A Curse of Fire

by Sophia Shade

  Dannika comes up beside me, and nudges my shoulder with her elbow. “Okay, girl. Tone it down. You already got his attention.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say as I pretend to toss my hair over my shoulder.

  Dannika laughs. “You’re gonna get into a lot of trouble here. I can tell.”

  “Who, me?”

  She clicks her tongue, then nods toward the door. “Come on. I’ll show you to our room.”

  Unlike the main school building, the dorms are divided by Fae elements. There’s a “hall” for each one—though when they say hall, they don’t mean a hallway. It’s more of its own building. We’re in Pyralis Hall, which is where all the fire elementals and ashlings stay.

  When we step in the front doors, there’s a big communal area straight ahead. It’s a great room with couches, a fireplace, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. There’s also a dining room that’s overseen by a large kitchen.

  “Boys and girls can socialize together in common areas,” Dannika explains. “But when the lights go out, the boys go that way.” She points to the right. “And we go this way.” She points to the left.

  There are a couple of rows of corridors that must be our rooms. Sure enough, Dannika leads me down one of these halls. Our room is down the middle hall, third door on the left. There are two beds, two desks, and a private bathroom, though it’s pretty small. Just a sink, toilet, and shower with barely enough room to turn around.

  I check out my closet and small chest, relieved to see there are clothes inside them for me. They aren’t exactly my style—they’re more the traditional fashion I’ve seen some students wearing—but it’s an upgrade from the burnt polyester/cotton blend of my shirt. There are more gym clothes, too, which I know I’ll need. Who knows how many I’ll burn through in the coming months.

  I flop onto the bed with my new history textbook, hoping to learn more about pixies and the Unseelie Court, but I haven’t slept since I woke up on graduation morning. I’ve lost track of the time since then, but it feels like it was days ago. I quickly pass out, even forgetting to ask Dannika where I can plug in my phone.

  “Hey…” Dannika appears in my dream. “Hey, Imogen.”

  “Imogen!” she shouts.

  I’m not dreaming. She’s waking me up.

  “Whaaaa?” I groggily open my eyes. “What time is it?”

  “Shh!” she says, putting her finger to her lips. “I have something to show you. Get dressed.”

  I’m only half awake. It takes a few tries for me to get my foot into jeans, but once the first leg goes in, I have better luck with the other. Once I’m dressed in new clothes, I run a brush through my hair and follow Dannika out of the dorm. It’s still dark, but it’s colder than it was earlier, so I’m guessing it’s the middle of the night.

  We exit Callador, cross the sports field, and enter the woods.

  “Are you sure this is safe?” I whisper. “What about dark Fae?”

  “That’s the other direction,” Dannika says. “We’ll be fine.”

  “But where are we going?” I ask.

  “Just trust me,” she says.

  I do trust her, but it wasn’t even twelve hours ago that she was supposed to show me to class and then left me to fend for myself.

  Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. She left me with Erick. But she had to have known what a bad idea that was.

  As we walk, it grows lighter, but not from the sky. The sun isn’t rising, and I don’t see the moon, either. As we come to a clearing in the woods, what looks like a lake appears. But it’s like…like a lake of fire!

  “Is that a volcano?” I’m staring in awestruck wonder. I’ve never seen one in person before.

  Dannika laughs. “It’s not lava, Imogen. It’s Ember Lake. Legend says it’s the source of power for all fire elementals.”

  “Wow,” I say, truly amazed by the sight. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Yeah,” she says. “Come on.”

  She heads down the hill toward the lake, and I follow. As we get closer, I realize we aren’t alone. There are several other people here.

  “Ella!” I exclaim when she embraces me.

  “I heard you had an exciting first day,” she says. “How do you feel?”

  “That’s one way to put it,” I say, laughing a little. “But I’m fine. It was just a little fire.”

  “Little?” another guy asks as he walks up. “I heard you burned off all Caleb’s hair.”

  “Imogen, this is Finch,” Ella introduces. “And this is Raven,” she says, motioning to another girl.

  “You believe everything you hear?” Caleb asks as he saunters up, running his fingers through his obviously not burnt hair.

  “Glad to see you’re all right, man.” Finch and Caleb do some kind of bro hug that starts off like a handshake, but ends with them giving each other a single thump on the back. Caleb then opens the bag he’s carrying, and pulls out a few cans.

  “Want one?” he asks Finch.

  “Don’t have to ask me twice.” He takes the can and pops the top. “Oh, yeah. You brought the good stuff.”

  “Beer?” I ask.

  “Better,” Caleb says, handing one to me. “Dwarf Rock Pale Ale.”

  Apparently, peer pressure is the same everywhere. Not wanting to look like a dweeb, I open the can and take a sip. I can’t help but wrinkle my nose at the bitter flavor.

  Caleb laughs. “Not much of a beer drinker?”

  “Not really,” I say. “In the human realm, or in America at least, it’s illegal for people under twenty-one to drink.”

  “Oh, right,” Ella says. “I’ve heard that before. So weird.”

  “It’s legal for you to drink here?” I ask, trying another sip.

  “Sure,” Caleb says. He takes the drink from me, and I’m kind of relieved I can stop pretending I want to drink it. “But we aren’t supposed to drink at Callador. They think thousands of drunk teenagers in one place could be dangerous. Can you believe that?”

  I look out at the lake of fire burning in front of me, imagining all the dangers it could pose if it were near an American frat house. “I think I might have to agree with them on that one.”

  “You aren’t going to rat us out, are you?” Caleb asks, raising an eyebrow.

  “You have nothing to worry about. That’s not my thing.”

  “That’s my girl!” he says as he and Finch toast their cans before chugging them.

  Did he just call me his girl? What does he mean by that?

  “We aren’t here to get drunk,” Erick says, sauntering into our group. What a killjoy. Why is he even here? “We’re here to talk about the recent attacks at Ohdows Hall.”

  “Attacks?” I ask.

  “Yes,” Ella says, and I remember she said she lived in Ohdows. It’s where the earth elementals live. “We are sure it was a fire elemental who attacked some members of our house. Thankfully, no one has been seriously injured—yet.”

  “We need to find out who it is and why they are doing it,” Erick says. “And we need to stop him. This is only going to cause more problems for us if it keeps up. Everyone needs to keep their ears to the ground and find this person.” Then he looks directly at me. “You’re new. We could use that to our advantage. Use her to get some intel.”

  “Use me?” I repeat, a little miffed at what I’m hearing.

  I glance at Dannika, who suddenly looks uncomfortable, shifting on her feet and crossing her arms. Jeez. I thought they invited me here because they were my new friends, not because they wanted to use me to catch whoever is doing whatever. What are these attacks about, anyway?

  Caleb gives an annoyed sigh that mimics my own feelings. “Why would anyone tell their secrets to a new girl?”

  Erick gives Caleb a pointed look. “Seems some Fae around here like to get chummy with halflings they barely know.”

  Caleb takes another sip of his beer. “Whatever, man.”

  Erick continues, “Besides, if she plays dumb
, someone might think they can trick her. Take advantage of her. Use her uncontrolled powers. She’s strong for an ashling.”

  “Don’t be rude,” Ella interrupts. Thank gods Ella and Caleb are on my side. I still don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I don’t like the way Erick is setting me up to be some sort of bait.

  Erick ignores her and looks at me again. “Well, Imogen? Are you in or are you out?”

  Eight

  Am I in or out? For being used? Is Erick seriously even asking me that right now?

  Judging by his intense stare, he is indeed serious.

  “Out.”

  As I walk away, I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I don’t look back. I can’t believe they would try to use me like that, as bait or a pawn in whatever drama they have going on. We’re literally in a school that teaches magic. And they are acting like this?

  As the space between myself and the people I had hoped to call friends increases, I have to admit I’m not entirely surprised by this turn of events. If I learned anything moving from place to place growing up, it was that every school had a popular clique. Kids were either in or they were out. Or they were out and trying to get in, but none of the stupid things they did would ever be enough for the users anyway.

  I might not have ever been in a clique myself, but I’d observed enough of them to know how they worked. The feuds always started from something small, like stepping on someone’s foot in the hallway or making eye contact with someone’s girlfriend in the gym. Before long, the whole school would take sides, and there would be a “with us or against us” attitude. For them, the school was their whole life, and every perceived slight was earth shattering. For me, I had real problems to think about, like where I would be sleeping the next day. So I had little time or patience for imagined drama.

  One day, they would realize how petty it all was. And while I do appreciate being able to see the big picture from an outsider’s point of view, I wouldn’t exactly call it lucky. Being alone sucks. But I can think of one thing that will suck more: letting people use me.

  I step over fallen branches, and kick at loose pieces of stone embedded in the dirt path. No matter how much I try to reassure myself, it still sucks. I’d been naïve to think things would be different here. Maybe I was starting to buy into the fantasy that Professor Silvers was spouting in class about the Fae being a superior race. That the Fae realm would somehow be better than the crazy life I left behind.

  Well, now I know better.

  And these Fae are crazy if they think I’m going to let them use me.

  I’m back in the woods when I hear footsteps behind me.

  “Hey, Imogen,” Ella calls. I slow my pace to let her catch up. “Please, let me explain.”

  “Explain what?” I snap. She takes a step back, and I sigh. “Sorry, that came out harsher than I meant it to. I’m just really mad right now.”

  “I understand, but—”

  “Do you, Ella?” I ask. “I mean, how could you? This is your world, your people, your friends. You belong here. I got all caught up in the magic of this place, and thought for a moment that I might belong, but to know you guys were just using me? Do you understand how much that hurts?”

  I’m panting now, both from walking so fast and from spewing venom all over Ella. She’s so sweet. Even now, she looks defeated. Guilt tangles itself in the mess of crossed wires in my brain. Ella is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, in the human or Fae realms, and I just unleashed all of my anger onto her.

  “You do belong,” she says, cutting right to the core of my hurt. “You are here because you are one of us, no matter where you come from.”

  “How can you know that?”

  “Because you’re here,” she says, spreading her hands and indicating everything around us. “This place, this school. It’s special. It’s a place where everyone, regardless of their past, comes to be part of something bigger, something better. And you are a part of that. You make us better.”

  Dannika walks up on us, her arms crossed and her eyes downcast. When she reaches us, she rocks back a little on her heels, but still doesn’t look at me. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” I reply.

  “Look, I wanted to apologize.” Now she meets my gaze, eyes earnest. “Ella shouldn’t be taking the fall. You probably blame me for what happened since I brought you out here.”

  “I don’t know what to think,” I say. “I just thought that we, the three of us, had a real connection, you know? That I might, for the first time in a really, really long time, be making friends.”

  “You are.” Dannika reaches out and takes my hand. “We are friends.”

  “Then why am I here, Dannika? A friend wouldn’t do this. Wouldn’t use someone like this.”

  She nods, but it doesn’t seem so much as in agreement as in acknowledgment. “I knew we were meeting tonight to discuss this problem, so I asked Erick if I could bring you with me. Obviously, you weren’t involved in the attacks since you just arrived, and I thought it would be better to get you close to us as soon as possible. I had no idea he was going to single you out like that, or make you feel like I only brought you because you could be of use to us.”

  “Gods,” I say, dropping my head back as I try to contain my frustration. “Is he for real? Is he trying to break some kind of world record for being a jerk?”

  Ella and Dannika laugh.

  “What?” I ask. “It’s like it is his life’s mission to make me miserable and humiliate me.”

  “Wow, don’t go all boggart on us,” Ella says. She and Dannika are still giggling.

  “Go all what?” I ask. “You mean like in Harry Potter?” I’m confused how that makes any sense.

  “No, silly,” Dannika says. “You know, like some paranoid brownie Fae high on PCP who gets offended at everything.”

  “Oh, right,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Like I would so ‘know’ what a boggart dessert is. I just got here!”

  Ella is laughing so hard I think she’s going to fall over.

  “And it’s not a food brownie,” Dannika says. “It’s a type of Fae.”

  I just stare at her. I’m going to have to look this up later, because she has totally lost me.

  “You’re really quite dramatic, aren’t you?” Dannika asks. “I think we’ll have to tap you for the annual dramatic reading of Midsummer.”

  I blush. She’s right. Here I was thinking they were the ones being drama queens, but I’m certainly not being much better. Why did I storm off? I should have asked for more information instead of running away.

  “First I’m boggart, now I’m dramatic?” I ask Dannika, trying to mask my own shame. “Maybe you’re the one going boggart.”

  Ella finally manages to pull herself together, wiping the tears from her eyes. Little wheezes still escape her as she composes herself. “Hey, we all go a little boggart now and then.”

  “Look, just ignore Erick,” Dannika urges. “He’s always a bit of an ass. Tonight, he’s being an ass with an extra side of dick.”

  “But…you still want me to help, right?”

  The girls go silent, and exchange a glance.

  “Only if you want to,” Ella says quickly. “Erick was a jerk, but he’s not wrong. And these attacks against my house…they are serious. I’m worried, Imogen. Like really scared. We need to find out what’s going on.”

  I shrug. “I don’t think I can be much help. I don’t know anything about this place. Or anyone here, besides you guys.”

  Dannika nods. “I understand. Don’t worry about it right now, okay? Besides, we need to get back to the dorm before Mr. Clawfire realizes we are gone.”

  Thank gods, because I am dead tired. Which might have had something to do with my reaction. I’m not thinking straight and need to get some sleep. But a moment later, I go from dead tired to wide awake when I realize I recognize that name.

  “Clawfire?” I ask. “You mean…Damon?”

  “Yeah,” Dannika says. “He’s our ho
use mentor.”

  Well, that’s just what I wanted to hear. My mentor’s a disgruntled man whose first impression of me was that I’m foolish and weak.

  This year is going to suck.

  The next morning, I feel much more refreshed. As I always do first thing when I wake up, I reach for my phone. It’s dead.

  “Hey, Dannika?” I ask.

  She pops up from her bed with a gorgeous #Iwokeuplikethis face. “Yeah?”

  “Do you know where I can charge my phone?”

  “Oh, that won’t work here,” she cheerfully informs me. “We don’t use electricity.”

  “What?” I’m flabbergasted. “Why not? How do you power stuff?

  “Well, we use a lot less power here than in the human realm.”

  I look around, noticing that a lot of the things I take for granted back home don’t seem to exist here. There are no computers or a TV. No coffee machine. No fridge. Not even a light in the ceiling.

  The table next to my bed is absent of an alarm clock, too, even though we both woke up at the same time.

  “The sky provides all the light we need,” she says. “Bright light during the day, moon and stars at night. We’re much more in tune with our circadian rhythms here. We wake and sleep when we need to. You’ll soon find that your sleep is much more restful, and not just because you’re exhausted.”

  “Um, okay, Miss Hippy, but how am I supposed to contact my mom and my friends?”

  Dannika shrugs. “Most of us knew we were coming, so we let anybody not here know wouldn’t hear from us for a while.” She sits up and starts brushing her hair, pushing the front of it back and letting the rest poof up behind a beautiful printed headband. “Sorry you didn’t know what you were getting in to.”

  I flop back on my pillow. “My mom must be dying to know how my first day went. And I didn’t tell my friend Cassie anything. We kind of fought before I left. She must think I totally ghosted her! I’m going to feel like an idiot trying to explain where I’ve been for a year.”

  “Oh, it won’t be a year to her,” Dannika explains. She climbs out of bed, walks over to the mirror above her dresser, and slicks some clear lip gloss over her mauve lips. After smacking her lips together, she adds, “Time moves differently here, like a fourth of the speed. It will seem like a year on this side, but when you leave, you’ll only have been gone for three months.”