Betrayal: An Urban Fantasy Academy Series

by Bob Dattolo

  He looked around, “Umm, I don’t know if I can be an ally or not. I don’t…”

  “I understand. If you hook up with Levi, there’s no way he’ll allow that to happen. Just do what you gotta do. And read the announcement in your room. It’s pretty freaking important.”

  He tilted his head, “Announcement? What do you mean?”

  “It’s not just the 40 of us this year. American students were sent back from India, Australia, and Britain, and then we gained some from the islands. We’re jumping from 40 to 121. As far as I know, with you back that makes 35 of us back again. I could have missed some returning, though.”

  He started to stink of fear, “Oh my God…are you serious?”

  “Completely serious. They’re also not giving us any roommates from last year. We’re all split up to have one from the incoming groups. They’re trying to bridge the divide and that sort of thing. They should be here around lunch or a little after. Or so Headmaster Anderson said.”

  He stepped closer, “Please don’t fuck with me, are you serious?”

  “I’m serious. You should have an email on it too, but most of us got it from the sheet they handed out. You should have one that was stuck under your door. We met about it yesterday afternoon. I can’t say anyone is all that pleased. We were told that we can have parents and people we know call to complain, but since it’s a decision the governments are making, we’re shit out of luck.”

  His face fell, “God dammit, that’s…this year was gonna be dangerous enough, now we have to deal with this?”

  “Right? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Good luck unpacking. I’d offer to help, but you just know Levi will show up in the middle and he’d have a hissy fit.”

  He left me behind with a short comment, and I knew he’d be hunting for the page and the email and then others that he trusts more than he can trust me. I’d love to find out this is a joke. I really would.

  I still didn’t connect with anyone as lunch rolled around, so headed off for some food. I was the third to arrive but didn’t sit with the other two. I don’t know them well, so figured that’d be weird. Instead, I took a seat in the corner and pulled out my phone and started hunting through sites for the hell of it.

  Site after site passed, with me fighting not to look for my dead half-brother. Levi’s a dick for killing him, at least I assume it was him. I’m not all that connected with him, but it’s still a vicious dick thing to do.

  That thought has me hitting news in Miami to see if I can find information on his death. Instead, I found an interesting one about a sinking ship. It happened a day or two after we left, so that’s sad. It would have been neat to see. A ship containing refugees hit a reef just off the coast of Miami and was sinking. Two crazy powerful water mages showed up and saved the day. They have awesome pictures of them standing on the water and manipulating the ocean to keep the ship afloat. They even took the traditional heroic poses, which made me smile. That’s too funny. I hope to be able to do something like that at some point.

  More random searching resulted in something that caught my eye. Fuck. It looks like we’re going to be short at least two students from our original group. There’s a news story here from about 40 minutes ago. Two small planes landing at the local airport here in Montana clipped each other and hit the ground. Everyone on board both of them died. They posted the list, and I recognize two of them.

  Okay, that sucks.

  My news session was derailed as others came in for lunch. Just like how we did it last year, Angelica, Kynal, and Gage sat with me, while Samantha, Parece, Riley, and Paige sat at a neighboring one. Ryan sat on the opposite side by himself. I’m not sure why he did that since Levi isn’t there, I just figured he’d want some news.

  Everyone settled in before I showed the article about the crash.

  “Fuuuuck. We’re down two, then.” Angelica hit it on the head.

  “We are.” This so messed up. “Okay, so 35 out of 38. We’re missing at least Levi. Who else?” I’m drawing a blank on the others that could be missing.

  It took a solid ten minutes to figure out who was missing, only to have Ryan speak up from his table, “Umm, not to throw a monkey wrench into things, but an email just got sent out by Headmaster Anderson. Tim won’t be coming back.” He was one that the group identified as missing.

  “What the fuck? What happened?” Samantha asked for us.

  “He went to Mexico, apparently. Got stripped of everything.”

  “What? Why?” I couldn’t help jumping in there.

  “Reports are that his parents basically said that if he doesn’t make it through all three years, they’ll torture him to death. Tim sent an email here. Including his acceptance into Mexico and proof he had his powers stripped.”

  “Fucking hell, your parents are such abusive assholes!” Me again.

  “Yeah, so says the girl whose parents made her a stricken? It’s not just us.”

  Kynal, you gorgeous bastard, you didn’t have to hit the nail on the head quite so accurately.

  Chapter 16

  Sitting at my desk, I flipped through one of the 15 grimoires I picked up over break. None of them are as good as the first one that I had, but they’re all very good. What’s better is that most of them are inter-affinity, so I can get a good cross-section of things without people really picking up that I can do things like that.

  Not that the girls don’t know. They’ve promised not to tell anyone about that, so we’ll see if that happens. Or how long it lasts. I’m crossing my fingers they don’t tell anyone. We talked endlessly while we travelled and saw the sights. I’d like to think that I became friends with them, I just know that it won’t last in here the way that I think it should. If we make it through without them trying to kill each other or me, then I see us picking it up again on the outside after the third year’s done.

  Which is probably why the adults that we’ve talked to are still friends with people that tried to kill them.

  Dammit, now I get that part of things. Just not the first part with the trying to kill you.

  Part of our conversations were all around what to do when we got back. Do we stay together? Stay separate? We tried to work every angle and figure out which would be better for us. When the idea of people banding together against us specifically because we were connected came up, we decided it was safer to stay separate and not officially allied, all the while still being allied. Paige, Riley, Gage, and Kynal were brought in on the conversation after they got here and they fell in line pretty easily, which is what we rather expected. None of them are stupid, and having more allies is better, especially now since we have more people coming.

  I’m also free to get more allies on my own if I can. We’ll see if that’s possible. Kaylee may not want to connect again, so I guess we’ll see there. I’m thinking she will, I just don’t know for sure.

  As I flipped through the book, I tried to envision how these spells would work. My biggest problem in working magic has been not knowing what’s possible. Yet that’s a huge crutch. I’ve seen it time and time again, where one book says that something isn’t possible. Yet the next has something on it and then says that something else isn’t possible. I’m seriously starting to think that everything’s possible as long as you have enough power to force into it. I just don’t know how to test that. Not really. I can do a bunch of experiments, yet that puts me into dangerous territory.

  How? Why?

  I mean, if I come up with a devastating spell that would be good, right?

  Sure it would. For the few times I can actually do it without someone else trying to copy it. If I come up with a spell that kills someone instantly, blows them up, then others will try to find the spell. Sure, it doesn’t exist, but they’ll hunt for it and possibly find an alternative that works for them. Or develop their own, thinking that they created one by accident.

  Since people don’t know that we don’t have to follow spells, I’m thinking me coming up with something that’
s a game changer means it will end up changing for a ton of people. And that’s dangerous as fuck.

  Just look at Reggie. He killed Jean with a spell that gave her a heart attack. Want to know how many grimoires I’ve read that say that kind of spell isn’t possible? 11 of the 15 on my desk say you can’t do something like that. The others say that you can impact the body, just not to death.

  Yet he gave her a heart attack and killed her in no time flat.

  So it’s possible. Very, very possible.

  And having the kids in this school become aware that spells like that exist means that kids will be dropping like freaking flies in a heatwave. I’m betting every one of them will be drained, too. It’s total freaking nightmare fuel, it really is.

  My laptop is humming away, which is good. My clothes are in the closet, with the little overflow being in one of the two dressers assigned to me. It’s nowhere near full.

  I have to come up with a spell that will protect things. I really do. I don’t know how to do that, but I can’t go through having everything get destroyed again and again. Plus, considering the amount of money I spent on these grimoires? I’ll go on the fucking warpath if someone tears them to pieces. I really will.

  I don’t want to imply that my possessions are worth a life. That’s not the case. If someone came in and accidentally destroyed them somehow? I wouldn’t go after them. If they come in here and shred everything? I will consider that an act of war. I really, really will. And that deserves some pain and a long, final rattling breath as their eyes glaze over.

  Damn, man, I’m so freaking violent compared to what I used to be. Is it the dragon in me or this place teaching me that violence solves things? I’m just not sure. Maybe the researchers will figure out how I can get out of this madhouse without being drained of power and I can walk away.

  I’m just not entirely sure I’d want to do that and leave the people I’ve come to like behind. If I could come up with a spell that will basically force people to work together, I would. I really, really would. Then we’d all make it out of here and we’d only have to deal with the insane parents on the back end. Except maybe, just maybe, if we had an army of friends behind us, we could force them to not be murderous dicks to their own children.

  Noise at the door lets me catch it opening and a tall, thick girl looking in. She has the size and coloration of a water mage. She grunts as she catches me and pushes the door open as she hauls in her bags.

  “Hey, you need any help?”

  She pauses before coming in the rest of the way, “Do I look like I need help?”

  I’m thinking she’s set on not friendly. “Not with what you have, but I wasn’t sure if you had other bags in the hallway or not.”

  She blinked at me before looking at the beds, “I’m fine.” Why am I not surprised when she focuses on my bed and my side of the room? “I want this side of the room. Move your crap before I do it for you.”

  Hmm, why am I thinking she’s not going to be an easy nut to crack? Not like Parece? “I’m gonna have to go with no on that.”

  She turned back to me like her head was a turret on a tank, “What did you say to me?”

  My voice went up a little, “I’m gonna have to go with no on that. I’m sorry, should I speak up more so that you can hear me?”

  She dropped her bags, “We got us a comedian? Is that it?” Her huge fists clenched. Damn, she’s gorgeous outside of the anger vibes.

  “Comedian? No. What we have is assigned beds and all of that. You should have something in your paperwork. The administration assigned what rooms we have and what sides of the rooms are ours. They won’t allow anyone to change rooms or beds, dressers, desks, closets, or sitting space.” I nodded to the couches. “So, as I said? I’m gonna have to go with no on that.”

  She frowned and looked around, “This is fucking bullshit! They kick us out of our fucking academies after we fought through the first year and now we have to put up with this?” Her face went red as she yelled long and loud, letting out an, “AAAAAAHHHHHHH!” sort of sound. Just…wow, so loud. Not even pushed by magic.

  Others nearby obviously heard it and questioned it, but it wasn’t worth trying to tell them what’s happening. The dragons nearby already know since they heard the entire conversation. Assuming they were paying attention.

  She was left staring between the two beds. I can’t tell if she’s really connected to one side versus the other or just wants to put me in my place. Yet the paperwork is pretty freaking clear. They’ll be checking the rooms, and anyone that makes a change will be required to move everything back. They’ll also get an undisclosed punishment. Since whipping is possible here, I’d rather not head into that if I can help it.

  “Would you like some help unpacking?”

  She spun back around, eyes wide at first until she moved into a squint, “Why would I need help unpacking?”

  “Need? I doubt you’d need it. I asked if you wanted it.”

  “Why would you offer that?”

  “I’m being friendly?”

  She looked me over, “Let me guess? You’re weak as fuck and looking for an ally? What’s wrong, no one in your class would be it and now you’re scrambling?”

  We talked about my magic use, and pretty much every student saw me doing magic in the trial, so I let them know that I’d do weak spells and no affinity spells. At least for now. They agreed with that approach, which is good. “Weakness is relative. I’m not specifically looking for an ally, but another wouldn’t be turned away. I’m offering because we’re roommates. My roommate last year was in a group that hated me, yet we got along in our room when it was just the two of us.”

  She snorted and hauled her bags over to her bed before putting them down, “Yeah, I don’t see that happening. I can’t even tell what the fuck you are.”

  “Well, I’ve been told that I’m a good dancer, I can make a mean chocolate cake, and I’m a good listener, so there’s that.” I nodded to her desk and a basket that I set out for her, “I also got you a welcome gift if you’re interested.”

  I know she saw it before. Several times. It’s not much, it’s just a small basket with some drinks, some snacks, some scented candles, and then some body lotion. I got it on a whim.

  She left her bags and touched it, with something passing over her face and posture that disappeared instantly, “What is this crap?”

  “Just a welcome basket. Nothing huge. I wanted to be friendly, figuring this is even weirder for you guys than it is for us.”

  Her magic flared, and water erupted from everything in the basket, creating a huge ring around her before flowing into the bathroom and going into the sink. Then the entire basket of wrecked stuff was swept into her trash can. Shame, I’m betting the candle was probably still in good condition.

  “I don’t need your shit. Keep it on your side of the room.”

  Note to self? Don’t buy her any gifts. The best part is that I had like a 40 percent chance that she’d react like that in some way. So at least it didn’t come as a complete surprise.

  Instead of responding, I put my grimoire away and leaned back in my chair, watching her and debating what to do.

  Her motions slowed as her anger rose, “What’re you gonna do? Just sit there and watch me? You perving on me? Waiting for me to get undressed? Maybe spy on me in the shower?” Her anger went up a notch, but then so did her interest. Something tells me that she’s okay playing the field.

  “Perving on you? No. As for watching you? I may not look it, but I’m a dragon. You being naked or not means nothing to me.”

  Her unpacking stopped as she stared at me, looking between my eyes and hair, “No…no, you’re not a dragon. I don’t know how you dyed your hair and why you have contacts in, but you’re not a dragon.”

  “Believe what you want, but I am. I’m also not wearing contacts and my hair isn’t dyed.”

  More rage from her as she went back to unpacking. Angrily. “Shut it, trash. I’m not interested in your
lies. I’m not interested in being an ally. Nothing.”

  Ugh, fine. I’ll leave her alone. That decision got me hopping up, “I’m heading for a milkshake. You want one? I can bring something back?”

  Her rage dipped, then came back stronger, “Just get out.”

  I hate the idea of leaving as if I’m following her command, yet I already said I was leaving, so I’m hoping she doesn’t interpret that wrong. I guess we’ll see.

  There are a ton of new people in the hallway, most of which stare at me. As I expected. There are more than a few comments, too. None of the regular kids clarify anything for them, which is kinda funny to me. I’m sure there will be people telling roommates at some point, just no one doing it where I can hear them at the moment. A ton of the newcomers think I did something to disguise my hair or am wearing contacts. Then again, a few did think that I’m just a light air mage, so there’s that, too.

  Speaking of air mage, a familiar form is just slipping into the caf when I step outside. It takes me a bit to reach the caf, so she’s already huddled at a table off to the side. I’m shocked that she doesn’t see me come in. She’s huddled, but not quite like she had been first year. That thought runs through my head as I grab a snack and a shake, then head over to her table. She looks up at the last second, “Hey, Kaylee. How’re you doing?”

  Her shoulders round and she looks down, then across the other kids, “Umm, good?” Her scent’s a little strange, but it’s been a few months since I saw her.

  “Do you mind if I sit here? We haven’t really talked since break started. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to be allies again or not?”

  She nodded, not looking up again until I sat. She has a tiny meal in front of her, making me think she didn’t come for lunch.

  “You meet your roommate yet?”

  She nodded, nibbling at her food and interspersing looks to the side, as if expecting people to attack her. “Yeah. She’s a bit…much.”

  Hmm, “What is she?”

  “Air dragon. From the India academy.”

  “What’s her name?”