by L. A. Banks
Hurrying to her bedroom, Sarah rushed in and ran straight for the bathroom. A mini snow-capped mountain had formed in the center of her forehead, just like Tami had said. Sarah leaned on the sink with both hands and let her head drop forward. Why did something like this have to happen on the first day of school?
The first day of Upper Spheres.
The first day of uniforms.
The first day of dreaded talent divisions.
Then again, if she were lucky and if the stars aligned properly, maybe the trip to school would be indefinitely delayed—at least long enough for the zit to heal. But luck was rarely on her side.
Sarah groaned. They’d been taught all the basics at home, and now it was time for the Upper Sphere training away from home, and she looked like an alien. Every kid in the compound had already been sorted into a different talent division based on their extrasensory gift. Solid seers, like Hyacinth, were going into the clairvoyant talent division—just like Yaya had. It wasn’t fair that ‘Cinth got to be with Ayana who was now a college-level mentor in the very senior level, and she didn’t.
Allie would be able to channel all her kinetic, electro-static energy into classes in the Tactical division. The cool jock division. Al, plus her compound brothers Miguel and Val, would be in the top talent division, Specials—and they even had a chance to further move up into the elite division called Shadows. And here she not only had a zit in the center of her forehead, but she would also be showcasing it for the entire school—though at least she’d be with lovable geek Donnie and her BFF, Tami—all of them still hanging together in the scrap-heap division for kids with questionable powers. Blends.
Life sucked.
She thought about locking herself in her bathroom all day and refusing to even go to the Academy, but it would be just like her dad to simply energy whirl her there regardless. So the only rational thing to do was to emerge from the sanctuary of her room and go down to breakfast.
Chaos greeted her in the main dining room, and she slipped past all the bustling bodies to go hide in the kitchen. At least there she would find her aunt Inez, compound chef extraordinaire. Her aunt’s rule was simple: If you helped, you could stay, and you got first dibs on what came off the stove.
“Hey, baby,” her aunt said with a wide grin. “Come gimme some sugah this morning. You all ready for school?”
“No.” Sarah jogged over to fill the loving, meaty arms that had opened to her. She bent with a smile and pressed her cheek against her aunt’s warm brown neck.
“Well, we ain’t ready for you to go, either. It was bad enough when Ayana left, now y’all? What are we gonna do without you?” Inez said with a sigh. “But I guess we’ve gotta let you go sometime.” She released Sarah from her embrace and dabbed the corners of her eyes before she picked up a spatula again and then turned back to the huge industrial-sized stove. “You give your momma and daddy lots of hugs before you head out, and look for your cousin when you get to school. Some of those girls up there can be mean, Yaya tells me, but you’ve got plenty of family going with you, understand?”
Sarah nodded, and she could feel her aunt smile.
Then Inez turned and gave her a wink. “You’re getting good, baby. You picked up my smile, didn’t you?”
“That’s because you were helping,” Sarah said, secretly pleased.
“No, you did that all on your own. Pretty soon you’re gonna be a rock-solid compound seer. I promise you.”
Sarah went to a large tray loaded down with sausages, bacon and steaks. “Then how come I got stuck in the Blends?”
“You take that platter in there to your uncles. Can’t get ‘em off the meat, especially after they’ve been out huntin’ all night,” her aunt said, turning with a frown. It was obvious that the subject was a sore one for her. It was all in the way her microbraids bounced as she used the pancake spatula to accent her talking points in the air while one hand rested on her thick hip. “Then you come back in here and get the tofu scrambler and seitan sausage for your momma and them…and then we’ll talk. I swear, I think your mother’s dragon pearl done lost her mind. She used to be such a good oracle, but now… Counselor Zehiradangra has issues, honey…we have to be gentle with her, but I told your momma as well as your gran that wasn’t right. But what do I know? I’m just a house seer. Nana Marlene told me to leave it alone, so if that’s what your grandmother said to do, then who am I to disobey?”
“Thanks, Auntie,” Sarah said, grabbing the platter and heading toward the dining room.
Then Sarah hesitated, feeling the answer to her question so close to the surface of her aunt’s mind that she couldn’t leave. It was right there. Her aunt was going to let her into her thoughts and tell her without words, so it wouldn’t be like she’d actually broken a confidence and spilled the beans. What was going on in the house? It was linked with what was happening at school. Linked with her destiny. For a second their eyes met. Her aunt nodded ever so slightly as a thin sheen became visible on her forehead. Something dark flitted through her aunt’s thoughts, and Sarah whirled to avoid it. Terrified of what she might see, she rushed toward the door, still clutching the platter.
“Sarah, baby, wait. Try again. Stay with it.”
But her uncle Mike met her at the swinging metal door.
“Hey, hey, where’s the fire?” He placed a broad palm on top of Sarah’s head.
“Auntie said to get this to you in a hurry.”
“Auntie was right,” her uncle said, laughing. “Why you think I’m standing here in the door? Think I don’t know my wife can cook?”
“Stop sweating my pots, Mike,” her aunt called out, both good nature and a hint of disappointment ringing in her voice. “Baby, you come back in a little bit and I’ll have some more for you…for the trays, all right?”
“Okay, thank you,” Sarah replied softly, knowing her aunt was speaking to her in code. Her Aunt Inez had left an opening for them to speak privately as soon as she got rid of her Uncle Mike, then she could really open up and discuss what was on her mind. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
“You do that. I’m expecting that from you, all right?”
Her uncle gave her aunt a quizzical glance. “She ain’t dropped nothing, ‘Nez. Stop giving the girl a hard way to go.”
“Both of y’all get out of my kitchen,” Inez said, and then went back to the stove.
Sarah looked up at her uncle’s six-foot-eight hulking frame as he blocked the doorway. He had to be somewhere between 280 to 320 pounds, as a conservative guesstimate. Uncle Mike made it seem as though midnight had eclipsed the entire doorframe, but there wasn’t a mean bone in his body—unless you were a demon he was after. And of all the uncles, he was the only one who seemed to greet mornings with an upbeat attitude after a hunt. There was something about his huge bulk and the deep sound of his voice that always made her feel special.
She held up the platter to him with a grin, already feeling much improved just from a dose of family.
“Thanks, baby—now a man can eat.” He kissed the top of her head, accepted the platter and called over his shoulder with a wink, “You and the ladies can eat all that tofu mess, if ya wanna.”
“Cholesterol’s gonna kill you, Mike,” one of Sarah’s other aunts called from the dining room.
“After chasing vampires, werewolves and ever’thing else, do I look like I’m scared of some sausage, girl?”
Sarah had to laugh as she dashed back into the kitchen, hungry for some more of her aunt Inez’s good cheer and clandestine advice. But Tami’s dad came in just as she was trying to angle her body up on a stool.
“Mornin’,” he muttered, scratching the blond and gray stubble on his chin. “I’m getting too old for this bull, ‘Nez. Where’s the coffee?”
“In the big pot in the dining room—where it always is,” she said over her shoulder.
He lifted his mug toward her. “Then I guess I meant the sweetener.”
“Jack Rider, it is too early in
the danged morning to be putting Jack Daniels in—”
“Shhhh,” he said, squinting. “C’mon, now, Inez. I’ve been up all night. Gotta drop my daughter off at school, which is only a cesspool of horny teenage boys—I need a drink. And I’d appreciate it if you kept your voice down so my wife doesn’t start up.” He gave Sarah a meaningful look. “Good morning, darlin’. You know how your aunt Tara is…well, once a vampire, always got a mean streak and can hold a nasty grudge. She doesn’t understand what it’s like for us dads.”
Sarah made the sign of a zipper across her lips. The legends said that Tami’s mom, Val’s dad and her own were the only vampires who had been granted amnesty by the Light for helping humans. But just because they were now mortal and technically human, they still had all their vampire ways and powers, which meant they hated mornings. She often wondered how her mother, her uncle Jack and her aunt Val could deal with their spouses’ morning-vamp bad mood. The last thing she was going to do was tell on her cool uncle Jack.
He gave her an appreciative nod and lifted his coffee mug to her. “Thanks, kiddo. Knew you’d understand after years of dealing with your old man’s morning fangs.”
“Far cabinet to the left, behind the flour,” Inez said, shaking her head. “And don’t be making that girl an accomplice to your bad habits. Sarah doesn’t have to keep any secrets around here. If your wife finds out, it’s your fault, not hers.”
“Bless you, ‘Nez. You’re a saint,” he said, finding the bottle and pouring a healthy shot into his coffee. After taking a long slurp he closed his eyes and sighed, then kissed Sarah on the top of her head as he passed her. “Tami’s looking for you out there. I’ll tell her that instead of back-talking her mom and me, she should be in here helping get breakfast on, like you are.”
Sarah slid off the stool. Her conversation with her aunt had now been officially derailed, and any chance for sneak telepathy was a thing of the past. She and her aunt shared a look.
“It’s gonna be all right, baby. I promise you. I can get the rest of this food out. You go eat. Just don’t be letting them make you feel bad up there at school. You hear me?”
“I won’t. Thanks, Aunt ‘Nez.” Sarah’s shoulders slumped as she grabbed two pitchers of fresh-squeezed orange juice and headed out the swinging door.
There was definitely something comforting in the chaos of compound life. She glanced around as she set down the pitchers at the end of the buffet. The food had clearly already been blessed, because plates were piled high, and the boys were plowing through it as though there was a new famine. The last thing she was prepared for was Val heading in her direction.
She turned her back to him and poured herself some juice.
“Hey, can I get some?” he asked, and she could feel his wide grin.
She handed him a glass and turned away.
“Uh, good morning,” he said, tapping her shoulder playfully.
“Good morning,” she said quickly.
“Are you okay?” He grabbed her arm and turned her around, then stared at her forehead.
Sarah closed her eyes. “Go ahead. Say whatever you’ve gotta say.”
Val offered her a casual shrug when she peeped open one eye. “It’ll go away in a couple of days. So what?”
She opened both eyes.
“I’m just glad that’s all that happened,. It’s good to see you enjoying the sunshine, know what I mean?” He knocked his juice glass against hers with a wink and loped away.
Her gaze followed his retreating form for a moment before she caught herself and began fixing a plate. She glanced around at everyone, hoping no one had seen her looking at Val the way she had been. Yeah, she did know what he meant. Last night she could have been demon bait, which would have meant that this morning—if she’d lived—she’d have a serious aversion to sunlight and pancakes. No one needed to know they’d broken at least a half-dozen house rules, and in a couple of hours, they’d be home free, so to speak, at the Academy. It was a nice secret to share with Val, and she was grateful he hadn’t teased her about her pimple.
Allie was the first one to push away from the table and rush over. Allie was hopeless at stealth, no matter how hard she was trying to act like she was just coming over to get some juice. Allie’s mom and dad—Aunt Heather and Uncle Dan—looked like they were going to a funeral, but her Bubbie Stella and Pop Pop Frank were all smiles. They were dorm wardens at the school and would be getting Allie full time.
Her friend’s tiny button nose was a red bulb, her tea-and-milk complexion was streaked with dried salt lines, and her normally crystal-clear gray eyes were puffy, like she’d been crying. What had happened? This wasn’t Allie’s regular allergy-season look. She was truly upset. Her shoulders were sagging, and she kept twisting an overused tissue around in her hands.
Allie threaded her arm around Sarah’s waist, dipped her head low and said in a quietly frantic tone, “They’re making me nuts. Make them go away. I’ll be the laughingstock of the entire school if everyone finds out that my grandparents run the Upper Sphere dorms. They promised before that they wouldn’t let people know, but now they want to come with me to see me settled in? No!”
“It’s gonna be okay, seriously.” Sarah gave her friend a supportive hug. But they both knew the truth, the poor girl was doomed. Upper Sphere students hated rules and regulations imposed on them by the dorm monitors, and the moment they found out Allie’s grandparents were the enforcers, Allie would have hell to pay.
Trying to figure out anything positive she could say, Sarah pressed on. “Ayana’s Grandma Delores and Pop Pop Monte run the kitchen and maintenance services over there, and she lived, right?” Sarah added, searching for something positive to cling to. “Plus, Hyacinth’s and Donnie’s grands run the lower dorms. So don’t worry. The kids at school can’t hold that against you.”
Tami had come over to where they were standing to pour more black coffee in her mug, and from the surly way she did it, it was clear that her morning mood hadn’t improved. “Yeah, they can,” she muttered now. “Nobody else’s grands came to orientation to totally embarrass them in front of the whole school.” She flung her long brown hair over her shoulder, hazel eyes glinting with mischief. “You gotta work it to your advantage. Lotta kids in the Upper Spheres wanna get out, wanna go down the mountain with the Regulars. You have influence with the people giving out demerits. So, you know, one hand washes the other. Make ‘em think you have the power to screw up their day passes if they mess with you. I’d make ‘em be real nice to me.” She smiled, using what Sarah liked to call her vamp smirk, then she took a sip of her coffee and closed her eyes. “Damn, I hate mornings.”
“How do you think this stuff up?” Allie sniffed and glanced up at Tami.
“My mom passed a little political savvy to me. Glad I didn’t get my dad’s schnozz, though. Woulda sucked, puking up my guts all of first year. I would hate to be an Olfactor like him.”
Sarah had to silently agree. Freshmen Olfactors, otherwise known as Ollies, were infamous for their reaction to first-year training. Every new smell set them off.
“Just as long as they don’t split us up in the dorm—you think they’d actually do that? It’s bad enough the talent classes are going to be separate tracks,” Allie whispered. Her voice was tense, and she sniffed again.
“I told you what Ayana said. No. We’ll all be together in the dorm, so stop stressing before you start giving everybody static cling again.” Sarah glanced over to her uncle Jack and aunt Tara.
“Okay, okay,” Allie said, hugging herself as the girls headed back to the main table.
“You’d just better hope they’re gonna let us get out of this joint to even experience school,” Tami muttered under her breath.
Sarah cut Tami a warning look to knock it off and then nervously glanced around at the adults. Yeah, something was still wrong—big time. Her mother’s private warning to her dad last night, coupled with her own senses, told her there was a silent undercurrent of w
orry running through the group, and it went beyond general separation anxiety.
Tamara’s parents looked as worried as hers did; the only difference was that her aunt Tara had a cool, vampire reserve, her gaze slowly traveling over each of the compound kids, whereas her uncle Jack looked like he was ready to have a nervous breakdown. Whatever they’d seen on the hunt last night could not have been good. Later she’d have to pull Tami to the side so they could dissect the problem even further.
But Tami was right about one thing: They had to get out of the compound before one of the nervous parents changed their minds. Last night Sarah had been dreading going to school, today she was dreading staying at home. Just looking at the adults’ faces instantly clinched the decision for her. Going to the Academy with the whole gang was better than being left alone at home on twenty-four-seven lockdown with a bunch of freaked-out parents. Being able to be with Ayana again would be great… and maybe there’d also be someone else at the Academy like her—a blend of everything and master of nothing.
Sarah released a quiet sigh. At the Academy, maybe she could finally do something to make her parents proud—or make herself proud. She clearly wasn’t ever going to overachieve here. Maybe she could go away, train hard and come back awesome and filled out and beautiful. There was a hopeful thought.
As Sarah looked around, it was easy to tell who’d been out all night on the mission. Her dad was gripping a mug of coffee between his palms as though it was the only thing keeping his head from hitting his plate. His eyes were closed, he hadn’t shaved and a dark five o’clock shadow covered his jaw. Her mom yawned, picking at her fruit, and every now and then she wrapped her white silk robe around herself more tightly.
Uncle Yonnie’s wild afro looked like someone had been pulling his hair, and every few minutes his head would loll forward until he’d catch himself with a hard jerk, open his eyes and then go back to nodding. His daywalker fangs were down, like he just didn’t have the energy to retract them. She swallowed a laugh when her aunt Valkyrie stretched out a long, graceful amber wing and reached past aunt Jasmine to give her husband a shove to get him to stop snoring at the table.
