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

by Barbara Hartzler

  The floor creaked as I crossed the threshold.

  “Oh, it’s you.” Julia lifted her head from the book she hunkered over at the corner table. Her eyes said it all. “What are you doing here? Wait. Don’t tell me, you procrastinated on that Origins of the Three Societies paper, too. Shocking, since I heard you were next in line for the Nexis throne, or something.”

  I glared her way, squinting daggers. “That’s a sick joke.” The words burned like acid in my throat, then it dawned on me. “Just because I went to the initiation doesn’t mean I’m joining Nexis.”

  “Please, like you ever had a chance with the Watchers, anyway.” She shoved her book aside and matched my gaze with withering fury. “And you better not tell anyone about that meeting at the coffee shop. Or that I’m involved.”

  “I would never do that.” My jaw dropped straight onto the carpet. Air puffed from the gaping hole, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around her words.

  “Good, I’m glad to hear that.” An odd sort of smile played at her lips. She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Good luck with your research.”

  “Thanks, I think.” I muttered under my breath and beelined across the room to the card catalog.

  Without another word, I yanked open the top drawer of the skinny five-tiered file cabinet. It banged open, almost dumping its yellowed index cards all over the floor. I thumbed through the angel section, scouring the tiny type for books on Santa Lucia and church.

  “Jackpot.” I fist-pumped the air, reading the card again. These books were in stack number seven, the dark corner of the library. With a gulp, I swallowed the lump of fear creeping up my throat. Time to be brave. If not for me, then for James.

  I zigzagged to the other side of the room, then tiptoed down the last aisle. At the end of the row something banged into my shin, and I almost face-planted right into a tall ladder. It completely blended in with the cedar shelves. Pushing aside the ladder, I scanned the numbers, then the titles, but the books I wanted were nowhere in sight. They had to be in the turret.

  The dimly lit tower extended up twelve feet or so, with old books stacked around its three sides.

  “Impressive.” The only light seeped in from two porthole windows ten feet up, highlighting the section I needed. That meant one thing—time to climb the ladder. It creaked on its rusty hinges as I rolled it into place.

  If only I could swing around like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, it might be less creepy. James was right. I really did love libraries. But I was on a mission—a mission to figure out why James disappeared and why Nexis kicked him out. I couldn’t fail this time.

  On shaky legs I climbed upward, rung by rung. With even shakier fingers I pried the thick leather spines of two books from their hiding places. As I descended, the ladder wobbled beneath me. Belle would’ve never had to put up with this.

  Finally, my feet touched ground again. I lingered in the musty old corner. The cool darkness cradled me. Ten times safer than Julia and her mean-girl vibe.

  I spread my books out on the nearest table, turning my back on her even though she was on the other side of the room. The first dusty tome listed a bland paragraph about the Nexis sect, but no juicy details. I shoved that book aside and moved on to the next.

  “Please let me find something, anything.” This decrepit book had a whole chapter on St. Lucia and the many churches named after the patron saint of the blind. There was even an illustration of a baroque-style church in Italy, similar to my postcard.

  I read the next lines with bated breath, afraid if I so much as moved a muscle the words wouldn’t be true. The book stated that there was a church dedicated to St. Lucia in almost every major city. Could there be one in New York?

  The paragraph went on to say that since St. Lucia was a popular saint among the three societies, there would be no way to tell for certain which secret society controlled the church. But I just skimmed the rest of the page. I couldn’t care less.

  New York was a big city. There had to be a St. Lucia church in the Big Apple. Pulling out my phone, I typed in St. Lucia church, New York. The results came back to me almost instantaneously. There were two St. Lucy’s churches in the area. One in New York City, and one in New Jersey. I’d try the one in Harlem first.

  I gasped and suddenly forgot how to breathe. This couldn’t be real. Did I really just figure out part of my brother’s postcard?

  From across the room, Julia glanced up from her book. “Sounds like you found something good.”

  “You can say that again.” My lips curved and my cheeks lifted in an enormous grin. Excitement buzzed a nervous tingle through my veins. I knew just who to tell about my little revelation.

  Quickly, I shot to my feet and raced out of the chapel.

  On the steps, the brisk air nipped at my cheeks. As soon as my feet hit the sidewalk, a cold hand grabbed mine. Familiar gray eyes stared back at me.

  “Lucy, I need to talk to you.” Will tugged me down the sidewalk.

  “Great.” I mouthed to the now-blue sky. “Can it wait?”

  “I’m afraid not.” Will sprawled out on a stone bench under a cluster of red maples. He patted the space beside him. “Have a seat. I won’t bite.”

  “You said that before. I’m not so sure.” I stood tall, dropping my bag on the spot where he wanted me to sit. “What do you want?”

  “Listen.” He slung his arm across the back of the bench. “I’m worried about you. First, you disappear in the middle of an important initiation. Now it looks like you’re falling for the wrong guy.”

  “That was no ordinary initiation, more like some kind of test of my abilities. Well, I failed.” Miserably, I should add. His eyes widened and his chin tilted, like he wanted me to challenge him. Game on. “Second, last week you kissed me, remember? You’re just jealous.”

  “Ouch, that hurt. You don’t know how much I care about you.” His game face fell, and suddenly his hand curled around mine. I wriggled my fingers against his, but he clamped down tighter. “Maybe you’re right, but not just for the reasons you think.”

  “Okay then, what is it? Spit it out already.” I pursed my lips together. Could I really trust his perspective?

  “Feisty today, aren’t we? I like it.” His eyes dropped to my mouth, traces of a grin creeping up his face. Then he cocked his head at me. “First off, Bryan’s little group is completely messed up. They only want to bring the Seer’s bloodline back to the Guardians. They don’t care about you at all.”

  “What?” I backed up, sliding my hand from his grip. “Like Nexis is any different.”

  In an instant, his smile faded. “You may be right about Nexis, but don’t think the Guardians are saints by default. Do you really want to be a pawn in their little game?”

  I glared at him. “Better to be a pawn in yours, I’m guessing. Exactly what game might that be, anyway?”

  Those platinum eyes were stuck on me like Velcro, and I couldn’t look away. The breeze died down, the air stilled around us.

  “You wouldn’t believe the truth if I told it to you.” He stood too, closing the gap between us. His cinnamon breath warmed my face until my cheeks blazed.

  Yet, I couldn’t pull away. Those hypnotic eyes held me in place with some strange sort of fascination. A shiver slithered down my neck.

  “I’ll be the judge of that.” My voice wobbled, a chink in the armor that finally gave me the freedom to break his gaze. Wind rustled through the maple tree. A red leaf drifted on the breeze, landing in my lap. “You better say what you wanted to say, or I’m taking off.”

  He reached out one finger and grazed my chin, guiding my face toward his. “I doubt he’s told you what really happened, but Bryan broke my friend’s heart last year. He dumped Colleen for not conforming to the strict Guardian rules. Then he kicked her out. That’s why she joined our group. I just don’t want the same thing to happen to you. You don’t deserve that kind of heartache.”

  Could he really be so low? What if someone pranced around ca
mpus telling everyone about me and Jake, from Jake’s perspective? I’d kill them.

  The anger practically steamed from my pores until I wanted to scream. “Why should I believe anything you say?”

  “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” His jaw clenched. He punched his thigh, then his head snapped back to me, a fire in his eyes. “Why would I lie?”

  That really burned me up. “As if I know the inner workings of your twisted mind. I don’t know why you’d lie, but you lied about James. Why wouldn’t you lie about this?”

  “What I told you was entirely true.” His arms crossed over his chest like he wasn’t going to budge.

  “Liar.” If only I could punch him right now. I balled up my fists, clenching them to my sides. “I know he wasn’t just banished from Nexis. He had to hide out in the chapel. What did you do to him?”

  “I didn’t do anything to James.” He reached across the gulf I’d carefully crafted between us and grabbed ahold of my fist.

  The harsh vision came back to me, the field, the figures. I yanked my hand back. “Nexis did something so bad he had to leave the country. How could you keep that from me?”

  “I’m not supposed to tell anyone. How did you even find out? You’re not a member. Look, I’m sorry, Lucy.” His fingers ran up my arm, brushing back my hair. I flinched as his nails grazed my skin. “If you become a member, I can tell you everything. I promise.”

  “You haven’t denied any of it. Can you promise it won’t turn out like it did with James? That I won’t be banished from the country for God knows what reason? Blamed for someone’s death?” Tears stabbed my eyes.

  “What are you talking about?” His eyebrows scrunched into that V shape I used to think was cute.

  “I’m talking about Colleen and Monica accusing my brother of being the last one to see Maria Donovan alive.” My voice was booming now, shattering the silence of the quad.

  “What, why would they say that?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, air whooshing from his lungs. “It has to be a misunderstanding. They didn’t actually say he did anything, did they?”

  “They implied.” If only I could bore holes into him with my eyes. “If you think I would ever join a group who kicked out my brother, whose members implicated him in someone’s death ...”

  “I still don’t know how you found out about James. I wanted to tell you myself.”

  “Please. Wouldn’t you like to know?” Why was I still sitting here, listening to all this garbage? Like he had some kind of spell over me, a cobra staring me down with its sick fascination. No more. I snatched my bag off the bench, threw it over my shoulder, and stormed down the cobblestone.

  “Lucy, wait,” he called after me. “Don’t be like this. You don’t understand. I have so much more to tell you.”

  “Too little, too late.” I ran across the quad as fast as I could, as far away from him as I could get. I didn’t need him. I’d find my own answers.

  I’d made my choice, and Will knew it now. What would he do? If he was mad enough to confront me like that, what about my parents—would he tell them? But above all those questions, one blared through my brain like a fire alarm.

  Why would my own parents want me to join Nexis after what had happened to James?

  Maybe they didn’t know, they certainly hadn’t seen my vision. On the other hand, maybe Bryan made up the whole thing about his sister and James. That was an ugly thought, one I pushed back into the shadows. I couldn’t think about that now, even entertain the idea. Will practically admitted that Nexis threw James out, and my visions and memories confirmed it. Period.

  ~

  I burst into Mr. Harlixton’s office, ready to pump him for information about St. Lucy’s church in Harlem. Silence greeted me in the empty office and the stench of despair filled my nostrils, seeping into every pore. A deadly aroma of French press and moldy books, the hollow cry of a neglected office, reeked of so much more than stale coffee. If only my frustrations could drown themselves in the murky darkness.

  On the wall, the clock ticked as I cleared off a chair to wait for my teacher. Maybe it knew more than I did, that time was running out. I couldn’t wait another moment to explore this new lead. But even I could admit when I needed backup.

  Mr. Harlixton bustled past me with a stack of books up to his chest and dumped them on the floor. “Miss McAllen, right on time I see. You’ll have to forgive my oddities. You know some people say that a messy office is the sign of a productive person. At least I do.”

  “Never heard that one.” I crossed my arms, leaning on the edge of his desk. “I found something in one of the chapel books that I want to explore.”

  “Oh really? Do tell.” He scratched his chin and stared right back at me.

  “Do you know anything about a St. Lucy’s church in Harlem? I think it might somehow be connected to my brother’s disappearance.” Crap, I’d said too much. I gnawed on my lip, my leg jiggling like crazy. Hopefully this was one guy I could trust.

  “Yes. That church has an amazing library. It was once a Guardian church, if I remember correctly.” He pushed up his glasses as an expression of curiosity swept over his face. “But why do you think it has something to do with your brother?”

  “Um…” I snapped back in my chair, trying to think of something that wouldn’t give all my secrets away. “I have my reasons.”

  “That’s very vague.” His loud laugh roared around the small room. “I’m not sure if I can help you if you don’t feel like you can confide in me.”

  “Okay, but please don’t tell anyone else about this.” My plea came out high and breathy as I glanced around the room. Luckily, Mr. Harlixton had shut the door to his office, so I decided to take a shot. “I got a postcard from James a few months ago. Of a Santa Lucia church in Italy.”

  “I see. That could most definitely relate to something at St. Lucy’s church in Harlem.” He waddled over to the pile of books he’d left by the door. “I found these on a table in the chapel library. You should really be more careful about re-shelving your books. Anyone could’ve found these.”

  “Oh, no.” I gasped. The real question, the reason I’d ran straight to his office, waited on the tip of my tongue. “Should I wait to check out the church now?”

  “No, that’s not necessary. I’ll just keep these here for safekeeping.” He crammed the remaining books onto his shelf. “Actually, I have a better idea. I think you should go to the library at St. Lucy’s church and try to find the information you need.”

  “Really?” My heart buoyed in my chest. “What’s the catch?”

  He zeroed in on me with those beady little eyes behind his thick lenses. “You should take the rest of the student Guardians with you. It can be your Guardian initiation.”

  “Oh.” My arms went slack, all my dive-bombing into the pit of my stomach. “I guess that’s a good idea.”

  “I’m sure you want to keep your options open, but hear me out.” He rolled up his shirtsleeves and plunked back down in his seat. “The initiation is just an introductory step to join the Guardians. There are a few more hoops to jump through to become a full member. This way you’ll have plenty of people to keep you safe.”

  Pressure built up between my eyes as I wrinkled my brow at him. “I guess I don’t have much of a choice. And I really don’t want to go by myself.”

  “Perfect. I’ll let Bryan know.” He rubbed his hands together, a smile creeping up his face. “I’ve even got an initiation present to sweeten the deal.” Then he opened his desk drawer and slid out an ancient skeleton key, with a modern-looking key hanging next to it.

  “For me?” I snatched the wrought-iron keychain from his hands. “Cool. What’re they for?”

  “The big one is for the chapel door, the small one for the library. Once you get back from your little trip, you might need to do some extra research after hours.” He wiped his hands on his plaid dress shirt. “From what you’ve told me about your incident at the Hard Rock Cafe, you could use some alon
e time to practice wielding angel fire. Also, it’ll give you a chance to read up on the more subtle powers of the Seer, like premonition and discernment.”

  “Thank you for this little present, but what exactly do you mean by discernment?” I turned the keys over in my hands.

  “I think you know what I mean, but let me spell it out for you.” Harlixton scratched the scruff on his chin. “It’s that feeling you get when you know something’s about to happen. You can it explain how you know. You just know.”

  His words rolled around in my brain. “Yes, I’ve had that feeling many times. I guess I thought it was one of the lesser gifts I had as a second born.”

  “Discernment is a gift usually bestowed on siblings of the firstborn, but it is definitely not a lesser gift. I like to call it an early warning system.” With that, he scooted me toward the door. In the doorway, he stopped, whispering in my ear, “Keep those keys to yourself. Don’t share.”

  “Got it.” I shoved the keys in my pocket and took off down the hall. Nothing could stop me from finding the truth now.

  Chapter 16

  A thunder rush of wind and metal blew in my face as another train raced into the station. The blast whipped my hair around me. Suddenly I felt eyes all around me, staring. The world went black and gray.

  An inky fog rolled in, moving and breathing with a life of its own.

  Hazy shapes emerged from the shadows. I tried to pry my eyes open, but my eyelids wouldn’t budge.

  Two figures came into focus, in some sort of library. One of them was James. I stood across from him, on the other side of a giant mahogany table, and noticed a wall of bookshelves behind him. The shadows were filled with blinking eyes, watching my brother’s every move. The darkness closed in, a gray mist suffocating like fog around us.

  Colors filtered through the mist, and the subway station reappeared.

  The world was right again.

  The vision vanished as quickly as it came on.

  “Clumsy girl,” Tony gripped my arm, hoisting me to my feet. “Someone’s got to look out for you.”