I need to get out of here before I give myself away. “I should be heading home, but thanks for the drink.” I force myself to smile and stand, then add, “And glad I could be of service. Welcome to Elmwick.” Every word tastes ashen on my tongue.
Zach stands to see me off, but Vaughn places a hand on my shoulder and leads me back to the elevator himself.
“You know,” he drags out. “Your father and I haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I must admit he raised you right.”
We stop in front of the elevator, waiting for the doors to open. I whirl around, prompted to face Vaughn by his insistent grip on my shoulder.
“You have good instincts, boy.” His voice lowers an octave, turning throaty.
Despite his use of the word ‘instincts’, he doesn’t seem to threaten me. I guess Father is right. They’ll take advantage of our instincts until a point, until we do something to make them suspect we’re helping the legacies.
“Next time,” Vaughn says, “I’d like to meet your sister as well and see for myself if she’s figured things out yet.”
The elevator beeps and the doors open, casting a strong light over us. It splits the darkness in the foyer and illuminates Vaughn’s face. At the same time, he lifts his hat slightly as a gesture of goodbye.
His bright-green eyes flash, making me gape. I can’t believe I didn’t catch on when I first met Zach.
The eyes I know so well belong to a man Mom rushed to as a first resort.
Zach inherited them.
And so did Bryar.
Chapter 19. Cami
THE VISION FROM MY Claiming pops into my subconsciousness throughout the night, so I wake up a dozen times. Certain images, like the man with the tilted hat and midnight-blue trench coat, refuse to fade from memory during the day of classes at Elmwick High.
Antsy doesn’t begin to describe how I feel. Even the charm at Elmwick Academy can’t grant me peace of mind, although it has a soothing effect on me.
Mrs. Gianni starts the instructor-led class with an announcement of Jean’s return. Those of us who visited Jester’s Castle remain tight-lipped, but the other legacies shoot us confused glances as they try to understand why bringing Jean back could possibly be worth summoning more hunters to town.
Mrs. Gianni runs through her explanation in a fluid voice, but her eyes flicker at times, making me nervous that she’ll break through Jean’s compulsion. Jean cuts me a look and nods to say it’s all fine. I wish I could believe that.
After the announcement, Mrs. Gianni does her best to stick to the curriculum. In between hiking in the woods, vampire balls, murky tunnels, and hunter gatherings, the assigned reading has escaped my attention entirely. I tried to catch up during the self-paced study period, but my latest premonition kept stealing my focus away.
So, my mind is blank when Mrs. Gianni asks, “From the assigned materials about cold ones who have formed a bond with a banshee, what could you infer about their extended powers?”
A few of the cold ones raise their hands, although they’re normally quiet in class. This must be worth breaking their cool nonchalance over. While Mrs. Gianni points at them in turn and lets them explain the extended compulsion, Jean seems to want to make herself look smaller. She rolls her shoulders forward, pulls her sleeve down to cover Jester’s tattoo on the back of her hand, and avoids everyone’s gaze, even mine.
I worked so hard to bring her back, but I didn’t spend much time thinking about the reverse culture shock she’d experience upon her return. Jester’s Castle was a universe all its own.
“Very well. And what about the wolves’ extended powers?” Mrs. Gianni leads the discussion with confidence, and hands fly up again.
“They’d be able to shift even without a full moon,” a cold one answers, seeming rather unhappy at the thought of it.
Thanks to Seff and Fillan’s incessant requests for me to bind them into my circle, I’ve heard about that extended power multiple times. It turns out I can skip some reading assignments, since I’m out there binding the circle and experiencing all the madness it creates for myself.
That’s when it hits me.
I turn in my seat, eyes snapping to Vanessa in the last row. It’s as if she can read the question in my awestruck expression. Everything has been so hectic that I didn’t even think about her extended powers.
“For homework,” Mrs. Gianni says. “Write a five hundred-word essay about the problems that could ensue from the extended powers of the cold ones and wolves in a banshee’s circle.”
My stomach gurgles. Should I just give her a page from my journal?
But I quickly shake off the thought of the assignment and raise a hand.
“Yes, Camelia,” Mrs. Gianni says, her red lips thinning.
“What about the other legacies’ extended powers in a circle? The vipers, for example?” I’m trying to think of Mom’s stories, but my mind comes up blank.
Mrs. Gianni burns me with a glare. “We’ll be covering all of the legacies’ extended powers in our next sessions. Focus on cold ones and wolves for now.”
I nod, but as soon as she dismisses us, I go straight to Vanessa. “You need to show me.”
She strokes her chin, enjoying the attention. “It’s quite impressive.” She hisses long at the word and giggles.
We gather our things and head to the training rooms in the basement. Jean and Seff both wait for me at the door to the banshee training room.
“Oh.” I wince.
I haven’t told Jean that Seff and I had been partnering up since her suspension. Not to mention that right now, I’d give anything to have a session with Vanessa instead.
I sneak through the groups of legacies, hurrying to their training rooms, to reach Jean and Seff.
“Get this,” Jean says with a sulk. “Wolf boy here thinks you’d rather train with him?”
“I only mean that since we fought in our training sessions, rather than just burst glasses, it might be more useful for Cami to spend her time with me. Especially since a ton of new hunters will be moving to Elmwick soon.” Seff’s words drip in venom, although he keeps his cool.
“So what? She and I can fight train. You have no idea what moves I’ve picked up in Jester’s Castle.” Jean lifts her chin and smirks. “And besides, as if Cami will choose to hang out with you rather than me. You forget, we’re linked now.”
“Shh,” I hiss at her.
Thankfully, the corridor is almost empty. The last few lions rush into their training room, and only Vanessa is left, leaning against the door to the viper’s room. She watches the exchange with an animated expression, like it’s good reality TV.
“Guys, I’m sorry,” I say before either Seff and Jean argue their case again. “I’d be happy to train with the both of you, just not today.”
Jean frowns while Seff’s eyebrows pinch and draw closer together.
“Vanessa has her extended ability now. I need to see it.”
Their mouths form circles of awe, wiping away any further protests.
“Count me in,” Jean says.
“And me,” Seff adds.
I lift my hands in the air, then gesture to Vanessa. “It’s not up to me.”
Vanessa evaluates us. I can tell she’d like the chance to show off in front of a wider audience, but ultimately, she clicks her tongue. “I can’t bring that many non-vipers to the pit. It would raise questions.”
“Bring a snake to the banshee room, then.” Seff eyes her with a challenge in his eyes. “It’s not like anyone but Cami uses it.”
I nod energetically at Vanessa.
“All right, you two, wait here.” She pulls the door to the viper pit open, then winks at me. “You can pop in to ssee the pit, banshee. A little gift from me.”
The warning Mrs. Gianni issued to me the day I started at Elmwick Academy flashes in my mind. She advised me to never venture into the vipers’ training room alone. As I glance at Vanessa, the earlier animosity between us fades into oblivion. I wouldn’t be
alone in the viper pit. I’d be with a member of my circle.
I grin at Vanessa and disappear with her into the gloomy room. The hissing makes my breath hitch as soon as I step inside. Even under the faint torchlight, I finally understand why they call it a pit. It’s an amphitheater structure, digging down into the floor. The very bottom of it is a snakes’ nest. A humongous, twisting tangle of vipers, worse than my most intense nightmares.
“Holy...” I can’t even finish cursing.
“Cool, huh?”
The viper students are gathered in groups of two or three, sitting at different levels of the steps down to the pit. Some of them are milky-eyed, far or near. They could be watching us through the eyes of any creature in here.
The students with regular eyes snap to look at me, causing a wave of nausea to roll off me. The mistrust and defensiveness that exudes from them is overpowering.
“What iss the banshee doing here?” many of them hiss at us.
“Relax,” Vanessa says. “We just need a few viperss to test how well I can hold out against the banshee’s powers.”
Although many still seem displeased, a few nod with pride, like Vanessa is a brave soldier.
Vanessa doesn’t seem bothered by her lie or the haughty looks some of her fellow legacies still throw at her. She grabs a basket with a lid from the corner of the room and steps down to the very center of the pit.
I squirm, positive this is many people’s version of hell, but Vanessa almost seems bored as she sifts through the snakes to find three that haven’t been occupied.
She places the lid on the basket and climbs back up. The hissing has gotten so bad that I couldn’t stay in this room much longer.
“Done.” Vanessa flashes a devious smile at me. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“Let’s just go.” I force out a breathy, nervous laughter.
Although the door doesn’t seem to have any special noise isolation, the hissing ceases when we close it behind us. It must be a charm. Only the occasional protests of the three creatures in the basket sets my nerves on edge now.
“Awesome, huh?” Vanessa asks, amused at the shiver that makes me jump in place.
“It’s so weird to see that many of them,” I whisper in my defense.
“Ah, you’re such a tourist.” But her smile remains wide and toothy as we head to the banshee training room.
Seff and Jean exchange questioning looks as if checking with each other that they’re ready for this. The excitement of witnessing a viper’s extended powers must have made reluctant allies of them. At least for now.
We take a seat on the floor, legs crossed and palms on our knees. We form a plus sign—Vanessa and I facing each other. Seff and Jean to my left and right, maintaining their own direct line of vision.
I fight to keep my breath calm when Vanessa removes the basket’s lid. The hissing stirs my insides, but I will my body not to show fear. They’ll be in Vanessa’s control, and she’s one of mine now.
She pulls out the three vipers one by one—two dark green ones and a brownish-green third one, which hisses the loudest.
Vanessa sets the other two in her lap and strokes the brownish-green snake under the chin. “Now, now. It’s all going to be fine,” she croons.
Her amethyst lips curve into a sly smile. One second, her gaze is on me. The next, her eyes roll back, so we only see the white of them. The three vipers seem to flinch, recoiling for a second. Then they slide away from Vanessa with purpose.
Without standing from our seats, Jean, Seff, and I follow the vipers with our eyes as they explore the banshee training room. One seems to study the racks of bottles and beakers, the other spins in a circle under the table, while the third slithers farther and farther down the tunnel.
“This iss epic!” Vanessa laughs. “I’m going slightly cross-eyed, but I’ll get the hang of it.”
The three of us turn to her, forgetting the snakes.
“Are you...” Seff asks in awe, but a new spurt of laughter from Vanessa is answer enough.
“Yep, I see through all of them,” she says. “I tried with two yesterday. It seems to work with three, too. I wonder how many I’ll be able to navigate at once when I master it a bit.”
The hissing noise coming from behind me makes my spine go straight as a taut string. The brownish-green snake slithers past me, then curves into a ball in front of me. The two green ones take the exact same stance in front of Seff and Jean.
Vanessa laughs harder. “Oh, if you could only ssee your faces.”
Chapter 20. Mason
MY HEAD IS ABOUT TO split. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Father about Vaughn’s likely kinship to Bryar. I wonder if Vaughn himself knows or if he’s interested in Bryar because she’s my sister and meant to have my instincts, too.
That brings me to another conundrum. How come Father is so certain Bryar isn’t like us? Granted, she hasn’t inherited his hunter’s instinct, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t get those same extra-special genes from Mom.
I sweep the covers away and jump out of bed, my blood roaring.
Last night at dinner, every time I glanced at Bryar, I was seeing them—Vaughn and Zach. Her other family.
I have half a mind to call Mom and yell at her. But my shoulders slump when I realize I wouldn’t be able to do it. I may hate her for her indiscretion, for the hell we’ll all have to walk through because of it, but if things had been different, I wouldn’t have Bryar. Perhaps I’d have another sibling, a mirror image of me, but I want Bryar. I’d never exchange her for someone else. I’d never wish her out of my life.
I pace the length of my room, the heels of my hands rubbing my eyes. When I look up, the faint light from Cami’s room is visible across the space between our houses. The hunters are still patrolling the neighborhood, tracking the legacies for any sign that Cami is binding a circle, but knowing what to watch out for, I could sneak past them.
I decide in a second. I have to see Cami, no matter the risk. The days we’ve spent apart since Jester’s Castle stretch, feeling like an eternity already. I pull on a pair of jeans and sneakers and slip out of the house.
Hiding behind the hedges in our yard, I spy for the patrols. I pull out my phone and text Cami instead of risking a climb up to the roof like last time. I ask her to come to her backyard. The seconds I watch the three blinking dots drag out. She must be writing and rewriting her response.
At last, the message comes—a single OK.
I jump over our fence, check that the coast is clear again, then climb over the O’Briens’ fence and drop into their backyard. The first floor is dark, so hopefully, Cami’s father has gone to sleep.
Cami comes out through the back door and gently clicks it closed. The pile of my worries melts and scatters into irrelevant thoughts at the sight of her. She looks a lot more like herself in a yellow tank top and a pair of matching cotton shorts.
“Mason? Is everything all right?” she whispers.
I catch her by the hand and pull her to me. “The hunters are monitoring the neighborhood, but I had to see you.”
“Come in,” she whispers in a haste.
I hesitate. If her father catches us, the hunters will surely notice the uproar. It’s bound to draw every hunter in range to the quarrel, but Cami tugs on my hand, so I step inside.
She presses a finger to her lips, like I need another reason to tiptoe, and leads me into the living room. Slowly, she slides the door separating the three-in-one living room, dining room and kitchen from the entrance and the staircase to the second floor.
When the latch clicks, she breathes a sigh of relief. “We’ll still have to be quiet, but I think we won’t wake up Dad.”
“Keep the lights off,” I warn.
Cami moves closer to me in response. In the faint light coming from the street, I barely make out her features, but it’s a relief to hold her and feel her melt against me. Suddenly, all the concerns, all the things I need to tell her fade into the background.
With one hand, I stroke her hair away from her face while my other hand lifts her chin. She tiptoes to cut the rest of the space between us, pressing her soft lips to mine.
Much too soon, she pulls away and drags me over to the couch. We sink into it, side by side, though I can’t help drawing her to me with one arm.
“Everything has been so crazy,” she whispers. “I thought Jester was mad, but Elmwick has him beat, I swear.”
“I want to apologize about the church,” I say, recalling the awkwardness between us there.
Father’s explanation about our shared abilities is still fresh and all the more confusing because of the Hastings’ arrival to town. I can’t explain it all just yet, but I can tell her what matters most.
“Believe me, Father wants to keep the peace and so do I. It might seem like an offensive move, but we figured it would be the only trade-off the hunters would accept as retribution for you bringing Jean back.”
“It probably was,” Cami says. “The trouble is...” Her voice quavers. “The man who’s coming...”
“He’s bad news, I know.” I hug her tighter and feel a shiver run through her. “I wish we hadn’t called Mom and summoned him and his family to town.”
Cami pulls away from me and clears her throat. “I had a premonition about him.”
“So, does that mean it was inevitable? Him coming to town?” As nervous as Vaughn’s presence makes me, especially because of his connection to Bryar, I’d sleep a lot easier knowing it was all a part of the universe’s plan.
“Is he here? Already?” Cami pushes away from me and buries her face in her hands. “Oh, no.”
I reach for her in the near darkness, but she squirms away.
“Did you see him? Did you talk to him?”
“His son was waiting for me after school.” I refrain from saying more because she spirals into another set of hushed ’oh, no’s.’ She’s pushed so far from me that she’s at the other end of the couch. I follow her, sweep her legs over mine, and pull her into my lap. “He’s a scary man, I’m not going to lie, and the thought that he’s...” I can’t bring myself to say the rest.
Suspension (Elmwick Academy Book 2) Page 13