She swallowed hard and said, “It took some convincing, but they let us out of our towers.”
Bogden laughed, and Loralie’s eyes fluttered a moment.
Oh, zombies, she had it bad for him.
And her response was cute and funny. I hadn’t thought she’d had it in her to flirt like that.
“So, do you have plans tonight?” he asked her. “I was hoping we could—”
“Hey, Bogden!” Sampson, a tengu with bright red hair and a giant nose called. “Isn’t that your house?”
Bogden’s confused expression was amusing as he turned and asked, “Why would you think my house—”
Everyone stopped talking as a house with extremely long chicken legs walked towards the academy and stepped over the fence.
A woman with a bulbous nose stuck her head out of a window and yelled, “Bogden! You need to take out the trash!”
Bogden dropped his head and groaned. “What are they doing here?”
“Is that really your house?” I asked.
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah.”
The house stopped walking once it reached an open area in front of the buildings, squatted, and then the legs plunged straight down into the ground until the house lay flat on the grass.
Bogden turned and stomped over to the porch.
The door flew open, and Bogden and the old woman started talking in a strange language. Their rapid conversation ended when her eyes glowed red and she grew taller, glaring down at him.
He sighed and nodded once, defeated.
She shrank back to her normal size, patted him on the cheek with a smile, and walked off the porch.
“Oh, maggots, that’s her,” Loralie whispered, her hands shaking.
“Who?” Tsukiko asked.
“Baba Yaga,” Tsukiko’s grandfather called as he ran through the front gates. He paused before her and dipped his head in a curt bow.
“Wolf,” she said and dipped her head in return. “You had a barbecue without me. Why was I not invited?”
Barbecue?
“We did not have a barbecue,” he said.
“Nonsense. I can smell the burned human flesh still,” she said and sniffed a few times. “It’s still rather fresh.”
“No, we caught humans trespassing a few days ago and we burned their bodies. We did not consume them,” he said with a sigh.
Her mouth dropped open. “You destroyed perfectly good human? You knew I could be here within hours, my oven ready! You’ve gotten rather rude in your old age.” She harrumphed and folded her arms over her chest.
He growled. “I am not old, hag. You—”
She turned to face him fully, eyes red. “Careful, wolf.”
“Mother,” Bogden snapped. “Stop antagonizing Mr. Wolf.”
She huffed and mumbled something I couldn’t understand beneath her breath.
“Follow me and we will brief you on everything,” Tsukiko’s grandfather said, turning and loping towards the main building.
Baba Yaga followed, but then turned and said, “Bogden, take out the trash.”
Bogden sighed, turned, and went into the house.
Loralie, Tsukiko, and I looked at each other.
“Well, that was...interesting,” I whispered.
They both nodded.
“There you three are!” Ainsley yelled as she flew over to us, soaring in a close circle before landing on her talons between us. “My room, now.”
“Tsukiko!” Her grandfather called. “To me, now.”
“Sorry,” she whispered to Ainsley. “I’ll come find you later.” She jogged off and we turned back to Ainsley.
Ainsley flapped her wings. “Come on.”
We followed the insistent harpy as she wove between students, a serious expression on her face.
Once we were in her room, she slammed the door closed, and locked it.
“What’s going on?” I asked softly.
She turned and said, “The new guy has been asking about Loralie since you guys left. I wanted to warn you now because several of the other females are irritated that he is asking about you.”
“That’s not why you’re upset,” Loralie said and folded her arms across her chest. “Out with it, Ainsley.”
Ainsley sighed and then covered her eyes. “I...I laid an egg.”
I blinked slowly. “Okay. That’s pretty normal for harpies, isn’t it?”
She blushed. “I wasn’t supposed to lay one for a couple of years. I don’t know what to do with it. It’s larger than I thought it would be.”
“I mean, can’t you just throw it away?” Loralie asked.
Ainsley’s eyes bulged. “I am not throwing away my egg, Loralie! How could you even suggest such a thing?”
Loralie raised her hands in surrender. “Sorry. Sorry.”
“What do other harpies do with their eggs?” I asked.
She rubbed a hand down her face. “I don’t know. Mom hadn’t had the talk with me yet.”
Oh, dark gods. I was not prepared for this. I was so unprepared that it wasn’t even funny.
“Why don’t we find someone we can ask?” I suggested.
“I don’t want people knowing,” she hissed. “If they find out I’m fertile now they...” she trailed off and I got a really bad feeling.
Loralie looked at me, and we shared a look of worry.
What had our little harpy gotten into over the summer?
“Let’s go to the library,” I suggested.
Loralie groaned softly, but stood and headed to the door. “That will be our best option for finding information discreetly.”
“Thank you!” Ainsley yelled and threw her arms around my neck and then Loralie’s. “You guys are the best creature friends ever.”
We moved down the hallway at a brisk pace, waving at people we knew.
“Did you hide it somewhere safe?” I asked softly.
Ainsley nodded. “No one will find it and it won’t get broken. The shell is actually really strong.”
Loralie pushed the library door open, and we filed inside.
I beelined straight for the card catalog, opened it to the H’s and searched for books on harpies. Then, I searched for eggs, too.
I handed Ainsley the cards for harpies. “I’ll find these while you get the harpy books. We can check them out then go back to your room to read them.”
Ainsley bobbed her head quickly and flew up to the second floor, scanning the cards and numbers on the shelves.
“Give me one of those,” Loralie said and then disappeared into the shadows.
As quickly as possible, we located the books and carried them to the checkout desk.
The librarian was an Astomi with large eyes, huge nostrils that took up half her face, and had coarse purple, oil slick-colored hair covering her body from her chin down to her toes. She didn’t ever wear clothes because her hair covered everything. She pulled out the book card, stamped the date on the page in the book and the card, then slid them into her filing system. “Books checked out. Return them within one week,” she said in a soft voice in my head that reminded me of tinkling bells.
We all three bowed to her and carried our books close to our chests to keep the covers and titles hidden.
“Hey,” Dante said, smiling wide. He stopped several feet away from us, his hands in his pockets as he faced me. His flame hair was shorter than usual, slicked back and a lighter red than normal.
“Are you sick?” I blurted out and then bit my lower lip. Zombies. I hadn’t meant to ask that out loud. He was just far enough away that I was able to talk to him without freaking out too much about his fire. With it dimmed like this, it was even easier, but it really made me worry.
He tilted his head to the side, his smile disappearing. “What?”
I raised a shaking hand to point at his hair. “You don’t have much f-fire today.” Dark gods, why was my voice trembling?
His smile returned, and it felt like my entire body warmed up. “No, I’m not sick.
I just wanted to try out a new style. Do you like it?”
Now that I knew he wasn’t sick, I gave his hair another look. Truthfully, he could do whatever he wanted and it would look good. He always looked good.
“I like it,” I managed to whisper. “I don’t think I’ve seen you with short hair. It suits you.”
His smile grew and he took a step closer. “Thank you. I’m glad you like it.” He took another step.
With his flames so short, it was easier to be close to him.
He took another step, and I swallowed hard. This was the closest we had been to each other. The closest I had ever been to him. If I reached out, I could touch his shirt with my fingers.
“Are you busy tonight?” he asked.
He took another step and the heat from his flames grew even stronger.
My breathing grew erratic, and I took a step back.
His smile wilted, and he took a step back as well.
“I, um—”
“We have plans tonight,” Ainsley said and put her arm around my waist. “Sorry. I need her help with something.”
He nodded. “I understand. Another time?”
I couldn’t move. My eyes were focused on the bright flames dancing before my eyes atop his head.
Fire.
Fire bad.
Eighteen
LORALIE
Frances calmed down within a few minutes, but her eyes betrayed the sadness she felt. She opened one of the egg books and began reading.
“Is she going to be okay?” Ainsley whispered.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
She gave Frances another long look before opening one of her books and reading.
The book I had was dry, boring, and I had to keep shaking my head to keep from falling asleep. How anyone read these for fun boggled my mind.
Aside from basic harpy information, I didn’t find anything useful in the book I had. Though, I skimmed a lot of the book, honestly. It was either that or I fell asleep.
“Anything?” I asked Ainsley and Frances.
Both shook their heads.
“Can’t you ask your parents?” Frances asked Ainsley. “Or another harpy female that is here?”
“I don’t know how they’ll react if they find out that I laid an egg so early,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. “I don’t want to be labeled a freak.”
“No one thinks you’re a freak and no one will think that either. We all go through puberty at different ages,” Frances said reassuringly.
“Really?” Ainsley asked, sniffling.
Frances hugged her. “Really.”
After a long hug, Ainsley wiped her eyes and said, “I’ll go find an older harpy to talk to. I think there's one on the janitorial staff. As long as they don’t tell my parents, I should be fine. I just don’t want them trying to play matchmaker with me already. I want to finish school first.”
Frances and I gave her more hugs and then left to head to our rooms. Ainsley accompanied us for a bit since we were going in similar directions.
“Make sure you turn those books in,” Frances said. “I don’t want the librarian coming after us.”
“I will,” Ainsley said with a nod.
We got just out of the room when Baba Yaga appeared before us.
I bit back a scream, but Ainsley didn’t.
Her piercing scream echoed in the hallway.
Baba Yaga folded her arms across her chest and scowled at Ainsley. “Rude.”
Ainsley swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. You just appeared in front of me and startled me.”
“I heard you have an egg,” Baba Yaga said.
Ainsley’s mouth dropped open. “W- What? I don’t know what y-you’re talking ab—”
“Save it,” Baba Yaga said and waved her hand. “I just want the egg.”
“What are you going to do with the egg?” I asked, my eyes narrowing slightly. This being loved eating humans. I could only imagine what she wanted with a harpy egg.
“To eat it, of course!” Baba Yaga said.
“You are not eating my egg!” Ainsley yelled. Her hands slapped over her mouth once the shout escaped.
Luckily, no one else was around.
“It is unfertilized, correct?” Baba Yaga asked.
Ainsley’s feathers ruffled. “Duh.”
“Then there is no reason you can’t give it to me. You don’t need it. It will just spoil and stink up the whole school,” Baba Yaga said.
“I don’t know,” Ainsley whispered and looked at us.
I gave my best expression-less face. I was not going to help her decide the answer to this.
“Do you want your room to smell like farts? Just let me have it, and I’ll even give you one boon,” Baba Yaga said.
Frances grabbed Ainsley and pulled her away from Baba Yaga.
I followed them over.
“A boon with Baba Yaga is worth a lot. Like, more than you could ever hope for. She could make most of your wildest dreams come true,” Frances whispered.
They both looked at me, and I held up my hands. “I’m not getting involved.”
Ainsley cooed and looked up at the ceiling. “That is true.”
I loved her cute little nervous coo. It reminded me of chickens Frances used to keep as pets.
Ainsley turned and held her hand out to Baba Yaga. “You may take my egg to do with it as you please in exchange for one boon that I may use at a later date of my choosing.”
Baba Yaga smiled wide and shook Ainsley’s outstretched hand. “Bargain agreed upon. Our shake confirms it and binds me by magic to uphold my end of the deal. Just call upon me when you want to use your boon.”
A burst of blue magic knocked Frances and I onto our butts and a tiny blue lightning bolt symbol appeared on both Ainsley and Baba Yaga’s wrists.
Baba Yaga rubbed her hands together and licked her lips. “Now, take me to your egg.”
“We’re going to head out,” I snapped too quickly as I stood.
Everyone looked at me, but Ainsley just nodded.
I grabbed Frances’s arm and dragged her down the hallway and out of the building.
Our escape was immediately cut short by Bogden stepping in front of me. “Hey.”
All thoughts stopped, and I blinked at him.
“Can I steal you for a minute?” he asked, grabbed my hand, and dragged me away.
I looked back at Frances, my eyes wide and my silent plea obvious, but the traitor just smiled and waved.
Bogden led me to his house, and I tried to slow him down, but he was much stronger than me.
“W-wait, where are you taking me?” I asked, a lump of fear clawing it’s way up my throat.
He pushed open the door and yelled, “Mom! I brought someone to meet you.”
Before I could turn to escape, the door slammed closed behind me on its own.
“Mom!” Bogden yelled again.
“Sh-she’s with Ainsley,” I whispered. “Why did you bring me here?”
I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want Baba Yaga to curse me or something.
Baba Yaga stepped out of the back room, wiping her hands on her apron. “Why are you yelling?” She asked him, but froze when she saw his hand holding mine. “Oy!” she yelled.
A second Baba Yaga stepped out of the room she had just come from, wiping her hands on her apron. “Yes?”
My mouth dropped. “Th-there’s t-t-two?”
The door opened behind me and a third Baba Yaga stepped inside carrying a large white egg. “Sisters, I’ve brought dinner!”
I looked between the three and my heartbeat spiked. Three. There were three Baba Yagas.
“Mom, this is Loralie. Loralie, these are my mom,” he said.
Why was he referring to them in singular?
“You’re introducing a girl to us?” The second Baba Yaga asked, her eyes bright and her mouth a wide smile.
“I don’t like her,” the first one said.
“Death’s daughter? That’s who you want to
date?” The third one, standing behind us still with Ainsley’s egg, asked.
“You’ll have to excuse them. They are the same person, but split into thirds by a nasty spell. They are one person, but not. It’s confusing, I know, but you get used to it,” Bogden whispered to me. He stepped back so that he stood behind me and set his hands on my shoulders. “Her name is Loralie. Be nice.”
The three Baba Yagas gathered together, whispering while occasionally looking at me. Their glowers giving away that they weren't discussing anything nice about me.
Bogden pressed close against my back, his heat seeping into me.
This was the closest we had been...ever. It calmed and excited me at the same time and now my heart raced for a completely different reason.
The three women turned to face us. “We are agreeable to letting you date her. You are young and we realize the odds are externally stacked in our favor of you not staying together.”
I bristled, not liking that they were only letting us date because they assumed we would fail.
But then I also wasn’t sure how I felt about them letting us date when Bogden hadn’t even asked me.
“I, um, I—”
Bogden rushed forward and hugged each of them. “You’re the best mom ever.”
“Are you staying for dinner?” the Baba Yaga with the egg asked.
“Yes,” Bogden answered before I could.
“Set the table,” the grumpy one ordered me before going back in the other room.
What had just happened?
Nineteen
TSUKIKO
Twenty chupacabras, ten wolfmen, and four hellhounds walked through the front gates of the school.
I stood beside Grandfather to greet them.
Loralie stood behind me, practically vibrating with excitement.
I sighed and looked up at Grandfather. “How long are you going to make her wait?”
His lip twitched in what looked like a snarl, but I knew was him trying not to smile. “Until I’ve greeted all of them properly.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I gave Loralie a stern look.
She folded her arms across her chest and looked up at the moon like she was bored.
Frances stood beside her, smiling and trying really hard not to laugh.
Monster Academy Page 9
