“I…” I don’t know what to say.
I try to latch onto to the hope that this really is a dream and that I’ll wake up soon.
And that hope only grows when Mor fastens his gaze on me and says, “Take her to the dungeons. She can spend the next year there.”
Haven
For a split second, I actually believe Jude and Sage are going to follow through with Mor’s order. I start to back away, figuring I’ll try to use my powers to get out of here. Not that I know what those powers are. But maybe, somehow, I can make a door appear…
Nope. All that happens when I stare into empty space, trying to conjure up a door with my brainpower, is I get a pounding headache.
“We’re not taking her to the dungeons,” Sage states and I can practically hear the eye roll through her voice. “We have plenty of dangerous creatures here—it’s what we’re known for.”
“A maddening isn’t just dangerous,” Mor warns in a low tone, his wings shaking. “They’re deadly.”
A chill spills across my flesh. Deadly? They think I’m deadly?
“So are vampires. And death angels. And dark faeries,” Sage replies with a pressing look.
“If you’re implying that me letting The Death Triplets into our academy was a mistake, then maybe I should remind you of how much funding we received from their parents,” Mor bites out in annoyance.
“That doesn’t make them any less dangerous,” Sage stresses, crossing her arms.
Mor’s wings expand wider, nearly reaching half the length of the room. “Maddenings are far more dangerous than The Death Triplets combined.”
Sage cocks a brow. “Should I pull out their file and remind you of all the not-so-dangerous crap the Death Triplets have pulled while attending here?”
Mor grinds his teeth as he breathes in and out. Then just as quickly as he freaked out, he composes, his wings folding back underneath his cloak. “So you think we should let her attend here, then?”
Sage flicks a glance in my direction then looks back at Mor. “If we’re able to properly train a maddening, imagine what it will do for our academy’s reputation? And she seems like she could potentially be trainable. Although, we’ll have to look more into her background and find out where she came from.” She fastens her gaze on me. “You’re from the human realm, correct?” she asks and I nod. “What were you doing while you lived there?”
“I…” I give a nervous shrug. “Bouncing through foster homes pretty much.”
She steps toward me, her heels clicking against the cement. “And you don’t know who your parents are?”
I shake my head.
She chews on her lip. “How did you end up here?”
"She was pushed into a vortex by Annabella," Jude answers for me, stepping up beside me, yet keeping a bit of distance, a move I assume has to do with me being one of these dangerous maddening creatures.
Please let this be a dream…
Then again, is going back to foster homes any better?
“One of our huntresses,” Sage murmurs, her gaze boring into me. “We should probably summon Annabella and see what she knows about this and why she sent the maddening here.” She pauses for a beat before straightening her stance. “Until then, lets get Haven settled in and get her set up with a guide who can explain everything to her. I’d also like you to assist her too, when necessary,” she directions this statement to Jude. “She knows absolutely nothing about our realm and our ways, so she’s going to require extra attention.”
“I can do that,” Jude tells her with a slight bow of his head, the flames in his body igniting again. “But do you have a specific guide in mind?”
Sage taps her fingertip against her red lips, silence stretching by as she considers Jude’s question.
“We should assign the Death Triplets to her,” Mor says, plucking a feather from his hair.
I frown, recalling how hazy my mind had felt while I was around the three guys… creatures. Not to mention I suck when it comes to being around guys. Well, not so much guys but people in general.
Then again, no one here is actually human…
Oh my God.
Reality bitch slaps me across the face.
“Holy crap, I think this is real,” I breathe out.
“You think that’s a good idea?” Sage asks Mor with hesitancy written across her face, either not hearing what I said or just not caring.
Mor’s gaze strays to me then back to her. “You know as well as I do that many students aren’t going to be accepting of her once they find out what she is.”
“Yes, but we can always keep that hidden for as long as possible,” Sage replies. “In fact, it might be for the best for now if very little students and teachers know what she is.”
"I agree," Mor says. "However, her guides should probably be made aware of her situation and be accepting of it. And considering what the Death Triplets are, I think they might be our best bet."
Sage scratches her horn. “Perhaps. But do we really want to risk the Death Triplets turning into the Death Quadruplets?”
“Whatever group she’s part of, she’ll pose the same amount of risk,” Mor stresses. “At least this way, she’ll be surrounded by creatures that can handle her…” He casts a wary glance at me. “Intense abilities.”
Intense abilities? Just exactly what can I do?
I think about Mia and Tim and what happened to them when I felt that darkness purring under my skin.
What are my powers?
Sage gives a nod, strands of her red hair falling into her eyes. “You’re probably right. I just hope this doesn’t turn into a disaster.”
“I do too,” Mor agrees with a frown. But then he shakes his head and turns to face me. “All right, Haven Wyllowravelee, do you have any questions before we assign you to your guides?”
Do I have any questions? Is he freakin’ kidding me?”
“Yeah,” I answer nervously. “What exactly is this academy for? And what’s a Maddening? What can they do exactly? And what am I going to be learning while I attend here?”
The room grows so silent you can hear the shuffling of Mor’s feathers underneath his cloak.
“I’ll handle this,” Jude says to Sage and Mor, lifting his blazing arm in front of him and sending smoke swirling through the air.
“Thank you, Jude,” Sage says then looks at me. “I want you to understand what a great honor it is to attend this academy. Do not take that lightly, okay?” She doesn’t wait for me to respond, turning to Mor. “Ready to get back to business?”
Mor gives her a grin that makes me wonder what sort of business they’re going back to, if it has anything to do with why Mor has lipstick on the collar of his cloak.
Then just as abruptly as they materialized, they dissipate into thin air. And I’m left standing there, speechless, and so freakin’ confused.
Story of my life, I guess. Only this is way, way different than just being a socially awkward girl in the human world that everyone seems afraid of.
Jude sticks out his flame-y hand for me to take. "Come along, honey. Let's go get you checked in. And while we do, I'll try to explain some things to you. And prepare you for the Death Triplets. Although you handled them well earlier, so I'm not too worried."
Part of me doesn't want to take his hand, feels like the second I do, my life will forever change. But honestly, my life wasn't that great to begin with. So I place my hand in his, crossing my fingers that whatever is waiting for me in this new life will be better than what I had in the human world.
But considering what Mor and Sage said about me supposedly being deadly…
Yeah, I’m a bit worried that I might be worse off in this new monster life.
Haven
Jude and I leave the office the same way we entered—through a cloud of smoke. When I ask what the crap it is, Jude explains to me that the smoke is a magical form of transportation, that everything in the academy is magical.
“But you have to have acc
ess to that magic,” he explains as we make our way down a narrow, dimly lit hallway paved with cobblestone. “And you won’t have access to that until you’re a third year.”
We're headed to dorm area where I'll get checked in and be assigned a room, classes, etc. From what Jude has told me about the academy, it sounds similar to private prep schools. Only this school is run by magic, is located in the Moonlight realm, and only monsters with magical bloodlines are allowed to attend, like vampires, fey, werewolves, shapeshifters, and a lot of other creatures I've never heard of, most of their titles ending with demon. Jude also informed me that the main goal of the academy is to train creatures to hunt down dangerous monsters that pose a threat to our realms. Monster hunters and huntresses, he called the creatures that graduate from the academy and get hired to go hunt dangerous creatures down. Like Annabella, the witch who shoved me into the vortex that brought me here, which leaves me wondering why she felt like I needed to be here and be protected.
“How many years do creatures go to this school?” I ask as I try to take in all of this.
It’s complicated, though. Trying to believe everything I’m being told, everything that’s happened, everything I’m seeing. Honestly, part of me is still convinced I’m in a nightmare. The only thing that has me questioning if perhaps this is real is that I’ve spent years wondering if I had some sort of magic ability.
“A total of three years.” Jude’s ember-like eyes slide to me. “How old are you now?”
“Seventeen,” I say and he frowns. I tense. “Is that bad or something?”
He wavers. “Most monsters start here when they’re sixteen, so you’re a year behind. That’s okay, though. You’ll just graduate a bit late.”
“If I stay here.” I lower my hand to my side as I sigh. “Mor and Sage made it sound like they weren’t sure if they’d let me stay here for more than a year.”
“It’s nothing personal.” His boots scuff against the floor as we slow to a stop in front of a fork in the hallway.
“It sounded personal,” I mutter. “I mean, they basically don’t want me here because I’m a maddening, which I still don’t know what that is.”
"It's not just because you're a maddening." He motions for me to take the left path that leads to a thick wooden door with various locks covering it. "The academy is known for accepting creatures from very prestigious families. And most of these families donate a lot of money." He stops in front of the door then turns to look at me. "Occasionally, we accept charity students, but those cases are rare."
“So am I supposed to be considered a charity student then?”
"Maybe… Honestly, I'm not sure what they're going to say about you. But like Sage and More said, it's very important you avoid telling others what kind of creature you are."
I release a stressed breath. “But what if someone asks?”
He wavers. “For now, just tell them you’re a witch. We’ll figure out something better before classes start.”
I’m supposed to tell everyone I’m a witch?
So weird.
Then again, all of this is weird…
“When do classes start?” I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. “And what sort of classes will I be taking? And what am I even supposed to be learning?”
He chuckles, smoke hissing from his lips. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll download some info on a handheld for you to read that should explain a lot of that to you. And while I’m here to help you, I think the Death Triplets will be able to answer the questions you have related to your classes.”
“Okay.” I chew on my bottom lip as he reaches to unlock the door. “But you still haven’t really told me what a maddening is.”
He pauses mid-reach. "I know. I know." He sighs, lowering his hand. "I've been procrastinating that part, but I guess I probably need to tell you before I let you walk into the dorm." He rakes his flame-kissed fingers through his fiery hair. "A maddening is a very, very rare creature that a lot of other creatures fear, mostly because their powers can become deadly, depending on which path the maddening chooses to take.”
I swallow the lump wedged in my throat. “Are maddenings the only creatures with deadly powers?”
He shakes his head, but then hesitates. “But they’re one of the few creatures that can kill just by a touch. And the kind of death they inflict…” He releases a smoky exhale. “With a simple touch, maddenings can curse a creature—or person—to go insane. And when they decide to use their powers to kill, they sentence the person or creature to a torturous after-death, their soul sent down to the Underworld, which is a realm ran by Shadow Demons. And those demons thrive on torturing souls. So if a maddening decides to kill a creature with their powers, they’re sentencing that creature to an eternity of painful torture.”
“Oh.” That’s all I say—can say.
My chest feels tight, like I can’t quite breathe properly.
“But that’s only if the maddening chooses to go down that path,” Jude stresses. “You don’t have to choose that path, Haven. And from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t believe you will.”
“I won’t,” I assure him.
But I can’t help thinking about Tim and Mia and how for a brief moment, I wanted to hurt them. How I had felt some sort of darkness stirring inside me when the thought flickered through my mind.
But I decide to keep that to myself since everyone already seems edgy around me.
“Is there anything else I can do?” I ask as Jude reaches for the locks.
He shakes his head, but avoids my gaze, making me question if he’s lying. “No, not really.”
“Oh.” I watch as he begins to twist and unblock the locks, feeling nervous and restless, tons of questions cramming my mind. But one in particular is begging to be asked. “You said that maddenings are rare… Will that… I mean, if I try, could I be able to find my parents?”
He rubs his lips together, reluctance flashing across his face. “I don’t want to upset you, but I feel like I should probably be honest with this.” He rotates a clock-shaped lock and gadgets inside the door click. “Maddenings are very rare because they’re usually killed, either out of fear or because they’ve committed a crime. And since you were living in the human realm as an orphan…” He swallows hard, not finishing.
But I get the gist of what he’s saying.
“My parents are probably dead,” I say quietly.
All of my life, I assumed my parents didn’t want me. Never did I think they had given me up because they died.
“I’m sorry.” Jude offers me a sympathetic look. “I know this is a lot to take in, and I wish I could say it’ll get easier, but for a while, things might be intense. Hopefully, though, once you’ve learned more about this realm, this school, and what it means to be a monster, things will get better. I also think it’ll help once we start looking into your background. Maybe then, you’ll be able to get some answers about where you come from.”
I nod, but my chest remains tight.
My parents are probably dead.
I really am alone.
Jude forces a smile onto his face. “On the bright side, though, you do get to live in one of our best dorm rooms in the academy.”
Before I ask why, he shoves the door open.
On the other side is an enormous room with a high peaked ceiling lit up by a chandelier woven of thorns. The walls are brick and covered in alcoves, and purple rug is spread across the floor. A velvet set of chairs is in the center of the room, and a flat-screen television is hanging on the farthest wall, which seems like the most out of place item this place.
So monsters watch television? Weird…
“Where are the beds?” I wonder as I follow Jude into the room.
He points to various arched doorways. “There’s one in each of these, along with a kitchen and two bathrooms.”
“Oh.” I shake my head in astonishment. “Are all the dorm rooms this fancy?”
“Gods know.” He laughs. “Most of
them look a lot like the Headmaster and Headmistress’s office.”
I step further into the room, taking it all in. “Why’s this one so fancy then?”
"Because this room belongs to the Death Triplets," Jude explains, a handheld device appearing in the palm of his hand. "They come from some of the wealthiest families, who donate a lot of money to the academy. And in return, they get all of this." He gives a gesture around the room as he glances at the screen of the handheld device.
“I guess that makes sense,” I say, confusion rising inside me. “But I thought you said this was my dorm room?”
He bobs his head up and down. “It is.”
Something dawns on me then.
Something that makes me very uneasy.
“Wait… Does that mean—”
“That you’ll have the pleasure of being our roommate.” The guy with blue hair and fangs that I saw earlier cuts me off as he ambles into the room.
Phoenix, I think his name is. And from what I’m guessing, a vampire.
Holy crap, this dude is a vampire.
Again, reality throat punches me like a little bitch.
I’m in a place where vampires and other monsters exist—where magic exists. And I’m part of this realm, a deadly, rare creature. After seventeen years of living a life where I always felt completely out of place and believing I was a freak, it finally makes sense. I felt that way because I wasn’t human. I wasn’t really just a freak.
And now…
Well, now I’m not sure what I am or where I fit in. Will other creatures accept me here if they don’t know what I really am?
I guess I’ll find out.
“I have to share a dorm room with three guys?” I ask Jude, resisting a frown.
But seriously, sharing a dorm with three guys, one of who's a vampire? Sure, I've shared rooms with guys before, during my stays in foster homes that broke the rules. But this is different. This dorm room is way more private. Not to mention these aren't really guys, but powerful monsters.
Monster Academy for the Magical, #1 Page 5
