by K. M. Raya
“Back to your dorms!” someone yelled through the tense silence. Everyone turned. “Orientation will commence tomorrow at dawn, anyone caught in the halls after curfew will lose dinner privileges for a week!” A muscular woman with close cropped blonde hair and a deep, olive complexion strolled into the room with a no nonsense attitude and a hard set to her jaw. She knew immediately that it was the same woman who Savannah tackled outside. The same instructor who dusted the poor girl.
Some students still looked visibly upset, while others just looked angry and confused. They all wanted answers. They wanted to know why this situation wasn’t being addressed and Blue understood that frustration. Reluctantly though, they turned away one by one, heading off in different directions like good little sheep, clutching their stakes tightly and casting worried looks over their shoulders. Some eyes landed on Blue accusingly before moving away quickly and guiltily. The school would remain on edge for a while to come.
Jasper cast her a perplexing, but meaningful look before he followed the others out the door, and she couldn’t help it as her eyes tracked him the whole way. When she turned back to the instructor, she noticed she wasn’t the only one who stayed behind. Just beneath the light of the moon shining through the window, the blonde man still stood there like a shadow, watching her with shrewd, calculating eyes. She glared at him, not wanting him to think he somehow had the upper hand, or that he was unnerving her—though he completely was. For now, though, she decided to ignore him.
Waiting for the footsteps down the hallways to fade, she tried to pretend she was confident in what she was doing as she braced herself in front of the teacher. That, and she really didn’t feel like being cornered in the halls of the large castle where there were plenty of shadows to conceal oneself or attack someone they didn’t like. It was day one and she already had enemies. She just couldn’t chance losing her spot at Arcane just because some asshole chose the wrong night to pick a fight.
The instructor’s face didn’t look welcoming in the slightest, nor was her expression meant to reassure. She just looked suspicious, and Blue had a single guess why. “Is there a reason you're lingering, Ms. Graves?” Her voice was gruff and commanding, full of zero bullshit or nonsense. She stepped in closer, but before they were nose to nose, Blue felt a tug at her elbow.
“Let's get out of here…” Ronnie urged, trying to pull her away from the teacher. She hadn’t heard her roommate enter the room, but she was touched that the girl was risking getting into trouble by coming back for her. She shrugged her off regardless, shaking her head.
“Go ahead, I’ll be right behind you,” Blue promised.
Ronnie sighed warily, “Sure you will… just stay out of trouble, alright? Mrs. Slater isn’t someone you want to mess with even on a good day.” Without another word, her new friend left the room.
“And here you are still, Ms. Graves… can I help you with something?” Slater asked impatiently, pretending to glance at her watch for the time.
“Yeah, you can tell me what the hell that was all about. Down there in the courtyard… you killed a student.”
Slater scoffed, “That was no student, that was an abomination. Every part of who Savannah once was, was dead... gone, long before my stake finished it. We did what needed to be done.”
“You know that's not what I meant. How did that girl turn, I don’t get it—something’s going on here and I want to know what.”
Slater stared at her blankly for a moment, eyes traveling over her face as if searching for something but coming up empty handed. “You forget your place, little girl. You’re in no position to demand anything from me. You're lucky the Conclave even allows you to step foot on this campus much less question what goes on within its walls. You should get to your dorm before people start asking even more questions,” she snapped.
“That's not fair.”
“Life's not fair, Graves.” Slater stepped closer and lowered her mouth to Blue’s ear. “I suggest you keep your head low, lest someone comes along to take it from you…”
With wide, disbelieving eyes, Blue watched her turn away abruptly and stride through the door until the only one who remained was the strange man in the shadows who’d just turned away and a lingering sense of unshakable dread.
Chapter Four
Sweat poured down her face as she sat up in bed. It was a cold sweat, one derived from hours of navigating the darkest parts of her memory, and she was thankful for the reprieve.
The moonlight shining through the arched window cast the entire room in a dull glow, but she knew from the lack of blood splattered walls or shrill screams ringing in her ears that she was longer dreaming. Heavy snores from Ronnie’s side of the room also brought her back to reality, which she was thankful for.
Creeping out of bed and sneaking out undetected was easy, but she did make a mental note to rub the swamp creature noises in her roommate’s face the next day. Letting your guard down even in sleep was a huge no, no.
The hallway that night was dim and chilly—the torches had been long snuffed out and a breeze twirled through the narrow stone corridor, perhaps from an open window somewhere nearby. Rubbing her arms, she was already beginning to regret venturing out in just a pair of leggings and a black t-shirt. Her treacherous stomach was rumbling though, so that was obviously the most important thing. She still carried her stakes in a holster on her hip, though. She always had her stakes.
The night was quiet, and she fought a cringe at every corner as her footsteps against the stone floor seemed to echo around her. It felt like any small noise she made would be enough to condemn her of trespassing. She still wasn’t used to being allowed at Arcane and felt like a stranger behind its walls. Aside from the quiet though, she could just barely make out the sounds of distant howling from the forest beyond the castle’s perimeter. The Guardians were active, and although it should make her feel safe, her mind flashed back to Savannah Crow’s snarling face…
Every door she passed was arched, heavy and aging. In fact, the entire school was like something out of Dracula movie, ironically enough. Hallways twisted and turned, splitting off into dark passages that led to hidden staircases or movable walls. She wondered how many rooms Arcane actually boasted, but after centuries, she was sure some of them had been forgotten entirely. One could easily find themselves lost within this labyrinth of a building. ‘Freakin Slayers... everything just has to be dramatic, doesn't it? Would it kill them to install carpet—or a heating system?’ she mused. She was grumbling to herself as she descended a few levels in search of sustenance.
Finally, on the ground floor, she tiptoed into the massive kitchens which she remembered pretty clearly. Back in the day, the chefs would indulge the young Slayers visiting their siblings—filling them with sweets while their parents were talking business with the rest of the community. Blue remembered everything about those days and missed the familiarity of this world with such fierceness that it actually physically ached. Her parents had been involved in everything Conclave related and had even been known to donate massive amounts of money to Arcane Academy. Hell, the library once boasted the Graves family crest over the top of its entryway thanks to her great, great etc. grandfather's startup money during its reconstruction. That was long gone by now no doubt.
The Graves family was once wealthy, disgustingly so. She and Harlow were legacies, after all. Her parents and their parents before them had attended Arcane too of course, going back many tens of generations—basically back to its founding. Not only had they attended, but they’d excelled in all things to the point of fame. Generations of Graves were at the top of their classes, setting the standard for perfection at whatever they did. They were elite warriors, always placed into the best teams the school could produce. But when everything went to shit, most of their assets had been seized and dispersed amongst the victims with the rest locked away in a safe somewhere—leaving nothing to the two innocent girls left behind. Funny how things work out…
Digging arou
nd in the empty kitchen, she knew she shouldn’t be in there at that time of night, but the rumbling in her stomach was a little more important. With limited options, she ended up making a simple sandwich of cold turkey and cheese scavenged from the gigantic stainless-steel refrigerator before hoisting herself up on to a smooth stone countertop, chewing in silence. It was somewhere around four in the morning and she was tired as hell after the stress of her first day but sleep just wasn’t in the stars that night.
“Stealing food, newbie?” Jumping slightly, she turned to the figure standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His eyes gleamed and his arms were crossed over his chest. She wondered how long he’d been watching her and how the hell he’d managed to remain so silent. It was the blonde guy, the one who glared at her earlier as if she were somehow personally insulting him by merely existing. She'd asked Ronnie about him earlier, and found out his name was Dresden, and that he kept to himself a lot. His brown eyes still simmered with that same anger now.
“Last time I checked I was enrolled here and have just as much right to this disgusting sandwich as anyone,” she grumbled around a mouthful of turkey. He may have been beautiful and slightly off-putting, but that didn’t mean she was about to let him interrupt her dinnerbreakfast.
“What are you doing out of bed?” he asked, unfolding his arms and moving further into the room. He went right for the freezer, promptly removing a bottle of Vodka and pouring himself a glass, making Blue shudder.
She watched him in amusement, and slight irritation. “I don’t sleep much, though why you give a shit is a mystery to me.” Her tone was bitter, and the guy flickered his eyes to her for a second before ignoring her in favor of gently setting the bottle down on the countertop and lifting his glass. “What are you doing out so late?” she asked, more to fill the awkward silence.
“I don’t sleep at all.” He proceeded to knock back the glass of clear liquid with way too much ease before refilling it again.
“Is this a hobby of yours?” she asked around the last bite of her unsatisfying sandwich.
He snorted, still not meeting her eyes for more than a few seconds at a time. He looked so serious and a little haunted, even in his casual black sweatpants, lazy grey t-shirt and socks. She didn’t know what it was about seeing other people in their pajamas that just reeked of intimacy. Despite the hard set of his clenched jaw and the frown maring his pretty face, seeing him like that made him appear vulnerable in a way. She’d bite her tongue before admitting that to him though.
“Why, are you planning on crashing this party often?” he smirked, but it was a bitter one. For some reason she’d rather not analyze, that smile made her stomach do backflips.
Hopping off the countertop, she threw her trash away before making a move to put the sandwich ingredients back into the fridge. “Look—” she turned to him.” “Just be straight with me, did I do something to piss you off?”
Blinking at her, he was silent for a few moments before shaking his head and flitting his eyes away almost reluctantly. It was like he was actively forcing himself to look away. “You don’t belong here.”
Though she’d expected a similar response, the twinge in her stomach was unexpected. “Wow,” she clicked her tongue. “Don’t hold back or anything…”
“That attitude won’t make things easier for you either, Blue Graves. You should leave while you still can.”
Raising an eyebrow, she attempted to appear unaffected. “Why does everyone keep telling me that?”
“Probably so you’ll listen. But I know your kind, you're looking for trouble and if you stay here, you’ll find it.”
“Sounds like you're threatening me.” She folded her arms over her chest. “Who the hell are you anyway, the resident hall monitor?”
Dresden rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. You won't be around long enough for it to matter.”
Blue stepped closer to him, barely containing the urge to get violent. She refrained, because she needed to stay composed. She’d never be able to prove these people wrong if she went around knocking out anyone who pissed her off. “Your threats don’t mean shit to me. I’ve been through things you can’t even imagine. I’ve seen things I need to forget,” she spit. “I—I need this place…” Her words came out in a stutter. She hadn’t meant to add that last part. But it was too late to reach out and snatch the words back.
He was chest to chest with her now, breathing her air and looming over her like he somehow thought he was her superior. “We’ve all seen things, little girl. Don’t get it in your head that you’re somehow special because they allowed you back here. This place isn’t for you anymore. Your family might have been great once upon a time, but it doesn't mean you will be.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough.”
After a beat of silence and an intense stare off, Blue went to pass him, only to be jerked back suddenly as his hand gripped her upper arm. She glanced down at his fingers pressing into her skin. “Are you particularly attached to that hand, pretty boy?” She met his eyes over her shoulder, trying to ignore the way her breath hitched at his closeness. “Because I'm about to rip it off if you don’t let me go.”
His hand actually tightened for a split second before he let go and backed away. He didn’t look remorseful in the slightest, though. “You might want to at least try your hand at self-preservation. Slinking around the halls in the dead of night doesn’t look good for someone like you.”
“Someone like me… you mean like a pariah?”
“Someone who we don’t trust,” he bit out, eyes flashing. “I'm trying to give you some helpful advice, even if you don’t deserve it. You don’t need to be a bitch.”
Now that was laughable. “Helpful advice, my ass, dude.” She moved to the door, ready to flee back to the dorm room and hide out until morning. Turning back before crossing the threshold, she leveled him with a narrowed gaze. “Tell you what; you stay on your side of the castle and I’ll stay on mine. That way, maybe the simple fact that I exist won’t bother you so much.”
He said nothing, just kept staring blankly before lifting that damn bottle again and filling up his glass.
Chapter Five
The first two classes the next day were boring human stuff—math and literature, blah. It was close to noon when third period brought her down to one of the school’s many training rooms.
Despite resembling a gothic castle from the 16th century, Arcane had surprisingly updated training facilities. There were already students inside her classroom, milling around in small groups where they stretched out their muscles or jogged in place to pump up for the lesson. Everyone was dressed in workout gear, ranging from regular running outfits all the way to fighting leathers. Blue had on her stretchy legging style pants she often wore on a hunt. They were breathable, but difficult to slice through. Her black sports bra held everything in place, but left her abdomen bare since she wasn’t worried about receiving any actual life threatening wounds that day.
Anticipation fluttered in her stomach. She stopped at her dorm before heading down for her physical half of the schedule and made sure she had her favorite stakes handy. The rest of the day involved courses called Self Defense, Weapons Mastery and… Team Building. ‘Ugh, great. Just what I need, a team who would probably rather use me as bait.’
The first twenty minutes of class focused on stretching and loosening up their muscles. Most students at Arcane probably spent their summers with their families and not necessarily a part of any sort of action. It wasn’t until graduating their senior year of college at twenty-three that they were put into the field on a permanent basis. For now, upperclassmen students were used as auxiliary backup in case of a rare emergency. Blue couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit smug. While these kids hung around with their mommies and daddies for the most part, she and Harlow were out there slaying bloodsuckers and saving human lives for real.
She was thoroughly warmed up by the time the doors to th
e training room opened, revealing two men… well, one older man and one younger, maybe in his very early twenties. The older man was in incredibly great shape. His bald head shone in the fluorescent lights of the gym and his arm muscles bulged out of his bro tank almost comically so. She was assuming this guy was their instructor.
She tried so freakin hard to keep herself from running her eyes greedily over the younger guy but failed horribly—enough that she didn’t miss the fact that he was already staring right back. Her stomach tingled and her palms started to sweat as those amber-yellow colored eyes watched her with an intensity she was wholly unaccustomed to. He was nothing short of wild and beautiful with shoulder length, wavy chocolate hair, half tied back with a rubber band. The lower half of his strong jawed face was covered in a nicely trimmed, but thick beard, making him look tough and ruggedly handsome. He wore the hell out of a tight-fitting black shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. His skin was the color of almonds, decorated in swirling black tattoos from wrist to shoulder.
‘Pants like that should be illegal…’ she mused, cocking her head to the side. The guy smirked, his eyes heating as he looked her up and down slowly. He licked his lips. ‘Shit! Did I say that out loud?’ She needed to develop a filter now that she was forced to interact with more people every day. Her cheeks flamed before she cast her eyes away from him reluctantly, knowing this was about to be a very long few hours.
She was introduced to Mr. Orozco, Self Defense Master and self-proclaimed ‘toughest Slayer to ever live.’ She rolled her eyes at the man's confidence. He was clearly full of himself. He jumped right into his lesson plan by sparring with the man he’d come in with.
