Montrose Paranormal Academy, Book 1: The Nexis Secret: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel

by Barbara Hartzler

  “I’ll think about it,” I choked out, fleeing for the exit.

  Will’s oh-so-charming expression did nothing to scare away the fear rising in my throat. I descended the wobbly stairs into the darkness, my overworked heart thudding like crazy in my chest.

  Seer or no seer, James’ scared expression, his hand outstretched, followed me into the depths. Did I just imagine the entire thing, because of this imposing tower with its creepy haunted-house vibe? Or did something really happen to my brother because of this group, just because he wasn’t the Seer? What would Nexis do to me if I really was next in line to be the Seer? Too many questions assaulted my brain.

  “Wait.” Shanda’s voice rang out behind me. “I’ll walk back with you.”

  She sped out the door and dragged me down the path, practically wrenching my arm out of its socket. She glanced around the empty quad—the strangest expression on her face. Bending down to tie her shoe, she motioned me to do the same. I crouched next to her.

  “I think we’re clear.” She hissed in my ear. “I didn’t want to tell you before, in case they were eavesdropping. Here’s the deal. They’re not using that telescope to watch the sky.”

  The air stilled around us. “What do you mean? You showed me the August trifecta.”

  “Please.” Her breath puffed in my face. “They didn’t bother to change the focus. They have it zoomed out too much. You can see the trifecta with the naked eye. Look.” She outlined the three stars with her fingertip.

  I blinked up at the black sky. She was right. I could see the three stars almost as vividly as I’d seen them in the telescope.

  “Real astronomers would want to see Saturn’s rings, not stuff you see for yourself in the night sky.”

  “So if they aren’t watching the stars, what are they watching?” A shiver ran down my spine and I straightened my knees to get up.

  Shanda grabbed a handful of my t-shirt, holding me in place. “They’re watching something here on campus, or someone. It could be anything. But if I were a creepy stalker with a telescope, I’d watch everything. And everyone.”

  I could almost feel eyes on me. Whose eyes I had no idea. Maybe Will was watching me right now, planning something worse than being banished like James. God only knew what these people had in mind for the real Seer—especially if they thought I would be the next Seer.

  Swallowing back the rising acid, I followed Shanda back to our dorm. Too many emotions swirled inside me. I curled my fingers into fists, my nails digging into my palms. I knew just who to call to get to the bottom of this half-brother nonsense. My parents.

  Chapter 3

  “Hello?” Dad’s groggy voice croaked back at me through the phone. One peek at the clock told me I should’ve waited till tomorrow. My room was like a dungeon, dark and cold. But an angry inferno still burned me up inside. I couldn’t let it go.

  “Sorry to wake you, Dad,” I said, my voice loud and snappy. Wait a sec, did he even know the truth? Maybe he didn’t. I bit my tongue.

  Shanda mumbled something at me and rolled over. I slipped on my flip-flops and padded out of the room, leaving her alone in the dungeon. Flapping down the stairwell to the empty dorm lobby, I inhaled a deep breath—willing calm to spread through me as I exhaled.

  “Hey there, Monkey.” His pet name for me hung in the air, like a sliver of hope I could almost reach out and grab. “Is everything okay? It’s after midnight there, right?”

  “I don’t know.” Such a Dad question. The anger softened into a sadness that wobbled my voice—sadness for him, sadness for me. I couldn’t be the one to tell him, not if he didn’t already know. But I had to know the truth. “What happened to James? Why did he get kicked out of Nexis? Why would you guys still want me to join? I just don’t understand.”

  “What do you mean, what happened to James? Calm down, sweetie, you’re not making any sense.” He cleared his throat. “Just tell me what happened tonight.”

  My forehead scrunched as I plopped down on the nearest lobby sofa. Maybe he knew after all. “I went to the Nexis induction meeting like Mom wanted. The president told me I was next in line to be the Seer.”

  “Oh, Lucy. I’m so sorry.” He exhaled into the phone. “I never wanted you to find out like this. We just wanted to protect you.”

  “So it’s true?” I screeched, then clamped my hand over my mouth so I didn’t wake the whole dorm. “For three years I worried every day that James was dead. How could you send me here without telling me the truth?”

  “I tried to tell you, sweetheart. Right before you left for school.” His voice was soothing, but did nothing to calm my already frayed nerves. “Only high-ranking Nexis officials know. And you need to keep it that way. For your own safety.”

  “What?” I whisper-screamed into my cell. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m deadly serious.” His baritone rumbled through the earpiece. “You can’t have people blabbing that you’re next in line to be the Seer. Keep this Nexis president guy quiet. Do you hear me?”

  The truth sank into my bones and a tear trickled from one eye. “I can’t believe it’s true. You could’ve told me anytime in the last three years.” My voice wobbled. I curled my knees into my chest, hugging myself.

  Dad sighed, huffing into the receiver. “I’m sorry, sweetie. It was your brother’s idea. If most people thought he was the Seer, he figured they chase him all over Europe and you’d be safe. For a little while at least.”

  “Sounds like James.” I sniffled as more stupid saltwater leaked from my eyes. “What should I do now?”

  “Just maintain the status quo.” Dad’s voice was firm now, then he lowered it a notch. “Don’t forget to pledge the Guardians, too. They can protect you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I wiped my eyes and stared at the phone. “Are you secretly a Guardian?” If my guess was accurate, it’d explain why Mom and Dad were on opposing sides about Nexis and the Three Societies.

  “Not now. Later.” He hissed out that last word. “It’ll be okay, sweetie. We’re still a family.”

  His baritone faded into the background. Random noise filtered through. Was that Mom’s voice? Great. I’d woken her, too. I really didn’t want to talk to my traitor mother right now.

  A blonde head burst through the front door, and I flinched. My RA Monica flounced past me, her stick-straight hair swaying behind her as she trotted up the stairs. She was at the meeting tonight. Why was she coming in so late? I lowered the volume on my phone, just in case.

  “Lucy, you shouldn’t have called this late.” Mom’s stern voice blared from the earpiece. “Why don’t you worry about normal teenage things like boys and clothes instead of James? You should have a nice boyfriend by now, like that Stanton boy. What’s wrong with him?”

  “Mom, I want to know what happened to James, not talk about the boy you picked out for me.” I clapped my hand over my mouth. Too late.

  I flicked my gaze to the second floor landing just in time to see Monica flee into the stairwell. Great, it’d probably be all over school by Monday.

  “You met him tonight?” Her screech buzzed into the phone so loud I whipped it away from my ear. “How’d it go?”

  “Mom.” I drew out the word. She would hate the way I rolled my eyes now, but seriously, come on. “That’s not even the point. I want to know about James.”

  “Lucy,” she sighed into the phone. “We’ve heard nothing new in ages. That can’t be what this is about.”

  “It’s not.” I sucked in a breath, the words on the tip of my tongue. Not here, in the dorm lobby. I tiptoed into the kitchen, plopped on a counter stool, and sucked in a deep breath. If I could get through this, I could get through anything.

  “Is James really my brother, or my half-brother?” The words tumbled out before I had a chance to check them. “Please, just tell me the truth. I deserve to know.”

  A hushed gasp came through the speaker. She breathed into the phone, but didn’t say a word for a long
time.

  “How did you find out?” Her choked words were soft and breathy. “I’m sorry, honey. You weren’t supposed to know until you turned eighteen.”

  “Mom!” I screamed into the phone, not caring if I woke up the whole dorm anymore. “How could you keep this from me for so long, then send me here?”

  “You were supposed to join Nexis and become an influential leader.” She hissed through the phone. “They would’ve helped you figure things out. You’d be set up for life.”

  “You mean like James?” I tightened my fists to hold back the tide of anger surging throughout my body. “Mom, I know what they did. I know they banished him. Do you really want that to happen to me, too?”

  “Honey, that won’t happen to you.” Her tone turned sugary real quick. “You’re next in line to be the Seer. Once you turn eighteen and come into your natural powers, you can change the world. Nexis will help you do that.”

  “At what price, Mom?” Her words cut into me like a razor blade. She believed everything she just said. The truth hit me like a slap across my face. “Do you even care about James? You let him join Nexis knowing full well what would happen to him.”

  “Lucy, don’t be ridiculous. I’m sure James is fine wherever he is in Europe.” The sugar faded from her voice. “Nexis gave him the tools he needs to survive.”

  “Seriously?” My jaw dropped and I held the phone away from my face, blinking like crazy. “Do you even hear yourself? You’re completely brainwashed. You can’t know that for sure.”

  “You don’t think the Guardians or the Watchers would brainwash you, too? Don’t be so naïve. Have you joined the Guardians or something?” Her question sounded more like an accusation.

  “I’m keeping my options open.” A hint of a smile curled my lips up and I crossed my legs on the stool. “Just like you did before I was born.”

  “Don’t you ever speak to me like that. You hear me?” Her terse words were even, smooth and cold with an icy edge. “You are my daughter, and you’ll do as I say.”

  “Excuse me? I am your daughter, but I won’t do as you say.” I dug my nails into my palm until my knuckles turned white. “You can’t even tell me the truth. I don’t even know who my brother is, or who his father was. Do you?”

  The volume of that statement reverberated back to me. Who was I, really?

  “Young lady, that’s none of your business. I’ve heard enough of this nonsense.” The sinister note in her voice sent a shiver down my neck. “If you won’t do what I want, then I will come there and make you.”

  “What?” I smacked my hand on the kitchen granite. “How can you make me join Nexis?”

  “There are ways, Lucy girl. You won’t like them very much. Don’t make me fly out there.” So cold. She didn’t sound like my mom at all.

  All the energy drained from my body, and so did the fight. I slid down from the stool, my eyes welling up.

  “Whatever, it won’t change my mind.” I huffed into the phone.

  “Then I think this conversation is over.” Her venom got cut off by dead air.

  Did she seriously just hang up on me? Wow, I thought I had issues. She couldn’t be more clueless. How could she let me come to Montrose Paranormal Academy without telling me the truth? Did she think I wouldn’t find out? She could fly out here whenever she wanted. She wouldn’t change my mind.

  After what I’d just learned, I needed to figure out the truth for myself. Tomorrow, when classes started, I’d begin the tedious process of unraveling this colossal mess my parents created for me.

  ~

  A warm breeze feathered my hair. Yawning, I tucked the brown strands behind my ear over the scar, the only visible remnants of the accident. Sunlight slanted across the quad and tinted the grass lime green, the bricks orange. The bright colors ignited together, searing straight into my eyeballs. I lowered my head and focused on each step. One white canvas sneaker slapped the pavement, then the other. Mornings were the worst.

  A jolt to my shoulder rocketed me off the sidewalk, right into the grass.

  An angry guy whizzed past me. “Hey, watch it.”

  Where’d he come from?

  “It’s too early for rudeness.” A frog sound ripped from my throat, but he was long gone. Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed up till one a.m. fuming at my mother.

  I straightened my purple backpack and elbowed my way into the crowd. I needed to focus and get the lay of the land at Montrose Paranormal Academy. The flow of foot traffic caught me and pushed me forward. With New Yorkers everything moved so fast, at least until I reached the log jam in front of the building for my first class, Trenton Hall.

  I pushed my way through the swarm of people. High-pitched girly jitters blended together in a cacophony of chatter.

  “Hey, Lucy.” My suitemate, Julia called from her group of posh girls dressed in perfectly ripped jeans. What group were they a part of?

  I wiped my hands down my plain dark jeans and tugged on my aqua V-neck tee. Why hadn’t I let Paige foist her collection of prep-school outfits on me? Because it felt too much like reenacting Legally Blonde, which so didn’t work with my brown hair. My fashionista sister would fit in better at Montrose than I ever would.

  “Morning, Julia.” I waved, but she turned back to her friends. Funny, she seemed much nicer yesterday when I introduced myself. She must not be a fan of Nexis. Just as well. As if I wanted to crawl back into the popular crowd. That’d only gotten me a cheating boyfriend and an ex-best friend.

  I sidestepped the pockets of teenagers and trudged up a bazillion stairs to the landing of the three-story brick monstrosity. When I stepped into the marbled lobby, the babble reverberated straight into my eardrums. Mom would tell me to stop and say hi to people, but the buzz seeped into my brain. The lingering side effects of my late night, I guess. I punched through the mob of students and headed straight into my first classroom.

  Silence consoled my ears. I could breathe again.

  In the middle of the stadium-style desks, I found the perfect spot and planted my stuff. Perfect view of the lecture area below, yet plenty of distance to hide behind. I fished out my notebook and gel pen. Most of these kids had been at the academy for two years already. I had a lot of catching up to do, especially in my paranormal classes.

  “Hey.” A bleach-blond guy in a muscle tee plopped himself down in the seat next to me. His arm dangled over the desktop, poised to brush my jeans. “You’re that girl from last night, right? Can’t hurt to make friends with a former Nexis president’s sister. I’m Kevin from L.A., remember?”

  “Right.” My eyes narrowed at the spray-tanned hand he offered. I let it hang in the air. Wasn’t he hitting on Shanda that night?

  Cringing, I shook Kevin’s orange hand. He gave me an enormous grin and leaned back in his seat. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

  Students filed in behind me, bringing their chatter with them until it filled the entire classroom. A tall man in tweed clomped down to the desk in the middle of the room. He scribbled, “Mr. Harlixton” on the white board.

  “Welcome to Origins of the Three Societies. In this class, we’ll be discussing where the history of the three secret societies. Just in time for you to figure out which secret societies you want to pledge. Choose wisely. Just because these groups promise Ivy League acceptance and high-powered jobs upon graduation, doesn’t mean you should take your decision lightly.” His stern tone circled around the room.

  “Pass these out.” He strained the arms of his jacket, handing the front row a packet of papers. “You’ll find the syllabus here and the normal course equivalent that will appear on your transcripts. I’m sure the Ivy League schools will appreciate your interest in an advanced history class, as will your parents by extension.”

  Students around me chuckled and snickered as they flipped open the syllabus. I followed suit. Origins of the Three Societies, or Western Civilization 301 on our transcripts, ran through the origins of each society starting with the book of Genesis.


  Mr. Harlixton jabbed his finger into the packet. “Read the attendance policy in your syllabus to know many times you can ‘not show up’ and still pass. If you have questions, come talk to me after class or take advantage of my office hours listed in the syllabus. Did I mention you need to read the syllabus?” He glared at the front row. My spot looked better and better. Dad would love this guy. Great minds and all, he’d say.

  Faint giggles erupted around the room, and Mr. Harlixton's face softened. “Now, let’s start with the origins of the three societies.”

  He perched on the desk and crossed his legs. Could I clap now? What a brilliant performance, if you wanted to scare off slackers. No way was this teacher as scary as he pretended.

  Mr. Harlixton launched into a story about and how there was once only one secret society. They had a falling out after the Flood and split off into three secret societies. Funny, my parents never told me that. With this teacher, it wasn’t just about names and dates. He made the story come alive. Except this guy kept citing different passages in the book of Genesis. Kind of odd, considering the Bible wasn’t listed as a book needed for class. Maybe I should dust off the Bible my grandma gave me in first grade and bring it to the next class.

  Before I knew it, the bell rang and storytime, aka class, ended. Backpack zippers swished and papers shuffled as everyone left the classroom.

  I jogged up the stairs and parted my way through the Red Sea before Kevin even moved. I flung open the side door, running smack dab into some guy’s broad shoulder. His backpack hit the marble with a clank.

  “Sorry, about that.” I glanced up, right into familiar gray eyes that matched his shirt today. My nerves kicked into hyper-drive, like a hamster spinning its wheel in my stomach. I fidgeted with my bag strap, unable to look him in the eye again. “Hey, Will.”

  Will swiped his bag off the floor and swung it over his shoulder in one fluid motion. Then he smiled at me. The real kind, not like Kevin’s fake one. “Hey, I’m still in one piece. What class are you coming from?”