Winter Term

by J. J. Krzemien

My stomach clenched. What could she possibly have to tell us that was this serious? My mind went through several possibilities. We’d been using protection, so she couldn’t be pregnant, could she? Was it about her mother’s side of the family? Had she fallen for a guy outside of our group?

  I held her closer. Whatever it was, we’d work through it.

  “Will you stop worrying,” she said, glancing at me. “Clenching your jaw like that is bad for your teeth.”

  I opened my apartment door, settling us on the nearest couch. As soon as the door clicked shut, I turned to face Caprice.

  “What’s going on?” I said, my voice coming out harsher than I‘d intended.

  She deeply inhaled. “I found a hidden compartment in the Obscura Room of the library. There were two books in there, a journal written by Marsilia Sorrentino—”

  I drew in a sharp breath.

  “—and a book by the Tromara.”

  That got a gasp from all three of us.

  “Marsilia was Isabella’s younger sister,” I said.

  Caprice nodded, her long black hair falling forward. “I figured that out. Why has Isabella never mentioned her?”

  “I don’t think they got along. Marsilia died decades before I was born. I only know about her because I stumbled on a picture of her in Isabella’s library. It was inside a book.”

  Caprice gave me a sharp look. “What was the book?”

  “I don’t remember.”

  “What was the Tromara book?” Liam asked, his brows drawn together.

  She glanced at him. “It’s in Latin, I think. It’s called Ex Codice Tromara.”

  “The Codex of the Tromara,” Liam translated.

  Caprice nodded. “Marsilia stole it from the Tromara King. She used to teach at the Academy and she made that hiding spot. He never discovered it was her who took it.”

  I lifted a brow. “That would cause some serious tension between Isabella and her. If Isabella knew about it.”

  “Yeah. I don’t know.” Caprice licked her lips. “Marsilia translated the Codex in her journal. And… Three things. First of all, the Tromara started out no different than us. They aren’t a different species at all. They’re just really old supernaturals who’ve found a way to immortality. Second, they are made. There’s a ritual or something that will take a supernatural and turn them Tromara.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said.

  She ignored my comment. “And third, they sustain their immortality by feeding on supernaturals. Not their flesh. The Tromara eat their souls and gain both their years left to live and their powers. We’re feeding them young people. So each time they take a soul, they’re gaining at least a hundred years of life.”

  We stared at each other in silence for a long moment.

  “Wait a second,” I said, “the Tromara being supernaturals in the beginning, I can get my head around that. Them being created through a ritual and eating souls to gain immortality seems like a bit of a stretch.”

  Liam perched his ankle on his opposite knee. “Is it though? When King Sebastian was here we all saw him use magic. He’s a vampire. That shouldn’t be possible.”

  “You think he stole that ability from a witch’s soul?” Angel asked.

  “Where else would he get it from?” Liam gazed at me. “You saw him cast that spell on Angel, just like I did.”

  I nodded. I’d seen it, but I didn’t want to believe it. “So, all the Tromara have the abilities of all the supernatural types? Is that what you’re telling us?” I asked Caprice.

  “I think so, yes. Which would explain why they seem undefeatable. But, they’re not really immortal, they need souls to continue living.” She stared at her lap. “There’s another thing. Marsilia believed that the Tromara Codex is one of a kind. That there’s no copy of it. She wrote that the King searched desperately for it when it first disappeared.” Caprice gazed in my eyes. “What if the Tromara can’t create any more of their kind or eat any souls without that book? Without the rituals?”

  Liam shifted on the couch across from us. “If that were true, then they’d weaken. Over time.”

  “But the Tromara aren’t looking for it now,” I said.

  Caprice licked her lips. “Uh, yeah they are. There’s a talking portrait of guy in the back of the book. He really wants it back.”

  I exchanged a glance with Liam. “A talking portrait?”

  “Yeah. Probably some kind of magic, right?”

  “Most definitely.” I said. “But if they can’t feed without those rituals, then what are they doing with the Culled students?”

  She chewed on her bottom lip. “They might still be alive. Slaves?”

  What if that was true? There could be hundreds of supernaturals that have spent their lives in slavery. We’d figured they were dead all these years, never assuming otherwise.

  Angel leaned against the arm of the sofa. “If they can’t make any more Tromara, and they can’t feed on souls, how many years do they have left to live? How long has that book been hidden?”

  “I don’t know. If Marsilia died decades before any of you were born, then add least fifty or sixty years. Maybe longer.” Caprice stood to take her phone from her pocket. “I took pictures of the pages. Here.”

  Liam reached for it first. His eyes widened as he scrolled through the images. “Jaxon, come here. These are complicated witch’s rituals, aren’t they?”

  I stood, coming around to stand behind the couch and look over his shoulder. I let out a low whistle. “Those are extremely complex witch’s rituals. Ancient, too. I haven’t seen anything like those outside of the Obscura Room. And never these exact ones.”

  Angel came to stand next to me. “Could the Tromara King have committed these to memory?”

  “Maybe the basics. These are not only complex, they’re dangerous. If he were to get the smallest detail wrong, it could be disastrous.” I said.

  “So,” Caprice said from the couch, “do you think the Tromara are getting weaker? If they can’t eat, then they’ll die, right?”

  I shook my head. “They won’t let that happen. They’ll come up with some solution.”

  “What if…what if we don’t let them?” she asked.

  Liam’s hand stilled over the phone’s screen. “That sounds a lot like treason.”

  “Do you really want to live under the Tromara for the rest of your life?” Caprice leaned toward us. “Do you want to put your children through this? Do you want more people to get Culled every year? What if we’re right and there Culled students are alive, are you just going to leave them with the Tromara? Those are people’s families and friends.”

  Liam set the phone in his lap. “It’s not that simple.”

  “This could be our chance!” Caprice stood. “We should take it. We killed those Tromara in the woods last term pretty easily. We’d assumed they were young Tromara and therefore not very powerful, but what if they were just weak? What if they all are?”

  “Caprice—”

  I cut Liam off. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. We lived through the last rebellion when we were children. It was horrifying. I doubt the Tromara have weakened all that much in the past twenty years. Their King certainly didn’t seem weak when he was here, when he hurt Angel.”

  Caprice folded her arms. “So what are we supposed to do? Nothing?”

  “We need to not do anything rash.” I sighed, I hated arguing with her. “We need more information. Liam, can you translate the Latin? I don’t know how reliable Marsilia’s journal is for information.”

  Liam nodded. “Yeah. I can do that.”

  “Well, you’d better do it soon,” Caprice said. “Isabella is giving the Tromara some old artifacts that she didn’t even know she had, and my guess is that they are quite powerful and valuable. The King is taking them in exchange for me.”

  This was news to me. Isabella had said the Tromara had accepted her offer, but she’d never told me, or the other Council members, what she had offe
red them.

  Not that it mattered. What Caprice was suggesting was dangerous. Treason. I was trying to distance myself from that label, not embrace it at the first chance. I had to redeem myself in the eyes of the Council. The first step in that direction, was to figure out what—if anything—I was going to do with this information.

  20

  Caprice

  I was still annoyed at the guys for not doing more with this discovery. They were probably right to be cautious. A lot of what I’d come up with was based on Marsilia’s journal alone, and we did need more information before deciding what to do. I just so badly wanted the Tromara gone. No more Culling. No more living by the Tromara’s rules and restrictions. No more living in constant fear.

  “I have more to tell you,” I said, taking my phone back from Liam.

  The three of them gazed at me with wary expressions. I didn’t blame them after all I’d already said.

  “It’s not about the Tromara. It’s dragon-shifter stuff.” I took a deep breath to center myself. “I’m not surprised that werewolf teeth and claws can’t penetrate my scales. As you already know, I’m immune to spells and compulsion when I’m shifted. Well, I recently figured out that I can also do this camouflage thing. Where I basically turn invisible.”

  That got three large men gaping at me.

  Angel recovered first. “Show us.”

  I stood. The effect was best with less clothes on, so I peeled off my sweater, then my jeans. “This will all make sense in a moment,” I said.

  Focusing, I shifted to dragon form. I’d only practiced the invisibility thing a few times, so it took longer than morphing. A tingling prickled my scales as I willed them to blend in with the surroundings.

  A collective gasp filled the room. I knew I’d achieved my goal. Glancing down, every bit of me was invisible except my bra, underwear, and jewelry. I paced in front of the sofa to demonstrate the full effect.

  “See?” I said. “Isn’t this cool?”

  Angel crossed his arms, studying me.

  “Wow,” Liam said.

  “Well, fuck.” Jaxon approached me. “Where’d you learn about this?”

  I shifted down to human form and got dressed. “From that book Isabella got me. It said my scales are like armor, too. That’s why I’m not surprised.”

  “So they’d probably defend against vampire fangs too,” Liam said. “You’re turning into quite the impervious creature, aren’t you?”

  Jaxon let out a low whistle. “Okay, this is the type of thing the pact is good for. None of this leaves this room. Not a word about those books or Caprice’s abilities gets discussed with anyone other than the four of us. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” we said together.

  I glanced at each of them in turn. I might argue with Jaxon, and be having problems with Liam and Angel right now, but I could trust all three of them. Relief lightened my insides. It felt good to trust.

  Apparently, students couldn’t take books out of the Obscura Room but teachers could. I probably should have thought of that before. Though I wasn’t ready to trust the guys on what I was finding until after I’d looked through the two hidden books.

  Liam had the Tromara book and the journal now. He was spending the week translating the Latin. I didn’t see him at dinners. Angel was also being distant, so I spent my time with Jaxon, May, and Lana.

  Lana and I were getting really good at more advanced shifting techniques. I’d also been practicing going camouflage, in private, and was getting faster at it.

  “For those who have half-forms and who are feeling daring tonight,” said Nalea, our shifter teacher, “I want you to try full-form shifts.”

  A grin split Lana’s face. She morphed to her half-tiger form, pausing there to concentrate more fully. With a slow exhale, her body rearranged itself. Her arms became legs, and larger muscles appeared. She clothes split at the seams. A few moments later a decent sized tiger stood in front of me.

  “Nice, ” I said, admiring her stripes.

  She stared at me expectantly.

  “I don’t know if I have a full-form. But I’ll try anyway.” I shifted to what I hoped was my half-form. Focusing on my scales, I willed my body to keep morphing. After full minute, with not even a tingle to encourage me, I gave up. I gazed at my scaly face in the mirror. “Well, this is it, I guess.”

  I don’t really believe that. Maybe there’s a trick you’re not trying. Lana’s voice filled my head.

  My gaze locked with the tiger’s. “What the hell was that?”

  Beast-shifter telepathy, duh. How else do you think shifters communicate when not in human form?

  Honestly, I hadn’t thought much about it. “So you’re inside my head? Can everyone in class hear you?”

  Lana sighed. No. You have to concentrate on who you want to speak to. First of all, at least one shifter has to be in full-form for it to work. The other has to be in half-form. It doesn’t work at all when we’re not shifted.

  “How did I not know about this?” I felt awkward talking to a giant cat aloud, while her side of the conversation was only in my head.

  Dunno. You’re new to shifter stuff. But it’s probably because it’s a second-year technique, and we haven’t covered it in class. I wanted to try it on you though. And it works!

  “That’s for sure. Loud and clear.”

  “Lovely transition, Lana,” Nalea said, making her rounds. “Keep working on that, Caprice, I’m sure you’ll get there.”

  “You really think I have a full-form?” I asked the teacher.

  Nalea studied me. “Yes. I’m almost convinced of it. Keep trying, but don’t beat yourself up over it. You haven’t known you were a beast-shifter for very long.”

  “Okay, I will.”

  Nalea was about to move on when Lana spoke in my head again. Will you ask the teacher to excuse me from class? I did’t realize my clothes would be this messed up. Damn, look at these. Note to self, don’t where nice clothes if I’m going to do full-form shifting.

  I chuckled. “Nalea, can Lana go back to her dorm and get new clothes?”

  “Of course. I’m about to dismiss class.” Nalea turned half away, then paused. “Did she talk to you?”

  “Yeah. She’s in my head.”

  Nalea beamed. “Ten points to Lana for telepathy. That’s a tricky skill to master.” She clapped her hands twice. “Okay class, you may go. I hope you learned a valuable lesson today: Bring a change of clothes next time.”

  I assumed human form and walked with my tiger friend back to our dorm. Most of the students on the lawn gave us plenty of space, eyeing Lana like she might eat them if provoked in the slightest.

  “Hey, Sorrentino.” Aimes, apparently, was not one of them. He approached us, flanked by MacTavish and Bennett. “That your new pet?”

  Lana growled. I morphed. I wasn’t going to give these witches any openings.

  MacTavish and Bennett took a step back.

  “Whoa there, Sorrentino,” Aimes said, “no need to get all hostile.”

  “What do you want?” I asked him, not really caring what the answer was, but it was better to not turn my back on him.

  “Three spots are going to open up in the Culling Club soon.” He waved a hand at his cronies. “My dad has a hearing date set over spring break and he’s going to get us out. All charges dropped. That’s what’s going to happen.”

  I glared at him, smoke escaping my nostrils.

  Aimes swaggered forward. “Someone may have conveniently used magic to prevent me from saying what I know about you, but I promise I’ll find a way to show you your place. No filthy beast-shifter gets the best of me. I promise you that.”

  Lana’s voice filled my head. Do you want me to take a bite out of him, ‘cause I totally can.

  I couldn’t help smiling, baring my razor sharp teeth at Aimes. “No, I’ve got this.”

  Aimes looked bewildered. “Who the fuck are you talking to?”

  “Not you.” He was so close, I could smell
his unique scent and it filled me with rage. That bubble of power that floated in my chest pulsated. “Go away,” I said, exhaling into Aimes’ face.

  His features went slack, face paling. He turned on his heel and marched away from me. MacTavish and Bennett hesitated, probably unsure why their leader was obeying me. I wasn’t sure why either. They threw me half-hearted glares before following Aimes.

  Good job! You tell that mean witchy-boy.

  I shook my head, unbelieving. “Come on.”

  I stayed in my current form so I could hear Lana if she wanted to speak. Her room was on the same floor as mine, but at the end on the right.

  Dude, this full-form has downsides. I don’t have thumbs! Can you open my door? The key’s in my backpack pouch.

  “Sure. But why don’t you shift to half-form so you’ll have hands? Wouldn’t that be easier?” I opened her pack, digging for the key.

  Yes, it would be easier. Except that you’d see my furry butt, and I don’t want that.

  “I can already see your furry butt.” I pulled the key out and unlocked her door. “There, go on in. I’ll see you and your properly concealed butt later.”

  I was organizing my Physiology report, when someone knocked on my door. With a grunt, I got up from the bed and opened it. “Lana, what’s up?”

  She grimaced. “Mr. Freeman would like to see you right now.”

  I made a face. “What’s his deal now?”

  She shrugged.

  “Okay.” I pulled on boots and a hoodie over my sweater. “Let’s get this over with.”

  We walked out to the cool night air, following the path to Academy Hall.

  “So…” Lana said, “I’ve been dying to ask you about that hot teacher who was talking to you the other night. What’s up with that?”

  “Oh, Angel?”

  She rolled her eyes. “As if you could forget. How many other hot teachers talk to you?”

  “Uh.” I didn’t really want to talk about my unconventional romantic life. “He just needed to see me about something.”

  “Come on! I know there was more going on there. Tell me. Please?”