by E Hall
I look away.
“Look around. Try as the faculty might, we don’t intermingle,” Aaron says.
“I still have my mind. I know the difference between right and wrong. It’s hard to fight the cravings and urges, but I do and I will. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I’m not going to stop being me.” Tyrren’s voice sounds strained.
I take that to mean being friends with a fae.
As if oblivious to the gravity of our conversation, a girl with pink hair bounces between us and starts chatting with Aaron and Amelia.
I turn to Tyrren.
He squeezes his eyes shut. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“I’m sorry for what I am.” His tone is low and full of remorse.
“Yeah, me too,” I mutter.
“Do you mean because you’re fae? Lea, you’re still you. You’ve been the same you since you stole half of my peanut butter and fluff sandwich in fourth grade.”
I shake my head because the part about me being me isn’t true.
He nods because it is.
How can it be both?
“Earlier, I walked away from you because I hate myself. You should too. As Aaron said, I’m a monster. There is no denying that. But you’re good.” He rakes his hand through his hair.
“Tyrren, you know that’s not true.”
He tilts his head. “We’ve been taught that the supernatural community must be controlled...and I think because of that, what happened sophomore year,” he speaks that last part carefully, “you suppressed your magic, and—”
“I almost killed someone that night.” Like the magic then, the words escape now.
“But you didn’t. You wouldn’t.” The corners of his lips turn down in disgust, revealing his true feelings that I know he tries to hide.
I mumble, “If you understood how I feel inside you’d—”
His expression softens. He lifts his hand to place it on my arm and pulls away. But in that gesture, I know he’s saying that I can tell him anything. Usually, I do. He’s like my very own living, breathing diary. Well, now not living. He knows all of my secrets except one.
I close my eyes, preparing to tell what it’s like being me. “It’s like vines winding around my bones, my heart, suffocating me. Teeth digging in. Claws scratching. A heavy weight pressing down while at the same time all this energy feels like it could explode out of me. Well, it did, once. I’ll never let that happen again.”
“I think that’s the problem,” he says softly. “It wants out.”
I shake my head rapidly. “That’s why there are places like this. To protect the world from people like me. That’s why there’s the Brooklyn Vampire Club to keep the streets safe.”
Tyrren frowns. “It’s like you’ve tried to pretend that you don’t have power for so long, you’ve missed the opportunity to understand it.”
He places his finger under my chin so I meet his eyes. The tightness inside fades a little.
“Lea, whatever you are, whatever you do, I’ll always—”
Someone knocks into me. I crash into the chair Aaron had thrown earlier and onto the floor.
Chapter 8
Tyrren
I grab the shirt of a vampire with dark hair and pale skin—like the kind from movies minus the cape—and spin him to face me. He hisses and I punch him in the face. Like my newfound strength, he’s surprisingly solid and hardly flinches.
“Baby vampire hasn’t learned how things work around here,” he says.
Lea gets to her feet, fuming.
Cliché Vampire moves to headbutt me, but I feint to the left as two others, both built like linebackers, take a couple of steps closer, barring me from going anywhere. As if I would walk away from anyone who messed with Lea.
Cliché Vampire grips my shirt and sneers. “You’re a vampire. She’s a fae. We don’t mix.”
“She’s my best friend.” I drive my knee up, pivot, and take him down in a submission hold.
“That’s going to be a problem,” he says, kicking off and getting back to his feet.
Ivan should have vampire jiu-jitsu matches. Things could get really interesting. I’m strong and have skill, but this guy is a beast.
“You are going to have to pick. Vamps or fae. One or the other. This isn’t a sing around the campfire community. It’s us against them and if you’re smart, you’ll choose wisely.”
The sound of female laughter comes from nearby. Probably that girl Jasmin I met earlier.
“Oh, and I’m Rizon. I rule things around here,” says Cliché Vampire.
The others chuckle.
I get to my feet and step over to Lea who’s glaring at Rizon.
Everyone stares at her. Whereas before I would’ve thought it was because she was accused of murder. Now, I realize, it’s because of who she is.
I wrap my hand around her upper arm. “Are you okay?”
Lea’s glare at Rizon and his buddies is answer enough.
“Faetcher,” he spits and then storms away.
Belatedly, a CA hurries over, shouting, “Hands off. No touching fellow correctional students.”
Amelia mutters, “Sorry, I should’ve mentioned that rule.”
“Too late for that,” Aaron adds.
“They don’t care if Felix and Nina make out or Rizon attacks, but touching someone’s arm is off-limits?” Amelia huffs at the injustice.
The CA issues a warning. “Everyone back to their dorms. Free time is over.” She turns to Lea and me, eyeing my hand which is still on her arm. “Don’t be stupid.”
I give Lea a squeeze in apology for storming off earlier and a promise that I’ve made my choice. I’m not turning my back on her.
Everyone clears out and I give Lea a long, lingering look but she’s glazed over—probably as shocked as me at this strange reality.
On our way back to our room, Aaron says, “That was cool. Stupid but cool. No one crosses Rizon. He wasn’t joking. He rules the reform school. Just for your info, if we fae had access to our powers, we could totally handle ourselves. I’ve always thought that was the problem—everyone is afraid of us because of our magic so they discriminate and try to keep us down.”
As we enter the dorm, he goes on, but I’ve stopped listening because the news relays reports about how the world’s on fire, falling apart brick by brick, and we’re insulated inside this little campus with idiots like Rizon.
Aaron must go back to the room because next thing I know, I’m alone with Cole and Felix flanking me on either side.
“It’s safe to assume Princess Lea is secure in her dorm. Can we talk openly?” Cole asks.
I turn away from the television to face them.
Felix rubs his hands together like a spectator warming up to watch a good fight.
“We’re friends, right?” Cole asks.
He doesn’t let me reply.
“Rizon wasn’t wrong. There’s a way that things work here at RIP Jr and girls like Lea aren’t a part of that. I see the emoji love eyes on your face and the way you went to help her.” Cole presses his teeth together, making the wincing emoji face—except for the four very sharp vampire teeth in his mouth.
“And that’s a bad thing?” I ask.
“Lea is a pariah,” Cole says.
“Do you mean a piranha?” Felix asks with a laugh.
“You don’t know her as I do.” I set my jaw and clench my fists. “Why do you guys care?”
“Don’t want to see her suck you dry.” Cole laughs at his own joke.
“See, I told you, piranha,” Felix says.
“Aren’t vampires the ones that do the sucking? And I have to say, this conversation sucks.” I brush past them.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Cole asks.
I pause.
“I don’t think you do,” he says. “You’re going to get hurt.”
“Is that a threat?” I challenge.
Jasmin and Nina stand in the doorway.
“Did s
omeone say threat?” Jasmin strides into the boys’ lounge on the ground floor of the dorm. “That was quite the show you put on in the quad.”
“What are you doing here?” Cole asks.
“Ouch. Cold like my heart.” She mock-flinches as though insulted. “We were just thinking, wouldn’t it be fun to go to prank the new students?”
Nina smirks. “We know you guys could think of some good ones.”
I think of Lea’s pranks over the years. If it weren’t for the fae-vamp division they’d all probably get along fine. Although, I sense these four are mean spirited.
Jasmin brushes her fingers against Cole’s hand. “It would be fun, don’t you think?”
He blinks a few times and I realize she uses her mesmerizing abilities on him.
I move to leave.
“Tyrren, don’t go just yet. Let’s create some havoc. You like breaking rules.” Jasmin’s eyes flash to meet mine. “Why don’t you show us that you didn’t really mean all that back in the quad. You’re a vamp. You’re on our team.”
I blink slowly as though entering a dream. Jasmin’s voice has a soothing, lullaby quality.
“This conversation’s getting hot,” Felix says.
“Speaking of choosing. Is it going to be him or me?” Cole points between himself and me.
He must’ve broken Jasmin’s concentration because I snap to. I should know better than to succumb to her vampire hypnosis.
“Whatever. I’d rather be with Emeric,” Jasmin mutters. Or maybe she said Eric or Rick. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.
Cole looks sharply at her then turns to me. “Listen, vampires don’t like fae and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from them, especially Lea.”
“In that case, we’re done here.” My voice is prickly.
“Be careful,” Felix says in my wake.
As I stomp up the stairs, it wasn’t only my voice that was prickly. I feel prickly all over. I want to punch something. A hammer, anvil, and hot metal used to do the trick.
I flip the light on in my dorm room. A black X stains the wall. The chemical fumes of spray paint hang heavily in the air. The window is open and cold air breezes in. I close it. Below, movement catches my eye. It’s not Cole and his crew. Rather, the figure reminds me of the demons Lea slayed.
The room is torn apart. Papers ripped from books, clothes pulled from drawers, and Aaron, lying on the floor. Only, he’s gray, a shadow.
The hall is quiet behind me as I call for help.
I crouch down in front of my roommate.
His eyes are dim, but he wears a strange, surly smile. “You probably should’ve listened to Rizon. He took his revenge. Made his point.” Aaron slowly gets to his feet, staggers over to the wall, and rips something from the plaster.
I hadn’t noticed the handle of a black knife against the paint.
“They said you get one more chance because they could use you.”
He angles the weapon at me.
I step backward, careful not to trip on the junk littering the floor.
“It’s a nasty game, Tyrren. You belong on the other side.”
“But you’re fae. What are you talking about?”
With his free hand, he snaps his fingers. “Just like that, they made me a weapon.”
“Speaking of weapons, why don’t you set that knife down,” I command.
Aaron’s voice is robotic. “It’s war. Light and dark. Good and evil. I’m their pawn. The demons rended my shadow. Now I do what they want.”
“This isn’t make-believe or fiction. This is real life.”
“Yeah, and wars are fought in real life.” Aaron snarls.
“What makes this war worth fighting for?” I ask trying to keep my voice even as confusion pummels me from all sides.
“Freedom. No control. No rules. Anarchy.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
Aaron smiles. “That’s the point.”
The knife sails through the air aimed at me.
I dodge.
“Setting fires, robbing stores, taking whatever their cold hearts desire, orchestrating chaos.” He turns to the X emblazed on the wall. “And it’s just the beginning.”
I thunder downstairs, desperate to find Lea to warn her about Cole and his crew along with reporting whatever happened to Aaron. When I push on the door it’s locked for the night.
Freedom sounds pretty good right now.
Chapter 9
Leajka
Amelia whirls on me when we get back to our shared cinderblock room. I’m afraid she’s going to lay into me about the whole vampire versus fae thing. I’ve never had to pick before. Then again, I never let myself acknowledge that I’m fae before. Ivan knew even though he never said anything and didn’t seem to mind...until now.
Her eyes are narrowed, but she wears a goofy smile. She descends on me with her finger pointed as though I stand accused of more than murder. “I’ve never seen anything like the way he looks at you. Whoa.”
“Whoa, what?” I ask, reclaiming my personal space.
She lights up like the bulb shining on the ceiling above her. “You’re both so comfortable around each other like you can be yourselves. You’re just best friends?”
Her assumption catches up with me. “Are you talking about Tyrren...and me?” I shake my head. “Yes, we’re just friends. I’ve never had a serious boyfriend. A best friend, yes. A boyfriend, no. I’m not a player, a dater, or a committer.”
“No? But you are rambling.” She hitches a sly smile. “You may not see it yet, but there is some serious chemistry between you two. It’s like flames in a fire.”
“And that’s why I don’t date. We’d turn to ash.”
“Dramatic.” Amelia wiggles her fingers.
“What about you?” I ask, turning the tables.
“Do I have a crush? Yes. Does he realize I exist? No.”
“And he is...?”
“Someone that needs a little work before he’s datable.” She blows a stray piece of hair away from her face.
“The types with potential are always trouble.”
“You’re telling me.” Amelia lets out a long sigh before she drops onto her bed. “More urgently, it’s clear you and Tyrren belong together but not here.”
My expression must convey the question in my mind. Why did we both wind up here at the same time for crimes we didn’t commit?
Amelia grabs me, forcing me to sit next to her on the bed. I try to edge away, but when she speaks, it’s so low, I have to lean in to hear. “There are plenty of fae and other supernaturals who break laws and hurt others. There’s a reason the jail was converted to a maximum-security prison. But this school? I’m not so sure. Most of us don’t belong here.” She shakes her head.
“Says everyone who ever committed a crime.” Even as I speak the words, they fall hollow, false.
“I don’t think I burned my house down. I don’t think you killed two people. Maybe some of the students here broke rules or their parents were fed up with their juvenile behavior.” She throws air quotes around the word juvenile. “I’ve been here a while and the prison population is only increasing along with the demon threat. You’d be an idiot not to notice there are more demons on the loose than ever and they’re disguised to look like natural mortals—humans.”
She has my full attention now. I quickly tell her about the encounter Tyrren and I had with the demons in Brooklyn.
“All I know is that vampires are threatened by us so better to keep us locked away, right? Wrong. We could defend against the demons. Instead, we’re here.”
“Does that mean vampires have infiltrated positions of political power?” I think of Ivan. He always pulled strings and conducted shady dealings behind closed doors. Could he be one of them? Then why raise me as his daughter only to lock me up?
“I believe so.”
Amelia’s suspicions filter through my mind. “Sounds like you’re suggesting a conspiracy theory.”
“A
fter the Rift, an order of Guardians and Warriors was created to protect the supernaturals here in Terra—trained at magical academies all over the world.”
I stop her right there and have her explain more. Up until now, I haven’t paid attention to the details.
“There are two parallel realms. Terra, where we are. Borea, where we’re from.”
“I’m from Brooklyn.”
“If believing that helps you sleep at night, by all means. But there’s no denying you’re fae. Frost Fae if my Spidey-senses are accurate.”
My shoulders reflexively round.
“There’s no shame in it, Lea.” Her eyes meet mine.
I turn away. “There are plenty of reasons to be ashamed,” I murmur.
“No.” Her voice is sharp. A reprimand. “Lea, you’ve just been catapulted into something much bigger than yourself.” She lets the words sink in for a moment and looks me over as though evaluating if she should say more. “We may be in reform school for wayward supernaturals, but that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with us or that we’re helpless.”
That’s exactly how I feel.
“If you’re the brave and bold girl I think you are, you’ll join us at midnight.”
“Join who? Where?” I ask.
“We’re working to get to the bottom of this and we will. We’ll break free.” The smile Amelia wears is a dare. She exits to the showers.
I flop onto my bed, overwhelmed. A few tears, as fine as the misty rain on the window, escape my eyes. Despite my often-unruly nature, this is all too dense and unwieldy. It scares me. I’m not sure I want anything to do with it. Despite being surrounded by people like me, meeting Amelia, and having Tyrren here, dread carves me out.
Nonetheless, I sense the ribbons of magnetic energy I’ve tried to ignore since that fateful night pulling me slowly toward twelve o’clock.
I drift in and out of anxious sleep until shuffling comes from across the room. Amelia ghosts by, revealing the digital numbers on the clock. It’s a few minutes before midnight.
I sense she pauses by the window as if giving me the opportunity to join her. Headmistress Jurik outlined the rules, but I’ve never before had an issue breaking rules. Neither have I been told that being fae is okay.
