Nightborne Academy

by Jessica Morris

  I realize with surprise that he's right about the headache. I had no idea I had one until this moment. "Thank you," I say, and he looks at me with surprise.

  "You're welcome." He looks over at his body form and nods. Suddenly, he dissipates into smoke and slides back into Dr. Reese.

  My eyes widen. "Can you turn into smoke and travel?" I settle back against the pillow. Exhaustion weighs on me and I blink slowly.

  "That's an interesting question. Why would you ask me something like that?"

  I shrug, noticing that my body moves sluggishly. "What's wrong with me?"

  "I gave you a sedative, as well."

  "Why?" The word comes out thick and slow as I try to force my eyelids to remain open.

  "You talk in your sleep. No one else can know who you are." He touches my forehead. It's so much warmer than his clone's. I prefer that cooler touch.

  "You knew?" I ask, barely able to keep focus on his face.

  "Yes. I'll be testing the limits of your power in the future."

  I struggle against sleep, but I was losing at a rapid pace. "I don't want to sleep."

  "Relax. I'll keep a few clones with you. They'll alert me if anyone stops by."

  My consciousness fades and I curse fluently in my mind as I descend into darkness.

  7

  When I awaken, I open my eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling. I am no longer in the infirmary. It was a dreamless sleep. No more visions haunted me. The light shining through the window tells me that the moon is angled to hit the bed. When I woke up, it was nighttime. Now it's night again. Did I sleep for a full day? Or was it a few hours? I try to sit up, but dizziness assaults me and I fall back against the pillows.

  Movement out of the corner of my eye draws my attention toward one of the doctor's clones. "You're awake?"

  "How long have I been out?" My voice croaks the question.

  "Four days," he says. The smoke around him is faint and I can sense something a little different than before. Smoke splits off from him and forms another clone. It leaves him behind. Now that he's less, he feels more familiar.

  "Are you the same one who gave me the IV?" It feels like my throat is raw and drier than a desert.

  He looks surprised and tilts his head. "I'm not sure. My body will be here soon. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"

  "Water," I croak.

  He nods. "I will be right back."

  The door closes behind him and I stretch in the bed. All my muscles are tight and uncomfortable. It's similar to the pain from before, but not so devastating.

  A doctor that can split off into pieces. My sister's presence lingers around me, but I can't sense her like before. Is it because I'm so weak? I sit up and put the pillows against the headboard. Even that small thing leaves me shaking with exhaustion.

  The clone returns and hands me a coffee mug with water and ice in it. I raise my eyebrows but gulp it down without asking anything.

  I’m obviously not in the same room as before. It’s wide and spacious and the decorations are expensive and tasteful. Even the bed I'm on is more comfortable than any I've slept on before. This place really is different.

  The light through the window fades as though clouds passed in front of it. I take another long drink. The water soothes my throat and I start crunching on slivers of ice. The clone dissipates into smoke, leaving me with my thoughts.

  I drift back to the visions of my sister's death. The pain in her wrists and neck were exactly the same as that girl from before. How was she restrained? My chest doesn’t ache, so I’m not sure the binding chains were used.

  It was too similar to the other girl’s death.

  The voices around Lacey were mostly female, but that could be an auditory illusion. Lacey had explained a few things about magic in her letters, but what I knew could fill a page in a notebook and nothing more. I need to learn everything I can.

  "Glad to see you up. You had us worried." The doc comes in and I notice he's wearing regular clothes. No jacket, no scrubs, just jeans and a t-shirt. His hair is damp, but his clothes are dry, so I assume he's recently stepped out of the shower.

  "I heard I've been out for four days."

  "You have." He reaches my side and sits on the edge of the bed. I let him take my wrist to do whatever measurements he needs. He starts a standard inspection, eyes, ears, throat. Then he touches my forehead and warmth spreads from his touch to the rest of my body. The heat pools at my wrists and neck. The same areas where magic had exploded through Lacey.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I'm using magic to check internal damage of your body. Do you feel anything in particular?" His touch grows hotter and the flow within me becomes uncomfortable.

  I clench my teeth for a split second and then it sweeps away as though it never happened. I draw in a ragged breath. "That last bit was really uncomfortable."

  "Sorry about that. I didn't realize you were sensitive to it or I would have numbed you a bit beforehand." His grin said the opposite. In fact, it looks like he's happy. I can feel it. "Did you notice anything else?"

  "My wrists and neck grew hot and sensitive."

  He makes a small positive sound. "That's expected. Your scars have faded, but the magic damage still lingers."

  "What scars?" I hold up my wrist and see a faint outline around it, just wide enough for a bracelet. My heart thumps painfully in my chest. "How did I get these?"

  "You came in here with them. They looked like burns when you arrived but faded fast."

  "What caused them?"

  He shrugs and takes my hand in his. He runs his fingers over the scar and the burning feeling passes. "You tell me. Detective Cutter said you touched your sister's body and then froze. The next thing they knew, you were knocked back and bleeding from these wounds." He touches my other wrist and then my throat as he speaks, soothing the residual pain left by his magic.

  "My sister's body?"

  "The casket stayed in place and not a hair on her was harmed by whatever attacked you. Nightborne feared you were attacked, so our school stepped in to protect you. They immediately brought you here and put you under my care."

  "And you've watched me this entire time?"

  "Twenty-four hour surveillance." He touches my neck and soothes it immediately. I can swallow easier and my throat loosens up.

  With the doc this close, I notice the signs of exhaustion in his face. Face muscles tense, dark circles under his eyes, sagging shoulders. "I'm sorry for the trouble," I say. How many times has he split himself off to watch me? He probably has other responsibilities, too.

  The warmth of his touch lingers for a moment and then he pulls away to stand up. "Yep, you've been a real pain in the ass. Don't worry, you'll pay me back through testing your magic. I'm looking forward to researching more about your abilities."

  I clear my throat. "I'm not supposed to talk about them."

  He shrugs. "If I don't know how your abilities work, I can't help you strengthen your magic reserves. It's up to you, kid. Now that you're awake and mostly healed, I don't have to watch you around the clock. My shift with you ends in four hours."

  "What happens in four hours?"

  "Your first day of remedial tutoring begins. Now you can annoy them with your thousand and one questions." His smile turns sinister and I regret showing sympathy to such a jerk in the first place.

  "Why wait? You can just head home and rest."

  "See what I mean? More questions. I would go home, dear girl, but I have an obligation to hand you off to your security team. My shadows will protect you until it's time."

  "Shadows?"

  Suddenly, a form rises from beneath the windowsill. Its form is black and faint. It has eyes and a mouth, but the entire body is enveloped in black mist.

  "I heal people because it's interesting. These guys patrol the grounds at night. So you should stay out of trouble."

  I watch it dissolve back into the shadows and then stare openly at the doctor. "How much
power do you have?"

  "More than enough to shatter those toys you students wear. My job is to protect the lives and security of this Academy. Consider this a warning about breaking the rules on campus."

  "How will I know the rules?"

  "Read the handbook. Any questions you have can be directed at your teacher."

  The door opens an another clone carries a tray of food toward me. "Eat up," he says with a smile. "After you eat, you can take a shower and change. Your stuff has already been unpacked and placed in the closet."

  "Closet?"

  "Go through the door to the right of the bed and you'll find the walk-in closet and connecting bathroom."

  I turn my head and realize there was a door I hadn't noticed. "Why were my things brought here?"

  "This is your room. Everything is as your sister left it, as far as we know. If there's anything out of place, let Courtney know when she arrives tomorrow."

  "Who is Courtney?"

  "A friend of your sister's and the tutor supplied to help you get up to Academy standards before the break ends."

  Courtney? Is this another person who knows my real identity?

  "We'll leave you to your dinner. Leave the tray on the bed when you're finished, and my shadow will collect it. He can also help you walk as your strength returns. Eat everything on your plate. They're full of natural enhancers for magic recovery. If you want to feel normal again, you'll do as I suggest. I have already created a supplemental diet for you until you fully recover."

  I watch them all disappear into the doc and notice the color returning to his cheeks. My consciience gets the better of me. "Thank you for everything."

  "Just doing my job. Try not to get injured in the future. I get annoyed with return visitors." With that, he walks out and leaves me to this giant room. What kind of place was this that they would give their students something so huge? This single bedroom could house four regular motel rooms in it.

  I stare at the food on my lap and then look toward the window, wondering how different his shadow is from his medical clones. My gaze drifts around the spacious room, surprised at the minimalist design. It was almost sterile in its lack of personality. I expected more cheerful decor.

  As I move with the tray, the shadow errupts from the darkness and reaches my side. He takes the tray from my hands and I smile gratefully. "I want to eat at the table." It was small and near the window with stacks of books and a few other things.

  As he moves quickly, I try to stand. My balance wobbles precariously, but I use the bed to keep upright. My muscles ache and tremble, but I force my feet to take one step after another. The shadow lifts my arm, supporting me, and I accept his help. If the food will help me recover, I'll eat every bit of it.

  I sit down. There is soup in a closed, clear container, a few things I can't identify, and a roll. Was this the magical food? What a crock of shit.

  I open the soup bowl and inhale the warm scents. I smell chicken and tomatoes. And something else that makes my mouth water. Okay, I'll give it a shot. I dip my spoon in and blow on the hot liquid. A quick sip brings an explosion of flavor on my tongue.

  As it fills my stomach, ice and heat seem to form inside. Aching muscles ease and the tension in my body melts away. Ice travels down my legs and up again while the heat pools inside my chest.

  I look at the shadow with a smile. "Do you think your body will give me the recipe?"

  He stares at me and slips back into the shadows, leaving me alone. I sigh at his lack of personality and continue enjoying the soup.

  They are similar to the silver-haired guy I saw at the gate earlier, but not the same. I still feel like they’re related to one another. I flex the hand the headmistress had bruised earlier. There's no residual discomfort, no bruising. Four days of sleep should have left me sore and achy. But I'm more energized than ever.

  The door opens and I jerk around to find one of the doctor's medical clones coming toward me with a thermos.

  "Would it kill you guys to knock?"

  "I'm sorry. We have permission to travel in and out when needed while you recover. The body thought you would like more, so he sent this for you." He hands over the thermos and I say thanks immediately. He smiles. "It's no problem. How do you feel?" He tilts his head and watches me with an uncanny stare too similar to ignore. He really was an exact clone, unlike the shadow's more unrefined features.

  "Every bite seems to rejuvenate me. I feel cold and warm at the same time. Is that normal?"

  "Hmm." He comes to me and holds out his hand. "Can I feel your wrist?"

  I let it rest in his grip and that weird warm pressure pushes through me again. "Where do you feel the cold?"

  "At my legs and feet."

  "And the warmth?"

  "In my chest. Right here." I place my hand on the part just above my diaphragm.

  "Hmm," he says, and still holds my wrist.

  "Is something wrong?"

  "No, not wrong, just out of the bounds of our expectations." He smiles at me again. "You are healing at a much greater speed than expected. Congratulations. The body is looking forward to seeing the results of your blood test tomorrow." He releases my wrist and pulls a notebook out of his pocket.

  I wonder why they couldn't draw my blood while I was sleeping. I shrug it off and watch the clone jot down a few notes in the book. "Are you mentally connected to the doctor right now?"

  "Yes. How did you know?" he asks with a glance up at my face.

  "You respond in real time with what he's supposedly thinking. I didn't know if it was because you were connected or if he's really exhausted."

  "This level of work is nothing for our body. Have you noticed anything else?"

  "I seem less shaky. This soup. Can I get a recipe?"

  He tilts his head again and then freezes. "The body says you will need to master culinary magic as well as medical herbology one and two. Your sister hasn't taken them, so you're free to put them in your schedule this coming semester."

  Does that head tilt mean he’s mentally conversing with the doctor? "Is it okay to take the herbology one and two classes at the same time?"

  "If you want to learn this recipe, you'll have to work hard. We will be leaving this campus permanently during the summer break."

  "Why?"

  "It's a rotation. We must keep up our skills to maintain our license."

  "Oh. So it's like the normal world in that way."

  He folds the notebook closed with a snap of impatience. "From this moment until you leave the Nightborne, this is your normal and out there is a war zone for people like us." His glare chills me to the bone. "Don't forget it."

  "Okay. I won't."

  "You are not used to things here. Lacey Reynolds would never say something like that. We all hope you learn what is acceptable and what can get you killed."

  With that, he puts away the notebook and walks out, leaving the thermos beside me. I absently rub the still tender skin of my throat. Even the medicine doesn’t seem to help with these marks. There are things I don't know, and making a mistake like that in front of the wrong person would prove I'm not Lacey.

  8

  "Shadow, are you here?"

  The doc's shadow doesn't come to me. I stare at the spot where he'd disappeared earlier and walk through it, expecting a change in the air or some kind of presence. Nothing. I continue past the shadow area and there is not even a whisper of change within me.

  "I need to shower and change clothes. Do you know where my suitcase is?" I ask the air, hoping he'll pop out and help me.

  Nothing.

  I pull at the unfamiliar t-shirt and PJ bottoms. They were obviously well-worn and mostly comfortable, fitting me a little tighter than I would have liked around the waist. Too much road food this year caught up to me. I pat my stomach and walk into the closet. Uniforms line the hanging rack and a small set of drawers. What kind of Academy is this? Are all the rooms this huge? And a single bed dorm room. Lacey lived the high life.

&nbs
p; "Lacey, are you here?" I call to the empty room. She doesn't appear, and I keep searching. Was she still with her body? Did she leave or get exorcised through the funeral? What if Dad managed to weaken her further? With the clone not answering and Lacey not appearing, I'm left to figure things out on my own.

  While I'm here, I might as well see if I can find something to explain what my sister got involved with. What secrets does she have? I open drawers and see clothes. There doesn't appear to be anything hidden under them, no false bottom drawers, no hidden caches. I put everything back and keep looking around the small room. The closet is bigger than the living room in the apartment Dad rented by the week.

  Books covered in strange letters I can’t read sit on a shelf in the closet. Pulling a green tome from the shelf, I flip it open. The same strange letters. Looking at them makes my head spin. I close the book and put it back, pinching the bridge of my nose to ease the ache forming there.

  Where are my suitcase and backpack? Dad wouldn't bail without handing them over, right? I leave the closet and step out into the room, moving around.

  My gaze lands on the road-weary bags where they had been left on the other side of the bed. An envelope with my name scrawled across it sits on top of the suitcase; Dad's chicken scratch is easy to recognize.

  My gut twists and fists clench at my sides. Facing Dad's excuses can wait. Right now, I need to get my bearings.

  I glance at them and then walk to the window, drawing back the curtain to get a better view. Nightborne Academy spreads out before me. Yellow light spills from windows, showing me that I’m not alone, but there are no streetlights in sight. A small lake splits the campus and on the other side stands the huge building where I met Detective Cutter and the Headmistress.

  Did Lacey's funeral go well?

  I’m sure it did. Otherwise, that crazy woman in charge would make heads roll. Getting on her bad side seems like a really terrible idea. I take dad’s letter and set it on the pillow, then haul the suitcase up onto the bed and open it up. Jeans, hoodies, favorite shirts. I didn’t really wear pajamas, but the hoodie will be more comfortable than the shirt I’m wearing.