What did they think of the supernatural world, now that it had been responsible for the death of their daughter?
What had they been told, exactly? “As storms raged over the Origins Supernatural Academy grounds, your daughter was taken.” But that wasn’t precisely the truth, was it? In fact, the truth was, storms only ravaged us because of me. Everything had been bright and sunny elsewhere.
The world had carried on without us, while we’d lived in the desolation of whatever this was.
Slowly, Quintin eased back into his human form. I swept around him, all-out glowing with excitement, due to the fact that Celeste had arrived. The fact that we’d just flown through the air hadn’t been bad, either. I could get used to that. I dotted a kiss on Quintin’s lips, and he grinned bleary-eyed at me before smacking me on the ass and whispering, “I better go get changed. Go see your friend! I’ll meet you back out here soon. God, I’m starving. Flying always makes me so hungry.”
Seconds later, he disappeared into the dorms, leaving me out in the stunning sunlight. I whipped to the other side of the main building, where I watched Celeste and her mother, Zoey, park the car in the empty parking lot. Seconds later, Celeste whipped out from the passenger seat and cranked her legs across the pavement. She tore into me, then let out a strange, staggered gasp. Sadness flooded through me.
I knew something was very, very wrong.
“Oh, Ivy. Ivy. I didn’t know what to do. I just told Mom we had to come back. That maybe it was the only place we could really be safe,” Celeste whimpered into my chest.
Zoey got out of the car, as well, and then splayed her arms over her chest. She blinked up at the main building, seemingly lost in thought. This was really different than how she’d been previously.
Before, she’d always hugged me like her own.
She’d always referred to me as one of her babies.
Now, maybe, she saw me as the source of all her worldly problems.
What I learned next only added to this claim.
“Dad was attacked,” Celeste whispered, her voice rasping.
“What?” I demanded. I bucked back, my hands on her upper-arms, genuinely shocked. “What happened?”
Celeste gave a half-shrug. “We don’t know. The best we can guess is, your Aunt Maria’s spells are degrading around the town. Somehow, our house’s association might have gotten the better of him, but it’s not clear. The only think we could think to do was come here and talk to you, talk to Professor Binion. Mom thinks he’s the only one who really knows what’s going on, across all the supernatural factions. Him and you, of course—but I know you haven’t fully developed your powers.”
In my stunned silence, Celeste blinked up at the bright blue sky. Her lips formed an O.
“The storms have stopped. The snow...” she said.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I’m getting more and more control over my powers, after all. Although...” I stuttered, unable to fully comprehend what she’d just told me.
In that moment, Zoey appeared before me. Her bottom lip bubbled and bounced around. In seconds, she suddenly flung over me, holding onto me tightly. I realized that, although throughout most of my life I’d leaned on her, she needed me, now.
“Shh,” I whispered, drawing my hand over her back. “It’s going to be all right.”
I said it although I didn’t mean it.
I said some kind of false future, even though I was an Oracle. I was supposed to know.
Why couldn’t I know?
It was so fucking frustrating.
Finally, Zoey lifted her head again. Her eyes glowed ominously and were filled with tears.
“I miss her so much,” were the words Zoey said then. I knew she meant Aunt Maria.
I wished again that I could tell them both Aunt Maria’s real fate. She was still alive; surely, she remained in hiding, biding her time until the coast was clear again. Of course, it was obvious that there was no real sign, nothing to say when the coast would be clear.
“Is your husband going to be all right?” I stuttered.
Zoey sniffed. “Yes. We think so. But we don’t know what to do about the spells surrounding Hillside Falls. It’s clear that it’s no longer a safe place for Celeste to remain. I wanted to bring her back here as soon as I could.”
Suddenly, there was a jolt behind me. I turned quickly to find Professor Binion, adjusting his glasses as he sauntered out of the main building. He lifted a hand toward Zoey. As Professor Binion approached, it felt as though every bone in my body was on the verge of breaking.
I was devastated.
Hillside Falls was falling apart.
The spells my aunt and mother had placed over it were no longer standing.
This had been the final wall against the factions who wanted to destroy both me and everything I held dear.
“Hello, Zoey. Celeste,” Professor Binion said. His face was stoic. “I’ve just received word of your husband’s injury. I’ve sent a private supernatural medicinal worker to your husband to ensure that he is tended to properly.”
“Thank you, Professor. That is really kind,” Zoey said. “I’m afraid all the spells and ointments I’ve tried were lackluster at best.”
There was a strange silence. It was never easy to know what to say in such situations, never normal to say whatever came next.
Finally, Professor Binion gestured toward the main building and said, “Shall we sit in my office? I’ll have something to eat delivered. Some coffee, some tea.”
It was agreed that this would be arranged. I walked up the staircase behind Celeste and Zoey, gripping Celeste’s hand as we went. Mid-way through the walk, Celeste whirled around and said, “You shouldn’t be able to touch my hand. How are you doing that? Are you... are you seeing everything?”
I shook my head. “I can control it more, now. It’s only when I want it.”
Celeste furrowed her brow even more, almost as though she didn’t believe me. Still, she’d been through enough over the previous week. She didn’t need the kind of conversation that stretched her emotions even more.
By the time we reached Professor Binion’s office, Zoey and Celeste’s cheeks glowed with tears. It was as though they could only hold in their sadness intermittently. As we sat awkwardly, a kitchen worker arrived with a large tray of things for us to eat—croissants and cheeses and fried potatoes and coffee. Everyone poured themselves a cup but hardly touched the rest. Food seemed almost superfluous.
Zoey crumpled forward, drawing her hands over her cheeks. Professor Binion gripped her hand across the desk and whispered, “You’re going to get through this. All of you are. But I think it’s best that not only Celeste remain here. You and your husband should, as well. Once he’s well enough to travel here.”
“Are we just supposed to leave Hillside Falls to burn?” I asked suddenly. Rage and fear wrapped themselves around my neck like snakes. “Professor, this is our home. We have to do something about this. We have to recalibrate the spells or...”
“We’ve added more charms and spells across the town ourselves,” Celeste offered, spreading her palms flat over her lap.
“But it’s not enough,” Zoey added. “You can feel the darkness creeping back in, bit by bit. It’s why we came here as soon as we could. We knew that we’d created a kind of shower curtain as a shield around everything. Nothing more.”
I forced my shoulders back and opened my eyes wider. “I have to go there.”
Professor Binion began to shake his head. Already, I sensed he couldn’t possibly understand.
“Professor, you saw what I did to the forest. You saw what I did to the weather. You’ve seen that I have much more control over my powers...”
“But there’s no telling how much your abilities will shift when we’re outside of the shields I’ve put around the Academy itself,” Professor Binion said delicately.
Although I sensed he was correct, the words still felt like a smack in the face. It felt like he verbalized, Yeah, sure.
You’re okay. But you’ll never really be ready for what’s coming for you out there.
It was disheartening at best.
“Professor, please try to understand.” I slipped strands of hair over my ears and pressed forward, with all their eyes on me. “I love this town more than I love myself. I was a human there. Just a girl who wanted to date boys and win soccer sectionals. It’s the last beautiful thing I feel I have left, the last relic from my old life.”
Professor Binion spread his hands out, at a complete loss.
“If there’s anything we’ve gone over, Ivy, it’s this,” he said, marveling. “Nothing will ever be the same again. And every day, you have to deal with new consequences of that. I’m sorry.”
Chapter Sixteen
Although I’d enjoyed having the Academy grounds for Raphael, Quintin, Ezra, and I to run around with, I enjoyed them all the more with Celeste there. That morning, I helped her move back into her old bedroom in the dormitory. As we piled her suitcases in the center of the room, she sniffed and said, “Wait a minute. Margot isn’t here, is she?”
“No. Of course not. I would probably be dead if she was.”
“She had the best room. I’m going there,” Celeste blurted. She gripped her suitcases and staggered toward the opposite end of the dormitory room, before flinging open Margot’s room. Indeed, it was one of the more beautiful, with a gorgeous view over the treetops of the Gulf of Mexico. Celeste breathed a sigh of relief. I could feel her emotions coming off her in waves. As I tuned into them, I could hear her thoughts. At least I have this. At least we’re safe here. For now.
Bless her. It seemed like she didn’t blame me for any of it, not even now that her father had been injured.
It was decided that Zoey would return to Hillside Falls for the next few days and then return with Celeste’s father. Professor Springer announced that they would be allowed one of the larger apartments, usually reserved for professors, located in one of the back buildings. Celeste and I got to work: decorating the little room, making it homey enough for them. Professor Springer, who seemed actually bored out of her mind, joined us in painting one of the bedrooms, telling us a few stories from her earlier witchy days. Afterwards, Celeste told me that Professor Springer very, very rarely gave any kind of information regarding her previous life. “We all thought she’d given up a long time ago,” she said with a shrug. “But it seems like she still has some spark left to her. Who knew?”
The days passed in a kind of hazy, sunny, Louisiana summer blur. Celeste, the boys, and I spent a great deal of it in the water, of course—leaping off the dock and crying out into the bright blue sky until we crashed to the waves below. Since we were the only students around, we were allowed to take out boats whenever we pleased. Celeste had mastered the “liquid into alcohol” trick that Margot had showed us the very first day, and pleased us with refilling our bottles with champagne. Raphael deemed Celeste a perfect addition to campus, and Quintin treated her kind of like a sister. Although the boys and I still went to sleep together every night and grew more and more in love, Celeste came along with us various places, up for a laugh, a picnic, whatever.
Of course, Professor Binion and I continued to make ground with my powers. The factions more-or-less stayed away from the Academy, especially, it seemed, after they realized I could fix the fires, could stop the snow. Maybe they’d run out of ideas? Maybe they were brewing up something big to take me down? It was difficult to say.
Sometime around mid-July, Celeste and I sat out near the Gulf in our swim suits and sunglasses. Celeste received a text from her dad, who was up by his apartment. “They want burgers again for dinner,” she grumbled.
The comment was so funny to me, because it sounded so normal. Only a few months before, I’d been out in the center of a field of snow. Now, I had to nod along with Celeste and be like, “Oh, god. They’re getting so old.”
Truthfully, I would eat a burger every single day of my life if it meant I never had to operate my powers again.
Celeste propped herself up on her elbow and gave me a secret grin. “What do you think about next school year, anyway? I heard Professor Binion talking. Another year is going to start, since it seems like the school isn’t under attack anymore.”
He’d mentioned this to me, too. The thought of it gave me pause.
“I really think it’s a mistake,” I said, heaving a sigh.
“Why?”
“There’s just no telling when or where they’ll strike next,” I admitted. “Maybe they’re the kinds of people who like to take summer vacation? Who knows.”
Celeste gave a half shrug. “But you still think this is the safest place to be, right?”
“That’s what they tell me. I guess I have to believe it right now,” I returned.
We studied one another’s faces in silence for a moment. Finally, I added, “Do you think the bullies will be back?”
Celeste chortled. “It’s so funny to even consider them now, isn’t it? Now that we have such bigger fish to fry.”
“You have no idea. Margot, Zelda, Piper? They’re all a million miles away from my mind,” I admitted. “Although, now that I say their names aloud... I would probably pay someone a lot of money to keep them away from me for a while.”
“Should we make a bet about whether or not they’ll show?” Celeste asked.
“A bet? What is this to you? Baseball?” I said with a laugh.
Celeste giggled. “Come on. I say they’re not coming back. No way. And I’ll bet, hmm. Fifty on it. Fifty dollars.” She smashed her palm on the sand between us, an allegiance to this idea.
WHEN SCHOOL BEGAN AT the beginning of September, Celeste and I stood out near the entrance of the girls dormitory with cold icey drinks in our hands, something we’d recently bribed the kitchen staff into making for us. They reminded us of long-lost perfect summer days back in Hillside Falls, paying fifty cents for whatever icey drink the gas station had rolling around in the plastic tub at the time.
“Shit,” I muttered, my eyes turning toward the entrance as the students rolled in.
“What?” Celeste asked.
“I really don’t think you’re going to like this, Celeste,” I said. I tried to keep my voice bouncy, light.
“What? Are you going to explain to me what you mean?” Celeste demanded.
I heaved a playful sigh, then added, “I guess you owe me fifty bucks. Fifty big ones. I’m going to need that paid out to me in full as soon as possible.”
Celeste arched her brow.
“Did you forget?” I asked.
“I guess?”
“You bet me fifty bucks the bullies wouldn’t be back. But look. There they are. All three of them, with their beautiful long legs and their horrible haircuts and their quirky accents.”
Celeste bit her lower lip, then mumbled, “Shit. Well. I mean, Riley doesn’t have a quirky accent?”
“Sure. But she’s beautiful and she’s from California, so it’s not like she lost the big lottery or whatever,” I returned.
Celeste and I cut back a bit from the doorway of the dormitory, hoping to avoid them. Of course, Margot, Zelda, and Riley noticed this, and Margot strung them over to us, her eyes brightening. They stopped short about five feet away from us, with Margot stringing both of her arms out on either side of her.
“Don’t get too close, girls,” she said, in that snarky French accent. “You know what will happen. She’s a murderer. She’s probably killed even more than that over summer. I’m frankly surprised that the campus is still standing, aren’t you?”
Zelda and Riley chuckled.
Celeste’s cheeks burned red. She burst forward, overcome, and said, “You should see the stuff Ivy did this summer, Margot, while you were away at whatever chateau you crawled out of. While you were literally wasting your life on some yacht, Ivy was learning how to save the supernatural world. She was....”
As usual, Celeste had taken it too far. Margot’s smile only grew wider. I gripped
Celeste’s elbow and tugged her back.
“No, no, Celeste. Come on. I want to hear more,” Margot said.
“Fuck off, Margot,” I returned.
“So glad to see you again, Ivy. Really. It’s always such a pleasure,” Zelda said.
“Just stay as far as you can from us, okay? We want to live through this year as best as we can,” Riley interjected. “We have actual things to live for, you know? We’re not orphans, alone in the world.”
They turned on their heels and marched into the massive stone dormitory building. I shook with rage. Slowly, I inhaled, exhaled, then turned my eyes toward the ground. As my anger subsided, I noticed that the tree closest to me began to calm down, as well. Its limbs had grown wild, thrashing.
I hadn’t even realized that I’d had any control over that.
That was bad. That was anti-progress. It was proof that maybe, with my bullies around, I didn’t have as much control over my powers as I wanted.
“They’re not worth it,” I murmured.
“No. They’re not worth anything,” Celeste returned. “And I wanted to explain it to them. I wanted them to know just how hard you’ve been working.”
“But it’s no use,” I told her. “They’re not able to experience empathy. And they’re not intelligent enough to realize what we’ve gone through over the summer. Like, your dad’s injury? The fires, the snow? No way. And I wouldn’t want them to know about any of it, anyway.”
Celeste bit her lower lip, then giggled. “Well, there’s one thing for sure.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s a great way to start the year.”
“Yeah. For me. Because you owe me fifty bucks,” I told her, again falling into a fit of giggles.
Chapter Seventeen
That night, after everyone moved in, there was a whisper around campus: there was going to be one of the classic “illegal” welcome back parties, down by the docks that evening. “All old rules apply,” one of the girls whispered to Celeste and I, as we perched on the end of my bed. “Sneak out after eleven, in groups of two or three only. Make sure Professor Springer doesn’t hear you.”
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