by Melissa Haag
I walked straight up the steps toward the woman waiting there.
“Megan Smith?”
“Yeah.”
She gave me a kind smile before she looked over my shoulder.
“You should leave, Trammer. Thank you for your service.”
She didn’t look at me again until the sound of the car faded, which gave me a moment to study her. Her long, dark hair fell loosely down her back. A plain grey business suit, white top, and grey pumps gave an air of authority. I waited for my infamous irrational anger to grip me and drive me to do something that would ultimately get me kicked out on my first day. Instead, I didn’t feel anything but curiosity for the school, the locked gate, and the personal greeting.
“Welcome to Girderon Academy. Allow me to give you a brief tour and an explanation.” She held out her arm, indicating I should lead the way inside.
The grand entry rose the full three stories. Glass windows on the roof domed the ceiling and provided light. Potted plants filled the space and created imaginative walkways to the dual staircases leading up.
“My name is Adira Grenald. I’m the studies coordinator for all the students at Girderon.”
I tore my gaze from the impressive entry to look at her.
“What’s a studies coordinator?”
“The person who tells you what sessions you need to take to graduate, follows your progress, and makes recommendations based on your performance and skills.”
“So you’re a guidance counselor?”
“Something like that.” She flashed me another kind smile and started down the hallway to the left. I followed.
“We strive to make Girderon a safe place to learn for all of our students. As you can imagine, it’s not a simple task. Certain safeguards are in place to prevent death on Academy grounds, but you can still be hurt.”
I’d been trying to see through the narrow windows set into the classroom doors we’d been passing when her words registered. My steps faltered. The recent blow to my head must have messed with my ears. There was no way she’d said what I thought she had.
“Did you just say death?”
She stopped walking and met my worried gaze.
“I did. Like you, not all of the students have yet learned to control their impulses.” She turned and continued down the hallway. “Most of the general studies are located along this corridor. If you test sufficiently in the core requirements, you will likely spend little time in this area.”
She turned a corner to a wider hallway with fewer doors.
“Time between assigned sessions can be spent in this section doing independent, voluntary studies. Each room has an occupancy schedule, which I manage. If you would like to book a time, come see me. The rooms are warded so no one can come to harm and nothing inside can be destroyed.”
“Right,” I said, drawing out the word.
At the end of the hall, she turned again.
“These are the administrative offices. We’ll pause the tour here so I can become more acquainted with your aptitudes.” She opened the door to a spacious room with an executive desk and a chair set before it.
“Have a seat.” She waved me toward the chair as she moved behind the desk. A maroon folder on the surface caught my eye. She noted the direction of my gaze and set her hand on the folder.
“I’ll update your file after each aptitude review, which we will conduct every Monday. Now, Megan, tell me what you know about yourself.”
“There’s not much to tell except that I’m pretty sure I don’t belong here.”
She sat back in her chair and considered me for a moment.
“Why do you think that?”
What could I say that wouldn’t make me sound as crazy as she’d sounded on the way here?
“Look. You said this place is warded. What does that even mean?”
“That magic protects the Academy and the students within it.”
“Exactly. Magic. Something I don’t believe in.”
“Even after your run-in with the barrier?”
My eyes rounded.
“Yes. I know you tried to leave. I wouldn’t have expected anything less, but I do discourage you from trying it again. Without the mark of Mantirum, the barrier will repel you.”
“And the mark of Mantirum is…?”
“The mark you receive upon graduation to signify you are a full member of the Mantirum, the world of magic.”
I snorted and grinned. “Right.”
“I see,” she said. “Doubt will not help you learn what you must.”
She stood and held out her arms. As I watched, her clothes changed to wisps of material and her skin lost its pinkish hue, turning pale and almost translucent. Light moved just under the surface. Instead of looking creepy, I found it beautifully mesmerizing.
“Do you see me, daughter of Paxton? Do you see the magic pulsing in my veins? Magic is real. The world you knew has been kept blind to this fact. It’s time for you to see our world for what it really is. It’s time for you to see yourself for what you really are.”
“And what am I?”
She dropped her arms, and her clothes and skin returned to normal. Well, what I considered normal.
“What you are is for you to discover in your own time,” she said. “Now, tell me about yourself.”
“Besides questioning my sanity for even considering to believe any of this, I have a problem keeping my mouth shut and my fists to myself.”
She smiled slightly. “You’re sane, Megan. And, with time, you will find the truth about this place and yourself. I think, for now, letting you acclimate would be wiser than continuing with your assessments.”
She stood and motioned for me to join her. Not sure what else to do, I did as she wanted and followed her out of the room and up a flight of stairs to the second floor. At the third door, she paused.
“I will talk to you again soon.”
She opened the door and stepped in. Through the opening, I saw a room full of desks like school back home. In the sea of faces, one winked at me. My gaze stayed locked on Fenris as Ms. Grenald spoke.
“Good morning, Lucas. This is Megan Smith. Please make her feel welcome.”
“Hello, Megan.
I tore my gaze from Fenris’ grinning face and looked at the older man at the front of the room.
“Good morning.”
“Please take a seat.”
I looked back at Fenris and the body of occupied desks. The her-herd from Friday surrounded him, including the bitchy blonde driver. Ignoring her glare and the itch of annoyance creeping just under my skin, I moved further back in the room toward the only open desk. The teacher started speaking again as soon as I sat.
“Your very natures will tempt you. The Gods created you and gave all of you purposes that center around the humans. Whether to defend or devour them, you must learn to blend and avoid exposing your true selves.”
I didn’t care if I was being mentally redundant, but this couldn’t be real. Who were these people? Magic? Gods? Devouring people? No, thank you.
Before I could fully form the thought to stand, the person to my left moved. I glanced over and met the calm gaze of the guy from my not-dreams. He was wearing clothes this time. A whole outfit, not just pants.
His deep blue eyes held mine for a moment while I struggled to believe he was actually real.
Ever so slightly, he shook his head then returned his focus to the teacher.
He was telling me not to leave? Why? Was something going to knock me on my butt again? Frustrated, I stayed in my seat through the duration of a lecture about keeping who we were secret while fulfilling our purposes.
When the bell rang forty minutes later, everyone stood.
“Megan,” the teacher called before I could do the same. “If you wait a moment, I can explain your schedule.”
I stayed in my seat and watched the rest of the students file out. Fenris’ girls gathered around him, touching him on the shoulder or arm, all vying for his attention. He glance
d back and winked at me while responding to a comment about someone’s new hairstyle.
If all the kids in here were some kind of creatures that needed to blend, I had no idea what Fenris was supposed to be. Other than a girl magnet, of course. When I glanced to the left, that seat was already empty, too.
Lucas grabbed a stack of papers from his desk and came to me.
“Your mother indicated that you’ve been in the human public schools until this year, which should mean that you’ve already met the general requirements needed for Girderon. However, you’ll need to complete the assessment tests in the core classes to verify that. Since you’re choosing to homeschool, I’ve included a packet for English, Math, Social Studies, and Biology that you can use as a study reference if you feel the need. When you log into your Girderon account, you’ll see an assessment test link. Whenever you’re ready, you can take the tests.”
Overwhelmed by everything that had been happening to me so far, I automatically took the papers when he handed over the packet.
“Until then, you will be required to attend History of the Gods, Human Studies, which is this class, and Self Discovery. Standard curriculum for your age.”
He handed me another sheet. This one had a schedule with the names of the classes he’d just mentioned. It took a few seconds of silence to understand he was done speaking and waiting for a reply.
I had no idea what to say, though. I’d already tried to tell Adira I didn’t belong here, and it hadn’t helped me any.
He set a hand on my shoulder and gave me an understanding look.
“I know you must feel lost right now. Living out in the human world without knowing who and what you are for as long as you have might make this seem unreal. I promise it is very real, and you do belong here. The sooner you accept that, the easier your transition will be.”
“Transition?”
“Yes. To the life you were really meant to live. Welcome to Girderon, Megan. If you ever need someone to listen, you can knock on my door or seek out any other instructor here.”
“Uh. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. You better hurry. Self-Discovery’s on the first floor.”
Five
I left the classroom and stepped into a surreal chaos in the hall. It wasn’t the level of noise, but the crowd of students, that stunned me. Slowing to a stop, I yet again questioned my sanity and tried to make sense of what I was seeing.
Like any school between classes, the majority of students hurried to some unknown location while a few lingered in small groups, talking and creating congestion. However, unlike any normal school, less than half the student body appeared human.
Dwarves, whom I could easily mistake for normal short people if not for their excessive display of jeweled rings and necklaces, mingled with giants. Where their diminutive counterparts moved briskly with each step, the giants languidly made their way through the crowd. Some stood so tall, the tops of their heads almost brushed the ten-foot ceilings. They weren’t the most impressive sight, however. Elves walked gracefully beside minotaurs, centaurs, and cyclopes.
I took a moment to watch a centaur prance past, the clop of his hooves rising above the sound of so many voices. He caught my gaze and nodded at me, the movement slightly terse. Probably because I was staring at him with my mouth open. Closing it, my sweeping gaze made another pass over the creatures in the hall.
My disbelieving heart stuttered in my chest. There were even more creatures, but I didn’t have a clue what they were. While most of them seemed human, a few looked anything but. This had to be real. I didn’t have the kind of imagination, awake or sleeping, to make this sort of stuff up.
“Hey, newbie,” a girl said, stopping in front of me. “Come to the pool with me, and I’ll sing for you.” She tilted her head slightly, exposing thin lines just behind her ears.
Gills? Were those gills?
“Ah, no thanks.”
“Some other time, then.” She shrugged playfully and walked away.
I should have been freaking out and running for the door. Instead, I found I couldn’t tear my gaze from the bizarreness of the individuals around me. Across the hall, a group of girls wore skimpy tops made to showcase their green-hued skin. They preened at whoever would look at them, and one went so far as to grab a guy’s butt as he walked past.
What was this place really? Sticking to the side of the hall, I began to make my way toward the stairs.
“Oh, new meat!” a high-pitched voice squealed.
Turning toward the main body, I briefly met eyes with the source of the squeal, a cute little redhead with fangs. She smiled at me hungrily. Before I could decide how to react, someone stepped in front of me. I looked up at the back of a shaggy head of dark hair.
“No you don’t, Belemina,” Fenris said. “You promised I’d be the only boy you’d put under your spell.”
“She’s not a boy,” the girl said with a laugh. “But I’m sure I could be persuaded to look the other way if you walk me to my next class.”
“If I walk you to class, Mina, you’ll never look anywhere but at me ever again,” he said, smoothly offering his arm. A slim pale hand looped through it, and they started away.
He glanced back at me and mouthed, “You owe me.”
I wasn’t sure what, exactly, he’d just saved me from, but I nodded, relieved. A boyish smile played around his lips before he turned his attention back to his companion.
Released from the fixation that had gripped me the moment I stepped from the door, I glanced down at my schedule. It was easier to think about getting to the next class than the strange world I found myself in.
Unsure how long I had, I turned toward the stairs once more only to be blocked by Fenris’ her-herd.
A surge of irritation rose up inside me as I locked eyes with the blonde driver. It wasn’t because she was tall, curvy, or insanely gorgeous. Half the females in the hall met that criteria. And my reaction to her had nothing to do with the sneer on her face, although it probably should have. Most people set my temper off for no good reason whatsoever.
“Aubrey, let’s just go,” the blonde to her right said, tugging Aubrey’s sleeve.
“Aubrey,” I said, recalling the wolf and the way Fenris had commanded it. I looked at the rest of them. They didn’t all glare at me like Aubrey did and weren’t nearly as irritating.
“Man, Fenris really has a thing for blondes, doesn’t he?” I said, meeting Aubrey’s gaze.
“He does. So stay away from him.”
I rolled my eyes.
“He doesn’t seem like a guy who can be stolen. He seems more like the guy who does the stealing.”
In a rare show of restraint, I tried to step around her, but she shadowed my move.
“Seriously, furball? Go pee on someone else’s tree.”
One of the girls groaned as Aubrey snarled at me.
I grinned and made a fist. If she wanted a fight, I’d give it to her.
“Bring it, bitch,” I said, embracing my anger.
As soon as she launched herself at me, I swung hard toward her face. My fist connected with a satisfying thwaump that encouraged my temper.
Aubrey screeched as she flew backward. Unfortunately, the crush of bodies still coming up the stairs stopped her from toppling down. I launched myself at her, more than ready to pummel her face so she wouldn’t be able to snarl for a week.
Mid-swing, I found myself lifted up and away from Aubrey. Unable to stop the punch in progress, my fist bounced off the cheek of the largest man I’d ever seen. At least eleven feet tall to my five foot six, he dwarfed me. His peeved gaze pinned me as I dangled from his fingers by the back of my shirt. I tried to quell the anger boiling under my skin.
“I call Mulligan on that last one,” I said, softly.
The giant lifted his free hand and made as if to flick me in the face. Since his fingernail was the size of my nose, I knew it was going to hurt and braced myself.
A voice cut through the commoti
on around us.
“That’s enough.”
I turned my head a bit to see Dream Guy standing behind me, his head nearly level with my stomach.
“Put her down, Finnegan. I saw the whole thing, and we both know hitting you was an accident.”
“Hitting me was. But what about hitting Aubrey? New girls shouldn’t hit people they don’t know,” the giant said, in a deep voice.
“You’re right. And, people they don’t know shouldn’t try to pick fights with them on their first day either.”
The giant nodded and set me on my feet just as a bell rang. The hall around us immediately cleared, and the giant ambled away, ducking slightly to enter the room I’d just left.
Aubrey continued to glare at me. The increasingly red mark on her cheek and the slight swelling of her upper lip let me know I landed a solid hit with the first punch. I wondered if a second one would knock the glare from her face.
“Aubrey, we both know that Fenris flirted with her, not the other way around. It wasn’t necessary to try to establish your claim with her. You need to establish it with Fenris. Do you want someone to look at your face?”
“I’ll look at it for her,” I said before I could stop myself.
“Why are you so angry?” Dream Guy asked, studying me.
“Mommy issues because she left you here?” Aubrey’s attempt at a snide smile ended with a wince. It didn’t make me want to hit her any less.
I clenched my fist and stepped forward. Dream Guy blocked me.
“Class or home?” he asked.
He’d better not be toying with me.
“If I seriously have a choice, home.”
“I’ll take you. Jenna, let Adira know.”
The blonde beside Aubrey nodded, and the quad walked off. Dream Guy motioned me down the stairs.
“You going to fly me home?” I asked.
He glanced at me but kept walking.
“Was she right?” he asked.
“About my mom? Yeah, she left. So what?”
“Is that why you’re angry?”
“Pft. I was angry long before that,” I said.
We reached the first floor and started down a long hall that looked just like the one we’d left.
