by Imogen Rose
“Mason.”
“What is he at the moment?”
“A sleeping bird.”
“An eagle. Who are the eagle’s natural predators? Start with the basics.”
“Hmm, I don’t know.”
“Google is your best friend.” He pointed at my iPad. “But not now, Mason is stirring.”
I looked over and watched Mason preen himself. He seemed very comfortable in his eagle feathers, stretching his almost six-foot-wide wings, first one and then the other. He was a phenomenal-looking bird.
“Can he see us?”
“No, I activated the one-way window when he was first raised into the chamber. His vitals indicate that he is still very calm, so I’m going to introduce him into a scene. I’ll have to do one that doesn’t prompt him to fly, since there isn’t enough space in there. That’s something we should have considered during the design phase.”
Henri tapped some keys. The monitor flickered, bringing up an image of a kitchen. “That’s from his house.”
I watched Mason intently, wondering what an eagle would do in a kitchen. Nothing. Mason transformed into his female human form. She flicked the long brown strands of hair off her face and rubbed her eyes. She extended her legs, waggled her feet, and then straightened her school tie.
“The clothes?” I asked without moving, my eyes transfixed on Mason.
“Professor Bern cast the same kind of spell that she did for Faustine, so the clothes stay put during the transformations.”
“But where do they go? Faustine’s are just elastic; they just sort of adapt to her body.”
“Mason’s turn into feathers.”
“Oh, okay.”
Mason got out off the armchair and walked to the wall of the chamber. Glancing at the monitor, I worked out that she was beside the pantry.
She made a pulling motion and then reached for something. Holding the invisible item with one hand, she scrambled with her other hand, apparently opening some kind of container or package. Then she threw her head back while opening her mouth. She raised the hand holding the imaginary object and seemed to pour something into her mouth. She sat back down, chomping happily, a smile playing across her face. After a moment, she leaned forward, reached out, and pulled something toward herself. Then she looked down, appearing to read. She sat like that for a few minutes.
“I’m going to bring this session to a close now. We’ve got the base vitals recorded, both in the human and eagle forms, which is good. I have another student to test in an hour.”
“Here? Do you need me around for it?”
“No, it’s over at the other lab, and I won’t need you. I believe you have to attend an advanced class this afternoon. I’ll see you at Faustine’s session tomorrow. You may go now.”
“You don’t need me to stay until Mason leaves?”
“No. She seems fairly calm now. Seeing you would just get her agitated and likely to transform again. I’d rather end the session on a calm note.” He smiled.
That sounded good to me.
“Besides, Jagger will be here in a minute to pick her up.”
I immediately felt a twinge of jealousy and wished that Mason had decided to turn into his annoying male form. I looked over at Mason and scrunched up my nose. She was stunning; there was no doubt about that. Those sparkling light-blue eyes were an unexpected thrill when she revealed them from behind her brown tresses.
Ignoring my current orders, I decided to stick around, but not inside the dOME lab. I planned to wait outside the door and get Jagger before he came in, just to remind him who owned him.
I walked right into him on my way out.
“Cordelia, sorry. I’m a bit late, rushing in to get Mason. Henri texted me a while ago.” He stepped back and started walking around me. “Dinner later?”
“Not so fast.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
His eyes widened, and a smile played at the corner of his mouth. “Urgent? If not, can it wait? I’m really late.”
“It can’t,” I whispered, thankful that the hallway was empty apart from the two of us. Then I did what I had done the very first time I met him. Just to remind him.
I was still feeling dizzy from my encounter with Jagger when I walked back into my room. I longed for nothing more than to throw myself on my bed and relive the moment.
“Hey, babe!” Quinn lay on my bed, flicking through my magazines.
“Quinn! Aren’t you supposed to be with Faustine?”
“I am. Come over here.”
“Well, what are you doing here, then? And how did you get in?” I walked over, into his outstretched arms.
“Faustine’s here as well. In your closet.”
I laughed.
“We brought up most of her stuff; I’ll bring the rest over later. She’s too busy playing with your stuff at the moment.”
“Good. I’m glad she decided to be sensible and stay with me.”
“That wasn’t her reason, but it’s good all the same.”
“It wasn’t?”
“No. She decided that it would be safer for Martha if she moved out of the room for a while. No reason for Martha to be caught in the crossfire.”
“True.” Even though Martha was a demon, and not just any demon, a demon princess as well, I had no idea how powerful she was. Maybe as a member of staff I’d have access to her file. Knowing what powers those close to Faustine possessed could be useful.
“So, what do you think of this one?” Faustine came twirling out of my closet in an emerald Marchesa gown. The gown had a low V-neck in the front and a full skirt that touched the floor. She was breathtaking in it.
“You should keep it. It looks better on you than on me. It’s amazing how much you’ve grown in the past year. We are the same size now.”
“Cordelia! You’re back. Great. Quinn was trying his best to fake interest, but now you can help me choose instead. I have narrowed it down to four.”
“Choose for what?”
“The Integrates ball! You have nicer gowns than any of the fancy boutiques in town. These are all custom made, right?”
“Yes, Mom made sure of that.” I smiled. “That one looks stunning, and I can’t see any one topping it, but show me the other ones just to make sure.”
“Eh, we’ll be here all day,” Quinn moaned. “I’ve seen the others already.”
Faustine scowled at him.
“Okay, okay! Say, you don’t mind if I take off, do you? My fashion adviser hat is worn through.”
“No, go. I’d love to play dress up with Faustine. I’ve got to decide what I’m going to wear to the ball, as well. So unless you want to stay and give me your opin—”
“No, no! Please.” He leaped off my bed and kissed me lightly before he waved at Faustine and left.
“Good,” Faustine said. “Not that I didn’t appreciate him putting up with that; he really was a trouper about it. You’re lucky to have him as your boyfriend.” Her face fell, and the sadness in her eyes dampened her usual sparkle.
“Hey, what’s up?” I hugged her.
“Oh, nothing, but thanks. I needed the hug.”
“I felt that. What’s up?”
“I feel alone. Everyone around me seems to have hooked up with someone.”
“Hooked up?” I almost blurted out a big sister response, but managed to stop myself. She shouldn’t have been hooking up; she was way too young. I frowned at her.
She looked down. “That’s not what I meant. I mean having a boyfriend.”
“You mean Ryker?”
“You know?” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“There is definitely something going on between the two of you. Have you talked to him? Maybe ask him to the Integrates ball?”
“No way! He’s dating Martha!”
“Is he? Are you sure about that? Didn’t you say that they haven’t been hanging out?”
“Yeah, but that’s only because Ryker’s been hanging out with that stinky brother of his. What’s up with that anywa
y? It sucks that they’re brothers.”
“Yeah, it does. Anyhow, what makes you think that Ryker is dating Martha?”
“Um, isn’t it obvious? Martha seems to think they are. In fact, she calls him her boyfriend.”
“Yes, I get that she thinks they’re dating. I don’t know that Ryker agrees. I think he’s pretty much allowed himself to get pulled in by her, maybe even just to be closer to you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He doesn’t look at Martha like that.”
Faustine turned red. “You think?”
“Aw, are you bushing? That’s too cute! I don’t think I’ve seen a blushing demon before. And yes, I do think.”
“Oh, stop.”
“Pffft! Red looks good on you.”
She giggled. “Thank goodness for that! It’d be a bit unfortunate if it didn’t, seeing that I’m a demon.” Then she looked pensive again. “Do you think Ryker is afraid to talk to me because of that? I mean, I have noticed that he looks at me, but maybe that’s because he’s scared of me.”
“I don’t think so. Like you said, he hangs out with Martha, and she’s a demon, as well.”
“Yeah, but I am much scarier than Martha when I transform, even scarier than you, but not as ugly.”
“Okay, okay, cheeky Charlie! I know the pus grosses you—”
“Blech!” She scrunched up her face.
I punched her arm.
She laughed. “Can’t you get Prof Bern to put a spell on you to stop the icky stuff seeping from you?”
It hadn’t even occurred to me. Strangely, my appearance in demon form had never concerned me. Much as I took care with my human facade, the importance of which had been imprinted into me very early on by my mother, it had never occurred to me how my turning into a demon affected others, other than hoping I was menacing enough to achieve the desired effect. And the pus sure helped with that. But did it gross Jagger out as much as it did Faustine? Quinn seemed totally unfazed by it, or at least he’d never mentioned it. And he was still into me.
“Yeah, that might be a good idea,” I said. “Professor Bern might be able to do something about it, though I think the pus helps with the whole intimidation thing.”
“Hmm, yeah, I guess it does. In a big way.”
“Okay, enough with the pus, you silly human.”
She smiled. “Half human, yes; silly, nope. Cordelia, seriously, do you think Ryker is scared of me?”
“He’d be an idiot not to be, wouldn’t he?”
“Yeah. I guess. But how come he talks to Martha, but not me?”
“Guys…who can figure them out? You shouldn’t worry, though. Give him time. Can’t be easy for a non-demon to think about dating one of us.”
“Any idea what he is?”
There was no way I could share that with her, but I couldn’t lie. “Yes, but I can’t tell.”
“’Cause you’re an apprentice and all that?”
“Confidentiality.” It was partly true anyway. “I still think you should ask him to the Integrates ball.”
“No, no way. Mom would be mortified if I ever did the asking. She’s kind of old-fashioned like that. And so am I.”
“Eh? Quaint, I guess, but very un-demon-like.”
She shrugged. “I’m going to try the rest of the dresses on for you. Be back in a min.”
While she busied herself in my closet again, I lay down on my bed and stretched. My body felt tense and achy. I could really do with a nice night out at the ball, to just unwind, relax, and laugh with my friends. And with Jagger. I needed to sort things out with Quinn. I couldn’t even begin to think of how to do it. Should I just come right out and tell him that Jagger and I had synched? Did he even know what synching was? And if so, would he buy that Jagger and I had synched? Or would he think I was making it up as cover? It sounded highly unbelievable that I would have synched with a faery.
“What’s in this garment bag?” Faustine waved a Chanel bag at me that she must have found hanging in my closet.
“Ah!” I smiled. “That’s my dress for the ball.”
“Can I open it for a peek?”
“Nope! I want it to be a surprise.”
“I won’t tell Quinn, I promise. Just a little peek?” Her eyes shone bright with anticipation.
I shook my head and grinned at her.
“Will you at least tell me what color it is, just so we don’t clash?”
“Ha, ha. Nice try. I guess I can share the color. It’s slatey, kind of a teal black. I’m not good at describing colors.”
“I bet it’s beyond fabulous.” She sighed, then turned back to the closet.
It was. The whole time I’d been out shopping for ball gowns, I only had one person in mind—Jagger. My new gown would knock his socks off.
Faustine came floating back into the room in a silvery-blue Dior gown.
I sat up. “O-M-G! Forget what I said about the last one. This is it! You look amazing.”
She smiled. “I knew it was the right one as soon as I put it on. Sure I can borrow it? It’s a little bit big around the bust, but I can pad it out.”
“Yes, you can keep it. It was obviously made for you.”
She waltzed over and threw her arms around me. “Thanks.”
Someone knocked loudly on the door.
Faustine said, “I’m going to get out of this gown, just in case it’s trouble,” and disappeared back into my closet.
As I approached the door, I took a deep breath. The scent was clear—undead. It wasn’t a familiar smell, so I opened the door on full alert, even though I detected no hint of malevolence. As expected, two vampires stood on the other side of the threshold. The beautiful blond twins had customized their uniforms, making them as Harajuku worthy as possible.
“Hey, is Faustine here?” one of them asked.
“Yeah. Who are you?” I needed to make sure that they weren’t part of Mason’s posse.
“Friends of mine,” Faustine said, coming up behind me. “This is Audrey and Viola. I met them over at McKenzie’s house during camp week. They’re new at school. Transfers from Beni-en Academy near Tokyo.”
“Hey, nice to meet you,” they said in unison.
I stepped away to unblock the doorway. “Beni-en? Nice school. How come you transferred?”
“We were homesick. We wanted to go home to London, but this was the compromise. One year here, and then we can go home,” Viola said.
“Unless you love it so much that you want to stay for Enrichment,” Faustine added.
“Can’t imagine that’ll happen!” Audrey said. “We’re not like you guys. We don’t have any powers to explore. Vamps basically spend Initiation in isolation while you guys are being tested for powers. Then during Integration, we get to finally mix with the rest of you and learn how to live within the human world.”
She sounded frustrated as she continued, “Except we already know, so it’s a bit of a waste of time. I mean, we were human. The only issue we have is the need for blood, and we have to learn to control that. But we do that during our Initiation year. So this year seems a waste. We should just be able to go home now.” She scowled. “But you know all that, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, but I can see your point. I think Integration is more than just adjusting to the human world. It’s also about learning how to adjust to the paranormal world around you. Unlike humans, you’ll be aware of other paranormals, even encounter them. So, you’ll need to learn how to deal with them,” I said in my best member-of-staff voice.
Viola and Audrey yawned at my little bloviation.
Viola looked over at Faustine. “Are you going to be staying here now? Martha sent us over.”
“Yeah, just for a while.”
“Oh, okay. We’re heading down to the dining hall. You coming?”
“Food sounds great. Cordelia, do you wanna come?” Faustine asked.
The last thing I wanted to do was go to dinner with the three of them, but I couldn’t let Faustine go without a chaperone. I didn’t
know the first thing about the twins. I didn’t even know if they were just vamps or hybrids of some kind. “Faustine, if it’s okay with you, could we stay in?” I felt she knew me well enough that I didn’t have to explain.
She nodded. “Sure. I’ll catch up with you guys later,” she told the twins. “I want to finish unpacking and stuff.”
“No problem. See you later. Nice to meet you, Miss Hammer. Faustine told us all about you.”
“Cordelia is fine.” I smiled.
Once they left, I probed Faustine for information. “So, tell me more about them. New friends?”
“Yes. I know, right? It seems strange that I’d be friends with vamps of all creatures. Initiation year was really lonely for me; I am part human, you know. I had almost forgotten that part of me. I had no one to share being human with. It’s been especially hard being away from Mom. I sort of felt a little bit of a connection with McKenzie, especially after I met little Harry. She still remembers what it is to be human. I love you and Quinn, but you’ve never been human.”
“True. I hadn’t thought of it like that, but you’re right, it must be lonely. Even though we all appear human when we’re in that form, we’re far from it. And that’s important to remember. We don’t have any of the normal human emotions and attachments. Except the vamps, of course—they’re the only students here who have been human and may even remember what that was like. So, it’s not that strange that you’d feel connected to them on some level. But remember that they aren’t human anymore,” I warned.
“I get that, which is why I’m here with you instead of down at the dining hall with them. I know I can trust you, but not them.”
I needed to remind her about the Golden Rule again. However, as I let her chat on, I wondered why I found myself so attached to Faustine. That wasn’t normal for a demon! I really only had those feelings toward my blood family.
Wait. Was there any way? No! My parents were synched! Mom couldn’t have…could she? I pushed the ridiculous thought aside.
“The vamps are good fun though, so I’m going to hang out with them this year.”
“What about Martha and Chun?”
“They’re both busy with their boyfriends,” she mumbled. “But I’ll hang with them sometimes, too.”