4
Harper
When we enter the building,it’s teeming with people. The din of conversation echoes around us. They move across the huge entry hall as if they are in a river flowing from one point to the other. Each of them blend into the other in their matching black and white outfits.
Some of them glance my way but most of them are so focused on moving ahead they don’t seem to notice Adrian and I standing in the expansive entry way.
A minute later, only a few people pass by. All of them running across the marble floor. Then it’s just the two of us standing there in the massive space.
I glance around at the stone walls covered with tapestries to the gleaming white and gray marble floor. Windows let in the last of the day’s sun but it does little to add warmth. I shiver and I’m not sure if it’s from the cold of the building or the general sense of unease that has seeped into me.
“That was the bell,” Adrian says. “They’re probably on the last class of the day.”
“So this is it?” I ask, even though I know the answer. I just really don’t know what else to say. I attended public school through high school and up until yesterday I attended the local public university. There was nothing exclusive about my education. There were no uniforms, no castles, and certainly no demons.
“I’ll show you to the headmaster,” Adrian replies. “I’m sure they already have paperwork on your attendance.”
I follow Adrian down the hall the flood of students had just passed through until we reach a door with a foggy glass window.Merlin Wilcox, Dean, Brimstone Academyis written across the window in bold letters.
“Merlin?” I ask.
“Probably a family name,” Adrian says with a shrug. He knocks on the door. “I’ve never asked.”
The door opens as if on its own accord. Nobody is standing there holding it. I suppose I shouldn’t be so shocked. After I’d been forced to sit and stay silent against my will, I shouldn’t be surprised by anything.
“Come in,” a voice calls.
“Go on,” Adrian says.
“Aren’t you coming too?” I ask.
He chuckles. “Now you want me to stick around?”
My eyes widen. “No.” I blurt it out before I have a chance to say what I’m really thinking. Not that it’ll stop Adrian from knowing what’s in my head. I don’t expect friendship from him, but he’s been the only constant in this whole thing. I should hate him for his role in my friend’s death but now that I’m faced with him walking away, I’m surprised to notice I feel a little empty at the thought of him not being by my side.
“I’ll see you around,” he says.
“Ms. Love?” The voice calls.
I turn away from Adrian and step into the dark room. Heavy black curtains hang over the windows blocking out all the light. That’s not a great sign.
In the dim light, I can barely make out the objects in the room. A few chairs around a low table on my right. A set of bookshelves on my left. Ahead of me, what appears to be a desk with a few chairs around it.
A shiver runs down my spine. Someone called me in here but the one thing I’m not seeing is another person.
The door slams behind me and I jump. “Hello?”
“Ms. Love, have a seat please,” the voice says again.
I notice a blur of movement out of the corner of my eye and suddenly, there’s a shadowy figure sitting at the desk. A small oil lamp flickers to life, casting long shadows on the figure as it shuffles through a stack of paperwork.
He looks up and I can see his features now. He’s got a long pale face and sunken eyes. Dark shadows circle below his eyes and his thin lips are curled in a smile. The man’s long black hair is in a plait that’s sitting over his left shoulder. Everything about him sends a rush of goosebumps down my arms.
He raises a thick dark eyebrow as he looks up at me.
I force myself to walk toward the desk and settle into the chair that seems the farthest from him. It doesn’t help. He’s still creepy as fuck.
“Ms. Love, I am Merlin Wilcox, the dean. You may call me Dr. Wilcox.” He glances down at the paper in his hands. “I see that you’ll be joining us to learn the ways of our realm,” he says.