Vala Eminence Read online

  “That's good, although your choice of smart friends still leaves something to be desired,” Mr. Anais said. “I've noticed how close you're getting to the Loveless girl.”

  Denver shrugged, trying to show a lack of caring at the mention of Cheyenne. “You say that like she's some kind of criminal and I should stay away before she gets me hooked on drugs. The girl is more boring than paint on a wall. I don't think she's going to get me into any trouble.”

  “She's already gotten you into a lot of trouble, and you're already hooked on a drug of sorts. Her blood, or have you forgotten about your three random feedings on her neck from last year?”

  His jaw tensed. Actually, I've bitten into her seven times, but we don't need to talk about that. “I didn't do anything she didn't want me to.”

  Mr. Anais shook his head. “It's still wrong.”

  “I guess. So have I been called in here for another lecture? And why are we here instead of your office?” Denver tapped his fingertips on the conference table in front of him. He hated rooms like this. They always had him feeling suffocated and trapped, like he might as well have been in chains.

  “Again, we're going to discuss your graduation track.”

  That was when Mrs. Bobbine, the Guidance Counselor entered the room, and Ms. Lis, the Principal, followed after.

  “Wow, this is a real party,” Denver muttered.

  “Your grades and remaining credits will have you graduating in the spring of next year,” Mrs. Bobbine said and opened up a manila folder with a stack of papers in it.

  Ms. Lis leaned in toward him. “Our goal is to get you out of here by the end of the summer.”

  “Get me out of here?” Denver raised an eyebrow. “Come on, I'm not that bad of a guy to have around.”

  “The Divine Council feels that—”

  He rolled his eyes and leaned in toward Ms. Lis, closing the space so they were only a foot away from one another. “Ah, the Divine Council. I see. Well, that changes everything.” Do they know who I really am? Do they know that I'm a part of them? Would they be singing a different tune if they did?

  Ms. Lis peered at him. “They are the reason our school exists, in case you have forgotten. As you know, you are long overdue from graduating to begin with.”

  “I'm only nineteen. That rumor of me being a century old vampire is just that, a rumor, and sometimes I entertain it for kicks and giggles. You guys? I thought you'd be smarter than to believe that stuff. I'm two years over due from my graduation date. That's hardly a scandal.” He sat back in his chair again.

  “We think it's best for you to move on as well, so between the three of us we've come up with a course schedule that will have you graduating at the end of the summer instead. It's time. You can't stay here forever,” Mrs. Bobbine said in a gentle tone.

  Denver shifted his gaze to her. “I'm aware, and trust me, I don't want to. There are just a few things I need to do, and I'd like to space out my classes to make sure I have time to do them and adequately learn all of the stuff I need to. I have a ton of magic credits to earn — still. Those aren’t the kinds of lessons that should be crammed together.”

  Mrs. Bobbine glanced between her two colleagues. “That is where the first change in your curriculum is going to be. We are cutting most of your practical magic courses from your schedule.”

  “Why? I need those.” He couldn't believe what he was hearing. They wanted to cut his magic-related classes?

  “You're a powerful creature, there's no denying it. Let's be honest, you have a pretty good handle on your magic. Do you need to be schooled in it? All that is for you is an easy A and the potential for a rather boring hour.”

  He glared at Mrs. Bobbine. “I wouldn't know, seeing as how I hardly ever get to sit in on the class. You conveniently pull me out of it all of the time. I'm getting this feeling you don't want me to understand my magic.”

  “Because you're powerful,” Ms. Lis said calmly. “And frankly, we don't trust you to make wise decisions with your power. If you don't know how to tap all of it, then it won't be a problem.”

  “I can learn outside of the school.” That's how he'd learned most of his magic to begin with. Even he didn't understand all he could do with it.

  “We're aware, but at least then we won't be responsible for whatever you might do.” Ms. Lis leaned back and crossed her legs.

  Scoffing, Denver scratched at his chin. “Glad to know you think so highly of me. If you hate me, why don't you just kick me out? I'm not under eighteen, so it's not like you're morally obligated to keep me around. I don't get it.”

  Mrs. Bobbine sighed and moved closer to Denver. She even took the time to put a hand on his shoulder. Her touch was cold, so it wasn't done with any genuine sympathy. “We don't hate you. We're merely concerned for the welfare of our other students. As of late, you've had good behavior, outside of a few incidences. Even before, the trouble you caused was frustrating but not necessarily dangerous.”

  “And you want to keep it that way and you don't trust me.” He didn't need them to dodge around the issue. Straight and to the point had always been more his style. “Which is fine because I don't care about what you think of me. What I do care about is getting the most out of my education. Let me be clear, if you don't teach me, I will find out how to use my magic, and I won't do so from an approved source. Maybe I'd have been less troublesome to you all if you'd thought of that earlier. I don't think I need to explain why learning magic from demons is frowned upon in everyday society.”

  “No, you don't,” Mr. Anais said. “Are you admitting to learning from the demons? You know that is an expulsion-worthy offense at this school. Keeping company with the demons in general is something we take seriously here.”

  Even though I'm pretty sure you do it in your spare time. Denver smirked at the Dean of Students and made a slight wave of his hand. “I'm not saying I have learned anything from them. What I am saying is considering where my magic is going, that would be my next source of knowledge to tap into. My magic abilities have always been on the darker side. About the only thing you've taught me here at Vala is how to summon magic from the elements, most particularly stones. A nice trick, handy sometimes, but if you want to keep your precious school safe, as well as the humans, you might want to rethink your policy on keeping me in the dark. One way or another, I will learn how to control my abilities. It's up to you to decide on the source.”

  The three adults all glanced between one another, as if they were having some kind of silent, telepathic, conversation. From what he knew of them, none of them should have had that ability, but anything was possible.

  Finally, Mr. Anais sighed. “We will let you have a private tutor outside of class hours. A tutor of our choosing.”

  Denver's smirk spread into a full out grin. “Excellent.”

  “You're okay with that?” Mrs. Bobbine gasped. “You're not exactly the academic type.”

  “When it comes to my magic, I'll study any time I can.”

  “All right, I'll be sure to tell Mr. Thantos,” Mrs. Bobbine said and wrote something down on a piece of paper in her file.

  Denver's grin faded and he swallowed. “Mr. Thantos?”

  She nodded. “You have dark magic, Denver. We don't have many teachers who are skilled in that to begin with. Just Mr. Thantos, and Mr. Orinda. Mr. Orinda is out of town for the time being, so Mr. Thantos will be your first tutor. Then you may switch if you like, or speak with both teachers should you so choose. It doesn't matter much to me, because you'll be doing it in your free time.”

  “Good to know.” Denver didn't care much for the dark, fallen angel Mr. Thantos, or the minimally-skilled warlock, Mr. Orinda. If he had to choose between the two, he would go with Mr. Orinda. The guy was a mystery, much like Denver, so they had something in common, at least. Mr. Thantos had nasty habits of acting as if he knew everything and sticking his nose into business that wasn't his.

  “We're almost done,” Mr. Anais said.

  “
Good,” Denver grumbled.

  The Dean of Students let out a heavy sigh. “We think it would be in your best interest to stay away from Miss Loveless. While there are aspects of her company that have been a good influence on you, mainly your grades increasing and your more calm behavior around campus… there are also some things that concern us. Your history of feeding on her is one of them. I understand you say you're doing it with her consent, which surprises me, to be honest. She didn't strike me as the type to let you do something like that to her, but I didn't know you had those kind of morals.”

  Denver shrugged. “She brings out a new side in me, what can I say?” Maybe she's the cure to the curse Lucien put on me when I was a kid? That could be why I feel so many things around her.

  “Whether you choose to believe it or not, we do care about what happens to you.” Mr. Anais's gaze met Denver's. The man's words actually came across as genuine. “Which is why we do want you to move on from our school. Of course, should you choose to apply for college then—”

  Ms. Lis cleared her throat loudly, and she made no effort to hide the glare she was giving Mr. Anais. “Miss Loveless does not need you as a distraction while she settles into school here. She's been through a lot. Being kidnapped and tortured in the underworld is not something someone heals from easily. We want to make sure you don't spark any relapses.”

  “If she wants my company, then I'm not going to turn her away.” He faked a yawn. “Are we done yet?”

  “Yes, you can return to class.”

  He stood and walked to the door, not waving or even saying “goodbye” to the three staff members who had just bombarded him. Something tells me the Cheyenne ban is Lucien inspired. He always told me to stay away from her — or else. It wouldn't surprise me if he went to his Divine Council connections and they used their weight to pull some strings for him. Time for me to teach that demon a lesson or two about his proper place in the order of things.

  Denver took his time getting back to class. He might as well dawdle until class was dismissed because there wasn't much time left. There was a temptation to skip the entire day, and hang out in his dorm room. Going back to sleep sounded like a great idea. But if he went back to bed, he'd miss out on his chance to see Cheyenne. The two had a number of classes together, and shared the same lunch period. That class time together might soon become the only chance he and Cheyenne had to be with one another.

  ****

  “So where are we sitting today, Princess?” Denver asked Cheyenne, carrying both of their trays of food.

  Cheyenne's blue eyes searched the room, looking for an open table. Finding a private place to sit was hard to do in the cafeteria. He would have preferred they took their lunch outside, but it was too cold for that. Most of the campus didn't allow food and drink and going all the way to the dorm to eat took up too much of the lunch hour. While Cheyenne was popular enough to go and sit at any table she pleased, Denver wasn't wanted by hardly anyone.

  He noticed her gaze settle on a round table in the back corner of the cafeteria. The 'it' table where the Willam twins sat with their small, selective social circle. Not just anyone was allowed to join them at the table. The two were more popular than anyone else in the school. Why, Denver didn't know. He assumed it had something to do with Anj's ability to be mysterious and alluring, and Zes being “so adorable.” Denver saw behind it all. It was all an act. Anj wasn't mysterious, he was a coward, and Zes was far from being adorable, he was pathetic. Then again, Denver also wasn't a girl, so he didn't understand their logic. He was probably the only guy in the school who didn't want to be one of the twins.

  “You can go join them if you want,” Denver said with a shrug. “They don't scare me.”

  “I know,” she said quietly. “But I promised I wouldn't bring you over there with me… yet. The wounds are still too fresh between Zes and I. If I had to choose between you two, you know I'm going to pick you.”

  “Aww shucks,” Denver deadpanned. “I also know that being social bubonic plague isn't necessarily your style.”

  “Are you kidding me?” She laughed. “Back at my old school that was my existence. I like it more than having the spotlight on me all of the time. Because while I'm sure all of the other tables would die of happiness if I sat with them, I kind of am hoping to go back to being normal and boring again.”

  He laughed. “Then you picked the wrong guy to hang out with.”

  “Normal and boring to an extent, then.” She winked. “A lot of the instant popularity from the twins is starting to die off.”

  Denver watched her stare longingly at the table as she said that, so he wasn't convinced. “Princess, go sit with your friends. I know you miss them and all that jazz. It's not like I'm concerned Squeakers is going to woo you back. Pretty sure he doesn't want you anymore anyway.”

  Her face paled. “Yeah, I kind of figured since I cheated on him with you. Which is fine, because being with Zes was a big mistake. I just wish I had ended things with him earlier, or never started them to begin with.”

  “What if, what if, blah, blah, blah. Chey stop living in the past. Move forward with me,” Denver said. He walked toward the twins’ table. In the past, he would have stayed just to torment them. He got along with Anj's girl… thing, Jewl. The two were on and off so often, it was hard for Denver to keep up with the relationship. For some reason, the girl was devoted to Anj. A pity for Denver, she could have been a lot of fun for him to play with until Cheyenne had come into his life.

  He set Cheyenne's tray down onto the tabletop. The whole group was already sitting there. Anj was in his usual seat and he jumped, startled. The guy was blind, so it never took much for Denver to scare the guy. As much as Anj liked to pretend he couldn't be snuck up on and that he knew everything, he was pretty easy to mess with. It was a highlight for Denver.

  Zes was sitting next to his brother, and he glared across the table at Denver. He opened his mouth, but Denver spoke first.

  “I'm just helping her with her stuff. Don't worry, I'm not going to crash your cool kid party,” he said.

  Zes rolled his dark eyes, and played with his hair for a moment. His fingers picked at the small satyr horns buried in his brown hair. “You can stay if you want to.”

  “Are you sure?” Anj asked.

  “Yes,” Zes mumbled. Then he went back to doing what he did best — eat. Denver liked Zes best when he spent time shoveling food into his mouth instead of talking. Zes also had more bite to him than people assumed. That made him more fun to break. Sometimes Denver liked to push his buttons just to encourage Zes to have more of a backbone and stop letting people walk all over him so much, more particularly his brother. For some reason Anj liked to control his twin. It couldn't have been healthy.

  Anj's eyes glowed blue and his gaze locked onto Denver for a moment. Denver recognized the spell being used. Anj was using magic to actually see him.

  Folding his arms across his chest, Denver narrowed his eyes and made eye contact with Anj. “Yes?”

  “I just want to make sure you're sure Zes, because just say the word and—”

  “I said I was fine,” Zes snapped. He muttered something else under his breath and stuffed a roll into his mouth.

  Slowly, Cheyenne sat down and Denver did the same. He contemplated leaving, if only for her comfort more than anything else, but they would all have to deal with the awkwardness at some point or another. It made sense to get it out of the way. Delaying the inevitable would only hurt Cheyenne more. She was the only person he cared about being good to.

  Anj's magic turned off and he went back to eating. “You know Zes, I find it insulting that you'll take a ballroom dancing class in college, but you won't let me teach you. Don't you want to impress all of the ladies there?”

  “You're a crappy teacher,” Zes said. He glanced at Cheyenne. “We've had this conversation how many times? Every lesson you've attempted to give me ends badly.”

  His brother sighed dramatically. “I'll try not to tak
e it personally.”

  “I just want to learn so I can possibly keep up.”

  The two kept talking, but Denver tuned them out. When he sat with the twins in the past, all he liked to do was watch or play the part of the Devil's advocate. He couldn't do the latter, so he was left with watching and waiting for someone else to join the table.

  Jewl sat down next, taking the chair on the other side of her boyfriend. Along with her was a new addition to the group, a redhead who answered to the name of Noel. She sat next to Jewl, which also put her next to Cheyenne. Halyn made a show of avoiding Denver and choosing to sit by Zes instead of him. Good, ol' Teague, didn't care much about who he sat by, and gave Denver's shoulder a squeeze in hello. He was probably the only other person there besides Cheyenne who wanted Denver around. Maybe Jewl didn't mind his presence so much, but she would ultimately side with the twins no matter what.

  “You're going to come with us, right Noel?” Anj asked.

  Denver snapped out of his daze then because Cheyenne grabbed his hand and gave it the squeeze of death. He scowled and glanced at her. What's the big deal? And why does she look like she wants to kill someone? Cheyenne was glaring, her lips pursed, and her breathing was heavy. It took him a moment to figure out that the person she was glaring at was Zes. Her ex must have been just as confused as him, because Zes frowned and ate slowly.

  “You want me to come dancing with you guys?” Noel asked.

  “Sure,” Anj said. “We need an even number. It's unacceptable for Zes to sit and eat all of the mushroom poppers while the rest of us have a good time.”

  “The mushroom poppers sound like more of my style.” She laughed.

  “Then split a plate. I keep telling him he needs to watch his caloric intake before we're not so identical anymore, if you catch my drift.”