The Oracles Harem
Book 3
The Origins Supernatural Academy
By
Devyn Forrest
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Copyright © 2020 by Devyn Forrest
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Devyn Forrest holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
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Out For Blood
The Accident
The Trials
Olympic Village
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter One
Enormous black clouds billowed over the Academy grounds. It had been that way for about a week. Lightning flashed outside my window, casting ghoulish light across the treetops, and I groaned into my hands as I gazed out. Raphael stirred in bed, turning his back toward me. Quintin and Ezra had already headed out the window, chugging back to their bedrooms to change for the day ahead. I stepped toward Raphael, placed a hand on his chest, and whispered, “Wake up, baby. We’re going to be late.”
He turned toward me, his nostrils flaring. He scrubbed at his eyes and then kissed me gently. Every morning that I woke up safe was one for the books. The boys made sure I was all right. But I was never sure what would happen next—and I knew this frightened them, too, especially as our love grew stronger.
We can’t imagine a world without you.
We’ll do anything to make sure you stay here with us.
Forever.
Hurriedly, Raphael grabbed his clothes and scampered out of the window. I watched as he raced through the pouring rain, a broad-shouldered near-man sweeping toward his dorm room. Slowly, I zipped up the last of my dress, combed my tresses, and heaved a sigh. The year would be finished in just a few weeks. Soon, everyone but the boys and I would depart campus and embark on their own, personal, marvelous summer vacations. How thrilling for them.
The day was a strange one. I walked quietly through the halls; my spellbooks pressed against my chest. It felt as though a bubble had been formed around me. Nobody wanted to come too close, and I heard several whispers as I walked. “The storm won’t quit until she leaves.” “Yeah. I heard that if you go ten miles in any other direction, the skies are clear.” “It’s not fair that the rest of us should suffer just because she goes here.”
It wasn’t my fault that any of this had happened. I was prophesied, meant to be—an Oracle meant to save the supernatural world and the human one alike. Still, it wasn’t like anyone at Origins Supernatural Academy cared at all that I was meant to “save” them. They just wanted to ridicule me at every turn. There was nothing to do but set my jaw and live through it.
My nemesis, Margot, especially, seemed to be the source of all the gossip around the storm. She cast dark eyes toward me, sometimes walking past me in the hallway and jabbing an elbow hard into my side. “Give it a rest, freak,” she muttered in her ridiculous French accent.
During lunch, I sat at the edge of the picnic bench outside, blinking down at the chicken and broccoli I’d collected from the long buffet table inside. The boys were still making their way to me, when Celeste burst toward me and sat at the edge of the table, her face blotchy with tears.
I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Are you okay?”
She shuddered and bowed her head. “I just can’t stop thinking about her. About your Aunt Maria. I...” She bit hard on her lower lip, unable to continue.
“I know,” I murmured, although, of course, I knew so much more than what I could tell her. Celeste thought that Aunt Maria had been killed after someone burned the house we’d shared to the ground. In reality, Aunt Maria had fled, staging her own death. She’d come to me, informed me of the news outside the Academy grounds. Ultimately, I wasn’t sure when or if I’d ever see her again. It was something that made my heart ache horribly if I thought about it too much.
Still, it gave me a small bit of hope to know that she remained alive, even if I couldn’t spout this information to Celeste.
“You’re so strong about this,” Celeste offered, sniffling.
“It’s because I have you. I have Raphael and Quintin and Ezra. The four of you give me such support,” I whispered, squeezing her hand harder. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Guilt shrouded me, of course. I hated lying. It made my tongue taste poisonous. I watched throughout lunch as Celeste picked at her meal, barely able to eat. I followed suit, while the boys kept eagle eyes on me.
“You need to eat more,” Quintin affirmed into my ear, soft enough so that only I could hear. “You need to keep your strength.”
I cast him a dark look but knew he was right. Slowly, I stitched the rest of the vegetables and meat onto my tongue and chewed, feeling as though I ate through sandpaper.
After lunch, I followed Celeste back to her bedroom. She decided to call off her classes for the rest of the day, and I wanted to make sure she was all right. She and Peter had recently called it quits, something that definitely had contributed to her sadness—and I half-wanted to suggest that she just get back together with him to distract herself. When Celeste was hooking up with someone, at least she wasn’t dwelling so much on all the horrors in our life we couldn’t change.
Growing up was strange.
“You should really go to class,” Celeste sniffled. “I don’t want you to blame me for missing a course with Professor Binion. He’s been so good to you and... and I want you to be strong enough, Ivy. I want you to fight whatever it is you have to fight. And... and I want to be strong enough for you too!” She clutched her heart, her already enormous eyes growing even larger.
I knew I couldn’t stay there with her; I was a mess, internally, myself, and all I wanted was to speak with Professor Binion, the only person in the world who also knew the truth about Aunt Maria. I gave Celeste a final, half-smile, and told her that I would come find her later in the day.
“Do you want me to bring you anything? Anything from the cafeteria or...?” I tried.
But she just shook her head and dipped deeper into her mattress. I’d never seen her like this before.
Chapter Two
I shuffled up the steps of the main dorm building, one hand clenched at my side and the other over my books, pressing t
hem hard against my chest. As I approached the floor where Professor Binion’s office lay, I nearly fell directly into Margot on the steps.
Immediately, she tossed all her books across the ground, pretending like I’d scared her to death. She clutched her chest and said, “Jesus, Ivy. Haven’t you done enough?” Her top crony, Zelda, stood beside her, smirking.
I knew that Zelda hadn’t told Margot anything about what had happened in the dungeons beneath the school. I knew that she’d kept everything—the fact that she’d gone out of her way to nearly have me destroyed—to herself. Now, she seemed to hate me more than ever, I guess because I represented all the shit she’d been through. I represented the fact that her family had very nearly been killed.
It wasn’t my fault.
“Just keep your head up next time,” I blared to Margot, irritation flooding through me. “It’s not that hard to see right in front of you.”
Margot smirked. “Don’t think we all don’t know what you’re up to. All these storms? We know they’re all about you. Ever since you got here, there’s been something sinister about Origins. You know you don’t belong with us—not really. You’re an outsider here and in the human world. How does that feel, Ivy? Lonely? I hope so.” She spat as she said it, growing more and more volatile with each passing moment. “I hope you feel like you can’t breathe. Like the world is pressing itself against you. Like...”
“Fuck off, Margot,” I blared. I shot up the steps, my shoulder finding hers and casting her to the side. She leaped to grab the railing, then called up the steps after me as I fled.
“You fucking bitch!”
I couldn’t care. There was so much more on my plate. Whatever the hell Margot wanted to put me through for her own enjoyment, I had to shove it away.
When I reached Professor Binion’s office, I found him at his desk, his fist beneath his chin and his eyes closed. He looked both stoic and contemplative—and he also looked completely tired, as though he’d just traveled a great distance or stayed up all night. It took him a long time to notice that I’d entered the room.
“Ivy. Hello,” he said suddenly. His voice was far away.
I shut the door behind me and crumpled into the chair across from him. I placed my hands across his desk, staring at them, and said, “Celeste is so troubled about Aunt Maria. I hate that I can’t tell her the truth.”
Professor Binion heaved a sigh. “You’re doing the right thing. Really, you are.”
Outside, another thunder clap made the ground quake. My shoulders fell. “The storm is enough to affect all of us mentally. I can hardly think straight.”
“I know. I can’t figure out a way to crack it,” Professor Binion said. “I’ve spent the past days around the grounds, attempting to brew up some sort of spell or counter-curse to break the storm. It’s no use.”
I had no idea he’d been trying to do that. My heart was warmed, but again, I felt shrouded with guilt. I hated that every single person at the Academy was affected by the horrors of who I was.
“Whoever is behind the storm has ancient magic on their side,” he continued. “It’s only going to get worse, I think.”
I stood and walked toward the window and placed my palm over the glass pane. As the thunder rolled over us again, the glass pane actually shook against my hand.
“I feel it all the time now,” I told him, my voice barely a whisper. “The mark. It glows, it tingles. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, it’s constantly reminding me of what I am and what I need to do. Even in my dreams, I can feel it. As a result, the locket Raphael, Quintin, and Ezra gave me is constantly glowing warm against my skin. During class, I can see that their bracelets glow, as well. It’s just an ever-present thing, now. Danger is constantly near; we’re always only a few moments from some sort of disaster, should it choose to come after us. It’s an exhausting realization.”
“What you’re feeling is surely this dark magic attempting to find you,” Professor Binion continued. “It’s continually trying to lure you away from safety, some how, some way. If you don’t keep your guard up at every moment, then they just might find a way to you. You’re safe here, of course—but I don’t want anything like the Zelda incident to happen again. That was such a close call.”
I spun around, my eyes bleary with tears. “I just want it to be over. Sometimes, I wish the boys would have let me be taken by the bounty hunters. Maybe, then, everyone could return to their old lives. Everyone could remember what it was like before... before my powers came into play and altered the course of the supernatural world.”
Professor Binion’s face grew stony. I knew that what I’d just suggested went against everything he’d done, everything he’d sacrificed. We couldn’t return to the past, and it was an insult for me to even suggest it.
I struggled to find something else to say, something that wasn’t such a tremendous assault to everything Professor Binion cared for and stood for. I bit down hard on my lower lip, my brain doing little circles. Silence filled the room, even as lightning and thunder continued their strange dance outside.
“I suppose we should begin for the day,” Professor Binion began wearily. He reached for handkerchief and smeared it across his forehead and cheek. He really looked on the verge of collapse.
“I just still can’t understand it, Professor,” I continued, as though I hadn’t heard him. My thoughts sizzled along, unencumbered. I shot toward the chair in front of him again and leaned over the desk, inhaling sharply. “I can’t understand why my presence in this supernatural world is such a horror to everyone. If I’m meant to provide balance to the magical factions—if I’m meant to be the Oracle that brings unity and happiness and whatever other bullshit there is—then why is that such a bad thing?”
I was out of breath, lost in my swirling thoughts. Professor Binion looked totally fatigued, as though every word I shot at him took a year or two off his life. I couldn’t stop. My tongue flailed.
“I just can’t understand why I’m not fucking welcomed to the supernatural community, if that’s true. If it’s actually something I can provide, why haven’t I been deemed, like, Queen of the Supernaturals?” I demanded, every word spitting with sarcasm. “I should think that things...”
Professor Binion hung his head for a long time, giving me pause. I realized that I was in attack-mode, something that occurred when I felt especially frightened or angry. I was like a barking dog.
“Professor, I’m sorry,” I continued, kind of breathless.
Finally, Professor Binion lifted his chin and let out a sigh. “Ivy, I will try to explain this to you. As best as I can.”
I sat at the edge of my chair, my eyes growing large. Finally, it seemed, he thought I was ready for whatever pressing horror this was.
But just as he opened his mouth to speak, there was a wild shriek. It pierced the air and chilled me to the bone. Immediately afterwards, there was a mighty rumble—not the thunder, but the sound of something caving in somewhere in the very building in which we sat. Both Professor Binion and I held one another’s gaze for a long time, both of us frankly sure that whatever had caused this next batch of ruckus was surely somehow attached to yours truly.
It was pretty fucking clear—whatever this was, it touched everything, and it made my life a living hell at every turn.
Chapter Three
The sound had clearly come from the other wing of the main building. To get there, I rushed to the spiral staircase that led down from Professor Binion’s wing and toward the belly of the massive stone structure. Once down there, I found myself in the middle of horrible chaos. Students rushed around everywhere, their books flying and their eyes enormous. As I stepped down, Meghan the mermaid girl smashed into me, and her books flew everywhere. It was almost identical to what had happened with Margot only a half-hour before, except that, in this case, Meghan didn’t care at all about her books and instead rushed out the doors, leaving them behind.
It was mesmerizing to watch this. Students co
ntinued to pour down from the upper floors on the further side of the foyer, where the other circular staircase led up toward whatever had occurred. I inhaled sharply as another thunder clap was heard outside. Everything felt ominous, charged, angry and volatile—and I knew it had everything to do with me. That ancient magic Professor Binion had mentioned wasn’t exactly anything to fuck around with.
I shoved into the crowd. As I rushed toward the staircase on the other side, however, it was like I was trying to swim upstream in the more horribly powerful river. People smashed against my shoulders, casting me back. My arms flailed forward as I struggled to fight it. My eyes remained on the spiral staircase, and the conversation was frantic.
“Did you see what happened?” a girl screamed to another.
“I don’t know. No. I guess not. I just started to run when everyone else did,” the other girl responded.
“I heard someone’s hurt!” another kid cried.
But before I could fully articulate what was said, they rushed past me and headed into the darkness beneath the clouds.
Suddenly, Margot and Zelda raced past me again. This time, Margot doubled down on striking me, smashing her shoulder against mine so hard that I fell back and collapsed onto the ground. Immediately, I felt several feet across my stomach and my chest as the students trampled me—seemingly not able to see me.
Well, it was either they didn’t see me or they actually didn’t care.
As I lay there beneath the sea of students, I was kicked and trampled, bruised and battered. My locket burned horrifically bright against my upper chest—but I knew this was no reason for any of the boys to catch on to where I was. After all, that locket was perpetually on the brink of burning.
Suddenly, I felt a hand wrap tightly around my wrist. I blinked through the crowd to find Ezra, who forced his way through the streaming students and helped me to my feet. I gasped and flung my arms around him, forcing him to stagger back. I wasn’t sure I’d been so happy to see someone in a while; it had really felt like I would be torn to pieces down there.
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