by Alicia Fabel
With her heart rate up, Annessa grew warm. She slipped her hands out of her sleeves and shoved back her hood. She didn’t figure it would last long before the cold seeped into her bones again.
Or maybe not.
A gentle dripping caught her attention. She took a closer look at the snow-covered limbs. It was melting? Spring must be coming, then. Not that she knew anything about spring in the mountains, but March seemed a little early. At the sound of voices, Annessa steeled herself. She was about to stroll right into a campus full of psychics. The unmistakable sound of a basketball hitting cement calmed her nerves, though. If they played ball, they couldn’t be too horrible, right? Plus, chances were no one would even notice her.
When she emerged from the trees, it almost looked like all of the campuses she’d toured in her former life—before life went sideways on her. But the impression of normality didn’t last long. A few girls jogged together around the edge of the snow-covered field in front her. In the center of the space were a few soccer goals, tennis courts, and a basketball court. Everyone wore shorts and t-shirts. The guys on the basketball court were shirtless. But that wasn’t the strangest part. A white fox ran beside one of the girls. And Annessa would swear the six guys on the basketball court looked identical. A moose stood nearby, eating the snow and watching the sextuplets pass the ball. On its back sat something that looked like a gray, chubby lizard-thing. A girl serving balls over a tennis net had fiber-optic hair. Blips of orange light swooped and flew all over the place, never seeming to land. When one came close, Annessa thought it looked like a butterfly. That was on fire. They burned butterflies?
Annessa didn’t notice a guy walking toward her until she heard him talking. He was alone but carrying on a full conversation. She didn’t figure he was actually talking to himself, though, after some of the things Axton had told her on the plane. Before she could duck back into the timber, he saw her. Halting mid-stride, they guy looked her up and down and not in a flattering way. More like she was an unwanted interloper. Which was technically accurate. Annessa was sweating like a beast. How had it gotten so warm?
“Who are you?” asked Mr. Angry-Eyes
“I’m a friend of the Marks.” Except this statement sounded like a question even to her.
He narrowed his eyes. And he wasn’t the only one. Annessa was gaining attention fast, and none of it friendly. “Who sent you?”
“No one sent me. I’m looking for Mr. Marks.”
“Oh, in that case, I’ll take you right to him,” said the guy, his face softening.
“Really?”
“No.” His face flicked back to hard lines.
Ah, yeah. She should have seen that coming—should have seen all of this coming. She really hadn’t thought through Mission: Storm Campus. Then again, no one had mentioned if she showed up, she would me met with instant hostility. People were moving closer. She suddenly understood why that lady in the airport had wigged out. These people were psychos.
“You know what?” Annessa inched backward. “I’ll just go back to the house and wait for them.”
When Annessa turned around, one of the ugly lizard things crouched in the midle of the path. The one riding the moose must have been a baby. This one was not.
Annessa gave Zoom a look. “Wanna go get some help?”
The wisp didn’t move.
“Zoom,” she hissed and he turned to look at her. “Can you get some help, please?”
Zoom ignored her. Instead, he stretched out to inspect the big gray beastie’s shadow.
“Oh good,” she muttered. “So glad we had that talk.”
Zoom poked the thing’s shadow, and it snapped at him. So he did it again. Annessa was certain the wisp found the snarling monster hilarious. Since it could quite easily remove one of her limbs if it chose, she found it less amusing.
“Zoom, knock it off.”
“Who are you talking to?” asked the guy.
“My wisp—Oh!” She pointed at said shadow. “See? That’s not mine.”
The guy’s face contorted into a mixture of fury and revulsion.
Annessa immediately understood her mistake. “It’s on loan. I didn’t steal it.” She almost cheered with relief when she spotted Elion, Sam, and a few others she recognized headed her way. Annessa pointed. “Those are my friends. They’ll vouch for me.”
Before that happened, Sam waved a hand. A cloud of white emerged from the air beside Annessa. She screamed a little. Who wouldn’t scream when a ghost materialized beside them for the first time ever? Even if it was an adorable young boy in shorts, knee-high stockings, and an endearing mop of hair.
“Mistress Samara said that if you harm a hair on this girl’s head, she will put a foot so far up your sunless doors that you will choke on her laces,” the ghost informed both beast and man. “I have no idea what she means. It’s as though no one speaks English around here any longer.” He nodded, content that he’d delivered the message, regardless of whether he knew what it meant.
Beastie clearly didn’t appreciate being told what to do and growled low. The boy narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth in response. It was the creature that gave up first and slunk away. The boy gave Annessa a victorious grin, but she was even more terrified by him after that. A ghost that could appear to anyone and scare away monsters? Nightmares for days. Days.
“She shouldn’t be here,” the guy grumbled to Elion and earned a whole range of piss-off looks from Elion’s crew. Angry-eyes turned on his heel and stalked away, shoulders back, head high. Despite all that, Annessa had the impression of a puppy with his tail between his legs.
The whole gang stared at her.
“I realize now that showing up unannounced and uninvited might not have been the best idea,” she began.
“Why are you here?” Elion asked.
“I’ve been trapped inside your mansion for a week, and I’m losing my mind.” Annessa swiped the sweat off her brow. “Why is it so warm?”
“Maybe you should take off a few layers,” suggested a girl younger than the rest. Annessa recognized her, thanks to those shocking baby blues, but she couldn’t remember her name.
“So I can freeze?” Annessa asked her.
“Nessa,” Sam cut in. “Look down.”
Annessa didn’t get why, but she looked down. “Am I supposed to be seeing something other than snow…” Annessa squinted. “That’s not snow.” She leaned closer and could make out millions of teensy white blooms that carpeted the campus.
“We have people here who can regulate the temperatures,” Sam explained.
It wasn’t just white blooms on the ground; they were everywhere. Silvery blue vines grew over everything with cascades of white flowers. The whole place was one big monochromatic garden. One of the burning butterflies flittered by. Annessa reached out to touch it, but Elion captured her hand.
“Careful,” he warned. “Flutterfires are as hot as they look.”
All Annessa could do was blink. And then she realized that Elion still had her hand. She pulled away, confusion and hurt replacing her awe.
“I was going to borrow a car and drive myself into town, but the keys were gone.” Annessa tapped her forehead. “Your parents did some mind-reading thing on me.”
“It’s not safe to go into town today,” Elion said, parroting his parents.
“I’ll wear a ski mask if I have to,” she said through her teeth.
“Wouldn’t matter,” said the younger girl at the back of the group. “Someone at that café was going to recognize you. And Elion might have died.”
Annessa gaped.
“Annessa, do you remember my baby sister, Quinn?” Axton introduced the girl. “I believe you’re the reason Quinn is obesessed with seashells.”
Quinn’s tight midnight curls bounced as she snapped her head around to glare at her big brother. “Stop calling me your baby sister. And do you really want to discuss obsessions?”
Axton glared back at his sister.
“It
’s nice to see you again, Quinn,” said Annessa. “You’re a student here?”
“Quinn’s a prodigy,” Sam said fondly. “She ruins the bell curve in all of our classes.”
“And she’s the one who was watching out for you,” Elion added. “She’s how we knew you were going to fall from that window.”
“You had her spying on me?” It was probably unfair to be as upset as she was by that. They had saved her life after all. But for some reason, every word that came out of Elion’s mouth raised her hackles.
“Good for you that we did,” Quinn replied without apology. “Although I’m still pissed they left me behind when they went to rescue your ass.”
“Language,” Axton said.
“I’m sixteen, not a toddler,” Quinn retorted. “So why don’t you go—”
“Quinn,” Elion interrupted. “Do you think you could find my dad for us? I’ll take Ness back to the house. He can meet us there.”
“I’m not going back there,” Annessa informed him. “If I have to sit in that house and stare at the snow for one more day, I will kill you myself.”
“Incoming,” Axton called.
Elion shuffled Annessa to the edge of the road as the growl of an engine approached. A guy on a motorcycle screamed past and pulled into a parking lot near a row of college-esque buildings. The man with the bear met him, looking far from happy. Motorcycle dude swung his leg over his bike and followed the man down a path without a word. But not before he looked over his shoulder, met Annessa’s gaze, and winked.
“Who’s that?” she asked.
“Ian, the idiot,” Quinn answered.
“He snuck out, even though campus is closed right now,” Sam revealed.
Bear-man twisted his head to stare in their direction too. He lifted a hand and pointed two fingers in their direction and then beckoned with them.
“Does he mean me?” asked Annessa.
“And me,” Elion confirmed.
The campanile chimed the hour. Everyone hanging out in the field began gathering their things.
“You’re going to be late,” Axton said to Elion.
“Yup.” He turned to Annessa. “We better hurry up before Wilt sends Henrietta back for us.”
“Henrietta is Wilt’s bear,” Sam said before Annessa could ask.
Bears, monsters, and flying fire hazards. For a moment, Annessa wondered if being holed up at the mansion was really the worst thing in the world. Then she thought about retreating back inside those empty walls, and her whole being rebelled. Bring on the freaky.
Elion led her to a building with a placard that said administration and bookstore. Right inside the doors, the floor was inlaid with raised metal symbols. It was a ring of circles, each with various images. There were nine, so Annessa assumed they must have something to do with the nine guilds. At the center was a large eye. Instead of walking across it, Elion walked around it without skipping a beat. Annessa had no idea why, but she followed his lead.
They didn’t go far before they came to heavy wooden doors with Headmaster inscribed on them. Bear-man—Wilt—was waiting for them. When they got closer, he dropped his folded arms to point at Elion. “You, class.” He swung his finger on Annessa next. “You, sit.” He indicated a chair. He might be a small man with wild curls framing his head, but dang he was intimidating.
Elion started to protest, but Wilt’s expression darkened. “The gargoi fertilizer needs turned, if you’d like I can have a chat with Professor Wilfred and get you the job.”
Elion snapped his mouth shut. He looked helplessly at Annessa.
“The whole reason I came was to talk to your dad,” she said with a calm she didn’t feel. “I’ll be fine.”
Elion’s brow pinched and he sighed. “I’ll check on you later.”
Annessa’s first instinct was to tell him not to bother, but the way his shoulders curved inward as he walked away made her bite her tongue. He might have broken her heart, but they’d been friends for a long time before that. And she’d missed him even though that very fact pissed her off.
The doors crashed open. Motorcycle guy sauntered out.
When he saw Annessa, he stopped. “You’re new.”
“Just visiting.” Annessa wasn’t short, but she still had to crane her neck back to meet his gaze.
“Ah, you’re the mystery girl they’ve been hiding up at the mansion, then.” He looked her over, and Annessa scowled. “You ride?”
“Huh?”
“You’d look good on a bike.”
Annessa realized he meant his motorcycle. “I don’t think so.”
“A few more weeks, and I bet you change your mind.”
“How’d you sneak off campus?” she asked.
A sparkle lit his smoky eyes. “I take it back. I don’t think it’ll take weeks.”
Wilt emerged from the office. “Why are you still here?” he asked Ian.
Ian ignored the burly man. “Good luck, Blondie. Let me know when you’re ready for that ride.” He gave her a look full of underlying innuendo. Annessa rolled her eyes, which just made him laugh. “See ya, Wilty.”
Wilt glared daggers, but that didn’t phase Ian one bit. Annessa acknowledged she liked the guy. He looked like he belonged on a beach with a surfboard. She always was a sucker for surfers with their lean, muscular bodies and wavy, sun-bleached hair… Of course, she’d been a sucker for Elion’s thick raven hair too. Not to mention his crooked smile that creased the corners of his eyes. Gah! Annessa shook off her train of thought before it became a runaway.
“Annessa,” Mr. Marks called from inside his office, not sounding the least upset that she was there. “Come in and have a seat.”
Annessa did, but she didn’t wait for him to start. “Is there any news about my shadow?”
“No. But my people are doing their best.”
“I can’t stay cooped up in that house day after day,” Annessa blurted out.
“Elion thought you’d prefer to keep your distance from Academy life.”
“I do prefer that actually,” she said. “I just…”
When she didn’t finish, Mr. Marks concluded, “But you’re starting to think that being around psychics is better than solitude.”
He was right, but Annessa didn’t like to admit it, so instead she replied, “Honestly, I could really just use some time in the sun—warm sun.” She also thought about how the ping of a basketball had made her itch to hold a ball. Some people took yoga or painted to de-stress. For her, it was all about the snap of a ball against her hands.
“And you’re willing to spend time on campus to get that?” he prodded.
“Unless there’s a nice beach nearby?” A girl could dream.
Mr. Marks smiled at that. “The only beaches up here are covered in snow and frozen over until spring.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured.” Annessa sucked in her bottom lip and then asked, “Is it safe for me to spend time on campus?”
“No one here would hurt you,” Mr. Marks assured. “But I don’t think that’s what you’re really worried about.”
No, it wasn’t. “Will I still be allowed to leave?”
“Yes,” he said, and Annessa relaxed a little. “Most of our students don’t know anything that would compromise our community anyway. So as long as you don’t go prying for answers from those who do have access to sensitive information, you should be perfectly safe.”
“People like Elion?” Annessa guessed.
“Yes, my son is one of those people. Although, he seems particularly dedicated to getting you safely away from us as well, so that should not be an issue.”
“So I can hang out on campus? Maybe use the basketball courts?”
“How would you feel about attending a class?” ventured Mr. Marks.
Whoa. That had escalated a little too quickly for Annessa’s liking. “I don’t want to be a student here,” she protested. That’s not what she had in mind at all.
His eyes traveled her outline. “Why are
you afraid of a class?”
Annessa wanted to deny it, but knew that would be pointless. “What does fear look like?”
“Your aura becomes muddied and agitated.”
Annessa tried to arrange her thoughts. “I just don’t want to get roped into staying here.”
Mr. Marks cocked his head slightly to consider her. “You really aren’t bothered by the…oddness of our community, are you?”
“Elion and Sam were not as good at acting normal as they thought they were,” Annessa informed him. “I’m used to strange.”
“Yes, I suppose you would be.” Mr. Marks squinted at her. “What about the gargoi?”
“The what?”
“The grotesque creatures that roam our campus,” explained Mr. Marks.
So that’s what those things were. “Will they hurt me?”
“Not unless they want to be banished back to their dimension, which they do not. They are at the bottom of the totem back there. So they prefer it here.”
“Then, I guess I’ll get used to those, like I got used to the idea of ghosts.”
“Wonderful. Then you really should take me up on my offer to audit a class or two while you’re here. Why don’t I speak with Professor Boswell and let her know that you will be attending her class on History of the Arts?”
Annessa cringed. “History is not my favorite subject.”
“Maybe not, but I think you’d enjoy this one. It covers where our gifts come from, how they have evolved, and even the history of the Phyton.”
Annessa had to admit, those were intriguing topics to her at the moment.
“And then maybe intro to self-defense?” he suggested.
That actually sounded beneficial too, but she still wasn’t sure it was a good idea. All she’d wanted was a chance to leave the mansion. Classes sounded too permanent, even if she would just be auditing. “Can I think about it?”
“Absolutely.” He ran a thumb mindlessly over his short-cropped beard. She noticed there were more flecks of white than black. “In the meantime, how would you like a tour of the campus and lunch? I believe it’s Mexican today. Our chef makes some of the best tamales I’ve ever had.
