Night School

by Mari Mancusi

  She approaches the stage, bowing low to the prime minister before speaking. “I’ve journeyed to the Dark Court and back,” she says. “And I have proof they were not involved at all in Queen Tatiana’s murder.”

  “What?” the Prime Minister cries. “But if not them, then who?”

  “Apple Blossom,” Heather pronounces, looking scornfully at the groom. “He had her killed and blamed the Dark Court. That way, he could not only gain the power he sought through his son becoming king, but also gain support for the fairy war he’s been itching to start for years.”

  The prime minister stares at Heather in horror. “This can’t be!” he cries. He turns to Apple Seed. “Is this true?” he demands. “Did your father do all of this?”

  “You should know your father is dead,” Mom adds. “So don’t go thinking he’s going to save you from any of this.”

  Baby Apple hangs his head in shame. “I didn’t want to go along with it.” He sniffles. “But my dad ... he’s really strict. And he doesn’t exactly take no for an answer.” He sounds so dejected I almost feel bad for the kid.

  “Guards, take him away!” the prime minister commands, evidently having heard enough. Two burly fairy guards approach and grab the boy’s arms, dragging him offstage. The prime minister watches him go, shaking his head sorrowfully. Then he turns back to us.

  “Princess Violet,” he says, bowing low to my mother. “Please forgive me. I had no idea any of this was going on. They told me that your daughter had willingly come to fairyland. I didn’t know she was under a spell.” He lets out a slow breath. “And your mother. Nectar help us, we loved her so. It’s such a tragic loss—especially to know it was by the hands of our own people ...”

  Mom lays a hand on his arm. “It’s okay,” she says. “We’ve all made our mistakes. Mine was running from fairyland to begin with. If I hadn’t, none of this would have happened.”

  “And now we have no queen at all,” the prime minister says dejectedly. “I don’t know what will become of us.”

  Mom gives him a slow smile. “Actually, that’s not true,” she says.

  He looks up in surprise. “Are you saying you’ll let Sunshine stay?”

  “I’m saying I will stay myself.”

  I stare at her in disbelief. Wait, what? Did she just say—

  “Technically, I am still next in line for the throne, am I not?” she asks. “And I was hand trained by my mother from birth so I’m more than qualified to wear the crown. Of course, I hope it’s okay I don’t have my wings anymore ...”

  The prime minister’s face brightens and he smiles widely. “Of course! We’ll make you a pair of prosthetic ones—not a problem at all! This is such great news! The crown is yours. As it always should have been.” He turns to the crowd. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Queen Shrinking Violet!” he cries. The crowd cheers.

  Except for me. “Mom!” I cry, horrified. “You can’t—”

  She turns to me, her eyes filled with affection. “Sweetie, I don’t have a choice,” she says. “These people need me and it is my duty to help them. I can do good here—much more so than back home. I can bring peace to the courts, end the corruption, punish those who betray us—all the things I should have done a long time ago, instead of running away.” She reaches over and touches my arm with her hand. “I’m sorry. I wish there was another way.”

  “But you’ll live here?” Sunny cries, looking as upset as I feel. “Not with us?”

  She nods. “Heather will take care of you until you’re eighteen and go off to college. It’s something we talked about a while ago and she’s agreed to help.”

  “You planned this all along,” I realize. “Before the fairies even showed up.”

  Mom nods. “When your father came to Massachusetts and told me what had been going on, I realized what had to be done. We’d started making the arrangements, but were interrupted by Apple Blossom’s attack.”

  “Wow. I had no idea ...” I’m pretty much blown away at this point. My life and Sunny’s—completely turned upside down.

  “In any case, that doesn’t mean I won’t be around. We can Skype every night and you can come visit me every summer. And I want copies of all your report cards faxed directly to me. No slacking off just ’cause I’m not around to ground you.” She looks at us, tears in her eyes. “I know it’s hard. And I feel terrible for having to leave you. But I hope you understand this is for a greater good. It’s my destiny. And I’ve learned you can’t run away from your destiny.”

  Looking at her, standing tall and proud and noble, I realize she’s right. These people need her and I can’t be selfish. Just like Sunny and I want to live our lives the way we do, Mom should have the same right.

  “Oh, Mom,” I cry, throwing myself in her arms. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

  “No more than I’ll miss you. My girls.” She squeezes me back. “My precious, lovely girls.”

  We hug for what seems an eternity and then finally break free. Sunny steps forward, pulling the golden crown from her head and placing it reverentially on my mother’s. I draw in a breath. She looks so beautiful. Like a real fairy queen. A swirl of pride sweeps through me as she turns to the people of fairyland. They all get on their knees, bowing respectfully. Then they rise and let out a great cheer.

  And I find myself cheering right along with them.

  Epilogue

  Sunny

  Rayne looks a little healthier than usual as she greets me at the cemetery the evening after our father’s funeral a week later. She’s on leave for the night from the Bloody Ford Clinic, the Vegas-based vampire rehab she’s been staying at. She’s still pale skinned, of course—what else would you expect from a Gothy vampire like her?—but there’s a slight rose blooming on her cheeks all the same. Probably from all the regular blood she’s been drinking. No more starving herself or drinking the synthetic—she’s a full-fledged vampire now. And when she gets out in a few months, she’ll be assigned a donor, just like the rest of the coven.

  “I still can’t believe he’s gone,” she says, staring mournfully at the mound of dirt that covers the remains of our father. Mom shipped them here from fairyland so Heather could give her husband a proper burial. “I feel like I’ve wasted all these years hating him. And now I can’t even make up for lost time.”

  I reach over and grab her hand, giving her a comforting squeeze. “At least you got to say good-bye,” I murmur, feeling tears well into my own eyes. “I hate that I never got a chance to see him one last time. He was a much better father than we gave him credit for.”

  Rayne kicks the ground with the toe of her boot. “It’s weird, you know? Trying to let go of all that anger I held inside all those years? All that misplaced hatred took up a lot of room. I feel ... I don’t know. A little empty, to be honest.”

  I give her a rueful smile. “Well, are you talking about it? In rehab, I mean.”

  She nods. “I’m trying to. It’s tough to open up. But I think it’ll be worth it.”

  “I know it will be,” I reply, reaching over to give her a big hug. “I love you, sis. Thanks for saving my life.”

  “Again,” she teases.

  “Yeah, yeah. Whatevs.”

  She pulls away from the hug and we start walking back to the parking lot. “So speaking of, what’s going on with the whole evil Slayer Inc. thing?”

  I frown. “Well, when I brought Jareth and his army back to Riverdale, the whole place was abandoned. Teachers, students—all gone. And it appeared they left in a hurry.”

  “With my blood,” my sister adds, scowling. “What about Night School? Were the failed experiments there?”

  “Yeah, they left all their comatose victims in that room you told us about. But with the electricity out, there was nothing to keep them alive.” I shake my head as I recall the horror of that room. The smell. “Many of them died. A handful survived, but they’re starved and stuck in deep comas. Teifert is putting his best people on them, though. If we can brin
g them back to consciousness, we might get some useful information.”

  Rayne shakes her head. “Wow,” she says. “Well, I guess it’s good Teifert and Heather aren’t part of the evil faction. I’d hate to have to slay my mentor or stepmom.”

  “No kidding,” I reply. “And the best part is—now everyone’s working together. The vampires, Slayer Inc., and even the fairies. We’ll totally get your DNA back before the evil part of Slayer Inc. discovers the secret formula.”

  “And Mom? Have you talked to her lately?”

  “For about an hour last night. She’s doing great. She sounds really happy. David even came for a visit last week. Sounds like they’re going to try to make the long-distance relationship work.”

  Rayne nods approvingly. “I’m glad for her. I miss her, but I know she’s doing what she has to do.” She looks at me curiously. “What did you decide about your wings?” she asks.

  I can feel my face turn a bit red. “I decided to keep them,” I confess. “I had them trimmed down so I can fold them neatly under my clothes. But to be honest, I’m not comfortable with having them amputated just yet. I mean, what if something happens to Mom someday and they need me to take over?” I shrug.

  “I thought you were determined to stay human at all costs,” my sister reminds me with a small smile.

  “I was,” I admit. “But seeing Mom up there, facing her responsibilities head-on, well, that was pretty inspiring. So I’ve decided to keep my options open. Take things one day at a time. Besides,” I add, after a pause, “Magnus thinks they’re hot.”

  Rayne grins knowingly at me and we break out into giggles.

  “What about you?” I ask.

  “Amputated,” she replies. “I decided being a vampire-vampire slayer was enough to be without adding fairy wings to boot. I guess I’m still technically a fairy. But no one has to know. Especially since I won’t be caught dead wearing pink.”

  I smile ruefully, realizing how much I’ve missed her. “Oh, Rayne,” I say. “Never change.”

  We’re about to step into the limo to go back to Heather’s condo when suddenly a black Jaguar screeches into the parking lot. Rayne looks at me and I shrug. A moment later, Magnus and Jareth burst from the car.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, catching Magnus’s white, worried face, my heart suddenly pounding in my chest.

  “It’s Corbin,” Jareth replies.

  Now Rayne’s face drains of its color. “What about him?”

  “He murdered the doctor doing the memory erase. And then he ransacked the coven headquarters, breaking into our safe and stealing some very top-secret documents.”

  “Oh God!” Rayne cries. “Do you think he ...?”

  Jareth nods grimly. “I think he’s gone back to his friends at Slayer Inc.,” he says. “With information that could compromise our entire operation.”

  “Oh no,” my sister says, leaning against a gravestone for support. “This is all my fault. If only ...” she trails off, looking ashamed and miserable.

  But I grab her and pull her to her feet, feeling my fairy powers surge inside of me. I may not be a vampire, but I’m no longer a helpless mortal girl anymore either.

  “Well, then,” I say, giving Magnus a confident smile, “let’s go track them down. I think it’s time to teach Slayer Inc. a lesson.”

  After all, no one messes with the Blood Coven. Not on my watch, anyway.

  ∼ TO BE CONTINUED ∼

  “Hey, Sunny, over here!” I look up from stuffing my field hockey stick into my bag, my eyes widening with horror as they fall upon a long, black stretch limousine, pulling up curbside to my new high school, behind the waiting school bus. The window slides down and from inside I can see Magnus, still shadowed in the darkness, beckoning for me to come over. I try to pretend I don’t hear him. Don’t even know him. So of course that makes him shout even louder.

  “Oi! Sunny! I’m right here!”

  “Whoa, who’s the hottie?” whistles Kierra, the field hockey center and one of the only potential friends I’ve managed to score my first week here at Las Vegas High School. In other words, the last person on Earth I want to introduce to the master of the Blood Coven—one of the largest vampire groups on the Eastern Seaboard—aka my current boyfriend, Magnus. Who, I might add, may soon become my former boyfriend Magnus if he doesn’t pull away from my high school parking lot in the next five seconds.

  Kierra squints to get a better glimpse into the luxurious limo. I mean, really, Magnus? A freaking limo? Could we get any more My Super Sweet Sixteen if we tried? These girls are so going to get the wrong idea about me.

  “Wow, Sunny,” chimes in Hana, the goalie. “You’ve been holding out on us!”

  Magnus grins, tossing the girls a friendly wave. My only saving grace is the knowledge that he’ll literally catch on fire if he tries to step out of the car and into the sweltering Vegas sunshine.

  “Is he your boyfriend?” Taylar, the midfielder, queries.

  I try to send Magnus mental signals to vacate the premises. If only I had vampire telepathy like Rayne does with Jareth. Then again, I think she only has the ability to summon her boyfriend to her, not away. Which, evidently, I don’t need special superpowers to do.

  I realize the three girls are staring at me questioningly. “Oh, him?” I stammer. “He’s just ... some guy I know.”

  “Yeah. Some guy in a limo!” Taylar adds. “It’s like, seriously so Chuck Bass in Gossip Girl!” She pretends to swoon.

  “Yeah! And you’re like Blair!” gushes Kierra. “Except, you know, without the designer wardrobe.” The three girls study my tank top and jeans ensemble from Old Navy with critical eyes. I am so going to kill Magnus. What is he even doing awake this time of day, anyway?

  “Hi, Chuck Bass!” coos Hana, running over to the limo and sticking her head in. She’s quickly joined by Taylar and Kierra. “Buy any hotels lately?”

  Magnus cocks his head in question. “I’m sorry?”

  “Um, he doesn’t get out much. I mean, stay in much,” I interject, running to the car and pushing them aside. “I mean, he doesn’t watch a lot of TV.”

  “Actually, I do quite enjoy The Vampire Diaries,” Magnus interjects with a sly smile.

  Oh. My. God.

  The field hockey players squee in unison, squeezing past me, their heads all trying to fit through the limo window at once.

  “Want to come hang with us?” Hana asks.

  “We’re going to crash the Mandalay pool to catch some rays,” adds Kierra.

  “And no offense, man, but you sure look like you can use some,” teases Taylar playfully.

  “I appreciate your offer, ladies,” Magnus says grandly. “But I must regretfully decline. Perhaps another day, or night, I mean, after the sun goes down.”

  Okay, that’s it. I’m done. I push through the blockade of girls and yank open the limo door. “Sorry, they’re busy,” I reply, before any of them can answer. I dive into the limo and slam the door shut behind me. “See you guys tomorrow!” I cry, stabbing at the window button, praying it will move faster the more times I press it.

  “Can we, like, go?” I bite at the chauffeur as I watch my new friends try to squint through the one-way glass. Luckily the guy obliges and we pull out of the school parking lot at long last. Excellent. Now I can at least die of embarrassment off of school property.

  “Sunny?” I realize Magnus is staring at me questioningly.

  I turn to him. “What the hell was that, Magnus?” I demand.

  “What was what?” he asks innocently. “I just thought you’d like a ride home.”

  “Yeah. In a school bus. Or a normal car. Not a stretch limo. Do you know what they’re going to think of me now?” I can just imagine them texting their friends as we speak. Three days at my new school and I’m already going to be limo girl with the bad wardrobe.

  “I’m sorry, Sunny,” Magnus replies, sounding slightly amused. “But limos are just easier for me to get around in during the day.” H
e pauses, then adds. “Next time I’ll bring the Jag.”

  Argh. I flop back in my seat, so giving up.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong?” I repeat. “Hmm, I don’t know, Magnus. How about the fact that I’m starting a new school and I’m trying to make friends and fit in. That’s not easy to do when my vampire boyfriend shows up with a limo and starts talking all weird to my friends.”

  “Come on,” he cajoles. “I thought vampires were all the rage with high school girls these days.”

  I glower at him. “Only if they sparkle.”

  Magnus starts laughing at this. I try to frown, to keep being mad, but I have to admit, it is kind of funny. And soon I find myself giggling alongside of him.

  “Am I forgiven then?” he asks fondly, looking at me with his beautiful emerald eyes.

  I grunt. “Oh, I suppose.” I curl into his cool body, rejoicing at the feel of his long, lean frame pressed up against me. After all those lonely nights at Riverdale Slay School, I can’t resist a little cuddle from the guy every now and then. Even if he does refuse to follow orders to stay away from my high school.

  “Sorry,” I say sheepishly. “I know you meant well. It’s just ... I’m in a weird situation, you know? Going to a new school, trying to get people to like me ...”

  “Who wouldn’t like you?” Magnus asks, planting a kiss on my freckled nose. “You’re perfect.”

  “You’re prejudiced.”

  “Maybe so.” He tosses his head arrogantly. “But I’ve also had a thousand years’ experience to draw from. These girls you’re trying to impress? They’ve got seventeen, eighteen, tops.”

  I can’t help but giggle. “So you’re saying in a thousand years of searching, you’ve never found a girl as perfect as me.”

  “Vampire’s honor,” he says, holding his fingers up in a Boy Scout pose. Then he grabs me and pulls me close to him, kissing me hungrily on the mouth. I kiss him back, enjoying the feel of his soft lips moving against my own. It’s so good to have him back in my arms. I just pray he doesn’t have to leave again.