Discovery: Olde Earth Academy: Year Two

by Amabel Daniels

  “Wow.”

  In awe. Yeah, I’d always had a connection with animals. But I’d never had someone explain how strong that bond could be. My energy dictated that Merlin would go against commands from the human he was probably most attuned with. A bond between man and dog that would be formidable to most of the world’s forces.

  “Yeah. Wow.” Wolf scoffed. “So maybe I won’t see how you’ll react if I send the grogs after you.”

  “Grogs.”

  “Arthur.” Wolf whistled once. “Arthur!”

  From down the hall came another animal. The not-dog. One of the mutts who’d been on doorman duty at the Green House that one night. Olde Earth’s method of curfew watch. A grog, apparently, with webbed feet and a spiked tail. He galloped to Wolf, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, the tip nearly knocking into the mane of lion-ish hair around his neck.

  “Oh, hey, buddy,” I cooed at the massive animal, bending at my waist to reach the top of his head for a pet.

  “Oh, Jesus Christ.” Wolf barked out a grunt that could have been a laugh. “Buddy?” He watched as I petted Arthur and got the creature wagging his tail. Spikes flung close to me on a wag and I edged to the front of the dog.

  “Yeah, watch out for those.”

  “This is a grog?” I asked.

  “Corbin named them. Griffin and a dog. Grog.”

  “Corbin?” I asked, trying to remain standing on my feet as Arthur nudged me for more attention when I ceased petting him.

  “Corbin Verlene. He came up with the name for them.”

  “Paige’s dad.” I shook my head a bit, unsettled at hearing his name again. The Early Pure Otis had known. My friend’s dad, Ethel’s husband. Someone from Olde Earth who’d been killed… “You knew him?”

  “Nah. He was killed before my time. Knew of him, though. He was a good friend of Suthering.” Wolf said this to the floor, not wanting to meet my gaze, it seemed.

  “And you’re a good friend of Suthering as well?” I asked, my anger at him siccing dogs on me fading. If the headmaster could befriend him, he had to have a good trait somewhere in there. I wouldn’t be tossing around my trust any time soon, but I doubted Suthering would send me to an abusive or violent-minded man. This was an educational institution, after all. Wolf had tranquilized the griffin yesterday, preventing her from harming me and others. I had to believe he didn’t actually harbor ill will toward me.

  “Friend of Suthering?” Wolf pulled one side of his cheek in. “I’m a good employee of his. At a time, he was more like a father figure to me, but now, we’re more boss-employee.”

  Seemed like a story. A drama, maybe. But not my concern at the moment. If I was going to be mentored here, I was sure I’d have ample chances to get to know him. Perhaps he’d fill me in on his background and his connection to Suthering another day. Ground rules had to come first, though.

  I pointed at him. “If I’m going to be here under your supervision, I do not want you to test me like that ever again.”

  “As if you’ll be telling me what to do. But I get it. No one’s ever gotten Merlin to come at me.” He didn’t let his surprise and slight humor lace his words for another second, though. “And don’t get any ideas, Miss I’m A Freakishly Strong Pure girl.”

  I huffed a laugh. “Oh, yeah. What, like I’d sic them at you?” Never minding Wolf’s crappy manners and violent method of “testing” my powers, I’d never want an animal to attack someone. Self-defense was one matter. And I hadn’t even been aware that I was ordering creatures based on my feelings.

  His returning glare wasn’t mean as much as it was solemn. Deadly serious. “You say that like it’s never happened before.”

  I swallowed hard. Considering how new elves and the recognition of these powers were to me, no, I hadn’t thought of that. When Paige had given me and Flynn that mini-lecture about sects and divisions, Diluted and Pure, I’d wondered. What did these elves—we—do with powers? It wasn’t unfathomable that some would turn toward evil uses of their abilities. Dark Force and whatnot. Yet it hadn’t hit me as a possibility of danger I’d have to face. Not so much a danger from Wolf. Despite his lousy way of starting day one of this mentorship, I understood that he was testing me. It wasn’t Wolf I’d need to fear. But others.

  And now, I wanted to know who my enemies might be.

  “So… Otis says I have a lot to learn.”

  Wolf cracked a laugh. “Oh, yeah, you do. I’m glad Suthering sent you to me now. No better way to learn than hands-on.”

  I was a fan of the practice-makes-perfect concept. But… “No more ‘testing’ me.”

  He held his hands up in surrender. “Nah. I don’t think I need to anymore. Come on. You don’t have much time to be here in the middle of the day. I bet I can get Suthering to free up more spots in your day to have you come out here more, though. You’d be better off learning from me and these creatures than bookish crap in class.”

  Bookish crap? I scowled. “I want to get into a good college though. Pre-vet.”

  Wolf chuckled, to himself, more like it. “I’d suggest surviving your years here, first.” He headed off without another word and waved at me to follow. “Come on.”

  Survive my years here? Dead-or-alive survival? Stressed-or-mentally balanced survival? I frowned but followed. Merlin, the other wolfhound, and Arthur padded after me.

  “So you can command mammals. And ancient species.” Wolf stated it as he ticked off fingers. “What’s that sign say?” He pointed to a laminated piece of paper stuck to the wall as we passed by it.

  I huffed. “Testing my eyesight now? I’ve always had 20/20.”

  “What did it say…?” He drawled it out like he was asking a toddler for an easy answer.

  “Mammals then an arrow to the left. Amphibians with an arrow to the right.”

  Wolf whistled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re definitely Pure.”

  I glanced back at the sign, checking the bold letters. How was that a sign of my Pure bloodline?

  “That was written in Olde Earth.”

  I twisted my lips. Oh.

  “What else can you do?” He stopped at the branch of the hallway that would take us toward the mammals, according to the sign I’d unknowingly translated.

  I patted the top of my head and rubbed my belly at the same time.

  “G-reat.” Wolf deadpanned at me. “You’re a smartass, too.”

  “Usually takes a while for me to warm up to someone and let it shine through, though.”

  Wolf smirked. “Guess I’m lucky.”

  “Glorian said luck has no room at Olde Earth.”

  With a gesture to head down the hall, he laughed once. “Sounds like something she’d say. I’m surprised she let you come and work with me.”

  Because she was so fond of taking students under her wing? I doubted she had wanted me for altruistic reasons. “She wanted to take over my…” Studies? Classes? Mentorship? I didn’t really want to know what being under her wing was like if it had resulted in former students causing harm.

  Wolf snorted. “You. She wants control over you.”

  I hugged myself as we strolled down the seemingly never-ending hallway. Doors and more hallways lined our route.

  “Glorian, hell, all of the councilmembers have their own agendas. Never forget that.”

  “Including Suthering?” After all, he was the one who’d ultimately claimed “control” over my studies.

  “Him, too. But he’s still a good guy in my book.”

  Still… Had Wolf and Suthering always gotten along? Again, I wondered about Wolf. How he’d come into his powers. If he was a Pure. What, exactly, he did here in the Menagerie. Where the heck he was leading me to as we walked further into the earth.

  “The Academy is a school. One that happens to cater to elves. Everyone on the council has the agenda to teach the next generation of elves. Only, they have different ways they want to do it.”

  As a young man approached us in the hallway, Wolf lifted a hand i
n a wave and continued on as he passed by. “Imagine it. You’ve got these weird, X-Men-like talents. Power. It could make someone kind of cocky, get to their head that they’re superior than others, than plain humans. Without the right kind of…background information, you could struggle to accept why you have these powers.”

  I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure he saw.

  “Glorian, Griswold…even Bateson, although she’s newest to the council. They prefer to preach different…” He ran a hand through his hair, seeming to seek the best explanation. “Lore. Purposes. And as powerful as you are, as an Early, then I’d bet they’d be fighting over how you should be taught about your elven traits.”

  “I don’t think they really know what I’m capable of.” I cleared my throat as we turned around a corner in the hallway, passing a door labeled Cats. Leaning forward, I tried to see around Wolf and through the window. “Mr. Suthering deleted the surveillance video of what happened yesterday.”

  “Griswold was there, though. He’s not stupid.”

  “But he wasn’t even interested in taking me as a student. Said he was too busy.”

  Wolf shook his head. “And Glorian and Bateson, they don’t know about your powers?”

  “Glorian has to suspect I’m an Early.” Borrowing his jargon felt strange, but it made sense. Better than calling myself a premature freak of nature. “She was the first to suggest I study under her.”

  “Like we need another Pure training for her goals again.” He scoffed.

  “What happened? It was Stuart Wright who she’d mentored, right?”

  “I’m not going to talk about that.” He shook his head, tossing his unruly, long hair side to side. Why couldn’t he put it in a ponytail? The way his hair hung near his eyes had me brushing my own locks back. Wasn’t it annoying like that? “At least not today.”

  “Then what am I doing here with you?” Other than walking miles into a cliffside? Canines. We slowed our walk as we neared the entrance labeled with the word.

  “Right now, returning the dogs to their stalls.” He patted his thigh and the trio of puppers looked to him. “After that, I’ll get to work on teaching you the how of your powers. How to control them. How to anticipate them.”

  I followed him into the large kennel space. It was more of a wing, the rooms lined wall to wall with cages. Some sections had an open-layout with dog beds, pillows, cots, and blankets strewn about with multiple canines lounging around. As Wolf and I came close, they stood and showed their excitement at our arrival. Wagging tails, gleeful whimpers, barks hello.

  “Can you get them to quiet down?” he asked as he retrieved some treats from a jar fastened high on the wall.

  Me? I shrugged. “Easy, boys and girls. Easy. Quiet down now…” I lowered my hands as I spoke and the collective roar of dog noise dimmed and some even lay down. Arthur dropped to lay at my feet, rolling to his back for a belly rub. I knelt down to reward him.

  Wolf stood next to me and nodded, his arms crossed since he’d already given Merlin, Arthur, and the second wolfhounds their treats. “Not bad.”

  Sheesh. All I did was ask them to be quiet. And they were probably just being obedient because he was there with me. Still on my knees, I was surrounded by pups who wanted more attention. Pets. Rubs. Hugs. Though they remained quiet and calm.

  “Okay, let’s move along before you can’t get away from them. Especially Merlin.” He ruffled the dog’s fur on top of his head. “He’s a whore for attention.”

  I stood and left the large room of dogs. Even that small visit restored something missing in my heart. No, I hadn’t had much time to interact with them, but I at least got to see them and could bank on the hope of being able to return soon.

  “We’ll just do a simple tour for now,” Wolf said. He didn’t make much eye contact as he spoke to me. Maybe it was partly because he was leading me down halls and past other doors or entrances to wings of other species. We walked by the bears, large cats, primates, and a collective fork of hallways with herbivores. Wolf didn’t guide me all the way through any of these wings, and there likely wasn’t even time to do so. If the Academy kept these animals for rehabilitation, research, and rescue, they had enormous responsibilities as exclusive, hidden zookeepers.

  “How big is this place?”

  “Huge. But we’ll stick with the mammalian section.”

  I nodded. “Where are the ancients?”

  Wolf smirked. “On another level.”

  Level? This Menagerie wasn’t huge, it was enormous. I couldn’t get over the fact it was all within a hollow of earth.

  “They’re closer to the upper reaches. Many can fly and we let them out at night.”

  I smiled. “Hence the reason for curfew? To hide them from underclassmen?”

  “Pretty much. We try to hide them from everyone, really. And some of them can be a pain in the ass. If they are given free rein to explore at night, there’s less chance they’ll mess with the other animals and native wildlife. The Pegasus herd…don’t get me started. They love to rile up Otis’s horses at the stables.”

  “Do we have time to tour any of the ancients today?”

  His stare was direct, for a change, and almost calculating. “Why? You missing those hungry griffins or something?”

  “I just want to see what’s chained up in there.” Like…my longma. I had to be close to him.

  He stopped in the middle of the hallway and grabbed my elbow to halt me as well. Then he slowly stepped around to face me, looming over me for as tall as he was. “Chained up?” In a slow tilt, he kind of ducked to my eye level. “Have you seen any creatures chained up in here? Sure, some are within cages for safety and to minimize mating. But we don’t chain up any species like they’re prisoners.”

  Whoa. Touchy subject, chains. And it warmed me to this gruff guy. If he would react so strongly to the idea of strapping animals to leashes and chains, he had to have a good heart.

  “We don’t need them, anyway. You’ll see. These animals connect with us. Listen to us. They don’t need to be bound to walls.”

  Yet, as much as I was proud that Wolf detested the idea of equating animals to prisoners or lesser beings, I was disappointed. If Wolf ran this ship in here, a proverbial Noah’s Ark within a cliff, and he insisted no one used chains, then my longma couldn’t have been here. There was no way to forget about that solid metal cuff and busted chain-link leash I’d seen on its neck.

  So where was he?

  Chapter Thirteen

  After my first day of schoolwork combined with my mentorship in the Menagerie, I walked back to the dorms. Chilly evening air whipped my hair into my face and I huddled into my light jacket. Yesterday had been a mild, pleasantly warm fall day. Pretty soon, it’d be even cooler and I’d need my coat. Sweats on my morning runs.

  Would my longma be warm enough, wherever he was? I still couldn’t guess if he was warm- or cold-blooded. But if someone was keeping him captive, and it wasn’t in the Menagerie…

  Where are you, buddy?

  “Layla, wait up.”

  I turned at Paige’s yell from behind me and stopped on the sidewalk. Bouncing on my feet, I tried to stay warm while she came to me.

  “Yeah, it’s cold. Winter sure is on its way.” She jogged up to me, her heeled shoes smacking hard on the sidewalk.

  “Well, well, look who it is.” I elbowed her as we joined in our walk to the Green House. Darkness was falling, and while we had time before curfew, I’d rather catch up with her inside where it was warm. “You’ve been busy, huh?”

  “Oh… Stop it.” Her smile was too wide to hold a grudge against her. The giddiness and energy that came with having a crush was cute rather than annoying. She’d been flirting with Marcus toward the end of our first year and when she was gone in Michigan, it must have been a fierce case of absence making the heart grow fonder.

  “How’s Marcus? Since I’m guessing that’s where you were so late last night.”

  She nodded, and her smile tur
ned coy. “I was with him. After the whole gym incident at the stables, I couldn’t find you. Marcus waited with me at class and then Mom said you had a meeting with the Head Gs.”

  “No, the whole council.”

  Paige faced me fully and widened her eyes. “Whoa.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Then we thought we’d hang out for dinner…and… Well, it was his elven date yesterday.”

  Someone actively had their date. I’d seen Marcus at our second period. He seemed…exactly the same as the previous day. “What does he have?”

  Is that the right way to ask? That sounds like I’m seeking a diagnosis.

  “Oh, he’s a low Diluted. He assumed he’d be low.” She shrugged. “He’s with the ferret sect.”

  Damn, that was handy. Simple as that. Placed. Somewhere to belong. I wished I could have such an easy way of knowing the extent of my abilities. Wolf, Suthering, and even Flynn had me second-guessing more might come.

  “So, we hung out later than we realized.”

  Her tone was too…easy. Like she’d rehearsed this story. I studied her closer and saw the mark on her skin. Her flesh was dark to begin with, but there was definitely a deeper discoloration above her collarbone.

  “Hung out? Hickey-causing kind of hung out?”

  She pressed her lips together as her eyes blinked wide. Immediately, she slapped a hand over the mark. “Umm.”

  I laughed, relieved to simply accept entertainment from my roomie’s embarrassment. Maybe she’d be better off with the condoms Sabine had stuck in my bag. Not really, though. Paige sure had a thing for Marcus, but I doubted she’d actually…do it yet.

  “Don’t tell my mom.”

  I grinned. “How could I? I never see her anymore.”

  Ethel wasn’t a steady acquaintance of mine, but I did go to the library to study, most often with Flynn and Lorcan. Every time I’d chanced going past the head librarian counter, she was either gone or busy at her computer with headphones on. Before the quarterly, it seemed students were foisted onto library aides for help instead of her.

  “Oh, you will. She’s coming over to our room tonight.”