Hillcrest Academy

by Cassie Pierce

  My luck the boys will come back with three eyeballs or something.

  Remembering the sparkly pink device tucked into my hoodie that has been pretty much useless since I arrived here, I pull it out. I so wish that I could just call 911, or hell... even an adult. That isn’t an option though. The police cannot help me, and all the adults who can are currently frozen.

  I could call C.J., but truthfully, I don’t trust her. She betrayed me once for Xavier. That isn’t a risk that I am willing to take again. That leaves one person.

  Pulling up her picture on my phone, my heart clinches as her face smiles back at me. So much has changed since this picture was taken. Now, betrayal taints every memory. I don’t trust her either, but the boys are her family, and I am hoping that means something to her.

  I haven’t forgiven her, not even close, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t need her. She was always my person. The Thelma to my Louise. The one person who I knew would help me bury a body no questions asked. I once trusted her with my life. Now, I have to trust her with his.

  Not giving myself a chance to overthink it, I slam my finger down on the green phone button. I hold my breath while it rings on the other end.

  Once....twice....

  “Hello,” Ashlee’s voice calls from the other end, and slowly some of the panic that has eaten away at me starts to fade. Relief swamps me. Relief that she answered. Relief that she still has the same number. Relief that this time when I called, I wasn’t reduced to tears after playing her voice mail over and over again on a loop. Leaving messages for my dead best friend, dying inside because I thought she would never hear them.

  “Maci? Is that you?” she says through the phone, and her question snaps me back to reality. One emotional breakdown at a time.

  “Ash...I need help!” I say, failing to keep the panic from my voice. Not that I could keep it from her. She knows me.

  “Coming!” she says, the line going dead as I stare at the phone in disbelief. Coming? How can she be coming? She doesn’t even know where.....

  “HEY!” she says, popping up behind me and scaring the bejesus out of me. My hand flies to my chest as I spin in her direction. I can feel my heart beating wildly under my palm, and if I didn’t need her help right now, I might hit her.

  “Jesus Ash!” I exclaim, trying to calm my racing heart. A laugh bellows out of her as she nudges me. “Nah...I am just an angel.”

  I glare at her, wishing that I could freeze her right this second because she is pissing me off. Her white blond hair is wavy and slightly damp. Her eyes widen as she finally sees the reason that I called her here.

  “Ummm Maci? Why is everyone frozen?”

  “That is why I called you!” I say, my voice rising as I sweep my arm around the room. “I-accidently-turned-them-into-angelic-popcicles-and-I-don’t-know-how-to-wake-them-up!” I whoosh out in one giant run on sentence that would make my old English teacher Mrs. Cole cringe.

  Ashlee has always been a fixer. She would always get us into the deepest trouble, but she always knew how to get us out. I am hoping that she can do that now.

  “Relax M,” she smiles, using the nickname that she called me growing up. “Take a deep breath,” she says, demonstrating how to breath in and out slowly. I roll my eyes, but do as she says. She smiles when I comply. “Now. Tell me what happened.”

  So I do. I tell her everything. Starting with my stroll through the woods, and ending with my turning the room into a giant game of freeze tag. I leave out the part about Jaxon and the feather, and all the kissing. That is...well, it isn’t hers to know. It belongs to us. A private moment in the middle of a chaotic world.

  Plus....she is his sister. Telling her feels wrong.

  “Ok,” she says, showing a calmness that I could never possess. “No problem. You just need to un-freeze them.”

  “Really? That is your plan? Un-freeze them? Geez Ash....you don’t think that I already tried! Little problem. I-DON’T-KNOW-HOW!” I yell in frustration.

  She chuckles, shaking her head as she takes my hand and pulls me over to Jaxon.

  “Still patient I see. Of course... you know how Maci. The Creator gives us gifts. It is in our DNA to use them. Just try harder....”

  I roll my eyes, wishing that I wouldn’t have called her. Try harder...how I am supposed to do that?

  “You don’t think I would if I knew how? That I wouldn’t do anything to..... to fix him,” I swallow the tears trying to escape as I press a hand to Jaxon’s cheek. I would do anything to bring him back. I...love him.

  “M.....” she says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Our powers are tied to our emotions. You can do this. Just close your eyes, and will your powers to do as you say.”

  I highly doubt that it is going to be that easy, but at this point what do I have to lose? Channeling my inner badass, I close my eyes. I step forward, pressing my cheek to Jaxon’s muscular chest as I wrap my arms around him. It is a little weird, hugging someone who can’t move, but I don’t let go. Instead I draw strength from his touch...his presence...his love.

  I will my heart to call to his, and I beg with my soul for him to come back to me. I push every ounce of my power into the demand.

  A heat flares to life under my palms, more intense than anything I have ever felt before as a tugging starts deep in my center. I gasp, my eyes snapping open just in time to see a soft lilac glow shining from where my hands connect with Jaxon’s flesh. It floods out of me and into him, soaking into his skin.

  I count silently in my head, waiting on something...anything that will tell me it is working.

  One.....

  Two.....

  His chest moves, drawing in a deep breath and then another, and I am moving before I even have time to think about what I am doing. One second I am standing in front of him, and the next I am wrapped around him like a demented baby octopus.

  His arms come up, grabbing me under the thighs as I straddle him. They support my weight as I basically crawl up him, not the least bit ashamed. I bury my nose into the crook of his neck, taking a deep breath of his woodsy scent. Warm air whispers across my neck as a giggle slips past his perfect lips.

  “Not that I am complaining here Princess, but why are you on top of me right now?” His voice holds a raspy deepness that means my closeness is getting to him. He makes no move to lower me to the ground, and I make no effort to try and get down.

  “And more importantly? Why does this look like a bad game of freeze tag?” he asks, his eyes focusing on something over my shoulder. Ashlee laughs as she peeks her head over Jaxon’s shoulder. He looks at me with concern before reluctantly lowering me to the ground.

  “Oh, you know. Our girl here froze the entire room,” she says, like this kind of thing happens every day. Who knows? Maybe it does? Maybe this is something that they can all do, and I am just now finding out about it.

  The awe in Ashlee’s tone tells me that it isn’t though.

  “Yeah,” I say shyly, looking at the ground like it holds the secrets to the universe. “Except I couldn’t un-freeze you,” I say lamely.

  Jax steps forward, tucking a loose piece of hair behind my ear and tilting my chin up so that I have to look at him. His eyes are soft, and his face splits into the most stunning grin. Seriously! A man should not have a smile like that.

  “Wow Princess. You got your angel power.”

  “What? Insta-freeze,” I grumble, feeling level fifty lame that I finally get my power and it kind of sucks. At least the little power that I displayed the day I showed Jaxon a movie of how he made me feel was cool. This...this is just scary! Why couldn’t I have gotten something cool? C.J. can make food appear out of thin air. Now that is a power that I could get behind.

  “No,” he laughs, pulling me into him. “You are a Tempus Maci,” Jaxon says, that same awe that I heard in Ashlee’s voice filling his as well.

  “A what?” I ask, confused.

  “Tempus,” Ashlee cuts in, answering before Jaxon can. “A time we
aver if you will. You have been blessed with the ability to stop, speed up, and even rewind time. It is a rare gift. Only given to the most powerful angels, which is what I don’t get. You aren’t even an angel. It isn’t a power that you should have.” She says, walking to a trunk tucked against the wall and pulling out two glowing red chains.

  My eyes must ask the question for me because she answers my unspoken question as she tosses one pair of the spooky looking chains to Jaxon. I flinch, thinking that they are going to use those chains on me. For having this power that I shouldn’t have. A power that I only have because Jaxon saved me. What she doesn’t know, is that because of him I am an angel. The first ever converted purebred. The fear of what that means for me, making me take a step back.

  “Really Princess,” Jaxon says, raising his brow as he turns away from me. His back is stiff, and his words are clipped. “I would never hurt you.”

  I swallow, feeling guilty for even thinking that.

  “Charon’s chains,” Ashlee explains, but that does not tell me a damn thing. I have no clue what Charon’s chains are, let alone what they are used for.

  “They are a mixture of Jasper and gold. It is said that they are made from stones mined in the underworld. They are believed to be able to negate all angelic power, including the ability to shimmer.” Jaxon says all of this as he walks over to Xavier and begins to slowly wrap the chains around his body. He starts at his head, and slowly winds it around until it reaches his feet. A lock is at the bottom, and he clicks it in place before standing.

  Ashlee is making quick work of securing Wanda as well. I use my idle time to think. The chains make sense. It would be impossible to capture an angel if they could shimmer.

  Together Ash and Jax make quick work of securing team let’s kill the king. I use what time that I do have to fill Jaxon in on everything that has happened since I stepped foot out of my dorm tonight. Things that I should have already told him, but he distracted me with that damn feather.

  Thinking of the feather reminds me, and I reach into my hoodie. I smile as my fingers run over the soft down. Feathers.....who would have thought?

  Ashlee is surprisingly silent during my story. She never says a word as I talk, which is so unlike her. It was always hard to tell her anything before, because she was constantly butting in with a comment or suggestion. Today she says nothing.

  Once they are satisfied that the bad guys are secure, Jaxon helps me figure out how to access my power to unfreeze the others. This time it is a lot easier, and I smile in satisfaction as the soft purple light fills the room.

  Everything explodes back to life.

  The brothers stumble forward, thrown off by their momentum. They crash into a stunned and very chained Xavier with a grunt. A curse leaves Braxton as he hits the floor, springing to his feet quickly as he turns to assess the room. Ryker is slower to get up, but I think it is just laziness on his part.

  I don’t think that there is actually anything slow about Ryker. I think he does everything with deadly precision. He smirks as he takes in the chains that hold the others, lifting a brow.

  “Now this I can’t wait to hear,” he laughs, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “What is the meaning of this!” Gabriel booms, pointing to Wanda with a furious expression as he turns to his sons. Jaxon steps forward, until he is eye to eye with his father. His expression as cold as his voice.

  “Ask your wife,” Jax says, pointing to a very silent Wanda. “Ask her how she plotted with the enemy to have you killed. Or maybe who she shares a bed with father.....”

  A cold fury transforms Gabriel’s expression as he turns to his wife. To her credit she does not even flinch. He steps forward, tugging on her chains so that she falls to her knees before him. She lifts her head, but her eyes show no fear. Just hatred. Absolute hatred for the man before her.

  “You would betray me....for him?” Gabriel whispers, and the venom in his tone is worse than a slap. She says nothing, but she doesn’t have to. We know. We all know.

  “BOYS!” Gabriel booms, and they all turn to him instantly. “Take the traitors to the pit and convene the angelic council. Their fate is no longer mine to decide,” he says sadly before blinking from the room.

  Braxton hauls a struggling Wanda to her feet, blinking out behind his father without a word. Ryker goes to Xavier, bending down and whispering something in his ear that no one else can hear. Xavier lunges for him, but Ry just rolls his eyes before grabbing him by the neck and following the others.

  “I need to....” Jaxon starts, but I wave him away. He needs to help his brothers. I know.

  “I will be ok here,” I whisper, and he studies me closely, like he can somehow see the truth if he looks at me long enough. Which I guess he can. Reading minds has its perks and all.

  “Ok,” he sighs, kissing my forehead before stepping away. “I will see you tonight,” he says, and I know that is his silent message for me not to leave.

  “Promise,” I say. He studies me for a few more seconds, then he too blinks from the room. I turn to Ashlee, the question burning a hole in my tongue.

  “What is the pit?”

  “No where you ever want to go,” she says with a shudder that makes me think that she has been there before, and not for a social call.

  “Why?”

  “Things that go in there don’t come out,” she whispers. “At least not the same.”

  Oh God! What kind of world have I gotten myself into?

  ∞

  ~ Chapter 22~

  Exhaustion floods me as the adrenaline from today leaves me in a rush. I walk to the huge sofa, throwing myself onto the soft cushions. A sigh leaves me as I fold into them, disappearing into their warmth. I am really starting to love this couch. I feel a dip in the material beside me, and I crack open one eye to see Ashlee watching me.

  It strikes me then, that in all the years that I have known her, I have never seen her look as unsure as she does now. We always had an easy and open friendship. If she wanted to say something, she said it. That changed with her “death.” Her hesitation shouldn’t bother me, but even mad at her, I still love her.

  “Just say it Ash,” I whisper, deciding to put her out of her misery.

  “I don’t expect you to forgive me M,” she says softly, using the name that she called me when we were kids. “I hurt you. I really hurt you, and I get it if you hate me, but I need you to understand why I did it.” Her voice is pleading, and the desperation that I hear in it thaws a little of the ice that surrounds my heart.

  “I’m listening,” I say, pushing myself to a sitting position so that I can see her better.

  “I came into my power when I was five. I was just a kid when I had my first vision of you, but even then, I knew what I was. From the moment I saw you in that vision, little blond pigtails swinging in the wind, I knew that your soul was mine to protect.” She says, looking off into the space above my head. Seeing something that I can’t see as she replays the memory.

  “So... I was job to you?” I groan.

  “No,” she says, reaching out and grabbing my hand. “It may have started out that way, but you were never a job to me. You are my friend. The angelic council may be responsible for bringing us together, but friendship kept us together. It was so painful to leave my brothers, but you got me through it Maci. You. I may have lost my brothers, but I gained a sister.”

  Tears roll freely down my face as she speaks, and the rest of the ice wall that I built around my heart comes crashing down. I lunge forward, pulling her into a fierce hug. I squeeze her so hard, inhaling her floral scent.

  “Then tell me how,” I whisper into her hair, refusing to let her go just yet. I need to know the answer to my next question more than I need my next breath. It is the one thing that I don’t get. That I can’t understand. That I can’t forgive. The final shard of ice that is imbedded into my heart, making it impossible to let go.

  “Tell me how you could let me believe that you were dead?”r />
  She pulls away, tears falling down her cheeks as she swipes her white blond hair out of her eyes. Pain crosses her face as she takes a shuddering breath. “It was the morning of your birthday. I was in the middle of wrapping your gift, when he just appeared. The moment that I saw him, I knew.....”

  “Who? Saw who Ash?”

  “Micah,” she whispers, like that explains everything. Well...it doesn’t. Not even close.

  “Who is Micah?” I ask.

  “Micah is the messenger angel for the Creator. He passes along the Creator’s orders on his golden parchment. When he pulled the note out of his pocket, I knew it was over. I begged...pleaded really, but he just handed me the paper and disappeared. Just like that,” she says sadly, snapping her fingers. “He didn’t even care that he ruined our lives,” she finishes sadly.

  “And all for this,” she says reaching into her pocket and pulling out a scroll. She holds it out to me, and I take it with shaky hands.

  “What does it say?” I wonder, feeling the smooth paper under my fingertips. It is heavier than normal paper, and the edges are dusted with gold.

  “See for yourself,” she shrugs, folding herself into the thick couch cushions. There is a part of me that doesn’t want to look. That thinks ignorance is bliss, but there is a bigger part of me that has to know.

  I have to know what ruined my life.

  So..... I open pandora’s box, or should a I say pandora’s scroll.

  Ashlyn Lux. It is by the order of the Creator that you shall leave your current assignment. The soul of Maci Madison has been reassigned. Do so tonight and tell no one. Make it look like an accident, as I am sure you are aware no one can know of our existence. After stasis, report back to Hillcrest for your next assignment.

  Wow. I look at the page in front of me, unsure of what to think. It is so...so formal. Assignment? They make it sound so technical. Do they not realize that I am a person? Anger overtakes reason as I close the paper. I throw it down, my eyes finding Ashlee’s as red-hot rage builds beneath my skin.

  “And What? You just listened? You didn’t try to fight? That is bullshit Ash! You should have fought for me!” I yell. I push myself up, too angry to sit.