| |
Days flew by fast and I spent most of it shaking hands and greeting employees. I only had one thing to say for the next few days. Drama! All the drama. Sticking a bunch of different Naturals together meant territory claims that always led to a fight, because that particular chair was claimed so no one was allowed to touch it. Or they already peed in that classroom to make it theirs so it was, but the other person needed it because of the sun, and they needed to absorb evening light as a meal.
They were petty, they wanted everything, and they acted like I owed them the world.
I walked into the medical center after a bad argument between a harpy and an alligator shifter. The air conditioned air was nice against my heated skin from the summer heat. Action was all around as healers worked to get everything in place and that inventory was where it needed to be.
Shortly after poking my head into some of the rooms, I was greeted with the head healer, Alto. His facial features were almost feminine as he smiled at me, and I couldn’t help it. I returned it. Alto was beautiful. Not a way that men liked to be described, but that was what he was with his bright green eyes, almost reptilian-like, narrowed features, high cheekbones, and wavy black hair that swept down to his chin.
“Hi, Alto,” I said and moved closer to him without realizing it.
Alto was a rarity and one I fought tooth and nail for. He had been guarded by a small village in China when I learned he existed. They were determined to keep him, and I had to fight for his freedom. A few well-placed threats, some exchanges of goods, and I was able to get him and his younger brother out.
Yes, the intention was for him to work for me, but it wasn’t a requirement. I wasn’t going to force him into doing something he had no interest in. I gave him options; he chose to come here. His brother followed too. Even if the academy wasn’t going to exist, I would have still fought to get him out of that hellhole.
Alto’s life made me want to cry. He was a Spirit Master. There were only maybe a couple dozen people who held that title. They had power over magic that no others could ever touch: spirit. There were three known categories of spirit masters—necromancers, whisperers, and soulbrushers. Alto was a soulbrusher, a healer of the soul.
It was no wonder the village kept him hidden and used him for their own gain. Thinking about it infuriated me. He had the ability to heal diseases that the humans struggled to find a cure for. That damn village exploited that, making a fortune off his ability.
What made him more wonderful was that despite his past, he remained the way he was. They couldn’t do away with his kind, gentle soul. One that called to the protective instincts of my Neutral bloodline. I wanted to give him the world after he was deprived of it for so long.
“Adeelah,” he said in a soft voice.
Ah, darn. Screw it.
I moved closer and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close to me. He froze for a moment, but he was learning. After another moment, he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight against him.
We hadn’t seen each other for a few months as he went out and explored the world. The way he hugged me told me he needed this. I blinked back tears. Hugs were a basic need no living creature should go without.
“How is everything? How is your brother?” I asked, pulling away. I didn’t think he’d appreciate it if I glued myself to him.
Alto’s eyes lit up. “This is amazing, more than I ever thought. And Niall loves it here. He’s off exploring the woods right now.”
My expression softened at the mention of Niall. He was only a year older than me at twenty-nine, and yet he had childish qualities about him that made him feel more like a younger brother.
“Picking flowers?” I asked.
“Yes.”
We both laughed about that. Niall loved to help, but he wasn’t always the most helpful. Often times, he made things more difficult. He’d most likely come back with sunflowers instead of the plants Alto needed. Niall took a lot of patience.
“Who is he?” Alto asked, leaning to the side and frowning at Rophan.
“Oh, meet Jed Rophan, the Robin to my Batman.”
Alto frowned as he blinked, trying to process what I meant. “I don’t know that reference.”
“He’s my trusty sidekick.”
“I’m her guard,” Rophan finally corrected.
“You need a guard?” Alto asked. “Since when.”
I threw my hands into the air. “Thank you! That’s the reaction I’ve been trying to get.”
“After seeing you handle Village Headman Ruan, I thought it was apparent that you could take care of yourself,” Alto said and glared at Rophan. “She doesn’t need a man taking care of her. She does well on her own.”
I patted his back. “Headman Douche only had to sacrifice a missing finger or two for his small fortune. I didn’t leave them much to complain about.” I flashed Alto a feral smile. “I got the better deal out of it.”
Alto snorted. “You terrified them. I had hoped that Ruan would have died of a heart attack.”
“Can’t be picky.” I shrugged. “Now! Show me your set up and let me know of anything that you still need. Dany is on standby to put in another order for you.”
“Oh, great, because we still need a lot more supplies. I also want to talk to you about a greenhouse so we can be self-sufficient.”
Alto went into details about the medical center, the staff he had, and what they were prepared for and still needed to be ready for the first day of school. I input notes into my tablet.
“You’re doing an amazing job,” I said once he finished. I glanced around the space again, noting the arrangements made, where furniture waited for occupants. Hopefully, we’d be able to keep this place as empty as possible for as long as possible. “Please call in the rest of your team. I have a surprise tonight for everyone on campus, and you’ll need to be here in case of injuries.”
His eyes widened. “What are you doing?” he asked.
I grinned. “Secret. But no matter what happens, stay here and wait. Not everything is as it seems, so you don’t need to worry.” I leaned forward and kissed his cheek before leaving.
Once we were outside, Rophan was next to me, his arm brushing against mine. I could feel his eyes on me as we headed back to our townhouse. The sun had disappeared while I was inside with Niall. Good. Nighttime was the best time to do this.
“What surprise?” he asked.
“We gave them pamphlets, did talks, seminars, and ran drills,” I said, trying to hold in my laughter. “Now it’s time to see how much of that they have absorbed.”
It took a few seconds for it all to click in. “You’re going to see how they respond if we’re under attack?”
“Sh,” I said and grabbed his arm, making sure to dig my nails into his skin. “They cannot know. This has to be as real as possible.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I need to know that they know what to do if we really are under attack. There are a lot of eyes on this place, and not everyone is happy about Neutral Academy existing. There will be attacks. I wish I can say there won’t, but there will be. And I need to know that everyone I hired will do their job. I’d rather they fuck it up now than when it really counts, when children are going to be here relying on them doing what they need to do.”
I glanced at the rows of houses, lights on, turning them into little beacons in the night. Soon, they were going to be thrown into chaos, and they didn’t even know it.
“I may also be a little mad at them. They need to remember I’m not a servant and they can’t walk all over me. I will not promote an academy where teachers think they are above everyone else. I don’t want that here.”
“You’re seriously doing this because you’re pissed?” Rophan asked in disbelief.
“No, I’m doing this because I need to know they know their shit.” I glared at him. “Do you want your sister under the care of a teacher who’s going to panic and cause more trouble or do you want her under the care of someone who knows that they need to get to the bunker or to the safe spots on campus?”
He didn’t answer, and I knew I’d made my point.
On the porch of my apartment was a set of chairs and a table, something Dany was kind enough to purchase for me. I sat in the one I claimed and stared out into the night and the other townhouses that surrounded us. It didn’t take long for the festivities to begin.
“Guess what?” I said just as the first explosion went off. “It’s starting.”
Rophan stood up, and I grabbed his arm. “Sit down. I have a ward around us right now so they don’t notice us.”
People came running out of their homes, looking in the direction of the explosion. They could see a glow of red with smoke billowing out from it. Rumbles of conversations reached us before those around us took off toward it. Teachers, trainers, staff, administrators. They were all going toward the trouble.
I waited, wanting everything to reach its peak before I did a walkabout to see how things were being handled. Zen was brilliant. He had a few of his guys create illusions and use other tools to make it as believable as possible. I wasn’t sure all that it encompassed, but it was enough to make everyone not in the know about what was going on believe that they really were in danger.
“It’s weird,” I said, breaking the silence between Rophan and me. “Humans do drills for a fire, maybe a bomb or a shooting, and we do drills on attacks by humans and Naturals.” I glanced at him. “Please tell me this school isn’t a mistake.”
“It isn’t,” he replied in a low voice. “It’s hope. This place is hope for our children. It’s relief that we don’t risk them getting killed because we’re stubborn, believe nothing bad would ever happen at a human school. This school is the future. It’s just going to be hard work at the beginning.”
“I really hope you’re right because I’m stretched really thin right now when it comes to hope and belief.”
Rophan shared one of his rare smiles. “Then put your trust in us. We’ll make sure this works out. We all want it to work.” There was an edge to his voice, telling me exactly how he felt. He was just as determined as I was for this academy to succeed. He did have a stake in it since his baby sister was going to be attending.
“You’re too good,” I replied with a grin.
He was right. This was going to be hard work, but the Naturals were all coming together to make this place a reality, a safe haven for the kiddies to grow and learn about themselves without having to hide. They were going to have the freedom to be themselves, something they didn’t get in the human world. Someday, the humans were going to age and die, and the newer generations were going to grow with the Naturals. They’d be more tolerant, but that was generations from now. When that day did come, maybe we could open this place up to the humans to learn along with the Naturals. That was my ultimate goal. I just wished I would be able to see that while I was alive. But like how the humans of now were going to phase out, so was I.
Not wanting to think too much about the future, I stood and stretched my back out. “Time to see the damage,” I said.
Rophan stayed at my side as we walked around campus, noting everything that was done right and done wrong. Zen had really outdone himself. He managed to make some of the houses look like rubble, smoke coming off them. There was yelling off in the distance, some screaming. We headed that way to see what drama was going on.
Magic was thick in the air, coming from Rophan as he kept us hidden from those who were making all the chaos and no doubt from those who thought they could do something about it. My skin itched.
“Are you okay?” Rophan asked.
“Yup. Just a lot of magic getting thrown around.”
When we got to the center of the action, it was hard to hold in my laughter. There were shadowmen fighting some of our teachers. I only knew they were shadowmen because Zen told me about them. They were constructs with sigils carved into them to animate them. Basically, our math, spells, and potions teachers were fighting pieces of wood and pillows.
And losing.
I shook my head, making note of that. They were not fighters. Their specific jobs were to collect those unable to fight and help them to the bunkers.
My phone went off as Mr. Ketra fell onto his back. Miss Lunaria hovered over him, keeping the determined shadowman back.
“This is cool,” I said into the phone, knowing it was Zen.
“Adeelah, there’s an issue,” he said in a tight voice.
I frowned. “What’s wrong?” That got Rophan’s attention.
“One of ours wasn’t one of ours apparently. He was aware of the plans for tonight and has defected.”
There was a huge rumble in the distance, and Zen swore over the phone. “We need help now. A group has gotten inside.”
“On my way.”
I hung up the phone and took off at a run.
“What’s going on?” Rophan asked.
“A guard under Zen was a plant. He’s making his move tonight. Must be making use of all the chaos to hide his intentions.”
“Any idea what he plans?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Because I suddenly grew the ability to read intentions.”
He said something under his breath, no doubt unflattering about my sarcasm. The rumbling had come from near the border and when we got there, I noted the hole in the wall. And by the angry expression on Zen’s face, it wasn’t part of the drill.
“Think people slipped in?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Think Zen’s too distracted here to think about who slipped in and why?”
“No. He’s not distracted.”
I glanced at Rophan, wondering what he meant. He looked off to the side with a deep frown. When I tried to see what had his attention, all I saw was darkness in the distance, toward North Campus, where the bomb shelter was.
“What’s going on?” I asked, knowing he was using more than just his eyes to see.
“There’s a real fight on North Campus.”
“Then we better go help. Zen will make sure no one else gets inside,” I said.
We were just slipping through West Campus when things went to shit. Men dress in black hopped out of the darkness and surrounded us. Rophan shoved me behind him, keeping one hand on me while the other was at his side. His entire body was tense.
“I suggest you walk away right now,” he said, a new depth of darkness revealing itself in the tone of his voice. It reminded me that Rophan was a man who worked under my father.
“Take her,” someone said in a low voice, and they all converged on us.
Damn. Weren’t bad guys supposed to do some kind of spiel going on about their plans for domination?
Rophan fought, his attacks hard and precise, his magic tightly controlled to give him the edge he needed to win. I wished I could watch him, but I had my own fight to deal with. They were trying to get their hands on me. While those who attacked Rophan used weapons, the ones with me didn’t, more focused on grabbing me.
I used all my training to stay out of reach, but they were determined, and there were a lot of them. Someone grabbed my arm and yanked me back. I brought my elbow back, connecting with something hard. They grunted, loosening their grip enough for me to get free. I whirled around, throwing in a kick that landed at the back of one of their knees, bringing them down. Someone wrapped an arm around my neck and pulled back. Their forearm pressed against my windpipe, cutting off my air.
I tried to call out, but more men attacked Rophan, everyone doubling their effort. Fear shot through me as I kicked back and tried to do everything I could to get away. The man who held onto me was stubborn and refused to loosen his grip. I dug my nails into his skin until I drew blood, and still he kept yanking me further away from Rophan and into the woods.
Using the little bit of magic I had, I threw it at the abductor. It was enough to get Rophan’s attention. His expression morphed into panic as his eyes met mine.
Then something sharp and painful crawled through my body. I tried to yell out, but my voice was stolen. And then it was dark as my system shut down on me.
