CONVICTION OF THE DAMNED: SUPERNO ACADEMY BOOK ONE

by Tierney Storer

“Thanks stronzo but I don’t need your help.” I hissed.

  If I had the ability I would have walked away to hide in my room. But I knew without doubt I wouldn’t make it up the stairs without passing out or throwing up, and I didn’t have much of a desire to do either. Not that I would ever voice that out loud.

  “Kaida stop being such a bitch and let me heal you.” Xavier snapped, holding out his hand towards me and looking like I had just spat in his cereal.

  “I don’t need healing.” I lied, trying to play it out until I could sneak off to a hospital or something. “And especially not from you.”

  He ran a hand through his dark hair, the bun once again messy. His hair always made him look like he had just woken up and threw it together and it infuriated me beyond belief.

  “I could go to a doctor or something if I was injured.” I shrugged nonchalantly, swerving my eyes around the room fake bored. “And I have no intention of seeing any medical professionals right now.”

  I doubted I could walk to a doctor, even if I knew where to find one. But that wasn’t Xavier’s problem, I just needed him gone.

  “There are no doctors here bella.” Xavier sighed, dashing all my hopes. Though I couldn’t say I minded the compliment he had given me; it was nice to know he thought I was beautiful even if he hated my guts.

  Xavier held his hand out again, this time his olive skin glowing with a pale green light. I didn’t want his help, but it was looking like I didn’t have any other choice. And seeing as I didn’t know how to do any sort of healing beyond sticking on a band aid, I was screwed.

  “It will take less than a minute; and you can go wash away all my germs afterwards.” He teased, reminding me of my words after his high five this morning.

  I bit my lip, trying to decide which was worse. The mental trauma the demons in my head would give me for the prolonged contact or the actual physical pain I was in. I’m fairly sure I have a broken rib…

  “Okay,” I resigned myself to his touch with a sigh, “grazie Xavier.”

  “You’re welcome.” He replied, keeping his hand perfectly still as I poked one single finger into his palm. “You should feel it right away.”

  He was right. The green glow of healing power raced through my veins, releasing all the tension and anger inside my soul. Before I could even comprehend the fact he was actually helping me he was done; all injuries vanished without a trace. Well, no more trace than the mud and leaves coating my clothes and hair.

  “How’d you do that?” I asked, flexing my fingers and stretching without an ounce of pain.

  “Phoenix’s have a healing ability, usually we only use it on ourselves, but we can heal other people too.”

  I knew it was probably dumb to ask Xavier questions but so far he was the only one to answer me honestly when I asked him things.

  “Do any other classes have healing magic?”

  “Nope. Though Vampire blood does have healing properties, but they would never share it with someone. Not unless they were a loved one or something.”” He replied, “Each class has different powers, but the royal families have each got a specific gift themselves. Usually over an element.”

  Xavier took a step back from me and held his hand out flat. His palm began to glow red and seconds later a small fireball was dancing wickedly across his skin.

  “I can conjure and manipulate fire.” He said, like it was completely normal.

  “Okay… what about the others?”

  “Mikel can control water. Then Bette can speak to, and control animals and Caleb can control air. I presume Tory can manipulate fire like me, and Ryder can’t do anything extra because he’s not from the royal bloodline.” It didn’t escape my notice that he didn’t mention Ember’s talents.

  My mouth gaped open, and I had no reply. I knew the Heirs were strong, but to be able to wield actual elements was a completely different ball game entirely.

  “Thanks for telling me.” I mumbled, trying to comprehend a little more.

  “You’re welcome; have a nice evening Kat. Don’t use all the hot water in the shower.” Xavier chuckled, strolling out the room without another word. Leaving me stood like a lemon wondering how the hell I had had such a horrendous first day of school, and how I was supposed to kill someone who could control air.

  Dari

  Our first day of school had been the best day ever and that was not something I had ever said before. Our afternoon classes were all cancelled after the shadow sighting (the shadow had been killed by dinner) which was awesome, but the greatest thing had been Kaida breaking all the bones in the stupid Leech’s face. Stabbing him to death had been a little bit far but that was Kaida; she was always extreme.

  But I had to admit the sight of her brutalising his features, and wiping that stupid grin of his face, had made my day ten times better than I thought it would be. Even though Ryder was a little grumpy with me after that, I got to spend the rest of the afternoon napping and watching Netflix so I was the happiest I had been in a while.

  “How are you this fine morning Princess?” Allie’s voice interrupted my daydreaming and I rushed to my feet.

  In all my daydreaming I had almost made myself late for class. Laina had left ten minutes ago with Tory, and Kaida was going to meet us there on account of not wanting to be Vampire breakfast. It was day two of our school and a do-over for yesterday, minus the nice outfit, which meant I had to try hard not to be such lazy bitch and actually make it on time.

  We had to wear our uniforms today and to say I was unimpressed was an understatement. The sexist rules said girls had to wear skirts and the ones provided were vile. They were typical private school colours and short, barely able to make it halfway down my thighs. They didn’t look appropriate for a club let alone a school so of course I had refused to wear them. Kaida had offered a pair of her thick black tights but even that angered me.

  I had nothing against skirts until I was forced to wear them, then I sure as hell wouldn’t be caught dead in one. Whatever teacher I had first would have to deal with me in my jeans if they wanted me in their class, and if not I’d be sure to point out the misogyny involved in the dress code.

  I replied to Allie a little too late, but she said nothing. Her face was bright and smiling as the pair of us headed out the Green Room towards our first lesson of the day; Human History.

  “Is it just History like I learned in school, or is it anything specific?” I didn’t care much for history; it was more Kaida’s subject.

  “I don’t know to be honest; I don’t usually turn up.” Allie snickered.

  “How do you get away with that? You and Bette seem to be able to ditch at will.”

  Before she could reply a red headed girl walked past us, barging into Allie’s shoulder with enough force to make her stumble. If not for me catching her she would have ended up flat on her face.

  “Watch where you’re walking bitch.” I snapped, glaring at the girl and her two little friends. They were all pretty, supermodel pretty, with two of them having such light blonde hair it almost looked white. But their lips were fake and their makeup far too cakey for me; I didn’t like things like that.

  The red head wasn’t the same as her friends but the ugly look on her face marred any chance of her ever been considered nice by me.

  “Who do you think you’re talking to like that?” She sneered, raising a dark brow and looking at me like I was shit on the bottom of her shoe.

  “I don’t know why you’re hanging out with nasty un-fae filth like her Allie.” The girl said. “I’d have thought you would know better.”

  Just as I was about to respond Allie nudged me in the side and mouthed the word Vampire. Backing down from a fight was not in my nature but I didn’t particularly fancy being bitten today, so had no choice but to shrug it off and walk away, half dragging Allie with me, so I had another reason not to turn back and cave the Vampira’s face in.

  I didn’t want Allie to get hurt on my behalf either and the red head hadn’t made
any move to walk off from us, clearly waiting for me to provoke her.

  “Ignore her; Poppy is a bitch. She was just trying to get a rise from you, and I doubted you wanted to get bit.” Allie muttered. “Usually, I would have beat the crap out of her, but Bette has barred me from any fights.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Is every stronzo here a leech?” I asked, as the two of us practically ran to our class.

  She shook her head and chuckled, agreeing with my asshole sentiment as she wiped a hand over her shaved head.

  “Nope, there are plenty of assholes who aren’t Vamps, but most of them are. They have superiority complexes.” No shit.

  “Who was she? Anyone important?”

  Allie opened the door to the building that housed our first lesson, explaining why retreat had been such a good idea.

  “That was Poppy Middleton, she’s the daughter of one of the High Lords for the Kingdom, and she’s supposedly arranged to marry Caleb when they both finish high school. She’s a high class level which is the only reason I wouldn’t try and murder her other than Bette’s orders.”

  Knowing that she and Caleb were going to be stuck with each other forever sort of took the sting out of my embarrassment at running off. They would no doubt be annoying the hell out of each other, and I couldn’t wait for that.

  “Good luck to them.” I snorted, before it turned into a gasp as I took in the building we were in.

  The ceiling was towering and never ending, the walls made of white marble and stone. The corridors never seemed to end and there were enough windows on the walls that the light was almost unbearable. A huge winding staircase took up the left wall and I wondered how many floors were in this castle of a building.

  “First door on the right.” Allie said. I headed in where she pointed, following a couple of students I didn’t recognize.

  Tory and Laina were inside and so was Kaida, clearly having beat us here already. I would have offered to miss out on breakfast with her, but Kaida didn’t need everybody babysitting her, and to be quite honest I wanted to eat all the pastries I could find. Sue me, I'm a greedy bitch.

  “Morning guys!” Tory waved at us, and we headed for the two seats she had saved. “How’re we all today?”

  There were nearly thirty students in the room already and more were quickly arriving. The room itself was another extension of outside, with marble, windows and too much light. But there was a desk with a large electronic whiteboard behind it and a semi-circle of desks filling up in front. We had been stuck at the front, only three rows back from the desk, and were in prime location for whatever teacher we had been cursed with to pick on us.

  As more students began to arrive so did Principal Novak. She looked the same as I had last seen her, high as a kite and creepily happy. She stood in the doorway and clapped her hands, the class instantly falling silent.

  “Good morning students, I just wanted to interrupt you for a moment to let you know that Professor Zion won’t be teaching you Human History for this year, due to an unfortunate incident yesterday.”

  The room erupted into immediate whispers, the main one being that Professor Zion had been attacked by the shadow that had broken onto campus. I only hoped for his sake that his injuries weren’t too gruesome.

  “I saw the Guards taking him to the infirmary and he barely looked alive.” A stunning dark-haired boy on Tory’s left whispered to us.

  Principle Novak cleared her throat and waved, the bangles on her delicate wrists clacking together irritatingly.

  “Whilst we have been able to find a temporary replacement for Zion, we have also decided it would be best to put both of his classes together so that there is less of a strain and distraction to your studies.” Oh no. Please no, don’t be who I think it is.

  The classroom door opened, and my stomach dropped.

  “Oh my God.” Tory moaned as the newcomers strolled into the room, “I don’t want to be in the same class as the Heirs again.” Same here girl.

  “Just pretend they don’t exist; it shouldn’t be too hard.” Kaida said, her eyes betraying that as a lie as Caleb waltzed in and sat down at the desk behind her, his cocky grin never once fading.

  Xavier, Mikel, and Ember followed suit, dropping into the seats either side of him. Mikel looked every inch the pirate, even wearing a skin-tight pair of leather pants instead of his school ones, and Xavier had abandoned his blazer and tie with just his white shirt half unbuttoned to show off the top of his tanned torso. Even Ember was wearing no blazer and had his shirt sleeves rolled up. They looked like a hot boy band and if not for their personalities I honestly wouldn’t have minded having them here.

  Bette seemed to be missing once more and I didn’t know what to make of it as I tried to think of what she was doing. Surely Bette had to turn up to at least one class? How did she not fail every subject?

  “I know you will all make sure that the Heirs have a wonderful time with you, and I know they will be a valuable asset to your class. Plus, we now get the benefit of training all of you together!” She waved her hands to include me and my sisters. Kill me now.

  Novak continued singing the Heirs praises and I zoned out, waiting for the important part of who our new teacher would be. I knew Kaida would be freaking out at the last-minute change so I wanted to be able to research our new professor after class so she wouldn’t be so stressed out for the next lesson.

  “And here he is. I’ll leave you all in Professor Ryder’s capable hands!” Novak swanned off as all hope I had of enjoying this subject shattered into a billion irreparable pieces.

  Ryder stared down at me the second he came into his classroom, a wicked gleam in those bright green eyes of his as he kicked the door shut behind him. He slammed his black backpack down on the desk with a groan and ran a hand through his blonde curls. He was wearing tight black suit pants and a cream shirt which clung to his muscles in a deliciously sinful way.

  “Morning Sir.” The class chimed in unison, causing Kaida to snicker by my side.

  Ryder refused to respond to the class and instead prowled towards me like a panther, ready and waiting to strike.

  “Care to explain the outfit Princess?” He asked me, with his thick brow raised. Kaida gave me a look that said don’t be an asshole on our first day in his class, but I pretended she didn’t exist.

  If Mikel could play fancy dress then I sure as hell could wear some damn jeans.

  “What’s wrong with my outfit Vampiro?” I bit back, not even trying to be polite.

  “Jeans are not part of the dress code; where is your skirt?” Ryder was glaring at me a little, no doubt trying to be angry and stern. But he didn’t faze me in the slightest and whatever intimidation he had hoped he would have was a pipe dream.

  I stood up slowly, careful to word what I said so that Kaida couldn’t moan at me too much later on.

  “I'm not wearing that skirt stronzo; it looks like it came fresh from a low budget porno.” The class gasped and I had to bite back a chuckle. If they thought I was already rocking the boat at their little prison of a school, then they hadn’t seen anything yet.

  I was being nice so far. Or as nice as I could be.

  “Regardless of your opinion, you are in my classroom now and not the mortal world. So, if you want to stand a chance in hell of passing your midterm exams and not being returned to the filthy realm you came from, I suggest you do and wear what you are told.” Ryder said sternly, crossing his arms over his chest for even more of a statement.

  He was such a dick, and I knew this was payback for yesterday. He had seen Mikel’s pants too and hadn’t said a word.

  “I can’t wear the jeans in your classroom?” I asked sweetly. Ryder shook his head, and I smiled back, beginning to undo the button on my jeans as though I was going to take them off.

  “What the hell are you doing?” He yelled, the desk shaking with the volume of his deep voice.

  “You told me I can’t wear my jeans sir, so I was taking them off for you.”
>
  Ryder stared at me for so long I began to bore and checked out the varnish on my nails. He wasn’t going to rise to my bait, I just knew it. The little Vampiro thought he still held power.

  “You can spend the rest of the lesson up front with me so you can show off your jeans to everyone.” Ryder curled his finger in my direction, summoning me towards his desk. “Crawl over here on your hands and knees.”

  His words hit me like a bomb, and I dropped to the ground, beginning my journey to his desk on all fours. I knew I didn’t want to be doing it, but I couldn’t stop myself. Ryder was doing that stupid coercion thing he had been doing the first night we met him, and I had no idea how to stop it.

  Like a fool I crawled my way to his desk, the laughter of the students making my cheeks burn red and the desire for vengeance start growing in my heart.

  “Good girl. Now sit there.” He pointed to his desk chair, and I obliged, not wanting him to coerce me again. The least I could do was front out his punishment like it didn’t bother me.

  Ryder turned to the board and began writing, his hand moving so fast I could barely see it. When done he took a step back, his evil smile on me once more as he addressed the class.

  “For our first lesson I thought it would be fun to learn about some of the seedier aspects of Human History. The first being gangs and gang culture.” Is he fucking with me?

  The Portal in front of me was already opening itself to the correct page, as though he had already planned on teaching this class before I had even argued with him.