CONVICTION OF THE DAMNED: SUPERNO ACADEMY BOOK ONE

by Tierney Storer

  Bette chuckled and lifted two fingers to salute me as she muttered goodbyes. I waited for her to go inside her bedroom before I ran off to my own, needing to see her somewhere truly safe before I could rest. I didn’t know why I cared; Bette was an heir, and hardly my friend.

  But feeling her emotions in that vision had made me uncomfortable, and like I actually knew her just a little. Even as I lay in bed after changing and drinking yet another lavender tea, I found myself unable to get the feelings of her rage out of my mind until I tried just a little harder to prevent my vision. I refused to sleep until the sun came up, and I could send off another warning to the stronzo who would just be waking up.

  Laina

  Don’t let Bette buy any orange soda for the next few weeks; trust me as a ‘seer’?

  Mikel

  You’re a strange kid Darklight, but okay, promise I won’t let her go near the stuff. I swear to all the Gods and whatever (:

  Kaida

  For the first time since I had come to this school I had woken up in a good mood. My sleep had been dreamless and deep, and I was awake on time feeling refreshed for a change. Xavier hadn’t been there to aggravate me this morning, and the silent run without his presence was wonderfully calm. Ember had brought me a hot chocolate to me bedroom for no reason other than to be nice, and Laina, Tory and I had spent the prior evening dying our hairs pretty colours which was a bonus too.

  Laina chose to dye the ends of her platinum hair bright orange, and Tory went for a dark blue. Add that to the fact I made it all the way from lunch to the following breakfast without a single sign of any of the other Heirs or their followers, it was looking like it was going to be a perfect Saturday.

  “You guys still on for tonight? I can come to your room to pick you up.” Allie said meaningfully, as we headed into the Green Room together for some lunch.

  “Sounds good to me,” I bit my lip, “and not that I think you’re the sort to gossip but can we make sure the party favours you’re bringing don’t get mentioned to my sisters?”

  It wasn’t that I wanted to deceive my family, I just knew how they would react if they found out what Allie was bringing for me. When I was fifteen I had almost been a little too into coke and ever since I couldn’t even take a painkiller without Dari watching me like a hawk. Not that I could blame her…

  But I didn’t need that sort of attitude from her tonight, not when drugs where the only way I would even be able to go to any form of party without wanting to run away forever.

  “I got you girl, don’t worry. My mouth is sealed.” Allie mimicked zipping her lips closed as she walked off to the coffee station, her long lilac satin dress flapping in the wind behind her.

  Allie had been closer to Dari since we had met, but I was starting to have a fondness for the wild little Werewolf myself. The way she flitted between both sides of the school divides without a care was quite admirable. She was friends with all of us without having to betray either side.

  It took a lot of courage to be able to stay out of a fight that people were so desperate for you to be involved in and I was almost proud of her for that feat.

  “Good afternoon babycakes.” Dari yelled, waving me over to our usual table which was already piled high with food and drinks. “Your hair looks hot. You look hot. This food looks hot. ”

  I chuckled loudly, pretending that there was no other people in the room nodding their heads in agreement with Dari’s sentiment. Even Asher, who had openly stated days earlier he would never alter the colour of his hair due to too many incidents with his oldest brother, wouldn’t stop telling me how I looked ‘even prettier than I usually did, which isn’t an easy feat considering I’m gorgeous’.

  “Try the doughnuts, they’re fucking orgasmic.” Dari said, throwing me one as I sat down opposite her.

  Asher choked on his coffee, almost puking from the hot liquid scalding his throat, and his blue eyes bugged out his head.

  “I haven’t had an orgasm I so long I doubt I could even remember what they felt like.” I replied with a snigger, winking at Asher so he turned bright red and dropped his gaze. God he’s so innocent. How cute.

  The rest of our table tried to hide their laughter; no doubt unsure if they could actually crack a smile at something we said. I didn’t know who most of them were; just nameless people that hung out with Allie or Tory. But as I was in a happy mood I figured that maybe it was about time I learnt their names and stopped being a bitch.

  Before Dari could reply to my orgasm joke her eyes narrowed and she jutted her chin at something behind me, just as a cold breath appeared out of thin air, whispering into my ear.

  “I could show you what an orgasm feels like if you wanted reminding love.” Caleb murmured just for me, “But I don’t think you deserve one just yet.”

  I jumped to my feet so fast that I would have head butted him if he weren’t a damn bloodsucker, and able to run off so fast.

  “I swear to god you fucking leech.” I snarled, ignoring the fact his proximity had elicited a trickle of longing inside me. Our potential new friends stirred, their desire to want to get involved outweighed slightly by whom they’d actually be going up against.

  Caleb chuckled and advanced on me again, his sharp fangs protruding from his wide grin. He was such a loathsome creature.

  “Is there a particular reason you chose to dye your hair dark green?” He asked darkly.

  “Maybe I figured it would put certain people off me.” I replied sweetly. Like you seeing as it was supposedly a colour you despised.

  I had to admit my petty desire to piss off the Vampiro had more than one good ending; I really liked it. My long hair was a dark emerald green that shimmered in the light. It was a nice change and no doubt part of my good mood today. I felt like a gothic unicorn if there even was such a thing in this world.

  “That’s a shame, because I’m fairly sure you’ve failed,” Caleb replied, “You look even more delectable than usual.”

  He continued to approach, absentmindedly twirling an apple around his fingers as his fangs refused to budge.

  “If you bite me I swear I'm going to stab you.” I threatened, backing up against the table to grab a knife, praying to the Gods that he decided to play nice today. “I'm finally having a good day for once and don’t need you to ruin it!”

  Caleb halted his advance for a second, a strange look falling over his face. He ran a hand through his curls and sighed, his fangs retreating back inside his mouth before he took a large bite of apple.

  “I’ll let you off this one time. Seeing as it’s the weekend and I'm feeling generous.” Holy shit did that actually work? “Plus, I do think that hair colour suits you, so I don’t feel like messing it up today. Not when there’s a party to attend tonight, and a fun new outing for you this afternoon.”

  He winked at me, before snatching up a bagel off the table and strutting away to his usual couch.

  “What outing, what are you on about?” Caleb never replied. I waited the entire time for him to turn back and say it was some sort of joke, but he didn’t. I had actually been let off from the trauma he dealt almost every day and I had no idea why. It was unthinkable, and yet it was all I could think off until later on, when we discovered what outing he had been talking about.

  ***

  Principle Nova was irritating me beyond belief, and I wanted nothing more than to smash her head against a wall over and over until she could no longer harass me. I didn’t need a Guard. I didn’t want a Guard. Over and over, I repeated those words but each time they fell on deaf ears.

  Now I had to waste a perfectly good Saturday meeting potential applicants for the role of my lifelong saviour. It was nauseating at best. She wanted us to follow in the footsteps of all others with Royal blood and choose from the team of Guards for one who could look after each of us.

  “I'm not in the mood for this shit. I don’t need anybody to look after me.” I hissed to my sisters as we waited for the elevator to go up to the rooftop b
ar that had been selected for our meeting.

  Ryder had accompanied us, using some of his beloved portal powder to force us there, after I had refused to step foot inside his car. I didn’t want to behave like a child, but I hated the idea of having this whole Guard thing thrust upon me when I didn’t want it.

  “You think I do? I'm only going along with this for the money at the end of school.” Dari rolled her eyes and glanced at Ryder. “So già chi sceglierò, e ne odierà fino all'ultimo secondo.” I already know who I'm going to pick, and he’s going to hate every second of it.

  The evil laugh that emitted from Dari was scaring even me, and I knew right away that poor Ryder was going to be ruined. He had a target on his back the second he had accosted us in the mortal world and Dari was certainly more than happy to make him pay.

  “Everything will work out perfectly.” Laina grinned, placing each of her hands on our arms and speaking of her vision of us being happy after we left here today.

  She had clearly seen our choices today ending with nothing but joy, but that didn’t ease the knot in my stomach. The only options for a Guard were male at the moment, with no women currently selected on this team. I had no choice but to pick some foolish boy to tag along with for life and the idea of it disturbed me profusely. I had barely been dealing with the men in my life already, I didn’t need another one nor did I want one.

  As the elevator came to a halt and the doors pinged open, I couldn’t stop my resting bitch face from coming out to play.

  “Don’t kill anybody.” Dari whispered in my ear as she exited immediately, making a bee line for the bathrooms with Ryder hot on her heels.

  “I wasn’t planning on a murder until you mentioned it.” I replied to nobody in particular.

  Laina squeezed my hand and floated away, humming to herself as she let the fates decide her Guard. It took me an entire minute of staring before I made my way into the room. All faces had turned to us as we arrived, and I made a mental note to size up every single person before I dared step a foot near them.

  The rooftop bar was more of a giant balcony. With giant marble pillars dotted around the room, and most of it empty except for a large U-shaped bar at the back. The floors were marble, the railing high and glass. There was a horrifyingly high view of some buildings and entertainment venues below, and I knew Dari would not be coming anywhere near this bar today.

  There were about thirty men here, ranging in ages from early twenties to late thirties, each one looking the same regardless of physical differences. Though their looks varied greatly, some even getting a nod of approval from me as I found their faces quite pleasing to look at, they all stood like they were the same.

  Each man held himself with an air of danger and authority, their army like behaviour repulsing me immediately. Our old foster father had been an army man in his youth, and I had no desire to even look at anyone who reminded me of him. I refused to take part. I would get drunk and ignore everybody here until I could leave. It was a brilliant plan. At least, it was brilliant until it actually happened.

  Kaida

  It took far too long to avoid the Guards. I ducked behind plant pots, thick pillars that held the roof up, and even once jumped down and hid under a table that house some snacks. It was shameful but I didn’t care. If none of the Guards could stop and talk to me, then there was no chance they could end up conning their way into being my slave. But it meant it took an entire hour before I even made it to the bar, which meant it was packed with strangers and that would not do.

  I hid back, waiting patiently for a gap in the customers and sneaking my way to the edge of the bar and spotting a handsome boy not much older than me wiping his hands on a towel. The bartender spotted me and ignored the other customers. He headed straight to me, putting down a shot of vodka before I could even order it.

  I raised a brow and met his gaze, sizing up the boy who seemed to know my order already. He was tall and strong, but his body still remained lithe and toned enough that I could make out the lines of his abs through his thin white shirt. His skin was as bronzed as Dari’s and his dark black hair looked only a shade lighter than my natural colour.

  But his eyes were a bright blue, blindingly light and piercing to even look at. What is it with blue eyed boys?!

  “How did you know?” I asked, removing my gaze from his strong jaw, and making eye contact.

  “It’s the only thing keeping me going through today, figured you’d need the same help.” He answered with a shrug, but a small smile tugged at the corner of his full lips. “Plus, I met you on your first night at the Academy and you took the entire bottle of vodka from me.”

  I stared at him, tracing the lines of his face, and trying to figure out whether I could remember him. I felt like I knew him, but it still took me a while to recall my first night at the academy, and the funny boy who had willingly helped me when he had no idea who I was.

  “I remember you I think.” I replied, “it was a stressful night though, and there were a lot of faces. So sorry it took me a second.”

  The boy stared back at me and for the briefest of seconds I felt a surge of energy between the two of us, causing me to shiver and drop my eyes to the drink in my hand. I knocked the vodka back in one, relishing in the burn in my throat as I ignored the weird feeling inside me.

  “Would you like another Princess?” He smirked, refilling the glass without an answer from me. “And you don’t need to apologise. You met hundreds of people that night, I only met one.”

  He had a point. It was easier for him to remember me when I was a supposed celebrity back from the dead.

  “Bring me the bottle and cut the Princess shit.” I laughed. The boy returned with the bottle of some top shelf vodka that I would never pay money for, placing it gently on the bar in front of me.

  I poured another glass and nudged it towards him. I knew it was wrong of me to mess with the staff, but I couldn’t help myself. The poor guy was only here because of us, and I wanted to make his afternoon as fun as I could.

  “What would you like me to call you? I heard you made a right fuss about the types of names you would answer to.” He teased, taking the glass of vodka down in one just like I had.

  “You can call me Kaida.” I replied. “Who are you?”

  The boy glanced over my shoulder with a tight expression, before saluting me with two fingers like a fool.

  “Maximillian, but you can call me Max.” He smiled down at me, and the energy was there again, making my hands shake a little, but not with fear. Why the hell am I not freaking out about him? He’s a boy. I don’t like boys.

  I felt like I knew him from somewhere but couldn’t figure it out. I didn’t recall the school having anymore events where bartenders were required, so figured he must have been a student I had seen in the halls or something.

  “Well Max, tell me your life story. What brings you behind our bar today when you don’t really look old enough to drink?”

  It turned out he barely was, as he had only turned twenty-one this year. But also, Mirane didn’t have the same laws as America, and there was no legal drinking age.

  “Not much to say really. I'm not old enough to be part of the real Guard for another year, so they stuck me on servant duty.”

  “You want to be a Guard?” I asked.

  “Not really. But there wasn’t much else I could think of doing with my life. I don’t have need for money or fame so figured being a Guard would work cuz I get to hit things.”

  He rolled his eyes and glanced over my shoulder again as though looking for someone.

  “I suppose when you’re used to having servants it can be quite an arduous task taking their place.” I smiled angelically to take the bite out my words and Max chuckled. “Or are you one of the rare types of people here that weren’t born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

  “Never had servants. My brother and I were orphans until we got adopted when I was eight, and he was ten.”

  The fact he was an
orphan didn’t surprise me. The Gods had well and truly tried to mess with me today. It was the only reason I could think that made sense for why I felt like I knew Max. What was the chance of me being here and meeting a boy who had no family, and a good sense of humour, that didn’t terrify the shit out of me?

  Whoever was controlling my fate was trying to force me into choosing somebody today and I was having none of it. Max was not a Guard yet, so hopefully that meant that Haziel or Nakoa – whichever one supposedly controlled fate – would have their plan ruined.

  Max’s eyes shifted behind me again as her nervously bit on his lip. He’s a little shifty. Maybe he’s secretly a spy.

  “You okay?” I asked as I spotted Laina hovering in the middle of the room, her eyes greying over with the shadows of a vision.

  “Just the boss giving me the evils, nothing I'm not used to.” He replied, smirking at me once again.

  He was a rather pretty boy even if there wasn’t an ounce of sexual attraction there for me. It was strange; on paper he was everything I liked looks wise, but the idea of kissing him made me want to puke. And then drink bleach. And then perhaps set myself on fire…

  “Well Max, it was a pleasure meeting you. I'm afraid I have to walk around a while and pretend to care, but rest assured I’ll be back for the rest of that bottle.”