It was hard to believe that he was lecturing me about the rules when we were the ones who wrote them in the first place. “Thank you for that life lesson. Is there anything else because I’d like to get back to my room?”
“Before you go, can you update me on your investigation efforts thus far?”
That one took me by surprise. Did he expect me to share my intel with him? I was appreciative of all the information he’d given me, but we weren’t partners, and I had no plans to work with him on any level. “The best thing you can do is go about your life like everything is normal, and leave the rest to me.”
“That’s not going to work for me.”
My eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
“I’m here because you said you could protect me,” he whispered. “That means we have to stick together.”
“You know as well as I do that this academy is protected by powerful spells,” I assured him. “No one can get inside, which means you’re safe with or without me.”
He stared at me like he was shocked by my response. “The bounty on my head puts my life in danger no matter where I am.”
I couldn’t argue. That much money would be tempting for anyone, but still, it doesn’t change the fact that this place was safe from outsiders. “Even if someone wanted to harm you here, they couldn’t.” I put my finger on top of the device in my neck. “The headmaster saw to that with his little torture devices.”
Cocking his head to the side, he stared at my neck. “They put one in you too?”
He seemed genuinely surprised, which made no sense to me. I may have had a privileged life before I came here, but none of that mattered now. I was a criminal in their eyes. “According to our laws, I committed a crime. I’m no different than you.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” he shrugged. “I guess I just expected you would get treated better, being a Van Helsing and all.”
“I could say the same to you,” I stood and bent into a mock bow. “Prince Cassius.”
He nodded his head. “Touché.”
I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. “I’ll see you around.”
He stood. “You’re planning on coming to the ceremony tonight, right?”
Besides the fact that this was the first time I heard about it, my entire body ached like an open wound. I planned to take a shower, bandage myself up like a mummy, and go to bed. “No, I think I’m going to stay in the dorms tonight.”
“You have to go,” he insisted with a look of fear in his eyes. “I won’t be safe if you’re not there.”
Cassius was overreacting. With all these officers monitoring the grounds, protection spells, and these damn control devices, nothing was going to happen to him. He was in the safest place he could be. “If you don’t think it’s safe, don’t go.”
He held out his open palms. “But—”
I opened the door leading to the girl’s dorms. “Goodnight, Prince Cassius.”
Chapter Ten
I heard a lot of noise coming from my dorm room.
There was a hard pounding I couldn’t identify over the loud music. I gently turned the knob, attempting to enter without drawing attention. When the door opened, and I stepped inside, I saw something I wasn’t expecting. It was my dorm roommate, Kiera. She was on top of her bed wearing a pink and white Hello Kitty t-shirt with pink leggings. She was singing along to a Taylor Swift song, using her hairbrush as a microphone. As she danced, the bed frame rattled.
Kiera didn’t look like a powerful supernatural. She looked like a typical teenage girl having silly fun when she thought no one was watching. When she finally noticed I was standing there, she didn’t jolt or even stop. She waved me closer. Curious, I dropped the bag on the floor and made my way over to the side of her bed. She grabbed me by the waist and hoisted me on top with her. “Come on, Mina. Have a little fun.”
As she sang louder than the music, she tugged on my hips and tried to make me dance. I went along with her because I had no other choice. She pulled me onto the bed like I was a ragdoll, so I had no doubt she could over-power me if she wanted. “I’m not a good dancer.”
“Have you ever seen Taylor dance?” I shrugged in response, and she rolled her eyes. “Taylor doesn’t dance because she’s good at it. She dances because it makes her feel good, and she doesn’t care what people think about it.”
I wondered what it would feel like to let go completely. I’d never once surrendered to my inhibitions. My life was structured, and my decisions calculated. My family demanded perfection. Dad said that Van Helsing’s carried themselves at a high standard because the expectation was that we were extraordinary, even amongst our peers. I never bought into it, but my father believed it wholeheartedly.
“Well, good for her,” I said as I swayed to the music. “I hope she’s happy.”
She reached out for my other wrist, and now we were dancing together awkwardly. “So, how was your first day? Did you kill anyone I know?”
There were three blonds I wouldn’t mind killing. That’s for sure. “Not yet, but there’s still time.”
“You’re funny, Mina.” Kiera laughed and then jumped off the bed. “If you let more of that out, you might just survive this place.”
I climbed down as she turned off the music. “A gun would be more efficient.”
She crossed her arms. “It sounds like your first day didn’t go well.”
“It went as well as I expected. I’m a reaper in an academy filled with supes who hate reapers.” I sat down on the edge of my bed. “It doesn’t take a mathematician to solve that equation.”
She sat down on the edge of her bed directly across from me. “I know what you need.”
“Really?” What I needed was the missing evidence from the surveillance video. That way, I could get the hell out of here before someone found a way around those control devices and killed me in my sleep. “What do I need?”
Her face lit up with excitement. “You need to blow off some steam, and I know just the place.”
“Let me guess,” I replied, thinking of my conversation with Cassius. “The ceremony.”
She leaned closer with curiosity dancing in her eyes. “Someone invited you?”
I couldn’t mention Cassius. The vampire prince was likely well-known around the academy, even if no one knew why he was here. That meant I had to stay as far away from him as possible while in public. “I overheard supes talking about it.”
“The witches run it,” she informed me. “They’re celebrating Ostara, their spring equinox, but the party is an open invitation.”
This place had security all over the place, and a lockdown at night. How in the world did anything like this get approval from the headmaster? “It’s surprising to hear that the academy lets everyone gather in the woods for something like that. It just seems like a security risk.”
“Oh, no one is going to try to escape,” she said, holding her hand over her mouth to hide her smile. “If anything, they don’t want to leave.”
Supes that chose to remain locked up. No way. “Why?”
“Ostara is one of the three fertility festivals, and the most powerful if you ask me.” She faced the mirror while fixing her hair. “The sun god and goddess are in their lusty adolescent fazes. During Ostara, they conceive their Yule child.”
Reapers learned about the history of witches during the early years of our education, and some of what she said sounded familiar. “What does this have to do with the supes at the academy?”
She placed her hands in her lap, and her face turned serious. “The spells they cast during the ritual lower the inhibitions of the participants, and some of them act a fool. That’s why I go.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “You mean to tell me that the academy just looks the other way while you all go out there and have an orgy?”
“Not me.” Kiera shook her head. “I’m only there to observe the foolishness. But when things start to get wild, I go back to the dorms.”
Wild
was probably the most accurate word to describe it. Lust was a powerful emotion, and teenagers were already horny without any outside help. If this celebration was what she said it was, then things could get dangerous, even deadly. “Are there officers from the academy monitoring the event?”
“No, Ostara is a Wiccan holiday,” she answered. “The academy allows religious celebrations. It’s one of those rare times where they look the other way.”
I had to know more. “You said Ostara makes the witches horny. Are the other supernatural factions excluded?”
“No way,” she stated firmly. “The witches have rituals they perform throughout the festival, and the spells affect everyone who’s there.”
If this event was unmonitored by the academy, Cassius could be in danger. It would be easy for someone to do something violent and then blame it on the magic. It made me wonder why he’d choose to attend. Then I remembered he was a boy going to a party filled with witches who wanted to party. No male, whether human or supernatural, would miss that opportunity. “Are humans equally susceptible to their magic?” I questioned, even though I was confident I already knew the answer.
“There’s always a chance you could resist.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “But I wouldn’t count on it.”
I groaned, knowing I had no choice. I promised Cassius that I would protect him, and there was a good chance he might need me tonight. I wasn’t exactly sure what I would be walking into, but I had to attend the ceremony. As a reaper, it was my duty to protect the supes, even if that meant protecting them from themselves. I glanced over at my closet and thought about the kinds of clothes I’d packed.
I was sure I had nothing appropriate. “What type of outfits do the girls wear to these things?”
Her eyes filled with excitement. “You’re going to go? I can’t believe it.”
I waited for her to realize she hadn’t answered my question.
After a moment of weird staring, she said, “Oh, right. The girls dress like they’re going to a party. It should be warm, so I think a cute sundress or skirt would be nice. Do you have a dress?”
I brought tactical clothing for my sleuthing, t-shirts and yoga pants for lounging around, and sleepwear. I should’ve put more thought into my clothing options. “Nope.”
“You can wear something of mine,” she insisted. “It won’t fit perfectly, but we’ll make it work.”
My instincts were telling me to reject her offer. This whole conversation was moving us closer toward a friendship, which was the opposite of what I should be doing. Keeping her at a distance was better. I couldn’t create any kind of emotional attachment, even though I couldn’t deny I was starting to like her. I was making a mistake by allowing her to get this close. I should put an end to it all.
But I didn’t. “Thanks for your help.”
“What are friends for?” she replied as she sifted through her side of the closet. A squeal left her lips as she pulled a dress off the hanger. “I found it. This one is going to be perfect for you.”
She held the slinky dress against my chest. It was bright red, the exact wrong color to wear when trying to blend in. It had thin straps, lowcut in the front, and came to about two inches above my knees. “Do you have anything in black or brown.”
“No,” she snorted. “I only wear bright colors.”
I stepped in front of the mirror, holding the dress against my chest. “Okay, this is going to have to work.”
Kiera stood behind me. “It’s going to work.”
I nodded. “You’re right. It’s all going to work out.”
Putting her arm around my shoulders, she said, “And who knows? You might even get lucky.”
I prayed luck was on my side tonight, just not in the way she intended.
Chapter Eleven
The midnight celebration would take place in a clearing about two miles from the academy.
The four-inch heels Kiera loaned me were about two sizes too big, which made my journey through the thick forestry a challenge. She trudged through with ease, her excitement almost palatable. Her shoes were flats, a much smarter choice. I was missing my boots. I’d never been so far out of my element. Dresses and heels were not part of my everyday life. I was much more of a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl.
As we hiked forward, I gazed at the seemingly unending line of flittering lights above our heads. They moved as the wind blew through but remained in position. The witches had created a spell that illuminated a walkway through the dark forest. For once, I was grateful magic existed. With all these dense treetops, we wouldn’t be able to see anything in front of us without them.
“We’re almost there,” Kiera announced. “Can you speed it up?”
I stared down at my ridiculous choice of footwear. “Not in these shoes.”
She slowed until we were walking side by side. “Do you need me to carry you?”
I would’ve laughed, but I knew she was serious. I visualized myself getting carried into the celebration, and it brought a smile to my face. “No thanks, I can make it on my own.” From a distance, I heard something that sounded like drums. The rhythm was slow and steady. “What’s that?”
“The ritual has already started,” she groaned. “We’ve got to get moving before I miss any of the foolishness.”
I laughed. “I’ll speed up. I don’t want you to miss any foolishness.”
“Laugh all you want, but you’ll see for yourself,” she insisted. “I’d be willing to bet you’ve never witnessed anything like this in your life.”
I’d been all over the world with my parents. They introduced me to many unique cultures, so it took a lot to surprise me. “I guess we’re about to find out.”
“Before I forget,” she handed me a bundle of flowers wrapped in pink fabric. “You’ll need to put these on the alter.”
The bouquet had multi-colored tulips, carnations, daisies, and roses. “But I’m not a witch.”
“It’s a show of respect,” she explained. “They’ve invited us to take part in their celebration, which means we have to give an offering.”
The word offering could mean different things. Some ancient cultures sacrificed people as a gift to their gods. I hoped I wasn’t going to see anything like that. I wouldn’t stand by and allow them to kill any breathing creature; human or not. But that was unlikely considering this was a fertility festival. Based on what Kiera told me, the pagan gods wanted babies made, not sacrifices on this sacred day.
We pushed our way through a wall of bushes. Once we made it out the other side, we could see the clearing. Clusters of supes were all over the flat space wearing a wide variety of clothing styles. The vampires wore suits and gowns like they thought they were attending a prom. Shifters were the most relaxed in casual jeans, plaid long-sleeves, and cotton t-shirts. The witches were the easiest to identify. They wore white hooded robes that covered their faces.
I followed closely behind Kiera as she made her way toward the middle. For someone who wasn’t a witch, she seemed to know exactly where she was going. She came to a stop in front of a labyrinth made of baseball-sized rocks. She lowered her head until we were eye level. “We’re going to walk the path in silence. When you get to the center, lay your flowers down on the altar and walk out the way you came. Understand?”
All I had to do was follow the rock pathway and drop off my offering. “Doesn’t sound that hard.”
Kiera nodded. “Good, let’s go.”
I kept pace with her as I strolled through the twisted path. There had to be hundreds of these rocks that someone aligned perfectly. Each stone was the exact size and shape as the one next to it, and it made me wonder how long it took to find them all. It seemed impossible. A second later, I realized it wasn’t feasible. One of the witches must’ve used magic to either create them or find them.
Once we reached the middle, I saw a square wooden altar with a shimmering sky-blue cloth laid over the top. The altar had so many offerings; supes had started placing theirs on the ground
in front. There were flowers in a riot of colors, stuffed animals, fruit, candles, and incense. I put my bouquet on the ground next to Kiera’s fluffy pink bunny. I guessed the animals were supposed to represent new life.
When we were about to exit the labyrinth, Cassius approached wearing a white button-down shirt, black suit, and tie. He was beautiful in the way that all vampires seemed to be, but to me, there was always something detached about their physical appearance. They gave off this unattainable vibe. Maybe it was because they were essentially dead inside. I didn’t believe they were capable of love.
“I thought you said you weren’t going to come.”
He said it out in the open, blowing our cover. Now there would be no denying we knew each other. I wanted to smack him in the back of the head, but I couldn’t bring any more attention to us. “I wasn’t planning on it, but Kiera insisted I needed to come, so here I am.”
He held out his hand toward Kiera. “I don’t think we’ve ever met. I’m Cassius.”
She shook his hand without hesitation, which most shifters wouldn’t do. They didn’t trust anyone outside of their packs. Vampires and shifters rarely got along, which might be one of only a handful of facts most myths and legends got right. “I know who you are, Prince.”
Cassius visibly cringed. “Yes, well, Cassius is fine. Preferred, actually.”
They started up a conversation, but I wasn’t listening. I was too busy watching Kiera’s body language as she spoke. She was wide-eyed, talking in a softer tone, and giggling at every one of his responses. Was she attracted to him? Flirting, even? The longer they spoke, the harder it was for me to hold back from laughing. This potential romance was unheard of in my world. I couldn’t wait to tell my mother.
After a few minutes, it became clear that they had both forgotten about me. I decided to take a look around and see if I could sniff out any dangers. I found the trio of warlocks playing the drums I heard when we first arrived. They played a seductive, almost entrancing beat. I stood there for a long while and watched them. Unlike the white robes I’d first seen, they wore black. Maybe females wore white, and males wore black.
Van Helsing Academy Page 7