Delayed Admission

by Heather Renee

  The overwhelming feeling of Malina’s presence lifted from my body, and a whoosh of air left my lungs as I reoriented myself. Hands grabbed at me as I got up off the ground, but I shoved them away.

  “I can’t help you. Literally, I will be incapable of assisting you or she will kill me.” There was no emotion left within me. Malina had taken it all with her when she left my mind. Maybe the next day I could process the new information with more clarity, but right then, all I wanted was to be left alone.

  “We’ll figure something out. She is not stronger than the council,” Alexander said, but he lacked the conviction in his voice to convince me he believed his own words.

  “Yes, we stopped her once and we will do it again,” Fiona agreed. “Raegan, you need to keep this between us. Even if people begin to ask questions, you can’t say anything. Not even to Enzo.”

  Feelings, and not of the positive sort, started to swirl within me at once again being told what I could or couldn’t do, but the deadness that had settled over me stomped out any emotion before it could grow into anything I reacted upon.

  Glancing around the room, I saw the concerned faces of each of the five, no wait, four council members. Desmond had already disappeared again, and I wanted to question it, but I wanted sleep more. Whatever Malina had done to me made me give zero fucks about anything at the moment.

  I didn’t bother saying goodbye. I simply walked toward the door, assuming they’d get the point that I was done.

  Bennett’s voice raised as he objected to my departure, but once again, Headmaster Stone had my back and let me go. One of these days, I’d have to thank him, but today was not that day.

  My eyes grew heavy, and I barely made it back to the room. Dinner forgotten, I threw myself onto my bed and sank into oblivion.

  For the first time in weeks, there were no nightmares. There was nothingness.

  No feelings, no thoughts, nothing.

  And it was so much worse.

  Finals week ended, and I passed all of my tests. Some of them just barely, but it was enough to lift the weight that had been settled on my chest since I chose to become a second-year student. A plus side to passing my finals, I didn’t have to spend my first break training, so Enzo decided to take off.

  Before he left for break, he and Gemma had wanted to celebrate my successes, but I’d brushed them both off, which was a lot harder than I expected. They were each persistent in their own ways.

  Malina had done a number on me and, while I no longer felt dead on the inside, I was scared shitless. I wouldn’t even pretend like I wasn’t out of my mind after her threats. They were very real, and she had some sort of hold over me that shouldn’t have been possible.

  But, I did my best to push it all to the side, because the following day was my birthday and I was expecting Aunt Jules to arrive any minute.

  Standing in the courtyard, I watched the shield, waiting for her to appear. It had been a long nine weeks without her after having spent almost as many months depending on her to keep me from losing my mind.

  As excited as I was for her arrival, I was equally frustrated we wouldn’t be able to leave the grounds. The furthest I seemed to be able to go without pain assaulting me was the large arch entrance to the school and the more I thought about it, the more pissed off I became.

  Taking a quick glance back at the academy, I eyed the gargoyles. They hadn’t given me any more creeper vibes since the day I tried to leave with my friends, but I was still convinced they were watching me.

  “Raegan!” Aunt Jules’ excited voice cut through my thoughts as I turned back toward the entrance. She was running toward me, and I wished so badly I could meet her in the middle.

  Stupid fucking sorceress.

  Yes, my ire toward the bitch riding shotgun in my body had escalated in the last week. No, I didn’t want to think about whether that was a good or bad thing. I was dealing and that was enough for the time being.

  When my aunt’s arms wrapped around me, a sense of rightness settled over me. She might not have been my blood family like I believed in the beginning, but she’d been there for me when I needed her most and that was more important than blood.

  “I missed you,” I whispered into her neck as we embraced.

  “I missed you, too.”

  We stayed that way for several beats. I was afraid to pull away and have something go wrong. So much had recently that I had become a glass-half-empty kind of girl.

  Finally, Jules pulled back and rested her hand on my cheek. “Show me everything.”

  I laughed. “You’ve been here more than me. I should have you show me.”

  “It’s been a couple decades for me. Indulge an old lady?”

  “Right. Old lady.” Shaking my head, I tugged her back toward my room, so she could put her things away. Jules appeared more like she was in her mid-twenties than her forties thanks to her supernatural genes. She wouldn’t be considered an old lady for many more decades, possibly centuries.

  She rattled on about what was different and what was unsurprisingly still the same. Apparently, the open platform elevator was new, and she got a kick out of that. Just like human parents talked about walking five miles in the snow, uphill both ways when they were young, Jules complained about the many floors of stairs she used to have to traverse to get around the massive school.

  “Did you have one of these?” I asked her as I pointed to my butler box.

  “A mini-fridge? No, but that would have been convenient on study nights.” She opened it up and frowned when it was empty. “Do you not use it?”

  Instead of answering, I ordered us two smoothies like we used to get on the weekends back in Portland to show her how it worked.

  “You lucky bitch. I would have killed for this when I was a student here.”

  “Yeah, I call it my butler box. I don’t think it has an official name, so I gave it one,” I said with a smile.

  “When do I get to meet Gemma and the others? I want to see everything you’ve been up to.”

  I hadn’t told Aunt Jules everything, or really much of anything, that had been going on at the school. I highlighted the classes and my friendship with Gemma, Peyton, and Finley, but she had no idea I was three races, Malina was hanging around, or anything about Enzo, who was thankfully gone for the break.

  Guilt poked at me, but I didn’t need her worry on top of my own. There was nothing she could do to help me, so I didn’t see the point in dragging her into the mess I’d found myself in.

  “You can probably meet Gemma right now. Then, we can go grab some lunch and hopefully find the others, if you’d like,” I said.

  “I’d love nothing more. Show me the way.” The grin that graced her porcelain face confirmed I’d made the right decision in letting Jules think everything was going well.

  We grabbed Gemma from her room, and she hugged Jules like they were old friends. The two of them took over the conversation, mostly using the time it took to get to the commissary to talk trash about me and my stubbornness, as if I wasn’t standing right next to them.

  After we grabbed our food, we headed toward our usual table. I had been so involved in the conversation, I missed the signs of an ambush I should have seen coming from a mile away.

  “Hey, Mutt. Thanks for screwing up my fall break. Thanks to your freakishness, I’m stuck here for two weeks while my parents attempt to help the council fix whatever evil you’ve brought into this school. Why don’t you do us all a favor and disappear?”

  Her voice was loud enough that everyone in the commissary stopped what they were doing to pay attention to our group. Thankfully, more than half the school was gone, but she’d done the damage she sought to do. The bitch had put a target on my back.

  “I don’t know what you think you know, but I didn’t do anything. Maybe your parents lied to you because they couldn’t stand the thought of having your pretentious princess attitude around for longer than necessary.” I knew that was probably a lie, but I was pissed her p
arents had shared what should have been privileged information with their psycho daughter.

  My words had struck a nerve with her, and her voice lowered. “You don’t know a damn thing about me, so don’t pretend and pass the blame just because you’re jealous I still have parents. I know what you are and soon the whole school will, too.”

  After taking a step toward her, my plate was the only thing separating us, and I considered slamming it into her face. “Bitch, don’t push me. If you know what I am, then you should know better than to threaten me.”

  I knew the moment the words left my mouth, I was going to regret them, but I couldn’t stop myself. Her snide comment about having parents put me at my limit.

  “Alright, that’s enough.” Aunt Jules stepped between us as a teacher approached.

  “Do we have a problem here?” Professor Daye asked.

  Lyssa turned on her sweetness. “We were just catching up. Nothing to worry about here. I was actually just leaving with my friends.”

  She turned to her lackies and called out a goodbye like we were actually friends. The teacher seemed satisfied, but I was still shaking with fury. Gemma grabbed my arm as Jules took my plate that was beginning to crack under my hold.

  Instead of continuing toward our normal table, we left the commissary and went back to the dorms. None of us said a word until we were back in my room with the door closed.

  “What the shit was that?” Gemma demanded first.

  Aunt Jules set our plates down and took a seat, patiently waiting for me to answer, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I had admitted there was something going on, but I couldn’t tell them the whole truth, only enough that they’d let it go with minimal questioning.

  “I went back to the forbidden door a few weeks ago. It was unlocked, and I might have opened it,” I admitted, stringing a story together as I went.

  “The door to the dungeon?” Jules gaped. “That’s never unlocked. Ever. There’s so many layers of magic over it, there shouldn’t even be a possibility of it happening on purpose.”

  “Well, it did, and I was the sorry soul who found it. Apparently, when I opened it, I took in some of the dark magic from below, but Headmaster Stone fixed me right up, so there’s nothing to worry about, okay?”

  Gemma threw her hands in the air. “Are you screwing with me? Nothing to worry about? I know you haven’t been around our world your whole life, but you’re smart enough to know the consequences of dealing with dark magic by now. Why didn’t you tell me? Is that why you couldn’t leave the academy with us? Why you still won’t?”

  Hurt and betrayal weighed heavy in her words. I couldn’t imagine how she’d feel if she knew the whole truth. It took every ounce of willpower not to confess everything to both of them right then.

  Ignoring her third question, I answered the first two. “Yes, the day I couldn’t leave with you was the day I found out what had happened. When everything was done, I wasn’t given a choice. Headmaster Stone said if I told anyone, I could be kicked out of school.” That was a lie, but hopefully one they wouldn’t question.

  It did give me an idea of seeing if Lyssa could be kicked out, though. She just opened a can of worms the council had been fighting hard to keep hidden. They weren’t going to be happy, and that was the only positive to the screwed-up situation.

  “Raegan, are you sure there is nothing else happening?” Jules pressed. “I can help you, but only if you tell me what’s going on.”

  Plastering the biggest fake smile on my face, I said, “Everything is great. Seriously, you two don’t need to worry about me. Lyssa is just a pain in the ass. School is good. I’m fine. Let’s just enjoy the few days we have and forget about what happened.”

  Neither of them seemed convinced, but they let it go, thankfully.

  As much as I wanted to confide in them, it would only put a target on their backs as well, and I didn’t need Malina to take her temper tantrums out on anyone I loved. I wasn’t sure I’d survive if anything happened to Gemma or Jules because of what I had done.

  I was on my own, and when Enzo came back, our training needed to double, so I could be prepared for what came next. Something told me Malina wasn’t even close to being done with me. I just needed to figure out what she wanted before she took it from me.

  Chapter 13

  The following day-and-a-half passed in a blur while I spent as much time with Jules as possible. She was only at Shadow Veil for two days, and I took full advantage of it. Gemma hung out with us most of the time, but I didn’t mind.

  Having Gemma around left little time for Jules to question more of what happened with Lyssa and the story I had told them. I had a feeling neither of them believed me, but since it had been my birthday, they were letting me off easy.

  I had taken full advantage of that while I could, but Jules was leaving, and it was no longer my birthday. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

  Standing as far away from the school as I would dare to go, I hugged Jules tight. “I don’t want you to go. It’s been good having you around.”

  “I know. I’ve missed you, kid, but I’ll be back again in eight weeks.” She pulled away, both hands grasping my face. “I know you’re keeping something from me, but I also know you’re a big girl. Just remember, when you need me, call me. I won’t push you for anything more unless I have to. Please, don’t make me have to.”

  Tension I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding on to released from my shoulders. It wasn’t that I wanted to deal with things on my own, I just couldn’t tell everyone the whole story, so there was no point in even trying, in my opinion.

  “Thank you, Aunt Jules. It really means a lot to me. Everything you’ve done. It’s more than anyone would have expected.”

  “I love you, Raegan.” She hugged me once more.

  “I love you, too.”

  When we pulled apart, tears were in our eyes, but no more words were spoken as I watched her walk away and disappear through the shield.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Holy shit! Don’t do that,” I snapped. Gemma had appeared behind me, seemingly out of nowhere.

  “Oops. But seriously, are you alright? I wanted to check on you as soon as I knew she was gone.”

  “You certainly didn’t waste any time.” I laughed. “But yes, I’m fine. I’ll see her again soon.”

  Her eyes narrowed at me and finger raised in the air, a little too close to my face. “Well, now that I don’t have to feel guilty for yelling at you… What in the actual fuck is going on? And don’t give me that half-assed explanation from before. I know you’re lying or at least omitting. Now, spill it.”

  My cheeks lifted as a smile appeared on my face. “You’re insane, you know that?”

  She nodded proudly. “The fact that you’re already aware of that should be the exact reason you fill me in on what the hell is going on with you.”

  “I can’t tell you,” I said honestly.

  “Bullshit. You know you can trust me.”

  “Let me rephrase. I physically can’t tell you. The words won’t leave my mouth without my head feeling like it’s going to explode.” This was going to be a pain in the ass, I already knew it.

  “Like someone spelled you so you couldn’t tell me?” The look of confusion confirmed my previous thought.

  “We can’t talk about this here.” My eyes glanced up at the gargoyles as I wondered if they only saw or could also hear, and if they could, how well?

  Gemma grabbed my hand and dragged me back to the dorms. We made it all the way back to my room without saying a word. A few students tried to talk to us on the way, but Gemma shushed them as I laughed.

  Nothing about my situation was funny, but my best friend trying to force her way into it was a little entertaining.

  When the door was closed and we were seated on my bed, she turned to me with the most serious look on her face. “Secrets don’t make friends, Raegan.”

  “I’m well aware of that, but thanks for the reminder. If
there was anything I could do, I would.”

  She hesitated, and I knew that whatever she was about to say, she really didn’t want to. “There have been some rumblings over break. Not just from Lyssa. There are people that believe you came here to purposely let something sinister out of the dungeon, and you almost succeeded but Ryn stopped you.”

  “That’s not exactly how it happened,” I stated, a little pissed off that a variation of the truth was out there, but it was making me look bad.

  “So, you didn’t come here only to wreak havoc on our academy, and you’re not some undercover spy who could kill me in a thousand ways?”

  She didn’t actually look convinced that I wasn’t, and my level of irritation was rising as anger built up. Not at Gemma, but at Malina for putting a gag order on me.

  You don’t need to be angry. You can share with your friend what has happened. She will either join us or die. If she breathes a word of it, I will find her and make sure she suffers. Slowly. So, pass that along at the same time, dear.

  Fucking psycho witch. Always there, always listening.

  That’s sorceress to you, and watch your language. I won’t tolerate disrespect without consequence. That’s your only warning.

  There were so many things I wanted to say, but instead, I kept my thoughts to myself as much as I could, only slightly relieved I could confide in someone. Still, I hesitated. I didn’t want Gemma dragged into my shit any more than I wanted to be involved in it.

  “Rae? What’s happening?” Gemma’s concerned voice filtered through my haze from listening to Malina.

  “The lovely woman riding shotgun in my head gave me permission to tell you, but there was an equally charming threat that went along with it if you breathed a word to anyone else.” My voice dripped with sarcasm and I really hoped Gemma would just run for the hills.