by Avery Cross
I was nervous. I shouldn’t be nervous, not with all the things I’d seen in my eighteen years. Dealers, hookers, anyone that my mom kept company with at the time, but yet, the prospect of big-kid classes, of expectations, of keeping the right to have this scholarship that would not only give me a place to live, but also give me an education, knowing how much this rode on my behavior and performance gave me the jitters more than anything I’d experienced in or out of my mother’s home or any of the foster homes. I couldn’t blow this. Just couldn’t.
I let out a deep breath and begged my nerves not to get the better of me. The last thing I wanted to do was puke on anyone’s shoes.
I stared down at my feet suddenly when they felt like they were burning, but there was nothing there, and I frowned. Just my nerves getting the best of me. I looked back up and around, finally sighing in relief.
The sign that the guy leaning against the post was holding read “Briar Shroud.”
Me. I gulped.
He wasn’t exactly waving it. He wasn’t waving it at all. He stood there, leaning against that post, looking almost as bored as that security guy, but about a million times more detached, as if he had to be bribed to come and get the new girl.
I frowned, wondering why there weren’t more people needing to be picked up. I came from Texas, but surely other students had flown in from somewhere. Anywhere. Why weren’t there more people here to greet them?
I hung back, the unease I had about this place all summer growing tenfold.
There was no going home. I couldn’t do that, not now when I was technically no longer Mrs. Brown’s foster kid. I was just Briar Shroud, alone in the world.
I still couldn’t get my feet to move, so I stared at the guy instead. He hadn’t seen me yet, or at least I don’t think he had. Not that he appeared to be paying much attention to anything at all. This was my ride. He wasn’t that much older than me. Maybe a year or two. He was dressed in jeans, a black t-shirt. His hair was long, but not the model kind of long, more like the skater kind of long. Dark, blue eyes that reminded me of a predator surveyed the airport lobby, narrowed, as if expecting an attack to come at any time. Or his prey to make an appearance.
I swallowed hard again and mentally kicked myself for letting my imagination get the better of me. He was just a normal guy, and I was going to a normal college.
With reports of student disappearances.
I shoved that thought aside.
Walking forward a bit further, I half-heartedly waved in his direction, but there was no reaction. Instead, his eyes followed another girl about my age, cute clothes, makeup, and curly hair.
He straightened and watched her closely, but then she was gone, and he pursed his lips.
I ran my fingers through my messy hair and regretted not putting makeup on that morning. I lifted my arm higher and waved again, but still no reaction. How was it he hadn’t seen me yet?
But then his body shifted, and his eyes grazed over me, and moved on instantly, dismissing me.
I was used to being disregarded, but for some reason, this one time bothered me more than any other had. Who was he to dismiss me? Who did he think he was? I might’ve spent the first eighteen years of my life as a reject, but this school accepted me, and I was not going to be shoved to the side like I was nothing. Not anymore.
In that split second, with that brief glance, I’d decided I didn’t like him. Might even hate him. If only I didn’t need him to give me a ride, I’d find something to chuck at his head before running off, but I was pretty sure it would be rude of me not to accept the ride provided.
I ground my teeth and approached him.
His eyes remained averted until I loudly cleared my throat.
“I’m Briar.”
He looked me up and down, as if not believing. “You?”
His voice was smoother than I expected, but underlaid with more of that boredom so clearly reflected on his face.
“Yeah, me. Need to see my ID?” I snapped. I had a state ID even though I didn’t have a driver’s license.
He hesitated as if about to argue with me but shrugged and folded up the small sign with my name on it. “So much for assuming,” I heard him mumble before he said louder, “Follow me.”
He ignored my smartass question, turned abruptly, and headed toward a set of glass double doors. They opened automatically. He slipped through them, and I followed, still lugging along my bag.
He walked as if he were the ruler of the Earth, as if he were the heir apparent. For all I knew, he came from some fancy family name. Mrs. Pogue had said this school was prestigious, traditional. I’d hoped I wouldn’t be dealing with spoiled, rich brats, but after meeting the welcoming committee, it appeared I was walking right into a world I so did not belong in.
When we reached a black Lexus, he paused at the rear door, opened it, and held out his hand. I frowned at him until he rolled his eyes. “Your bag?”
“Oh, right.” I handed it over and watched him glance around behind me, appearing confused. “Something wrong?”
“Is this all you have?”
I squared my shoulders and nodded. “Problem with that?”
He smiled, but it was far from friendly. “No, not at all. Get in.”
He tossed my bag unceremoniously on the backseat and slammed the door, leaving me standing there, fists clenched, fighting the urge to strangle him. Murder would probably not look so good either on my first day.
“You coming or what, Shroud?”
I ground my teeth hard and climbed into the passenger seat just as he got in behind the wheel and started the engine. “Do I get to know your name or is that some secret like everything else about this place?”
He pulled out into the lane, and we were off, him not saying a word.
“Or you can be a d-bag and not say anything to me. That’s cool, too.”
His lips twitched, but he never looked over at me. “Zachary. Happy now, Shroud?”
Outwardly, I kept a blank face, but inside I was grinning. His voice, I might not like him, but I liked his voice. No Texas drawl there, no accent at all really. I tried to get comfortable in my seat, suddenly wishing I had no accent either. But I was stuck with a bit of that Texas twang, mostly came out when I was pissed, which lately had been all the time. I tapped my fingers on the door handle, staring out the window, and doing my best not to check him out.
Who the hell was I kidding? I had nothing else to do on this car ride. Subtly, I turned my head and watched his eyes flicker as he wove us in and out of traffic without any effort at all.
His gaze shot to me and I quickly looked away, but not before getting another look at those deep, cerulean blue eyes. They were gorgeous, too gorgeous for a guy with his crappy attitude.
I waited a few seconds then glanced over again to catch his smirk.
“See something you like?” he muttered.
Cheeks burning, I glared at him pointedly, ready to say no, but how could I? His face was all chiseled jawline and high cheekbones, even a bit of scruff on his cheeks and chin. He was muscular, too, well-toned, and his t-shirt clung to him a bit tighter than I realized before. I lifted my gaze and froze when his eyes locked on mine for a solid three seconds before he smirked again and turned back to the road.
“No,” I said, hating how shaky that word came out. “Nothing at all.”
“Hmm, right then.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing at all,” he repeated my words and winked.
I glowered, staring straight ahead and wondered how much longer I’d have to endure being stuck with him in this car.
Chapter Three
Zach
My fingers curled tighter around the steering wheel, sensing her eyes on me again. It was hard for me to do the same when I had to watch the road, so we didn’t crash.
I was told yesterday who my assignment was. All upperclassmen were stuck as mentor to a newcomer. All I was told was her name, nothing else.
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br /> Oh wait, there was one more thing. They told me she probably had no clue what she was. Because my life wasn’t difficult enough already, I knew had to find a way to break the news to this girl that she wasn’t just a girl from Texas. Oh no, she was far from that. She was a damned witch that didn’t even know she was a damned witch. That was how it was these days. So many of the newbies coming in were clueless. Always made the first week of orientation exciting, to say the least.
I’d been lucky last year and landed a warlock who came from a long line of them. He’d been a bit full of himself, but at least he knew he could do magic. She probably had no idea what element would guide her either.
I grumbled to myself about spending the next month dealing with a clueless girl from Texas when I should be focused on my classes.
I felt her eyes on me again, but when I glanced over, she turned back to the window.
I didn’t want to admit it, but that Texas drawl, when she was a bit riled up made me smirk. I knew the second I saw her she’d have attitude, and she was going to be trouble.
As people had filed off the escalator, I’d watched all the girls that could’ve been her, checking their auras. That blonde would’ve been perfect. Her aura was yellow, vibrant. She would’ve been a breeze to deal with. But no, I got stuck with someone bearing a red aura, which spelled bad news for me.
“Don’t think too hard over there, you might pop a blood vessel,” she mumbled.
I wasn’t sure if she’d wanted me to hear her or not so didn’t say anything back. I did take a few seconds to look at her again, that ebony hair hanging over her shoulders and those damned eyes. They were so dark, they were nearly black, but it was the flecks of gold within them I was fascinated by. Never had I seen eyes quite like hers. Nor had I met someone who appeared to be a walking contradiction. Her words and posture said she was sure of herself, sure of everything in her life.
But those eyes gave everything away.
They made her seem so timid, and almost reluctant to be here. Not that I could blame her. She wasn’t exactly going to a normal college, and if no one had informed her of that yet, it was going to be a rude awakening as soon as we arrived.
I guessed I could’ve been nice and given her a head’s up, but I had a feeling I’d be dealing with enough of her backlash in the coming weeks. Unless of course, she hated me enough to just leave me alone. That was ideal. Somehow, I had a feeling she’d stick with me just for the sheer joy of driving me crazy.
That red aura bothered me. Red always meant anger and danger. Two dangerous combinations.
“I thought campus was by Pittsburgh?” she asked.
I shrugged, weaving into the left lane again to get around some more traffic before swerving back to the right and taking an exit, leading us away from the city. “Not exactly.”
“Are we near any sort of civilization?”
“There’s a small town we pass through, but really you won’t need to leave campus for anything. The Academy supplies everything you need.”
She scratched her head, and I watched her aura fluctuate with her nerves. “And uh, how do we pay for things that we need? Supplies and what not? They weren’t really specific in the letter, and I’m… I’m on a bit of a budget… or no budget.”
The single bag told me that much without her saying it. A twinge of guilt made me regret some of my attitude—some, not all of it. “They’ll explain it all at the orientation.”
“Oh, sure. Of course, because there’s nothing weird at all about any of this.”
I laughed until she glared at me. “What?”
“You’re laughing, and I’m not exactly sure what’s so funny.”
“Trust me, you’re not the only one thinking the same exact thing,” I said, trying to lighten the sudden tense car, but all it did was make her scowl. “You’re worrying for nothing, Shroud.”
“And what reason have you given me that I should trust you?”
The bitterness came across loud and clear in those few words, but she wasn’t looking at me when she said them. Her eyes darkened even more, but those gold flecks glowed all the brighter. How had she never noticed that about herself in all these years?
“None, but the Academy is a good place. You’ll like it there.” Yeah, because she was going to listen to me after I’d been oh so nice so far.
“And the disappearances?”
I nearly missed my next exit at her words. “Wait, what?”
“You know, the students that went missing like thirty years ago? It was the only thing I could find about the Academy when I was looking for it online,” she explained quietly. “One tiny article about some students vanishing and then there was nothing else. Ever. About anything.”
“Not sure you looked up the right Academy,” I muttered.
Disappearances? I wracked my brain, thinking back over the history of the school I went to, that my brothers went to, and our parents before us and so on. No one in all their years had ever mentioned students vanishing. How had she managed to find something like that?
“Right, sure, whatever.”
If it had been tense in the car before, now it was even worse. As soon as the orientation was over, I was going to stop by the Headmaster’s office and ask him about these vanishings. As far as I knew, no one else had gone missing. It wasn’t a large place, I knew every face at least, if not every name. I was pretty sure we’d all notice if people were going poof right out of Academy.
We still had a good half-hour drive to campus, but I was no longer in the mood to try and make polite conversation. Or any conversation. Damned if I wasn’t right about her being trouble and screwing my life up. Barely twenty minutes together and she had me on edge, reluctant to hear what other little tidbits she’d throw at me once she realized I was her mentor for her entire first year.
Joy to me.
My hands warmed, and I bit my lip to stop from summoning my power by accident. I hadn’t done that since I was a freshman, but something about this Briar made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
No matter.
I’d get her to orientation and pray I was too busy the entire year to deal with her crazy accusations and endless questions I saw on her face.
Chapter Four
Briar
I picked at my nails, a habit I dropped the last few months while living with Mrs. Brown, Jake, and the rest. But now I had neither one here to tell me I was overreacting, and everything was going to turn out just fine, I’d see.
But no, no I wouldn’t see because this guy didn’t even know the dark history of his own Academy. And we were leaving civilization farther behind with every passing second. And, the car was quiet, quieter than dead quiet. If he knew anything about the disappearances, he kept his mouth shut. They were probably told to. And now, there was no more fun conversation with Zachary. Or Zach, which probably was what everyone called him. No conversation at all. Just obnoxiously loud quiet, interrupted by the picking of my nails.
So, here we were in a Lexus, not exactly the newest model, but it didn’t seem that old. It was black, with dark tinted windows. So dark they were almost black. I knew from Jake that Texas had laws about how dark a window tint could be. I bet these would be illegal in Texas. My mind rambled on with useless thoughts, but at least it stopped me from imagining the insanity I was about to walk into. If we ever got there.
Zach, with those sharp blue eyes, wasn’t even grumbling under his breath anymore. If we ever were back on talking terms, I’d have to ask how he managed to keep himself so quiet. Not saying a word. He stared straight ahead, driving without caution. If I hadn’t been used to Mrs. Brown’s erratic driving, or Mom’s for that matter, his weaving in and out of traffic so fast would’ve had me gripping the door handle and shutting my eyes.
Eventually, the road was down to a two-lane, black top and there were no other cars behind us or coming down out of the hills, quickly taking us higher and higher.
No buildings except for the few farms we
passed on the flat areas before we wound back up again and again. I hadn’t realized how late in the day it was until we disappeared around a turn and it was as if night had fallen already.
I shivered with a strange cold that wasn’t outside, but inside.
A laugh threatened to slip free, but I swallowed it back, not wanting to have Zach think I was any weirder than he probably already thought I was. The road grew narrower, but Zach took it in stride, shifting and steering as if he’d done this hundreds of times before, which he probably had. With each turn, I pictured us arriving at some dank, dark castle and being told I was never going to leave again. That Academy was run by some creepy old man who kidnapped college-age students for his mad experiments. And when they died, he’d bury them in the mountains. No one would ever know. That was why I got the letter. No one would miss Briar Shroud, the reject.
I smirked at how ridiculous that sounded. But at the same time… my instincts were telling me I should hightail it in the other direction.
When we turned another bend, and there was still no sign for the school, or signs for anything, I broke the silence. “How much longer?”
“Not long.”
I rolled my eyes, still picking at my nails until I broke the one on my pinkie with a curse. His brow furrowed as he shot a glance at it before his gaze returned to the road.
“You shouldn’t do that.”
I paused long enough to stare at him intently and broke off another one. “Habit when I’m in a strange situation. If you tell me how much time until we reach this mysterious school, I might manage to stop myself.”
That was far from the truth; I’d be picking my nails the rest of the day until I figured out what the hell was going on here.
“Fifteen minutes.”
His sudden concern about my picking at my nails threw me off. One second, he smirked at me, the next he was rude, and then he just fell quiet as if giving me the cold shoulder would stop me from pestering him.
