I still don't reach for the letter and try to focus on what I'm reading instead. My eyes skip over the words, not taking any of them in. I want to grab the letter and tear it open already.
Once I'm sure none of the others are paying any attention to me, I get up and grab the letter, forcing myself to walk out of the room slowly to not raise suspicions.
I head into the bathroom and lock myself in one of the stalls. This is the only place in the entire house I can guarantee having privacy. It's the only reason I've ever liked the stalls.
I tear the top off the envelope and pull out the single sheet of paper within.
Dear Syxe Weston,
I wish to cordially invite you to a meeting at Scythe Grove Academy on Tuesday at nine am. Directions are overleaf. Please pack an overnight bag.
Yours Sincerely,
Headmistress Shaw
I blink a few times as I wait for the meaning of the words to sink in. I turn the letter over, unsurprised to find instructions on the back. It only takes me a couple more moments for me to realise I'm going to go. Maybe whatever I'll find at this Scythe Grove Academy will be worse than what I could get here at the Association after taking the Shadow Oath, but I don't think so.
But there may be a potential issue in me leaving and staying somewhere overnight. I'm not sure how I even get away with spending most of my days outside as it is.
I fold up the letter and slip it into my pocket before leaving the stall. Nerves jitter around inside me as I slip back into the dorm room.
"So, what was the letter?" Annalise asks before I'm anywhere near the safety of my bed.
I fake a sigh. "Just junk mail. Nothing interesting."
"Shame. I was hoping for something more exciting," she muses.
"Like what? It isn't like Syxe will be getting any love letters or anything," Reed says, a smug grin on her face that suggests she's trying to be cruel.
I shrug. "No one would send that by post anyway." Or maybe they would. She isn't wrong about no one wanting to send me any. I haven't had any chances for romance, especially when I've never wanted to bring anyone back to the house.
The more I think about it, the more it becomes clear I've never really been comfortable here. Maybe a chance to get away and try something different is just what I need.
I turn away from the other girls and pull the curtains around my bed so I can put as many of my belongings as possible in my bag without the others noticing. I don't know what they'll do if they work out my plan, but it's probably best if I don't give them a chance to figure it out.
Not that there's much to worry about. All of my clothes are still only about a week's worth. Add in a couple of books and some stationary and my belongings are pretty much all accounted for. The only thing I can't pack is my indoor shoes, but I don't think that'll be a problem.
I change into my sleeping clothes and slip under the covers. I should have brushed my teeth while I was in the bathroom, but my mind was on other things.
Thoughts of all the ghosts I've seen in my life swim through my head as I try to recall all the things they've said to me over the years. Not all of them have talked, but maybe that's because I didn't move to engage with them.
I lie back and pull my blankets up to my chin. I close my eyes and try not to think too much about what might happen in the morning. I can't decide if I'm more nervous or excited. But one thing I am certain of is that my life is going to change tomorrow.
And I don't think there will be any going back.
Chapter Four
To my surprise, the somewhat cryptic instructions on the back of the letter are easy to follow and just before nine, I find myself standing outside a square grey brick castle with turrets in each corner and what looks like a small forest growing in the middle of it.
I guess this must be Scythe Grove Academy. It looks more like something out of a fantasy book rather than any school I've ever been to. But mine was more the drab and boring affairs with teachers who have been there so long they've forgotten why they want to teach. I can't say it was particularly exciting.
I glance down at the letter in my hand, trying to work out what I need to do next. Other than getting to the building itself, there aren't many instructions for how I'm supposed to find the headmistress' office.
With a sigh, I fold the letter back up and stick it in my pocket. The advantage of this being a school is that most people will know where the office is, all I have to do is find someone and ask them to point me in the right direction.
I set off, keeping an eye out for a student I can ask.
"Syxe Weston?" a guy asks as he walks towards me.
Ah. It seems the headmistress has sent someone to find me. I appreciate that, it saves me a task.
"Yes?"
"I'm Mathias, Headmistress Shaw has asked me to meet you and bring you to her office."
"Hi." I resist the urge to wave at him.
"Hey," he responds, a genuine smile spreading over his face.
He's handsome. Probably my age, though perhaps a year older.
"Are you a student here?" I ask as the two of us start walking.
"Yes. I started at the beginning of the year."
"Do you like it here?" I'm not sure what the point in asking is. It's not like he'll tell me the truth when he's on the way to take me to the headmistress.
He shrugs. "It's been good so far. But if I want to stand a chance of having a career in the Reaper Guard, this is where I need to be."
Hmm. Okay, so he is going to tell me the truth.
"Are you thinking about transferring from one of the other academies? Is this why you're interviewing with the headmistress?"
"Oh, erm, I'm not here for an interview," I mumble.
He pushes on a door and holds it open for me.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," he responds, following me through. "So what are you here for if it's not an interview?"
"I don't actually know," I admit. "I was just asked to come here so that's what I did."
"That's brave."
"Is the headmistress that bad?" Worry worms its way into my gut.
"Oh no, she's fine. She wants what's best for the students and will do anything she can to make that possible. She won't ask you to do anything that puts you in danger."
"That's good."
"I guess you're about to find out, though. We're here." He gestures to an office door with Headmistress Shaw written on a tidy plaque.
"What do I do now?" I ask.
"You could knock," he suggests. "That's normally a good way to announce yourself."
I snort in amusement without meaning to, covering my mouth with my hand in mild embarrassment. "Sorry," I mutter.
"Don't be. You have nothing to apologise for."
"Thank you for bringing me here."
"I'm just doing my job," Mathias points out.
I take a deep breath and turn to face the door. I rap on it a couple of times, hoping it'll be enough to get the attention of the headmistress inside.
The door swings open almost instantly, revealing a middle-aged woman in a well-fitted suit and her hair swept up into a neat bun.
"Ah, you must be Miss Weston, please come in." She gestures for me to come inside before turning to Mathias. "Mr Carey, if you wouldn't mind waiting until we're done."
"Of course." He takes a seat on one of the chairs lining the hallway and pulls out his phone to keep himself occupied.
I swallow my nerves, almost wishing the boy I barely know was coming inside with me rather than sitting in the hall and waiting for my fate to be decided. But I've got this far on my own. I know I can deal with whatever I'm going to discover inside the room too.
A large desk fills most of the space with comfortable looking chairs on either of it. I make my way to the one closest to me and drop my bag to the side. I'm woefully aware of how few belongings I have now. I didn't have to leave anything behind, but also didn't raise any suspicions by carrying it around. In a lo
t of ways, that's sad.
I push the thought out of my mind. It's not what I'm here to deal with. I need to focus on discovering what the headmistress wants from me and nothing else.
She closes the door and comes to join me, sitting on the other side of the desk. Even the way she's sitting implies that she's trying to appear open and trustworthy. I can appreciate it, but it doesn't mean I'm automatically ready to believe everything she says.
"I'm glad you found us okay, Miss Weston," she says.
"You can call me Syxe." It feels weird to be addressed as formally as this.
"Very well, Syxe. I'm Headmistress Shaw."
"It's nice to meet you." I think. I'm yet to be completely certain about that.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions..."
That's the understatement of the year, but I don't say that.
"Two of my older students told me what happened at the house with Agatha," she says.
"Is Agatha okay?"
The headmistress nods. "She's been ported."
"I'm sorry, I don't know what that means." My cheeks flame red. How can I be so clueless about all of this?
"Ah, I'm sorry. I should have started from the beginning. We believe you're a reaper."
"I can't be."
She raises an eyebrow. "Can't you?"
"I...I don't really know," I admit. "I know nothing about my parents."
"I assumed as much when I saw what your address was."
Wait, what about my address? The Association isn't an orphanage, though now I think about that, it's a potential red flag. Why do I live somewhere that doesn't have an official capacity without parents? Have they been lying to me my entire life about who I belong to?
"But you are a reaper, Syxe. You were able to see and talk to a ghost. That's not something humans can do."
"Maybe I just have some reaper blood in me from a grandparent or something."
She shakes her head. "If you didn't have the powers of a full reaper, you wouldn't have been able to find the academy."
"Oh." I lean back in my chair, understanding dawning on me. "That's why the instructions were so cryptic."
"Yes. It was a test to see if you could enter the reaper way."
"I'm a reaper," I whisper. I've been wondering about the possibility ever since Agatha mentioned it, but I haven't dared to hope it could be true. I don't even know what it means to be true.
"Yes. You are."
I bite my bottom lip. "What do I do with that information?"
"That's up to you," the headmistress says. "You can either continue your life as if nothing has changed, or you can do something about learning how to control your magic."
"If I ignore it, will it do something like explode from me and cause problems?" The last thing I want is to hurt people.
"No. But you won't be able to escape the ways you already know. You'll still see ghosts and they'll still talk to you thinking you'll be able to help them move on."
"Can't I help them do that?"
"No. Your ability to talk to ghosts makes you a seer. You'd need a porter in order to move the ghost onto the next stage."
"Oh."
"There are some ways you can learn to port ghosts even if you're a seer, but they're very advanced techniques and probably not anything you'll be able to master without the basics."
I nod. It makes sense, even if I don't really want it to.
"But, if you'd like, we can offer you a place at Scythe Grove. You can learn what it means to be a reaper, and to use your seer powers. If you agree, you'll be matched with Mr Carey as your porter."
"Is that why you asked him to wait outside?" That doesn't seem too bad. From the brief interactions we've had, he seems like a nice guy. Though I realise that doesn't mean anything and I can't judge him based on less than five minutes.
She shakes her head. "No matter what you decide in here, you need someone to help you either leave the academy, or show you around. Having seen Mr Carey perform similar tasks before, I felt like he was a good choice for a new student."
"Ah." I consider my options. "I don't have any money," I blurt, realising this is probably an issue.
"Tuition is free. We're funded by the government like most educational facilities, and through the Reaper Guard. The only costs you'll have are for housing and food, but the grant department should be able to help you with arrangements for that until you start earning bounty points from reapings," she says.
"Bounty points? How will they help?" I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but I can't help it. I've wanted a reason to get away from the house and avoid the Shadow Oath for almost as long as I can remember. This is the perfect way to get out of it.
"You'll be paid based on the number you collect. It's the same for those who work for the Reaper Guard. They're worth less before you graduate, but you still get paid for each reaping you do. Unless you break the rules and reap unethically, then you get nothing. But that's not really been a problem."
"Oh." So I can earn money while I study and get a grant to help offset the costs? "Do I need to do anything specific to accept my place here?"
"Not unless you're under eighteen, then you'd need the permission of your guardian."
"I'm not." And I doubt they'd care anyway, but I’m not about to say that. It doesn’t seem prudent to give anyone information they can use against me.
"Then you’ve done everything you need to. You can have a couple of days if you need to sort anything out…"
"I don't. I can start today." And this is why I brought everything with me. I'm not sure what made me realise today was going to change my life, but it seems I guessed right.
"Very well. Let me get Mr Carey and we'll get you sorted on your first day," she says with a smile. "There are some forms you need to fill in, but I'll have those delivered to your dorm room later today."
"Thank you."
She gets to her feet and heads towards the door, presumably to get Mathias and bring him inside to get him up to speed.
Somehow, I still can't believe this is happening. When I started my day, it was fairly bleak. Now I stand an actual chance of having a life that isn't completely controlled by those around me.
And I'm going to welcome it with open arms.
Chapter Five
Nothing inside the academy is particularly surprising. The classrooms look just like the ones I've grown up learning in, right down to the boards at the front and the uncomfortable looking chairs. I'm not sure what I expected, but this isn't it. Most humans don't really have much of a clue about what goes on in the university level academies for supernaturals, but I don't think any of them could have guessed at how mundane this is.
"What's next?" I ask Mathias as he leads me down yet another hall of classrooms.
"It's nearly eleven, which means it's time for you to find out your Grove."
"My Grove?"
"Yes. It's like a team you'll be part of. You'll be assigned a room in one of the towers, depending on which you pick," he says.
"And let's guess, there's a password to get in, and no one who isn't in the Grove is allowed to enter."
He chuckles. "I see you enjoy fantasy books."
A furious blush rises to my cheeks. "I might."
"It's not like that. No passwords are needed. The only rooms that are locked in the Grove towers are the bedrooms, but it's just by a key and you'll have full control over them."
"That's almost disappointing," I mumble.
Mathias snorts. "Maybe. But the idea of the Groves isn't to pit us against one another," he points out. "It's supposed to promote harmonious living, or something like that."
"What are they called?"
"Ilex, Sakura, Hawthorn, and Banksia."
"Trees?" I can't keep the surprise out of my voice.
"We are reapers," he counters.
"You say that like it should mean something to me. I've never been a part of this world before."
"I'm sorry, I forgot. I'm sure you've heard of
scythes?"
"I've seen one." Two, technically. Though not up close, and I don't know anything about them.
"They help us channel our magic. The wood needed to make them is grown in special groves. I'm not sure how it works, but something about the soil imbues the wood with what it needs."
"Huh." That sounds interesting.
"I think there are some advanced classes you can do here in the fourth year if you have any particular interest in becoming a caretaker," Mathias says.
"That's amazing. I never really thought about what careers a reaper might have." Mostly because I never really had to. "When do I get to see one of the groves?" Even if I'm not particularly interested in gardening, it sounds like it would be an amazing thing to see.
"Does right now work?" An impish grin spreads over his face.
Before I can answer, Mathias leads me through a pair of double doors and out into the small forest I thought I'd seen from outside the academy. Except that label doesn't do it justice.
The trees are uniform, with different sections seeming to belong to different kinds. A peaceful air surrounds it all.
But there's something beneath it that I can't put my finger on. Almost as if something about the surrounding area is calling to me.
"It's reaper magic," Mathias explains without me having to ask.
"How did you know?"
"You have the same expression on your face that my brother did when we were first shown this place. I'm sure I had it too, but I can't see my face."
"You have a brother?"
"I do, Tobias. He's the Captain of Ilex Grove. I'm sure you'll meet him at some point."
I shift the bag on my shoulder, trying to make it more comfortable to carry.
"Why don't you let me?" Mathias asks. "You'll be able to focus more if you don't have to constantly make sure you're not dropping your bag."
I consider his offer for a moment. A small part of me doesn't want to let my belongings out of my sight. And while Mathias seems nice, I have no actual reason to trust him. I barely know him.
But I have to start somewhere. And it's not like there's anything particularly expensive in the bag anyway.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." I slip it off my shoulder and hand it to him.
Shadow Seer (Scythe Grove Academy Book 1) Page 2