“I want my boy back, Luther. I will do whatever it takes to get you home, including separating you from the elemental.”
“Is that a threat?” I asked, rounding on her. I felt my wings bristle under my skin, wanting to attack her.
“It is a simple fact, Luther. You were born to take over from your father when the time came.”
“I’m surprised you want to hand over power.”
“We’ve ruled for millennia, Luther, we’re tired.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have enough brothers who can take over.”
“You have been chosen.”
“Well maybe when the time comes, Elke can be my Queen.”
“That elemental will never be Queen.”
The way she spoke sounded toxic, almost like she would hurt Elke to get me home. Knowing my mother, it was a possibility. She would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. I had to protect Elke.
“You have a responsibility. Your time on Earth will come to an end soon, and you will accept your fate.”
I turned to look over at Elke who was at the counter. I wanted to tell my mother to get lost but when I turned back to look at her, she was gone. A visit from my mother meant things were getting closer to me having to return, whether I was ready or not.
“Hey,” Elke said from beside me. “I got it, wanna head back?”
“Yeah,” I said, smiling, but I knew she could see through it. There was no way I could allow my mother to hurt Elke. “We better go before they notice us missing.”
I held onto her waist as she held onto the bags and I flew up into the air. I probably shouldn’t have done it when everyone could see but I needed to figure this out before my mother decided I was taking too long. At least she couldn’t get into the academy. Elke would be safe if she stayed within the grounds.
Now, I just had to find a way to get her to stay there.
Chapter Twelve
Elke
Mr Alvarez handed my test back to me and I saw the C mark in big, red pen. I leaned back into my chair and sighed. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t seem to get a handle on the histories. I turned to see Stig’s desk still empty and I knew Luther wasn’t in class today. He’d been distant since I’d started needing more alone time. Ever since we headed into London for supplies, he had kept to himself. I wonder if he got in trouble and he was forced to keep his distance from me.
I was alone and feeling it now.
Tiger walked past my desk and looked down at the C and stifled a laugh. Her friends laughed with her before she left the classroom. I stayed at my desk, not wanting to head into the next class.
Mr Alvarez had stayed back today. He looked over at me and finally came over. “It’s not bad considering this is all new to you. I think you just need to focus more, or maybe you need to talk to your parents and learn their histories as well.”
“I’m working on that.”
“Look, I get it. I was in a very similar situation to you. I didn’t know my father, and my mother was human. When she died, I went into an orphanage until my powers came in. That’s when my father tracked me down and taught me everything I knew, and then he sent me here.”
“It’s just dumb that I am almost considered an adult and I know nothing about myself.”
“You’ll get there, Elke. Now, get to your next class. I’d really rather not have Ms Cashell on my butt.”
I smirked at him, knowing how pedantic Ms Cashell, our celestial teacher, was. I grabbed my test and my books and headed toward my next class. Tucking the test away, I ran down the hall to the room. Ms Cashell wasn’t in class when I arrived, and most of the students were sitting in the corner, listening to music. A few students were worried as was I, Ms Cashell was never late. In fact, she turned up ten minutes early to every class to prepare herself.
Something was off. If she were sick, she would have told someone to be here. That’s just who Ms Cashell was.
I looked down the hall and saw no one. She wasn’t here. I moved over to her desk and pressed the buzzer that alerted the headmaster of trouble. Within minutes, Joan walked into the room. The kids in the back put the music away and sat up straight.
“What’s the matter, Elke?” Joan asked me.
“We don’t know where Ms Cashell is.”
Joan looked around the classroom, and then onto the desk. None of Ms Cashell’s things were here.
“Right, well I’m sure she’s fine. Why don’t you all head down to the library and get a start on your assignments, I’m sure you have many.”
Groans came from the other students but Joan ignored it. She was rattled, I could tell. Which only increased my own worry. Nothing rattled Joan.
“Thank you for alerting me, Elke,” she said as I left the room. I nodded and headed down to the library. My thoughts were everywhere. I was worried about Luther, worried that he wasn’t interested in me anymore, worried about Ms Cashell, and now worried about my grades.
To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. I paused outside of the library doors. Something was propelling me to head down the other corridor and toward the tower. I passed my dorm room and put my books down on the desk before I headed for the tower stairs.
It was quiet today, there were no wintery winds blowing which meant the air wasn’t howling and making this academy seem haunted like it normally did. I opened the door to the staircase that led up to Luther’s room and climbed the stairs. Luther was sitting up on his bed, shirtless, when I got to the top. I must have woken him.
“Elke, are you okay?”
“I should ask you the same thing.”
He sighed and ran his hand over his hair. “I’m just tired.”
“Have I done something wrong?”
“You were pushing me away a few weeks ago, Elk. And now, you wonder if you did something?”
I moved to sit down next to him on the bed but he pushed up and moved away from me, keeping his back to me.
“Why don’t you just tell me what’s wrong?” I asked, feeling a little hurt.
“I just think you should focus on school for now. You have a lot to learn and I’m distracting you.”
Complete 180. He wanted to be with me just like I wanted to be with him. What the hell was this about?
“Don’t you like me anymore?” I asked, feeling my chest start to burn a little. He turned to me, an expression I’d not seen before.
“Don’t make this into more than it needs to be, Elke. We can be friends, I just don’t think you need a boyfriend right now.”
“Yet again, someone taking my decision from me.” I shot up off the bed and moved to the staircase. “I just hope you don’t wake up in the morning and regret what you’ve just said because once you hurt me, you don’t get another shot.”
I ran down the stairs and out the door, feeling the burn of tears threaten. I was almost toward the door to the academy when I heard the whoosh of wings, my hair flew into my face from behind. Luther pulled me back from the door and I wheeled around to smack him when I saw how intense his eyes were.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought I could do the one thing to protect you and I ended up hurting you. I don’t want us to be over, I want to be with you, I want you, I just…have responsibilities and it’s not fair to you.”
“You know I can make decisions for myself, right?” I shot back, still angry.
“I should have known better,” he said, sweeping my hair behind my ear. “I’m sorry.”
I hugged him, his arms wrapped around me tightly. I felt safe with him, safer than I’ve ever felt in my entire life. How could it be wrong to be with someone who made you feel this way?
“What are you trying to protect me from?”
“There are things about me you don’t know…that you should.”
It scared me when he was secretive like this and although it added to his allure, I knew he needed to trust me. If there was no trust, how could I protect him from what would come? I knew I had fallen for him, I just prayed he
didn’t break me into a million pieces.
“Shouldn’t you be in class?” he asked.
“Oh yeah, but Ms Cashell didn’t show up for class so we got sent to the library. I didn’t feel like spending even more time with Tiger so…”
“Wait…Lani didn’t turn up for class?” Luther asked.
“Ah…if that’s Ms Cashell’s first name, then yes.”
“Did you tell anyone?”
“The headmaster. She told us to go to the library. Why? Is something wrong?” I asked. I knew it was odd, but seeing the headmaster’s reaction and now Luther, my spidey senses were tingling.
“Yes, Lani would never miss a class.”
“How well do you know her?”
Luther smirked. “She was a student a few years ago. We actually were in the same classes.”
“How long have you been here?”
“A few years. I told you it’s not like a normal academy, you don’t graduate until you’re ready.”
“You have a lot of skills, I don’t get why you’re still here as a student.”
Although I knew he wasn’t really a student, but he’d never really told me the true reason why he was so trusted by the headmaster and students. I had no idea who Luther really was and why he was here.
“I’m in sanctuary,” he replied. “But I can tell you more about that later. I need to speak with Joan.”
I nodded and headed to the door and down the hall to my dorm. When I opened the door I saw Tiger sitting on my bed.
Oh great. As if I didn’t have enough on my plate, I get to deal with this bitch fest.
“Tiger, what can I do for you?” I asked, annoyed. She could tell I was as well. For weeks she’d been shunning me and treating me like shit because she blamed me for Stig going away. In part, I knew I was the cause but he’d never said anything to me. He hadn’t even spoken to me since he left but I knew he had written to her.
“I need you to call Stig and get him to come back.”
“Why would he listen to me?”
“He likes you. As much as it aggrieves me, he listens to you. Can you ask him to come back? He needs this place.”
“I don’t even know how to get in touch with him.”
Tiger sighed. “Whatever. He would do the same for you.”
“I’m not the one who ran away.”
“No, you just killed your parents.”
She moved out of the room before I could throw something at her. Rage boiled inside of me and I felt my eyes go cloudy again.
Shit.
I tried to call myself but it didn’t work, the chill came over me and I felt myself falling just as a sharp pain hit my brain. I landed on my bed as the pain enveloped me and images flew through my mind.
Ms Cashell’s face was frightened and frozen in fear as someone milled about her. I couldn’t’ see who it was but I got a bad feeling about it. I wanted to reach out and save her but just as soon as it came on, it went away. The pain shifted from my body leaving a thumping headache.
When were these visions going to start make sense so I can actually do something with them?
My door opened again and Tiger stood there, looking sad. “Look, I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean—”
I stood up and looked over at her, trying to act normal.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked me. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“Just get out Tiger.”
“I said I was sorry.”
“You didn’t mean it. You just want me to help you.”
She wanted to argue but she didn’t say anything. “Seriously why do you look like you’re sick?”
“I had a vision.”
“Your Oracle powers are coming through?” she asked. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I can’t figure out what the hell I am seeing.”
She hesitated, but she wasn’t leaving. I could see she was trying to figure out whether to stay or not. Whatever was going on with Tiger, she wasn’t a horrible person, but she pretended to be.
“What did you just see?”
I was getting annoyed just as my headache increased. “Tiger, don’t pretend to care.”
“You should tell someone about them. Oracles can foresee a lot and since Palmer has basically told us all we’re in trouble, you could train your mind to understand the visions and maybe prevent some kind of attack on the school.”
She turned on her heel and marched out. I hated to admit it but I knew she was right. I needed to tell a teacher, maybe even tell Ianthe. After all, she had had visions before and probably knew how to deal with the ache afterward.
Luther was speaking with Joan. I could go there to tell them both what I saw and maybe they would be able to find Ms Cashell before it was too late. One thing was for sure, this school was not safe.
I ran down the hall toward the headmaster’s office. As I was about to knock on the door, I heard voices and although I knew I shouldn’t eavesdrop, I couldn’t help it.
“,,,she was found in the lake.”
“Inside the grounds?” I heard Mr Alvarez ask.
“Yes,” Luther replied. “Looks like our protection guards are not working or the enemy is within.”
“Palmer isn’t locked up,” Joan said. “He escaped but we’ve only just been told of it.”
“How the hell is that possible?” Luther exploded. I could hear the rage in his voice. “You know he’s hunting Elke.”
“You need to keep your wits about you, Luther. She needs a protector, not someone off the rails.”
“She doesn’t need to be wrapped in bubble wrap. She can handle herself.”
“Back to Ms Cashell,” Joan said. “We need to address this with the students without causing chaos. She’s dead, and there’s no bringing her back. If only we knew who killed her.”
I gasped and stumbled backward. The door was flung open and I looked up at Luther who ran to my side. But I pushed him away, shocked at what I’d just heard. I was too late?
“What is it?”
“She’s dead?” I asked.
He nodded. “Afraid so.”
“But…what’s the point of visions if I don’t have time to save people?”
Joan came to the door then. “Your visions are coming through?”
“Yes. I saw her face, she was frightened, and shadows around her. I got a bad feeling when a particular shadow was near her. I can’t explain it, but it made my stomach do flips.”
“You need to pay attention to those feelings, Elke. They mean something. Listen to your instincts.”
Luther bundled me up and took me back to my dorm room. How could she be dead? And inside the academy grounds to boot. No one was safe here anymore.
Luther
I stood at the end of the hall as Joan announced Ms Cashell had passed away to the students. There was murmuring throughout the vast room. I located Elke right down the side near Tiger who looked over at her. Was she about to accuse Elke of something? Instead, she looked back to her friends without a word. I watched for any sign of disturbance from others but there was just shock and sadness, and suspicious looks.
Joan had wanted me to watch reactions but there was nothing I could see being suspicious. I didn’t think a student could overpower Lani Cashell. She was a strong teacher, and that was why she’d been hired straight out of graduation. This had to have been done by someone strong, but how could they have gotten on the grounds.
The news that Palmer had escaped his makeshift prison had me on edge most of all. He was still considered a student in the eyes of the law until his trial, he was allowed here which meant we were all in danger, especially Elke, who he seemed way too interested in for my liking.
Joan wrapped up and dismissed everyone. I made a move over to Elke but by the time I got there, Tiger had whisked her away. Funnily enough, Tiger’s friends had lost her in the crowd and were looking for her through the students.
I followed the path through the side
door and down the stairs to the gym. I could hear Tiger’s voice as she spoke to Elke who sat on a bench. She wasn’t being loud enough that I could hear, but I could see Elke wasn’t stressed. In fact, she seemed to welcome the conversation.
Instead of interrupting, I headed back to the hall to speak with Joan. The hall was now empty, and creepy. I never liked it this room when it was empty.
Joan was in her office, her back to me as she looked out the window. She slowly turned after a moment and faced me.
“No one acted suspiciously.”
“I figured as much. I fear it may not be a student but rather a teacher.”
“Who?”
“Mr Alvarez. He’s not been happy with Lani being here, even when I announced it.”
“I doubt he would do anything. He’s not that kind of person.”
“We believed that about Palmer, also.”
She had a point.
“Did you want me to follow him?”
“Yes.”
I nodded and headed out of the office with my task in hand. Antonio Alvarez was a good person, I could sense it. He was a sensitive teacher who always wanted to better students, but then again, people could surprise me.
He was standing by his classroom speaking with a student when I rounded the corner. I made out that I was heading to the dorms when he saw me coming. His eyes narrowed slightly as I passed him before he returned his attention to the student.
I should have known he’d be onto me. I’d have to step up my game to watch him.
Elke
Luther was still sleeping when I climbed up the stairs in his tower. Usually he jumped up when I got to his room, never able to fully sleep but he was still fast asleep. I looked around his room which I never seemed to be able to do when he was awake. His desk was covered in notes, sticky notes covered in scribble, and an employment record for Mr Alvarez.
I started to read when I heard his deep voice ask me what I was doing. Turning around, I saw him sit up and rub his eyes.
“Since when do you sleep through me clunking up your stairs?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“I’ve been up late at night,” he said. “You know that.”
All Hallows' Eve (Ravensbane Academy Book 1) Page 10
