The Mage-Blood Test: A YA Paranormal Romance (Arumrose Academy Book 1)

by Estefania Lezameta Mino

  5

  Last night, Naya couldn't even sleep.

  Her head was filled with too many thoughts about the tests—both the one her parents administered and the nationwide ATTP.

  What if something was off with her, or she did have the same disease as her dad? Mom and Dad already had too much to deal with to add that to the mix.

  She climbed out of bed. It was morning now, and she knew she couldn’t let her mind get too wrapped up in this. Instead, she focused on making breakfast. First, she made an omelet with a hint of parmesan cheese. It was her mom's favorite. She also made French toast with maple syrup, which was her dad's favorite. If Naya had learned nothing else from her mother, it was that everything was better when there was a delicious and hearty meal on the table.

  "What is that smell?" As the scent of cooking filled the kitchen, Naya heard her mother’s voice. She knew Mom wouldn’t be able to resist.

  Maryanne stepped into the kitchen, her makeup only half done. The smell must have been truly amazing!

  "Claude! Come in here fast! You must see this!" Mom yelled down the hallway. It was rare for Naya to wake up early—let alone prepare something wonderful for breakfast.

  Dad burst into the kitchen, having run all the way, scared that something terrible was happening. Instead, he looked as stunned as Naya’s mom did.

  "This is a setup!" Dad murmured, and gave a sneaky look at Maryanne. "Okay, Naya, time for honesty. What have you done?"

  Claude was right to be suspicious. If a child ever does something wrong, they’ll often try to do something special to make up for it.

  But Naya laughed at their reaction, even while, inside, she was freaking out. As she stood over the delicious breakfast, she suddenly started having flashbacks to when she’d had her first period, and her parents had wanted to have “the talk” with her. It was so awkward, and she’d tried to persuade them to ditch the conversation by cooking dinner.

  Now, she was trying the same tactic.

  "I haven’t done anything,” Naya lied. “Can't I just show some appreciation to my parents for being so amazing to me?"

  "Aww, my little angel." Naya’s mother spoke with a sweet tone "Okay, baby. We’re going to have the perfect start to the day with this feast."

  "But no hurrying it this time," her Dad scolded—a warning about all the other mornings when Naya had bolted out of the house in such a hurry she didn’t even pause for a sip of milk.

  Naya’s parents gathered around the table and they tucked into the food. Soon, the three of them were laughing and enjoying the time they got to spend as a family. Even Naya was enjoying it—happy not to worry for a change and just embrace the good moments as they came.

  As they ate, Naya’s parents shared memories from when she was a baby, and the time that Claude had been dating Naya’s mom and had realized that Maryanne was “the one.” It was rare that Naya’s parents ever talked about how they got to know each other, but when they did, the theme of the reminiscences was always how they’d both known they were meant to be together.

  Naya knew that a love like theirs was one of a kind and hard to find. It was hard to live up to that expectation, which was why at 14 years old, she’d never even kissed a guy yet. In fact, Naya sometimes wondered if her greatest love would always be the appreciation she had for her parents.

  But love… She was the first to admit she didn't know anything about that.

  Anyway, it was time for Naya to ask the question that had inspired her to make such an effort with breakfast this morning.

  "How did I do on the test yesterday?” She laughed nervously. “Normal as always, I'm sure." She laughed again—although this time, her laughter revealed some of the nervousness eating away at her.

  "Nothing to worry about, my ray of sunshine—you’re perfect as always!"

  The most comforting words she could ever have hoped for that morning came from her dad.

  He might be a tough man when it came to work, but nevertheless she’d always been his sweet spot. Naya felt her soul coming back into her body after the hours of nervousness and gave her father a huge smile.

  "Just one small detail with your blood,” her mother chipped in. “Your blood pressure is 0.05% lower than the last time. Not much to worry about, but we’ll change some eating habits around the house so you'll be back to normal soon enough."

  Naya could see the “doctor face” her mother wore at the hospital coming through as she said that. Maryanne knew how to separate her family and work identities very well, yet sometimes, it was hard to separate them completely when a clinical subject came to the table.

  But it didn’t matter. So, everything was fine. Maybe what Naya had felt yesterday at school wasn't weird magic or some witchy thing. Maybe it was just low blood pressure! That couldn’t explain everything that she’d experienced, but it was still a good enough reason to stop thinking about it.

  Suddenly, a bunch of black cars stopped in front of the house opposite theirs—the one she’d been staring at through the kitchen window the day before. It was impossible to see who was inside any of the cars—as the dark, tinted windows were shaded almost to a matte black—but the stars and stripes of the United States hung from the fender of every car.

  "Mom? Dad?” Naya narrowed her eyes, asking her parents, “What’s going on over at Ryan's house?"

  Naya suddenly felt a stab of anxiety, scared as she looked through the kitchen window at the commotion outside. Claude and Maryanne were staring too, now—and they both froze when they saw a face familiar to every American clamber out of the lead vehicle.

  It was the grim, determined face of General Nikit—the man in charge of defense for the entire country.

  Flanked by black-suited bodyguards, General Nikit strode to their neighbor's door. It was such a bizarre sight—to see one of the most powerful and important men in the country striding up the driveway like he was about to try and sell the homeowners Girl Scout cookies.

  Naya’s parents couldn’t answer their daughter's question, because they clearly had no idea why this important government official was on their quiet, suburban street either.

  The three of them watched through the window as General Nikit walked to the house. Suddenly, as if feeling their eyes on the back of his green uniform jacket, the tall man stopped and slowly turned around, to stare across the street at the window where Naya and her parents were watching from.

  As soon as Claude’s eyes met the faraway stare of General Nikit, he stiffened. Naya’s father reached over and grabbed Naya, growling, "Sunshine, go wait for us in the car. We’ll drive you to school today."

  That stab of fear intensified. Naya had never seen her father so disturbed before—not by anything. She longed to ask him what was going on, but even the thought of asking questions made that twisted anxiety sharpen almost painfully.

  A powerful intuition warned Naya to pick up her things, open the door to the garage and take the steps down to their gleaming family car. It was unlocked, and as Naya opened the rear door, she paused, listening intently to the muffled voices of her parents in the kitchen.

  They were arguing—but about what? Was it something to do with those mysterious government cars in the driveway of Ryan's house? Was it something to do with the blood test everybody at school had taken the day before?

  So many questions ran through Naya’s head that she didn't even notice her parents stepping into the garage—not until they swung open the doors and clambered into the car with her.

  “Naya, sunshine, everything is fine,” her mother promised, seeing the worried expression on her daughter’s face. “Don't worry.”

  But Naya was worried. She felt a surge of uncertainty swell over her, until even the sound of her mother’s reassurance sounded like it came from far, far away.

  “If you feel like leaving school earlier than usual today, just give us a call. We’ll pick you up.” Her father was also trying to reassure her, but his voice sounded equally distant.

  The gar
age door rattled upward, and Claude powered the car out into the sunlight.

  As they left the driveway, all Naya could focus on were the black cars parked outside her neighbor’s house. Her eyes fell on the window of Ryan's living room. Through it, she could see him and his parents standing there—and they were clearly distraught. There seemed to be some kind of argument going on—and Naya just caught a glimpse through the window of a tall military man grabbing Ryan's arm before her dad drove away, whisking her from the menacing sight.

  6

  That was the last Naya saw of Ryan.

  From that day on, the school was quiet. The gang of bullies who’d tormented her all through the previous year were suddenly subdued, as if Ryan had been the instigator of all their cruelty right from the beginning.

  Naya was thrilled about that, obviously, but less thrilled about the atmosphere of the school. It suddenly felt as if something had died—as if all the students were coming back from a funeral for the rest of the year.

  Throughout the rest of the school year, Naya thought constantly about that day—about seeing those black cars roll up outside Ryan’s house. The principal had addressed the school, telling the students that Ryan had merely been transferred to another school.

  For most students, it was ominous and unsettling news. For Ryan’s girlfriend, Beatrice, it was a disaster…

  …for about two weeks, of course.

  By then, she found herself a new boyfriend, Sebastian, who’d previous been one of Ryan’s best friends.

  Despite the principal’s reassurance, the entire school reacted negatively to Ryan getting conveniently “transferred” the day after the ATTP.

  At the assembly the principal held, the students initially freaked out. Ryan had been the quarterback of the school team, and one of the most popular members of the student body—or at least one of the most notorious. More than that, he was the mastermind behind all the pranks and bullying at school, including the torment Naya had endured.

  That meant, even though Beatrice was still around, school suddenly didn't suck as much. Naya compared it to the old stories they read in English class—about how since the head of the clique of bullies had been cut off, the rest of them had withered into the background as well. On the few occasions Beatrice did speak up—giving Naya and other students a hard time, as if just to remind them who was the “top dog” around school—it now become easier to confront her and shut her up.

  The other bully, Sebastian, was as slow-witted as Beatrice was sharp-tongued, and without his friend to back him up, he didn’t give any other students too much trouble.

  While Naya was happy Ryan had gone, she still didn’t understand exactly why. She knew that the story the principal had told the school wasn't true, and although finally being free from the bullying Ryan had instigated made it so much easier to focus on passing her courses—and just be more relaxed in general—she wished she had answers.

  One thing was clear—Naya knew more than most. She’d seen General Nikit’s car turn up outside Ryan’s house the day before he’d been “transferred,” according to the principal. She knew Ryan’s disappearance had something to do with that.

  But she never told anyone, not even Elizabeth, the principal’s secretary. Naya was dying to—she knew if anybody would give her a clue about what had really happened to Ryan, it would be Elizabeth. After all, while Elizabeth was part of the faculty—not a student—the two of them had always interacted more like sisters.

  But there were still too many risks in doing so, too many rumors about what had happened to Ryan, and how it might have had something to do with the ATTP. The principal hadn’t even mentioned the test when he’d told the assembled students that Ryan was transferring, but it was too much of a coincidence to Naya that Ryan had been visited by General Nikit and the mysterious military officers the day immediately after the students had provided their blood for analysis.

  According to what the teachers and the government pamphlets claimed about the ATTP blood test, it was conducted to identify teenagers who were carriers of a strange disease that could only be treated at a specific government medical facility.

  Although almost nobody had ever seen an infected student being taken away for treatment at this facility, it did seem incredibly coincidental that those gleaming, black cars had turned up at Ryan’s house the day right after the ATTP.

  Naya suspected that, if the official stories about the ATTP had any truth to them, Ryan might not have been “transferred” as the principal had claimed, but had instead been identified as a carrier of this mysterious disease.

  She’d wracked her brains to remember everything she’d heard or read about the infection that the ATTP tested for. She didn’t know much. She remembered that the officials claimed the disease wasn’t contagious, but that it could lead to deformities as those infected reached the end of puberty, and death soon thereafter.

  She also remembered that the only ones who claimed to have the cure for the disease were the government, in some facility that the news never really went into detail about. That’s where all those identified during the ATTP were supposed to be taken for treatment, although Naya didn’t know anybody who ever actually had.

  She suspected that Ryan might have ended up there—and the story about his transfer was just that: a story.

  And, apparently, Naya wasn’t the only one. Many of the other kids at school started gossiping about the disappearance of the ringleader of the local bullies. Some claimed that Ryan was identified not just as a carrier of the disease, but that it had become so far advanced before they’d discovered it that he’d had to be quarantined even from other infected patients.

  Other rumors claimed that the disease itself was a cover-up—and that the real reason Ryan had transferred was because he’d received so many threats from rival teams that he’d had to switch to a private school like a coward.

  But there was one rumor that even Naya thought sounded ridiculous—so ridiculous, she didn’t even know where it had originated: That the government had taken Ryan to turn him into a powerful weapon to fight terrorism.

  "Seriously, these kids need to stop playing so many videogames."

  That’s what Elizabeth had told Naya when she’d shared that particular rumor—followed by a burst of laughter from her desk.

  "I really don't understand why people can’t just accept what they’re told,” Elizabeth had complained, making Naya glad she hadn’t pressed the principal’s secretary for more details about Ryan’s supposed transfer. “There’s always this need to turn everything into something bigger than it actually is."

  When Elizabeth had said that to her, Naya had finally accepted the inevitable—she probably had all the answers to Ryan’s disappearance that she was going to get. If telling Elizabeth all the rumors that had sprung up wasn't enough to get the principal’s secretary to reveal some clue as to the truth, then nothing would.

  Besides, choosing to believe the “official” story would eventually make it easier to process Ryan’s absence. Maybe Ryan’s parents had realized that their son was acting like a jerk and a bully, and the school he’d been transferred to was some kind of military academy, intended to discipline him into better behavior.

  Naya had to admit that could have been the reason why there were so many military cars in front of Ryan’s house the day they were taking him—and why General Nikit had been there in person. Perhaps Ryan’s parents had connections and influence nobody else at the school knew about, and that’s how they’d managed to get Ryan a place there.

  Whatever the real truth, Naya was at least feeling safe in Ryan’s absence—and she hadn’t had to pay a price for her newfound tranquility.

  Several quiet months passed.

  Naya started getting used to being back in school without having to sneak in and out to avoid her former bullies. It made such a difference to be able to attend school without it being like some kind of undercover, covert mission—as just a regular student who could blend
in with everybody else.

  Naya even started talking with Gladys again, agreeing to do some school projects together and eat lunch at the same table. Everything seemed to be falling into place, finally.

  Even her last blood test—the one conducted by her parents, rather than the ATTP—had produced apparently better results. Who was it who’d said that your mood might have a lot to do with how well your body was operating? Perhaps it had something to do with that.

  After all, Naya’s mother, Maryanne, had been pretty strict about Naya’s new diet—intended to increase her blood levels—and this meant a focus on what she’d called “enrichment food.” It just so happened that this type of food was Naya's favorite—with lots of meat, beans, eggs, and similar protein-rich meals added to her diet. She was thrilled about it—and maybe that was reflected in her lighter mood.

  As time went on, Naya finally turned fifteen.

  She didn't mark her birthday with anything special—just a quick trip to the beach, a few hours away from where she and her family lived. Although it was winter, there was always something about the beach that made Naya feel at home, so she always loved to go there.

  Naya just wanted to be relaxed and away from everything. The weekend of her birthday was promised to be dedicated to her, and her alone. Her parents agreed not to work that weekend, and secretly that was all Naya really wanted—her parents fully focused on her, and a Naya-comes-first attitude for those couple of days.

  It nearly didn’t happen. Claude wanted to arrange a big bash for his daughter, and wanted to invite everybody at her school to attend. He even booked one of the fanciest ballrooms in town just for the occasion. Nevertheless, Naya—being typically Naya—wasn't going to let that happen without a fight! Eventually, she’d made him cancel the reservation.

  The low-key trip to the beach for the weekend turned out to be one of the best experiences they’d ever had together as a family.

  If nothing else, this reconfirmed to Naya how amazing her parents were. Claude and Maryanne were two of the busiest and most successful people in the area, but if Naya had ever needed or wanted something, they were always the first to try and make it happen for her. In the eyes of her parents, family always came first—and Naya felt blessed that they’d never lost sight of that.