Daughters of the Damned

by Cecily Dawson

  “What was his name?”

  “How do you know it was a he?”

  “What was her name?”

  “Kelly Teasley. I met her on assignment, and she offered me drugs. I tried to resist, but…”

  The light above the door turned yellow. “I have two minutes, I need to get to class or I’ll be caught by the hall bots, watch out for them, they’re about ye high and really grumpy.”

  Just as she left an intercom in the center of the table came on and a voice said, “Rune Porter, report to DOD Agency on the second floor a.s.a.p.” Inside the DOD office she took a seat with three other girls her age. A few minutes later the Duchess entered the room.

  “OK, girls you are all new to Desert Academy and I’m sure you have lots of questions. Those questions will be answered in your first period Class One orientation. This is a tri level class.

  “Welcome students, all are welcome wizards, vampires, werewolves, Shifters, come one come all! My name is Professor Willowbrook and this is my fifth year at Desert Academy and I am pleased to say that it has been a wonderful learning experience. My husband, Professor Willowbrook is the swim instructor and gym teacher here, BTW he is a wizard,” she smiled when she said his name. “In this class you will be learning all about the history of the Council, the Daughters of the Damned, and the Desert Academy. But before we begin let’s get introductions out of the way.”

  I looked around the room again. When I saw Katherine Blake sitting on the other side of the room, I rolled my eyes. This is going to be an interesting year. Everyone’s faces looked the same, either bored or curious about each other’s gifts. There was a girl with long dark silky hair, her skin held somewhat of a glow. She was very quiet. Behind her was another girl whose eyes pierced your very soul. She was very eerie, and she was scribbling doodles in her notebook the whole time. Something about her drew me in and I wanted to know her story. I took out my cell phone and sent Lucy a text.

  Me: Hey.

  Lucy: …Hey

  Me: Why is Katherine in my Orientation class?

  I thought this class is only for first years.

  Lucy: Haha! Katherine flunked that class last year!

  She was caught cheating on her final.

  Me: Interesting…

  Lucy: LOL TTYL

  Me: BFN

  Professor Willowbrook took out a wand and waved it at the ceiling of the classroom and a dark cloud covered the entire ceiling. The entire class looked up in awe. Then, suddenly from those clouds came rain and then lightening and thunder. The thunder was so loud it shook the walls and the lightning nearly hit one of the statues in front of the room. Not only were we all wet but scared to death.

  “My supernatural ability is that I am a witch. My mother and my grandmother were also witches and we have all been students at Desert Academy and we have all lived among the civilian race successfully.” She pointed to the girl sitting to my right. “Now, why don’t you tell us your name and where you’re from.”

  “Is she serious!” Katherine asked the student behind her. “Hello, witch lady! We are all wet here and you just scared the shit out of the first years. Now you want us to stand and tell you about ourselves?”

  As if, she read my mind with a wave of her wand a strong but soft wind filled the room and within seconds we were all dry again.

  “Is that better miss Katherine? Now class let’s resume.” Mrs. Willowbrook pointed to the girl with the long silky hair.

  “My name is Natira and I’m from…” she looked around the room. “I’m from…” she looked at my notebook for a long moment and then back at the professor. “I’m from Chesterfield and I am a shape shifter.”

  “Wow sounds like lots of fun. What is your preference dear?”

  “It depends on the situation.” Natira took her seat, she wasn’t very receptive to the questions and I think Mrs. Willowbrook took the hint and backed off.

  “Next.”

  I wanted to get it over with so I volunteered, “I’m Rune Porter, I’m from a small town in South Texas. I don’t understand why I’m here. All I know is that it was a decision made by the “elusive” Council of the Gods. I’d rather be back in Texas with my friends in my own life, but apparently they don’t think so.”

  Everyone seemed to perk up as if they were interested in what I had to say. The new kid, getting sent to the dean on day one for mouthing off. I was over it; I really didn’t care what the professor thought at this point.

  “Well, Rune I sense a bit of anger in your voice. I felt the same way when I came to Desert Academy, but you will find that the Academy is on your side. You may take your seat.”

  The next student who stood up was the girl with the dark eyes.

  “My name is Akela Truit and I’m a vampire!”

  “OK, welcome one welcome all. Let’s get started. Open your notebooks.”

  I opened my notebook to page one and gasped at what I saw. The first word was Chesterfield. I looked at Natira and she turned to me and smiled. Did she know I was looking at her? I closed my notebook and looked at the cover, there was no way she could have read that unless she could read through the cover. I looked at her again, she turned toward me again. I planned to learn everything I could about this organization, because in order to take them down I needed to be informed.

  “OK class let’s see who’s been listening. Who can tell me the name of our great leader?”

  “That would be Drisdol Prescott.”

  “Great and your name young lady?”

  “I’m number 1963 Bethany Windfall, from New Hampshire.”

  “Bethany can you tell us your superpower?”

  “It’s” she looked around the class, although there were only about four new students in total, she was apprehensive. It was apparent that her power was embarrassing to her. Her olive skin had turned a shade of crimson as she pulled her long brunette hair as close to her face as she could. She was trying to disappear.

  “It’s ok, we’re all new to this and none of us really have anything mastered at this point. When I first came to Desert Academy I too was as shy as a little church mouse, but I soon found my bunch and acclimated in no time.” She looked at her roster, “Let’s see, Bethany Windfall…” looked up at Bethany and then down at her roster again, her cheeks flushed. “Ohhhhh, I see well let’s just move on…”

  Now, we were all curious, just what was this mystery gift? I scribbled on my notebook again.

  “OK class. Your homework assignment is to speak with a second year student about what being a student at Desert Academy has been to them. Class dismissed.”

  With that the green light above the door began to flash. Everyone scrambled toward the door. In the hall’s students chatted, I found my locker which was located next to the student pool. I peeked inside and there was Katherine already standing next to the pool with her crew in tow. They were checking to see if the pool was warm enough to go in. She looked at me and then turned back to her crew and they all laughed. I didn’t understand why she was so mean. Who in her family had wronged her so badly?

  “I’ve heard she and her mother didn’t get along well. She is always angry because of it.”

  I turned around to find Natira putting her books into her locker which was right next to mine, again she seemed to know exactly what I was thinking.

  “How do you do that?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “In class, Chesterfield?”

  “It’s like…intangibility.”

  “OK, so you’re a shape shifter and you’re intangible?”

  “Yes, something like that.” She placed her books into her locker and closed it then she turned her attention back to Katherine and her crew who were now exiting the pool room. “Heads up, a pack of wolves this way comes.”

  “See you later.”

  I watched her walk away before I finished putting my books into my locket. The green lights were flashing, and Katherine and her crew passed without even a glance in my direction. Second y
ears don’t associate with first years, I reminded myself.

  The next two classes went by in a flash. Duchess met me at my classroom to give me my room assignment. Just a few doors down from the pool was the entrance to the Class One dormitory. Inside I found the exact same layout as dorm two. A cozy living space upon entry. The couches were chocolate brown with white throw pillows and a huge white shag carpet in the center of the room. The fireplace was silent. Past the living room was the kitchen, the same huge oak table in the center of the room, an intercom sat in the center of the table while the stove and the refrigerator were on the opposite side against the wall. There was plenty of counter space and the study room had three desktop computers with huge screens. There were six desks, and another sectional sofa sat against the wall. Dorm rooms A, B, and C were marked. My room was A.

  When I opened the door there were two familiar faces from class. My roommates were Akela and Natira.

  “Hey, I know you, from class,” I said.

  “Hello Rune. I had a feeling we’d end up together,” Natira responded.

  “Thank goodness,” I sighed. “Which bed did you take?”

  “Natira pointed to the bottom bunk. “This one’s open.”

  I placed my things on the bottom bunk. I prefer it to the top anyway.

  “Rune, so what did you say your super power was?” Akela asked.

  “I actually didn’t. But, I’m a vampire.”

  “Really!” Natira said. “So Akela’s a werewolf, you’re a vampire, and I’m a shifter. This should be an interesting year.”

  The girls laughed. Akela walked over to her pink suitcase and pulled out a bundle of white sage and an earthen pot. She lit a match to the tip of a herb bundle and allowed it to burn for a few minutes in the pot, a puff of white smoke filtered through the air; then she moved around the room allowing the smoke to fill every corner.

  “What is that? Natira asked.

  “I think its sage,” I said.

  Akela chimed in, “It’s called smudging, I’m cleansing the room of any evil spirits. I do it in every new place I plan to sleep.”

  “Does it work? I mean you ARE at a school filled with witches, vampires, werewolves and demons.”

  “Yes, it works. I mean- not on you guys but on anyone who has bad intentions.”

  She opened the window and allowed the smoke to find its way out of the room and with it she ushered the bad spirits.

  Within minutes, the fire alarm buzzed loudly in the hallway.

  “A fire!” yelled one of the other suitemates. She threw our door open and fanned the smoke away from her face. “Are you guys serious!” She had big curly hair; it was golden with streaks of blond throughout. Her skin was a pecan color, next to her hair she seemed to glow.

  Akela scrambled to fan the smoke toward the open window. We joined in to help, I used a pamphlet from the dresser, while Akela used a pillow from the bed.

  “We’re in trouble now!” I said. “On our first day too.”

  We laughed. Trying to brush off the seriousness of the situation with humor.

  “You won’t be laughing when the Council finds out that you were burning sage in your room. Idiots!”

  “We’re not idiots!”

  The other suitemate chimed in, “Don’t worry bout her, she’s a little grumpy. You woke her up from a nap, I’m Zora and she’s Birkenstein. We’re both werewolves.” Zane was a very petite girl with long braids. She had a smile that lit up the room.

  Akela extended a hand, “So am I. Akela. This is Natira and this is Rune. I’m really sorry for this.” We smiled at Zora and continued our ritual of fanning.

  The fire alarm blared out loudly again. A blue light started blinking over every door in the dormitory and the intercom sounded, soon Duchess could be heard in a panic, “ALL STUDENTS REPORT TO THE FRONT LAWN IMMEDIATELY. ALL STUDENTS REPORT TO THE FRONT LAWN IMMEDIATELY. The blue lights continued blinking more rapidly as we assembled on the front lawn of the school. The first thing I noticed outside were the hundreds of tall white turbines that dotted the desert surrounding the school. The tops of mountains in the distance were covered in a dark haze of anger. We were assembled on the yard by color again. Yellow was marked by a yellow stone path, while white and green shared separate paths. Duchess walked to the front where the security guards and three headmistresses gathered to help with the organization of the girls. Professor Hodges and Mr. Willowbrook looked disheveled, as if we’d disturbed their only meal.

  I listened in on the students gossip around me.

  “Did you know that Professor Hodges and Willowbrook are siblings. Mr. Willowbrook is the swim and gym teacher. He’s the one at the front of the school checking off the safety boxes. The three headmistresses have been here for over a hundred years, they are actually winged fairies. The security guards are all clueless, I heard they are trolls in human form. Drisdol put a spell on them so they wouldn’t scare anyone. The headmistresses are under spell too. If you look closely, you can see parts of their true nature sticking out.

  Is any of this ture?” I asked one of them.

  “Yes, all of it is true.”

  “OK Students,” Duchess got our attention with her whistle. “Mr. Willowbrook has checked every inch of the school and it looks like one of the dorms in class one is responsible for setting off the alarm.”

  Class one was silent as the yellow and green class broke into boisterous chatter and laughter. They glared at us with disdain and we knew that this would not die down easily.

  “Ok, I need everyone silent.” I could hear the swooshing of the turbines in the silence, I watched as they turned slowly catching the wind. A black bird flew in and out of one of the large propellers just missing it every time. Duchess walked over to our section and stood with her arms crossed.

  “Someone want to tell me who is responsible for this mishap?” she asked.

  We were silent. Akela looked at Zane and Birkenstein, expecting them to point at her. But, to her surprise they remained quiet. No one said a word. “Anyone?” Duchess put her hands on her hips. She took out her wand and wrote in thin air, black letters appeared in the sky as she wrote. RULE 17: NO SMOKING ALLOWED! “One of you is in violation of that rule. I want to remind you of what happens when someone decides to break a rule. She started writing again, this time each letter was written with intention. D_E_T_E_N_T_I_O_N!”

  A uniform gasp filled the air at the threat of detention. Duchess drew a circle in the air and inside a visual graphic played, Drisdol Prescott came on the screen. He placed his hand on the outer circle and looked out at the three classes. Then, he settled his gaze on the first classmen. “I heard something very disturbing! Disturbing first, because I am a busy man, behind him we could see a battlefield where two armies fought using swords. One army wore red while the other wore black. Men were fallen on both sides of the battle. He came as close to the portal opening as he could and spoke again, If we find out who was responsible for this fire, they will pay for this disobedience.” He looked around, “Perhaps on the battlefield.”

  Duchess closed the portal and continued to talk, “Drisdol is in Africa fighting a very important battle, we should not disturb him again. Now, go back to your dorms, we will investigate this issue further.”

  We returned to our dorms without much conversation. I had so many more questions now. What exactly was detention? Where was it? What battle was Drisdol fighting? Inside, Zane and Birkenstein went straight to the kitchen to take their daily dose of Flower EW15 mg. A small dispensary next to the refrigerator spit out two white pills after they placed their number in the machine. Akela placed her number in next and her daily dose popped out as well. She swallowed the pills and stood near the table.

  I wondered if the medication was working. I put in my number and the screen read ERIPmav 12 mg and two blue pills popped out. I threw my head back and swallowed my daily dose of anti-vampire medication. Its promise was to reverse the vampire in me. I opened the refrigerator and in my section wer
e little blue juice boxes filled with blood. I stuck the straw inside and pulled the contents into my mouth. YUM!!

  “Birkenstein, I wanted to say thank you for not telling about the sage.”

  “Hey, she looked at Zane. “Girl I may be a lot of things but a snitch ain’t one. Where I’m from, we stick together. So, I gotchu!”

  “Yeah, you cool,” Zane added.

  “Thank you,” Akela said.

  The green light above the door started to blink, it was time for dinner. The headmistress scurried into the room and made her way to the heating shelves against the counter. When she opened it the aroma of a Thanksgiving filled the room. On the top shelf was Turkey and a Ham, underneath that were the side dishes and on the bottom was desert. She moved about the room without saying a word until the table was filled with a feast fit for a King. The blinking light lit up again and the other three suitemates came into the kitchen to take their doses. We all stood around trying to get a glimpse of what was underneath the floor length gray housedress and white apron. We watched as it swayed to the left and to the right with every step she took. Our eyes were eagerly awaiting something of astonishment. Finally, when she bent down to get the dessert from the bottom heating shelf we saw it.

  Berkenstein pointed to the bottom of her dress where an iridescent wing had found its way to the open air. It moved back and forth as she did. At the rim of her neck underneath her brown wig we could see antlers moving about like wisps of hair as she fought with the dessert tray. Behind her we were jumping and silently screaming at the sight of it all. Then, we looked at the food laid before us on the table and wondered, how did she cook it all? When the headmistress left the dormitory, we burst into laughter.

  “What the hell was that shit?” Berkenstein said.

  “OMG, I knew it was true!” Sumea said.

  “Those were wings yaul!”

  “Yep!”

  “What about the food? How the hell do fairies cook all this shit?”