Nightworld Academy Box Set 1

by L. J. Swallow

  Chapter Twelve

  MAEVE

  Eating breakfast is harder this morning as I stare around at the few people who gather. Most are from Walcott, some from Gilgamesh. None from Andrei's house. I chew on my cereal—more evidence I don't want. Vampires don't appear in the daytime.

  I crawled into bed last night, not wanting to think anymore, and thanked Amelia before drawing the partition between our sides of the room and cuddling up under my familiar duvet. Should I be happy about this new explanation for the hallucinations I've had my whole life?

  Amelia takes me to breakfast and sits opposite me now. I can tell she's bursting to talk but waiting for my cue. Each time our eyes meet, I'm sure she's about to launch into another crazy explanation. Desperate to avoid one right now, I stare around the room. A poster is pinned on a nearby noticeboard.

  Winter Ball

  Last day of term

  Join us for celebrations and show off your best Yuletide dress

  Normality.

  I point. "Something to look forward to."

  She perks up. "You like dances? You can help organise this one, if you like?"

  "Uh. Maybe not."

  "I'm responsible for creating the theme. And Katherine is... organising everything else."

  More reason not to be involved.

  "Theme? Christmas, perhaps?"

  "Not everybody celebrates Christmas." She taps her fingers on the table. "I know you don't want to talk about this, but I'm here if you have questions."

  "Oh, I have questions. So many questions. But—," I point at my head, "—messed up."

  "Theodora wants to talk to you more and introduce you to the teacher we think can help the most. Her name is Professor Sofia Reichardt and she's a witch with similar powers to you. She's Walcott's head teacher too. She’s been away the first week of term."

  "Witch," I mutter to myself. "Can she stop my visions?"

  "She can help you take some control over your power and teach you different divination skills." I look at Amelia blankly. "Fortune telling. She's a little eccentric, but good at what she does. Even I've learned how to read tarot cards."

  "Tarot reading is a lesson? I imagined potions and defence against the dark arts. Please don’t tell me there’s a Professor Snape."

  Amelia rolls her eyes. "I'd drop the constant Harry Potter references if I were you. A lot here don't find them amusing."

  "Sorry." I focus on my coffee. "But the teachers are okay?"

  "There’s a professor who teaches the mental magic class, and he’s definitely no Snape." Her cheeks turn pink. "Professor Whitlock is 150 years old but looks good for his age, if you get what I mean."

  "A hot teacher?" I smile. "That's new. Maybe he'll distract me."

  Amelia wrinkles her nose. "Maybe. But pay attention. He can help you wipe humans' memories if we slip up, and some say he can do the same to witches and shifters. I think that’s a rumour, because it's rare and forbidden. Influencing human minds can be helpful sometimes, especially as we have humans working here too. We avoid suspicion that way."

  I straighten. "Mind control? I'm not sure I agree with that. It's not very ethical."

  "You're going to need to change your mindset, Maeve. You're part of this world now."

  I’m still not convinced this isn’t one long, elaborate joke.

  Jamie walks into the room and ends my confusing conversation with Amelia. I'm fortunate to have two accepting, warm-hearted friends to help me through this—three if you count Ash, but he was gruff with me last night. A girl at a nearby table stands to talk to Jamie, and he smiles down at her. The girl's eyes light up at his attention. Yep, the dimples would do that. They certainly captivate me and my weakness for guys with dimpled smiles.

  The smitten girl watches as Jamie approaches our table, and she purses her lips as he sits and turns his chair and attention my way. "How are you this morning, Maeve?"

  "Witchy." I sip my coffee.

  Jamie glances at Amelia, who shrugs.

  "Will Andrei bite me?" I continue. "Or will Ash turn into a huge dog and bite me too?"

  "Nobody will bite you," says Jamie with a small smile. "And I wouldn't let them."

  My heart skips a beat at his earnest words. "Most guys don't offer to defend me from werewolves and vampires. It's weird that you seem so normal but say things like that."

  "He's not normal. He enjoys studying." Amelia ducks as Jamie throws a coffee stirrer at her head.

  "I want to pass my exams. I'm not going to be another Andrei."

  "You could never be an Andrei," says Amelia.

  "Too true," I say.

  The sudden switch from talking about supernatural to everyday teen normality is strange, but I'm not complaining.

  The stories I need to hear aren't only about supernatural powers and the academy, but exactly how everybody fits into it.

  "Will you explain to me what the Dominion is?" I ask.

  Jamie's eyes widen and he waves a hand to shush me. "They're a rogue group who oppose the Confederacy’s policy that we should remain hidden. Those involved believe the supernatural races should seek revenge for the persecution and deaths from years ago."

  "The Confederacy are the council that are elected to oversee our world," puts in Amelia. "Representatives from each race who work together to keep us hidden and at peace. Most come from the top students at the Nightworld academies."

  "There's more than one academy?"

  "Of course. The supernatural live all over the world and all need educating. There are three Nightworld academies in Europe and two in the US, for a start. Each is to teach the three races to coexist with humans by controlling or using their skills. We don't want a repeat of the persecution from the early years. "

  I sink back in my chair and rub my forehead. "These Dominion. Are they powerful? Am I in danger?" Neither responds. "Am I?"

  "We don't know how powerful. These things are always hidden from kids."

  "They broke into the academy and attacked me."

  "If it was them," says Amelia.

  "Whoever did, they know about your power, Maeve," says Jamie. "True future-sighted witches are rare."

  "Fantastic," I mutter.

  "You're safer here than if you were in the outside world for any length of time," says Amelia. She places a hand over mine and squeezes. "Now you're here, we can train you to protect yourself."

  "By attending the so-called advanced program?"

  "And from one-on-one tuition with Sofia. Theodora asked me to find you and take you to see her after breakfast."

  I push away my plate, no longer hungry, and my head filled with the thought that a group of supernatural renegades could be tracking me down.

  "Nice. I'll have something to do today. I’m bored of staring at the moors."

  And she's back. The girl who pretends she can take this in her stride.

  Chapter Thirteen

  MAEVE

  I immediately know the woman in Theodora’s office is Professor Reichardt. Something in her grey eyes pierce my mind and her slight, willowy frame, and long, jet-black hair match how I imagined she'd look.

  I'm in a constant state of nerves, but for the first time I want to hear what somebody has to say to me. After years filled with confusion, convinced I'm mentally ill and will be locked away one day, I'm about to get answers.

  This could make living with vampires and werewolves bearable.

  "Hello, Maeve. I apologise for not introducing myself earlier. I've been away from the academy visiting a sick relative, but it appears I returned just in time to help."

  I pull at my blazer sleeves and offer her a nervous smile.

  "I wanted to tell you some more about the academy before leaving you to chat to Sofia. A little history and a rule or two." Theodora smiles. "I lived in Europe years ago when the Purge happened—the attack on our kind by humans."

  Entering her room soothed me—last night I didn't freak out as much as I thought I might, but the emotions crashed ov
er me like waves once I left. Is that her power? This woman either had a lot of plastic surgery or she's immortal.

  Are there immortals here? "Are you a vampire?" I blurt.

  "A lamia vampire. We feed on sexual energy, not blood, so don't worry."

  I cannot believe a head teacher said that to me. My cheeks heat. "Right."

  "The accords between the shifters, witches, and vampires are also reinforced by the academy. Students are allowed to segregate themselves into houses, but cooperation is key."

  "In this academy and the outside world, of course," puts in Sofia.

  "Jamie and Amelia explained who the Dominion are and that they attacked me."

  Theodora sits and clasps her hands in her lap. "We can't be sure this was them. Your power is valuable because you may see any attacks they plan against the Confederacy and prevent them. But there are also hunters—humans whose ancestors were around when the Purge happened and know we still exist. They’d like to finish the task and eradicate us. If it was them, you were a random target."

  "The fireballs suggest other supernaturals, Theodora, and hunters shouldn't be able to find their way into the academy."

  She nods at Sofia. "This is true. We have tightened academy security and if necessary, we will request extra guards for the perimeter. Guards who we can trust." Her face darkens. "There has never been a direct attack on the academy. I believe this was purely a desire to locate you."

  “What?” I half-gasp.

  "Don't worry, all teachers here are powerful, and many students are growing in power too as they get older." She nods. "And you will be one of them."

  I fold my arms across my chest. “I don’t know if I want to stay here.”

  Theodora raises a perfectly plucked brow. “Do you want to understand who you really are? To finally get answers?"

  I nod mutely.

  "Then begin by talking to Sofia. She will explain more than I can and can use her strong affinity as a spirit-attuned witch to guide you. You need to understand your capacity quickly—your gift has been uncontrolled for years and this makes the visions haphazard and confusing. You can harness them."

  Sofia gestures at the door. "My personal rooms are adjacent to Theodora's. We can go there and talk more." I tense. "Don't look nervous. I'm a teacher here and also a mentor for the witches who need help. Each house leader is responsible for pastoral care and guidance for their students."

  I smile at the memory of Dad's comment—there are people here who can help my 'condition'. He didn't realise how right he was.

  Sofia's room reminds me of an office I attended with my parents once where a woman in an ugly green and blue dress spoke to me about my hallucinations. Like this one, the counsellor's room was filled with soft furnishings in warm colours, such as the yellow sofa I sink into. Similar abstract paintings are hung on the wall with swirls of rainbows. Unlike my counsellor's room, one table is strewn with tarot cards, and crystals hang in strategic places around the room.

  A large clear crystal hangs from the ceiling above Sofia's desk. Like many rooms here, a strange scent hangs around.

  "Would you like a drink, Maeve?" Sofia walks to a small dresser in the corner where a black teapot edged in silver is placed beside matching teacups and saucers. Beside them, there's a small kettle and square boxes in yellow, black, and blue. She flicks on the kettle.

  "Do you like Ceylon? Earl Grey?" She points at the boxes.

  I'm not a fan of tea, but don't want to get off on the wrong foot with her. "Do you have any PG Tips?"

  She laughs lightly. "Unfortunately, not. I'll make some black tea."

  I watch as she spoons tea leaves into the teapot. Is she going to read them? My aunt did that once, on one of the few times I saw her as a young child. I thought she was mad, especially when she quickly rinsed the cup and never spoke to me for the rest of the day.

  Is she a witch too? Oh god, I bet she is. Does Mum know?

  Sofia pours tea from the pot into the two black and silver cups before taking hers between slender fingers and sipping. I pour milk from a small silver jug into mine and join her in drinking. My nerves drop as we chat about the academy, my life, and hers. I discover witches and shifters are mortal and vampires are immortal. Sofia is a little older than she looks and attended the academy as a teenager too.

  Sofia reassures me she can help.

  Tea finished and tea leaves unread, Sofia clears the items and then walks over to a desk. She pulls out a small red pouch from the drawer. The low table in front of me contains a wide silver bowl filled with water. Sofia sits and tips the pouch contents onto the dark wood. Six silver stones in different sizes clatter as they scatter across the surface, smooth and shining as if recently polished.

  "You're gifted, Maeve. I can divine the future, and my affinity with spirit gifts me with empath traits. However, I've had to train for many years to achieve a level of skill that is only half of what we suspect you have. Your aunt told us that you have future sight—the rarest seer."

  "My aunt?" I interrupt. I knew it.

  "You should talk to your aunt about her heritage one day. Hers may help explain yours. Your gift is carried along the female line but doesn't always manifest."

  Omigod. "Is my mother a witch?"

  Sofia smiles. "No. Only your aunt. Theodora has requested that she attend the academy to talk to you—and us. She’s resistant, but I hope she comes soon."

  "Me too, I have questions," I say quietly.

  "Tell me about the visions you've had through your life. When did they start? Are they becoming stronger?"

  My story pours out and for the first time, the jigsaw pieces slot together. I tell her about my childhood visions of Christmas time and knowing what gifts I'd receive, my waking dreams that predicted what would happen at school. I knew my mother was pregnant before she did. I kept quiet because I knew I'd have a sister and the day she would be born.

  With a wavering voice, I tell Sofia how the visions became disturbing and I'd see car accidents or incidents that later appeared in the news. That they became darker still. I saw my best friend's dog die and was powerless to help, because I couldn't see the time and day. I only knew when the incident with Denny would happen because Tyler checked his phone for messages before looking for his victim. I saw the date and time.

  "This is one thing we can work on," says Sofia. "I'm positive you can learn to pinpoint the dates your visions will happen. Have you had any recently, since the incident at your old school?"

  I ignore how my heart beats faster and the thoughts that want to push in. Instead, I focus on Sofia's face and hope I can fool her in the same way I've managed to lie to others for years. I’m not ready to share yet.

  "No."

  Sofia's lips purse. "Hmm. If you had, that would be helpful. We could’ve practiced by working on a recent vision."

  "And stopping it?" I suggest. Hope springs in my heart that I can stop whatever may happen to Jamie. That this vision can be prevented.

  "Changing the future by interrupting someone's actions is rare. It's significant that you managed this in the past with your schoolfriend, but that was a fluke." Sofia reaches out and lightly touches my hand. "Don't worry. We can work on honing your skills. I can teach you to guide your visions with divination. If you focus this way, then hopefully they won't happen randomly."

  As she speaks, Sofia's pupils dilate, and she blinks at me before withdrawing her hand.

  "I sense how much unhappiness this gift has caused you. We can change that. I teach divination classes, but as you already have the gift, we can work on helping you hone that."

  My eyes go to the stones and bowl in front of us. "What? Now?"

  "It will help me to see how much I need to teach you." She gestures at the stones. "Pick two that you're attracted to. Don't think about it, just be guided by your heart."

  I reach out and take two of different sizes—one a smooth oval grey with silver flecks. The other looks similar to pebbles I once found on the beach—
small and round and striped white and grey .

  "Now drop them in the scrying bowl." She gestures at the silver bowl filled with liquid on the table.

  Hesitantly, I release both stones and they land inside with a quiet splash. The water ripples.

  "And study the water."

  Tarot cards I could deal with, as I've friends who've dabbled with them. Bowls of water? Weird. I peer at the pattern dancing across the surface, doubting I'll see anything.

  In the centre, a face appears then grows smaller as if someone zoomed out a camera. I bring my face closer until all I can see is the images flickering under the water. The room around me retreats as I watch events unfold in the same way images flicker through my mind, as if viewing a TV.

  A face comes into view and my relief this isn't Jamie drops away when I see who. Tessa's face. She's at a party dressed as a vampiress. Cardboard ghosts hang from the ceiling and painted gravestones decorate the bottom of the walls. Cobwebs form a canopy beneath the ceiling. Halloween? Tessa moves across the room, speaking words I can't hear above the loud music, and then the images disappear.

  Instead, I'm staring at a bowl of water.

  "Did you see anything?" asks Sofia, with eager eyes.

  "My friend."

  "What happened?"

  I bite back frustration. "I don't know. I only caught a glimpse of her and where she was. Then the water stopped showing me anything."

  "Only a few seconds?" Sofia chews on her lip. "I suppose that's a start. We can try again tomorrow."

  "No. I need to know now. I have to see what I need to stop." I reach out for the other stones and Sofia takes them with a frown.

  "I don't think we should. I'm unsure how you'll react to forcing the visions–if you did, this could trigger more. I'd like you to tell me how you're feeling later, and if everything is okay, we can try again."

  I could protest, but I share her worries. I need to know what happens to Tessa, but if forcing this could lead to my random visions worsening, I need to leave trying until another day.