Nine Lives: The Caelum Academy Trilogy: Part THREE

by Akeroyd, Serena

  They were all sleeping, all of them. Except for Nestor, who was also having a nightmare.

  Gently nudging him, and surrounding him with the warmth I wished I could give with my body, I urged him to restfulness and only closed my eyes with the intent to sleep when I felt him settle deeper into his slumber.

  Men were such a huge responsibility, but I was coming to realize there was nowhere else I’d rather be than here with them.

  ❖

  Stefan

  The scenic route in a taxi cost a small fortune. Not that the price mattered when Frazer or Samuel were picking up the tab. Did it make me feel like a piece of shit for freeloading off them? Kind of. But then I’d look at Eve and see how joyful she was, and I’d be reminded that we weren’t back at Caelum anymore. This wasn’t last year, fuck, it wasn’t even eight weeks ago. We were Pack now. Pack. That meant we shared everything.

  Money.

  A roof.

  A common enemy.

  Our woman.

  I had to admit that London in the daylight rocked. Last night, driving half asleep to our new place after coming across the Ghouls in the middle of their meat feast, I knew I wasn’t the only one who’d failed to see the city sights as we’d driven by. Now? It was crazy how close the mews cottage was to the center.

  The driver gave us a running commentary because he'd heard Frazer's voice and knew he was a Yank, as the driver had called him. Because of him, I knew when we were driving through Belgravia and on our way to Buckingham Palace itself. The crowds astonished me more than the palace if I were being honest, and even though I'd like to see how tough those Beefeaters were, I was even more eager to see Big Ben and the London Eye. According to the cabbie, Big Ben was closed for repairs, but we still saw it and pointed at it.

  Eve gasped when we came across the London Eye, and from the glint in Frazer's gaze, I figured we'd be on that ride before we left. Money was good for one thing—making our mate happy.

  Next came Covent Garden, or theater district as the driver called it, before we headed past St Paul's Cathedral. Next came Whitechapel, the stalking ground of Jack the Ripper. Had we been alone, I knew Eve would have asked if the bastard was a Ghoul, and though I wasn't sure, I knew enough about the prick's MO to figure that the perverted SOB was a Ghoul.

  After that, we hit Canary Wharf and the old docks. When we passed something called the Isle of Dogs, all of us got a laugh when Eve innocently asked if the place was inhabited by dogs. If she wasn't clever as fuck, I swear, I'd think she was a cookie short of a jar. That was pretty much the end of the road for us, and we had to leave the car and head down into a foot tunnel that took us under the River Thames itself or grab a ferry.

  As we waited for a ferry, Eve explored the Island Gardens, which were a neatly tended small park. On the opposite side of the bank, Google informed us, was our destination.

  The University of Greenwich was a shit ton grander than I’d anticipated, and I slung my arm across the back of the bench as I stared at it. It was ancient. At least, I figured it was. Two twin domes peered over the Thames, with a derogatory sneer at the ugliness of modernity in the form of ferries that sputtered pollution into the air, as well as the cars that drove past it, horns beeping and tires squealing.

  The short ride didn’t take long, and even though I felt sure Eve would get a kick out of it, she definitely had lost her sea legs in the short time we’d been back on land. As she was turning green, Frazer’s phone buzzed.

  “Yeah?”

  I cocked a brow at Frazer and, spying that he was on the phone, waited for him to speak. After a few nods and a couple of ‘sures,’ he murmured, “Professor Anheim will be waiting for us at the terminal.”

  “Talk about door-to-door service,” Samuel mocked, looking more po-faced than usual. Maybe that was from the river crossing or the fact that he was just feeling edgy from the answers we were hoping to gain today. Truth was, the bastard didn’t talk much unless he was talking Eve’s ear off and making her giggle over inane shit that—even though I was kind of jealous—also made me happy because when she smiled, it made me smile.

  This mate stuff was fucking complicated.

  Still, this was his stomping grounds, his town, and I knew the memories had to hurt. Especially since his family was still living and, if he wanted, he could head in for a visit.

  I understood why he couldn’t, why he’d made the choice he had. Most kids did. It didn’t matter if we had a loving family or not, when we went to Caelum, when we learned the truth, we learned we were freaks and accepted that our families just couldn’t love us.

  Maybe that was something we were too quick to believe but going from a regular world where you were considered insane to Caelum, a haven, was a welcome breath of fresh air. Plus, being entangled with a family who also believed you were crazy was just too much for many of us.

  Of course, I hadn’t had that problem, and while that sucked for me, I had to admit that it sucked harder for Samuel. To know you were loved? To know it and have the people still love and mourn you? I’d seen him watching them on his computer. Thought it was creepy as fuck, knew Reed and Frazer thought it was too, but they accepted him, and that was what we did.

  Not just Pack, but creatures.

  We accepted one another’s flaws because there was no one else who’d have our backs, and to be frank, I was pretty ashamed of how the brats in our year had treated Eve. We were outsiders in this world, and if we didn’t look out for one another, it made us real monsters. Not just the ones humans thought we were.

  The brisk wind stopped Eve from puking, I reckoned, but her legs were wobbly as she staggered off the ferry and onto the terminal. It was hard to credit the kickass fighter from last night with this one, and my lips curved as she shuddered in my arms, clinging to me because it was either that or tumble to the ground when I caught her and helped keep her upright.

  When I knew she was better, I went to pull back, but she snuggled harder into me. I wasn’t about to complain so I let her embrace me—fuck, I embraced her back. She nuzzled her face against my chest and whispered, “Stefan?”

  Frowning at the fear in her voice, I asked, “What is it, love?”

  “I’m not sure.” A few weeks ago, I knew that answer would have been the truth. And while there was still so much uncertainty around what she could do, I had a feeling her words were a lie.

  “Talk to me,” I murmured back.

  “It’s hard. I just… I’m scared.” I knew it took a lot for her to admit that. I wasn’t even sure what could scare Eve, considering last night she’d walked up to those Ghouls as though they were just gangbangers waving guns around, not monsters with their hands gut-deep in human flesh.

  This woman was a world of contrasts. To be fair, I figured that was what was needed in a Pack of seven men. There was always someone she’d confuse and always a mate who would be turned on by whatever had caused that confusion in a Pack brother.

  I rubbed a hand down her spine, loving how she cuddled into me. “We’re there for you. No matter what.”

  Her swallow was almost audible, and it had me pulling back, even when she tugged me harder into her arms as though trying to escape my searching her features for answers she wasn’t willing to verbally give me.

  “What if I’m a monster?”

  “We discussed this last night,” Samuel interjected, his tone so brisk I wanted to smack the shit out of him. Couldn’t he see she was distraught already without him talking to her like a schoolteacher to a naughty kid in his class?

  Although… wait.

  Last night?

  Fuck.

  We seriously needed a huge bed, one we could all sleep in if pillow talk was about shit that mattered. Corralling my thoughts away from how big a bed would need to be for eight people to fit, and if that wasn’t, in fact, a room, I grumbled, “You’ve already talked about this?”

  “Yes. And it’s ridiculous. Isn’t it?” Samuel said, his tone stern again.

  Eve’s mou
th pursed into a mutinous line that had my own quirking. Rebellion was imminent, and I could almost see the cogs starting to whir as her temper caught the better of her.

  Far preferring her to be riled up than sad, I shot Samuel an approving look. Not even by the blink of his eye did he convey his own amusement, but I sensed it nonetheless.

  Before any of us could say another word, there was a soft clearing of a throat, and we turned and saw a man and woman standing in the ferry terminal. They had raincoats on, which even this street rat knew was Burberry, and the jewels on the woman’s wrist and throat spoke of even more wealth. I’d have picked the guy’s pockets if I’d still been on the streets.

  These were walking marks. I just wasn’t sure if they knew it.

  Around fifty, the pair of them had softly graying dark hair, skin that was lightly creased, and a countenance that looked, I bullshit you not, wise. But their eyes? They were young. I wasn’t sure what I even meant by that, except for the glisten in them was fresh and dewy, and in no way rheumy with old age.

  As I peered closer with each step I took toward them, hauling Eve along with me with Sam at my back, I began to wonder if they were wearing some kind of disguise. It was a good one, but something about it made me think it wasn’t real.

  Like their hair was dusted with powder to look gray, and their skin was made up to look lightly wrinkled... but that was beyond strange, and trust me, I knew what strange was now.

  They just looked too young for a middle-aged couple, and no amount of surgery could reap that particular miracle. I didn’t care how rich they were.

  When our Pack’s attention was aimed on them, Dr. Anheim held out his hand. Frazer and I stepped forward, but I ceded to Frazer, just this fucking once, because we were only here thanks to his connections and Samuel’s smarts. I wasn’t sure how the two of us would duke it out over leadership, but now wasn’t the time for a pissing contest.

  After greeting Frazer, he shook my hand, and while he was introducing himself to me, Frazer was greeting Anheim’s wife. Which, of course, was Dr. Anheim. That wasn’t about to get boring, was it?

  When we’d all been introduced, the lady doctor murmured, “I’m Avalina. My husband is Bartlett. It’s easier to call us by our given names.” Well, that solved that problem.

  Bartlett said, “If you’d like to follow us to our offices? We can speak privately there.” As he spoke, his gaze drifted back to Eve, who’d been quiet ever since she’d shaken their hands. Quieter than usual, I meant. I figured Bartlett had gathered she was the one with the new ink since she was the only girl in the group and the picture of the arm we’d sent, with the ink on it, had belonged to a woman.

  As I looked at her, really looked, I saw her pale features were blanched of all color. I hauled her back to my side and hugged her against me. “What’s going on with you?” I whispered as we followed the doctors down the path from the terminal.

  She gulped but shook her head, her gaze trained anywhere but on me. Irritation swirled inside me, but it wasn’t like we could have it out here in the middle of the street, was it? And what a street. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen anything like this place.

  Everything felt old. From the path we were walking on to the trees that lined it. The sun was still low as it was early, but it shot dappled light and waves of warmth from under the canopy. We passed a building to the left, and I heard Avalina tell Eren, “It’s the National Maritime Museum. The Cutty Sark is just around the corner. It’s the last clipper of its age. Carried tea from Asia to Britain during the Victorian era—”

  I wasn’t sure if I’d ever seen so many old buildings clustered around, and there were huge lawns that had students lazing about on them. It was, Samuel had assured us this morning, unseasonably warm, so it figured why some of the chicks were sunbathing and sitting on the still-damp grass over blankets as they read and caught up with their studies.

  As I stared at the sight, I almost sighed over how normal it all was. I wasn’t sure anything could have ever made me feel weirder than I already knew I was.

  Sex was a form of energy for me, for Christ’s sake, and while I was certain these students were all older than me, I felt like I had a thousand years on them in experience.

  They didn’t know their last day could be around the corner in the form of a creature that belonged in their nightmares. But I did. And I’d killed some of those creatures to save the asses of people like these.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I blinked at Eve’s question. “When I asked you that, you ignored me.”

  She sniffed. “I’m allowed to ask it back, aren’t I?”

  Because I didn’t want to fight, and I knew she’d tell me eventually what was wrong—even if I had to spank it out of her—I just said, “You ever feel really old?”

  That had her blinking. “I’m eighteen.”

  “So? You can still feel old. Don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

  She scrunched her nose. “When you all play on that Xbox thing, I feel very wise. Not old. Does that count?”

  I snickered and hugged her to me, grateful she hadn’t clung onto Eren as was becoming a habit of hers, but had come to me for some lovin’. “Yeah, that counts. But we’ll get you hooked on that shit one of these days. We just have to find the right game.”

  Her snort said she didn’t think that would ever happen, but hell, she’d yet to play Grand Theft Auto. I could imagine her getting a buzz out of the car chases in that game.

  Making a mental note to buy the latest GTA so we could play it at some point, I murmured, “This is such a normal place, and it’s been a long time since I’ve been anywhere that reminds me of how removed we are.”

  A hum escaped her. “You’re right. We don’t fit in here.”

  “No.” I blew out a breath. “We don’t.”

  When Eren appeared at her side, I shot him a look, surprised to note that the shadows under his eyes were there, but a little less black than usual. When he cocked a brow at me, I shrugged.

  “You look less exhausted than usual,” I commented.

  A giggle escaped Eve, and I knew right then and there that I’d pay a fucking fortune to hear that over and over again until the end of my days.

  Fingers crossed that was when I was old and gray. Well, older and grayer than the Anheims, at any rate.

  “I made him sleep.”

  Eren grunted. “You cheated.”

  I blinked. “How did she cheat?”

  “She sang to me.”

  “Oh.” My lips twitched. “It worked, so why are you complaining?”

  “He didn’t even have a nightmare,” Eve butted in, sounding proud of herself.

  Considering she had reason to be, I gaped at her and told her, “That’s fucking brilliant news!” Then, as it hit me, I whispered, “Hang on, you used the Lorelei to sing him a lullaby?”

  She winced. “It’s getting easier to call on each creature.”

  Her admission couldn’t have come at a worse time, because we weren’t alone to discuss it, and we were about to enter the university. We’d been walking down a graveled path at the side of an epic building that towered a good forty feet over us. Windows lined the wall, each one made up of a tiny rectangle of glass that glittered in the morning light. At her words, however, we approached a curved step that led to four more and an entrance portico.

  After being scanned by security with wands, we crossed a floor made up of black-and-white checkerboard tiles. It kind of reminded me of Caelum, truth be told. With its tall ceilings and walls loaded with different paintings, mostly oil, and of a variety of subjects.

  There wasn’t much to look at, though, before Bartlett had approached a door. He opened the carved mahogany and waved us in.

  Eve wasn’t the only one who released a hiss at the sight of his office. It was like nothing I could have imagined. Wall to wall bookshelves that were over three times my height, and on the ceiling, a bright blue cupola made the room feel as though it
were outside.

  Well, outside if angels were peering over the molding like innocent Peeping Toms.

  In front of a bay window, parallel to each other, there were two large desks that were overflowing with paperwork, and two thin laptops buzzed into being as the two doctors sat behind their desks and logged on.

  When Frazer cleared his throat, Bartlett waved a hand. “We’re used to people gaping at our office. Let us just check our emails and you can absorb it.”

  His interest faded before he even finished the sentence, and I had to hide a laugh at Frazer’s disgruntled expression—he definitely wasn’t used to being ignored.

  But the doctor’s reasoning made sense. It was impossible not to be impressed with the office. Thousands of books gleamed with vitality as they were stacked between rich, golden brown shelves. Certain segments, sometimes two or three stacks, were topped by a crest that was loaded with a letter, and the room was so tall, it had two floors with a mezzanine landing!

  Overhead, the blue ceiling was decorated with gilt and lighter blues so it felt like the sky, but also, as though it were an extension of the library itself. Painted books were drawn above the shelves and were stacked around the angels as though they’d been reading before someone had rudely interrupted them.

  “It’s beautiful,” Eve breathed, finally deciding now was the moment to pull away from me so she could tilt her head back and stare at the beauty overhead.

  And while she wasn’t wrong, as I stared at her, I knew the true meaning of beauty as I beheld her glorious face.

  Everything about Eve called to me.

  It wasn’t just a sexual attraction thing, although that helped, it was just her. She was simple and complicated, and the two contrasts just riled me up inside.

  After we’d all finished gaping at the library—and trust me, this kind of stuff wasn’t my bag, but even I was impressed—Bartlett cleared his throat and shut down his computer. Avalina turned in her swivel chair to face us too, and she motioned to the two sofas that were lined up with each of their desks.