Blood Oath (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book Two)

by T. L. Clarke

  We passed more students who just looked at us nervously.

  Brooklyn gave them a real mean look. "Jeez, people, move along. There’s nothing to see here." She smiled at us quickly. "Just so you know, everyone knows about what happened at Vineswell. It’s kind of big news around here."

  I groaned painfully. They were starting training already labeled freaks.

  Brooklyn laughed loudly. "Believe me, it’s not so bad. They’ll lose interest in the whole Vineswell thing by the end of the week and move on to other pressing gossip like which Neos got caught getting busy on movie night. Anyhoo, moving right along…" She dragged me along playfully, like she had no care in the world, as we continued to walk across the C-Yard.

  She stopped under a stone archway that led into the castle. "So the first levelers’ dorms are here in the East Tower, the middle levelers’ dorms are in the West Tower, the end levelers’ dorms are in the South Tower, and the professors and guests stay in the North Tower. And you don’t even have to ask. The North Tower is like a luxury resort compared to the rest of the towers."

  I scrutinized Brooklyn’s black formfitting full-zip hoodie and cute black skinny jeans that were tucked into black riding boots. "So what’s the deal with the uniform thing? I hope we don’t have to wear one." I absolutely hated the whole uniform thing.

  She bumped me playfully with her hip. "You wish! There’s a uniform, but it’s not like formal stuff. Right now we can wear what we want because classes have ended for the night. They’re pretty relaxed about what you wear on your time off. Well, that’s when we have any time off. And you can call me Brook if you want. Everyone else does."

  Zora flicked her two long braids over her shoulders impatiently.

  "So what are the classes like?"

  "Our level-one schedule is pretty cool. We have classes like Defensive Magic and mentor sessions. The middle and end levelers, you know, the ones who’ve been here, like, forever, they’re doing some real hard-core Warrior training stuff. Like, off-the-Isles, never-coming back stuff," she whispered secretively.

  Jessica gulped nervously. "Are you saying that some of them get killed?"

  Brooklyn looked at us glumly. "Yep, that’s what I heard."

  Rosalinda gave her a disbelieving stare. "That’s ridículo—ridiculous. That’s got to be some stupid rumor. Who would send a bunch of teens out to fight in a life-or-death situation?"

  Brooklyn looked at her wide-eyed. "Believe me, it’s true. I knew this end leveler named Tracey. She was pretty nice. Believe me, some of them are not so nice to us first levelers. Anyhoo, one day she left with her class for some off-the-Isles training, and she never came back. A couple of days later, some Circles cleared out all her stuff from her room. I mean wiped it clean. Poof, no more Tracey, it’s like she never even existed."

  I looked at her uneasily. "That doesn’t mean that she died. It could just mean that she decided to drop out."

  Brooklyn scoffed, "Uh, no way, believe me; she was an end leveler. Once you hit that level, there’s really no turning back."

  We looked at her like she was crazy.

  She looked around quickly before whispering, "Look, I’m going keep it really real with you. There’s a whole mess of weird stuff going at Transcendence that even I don’t understand. Like, stuff that not even some students who’ve been here, like, forever don’t even understand."

  I looked at her with wide eyes. "You mean weirder than finding out that your mother was a demon-fighting Warrior with magic powers?"

  Zora added quickly, "And even weirder than being attacked by evil Banished Warriors that looked like rejects from the animal kingdom?"

  Jessica looked at her with wide eyes. "And even weirder than a three-headed Cerberus thing that almost ripped Thallo into pieces?"

  Brooklyn impatiently blew a strand of bright red hair from across her eyes. "Ummm, heck yes! Okay, just take everything that you know as ‘normal’ and throw that junk right out the window." She narrowed her green eyes. "There’s always something crazy going on around here, like the big secret meeting tonight. They’ve been running around all day whispering and planning this thing. And a whole bunch of Circles and Ares are coming in from practically all over the world. The rumor is that it’s something real big going down that will affect all of us."

  Now I was really curious. "So what’s the deal with the Ares Warriors?"

  "You mean the Ares hotties?" Brooklyn got a real dreamy look in her eyes. "All of them are pretty hard-core and a hundred percent hot. But the middle and end levelers are absolutely the hottest. The only problem is that they’re way too serious. They sleep, breathe, and eat Warrior life, so they’re definitely not into dating much, at least not us at first level. They won’t even look your way. Believe me, I’ve tried," she finished wistfully.

  I couldn’t help myself. I just had to ask. "What about Chaos?"

  Brooklyn jumped up and down excitedly, grabbing my hands. "Oh. My. Goodness. He’s at the top of the Ares hottie list. Do you know that he’s, like, only eighteen but already a leader in the Ares? And do I need to say again, he’s H-O-T…hot."

  "So is he going out with anyone?" I blurted. I really wanted to kick myself. I honestly didn’t know why I even asked. I wasn’t even remotely interested in him. My questions were strictly for research purposes.

  Brooklyn looked around quickly to see if anyone else was listening. "Well, not exactly, but unofficially, I heard that he might be going out with the awe-inspiring Thallo."

  Jessica’s eyes widened with shock. "Thallo? She seems too wrapped up in her Eternal career and duty thing."

  She looked at us and giggled. "I guess she’s multitasking and trying to reel in a powerful Ares mate."

  We looked at her with surprise.

  Brooklyn giggled. "Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just telling you what’s floating out here in Eternal gossip land. And believe me, there’s a lot of stuff going on."

  "I think that I’m seriously going to hurl," I added quickly.

  Brooklyn’s eyes twinkled as she continued. "Then there’s the Horae Society. The members are the who’s who of Transcendence Hall, but you have to be invited to join. And first levelers are not on the VIP list." She scrunched up her face with disgust. "They’re supposed to be real focused on the study of the Horae, the law-and-order goddesses. But from what I’ve seen, it’s just a bunch of stuck-up mean girls looking down their noses at everyone, except the Ares hotties, of course."

  Rosalinda pointed to the emblem of a lit gold torch intersected with two swords stitched onto Brooklyn’s sweatshirt over her heart. "So what’s with that?"

  She clapped her hands excitedly. "It symbolizes our commitment to the Elementi. You also get it marked on your hand." She stuck out her left hand proudly and showed them the mark of a tiny gold torch intersecting with two swords strategically placed right above her thumb. "There’s a glamour on it to disguise the mark when we are out among the Normals."

  As we walked through the castle, I kind of liked the school a little more. It was like a super cool college campus; the outside had a very medieval thing going on, but inside was very modern. Each room was detailed to perfection, including exquisite hand-carved and hand rubbed moldings, deeply fluted columns, antique lighting, and high, coffered ceilings.

  They walked through a huge lounge area packed with students either using their laptops, listening to music, or just lying out on the super plush chairs and leather couches watching the movie-screen sized flat-screen television mounted high on the wall.

  A really tall, thin guy with short sandy blond hair stopped talking midsentence and waved enthusiastically at Brooklyn. "Hey Brook, what’s up?"

  Brooklyn smiled a full-out blinding white smile. "Hey Dylan, no time to flirt right now. I’ve got to take my friends to their room."

  He smiled, his blue eyes sparkling. "I’m so disappointed. Later?"

  She looked at him coyly. "Maybe." There was an extra swish in her hips as she breezed past him. She winke
d at me. "He’s so absolutely awesome and totally hot for a first leveler," she whispered comically.

  I really wanted to burst out in a fit of giggles as we walked up the winding stairs, stopping on the fourth floor. We quickly walked down the narrow hallway lined with mahogany doors; each door was marked with bright gold triangles with names etched below it on a gold plate. Brooklyn stopped at the door with our names written in cursive script.

  "Welcome to the fire-element floor." She pointed to the triangle. "The symbol for the fire element, making this the hottest floor on campus." She giggled before pushing open the door to what was a really huge room with large windows lining one side of it.

  The walls were painted crème, ornately carved wooden dressers and four-poster beds were strategically placed throughout the room, and a sense of warmth and comfort permeated the opulent space.

  We stood in the center of the humongous room, gawking.

  "I know. It’s great right? Okay, my stuff’s over here." She pointed to the far corner of the room, to the four-poster bed with a pink-and green comforter and clothes scattered across it. She looked at us sheepishly. "I know it’s a real mess, but it’s been a real long day, and this is the first time I’ve been back to the room since early this morning."

  She pointed over to the pile of luggage in the far corner of the room. "They even brought your personal stuff."

  We looked at her with raised eyebrows.

  Brooklyn looked at us strangely. "Portals, it’s the quickest way to travel, once you get Elementi permission to travel through them." She scrunched up her nose. "But until I learn how to actually make one, I’m relegated to plain old walking."

  I spotted my battered metal box filled with my treasure trove of candy and squealed with delight. Sweet, wonderful candy, got to love it.

  Zora ran over to her beloved pet tarantula, Oscar, who was crawling around in his glass tank in confusion.

  Brooklyn winked at her. "Way cool tarantula, by the way."

  Rosalinda rolled her eyes rudely, and she carefully squeezed past Zora and Oscar. I snickered because I knew how much she hated having to live with Oscar as a roommate.

  Zora looked at Rosalinda impatiently. "I know, I know. Oscar stays over on my side of the room."

  She tossed her hair over her shoulders dramatically. "Exactly. Last time that beast got out of his tank, he crawled all over my bed like he owned it. Tan repugnante, so disgusting." She shuddered delicately. "You’re lucky that I didn’t call an exterminator," she finished meanly.

  I scrunched up my nose. "Uh, how about we call an exterminator for your rude mouth, Princess Rosalinda?" I spat quickly. She was, like, the rudest person when she wanted to be.

  Brooklyn fluffed her hair dramatically. "No drama, please. Let’s keep it peaceful." She smiled wickedly. "Okay, so I’m starved. I’m going back downstairs; I need to get some food quick. Meet me down there if you’re hungry. I’ll be there for a while." She smiled and trotted over to the door.

  I couldn’t keep myself from giggling at how obvious she was. "I’m sure you will, right next to Dylan."

  She smiled goofily. "Of course, a girl needs a little eye candy while she’s eating. Catch you later." She quickly walked out the room, humming loudly.

  Jessica giggled and looked over at me happily. "I think that I’m going to like this place."

  "I think so too, Jessica." I scanned the room quickly, spotting a four-poster bed right by the window. I ran over quickly and flopped down with a loud sigh with a lollipop rolling around in my mouth. I quickly looked over at Rosalinda as she frowned down at her iPhone, texting furiously. "Anything wrong, Princess Rosalinda?"

  She looked over distractedly. "Huh? Oh, nada—nothing."

  I knew instantly that something was wrong. Rosalinda absolutely hated when I called her Princess Rosalinda. In fact, it always made her explode into a loud tirade of Spanish that left everyone exhausted just from listening.

  Zora frowned. "You’ve been texting like a madwoman since we got in the room. Are you sure everything is all right?"

  "What are you, the text police? I said everything is all right, so stop asking already." Rosalinda flipped her hair angrily.

  "You don’t have to be so rude, Rosalinda. Excuse us for caring."

  Jessica’s eyes filled with disappointment.

  Rosalinda rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

  At that exact moment, I couldn’t care less about Rosalinda and her usual "Princess Rosalinda" attitude. "I’m starving. Is anyone going downstairs with me?"

  Jessica smiled. "Pass, I’m way too nervous to eat, but thanks, Gabi."

  Zora was cooing at Oscar lovingly and gave me a happy look. "Skip, Gabi. Oscar needs some major attention."

  Rosalinda gave me a real dirty look like "don’t even ask," then continued texting.

  I frowned at her. Something about her was really wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on what the problem was. Right now, I was way too hungry to even try.

  "All right, Gabby Girls, I’m out."

  Zora watched curiously as Rosalinda paced back and forth while furiously texting. Her facial expression went from anxious, to happy, to anxious again in less than fifteen seconds flat.

  She gave Rosalinda a questioning smile. "Everything okay?"

  Rosalinda looked up from texting with a frown. "Yes, it’s Papa. He heard about what happened at Vineswell on the news, and he’s real worried," she responded tensely.

  Zora smiled faintly. "Oh, okay, tell him I said hi."

  Rosalinda continued texting. "Yes, I will let him know," she answered distractedly.

  Zora pushed up her glasses, which had slipped to the tip of her nose. "I’m so hungry. Do you guys want to get something to eat?"

  Jessica licked her lips hungrily. "Absolutely, my appetite has returned full force. Let’s go downstairs and meet Gabrielle."

  Rosalinda quickly grabbed her designer bag, dropping her iPhone into it. "Sorry, girls, I’m not hungry, but I do need some air. This room is too stuffy. I’ll see you later." She rushed over to the door and opened it hurriedly.

  "Wait, we’ll go out with you," Zora said quickly.

  "Uh, no, I need time to think. I’ll catch you girls later." Rosalinda dashed out of the room without a backward glance.

  "What’s the deal with her?" Zora asked hurriedly.

  Jessica pulled her blonde hair into a messy ponytail. "What? She seemed fine to me." "No, something is definitely wrong. She’s been acting real strange ever since we got here."

  "Come on, Zora, I’m acting real strange too. Being here is really nerve-racking. Do you realize that I just got back my appetite?"

  Zora walked over to the window and stared at the moon. Her senses were definitely telling her that something was very wrong; she couldn’t shake the feeling of trouble and distress looming around them and just waiting to pounce.

  chapter

  SIX

  The whoosh of the private jet’s propellers startled Celeste out of her trance. She looked across the aisle and saw that Priscilla was nestled well into the plush leather seat, fast asleep and snoring rather loudly. Celeste shook her head with amazement as she reached over to pull up the blanket that had slipped down into her best friend’s lap. It never failed. Only minutes into the flight, and Priscilla was snoring loud enough to wake the dead.

  Celeste sighed deeply and whispered under her breath, "I wish that I could rest so peacefully." But there was not even a remote possibility of her taking a nap right now, even though she was mentally and physically bone tired from attending the emergency Eternal Council meeting. As a member of the council, it was her duty to attend the meetings, and under better circumstances, she loved it. But today’s meeting was not one of those times. The recent attacks had her really worried.

  Well, she was worried about a lot of things, like the very ominous, dark dreams that she had back-to-back. She had been confused by them, but now she realized that they were a very nasty omen of the Vineswell attack. The visions
in the dreams always started out very clear, then became dark and foggy. And every night, like clockwork, she woke up in a ball of nerves with her heart racing a mile a minute.

  Her body had sickened to the point of sheer exhaustion, as if someone was sucking the life out of it. But the most chilling part was on the fourth night, when the Algea, the spirits of pain and suffering, appeared before her. Their golden images shimmered and floated before her mesmerizingly beautiful and composed. Achos, Ania, and Lupe’s eyes conveyed their obvious distress.

  They spoke softly in unison. "High Priestess Celeste, there is trouble afoot."

  She felt the warm spirit from their hands, but took no comfort in it, for she knew that when they appeared, trouble, anguish, and sorrow were sure to follow.

  "Oaths have been broken. Gifts have been misused," Lupe said softly.

  Celeste rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I can sense that our world is falling apart, and the darkness seeping in through the cracks, but what can I do to stop it, or more importantly, will the gods save us from ourselves?"

  They looked at her silently.

  Celeste knew that her questions had to be precise, for they would not reveal anything that would sway the course of events.

  "Is it too late to stop the darkness?"

  Ania stared at her with anguished eyes. "The Gates have been opened by your own. Trust has been forever severed."

  Lupe’s face twisted with sorrow. "A war looms. Many will perish, and all will be lost."

  They looked at her with sad finality, shimmering away, leaving her shaken and torn.

  "Are you ready for your tea?" the jet attendant asked with a soft British accent.

  Celeste was startled back from her thoughts. "Yes, that will be fine," she answered distractedly.

  The jet attendant carefully placed a steaming cup of tea and a delicate plate filled with pastries onto the glossy round walnut table nestled in front of her.