by Lan Chan
He hopped up next to the mirror. “You place your hand on the glass and say your name.”
Feeling like an idiot, I touched the cool mirror with my palm. “Alessia Hastings.” A light like that of a laser scanned my hand. Instead of my palm, it read the mark that the woman at the trial had stamped me with. I hadn’t even realised it was still there.
“Confirmed, Alessia Hastings,” the mirror pronounced in a singsong voice. When I took my hand away, an image of Jacqueline appeared in the glass.
“Good evening, students,” she said.
“I’m betting I can’t actually talk to her,” I said out of the corner of my mouth.
“Shhhh,” Basil hushed me.
“It has come to my attention that there may be some prohibited conjuring occurring on school grounds,” Jacqueline continued. “I remind you all that these premises and the property surrounding it have been warded for your protection. The use of improper magic is forbidden. Any student caught communicating with a demon will be expelled immediately and passed over into the custody of the Dominion.”
The message ended abruptly. I whistled. “Well, that was to the point.”
“As it should be.” He paused and speculated. “I wonder if this has anything to do with your incident with the Ley lines.”
“It’s seriously creepy that you spend all your time spying on me.” I grabbed him and shoved him into the closet while I changed. He came out sputtering when I was done.
“Watching over you isn’t spying.”
“Isn’t it? Who else are you watching over?”
“Nobody. I don’t have the necessary permission to do it.”
I glared at him. “When did I give you permission to spy on me?”
“Sophie gave me permission.”
The pang of what he said hit me in the chest like a poisoned arrow. Sophie had given him permission to spy on me? Was that just a coincidence or was it part of Kai’s overall mission to keep me under surveillance? I didn’t have the brainpower to mull it over tonight. Instead, I slid into bed.
“Describe this demon you saw,” he said, jumping on my chest as I tried to sleep.
“I don’t know,” I grumbled. “A big cow?”
His black wool brows wrinkled. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I don’t know what to tell you then. Can you get off? I’m really tired.”
Like any rag doll parent, he seemed to sense something was off with me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Wooo. That’s the teenage equivalent of being fine. Tell me what happened.”
I swiped at him but he jumped clear and onto the bed. “I said it’s nothing. It’s just been a long day and I would like very much to sleep.”
“It is that Pendragon boy?”
“What?”
“I noticed him looking at you when we were in the cottage. Sophie tells me he’s the grandson of the headmistress. He’s not giving you any trouble is he?”
“When do you and Sophie have time to discuss things?”
“You’re not the only one in this place, you know. Since you won’t allow me out of the room, I have to get my news from somewhere. Now answer the question.”
I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head. “Nobody is giving me any trouble. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I’m giving them trouble.”
“How so?”
I threw the covers off me and glared at him. “Because I’m not a demon but the things I can do scare them,” I said. “And they don’t know what to do with me, so obviously I have to be watched like a rat in a cage in case I do something to endanger them all. Like I’m the one who has fangs or wings!” After my tirade I flopped back down and pulled the covers over my head again. I felt Basil’s soft, stumpy arm patting what he must have thought was my cheek. Instead he kept swatting me in the eye.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll sort that out eventually.”
“Oh yeah? And what if I turn out to be something unpleasant?”
“You couldn’t be.”
“How do you know?”
“I just know.”
It was the same kind of nonsensical answer Nanna would give me when she didn’t really know what was going to happen. Somehow, it made me feel better.
“Okay.” Even if my new friends weren’t really friends, at least I had the doll that had looked after the last few generations of my family. Sort of. I suppose that was the best I could hope for right now.
25
I didn’t hear Sophie come in, but I was awoken at two in the morning by the feeling of ice crystallising against my fingertips. A cloven-hooved shadow blurred in front of me. I tried to push myself up into a sitting position, but once again I was paralysed. The monster ambled towards me. Just as its horns broached the shadows, a disembodied voice cut through my lethargy.
You think they can’t get you in there? Nowhere is safe for you.
I gasped awake. This was beginning to get on my nerves. I tried to call out to Basil, but he was snoring soundly in Sophie’s arms.
Frowning, I tiptoed out of bed and went to the door. Jacqueline’s message replayed in my mind. Was this considered breaking the rules? I wasn’t conjuring demons, but I was hearing them in my head and not telling anyone but Basil about it. After a short moment’s hesitation, I turned the handle and slipped outside.
I figured that I’d told them about that weird cow monster and they hadn’t kicked me out. Anyway, I wasn’t doing this on purpose. It was my sleep that was getting disturbed so I felt I had every right to check it out.
You’re falling behind, the voice lured me. They’ll never let you stay if you don’t improve.
It seriously sounded like it could have come from anywhere. Without Basil here to temper my reaction, I wrapped my arms around myself and took the staircase one cold step at a time. I wished I’d thought to put shoes on before I went barging out of the room.
It was too much trouble to go back now. Instead, I walked to the front door and pushed it aside. The hinges didn’t make so much as a squeak. Not the best idea when they were trying to dissuade students from sneaking around late at night.
The air outside was cool but not cold. The ground however was covered in a fine mist again. Cobblestones dug into my feet. Thankfully, I was used to going barefoot. My only concern now would be getting caught.
What does it matter if they find out, the voice cooed. They will never accept you anyway. Kill them, kill them all.
A shiver ran down my spine. This voice didn’t belong to the beast inside the Ley line circle I’d created. This one was thicker. Its voice sounded as though it was coated in tar.
I wasn’t sure where I was walking. Only that I was getting closer and closer to what Sophie had told me was the billabong and swamp areas. Just as the scent of stagnant water hit my nose, I stepped on something that dug into the heel of my foot. Looking down, I picked up the black feather. It was too dark to tell what kind of bird it came from. It could have been a crow or a raven. I’d seen more than one of those flying around the place. Some of the vampires kept them in cages on the rooftop of the Academy. Speaking of vampires, I wouldn’t want to meet any this late. They had some of their own classes at night. Things like Night Hunting and Transformation. The rest of the classes they could take with us because of the invention of the light pendant.
I was about to drop the feather again when a metallic, salty scent hit my nose. Blood. There was blood on the feather. If I were a shifter or vamp, I’d have no problems figuring out where the blood had come from. But I was an unknown, and the human part of me could only rely on my dull senses.
I was on the ground sniffing when the flap of wings caught my attention. What made my blood run cold was the scale of the wings in question. Oh shit no. Footsteps touched down on the ground. I pushed up till I was standing and turned slowly to glance at the Nephilim behind me. My head thudded in my chest until I caught sight of Adam.
The muscles in my body relaxed. Not
Malachi. That was all I could think even though I’d been caught in a very compromising position.
“Alessia? What are you doing out of bed?” He still wore that sardonic smile but there was very little humour in it.
“I couldn’t sleep and then I heard a noise.”
“So you came out here to investigate?”
He approached, his eyes darkened by shadow. Gone was any of the whimsy he’d displayed in class. These Nephilim obviously meant business when they weren’t at school. “To be honest, the headmistress’s bulletin kind of freaked me out. Then I came out here and found this.”
I held the bloodied feather up to the moonlight like a prize. The thing about a good lie was that you stayed committed until you could think of a distraction. Otherwise you’d come unstuck eventually.
As suspected, Adam frowned and plucked the feather from my hand. He studied the feather for a moment, his nostrils flaring. Right. So it would seem that Nephilim also had a heightened sense of smell. I was beginning to become annoyed at that fact that we low-magic users seemed to be getting the short end of the straw in terms of powers.
“Go back to bed,” he said.
“But – ”
The deep lines between his brows cut off my response. “You’re not supposed to be roaming about the campus at this time of night.”
“What about you?”
Unlike Kai, Adam didn’t feel the need to suppress his emotions. The laughter reached his eyes when he smiled this time. “I’m on guard duty.” For my benefit, he held his hand out, palm up. A silver sword appeared. He clasped it in his grip. “Like I said. I’ll be fine. Don’t let me catch you out here again.”
I couldn’t argue with that. There was nothing to do but trudge back to my dorm room. At the entrance to the dorm, I turned back to find him still watching me. With a heavy sigh, I waved and slipped inside.
Sophie and Basil were still sound asleep when I climbed back into bed. I reinforced the sleep circle and closed my eyes. Of course sleep didn’t come. Instead, I lay there replaying over and over the conversation I’d had with Kai. I was literally just a pet they were keeping around until they could dissect me and figure out what made me tick. This was ironic because when I’d arrived, Jacqueline had said I wasn’t in an institution and they weren’t medical doctors. Same difference, I reasoned.
A couple of hours before dawn, I fell into a fitful sleep. I woke feeling like there were big grains of sand behind my eyelids. Wanting to turn over and go back to bed, I remembered sluggishly that I had to go and take care of the Arcana tree. Not bothering to change from my pyjamas, I slipped my sneakers on and headed out.
The only good thing about morning obligations was that I managed to avoid Sophie and the others before first period. By the time I got ready for school and made it to the dining hall, it had cleared out a little. Now that I was on my own, I was free to stash as many muffins in my bag as I wanted. Today I settled for two in the bag and one to eat on the way to the junior campus.
I was just zipping up my backpack when I turned and ran straight into somebody’s chest. This was just not happening. I flinched when Kai tried to steady me and righted myself by holding on to the buffet bench.
“Sorry,” I muttered, trying to sidestep him.
“Blue.” I ripped off a chunk of muffin and stuffed it into my mouth.
“Yeah?” It was indistinguishable but it conveyed an I don’t give a damn attitude, so I went with it. If he was disgusted by my open-mouthed chewing he didn’t let it show. Not for the first time I wondered if there was any emotion bouncing around inside the cavity of that huge chest.
“Adam said he saw you outside last night.”
I wasn’t sure what pissed me off more. That Adam had told on me or that I could hear the reticence in his voice. Like I was proving my guilt just by being outside.
“What about it?”
I ripped off another chunk and chewed even louder. I was getting good at talking past the muffin. See? Fast learner.
“What were you doing out there?”
“I already told him what happened.”
“Tell me.”
Rather than argue, I relayed what happened so I could get out of there sooner. “And you’re sure you didn’t see or hear anything else.”
Thank goodness for the lump of muffin top in my mouth, otherwise I might have given up the ghost there and then. “Why wouldn’t I tell you if there was something else going on?”
The arch of his brow made me think he wanted to say something more. Instead, he stepped aside and allowed me to pass. I didn’t realise I was running until the stitch in my side became a full-on stabbing. I slowed, trying to get my bearings.
The footstep directions didn’t extend this far so I’d had to resort to a plain old map like a plebe. I honestly wasn’t even sure I was going in the right direction until I spotted the bridge and let out a sigh of relief.
I had one minute to spare and had just stepped into the room when a small body raced out. She had her head down so Cassie didn’t see me. She ran straight into me the way I’d run into Kai. It didn’t hurt any less being the one to get run into. Her head hit my shoulder and I winced. What were they feeding these kids?
She acted as though she hadn’t felt anything and tried to run right through me. “Hey,” I reached out and grabbed her arm. She let out a little sob. “Cassie, what’s wrong?”
She shook her head and wouldn’t look me in the eye. Two other kids popped their heads out of the doorway. It was Charles and Luther. “What happened?”
Charles rolled his eyes. “Maddi’s being a snot again.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What’s going on here?” Professor Magnus stood behind me. Underneath my hands, Cassie shivered.
“Uh, nothing,” I said. “I’m having some girls’ issues and Cassie was just going to show me where the bathroom is.”
Without waiting for a response, I grabbed Cassie and bolted. I didn’t have the slightest clue where the bathroom on this campus was, but I figured it would be exactly where the bathroom in the senior campus was located. Point to me when I found it.
Thanks to classes starting, it was mercifully empty. There was no lock on the door, but I erected a dampening circle to stifle our conversation and hopefully dissuade anyone else from coming in.
As soon as we were inside, Cassie let out an agonizing wail and threw her arms around my neck. Struck dumb by the unexpected physical contact, I couldn’t do anything but smooth down her hair as she sobbed. I didn’t know why they called her a runt because she was twelve and we were almost the same height. She was bony, though. I felt every sharp angle as she squeezed me for dear life.
I held her for who knows how long. It was a relief that the professor had bought my story and hadn’t come looking for us. That’s what I thought until it hit me that this might not have been the first time something like this had happened.
“Cassie,” I asked when her tears had subsided a little. “What did Maddi do to you?”
It took her a while to stop hiccupping. When she pulled away and swiped at her swollen cheeks, I noticed she was carrying something in her hands. It looked like some kind of flute. At least it would have been if it weren’t snapped in half. Ah, so that was the thing sticking into my back. I’d been worried they weren’t feeding her.
Cassie held on to the two pieces of the broken instrument and tried to link it back together. But it was snapped clean through. It looked to be a cheap wooden thing not worth a lot of money so I gathered it had sentimental value.
“Did she break that?”
Another snorted inhale. Then she nodded. “She said...” Cassie swiped at her nose with her sleeve. “She said I was a disgrace and I need to stop wasting my time.” A single tear slid down her cheek.
I leaned in and gathered her up in my arms. “Don’t listen to her,” I said. “She’s just being a jerk. The Nephilim around here tend to be.” Even the ones you thought were nice would tat
tle on you to the jerks as soon as you turned your back.
Heat bloomed on my shoulder where she breathed on me. She shook her head. “Maybe she’s right. I’m no good at anything, and me playing my instruments isn’t going to help anybody.”
“What are you supposed to be good at?” She was twelve for goodness sake!
“By the time she was ten, my great-grandmother was already a weapons expert. She’s strong and fast and smart.” Her lower lip quivered.
I couldn’t help latching onto the present tense of her explanation. “She is?”
Cassie nodded. “Headmistress Pendragon is my ancestor.” And now I understood the runt thing. Pushing aside my shock and whatever else that quivering in my gut was, I cupped her cheek.
“Give yourself a break,” I said. “I think we’d all come off looking pretty crappy if we compared ourselves to Jacqueline. I mean, I’d probably break my neck in a second if I tried to walk around in heels like that.”
A small smile tugged at her lips. “So Maddison just decided she’d break your flute because you aren’t good at what she wants you to be?”
The smile morphed into a grimace and then a steely glare. “She thinks she’s so great just because she’s from Michael’s bloodline.”
“I’m sure everybody around here does their best to dissuade her from that assumption.” I rolled my eyes and thought of the hushed reverence that always fell on the dining hall when the Nephilim walked in.
“So Malachi...”
If she was upset before, her expression became pained. It was like her face was settling into a well-worn mask. “He’s my cousin. I’m not a Nephilim so he likes Maddison better than me,” Cassie whispered. “I’m a liability.”
The vein under my left eye twitched. “I’m sure that’s not true.” My voice had gone low and raspy.
“Whenever he comes to this campus he spends all of his time talking to her and ignoring me.”
I coughed to hide the snarl in my throat. “Maybe you’re better off without him.” She peered at me, her mouth hanging open like I’d just told her I ate puppies for breakfast. “What? Don’t tell me you’re in the Malachi Pendragon fan club too? I can tell you now he’s not all he’s cracked up to be.”
