by Leia Stone
She grumbled a bit before agreeing. Baking with Gran when I was little was one of my fondest memories. I ended the call as quickly as possible, relieved that she seemed to be having a good morning. I’d been absent since late afternoon yesterday. It made me twitchy to leave her alone for this long.
Next, I quickly sent off a text to Stella, letting her know that I was all right. I didn’t care what Gage said, I still wanted to check in with her.
Once that was done, I closed my eyes and bumped the back of my head against the wall. When did life get so complicated?
Something brushed against my cheek, and I snapped my eyes open in time to see Gage pull his hand away from my face. He’d tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.
Okay, I’m awake.
He puckered his eyebrows like he was confused by his own action, but then wiped all emotion from his face.
“Tate, your days of hiding are over,” he said. The words were particularly ominous uttered in his deep and accented timbre.
“It’s Tatum, not Tate,” I said, unsure on how else to respond.
“Yeah, I heard you the first time.” He leaned forward and a full body flush washed over me. He was inches from my mouth, and God help me, I couldn’t look away from his lips. I knew I needed to move—or deliver a well-placed throat punch—but I just stood there, in silent anticipation.
“You’re blocking the door,” Gage said, chuckling darkly, telling me he knew exactly where my thoughts had gone.
Embarrassment reddened my cheeks and slowed my response time. Gage tugged on the door handle, and it popped open, pushing me forward. He shifted to the side when I stumbled.
“Look, I’ve got a busy day. I was instructed to make sure you didn’t die, and I did that. Now I’m going to go to my healer appointment while Indigo gives you a tour, and then you can make your choice. Makes no difference to me.” He brushed past me into the hallway.
I’d been dismissed.
Rude!
“You’re a class act,” I snarled. “You know that?”
He shrugged as if he didn’t care. “See you Monday. Or not. Whatever.”
He walked over to a door across the hall and knocked twice. A girl with a black pixie cut popped her head out and he whispered something to her before striding off down the hall.
Ugh, what was his problem?
I crossed my arms and glared at his retreating back, suddenly hoping his cuts got infected.
“Tatum Powers?” Indigo looked like a young college student, maybe eighteen or nineteen, and wore ripped jeans and a cut off Beatles t-shirt, showing her belly. She stepped out into the hallway; her messy black hair all spiked up.
“Uh hey.” I waved at her, totally weirded out that she knew my last name.
She gave me a kind smile and then looked at Gage, who had just reached the end of the hallway.
“Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything you did. He’s had a stick up his butt since he moved here from London when he was twelve.”
I snort laughed, glad that she thought the same about Grumpy Gage that I did. “You’ve known him since he was twelve?”
I tried to envision a middle-school-aged Gage and couldn’t.
Indigo nodded, rocking on her heels. “My parents were friends with his… mom.”
Were.
My heart stopped. Either her parents were dead, or his mom was. Or maybe they had a falling out, but I didn’t think so.
I cleared my throat. “So, I’m pretty new to all this…” I gestured to the hallway. “Can you explain more about the Shades and Lumens?”
Indigo nodded, starting to walk down the hall. “It was during the Black Plague of 1348 in England that the first recorded demon attack happened.”
I skidded to a stop and looked at her with a slack jaw.
Indigo paused with me. “Twenty-five million people died in Europe alone. About a third of the continent’s population. We think that much death opened the first portal to the Netherworld and summoned the demons somehow.”
She resumed walking, and I struggled to keep up with her, chills running the length of my arms. Netherworld?
Holy crap.
Indigo gave me a side glance. “Watchers have lived on Earth since the beginning of time. Blending in with humanity over the millennia, like perfect sleeper agents. But it wasn’t until the first portal opened that they started to awaken to their powers—they started to see.”
I was so enthralled in the little history lesson that I didn’t notice the girl coming down the hall until she muttered, “Excuse me” and I had to flatten myself against the wall so that she could pass.
I inhaled as she did and got a whiff of sulfur and oil.
Yuck.
“What happened when they started to see?” I prodded her.
Indigo grinned, enjoying my amusement of her storytelling. “They were visited by both the archangel Cael, and the fallen angel Apollyon, and given a choice. Whichever side they chose would determine where their power was rooted and which gifts they inherited.”
Archangel? Fallen angel? I wanted to push everything she said away as fiction, but what I’d seen over the last twenty-four hours alone made me believe her in my heart of hearts.
Indigo took a right at the end of the hallway and led us to a cafeteria. There were long, rectangular tables spanning the large space, and a countertop at the far end. Various students milled about eating and drinking.
“The ones who chose Cael,” she continued, “were later called the Lumens and tasked with fighting the demons who never seem to stop coming to Earth. For every one they kill, three more pop up.”
Shivers ran down my spine at that.
“And the Shades?” I asked, getting the impression I was currently in the belly of the beast.
She grinned. “The Watchers that chose to be gifted by Apollyon were not only blessed with power beyond that of a Lumen, they were given riches beyond their wildest dreams.”
Interesting.
I wanted to hear about the riches she spoke of, but there was something more important on my mind. “If the Lumens were tasked with fighting demons, what were the Shades tasked with?”
“Guarding the portals and keeping Lumens from interfering with the demons’ work.”
“Wait.” I stopped dead in my tracks. “You work for those creatures?” My stomach rolled at even the thought of it. Disgust must have been written all over my face because Indigo immediately went on the defense.
“What, they don’t hurt anyone,” she said.
I reached up and gingerly prodded the knot at the back of my head. The demon I’d come up against had kicked me clean across the diner and into a wall. That had hurt plenty. Not to mention it had been feeding off of Stella.
Indigo’s gaze tracked my movements, and she went on to say, “Well, I mean not really. Most of them can only physically actually touch the Watchers. The vast majority of them ghost through regular humans and can only influence their behaviors. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Yeah. No. I wasn’t buying that. “The one that had my friend last night did not just ghost through her. It was holding on to her. It bit her. It was feeding from her.”
Indigo grimaced but tried to cover the look quickly. She cleared her throat and then shrugged like it was no big deal. “Most humans hardly notice when a demon feeds from them.”
Hardly notice. Pfft. I didn’t know much about this world, but even I could tell there was a lot of gray in that sentence.
“It’s just a job. One we get paid really well for.” She grinned at the mention of money.
I didn’t want to care about the money, but… “How well?”
“Starting salary for a first-year hunter is six-figures. It goes up from there. Some of our best hunters clear up to nine figures a year.”
I choked on my spit, hacking into my hand and sputtering as I tried to breathe in fresh air. Nine figures was in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
“That much money for playing a glorified secur
ity officer?” I wheezed.
I mean, I didn’t want to work for the bad guys, but with cash like that, even the starting salary would put Gran in the nicest assisted living facility money could buy. It was tempting. It’s not like I would be spawning demons, I was just protecting the entrance to their home, in what I assumed was Hell. Or the Netherworld. Or whatever they called it.
Yeah, that was bad.
Hell, bad. Demons, bad. I scolded myself.
I cleared my throat. “And I have to choose?”
Indigo nodded and moved us to the food line. “If you don’t, the demons will be attracted to you, and if you have no house affiliation…” She dragged a finger across her neck.
Yikes. Okay. Gage hadn’t been exaggerating about that bit.
We both grabbed a breakfast burrito and then kept walking. I remembered something from the night before. “Umm, Indigo, Gage said my mom was a Shade?”
Indigo grinned. “Emery Powers was the most fearsome Shade the academy had seen in years. The coolest part was she came from a long line of Lumens and switched sides. We love when that happens.”
A pang of sadness sliced through my heart at that. I never knew my mother, but it was hard to believe anyone that Gran raised would choose to work for demons.
Long line of Lumens… did that mean that Gran was a Watcher? No. No way. Gran baked cookies and liked to binge watch reality shows. She couldn’t be an angelic super-soldier, could she?
“And what about my dad?” I asked, the ball of emotion lodged in my throat making it hard to speak.
“That I don’t know,” Indigo said.
I choked down the disappointment. I never knew my dad, and Gran wouldn’t talk about him. I supposed it was wishful thinking to hope I’d get all my questions answered today.
“But your mom was definitely one of us.”
“I need proof.” I could barely find my voice. They knew her name, they knew so much. It had to be true but still, I needed to see it for myself. A registration form, a picture, something that would link her to Shade Academy.
Indigo nodded, taking a bite of the breakfast burrito. Leading us out of the cafeteria, she traversed a maze of hallways as I nibbled on my own burrito. My head spun.
An instant six-figure salary.
My mom had probably been a Shade.
Work for demons.
Breathe.
Everything about Shade Academy was top-notch and expensive looking. White marble, stainless steel, all glass, and from what I could tell right in the heart of Manhattan. When we reached a library and Indigo pushed the doors open, I wrapped the rest of my burrito and held on to it as I scanned the space.
Wow, now this was a library. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves were crammed with leather-bound tomes. Two large sliding ladders were leaned against the shelves.
Round tables were scattered about the room, and a tall, lithe woman sat behind a desk. As we approached, she looked up and waved at Indigo, who strolled right past and over to a back shelf that was encased in glass.
My phone buzzed with a text from a number I didn’t recognize. I frowned, opening it quickly.
Unknown: Hey, it’s Drea. I’m outside Shade Academy waiting for you.
My eyes widened. Drea was outside right now? I peered out the tall floor-to-ceiling windows and spotted her across the street at a coffee shop. Skye was by her side.
Maybe I should excuse myself and go talk to them?
My phone buzzed again.
Drea: Don’t believe a word from their lying mouths. And don’t agree to anything until I talk with you!
I swallowed hard. I didn’t know what she was talking about, but even her text sounded frantic.
“Your mom,” Indigo said, interrupting my thoughts.
I looked up to where she was pointing, and the breath was stolen from my lungs. Tears immediately started to well in my eyes.
It was her. Just like the pictures Gran showed me with her long blond hair and upturned nose. She was smiling, standing with some other students, and holding up a trophy of some sort. She looked so happy, at least for a Shade.
How could you help protect demons and be happy was beyond me. Maybe it was the cash? I loved the diner, but not having to worry about bills would definitely make me happy.
There was text under the photo. A list of names in small cursive script, including my mother’s.
I was about to ask something else when a chill came over my skin.
“Tatum Powers,” a smooth, deep, male voice called from behind me.
I turned slowly and came face to face with the spitting image of Gage, only older. The man was tall, with dark hair feathered through with gray at the temple; there was a hardness in his green eyes that made me leery of him. This was without a doubt Gage’s father. Next to him stood a woman with long red hair that fell to her waist in waves. She gripped a notepad and had a sugary smile that seemed as fake as her overly plumped lips.
“Everyone knows my name here,” I squeaked, suddenly wishing I was outside with Drea and Skye.
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re the spitting image of your mother. We are so glad to welcome you to Shade Academy. We thought you’d been lost.”
A flash of red coated his eyes before it was gone. I wondered if I’d imagined it.
“Yeah… I’ve just been in Brooklyn.” I gave a nervous laugh.
He chuckled. “Wonderful. I’m Arthur Alston, the headmaster. I’m so glad my son brought you home.”
Awkward.
“Umm, home? I’m not so sure about that yet.”
His eyes narrowed. “Did Indigo not tell you that you would have free tuition, room and board, an expense account, and a generous salary?”
My phone buzzed in my pocket again, and sweat beaded on my brow. “Yeah, I heard. That’s… cool.” I snuck a glance out the window and saw Drea and Skye staring up at the building.
Arthur’s brow knitted, and he pivoted, looking out the window and down at the street where the Lumen girls waited. “I see,” he growled.
“Let her tour the Lumen dorm. She’ll be back by tomorrow night,” the redhead snickered.
It was at that moment that Gage sauntered into the library. His gaze barely skated over me before landing on his father.
“You wanted to see me,” he said. I didn’t miss the defiant tilt of his chin when he addressed Arthur.
For his part, fatherly affection wasn’t radiating from Arthur either. “You killed a level five demon last night?” he asked his son.
Pressing his lips into a hard line, Gage gave a curt nod.
Gage killed a demon? Was that what he had to do to save me?
“There will be consequences for that. Killing our employers is not befitting of a Shade.” His father’s voice held the not-so-subtle threat.
Gage shrugged as if that hardly mattered. “Was there anything else you wanted?” he asked as he leaned back against a table and crossed his arms.
I wasn’t sure if I was the only one who caught the slight wince when his arms brushed his chest. I wondered if he’d been to see their healer yet.
Arthur frowned at his son, and I would swear the temperature dropped a few degrees.
Gage cleared his throat, the first outward sign that he was uncomfortable in his father’s presence.
“As a matter of fact,” Arthur started, “I’d like you to accompany Tatum on the rest of her school tour. I’m sure you’ll have some fascinating facets of our school and culture to tell her about.”
Gage let out a loud breath of air and his nose flared. “Sure,” he said, but it sounded like what he really wanted to say was “F-you.”
Yikes. This was some serious family drama.
Ignoring his son, Arthur turned to me with a plastic smile. “It was nice to meet you, Tatum. I hope to be seeing you very soon. I wouldn’t want you to make a mistake.”
The inflection he put on the word mistake had multiple red flags popping up in my head. I couldn’t tell if he was tryin
g to make that sound like a threat or a warning. “Thanks?”
With a smile still in place, Arthur nodded at me and then put his hand on the redhead’s lower back to lead her away.
Gage might get under my skin, but I instantly disliked his father. The vibes he threw off were creepy and scary, my new least favorite combo.
Ignoring Gage, I turned to face Indigo. “I need to go. My gran is probably worried.”
She frowned. “But you haven’t seen the gym, or the pool, or—”
“I want to leave.” My voice shook. Something wasn’t right. Being here felt all wrong. I wanted to leave, and I wanted to leave right now.
Indigo’s gaze slid over my head, most likely landing on Gage.
“It’s okay,” his deep voice rumbled behind me, “I’ll walk her out.”
Indigo chewed on her bottom lip, indecision riding her hard. She finally nodded, and I released the breath I’d been holding. I wasn’t wild about being alone with Gage again, but I did want to get back to Gran.
“It was nice to meet you,” I said to Indigo. It wasn’t a lie. I could see why they chose Indigo to do the tours. She was lovely.
“Yeah, you too.” She offered me a tentative smile. “I really do hope you’ll come back. This is truly the best place for you.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just offered my own smile and an awkward wave.
“Come on, Tate,” Gage said as he pushed off the table he’d been leaning on.
I huffed and rolled my eyes. “It’s Tatum.”
“Whatever,” he said as he led me out of the library.
I bit my tongue to keep from arguing with him. He could call me the Tooth Fairy for all I cared as long as he showed me how to get out of this maze.
I tossed what was left of my burrito into the garbage on the way out of the library. Gage walked in front of me all the way to an elevator at the end of the hall. After an agonizing wait, the doors finally opened, and Gage waved me in front of him.
Maybe he wasn’t completely devoid of manners after all?
When the doors slid shut behind us, he flicked his gaze up to where there was a blinking red light, obviously a security camera.
I gasped when Gage suddenly grabbed my arms and swung me into the corner of the elevator, directly under the camera, and pressed flush up against my body.
