Ignite (Solar Academy Book 1)

by Raven Steele

  My biggest regrets are for Dean and Rose. Please watch over them. They won’t understand. And please tell Rose I love her, as many times as she needs. I don’t think she’ll feel it after tomorrow.

  Take care of yourself.

  * * *

  Aurora

  * * *

  It didn’t exactly exonerate my mother, but it did at least give credibility to Linda’s theory. And now that we had the password to get into archives, we might just be able to confirm one way or the other. Maybe we’d find enough information to prevent the Enforcers from taking her away.

  Fourth period came and went. I’d barely been able to pay attention, and when the bell rang, I practically sprinted to the lunch room.

  Ireland was already there, using the sharp end of a knife to carve her name onto the top of a notebook.

  “Hey.” I dropped my stuff next to her. “So we’re really going to do this?”

  “I hope so. I’ve been freaking bored lately.”

  Bonnie bounded up to us in short pink skirt and white tank top. She dropped at the table next to us, shifting a long braid over one shoulder. She must have put in hair extensions today.

  “I’m having doubts about this, guys,” she said, her eyes full of worry. “I can’t get in trouble. My record needs to be spotless or I won’t get into Yale or Harvard.”

  Ireland wrinkled her nose like something smelled bad. “Why would you want to go there?”

  “It’s okay, Bonnie,” I interjected. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

  “We should break in tonight,” Bennie said from behind me. He dropped a full tray of food next to me, making its contents bounce. Applesauce spilled over the rim of a bowl.

  Ireland spun her knife on the edge of her fingertip. “I’m in.”

  I backed away from her to avoid being impaled. Just in case. “What time?”

  “After ten looks good. No one entered the basement all week after that time.”

  Hudson appeared across from me at the same table. “You guys having a party tonight?”

  “No!” we all four said at the same time.

  He lifted his hands as if we might shoot him. He laughed uncomfortably. “My bad.” His gaze shifted to mine. “You ready for that lunch date?”

  I groaned. I’d forgotten we were supposed to do that. “Can we do it tonight instead? We’re … “ I tried to think of an excuse to tell him but Ireland was much quicker.

  “I’m having boy troubles. I need my friend’s shoulders to cry on.”

  Hudson blinked. “You cry, Ireland?”

  She closed her eyes really tight as if to summon tears. Her eyelids opened, completely dry. “They’re there somewhere.”

  “Um, okay. Tonight then.” His brow furrowed in confusion.

  “She’s busy tonight too,” Bennie said.

  “I am?” I looked at Bennie, at his intense eyes that were trying to silently communicate with me. But I wasn’t his twin sister and had no idea what he was getting at.

  “Yes, we have to study.” He said the words through his teeth.

  I still wasn’t sure exactly what he meant as I thought we could discuss plans at lunch, but I went along with it. “Oh right. I’m so sorry, Hudson. How about breakfast?”

  Hudson nodded his head, casting each of us a suspicious glance, especially me. And for just a moment, I swore I say a hint of sadness lurking in those endless blue eyes.

  “See you around, Rose,” he said before leaving us alone.

  Bonnie winked at me. “Lunch date, huh?”

  “It’s nothing,” I said, not wanting to talk about Hudson right now. There were much bigger things to discuss. “So how do we want to do this?”

  Bennie began speaking, explaining what he’d uncovered the last week. He’d learned every teachers schedule after dinner, one that seemed to be religiously followed.

  When he finished, he looked at each of us. “What did you all learn?”

  Ireland’s mouth fell open and she glanced from me to Bonnie. “I learned my stomach doesn’t like to be fed more than one burrito.”

  Bonnie giggled but quickly covered her mouth to hide the fact. I glanced away to conceal my own smile.

  “Did any of you do any recon?” Bennie asked, his voice thick with frustration.

  “I didn’t know we were supposed to,” Bonnie answered honestly.

  Ireland shrugged. “I kind of thought this whole thing would be a smash and grab sort of thing.”

  “I have something,” I said, thinking of the letter.

  “Thank you!” Bennie’s voice was louder than he intended. He dropped it several notes. “At least someone was doing something.”

  “I didn’t really do anything, but Linda gave me this.” I withdrew my mom’s letter from my bag. I handed it first to Bennie to read. “It doesn’t actually prove her innocence, but it does give credibility to Linda’s theory.”

  After scanning it, he handed it to Bonnie. “It’s ambiguous, but there’s enough there to keep pursuing this. Could you imagine? If Aurora really is innocent, and we’re the ones to break the freaking story wide open?”

  “Calm down, Scoobie Doo,” Ireland said. “This is Rose’s life, not some murder mystery plot.”

  “It’s okay,” I assured. “I’m not letting my hopes get too high, but I do need to tell you one last thing.”

  “What’s that?” Bennie asked.

  “Linda told me this the other day. It doesn’t affect what we’re doing tonight, but it does suck because we don’t have much time.” I inhaled. “The Enforcers are coming for my mother. Soon. So if we can’t find something to exonerate her, I’ll never see my mother again.”

  Dinner flew by as quickly as lunch had. Bennie gave us each a hand-drawn map of the school and the layout of the basement, which he had already explored. One couldn’t ever fault him for not being thorough. He was born for this kind of work. Sometimes I wondered if he had more gifts that went beyond healing.

  As I sat alone in my attic room, there were two key locations I couldn’t stop staring at on the copy of his map. The first was the archive room. It wasn’t far from the elevator entrance and, according to Bennie, must be a huge room based on his calculations. It was the only door leading to the west side of the building.

  As for the other point of interest, it was the hallway leading to the right. It ended at another door that had the word Security written on it, along with several warnings. Bennie had insisted he sensed magical wards placed around said door. He hadn’t dared get within five feet of it.

  That’s where my mother was imprisoned. No one actually came right out and said it, but I knew.

  The clock in the hallway chimed ten. Time to go.

  I snuck down the steps and peeked into the hallway. Ireland and Bonnie waited for me. Together, we tiptoed down the hall and headed to the atrium, where we would meet Bennie.

  He was where he said he’d be, skulking beneath a small floral tree with his arms crossed. Moonlight filtered in from the domed glass above, illuminating his golden eyes.

  The lines on his face were all business as he whispered, “Let’s go. I’ll take the front. Ireland, you bring up the rear.”

  She rolled her eyes, but did as he asked. The foyer lights at the front of the school barely reached our dark space in the hall as we skittered across the hallway in a single line.

  Bennie stopped in front of the elevator and made some sort of hand signal to us. None of us knew what it meant, but we didn’t say anything. I glanced around in all the dark corners searching for cameras, even though Bennie had already assured me there were none.

  The elevator doors opened. I dove inside along with Bonnie and Ireland. Bennie scowled and stepped next to us. When the doors closed, he whirled around. “I told you to go in one at a time!”

  “When?” Bonnie asked.

  Bennie lifted his hand and made the same gesture he’d done a minute ago.

  “Sorry, dude,” Ireland said. “I mistook tha
t for hurry your asses up.”

  He mumbled something under this breath, while us three girls silently laughed to each other.

  But just because we were joking around, didn’t mean we weren’t freaked out. At least I was, anyway. What we found tonight could forever change my life.

  The elevator doors opened. My pulse beat raced, increasing my temperature dramatically. I reminded myself to breath, to relax. I couldn’t have any kind of accident down here, or we’d for sure be busted. Or even worse, I’d burn up any evidence that might save my mother.

  “This way.” Bennie ushered us forward, following the same path he’d drawn onto his map.

  He stopped in front of an unmarked door with a keypad next to it. “This is it.”

  I swallowed the daggers in my throat. Bonnie placed an encouraging hand on my shoulder.

  Bennie held up one palm, and with the other hand began to type a code into the keypad. He must’ve scribbled the code onto his palm.

  Before he could enter the last number, a voice from behind us said, “What the hell are you four doing down here?”

  Chapter 15

  Fire nearly exploded out of me as I whipped around. It might’ve too, had it been anyone else busting us.

  “What the hell, Hudson?” Ireland snapped. “You scared us!”

  He glanced to the door behind Bennie, and then to me. His presence felt colder than usual, and bitter. He was pissed.

  “What are you guys doing down here?” he asked, his voice chilly.

  Ireland wasn’t having any of it. “Why don’t you mind your own business and go back to bed?”

  “As a Red Letter—”

  “Don’t give us any of that Red Letter shit.”

  I held up my hand to silence her. “It’s not what you think, Hudson. They’re helping me with something important. But what are you doing down here?”

  “I was in the library studying when I heard something. I came out and saw you guys sneaking towards the elevator.” He paused when he must’ve seen the desperation in my eyes, because his expression softened. He stepped closer to me. My flames leapt, practically bouncing into his lap like an excited puppy.

  I knew the moment he felt them. His eyes glazed over, and the tension that had riddled his body only moments ago melted away.

  “If you need help with something,” he said, his words meant only for me, “you just have to ask me.”

  I searched his polar eyes. If ever I was to test his loyalty to me, this would be it. “We have reason to believe that my mother might’ve been set up and didn’t actually kill all those people, not willingly anyway. We came to the archive room to search for proof.”

  Ireland folded her arms to her chest. “I can’t believe you just told him that. He’s totally going to rat us out.”

  Hudson didn’t look at her, only kept his focus on me. He reached out and hooked his fingers through mine. Ice raced through my veins, cooling my flames, my fear, my insecurities.

  “I’ll help,” he said, then unlatched his fingers from mine, mouthing the word “sorry” as if he just remembered we weren’t supposed to touch.

  Ireland groaned. “We cannot seriously be accepting help from a Red Letter!”

  Hudson pointed beyond the door. “I’ve been in that room. Can any of you say the same?”

  No one answered.

  “That’s what I thought. You guys will waste a lot of time in there without me. The room is enormous.”

  Bennie punched in the code. “You can tag along, but if we get busted because of you, you’re going to wake up one day and discover yourself wanted in a dozen countries for terrorism.” Bennie shot a sharp look over his shoulder at Hudson.

  Hudson whispered next to me, “Can he do that?”

  “I wouldn’t doubt it.”

  Bonnie walked past us. “Oh, he can and he will, so watch it, Hudson.”

  “Threat received loud and clear.” Hudson moved into the darkened room first and flipped on just enough light to allow us to see where we were going.

  Bonnie stopped at the threshold. “I’ll be the lookout.”

  “Good plan.” I winked at her, then turned my attention to the massive space behind me. Hudson hadn’t been kidding about the room’s size. Rows and rows of shelving marched from wall to wall, broken up by a pair of tables after every third row. Each shelf held old boxes stacked on top of each other. With stark white walls, and white tiled floors, this place felt like a prison.

  “Tell me what exactly you guys are looking for so we can narrow the search,” Hudson said.

  “Anything on my mother.”

  “And the Foundation,” Bennie added.

  Hudson furrowed his brow. “That’s heavy stuff and could get us in a lot of trouble.”

  “But if Aurora was working with them,” Ireland explained, “there could be a lot of information about her.”

  Hudson’s gaze darted to mine. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “More than anything. I need to know if all my hate has been misplaced.”

  With thoughtful eyes and a small smile, he nodded. “Follow me.”

  Leaving Bonnie to watch the door, the rest of us followed Hudson past row after row as we read the labels at the end of each one. The markings looked like Roman numerals but there were symbols too. Sometimes, Hudson would have to stop to analyze them, and then he’d keep moving.

  “Any of you know what those labels mean?” I asked over my shoulder to Ireland and Bennie.

  Ireland shrugged. “Hieroglyphics to me.”

  “I know some of them,” Bennie admitted, “but this language, if you can call it that, is known only among supernatural adults so they can communicate secretly on the outside world.”

  Hudson must’ve been listening because he said, “My mother taught me them a couple of years ago. She probably would’ve gotten in trouble, but since our family travels so much in the summer, she wanted me to know it in case I ran into any trouble.”

  He turned down a long row and walked to the back of the room, making one more turn. The few lights we’d turned on barely reached this back corner. He stopped and motioned to three rows in front of him. “I think this is everything on the Foundation.” He paused and tapped on a label closest to him. “And this row has information about the actual event, the Day Fire Breathed. There should be lots of information here about Aurora.”

  I shuddered. It had been a long time since someone had used that name newscasters had given that day. I had hated it then and hated it now.

  “We’ll start here then,” Bennie said and hurried past us. He used the light from his cell phone and shined it either on the spines of books or the small, handwritten labels on boxes. Ireland began to do the same.

  “Thank you for doing this,” I said quietly to Hudson.

  He turned around to face me. “I’m doing it for you. I want to be a part of your life, even just as a friend. There’s something between us worth exploring.”

  He moved his hand forward to touch mine but then stopped, as if remembering the vow again to cut back on the touching. He smiled. “Let’s go exonerate your mother.”

  Hudson moved away just as I reached for him. It was such a hard urge to suppress. Every part of me wanted to feel his touch, but we couldn’t, shouldn’t. Not yet anyway. We had to be friends first. Make sure we could at least make that work.

  For the next thirty minutes, we scoured through paperwork, looking for anything to do with Aurora. When someone found her name, they didn’t bother reading the content. There wasn’t time. Instead, they took a picture of the document, then carefully put it back where they found it. We’d read through everything later.

  Hudson and I worked in the same aisle, but on opposite ends. He rifled through several files of an open box, while I flipped through pages of a book written by one of the first members of the Foundation. I scanned the words quickly, trying to take in what I could about the group. The others probably already knew all this information, but I didn’t.
r />   The organization seemed to have good intentions when it was first created over thirty years ago. The founder, Thomas Lancaster, was concerned about how the outside world might react to supernaturals if our secrets were revealed. So he and two others began the Foundation with the goal of protecting our kind. They sought out the most powerful among us and asked them to join, too. They then contacted those high up in the governments of the strongest countries to make alliances. They would help protect supernaturals’ existences, and in return, supernaturals would do jobs for them.

  At first, those jobs were things like gather intelligence or helping to end various conflicts in small countries, especially against terrorists. But as the Foundation grew, its influence rooting deep within several governments, some members became greedy. The Foundation’s original purpose began to be tainted. Thomas tried to control those supernaturals who were making deals behind the founders’ backs, but the traitors went underground and began to recruit men of their own, all while still claiming to be the Foundation.

  “Hey,” a voice said to me on the next aisle over, the voice quiet.

  I jumped and lowered the book in my hands. Ireland’s eyes stared at me through the tops of several books.

  “I found a huge folder on your mother.”

  “You did?” I quickly set the book back onto the shelf, making sure to tuck it carefully between two other books, when the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the wide, dark space.

  “Guys!” Bonnie whispered loudly. “Someone’s coming down the elevator!”

  “Shit,” Ireland cursed.

  “Turn off all the lights, shut the door, and hide!” Bennie whispered back.

  I darted to the back of the aisle and crouched down just as we were plunged into complete darkness. I heard the click of the door as Bonnie closed it. My pulse beat so fast it felt like one continuous, painful beat. My flames responded to the added stress and rose high within me, making me nauseous.

  Someone sat next to me, and by the way my body instantly cooled, I knew it was Hudson. I leaned over, just barely, until our shoulders touched. Considering the circumstances and how much I needed to stay fire-free right now, I didn’t mind breaking our vow.