Initiation (47 page)

“Like which one?”

“What calms you down the most? The breathing exercises? The muscle tensing ones?”

She suddenly blushed.

“Faustine?”

“I don’t think I want to share, but okay, say if I pick one, then what?”

“When you feel yourself transforming, concentrate on calming yourself down using just the one method.” Like I couldn’t totally read what that method was from her crimson expression–Ryker, of course. I just hoped that she didn’t have calm mixed up with hot and excited.

“But what if I don’t want to reverse the transformation? I might find myself in a situation where I want to go totally demon,” she protested.

“Yes, and you can. The tests are to help you reverse it when you want to,
if
you want to. The point is to have the choice.”

She nodded.

“So, maybe today, think of your
whatever
as soon as the transformation starts, and see if you can stop it. Then during the next tests, we can let you transform further and practice stopping it at different levels. Does that sound good?”

She nodded, and we made our way out the room. Once we were at the test lab–still in the confinement one, though Ryker didn’t interfere during her tests anymore–I shared what Faustine and I had discussed with Professor Bern.

“Glad you managed to get through to her,” she said with relief. “I hope it works. We’re way behind schedule with her progress. Henri, let’s roll a spider again, since we know that works.”

Once Faustine was ready, Henri started the video. I looked at my screen–a birthday scene. It was a birthday party for a bunch of girls about Faustine’s age. I wondered if it had been taken from one of her own birthday parties. A stunning woman–from the resemblance, I guessed Lady Annabel, Faustine’s mom–rolled a tray-table with an enormous birthday cake into the room. She was grinning widely, singing
Happy Birthday
.

Everyone turned to admire the cake, and joined Lady Annabel in singing
Happy Birthday
.

I glanced over at Faustine in the chamber. She was standing up, hugging herself in excitement, a big smile covering her face. Then, she suddenly scrunched up her face and glared at something on the floor.

I looked back at the monitor. There it was. The ominous black shape… the spider, le horreur! Jeez, I would have thought she’d have been used to it already, but apparently not. I turned to look at Faustine again and noticed that her fingers had already fused.

Then, she closed her eyes and turned around to face the other way. I could tell from the tension in her back that she was concentrating–thinking about the hot awesomeness of Ryker, no doubt. It seemed to work. Her fingers slowly returned to normal, and shortly afterward, her body slumped into a more relaxed position.

She opened her eyes, her face glowing with a big grin plastered across it. She bent her knees and did the Rock & Roll gesture at us, followed by a weird victory dance. I ran into the chamber and hugged her. We did a round of fist bumps.

“O-M-G! Wow! That was just awesome! I can’t believe I did that!” Faustine was on fire.

She was still pumped hours later when it was time for the merge meet. She skipped her way to join up with Martha and Chun, and began chatting animatedly with them. I was stunned to see Martha paying attention.

“Take a picture.” Dax laughed, coming up behind me. “Breakthrough?”

“Yes. I didn’t realize how much she needed for that to happen until it did. She seems like a new person.”

“She certainly has grown in the last few months. It won’t be long before our job is done. Are you looking forward to heading home and getting on with your life?”

“I am, but I’m not in a hurry. Frau Schmelder asked me if I’d like to stay another year and apprentice with Professor Bern. Apparently, she asked for me specially.”

“Cool!”

“Yes, I’ll think about it.”

The bell rang, sounding the beginning of the meeting. We sat in our usual seats, and I looked around for Quinn and Jagger. Jagger sat with Ryker, and Quinn with Audrey and Viola.

Frau Schmelder positioned herself behind the podium and called for quiet. “Thank you for coming. This is the second and last merge we will have this year. I know that in previous years we’ve had three, but with the disruption that caused the Academy to close, and other factors, we won’t have time for a third one before graduation. So, this merge will be larger than normal.”

She paused to clear her throat. “I am allowing sixty-two of our vampire Initiates into the main program.”

A symphony of gasps and murmurs filled the auditorium.

Dax looked at me, wide eyed. “Jeez, how are we going to handle this?”

“I think she’ll be okay.” As I said the words, I felt confident that she would. Most of the time, I didn’t even remember that Faustine was part human; she had embraced her demon part with such fervor. Still, her human part did exist, and that was something she needed to be aware of at all times, even if only to be able to anticipate other paranormals’ responses to her.

“Silence!” Frau Schmelder ordered. Once the auditorium was quiet again, she continued. “Like last time, we will assimilate the groups. See Mrs. Stone after the meeting for your directions. Now, welcome the vampire Initiates to the stage.”

Suddenly the stage was filled with dead meat–vamps, good looking for the most part, which was not the least bit surprising. Surprisingly, there were more than a few rather ordinary-looking vamps. Vampires didn’t usually go to the trouble of turning anyone who would be considered less than perfect. Plus, the ones who got sent to the Academy were special anyway, and therefore usually really hot. So I couldn’t help but wonder about the few who wouldn’t make it onto the cover of Cosmo.

Once they were all facing the audience, Frau Schmelder turned to address them. “You have been assigned individual mentors. You will stay with them at all times. Any slip-ups and you will be moved back to the preparation camp. Is that clear?”

They all nodded.

“Wait here on the stage. Your mentors will come and collect you.”

As she turned to dismiss us, a few of the vamps sniffed the air. A hush descended upon the auditorium as more and more of them started doing the same thing. They all began to look intense and slightly manic.

I caught the fear in Ryker’s eyes as I glanced over at him. It wasn’t brain science to work out what was going on. The vampires had obviously picked up on Faustine.

I shook my head at Ryker, willing him to hold back. Faustine would have to step up and deal with it. The whole school couldn’t change because of one student.

Seeing Professor Bern peek over at Faustine, I assumed part of the decision to have the vampires assimilate today was based on Professor Bern’s advice.

I leaned toward her. “Faustine, remember what you did during the test. Just do the same here, and remember that I have your back. The best approach here is to confuse them, frighten them.” I grabbed her hand and signaled Martha, Chun, and Quinn to join us.

The vampires were going a little nuts, practically drooling on stage. Frau Schmelder didn’t look the least bit surprised or concerned. She’d moved to one corner of the stage and was watching Faustine. I caught a glimpse of Faustine’s dad by the stage door. This was definitely a test. A very elaborate one.

The five of us–Faustine, Quinn, Martha, Chun, and I–climbed the front steps to the stage and lined up in front of the vampires. They’d stopped sniffing the air to stare at Faustine hungrily. I held my breath, hoping Ryker would stay out of it.

Faustine seemed unnaturally calm. Her breathing was relaxed and even. She stepped up to the vampire closest to her and sniffed him. I nearly died, and transformed instantly, as did Quinn, Martha, and Chun. Faustine hadn’t even fused her fingers. What was she thinking?

The vampire she had sniffed was clearly struggling, and soon bared his fangs. Everyone stood frozen as Faustine instantly transformed into her usual giant demon form. And then she closed her eyes.

The vampire retreated, stooping his head in submission. I had to stop myself from fist bumping Quinn. Faustine kept her eyes closed, relaxing her body, until she transformed back to her normal self.

She extended her arm and grabbed the vamp’s right hand. And shook it. “Hi, I’m Faustine, King Sebastian’s daughter. You are?”

G
raduation at Bonfire Academy was always a grand affair. The Initiation and Integration graduations took place separately.

I sat in the mentors’ section with Quinn, Jagger, and Dax, watching the Initiates march in and take their seats. They looked awesome, all dressed up in their caps and gowns.

Faustine entered with Martha, Chun, Audrey, Viola, and a whole bunch of her new vampire friends–her entourage. Although Martha had everyone listening to whatever she was yakking about, Faustine was clearly the queen bee of her group.

It had been fun to watch Faustine grow and develop over the last few months. Gone was the shy twelve-year-old I had met in Frau Schmelder’s office a year ago. She’d turned into a beautiful, confident teenager who practically ruled the Initiation class. I felt like a proud parent as I watched her smile and wave at everyone on the way to her seat.

Everyone was in a good mood–the students, the staff, and the parents. In keeping with our rules, we’d all fed before the ceremony. The Initiates had a pre-graduation party at the dining hall, and the parents had been treated to a banquet in the ballroom.

The mentors were invited to a private luncheon hosted by the Student Council in the mentors’ lounge, which had been transformed into one huge dining room for the occasion. A large round oak table graced the middle of the floor. I was seated between Jagger and Quinn, which played havoc with my hormones. However, I controlled myself and had a wonderful time by concentrating on the light banter and delicious food.

After the formal sit-down meal, Jagger had thanked us all for taking part in the mentoring program. Toward the end of his speech, he raised a glass to toast me. “A special congratulations to Cordelia. Professor Bern has been so impressed by her efforts this year that she’s invited Cordelia to stay an extra year as her apprentice. No student in the history of the Academy has ever been asked to do this before, and for a demon to be asked to be an apprentice for a witch must be a first. So, congrats, Cordelia!” Everyone rose, clinked their glasses, and downed their drinks.

I was brought back into the present by Quinn’s whisper. “There’s Faustine’s dad.” He pointed to the first row of seats closest to the stage. “I’m guessing her mom’s not coming?”