Hawthorn Academy: Year One

by D. R. Perry

  Lunch was more spectacular than we'd imagined. I know we were all used to spellwork as an everyday part of our lives. All the same, the meal made every student at Hawthorn Academy realize we shouldn't take magic for granted.

  Sandwiches were cut into shapes and stacked to look like spooky faces gazing up from plates. Stews swirled in bowls, shimmering with effects that made them look like glitter bath bombs. Everything was totally delicious. We didn't stand in line for our food; instead, it got delivered right to our tables by amazing magical animals.

  Not all of the kitchen staff had familiars—it wasn’t a requirement for working here, after all—but enough of them did to make even the delivery of the food a stunning presentation. Sandy led a line of other four-legged familiars, equipped with trays on their backs.

  "The waitstaff is totally amazing!" Grace clapped her hands, eyes wide with wonder.

  "I never would have thought of anything like this." I shook my head. "Say what you will about my brother, but at least he's good at keeping spoilers a secret."

  The desserts weren't a surprise, which was a good thing for Logan. He escaped the cafeteria with two pudding cups and a quartet of cookies wrapped in a napkin before the spider cupcakes came out. The rest of us made shorter work of our desserts than the rest of the students in our year, which was good since we needed the extra time.

  Upstairs, I helped Grace put on the costume she’d worked so hard on, and it was amazing. I felt almost bad that mine was only a mask with a couple of other accessories, but at least we went together.

  "Ready?" I stood at the door, waiting to open it.

  "Okay." Grace nodded.

  Students lined the hall, waiting to see the big costume reveal, and they weren’t disappointed. Ember and Lune peeped and stamped their approval as well. Of course, they were elated.

  We had dressed as each other's familiars.

  My half-mask gave me a pink nose, whiskers, and connected to the ears on top of my head. The rest of my outfit was a soft silvery-gray cardigan over gray leggings. Of course, it was Grace who took the cake.

  She was dressed from head to toe in gilt fabric. A set of golden spikes and whiskers sat on the top of her head, connected at the bottom to her own half-mask in the shape of a dragonet's muzzle. On her body was a golden jumpsuit she had sewed, but the main attraction was the set of fully articulated wings stretching between her back and arms.

  In the hall, Grace raised her hands, revealing the wings. I bet she could have glided down the staircase on them if she wanted to, but she didn't. Instead, my roommate activated the stairs and headed down like it was any other day.

  It was only a short walk through the lobby and out the door, but what a difference a handful of steps made. Outside on Essex Street danced a scene of particolored celebratory chaos. Mundanes and extrahumans alike flooded the streets, and we walked with the current of folks headed toward Salem Commons.

  That was the park enclosed by yards of French Gothic picket fencing in the middle of town, complete with walking paths, a playground at one corner, and a bandstand. Vendors had set up tables, carts, and food trucks along the fence. Some of them were from out of town, but most were staffed and stocked by town shops and restaurants.

  I led my friends immediately to one of them, where I saw a familiar face.

  "Izzy!" My smile was so big it hurt my face.

  "Aliyah? Is that you under there?"

  "Yeah."

  "Holy guacamole!" Izzy pointed at Grace. "That's the most amazing costume I've ever seen, and I’ve lived in Halloween Central my whole life."

  Her opinion was far from unique. Loads of passersby stopped to ask Grace for pictures and ask if she’d entered one of the many costume contests. She hadn't, in part because many of those are in the 21+ bars, but it gave me an idea—one that'd get my roomie some recognition, and possibly a little money, too.

  I strode off, leaving my friends at Izzy's booth, where they waited to get card or palm readings from Izzy's parents. I overheard Dylan trying to turn it down due to the cost, but Hal offered to pay for everyone, even Lee, Eston, and Kitty, who showed up as I walked away.

  My goal was the bandstand, where the emcee for the evening's festivities stood directing the road crew. I knew him, of course, because it was Michael Ambersmith, Azrael's dad.

  "Well, if it isn't young Miss Morgenstern. Novel costume. Moon hare, is it?" He raised one ruddy eyebrow. "Are you entering the town costume contest?"

  "No, I'm here to enter my roommate. Grace DuBois." I pointed her out.

  "Wow." He stroked his mustache, appraising her work from a distance. "That's something else. She ordered that online?"

  "No, she made it herself in Creatives."

  "Your roommate has some serious talent, then." He nodded. "Consider her entered. Wait here, and I'll note her down on the list and bring her number back to you."

  I leaned against the nearest column instead of sitting on the bandstand's steps like I'd usually do. The last thing I wanted was to get in the way of the roadies as they set things up for this year's musical guests. Because I'd been on campus so much, I hadn't had a chance to find out who was playing, so I glanced at the poster near my head.

  "Night Creatures!?" I almost toppled over.

  "Yeah." The voice behind me was deep and mirthful but totally unfamiliar. I turned around to see who was talking to me. I recognized him instantly from the news.

  "Fred Redford?" I blinked. "From Tinfoil Hat?"

  "Sort of." He shrugged. "Just helping some friends."

  "Wow!" I tried to recover and maintain some semblance of calm and decorum. "I mean, that's cool."

  In case you were wondering why I was so flustered, it was because they were one of my role models. Fred was part of the Tinfoil Hat Pack, the group of students who’d played a major part in putting the extrahuman world back together a few years ago.

  More specifically, they’d thwarted Uncle Richard's attempt to subjugate humans and take over both faerie courts, and now he and a bunch of his friends were here in Salem.

  I was so glad I had decided to wear a mask.

  Fred threw his head back and laughed so hard tears formed at the corners of his eyes. It was the last thing I expected from a Redcap, even a Seelie one. His laughter attracted the attention of another hero, a woman with long dark hair who set a violin down in a case before sauntering over. It was Irina Kazynski, also famous for being an awesome musician.

  "What's so funny, Lunk?" She elbowed him in the ribs, smirking.

  "It's just, we've got a fan." His smile could have cut diamonds. "Which rocks."

  "What else is new?"

  "Not you. We. Plural. As in, Tinfoil Hat."

  "Really?" she asked me.

  "Yeah." My giggle came out with a snort at the end, like Izzy's. "I mean, you all saved the worlds."

  "Huh. You're right, it does rock." She reached into a pocket on her brown leather jacket, producing a handful of badges on lanyards. "Here. These will let you and some friends come right up front when the show starts."

  "Wow, thanks!"

  I headed back to Izzy's booth, where we hung around through the readings. I knew it'd be a while before Night Creatures went on because they were all vampires, so once Logan's reading was done, I grabbed his hand and snuck off with him.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  "I think we're alone now."

  "What's going on, Aliyah?" Logan's voice was flatter than usual. He dropped my hand.

  "Look, I wanted to apologize." I shook my head. "I mean, we got off to sort of an awkward start, and I felt like last night, you got embarrassed because of me."

  "Awkward is kind of my default, though." He sighed. "I'm never gonna be chill like Hal or have game like Dylan. Or be good at faking it like Elanor. My parents hate it, but there's nothing I can do. And believe me, they've spent years plus tons of money trying to change practically everything about me. It's not you, it's me, and it always will be."

  "Woah." I reached
out to him again, taking him by the shoulder this time. "Hey. You're Logan, okay? You shouldn't try to be someone else, and I don't want you to be."

  "Really?" He froze, his tension on hold but not gone yet.

  "I mean it."

  "But you don't like me? I mean, like-like, the way Grace likes Dylan."

  "I never liked anyone before, not that way," I lied. Because now that the words were out of my mouth, I knew it wasn’t true, but I couldn't come clean without hurting a lot of people's feelings. There was only one thing I could admit to, so I did. "It's nothing personal."

  "It's not because I'm, you know." He closed his eyes and tapped his temple. "Slow."

  "No, absolutely not." That was true. "I had no idea you were, actually, and it doesn’t matter."

  "Oh." He blinked. "Really?"

  "I mean, you learn differently, but that's no big deal. And if your family gives you grief about that, remember, we're friends. We help each other, end of story."

  "Peep!" Ember fluttered down from wherever she'd been flying and perched on my shoulder, snaking her neck out toward Logan. "Peep, peep."

  "Okay." He looked Ember in the eyes. "I get it."

  "Wait, you understand her?"

  "Yeah." He nodded. "Most of the others, too."

  "What did she say?"

  "You don't know?" He blinked. "I thought every magus could understand their own familiar."

  "Absolutely not. Logan, almost nobody has that talent." I grinned. “How long have you been able to understand critters like that?”

  “Since my magic showed up a couple of years ago.” He shook his head. “But my folks don’t believe I can really do it.”

  So, Logan's parents hadn't just put him down and tried to squash him into the mold of their expectations, they’d totally dismissed his abilities. I swallowed the sudden flare of anger. Showing it would be futile right now, but if I ever got the chance, I'd give them a piece of my mind.

  "I can't believe you don't know how rare your abilities are." I shook my head, picturing all my frustration rising up into the sky. I had to channel it somehow.

  "Well, Ember asked me not to tell you what she said." Logan grinned sheepishly. "Which confused me, so thanks for the explanation, Aliyah."

  "Hey, do you want to go and get some cotton candy or something?"

  "Come to think of it, yeah, I do." His chuckle was higher-pitched than usual. "I didn't eat so much at lunch. Nervous, you know."

  "Sorry about that. I should've talked to you last night." I sighed. "I was worried I'd hurt you because most of the time I care too much."

  "It's okay, and I totally want us to be friends." He shook his head. "It's just, I felt weird because our whole group was pairing off, you know? I thought maybe we sort of had to get together because otherwise, we'd be the odd folks out."

  "So, what are you saying here?" I blinked.

  "I'm saying I like you. Aliyah, but not like-like." He nodded like he’d just made up his mind about it. "It's a good thing that you care too much, and I'm really glad we're friends. Honestly, it felt like I never had any until I came here. Not really."

  "I'm glad we're friends, too. Come on, Salem's finest food trucks are waiting." I beckoned and he followed, Doris walking between us.

  We held hands and it was totally platonic, almost exactly like walking around Salem with Izzy and Cadence practically my whole life. Logan should've had that growing up too, but it was okay to come late to friendship. True friends didn't care how long that took.

  We spent about an hour sampling different foods and selecting the best treats to bring back to our friends. By the time we returned to Izzy's tent, Cadence had arrived. She had Brianna with her, plus a couple of guys who looked vaguely familiar.

  Before I could ask for any introductions, Noah showed up. He was with Elanor, who stared at Logan and me. At first, I didn't know why until I remembered we were still holding hands. He let go before I did. I tried to hold on, but he wasn’t having it. Maybe he was making the right call because once we stopped touching, she looked away.

  "Aliyah." Noah's voice was low, almost reverent. "Night Creatures is playing, and we get to see them. Live! Can you believe it?"

  "I know, this is awesome." I smiled because we were having a conversation that wasn't about our strained relationship or how choppy the social waters were at Hawthorn Academy. "But it gets better, Noah."

  I rummaged in my bag, then dangled the lanyards. Noah's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. If he weren't holding on to Elanor's arm, he might have fallen down.

  "Are you serious?"

  "Totally." I held out two of the passes.

  "Thanks!" Noah couldn't move so Elanor took them, putting one around my brother's neck.

  I made the rounds through my friends, handing out passes to each of them. Izzy declined; she had to man the booth. Cadence took one, but when I asked if I should go request a few more for her companions, she declined.

  "I actually took this one for Brianna. Check it out." She pulled a press pass out of her jacket. "I'm covering this concert for the Gallows Hill school paper."

  "Wow, awesome!" I directed my next question to the two guys. "Are you on the paper too?"

  "Not exactly," the bigger of them said. He had a ring through his septum and a broad, stony face. "Let's just say we’re in entertainment also."

  "And you are?" Noah finally got his wits about him and raised his eyebrows at the two characters.

  "Just a couple of lunks," the smaller one said with a shrug. His jet-black hair hung past his shoulders, softening the sharpness of his nose and jaw. There was something almost birdlike about him.

  When I said larger and smaller, I meant that one was beanpole-thin, while the other was built like a Panzer tank. Both of them stood over six feet tall and were unsettling in a feral sort of way. I figured they were either shifters or changelings.

  "All right." I shrugged. There was no point in asking more questions with this much evasion. Besides, they were with one of my best friends. How bad could they be?

  "Aliyah? Don't you want to know who they are?" Noah blinked.

  "Any friends of Cadence's are friends of mine."

  "Thanks." Cadence grinned.

  "Whatever." Noah shook his head. "The show's about to start, so finish your snacks on the way to the bandstand, okay?"

  My brother's default was bossiness, but those were sensible enough instructions and we had no reason to protest them, so for once, my friends and I did what Noah said. It helped that Charity was nowhere to be seen. Surely, she had every reason to avoid a vampire concert.

  Before the show went on, Michael Ambersmith got up in front of the mic stand. He didn't touch the band's equipment, though, because the Ambersmiths had all sorts of magipsychic devices, and right now, he used one to amplify his voice over the roar of the crowd.

  "I'm here to call up our finalists in the costume contest."

  Folks in the crowd milled about, making small talk. When he announced the five names, I wasn’t surprised. Grace was. She jumped up and down, screeching in a way I'd never heard as she dashed toward the stage, up the steps, and all the way down the line of runners-up, which only made her costume seem more amazing. The rest of the contestants didn't have anything like that amount of mobility in their getups.

  That was because Grace had used her magic while making it. I wasn’t sure how she did it—maybe some technique learned in Quebec—but it paid off, judging by the awed gasps from the crowd.

  This final round always got settled by a call for applause. Michael held his hand over each of the costumed heads, listening to and gauging the crowd's response.

  When it was Grace’s turn, practically the entire group from Hawthorn screamed at the tops of their lungs. So did everyone in Izzy's booth, and another huge section also cheered for her. At the front of this stood the two self-styled “lunks” with Cadence and Brianna.

  Grace won. Michael handed her an envelope, which I knew contained several gift certific
ates from local shops and eateries, plus a bank check from the city for two hundred dollars. That was first prize every year for as long as I could remember.

  She tucked that into her costume almost like an afterthought. I could tell that the real prize for her was acknowledgment. She had done something brilliant, and now everybody knew it. As she came back down to join us, her high color and springy steps told me Grace was totally elated.

  Finally, it was time for the concert.

  Up toward the front of the bandstand, there was a roped-off area that our passes let us access. It was as close as you could get to the wooden stage built on one side of the stone and metal structure. A bus with sunproof windows was parked across the common. That was where we first saw them.

  Night Creatures was a punk band whose members were all vampires. They’d started back in the ‘90s when they were all still mortal and played regularly in Providence later that decade, but during the ten years after the Big Reveal, old vampires afraid of losing their powers went on a turning spree.

  Lane Meyer and his friends got caught up in that disaster, ending up as second-class citizens like all the other vamps in this country. To this day, nobody was sure who’d arranged to have them turned or why. So, they changed the subject matter of their songs from dissatisfaction with a world that hid for so long to biting back against the flaws in this brave new society.

  Noah had listened to them practically his whole life, which meant I had too. A handful of years ago, they’d gotten super popular after winning the Newport Battle of the Bands. Since then, they'd been in demand for appearances but didn't often play outside Rhode Island before graduating from Providence Paranormal. Now they had their degrees, and the Halloween gig in Salem was part of a short New England tour this winter. Next year, they'd go nationwide, so this might be the only time we'd see them in town.

  There was an opening act, of course, but I didn't expect it to be one called Fred Redford and the Pixies. I’d had no idea he could even sing, let alone get up in front of a whole crowd of people like that. Everything I knew about him was from the news, mostly about how his intervention in the Under had helped foil my uncle's plans there.