“I just had Origins of the Three Societies.” The hamster wheel churned in my gut, but my gaze flew back to his face like a magnet.
“With Mr. Carter or Harlixton?” His words jumbled together. Was he nervous, too? Good.
“I have Harlixton. Why, is he bad?” I gazed up at him, chewing my lip the whole time.
“No, Harlixton’s great. You’ll love him.” A light turned on in that sea of silver. “If you had Carter, I’d have to pray for you. Really pray.”
“That bad, huh?” How sweet was that? I fought the urge to melt into a puddle at his feet.
His eyes sparked when he laughed. “One day in Carter’s class I raised my hand to tell him to shut up and stop repeating himself, but my friend stopped me. I ended up banging my head on the desk just to keep myself awake.”
“Wow, that’s bad. I mean, you seem like a pretty sane guy.” I gnawed on my bottom lip to keep any more obvious compliment from spilling out.
Kevin picked that moment to burst into the hall. “Get a load of this guy, giving us an assignment the first day of class.”
“Reading a syllabus doesn’t really count as an assignment.” No way could I juggle two Nexis guys at once, especially one my roomie was into. I waved and headed for the door, but they both followed me like puppies.
“Hilarious. You’re one of those girls, aren’t you?” Kevin brushed my arm.
I flicked off Kevin’s hand. “That’s what my parents are paying for.”
“Let’s hope they get their money’s worth.” Kevin stepped toward me, but Will edged closer, almost protectively. “Me, I just want to get by and have fun. I’ve been waiting for an easy teacher.”
“Shoulda gone with Carter.” I got him good. Before he could fight back, I pushed open the front door, shielding my eyes from the sun. From up here, the quad looked peaceful. I booked it down the steps, ready to inhale the sweet smell of freedom.
“Burn!” Kevin gasped behind me, his long legs matching me stride for stride. So much for freedom. This guy couldn’t take a hint. “Have you heard Will’s story about how boring Carter is?”
I turned on my heel to channel all my annoyance into one laser glare. “You walked in on the middle of it, right?”
“What’s up now? This girl’s got game.” Kevin stumbled into Will, whose eyes raked over me, same as Kevin. Guess players ran in packs.
“Now you have to make it up to me and my poor bruised ego.” Kevin’s lip lowered into what must be his most charming poor-me face.
Wouldn’t work on this girl. I busted out laughing. “Yeah, right.”
“I’ll show you around the city. What’s the harm in that?” He nodded at Will, who couldn’t stop staring at me.
I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes at Kevin. His hang loose expression didn’t waver. “Doesn’t sound so innocent to me.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll chaperone. How’s Friday?” Will had HOPE scrawled across his face in giant letters. So adorable, especially after he showed his guy colors only seconds ago. How could I say no to that gorgeous, chiseled face?
I chewed my lip for the fiftieth time this morning. No way could I hang out with two Nexis guys by myself. But what if they knew something about James? They were both Nexis leaders, right? Will said James was his mentor, and Kevin would let something slip at some point. It was now or never. I had to take a chance. I shifted my bag to my left shoulder, and a crazy idea popped into my head.
“I don’t know. Why don’t I talk to my friend and get back to you?” Shanda would die before she’d ever agree to a double date, especially in a city she knew like the layout of Tiffany’s.
“I’m gonna hold you to it, girl.” Kevin resorted to the he-man nod. Gag me.
“Fine then. See you around, I guess.” I flipped my hair behind my shoulder.
“Tonight.” Will said through gritted teeth. “We’ll see you tonight at the Nexis study session.”
“Right.” I waved goodbye to a grinning Kevin and a jaw-dangling Will. When I stole a backward glance, they both stared after me. So much for playing it safe. Hopefully Shanda wouldn’t kill me.
Chapter 4
A musty smell wafted to my nose as soon as I pushed open the library doors. I inhaled the familiar smell of books. A pleasant smell, one of possibilities. Libraries had always been a haven for me, a calm place to sift through the muddle of my thoughts. Except tonight, I was wary of this particular library. Or more precisely, the Nexis members we’d come to meet with. My insides swirled with a mix of dread and anticipation.
Tall wooden stacks beckoned to me, like they knew exactly how to comfort me. I reached out and rubbed the dimpled spine of a book near the aisle. Shanda’s elbow rammed into my back and prodded me forward. At least I had my new roomie at my side. She was turning out to be an amazing friend.
Shanda followed me past the stacks to an open table in the middle of the study area. “Where are all the guys? I thought at least there’d be someone cute to distract me or I never would’ve agreed to this.” Her annoyed pitch echoed off the coffered ceilings of the immense room. No wonder everyone whispered.
“Could you be any louder?” I hissed at her. Clumps of study groups and loners on laptops littered half of the creaky wooden tables. Back at Alton High, nobody would be caught dead in the library so early in the semester.
“This was your idea. It’s not like I care about that half-baked Nexis Society.” She clanged her bag on the table, but her tone hushed to a murmur.
“Don’t worry, we won’t be here long. I’ve got a night class in an hour.” I settled into a seat at the middle table with a perfect view to hide behind my book and hawk the main entrance.
“You really got the shaft there, didn’t you?” She followed my lead and pulled out a book, too. Except hers was upside down and she darted her eyes around the room like a drama queen. “Maybe when Will gets here, we can ask him about the telescope.”
“Yeah, right. Like they’d ever tell us before we join up.” Shaking my head, I turned her book right-side up. “I’m excited about my Ancient Writings class. I love old books, and it’s in the chapel library. What could be better?” My thoughts flew to the postcard and my brother’s strange words about stained glass. Tonight I’d figure out if James left a clue for me in the chapel library.
A guy with bleach blond hair flung open the glass doors. That had to be Kevin, but he wasn’t alone.
I elbowed Shanda in the ribs. “Quick, time to play it cool. Here comes your Nexis man candy.”
She twisted her neck in his direction and smacked my arm. “Quiet, girl, now who’s being loud?” Another glance at him and she turned back to me, eyes more alive than ever.
“Not exactly what I meant by playing it cool.” I stifled a chuckle as the guys approached.
Kevin cleared the aisle for his friend like a bodyguard. Lost behind surfer shoulders and that spiky hair, I strained for a glimpse of his mystery friend.
The Stanton boy breezed past the stacks to our table, silver-grays flashing. “Hello, ladies. Looks like you’re our only new recruits looking for extra credit.”
“It’s my girl here you need to talk to. I’m here as moral support.” Shanda pointed to me, then wrangled Kevin into the chair next to her. “So how have you been?”
“Thanks a lot,” I mumbled under my breath.
She just shrugged and kept talking to Kevin. Their conversation faded as I focused on the sculpted face of the guy towering over me. Will looked good in his dark jeans and navy t-shirt. His sandy hair held a hint of gold under the light, but all natural, unlike Kevin’s bleach job. Inked strokes of an arm-wrap tattoo peeked out under his right sleeve, drawing my eyes to his biceps. If I were bold like Shanda, I’d just ask about it.
He straddled the chair next to me. “Sorry about my slip up the other night. Are you still interested in what Nexis offers?”
I sucked in a breath. I didn’t even want to think about that horrible Nexis meeting and the revelations about my brother, b
ut I still needed answers. All of my James questions hammered into my brain, but I held my tongue. As Dad would say, there was a time and a place for everything. “I’m definitely intrigued.”
“How about I teach you some actual history?” Will’s fingers brushed mine as he grabbed my Secret Society Origins book, opening to a picture of Noah’s ark. “For instance, you think you know this story, right?”
“The flood?” The question prickled my skin. Or maybe it was his proximity. I squinted at the book. “Everyone knows about Noah’s ark. They even made a dumb movie about it.”
He shook his head, then came close. My heart skittered. His cinnamony breath spiced the air between us. “Sure, but not everyone knows the authentic story. The Nexis story.”
His eyes narrowed into lines of steel, like his opinion of me hinged on my response. All the lights in the library dimmed, casting wicked shadows all around us.
Sweat droplets bubbled on my palms and I wiped them on my jeans. “What do you mean? Like there’s some secret to the flood I’ve never heard of?”
“Did you know that all three secret societies were once part of the Guardians until Nexis discovered a better way to do things?” He ran his finger down his jawline, then slouched back, nodding at me.
I opened my mouth to object, but those steely eyes analyzed me, as if they could read my mind. Goosebumps popped up on my arms. I couldn’t give myself away. “Shouldn’t I be asking the questions?”
“I’m just trying to figure you out what you know, so I can help you fill in the gaps about Nexis.” His mouth curved in the most adorable grin. It shivered straight through me.
My heart pounded a new rhythm. Would he tell me what I wanted to know about my brother?
A voice boomed from the stacks behind me. “Nexis doesn’t need anymore new recruits.”
I spun around as a tall, dark-haired guy stomped over to our table. Then it dawned on me. This was the guy from orientation, Bryan something or other. What was he doing, hiding back there? His aqua eyes seared the air like light sabers as they leveled right into me, but his gaze didn’t give me chills like the Stanton boy.
“Cooper.” Will’s lips twisted into a scowl and he stood up, inches from Bryan. “Like the Guardians need any more brainwashed cult freaks trying to shove their beliefs down everyone’s throat.”
“Woah,” I whispered. So Bryan was a member of the Guardians. That explained a lot.
In an instant, all the shadows in the room elongated, turning into a thick black smoke. The shadow-smoke swirled between Will and Kevin, yet miraculously forked around Bryan. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, but the strange shadow scene remained. Except now a light glowed around Bryan. What was happening here? Was I hallucinating again, or was this part of being the Seer?
“What’s going on here?” My heart jangled in my chest like a tambourine as the smoking shadow river undulated around me. A wraith-like black tentacle slithered toward me. I froze in place as fear curdled in my stomach.
“I think we just stepped into some kind of turf war.” Shanda snorted out a cackle that reverberated around the room.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t blink the images away as the shadow wraith wrapped around my ankle. A ball of energy roiled in my stomach that I couldn’t tamp down. I had no idea what to do. Flicking my eyes up, I mentally called out for help, focusing all of that fear energy into the globe pendant on the ceiling. With a flash of light it popped, and the bulb burnt out.
Then the lights returned to normal and the shadows winked out of existence. I breathed a sigh of relief, ready to bolt out of this place.
“Are you okay?” Will’s fingertips brushed my palm like he wanted to grab my hand.
My body shuddered and I shook him off, scraping my chair back. It screeched like I’d stepped on a cat’s tail.
All eyes turned my way. “I’m fine. I gotta go. I have class.” My words jumbled together as I shoved my books into my bag. “I’ll see you around.” I raced to the door.
“See you this weekend.” Will’s voice cracked as he called after me.
Shanda mumbled something about giving me some space. Such a good call.
I reached for the front doorknob, but the door flew open without me touching it, blasting humid night air in my face. What in the world was happening to me? The purpling sky soothed my inner questions, making the world feel halfway normal again.
“Wait up.” Bryan’s footsteps pounded after me. “Are you okay?”
I kept walking, my heart still beating a syncopated rhythm. “Yeah, I’m fine, but that was really weird. What is up with you two?”
He jogged ahead, stopping right in front of me so I had to look at him. I’d find that cute if I wasn’t so edgy right now.
“He’s the Nexis president. I’m the Guardian president. It’s a natural rivalry dating back centuries.” A ghost of a smile curled up his lips as his aqua-blue eyes analyzed me.
“Were you guys really all a part of one group?” Like a magnet, my gaze moved to his face. The dusky hues of the sky turned his eyes robin’s egg blue, calming my out-of-control emotions.
“Yes. Originally, the Guardians were the protectors of the sacred stones. Then Nexis decided they wanted to use certain stones for themselves.” He held out his hand. His eyes countered mine, daring me to take it. “Let me walk you to our class?”
“Our class? How do you know what class I have?” I wrinkled my forehead, trying to give him the same scrutinizing look he’d given me. Note to self, research sacred stones.
He cocked his head at me and laughed. “It’s the only night class this semester. Trust me on that. You coming?” His hand still hovered in the air.
“Yeah, let’s go.” I inched mine closer until I tapped his palm.
The wrought iron lampposts seemed to twinkle in the dusky night as he gripped my fingers, hauling me down the sidewalk.
“You’re gonna love the chapel. C’mon.” His white-toothed grin glowed under the lamppost.
~
The chapel shimmered against the navy sky, its scalloped arches illuminated by uplighting. All the air whistled from my lungs. “Breathtaking.”
The beautiful Gothic stonework made the church look like it belonged in Europe instead of a boarding school along the Hudson. I climbed up the cobblestone steps behind Bryan. The curved wooden door creaked as he opened it.
Glancing over my shoulder, I gazed at the observatory tower. Was Nexis watching me right now? Maybe I should tell someone, like Bryan or the Guardians. Someday.
We stepped through the marble arches of the foyer and into the sanctuary and I exhaled my relief. Even after the beauty of the outside, the sanctuary lived up to the hype. Dim shadows hid the stained glass windows on the outer walls, but a spotlight illuminated the far sphere of rose and blue glass with a golden cross in the middle. My fingers itched to pull out the telltale postcard I always kept with me, but I’d have to bide my time until I was alone.
“Wow, this place is gorgeous. We have class in here?” I tore my gaze from the magnificent glass only to find him twenty feet ahead of me.
“No, not in the sanctuary. It’s in the chapel library. It has some of the oldest books in the country.” He motioned down a tiled hall. “This way.”
My ballet flats clicked against the hand-painted tiles, reverberating so loud I switched to tiptoes. Deep laughter rumbled ahead of me.
He peeked at me over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”
I clenched my fingers into a fist at my side. As if I didn’t remember the last time this boy laughed at me. “Well, excuse me, I don’t want to disturb anything. Or anyone.”
“Relax, it’s not like there are monks here or something.” A beam of light spilled into the hallway from an open door, enough to spotlight his shaking head. “Here we are. Ladies first.”
As I slipped past he bowed ever-so-slightly, like his minor effort at chivalry could make up for being obnoxious. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and flounced into the dim library, wher
e five unfamiliar faces stared back at me.
An auburn-haired beauty waved from the far wall of ceiling-high stacks. At her side, a younger girl with dishwater-blonde hair offered a meek smile—my freshman suitemate, Brooke. Sitting at one of the few tables in the cluttered room, an orange-haired boy smiled at me with freckled cheeks.
The girl at his side swung her springy orange curls around and I blinked. “Wow, you’re like a carbon-copy of your brother.”
“Good thing they’re twins.” The voice came from a dark-haired guy by the lead-paned window. He didn’t even glance up from the piles of books strewn in front of him.
“Yeah, caught that.” I turned my back on him to take in the view. Cedar shelves lined each wall and most of the floor space, with niches carved out for the window and a few tables in the middle. Darkness cloaked the back corner of the room.
“Is that an actual turret?” Even though the tower was tiny, the bookshelves wrapped from the bottom to the very top. “Amazing. It’s like a castle library.”
Bryan cleared his throat and nudged me into the center of the room. “Everyone, this is Lucy McAllen. She’s in our Ancient Writings class.”
I tilted my head at him. “How do you know my full name?”
“Everyone knows who you are.” The guy by the window glanced up from his book pile. “By the way, I’m Tony Delgotto.”
Tony’s words had more than one meaning, at least to me. Did everyone know me as James McAllen’s little sister, or the next in line to be the Seer? I gulped, giving him a nervous smile.
“Where are my manners?” Bryan smacked his forehead. “Let me introduce you to everyone. That’s my sister Brooke over there in the stacks, then Felicia Morales, and the twins here are Laura and Lenny Brewster.”
“Hi, everyone.” I forced my lips into some form of greeting and dumped my bag on Laura and Lenny’s table. “It must be so much fun being twins.”
“I love it, but he hates it.” Laura’s high-pitched voice held a surprising warm tone that soothed my ears.
Montrose Paranormal Academy, Book 1: The Nexis Secret: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel Page 5