Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Authors Note
Also by Sloane Murphy
About the Author
Marked
Black Water Academy #1
Copyright © 2019 by Sloane Murphy
www.authorsloanemurphy.com
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referred to in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorised, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Cover Art by Pink Elephant Designs
Cover Design by Pink Elephant Designs
Edited by Andie Long
Formatted by Pink Elephant Designs
I look out over the black water our academy is named for, my hair whipping in the fierce wind and I wonder how we got here, where it all went so wrong. Yet I wouldn’t change a thing because if I hadn’t gone down this path, I never would have found him, and I could never be sorry for that.
Then
The machines around us beep as I hold Dannika’s cold hand. Her chest rattles as she breathes, and I can’t help but wonder why it is everyone around me, every person that I love, has to die too soon. I look at the woman who took me in after my own family was slaughtered five years ago, who hid me, and helped me control the monster inside of me. She is the only person I have left, and my entire world.
“Eden, will you get out of your own head? This is not your fault.” Dannika reprimands me. Man, I hate it when she gets inside my head. “This is the result of a few too many poor choices on my behalf. That and Fate. Fate rules our world, never forget that.”
I wipe away the tear the escapes down my cheek. “I’m not ready for this. Dannika, I can’t lose you too.” I tell her, my voice shaky. “I already lost everybody else; why do you have to leave me too?”
“We each have our own burdens to face, Eden. It just so happens that you have to face this next bit without me. But you, my darling girl, are stronger than you think, and you are more than strong enough to face this. You have experienced more than anyone your age should have had to, but it has made you who you are, and I couldn’t be prouder of the person you’re becoming.” She takes a deep breath from the oxygen mask in her hand and closes her eyes.
“I’m not ready. What if I mess up? What if they find me? What if more people around me die just because they’re around me?”
“Eden DeMontford, you are not cursed, do you hear me? You were dealt an awful hand at a young age, but you are not cursed. Yes, you will need to be careful. Keep your secrets, and guard them well. Learn who to trust and be careful in doing so; but there is no reason that anyone near you should die. As far as the rest of the world knows, you are my daughter, and that is the way it needs to stay for you to stay safe.” She squeezes my hand, and I swallow through the lump rising in my throat.
“I will do. I won’t let you down.” I kiss her hand and she starts coughing, so badly that she can’t catch her breath. Beeping increases all around us, and I’m pushed back as doctors and nurses rush the room and work on Dannika. I wrap my arms around myself and sink to the floor in the back corner rocking, and pray to anyone that’s listening not to let her leave me yet.
* * *
“Miss?” I look up through the cloud in my head, from my chair in the hospital room that was Dannika’s. Before me, half in the doorway, is a man in a gray suit that looks like it cost more than our car, and the shiniest shoes. His hair is peppered with gray, and his warm, brown eyes are framed with black-rimmed glasses. My stomach churns as fear rushes through me. It takes everything I have not to lose the contents of my stomach all over his very shiny shoes. I take a deep breath, and that’s when I notice it. Shifter. Wolf to be exact.
“I’m here to represent The Council, my name is Henry Dubois. We were alerted to your mother’s death. My condolences for your loss. We have arranged a suitable temporary placement for you until we can arrange something a little more permanent.”
“I’m sorry?” I question. Does he not know? Is that possible? I try to keep my face clear, and my panic under control, so that he doesn’t smell anything that will give me away.
“You’re an underage supernatural, Miss DeMontford. So until we can find a permanent home for you; you will be placed in a group home, with others of our kind. It wouldn’t be right to put an untrained supe out into the human world with no supervision. We hope to find you a more permanent home, but until then, this is your only option I’m afraid.” He sighs and looks at his watch. I can feel his impatience from across the room. “Do you have your things?”
I shake my head. “Right, well let’s get going. We can grab your things and get you settled in your new home.” I sigh at his words and stand. “Sooner rather than later.” He huffs and stalks away from me. His shiny shoes click on the hard floor of the hall, as he expects me to follow. I walk behind him; the only noise on the quiet ward, the squeak of my sneakers on the floor. I follow him into the elevator, and then to his car which is as sleek and shiny as he is. He drives quickly to my house in silence, pulling into the drive; his car looking so far out of place in front of our two bed, slightly rundown home. I open the door and turn to climb out, when his hand grasps my wrist.
“You have ten minutes. Grab just what you need and that’s it. There will be some things for you at the home already.” I nod, still not having said a word to him, and quietly climb the stairs. I pull my keys from my back pocket and open the door. It smells just like Dannika. Like home. I take a deep breath and enter the house, but something feels different.
I grab Dannika’s big knitted cardigan from the sofa and wrap it around me, before heading to my room. Pulling out the small suitcase from under my bed, I fill it with the essentials. Clothes, Converse, my favorite hoodie, a picture of Dannika and I from last summer, a few other small trinkets, and the knife my brother gave me all those
years ago. I stuff a few more clothes into my backpack, change my sneakers for my lace-up boots, slide the knife in my left boot, and lock up my room. I look at Dannika’s door, but daren’t enter the room, so I head out of the house, grabbing Dannika’s black leather jacket as I leave, and then re-lock the door behind me. It feels like a final goodbye, but I know that she would want me to be strong, so I swallow the tears that threaten to spill over and take a deep breath. I walk back to Mr. Dubois’ car and he pops the trunk. The lid lifts with a hiss and I throw my bags in the empty space before slamming the lid down and climbing back into the car. He looks me over, then finishes typing on his cell before sliding it in his inside jacket pocket and starting the engine again.
“Seatbelt, Miss DeMontford.”
I pull the strap down and click it into place as the car glides out of the driveway. I watch the house get smaller in the side mirror as I’m taken to my third home in six years.
Now
The front gates of Black Water Academy loom over me, and I can’t help but feel a sense of foreboding at the black metal letters arched over the stone entryway. I step across the entryway and feel the magic seal press on my skin, easing once it registers that I’m not a human. If I was, I would appear confused and walk away, not knowing why I had even come here.
I heft my backpack higher on my shoulder and start walking down the dirt and stone road to the next four years of my life. Black Water Academy is the home for the teenagers of the magical world; of creatures as their urges start to take over. Academies like this exist all over the world, hidden from the humans just like our very existence. We all enter here at seventeen, and graduate at twenty-one, supposedly with our powers under control and knowing our place in the world. I guess we’ll see.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as something to my left catches my eye. I look deep into the woods that line each side of the road, but I don’t see anything. The gray overcast sky doesn’t help my vision; something else I’ve yet to hone so I can survive. I keep walking, the stones crunching under my feet sounding so loud in the almost silent dusky morning.
The road ends and before me stands the legendary Black Water Academy. Its old stone walls stretching for miles in both directions in front of me, with its black slate roof, and the huge wooden double doors at the top of what looks like at least a hundred stone steps. I take a deep breath and ascend the stairs, pushing one huge wooden door open once I reach the top. I find myself drowned in silence and an eeriness that I wouldn’t have thought I’d find at a school for my kind. A shiver runs down my spine as the door shuts behind me, and as it closes, I’m flooded with the sound of voices and footsteps.
“Hello, dear, you seem a little lost,” I spin back around and find a short, dark-haired woman wearing a warm smile.
“Hi, sorry,” I run my hair through my red silky strands before chastising myself for the nervous habit. “My name is Eden DeMontford, and I’m meant to start at Black Water for the next intake. Am I late?”
“Oh no, dear,” she says cheerfully. She walks towards me and squeezes my shoulders. “Welcome to Black Water. Actually, you’re a little early; we only have second to fourth years here this week, but what is a week, hey? Let’s take you to our headmistress and see what we should do with you.”
“Oh, no,” I stutter. “You really don’t have to do that. I can come back.”
“And you have somewhere else to go?” she asks with her eyebrows raised at me, like she knows exactly who I am. “Let’s just go and find the headmistress. It will all be fine, you’ll see.”
She smiles at me again, before she takes off down one of the six hallways that lead from this entry hall, her heels clicking on the stone floor, and echoing from the walls. As I follow her, the voices from before fade away again to nothingness.
“This passageway will take you away from the dorms and the classrooms and leads you to the teacher’s chambers; most importantly, the headmistress’ office. And well, if you ever need me, my office is in the entry hall where you found me, dear. Oh, how rude, my name is Mrs. Hale. I’m the welcoming wagon, admin busybody, and general gofer. If you need something, I can usually track it down, especially since I imagine you won’t be having anyone send packages from the outside while you’re here.” I wince at her words, said so casually, and swallow the lump that rises in my throat.
“Thank you, Mrs. Hale.”
“It’s really nothing, dear. It’s my job to know each and every student that walks through our gates. Now then, here we are,” she waves to a spiral staircase and ushers me to head up and she follows behind me. After what feels like another hundred steps, I come to face another wooden arched door, with a big black knocker in the center, made up of the crest of the school. Mrs. Hale steps around me and uses the knocker three times, and the door opens the smallest amount allowing her to push it open fully and step inside the office.
I follow behind her and the term office doesn’t quite do justice to the circular room. Windows pan the south of the room, giving me sight of the rest of the school and the grounds, and I can see the sun peeking through the clouds as it crests over the black lake in the distance. It’s almost ethereal.
“And who do we have here?” The voice draws me out of the spell of the view before me, to a tall, skinny, dark-haired woman to my right, who’s leaning over what looks like an indoor herb patch with a small watering can in her hand. Her hair is pulled back in a tight bun, pulling at her features, but her ice-blue eyes seem warm despite their color.
“This is Eden DeMontford, a new intake this year, except she’s a little early. I thought it best to bring her to you, Laney, so we can decide what to do with her for the next week, before the rest of the students arrive.”
“Hmmm, quite right. Well, let’s see you, girl. You can call me either Lanora or Laney as most of the intakes here do. You’ll find I’m most reasonable unless you break the rules. In those cases, I’ll be Ms. Cross, and you probably won’t leave this room smiling. Do we understand each other?”
“Yes, Ms. Cross. Sorry, Laney.” I shoot her a small smile, and she laughs.
“Right, well, welcome to Black Water Academy. I can’t put you in a dorm until the housing ritual when the rest of the intakes arrive, so for now I’ll put you in an empty teacher’s room. Mrs. Hale will make sure you know where the banquet hall is for your meals in the meantime and will make sure you have everything you need. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a pesky sprite problem in my flower garden to deal with.” She nods and sweeps out of the room, the black of her cape swooshing behind her.
“Well, that’s sorted. Let’s get you settled in. I know just the room for you; it has a view. Not quite like this one, but there are not many places that have a view like this.” I follow her out of the room and down the stairs and we walk further into the passageway before coming to another stairway. I follow her up the square spiral of stairs lined with doors. One huge pane of glass down one side floods the stairwell with so much light I almost want to shield my eyes. We stop about four floors from the top of the stairwell when Mrs. Hale pulls out the biggest chain of keys I’ve ever seen and flicks them over one at a time until I hear a faint, “Aha!” and she pushes a key into the handle of the door she stopped by. A soft click sounds, and the door opens with a faint whoosh. Dust rains down over us as we enter the room and Mrs. Hale pulls back the heavy curtains drenching the room in the now risen sun’s light.
She isn’t lying about the view. I can’t quite see the horizon, but I can still see over most of the school, with a glimpse of the lake and forest surrounding us. Mist floats up, touching the air softly as it’s burned away by the rising sun, and something about the entire picture mesmerizes me, as if I’ve seen it before, but somehow different.
“Is everything okay, dear?” Mrs. Hale shakes me out of my thoughts, and I smile at her gracefully.
“Yes, of course. Thank you. I’m sorry to be such an inconvenience.”
“Not at all. If you need anything at
all, you come and find me. Though once you’re sorted into your house, your house master or mistress will be able to help you too. Plus, the captains of your house. But I’m getting ahead of myself. How would you like a tour of the school?”
“That would be great,” I smile again, trying to stop my gaze flicking back to the lake outside. Her eyes focus on the death grip I have on my backpack, and I feel my blush rise as I unclasp my fingers from the arm strap and place it on the bed.
“Come on then.” She places the heavy iron key in my hand and winks at me. “Make sure you lock the room up, and no one else will be able to enter without your wishing it.”
“How is that even possible?” The wonder in my voice makes me feel naïve but I’ve never heard of a spell like that.
“Old magic, dear. The school was made with it, and it is why a Fae is always the Master or Mistress of our academies. Old magic is the strongest and purest, but it takes the best and the most powerful of masters and mistresses to control it, otherwise it would run riot with a mind of its own.” I feel my eyes widen at her honesty. “Okay then, let’s show you around, shall we? First, and most importantly, where you can eat!”
She leaves the room on the spin of her heel and leaves me to lock the door, her heels tapping on the stairs as we descend. I try to pay attention to where we go, back to the entry hall where I first entered, when I notice each corridor has an animal carved above it: a dragon, a lion, a scorpion, a bear, and a phoenix. Each one shimmers in the light, except the one we just came from which has the school crest engraved in the stone. I gaze upwards, following the staircases up the four stories I can see. So many doors. I have no idea how I’m going to learn my way around. I sigh and follow Mrs. Hale up the first staircase to the first floor and enter the first door. I feel like I’m inside a maze as I follow her down the very long corridor, and then through another door and back down some steps. She shows me the assembly hall, the defense hall, where our classes are in the east wing, the healing bay in the left wing, and the boathouse before I’m dropped back off at my temporary room. This place isn’t a school, it’s a mystery designed to trap you. I laugh at myself as I flop down onto the bed. Of course, I ended up here too early. That stupid group home I came here from had no idea who was even staying there, let alone important details like this. I’m just thankful I had only been there a few years. Life after I moved there was hard. It felt like I was upside down, with no safe place to get back upright, but I made it here and that’s what counts. That’s what I need to focus on.
Marked: Black Water Academy: Book One Page 1