Through the sting of tears, I look at the small room. We’re bouncing in a rhythmic motion. A small circular window behind my head shows water moving up and down outside the glass.
Impossible, the boat sank and I was in the water. What’s going on?
Then, the owner of the second voice steps forward. I recognize Professor Nerida immediately, her statuesque presence throws a shadow on the room.
“Thank you, Matron, I can take it from here.” The tone of her voice is commanding.
Matron Dixon nods curtly and stands, her mouth pressed into a hard line. “As you wish, Ma’am.”
The door shuts behind the Matron, and Professor Nerida sits in a chair next to me. “Maya, you had a nightmare.”
The remnants of the horrible experience grip my senses. I’m shaking. “It wasn’t a nightmare. The boat crashed, or it overturned. I was in the water.”
Professor Nerida shakes her head. “Take a look around. You’re safe on the boat. It’s morning.”
I squint, finally processing the fact that sunshine is coming in through the porthole.
“I couldn’t swim,” I whisper. “I drowned.”
Nerida blinks her milky eyes and leans in closer. “You drowned? That’s what you saw?”
“I didn't see it.” A headache splits across my forehead. “It happened! I don’t know how to explain it, but it did.”
Nerida folds her fingers together and assesses me the way a detective would a suspect. “What do you mean, you drowned?”
“There was a shipwreck. I was down there, trying to get...” I trail off as the headache worsens and my head spins at the memory.
She freezes, her eyes intent on mine. “A shipwreck?”
I nod miserably. “I was reaching for a necklace, but I couldn’t get it, I couldn’t get him—”
Nerida inhales sharply and the noise startles me. When she speaks, her voice is calm and measured. “You’re a fan of astronomy, is that correct?”
I nod hesitantly. How does she know about my stargazing hobby? I push the thought from my mind and focus on breathing through the headache.
Professor Nerida smiles. “That’ll work nicely. So few students have an appreciation for my subject. They’re all so obsessed with Transformation and Human Studies—”
I tilt my head to the side. “Transformation?”
She nods. “You’ll find out in due time. Listen to me carefully, Maya. When you go upstairs, everyone else will seem different. Everything will become clear after the Intake meeting when you get to Deep Cove. Try not to question anything until then, and certainly don’t ask anyone about what happened, or tell anyone what you saw.”
I nod dumbly, lost for words. I couldn’t describe what happened to me even if I wanted to.
She continues, her eyes concerned. “People are going to ask you about your trial. For your own safety, you need to say that you saw the stars in the night sky. Astronomy is your favorite subject, so it should be easy. Take this and put it on.”
Professor Nerida reaches into her jacket pocket and produces a beautiful necklace. It’s a pearly gold seashell carved in the shape of a star. It hangs from a slim chain. She holds it towards me.
“Find me next week once you’re settled in, and we can talk further. Remember, if you speak to anyone about this, I won’t be able to protect you. Trust me, Maya, I will explain everything when I can.”
My blood turns cold and I stare at her blankly. For my own safety? Protect me? What is she talking about?
Footsteps tap down the hallway and Nerida shoves the necklace towards me. I hesitate for a moment but her eyes are pleading. A bitter taste fills my mouth and I throw the necklace over my head. What is there to protect me from?
The door bursts open and Matron Dixon bustles in. She looks at me and it's like she's seen a ghost. She glances at my star necklace and her expression is unreadable before she turns away.
Is Deep Cove Academy… dangerous?
8
Matron Dixon helps me to my feet and my body aches. I’m wearing the same jeans and T-shirt I was wearing yesterday and I run my hands over my jeans. They’re clean and dry.
I must be going crazy.
Slowly, I climb the stairs to the deck and step into the sunshine. We’re passing through a narrow waterway bordered by tall, green mountains. The cliff face is sheer and rugged — dangerous, wild terrain.
Casey’s standing at the edge of the boat, tying her curls into a ponytail.
“Hey!” My voice is rougher than expected.
Casey grins and gives me a hug. “There you are. Professor Nerida told us you got sick last night and that you were with the Matron?”
“Something like that.” I mutter darkly. “What’s going—?”
My words catch as I remember Nerida hushing me to secrecy. I clear my throat instead and Casey gives me a funny look.
Then, little Flo squeals and points ahead.
A large cove opens to an island ahead. It’s rich with vegetation and bathed in morning sunlight. But the beauty of the craggy cliffs and sweeping coastline pales in comparison to the marvel within the cliffs.
A castle is built into the cliffside. Turrets, doors, windows, columns — it’s like something out of a fairytale. The castle descends from the top of the cliff to the ocean. Roughly hewn stairs descend to the water and appear to continue underneath. For what reason, I can’t imagine.
Mr. Seaver smiles broadly — the first time I’ve seen him smile a real smile. He drinks in the sight alongside the rest of us. “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve arrived.”
The twelve of us stare, speechless and spell-bound, at Deep Cove Academy.
Our boat cruises along the elegant cove of the coastline and pulls up to a narrow dock. The cliff face next to the castle plunges to a golden sand beach, which is scattered with teenagers. All of them look straight out of Billabong ads — tall, tan, and west-coast cool. A group plays volleyball and an impossibly pretty blonde girl lines up to serve. There are at least a dozen surfers in the shallows.
“Listen up, Intakes. Leave your luggage here, and follow me!” Professor Nerida ushers us off the boat.
We walk towards the castle, my mind in a haze. The group of volleyball-playing students on the beach eye us as we line up outside of a carved archway in the cliff face. Everyone here looks like they walked out of a magazine.
One of the guys, who looks like your typical high-school bro — except hotter — lowers his sunglasses and mocks checking us out. He’s got stylishly messy blonde hair and a six-pack I’m sure he’s purposely flexing.
He whistles as we walk by. “Check out the Landwalkers, fresh meat!”
The beautiful blonde girl swats him playfully and they dissolve into laughter, like it’s the world’s wittiest joke.
“Did he just call us Landwalkers?” I ask Casey, choosing to ignore them.
She shrugs, and keeps walking. “Every high school has its jerks.”
“Yeah, but Landwalkers? What does that even mean?”
“Boys are stupid — I’m sure it’s just some dumb slang. We’ll stick together. Who wants to hang out with people like that anyway?”
I roll my eyes and don’t answer. Casey looks like she knows way more about boys than I do. I look away.
And that’s when I see him.
Two guys walk along the shoreline, clutching their boards. The first guy is drop-dead gorgeous, with dark skin and a body so muscular that you’d think he was carved out of rock.
But, even he fades into the background compared to the guy walking beside him. My breath catches as I lay eyes on him. He’s tall and darkly tanned, lean but muscular. His blondish-brown hair is tousled, framing his angular face. He’s wearing black wayfarer sunglasses and he’s half-smiling, like he knows something no one else knows.
I can’t take my eyes off of him. I didn’t think it was humanly possible for someone to be so beautiful. From where I stand across the beach, all I can see is him.
9
&nbs
p; I’m too lost in the beautiful stranger to notice that Casey is staring at me.
“Why are you blushing?” Casey’s voice brings me back to the present and I abruptly close my mouth, my hands flying to my cheeks. She follows my gaze and nods her approval. “Wow.”
She’s able to stay casual, but I’m reeling. Never in my life have I stopped and stared, speechless, at some random guy. The sea air is clearly getting to me.
I rip my eyes from the perfect boy and shake myself off. I need to stay focused and figure out what’s going on.
I look around and everyone from the boat is noticeably happy and carefree. They laugh and joke together, looking more like life-long friends than strangers bound to an unnerving journey.
Each of them wears a necklace similar to the one that Professor Nerida gave me, but with one obvious difference — the seashells are carved into different shapes. Casey’s is in the shape of a wave. Dennis and James both have anchors, and another girl has a song note. Flo has the same star that I do.
Nerida advised me not to tell anyone about my nightmare, but that doesn’t mean I can’t ask questions of everyone else.
I turn back to Casey. “So what happened after I got, uh, sick last night?”
“I guess you missed everyone comparing notes.” Casey sounds blissfully calm, like she’s wrapped in a pleasant memory. “Do you remember that beautiful melody on the boat?”
“When you used my shoulder as a pillow?”
“That would be the time,” Casey giggles. “Everyone had this insane, out-of-body, surreal experience. You did too, right?”
I pause and the dark memory returns. “It was surreal, that’s for sure.”
“It felt like heaven was reaching out to me.” Casey takes hold of her necklace and absent-mindedly traces the wave of the shell. “The melody put me in this crazy trance. I was floating in warm water, and then the water parted and there was a path leading through. At the end of the path, all these smiling people were holding this necklace to me. I took it, and then I woke up wearing it.”
It’s the first I’ve seen her look so totally comfortable, so completely at home. My expression darkens. That doesn’t sound anything like what I experienced. I must’ve done something wrong.
“What did everyone else see?” I hope that Casey can’t hear the note of desperation in my voice.
“We saw different necklaces but at the end of the dream — or trance or whatever you want to call it — we all saw smiling, happy people beckoning us forward, holding out our necklaces. Who do you think they are?”
I have no idea. Whoever they were, I didn’t see them, and their hands sure weren’t outstretched to save me from drowning.
“Teachers?” I suggest, lamely.
“Maybe,” Casey shrugs and then her dreamy expression fades. “I haven’t had the chance to talk to Flo, but it looks like you got the same star necklace. What happened for you? What did you see?”
My heart picks up. I want to tell Casey the truth, but Professor Nerida’s warning echoes in my head. If I tell Casey what happened to me, am I involving her in the “danger” Nerida was speaking about?
“Uhhh...” I sputter, scrambling to think of what to say.
Luckily, I’m saved by none other than Professor Nerida. “Ok Intakes, line up!”
Casey falls in line without hesitation or concern. She has this expectant, peaceful expression on her face. Everyone has it — Dennis, James, Flo. Everyone except me. They no longer seem confused, they’re all complacently accepting of this curious place. It’s like they’ve been hypnotized.
A haunting loneliness creeps over me. It’s becoming more and more apparent that I don’t belong here. Why am I at Deep Cove Academy?
10
Professor Nerida disappears through the stone carved archway and into the cliff face. The other students follow suit. My stomach churns uncomfortably. I can’t do this. This is all too weird. I’ll take my chances with the rickety boat and make a fast getaway to the mainland.
I turn towards the dock, ready to run. But, no such luck. The old boat is already well out from the shoreline and sailing into the distance. There are no other boats in sight, and it’s impossible to see the mainland from here.
My heart sinks. Fantastic. I’m well and truly stuck on this island.
I try to keep calm. I can’t figure out a way to escape if I’m freaking out. I take a breath and focus on the present moment. I can’t do anything about my situation right now, so I might as well go along with it.
Casey links arms with me and I force a smile. I’ll admit, part of me is more than a little curious about this island, with its mysterious castle and ridiculously good-looking people.
Professor Nerida leads us into a huge glass elevator that sits perfectly in the cliff face. The doors close in a dramatic swooping motion and we start to move.
“Aggh!” Flo yelps and I grab onto the railing.
We aren’t rising towards the top of the cliffs. The platform we’re standing on is dropping — fast. We plunge through the surrounding rock until the elevator cab pops out into a transparent tube. We’re underwater.
I squeal and clutch at Casey’s arm in disbelief. The tube is dotted with starfish, snails and algae who have made their homes on the structure. A seal sweeps its tail gracefully through the water. The creature peers at us for a moment before swimming off. I gape at the underwater world and, for a moment, I forget my fears.
We descend into deeper, darker waters. The walls of the cliff have been fitted with underwater lights so the area around the elevator remains bright. The world is alive with algae, fish and other creatures. I’ve never been so amazed in my life.
The elevator cab slows and eventually stops. Professor Nerida leads our dumbstruck group into a dimly-lit stone passageway. No one was expecting that elevator trip of a lifetime. I smell the salt from the surrounding ocean — how far below the surface are we?
It occurs to me that I never would’ve expected to be starting junior year in an impossibly-built underwater passageway with a mysterious teacher and a star-shaped seashell necklace. I restrain a bout of hysterical laughter. Nothing can shock me anymore.
Professor Nerida stops in front of a gigantic mahogany door carved with intricate seashell patterns. She knocks softly.
“Enter!” A voice bellows from beyond the door and our group collectively jumps.
The door swings open and I see that I was very wrong. My jaw drops once again.
We enter a room made entirely of glass, a perfect fishbowl. The ocean spreads out in every direction. Under my feet, a stingray swims by. In any normal situation, I would’ve flipped out to find myself in an underwater room. But the craziest thing isn’t the room itself, but the man at the center of it.
He’s the largest person I’ve ever seen — at least seven feet tall. His silver hair tumbles in waves past his thick waist. He looks both ancient as the sea itself and fierce as a young warrior. His eyes are an unnervingly bright turquoise. It almost hurts to look at them. He’s dressed in a shimmering robe that cascades to the floor, the fishscale pattern shining like a rainbow.
I glance towards Professor Nerida and she’s standing near the door. She smiles and nods at me and goosebumps rise on my skin. Maybe I’ll finally get some answers.
“Greetings, students.” His voice harnesses the power of a raging thunderstorm. My mouth is not the only one hanging open. “Please, sit down, make yourselves comfortable.”
None of us want to defy his request. There are no seats in the room so, in a series of staggered hovers and squats, we awkwardly arrange ourselves onto the glass floor.
I look down, trying to get comfortable, and the stingray swims in the other direction. I feel a deep sympathy for this confused creature. He also looks lost.
“Welcome to Deep Cove Academy,” the giant says, swinging his arms wide. “It’s a pleasure to have you all join us as our Intake class this semester! I’m Trystane Muir — your new headmaster.”
My
eyebrows shoot up as my disbelief continues to mount.
The giant leans back against his massive desk, arranging himself into an open, conversational pose. “Last night, you all had an experience that felt dream-like in its quality, and that experience showed you something.”
Everyone around me nods in response. Casey stares at the man, taken in by his words.
“What you were shown is something very, very important. You took place in a trial that revealed each of your Destinies. You are at Deep Cove Academy, ladies and gentlemen, because your Destinies have brought you here. Your lives are not what they seem.”
Destinies? I look around, confused. The others seem to understand something I don’t. They’re all looking at Headmaster Muir with glowing, hopeful expressions.
Headmaster Muir smiles mysteriously — I get the feeling this is one of his favorite parts of his job. “You’ll have noticed strange things happening to you since you turned sixteen. Tingling of your feet and hands, particularly when you are in water. Some of you may have noticed an increased ability to hold your breath underwater, or improved eyesight underwater. And the classic signal: gashes on the skin behind your ears.”
My eyes open wide. How does he know about the gash behind my right ear? I absent-mindedly run my fingers along the odd silver cut. Casey does the same, but she’s feeling behind both of her ears. Tentatively, I raise my hand to feel behind my left ear.
My heart stops. Another cut.
How is this possible? I search around the room and the other kids have their hands behind their ears. Some nod solemnly, as though to confirm Headmaster Muir’s statement.
The Headmaster stands straight and his full height is overwhelming. “What you have experienced sets you apart. Your lives as you know them are over and that chapter has closed.”
Headmaster Muir pauses dramatically and chills run down my spine. I lean towards Casey, wanting to make a joke, but she’s completely enthralled by Headmaster Muir.
The Destiny: A YA Paranormal Academy Romance (Deep Cove Academy Book 1) Page 3