by Lan Chan
“Urgh,” I groaned. “Fine. But I don’t like it.”
Jacqueline looked up at the others. “I don’t want Lex to go alone.”
“The invitation specifies she has to,” Marshall said.
Jacqueline swept the piece of paper into her hands. “I don’t really care. We will consider their proposal, but Bloodline Academy will not bow down to threats.”
Somehow, I had a feeling this meeting wasn’t exactly going to go swimmingly.
4
I stomped my feet on the short steps leading into the Bloodline Academy school bus. After the last disastrous run-in with demons, a new bus had been purchased. It was kitted out with all manner of fail-safes to stop a demon attack.
“It doesn’t look all that different,” Basil observed. As if he would know! I sat down heavily beside Sophie. She was slumped by the window seat smack bang in the middle of the bus. She was trying to be as unobtrusive as possible so as not to draw attention from her parents. They were dead set against her coming. They were also dead set against me going. But they were new members of the Council and were still trying to determine when to throw their weight around.
“We’ve tried to reinforce the warding around the engine,” Professor Mortimer said. He stood at the front of the bus and readjusted his glasses. “The difficult thing is that no matter how cautious we are, the technology still has a way of reacting poorly to the presence of magic.”
With that cheerful pronouncement, he settled into the driver’s seat. I didn’t even know he could drive. The Sisterhood claimed an extensive part of the coast where their school was situated was warded against teleportation. Otherwise we would have just gone through a portal.
Since coming to the Academy, I had developed a healthy aversion to vehicular travel. It was a time-saving thing. Why drive when you could teleport?
“Just what we want to hear as we’re about to take a road trip,” I muttered. Sophie nudged me with her elbow. She pressed her lips together firmly. I think she was hoping to shut me up with peer pressure. Not a chance.
I would have made a further remark but a burst of emerald light outside the window caught my attention. Kai teleported right beside where Professor Magnus was manning the situation around the portal. Several of the mages from the Dominion had been hired out to maintain the structural integrity of the portal. After everything that had happened last year, they had better be giving us a steep discount.
I let my gaze rest on Thalia’s slim figure as she spoke to Professor Magnus. Though she was an earth elemental, Thalia’s secondary skillset was supposedly anchoring portals. For some reason, Peter had tagged along with her. He sat by the side of the garage weeding the brick pathway. I wanted more than anything to be out there with him.
Kai entered my field of vision. He turned and lifted his head to catch my eye. If the determined set of his shoulders wasn’t warning enough, the frown he levelled at me certainly was. I wanted to roll my eyes at him but thought better of it. Ever since the letter arrived, he’d been hovering around me like he thought the Sisterhood might actually steal me away. If I had to guess, I would say he spent all that time in Seraphina brooding outside Giselle’s cell. His preoccupation with the Sisterhood was edging well into obsession.
They all forgot that in the scheme of things, I was better equipped to deal with the Sisterhood. It was part of the reason why I didn’t like this mass entourage plan. The instructions had been pretty clear. I was to meet the Sisterhood at their soul gate alone. According to them, the past seventeen years of my life were meaningless.
Kai tapped the side of the bus. Professor Mortimer started the engine. Jacqueline ambled down the aisle towards us.
“Are you ready, ladies?” she asked.
I nodded. Ready or not, Sisterhood, here we came.
Sophie took my hand. Hers were rattling. They were cold to the touch. Her raggedly bitten thumb pressed against my palm. It gave legitimacy to all of the fear that had settled in my chest. Kai leaped into the air. His wings unfurled momentarily and then he was gone again. We’d know if the coast wasn’t clear on the other side of the portal if he came straight back.
Professor Mortimer stuck his arm out the window and waved. Clearly he didn’t understand the road rules very well. The bus rumbled as the professor made a quarter turn to the right. He lined the bus up with the expanding portal. His foot must have come down too hard on the gas because the bus lurched. Its tires squealed as it laboured to move forward. Some of the enhancements he’d mentioned must have been metal fortification, because the thing groaned.
Sensing that we were losing our window of obscurity, Basil stood up from where he was seated in the back and waved his hands. Orange light shimmered from his palms. The bus shot forward and through the portal. There was a moment of pitch darkness interspersed with starlight. The tendrils of the Ley lines feathered out around us. My chest deflated. A second later, my heart almost exploded out of my chest as the bus landed poorly against the bitumen.
Tires screeched. The professor hauled the steering wheel to the left as the road curved gently. A spark of green light had Kai appearing in the aisle. Despite the unbalanced angle of the bus, he managed to remain upright.
Slowly, the professor got the bus into gear. The ride evened out. It was more than I could say for my nerves. Beside me, Sophie’s complexion had turned ashen.
“I thought he said he could drive,” Sophie complained.
“Believe me,” Kai said, coming to sit in the seats in front of us, “This is a lot better than if my grandmother were driving.”
“I might not be a shifter,” Jacqueline said, “but my hearing is just fine.”
Kai shot her an amused grin. There was an edge to it. I stared at the seaside landscape past Sophie’s shoulder. My hand bunched the newly upholstered black leather seats. Outside, the early morning sun lit up the landscape. It was going to be a glorious day. If I were a normal human, the scattering of sunlight against the dark grey horizon of water would have made me excited. But I wasn’t just a human. I didn’t know what I was. And I wasn’t going to the beach to have fun. I was going to meet with a group of mythological assassins.
Irritation spiked in my chest. I closed my eyes and searched my thoughts for that sliver of a connection to the seraphim. I knew he was there. Azrael had spent the worse part of my childhood supposedly watching over me. When the Sisterhood called to me, I had insisted he tell me the truth about what I was. He remained mute on the topic.
Please? My pleading wasn’t really working. I was never the kid who whined until they got what they wanted. I didn’t have the patience for it. If I wanted something and Nanna didn’t think I should have it, I either deferred to her judgement, or if I wanted it badly enough, I found a way to get it on my own. Mostly it turned out Nanna was right. I had a scar on my right wrist from a stove burn to prove it. But I knew I was right this time. He chose to ignore me.
I huffed aloud. It brought Kai’s attention. I lowered my gaze and turned my head the other way. The brush of Kai’s thumb against my jaw had me lifting my head. Out of the corner of my eye I saw waves lashing at the shore. We were driving along the Great Ocean Road headed towards Apollo Bay. At this time of year it was so clogged full of tourists that it was a miracle we had found a break in the traffic for the portal teleport.
“You okay?” Kai asked.
I bit my tongue. His hand tightened. “I know you’re not happy –”
I shook my head. We’d had this argument one time too many. They all knew I didn’t want to be here. But the damage done by the Sisterhood was too great a burden to ignore. This was as much a mission of peace as it was of protection. Jacqueline wanted to hear them out.
I wanted to point out that none of them had any kind of guardianship over me. Not even Basil. In a few months, I would turn eighteen. In the human world, that day would release me from any legal obligation to listen to them. If only the emotional ties weren’t so binding. Case in point: even though I was annoyed
at him, I didn’t move my head away from where Kai had uncurled his hand and was cupping my cheek. Even now a soft heat crawled down my neck. It whispered through my chest, trying to soften me.
If I didn’t know better, I would swear he was trying to use magic on me. As it was, this was just my idiotic heart telling me that I had it bad for him. It was that thought that had me moving back. I shook myself of the stupor and got up to walk to the front of the bus.
As much as I tried to ignore the great expanse of sea that was riding shotgun beside us, there was no way to ignore the scent of brine in the air. We turned left along an arterial road. The bitumen gave way to dirt. Eucalyptus rose up along the shoulder.
The bus was unwieldy. It took up the entire width of the road. If anything should happen to be coming the other way, they were going to have a difficult time getting past.
“Not long now,” Professor Mortimer said as I came up beside him.
“Yay,” I muttered.
“You know this could be an opportunity.”
“So was getting Skander to help me learn to wield the demon blade.”
“I don’t know,” Basil said, “that didn’t turn out too badly.”
I was hardly listening to them. As the bus continued, the pace began to smooth again. The tree line melted away and became cultivated land. Green pastures surrounded us. We were driving too quickly for me to make out anything but the hairy tufts of corn growing along the edges.
The road dipped. When it rose again, the trees parted to reveal a cove. We drove along a dirt track that didn’t lead far enough away from the smashing waves for my liking. After a few minutes, an enormous structure began to emerge against the backdrop of trees. It appeared to be constructed in the same Gothic style as Bloodline Academy. All grey stone and wrought-iron ornaments.
Sigh. Here we go again.
5
I gulped at the proximity of Terran Academy to the ocean. I was pretty certain this phobia of the ocean had come from an unpleasant childhood experience. I heard Nanna muttering once that it was un-Australian not to like the beach. What was there to like? It was cold, wet, and if the reports were anything to go by, it was also dirty. Plus, I really despised the feeling of sand all over the place. It got everywhere.
The professor pulled on the hand brake and put the bus in neutral. I slunk off to the side and sat down again. Jacqueline marched up to the front of the bus. She was in a no-nonsense black suit today with a pair of kitten heels. Her wrists were adorned with a multitude of gold bangles. Her back was to me now, but I could see her spine was stiff.
“Well, it looks like nobody’s home so we should probably just turn the bus around,” I noted.
The professor pressed the button that released the door. “Nice try,” Jacqueline said as she stepped out. I shoved out of my seat and followed her. Our small party spilled out of the bus behind me. I didn’t need to turn to feel Kai looming around me.
Jacqueline approached the gate. I swept my gaze over the landscaping, trying to block out the sound of the waves crashing.
A screech of static dragged my attention to the headmistress. “Good morning,” Jacqueline said into the intercom box by the left side of the gate. The thing let out a squeal. It gnashed its metal vocal cords. A spark ignited in the speaker and then smoke started to pour out of it. I bit the inside of my cheek.
“That’s unfortunate,” Jacqueline said. Her voice was bland. “I wonder if we should see if there’s a back way in.”
Nora cleared her throat. The expression on her face was priceless. “If you’re going for harmless diplomacy, I wouldn’t do that,” she said.
“We’d only be trying to see if there’s another way in,” Jacqueline suggested. Sophie turned away so as not to appear like she was laughing. These supernaturals had no idea just how frightening some of their notions were.
As it was, there was no need for breaking and entering. The huge double doors of the mansion swung open with an audible creak. I half expected to see a white-haired figure draped all in black with tapered nails step out. Cats would spill from all around her as lightning struck the ground. What we got instead was a middle-aged woman with her hair cut short into a pageboy look. It curled around her ears and was slightly messy. She wore a pair of faded overalls and canvas shoes. The getup reminded me distinctly of the things Peter often wore. For a second, relief poured into my chest. And then I caught sight of the other people in her group.
As the woman stepped down the flight of stone steps in front of the house, another figure appeared behind her. This woman was ash blonde. Her hair was braided around the corona of her head. She wore a deep purple blouse with gold buttons down the front. Her slacks were charcoal grey and her boots were crocodile print. What caught my attention were the dozens of rings on her fingers. Beside her was a guy about Kai’s age. He leaned against the doorjamb, his arms crossed in front of him.
It jarred to see a male amongst what was supposed to be the headquarters of the Sisterhood. The party of three started towards the gate.
“What are the chances that’s all of them?” Sophie said.
Her parents had already stepped together so that they blocked her view. I glanced up at the three-storey building and saw the curtains right at the very top move.
“Probably zero,” I said. “I wonder if all this conjecture about there not being many of them is actually true.”
We would find out soon enough. Even though there were eight of us and only three of them, I still felt the need to draw the circles in my mind. If experience was anything to go by, they wouldn’t be very effective against the Sisterhood. Still, old habits die hard. I felt better knowing I was doing something besides sit on my hands.
The group reached the other side of the iron gates. Kai tried to step in front of me, but I edged him out of the way with my elbow. He glared down at me. I ignored him and tried to catch a glimpse of the party through the gap between Jacqueline and Professor Mortimer.
“Good morning,” Jacqueline said.
The blonde woman ignored her greeting. Her light brown eyes scanned us. Even though I was mostly obscured, I felt it the second her gaze landed on me. Something cold scraped up my spine. A knowing, as Basil liked to call it. I shuddered. Kai looped his arm around my shoulder and drew me against his side. I didn’t fight him this time.
“You were asked to come alone,” the woman said. Her voice was deep and pleasant. Despite what she said, there was no disapproval in her tone.
“You had to know we couldn’t allow her to do that,” Jacqueline continued. The woman kept ignoring her. She tried to step to the side and get a better look at me but Jacqueline barred her by matching her steps.
“You can ignore us if you like, but there’s no way we’re going to hand Lex over to you without question.”
None of them said a word. Sophie reached out for my hand. Kai let go of me and stepped out in front of us, shielding Sophie as well. His shoulders were tensed. I gripped Sophie’s hand tight. She too must be feeling the sweep of low magic that was being directed at us. It wasn’t anything like the tingle of magic that I felt around Kai or the gut-wrenching hollowness that overcame me when Max roared. This was an eerie touch of quiet. It made the sound of the waves lessen but caused the hairs on my arms to stand up. They might try to pretend they were harmless, but there was malice in the air.
The short-haired woman scratched at her elbow. She looked towards Nora. “You’re human,” she said.
Nora nodded. “That’s beside the point.” I couldn’t see what was happening, but the way Basil dug his heels into the dirt made me think one of them had made some kind of offensive gesture. I’d had enough. Nudging my way to the front proved difficult with Kai trying to get me to be cautious. I swear I would have slapped him away if it didn’t mean we would be making more of a scene.
“Alessia,” the blonde woman said. She didn’t actually crack a smile, but some of the porcelain hardness in her expression disappeared. I stepped beside Jacqueline. T
he woman frowned. “We’ll have to break her of that habit.” She made the observation to the guy. Up close, he was probably nearer to my age than Kai’s. His hair was inky dark against his almost-alabaster skin. It was a stunning foil for his violet eyes. He was tall and slim, but there was strength in the cording of his muscles. He reminded me of some kind of dancer. Or a swan. I shook myself of that notion. If he was with the Sisterhood there was no way he could be a shifter.
“I don’t know,” he said. His head cocked to the side, his smile inviting. It was the same smile some of my so-called foster fathers had given me when they realised I wasn’t going to take their shit lying down. I could practically feel Kai bristling. “She doesn’t seem like she’s the type to break for anything.”
Oh there was something I wanted to break alright. “I’m getting back on the bus,” I said. “Screw these assholes.”
The short-haired woman stepped forward. “Wait,” she said.
“Why?”
“You belong with us.”
I snorted. “No thanks.”
The guy’s lips twitched. “You’ll have to excuse us for not wanting to socialise with monsters.”
He turned his gaze towards Basil. “Or abominations.”
Basil choked. I was going to throat punch this guy for sure. “I wouldn’t have had to do any of that if you could keep your assassins leashed.”
The blonde woman tugged absentmindedly at the sleeve of her blouse. “Unlike your friends here, we don’t make a habit of monitoring all of our citizens once they graduate from the Academy. Giselle’s choices were her own. After all, you wouldn’t want us to condemn your entire race because of the actions of a single creature.”
I caught Jacqueline’s eye. “Can we go now? This is pointless.”
The arch of her brow said she agreed with me. Her mouth, however, did not comply. “I understand there are some longstanding disagreements between us,” she said. “But if you want Lex to join you, we’ll have to come to an arrangement.”