  Lorelei snaps her fingers and he vanishes. She grins.

  “Oh man, you are awesome. Look, I’m invisible. I’m like the invisible man in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen!”

  I roll my eyes. “Just keep your clothes on.”

  “My clothes are invisible. The reason he never wore clothes was because they made him seeable.”

  Lorelei scoffs. “That's not a word.”

  I nod at her, lifting my finger to my lips. “It is a word. You don't want this argument. He’s the Scrabble master.” I hold a hand out for her to jolt me with a fresh batch of Dorian-need and feelings.

  She does it, bringing a new rage to the surface. I slink around the corner, noticing a hive. When vampires cluster with succubi, we call it a hive. They’re like angry hornets, feeding off each other and killing everything. “Mostly men, Lorelei.”

  She unzips her coat, revealing the sexiest body ever. She’s curvy and stunning. She told me once her mother called her fat her entire life. I don't see it. She’s strong in a way you can tell she brought the strength into her vampire life from her human one. Even Blake makes a sound from next to me, revealing he’s way too close for comfort. I take off my leather jacket so I am wearing only my pale-blue tank top to go with my leather pants and huge boots. I would look sexy if I weren’t standing next to Lorelei or Gwen who is fairly similar to Lorelei—stunning.

  Giselle takes her jacket off and I roll my eyes. “You could actually keep your jacket on.”

  She sticks her tongue out.

  We leave the guys standing in the foyer and creep to the entrance. Our gait changes the moment we cross the threshold to the large courtroom. Each of us walks like we’re on a catwalk. Giselle tosses her black silky hair. Every face turns as their mouths drop and the room grows silent, apart from one man. “Damn! Where the hell did you bitches come from?”

  Lorelei, using every ounce of Southern charm, walks ahead of us. “Y’all don't know where a girl can get a drink round here, do ya?” She twirls her hair and tilts her head. She is amazing at playing dumb Southern girl. It’s almost creepy. I asked her about it once and she laughed and said that was the expectation for women in the sixties.

  They laugh nervously, jumping down from their seats. The same guy speaks as if he does it for them all, “You look like just my type.”

  She drops her fangs. Whimpers follow from the crowd of people. Even the women seem attracted.

  Hell, I’m attracted to her. She’s funny and sexy and she fights like a dude. That's always attractive. Giselle still fights like a girl.

  “Where did you all come from?” The vocal man walks to the front as though we are about to do a standoff between us and them, like in a cheesy music video from the nineties.

  She points behind us. “Hamptons. My friends, the Ryans, have a house out there. We was staying in their place, laying low.”

  He gestures toward the door where the moonlight is coming through the holes in the old building. “You got some friends in the hallway?”

  She glances back. “Yeah. More like us.”

  His eyes draw to me. “What are you?”

  I smile wide. “Someone who wants answers.”

  The friendly faces instantly start to change and a wave of scowls crash over the group. “We don't answer to anyone.”

  I tilt my head, letting my wings rip from my back. “I can ask a different way if polite is annoying to you.”

  The abrupt silence is followed by several hard swallows. The man out front sneers. “I’m not scared of some fallen angel.”

  “I didn't fall.”

  He looks confused, in fact they all do.

  I step toward him. “Let me tell you my secret.”

  He doesn't back away as I step to him, running my hands along his cheeks. I lift my face, planting my lips on his and ripping out his soul instantly. He drops into a pile of flesh and bones and bad clothing choices.

  Gasps erupt. Another man steps forward. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?”

  I grab his chest and drag him to me, putting to rest his feeble attempt to fight me off. “I am your worst nightmare. Tell me where the one who started this is. Where is the woman who is making you?”

  He tries to shove me. I kiss him, dropping his husk to the floor next to his friend’s. When I lift my face each of the other people in the crowd appear as though they might play along.

  “There is a woman making you. She is named Lillith. Where is she?”

  A girl at the back mutters, “She’s in Ireland. I was there with her a few days ago. She has a man who moves with a wink. He’s not a vampire or a succubus.”

  “Is she staying somewhere in particular?” Lorelei asks. She knows Ireland well.

  The girl’s eyes dart about uneasily before she nods. “She is but I don't know the place. I was brought there and taken from there by the winking man.”

  Lorelei walks to the front of the crowd. It parts like she is parting the sea as she walks to the girl. She rests her hand upon the girl’s head. “I know where we’re going.” She turns and walks back. She pauses when her eyes meet mine, recognizing the expression on my face. Her gaze lowers as she spins, grabbing a man close to her with magic and tossing him to the side. We all leap at that exact moment, all of us. I am killing as quickly as the rest of them. Gwen and Lorelei are fighting and tossing the wounded our way to kill. Within moments the room is silenced as the last body drops to the floor.

  I turn, wiping blood from my lips and pulling my wings back in. Giselle pulls hers back in and smiles at me. “I like killing them. That's not bad, right?”

  I shake my head, still breathing heavily and prepared for something else. With us there’s always something else.

  But no one comes into the main room. I sniff the air, noticing the clean scent in the breeze coming in the broken front of the building.

  “Lorelei, I really want to be seen again,” Blake calls from his invisibility. “You just threw a dead guy right at me.”

  She snaps a finger and Blake pops into view in front of me. “Tired of it already?”

  He grins. “It wasn't as awesome as I imagined.”

  She holds a hand out for me. I walk to it, letting her put an image into my mind. I hold my hands out, winking us to the spot where Lillith apparently is.

  It’s an old mansion, sort of cool looking. It isn’t at all what I expected. I figured she’d be in a garden, done up as a mad fairy or something. Gwen nudges Lorelei, muttering softly, “Ya sure we should go in?” Her Scottish accent is cool.

  Lorelei shakes her head. “No. She might be some all-powerful savage and kill us but what else is there to do?”

  “I don't know. But this feels off and the sun will be rising soon.”

  “You should go. We’ll catch up after we look inside.”

  Gwen frowns. “That's not what I meant.”

  “I know. But you’re right, the sun is coming.” Lorelei gives Blake a smile. “Can you and Giselle take Shulster and Gwen somewhere for the night? Maybe Shane’s?” She speaks to Gwen, “We won’t be long. She’s either going to kill us or not be here. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. It won’t be some anticlimactic fight in a dining room. It’s going to be a trap, more than likely.”

  Gwen rolls her
eyes. “Ya crazy woman, this isn’t a movie.”

  Lorelei grins. “But it feels like one. Shane, darling, you wanna go with them please and show Gwen where she can sleep?” She bats her lashes, I swear forcing a nod from him.

  Blake takes their hands, winking them away with Giselle and Shane.

  Lorelei gives me a harsh look. “We’re screwed. I can feel the spell on the lands. The moment we landed, she knew we were here. We gotta either run or go inside and face the music.”

  I’m so glad she’s sent everyone else away. “I always like to face things head on. Let’s do that.”

  I grab her hand and wink-run to the front door of the house. I glance up at a balcony and wink to it. It’s beautiful and set up as an outdoor dining area. Lorelei opens the door, stepping in. The house is silent. She walks down the hall with me following. My entire body is on edge. I can’t feel the magic in the air, but I can feel the anxiety of it all.

  We search the top floor, finding no signs of life. No one is staying here. I presume it’s a trap. I grip to Lorelei’s hand, hoping we get the chance to wink if we need to.

  I wink us down the stairs to the foyer. When we turn she’s there, leaning against the wall. I have to assume it’s her. She’s stunning, scary stunning. She doesn't look the way she should.

  She’s so beautiful I feel like I’m staring at art and not a person at all. She has dark hair and gray eyes. She’s taller than I thought she would be and still so very young. She smiles and I can only compare the beauty to Giselle. She is perfect. Her face has no makeup, merely alabaster skin with a kind of glow to it, like she’s been in the sun a bit. Her tall, thin body has curves in the right places, pronounced by the tight dress and heels. She puts me in mind of a businesswoman, not a fairy or an elf. She doesn't look like the fae, the way they always look a bit hippieish. She’s elegant and her face has me convinced, instantly, she’s innocent in all of this.

  “I have wanted to meet you both for so long.” Her voice is smooth with an English accent similar to the queen’s. “You have become so famous now.” Her dark eyes meet mine, and I don't know who I am until Lorelei blasts me with my Dorian and my other memories that Lillith is trying to steal. His name reverberates through my body, reminding me I hate this woman.

  “I see you are barely hanging on, Aimee. The fact you’ve been able to resist the spell is remarkable.” Her eyes dart to Lorelei. “You are an amazing credit to the witches of the world.” She sniffs the air, slightly lifting her perfect face. “The Blackwater witches—theirs is a power I have wanted forever. You know, they say the witch hunters are the reason the witches took their magic to the bayou.” Her dark eyes sparkle with mischief. “But that's not entirely true. The waters were protected. They were the only place the witches could hide from me. I wanted them so badly.” She grins and I see the malice and evil inside her. “And you have brought them right to me.”

  Lorelei doesn't back down. She isn’t intimidated at all. “Try and take them.”

  Lillith laughs, lifting her face as though she is batshit crazy, as Lorelei always says. She has the evil-genius laugh down pat. She stops laughing, lowers her face, and smiles peacefully.

  She is a crackpot.

  It’s obvious why everyone is scared of her. She’s not sane at all.

  She swallows and nods, seemingly having a conversation we cannot hear. “It was lovely to have met you both. I am so grateful I got to finally see you.” She stares directly at me. “I am sorry you don't get to see how this all plays out. I wish you had been smarter than to come here.” She shakes her head. “Lorri is an idiot. She always was. She never saw this for what it was and what it might have been.” She snaps her fingers and a raging ball of fire hits us. Lorelei locks eyes with me as the flames smother us both.

  I shriek but suddenly I am standing on the grass, staring at the mansion again with a weakening scream slipping from my lips and my hand shading my face.

  Lorelei sighs. “That was hard to maintain.”

  I peer down, realizing my feet have not left the spot they were in when Blake and Giselle took Gwen and Shulster away. “What just happened?”

  Lorelei scoffs at me like I’m an idiot. “Like I was gonna risk going in there.”

  “You might have told me.”

  “Astral projections work better when the person being projected believes it’s real. Just how that works.” She gives me back the same shitty frown I’m giving her. “You coulda trusted I wouldn't hurt you, jackass.”

  “That was evil.” I wink us to Shane’s, still shaking off the sensation of being an astral projection. I seriously thought we were burning up.

  Everyone gives us an expectant stare. In fact, they are identical. “Well?”

  I begin, “She’s a nutbar who wants to take over the world and get her revenge. She’s powerful and evil. There was nothing new there.”

  Lorelei points out. “And she’s strong. Stronger than me for sure.”

  “And hot. No guys can come. I swear you won’t make it. You’ll join her team in a heartbeat.”

  Blake winces. “How hot?”

  Lorelei motions her head at Giselle. “Giselle and Aimee’s sister combined. She’s perfect and beautiful.”

  He concedes, “I’m out, no matter what. I can’t betray you guys again, and I know I will.”

  “Her face is super familiar. I’ve never seen her before, but I feel as if I know her.”

  Shane gives me a dubious look. “Ophelia and her brother, obviously. They must have resembled her a little.”

  I shake my head. “I guess, I don't know. She was different than the shit I’ve seen. She wasn't how I expected or how the art showed her or anything. She isn’t even blonde.”

  Lorelei chimes in, “I agree. She didn't look the way I expected either. She’s far more powerful than I imagined as well.”

  “She took all that fae magic from her kids. She’s going to be a beast.” Shane shakes his head. “We don't stand a chance at killing her if Lorelei isn’t stronger than her.”

  “I can kill her but I don't know how to get close enough. She did the whole hellfire thing to us.”

  Blake scowls. “How are you still with us? Can we withstand hellfire?”

  I turn, giving Lorelei a dirty look. “Oh, we went in as astral projections.” She offers me a sweet smile.

  Blake misses the tone I am offering. “That was smart. I never even would have thought of going without your bodies.”

  “Yeah, me either.”

  Lorelei sticks her tongue out at me again as Marcus saunters into the room. He wraps an arm around her waist and kisses beside her mouth, taking a long draw of her cheek before kissing again. I feel like a voyeur seeing something forbidden. It’s intimate and makes me jealous.

  “Can you send me back?” I ask, trying not to look at Marcus.

  “Yeah,” Lorelei mutters, “I think I should be able to. I was able to send you as an astral projection the last time because of the connection between you and Dorian. His love drew you there. It should work again. The moon will be ready tomorrow night.”

  “Okay.”

  Shane saunters over, leaning in. “We need to deal with Sam.”

  I nod at Lorelei, earning a scowl in return. “Sam,” I mouth.

  Her eyes narrow. She gives Gwen a smile. “Enjoy your sleep. We have to go find our rogue teammate.”

  Gwen links her arm into Shulster’s and waves. “Night everyone!”

  Giselle frowns. “You mind if I stay behind? I don't want to watch you and Sam shout at each other.”

  I love her bluntness. “It’s fine. I was going to ask Blake to stay anyway, hang with the kids.”

  “Yeah, I could go for some normalcy.” Blake shrugs and strolls into the living room to challenge the kids to a game.

  Lorelei steps out the back door with Marcus in tow. She can locate Sam, at least to a general location. Shane and I follow her out.

  She closes her eyes, calling the winds and other shit. I don't ho
nestly need to pay attention to it so I don't. “East St. Louis.”

  “That's random.”

  She shakes her head. “No, it’s the epicenter for sin in the US. Detroit and St. Louis are the roughest places in America.”

  That makes me worry. I hold a hand out for her to shock me with the love I feel slipping away.

  We link and I wink. I’ve been to both cities several times. We appear next to a blood brothel I closed down before. It’s a red brick building in a terrible state of disrepair.

  “This place is a shit hole,” Marcus mutters, peering around in disgust.

  I nod. “They have so little left here. The infrastructure is in the toilet. Highest crime rate in the country, and yet they laid off thirty people from the police force the last time I paid attention to that sort of thing. I remember Miles Davis’ house was vandalized last time I read up on East St. Louis.”

  “This isn’t from the wars?” Shane raises an eyebrow.

  I shake my head. “No, it looked like this last time I was here.” It looks like an old war zone, the kind you see in post-apoc films where the grass and weeds have reclaimed the land and are starting to cause the buildings to collapse.

  “Wow. I had no idea it was this bad.”

  I shrug at him. “What does it matter now? It matches the rest of the country.”

  His face is forlorn as he realizes how right I am. “This is awful. We need to find a way to make this end. There won’t be a world to save if we don't stop it.”

  He sounds like Ned Flanders on The Simpsons. I can’t even agree with him, even though I do, because I am totally expecting him to say gosh diddly dang at any second.

  We walk, smelling the air and sensing the evil around us. “I smell evil. Lots of it,” I mutter, lifting my face to the warm breeze.

  Shane shrugs. “I can feel it in the air. But not Sam.”

  Lorelei points to the right. “He’s that way.” We follow her as if she’s Toucan Sam. She leads us down a road where a group of young men watch us from a driveway. Shane’s eyes narrow as one of them stands up and strides toward us. “What you doing in these parts? You wanna give us that ass or you want us to take it?”