Secret Worlds (282 page)

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought everyone else had left.”

I cleared my throat. “I’m giving Serenity a ride home. Sorry to intrude. I’ll just wait in the car.”

“Don’t worry.” Serenity spun around. “I’m done here anyway.”

“Serenity.” Mercer reached out.

“Save your lies for someone who will believe them,” she said. “Like Cassi here.”

She marched up the stairs and past me out the door without a backward look. I swallowed the lump in my throat and gazed down at Mercer. He turned away with his shoulders slumped and stared off at the wall. The silence built up between us.

“I’ll try to talk to her,” I said, just to put anything out there.

He glanced up at me and blinked as if he hadn’t realized I was still there. A small smile play at the corner of his mouth.

“I doubt it will help,” he said. ‘She’s stubborn. It runs in the family.”

“It’s worth a try,” I said. “Otherwise she’s just going to mope.”

Serenity was waiting at my car when I arrived. She stood with her arms crossed and one foot tapping in a quick, uneven pattern. I unlocked the doors and climbed in. The vehicle shook as she slammed her door. I let the radio play for several minutes as I pulled out onto the street. I gave her a sideways glance and bit the inside of my cheek.

“Want to tell me what that was about?” I finally asked.

“Stay out of it. You have no idea what’s going on.”

“You could tell me. Isn’t that what friends are for? To bitch about our shitty families?”

“This isn’t a simple case of sibling rivalry” She hunched her shoulders and stared out the window. “You wouldn’t believe it even if I wanted to.”

“Try me.”

She just shook her head.

“Then I’m going to tell you what I see,” I said. “It looks like he’s trying to make up for being a bad brother. He came here for you.”

“You’re just taking his side because you want to fuck him.”

I hit the brakes hard as a light turned from yellow to red. “Seriously, you think that’s what going on?”

“You know how I feel. And you’re still chasing him like all the other games.”

“Have you seen me chase after him all week? I did the interview and that was all that happened.” I gripped the steering wheel and pressed down on the gas pedal.

She grabbed the armrest as the car zoomed forward. “You mean the date. You called it right earlier.”

“Whatever, that has nothing to do with what’s going on between the two of you.”

“Yeah, it does. You’re taking his side over mine.”

“You’re not telling me your side.”

“So? You should have my back regardless.”

I swung into the parking lot of our apartment, pulled into my space, and shut off the car, turning to her slowly. “Being a friend is also telling someone when they’re wrong. I think you are wrong here.”

She pushed the car door open. “This argument is pointless. You’re under his spell already.”

I threw my hands in the air. “That makes no sense. You’re supposed to be the logical one here.”

She gave me a parting glare before she slammed the car door, marched across the parking lot, and up the stairs. The bang of our apartment door echoed through the air. I leaned my forehead against the sun heated steering wheel.

What had just happened?

I tapped my pencil against my test as I slouched in my chair. Professor Marshall sat at her desk and watched us with narrowed eyes over the rim of a thick book. One of the florescent light flickered behind the its ceiling panel. The other students had their heads bent over their own papers with intense looks of concentration. If only I could be like them. However, my mind kept wandering from the questions on the exam and back to Serenity.

She hadn’t spoken to me all weekend and had barely come out of her room, just to grab some food and head back in. Every time I tried to speak, she gave me a death glare and walked away. After Saturday passed, I had to get out. I spent all of Sunday holed up at the coffee shop. This couldn’t go on, for her sanity or mine.

The bells of Marshall’s phone broke the silence of the room. With a long, hard glare, she grabbed it from her bag and stepped out into the hall. I moved my pencil over the scantron, randomly filling in the bubbles. At least I looked productive. The door squeaked shut as Marshall stepped back in.

“Cassi,” she called.

I jumped and met her gaze. Shit. Did she have some sort of telepathy and could sense my disinterest? I tried to give her a bright smile.

“Yes?” I asked.

She frowned at me. “You’re wanted in the dean’s office.”

“Now? What about the test?”

She gave a long sigh. “You’ll have to schedule a make-up.”

Well, that somehow worked out. I gathered my things and handed her the test packet, though I had no idea why the dean would want to see me. My mind traveled to what I’d done over the last month since school began, and a chill crawled up my spine.

Had Mercer decided to choose another reporter because of what happened with Serenity? With my backpack slung over one shoulder, I walked out of the building and across the quad toward the administration building. I slowed as I approached the lone person moping on the bench. He sat leaned forward with his head bent with his arms resting on his knees. He muttered something, ran his hands through his hair, and lifted his gaze to mine. I froze. I’d never seen James this disheveled before. Deep shadows hung under his sunken eyes, and his shirt looked as though he’d squeezed it in a tiny ball before throwing it on. His jaw tightened, and he looked away from me with another mumble.

“James?” I took a tentative step toward him.

His glowered at me. “What? Come to gloat?”

“No, I was headed somewhere else,” I said. “You look like crap. Maybe you should go home at get some rest.”

He laughed bitterly. “Like I have time to sleep. I have cats to herd.”

I glanced at a girl passing by us. “I don’t see any cats.”

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “You know what I mean. Not that it matters. I’ll never be as good as her. So, I’m stuck with all the stress and no glory.”

“This is about Serenity,” I said. “Look, you guys are a team. Everyone gets to bask if you do this.”

He sighed and laughed again. “Until they realize who the true star is. Face it, I’m doomed to mediocrity. A life of middle management.”

I sat beside him. “We all have our specialties. Maybe yours is more managing people.”

His head snapped up, and he glared at me. “What do you know about anything? You’re just a parasite hanging on the outskirts.”

It was as if I’d been splashed with cold water. “Fine, then.”

I stood up and continued on my way. Why had I even tried? James was an insufferable and not my problem. The administration offices, a squat one story building made of red brick, stood at the side of the campus, closest to the main street, I climbed the steps to the second floor and stopped at the secretary’s desk in front of the dean’s office.

“Cassi Wayne. The dean just called for me?” I shifted from one foot to another.

She waved me over to the dean’s door. “Go on in. They’re waiting for you.”

They? That didn’t sound good. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door before entering. A deep, rich smell of leather and cedar filled my nose as I entered.Dean Elkridge sat at his oak desk with his hands clasped together. Aunt Jo looked over her should at me. My heart plummeted. Not good.

“Miss Wayne, please have a seat,” Dean Elkridge said.

I sat on the edge of the leather armchair and circled my thumbs around each other in my lap as I glanced between the two of them. Elkridge’s smooth face was marred by the lines around his lip caused by his frown. He had his nose slightly scrunched as if he smelled something unpleasant. My aunt gave me a quick scowl before turning back to the dean.

“There any paperwork we need to sign?” she asked.

“What’s this about?” I asked.

Elkridge cleared his throat. “Your family has decided to pull you from the rest of semester. Since they are funding your college stay, I don’t have much of a choice.”

“What?” I gaped at Aunt Joanna. “You can’t do that. You said I could finish this year.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “That was until you blew me off. We’re going home.”

I turned back to the dean and crossed my arms. “She still can’t do this. The semester has been paid for, and I’m an adult.”

He cleared his throat and stared down at the papers in front of him. “There is the implication of your involvement of incidents of academic dishonesty. I have several statements of you selling test answers to students.”

I gaped at him, caught between the urge to laugh or choke. “That is completely ridiculous. I’ve never been remotely involved any anything like that, and you know it.”

His eyes shifted to my aunt. “I only have your word against the evidence I have before me. I’m trying to make this easy for you, but if continue the push, I will have to expel you.”

I glared at my aunt before I turned back to the dean. “Is it alright if I talk to my aunt alone for a moment?”

He stood up and gave us a strained smile. “I’ll let the two of you discuss this.”

As soon as the door closed, I rounded on my aunt. “What the hell?”

She snorted. “Did ya think we’d let ya go to any ole college? We made sure ya picked one we had fingers in.”

“This is you getting back at me for skipping out on training. I told you I’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, and that’s why we’re goin’ home. Ya need to get proper trainin’ and get away from all these distractions.”

“These distractions are my life now, and I’m happy with them.”

“Ya need to stop ignorin’ yer real callin’”

“Haven’t you realized it yet? I don’t want that calling.”

She snorted. “Don’t matter. The Fates chose you, just like they chose all of us.”

“Screw the Fates. Why do we have to listen to them out of all the gods and spirits? They should be hunted first.”

She turned pale. “Girl, stop speakin’ that way. There’s no fightin’ the Fates.”

“Well, I can damn well ignore them.” I crossed my arms. “I’m not going back.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Do I need to remind ya again that the Pyrrha’s payin’ for everything here? You defy her, and yer out on yer ass.”

I squeezed my hand into a fist. “I’ll find a way to survive.”

“Until ya get grabbed by a daimon. Killed at best, worn at worst” She gritted her teeth. “Anyway it goes, yer done here.”

My heart dropped to my stomach. This had been my last year. Covering the project would have substituted for my Thesis. Now I had to leave it all behind and return to the gilded cage to be let out only when it was time to find a new spirit to trap. I had no future but one of either death or worse. Even if I ran from her and managed to make some sort of life, the ending was probably the same. I hadn’t even had a chance to make up with Serenity. I’d never see Mercer again. I tried to swallow the lump clogging my throat. My dream, so close, was slipping away.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Please give me another chance.”

“We’ve been through this beggin’ before.”

“I know.” I shook my head. “I’ll come to your training. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t take me away yet.”

She glared at me for several moments before sighing. “I never could refuse that look of yers.”

Hope, that little deviant, blossomed in my chest. “So, I can stay?”

“Ya better meet me at dawn tomorrow. If ya don’t, we’re takin’ the first flight home.”

The next morning, if you could call anything before dawn that, I drove with Aunt Jo to a small Karate dojo. Texas dojos weren’t what came to mind when I heard the word. This one was in a strip mall, sandwiched between a Subway and a smoothie shop. My headlights reflected off the darkened windows as I parked in front.

“How’d you even talk the owner into giving you a set of keys?” I asked.

Aunt Jo raised an eyebrow. “The schools not the only place we got our fingers in. Freddy owes us a favor.”

“I swear,” I said. “Our family seems more like the mob every single day.”

She snorted. “We’ve been around longer.”

“How long are we doing this?”

“Till dawn. Freddy’s first class starts at eight. He wants us out before then.”

“Let’s get this over with.”

I help Aunt Jo in her chair, unlocked the glass door, and wheeled her inside. The front room, which could be seen from the outside, was large and open with pale wood floors. Several mats were rolled up on the side. The scent of old sweat permeated the air.

“We doing this out her for everyone to see?” I asked.

She nodded to one of the two doors in the back. “There’s a room for private sessions.”

Her chair squeaked as I wheeled her there. It was half the size of the front room with racks of practice weapons lined along the walls and a mat spread across the middle.

“So how are we starting this?” I asked. “Warm up katas? Jazzersize?”

She snorted. “Nope. We’re not doing any fightin’ today. Gonna focus on those blocked Chakras.”

I scrunched my mouth to one side. She wanted to jump right to the source of the problem. Why had I even hoped we would start of easy? Most people thought that chakras were an Eastern thing, which is sort of true depending on where they were from, but there was a similar belief among the Greeks. The clearest idea came from Plato, who taught that there were seven points that connected the soul to the body. Little did he know that gods possessed the seven points as well. The Pandorans learned these points as a way to take resonance from them.

“Help me out of my chair and onto the mat,” Aunt Jo said.

I wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled her from the chair. Either I’d gain some strength, or she’d lost some weight. After several moments of me grunting and her sharp instructions, she was in a lotus style sitting position. I ended lying with my head on her lap, my legs stretched out, and my hands resting at my sides with my palms down. She placed her index, middle fingers, and thumbs on my crown and the spot between my eyebrows.

“Take a deep breath,” she said. “This is gonna burn a little.”