by L. A. Banks
Sarah stepped toward Melissa. “You had no right—”
Suddenly a strong hand landed on Sarah’s shoulder.
“Is there a problem, ladies and gentlemen?”
It was her grandmother.
“No, ma’am.” The words came out of everyone’s mouth in a disgruntled mutter at the same time.
“Good. Don’t let there be,” Headmistress Stone said, eyeing the group. “Melissa, the new Clairvoyants are ready for their tour. Please don’t keep them waiting.”
“Yes, Headmistress Stone.”
Sarah stared at Melissa with a frown. The girl didn’t strike her as the type who would volunteer to show new students around.
The headmistress didn’t wait to hear any more, she simply reinserted herself into the throng, saying good-byes and speaking to parents like the elder stateswoman she was.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but why don’t you go cool off?” Al said to Sarah, then headed off to catch up to Melissa.
“You cool off,” Sarah muttered to his retreating back, folding her arms over her chest. She was just glad the rest of the compound brothers hadn’t come over with Al to gang up on her, too.
“Sit with us at lunch, Al?” Melissa said, loudly enough to be overheard, leaning into him flirtatiously as they walked toward the waiting Clairvoyants. “That way we can really show you and your friends around later on.”
Furious, Sarah watched her brother walk away with Melissa and her two lackeys. Patty had disappeared as silently as she had appeared. Unbelievable—how could Al be that stupid? She was about to make a snide comment when she glimpsed Wil out of the corner of her eye. He was standing off to her side, looking very awkward. If anything diffused her rage a little, it was seeing Wil still standing there. She took quiet pleasure in the fact that he hadn’t followed Al and Melissa and her too-rude crew. He also hadn’t followed Patty, the real stunner.
It was a small victory, but she couldn’t deny that it still felt good, though she wasn’t altogether ready to forgive him for semi-siding with Melissa just yet.
Tami gave Wil the evil eye. “Friend or foe, dude? Decide now, because as you can see, war just got declared.”
Sarah elbowed Tami.
“What?” Tami protested, frowning. “It’s true. You saw how she treated us.”
“They really aren’t that bad once you get to know them,” Wil said.
He burst out laughing at their highly skeptical expressions. Sarah and Tami glanced at each other, then had to laugh themselves when they realized how they must have looked.
Sarah liked the sound of Wil’s laugh. It was rich and deep and genuine, and it made her feel warm and tingly all over. And his smile was positively gorgeous. She loved how he got little crinkles in the corners of his sea-green eyes.
Would it be so wrong to forgive the poor guy for one teeny little mistake?
“Okay, okay, so maybe they can be like the Macbeth’s witches,” Wil said, still laughing.
“You pulled that out of my head, didn’t you?” Sarah said, laughing harder.
“Guilty,” Wil said sheepishly, and raked his hair with his fingers. Then his smile faded, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. “We grew up together. So even though they’re not always the nicest people, it’s…force of habit, I guess.”
“Well, that’s cozy,” Tami snapped.
“No, it’s not like that. It just is what it is…history, family, what can I say?”
Both Sarah and Tami stared at him.
“Long story,” he said, smiling at Sarah.
“We’ve got time,” Tami said, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Look, I’ve gotta go catch up with my division and get my stuff into my room.” He turned to go.
“Hey,” Sarah said, and he turned back around. “Congratulations.”
Wil gave her one of his full-blown gorgeous smiles. “Thanks. See you later. He gave them a wave and jogged off in the direction of the black-and-gold flag bearer.
Sarah spun on Tami the moment Wil merged into the crowd and shot her a hard look.
“What?” Tami put up her hands, laughing. “If you had let me dig harder, I would have gotten the vital intel you need to know before you plunge headlong—”
Sarah clamped her hand over her friend’s mouth. “Would you please be quiet?”
“You’re smothering me,” Tami mumbled through her laughter. Once Sarah removed her hand, Tami took a huge, theatrical breath. “I’m just looking out for you.”
“I sure wish you’d look out for me,” a deep male voice said, giving both girls a start.
The red-and-white flag bearer was no longer holding his division colors. He was leaning against a pillar with his long legs crossed at the ankles, arms folded over his broad chest, and his electrifying gray eyes were eating Tami alive.
Sarah opened and closed her mouth in disbelief when her girlfriend giggled and then blushed.
“I see you don’t mind mixing it up,” he said, looking Tami up and down. “I like that…a chick who won’t get all girlie and scream and fall when the monster comes.”
“I do all right,” Tami said, smiling wider, but speaking in the most bashful voice that Sarah had ever heard from her.
Could this really be Tami?
“That’s good to know. Can’t have a woman who can’t hold her own, you know what I mean? Anybody with sense would want a girl who looks good enough to eat but won’t wind up demon bait.” He licked his lips sensually and then pushed away from the pillar. “See you around, Tamara.” He winked, and in the next instance had rounded the pillar and was gone.
“Did you see that?” Tami whispered, squeezing Sarah’s arm.
“Yeah, I saw it,” Sarah said, worried.
“Ohmigod, he’s got vamp stealth!”
“Yeah, but—”
“I have to find out his name,” Tami gushed. “Ohmigod, he knows my name!”
“Listen, Tami, that guy—”
Just then a voice interrupted.
“Hi, I’m Jessica Porter,” a thick-bodied girl wearing Upper Sphere colors said. She had an honest smile that seemed to light up her warm, cocoa-brown face. Her dreadlocks were thick, dark and caterpillar fuzzy, and they hung down to her shoulders, bouncing as she spoke. Jessica’s voice embodied that same lyrical quality that Sarah’s Uncle Monte, who was from the Caribbean, had. The new girl’s friendly, inviting eyes accentuated the warmth of her voice. Sarah recognized her as an older Blend from after the ceremony when all the students grouped around their division’s flag. “I see you’ve met our self-proclaimed queen.”
“I guess you could say that,” Tami said dryly, knowing the other girl was referring to Melissa Gray.
Jessica shook her head. “Yeah, we knew she wouldn’t like you.”
Sarah and Tami glanced at each other, not sure how to take that.
“I’m Bebitta Mettullus,” a new girl said, walking over to stand next to Jessica and waving. “Ethiopian by way of London.”
Sarah gazed up at the tall, agile beauty with huge, dark eyes rimmed in the thickest, most luxurious lashes she’d ever seen. Bebitta wore a long fall of braids that spilled over her Upper Sphere sweater.
“That’s Andrea Goodwin,” Jessica said, pointing out another girl. “And that’s Ernest Scheeler.” She indicated the tall, lanky flag bearer for the Blends.
Jessica put her hands on her hips and smiled. “Well, everyone ready for the grand tour?”
Sarah wasn’t sure if she’d ever be ready, but what was the point in saying so?
Chapter 9
There were so many names, faces and feelings to sort through that Sarah’s head was spinning. But it was good to be walking. She needed to move. Donnie and the other boys had gone off with Ernie Schneeler. The girls were left in a tight, nervous huddle to stand with Jessica and company.
Student groups were splitting off from one another, each taking a different exit to avoid overlapping narratives as their student guides showed them the r
opes.
“Okay, look, we’re going to do this tour a little differently,” Jessica said, leading them down a hallway. She stopped and faced them. “We all know some crazy stuff has been happening, and we think there are some things you should know in order to protect yourselves. The other kids are getting some of this on their tours, but we’re going to show you some things that they aren’t being shown.”
“But we’re at school,” Sarah said nervously. “Nothing should be able to happen to us here, right? Did the missing students wander off campus or something…? I mean, the actual school is safe, right?”
“That’s what Arthur and Casey thought, too, I’m sure,” Jessica replied, looking grim. “So did the two faculty members and the couple of Upper Sphere fliers from the Spec division who went out to try to save them.”
Tami and Sarah glanced at each other, horrified, but hanging on Jessica’s every word.
“How well did you know them?” Sarah finally asked.
“We all know each other pretty well,” Jessica said, rubbing a hand over the back of her neck. “As you saw, there aren’t that many Blends in the school. With you three we’re twenty-one total. So we tend to stick together. But we were especially close to Casey.”
“What happened?” Tami asked.
“Come on,” Jessica said, turning around. “Let’s walk and talk. I’ll tell you what I can along the way.”
“Hey, guys, wait up,” Ayana called out, running to join the group. She gave Jessica, Bebitta and Andrea a quick hug. “Okay, if I take the newbs for a private family tour?”
“Oh, so now you’re poaching our new Blends?” Jessica said with a big grin.
The older girls laughed and gave each other affectionate shoves.
“They’re all right with me,” Ayana said to Sarah and her friends with a smile. “They made life here bearable while those who shall remain nameless gave me the blues.” Ayana and Jessica exchanged a meaningful glance.
“We’ll go keep an eye on your other two younger sisters from the Net-pound,” Bebitta said.
“Yeah, especially the one all by herself with the Clavs. She seems sweet and we’ll do what we can,” Andrea said, hustling off with Jessica and Bebitta.
“Okay, the rest of you Blends, follow me,” Jessica announced.
Jessica then turned to Sarah and Tami. “You’ll be in good hands with Ayana. For a Clav, she’s a good egg.”
“Thanks,” Ayana said as the other Blends waved and left, and then she turned back to Sarah and Tami. “C’mon, guys, I have so much to fill you in on that it’s ridiculous.”
Sarah couldn’t force her mind away from the questions tumbling around in her head as they walked. She barely noticed where Ayana was taking them.
“See, here’s the thing,” Ayana said, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “The two kids who’ve gone missing, Arthur and Casey, weren’t rule breakers. Those two were straight arrows and would have rather given their eye-teeth than get in trouble for sneaking into town or anything like that. They were the last people I would have thought would go out after curfew, for cryin’ out loud.”
Ayana stopped walking and pulled the girls into an alcove, drawing them in closer and dropping her voice. “Art was a science whiz—one of the best in the school—with an ace nose and second sight that allowed him to replicate any formula or spell batch if he’d sniffed it once. That guy was studying for advanced class placement tests when he went missing, so why would he sneak out after curfew and blow a chance at moving up? Same with Casey,” Ayana added, leaning in closer. “She was a solid intuitive with a photographic memory, and word had it that she was being considered for Shadows division, so none of this makes any sense. They wouldn’t risk doing something stupid. It just wasn’t in their nature.”
“Do you think someone forced them to leave the school?” Sarah asked with raised eyebrows, worry lacing every word. “Or lured them out somehow?”
Ayana stared at Sarah and Tami with a puzzled gaze. “That’s the problem, nobody really knows. But around here, anything is possible.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tami whispered nervously.
“Listen, there’s a lot of stuff that happens here that even the instructors don’t know about.”
Silence momentarily strangled their conversation.
“You’re gonna hear all sorts of speculation, okay,” Ayana warned. “Stuff like, what if somebody drugged them and kidnapped them from campus…or planted a hypnotic suggestion that made them leave school on their own—something they normally wouldn’t have done.” She glanced around to make sure no one else was around to overhear them. “Everybody is so paranoid now, it isn’t even funny. But the rumor mill is right, anything could have happened.”
Sarah’s eyes widened as Tami’s mouth dropped open.
Ayana put her arms around them in a quick three-way hug. “But, look…seriously, if someone was actually coming into the school to snatch kids, this place would have been shut down faster than you could say your own name. Don’t worry, guys. But also don’t be stupid, all right? If some guy asks you to sneak out of school and take a trip to town or to go make out somewhere, just say no, okay?”
Make out? Sarah just stared at her cousin. It was the first time Yaya had even broached the subject of sex beyond saying there were cute guys at school. Now that they were at the Academy, it seemed as though her relationship with Yaya, and the kind of information her cousin was willing to divulge was about to reach a new level. But right now Yaya just gave her a look that said, not now, wait until it’s just me and you.
Tami frowned, missing the silent exchange completely. “But why them? Why Arthur and Casey?”
Ayana shook her head and gave them a sad shrug. “We don’t know. That’s just one of the things driving us crazy about this whole thing.” Frustration had crept into her voice. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Sarah slid a supportive arm around Ayana’s shoulders. Ayana smiled at her and then seemed to pull herself together. The threesome began walking again, this time a little more slowly.
“Okay, first thing.” Ayana pointed to the symbols carved into the granite above a doorway and echoed on the floor. “Every passage has a series of protective symbols surrounding it, in case our school is breeched by the dark side. Watch.” She walked over the threshold into an inner chamber.
“Cool,” Tami murmured, clearly impressed when white light filled the lettering.
“If something is chasing you, cross a threshold,” Ayana said. “Whatever’s on your heels will fry. Just like the barriers Nana set up at home, with added prayer power.”
“These thresholds won’t react if you’re under hypnotic suggestion,” Ayana said, “but they’ll definitely get anything else.”
“But nothing’s ever actually come in here, right?” Sarah asked nervously, looking around.
“They had a breech once, in the old days, I heard.” Ayana glanced around as another group of girls passed them, brand-new students following their tour guide like little ducklings, waiting until they were out of earshot to speak again. “First day is hard enough, but the Neteru compound crew needs to know.”
“Yeah,” Tami said, looking at Ayana. “If something’s up, we definitely wanna know, Yaya. Seriously.”
“What happened?” Sarah said, rounding on Ayana and putting a hand on her arm. “If something got in here once, maybe it got in here again and abducted Art and Casey. It’s possible.”
“Okay, I’m going to tell you, but if Nana asks, you didn’t hear it from me, all right?” Ayana said on a weary sigh.
“We’ll probably hear it all in the lunchroom anyway,” Tami pointed out.
“And we’d rather get the straight story from you,” Sarah said in a pleading tone.
Ayana glanced around again, making sure no one was eavesdropping. “Well, when they first set this place up, a couple of walkers made it past the blackened forest… their noses led them. They could smell human flesh, human blo
od, even though they couldn’t see it. The school founders—our parents—hadn’t counted on that part. They had only put in safeguards for stuff that could fly and the more common entities, like werewolves, vamps and your basic demons, whatever. Word has it that they didn’t have the dragons up then, or even the telepathic tapestries—the place was still under construction. But there were already students in the lower chambers. A couple of faculty got torn to pieces, and a few even turned into the undead right in the Great Hall. They led the other walkers down into the student quarters, and the place was nearly overrun. Baba Shabazz put himself between the fleeing students and told Nana Marlene to stay with them until backup came. He didn’t want her to get the walker virus, and he couldn’t get it on account of being a shape-shifter.”
“Oh, my God! So what happened?” Sarah asked, her gaze ricocheting from Ayana to and Tami.
“There are a lot of different theories,” Ayana said. “Nana won’t talk about it—she says it just keeps negative energy swirling, and we should focus on our studies—but some say the Neterus—your mom and dad, Sarah—drove them back into the beyond the edge of the light. I couldn’t even pry it out of my mom. So all I can tell you is that because some of the faculty turned, there’s always the chance they could come back, and since they know the ins and outs of this place, if something is on your ass, cross a threshold.”
All Sarah could do was stare at her cousin. She’d had no idea….
“C’mon,” Ayana said after a moment. “So far, no student’s gotten eaten. Let’s go down to the bunker.”
Sarah and Tami didn’t move.
“It’s safe, I promise,” Ayana added, glancing over her shoulder and waiting until they began to follow her along the hall and then down what seemed like an unending spiral of stairs. “You remember how Aunt Marjorie taught conspiracy theories and American history at home?”
“Yeah,” Sarah said, glad to be off the subject of walker invasions.
“Well, this is the Project Greek Island she used to quiz us on, created long, long ago under American President Eisenhower. Remember how she told us that he’d built a bunker to withstand a potential nuclear war?”
