Ever Dark Academy, Vol. 1

14. Belonging

BELONGING

“H ow about you tell me your name first, before I tell you my story,” Grayson said dryly as he moved over to the kitchen island and took a seat there.

He wanted to buy time. He should have a simple explanation for himself. One that wasn’t too far from the truth, but avoided the things he had to hide. But he wasn’t quite sure what that story was. He normally had one prepared in advance and took the time to practice it. Make it short, sweet, forgettable. Even people as inquisitive as the redhead normally could be discouraged from asking for more, but the whole plan here was to get to know his fellow students to figure out which one was involved with the Sect.

“Fair enough.” She put her hands together in front of her. They were surprisingly delicate and graceful in their movements like a musician’s or a pool player’s, he supposed. “Mairead Byrne, at your service.” Her first name sounded like Mi-rade. “And yours is Grayson Duke.”

“You seem to know a lot about Grayson already.” Amara crossed her arms over her chest and lifted an eyebrow at Mairead.

“I like to know things.” Mairead looked completely unrepentant and snapped her gum. “You have to know your competition. Besides, downstairs is a buzz about it!”

Grayson hid his grimace. He had known that people were watching him, especially when Christian and Julian escorted him upstairs. But he hadn’t realized that Weryn’s decision to stay out of the choosing of fledglings was common knowledge. At least not among the students, but clearly he was wrong or Mairead had niggled it out of someone. She did like to know things.

I bet she wants to be an Eyros.

“We’re not in competition.” Amara shook her head.

“You can’t be so naive! We have to be.” Mairead laughed.

“Do we?” Eiji murmured.

“Ach, you were very clever during your interview not to answer them when they asked what Bloodline you want to be, Goda-sama.” She wagged a playful finger at him. “But you wanted to maximize your chance of any Bloodline choosing you. Makes sense since you’re so old.”

“Can you be any more rude?” Amara snapped.

The naive comment hadn’t gone over well and the “old” comment really hadn’t, though she had used the honorific for Eiji that showed she placed him at a social position higher than herself.

“She is honest ,” Eiji said with a dry chuckle. “You are right, child, that I am looking to maximize my chances by not offending any of the Bloodlines. I am curious though why you think we are in competition with one another. The Vampires have been clear that there is a place for every one of us. They did not accept too many.”

Mairead cocked her head to the side, a smile curling her lips. “I think you believe we’re in competition too. There are 100 students. There are 10 Bloodlines, well, nine , since Weryn is out for now, anyways.” She gave Grayson a sidelong look. “No Bloodline will accept getting less fledglings than another. And there will be favorites among the Bloodlines and the students. So not everyone will be offered the one they want. While the students may be flexible like Goda-sama here, will the Bloodlines? They already resent this process.”

Amara shook her head and let out a soft laugh. “You are assuming much in those statements. If what you say is true then I am certain that they chose the proper amount of fledglings for each Bloodline.”

Grayson was sure she was right. Balthazar would literally know who would fit best, but also, what person a Bloodline would want. Balthazar would even make sure there were equal amounts of fledglings for each Bloodline.

“But for some of them it won’t be about who is best for their Bloodline,” Mairead laughed. “They’ll just want to win .”

Grayson thought that Mairead was also right. There was bound to be a lot more politics in turning someone now. When it had just been the individual Vampires on their own, no one was watching to see how they did, who they seduced, and whether they won . Now, everyone would be watching and everyone would know. Maybe Ryder was right that this wasn’t the best way to choose fledglings when something other than who was the best fit was playing a role.

Amara made a disbelieving sound though and she checked a thin gold watch around her right wrist. She got down from her chair and grabbed a long dark orange scarf that she wrapped around her neck.

“Are you going to the parade?” Grayson asked. He hadn’t thought it was for some time yet.

She smiled at him but shook her head. “No, I already have a meeting set up with one of the Bloodlines.”

“A meeting ?” Mairead’s eyebrows lifted and she looked amused. “It’s not like this is a business transaction to become a fledgling.”

“My dear, that is exactly what this all is,” Amara responded coolly. “I will see you all later. Do enjoy the parade.”

She nodded to all of them and headed out of the quad with a waft of her jasmine perfume leaving a trail behind her.

“My, my, she is a person with a plan,” Eiji remarked.

“She claims not to be worried about competition but here she is already networking. Do you suppose she was in contact before or after she came to Nightvallen?” Mairead asked. “If it was before then some rules were broken. Naughty, naughty, Dr. Biswas.”

“I doubt she’s gotten where she is without knowing what she wants and how to get it,” Grayson murmured. “So that’s why there’s no competition for her.”

“You’re probably right. She excels at everything, I’m betting. Good to know I’m among quality company,” Mairead remarked with an almost sheepish grin as if she knew how rude that was to say and was in on the joke of it.

“Though it might be childish, I, however, am looking forward to this parade. Would you care to join me?” Eiji looked at both him and Mairead.

“Absolutely.” Mairead grinned. “I wonder if they sent their best or worst to entertain us tonight.”

“They’ll want to put their best foot forward, I think. But who looks impressive on the outside is not always who truly is,” Eiji said.

Mairead narrowed her eyes at the Japanese businessman speculatively. “Yeah, you’re right at that. Appearances can be deceiving.”

Definitely wants to be an Eyros. Though I don’t know if I’d want her as one.

Grayson hesitated, but then got down from the chair himself. Maybe Amara did have a meeting with a potential Bloodline or maybe she had a meeting with a member of the Sect, getting her orders, or doing something else nefarious while everyone was enjoying the parade. He had to find out. He wasn’t here for parades.

“I’ll catch up with you,” Grayson told them with a wave.

“Hey! You didn’t answer my questions even though I gave you my name!” Mairead cried.

Walking backwards, Grayson gave her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I have to keep you guessing.”

Then he turned and hurried off down the hallway. Luckily, that orange scarf Amara was wearing was easy to spot, which meant she wasn’t going to a secret rendezvous or she was just really bad at blending in. He, on the other hand, could blend in very well.

He hung back about fifteen feet from her as she wove her way through the excited students and Vampires in the dorm’s foyer. No silver eyes flashed their way. He was surprised that all the students didn’t have minders. But this was a school, not a prison. Yet knowing the Sect was trying to infiltrate them and do them harm seemed unwise, but, then again, maybe he just wasn’t seeing all what the Vampires had planned.

Amara went out the back of the dorm, not the front. She passed through a series of rooms before they reached the back doors and another street. There was a group dining room and what looked like several meeting rooms with cozy fireplaces and plenty of seating. They were all darkened though as the activity was in the front of the dorm, the rooms and soon it would be outside.

He caught the back door just as it was closing. Amara had turned right and was headed down the graceful street at speed. She wasn’t looking right nor left, let alone at the gorgeous white stone buildings with their mixture of ancient and modern. Her eyes didn’t even lift to the dual moons. She was, as Eiji had said, a woman with a purpose. She did though bring out a folded sheet of paper from her right pocket and consult it periodically.

A map. I should have grabbed one, too, out of the material packet, Grayson thought.

He’d always had a pretty good head for directions though. He could figure his way back, he was sure. But he should study the map the next time he had a chance and really know the place. If, for no other reason, than to understand where the exits were. Though from what he had read of the Ever Dark, the cities were the only civilized places.

Dangers of an unknown sort surrounded them. And one was only able to get from one Ever Dark city to the next by using gates. One couldn’t walk or fly or sail between them. The forests, oceans and fields were said to go forever. He wasn’t sure if that was true. But it fit with the sense of otherness the Ever Dark presented.

He realized soon enough that Amara was heading towards the Bloodline palaces. They were set out in a semicircle with the main palace at the top and a huge fountain in the exact center. Each palace was different--and magical--and said to reflect its Immortal’s character.

If she’s going to a palace then whatever Bloodline she’s visiting must have their Immortal present, Grayson realized. Doesn’t mean she’s not meeting a member of the Sect though. The Sect has Vampires in it.

Though she had taken a back way to get to the palaces, he found himself having to move closer to her in order to keep her in view. It appeared that this was where the parade was going to take place with Vampires coming out of their Immortals’ palace or, at least, standing in front of it. He wondered which was the Weryn palace. He almost lost sight of her as he found himself looking for the very different figure of Ryder. He wrenched his gaze away as he nearly plowed into some other students. He backed away, nodding his apologies.

Next time we meet I’ll have something to tell him if I keep my eye on the ball.

He was a little surprised at his desire to impress the other man. He normally didn’t care what people thought of him. He’d gotten too many snarls or blank looks when he’d been homeless to think well of people. Acceptance was a fragile thing. Having a dirty face, ripped clothing, being out in the rain and people who would have helped you if those things were different all changed. Yet Ryder claimed to have deeper ties to his Bloodline than that. Maybe it was true. Maybe if Grayson was a Vampire he, too, would have such acceptance.

But I’d have to live off of blood and stay away from the sun. I’d be beholden to a Master. Awful lot to give up for that kind of kinship.

A memory of shivering on a doorstep, knees brought up to his skinny chest, as icy rain pelted him returned to him. Then there had been Sam. He’d been in a nearby alleyway, standing about a fire barrel. He gestured for Grayson to join them. It was Sam and two other rough-looking men who were more interested in the bottles in their hands than him. He’d been so cold that his hands were shaking even though he could barely feel them. He’d learned to avoid people already, especially the ones that offered to help. They were the worst . But he’d been so cold and the fire looked so much warmer.

So he’d gone to the fire.

And it had been all right.

Well, it had been a warmer place than he’d been in before.

And now Sam was dead, snuffed out for no reason than a Vampire wanted a drink and Sam was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ryder was nothing like Sam. But he seemed to be standing near a warmer fire. And if he would help Grayson take down the people who had killed Sam for nothing then it would be worth it to reach back to someone just this once.

Focused once more, Grayson located that orange scarf again. People were drifting about with glasses of champagne and plates of food, chatting gailey with the other Vampires and humans among them. Mairead might think that they were all in competition, but from what Grayson could see they looked more enamored of simply being here.

They’re the chosen , Grayson realized. They don’t have to doubt that they belong. Yet, anyways, until the games begin or whatever they plan to do to pick fledglings.

He kept that flash of orange in sight. But he didn’t have to wonder where she was going. She headed up a stone path to the front door of one that looked rather like an ancient Greek temple. A girl with blond hair in pigtails who looked rather like an anime character greeted her warmly and escorted her inside. They soon disappeared from view.

So she is going to see a Vampire, but who? What Palace is this?

There were no names to identify them. He found himself drifting around the side of the palace, looking through delicate spun glass windows to see if he could follow Amara’s progress inside. But there were apple trees blocking his view and though he darted from window to window, he only saw graceful pale, cream rooms inside but nothing and no one else. He stopped, realizing that he had lost her. The smell of the trees was sweet but not cloying, as ripe fruit hung heavily from the branches.

How can anything grow without sunlight?

He reached up towards a perfectly shaped apple and plucked it from the branch. He smelled it. The scent was crisp and tart. The skin was firm. He fought the urge to bite into it though. It might look like an apple, but it might not be one.

Pretty poison.

“Grayson, could you please assist me?” A woman’s voice, rich and educated, reached his ears.

He spun around in surprise. He had thought he was alone. But the fear that quickened his heartbeat and caused adrenaline to squirt into his veins tamped down when he saw the person who had called his name. It was a beautiful woman in a long, pale dress with a strip of the same color fabric over her eyes as if she were playing blind man’s bluff.

Though she couldn’t have been able to see through the fabric, she was facing him directly, an open smile on her beautiful face. Though he couldn’t see silver eyes, he knew that she was a Vampire. You could not mistake her for anything else despite her seeming lack of predatoriness. He was not afraid. She meant him no harm. He was a good enough judge of character to know that. She was able to cause him harm, but she had no intention to.

The fabric over her eyes tugged at him. What was the meaning of it?

He let out a slow breath and said, “I didn’t see you there.”

“No,” she agreed.

They continued to stare at one another. Or rather, he stared and her face was turned towards him yet he was certain she could see him.

Seeyr… the Immortal Seeyr. That’s right. I read about her. She’s missing her eyes, but she can see the future, Grayson recalled and there was a deeper tug on him, but he couldn’t have said why. There was a familiarity about her, but there couldn’t have been. He would never have forgotten her presence.

“You--you asked me for help. What do you need help with?” he asked.

Seeyr would know his name, would know who he was. Balthazar or Caemorn would have told her. The big three that ran the school. Yet it was odd that she could identify him when she’d never met him before. It wasn’t like she could have seen his face and placed it.

“Would you get Meffy down for me?” she asked with a rather helpless gesture towards a rather large apple tree.

“Meffy?” Grayson looked up into the tree’s branches, expecting to see a delinquent child, perhaps like the one that had met Amara. But, at first, he saw nothing at all.

Then there was the sweet little mew! And a black cat, little more than a kitten appeared, quivering on a branch.

“Oh!” Grayson exclaimed.

The little ball of fluff mewed piteously again.

“Yes, he ran away. He was playing and now he’s stuck. Balthazar will be in tatters if I don’t bring him round for the parade,” she said. “Could you get him down for me?”

He measured the tree in his mind. The trunk and branches looked sturdy enough for him to climb, but Meffy was far out on one limb. He didn’t think he could shimmy out onto the branch easily.

“You’re not considering climbing , are you? You’ll ruin those clothes,” she laughed.

“I don’t intend to wear them again,” Grayson muttered.

He would find something more him , even if it did have the academy’s logo on it. Maybe he could rip the logos off...

“Balthazar does try his best to make people at ease by giving them what he thinks they want, or more like, what they think they want,” she said.

“I can assure you that I wouldn’t want to be a preppy school boy at an exclusive school,” he answered.

“Maybe not, but you’d like to belong, wouldn’t you? Fit in? Be a part of something?” She tilted her head to the side.

He opened and closed his mouth.

“You’ve not had a chance of doing that since your gift manifested, have you?” She made it a question, but it wasn’t one. She knew. “Even when you’ve been around people who have accepted you on some level, you’ve always known that it’s been a fragile acceptance. Likely to go away. Especially if they knew the real you.”

He swallowed and said nothing. But he did think back on watching the Vampires use their powers so openly. What had he felt when he’d seen it? Alarm? Yes. Fear for them being caught out? Yes. And then jealousy when he realized that they could do these things openly.

“So, Balthazar, in his way, was trying to make you understand that you do belong here. You fit in,” she said. “A real insider actually.”

“By putting me in clothes that no one else is wearing?” Grayson finally spoke.

“He’s not perfect, but he does try. In his way,” she said, her smile twinkling at him.

He slid his hands into his pockets and slowly approached her and Meffy. “I bet that an Immortal could leap up and grab Meffy out of that tree without my help.”

“Oh, yes, but Meffy would be frightened if I did that. But if you used your gift he wouldn’t be. And a happy Meffy means a happy Balthazar which means a happy Daemon so… won’t you?” She gestured towards the kitten again.

“I’m out of practice,” Grayson said as he stared at the ball of fluff that was holding on the tree limb with little claws, the desperation to get down to them huge in its round eyes. “I mean… I never really practice.”

“You should!” She smiled brightly at him.

“We’re trying to hide what I can do,” he reminded her. “Practicing would be a bad idea, wouldn’t it? More chances I might be seen.”

She shrugged as if hiding what he could do was a foregone conclusion. A chill went through him. She was the Immortal Seeyr. Maybe she did know that. He glanced around to make sure he hadn’t missed another person nearby.

“It’s just the three of us,” she assured him.

Grayson took in a deep breath and concentrated on the kitten. He imagined the light weight of the little one. He imagined the softness of his fur and the sharpness of his claws. Then he pulled . Gently. Meffy let out a murp ! as he detached the kitten’s claws from the tree and slowly lowered him down into his arms. Meffy’s eyes were huge again, but they closed the moment that he was in Grayson’s hands. The kitten was as sweet as he looked. Grayson found himself smiling and leaning down to kiss the furry head.

“Oh, Meffy is very happy!” Seeyr grinned.

“So Balthazar will be happy?”

She looked up at him with those bound eyes. “And Daemon will be, too.”

“It’s good to have the Vampire King happy,” he guessed.

She put her arm lightly through his. “It is, Grayson. It most certainly is.”

“Does he know about the Sect then?” Grayson asked as she started to direct them out of the garden and towards the parade grounds.

“Of course,” she said.

“And you know?”

“You mean did I see the future and glimpse them?” Her smile didn’t dim.

“Ah, yeah, that’s what I do mean,” he said.

She laughed. “Asking a Seeyr about the future is like asking a mortal about their age once they hit a certain decade.”

“Meaning you don’t like to be asked?”

“Meaning that sometimes the cost of knowing is often too high,” she answered.

“That sounds bad.” He stopped, intent on finding Ryder at that moment to warn him.

But Seeyr tugged him forward gently. “I know you believe you’re here to solve that particular problem.”

“Because I am . They killed my friend. They killed an innocent old man for nothing!” Grayson’s voice rose, which had Meffy meowing sadly. He patted the cat as he said more softly, “They’re evil. I think they are truly evil.”

“Some of them are, yes. But some of them are just trying to hold onto what they’ve always known and their place within that known universe,” she answered, not seemingly disturbed by his anger. “But things are changing. And change is hard for everyone.”

He licked his lips. “You said that I think I’m here for the Sect, meaning that I’m wrong about that. If that’s true then what am I here for?”

She patted his arm gently as they left the orchard and entered the raucous square. Her words were nearly drowned out by the raised voices, but he thought she said, “You’re here, because you belong .”