Initiation (6 page)

“Yeah.”

“I don’t think you need to worry.” Little did she know that her dad practically owned our ski department, slopes included. She’d be on the team even if she totally stunk, or else the ski program would have to close down altogether. I hoped that she was as good as her dad boasted. “Your reputation precedes you. Besides, I believe Jagger is going to personally coach you.”

“He is? Who is he, exactly? I’ve heard his name a few times, but I don’t know who he is.”

“He was the boy in the dining hall with Sienna and Jewel. He didn’t get a chance to introduce himself, but you’ll get to meet him later. He’s in his final year at the Academy, doing the Enrichment program, which in his case is captaining the ski team. He’s also the president of the student council.” I paused. Had I overstepped? The presidency was usually kept very secret.

“What kind of crea– paranormal is he?”

“A faery, like Sienna and Jewel.” Sheesh, I did it again. Some kind of mentor I was!

“Get out!”

I blinked at her.

“They don’t look the least bit like faeries! Aren’t faeries supposed to be small? With wings?”

I smiled. The girl had definitely been brought up closeted from the paranormal world–apart from that witch nanny. “Faustine, there are many different kinds of faeries. You’ll learn all about them in your Initiation classes. Remember one thing, though. There is no such thing as a good faery. That’s just a myth. So make sure to remember that, especially when talking to the Holt twins. They’re a lot of fun, but both are really naughty. Make sure not to put your trust in them. But they’re great when it comes to fashion and all that stuff.”

“So, who can I trust?” she asked, staring at me earnestly.

“You’ll learn the school’s Golden Rules soon. There are three of them. The second, and probably most important, is
Trust no one
.”

“There’s a sign in my bedroom that says that.”

“Yeah, there’s one of those signs in practically every room in the school.”

“But I can trust you, right?”

The honest truth would have been a
no
, but I couldn’t look her in the eyes and crush her naïve hope. “Faustine, I’ll have your back.” I hoped I could live up to my words.

As we rounded the corner, I caught a whiff of a group heading in our direction. Shifters, the most unreliable of the entire paranormal population. I had no idea how they’d react to Faustine. Ordinarily, the shifter population seemed to coexist harmoniously with humans. However, they didn’t like demons, though
didn’t like
wasn’t strong enough to describe their abhorrence for my kind. And the feeling was mutual. I would have had a hard enough time getting past a pack of them on my own without having to babysit. It was too late to turn back. They’d have picked up our scent, and any sign of retreat would have been taken as an invitation to attack us. I wondered how many there were and if there were any Initiates in the group. That would be a disaster. At least with the Integrates, there was a decent possibility that we would stick by the rules and pass each other to the left as we met coming in opposite directions.

My heart began to race, which was another problem. The shifters would read that as fear, and I would be toast. Instinctively, I let my wall down slightly, just enough so Jagger could
find
me. I felt him immediately and let him take over. My heart immediately beat in a more relaxed rhythm. I was fairly sure that would only work to a point. Once my instincts took over and I transformed, that would be it.

I hoped Faustine was ready to transform. “Faustine, we’re going to run into a pack of shifters any minute. You need to transform. Now would be a good time.”

Her eyes turned panicky, and I heard her heart beating furiously. “I don’t know how! Show me!”

“There’s no time. Just stick by me. I’ll transform. Don’t panic when I do; it’ll still be me. I’m not going to be able to fight them if there are more than two, especially if you can’t transform. So, we’re going to have to make a run for it if they show any aggression. Jump on me, and I’ll run you to safety.”

“Oh, I’m pretty fast. I can run on my–”

“Faustine, I haven’t time to explain everything. Just do what I say. Jump on me. Understand?”

Her mouth moved as though she wanted to debate the point, but I shot her my death glare.

“Why can’t we just go back the other–”

“Because they’ve caught our scent and are anticipating us. Best to try to hold our ground.”

“So, what are they? Wolves?”

“Probably, but I don’t know for sure. Could be anything. We won’t know until they transform.”

I spotted them as we turned the corner. They were coming right at us. The four males and one female moved together in a line, so they took up the entire width of the corridor. I didn’t recognize any of them, even though they were in their human forms. The Initiates weren’t allowed to arrive yet, unless they were special in some way and being mentored. None of them wore a mentor badge, so I had to assume that the five coming toward us were either Integrates, or that their mentor had removed his badge for some reason. That was a sure sign of trouble, and they all had the desire for mischief in their eyes.

I got in front of Faustine and edged along the right wall with her directly behind me. My fingers had already fused. My heart had let go of Jagger, so I was on my own, just a few feet from the rancid-smelling shifters. I felt Faustine’s fear pulsating through her, causing my neck to tighten. I had to ignore that and concentrate on the trouble ahead, which emanated from one shifter in particular, the one who would pass closest to me. The five-foot-five-ish, raven-haired, lanky boy exuded animosity. His brown eyes kept a steady piercing glare on me. I decided not to intensify matters by returning it, and averted my eyes, keeping my gaze fixed straight ahead. When we were directly opposite each other, I stopped walking, and so did he. We faced each other, just a foot apart. My heart pounded, and I broke out in a cold sweat. The silence sent eerie daggers through the air.

“Excuse me,” I said as politely as I could without hurling.

“For being a demon?” He spewed a maniacal laugh.

My peripheral vision picked up on the others closing in on us. “Could you let me pass, please?”

“No.” He brought his fist up as his face twisted into a mosaic of rage.

I instantly transformed and spun around, grabbing a gaping Faustine. She stared at me in horror, probably more afraid of me than the shifters, who were still in their human forms. My transformation could be pretty spectacular to those not used to it. I changed from an average, seventeen-year-old high school girl into a full demon. I glowed a deep red, my skin got thicker, my index finger fused with my middle finger, and my ring and little fingers did the same. My face? One word–hideous. Full of the most disgusting boils and lumps. My hair disappeared, and my skull hardened to pointy lumps. I didn’t even resemble a girl anymore, just a hideous monster.

I ignored the obvious terror in Faustine’s eyes as I lifted her and swung her legs around my midsection. She screamed, and the shifters transformed.

“Hold on!” I yelled at Faustine and took off, running straight ahead at first, trying to get as far away as possible from the three wolves, the panther, and the eagle.

I raced down the hall, Faustine enveloping me from the front, squeezing her arms around my neck. I could barely breathe, and had trouble seeing around her body. Yet I kept running, the shifters closing the gap with every step.

I leaped up onto the wall, then sprinted diagonally to the floor. That seemed to take the shifters by surprise. If I could get up on the highest part of the ceiling and run upside down, hopefully I’d be safe from the wolves and panther. I’d still have to deal with the eagle. But could I do that carrying Faustine in my arms? Strong as I was, I wasn’t sure, but I had to try. I increased my speed until I could barely feel my feet underneath me. I sped along the wall, the shifters still in pursuit. I angled upward and sped onto the ceiling, which, thankfully, was high enough that the wolves and panther couldn’t reach us, though they tried. I was relieved that my hair had disappeared. Faustine’s long strands fell over her face. Would the shifters be able to nip at it? It would hurt, but I wasn’t going to let go of her, even if they managed to bite into it. A bald Faustine would be better than no Faustine. My main concern was the flapping sound of the approaching bird.

The eagle’s heavy weight rammed my back, knocking me sideways, and I fell to the floor, accidentally letting go of Faustine. I grabbed for her, but she disappeared.
Vanished
. Just like that, as if by magic.

Before I had a chance to figure out what had happened to her, the rest of the shifters launched themselves at me. I unleashed all my demon power, turning my fingers into flames and lashing at the four-legged vermin. I kicked, pushed, and kept going, intermittently hearing the gut-wrenching cries of a wounded animal. I felt my skin ripping under the assault of claws slashing through the outer layers of my skin right to my bones. I kept going and going….

I
heard them talking about me, but I couldn’t talk back. Hell, I couldn’t even open my eyes; my lids felt as though they’d been taped down. Something was in my mouth, something that went all the way down my throat. I felt like gagging, but couldn’t even do that. I just lay there, unable to move a muscle. What had happened? Where was I? The voices got louder. Were they around me or in my head? I tried to focus on them.

“Her pulse is steady,” someone said.

Was it? I couldn’t even feel my heart beating.

“Has anyone retrieved the data from the surveillance cameras yet?” I recognized that voice. Jagger.

Another unfamiliar voice said, “Yeah. Frau Schmelder is going through it now.”

“Well, how long is she going to take? We need to know who did this.” Jagger sounded impatient.

“Didn’t you see anything at all when you found her?” Quinn asked.

I wanted to tell them what had happened, but I couldn’t even move my mouth. And I needed to know where Faustine had gone. Was she okay? Did the shifters get her? Kill her? Shit. I was a total screw-up as a mentor. I might as well be dead. Faustine’s dad was going to kill me anyway.

“Oh, did you see that?” a female voice asked.

I had no idea who she was, but she wasn’t Faustine.

“She twitched,” the same voice said.

I did?

“She did?” Jagger asked. “Cordelia, can you hear me?”

Yes, I can
, I thought.

“Quinn, could you get some of her favorite music from her room? Maybe that’ll help spur a reaction.”