“If you could all turn to your textbook in your Portals and we shall begin on page one-oh-three.” I scanned the Portal in my hands, a pit settling in my stomach when I read the name of the gang on there.
Ryder was going to be making an example of me and I could already feel my heartbeat racing in anticipation. I caught Laina’s eye as she read it too, but even her reassuring smile did nothing to ease my nerves.
“Who here has heard of the Scarlett Angels? Ryder asked, not once taking his eyes off of mine.
Laina and Kaida raised their hands, but I refused, keeping mine glued to the desk beside me as they began to shake. Why is he such an asshole?!
“Laina, enlighten the class.” Ryder said.
“The Scarlett Angels were a biker gang started in California, but they have chapters all over America now. They were one of the fastest growing gangs over the last fifty years and became renowned after their last leader and his family were massacred six years ago.”
Ryder nodded appreciatively as he walked between the isles of seats, asking Kaida his next question.
“What are they famous for?”
“Drug trafficking and dealing, robbery, GBH, murder and pretty much anything they fancy. They’re one of the biggest gangs in the country and have a reputation for being randomly violent, with no care for their own wellbeing during the crimes they commit, which makes them a rather bad thing to come up against. They torture and maim people for fun so they’re not exactly predictable.” Kaida apologised to me with her eyes, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t her fault she was being used to torture me.
Ryder came to a stop in front of me, his cold gaze boring into mine and making me regret ever wearing these stupid jeans to his damn lesson. This stronzo was going to require a sneakier tactic if I wanted to get under his skin.
“And how does one become a member of the Scarlett Angels?” He asked me. I shrugged, refusing to answer unless he made me.
“Don’t be shy Princess. Tell me how someone gets initiated.”
My mouth opened to reply despite every fibre of my being tell me not to and I made a vow to teach this Vampiro who he was fucking with.
“You have to be invited by a current member, and if you choose to accept you have to bring them five fingers from five of their different enemies. It could be someone who owed them money, or more serious and a person who disrespected them somehow. Then once you’re in, you are in for life.”
Cutting off fingers was easier than most people thought it was. The only hard part was actually listening to the person screaming as you removed their flesh and begged you not to hurt them; that was always a little difficult to stomach.
“And how do you know who is a member?” Ryder asked me his final question, relishing in my embarrassment like the bastard he was.
This stronzo thinks he can embarrass me? Hell no.
“They have a tattoo of red lips across their ribs with their chapter’s number underneath it.” I replied, deciding to go along with him instead of rebelling. He wouldn’t know how pissed I was if I acted like I enjoyed it instead of making him coerce me. “As you can see it’s quite pretty if you don’t think too hard about how you got it.”
I had raised my shirt up high enough that the bottom of my lacy blue bra peaked through. The entire class now had full view of one of the worst times of my life branded onto my flesh. Each student stopped their whispered conversations and stared at me, a mixture of fear, pity and disgust etched onto their faces.
“Any other questions you’d like to know the answer to, I'm happy to offer my assistance if you need help teaching the class stronzo.” I spat.
Ryder shook his head, amused at my expression. He was seriously grinding my gears and I desperately wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.
“That will be all for today Princess. Feel free to sit back down in my chair.” I half collapsed into the desk chair, careful to keep my gaze on the Portal in front of me and not at anyone else for the rest of the lesson.
Ryder loosened his pale gray tie a little, his long fingers unknotting it from his neck with ease.
“By the end of the lesson I want a thousand words on any information you can find on the Angels in your portals, the gorier the details the better. And if anyone does need help then feel free to ask Dari as she so kindly offered.” Ryder instructed the class and then perched on his desk in front of me, thankfully blocking me from view of intrusive eyes.
I didn’t want to be looked at like some sort of unstable freak. I had joined the Angels to help out my family; that was all. I would have made the same decision again in a heartbeat, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t ashamed of some of the things I had done and been prepared to do.
Fucking Ryder. I'm going to kill him.
Chapter Twenty
Laina
The very first double lesson of the day (two hours long, ew) had not been the worst by any means, but Ryder had pissed Dari off and called her out in front of the class and that was never going to end well. Being a member of the Scarlett Angels was a sore spot for her; she didn’t exactly go around bragging to people about her participation. She kept that part of her life mostly separate from me and Kaida, only letting us in when I happened to see something that she needed to know.
As far as I was aware Roscoe had been the first person she had actually killed, but I couldn’t say so for sure. It didn’t fill me with pride to know my sister was a murderer but knowing why she did it was good enough to stop me ever thinking less of her. The money from Dari’s jobs had allowed us to run away from our last foster home, get an apartment and survive for almost two years. Her job was just one of those things that a desperate person took because they had no other choice, and I was damn grateful that she had done it.
Some of the Heirs fan club didn’t see it that way, and before the end of lunch she had already been accosted several times. Murderer, filthy criminal, dumb bitch crook and psycho had been the last few we had heard. Dari insisted it wasn’t getting to her, but her hands hadn’t stopped shaking since the lesson and I was beginning to worry.
“I'm fine. I just need to punch something.” Dari said, glancing sideways at a table of girls who were whispering and laughing whilst staring at her. “But I can’t hit anything without forcing the idea that I'm a psycho.”
She was right. Any sort of violence she dished out would only go to further the rumours about her quickly circulating around the school.
“I think you should just smash one of their faces into a table and get it over with. They’re going to slate you anyway; you might as well get something out of it.” A dark-haired boy said as he sat down at our table with his tray of food.
His uniform barely hung on to his body, the buttons of his shirt undone and the tie hanging on by a thread, showcasing his perfectly toned abs. I vaguely recognised him from our Human History class but couldn’t quite remember his name. But he had a wild look on his face that suggested he and Dari would get along fine even if she were violent.
Dari laughed and held her hand out for a high five, introducing herself as she did.
“I'm Asher Blade,” He replied, waving at Kaida and me too, “and yes I am Pixie before someone else tells you.” Asher was pretty in a dark haired-dark eyed-bronze God type of way which I was quite sure was everybody’s type, and I couldn’t help but notice Allie and Dari’s appreciative eyes on him.
“They don’t know anything about the classes Ash, being a Pixie means nothing to them.” Tory moved over slightly, her arm brushing up against Asher and sending a blaze of wanting through me.
I wished I had the confidence to go over and sit with her and let my hands trail patterns across her perfect skin. But despite knowing she was into girls – yes I had asked her, but in a super casual way - I didn’t know if she was into me, and I was nowhere near confident enough to try and do anything about it. I had cursed myself to this existence just outside her space.
“Come on then il folletto, tell me everything.” Dari said
to Asher, poking him on the arm as she called him a pixie.
Asher began telling the story of his family and his class, omitting no gory detail. He was a Pixie, and they were famed for being the criminals of this realm. Most of them were mischievous, manipulative or plain evil; not exactly something that warmed their kind to others. But Asher’s family in particular were one of the biggest gangs in Altair and had a famous reputation for violence.
“If anything goes wrong in the Kingdoms, hell in all of Mirane, then Pixies are usually the ones to blame. But I blame Nakoa for creating us.”
There were a few nods and agreements from around the table at his story and I made a note to research Pixie’s when I went back to my room tonight.
“Mirane?” I asked, unsure of where that was again. Asher gave me a puzzled look before replying.
“Mirane is what this country is called. You have the five separate Kingdoms, but they all come in one bundle or country, aka Mirane.” “Sorry if it was a dumb question. I forgot… there’s been so much told to us since we arrived and it’s all quite a lot.” I smiled shyly and Asher responded in kind.
Asher didn’t seem to be so offended by our lack of knowledge like some of the other students had been. It was like he understood that it wasn’t out fault, and we were trying our best. I hadn’t held out much hope of the students here being empathetic enough to understand us, but I was starting to have the tiniest bit of hope that maybe they weren’t all assholes.
Of course, the first one to be nice is a criminal though, how good is that going to look for Dari.
“It’s cool, I get it. I didn’t know half the shit I know about Mirane before I came here, and I actually grew up in this world. Though Pixie’s aren’t the best students usually.” He shivered. “But I swear I'm not the norm for my kind. My brothers practically raised me as the opposite in every way. I'm like the poster child for Pixie reform.”
Asher grinned and drew a halo in the air above his head.
“Are your brothers as hot as you or did you take up all the good genes bellissimo?” Dari asked unashamedly. He’s tall dark and covered in tattoos, why should I be surprised she thinks he’s gorgeous?
Asher burst out laughing; the depth of his voice drawing a couple of appreciative looks our way.
“They look a lot like me, except August has this ridiculous blue hair and Axel has a penchant for piercings and face tattoos. But I hate to be the bearer of bad news darling; I'm gayer than a unicorn shitting rainbows.”
Asher continued telling us about his family, answering any personal question Dari could think off until it was completely cemented that they were going to be besties. I was fairly sure that they would end up on little murder sprees together at some point in the future from the way they fondly talked about violence.
“I didn’t realise they gave out scholarships here. I figured it was the sort of place that was above doing things for us lower tier kids.” Dari chuckled as she stole the last of the fries off my plate.
“Same here until I was accepted. I figured my brothers pulled some strings or kidnapped the principal’s kid.”
I was barely paying them any attention, too busy swirling the strawberry yoghurt around my pot, when a vision hit me out of nowhere, and I dropped the entire thing down with a gasp as the world around me blurred until it went black. A part of me could feel the cold floor as I collapsed onto it, but for the most part I wasn’t even inside my body anymore; I was in the shadow realm.
I was surrounded by shadows and fog, the screams of my fallen sisters echoing through my ears as everything around us burned down to a crisp. We were trapped in a magic dome, the walls of which barred us from the outside world and any help. A tall blonde haired, blue-eyed man I didn’t recognize was just in my eye line, his tortured face screaming my name as the shadow closest to me advanced. I was desperate to reach him, but I couldn’t figure out why.
Dari was the first to die; the shadow threw her through the air, and she dropped to the ground with a thud, her spine broken beyond repair and her eyes vacant and hollow. Kaida let out a scream so loud my eardrums could have burst, as she fought the shadows off with nothing more than a half-broken sword.
“LAINA RUN!” Kaida was shouting at me, begging me to save myself, but I couldn’t do a single thing.
There was nothing inside me anymore except fear, desperation, and the undeniable knowledge that my sisters were dead. I stood as still as a statue, and a shadow I didn’t see behind me, struck out it’s long arm and stabbed right through the middle of my chest. The agony that tore through me was like nothing I had ever felt before, and I could do nothing but drop to the ground and scream as the poison began rotting away inside me, burning up my veins.
My half-closed eyes watched Kaida battle to the death, and I saw the exact moment a shadow took her heart out of her chest and stole her life. A hollow voice whispered in my ear as I lay dying too, telling me everything I needed to know.
“Katarina Darklight must give herself over to the shadows unless she wants the entire Darklight family to perish. You must push her to the edge and prevent the decimation of your family. Katarina is your only hope. She is Mirane’s only hope. Without her we all die.”
I was thrashing like a cat in water, pushing against the steel grip of whoever the hell was holding me down. My head returned to me, and the sight of the Green Room began painting itself in front of my eyes. As did the faces of the entire room staring at me like a carnival freak that had just gone on a killing spree.
“Lainy?” Dari whispered my name as I realised it was her who was pinning me down, and not some unknown enemy. I immediately relaxed, stopping the attack on her arms, and feeling nothing but shame at my reaction.
She began asking what I had seen but I refused to respond. I knew it was probably wrong of me, and I had never lied about a vision before, but I couldn’t bring myself to look into my sisters faces and tell them I had just watched them die.
The vision didn’t feel like it was about to happen any time soon, so I made a silent vow to keep it to myself until I could figure out how to change it. I knew the voice had said the only hope was for me to push Kaida into the shadows, but there was absolutely no chance in hell I was going to do that to her.
Sacrificing my oldest sister was never a thought in my mind, even if it meant it would save this entire realm. I knew I was weak and not usually the type for grand declarations, but I would happily die ten times over before I ever sacrificed Kaida.
“I'm okay; was just a weird ass vision.” I beamed at my sisters, easing the tension in their bodies. “Just a bunch of fog and stuff.”
“Anything we need to know poca girasole?” Little sunflower.
I shook my head at Kaida and turned away from her penetrative stare to see the state of my lunch. Luckily the spilt yoghurt had only managed to cover the table and missed everybody else sat near me.
“Sorry for the mess.” I said to Tory, who had been sitting the closest. But she refused to hear it and rushed off to find me a new yoghurt despite my protests.
“Look out.” Asher whispered, “Idiot’s oncoming.”
Asher nudged his chin behind me, at the arrival of the Heirs. They were heading directly our way looking pleased as punch at whatever Mikel held inside the black box in his hands.
“Why do they always look like they’re up to something?” Asher mused, quickly hiding his face behind a book in his bag so as not to draw any attention. I couldn’t blame him. If I knew hiding would work I would have done it too.
My family stood up, glaring down at the three boys coming to cause us issues once more. Bette and Ember hovered at the back of their group, talking between themselves. I could see Ryder in the distance speaking deeply with Novak, but even he had turned his eyes onto us and whatever was about to go down.
“Hello my lovelies, how is your day going?” Caleb beamed, coming to a stop right in front of Kaida with an evil grin.
“What do you want sanguisuga?” Dari barked,
drawing his attention onto her instead.
“We have a gift for you Princess.” Mikel replied, twirling the end of a dreadlock around his finger like some sort of cartoon villain.
Caleb took a step back and let Mikel pass the black box over to Dari. She didn’t hesitate to take it, but I could see the shake of her shoulders as she tried to keep calm.
“We thought it was appropriate for you, little criminal.” Xavier added, as Dari tore the box open and looked at what was inside.
I made the mistake of looking down too, only ending up wanting to hurl once I was done. The box was filled with black velvet, and nestled in the middle was five fingers, that had clearly been savagely cut off from whichever poor soul they belonged to. I didn’t know if they were real, or some sort of trick, but the way the bone stuck out and the blood ran dry I couldn’t tell that they were artifice.
Dari passed the box to Kaida without a word, the two of them sharing a look as Kaida took in the mutilated digits. A single beat of silence passed before they made their choice.
“Ti copro le spalle, uccidilo.” I’ve got your back, kill him. Kaida growled, and as one, my two sisters jumped onto Mikel with nothing but death in their hearts, neither intending on letting up until the Siren was nothing more than ash beneath their hands.
Tory had explained that fights here were meant to be settled between the people involved, and that ganging up on anyone was never really something fae did unless you wanted to bring shame upon your family and name. But neither of my sisters seemed to care as they began kicking the crap out of Mikel together.
CONVICTION OF THE DAMNED: SUPERNO ACADEMY BOOK ONE Page 17
