Foreseen (Suoja Guild Book 2)

by AJ Anders

  Evie turned hers over and noted the number, three hundred and twenty-five. She glanced at the door closest to her. Three hundred and one. Without acknowledging the others, she dragged her suitcase behind her once more as she walked down the hallway, checking the small plaques over the doors for her room. She passed the kitchenette and showers Mrs. Solomon mentioned and kept going. At the end of the hall, Evie found her room.

  Scanning her card, she opened the door and took in her new home, expecting a room the size of a small breadbox. Instead, shock froze her in place at the sight of the expansive room. A corner unit, large windows hung on two sides of the interior. A full bed with a moss colored comforter sat against the far wall, shoved into the corner. An oversized rug took up most of the floor space, its muted colors imbuing the room with tranquility. A trunk sat at the end of the bed, extra blankets stacked neatly in a pile on top. A desk, complete with chair, sat under one window. A small bag sat on top of it, and she made a mental note to investigate it later. Against the opposite wall sat a small four drawer dresser. There were two additional doors besides the one she entered from. Evie toured the room, opening the first door. The miniature, three-piece bathroom in muted blues included a shower, sink, and toilet.

  Evie continued her inspection and moved to the second door, expecting an empty closet. But once again, she was in for a shock. Clothing filled the closet, fully stocked with everything she’d been forced to leave behind.

  During the camp raid, the Surmata handed out boxes to everyone, instructing them to pack up a suitcase with their essentials and to store the remaining items in boxes. They cautioned only to bring the items they held most precious. At the time, Evie believed she would never see the rest of her possessions again.

  Even her shoes made it.

  Row after row of Converse shoes in a rainbow of colors lined the floor in neat stacks. Even her flip-flops peeped out from behind the tennis shoes. On the top shelf, three boxes marked Evie’s Personal Effects waited for her to open them.

  She shook her head in amazement. How did the rest of her belongings make the journey ahead of her? Tears welled up in her eyes. Logically, she knew she was overacting, but the events over the last few days, the revelations over the last few hours, suddenly overwhelmed her. The backpack Evie carried fell from her shoulder to land with a thump against the hard floor. Her body slowly followed, sinking down until she sat on the floor with her knees pulled up, head resting against them.

  She couldn’t hold back the flood of tears she’d dammed up over the last few days. She tried to be strong, to hold it together, but finally, in the privacy of her new room, she allowed her emotions to burst forth. Relief, terror, joy, all those pesky human emotions escaped in big, heaping sobs.

  ~

  Evie scrubbed her face clean, trying to remove the telltale signs the tears left. She didn’t want to advertise her emotional breakdown. Her former camp mates would use it against her.

  Hunger pangs assaulted her, and her belly growled at the lack of food. Unwilling to socialize anymore tonight, she didn’t want to visit the café located on the main floor. Instead, she decided to search the offerings of the small kitchenette located on this floor.

  Grabbing her keycard from where she left it on the desk, she scurried out of the room. Evie’s muscles relaxed when she found the hallway deserted. Praying her luck held, she crept down to the tiny kitchen nestled by the showers. The plush, red carpet acted as a natural sound barrier to quiet her footsteps, and she didn’t encounter a single person along the way. Everyone must be either downstairs looking for something more substantial to eat, or they were holed up in their room, finally giving way to the exhaustion of their long trip from camp.

  Glancing around, Evie took in the nondescript kitchen. A large, stainless steel fridge dominated one half of the room, the other side taken up by cabinets and a double-sink. On the counter sat a small toaster and coffeepot, the only other appliances present. Two round tables, each with four chairs, filled the remaining space.

  Evie opened the cabinet doors closest to her. The first contained plates and glasses, but the next set held all kinds of treasure. Chips, crackers, cookies, and fruit cups, all lined neatly inside. In search of something heartier, Evie closed the cabinet and moved to the fridge. Inside, fresh made sandwiches sat in organized stacks on the middle shelf, wrapped in plastic with tiny product indication labels affixed to the front. Evie chose the one marked chicken salad. Spotting bottles of water on the bottom shelf, Evie grabbed one before she shut the door. Taking napkins from the sideboard, she moved to one of the small tables and sat, unwrapping her sandwich.

  ~

  With her belly full, Evie cleaned up her mess. Spotting a trash can in the corner, she threw the remains of her dinner away and turned to head back to her room. She still needed to unpack the rest of her items, and she wanted to review the schedule Soma Dashiel gave her.

  As her foot left the tile floor of the kitchen and hit carpet, a hard body rounded the corner at the last second and crashed into Evie. Arms grabbed her and pushed her hard against the wall. Taken off guard, Evie’s eyes flew up to meet Dominick’s hate filled gaze. One of his large hands moved from her arm to encircle her throat, squeezing. He kept his grip firm, but it lacked the pressure to restrict her airflow or cause damage.

  “You think you’re so smart, don’tcha? You think just because we’re here you don’t have to live by your father’s teachings?” Spittle punctuated each word, his lips drawn tight over his teeth as he forced the words out. “I’m here to remind you we’ll be keeping an eye on you. If you step out of line, there will be consequences.”

  For added emphasis, he tightened his grip, and Evie’s breath hitched. Banked anger blazed within his eyes, then turned to an almost maniacal hunger as his grip tightened further. Evie fought against his grip. Her chest heaved as she struggled to take in more air. Dominick leered and jerked her forward by the neck. Forcing her head up, he sneered as he shoved her head backward, straight into the wood paneled wall.

  Bright lights exploded in Evie’s vision, followed by blinding dizziness. Two hits to the head in one day sent the room spinning around her. When Dominick’s features came back into focus, the intensity in his eyes scared her. Hatred bled from them.

  “If you betray us, turn your back on the cause, I will make sure you pay in pain and blood,” he seethed, fisting her hair tightly. “Do you understand me?”

  Evie struggled to nod, hoping her answer would appease him.

  With anyone else, she would knee them in the balls, but something always held her back from hurting Dominick. Some unknown force made her limbs slow to respond to her body’s need to defend itself. Evie always chalked it up to him being the one to oversee her training all the past five years, a lifetime of conditioning not to fight back. But lately, it felt like something more.

  Dominick released her throat, allowing her to gain a full breath of air, before he moved both of his hands into her hair, holding her tightly in place.

  “Listen up, doll. You’re mine. Your dad made sure of it.” He smiled at her hauntingly.

  “What do you mean?” Evie sputtered out, finally able to speak.

  “Your father agreed to an arranged marriage when you turned eighteen. In a few weeks, we were to be married. Those plans changed with the raid, but you will still belong to me.”

  Horror filled Evie. Her father knew exactly how she felt about Dominick. She adamantly refused a relationship with him after a few dates, even though it made her father angry.

  How could the man who raised her possibly believe she would marry someone she hated? Someone exactly like her controlling and abusive father.

  “Like hell I’ll marry you!”

  The fist slamming into her stomach curled her forward. Through intense pain, Evie fought the urge to vomit. Tears tickled down her cheeks as she fought to breathe. Fingers twisted in her hair once again. Without giving Evie a chance to defend herself, Dominick pushed her upright and punched
her again. The second hit, exactly in the same place as the first, landed on her right side below her ribs and drove her to the ground as her legs refused to hold her up any longer.

  “You’d better learn how to speak to me, doll. Else, I might have to stuff something in that pretty little mouth of yours to shut you up.” Cupping himself, he made his threat clear.

  Disgust spread through Evie. Lying on the floor, trying to learn how to breathe again, Evie prepared herself in case Dominick tried to carry out his threat.

  Thankfully, Dominick moved away, turning on his heel. He laughed softly as he strode toward the stairs, leaving her curled on the cold tiles. Only when silence once more descended in the little kitchen did Evie let down her guard and slowly pull herself back to her feet.

  Taking a deep breath hurt, but she pushed it aside and limped back to her room, wanting to lock herself inside and sleep for a week.

  Chapter Seven

  Evie woke the following morning with her head pounding. When she squinted at her watch, it was just after five in the morning, hours before her first class. She tried to fall back asleep, but it eluded her. She eventually crawled out of bed. Sharp pain racked her sides if she moved too quickly. Her injuries warranted a visit to the healers’ office, but then questions would be asked, questions she couldn’t answer without having to deal with the backlash from Dominick’s minions.

  Besides, she dealt with worse at the camp.

  Moving carefully, she found the pain pills in her bag and shook two out, hoping they would ease the ache. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. By the time she dragged herself out of the shower and dressed for the day, the medicine kicked in, helping to dull the pain to a manageable throb.

  Sitting at the small desk, Evie pulled out the schedule she received from Soma Dashiel. Her classes ran from Monday through Thursday with Friday open for independent study to allow her the opportunity to catch up on any work she missed since the start of the semester. Today was Thursday, only one day of classes remained for the week. Evie would spend tomorrow studying for part of the day, but the rest of the time, she would walk the campus to familiarize herself with the area.

  Perusing her schedule more closely, she realized the list of classes offered weren’t part of her traditional schooling in the past. This made her a little apprehensive, but for the most part, she looked forward to the challenge. She had four classes in total: two in the morning, two after lunch.

  SPh.H1: Hisotoria Surmata - Introductions to Surmata History

  SPh.F1: Suojata - Self Defense Training

  MHs.W1: Demonology

  MHs.L2: Metaphysical Self-Mastery

  She put the schedule aside and tugged the small bag on the desk closer to her. The size of one of her old textbooks, the grey neoprene bag featured the school’s emblem on the front. After her encounter with Dominick last night and the resulting injuries, she hadn’t taken the time to search through its contents. When she pulled it onto her lap, its weight surprised her. She tugged sharply on the strings that held it closed. It opened, and she peered inside at the contents.

  Surprised, she found a tablet and cell phone nestled within the bag. Her hands shook as she piled everything on top of her desk. A handwritten note was taped to the outside of the tablet’s box, the scrawl elegant and graceful. Nothing like Evie’s chicken scratch.

  Welcome to the Suoja Guild. We hope you will find these items useful in your studies here. The phone comes preloaded with a map of the campus with full GPS navigation capabilities, as well as a contact list with the school’s important numbers already programmed. Texting is popular among the faculty here. Be prepared to receive updates and assignments outside of the classroom. There is also an intranet site preloaded on the tablet where you can sign in for further information. Your last name and last four digits of your social security number are needed to access any of our sites.

  All classes have electronic drop box capabilities on the individual class websites. Bulletins will be sent to your university email with updates on all activities on campus, including any special events scheduled in the town of Henley. Both devices are registered to you and preprogrammed with your information. Turn them on and set your password.

  Your key card is state of the art technology. It not only unlocks your room and other areas of the campus; it also serves as your food voucher and spending card. As part of your paid tuition scholarship, you will also receive a small monthly allotment to be used at your discretion in the town of Henley.

  My number is also programmed into your phone if you have any questions. Please contact me at any time. If you prefer an in person visit, my office is located on the first floor of the administration building. My hours are posted on my door.

  Yours truly,

  Mrs. Solomon

  Human Liaison

  Evie folded the note and stuffed it in the top drawer of the desk. Excited, she unboxed her new supplies. The silver phone came with a teal case. Pressing the power button, the phone sprang to life. The home screen lit up with a beautiful wallpaper picture, a rose in mid-bloom, its petals barely opened. Drops of water glistened on the vibrant petals, reminding Evie of a flower garden after a sudden spring downpour. The words, Create Password, flashed on the screen.

  Smiling, she placed the phone down and reached to open the tablet box. The sudden movement caused a sharp streak of pain to radiate up her side, and she almost dropped the box. Moving more carefully, she opened the ten-inch tablet in matching silver. She created passwords on both devices and scrolled through the intranet site, logging into her email.

  Eager to begin her day, she went through the other items on her desk: notebooks, pencils, pens, highlighters, and a few other items necessary for studying. She packed her backpack with the items she needed and set off.

  On the ground floor, she bypassed the café to avoid any chance of running into Dominick after last night. With her injuries, she wasn’t ready for another confrontation. She planned to keep her head down until she figured out the campus’s rules. No way would she allow Dominick and his goon squad to be responsible for her getting kicked out. She wanted to stay, and if it meant taking a beating every so often because she refused to obey their orders, so be it.

  Walking out the front door of the dormitory, Evie stopped at the top of the steps to enjoy the warm morning sun shining on her face. Skipping breakfast meant she had plenty of time to make it to her first class.

  She pulled out her new phone, tapping the icon to bring up the campus map, and studied it until she located her destination. Her history class was located in Hilldane Hall, which was off to her right. Settling her backpack on her shoulder, she set off past a group of students who stood chatting at the bottom of the steps. Checking her watch, she decided to explore the courtyard before class.

  Following the curved pathway, she avoided eye contact with anyone she passed. The few students around were human, but none of them came from her camp.

  On the other side of the courtyard, the main dining hall was positioned opposite the administration building. While each dorm had a café as well as a small kitchenette, the hours were limited, and they only offered a small selection of food. The main food court stayed opened from six in the morning until nine at night and boasted a wide array of different culinary dishes. Most students would be there at this time in the morning.

  The courtyard resembled an ancient Greek garden. Situated in the middle of campus, it stretched the length of a football field, accessible from all the buildings. With soft green grass underfoot, tall trees, heavy with autumn colored leaves, gave the illusion of privacy. Statues scattered the pathways, their patina indicative of old age. Each one boasted a plaque, detailing the artist who created it, and gave students a brief glimpse into the artist’s life. Benches carved from wood, strategically placed, allowed students the opportunity to study under the trees’ shade.

  A quiet paradise with no one else in sight. It was early, but the sun shone. After being stuck inside last night
, she figured a few more students would be out, eating their morning breakfast or lazing around in the velvety grass. Evie meandered around for an hour before an increase of students heading toward their classes told her it was time for her to do the same.

  Hilldane Hall’s exterior, while identical to all the other buildings, was only two stories high instead of three. The interior reminded Evie of a typical school with small classrooms that sat forty or fifty people. The white tile floors gleamed with fresh polish. On the gray cement walls hung artwork and corkboards filled with advertisements. Pegged to the main board at the entrance, Evie read ads for tutoring services, school clubs, and sporting announcements. Painted in magenta, the words, Why Be Normal, decorated the wall. The letters formed a wavy pattern that ran the length of an entire section of cement between the first two doors leading to classrooms.

  Navigating the hallways was confusing. After a few turns, Evie found herself twisted around, unsure of where she was and with no idea how to reach her destination. She moved off to the side of the corridor and stopped, observing the other students around her. They walked confidently, not sparing Evie a glance.

  She took out her phone and pulled up the school’s navigation app. The little blip showed her in the east side of the building when she needed to be in the west. She turned around, keeping one eye on the app and the other out for anything in her pathway. It took several left turns, then a few right ones, and one flight of stairs, before she reached the door for her first class.

  Evie double-checked the room number above the door. The gold plaque clearly stated room one hundred and twenty-three even though it was on the building’s second floor. Curious, she checked a few more plaques above the doors on either side. The numbers, all different, didn’t go in any decipherable chronological order Evie was familiar with. It was like a child had randomly made up numbers for each classroom.