by Emma Cole
As soon as I was free, I smacked the rune on the side of my leather-covered trunk, activating the levitation charm embedded in it. Using the pull strap, I tugged it from the truck and let it trail behind me as I approached the gates. They swung open without an attendant as if they were sentient and had been waiting for me. Inside the boundary wall, the grounds appeared to be as the map on the paper indicated— surrounded by woods on one side and a cliff that dropped into the sea on the other. I couldn't see the far side, but the scent of saltwater suggested it was there nonetheless.
After gathering my courage, I strode into the courtyard through the gates, flipping off my driver who only grunted in response as I beelined for the administration building. Students milled about, some going to and from buildings, while others had carved out spaces under trees and sat on the grass. It may have appeared to be a normal campus, but the sinister aura it exuded defied that notion, and all of the students had a tenseness in their manner.
I was halfway to the administration building when a rabbit-like creature with wings dove at my hair. I'd sometimes have animals that were attracted to it, especially birds, but this thing was creepy as hell. I batted it away, yelling, "Get the hell away from me, you mutated seagull!" only for it to come directly back again. With my head tipped back I hissed at it, letting my alter come to the forefront. She didn't care for birds either unless she was eating them, which sent a shiver of disgust through me. She might be carnivorous, but that didn't mean that I was.
The thing brought reinforcements when it returned, all three of the buggers bombing me at the same time. I determined that I was going to have to kill the little fuckers, but as they swooped down, a pack of red-eyed cats came out of nowhere and chased them off.
"What in the world were those things?" I'd been talking to myself as I watched the creatures disappear from sight, not thinking that someone would answer.
"Well, little lady, those would be feral hellcats. You don't want to get on the wrong side of them; they can be just as wild as their name implies, or they can be a familiar and help you out. I'd take the second option." No shit, dude. "Those 'mutated seagulls', as you called them, are skyvaders. They can be quite the nuisance, but the cats keep them in check for the most part." Nodding at my floating luggage, he jerked a thumb behind him toward the administration building. "I'd suggest you get on inside now— they'll be waiting for you."
The man seemed to know me, but he hadn't introduced himself, nor had I heard him come up. Giving him a funny look, I grabbed the strap on my trunk to tug it behind me. Vaguely confused but not wanting to be rude, I turned back to thank him. He was gone. I knew he hadn't made a sound. Something was odd about that entire exchange. Shaking my head, I continued on to the building, opening the door and pulling my trunk over to the side of the lobby before I deactivated the rune and tapped another that would shock the piss out of anyone who touched it.
After consulting the instructions on the letter again, I took the stairs up to the second floor to find the Dean of Discipline's office. I knocked twice but didn't get a response. The door swung open quietly when I tried the handle, and I hesitantly poked my head inside.
"Hello?" My inquiry was met by an empty anteroom with only a desk and a nameplate on it, reading Ms. Natalia Brevins. But there was no Natalia manning it, so I stepped inside to wait for her to appear.
When several minutes had gone by, I got impatient. There was a second door that read Dean Aero on its nameplate, and I decided to chance knocking on it. Tapping twice on the hard door, I heard, "Enter" from the other side. As the door swung open, a swanky office done up in modern black and white decor was revealed. A man stood at the window, peering down through it, his dark chocolate skin gleaming in the ambient light that filtered through the window.
"Dean Aero?" I asked with his back still facing me.
"Hmm...yes?" he responded as he turned to face me, but he didn’t give me a chance to speak. "They never listen. Always get too close to it. At least it weeds out some of the weak idiots."
"Umm...who?" I asked, flabbergasted and slightly wary of the dean's distracted and aloof manner.
He waved a hand at the window and whatever lay beyond it. "The fountain. Heed the warnings.” Some clarity seemed to come back to him as he looked me up and down. “Miss Ruscov, I presume?" A feral light glinted in his dark eyes, and as he sauntered forward to greet me, the smell of burnt amber hit my nostrils. So the rumors are true— he is a demon. "Or should I call you, Avarice?" His pink tongue darted out to flick the corner of his full lips, eliciting a disgusted, full-bodied shiver from me when he paired it with the calculating mix of lust and greed in his gaze.
"Arimina or Miss Ruscov will do just fine," I stated primly. I wasn't going to give a bad first impression if I could help it, but I wouldn’t be run roughshod over either. I needed to get out of there and back to helping my people. Six months gave me plenty of time to get a new plan figured out.
From the suspicious narrowing of his dark eyes, my sweet and timid attitude hadn't fooled him. As he tapped a fingertip on the manila folder sitting on his desk, his grin turned sly. "Says here you've made quite the name for yourself. Theft. From your own family, at that. Not to mention exposing yourself to the humans. You're lucky the responders were able to cover it up."
He paused, a dark brow arched expectantly. Did he expect me to deny the accusations? I'd been caught, so there was little to be gained from refuting the charges— my sentence was set in stone as far as the council was concerned.
Instead of rising to the bait, I steered the conversation away from my transgressions. "My letter said to come up here to get my schedule and lodging information?” I eyed the folder on his desk, sure that was where the information would be.
“Yes, that is correct. It’s right here.” He did indeed slide a small packet of papers from the folder. But when I reached out for them, he darted his hand out to take mine, refusing to let go even as I tugged to get free. “I could help you out, you know? With the dean as an ally, you would have little to fear here at the Wicked Reform School. All I ask is for that favor to be returned when you take your rightful place. Do we have a deal?”
I’m not fucking making any kind of deal with a demon. Tugging at my hand, I couldn’t break his hot iron grip, but before my body went incorporeal, the door bounced open, crashing against the wall and startling the dean.
A gasp of pure surprise came from a female in a smart yellow skirt suit, but almost immediately she was on her knees in front of Dean Aero. “I’m so sorry. I was cleaning up when she came in, so I wasn’t at my desk. Please don’t deconstruct me.” The woman was absolutely wailing. Deconstruct? So, she must be a golem— and the missing secretary. I’d made some basic constructs, or golems, in school. Same place I had learned to make my sleeping powder. She was pretty complete looking to be one though.
When she went for the zipper on Dean Aero’s slacks, I grabbed my schedule off the desk and backed toward the door. “Thanks for the meet and greet, but I don’t want to mess up on my first day!”
The dean shoved at his secretary. “Natalia, go sit at your desk.” Her expression blanked before she complied, then, as she stood, a vacant smile took over. “We have more to discuss, Ms. Ruscov.” He tucked his half exposed limp dick back into his pants while I continued to stay in front of the secretary.
“No thanks, I think I got everything right here.” I tapped my temple and scooted out the door before the panicking golem turned dangerous. They could rip the sturdiest of supes to pieces if you got in the way of a direct order from their maker.
Not bothering to take the stairs again, I looked around to gauge where I was on the floor plan and ghosted straight through to land with my luggage. Slightly winded from the energy use, I followed the signs to the rear exit. It would put me under the dean’s window, but I was guessing that he’d have gone out front if he really tried to follow. Not that it would have stopped him if he wanted to pursue me since he knew where I was staying
. Hopefully he’d lost interest already.
I consulted my new school ground’s map, so I knew which direction to go before heading out the door. And ran into a Frankenstein monster fishing a body out of a fountain. It didn’t speak or notice me standing there, and I was struck dumb at the casualness of the situation. Students still milled around, avoiding the fountain of course, but they didn’t seem to pay it much attention either. Even the instructor on the training field nearby just kept on with his lesson.
“Stay away from the Fountain of Woe, little lady. It’ll drown you if it gets a hankering.”
My body whirled around to confront the familiar voice. “Alright, how do you keep doing that? And what’s up with the freaky fountain of death?” The same man from the gates gave a gap-toothed grin at my demands.
“Might want to tone down that sass around these parts if you know what I mean.” I didn’t, but I nodded anyway to make him hurry up and answer my questions. “That there is the Fountain of Woe. It’s rumored that a teacher drowned a student in it for being late to class, and he takes his eternal revenge on those that get too close to it. Older students haze the newbs by swearing you can toss a coin in and the water will reveal your future, but usually the ones dumb enough to try lean over and get their end instead. I’m Tom, by the way. Groundskeeper.” He winked out of existence then back again. “Resident ghost, at your service, little lady.” He tipped an imaginary hat and disappeared again.
Well, that makes sense. But a talking ghost? Usually incorporeal meant just that, but maybe there was something about the school, or many somethings, that I had to figure out still. With a shake of my head to get my long white locks settled behind my shoulders, I made my way toward the House of Shifters. It was right at the mouth of Shifter Alley, but I had to go between two other houses no matter what.
Not wanting to get caught using my abilities, I ducked behind the library that sat next to the admin building and ghosted. At a dead sprint on my long legs, I kept my trunk close— using energy on doing more than going incognito wasn’t going to help my energy reserves. My passing didn’t quite go unnoticed, but the supes mostly edged away from the unknown. I couldn’t blame them either; this place was fucked up, and I’d only been here less than an hour.
Chapter Three
My feet skidded to a halt under the last tree before my designated dormitory. I took a few moments to make sure no one was paying attention and caught my breath before letting the magic go and nearly slumping to the ground in exhaustion. Even my hair that flopped forward as I braced my hands on my knees appeared limp.
Finally ready to face my temporary new home, I trudged through the pillars on the plantation-style house and up to the front door. After a sharp rap on the heavy wood, it swung open to reveal a visage that I hadn’t thought to see here. Sharply angled features stood out on the man’s face as he peered out of the opening.
“Mina? What are you doing here?” That’s when he glanced behind me to see my trunk, and the skin around his eyes tightened as the corners of his mouth turned down in sympathy. “You got caught, then.” He didn’t ask since it was pretty apparent that was the case.
A sharp nod was all he received from me. He should have been long gone and hiding. “Sure, did, Steve. Six months and I’m out of here. Would you care to explain why I risked my ass to get you away from the Clan only to find you here?”
Steve had the good grace to bow his head in shame—not that he had a lot of choice about the bowing. I might be smaller, but I held more dominance than he ever would. It was part of my birthright.
Eyes downcast he mumbled, “I got caught moving some black market goods. You know the kind.” I did indeed know what he referred to. Physical parts from supernatural creatures could be used in a myriad of ways.
I shook my head in disgust at him. “I don’t want to know any more. Are you going to move so I can come in, or are you going to make me stand out here all day?” My stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. As a shifter, eating was paramount, and it had been too long for me with the energy I’d expended.
Steven didn’t have a chance to answer before long, red-tipped fingers wrapped around the edge of the door and pulled it wide, causing him to stumble backward at the abruptness.
A sultry purr reached my ears right before a voluptuous figure in a tight wrap dress appeared where Steve had just been standing. Curly chestnut hair, with lips painted to match the dress and nails completed the package. Holy hot tamales.
Against her I looked like a stick-figure ice queen. And from the once over she gave me, she knew it. Please don’t be in charge. Please. I might have to take my chances with the Enforcers. If the vibes she was giving off were accurate, she’d make my life an even bigger hell.
Deciding to hope for the best, I stuck my hand out. “Arimina Ruscov, but you can call me Mina. I’m supposed to be bunking here for the next few months.”
She eyed my outstretched hand, lip curled up at one corner in disgust, before spinning on a sky-high stiletto and sauntering off. I swore I could hear the rhythm of a conga drum that beat with each sway of her hips.
I followed her in, still tugging my trunk along. When it cleared the door, Steve shut it for me, but he hightailed it after shooting me a last guilty glance. I was right up on her, thinking she was going to take me to my room or at least point the way, when we came out of the alcove and into an open and airy great-room. And nearly lost an eye as she swung her deadly talons in my direction.
“House— meet Arimina. Or Mina as she likes to be called. You’ll all make sure she learns the ropes, right?” Her challenging tone belied her words. That was a damned call out for hazing if I’d ever heard one.
Just about done being meek and mild, I was ready to let the tight leash off my alter, who was begging to dominate the bitch, when a sarcastic male voice sounded from the hall leading into the room.
“I thought all the newcomers got the tour from the house leaders? Isn’t that what you told me, Veronica? Or have I just been blessed with your constant presence without cause?” The voice was annoyed and had my alter going nuts. When a body followed it into my line of sight, I saw why. Here? This had to happen HERE?
“Oh, Lorca. You got the VIP treatment, darling,” Veronica said as she swept a thumb over the corner of her mouth and raised her brows expectantly at him.
Inside me, my alter froze, her fury ice cold and all-encompassing. Deadly. We didn’t even know the man, but that one look was all it had taken. Mate. Mine. I didn’t need to be able to speak to her to understand that one. I was also nearly positive that shredding a fellow student, not to mention the house leader, would land me a life-time of prison. If not an outright execution.
Desperate to rein her in, I glanced around the room full of couches and chaise lounges. Finally, my gaze landed on a party uninterested in the goings-on. “You,” I directed, pointing to the mousy girl sitting cross-legged on an ottoman. My sharp voice was enough to startle her from the book she was reading, and when she looked up to see me pointing in her direction she frantically tried to find another person close to her. Realizing it was her I wanted, she meekly gestured to herself. My response, a short nod, accompanied by my demand had her scurrying to do my bidding. “Show me to my room, please. And I’ll need to know the rules of this place. The dean was rather...distracted at our meeting.”
At that the girl snickered. Seemed the dean’s office extracurriculars were well known. But one person wasn’t so happy to let me go. The man. Lorca.
“I can show you to your room. It’s next to mine—where I was already going when I heard Veronica giving someone hell.” He said it as if her belittling was normal. And maybe it was, but he also didn’t seem surprised to see me here. Is this what the Enforcer meant when he said I’d see my mate soon? Is he the only one? If not, where are they?
Pushing my questions aside, I sneered at my mate. He’d come forward but paused in the vicinity of the sultry sexpot at my blatant disregard for him, and she took full adv
antage of the fact. He knew that I recognized him for what he was; all shifters knew the instant they made eye contact, if not before. My alter pressed forward, hissing at the svelte arm twining with his.
I turned my back on him to follow the girl, even as he struggled to disentangle himself from Veronica. With the bond already clamoring to be cemented, it wouldn't be long before I had to deal with him anyway. Better to calm myself and my alter beforehand.
The girl spoke halfway up the stairs. “I’m Tildy. In case you were wondering.” Tildy the Timid. And then instantly I felt bad for thinking it. Obviously, she wasn’t too timid, not if she landed herself a spot at the supe reformatory.
“Arimina, but I go…” Well, didn’t that leave a dirty taste in the mouth. Tildy caught my scowl when we turned onto the landing at the top of the stairs.
She snickered. “By Mina. Yes, I heard.” All of a sudden Tildy was gone, her clothing in a heap on the floor. Where the hell did she go? My eye was drawn to a slight rustle of the gray t-shirt she’d been wearing. A little lump popped up before whiskers worked their way out of one of the armholes.
“Oh, no. Tildy?” The tiny mouse wriggled its pink nose at me. If a rodent’s nose could convey annoyance, that one sure had. Did I do something?
She circled twice around her clothing and her book that had dropped as well before I realized she wanted me to pick them up for her. As soon as I had her belongings in hand, she scampered off down the hallway until she reached a door. Her little paw scratched at it, and she darted in when I opened it. A squeak drew my attention back to the open door after I’d brought my trunk in and settled it at the foot of the twin-sized bed.
“Do you need me to open your door too?” The bewhiskered head bobbed up and down, but there were others in the hall when I checked.
Hoping I didn’t offend her, I asked, “Tildy, I’m afraid someone is going to squish you. Can I carry you?” It wasn’t normally done, except for children, but she was so small she’d be pancaked in an instant if one of the resident delinquents stepped on her. Or shish kabobbed on a stiletto…
