Bloodline Academy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 1)

by Lan Chan

  I raised a brow in what I hoped was a cutting expression. “Believe me, you jackass, if I had the ability to do demonic things, you’d be on your ass right now.”

  Mine wasn’t the only jaw to hit the floor when he threw his head back and laughed. I had to keep reminding myself he was a world-class jerk because the low timbre of his chuckle shot warmth through my previously cold limbs. If he was hot before, a smiling Malachi Pendragon was heart-stopping. Thankfully, it didn’t last long or I might have forgotten how to breathe. Too soon the mirth clouded over once more with his guarded expression.

  “I don’t doubt it,” he said.

  “How did you break through the circle?”

  He shrugged. Like it was all in a day’s work. The urge to punch him in the head was strong. Luckily the bell rang. Professor Mortimer dismissed the class but held me back. Adam hovered around, but Kai shot him an irritated look. Adam grit his jaw but left like the rest of them.

  “What did you see?” the professor asked me as soon as everyone else was out of earshot. How he knew I’d seen something on the other side was beyond me. I cast a sidelong look at Kai. The last thing I needed was to tell them what happened and have him try to stab me with his sword again. Because although I was pretty sure I wasn’t a demon, I couldn’t account for what I’d seen. Or what the demon had said to me. I found it difficult to think of something that would frighten a demon.

  I took a gulping breath. “I saw the Ley lines. And then they disappeared and I was in an icy cavern. There was a demon in the cavern.”

  Lines appeared around the professor’s mouth. He seemed to be biting the inside of his cheek. “What did this demon look like?”

  I described the cloven creature. Both of them tried to hide their shock, but I saw the note of recognition in their eyes. They knew the creature I had described.

  “Did you speak to it?”

  I nodded. “I tried to get up and run but my body wouldn’t move. It was like I was an insect caught in amber.”

  The professor gave me a smile. He reached out then to pat me on the head. “Whatever anyone else says about you, Alessia, it’s very clear you’re Earthbound. I think I’ve kept you from your next class long enough. Unless you still don’t feel well. In which case I can write you a note to take to the infirmary.”

  I considered the offer but in the end I didn’t feel bad enough to get out of going to the next class. I left them with their heads together, speaking in low, urgent tones. Even I could spot something brewing. But if they were going to let me leave then it couldn’t have been all that bad.

  Slinking in unnoticed to my next class was a feat. The professor in this class had an Amazonian air about her. She was black-haired with bowed red lips. Her outfit was nothing short of gladiator attire. A golden breastplate with leather straps that held it together in the back. Her pants were so tight I was afraid they might tear. She had a proud, straight nose that made her features too sharp to be pretty, but there was something striking about her. An aura of command that I couldn’t take my eyes off.

  She actually smiled at me but tapped her wrist in the universal sign for “you’re late.” I winced and tiptoed to the only empty desk in the room which just happened to be beside Sophie. In the human world, I would have questioned why there was a spare seat next to her, but I was quickly learning that these supernaturals really didn’t like us.

  She gave me a quizzical look but I shook my head at her and mouthed “later.”

  “As I was saying,” the professor said.“You’ve all been trained in some form of hand-to-hand combat since the eighth grade. This year we’re going to focus on finding a weapon of choice that will fit both your preferred fighting style as well as your physical attributes.” Her attention landed on me. I couldn’t be sure but her left eye might have twitched a little.

  I could figure out quite easily what she might have been thinking. I was all of about fifty-five kilos. She had a lasso strapped to her hip that might have outweighed me. Not only was I short, I was kind of on the spindly side. I was hoping with a few weeks of getting in solid meals that I would fill out a bit, but right now, I wasn’t sure what kind of weapon I’d be able to wield.

  “Having said that,” she continued, “you’re going to inevitably find yourself in a situation where you might have to just pick up anything that’s on hand. With that in mind, you will train with all of the weapons at our disposal. You might not have the ability to throw balls of fire like the high mages, but a knife to the throat doesn’t discriminate.”

  With that gruesome image in mind, she made us file out of the classroom with her and into one down the corridor. There were two guards standing on either side of the door. Their eyes were closed. I’d thought they were truant students as I ran past them on the way here but now that I got a good look at them, both were too muscled and seasoned to be studying here. Neither of them budged as the professor opened the door and stalked inside.

  It wasn’t until I’d waited for the rest of the class to walk through that I had a chance to really see why they weren’t reacting. I glanced at their chests to confirm my observations. Sophie was about to step into the room when I grabbed the back of her shirt.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “They’re not breathing,” I said. I took the opportunity to press a finger to the arm of the one on the right. I gave a little squeak when I touched what felt like rock. “He looks so real.”

  Sophie laughed. “He is real,” she said. “They’re gargoyles. They turn into stone during the day, but they’ll wake at sundown and guard the armoury.”

  My jaw was hurting a lot these days from being permanently unhinged. “What if someone tries to mess with them while they’re asleep?”

  She looked up and down their solid bulk. I did the same. She pointed to a mirror that was fastened to the ceiling where a camera might have been. “There’s surveillance. I wouldn’t want to be the idiot that tried to mess with these guys while they’re asleep. They don’t exactly have a reputation for being soft.”

  I could see her point. It was like what I did with my sleep circle. If anyone tried to mess with me while I was asleep, I’d wake up fighting. We entered the room with the rest of the class. I stifled a laugh to find Diana had made a bee-line for the wall with the axes hanging from their racks. Roland had done the same. “What?” Diana said. “Why mess with a good thing?”

  “I didn’t say a word.”

  All around us, students were strolling up and down the aisles of weapons in their racks. There were some in metal cages that the professor was guarding. Every now and again a student would approach her and she would open the cages with a key that hung from a lanyard around her neck. For the most part, it seemed as though she was letting us have free rein to familiarise ourselves with what was available.

  “Any ideas?” I asked Sophie.

  She scratched at her head. “To be honest, I’m more at home with kitchen utensils.”

  Trey walked up beside us with a great big long sword in one hand and a tomahawk in the other. “What about this?” he shoved the tomahawk at Sophie. “It’s kind of like a cleaver.”

  She backed away a little. So did I. The razor edge of the blade glistened in the light. “I don’t think it’s my thing.”

  Trey turned and offered the weapon to me. Gingerly, I reached out for it. The handle was made of a dark wood that had been sanded and varnished so that it shone. As soon as Trey let go, the weight of the weapon dragged my arms down to the floor. I almost took my leg off trying to avoid the sharp side.

  “I don’t think this is me,” I said. He was trying unsuccessfully not to laugh. It didn’t help matters that Sasha walked by with what appeared to be a flamethrower settled over his shoulder. Trey scowled. “No fair! Where’d you get that?”

  Sasha pointed behind him with his thumb. “Professor Eldridge got it for me from the cage.”

  Not to be outdone, Trey marched off for an upgrade. Sophie and I sort of just walked up and d
own the room while the others played with their new toys. Diana was in her element, swinging the axe around like a dancer.

  “Miss Pierce!” the professor screamed. “I said inspect the weapons not bandy them around with the potential to cut somebody’s head off!”

  Diana winced and lowered the axe. Her brother cuffed her in the back of the head. I left them so that I wouldn’t be dragged into what seemed like it would turn into a full-on brawl. I found Fred sitting on the sidelines.

  He’d been sneaky and made a foxhole for himself out of some of the bags that the weapons were kept in. As usual, the pallor of his skin was almost translucent. Never in a million years would I have guessed him to be a light mage. He never seemed to want to go outside. He’d make a great vampire.

  When I suggested it to him, he got even paler. If that was even possible. “No way are they getting their fangs into me,” he said.

  “So that’s how they turn you? By biting?”

  “Nah, that’s just how they feed. Although the ones at school aren’t allowed to hunt.”

  “How are you doing anyway?” He had bags under his eyes. It was hard to reconcile that it had only been this morning when I’d seen him for breakfast.

  “I’m okay. Just a little tired. I haven’t been sleeping well since the trial.”

  “You and me both.” This interested him.

  “Really? You don’t seem that concerned. I wouldn’t be if I were as strong as you.”

  “I know nothing about any of this. And cut yourself some slack. It’s the first day of school.”

  He shook his head. “It might be the first day of school but my parents went here and so did my grandparents. My great uncle was the one who created the light amulets for the vampires.”

  “Oh. I heard about that.”

  His lips turned down. “Everyone hears about it. I have to hear about it every time we have a family gathering. And here I am too pathetic to even choose a weapon.”

  I wanted to point out that at least he had a family, but he seemed a bit preoccupied with his bout of self-pity. “If it helps, I don’t know what weapon I’d choose either.”

  He glanced at me then. “You are kind of small.”

  “Excuse me! You’re not that much bigger than I am.”

  But though he was weedy, he was still taller than I was. Boys had a tendency to shoot up as well. Whereas I was pretty sure this was about as big as I would ever get. An ear-splitting whistle rent the air.

  “You two!” The professor pointed straight at us. “What do you think you’re doing? Get off your butts now!”

  We both shot up like jumping jacks. Fred might have been mopey, but he was a dead-set chicken. He raced away and pretended to be interested in a set of crossbows. I blew out a breath and went to find Sophie. By the end of the lesson, she had gravitated naturally to the knives. They weren’t even close to being as massive as the tomahawk, but the set she had chosen were elegant in their simplicity. It was now just a matter of aim. Just by the amount of times she’d thrown something at me for making a smart comment, I’d bet she’d be a natural.

  On the other hand, almost everything I picked up was too heavy or too big for me to lift or wield. I was holding on to a wooden staff pretending I was a Jedi knight when the bell rang. I let out a sigh of relief.

  “Next time we’re going to begin our weapon-specific training,” the professor said. “Do not be late!” Yeah, she was looking at me when she said that. I ducked my head and tried to appear conciliatory.

  Diana had trouble letting go of her new axe. The professor had to actually pry it from her fingers. I pressed my lips together as she muttered about her development being stifled. But my mirth lasted about three seconds when we finally left the armoury.

  Sophie said she had a shift at the dining hall but that she would meet me there for dinner after my lesson. Diana made a kissy face at me. They both laughed as they headed off in the direction of the dining hall. The boys had already left, their attention still firmly on the weapons they’d played with. All except Fred.

  “You have another lesson now?” he asked. I nodded. I thought he might veer off at some point, but he kept me company as I followed the footsteps on the ground outside of the main building and over open ground. He didn’t seem as impressed or perplexed as I did that the footprint directions were appearing over the cobblestones and even on the grass.

  “That doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Then again,” he said, “you’re a bit behind so maybe making up for it might not be such a bad idea. I wish someone would tutor me.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yeah. My circle work could use some strengthening.”

  I stopped when it became clear where it was that the footsteps were leading us. I’d had an inkling but now that the tree line was in view, I didn’t want to go any farther. I was being led to the Grove. The memory of my last escapade there had my palms turning clammy.

  “Are you going in there?” Fred pointed ahead.

  “I think so.”

  “Oh, well, good luck.” He made a hasty exit. I’d blame him but I kind of wanted to do the same. The footprints on the ground continued to flash in the direction of the Grove. When I stood still, they flashed faster. Insistent was the word for it. I thought maybe I could back up a bit and wait for Kai, but then a purple blob appeared in front of me. An unimpressed nymph chortled in my face. Then she grabbed me by the earlobe with one of her tiny hands and dragged me over the fence.

  23

  I was beginning to think that every supernatural creature was stronger than its physical body appeared. First Basil could leap over structures three or four times his height and now this diminutive wood nymph was hefting me over the paling fence without even breaking a sweat. She dropped me as soon as we were on the other side. If I hadn’t seen it coming and thrown my arms out to break the fall, I would have landed flat on my face. Given the sneer on hers, I had a feeling she was hoping that would happen.

  She flew off down the path I had taken the first time I was here. When I didn’t follow, she backtracked and huffed. Placing her hands on her hips, she screeched at me. I thought my eardrums were going to burst. Through the shrill complaints, I heard the words “lazy” and “stupid” but that was about all I could make out.

  This time when she flew away, I brushed the dirt off my palms and followed her. Despite the temper of my unwilling host, the Grove was just as beautiful as it had been the other night. I allowed my hand to trail behind me, brushing past the scented foliage and smiling at the cool drops of moisture that still beaded on the spider webs. I hadn’t noticed it raining but by now I was beginning to think anything could happen in this place.

  When I reached the glade where the Arcana tree was, I had to shove my hands into the pockets of my jeans in case I was tempted. The purple nymph was joined by two of her kin. They gave off a golden and red glow respectively. Together, they ushered me towards the Arcana tree. I sensed a trap and kept all of my limbs as close to my body as possible. Small as they were, those acorns they tossed had hurt when they knocked me on the head. I did not want a repeat of last time. When my feet would no longer budge, they flew around to my back and literally pushed me.

  “Hey! Quit it!”

  They did not. What they chose to do instead was begin kicking me. Their feet were like tiny hammers. “Seriously, what the hell? Are you trying to get me in trouble?”

  The purple nymph came around to my front. She chattered away. I threw up a hand to stop her. “You need to slow down,” I said. “I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”

  She rolled her eyes. Her friends appeared beside her. All three of them looked at me like I was a moron. The purple nymph opened her mouth. I prepared for the lighting speed communication I was so used to. At first nothing came out. She strained, looking like she was trying to make the words come out in slow motion.

  “New tree,” I heard her say. The red nymph patted her on the
shoulder and then pointed to the patch of grass at the base of the Arcana tree. There, pushing up through the dirt was a sapling. Its true leaves were making a break for the dappled sunlight between the tree’s canopy. Judging by their shape, the sapling was another Arcana tree.

  “How is that possible” I asked, taking a step closer. “That’s not from one of the fruit I ate, is it?”

  All three nymphs screwed their faces up at me. I took that as a yes. Still, they didn’t seem as irritated with me today as they had been. The golden nymph flew up close and screamed in my ear.

  “Replant,” she said.

  “Oh!” Now it clicked. “You want me to replant it for you?”

  “Detention,” the yellow nymph said in my ear.

  I wasn’t even surprised. Now that I thought about it, I had gotten off pretty lightly the first time around. They flew away and came back toting a trowel and a spool of hessian. I was in the middle of clearing the turf so I could get at the plant’s roots when footsteps along the path sent the nymphs into a giddy frenzy. I could tell they were delighted because it was the exact opposite reaction they’d had to my arrival.

  It would have been hypocritical to judge them for the way they swarmed around Kai and chattered incessantly because my stomach did a funny twisting thing at the sight of him. He’d changed from his cargo pants into a pair of black sweats. His T-shirt had an Academy crest on it, a shield with a pair of wings open wide. He looked like the embodiment of the House Captain that he was.

  Meanwhile I was pretty sure there was a chunk of dirt in my hair. Ignoring him, I continued to tease the delicate roots of the small Arcana tree from between the grass. When it was ready to be transplanted, I wrapped the damp hessian around it and carried it with me to where the purple nymph had shown me she wanted the new tree. It was a short walk but I could see they wanted some distance between the two trees.

  The nymphs accompanied me, their heads swivelling around as though they expected to be attacked any minute. None of the nymphs left my side until the tree was safely deposited into its new position. They made me water the tree from a little stream using a tiny metal watering can. It took me three trips just to get enough water.