Rule 9 Academy Series Boxset: Books 3-5 Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy (Rule 9 Academy Box Sets (3 Book Series) 2)

by Elizabeth Rain

  Fern’s nose rose, and she snorted. “I still haven’t agreed to go with you.”

  His expression suddenly lightened. “You will. My charm knows no bounds.”

  Fern blushed and looked away suddenly, her lips tight. “Dream on.”

  “How about Thomas? Have you seen him?”

  They didn’t answer.

  “Yeah, they saw him. And he’s tired of eating in a barn.”

  Thomas spoke from right behind me, and I gulped as I turned. His light eyes were watchful and made my stomach quiver nervously. I was glad when Kimmy spoke up and called us all to the table.

  As predicted, dinner was delicious. Dad encouraged me to share what was going on in Tarus, and I held nothing back. There was no point in keeping secrets from my friends. They couldn’t join me beneath the waves, but maybe they could shed some light on what I might do on my own when I got there to rescue my other family. I ignored Thomas’ beetled brows, frowning in disapproval as I spoke.

  “Do you have any idea where they might be holding them?” Mr. Tuttle, the Major asked.

  “No, not really. The Seascrill keep to themselves on the far side of the lake. I mean, there have been rumors of tunnels and caverns that stretch beyond the lake, but no one knows for sure. Besides, when I was down there last, one of the guards that escaped pulled me aside. He said that not all the rebels are Seascrill. Some of them are Tarian. Which may mean the Draco Rebellion goes deeper than we thought. There may be traitors in our midst.”

  Kimmy served us dessert, and I took an extra-large helping of spice cake and rich cream cheese frosting. As she served us, she asked, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but from what you’ve said, are you sure that what the Rebellion is after is such a bad thing?”

  “I don’t think the idea of making a few—strike that—a lot of changes in Tarus is bad at all. Fact is, the Tarus Council are stuck in their ways and I believe they need shaking up. There is no room for advancement or self-improvement for the young people of Tarus, and Seascrill are still treated like outsiders.”

  Kimmy looked confused. “Then, why continue to fight for the old ways? I mean, they want to force you to take the throne when either of your sisters would clearly be a better choice for the job, right?”

  I nodded. “That’s true. The problem with the Rebellion is I think it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors for what they are really about. I don’t believe for one minute their sole purpose is to work for equality of all Mer-men and Mer-women. I think they have plans to take over and run a different monarchy. To my way of thinking, that just changes who the bully is. Tarus and Deep Lake need change for sure. I’m just not sure the Rebellion would be any better in the end.”

  Niel spoke up for the first time, pushing his plate away with a groan. “What I really wish is that we could somehow be there to help you.”

  Fern gave him a frustrated glare. “You just got done telling me we had to get right back to Greylock Mountain. Now we have time for a swim? What’s with that, Reece?”

  I hid a grin. Fern always called him by his last name when she wanted to clobber him one. A wriggling movement beneath her shirt caught my eye, and I watched two mutton-chop whiskers detach themselves from her collar and droop down from a small quivery snout and a mouthful of shiny sharp teeth. Absently, she reached up and fed Kit a small morsel of meat.

  “This is different,” he argued. “She’s all alone. Besides, I’ve always had this thing about visiting the lost Island of Atlantis.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah? Well, this isn’t that. Fairy tales…” she growled.

  “Actually, it’s not.” My father gave a mysterious smile. He continued before Niel could ask him more. “But as for being able to help…” As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a small rubber disk, formed and shaped in a mask like fashion. He held it up between his thumb and forefinger. “…I’ve been working on this little gem for a week or two now. Ever since Sirris started making her trips all alone to Deep Lake.” He scowled furiously at me and I blinked.

  “What is it?” Thomas asked.

  “A breathing apparatus. Or at least…” he sighed, “…it could be, if I could get the thing to work right. It’s giving me fits. The percentage of oxygen immersion isn’t right. And I can’t get it to achieve a watertight seal for any length of time. Things come off way too easily.”

  Fern reached out and took it from him, turning it this way and that and looking at it from every angle. Finally, she gave a thoughtful nod and handed it back to him. “Well, I can’t help with the, what did you say, oxygen disposal?”

  My father chuckled, amused. “Close enough.”

  Fern went on, her eyes flashing at the interruption. “But I might have a pretty good spell to help it stay “glued” to our faces. It won’t come off without the proper spell to take it off.”

  Thomas looked alarmed. “Um, that doesn’t sound promising. Are you saying you are going to glue it in place? I don’t like the sound of that.”

  She narrowed her eyes, taking another piece of garlic bread and breaking off a small piece. “Not quite. The spell would cement it to your face. No one could just pull it off. But another witch…” Her eyes shifted to Niel with droll amusement. “…or a low-grade sorcerer could conjure the spell to remove it,” she finished.

  Niel only grinned at her attempt to insult his ability as a sorcerer. He reached over and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips and brushing a kiss over her knuckles before she knew what he was about.

  “You say the nicest things to me, dear Fern.” He grinned.

  With a hiss, she snatched her hand back, blushing furiously and glaring daggers at him.

  I tried to stifle a giggle and failed. I looked up at Thomas. He didn’t seem nearly as amused by the exchange. Instead, he almost looked jealous.

  He looked over at me, and I realized I’d been caught staring. Something hot moved in his eyes, too briefly to guess what it meant. His mouth grew tight, and he abruptly tossed his napkin down and stood up, glaring at us all.

  “If you don’t mind, it’s getting late and I’m tired. If you need me you know where to find me.” Without another word, and not looking at me, he stormed away from the table and out the door.

  “How rude!” I exclaimed, my eyes narrowed on his departing back before it cleared the porch.

  I heard a snicker and jerked back to look at my dinner companions, all of whom seemed to find something very amusing.

  “Did I miss the joke?”

  The Major chuckled. “No, but I think he did.”

  #

  Niel was talking to my dad, and I tried to concentrate on what they were saying instead of worrying about the moody boy that had stormed out of the room for no apparent reason. There had been a time when I thought I knew Thomas down to the bone, but not anymore. He’d become a stranger and an enigma I didn’t have the time to figure out. Too much else was going on in my life to worry about his strange tempers.

  Niel was asking Dad about the breathing apparatus, and I tried to focus. “So, how long do you think it will be before you have it done?” he asked.

  Dad was still holding the small tan fixture, twisting it this way and that. He grunted. “Don’t know. Ideally, if things go right? I need a day. But if what I have in mind doesn’t do the trick, it could be longer. Won’t know ’til I start. I plan to spend tomorrow working on it.”

  Niel brightened, slanting a look in Fern’s direction that had her sitting up straight and frowning in suspicion. To me he said, “So, Sirris. That means your dad will hide out in his lab tomorrow for most of the day. You can’t really go back yet. You need to give this a chance to work and maybe take a few of us with you, right?”

  “I suppose. I’d like it even more if Sadie was here, and Nick,” I admitted.

  Fern jolted. “Oh, sorry about that. I got a text earlier and forgot to tell you. They are on their way back. They tried to make contact through Jerry…”

  He slapped h
is forehead. “My phone. I forgot it, didn’t I?”

  Fern smiled and continued, “They said they should be here in the morning sometime.”

  Jerry was humming to himself and fidgeting. I knew that look. “Daddy, tomorrow is going to be soon enough…and by that, I mean you need to get to bed and get at least six hours of sleep tonight. No all-nighters, promise?”

  He scowled at his daughter. “I was just thinking, a couple of hours…oh stop looking at me like that. We’d better get going, then. If I tuck myself in by nine I can be up and in my lab by 3:00 a.m.”

  “Four. You need a shower and breakfast first—it feeds the brain and no arguments, or I’m feeding you salmon for lunch,” I threatened.

  He looked horrified. “Fine. Anything but fish. Ever hear of a simple bologna sandwich and chicken noodle soup?”

  “Awful stuff,” I teased him.

  Niel spoke up, Fern’s eyes narrowing on his grinning face, “So, as I was saying, that means you have a bit of free time tomorrow, right? I’m thinking we should all take the day and go in to Breathless for breakfast—hit the movies?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve got a lot going on at home, and I don’t really feel like being social…” I started, thinking of my missing sisters and Thomas’ snit from earlier—all of it depressing.

  But Niel nodded knowingly, his eyes determined. “That’s right. I know you aren’t in the mood to be happy just now, but that’s why you need to go. Think of it as an attitude reboot. You’ll be able to think clearer after being around all of us and relaxing for a bit.”

  “But Thomas—I don’t think he’ll go, and I don’t want to be a fourth wheel.”

  Niel chuckled. “It’s third, Sirris, and in this case, Todd is going, and that makes five of us—oof!” he grunted when Fern’s elbow connected with his side accidentally.

  “She gets it, Reece.”

  “Who says I’m coming?” Todd commented.

  “I do. Thomas will go, too,” the Major spoke up, his brows dark and bushy as he scowled. “I’ll be having a talk with my son after tonight, and I’m tired of you two stalking around this house, biting everyone’s head off with your attitudes. We aren’t bear shifters, you know.”

  Uh-oh. That sounded ominous.

  But it seemed like I was outnumbered, and it would be good to think about something other than losing everything I was to a throne I didn’t want or my sisters dying a horrible death because they were in the way of a group of rebels led by some faceless tyrant who thought he had all the answers, as long as they were his.

  “Okay, I’ll go.” I turned to Fern. “It will be good for us to spend some time together, you know, bonding. If you come by early, I can do your nails before we go.”

  She blinked at me, her blue eyes going wide with horror. “Um, sure,” she squeaked.

  I hid a self-satisfied smile. I loved pushing my anti-social friend’s buttons.

  #

  We met up the following day at my cabin. Dad had been up since the early hours of the morning. He’d grudgingly scarfed the eggs and bacon I’d gotten up and made for him before he sequestered himself in his basement lab, and I crawled back into bed for several more hours. Now I looked over at Fern, who had actually taken me at my word and arrived just past 11:00. Her fingernails were painted a pretty aqua with little purple-black flowers dusting the surface. It was totally out of character, but I caught her glancing at them, pleased, several times. Maybe she wasn’t totally a lost cause. Still, Niel had arrived just moments before and I had a suspicion she’d really shown early just to spite him. Thomas and Todd were already there. Sadie and Nick were the last to arrive. She hauled me up in a bone crunching hug when she saw me, and I gripped her back just as hard. Not seeing my friend and being a part of her shenanigans hadn’t been easy, but then, I had enough of my own to wrangle lately.

  Low clouds hung in the sky, and the mountain air bit through our jackets and made me shiver as we walked. We could have taken the ATV, but we all wanted to stretch our legs. It had been a while since I’d been to Breathless and even longer since I’d seen a movie. Some Marvel flick was playing. Unless they featured Aqua man, I wasn’t much into them, but I was outnumbered, and it was nice to get out and do something besides run for my life.

  Or try to figure out Thomas, who was still avoiding me. I was getting tired of it. On purpose, I fell back, away from Sadie. She was deep in conversation with Nick, and they weren’t arguing, so I figured they’d made up at some point and were good again.

  I fell in line with Thomas, and we walked in silence, following the others. I looked at his mutinous jaw, tight and determined.

  “So, is this the way of it? You’re just going to avoid me? Not talk? What’s the matter with you?”

  “Nothing,” he stated flatly.

  “Oh, it’s something, and I’m not leaving you alone until you spill. What’s bugging you? What on earth did I do to make you such a jerk?”

  “Am not,” he protested, slanting me a glance.

  “You are, and you know it.”

  He growled at me, his eyes flashing red for a moment before fading to their customary werewolf light brown. “I saw, Sirris. The look on your face.”

  What? “You mean when I ate the steak last week instead of the tilapia?”

  He blinked. “That makes absolutely no sense.”

  I nodded. “Ayup. And neither do you. Talk to me, Thomas Tuttle or so help me…”

  “What are you going to do if I don’t?” he challenged.

  I growled back and picked up the pace, pulling away. I wasn’t in the mood for games. “Nothing. Never mind.”

  With a groan, he reached out and circled my arm, the back of his large hand impossibly dark against the paleness of mine. We were so different, he and I. Maybe we’d been better off when we were just kids with feelings to match. Lately, it all seemed way too complicated.

  “I’m sorry, Sirris. Dad’s right. Lately I can’t seem to get out of my head. But I wasn’t imagining the look you gave me when you saw me change and did what I did to the rebels that were going to hurt you. Something inside of me just snapped. I saw the disgust, Sirris.”

  Before I could stop myself, a spurt of laughter bubbled up. I clapped a hand to my mouth, but it was too late. With a fierce scowl, Thomas started walking faster. I reached out and grabbed his arm, feeling the muscles bunch in reaction beneath my cool fingers. I dug in my heels until he slowed enough for me to thread my arm with his.

  “You know, Thomas? You are an idiot.”

  “No doubt,” he surprised me by agreeing, making me shoot him a suspicious glance.

  “I wasn’t disgusted when you changed. Was I shocked? Horrified at the violence, the suddenness of it? Yeah, I admit it caught me off guard. And remember, I didn’t just watch you shift, I felt it. Gotta tell you, that’s something that takes some getting used to. But what you did? It was necessary. They were going to shoot me in the back as I walked away. A cowardly move and you dealt with it. You did what needed to be done. I owe you an apology, Thomas. I never said thank you.”

  He looked uncomfortable, swallowing as he glanced at me. When he bent down hesitatingly and brushed a light kiss across my mouth, I couldn’t prevent a happy sigh.

  “We’d better catch up. They’re leaving us behind.”

  I snickered. “They think we need our privacy.”

  Thomas snorted, his eyes on his brother’s back. “Sorry. Todd just isn’t that considerate,” he whispered for my ears only.

  Todd, ahead of us, yelled back, “I heard that!”

  This time, I didn’t bother to hold back a giggle.

  #

  The movie was actually pretty good, and for a little over an hour and a half I enjoyed the show, ate popcorn, and enjoyed the fact that Thomas held my hand and never once let go. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I was happy. Afterwards, we left the theatre and joined the large crowd in the main lobby. Apparently the other theatres were letting out, too. Todd wal
ked next to Thomas, who had me tucked in at his side, his arm warm across my shoulders. I looked ahead of us towards the door as we gradually shuffled in that direction. A glint of blonde hair caught my attention, and I frowned. It was short cropped and light, framed in bouncing waves over slim shoulders in a peach colored top. I wouldn’t have given her a second look, but something about the way she moved, the angle of her head just so, looked familiar. Beside us, Todd suddenly gasped, and we both looked over in time to see him turn grey, his eyes hot. “Jayne,” he breathed, disbelieving.

  “It can’t be,” Sadie murmured ahead of us. She’d seen what we had.

  Suddenly, Todd was surging ahead, pushing through the crowd just this side of rude, receiving several nasty glares from the guys, and startled squeaks from the girls. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to be in a fight before he got to where he was going. Thomas bent down and whispered. “I’d better go after him before he gets himself punched in the nose.” I followed both their progress, standing on my tippy toes and clutching at Sadie’s arm for balance. I would have given anything for a bit more of her height. I hated being short!

  Todd and Thomas were waiting for us when we finally made it through the front doors, and the crowd dispersed. Thomas looked grim. Todd continued to stare into the thinning crowd, but the disappointment on his face was palpable.

  “We lost her,” Todd stated the obvious.

  Niel spoke up. “How sure are we that it was her? When’s the last time you saw Jayne anyhow, Todd?”

  His eyes never stopped searching, hoping he’d see her. “When she left Greylock Mountain last summer. She said she’d find me when she was ready. That was Jayne Martin all right.”

  “How much of her memory had she gotten back when you saw her last, then?” Sadie persisted.

  “Not much. But I was hopeful.”

  I remembered Jayne from Greylock Mountain. Todd had been crazy about her. Myself, I had mixed feelings about the girl that had nearly killed us all when her emerging phoenix burst into flames for the first time. Not that it had been her fault. She hadn’t chosen the crazy, psycho family she was raised in. They’d forced her to do horrible things before she broke away from them and what she really was came to light. Something I had found out was that when a phoenix was reborn, they effectively lost their memories—at least for a while.