by Raven Steele
“That was some neat shit you did back there.”
“I nearly killed everyone.”
“Nah. You just gave them a wakeup call. Near death experiences are good for us. They remind us that life is fragile and not to screw it up. Sometimes as supernaturals, we forget that.”
I straightened and headed back to the dorms. “I don’t think the others would agree with you.”
She didn’t disagree as she caught up to me. “Where you going? There’s one more period.”
“I don’t care. I’m getting the hell out of here.”
“Sick. I’ll go with you.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Why?”
“Because I’m bored.” She began typing something into her phone. “I’ll get us a ride.”
“Are you serious?”
She looked up at me grinning. “I have connections.” She paused. “More like two dopey friends who are just as mental as I am.”
I couldn’t tell if she was serious or not about leaving, but I was. I continued marching into the dorms and up to my room. Ireland raved with jealously when she saw where my room was.
“Say the word, and I’ll trade you. I’m stuck with some sophomore who glows in the dark. Do you know how annoying that is?”
“Well, since I’m leaving, it’s all yours.”
She walked around in awe as if imagining where she’d put all her belongings. She stopped at my bed where my lone blanket had fallen to the floor. “Does the blood stain come with it?”
I chuckled and began to shove my clothes into my suitcase. More heat left me, and my pulse began to slow.
A knock on the door startled me. Probably a teacher insisting I get back to class. Screw them. I didn’t belong here, and they knew it just as much as I did.
“They’re here,” Ireland said and bounded to the door.
“Who is?”
“Our wheels.” She flew open the door.
A boy and girl my age stood shoulder to shoulder in the doorway. The girl sported a big smile, but the boy scowled at the size of my room. They stepped inside at the same time, the floorboards creaking beneath them.
“This is so not fair,” the boy said. “Why do the girls always get nicer things? Nicer bathroom, nicer rooms, nicer teachers…”
“And you two are?” I prodded.
The girl practically skipped to me, her brown ponytail bouncing. She wore a vintage pink tutu with high black army boots. Her tight, black shirt was covered in anime characters. “I’m Bonnie, and this is my twin Bennie.”
“Bonnie and Bennie?” I clarified.
Ireland laughed. “Isn’t it great? Like what parent does that to their kids? I really want to meet them.”
“I like it,” Bonnie said, her gray eyes twinkling.
Her brother raked his hand through his dark hair. “So where we going?”
Ireland plopped onto my bed and stared at the red stain. “Rose wants to leave.”
“Is everyone being a jerk to you because of who your mother is?” Bonnie asked, not a hint of disgust in her voice.
“So you guys know.” It was more of a statement than a question.
“We heard just after lunch.”
“That’s not even the best part,” Ireland said, grinning mischievously. “She nearly blew up our spell casting class a few minutes ago.”
Bonnie clapped her hands. “I love it!”
Even Bennie looked impressed, something I didn’t think he was often. His baggy jeans had worn tears in them at the knees, the legit kind, not ones made by the store, and his blue t-shirt might’ve said something at some point, but the letters were too faded to tell.
“It’s not cool,” I said. “It’s insane, and that’s why I need to leave. Otherwise, teachers and students will be marching to my room with pitchforks and razors, demanding I get locked up.”
“Pshhh,” Bennie snorted. “No way. We’ve had way worse happen here. One time Hudson froze Cyrus Hall. The whole building with students inside and everything. It was a good thing one of our teachers is a healer.”
Hudson’s power was creating ice? I wondered if that’s why I was drawn to him, or at least my fire was. It wanted his icy touch. The whole opposites attract thing. “Are you serious?”
“What you did, almost killing students, is like an everyday occurrence around here,” Ireland said. “The only difference is you used fire, which, although badass, does come with certain stigmas. It also doesn’t help that your mother burned alive dozens of people. No offense.”
“None taken.” Plenty of people had talked bad about my mom, but for some reason, when these guys talked about her, it didn’t feel like an insult. They simply spoke the truth and didn’t seem to pass any judgements on to me.
Bonnie twirled her finger through her ponytail. “Kids can be jerks here, especially Maisy and the rest of the Red Letters, but there are nice ones too.”
“Aren’t you guys afraid I’ll burn you up?”
“A little,” Ireland admitted, “but that’s why I like hanging out with you. You give me that extra element of danger I crave.”
“Um, thank you?”
“It’s not a big deal,” Bennie said. He was still eyeing my room enviously. “So we should probably get going. I have to be back before dinner or someone will notice.”
“Where are you going to go?” Bonnie asked me.
I thought about it, realizing how very much I hadn’t thought about it. All I knew was I needed to get out of here. But that was fifteen minutes ago when I wasn’t surrounded by three people my age who weren’t at all freaked out by me.
“Since you clearly don’t have a plan,” Ireland drawled, her hand hovering over the red stain, “why don’t you think on it, and we’ll go another day.”
Grateful for the out, I nodded. “Good idea.”
“I know you want to go,” Bonnie said, tugging her shirt down past her belly button, “but if you decide to stay, we’ll be your friends. You’re by far the most interesting person we’ve met here.”
My heart sunk as I got her meaning. “Because of who my mother is?”
Ireland stood. “No one cares about that old witch anymore. It’s because you can wield fire like a beast and yet you act like you can’t. There’s so many big heads in the place, I suffocate nearly every day.”
The other two nodded in agreement.
“First of all,” I began. “I don’t know how to wield fire. More like it wields me. And second of all, I don’t know what to say. I’ve never had friends before.”
Bonnie rested her hand on my shoulder. “Let’s start now.”
“But I warn you,” Ireland added. “We’re a little psychotic.”
Bennie had moved to the bed and was staring down at the stain. “Speak for yourself. This has got to be blood, right?”
“That’s what I asked but Anne, I mean Ms. Pearson, said it wasn’t. They are supposed to get me a new mattress today.” I looked up at them. “Who was in here before me?”
They looked at each other.
“No one we know of,” Bonnie finally said. Her gaze shifted to the window. “Class will be ending soon. Let’s hit the cantina. I hear they’re serving nachos before dinner.”
They headed towards the door. I stared after them. Was this really happening? People actually wanted to be around me? The idea was so foreign and unbelievable, I couldn’t get my feet to move.
Ireland glanced back at me. “Come on, already.”
This time my feet moved on their own. Now that I apparently had friends, I didn’t want to stay alone in the dirty attic with only the stained mattress for company. Still, I moved cautiously, following several feet behind them down the stairs.
“You know,” Bonnie began in the front of our little group, “I get why everyone is freaked out about you being here. Maybe if your mom wasn’t in the dungeon, it wouldn’t be such a big deal.”
I grabbed her shoulder, my insides igniting. “What?”
She yelped and rushed away from me un
til she was at the bottom of the stairs. “You’re hot!” She rubbed at her shoulder.
“What do you mean my mom is here?”
Ireland stepped next to Bonnie, with Bennie on her other side protectively. “You don’t know?”
I skipped the last several steps until I was facing them. “Know what?”
She glanced nervously at Bonnie and Bennie. “Your mother is being held in the basement. They’ve got her sealed up in some vault, and she’s been here for the last ten years, just sleeping away.”
I leaned into the wall next to me, strength draining from me. My mother, the woman who had killed dozens of people, lay in eternal slumber only floors beneath me. “No one told me.”
“I’m sorry,” Ireland said. “That was a shitty thing for them to do, but maybe you can understand now why some people here are a little volatile. They might think you’re part of the Foundation like she was. That you’re only here to try and rescue her.”
My head jerked up. “I wouldn’t!”
Bennie shrugged a little. “No one would blame you if you did. She is your mother, after all.”
I dragged a hand down my face, still in shock. My mother had ruined my life, and my dad’s. In the years since, I’d managed to put her as far out of my mind as possible, but now she was practically in my face. “Why is she here, of all places?”
Bennie leaned towards the window, almost as if he wanted to create more space between me and him. Or maybe that was just in my head. “The ISA ordered Ms. Swanson, along with several other teachers, to find a way to wake Aurora up so she can stand trial.”
“But she’s guilty,” I said. I’d seen the footage many times. The whole world had.
He shrugged a little. “No one wants to sentence a woman to death who’s asleep. It’s anticlimactic.”
I repressed an uncontrollable shiver. As much as I liked to tell myself my mother deserved death, I couldn’t bear the thought of it. I’d loved her fiercely at one point.
“This is so messed up,” I mumbled.
Ireland reached as if to pat my arm, but thought better of it. “Just forget about it. She’s not going anywhere.”
They turned and headed down the hall. It took me a few seconds to catch up. My feet felt heavy along the wooden floor, and my throat constricted in that funny way just before you throw up. Did my father know? Surely, he wouldn’t have put me in this place if he knew she was here.
My mind reeled and twisted as we walked downstairs. I thought he’d simply dumped me in another place I didn’t want to be, but it was far worse than I could ever imagine. My father had inadvertently stuck me next to the one person I’d been trying to escape for years.
My mother.
Chapter 7
Life at Solar Academy crept by as I crawled through each day, pretending my mother wasn’t sleeping just beneath my feet. The more time passed, the easier it became to forget she was there. Until someone decided to remind me.
The other students continued to toss jabs at me, especially Maisy and Arrow, and sometimes even Grant. Becca always tried to soften their blows, which I appreciated even though it rarely worked. As for Hudson, since he found out who I was, he simply ignored me. I preferred that to his intense stares that made my flames burn so hot, I felt I might implode. It made school easier not to feel so hot all of the time.
But what made this school more than something to endure were my new friends. They filled my lone table with easy conversation and laughter at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every day. They become permanent fixtures, a spark of light to chase away the constant shadows that had followed me all my life. Without them, I would’ve left days ago.
When over a month passed, I barely believed it.
It was an oddly warm day for late October, so much so, I decided to eat outside on the grass. I texted Ireland, Bonnie, and Bennie where I’d be so they could join me.
“Hey you,” Bonnie said a few minutes later as she bounded up to me in her usual anime t-shirt, a longer one this time, with bright yellow leggings beneath. She had strips of pink in her brown hair. She must’ve done that last night.
“Cute hair.”
“Thanks.” She dropped onto the blanket with me and unwrapped a sandwich from the kitchen. “The school is throwing a party this weekend. ”
“For Halloween?”
“Sort of. They call it a party, but it’s really just the faculty playing a scary movie and handing out a bunch of snacks. Some people dress up and get dates to go to it. Pretty low key.”
“Do you have a date?”
“No, but thinking about it.”
“Are you guys talking about the movie this weekend?” Ireland asked as she came up behind me.
“Yeah. I’m thinking of asking Levi to go with me.” Bonnie sunk her teeth into the sandwich.
“Ew. Really?” Ireland yanked open a small bag of chips. “He’s so… safe.”
“I think he’s nice. What about you, Ireland? Who are you going to ask?”
“Your mom.”
Bonnie laughed.
“No, seriously,” Ireland insisted. “I just have to meet her! Your father can come, too.”
Bonnie’s phone on her lap lit up with a new text message. She read it out loud. “Bennie wants me to help him carry his food. He got too much. Big surprise.”
She jumped to her feet and hurried away.
“Should I ask someone?” I said to Ireland. “Do you think anyone would even go with me?”
I’d never been on a real date before. A couple of boys had asked me at my last school, but I knew it was only because they wanted to say they’d gone out with the daughter of the world’s most notorious female serial killer.
“I know someone who would go with you.”
I waited for her to continue.
“Hudson. He’s always looking at you, plus it would piss Maisy off big time.”
“He looks at me?”
“All the time when you’re not looking. It’s creepy, but in a good way.”
As if Maisy had heard his name spoken, she was suddenly walking towards us. I lowered my face and focused on the chips in my hand, but Ireland stared her down. I expected her to walk past us, but she stopped next to my blanket.
“Can we help you with something?” Ireland asked.
“Not here for you.” She motioned towards me. “I’m here for her.”
I glanced up, squinting against the sun, and waited for her to speak.
She sighed and tugged on the hem of her shirt. “I feel bad about the way I treated you when you first got here, and I want to make it up to you.”
I searched her face for any deceit, but her sparkling blue eyes radiated only innocence. “How?”
“I want to invite you to a pre-Halloween celebration party tonight.”
“I haven’t heard of any party,” Ireland said.
Maisy narrowed her eyes at Ireland. “Would you though?”
“I appreciate the offer,” I said quickly to ease the tension between them, “but I think I’m good.” These two were like two opposing storms, always fighting for the same space. Their feud was so bitter I wondered what event had even started it to begin with.
“Well if you change your mind, we’re meeting at ten o’clock at the old Mill’s Well. Just follow the path behind Cyrus Hall. You’ll probably see the bonfire through the trees.” Maisy paused. “Actually, maybe we’ll wait for you to ignite it.”
She said it lightheartedly, but I felt the jab beneath the words. Maisy turned around and walked away, her long hair swishing back and forth against her back.
“That was weird,” I said, my voice low.
“Shady as hell, although I am curious.”
Bonnie returned a moment later, holding a tray of food. Bennie trailed behind her with another loaded tray, his pants nearly falling off his hips. Conversation resumed about the school event on Friday, the three of them betting what movie would play, but all I could think about was Maisy’s offer. Not because I wanted to ha
ng out with the Red Letters, but because I was curious about Hudson. Maybe I should ask him to be my date Friday night. Just thinking about him always made my flames inside me roar to life, and I wanted to know why.
Lunch ended, which meant I had spell casting class next. Since I’d nearly exploded the room on my first day, Coach Tom hadn’t asked me to use my abilities since. Instead, he’d given me lots to read about using one’s powers. The teachings mirrored what Mrs. Adams had mentioned about our abilities being like a living thing inside us.
Sometimes I felt that way. That my fire was trying to tell me something. But other times it felt like a raging lunatic with a point to prove.
Coach Tom greeted me as I walked into the training room, as he often did with everyone. He almost made me want to join the lacrosse team, but tryouts had been the day after I’d arrived, and I wasn’t anywhere near in shape for something like that. But it was fun to watch Ireland play. She hadn’t been exaggerating when she told me she was gifted with speed and strength. The girl was a beast on the field.
“We’re going to do something different today,” Coach Tom began. “I’ve asked Mrs. Adams’ class to join us.”
Just as he said it, several students filed into the room behind Ms. Adams. Hudson happened to be one of them. My heart skipped a beat, and I wiped at my suddenly perspiring forehead.
Our eyes locked. He didn’t look away for what felt like a very long time until he sat down opposite the room with his classmates. His presence brought a much needed drop in temperature to the room. I looked around to see if the others noticed, but they didn’t seem to.
“Thank you for coming, Mrs. Adams and students,” Coach Tom said. “I appreciate you taking the time to leave your studies today, but I think our lesson will benefit both classes.”
Mrs. Adams nodded in agreement.
“Each of you find a partner. We’ll be practicing elemental magic today.”
I groaned inwardly. No one would want to be my partner. They’d say my skin was too hot to touch. Maybe if I had one of my friends in my class, I could convince them, but Ireland hadn’t joined me since that first day. I don’t think she was attending her normal classes either, not on a regular basis anyway. I got the impression that teachers couldn’t wait for Ireland to graduate. I think they’d given up on trying to tame her.
