by Imogen Rose
“You’re kidding, right? Look at her. How exactly were you thinking of restraining her? She’s four times your size and many, many times your strength.”
“I’m not exactly sure, but we have to try something.”
“Well, you better hurry,” I said, pointing at Faustine. She was stalking down the hallway toward the main building.
I glanced at my watch. It was almost lunchtime, which meant that the main building would be teeming with students on their way to the various cafeterias. We were walking into a sure massacre situation unless I could get Faustine under control.
I ran to catch up with her, deciding that the only way to divert her attention away from shifter shredding would be by getting her to focus on her stomach—on food. She had to be starving; she hadn’t eaten in hours.
When I got close enough, I yelled, “Hey, slow down! I can’t keep up. The staff lounge is doing a special roast today. Let’s head over there for some food. I’m hungry, too.” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
She ignored me, continuing to plow ahead. The guards caught up with us again, and two of them pulled at her T-shirt to slow her down. She stopped abruptly and twirled, swatting at the guards sharply with the back of her hand and sending them crashing into the wall. Then she took a moment to stare down the remaining ones before she turned and proceeded along the hallway.
I hoped she’d decided to try the roast I had suggested. When she trounced past the lounge without even giving it a perfunctory sniff, I knew she was totally focused on whatever was running through her mind. I felt a sense of panic rising within me, unable to think of a way to distract her. When I saw some groups of students in the distance, I felt a deep sense of foreboding. I hoped that Faustine’s dad would appear and save the day.
Audrey and Viola had spotted Faustine and came walking toward us. I held my breath as Faustine slowed.
“Hey!” Viola said cheerily. “You’re up! That’s great. Are you feeling a bit better?”
Faustine nodded.
“We’re going to get a drink. Come with?” Viola asked.
Faustine shook her head and pushed past them.
“Get The Smelt,” I whispered to Audrey then, I rushed after Faustine.
Faustine ignored all of the other demons, faeries, and vampires. I hoped the first shifter she found was Mason; then at least someone who deserved it would get what was coming to him. Faustine’s nose twitched as she took small, sharp breaths, darting her eyes from one being to the next. Then, she fixated on a scared-looking boy. Her eyes glazed over, and she seemed to be in an alternate zone. Everyone around the boy dispersed, leaving the path clear between him and Faustine.
“Faustine, just keep moving!” I yelled.
She ignored me and looked as though she was just about to take a step toward the boy, who immediately transformed into a panther and launched himself at her, taking all of us, including Faustine, by surprise. She fell backward, landing on her bottom as he bit into her shoulder. She howled in pain. I was about to rush the panther when she bit into his neck and then threw him into the wall. I watched him slide down the wall onto the floor, where he suddenly flipped over and came at Faustine again.
Stupid shifter. He should have run in the opposite direction. I sat down and watched the show, noticing all the other shifters in the corridor being ushered to safety by their mentors. Faustine and the panther fought hard, the panther holding his own until Faustine must have decided that she was bored with playing. She picked him up in one hand and thrashed him against the wall until he went completely limp. Then she bit a chunk out of him and put it in her mouth. She gulped it down and belched. Then she bit into him again, ripping off another bloody lump. She kept chewing and gulping down bits of him. Gross! My stomach heaved. She didn’t stop.
Everyone looked on in horror and disgust. What the heck was she thinking? Once she was done, she sat on the floor and stared at me. She suddenly looked as though she was going to be sick. She closed her mouth, making burping sounds. Then she looked at me and shrugged. She tipped her head back and then threw it forward, purging the contents of her stomach—flesh, fur, bones, bile. The nastiness kept coming and coming, forming a puddle of a viscous, pungent gloop in front of her.
I was having a hard time keeping the contents of my own stomach under control. Everyone else had disappeared during the vomit fest.
“I feel sick,” Faustine said, sounding utterly miserable.
“I bet. Uncooked panther isn’t really demon food, is it?”
“No. Blech.”
I noticed The Smelt walking up the corridor with Professor Bern and Cassandra.
“Sit tight, Faustine. We’ll get you back to the infirmary bed.”
“No!” she howled. “I want to go home. I want my mom!”
I walked over to her, pinching my nose. “Come on. Get up.” I pulled on her elbow.
She got to her feet and followed me away from the puke. We walked over to The Smelt and waited for the onslaught.
The Smelt didn’t say a word, just glared at Faustine and then at me.
“Are you okay?” Professor Bern asked.
I nodded.
“Good. Can you take Faustine back to the sick bay and wait there for Dr. Marks?”
“No!” Faustine yelled. “I’m not sick. I don’t want to go back there. I want to go home.”
Professor Bern threw her a death glare. “You will not say another word. Go back to the bay, or I will make you go. Is that clear?”
“Faustine, your father will be here shortly. You can talk to him about going home,” Cassandra said.
Faustine nodded and turned around.
“Cordelia, who was that?” Frau Smelt pointed at Faustine’s puke puddle.
“Sorry, I don’t know—a panther, a male.”
I noticed her shaking with anger, obviously trying to contain her rage. But she failed. The Smelt threw back her head and bared her teeth. “Get her out of my sight!”
I nodded at Professor Bern. “Okay, I’ll take her back to my room. I have food there.”
“Yes, yes,” Professor Bern replied impatiently. “Just keep her there until her father gets here. Don’t let her out of your sight. I’ll put a confinement spell around your room, just to make sure that she stays there.”
I nodded and walked Faustine to my room. She threw herself onto the bed. Stepping into the kitchen, I busied myself getting a proper demon meal ready for her, laying it out on platters and taking those into the bedroom. I set the plates down on the table and transformed into my human form before sitting down to eat.
“Yum!” Faustine boomed.
“Yep. Transform into your human form, wash up—you stink of vomit—and then come sit down.”
She ignored me, just walking over and plonking down on the chair next to mine. She reached for a slice of beef, and I dug my fork into her hand.
“Ouch!” she yelped and looked at me in horror.
“Yes. Ouch, indeed. Didn’t you hear me? Go and get washed.”
She glared, obviously thinking of defying me, but I stared her down. She finally got up and went into the bathroom. When she returned ten minutes later, she was back to being the beautiful princess I knew and loved, though her face was set in a major scowl.
“Better?” she grumped.
“Much. Sit down and help yourself. Trust me, you’ll feel better.”
I sat back and watched her, glad that her last meal was well behind her and she was back to eating in a more civilized manner. While she gulped down her food, her expression became more relaxed, though sadness was written all over her face. When she was done with the meat, she asked for cake. I was glad I had put her birthday cake in the freezer.
“It’ll be a while. It’s frozen,” I said.
“All right. I guess we’re stuck in here for now. What do you want to do?”
“I’ve got some new magazines we can look through if you want.”
She shook her head. “I think I’ll just lie down for
a while.” She looked so sad and lost, and her eyes were dewy with tears.
I leaned over and hugged her, holding her tighter when she erupted into loud, tearful sobs that soaked my shirt. I let her cry until she pushed away from me.
“I’m sorry, Cordelia,” she said, rubbing her eyes.
Before I could respond, I heard a knock at the door.
“Who’s that?” she asked.
“Your dad, I hope.”
I let in a very stressed-looking King Sebastian. His face relaxed into a smile as soon as he saw his daughter. She buried her face into his chest, holding on to him.
“Do you want me to go? Give you time to catch up?” I asked.
“No. Stay. What happened?”
I told him everything, watching Faustine’s face carefully as I recounted her carnage. He listened in silence, kissing the top of Faustine’s head every so often.
“I’ll take care of that with Frau Schmelder,” he said.
“Dad, can I go back home to Mom? I hate it here.” Her eyes were still wet with tears.
“Honey, you don’t hate it,” he said. “What happened is terrible, but you are here for a reason. You have to learn to control your powers. Surely you can see that after what happened today?”
She looked down at her feet and nodded. “What’s going to happen to me?” Her voice was shaky and laced with fear.
“Nothing is going to happen to you. You’re here at this school to learn, and that’s what you will do. I’ll see to that.”
“But I just killed someone.” Her eyes watered again.
“I know, and that’s…” He shook his head. “You lost control. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Do you know why you lost control?”
“Not really. I was just so angry and so sad. I still am, but it was worse when I was a demon. It was burning me up. Dad, I can’t believe Martha is gone. She didn’t do anything to deserve that. Why did that bird take her? It was a shifter, wasn’t it? That’s why I was—am—so angry with them. How could they do that to Martha?” She started crying again.
King Sebastian drew her close to his chest, rubbing her back. “Honey, yes, it was a shifter. I’m trying to find out what’s going on, and I will get to the bottom of this. What happened to Martha is… I don’t have any words for it. My heart hurts when I think about it, so I understand how you must feel; you both were close. There is nothing I can do to bring her back. It’s very sad.
“What I must do now is to find out and stop whatever is going on. I have a fair idea, but need to follow up some leads. In the meantime, I need you to concentrate on your work here. You must master your powers. I spoke to Frau Schmelder briefly before I came up here. She has placed you on probation. You no longer have the use of your paranormal powers outside your test sessions. You will not be permitted to go near any of the shifters, so any classes you have with them are now closed to you. You’ll have to make them up next term.”
“I have to stay here longer?” she protested.
“I’m afraid so. What you did means that your classes have to be staggered, so it’ll take a bit longer.”
“But what about school at home? I was supposed to go back.”
“It will be fine. You’ll be home in time for high school. Don’t worry about that. Right now, concentrate on your work here. It’s important.”
“What about what I did? Will I be punished?”
“I expect there will be repercussions. You acted in self-defense, remember that. That panther attacked you first. Any demon would have done the same under the circumstances. I know it’s hard for you to accept that, being part human. However, the student council will. They will hear your case and make a decision based on the evidence. Faustine, you are my daughter. You will deal with it with dignity. Understood?”
Faustine nodded. “I will, Dad. I promise.”
The student council took months to schedule the hearing, but they finally charged Faustine with fatal bodily harm. She was due to appear before them in a matter of hours.
Her father had asked Octavia to represent her, even though Octavia was no longer involved with student matters. She was the best legal mind at the school, so I swallowed my hatred of her and cooperated fully to help Faustine.
“Are you going to come with?” Faustine asked between bites of her breakfast.
“Yes, of course. Octavia wants to see you on your own before the trial, but I’ll be in the gallery, sitting with your dad. He should be arriving any minute.”
“Good. What time is Jagger going to be here? He’s coming as well, right?”
“As far as I know.” I hadn’t seen Jagger since Faustine’s birthday, though we’d kept in touch via text. Shortly after he’d brought Faustine back to the Academy and made sure that she was okay physically, he’d taken off. I had no idea where he’d gone. All he told me was that he’d been called out on an assignment and that he’d be away from the Academy for a few months.
After Quinn’s disappearance—gosh, it seemed like forever since I’d heard from him—Jagger’s absence filled me with a sense of dread, even though he promised to keep in touch. He also warned me that contact would be infrequent and probably only via text. We made up a safe word so we’d know that the texts came from each other. He promised to come back for the Integration dance, but when I told him about the trial, he said that he would try to return in time for that. So, I was hopeful and couldn’t wait to see him. The past few months had been difficult enough, but even more so without him.
I opened the door for King Sebastian even before he knocked. I had become familiar enough with him to sense his presence.
“Good morning, ladies.” He displayed a smile that didn’t quite mask his anxiety.
“Hey, Dad. I’m almost ready. Are you coming in with me to talk to Octavia?”
“Most definitely. Is there anything you need to go over with me before we see her?”
She frowned, tilting her head. “I don’t know, Dad. What do you think will happen?”
“At the trial?”
“Yes, and after. Do you think they’ll expel me?”
“You’ll get asked a lot of questions. Octavia will go through the likely ones with you this morning. I imagine there’ll be some form of repercussion, but I doubt they’ll expel you, under the circumstances.” He rubbed his chin, looking as though he was debating whether to say more.
“King Sebastian?” I prodded. The more information Faustine had the better.
“Hmm. The boy’s parents are going to be present at the hearing. I’m sure Octavia will mention that to you, but I spoke to Frau Schmelder earlier, and she let me know.”
Faustine suddenly turned white and looked ready to hurl.
“It’ll be fine, Faustine.”
“Did Frau Schmelder tell you anything about the boy?” I asked.
“I asked her, but that information is confidential until the trial to protect his family. In fact, Frau Schmelder requested that the council hold a closed trial for security reasons.”
“Dad, this is going to be so awful, having to tell what I did in front of his mom and dad.” Faustine’s lips quivered.
“It’s the circumstances under which you did it that you need to concentrate your thoughts on. It was self—defense, after all. He attacked you first. Just be truthful and don’t hide your emotions. Be yourself. I’ll be with you every step of the way, as will Cordelia.”
“I wish Mom was here. I feel awful about the whole thing. I was disgusting.”
I gaped at her. The incident had been ugly, but that was overstating it. “Faustine, you were far from disgusting! Eating the panther, yuck…but you threw him up.”
“I ate him!”
“I know. Gross.”
“Cordelia, I ate another being…”
“Oh?”
King Sebastian took her hand. “Faustine, I can’t pretend to understand human remorse, but I am guessing that’s what’s bothering you. You ate an animal. An animal you had killed. It is sort of l
ike hunting.”
“No, it wasn’t! Oh, you’ll never understand. I need to talk to Mom.”
“I wish she were here as well, but I’m not allowed to share what happens here with any humans, not even your mother.”
Faustine nodded. “It’s probably for the best. She’d be totally disgusted with me.”
King Sebastian shook his head. “No, she wouldn’t. She’d understand that you did what you had to do when you were attacked.”
Faustine pursed her lips, looking totally unconvinced. “Maybe, but what about the fact that I ate him? That would gross her out.”
She had a point. Even I had a hard time getting my head around eating uncooked panther. I just hoped Octavia could get her through the trial and that the administration would allow Faustine to finish her stay at the school. Her behavior since the accident had been exemplary, with Ryker whisking her away at the very first signs of any strife.
King Sebastian obviously had nothing to say that could comfort her. Instead, he stood up, looking at his watch. “We’d better go.”
Once Faustine and her dad left to meet with Octavia, I hurried to put on my pretty yellow dress. I had felt Jagger approaching and knew he’d be at my door any second.
When he swung open the door, I just stood staring at him, not making a move to get closer. I wanted to enjoy the feel of him from afar, as I drank him in, his dangerously enthralling aura drawing me toward him. I had missed him more than I had realized.
He closed the gap between us and enveloped me in his arms, holding me close, breathing me in as I put my ear to his chest and listened to his heart.
“I missed you,” he whispered huskily.
“Me, too. How long can you stay?”
“I’m not sure, until I’m called away again. But I’m hoping that won’t be for a while.”
“Called away?” I pulled away from him. “Are you going to tell me where you went? I want to know.”
He took my hand, and we sat down on my bed. “I had to do something to be able to keep you safe.”
“And you did that by leaving me here?” I tried not to sound sarcastic, but couldn’t help it. He had disappeared at a time when things were at their worst.