KIngdom of Embers (Kingdom Journals Book 1)

by Tricia Copeland

  I took a couple of sideways steps to the door. “Like I said, I’m in the gym twice a week, so”—I cut my eyes to the exit—“we should probably get to class.”

  “I hope someone got it on video,” Hannah said. “I know what I saw.”

  Of course, Hannah and Melody would be the ones to witness my stunt. It was karma getting back at me for bending fate. I looked to the ground and then back up at them, pretending to be embarrassed. “I’m going to class, guys.” I turned to walk away.

  Someone caught my arm. I almost snatched it away but caught Sophie’s scent behind me. “Thank you for catching me,” she whispered.

  “Of course, come on.” I pushed the door open and proceeded towards the exit.

  “My class is that way.” Sophie took a step in the other direction.

  “Oh, okay, I’ll see you after school.”

  Realizing Hannah and Melody might not be the only people to think I did something out of the ordinary, I ducked in the restroom to message Orm.

  I MIGHT HAVE A PROBLEM.

  WHAT’S GOING ON?

  MAY HAVE GONE TOO FAR IN SAVING SOPHIE FROM HITTING THE GYM FLOOR.

  HOW BAD?

  NOT SURE YET. HANNAH AND MELODY AT LEAST, BUT THE WHOLE STUDENT BODY WAS IN THE GYM.

  I’LL BE THERE IN FIFTEEN MINUTES.

  The other students were already seated when I reached the classroom, and I slid in behind Nick. As soon as the teacher finished the lesson, Nick spun to me. “The guys said you did some kind of super-fast flip to catch Sophie.”

  “Yeah, I don’t know what happened. I saw her going down and acted on instinct. I’ve taken gymnastics since I was two so…” I twirled my finger through my ponytail.

  “I wish I’d seen it.”

  “Do you get this?” I pointed to a math problem, trying to change the topic.

  “Hey.” The guy behind me tapped me on the shoulder. “You’re the cheerleader that did that flip. That was super cool.”

  “Sophie almost got really hurt. It was good that I was able to catch her.”

  Hearing fingers tapping on multiple screens, I scanned the room. A boy near the other wall crossed over to us. “Hey, my friend got a video.” He held his phone out to me.

  Looking at the screen, my stomach turned. Play the part, I reminded myself. “It’s so blurry. You can’t even see me.”

  “That’s what I mean, you were there, and then you weren’t. Everything else in the image is clear. They’re already calling you Flash.”

  “What is this on?” I asked.

  “What do you mean? It’s been over half an hour. It’s everywhere.”

  I looked to Nick, whose eyes were glued to the screen. Hannah and Melody were the least of my worries. If Mother got a hold of this, she would never let me out of her sight.

  An aide walked into the classroom and handed the teacher a note.

  “Alena. The nurse wants to see you.”

  “Thanks.” I grabbed my bag and made my way to the medical office.

  “Alena, your grandfather is here for you.”

  “Thanks.” I turned to see Orm sitting on the bench.

  I followed him out to the black SUV where Elizabeth sat in the front passenger’s seat. “Well, this is quite a pickle.”

  “You don’t have to tell me that.”

  Orm spun to face me. “How bad is it?”

  “The video is viral. They’re calling me Flash.”

  “Your mother is distracted with the murder case. I think I can get a techie on erasing the video.”

  “Wow, Orm, I’m proud of you.”

  “Are there any real witnesses?” he asked.

  “Yes, Hannah and Melody. They’re going to need more than my vampire-suggestion powers.”

  “Okay, crash course in memory editing it is then.”

  “I get to learn thought control?” I scooted forward in my seat.

  “Think of it as a memory enhancer.”

  “Don’t sugarcoat it,” Elizabeth said to him. “I’m only here as a test subject, and I know it.”

  Orm instructed me to think of something Elizabeth didn’t like and reasons she should. My cheer uniform came to mind, and I focused on Elizabeth and thought of all the ways the costume served its purpose: I couldn’t kick high or do splits without a short skirt, the tight shorts underneath were less revealing than a leotard, if it were a one piece I couldn’t do my flips.

  Her eyes scanned from my legs to my shoulders. “I really see how the cheer uniform serves its purpose. I wouldn’t want you out there in a leotard.”

  “I did it.” I squealed.

  “Okay, what was your thought process?” Orm asked.

  I explained my reasoning, and he asked how I might convince Hannah and Melody my stunt was just that, not super speedy or super high, merely a flip in the air.

  “They have to believe it was their thought process that brought them to those conclusions,” Orm said.

  “Can someone undo my positive opinion on Alena’s cheer outfit?”

  “Woman.” Orm scolded Elizabeth.

  “I’m trying to make light of a tense situation.” She defended her comment.

  “Practice on her again. Something harder.”

  Thinking of her style of dress, I forced pictures of fashion-forward women into her mind.

  “Now, Alena, I like my clothes. They’re who I am. Please don’t take them from me.”

  “Fine.” I slouched back in the seat.

  “I think you’ll do fine with Hannah and Melody. Do you see them soon?” Orm asked.

  “At lunch.”

  “Okay, well, good luck.”

  I reached for the door handle. “And you’ll get a techie you can trust?”

  “I’ll erase his memory once he does the work.”

  “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it. Mother would—”

  “It’s okay dear.” Elizabeth cupped her hand to my cheek. “Sophie is okay?”

  “Yeah, she was a little shaken up, but there’s not a scratch on her.”

  I walked back into school and signed in. The bell for third period rang, so I made my way to European literature.

  Pretending to be absorbed in my book, I listened to all the conversations. The video seemed to be the hot topic, and I felt eyes aimed at me as the students talked in hushed tones. Ganby’s scent hit my nose before his act started.

  Clap, clap, clap. The sound echoed through the room. “Well, if it isn’t the hero cheerleader.” He stopped in front of me. “Where did that come from? So, you’re potentially smart, you can do stunts like a mad woman, you are hot, obviously…”

  My face flushed, and I gripped my desk, fighting the urge to deck him and run.

  “What else you got?” He squatted down so we were eye to eye.

  Thoughts barraged my brain. Did I mind-control him to be nice? Even with my crash course, I knew it would be against protocol. Like all my powers, the tool should be saved for extenuating circumstances.

  “Are you frozen?” he asked.

  “Yeah, that was crazy, wasn’t it?” I looped a finger through my ponytail.

  “So you got nothing else? I mean, that unicorn shirt you wore yesterday may have said it all. Maybe you’re a vampire or a witch.” He leaned into me so our eyes were inches apart.

  His stench had my nose crinkling up, but I steeled my gaze on his. “Wow, Ganby, you figured me out. Witches are real, and I have a pet unicorn at home.”

  Chuckling sounds came from various places around the room, and I mentally added a point to my board.

  “Fine.” He stood and walked away.

  My eyes scanned the room, and each student diverted their gaze as mine landed on them.

  Annabelle appeared beside me. “What’s going on?” She spun in a circle.

  “Ganby accused me of being a witch.”

  “I would say a super hero is more like it.” She took her seat in front of me. “That was some move in the gym.”

  “Yeah, thanks, I’m glad
Sophie is okay.”

  “Okay students, it’s been a bit of crazy day, even for a Friday.” The teacher’s eyes locked on mine for a second. “I know we have this amazing viral video, but let’s focus on literature, shall we?”

  After the class, I made my way to physics, listening to all the chatter in the hall. I doubted Orm could get it off the original phone that recorded it, but I prayed he could get it off the internet.

  “Hey, where’d it go?” I looked up to see a student tapping his screen. “I was just looking at it.”

  A smile spread across my face. Thank you, Orm, I thought. In class, I took my seat behind Nick who spun to face me. “So, you’re the hot topic.”

  “Yeah, I guess. It scares me to think how close Sophie came to really getting hurt. We’ll have to rethink what stunts we’re doing when you guys are running into the gym.”

  “Agreed on that.” His eyes cut to the instructor as she came into class.

  After class, Nick and I walked to the tables the cheer squad and football team had claimed. Seeing Melody and Hannah, I slid myself onto the bench beside Melody.

  “Still hanging out with Nick, I see.” Melody popped a carrot into her mouth.

  “What do you want me to do? We have three classes together.”

  “She’s just jealous,” Hannah said over her friend.

  I would have encouraged Melody to go sit with him, but I needed both her and Hannah near me.

  “Hey, did you hear your video like magically disappeared?” Hannah asked.

  “Really? I barely got a chance to look at it.”

  “That Ganby kid is spreading rumors that you’re a witch or something. Idiot craves attention.” She rolled her eyes. “I still don’t see how you pulled it off. I mean, you were moving through the air so fast.”

  “Really, I don’t know. It’s all a blur to me.”

  “Yeah, it was way faster than I’ve ever seen you do a flip.” Melody dipped a carrot in her ranch dressing.

  I pulled out my nuts, pretending to eat them while focusing on Melody. Alena is a gymnast. She’s been taking gymnastics since age three. She’s so strong and good at flips she could jump over heads like jumping off a high podium, sort of like diving. Maybe she’s a diver too. The thoughts came to me as a string of consciousness, but they made sense in the end.

  “Have you ever taken diving?” Melody asked, setting down the carrot almost at her lips.

  “Some, in elementary school.” It wasn’t a complete lie. I had taken swimming lessons, and we’d learned some basic dives.

  “Your flip looked sort of like a dive.”

  “That’s cool,” I said, thinking score one for Alena and thought control.

  “I guess it was sort of like that. She did push off my hand when she took off.” Hannah put in.

  I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful the two were so close. Hannah needed to stay on board with the story, so I concentrated on her face. I repeated the same thoughts as with Melody.

  “Well, it was lucky for Sophie, I guess,” Hannah said. “But, I don’t want to see those freaky white ear plugs again. If you have to wear them, find some that match your skin color. You’re so white that I’m surprised the white ones didn’t match. How a person is out in the sun all summer and doesn’t tan, I have no clue.”

  “My mom is really picky about sunscreen.” I slathered the stuff on four times a day all summer to keep up the ruse. To the touch, my skin felt soft and supple, but it was more like that of a snake than human. Full vampires had an even tougher outer covering, with soft leathery skin, perfect for protection from environmental elements like the sun.

  “Yeah, you said that before.”

  “Hey, Melody, you should go talk to Nick. He said he’s coming to the party tonight.” I distracted them with the change in conversation.

  “You’re right.” She stood up. “He’s cute. I’m cute.”

  “You’re more than cute, Melody.” I meant to compliment her on some other feature, but as all they talked about was fashion and boys, I came up empty.

  “Thanks.” She stood up and crossed to the other table and tapped Nick on the shoulder.

  “I hope you’re not trying to wriggle your way into our circle further, whitey.” Hannah looked down her nose at me. “This”—she spun her finger between herself, Kate, Micaela, and Melody—“is six years in the making. Just because Sophie accepted you, doesn’t mean you’re in.”

  “I just want to cheer, Hannah.” I stuffed my nuts in my backpack and walked away. Like I wanted to be in her circle anyway. How immature!

  Making my way into the stairwell, I slipped Orm’s book from my bag. Focusing on him, I saw his body seated beside one of Mother’s tech guys.

  “This program should pick up anything with the key words and scramble it. I’ll leave it up for a couple of days to make sure we don’t miss anything,” Brian said.

  “Thanks.” Orm rose. “And again, if this could be under the radar, I would appreciate it. Anne doesn’t need more on her plate right now.”

  “My lips are sealed.”

  The door flung open, and Ganby and four other guys appeared on the landing. Clutching the book to my stomach, I jogged up the stairs.

  “What do we have here?” Ganby ran after me, grabbing my arm as we reached the next landing.

  “Leave me alone, Ganby.”

  “What’s this?” He snatched the book.

  “Just a book.”

  “Looks old.” He glanced back at the other boys. “Maybe a spell book. Doing some witchy work? Hexing someone else to fall and make you look like a hero again?”

  The guys behind him laughed and hung their heads, seemingly unable to find anything but humor in Ganby’s actions.

  “Leave me alone.” I tugged on the book, but he held it tight with both hands. Not wanting more to cover up, I spun quickly, sliding through the doorway and slamming it shut.

  Wondering if my day could get any worse, I made my way to the language wing and sat in the dark room, waiting for Ganby and the rest of the students.

  In French, he didn’t have his backup team with him, and I walked straight to him as he took a seat.

  “I need my book back.” I held out my hand.

  “What? This?” He stood up and held it high above his head.

  With a good eight inches on me plus the extra length of his arm, there was no way I could get it without using some vamp power. Rage boiled under the surface of my skin, and I clenched my hands into fists at my side.

  “Give it back.” Thoughts swirled as I tried to put myself in his shoes. What would motivate him to return it? What did I know about him other than he hid his intellect behind a slacker attitude?

  “Are you coming to Hannah’s party tonight?” I asked.

  “What?” He relaxed his arms a couple of inches. I reached for his bicep, but he jumped away.

  “Smart diversion.”

  “Do you want an in?”

  “Like you have an in?”

  I put my hand to my hip. “I’m a cheerleader, and I got an invitation. I can get you one.”

  “Hannah hates me.”

  “I can still get you in. But you have to give me my book back, and you can’t say a thing to me the whole party.”

  “I would love to crash Hannah’s party. Can you get my friends in?”

  “Bring two and some booze.”

  “Where am I going to get booze?”

  “Not my problem.”

  “Okay, deal.” He handed me the book.

  He really hadn’t matured since sixth grade. The late bell rang, and I took my seat beside Annabelle. “You promised to get Ganby into Hannah’s party. Everyone is going to hate you.”

  “Like the jocks can’t take care of Ganby.” I rolled my eyes, putting on a confident show. In reality, I had no idea how to get Ganby into the party. Hoping there would be so many people there it wouldn’t matter, I refocused on French.

  After my two language classes, I headed out the back door
and to the street. Gripping Orm’s book, I searched for him. It wouldn’t do to get caught out alone after the day I’d had. Seeing him at the market with Elizabeth, I stowed the text in my pack. Then I focused my senses on my surroundings, taking deep breaths and scanning the area.

  In a block I started to feel the tingling of witch energy, and as I approached the bookstore, I caught the scent of several vampires. Taking a huge breath, I focused on cloaking my magic and gripped the knob and pulled it to me. The huge door opened with a creek, and the hum of a witch’s aura blasted through my mind. My shoulders shuddered involuntarily.

  A weathered vampire gentleman stood behind the counter to my right. The wall to my left was lined with shelves of books. At the back wall, I noticed a door holding a sign that read: Fortune Teller. I sensed a witch behind the door. A narrow corridor to the left the room led to larger area. I saw several tables with vampire patrons seated around them in the space, and wondered if this was the bar Mother had found.

  I walked to the wall of books, scanning the titles. The old vampire at the counter cleared his throat. “Miss, I’m not sure you have the right shop. Our collection is very rare and expensive.”

  As he approached, I pulled the elastic from my hair and shook it out, making sure he would pick up my scent. He stopped his advance and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “My friends said you might have some books I need. I’m doing this project on witches for my European history class.”

  He cleared his throat again. “Witches in history?”

  “Well, it’s more like comparing and contrasting literature and fact.”

  “Like Macbeth and Homer?”

  “Right, but I thought you might have something less mainstream, like more obscure.” I rolled my eyes for effect. “Everyone reads Macbeth.”

  “True, most people do. Who are your friends exactly?”

  “Well, I’m using friends loosely. I just moved here, but these girls I cheer with said they were looking for costumes and came in here.” I wanted to give him as many details and seem as lonely and desperate as possible so I could let him think I had no clue I was a vampire. I figured then he might take me under his wing, tell me everything he knew, and give me access to books on the shelves and perhaps others he might have hidden away.

  “You’re new in town?”