by S R Watson
“Not necessarily. Just because we share that the cloak drops at scheduled times doesn’t automatically infer that we use that to leave campus. It’s not that simple. Let’s only share what we must. I know where he hangs out. I saw him playing pool in the campus lounge, and he’s probably still there,” Matt says. “I’ll go check.”
A swirl of wind whips around us, almost putting out the fire. I forgot that he was a vampire. He is only gone for a few minutes before he returns with Jason. I quickly fill him in on everything that’s happened up to this point. He punches his fist inside his opposite hand several times, releasing a guttural growl each time.
“That little punk, Mitchell, has always wanted to be me. When he started sneaking his equally punk ass cousin onto campus, I should have known something was up. They’re part of the Silvermane Pack. They’re a medium-size pack but still a threat.”
“Didn’t want you guys to be sitting ducks should the attack happen,” I admit.
“Dude, I appreciate that more than you know. I’ll let my pack know that there’s a possible attack coming our way as vengeance from Mitchell and Daniel. I’ll share only what’s necessary. We will begin our patrol of the perimeter a couple of hours before. They won’t find us in bed, that’s for sure,” he growls again. “Whether it’s me or you or both that they’re coming for, we’ll be ready in case they get through. We’ll make them regret their decision to cross us.”
He pats me on the back, nods at the rest of our circle, and disappears through the trees. Some of the weight has been lifted, knowing that the essential people involved know what’s going on. Now I just hope that it doesn’t come to an attack—that the faculty chooses not to let the cloak down.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Genesis
Soft snores sound across the nearly dim campfire. I shift my weight against Elysian who has been asleep for at least a couple of hours. I don’t remember when I drifted off, but it was shortly after him. Elysian tenses underneath me— seconds before I hear it. An alarm shrills in the distance. Loud and terrifying. This was it— the moment we hoped wouldn’t come. He hops to his feet, and we all follow his lead, our stance guarded. The sky is barely lit, but the impending danger is palpable. In a blink of an eye, we’re surrounded. Ten wolves flank each other, forming a circle around us. Even on all fours, their height is nearly equal to ours standing. Their eyes glow with malice as their fangs drip with contempt. We’re outnumbered by four. Kristin and Loren begin to chant in unison, but their incantation is no match for these wolves. They’re both snatched and tossed aside like rag dolls. Their screams release one of my own. I want nothing more than to make sure they’re okay, but we’re stuck in this standoff. Each of their movements circle around us, keeping us on edge, waiting for them to ponce. I can sense Elysian’s building anger, the twitch of his muscles before he makes his first move. Somehow, I just know that we’re in sync, so I let my intuition into this fight.
Matt and Madison dash away from the scene with two of the wolves in pursuit, leaving Elysian and me to defend against the remaining eight. I don’t get a chance to fear the impossible odds. Elysian does a backflip out of the circle and unleashes flames around their perimeter. I mimic his strategy by creating a ring of ice around me. The wolves are caught between fire and ice. It doesn’t take long to see which element they’d rather avoid. The wolves swat through my ice fort with ease, their natural heat creating puddles of semi-melted ice around me. I’m knocked to my back, fangs mere inches from my face, when I hear a yelp from the one hovering over me.
“Genesis. Ice them,” Elysian yells.
No further instruction is needed. He said them and not around them. He lights them on fire, and during their time of flailing, I’m free. I hop to my feet, and I begin to ice each of them—opposite of the location of the flames. Elysian ignites their bottom half as I block their top half in ice. My eyes bulge at the miraculous phenomenon unfolding in front of me. The wolves begin to shapeshift back into their human form where the ice has them frozen in place. My instinct is to continue my progression of glaciokinesis down toward their lower half. Elysian backs off his flames as my ice trail toward the feet. We have all eight wolves immobilized.
“We have to find the others,” I suggest reluctantly, looking at the lifeless forms of Loren and Kristin.
There is no time to assess if they’re okay. They’re safe from further harm with the wolves we’ve blocked in their human forms. Now that Elysian and I have a system, we know what we must do to stop the others. Elysian dashes, and I’m on his heels. I can’t think about how I’m doing any of this … not now. The alarms continue to sound near the front of the campus, making it hard to decipher the location of the other attacks. Luckily, the rest of the pack is predictable. We find them already in combat with our campus pack. The trouble is, they’re all in wolf form. How do we tell the bad guys from the good?
“Jason,” Elysian calls out over the growls and yelps. “I need your pack to shapeshift back.”
Nothing. The fighting continues in an evenly matched battle. That’s about twenty wolves to distinguish between. Even with the increased numbers, we just brought the advantage. There are two of us free, and we just happen to know how to stop them in their tracks. Elysian targets one wolf out the pack, unleashing flames to the lower half. Following the needed sequence, I ice the top half until the fire and ice meets in a swirling blue and orange-reddish duo. As expected, the targeted wolf begins to transition into their human naked form. I continue the spread of the ice as Elysian backs off his flames. Before us in a block of ice, is Daniel. Elysian must have recognized his wolf form from his dream and personal attack.
A single howl signals a group of wolves to break apart from the fight and gather behind a single black wolf—their alpha. Elysian acts quickly, igniting the remaining ten wolves with fire as he dashes around them. I dash in the opposite direction, once again unleashing ice. The pack never stood a chance. Our element of surprise caught them off guard.
“Holy smokes,” Madison says, appearing from nowhere. “Awesome thinking.”
“Thanks for your help,” I reply sarcastically.
“We were outnumbered, Genesis. Matt and I did what we thought was best.”
“What? Run?”
“We ran to get some of the pack to follow us,” Matt says, now appearing with Mr. Blakely and Professor Guenther. “We knew that we’d be faster, so we wanted as many of them to chase us to split them up … to help even the odds.”
“And we were able to lose them and get help,” Madison adds.
“The wolves you left by the creek are being taken into custody now. The paddy wagon should be on the way to round up the rest of the pack here,” Mr. Blakey informs.
“You all don’t need to be here for the round up,” Professor Guenther mentions. “Head to the gymnasium. The rest of the faculty will meet you there.”
We retreat without further instruction. The pack disappear ahead of us, I’m guessing to change back into their human form in private. Otherwise, there’d be hanging cocks everywhere and not just the ones currently blocked in ice. Elysian wraps an arm around my shoulder, and I startle.
“It’s over,” he assures. I stop mid-step as the events of the battle wash over me, the adrenaline gone. I begin to hyperventilate.
“Are you okay?” Madison asks, standing in front of me, trying to lift my chin.
“She’s going to be fine. We’ll catch up with you,” he hints. “We’re safe, babe. Just take nice deep breaths. It’s over.”
He lifts my chin and slides his lips over mine. He gives me a few soft pecks before I open for him. Gah, this man can kiss. I feel myself melt into him as he wraps his arms around me. Our lips finally separate as our foreheads meet.
“Thank you for that. It’s just what I needed to get back to the here and now,” I admit.
“I’ll tell you a little secret.” He smiles.
“What?”
“It may not be under the best circumstanc
es, but I realized something out there.”
“And what was that? Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“All I could think about is that I couldn’t lose you. Then I realized I wasn’t just falling in love with you, but that I already was. But that’s not all. After I realized how I felt for you, I felt a surge of emotion. It caused another precognition, but this time I was awake for it. I knew what had to be done for us to win the battle. I knew that our powers would sync up to defeat them. I couldn’t stop to explain it, but somehow, I knew that if you loved me too that it would work. My precognitions have yet to be wrong. But I still need to hear the words from your lips.”
“What words?” I tease. I knew what he meant. He gives me a fake pout and makes tonight’s attack begin to fade. This beautiful, powerful man just admitted that he was in love with me. “Well, since we’re being all truthful, I can admit that I’ve felt something. I didn’t want to admit I was falling because we never put a label on what we were doing. I didn’t want to set myself up for heartbreak.”
“And now?”
“And now, I think my heart knew all along what my brain was trying to protect me from. I’m irrevocably in love with you, Mr. Remis.”
“I think both of our hearts knew before we could admit it to ourselves. We’re entangled … that should have been our first clue. We found our way to each other. Love was always destined for us. We just had to let it in.”
“I love your hypothesis, babe. But we need to get to the gym now that my mild freak-out is over.”
“Mild, eh?” he teases. I shove him playfully. “You just needed my lips. I have other parts at your service if needed.”
“Come on, weirdo.”
I link my arms through his as we head to the gym.
The assembly is brief and to the point. The faculty does a thorough head count of the students to ensure that we’re all safe and accounted for. Mr. Blakely announces that changes are coming for the academy as a whole due to tonight’s attack. All classes are canceled tomorrow, and another assembly is scheduled for two. Incessant chatter fills the gym as we try to guess what these changes are and how they will affect us. We are dismissed after we’re assured that we are safe. There is no mention of what is in store for the wolves they’ve rounded up. No mention if they let the veil down or how the wolves were able to breach the campus even with the warning Elysian gave them. I don’t feel safe. Sensing, my doubt, Elysian pulls me closer to him.
“I’m not leaving you alone. I’m coming to your room, and I don’t care who sees.”
“But the curfew—”
“I don’t give a fuck about a curfew. They owe us more of an explanation than the one we just got. I know it’s late … well, technically early since the sun is rising, but I hope they have more answers for us later today after the dust settles. Until then, I’m not leaving your side.”
I don’t bother arguing with him. I feel safer with him—not by the faculty’s empty promises. We stop by the infirmary to check on Loren and Kristin before heading back to my room. Professor Winters is there with a few other women who I haven’t met. Candles flickers around the two stretchers that they’re on. Herbs and artifacts are spread on the floor between them. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that these women aren’t practicing modern medicine here. They’re witches.
“You two can’t be here,” Professor Winters informs as she walks up to us. “I know you’re worried, but the girls are going to be just fine.”
“But—”
“No buts, dear. Go back to your rooms.”
She doesn’t leave us much choice. She ushers us out and closes the door behind her. An audible click of the lock discourages us from trying to reenter. For now, we’ll have to take her word that the girls will be okay. I hope whatever witchcraft they’re performing works. I feel so helpless, but I’m thankful to have Elysian by my side. We’ll see how this all works out tomorrow.
Epilogue
Elysian
Genesis and I barely slept. She was worried about Kristin and Loren, and I was too. It killed me that I couldn’t completely ease her mind. She looked somewhat hopeful when she received a text from Loren an hour ago to save her a seat at this assembly. We haven’t talked with the rest of the Elite since this all went down, but I’m sure we’ll come together after we hear what these changes are going to be. We take our seat near the front of the podium. We’re both surprised when Loren slides into the seat next to us about ten minutes later. Both of the girls hug and wipe away their tears as I look on. I want to ask how she is feeling, but we’re interrupted by a tap on the mic. But that’s not what gets my attention. Loren spots them too.
“Who is that?” she asks.
“Where?” Genesis asks.
I point at the two students that have just taken a front row seat next to Professor Guenther. I don’t know every student here, but they look new. Loren doesn’t recognize them either, and she knows everybody.
“Why are they dressed like us?” Genesis inquires after finally spotting them.
And there it is. The conundrum. Not because they’re two new students, but because they’re dressed like us. They’ve been outfitted in the very uniform that has been reserved for our class. We’re the only two half gods here, so why are they wearing our uniform?
“And there are two of them,” I point out.
“Do you think they’re half gods too— entangled like us. Are they a pair?”
She has hit all my unasked questions on the nose. They have to be the same class as us … right? But if the other stuff is true, then what does this mean? Are there more of us on Earth than the faculty originally thought? Are we related?
“Let me have your attention,” Mr. Blakely begins, but it’s hard to focus. So many mind fucks in so little time.
“I’m going to start by explaining what happened with the breach this morning and then what our plan is moving forward.”
Genesis reaches over and pulls my hand into hers, forcing me to tamper down my racing thoughts long enough to listen. Mr. Blakely explains that they had an anonymous tip that the wolves were coming and that an attack was imminent, but he doesn’t share that the tip was from me. He further explains that the wolves were strategic. They knew that they had to blend in with the employees already waiting for the veil to come down for work. They wore cooling vest to lower their body temperatures to normal range. They also knew that if a scan was used, it would detect a body count. With the tip the faculty had, they scanned the woods via drone for heat signals and the appropriate body count. The veil left them blind to the wolves that were hiding amongst the workers because they snatched twenty of the workers prior to their arrival and took their place to get in. The veil in this instance was a hinderance, so therefore it’s coming down. Permanently. There is a collective gasp heard around the auditorium.
Security measures will be more thorough, but they’re going to relax the rules of students leaving and returning to campus. They believe the loopholes students may have found to sneak off campus is also how the perpetrators found a loophole onto the campus.
“Shit,” Loren curses. “I hope this wasn’t our fault.”
“So what does this mean?” Genesis asks.
“It means he’s looking to run our campus like Legends Academy. They’ve always been an open campus. Humans even know that the school exist. The students come and go as they please, with curfew of course, but nothing like here.”
Mr. Blakely confirms that is his intent. He wants to make our campus comparable to Legends. The faculty of the two schools are meeting this week to discuss aligning our practices and identifying ways to keep the students safe with an open campus.
“This is huge,” Loren confirms. “Legends is accredited because the humans know that the academy exists. That means that if our campus takes the accreditation route, you can transfer your classes here. This is good news for us all. We can actually graduate from this school.”
“That would be amazing, but personally, I
want to graduate from the school I put all my effort into,” I say.
“Me too,” Genesis agrees. “No offense.”
“None taken.” Loren shrugs. “It’s just an option and a dream come true for many of us. But it’s more than just the degree. Imagine not having to wait to earn privileges to leave campus or have friends visit. Your family could visit. It would be like a normal college experience instead of being some hidden away secret. It’s about time that they treated us like the Legends’ students. I just hate that this had to happen for my uncle to give it any real thought.”
“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves or our hopes up. Let’s wait to see how much of the other academy practices they adopt. It would be great to have my family and friends visit, but how soon will they make the change?”
“Elysian is right. They may meet with the other school and decide not to do things exactly the same. But at least it’s a possibility.” She looks over at Loren. “Are you okay? I know you’re sitting here, but I saw what happened last night. I thought you and Kristin were going to die.”
“We’re both fine. It’s one of the perks of being taken care of by some powerful witches. Sort of like your self-healing thing, but with portions and spells.”
“I’m just glad that the two of you are okay,” Genesis admits. “Now we need to get to the bottom of who these new students are.”
Mr. Blakely continues to talk, but our focus has shifted to the blonde girl and raven-haired guy. Their backs are to us, but they didn’t look stoic to be here. The faculty doesn’t bother introducing them either. If it weren’t for the uniforms, I wouldn’t have taken them for students here.
Suddenly the blonde turns in her seat. Her eyes lock with mine in an uncomfortable stare off. So much so the guy turns to follow her gaze. I nudge Genesis and now we’re in a four-way stare. Mr. Blakely dismisses us so I quickly stand.
“Let’s get out of here,” I tell the girls. “If those two are one of us, we’ll know soon enough.”
