The halls were quiet, and I snuck down the stairs easily. I knew the general direction where Gus was. I just hoped they hadn’t moved him.
I kept to the shadows and hurried along whenever I’d made sure it was safe. The sconces had burned day and night since the event, making it necessary to shuffle from shadow to shadow where the light didn’t reach.
Voices bounced off the stone walls just before I turned into the wing with Gus's room. I flattened myself against the wall as best I could, but there was no way I was hidden well. I slid slowly back the way I’d come, further from the corner, hoping that whoever it was didn’t turn my way.
The voices got closer. I steadied my breathing, staying quiet though my pulse raged. The shadows flickered on the walls and floor. I was about to inch further away, when I realized I recognized one of the speakers. Though he spoke in a low tone, I was positive it was Donovan. I couldn’t be sure, but I’d have bet it was Carlos he spoke with.
What are they doing out this late at night, and so near to Gus's room?
They crossed the opening at the end of the corridor and confirmed their identity. I wanted to see Gus, but something wasn't right. I needed to know what these two were up to. When I got to the corner, I followed them. I'd find a time to visit Gus later, though my heart wrenched. I steadied myself with the thought that he would understand.
They'd already rounded the next corner by the time I decided to follow them, so I needed to hurry. The stone floors seem to echo louder the quieter I tried to be. I had a clue why I wasn't chosen for the Illuminator sector . . . My stealth skills needed work.
I caught a glimpse of Carlos's purple tunic, and hurried to close the gap. As the two turned down another hall, I waited two heartbeats, then rushed to the edge of the corner, peeking around to make sure I didn't lose them.
It was a dead-end. Yet, no one was there.
Where did they go? It made no sense, I knew they’d gone this way.
With careful steps, I hesitantly walked into the hallway. There were no visible doors carved into the rough stone walls, but my gut said there had to be one somewhere. I lightly ran my hands along the walls, feeling for some kind of a clue to a hidden doorway.
They can’t have just disappeared.
Then I felt a tiny wisp of air against my fingers.
Between the stones, there was a small crack. I pushed, but nothing happened. Applying pressure to the stones on either side of the crack, I sucked in my breath when a section of the wall eased open.
A circling staircase hid behind the secret entrance. No sconces lit the steeply declining path, and I could only see down a few steps from the opening. Peeking back over my shoulder, I contemplated turning around. There was something going one with these two, though. I had to find out what.
I squared my shoulders and tucked my wings in tight, then headed into the dark. The wall closed silently behind me as I landed on the third step. Swallowing hard, I kept going.
Musty odors wafted through the air. The walls were cold and slick to my touch as I kept a hand out to maintain my bearings in the darkness. My heart pounded in my ears so hard I feared I wouldn’t hear anything, so I stopped every few steps to concentrate and listen. The pause might also serve as the split second I’d need for a head start, if anything came my way.
At one point, I thought I heard the echo of a footstep, but it came from above me.
That’s just my nerves, playing tricks.
After one more full turn of the stairwell, I heard the murmur of voices ahead. Faint light began to flicker against the darkness. I waited just at the edge, but still couldn’t hear what they said. Taking a risk, I crept closer.
The stairs opened to a small room with waist-high benches lining the walls, and a large, shallow brazier in the center. Sure enough, Donovan and his protégé were there. The orange glow of fire danced off their faces as they stood near it, speaking in hushed tones. Carlos held a bowl and used his fingers to stir something within it. He handed the bowl to Donovan, then focused on the flames, his face eager.
Goosebumps rose on my arms, and I held my breath.
Carlos was a sorcerer. What had he made?
Donovan closed his eyes and said some words in a language I’d never heard before, then tossed a sprinkle from the bowl into the fire. Sparks flashed and whirled through the air. Small tendrils of black rose from the center of the shallow basin.
I sucked in my breath, and a small squeak came with it.
Scooting back as quick as I could, I froze, hoping they hadn’t seen or heard me. I heard Donovan tell Carlos to check out the noise, but before I could bolt away, there was a disturbance in the room.
Glass shattered from somewhere, and the next thing I knew, my feet were barely skimming the floor as I rushed up the stairs so fast, tears came to my eyes from the wind. A strong arm gripped around my waist, and a hand clamped over my mouth.
Bursting through the doorway at the top of the staircase and coming into the light, I tried to fight free of the hold on me to no avail. The breakneck speed continued until we were in the hallway outside my chamber door. Only then was I released.
My knees buckled, and I caught myself against the doorjamb before falling. After a few deep breaths, I steadied myself and turned to see who had overpowered me.
A curl formed on my lip as Orsika stared at me with an arched brow. Her lips were tight as if she had a right to be angry with me!
“You could have gotten us both caught!” I spat in a whisper between clenched teeth.
“Let’s get inside and we’ll talk.”
“Can’t you open doors at that speed?” Whatever just happened, I didn’t know if I wanted her in my space. Something about the girl was not right. “Maybe I don’t want you to come in.”
Orsika flared her nostrils and gave a low growl-like noise.
“Invite. Me. In.” She said each word precisely, as if it pained her and it made the hair on my arms stand up.
“Fine, but—”
Before I could come up with a reason to keep her out, she grabbed me by the wrist.
The swirling air made me wobble. I clutched the closest thing I could grab, and found myself hugging Orsika. She pushed me to my feet with a hiss.
“Stand up.”
“Stop doing that!” I twisted my neck and realized we were in my room. How did we get through the door?
“I accepted your invitation and moved us out of the hall before you got us caught,” Orsika said, shrugging her shoulders.
My insides shrank in on themselves, and I slid my feet away from her. Something in the way her stare latched onto me made me want to put distance between us.
“Can you go through walls?”
Orsika had some intense skills. I wasn’t sure yet if I was impressed or terrified.
She sighed. “I can manipulate several different aspects. I told you to watch yourself. Why would you follow those two?”
“What aspects?” I was not going to let her dodge my question.
“I can work with metals—draw them out of other materials—and I don’t know what the other is called. I called it ‘blink’ a long time ago.”
I stared at her in silence. After long enough that it had grown awkward, I inwardly shook myself to regain my composure.
“Explain how it works, this . . . blink.”
It was Orsika’s turn to seem a bit uneasy. “I can disappear, then reappear somewhere else so fast, no one can see me do it. There’s not much need for it, so I only use it when I absolutely have to. I can move fast enough that it isn’t necessary most times. Though, when I run, I am visible if one looks fast enough. Most times if they turn to see what passed by, and I’m already too far away.”
“What kind of power is it?”
“I don’t know. There was nothing I did, it just happened one day. It took me several years to perfect the ability to actually go where I meant. That’s the other reason I don’t do it often . . . I’ve never gotten completely comfortable with it to tru
st myself.”
“But you did it to me just to save opening a door.” I left my mouth hanging open as I glared at her.
“We are out after curfew, and you just snuck into the secret lab of a sorcerer. It was imperative we not stay in the hall.”
“Right.” I continued to study her. “Why did you even do anything? If I got caught no one would have known about you.”
Orsika raised her chin and grumbled to the ceiling. After a deep exhale, she met my gaze with a fiery stare.
“I didn’t come here for the same reason as the others. You and I are alike in that.”
I huffed. “Somehow I doubt our situations are anything alike.” What does that have to do with her magic, anyway?
“The rumor is that your arrival has something to do with your parents and the Legion.”
My stomach knotted, and I tried to maintain my composure. There were rumors about me? From who? Gus wouldn’t have said anything—would he?
“Something like that.”
I still didn’t know if I was safe in the room with this girl, I certainly wasn’t going to start telling her my life story.
“I was granted access here because of the cruel actions of my mother. I’m not someone usually allowed in a place like this.”
“Oh?”
My skin prickled as I fought to remain stoic. Maybe we did have something in common, though I didn’t blame my mother any longer.
Orsika stared and let out a long exhale.
“I’m a vampire.”
13
I didn’t believe what I’d just heard. Sliding my foot backward, I hit my bed with the back of my calf and plopped down onto the mattress.
Orsika waited in silence while I had my moment.
She was a vampire. What did that mean in real terms? I’d never dealt with anyone from the supernatural world who wasn’t trying to kill me, so I became concerned.
I wasn’t sure what to ask, and let the first question I had tumble out.
“How did you become . . . that?”
Orsika wandered to the window and watched the courtyard below. “It was not enjoyable. My mother spent years developing her technique.” She turned to face me, resting against the window frame, fidgeting with her hands, and not making eye contact. “It was her passion to learn how to inflict pain. She’d perform experiments on innocents to figure out what they could tolerate. As a child, I witnessed more than I’d like to say.”
My stomach turned in on itself. Who could live a childhood like that and be normal? No one, she’s a vampire!
I may not have known my mother, but I’d been cared for and loved by Odin and my sisters. I couldn’t imagine growing up in so cruel an environment.
“So, your mother was a vampire too?”
“Actually, no. She created them, but couldn’t bring herself to cause her own pain. She made my brother first, but it didn’t take fully with him. He was a sadistic pile of dung to start with, so I don’t think there was much to change. But dear old mother kept at it. She’d made hundreds before she tried again on one of her own children. My greatest pleasure is that she was arrested and bricked into a cell before she learned she’d been successful with me.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I nodded and let a little grunt of acceptance hum from my throat.
She met my gaze. “I fought it, though, and refused to let it take over completely. That left me somewhere in between, unable to die, but not fully human anymore either. I often wonder if I’d have been better off if I’d accepted the change. But the thought of relying on someone else, for their blood or anything else, makes me angry. I’d rather take care of myself.”
While I could relate to the sentiment, I had to wonder what her life had been like. I’d grown up in relative security, with the free run of Valhalla. I’d been like everyone’s little sister.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Orsika snorted. “Don’t be. I accepted who I am a long time ago. Besides, in a strange way, I’m grateful . . . it brought me here—eventually.”
“I’ve heard of those called dhampir before.”
“I’m the first one. The daughter of the vampire creator is the original vampire hunter—poetic justice.” She smiled.
I curved a corner of my mouth into an uneasy grin, then sighed. “How did you end up here? What happened?”
“My younger brother ruled the kingdom for many years after my mother went away. I still lived in the castle, but mostly because I knew he’d formed an alliance with Vlad, my older brother. The two of them carried on our mother’s work in secret. I made it my mission to stop them, and found a way to kill those who couldn’t control their bloodlust.
“The reputation my mother had built carried far, and one day, a woman came to our village. She tried to blend in and, to some extent, she did. Then she started asking questions. Some people believed she was the dhampir—I knew better, of course. When my brothers heard of her, they captured her.”
Orsika stared at the floor, seeming lost in her memories. A stream of light came in from the windows, and I watched the dust motes float in the air as I waited for her to continue, not wanting to disturb her thoughts.
She shook her head, pushing off from the wall and standing tall. “I rescued her, but I was injured as we escaped through the village—a normal human would have died. Too many had seen us, and because my brothers would never have stopped hunting me, Vivie admitted to me who she was and brought me here. She’s an Illuminator master who works as a spy. I want to help her when I finish training.”
We did have more in common that I’d thought possible. It unsettled me.
“Well, that’s interesting, and I can see how you think we’re similar. But that doesn’t explain why you followed me tonight.”
“If I hadn’t, you would have been caught. I saved you.”
“From what? I don’t know what Donovan is up to, or why Carlos is helping him, but they wouldn’t—couldn’t—have hurt me.”
Orsika huffed a laugh. “You’re so naïve. Everyone besides you, me, and the original fae arrived on Breasal through a portal by accident.”
I squished my brows together and flinched at her statement. After a quick glance to the ceiling, she explained what she meant.
“There are places in the human realm that have been created for travel by those in the otherworld. Most use them harmlessly, going back and forth, and no human ever knows they exist. But the Shadow King developed a way to send demons from his realm, disguised as humans, through those portals. They call themselves The Legion of Shadows, after their king.”
“I’ve dealt with some of them.” I clenched my fists, squeezing the wool blanket between my fingers. I should have just gone to visit Gus.
“So I’ve heard. Each time a new portal opens, humans are vulnerable to slipping through. Thankfully, it doesn’t work like the king hoped, and the humans end up here instead. Many times, Danú doesn’t know about a gateway until that happens.
“She created the sectors as a way of keeping order when the Tuatha were exiled to Breasal after their civil war. Only those with an affinity for magic, or special abilities are offered a spot in the Eudaimonia. Others live and work in the village or surrounding islands. But now, the academy is also used for training to battle the Legion and closing the portals in order to protect humanity. If the Shadow King found a way to send his demons here, it could destroy everything.”
“And you know all of this from your friend?”
That sick feeling I had grew worse. Was Donovan working with the Legion? Had I accidentally helped him open a portal to Breasal when I used the quartz he gave me? Something was definitely wrong, and I was right in the middle of it. Again.
“Yes. Vivie comes back to give reports occasionally, and always finds me so we can catch up.”
I smiled because I recognized the look that came over her face. It held affection for a friend one wishes they could see more often. My heart ached for Gertie.
“I’m with the My
stics because I have a particular elemental power that I haven’t been able to learn to control, yet. I stayed in level one longer than necessary while I secretly trained so I wouldn’t hurt anyone. But with the breach, I don’t want to get left out of the hunt.”
Chills skittered down my spine as I thought of what she might do if she knew the one she searched for might be sitting across the room from her.
“What’s your skill?”
“I can remove pure metals from objects—predominantly blood.”
“What does that mean? We have metal in our blood?”
“Minor amounts of metals are in the blood of every living being. It’s part of what causes the smell and brings on the need to devour it, for those like me.” I sucked in a quick breath, and Orsika raised her hand. “Not me so much—I don’t drink blood. I can get enough fulfillment from a rare steak. It took a long time for me to quell that urge, which I did, but I can still feel the pull from the smell.”
“The odor is distinctive,” I mused.
“My ability works best with blood, but I can sense it everywhere. Like in the necklace you’re wearing. It’s interesting. There’s copper and tin, which makes sense because it’s bronze, but it goes further. There’s iron, nickel, zinc . . . and lead, I believe. Maybe even a couple more elements. Can I see that? I’ve never experienced this mix before.”
The idea that she not only knew about my medallion but could define it so clearly unnerved me. I didn’t want to show it to her, but there wasn’t any reason to hide it. It was just personal.
After a moment of hesitation, I pulled on the leather string to remove the keepsake from under my tunic. Slipping it over my head, I held it out to her.
Orsika’s eyes brightened as she took hold of it and studied its features.
“This is not a simple coin. Where did you get this?” When she brought her eyes up to meet mine, they were wide and excited.
“It was my mother’s. Odin kept it after she died, and gave it to me when I was older.”
Time Academy Page 7
