Nightborne Academy

by Jessica Morris

  “You have a lot to learn.”

  The long walk is silent except for the crunch of snow under our feet. My still-healing wounds are a throbbing mess and I force myself to keep pace with him. We finally reach the building I’d been abandoned in yesterday.

  “I’m sure Courtney didn’t tell you, but this is the Remedial Annex. If anyone sees you enter, they’ll assume you’re here to tutor someone, so don’t worry.”

  I’m not worried. Actually, it never even occurred to me that I should be worried. But now that I’m here, will Rendall be waiting? Or will I have to try to find another way to learn how to defend myself? There’s only so much a book can teach me.

  “Don’t worry. He’ll be there.” Grayson pats my shoulder and yanks open the classroom door. Inside, Rendall freezes mid-pace. He sees me and instantly pales.

  Well, that’s better than laughing at me, I guess.

  “I’ve delivered her. Make sure you teach her well. Now, I’m off for punishment.”

  “Punishment?” Rendall steps forward.

  “Yeah.” Grayson crosses his arms. “She got hurt when Courtney and I were supposed to be escorting her. So we have to be punished.”

  “Wait.” He takes another step toward me. “Who did this to you?”

  Grayson grabs my wrist and holds it up. He lets the bracelet fall. The burn scar remains from reliving Lacey’s last moments.

  Rendall’s eyes widen. “How?”

  “Rogues jumped her. She fought back and used too much magic, overloading the restriction bands. The one around her throat is worse.”

  It actually isn’t, but I wasn’t going to argue. This lie was easy to fall in line with.

  “It burned her out, so it’s like she’s starting from scratch. You’ve gone up against her, before, so you know how reckless she is with her power. Now that she’s completely empty, she has to relearn how to fight the way us plebeians do. With hard work.”

  “Hey,” I hit his arm, and he cuts a glare at me.

  “Is that true? You don’t know how to defend anymore?”

  I sigh and nod. “Yeah. Before, it was all instinct. I don’t even know where to begin building myself back up.” This is also true. If I was in trouble, Dad would exorcise the spirit or talk me through the situation. Now, I’m completely on my own and out of my element.

  “A genius.” He laughs. “No wonder I couldn’t beat you. You were a natural born genius.” His tension melts away and I shift from foot to foot in embarrassment.

  “You don’t have to laugh at me.”

  His laughter dies immediately. “Do you know how many people laughed at me when you beat me down for scoring higher than you?”

  I rub the back of my neck, feeling the slow throb of a tension headache building inside me. “No. But I imagine it was a lot worse than what I’m feeling right now.”

  He tilts his head and eyes me up and down. “No, I think you got it a lot worse than I did.”

  “Yeah, but that scar on your cheek.”

  “I left it there so it would remind me not to underestimate my opponent.”

  Relief relaxes the tension in my shoulders. So, Courtney was lying when she said he wasn’t helped after our fight.

  He comes close and peers at my wrist. “You overpowered your resistance gear again. Just how ridiculous are your reserves?”

  That’s right. Lacey had accidentally hurt him when she broke the bracelets in the arena. “I think the question is why they’re so weak that I can break them multiple times.”

  He rolls his eyes and turns away from me.

  Did I mess up again?

  “She’s all yours for four hours.”

  “Four?”

  “You get double pay for the extra two hours tutoring. Do you not want it?”

  “I do.” His enthusiasm makes Grayson smile.

  “Good. I’m off to punishment. She has to be escorted everywhere she goes.” He looks at me and winks on the sly. “We don’t know what powerful organization did this to her.”

  Organization, my ass.

  “See you later.” He leaves and I’m left alone with Rendall.

  We stare at each other, nervousness ticking away at the clock.

  I clear my throat. “Do you mind if I sit down? Everything hurts.”

  “Oh yeah, go ahead.”

  He’s way too gracious and nice today. I sink into the chair and stifle a groan of relief. “Can I ask a personal question?”

  Tension locks him ramrod straight. “I might not answer.”

  “Fair enough. What do you need money for?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re willing to help me, even though you hate me so much. So, there must be a reason.”

  “I need a cram book. Actually, I need four of them if I want to outpace you next year. There’s also a spell book I need to advance another level. I’m so close now.” He holds himself with pride and I realize it must be a big deal.

  “Congratulations. You must have worked really hard.”

  “What do you mean by that?” He’s back to spiky porcupine defense mode. Even his brown hair is standing up in short spikes.

  “I mean that it’s awesome you got this far without the books you need. You obviously study and work hard. It’s a compliment. Not an insult.”

  His tension left in an instant. I guess it will take some time to get used to one another. “Oh. Okay, well, let’s get started. I was told to provide you with the basic materials, so here you go.”

  He hands me a small slim book. A Cram Book of Defensive Spells for Beginners.

  A cram book? Can you even speed learn spells? Is that a thing?

  I open the book to the first chapter. Defense Auras.

  “The first spell you’ll need to learn, or relearn, actually, is the body shield spell. It uses your aura to manipulate the air around you, lessening the impact of projectiles. I’ll demonstrate. Look up.”

  I raise my head and he tosses me a dry board eraser. “Throw it at me.”

  I do and it hits an invisible wall about six inches from his body. Well, invisible to everyone but me. To me, I saw a spike of golden light right before the impact. His shield timing is pretty impressive.

  My eyes widen and I grin at him. “Wow. Okay.”

  He narrows his gaze. “Don’t act overexcited. I’m not quite at the one foot all around stage like you, but I’m getting there.”

  I brace my elbow on the desktop and sigh. Lacey, why are you making my life so difficult right now? “But I don’t know how to do it on purpose.” That was probably true.

  “Come up here and I’ll show you.”

  I get out of the chair and come to his side. “Most people can’t see auras, but they can feel them.”

  “I can see them.”

  His shocked expression makes me smile. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I saw your shield right before the eraser hit it.”

  He’s so expressive. No wonder Lacey could figure out his attacks ahead of time. “What does my aura look like?”

  “It’s gold. Shiny. Really awesome looking.”

  He grabs my arms and I freeze, expecting him to hurt me. Instead, he grins at me. “That’s what you meant?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “After our fight, you told me my shield was weak and that I needed to improve my timing so it would shine.”

  Is that what Lacey meant? I couldn’t be sure, but he seemed so much happier now. And that was going to make things so much worse if he finds out I’m not my sister.

  Guilt, my constant companion, you should just pull up a seat and stay with me for the next four hours. “Your efforts paid off. It looks beautiful. It appeared a split second before the impact.”

  “A split second?” He presses his lower lip in with his thumb and stares off beyond me, trapped in his thoughts.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You could see the shield before the impact. That’s no good. If someone else can see auras, they’ll be able t
o counter my attacks.”

  He stares at me with dawning comprehension. “You are a natural aural reader. Do you see auras all the time?”

  “Most of the time.”

  “That’s why you were able to beat everyone.”

  “Not everyone.” I slump back into my seat. “Interpreting an aura doesn’t matter if the other person is faster than you are.”

  He pulls a desk closer to me. “That’s why you overpowered your opponents so fast in the arena. I’ve been studying your moves for years and I always thought you did it to humiliate us.” He buries his head in his hands.

  He might be right. Perhaps Lacey did attack this way. Maybe she didn’t. Until she shows back up so I can ask her, I won’t know.

  “So how do I keep myself from getting my ass kicked in the future?”

  “Now that I know how you’ve fought, I see why you need my help.”

  “Hey, you don’t need to insult me.”

  “No.” He waves a hand in irritation. “I teach elementary kids, kids who just manifested their powers, how to protect themselves and each other when they go out of control. I’m the perfect person to teach you. Be prepared, number one. I’m going to put your power to the limit.”

  And for the next four hours, I found my limits in both body and mind. But by the time we finished, I could create a small shield around me for a fraction of a second. I’d consider that a win.

  “Don’t practice anymore today. Wait until tomorrow so you can recover.”

  I wanted to argue, but my bone-weary body agreed with his assessment.

  19

  I arrive at Grayson’s dorm after a quick nap and a refreshing lunch delivered by one of Doc’s clones. It was getting harder to tell them apart. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting used to them or because my exhaustion is winning out over my perception. I’m hoping it’s the exhaustion.

  The door to the dorm opens and I see Grayson in a pair of jeans and a comfortable looking hoodie. I admit it, I’m completely jealous. I found some winter pieces of the school uniform and used that to try and keep warm. No use, though. I want a real jacket and loose clothes. The regulation on uniform required all of us to be in proper attire any time we left our living area.

  “Welcome to the evil empire.”

  I shudder as I come inside, instantly appreciating the toasty warmth of the entrance hall. “Evil empire?”

  “Only regular rule breakers can stay here. Feel privileged.”

  “Thanks?” I take off my scarf.

  “Let’s go to the study hall.”

  “You guys have a study hall?”

  “Yeah, our rooms are closets compared to yours.”

  “The girls dorms are pretty amazing.”

  “Not the dorms. Your dorm room.” His emphasis draws my attention. “You’ve been at the top of the food chain since you got here, so you don’t know.”

  “Know what?”

  He knocks his knuckles against a window and a guy opens the blind. “What do you want?” he asks through a speaker. There doesn’t appear to be any way to get inside and no access to the man. He wears a badge like the ones the gate guards wear. I guess these guys were the security team.

  “Oh it’s you, Grayson. What is it?” His gaze shifts to me and the expression on his face changes instantly. “Who is this?”

  “Lacey Reynolds.”

  “Why is she here?”

  He seems more nervous than suspicious. His reaction is interesting.

  “Tutoring while I’m trapped here. The headmistress approved it this morning.”

  I glance up at Grayson and he winks at me, pretending as though he’s got this in the bag. His aura, on the other hand, tells me he’s nervous. I hide my smirk and lean forward while he’s searching for whatever he needs to find.

  “He says you have study rooms. Can I go ahead and set up? It’s freezing right here.”

  “He’s actually not allowed to be out of his room.”

  “Then why did he answer the door?”

  “Because I’m the only one in the dorm. Joe’s got a remote entrance and exit so we can’t jump him. Isn’t that right?” He grins again, and the guy behind the glass rolls his eyes.

  “Then, I’ll just go to his room.”

  Grayson and the guard stare at me. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “You really shouldn’t—” They crossed each other in their warnings.

  I smirk and walk down the hall. “As a tutor, there’s nothing preventing me from entering, right?”

  “As long as the door is left open—”

  “Joe, come on, man.”

  “What? It’s the truth.”

  The building was only one level, so that meant his room was somewhere around here. I walk down the hall backwards, watching his expression and his aura’s responses as I touch each door handle.

  I get to the end and his agitation expands. My hand pushes down on the door handle and he turns to smoke, landing in front of me the moment the door slides open. His hand grabs the handle and jerks it shut.

  “What do you have in there that you don’t want me to see?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I just got permission from the headmistress for you to use the study room.” The announcement brought a smile to my face and I let the handle go.

  “Sometime in the future, I’ll see what you’ve got in there that’s so important to protect.”

  He glares at me and then pushes me toward the living area. “Joe, tell her how to get to the study room. I need to get my books.”

  “Not even a peek?”

  “Go.” He locks the door then turns to smoke and slides under the crack at the bottom.

  “Convenient.” I roll my eyes and turn back to the guard. “So, where’s the study room, Joe?” The man is sweating buckets, so whatever he has in his room must be interesting. My guess is whatever is in there is the reason Joe relaxes the rules of his restriction. Supernatural powers or not, people are still people.

  “The study room is past the kitchen to the right. Make sure you sign the visitor log before you go.”

  “Thanks.” I take the pen and binder, open it up, and sign Lacey’s name. Well, her first initial anyway. I didn’t recognize any of the other visitors, but then again, the number of people I know here can be counted on one hand. And almost all of them either hate my sister or have it out for me.

  “It may be dusty. There’s not a lot of studying going on in this dorm.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Grayson yells from his room.

  I shoulder my backpack on and hunt the elusive study room. Yeah, what would Joe think if he knew Grayson was the one tutoring the number one student in her grade? The unstoppable overpowered and feared Lacey Reynolds?

  My jaw clenches and I stride past the neglected kitchen to a door beyond. I open it and switch on the light. The inside is about the size of a small motel room. Four people could fit in here comfortably. Not bad.

  “Sorry for the mess,” Grayson looms in the doorway, a stack of books in hand. One big table dominates the room and a couple of isolated desks with cubicle walls are crammed in the corners.

  “It’s fine. I’ve slept in worse places. You should see some of the ragged motels we stayed in while traveling.” I drop my backpack onto a chair and wander around. Grayson drops the books on the table and I glance over. “So what are we learning today?”

  “Introduction to magic arrays. Basic magic study. Introduction to herbology and magic systems.” He selects a few of them and tosses them toward me. I lean in to take a peek. They don’t have titles or cover pages, just black books with the Nightborne Academy logo on it. Exactly like the handbook.

  “These don’t look like regular textbooks.”

  “They’re not. These are teacher handbooks for elementary school children.”

  My gaze meets his and his smirk makes me want to throw something at him. I blow out a breath and focus on the moment and the excitement of learning somethi
ng new.

  “Which one first?”

  “Magic systems. Get your notebook ready.”

  I take it out and sit down.

  “There are six approved magic systems taught at Nightborne Academy. Enchantments, elementalist science, summoning, seals and barriers, aura discipline, and death magic.”

  “Death magic doesn’t seem like it fits. Why not healing magic?”

  “Healers aren’t born or nurtured. They’re made. And this Academy believes the healing arts are more suited to less dangerous people.”

  I settle back in my chair. Even the headmistress calls her students monsters. “That makes sense. But why these systems? Aren’t there more?”

  “There are thirty-six of them, but these six cover the abilities of most of the students who arrive in the Academy. They had to learn how to deal with them early on.”

  “Death magic and aura magic seem to be my dominant systems. What were my sister’s?”

  “She never specialized. What do you mean aura magic? I thought you were tested for death magic only.” Tension thrums through him and I wonder if I slipped up telling him.

  “We found out today, actually. I can see auras when they appear.”

  “Can you see mine?”

  I swallow. “I think so, but you already know that from when we talked to the doc.”

  “The smoke you described is my aura? What does it look like now?”

  “You want the truth?” I settle back in my chair and note the chaotic smoke aura billowing around him.

  “Yes.” Seeing the clench of his jaw, the taut expression on his face, the muscles coiled to fight, I knew this was an important question to him. Aura or not.

  “It’s fascinating. Beautiful, black smoke that changes every second. There are silver threads the same color as your hair that occasionally show up. I could watch it for hours and never get bored.”

  His jaw drops open and his shoulders sag. “What?”

  “You asked.” I take my pen and tap the end on my notebook. “So now that you know I can read auras and possibly use them, will that change how you teach me?”

  Grayson taps the remaining books in his stack. “Yeah. Actually, it does.” He leans forward on the table, bracing his elbows as he rests his face in the palms of his hands. The chaos of his aura smooths, although it jerks in action every time he glances up at me.