Shea raised one eyebrow at me.
“Sister?” I asked. I mean, yeah, I considered her my sister, but….
“Lincoln said you two were family,” Raphael stated, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Shea’s hair and skin were about ten shades darker than mine.
Lincoln told them that? Hmm. Maybe they would only let her stay if she was related to me.
I grasped Shea’s hand. “We are, and if you kick me out, we’ll have nowhere to live. But… no pressure.”
Both gentlemen laughed, and exchanged smiles. For a man in his early forties, Mr. Claymore was quite handsome, his short brown hair weaved through with silver streaks over kind eyes.
“We’re not kicking you out,” Raphael reassured. “I brought Mr. Claymore, to see if it was possible to erase Shea’s death mark. Assuming that’s what she wants. That way she could become a student here. Room and board is included, of course.”
I wanted to act tough but I couldn’t, tears leaked from my eyes.
Shea shot out of her chair. “Yes! That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I took the mark against my will. They pinned me down, and—” Her voice broke before she could continue.
Mr. Claymore frowned, stepping forward. “If that’s true, if you took the mark against your will, then I can easily remove it. It’ll take a day or two for me to brew the potion, but it’ll fall away as if it were never there.”
Shea’s chest was rising and falling, clearly trying to hold her shit in.
Raphael clapped once. “Then that’s that! I suppose you two would like to room together? I’ll have the groundskeeper make up your room so you can get settled. Were you able to bring any belongings?”
Shea and I shared a look. Yeah right. We ran like a bat out of Hell. Pun intended. I’d packed a bag like Lincoln told me to but it had one pair of clothes and one pair of underwear with my toothbrush. Nothing to last me… forever.
“No, and I’m worried about my mom and my brother,” I confessed to him.
He nodded, his glossy hair falling around his shoulders. “I spoke with your mother an hour ago when she called to inquire about your health. She said she’s fine and has been permitted by her new… employer to visit you once a month. She can bring your belongings then. In the meantime, we have an overflowing lost and found pile that I’ll have Mrs. Greely bring in for you to go through.”
I barely heard the rest of it, glad my mom was okay. I was curious who her new master was though. I was kind of hoping that when Lincoln killed Burdock, she would be free.
“One more thing.” Raphael held up a finger. “School, room, and board is free here, but if you want extra cash, you’ll need to get part-time jobs. I happen to know that the clinic is looking for someone, Brielle, and with your healing abilities, you’d be hired on the spot.”
My healing abilities I know nothing about.
I nodded. “Thank you, sir. I’ll look into it.”
Mr. Claymore looked to Shea. “And I could always use a Mage student to keep my supplies organized. Crush my powders, help with the potions.”
Shea, eyes wide, just nodded.
They were letting us stay. They gave us jobs.
Holy shit, Angel City is Heaven on Earth.
We were finally free of the darkness that had lurked over us most of our lives. We were slaves to no one. We were free souls, and it felt good.
Raphael went to leave the room but I sat up straighter. “Sir, one more thing.”
He turned.
“Umm, Lincoln took Sera, my seraph blade. Can I get it back?” Surely he thought it was preposterous that Lincoln was treating me like a five-year-old.
He frowned. “I’ve put Lincoln in charge of your training. If he feels you shouldn’t have the blade outside of classes, then there’s nothing I can do.”
With a bow, they both left.
Grrr. Lincoln was lording his power over me, but dammit, he’d given me my freedom, so I was going to have to do whatever he said.
Oh God.
A memory came back to me then. He’d called me crazy and I’d called him hot. I hid my face in my hands, mortified, praying he’d forget. When I looked up, I saw Shea staring at a blank spot on the wall, her face a mask of complete shock.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her. “Aren’t you happy?”
She nodded. “I’m so happy. But it feels weird. I’d forgotten what happy felt like.”
I smiled and reached for her hand. “Promised you I wasn’t going to let you go dark.”
She nodded. “And I promise you not to let you get through your first year without kissing Lincoln.”
My eyes widened. “Shea, stop. He’s my teacher, kind of. And an asshole, kind of. Anyway, not happening.”
She grinned. “That was a lot of ‘kind ofs.’”
I punched her arm and she laughed.
There was a knock on the door then, and a short brunette woman–in her early forties—came in, holding a huge basket of clothes. I even saw a backpack and water bottle poking out. She also held a pair of crutches.
“How are you feeling, dear?” she asked, setting the basket down and setting the crutches at the end of my bed. I recognized the Raphael tattoo on her forearm.
“A little sore, but I’m okay.”
She nodded. “I’m Mrs. Greely. I’m in charge of the healing clinic here at the academy. Raphael tells me you’re looking for some part-time work? I’d love to hire you.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. That would be wonderful.”
She smiled and handed me a packet. “Fill this out and bring it by tomorrow. Then we can go over the schedule.”
I grabbed the packet, clutching it to my chest. “I will.” I’d traded up, from washing dead bodies at the reanimation clinic, to this.
“You girls are free to leave. Housekeeping is putting linens on your beds. Here’s a map with your room designation. Come back if you feel any worsening pain, and take anything you like from the lost and found.” She indicated the basket of clothes she’d set down.
I nodded. “We will. Thank you so much.”
She smiled and then left the room quietly.
Shea glanced at the map. “Dude, this place is huge. Way bigger than Tainted Academy.”
I still couldn’t believe I’d gotten her out of there. That I was out of there. I rubbed my forehead in disbelief at the slave mark being gone.
Swinging my leg gently over the bed, I gestured to the pile. “Help me find some clothes.” There was no way I could put that torn and bloody jumpsuit back on.
Shea rummaged through, and found a pair of large smelly sweat pants, and a too-tight tank top. After I shimmied into them, we both looked at my clothes and burst out laughing. “It’s going to be a rough two weeks until we get paid,” Shea admitted, once she’d calmed a bit.
I winced. “Maybe my mom can send Mikey with some underwear.”
Shea nodded, hopeful. “Please God, yes. I don’t want to free-ball it unless I absolutely have to.”
After we filled the backpack with a water bottle, headphones, a hoodie, two gym shirts and an umbrella, we checked out of the clinic, and searched the grounds for our room. We quickly got lost and realized Shea had been reading the map upside down.
Once I took over, we found Bright Hall. The common room was bustling with students, the female-only Bright Hall sharing the room with the all-male Stone Hall. I was thrilled when I saw Luke and Angela, introducing Shea before giving them a brief rundown of what had happened. After their shock subsided, they were super enthusiastic that we’d both be attending the academy full-time.
“Oh my God, girl, now I have someone to freak out over the gauntlet with,” Luke squealed.
“The gauntlet?” Shea asked warily.
Angela leaned in. “It’s the end-of-year test to graduate you,” she whispered. “If you fail, you go home, and good luck getting a magical job. You’ll end up with some shitty human job, maybe private security for a rich human family. If you pass, you’re admitted into the second year here.”
My eyes widened. I’d imagined a written test, maybe a few sword moves, but the gauntlet? “Well, you’re a third year. Can you tell us how hard it was?”
She shook her head. “We’ve all been spelled not to. But trust me, you’ll need every advantage you can get, so study hard. That’s all I can say.”
The lights suddenly flickered, and we were told we needed to go to our rooms for lights out. Once we bid Angela and Luke good night, we made our way down the hall to room 11.
Leaning against the doorframe was Tiffany.
When her eyes landed on me, they narrowed, jumping from my outfit to Shea’s death mark, and then to my crutches. Finally they rested on my forehead.
“What happened to your slave mark, Archie?” she crooned, still blocking our door.
I glanced at Shea, who looked absolutely feral, then shrugged. “It must’ve rubbed off on Lincoln’s chest while we were in the back of my car.”
Her whole face flared red, anger boiling out of every pore. “Enjoy the room. It used to be mine, and now I have to share.” She blasted past me, knocking into my shoulder.
Pain shot up from my tailbone at the jostling.
“I can make her hair fall out. I learned how at Tainted Academy,” Shea growled.
I waved my hand. “She’s not worth it. She’s obsessed with Lincoln, so I’m pretty sure I just ruined her night.”
Shea grinned. “That was a really good line, I must say.”
With a laugh, I opened the door. The room was small but cozy and clean. It had a window in the middle of the back wall, and a twin bed with drawers underneath on each side of the space. Typical dorm style. There was shelving high above the beds, about two feet from the ceiling, that wrapped around the room, containing books and other magical items. I spotted jars of weird-looking things, like frog legs on Shea’s side, and on mine were books on the angelic realm and other Celestial-related things. raised one eyebrow at me.
“Sister?” I asked. I mean, yeah, I considered her my sister, but….
“Lincoln said you two were family,” Raphael stated, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Shea’s hair and skin were about ten shades darker than mine.
Lincoln told them that? Hmm. Maybe they would only let her stay if she was related to me.
I grasped Shea’s hand. “We are, and if you kick me out, we’ll have nowhere to live. But… no pressure.”
Both gentlemen laughed, and exchanged smiles. For a man in his early forties, Mr. Claymore was quite handsome, his short brown hair weaved through with silver streaks over kind eyes.
“We’re not kicking you out,” Raphael reassured. “I brought Mr. Claymore, to see if it was possible to erase Shea’s death mark. Assuming that’s what she wants. That way she could become a student here. Room and board is included, of course.”
I wanted to act tough but I couldn’t, tears leaked from my eyes.
Shea shot out of her chair. “Yes! That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I took the mark against my will. They pinned me down, and—” Her voice broke before she could continue.
Mr. Claymore frowned, stepping forward. “If that’s true, if you took the mark against your will, then I can easily remove it. It’ll take a day or two for me to brew the potion, but it’ll fall away as if it were never there.”
Shea’s chest was rising and falling, clearly trying to hold her shit in.
Raphael clapped once. “Then that’s that! I suppose you two would like to room together? I’ll have the groundskeeper make up your room so you can get settled. Were you able to bring any belongings?”
Shea and I shared a look. Yeah right. We ran like a bat out of Hell. Pun intended. I’d packed a bag like Lincoln told me to but it had one pair of clothes and one pair of underwear with my toothbrush. Nothing to last me… forever.
“No, and I’m worried about my mom and my brother,” I confessed to him.
He nodded, his glossy hair falling around his shoulders. “I spoke with your mother an hour ago when she called to inquire about your health. She said she’s fine and has been permitted by her new… employer to visit you once a month. She can bring your belongings then. In the meantime, we have an overflowing lost and found pile that I’ll have Mrs. Greely bring in for you to go through.”
I barely heard the rest of it, glad my mom was okay. I was curious who her new master was though. I was kind of hoping that when Lincoln killed Burdock, she would be free.
“One more thing.” Raphael held up a finger. “School, room, and board is free here, but if you want extra cash, you’ll need to get part-time jobs. I happen to know that the clinic is looking for someone, Brielle, and with your healing abilities, you’d be hired on the spot.”
My healing abilities I know nothing about.
I nodded. “Thank you, sir. I’ll look into it.”
Mr. Claymore looked to Shea. “And I could always use a Mage student to keep my supplies organized. Crush my powders, help with the potions.”
Shea, eyes wide, just nodded.
They were letting us stay. They gave us jobs.
Holy shit, Angel City is Heaven on Earth.
We were finally free of the darkness that had lurked over us most of our lives. We were slaves to no one. We were free souls, and it felt good.
Raphael went to leave the room but I sat up straighter. “Sir, one more thing.”
He turned.
“Umm, Lincoln took Sera, my seraph blade. Can I get it back?” Surely he thought it was preposterous that Lincoln was treating me like a five-year-old.
He frowned. “I’ve put Lincoln in charge of your training. If he feels you shouldn’t have the blade outside of classes, then there’s nothing I can do.”
With a bow, they both left.
Grrr. Lincoln was lording his power over me, but dammit, he’d given me my freedom, so I was going to have to do whatever he said.
Oh God.
A memory came back to me then. He’d called me crazy and I’d called him hot. I hid my face in my hands, mortified, praying he’d forget. When I looked up, I saw Shea staring at a blank spot on the wall, her face a mask of complete shock.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her. “Aren’t you happy?”
She nodded. “I’m so happy. But it feels weird. I’d forgotten what happy felt like.”
I smiled and reached for her hand. “Promised you I wasn’t going to let you go dark.”
She nodded. “And I promise you not to let you get through your first year without kissing Lincoln.”
My eyes widened. “Shea, stop. He’s my teacher, kind of. And an asshole, kind of. Anyway, not happening.”
She grinned. “That was a lot of ‘kind ofs.’”
I punched her arm and she laughed.
There was a knock on the door then, and a short brunette woman–in her early forties—came in, holding a huge basket of clothes. I even saw a backpack and water bottle poking out. She also held a pair of crutches.
“How are you feeling, dear?” she asked, setting the basket down and setting the crutches at the end of my bed. I recognized the Raphael tattoo on her forearm.
“A little sore, but I’m okay.”
She nodded. “I’m Mrs. Greely. I’m in charge of the healing clinic here at the academy. Raphael tells me you’re looking for some part-time work? I’d love to hire you.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. That would be wonderful.”
She smiled and handed me a packet. “Fill this out and bring it by tomorrow. Then we can go over the schedule.”
I grabbed the packet, clutching it to my chest. “I will.” I’d traded up, from washing dead bodies at the reanimation clinic, to this.
“You girls are free to leave. Housekeeping is putting linens on your beds. Here’s a map with your room designation. Come back if you feel any worsening pain, and take anything you like from the lost and found.” She indicated the basket of clothes she’d set down.
I nodded. “We will. Thank you so much.”
She smiled and then left the room quietly.
Shea glanced at the map. “Dude, this place is huge. Way bigger than Tainted Academy.”
I still couldn’t believe I’d gotten her out of there. That I was out of there. I rubbed my forehead in disbelief at the slave mark being gone.
Swinging my leg gently over the bed, I gestured to the pile. “Help me find some clothes.” There was no way I could put that torn and bloody jumpsuit back on.
Shea rummaged through, and found a pair of large smelly sweat pants, and a too-tight tank top. After I shimmied into them, we both looked at my clothes and burst out laughing. “It’s going to be a rough two weeks until we get paid,” Shea admitted, once she’d calmed a bit.
I winced. “Maybe my mom can send Mikey with some underwear.”
Shea nodded, hopeful. “Please God, yes. I don’t want to free-ball it unless I absolutely have to.”
After we filled the backpack with a water bottle, headphones, a hoodie, two gym shirts and an umbrella, we checked out of the clinic, and searched the grounds for our room. We quickly got lost and realized Shea had been reading the map upside down.
Once I took over, we found Bright Hall. The common room was bustling with students, the female-only Bright Hall sharing the room with the all-male Stone Hall. I was thrilled when I saw Luke and Angela, introducing Shea before giving them a brief rundown of what had happened. After their shock subsided, they were super enthusiastic that we’d both be attending the academy full-time.
“Oh my God, girl, now I have someone to freak out over the gauntlet with,” Luke squealed.
“The gauntlet?” Shea asked warily.
Angela leaned in. “It’s the end-of-year test to graduate you,” she whispered. “If you fail, you go home, and good luck getting a magical job. You’ll end up with some shitty human job, maybe private security for a rich human family. If you pass, you’re admitted into the second year here.”
My eyes widened. I’d imagined a written test, maybe a few sword moves, but the gauntlet? “Well, you’re a third year. Can you tell us how hard it was?”
She shook her head. “We’ve all been spelled not to. But trust me, you’ll need every advantage you can get, so study hard. That’s all I can say.”
The lights suddenly flickered, and we were told we needed to go to our rooms for lights out. Once we bid Angela and Luke good night, we made our way down the hall to room 11.
Leaning against the doorframe was Tiffany.
When her eyes landed on me, they narrowed, jumping from my outfit to Shea’s death mark, and then to my crutches. Finally they rested on my forehead.
“What happened to your slave mark, Archie?” she crooned, still blocking our door.
I glanced at Shea, who looked absolutely feral, then shrugged. “It must’ve rubbed off on Lincoln’s chest while we were in the back of my car.”
Her whole face flared red, anger boiling out of every pore. “Enjoy the room. It used to be mine, and now I have to share.” She blasted past me, knocking into my shoulder.
Pain shot up from my tailbone at the jostling.
“I can make her hair fall out. I learned how at Tainted Academy,” Shea growled.
I waved my hand. “She’s not worth it. She’s obsessed with Lincoln, so I’m pretty sure I just ruined her night.”
Shea grinned. “That was a really good line, I must say.”
With a laugh, I opened the door. The room was small but cozy and clean. It had a window in the middle of the back wall, and a twin bed with drawers underneath on each side of the space. Typical dorm style. There was shelving high above the beds, about two feet from the ceiling, that wrapped around the room, containing books and other magical items. I spotted jars of weird-looking things, like frog legs on Shea’s side, and on mine were books on the angelic realm and other Celestial-related things.