Initiation (38 page)

“Yes. It’s like they have guardian angels watching over them–”

“Is that it? Do you think?” Jagger looked at me as if I’d had some kind of an epiphany.

Guardian angels?

A
guardian angel watching over a demon was certainly an odd concept. When I first suggested it to Professor Bern, she grimaced as though I had totally lost my mind. After failing to come up with a better hypothesis, she’d grudgingly considered it. Her main issue was that she failed to see how even an angel could have sprung Faustine from the last chamber.

However, a couple of weeks later, we were still stumped as to how we would prove or disprove the hypothesis. Guardian angels weren’t easy to lure into the open. The best we’d come up with was a test to further investigate the vanishings. We had to know what exactly happened to Faustine when she disappeared. The only way to find out was to go with her, to accompany her into the unknown. Of course, we didn’t know if our plan was even feasible, but it was worth a shot. And if I came across a guardian angel during my adventure, so be it.

We had obviously considered that the guardian angel might just not appear if we intervened. Then what would happen? Would Faustine undergo a full transformation and complete the test as intended?

Either way, I was excited to find out. Faustine was much less so. She hadn’t had any tests in the meantime and was a bit antsy about the new one, especially about having to go back into the contained chamber. I wasn’t thrilled about that part, either.

This time, I followed her into the chamber, which felt even more claustrophobic than it looked. The new modifications were partly responsible. The single armchair that Faustine had sat on for her last test had been replaced by a new contraption–which could restrain the two of us together. The construction of the new device is was what had caused the delay. But it was now ready, and we were set to test it.

We climbed into the contraption, designed so that we sat back-to-back. Henri then secured our ankles, wrists, and waists together using velvet-padded metal straps strong enough that our demon forms wouldn’t be able to damage them. Once he finished, we were bound together–neither of us going anywhere without the other. It was kind of like getting ready for the ultimate rollercoaster ride–frightening, yet exhilarating.

“Ready, ladies?”

When I nodded, Henri secured a probe to my forehead. That action took me back to my own tests, and I suddenly had a little freak-out moment. “Hold up, Henri!”

“Cordelia?”

“Take the probe off me! I don’t need one.” The last thing we needed was for me to go through my own simulation to complicate matters. I was just there for the ride–the physical aspect of it.

Henri shook his head. “Of course, I apologize. I was on autopilot. Glad you caught me.” He removed the probe, then stepped out of the chamber, closing the hatch behind him. Shutting us in seemed a bit over the top, considering we couldn’t even move.

“You okay, Cordelia?” Faustine asked, her voice sounding a bit shaky.

“Yep. You?”

“What if I hurt you? I mean, I don’t know what happens when I black out. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’ll be fine. We both have our emergency alarms. I’ll press mine if I need to. No worries.”

The lights went off, and I stared into the pitch dark. I closed my eyes and waited.

And waited.

Nothing happened for ages, just the occasional squirming from Faustine.

When I felt her body temperature rising, I opened my eyes. I was quickly enveloped in warmth. At first, I assumed it was the heat coming from Faustine. But it felt personal somehow, like a warm hug, full of love. I immediately felt content, happy, and slightly euphoric.

I awoke totally ravenous. When I opened my eyes, it was to gaze into Quinn’s concerned ones.

“Babe. You okay?”

“Yes. I’m hungry.”

“Here. Open your mouth.” He dropped a piece of black-and-blue roast beef–just the way I like it, seared on the outside, cool and barely cooked on the inside–into my mouth. I chewed enthusiastically before I swallowed and opened for more. He laughed and dropped in another piece. “Where are your princess manners?” He chuckled.

I was way too hungry and way too tired to think about manners. I rolled my eyes and kept eating, regaining my strength with every bite. When I was satisfied, I sat up.

Quinn and I weren’t alone. I was back in my room, on my bed. I had asked Quinn to stay there during the test in case Faustine made her way back there somehow. I looked down at her; she was still sleeping. So not only had she made it back, but she’d brought me with her.

Professor Bern and Henri were also there, gawking at me.

“Cordelia, what happened?” Professor Bern spluttered.

“Quinn? Did you see? How did I get in here?” I asked.

“Haven’t a clue. I was sitting here reading, and when I glanced over at your bed, there you both were–sound asleep, wrapped up in the blanket.”

“We didn’t walk in here? We just
appeared
?”

“Yes, that’s what he told us.” Professor Bern seemed somewhat excited. “So, what happened exactly?”

“I didn’t see,” I said, trying to keep the disappointment from my voice. “I just felt the same way Faustine has described a zillion times–warm and happy. Then I woke up here. How long was I gone?”

“I timed it, with Quinn’s help,” Henri responded. “Just sixteen seconds between the time you disappeared from the chamber and arrived here.”

“Sixteen seconds of blackout,” I mused.

Faustine grunted; she was finally stirring.

“I have her food,” Quinn reassured me.

“Cordelia,” Professor Bern said. “Can you remember anything? Any sounds? Smells?”

I tried hard to remember. But I had nothing, not even a smell, and I should have been able to identify an angel. What was wrong with me? And it had been deathly quiet, not even a hum. “Sorry. I’m baffled.” I cast my eyes down, dejected.

“Cordelia, you did your best,” Prof. Bern said, not sounding overly reassuring. “Henri and I will go back and analyze the data to see if we missed anything. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

I watched Quinn get Faustine up, still feeling disappointed in myself. I wasn’t that surprised not to have smelled an angel. An angel would never have messed with a demon. Plus, they didn’t have powers to transport out of secure chambers. Professor Bern had made doubly sure that the chamber was securely shielded, not just relying on the skills of whoever had designed and built it. She had cast a confinement spell on it. No paranormal could had gotten through that, not even another witch. So, how the heck had it happened?

“Stop thinking about it, Cordelia. Take a break at least. I’m stumped, too, but we’ll figure it out. We just need to approach it from a different angle.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Faustine, you okay?”

She’d stopped eating to stare at us. “How did you get here, Cordelia? I mean, did you just show up here the same way I did?”

“Yes, we’re trying to figure it out, but my head hurts. I’m thinking we need to forget about it for a while and chill out. Ski? Or tennis?”

“Oh, ski!” Faustine got up, ready to go.

“Whoa. Hold up.” Quinn raised his hand. “Aren’t you both forgetting something?”

I stared at him blankly. I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Duh. The first Initiate merge is today. Remember?”

Ugh.

Faustine nodded. “Yes, Dax told us. I just forgot. So our groups get dissolved today?”

“Not exactly,” Quinn explained. “The Academy will merge some of the groups, and some will stay the same. You’ll find out during the assembly if your group is being merged or not. Some of the vamps are being released into the mainstream program today as well.”

“And that’s going to be an issue for us, ’cause even though I doubt they’ll have one join your group, those vamps will now roam the corridors and the cafeteria,” I added. “I was hoping that you’d be further along with being able to access your powers, but these tests are going nowhere.” Whoever, or whatever, was protecting Faustine was also hindering her development. If the protective force stuck around, then maybe she’d be safe from the vamps or any other malevolent force. But if not, how was she going to learn to protect herself? Ideally, the protective force would give her enough space, especially within the test environment, to learn to harness her own powers.

Quinn interrupted my thoughts. “Cordelia, busy pondering again? Faustine needs to go to the assembly. I assume you’re going with. I have stuff I need to do, so I’ll see you guys later.” He kissed my forehead and, with a wave, left us alone.

“Okay, let’s go find Dax and the others and head over.” I ushered Faustine out the door.

The assembly hall buzzed with activity. I had texted Dax, and we were to meet him by the entrance. It was hard to see anyone through the crowds. I held on to Faustine firmly while I elbowed through the masses. I finally spotted Martha, or heard her, to be precise, and followed her voice to Dax’s group.

“Hey! You made it!” Martha rushed over to give Faustine a hug. “So how did your test go? I know you were nervous this morning. I could tell by how snappy you were.”

“Yes, sorry ’bout that.” Faustine blushed. “It was all right, I guess. Yours?”

“Good! I learned some new things, so I’m happy. Say, you didn’t see Ryker anywhere, did you? I’ve been searching for him everywhere.”

Faustine stiffened at the mention of Ryker. “No. But I wasn’t really paying attention when we walked over. Did you see him, Cordelia?”

“No.” I hadn’t seen him at all since the last ski outing, when McKenzie’s son had almost been attacked. I wondered if he’d been assigned a mentor since he wasn’t attending classes or going to the tests on his own. And I wondered if Jagger had told him that they were brothers yet.

“Speak of the devil,” Martha quipped. “There he is. Later. Dax, save me a seat.”

I caught a glimpse of Ryker as he walked into the hall with Jagger. Martha practically knocked him over, flinging herself on him.

“Have you seen Harry?” Chun asked. “I heard what happened. Is he okay?”

“I haven’t seen him, but Quinn talked to McKenzie. They’re fine, just a bit shook up. She’s staying away from here for now, especially with Harry. He keeps asking for you and me, so McKenzie may have us over for lunch or something.”