INTEGRATION (Bonfire Academy Book Two) (Bonfire Chronicles)

by Imogen Rose

  “I suggest you ditch them and come back home. Like I said, I’ll take care of Sebastian.”

  “How? There’s no way you’ll get close to him now, not after what happened. And why not just hear them out? They may actually have a viable plan. It would keep blood off your hands.”

  “Hmm. I need more information about this Miss Miller first.”

  “Well, her partner is flying me home tomorrow, and he’d like to meet you then. You can speak to him then and get all the information you need.”

  “Okay, Sel. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll send a car to pick you up at the airport.”

  Mrs. Russo fell back into what I assumed was the bed, and her breathing soon turned even and heavy.

  It was my chance to escape. I considered making the trip to Rome with her, but I really couldn’t bear being inside her much longer. I felt suffocated and utterly claustrophobic. Plus Jagger would have kittens if I didn’t get back to him soon.

  I floated out of Mrs. Russo’s body into a surprisingly modern bedroom. I had imagined an old-fashioned, dark loft when I heard the creaky door, but the room was anything but. I cast an admiring glance at the huge abstracts on the wall, a perfect complement to the neutral shades.

  I looked down at the sleeping Mrs. Russo. She looked so serene and young as she lay on top of the covers. I could understand her sadness, but I quickly put my empathy aside and stared down at my enemy. It would be easy to kill her, but that would cause the shit to hit the fan when Miss Miller found the body. Maybe I could get rid of the body altogether. I looked down at her again. Tempted as I was, I decided I’d better clear it with Sebastian first. He might have other plans; he’d kept Mrs. Russo alive at the Academy, after all.

  At the moment, I needed to concentrate on getting out of the house without getting caught. I had to move quickly and quietly. I considered possessing Angela and escaping from the apartment using her body. However, I dismissed that idea quickly. She could be a demon. I thought about jumping out the window, but after peering down, I realized I’d have only two choices. One, plummet to certain death. Two, transform into demon form and then jump. Either way, it would freak out the hundreds of people milling about on the street below. My only way out was through the house. I crept back toward the door and put my ear to it.

  I heard loud voices coming from downstairs. Shit. Maybe if I was really quiet, I could just walk out the door. I put my pinkie around the doorknob and pulled it as gently as I could, holding in my breath. The door squealed as though it were about to give birth. I froze as Mrs. Russo stirred, thrashing her arms and then turning over and settling again. The voices downstairs stopped.

  “Mrs. Russo?” Angela shouted up the stairs. “Did you need anything?” I heard her start to walk up the stairs.

  I slid to the floor, crawled under the bed, and pulled the spread down to conceal the opening. I held my breath as the door opened.

  “Mrs. Russo?” Angela whispered.

  Beads of sweat formed on my nose and slid down my cheeks into my hair as I lay on my back, every bone and muscle glued in position. If Angela spotted me, I’d have no option but to transform and jump out the window, freaking out all of Manhattan in the process.

  Thankfully, Angela made no move to come inside, and after standing in the doorway for a few seconds, she closed the door and left. The noise of the closing door unsettled Mrs. Russo, who was now writhing around above me.

  What if Angela came back with Robert or Miss Miller? Jagger. I needed Jagger to get me out of there. But Jagger was thousands of miles away. How long would it take him even if I managed to contact him? I had to try.

  I closed my eyes and tried tapping into my heartbeat, failing when I was disturbed by Mrs. Russo’s constant movement on the bed. I figured she must’ve been having a bad dream. I pinched myself really hard and concentrated on the pain. I searched for my pulse from there. Once I found Jagger’s beat, I waited to see if he’d respond. I lay as still as I could for ages without feeling anything from Jagger; I was even losing the feel of my own limbs.

  I finally gave up, deciding that Jagger must be too far away to feel me. I had to get out of there. Mrs. Russo still seemed to be asleep. She rolled around and mumbled every so often, probably deep inside a nightmare. I snaked my way out from under the bed, each movement making me want to scream in pain. My legs were cramped from having been locked in the same position for so long. Once I was out, I lay face down on the floor, working my leg muscles into life again. I slid my knees under my tummy to get up, stopping dead when I heard a noise outside the door. I turned to dive back under the bed as the door opened.

  “Hey!” Angela rasped from behind me.

  Before I could transform, I felt pressure on my shoulder. I buried my face into Jagger’s warm chest as he wandered me to safety. The journey lasted a long time, and I savored every moment. Jagger didn’t stop until we were safely back in his room, sitting on his bed.

  “Don’t say it. I know you’re angry,” I said.

  He pulled me closer, crushing my body against his. His fingers slid up the nape of my neck and closed around a fistful of my hair. He pulled back my head and brushed his lips against my neck, then worked his way up to my lips.

  He stopped a whisper away from my parted lips. “Never, ever do that to me again.” He closed the distance.

  With only three weeks until Faustine’s Integration graduation, King Sebastian decided to put things on hold after I told him what had happened in London.

  “Should I have stayed with Mrs. Russo to find out what happened in Rome?” I asked him.

  “No, you did the right thing. I just wish we’d taken better precautions and sent Jagger with you. I placed you in unnecessary danger. I hadn’t expected Mrs. Russo to leave the infirmary so soon. Well, at least now we know for certain what’s going on.”

  “Um? And what’s that?”

  “This is a takeover bid for power of the city councils. You said that Miss Miller’s partner was a man named Robert?”

  “Yes. He sounded a lot younger than her.”

  “Did you get a last name? Any other hints, like an accent?”

  I thought about it for a second. “No last name, just as I didn’t get a first name for Miss Miller,” I said pointedly, feeling quite sure that he knew the woman’s first name. I wondered why King Sebastian was still being so secretive about her.

  “I’ll need you to come to London to work on this right after graduation. Will you be able to leave right after, or do you need to go home first?”

  “If it’s not urgent, I guess I should head home for a while first.”

  “Take a day or two, but then I’ll need you. There have been some further developments that demand looking into.”

  “Like what?”

  “The sovereign demon of New York has also been sent one of those haikus.”

  “Whoa! What did it say?”

  “London is in hand

  As is Dallas, Rome, and…more

  Manhattan must bleed”

  “Wow, Robert really sucks at the whole poem thing,” I blurted out.

  “Perhaps, but the message is clear,” King Sebastian said. “The King of New York is a very close friend of mine, so I am obviously concerned. I’m on my way over to see him right now.”

  “How can I help?”

  “I need you to keep watch over Faustine. Frau Schmelder still refuses to return Faustine’s powers. The school has a confinement spell around it, so at least no one can attack from the outside. I just need Faustine to get through these last few weeks and finish her remaining sessions, so she is ready to go home.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. The Academy should be pretty safe, apart from Mason being here, but his powers are suspended as well. Faustine should be fine.”

  “Good. I will see you at graduation and brief you fully then.”

  I concentrated my efforts on making sure Faustine had her credits in place for graduation. She was still missing many important skills, like the
art of possession. Her three years at the Academy had been filled with so much drama that completing all her courses had been impossible, especially considering that she’d arrived completely green. Faustine originally had no understanding of her own paranormal behavior, having lived away from almost all supernatural influences. Also, having Ryker wander her off during her early sessions had really hampered her progress. She’d worked hard, and she had become a formidable demon, in charge of her transformations, though she could have done with polishing that skill somewhat. At only fourteen years old, she was certainly not even close to being able to take over as a demon sovereign, as was her eventual destiny. Hopefully, that day was very far away.

  For now, all Faustine needed was to get back to Manhattan and keep her demon under wraps while she completed human high school. King Sebastian had appointed a tutor—Luke—in Manhattan, who would work with her further to get her ready for her future role.

  It was time for Faustine’s final assessment session.

  “Do you think I’ll pass?” Faustine asked. “I’d hate to have to stay here for another year.”

  “You’ll need to show the panel that you’re able to control your transformation. That’s really the only concern. That’s why you were sent here in the first place. The main thing is that you don’t inadvertently transform in front of any humans. I think if you can demonstrate that, you’ll pass.”

  “What about all the other stuff I’m supposed to have learned?”

  There wasn’t much I could say to alleviate her worries on that score. “That’s up to the panel.” I shrugged.

  “Who’s on it?”

  “Professor Bern, Professor Kunz, Henri, and some others, but I don’t know exactly. Let’s head down and find out.”

  She stood up, straightened her tie, and patted down her skirt. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she ran a comb through her hair and added some gloss to her lips. “How do I look?”

  “Fabulous as always.” I took her hand and pulled her out the door toward the labs. Walking through the busy halls, I noticed the shifters shrinking away from her, even though they knew her powers were disabled. She certainly had accrued a reputation from eating Nari.

  The panel was already assembled in the dOME lab when we got there. I thought back to my own panel of three paranormals, none of whom had been professors. Faustine’s panel was much more eminent and intimidating.

  “Come on in, Faustine, Cordelia. Please sit.” Frau Schmelder waved to the two empty chairs at the round table.

  I looked around at all the faces—Professor Kunz, Henri, Colton, Professor Bern, Octavia, Sally, and Asmen. I thought it odd that they’d invited Octavia, Sally, and the president of the student council to attend.

  Frau Schmelder said, “Faustine, please relax. First of all, let me congratulate you on passing all your theoretical classes, both academic and paranormal. You have straight As in all of those. Well done. I know this part may feel daunting, but we’re just here to have a chat with you, and then we’ll observe your last session for the year.”

  For the year. That didn’t sound promising.

  Professor Bern picked up her pencil and readied it over a yellow legal pad. “I’m going to start us off, since I was in charge of your Initiation process. Is that okay, Faustine?” she asked, obviously theoretically.

  Faustine nodded, looking very somber.

  “It’s hard for me to give you a pass as far as your Initiation is concerned. I don’t feel you’ve fully managed to get a grasp on your powers, nor have you completed basic classes that, though not essential for graduation, are important as part of your paranormal existence. Henri, what is your opinion on the matter?”

  “I agree, but my understanding is that Faustine is to return to human society, so I concentrated her Initiation sessions on helping her learn to control her transformations. I feel we have achieved that successfully. Were Faustine planning to live within the paranormal world, the requirements would obviously be different.”

  I guessed none of them knew of her future appointment—as heir to King Sebastian.

  “Cordelia, what do you think?” Professor Bern asked.

  “Well, I agree with Henri. I think she’s ready to attend a human high school.”

  “Perhaps,” Professor Bern replied. “We still haven’t managed to get a handle on her disappearing powers, though she hasn’t exhibited those in a while.”

  “Could it be that Faustine has mastered control over that as part of her transformation?” I suggested, trying to sweep the issue under the carpet.

  Professor Bern and Henri looked at each other, seemingly unconvinced.

  Frau Schmelder said, “Okay, let’s put that aside for a moment and move on to Faustine’s Integration requirements. Professor Kunz?”

  “I delegated Faustine’s testing to Colton, so he can speak to that in a moment. I have the notes from all of her teachers from the various Integration classes.” He peered down at them, shuffling the sheets around. “As far as I can see, Faustine excelled at Integration, easily interacting with the different paranormal groups, including the shifters and the trolls.” He looked up at her in admiration.

  Most students, including me, failed the troll Integration sessions, as those beings were impossible to get along with.

  “Colton, do you have anything to add from the tests?”

  “I concur,” Colton said. “Faustine demonstrated excellent Integration skills during my sessions with her. I’m certain that she’s no threat to anyone, unless attacked first.”

  “Yes, and there we have it,” Asmen said. “Unless attacked first.”

  Sally nodded, scowling.

  Asmen jutted his sharp little chin at Faustine. “This is where Faustine shows no self-control whatsoever. And that is why I personally think she isn’t ready for life outside the Academy. In fact, it’s debatable whether she’s ready to have her powers restored even within these walls. Isn’t that right?” He looked around the table.

  Faustine’s face turned crimson as she stared down at her shoes.

  “Hang on,” Octavia interceded. “The Student Council ruled that Faustine was not guilty of what happened to Nari.”

  “True,” Asmen conceded. “Fact is that the council unanimously found Faustine not guilty of fatal bodily harm in Nari’s case, by reason of self-defense. However, that incident does not inspire confidence in Faustine’s readiness for human society. I don’t know that she’s ready to have her powers restored.”

  Frau Schmelder nodded. “I can’t dispute that. Professors?”

  I looked over at the others. It was clear that they didn’t have anything to offer in support of Faustine. Did I? Could I really put my hand on my heart and swear that Faustine wouldn’t eat an unfortunate fellow student who pissed her off?

  Faustine shook her head. “Look, I’m really sorry about what happened. If you want, you can keep my powers suspended. I don’t need them anyway. I just want to go home.” Faustine’s eyes teared up.

  “I’m afraid we have no authority to control your powers outside this school,” Frau Schmelder said. “Look, why don’t we observe your final test session and talk some more after that?”

  Faustine nodded, looking utterly defeated. I reached over and squeezed her hand under the table.

  “Colton and I have set up a combined Initiation-Integration test,” I said. “I’ll get Faustine settled in while Colton gets the equipment ready.”

  Frau Schmelder nodded, and I got up and walked over to the central test dome. I tapped in the code on the floor pad, which slid open to reveal the steps. I let Faustine walk down first, knowing that she wanted to get away from the panel.

  “Hey, it’s going to be fine,” I said as I placed the probes on her body.

  She leaned her head back on the armchair and looked up at me, worry pouring through her eyes. “Cordelia, I can’t not graduate!”

  “Just stay calm. Don’t give up.” I tousled her hair and activated the chair to be raised into the dome. As
soon as the flap shut, I walked back up the stairs and sat next to Colton. The rest of the panel had positioned their chairs around the dome, waiting for the test to start. I knew Ryker was around, and I hoped he’d have the sense not to interfere. If he wandered her away, Faustine would have to kiss high school in Manhattan good-bye.

  “Ready, Faustine?” I asked, speaking into the microphone.

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, do the usual and count down.”

  We waited for her to enter a state of semiconsciousness. Colton and I had spent some time deciding on the best way to go about performing the test and had settled on a combination of Initiation and Integration stimuli. I started with a static one of Faustine’s bedroom. We’d used that picture several times; it was one she always seemed to find peaceful.

  She sat back in her chair, as though she were lying in her bed at home, and she slept. And kept sleeping.

  “Can we move this along?” Frau Schmelder asked after about ten minutes of shuffling about in her seat.

  Normally, I’d have given Faustine more time, but I changed the screen to a clip of a spider crawling up the side of her bed. The spider had been our very first stimulus during Faustine’s early Initiation tests. She’d transformed every time. I hoped she’d demonstrate what she’d learned over the past couple of years.

  The clip showed the spider suddenly jumping on the mattress. I tensed as Faustine yelped and jumped to her feet. She stood on her tiptoes, her eyes wide, as she glared down at the arm of the chair, presumably at the spider. Her eyes turned redder and redder. Oh, boy. If she transformed, the game would be over.

  She suddenly kicked off her left shoe, picked it up, and smacked the chair arm with it several times, while hopping around in a comical fashion. Then, scrunching up her nose, she scraped the chair with the toe of the shoe and flung it to the side. Then she sat down and went back to sleep.

  I was so proud of her. She’d dealt with the spider in a fully human manner, keeping her transformation under control.