It was a relief.
Perhaps it shouldn’t have been.
Grams always taught me that the danger you see is better than the danger you don’t. Having a lion view me as pretty would be better than having something else see me as prey, something I didn’t see at all. Troy, for example. He’d caught me off guard.
We went into the cafeteria and lined up to get our dinner. As we waited in line, we listened to everyone chatting about the competition. Apparently, Jeremiah had completed slaughtered Raymond. After getting turned into a pig, Raymond has essentially forgotten how to play. He’d lost the competition and wouldn’t be joining anyone at dinner. In fact, Miss Wilson had taken him to the infirmary so he could be sedated. Apparently, being turned into a piglet didn’t agree with him. He’d been completely inconsolable.
I didn’t blame him.
What had happened to Raymond in his past to make him afraid of pigs? Did it even matter? Part of me thought that what really mattered was students showing one another respect. I kind of thought that certain spells should be totally off the table. Things that were going to cause your opponent emotional harm? Those probably shouldn’t be part of the sporting competition. How had Jeremiah known about Raymond’s fear, anyway?
Maybe Jeremiah had simply done a good job of researching his opponents.
That begged the question, though: what would people at the school find out about me?
I wasn’t interested in blasting my past. No, there was nothing particularly extreme about it. Well, aside from the fact that my parents had disappeared ten years ago or that my grandmother was now gone, too. Losing my parents had been hard, but I’d had my grandmother to take care of me. Now I didn’t have anyone. I was alone, and it was an overwhelming and heavy feeling.
The entire cafeteria was buzzing with whispers, and Kiera shook her head.
“Terrible,” she said. “Just terrible.”
“What is?”
“The blatant bullying,” she said. “I had heard Hybrid Academy was better than the other schools, you know, but this is ridiculous. I wish I knew a silencing spell. I’d make everyone shut up.”
“You could run the anti-rumor brigade,” Henry said with a soft smile.
“No kidding,” Kiera agreed. “It’s just a matter of respect. It’s not cool to make fun of someone or talk about the fact that he was scared. I guarantee you that every single person here is afraid of something. Whether they’re willing to admit it or not is another thing.”
When we reached the food, Kiera snapped her fingers. A tray popped up from the pile and landed in her hands. Henry followed suit. I’d seen the other students trying this but hadn’t been able to get it the last few days. Instead, I’d simply been picking up my tray like a normal human, unwilling to humiliate myself further by standing and trying repeatedly while the line backed up.
“Go on,” Henry said. “You can do it.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked over in surprise. He was touching me. Well, I certainly hadn’t expected that from a stranger. Then again, Henry didn’t feel like a stranger. He felt more like an old friend. I felt comfortable around him. I’d never felt that way around anyone before. It was a little unnerving, but I didn’t really have time to dwell on it.
I looked at the trays and snapped my fingers.
Snap.
Snap.
Snap.
“Hey, come on, we’re waiting,” a voice called from behind us. It was true that I was stalling the line. With a sigh, I tried one more time, but nothing happened. I finally grabbed a tray and started choosing the foods that I wanted. Henry stayed beside me but didn’t say anything.
He reached for a turkey sandwich and I chose a rice cup with shredded turkey. We each grabbed milk. Kiera was already heading over to a table by the time we got our drinks.
“Do I know you?” A cafeteria elf named Emerald looked at Henry with wide, blinking eyes. Her pointy ears extended far past her hair, which was a light shade of blue. I’d never seen anyone so lovely before I came to Hybrid Academy. She was only part elf. I knew because we’d chatted a few days before. She was part elf, part angel, and she didn’t fit in anywhere. At least, that’s what she told me. Maybe she’d been trying to help me feel less alone. I wasn’t sure.
“I’m, uh, I’m new here,” Henry shrugged.
“Ah, that explains it.” Emerald looked past Henry to me and raised an eyebrow. “Lots of newbies these days, huh? Well, then, move along.” She motioned for us to keep going and we quickly went over to where Kiera was sitting. She’d secured a small, round table for us. The three of us ate quickly, but quietly as we looked at the chaos enfolding around us.
Things really were crazy. They were certainly louder than usual. Despite the fact that the students at Hybrid were adults, everyone seemed to fall back into their high school roles. Popular fae girls strutted by with their wings spread. A group of tigers growled as they made their way across the room. There was even a herd of handsome warlocks making loud jokes in the center of the room as they eyed the rest of the students.
It was like everything I’d read about in books, but never thought I’d see in real life.
I took a bite of my food and looked at everything happening around me, trying to make sense of it all. This was what I’d been missing. There was an entire world here I never knew anything about.
What else didn’t I know?
Something had been bugging me. It was something my aunt had said. She’d talked about my parents like they’d known they wouldn’t come back from their last journey. They had warded me, she’d said. Not only had they warded me, but they’d done so with one of the most powerful wards possible. I knew that it took blood magic to do something that strong.
I knew it took everything.
What had they been doing on their trip?
What had they been looking for?
Why had they been so suspicious?
And if they’d really been so worried, then why did they even leave me?
Their spell had lasted ten years from the day they left. Ten years. They’d warded me, certain that I would be safe under the protective spell they’d painstakingly cast. Had they hoped they would come back? Certainly, they’d hoped it, right? It’s just that whatever they were chasing, whatever they were working on, that was the most important thing. What had been worth giving their lives for?
Gram knew. She had to know. Why else would she have worked so hard to protect me? She’d been careful, particular. She’d been cautious. Then, with one wrongly placed word on just the wrong day, I’d managed to undo all of her hard work. It was my fault she was gone. Whatever happened to her was on me. There was no one I could blame except for myself. There was no one I could hold accountable. I’d messed up and it had cost me everything.
Fingers snapped in front of my face, followed by a bolt of something blue, like a thin wisp of color designed to catch my attention. I turned to see both Kiera and Henry staring at me.
“What?” I asked, reaching for my milk.
“You really are in your own little world, aren’t you?” Kiera looked amused.
Henry looked worried.
Why was he worried?
About me?
“I’m fine,” I said. He looked at me like he knew that was a lie, but that was stupid. Henry didn’t even know me. He didn’t know anything about me. “Where did you say you were from?” I asked him, pointedly sipping my milk. Kiera turned her attention to Henry, who obviously wasn’t happy about being put on the spot.
“I’m from Honey Cove.”
“Really?” That wasn’t far from where my grandmother and I had lived together. In fact, I’d been there a few times when we needed groceries or supplies that we couldn’t get close by. The trips to Honey Cove had been few and far between, but the town was near enough, and it had always held a sort of magic I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It had been a lovely little town. There was a popcorn factory and a toy shop that held everything a kid could dream of: dolls an
d blocks and trains. There had been magician play kits and stuffed familiars and anything else a magical child could ever want.
“Yep. Born and raised,” he said with a shrug. “It’s a nice enough place, I suppose.”
“You don’t sound like that big of a fan,” Kiera pointed out.
“When you grow up in a place, it can be difficult to have an unbiased opinion,” Henry said. “It’s a nice little town, but I was also happy to leave. I like traveling and going new places. I like meeting new people.”
“It’s definitely hard to do that in a small town,” I said.
“That’s one of the cool things about Hybrid,” Kiera said. “There are plenty of people to meet. Plenty of people to look at,” she added, nodding toward a group of shifters. Now there were two lions wrestling and a couple of rabbits perched on nearby tables. The tiny shifters were watching the shenanigans with interest and awe.
Turning back to Henry and Kiera, I looked at my two new friends. Unlike me, they both looked magical. Everything about me was plain, but my friends were not. They were anything but. Henry had bright eyes and jet-black hair with a streak of white in it. It looked fake or dyed, but something told me it wasn’t. There were a lot of unbelievable creatures at the school. There were a lot of magical creatures at the school. Kiera had dark hair that she wore in many different ways. She always seemed to shimmer, if only just a little. I knew now that was from being a fairy, but sometimes I was just the slightest bit jealous. She didn’t have to wear makeup or anything. She never woke up looking tired or with bags under her eyes. She was perfect.
There was so much I didn’t know about the world, about magic. I didn’t know how I was going to make it through school, how I was going to learn about my powers. And I didn’t know who I could trust and who I couldn’t.
It seemed strange that Henry had showed up at Hybrid Academy around the same time as me. It seemed even weirder that he was born close to where I lived. Should I be worried about him? I didn’t think he was some sort of evil vampire plant sent to make my life miserable, but Erin had told me to watch myself. I looked at him carefully. I wanted to ask him what kind of creature he was, but I didn’t want to seem rude. More importantly, I didn’t want to seem like I cared what he was.
I didn’t discriminate against people based on what they looked like or what their magical abilities were. That wasn’t my style. I knew that sometimes, judgment still happened even at a place like Hybrid Academy. I could feel the eyes on me as I walked through the halls. Maybe it was because I was new.
Maybe it was because my magic abilities totally sucked.
“So, Kiera, what brought you to Hybrid Academy?” Henry asked.
“My whole family has gone through the program.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Two older sisters, two older brothers, and four of my cousins. I’m the last one to make it through. Well, until my nieces and nephews are old enough to attend.”
“When’s that going to be?” Henry asked.
“A long time. They’re all babies right now.” She stopped talking suddenly and her eyes narrowed. Henry and I both turned to see what had her attention.
A demon shifter walked by with a group of friends. They were all chattering loudly and obviously talking about the fairies they disliked. The strange thing about popular kids is that there were multiple popular groups and they all sort of seemed to hate each other.
“Can you believe it?” One of the girls said. She mimicked someone flapping their wings. “Look at me. Look at me! I’m a pretty butterfly.” She rolled her eyes. “Ridiculous.” The other demons agreed that the fairies were a terrible bunch, teasing and laughing as they walked by.
“Patricia Patterson,” Kiera said with a glare. She kept her voice low, but there was an edge to it.
Patricia kept pretending to be a fairy and while Kiera obviously wanted to ignore it, I wasn’t going to let that one slide. Being popular didn’t give her a free pass to make fun of my friend. Not today. Not after everything that had already happened. It was bad enough that the entire school looked the other way when Jeremiah bullied Raymond. I wasn’t going to let Patricia harass Kiera when I could easily stop it. I looked at Henry, who gave me a slight nod, letting me know that he would back my play.
Kiera closed her eyes when Patricia started squawking again. She was trying to pretend that this wasn’t happening, that it wasn’t affecting her, but I also knew that Kiera had a gentle spirit. I’d only been friends with her for a few days, but it was already obvious that she was a kind person. This type of mockery wasn’t something she was going to be able to let go. It was going to affect her deeply, and probably for a long period of time.
“Hey!” I stood up and looked at Patricia. She stopped, obviously surprised to have someone she didn’t know speaking to her.
“Uh, do I know you?” She asked.
Patricia looked like your typical popular girl. She had long, straight hair and her makeup was caked on much too heavily. Not that there was anything wrong with makeup. I wasn’t about to body shame a member of the sisterhood, but Patricia had insulted my friend.
Worse, she’d done it on purpose.
Kiera’s face looked fallen. I hadn’t waited my entire life to make friends only to stand aside when the most popular girl around decided to give them hell.
“You should,” I said. “And I think you owe my friend an apology.”
Patricia flipped her hair back and laughed haughtily.
“Forget it, loser,” she said. “Kiera doesn’t have friends. Kiera is a nobody.” She spat the words out. Then Patricia shook her head at Kiera. “Stupid little fairy.”
Patricia turned to walk away again and this time, I stormed over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. By this point, the entire cafeteria was looking at us. The tigers, the lions, the magic users: they’d all turned to stare.
“Hey!” I said. “It’s not nice to make fun of people.”
This time, all of Patricia’s friends laughed.
“Not nice?” One of them said. “What are you, a preschooler?”
Patricia’s eyes narrowed. “What’s your name? Alex?”
“Max.”
“Well, Alex,” she purposely mispronounced my name. “Let me give you a little clue about how things work at Hybrid. I get that you’re new, but nobody gives a damn. You’ve aligned yourself with a fairy, so you’re going to be treated like one.” She looked me up and down. “Do you even have any powers? I don’t see a wand.”
I clenched my fists. She was a bully, through-and-through. I didn’t have time for bullies.
“Leave my friend alone and we won’t have trouble,” I said. “But don’t you dare talk about her again. Don’t talk about any of them again.”
Patricia opened her mouth to say something, and I lost all control. I slapped her. Hard. Right in the face. The sound echoed throughout the entire room and she gasped, reaching for her cheek in shock. She couldn’t seem to believe that I’d actually done it. Hell, I couldn’t believe that I’d actually done it.
But I had.
I’d been strong.
I’d been brave.
I’d slapped that smug smile right off her face.
And oh, it felt really, really good.
For about two seconds.
Then Patricia and all of her friends pulled out their wands, pointed them at me, and in unison shouted, “Cangshu!”
I didn’t block their spell.
I couldn’t.
My magic abilities were nonexistent and besides, I didn’t have a wand. My wards were gone. All I had was…well, nothing.
Instantly, I felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t guard myself against their attack and it hit me full-force. I heard shouting and arguing breaking out above me, but suddenly, everything felt very, very far away. I fell through the air for what seemed like an eternity.
When I hit the floor, I looked up. No one even noticed me. Everyone was too busy shouting spells at each other. The world
felt big. Really big.
Then gentle hands scooped me up and I realized Henry was holding me up.
“Dude,” he whispered, looking at me. He held me tightly in his hands and carried me out of the cafeteria. I wasn’t sure how he managed to do it, but he got me safely into the hallway before opening up his hands and looking at me closely. “Are you okay?” He whispered. “Max, you’re a…you’re a hamster.”
Chapter 9
After a few potions from the school infirmary and a visit from a physician who promised not to call my aunt, I returned to my dorm room with Kiera and Henry in tow. Kiera was sporting a black eye and the scent of a stinkifying spell still lingered around her, but she was otherwise in one piece. Henry had escaped attack simply by guarding me and getting me out of harm’s way.
Who knew being a hamster would be so exciting?
“You okay?” He said when we stopped outside of Kiera’s door. She nodded.
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve been better, but wow. Max. That was nuts.”
“Yeah, sorry about the trouble,” I winced when I looked at her eye. Maybe I should have left things alone. At least then I wouldn’t have called so much attention to my friend, but Kiera shook her head.
“Are you kidding?” She laughed. “That was the best thing that’s ever happened to me! I thought that after high school, I’d never have to deal with girls like Patricia again, but I was wrong.” She shook her head. “It’s crazy that the troublemakers never really go away, isn’t it?”
Sadly, I nodded. I had to agree with her even though I didn’t want to.
That’s what Patricia was.
A troublemaker.
She was mean and cruel and for no good reason at all. It’s not like Kiera was this evil monster who had made Patricia’s life unnecessarily hard or difficult. No, Kiera was simply a girl that Patricia didn’t like and in Patricia’s eyes, that made her worthy of being hated. It was trite, and in some ways, it made me feel sorry for Patricia. She had to put other people down to feel better about herself, which was ridiculous because she was a demon. She was one of the strongest creatures at the school, but she still had to be aggressive.
Hybrid Academy Box Set Page 9
