Wicked Omen (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 1), page 7
“What’s Evermore Academy?” Was there more than one place like this?
“Just another school, only all supernaturals are welcome there, not just warlocks.” Across the way, a couch shot from the second story window of a navy blue Victorian style house. Glass shattered and rained down over the roof off the wraparound porch. Students in front of the house ran for cover and the ones sitting on the covered porch hunched over, wracked with fits of laughter. Beckett turned and blue smoke fired from his hand. It caught the couch before it crashed to the ground. He lifted his arm and the couch flew in back into the window it’d crashed out of. At the top of the house just over the door was the emblem of a griffin. A four-legged eagle-like creature with hulking wings.
A tall thin guy peeked his head out and waved. “Thanks, bro.”
“No problem!” Beckett called back before he turned to me. “Dustwick House, they’re the movers. I suggest you not walk in front of there.”
I nodded. “That’s for damn sure.” I spun in a circle. “So the path is just one big circle with the woods at the center of it all?”
“Exactly.” He pointed to a burnt orange building that was completely bare on the outside. The trim was painted black, making the whole thing look like a house made just for Halloween. The windows were reflective glass and there was no porch, only a single set of wooden stairs. Above the steps was the emblem of a siren. A beautiful deadly mermaid creature with sharp talons and shark-like teeth. “Whitmore House, the charmers, probably another one you want to avoid.”
He then motioned to the last house. It was ultra-modern looking, with huge windows and black rod iron bars that ran the expanse of the thick wooden porch. The roof was at an odd angle and looked like it was straight out of a designer show on HGTV. An iron three-headed hydra was in the middle of the roof for the whole school to see. I swear I could’ve seen that thing from a plane flying overhead. A group of boys stood out in the front, each of them in their black bomber jackets with the hydra on the back of it. Two of them stood facing off against each other, throwing balls of electrified smoke at each other. While the crowd looked on screaming, “Fight, fight, fight.”
Beckett paused and sucked in a deep breath. “Malback House, the warriors. You know what, you should probably not go into any of the houses alone. Things can be kind of crazy around here.”
Gee, ya think? Nervous butterflies did little flip-flops in my stomach. “This seems like . . . fun.” It was completely overwhelming, yet I knew I had to be here to keep the people I loved safe.
Another of those messages appeared next to Beckett and this time he grabbed it and threw it back into the flames. “Let me show you the inside of the school.”
We walked up to the double doors and took a quick right. The halls were much like Beckett’s house, with wide wooden paneled floors and dark woodwork running up the walls. The halls were lit by overhead chandeliers that looked like they once held candles and were now rewired for electric. A pungent smell seeped from one of the rooms on the left side of the hall. Beckett held his arm out, stopping me from walking.
BOOM. Pink dust with the consistency of cooking flour exploded out of the room into the hall. Had I been standing there, I would’ve been covered in it. He pointed toward the room. “Potions lab.”
“Right.” I peeked in to see a tall thin teacher who wore all black was covered in pink powder. There were wooden shelves lined with bottles of ingredients and across from that the room was arranged in a stadium style where there was a set of lab desks on each of the three rises. Small cauldrons lined the desks and younger students all stood shocked at the pink powder.
“Come on.” As he walked, more of those notes followed him like a trail down the hall. The students watched all with looks of shock on their faces.
“Um, Beck.” I arched my eyebrow at the fire notes following him.
“For the love of the creator.” He grabbed my elbow and shoved me toward one of the classroom doors. He pushed the door open and there I was standing in front of a full class of students.
“Beckett, what are you doing?” I hissed under my breath.
The professor, a shorter, plump woman with a pixie cut gray hairstyle looked up from her desk at the head of the room. “Mr. Dustwick, how can I help you?”
“Dustwick? I thought you said your name was Dust.” Did this guy ever tell the truth?
“Never mind that.” He motioned to me. “Professor Margarite Charles, this is Astrid Lockwood, your new student.”
I shoved my elbow into his side. “Lockwood? Are you insane? You don’t know that for sure.” He didn’t even flinch from my hit. “We are going to have words later.”
He leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I look forward to it.”
The professor gave me a half smile and I couldn’t tell if she already hated me or was saving it for later. “Miss Lockwood, you can take a seat over there.”
Her voice had a higher pitch that cut through the room. She had sharp green eyes that I felt saw right through me. Her age showed in the delicate lines around those emerald eyes and her thin lips. She was a smaller woman, but I could tell by the way her class did not make a sound she demanded respect. I thought in a school for warlocks all my teachers would be wearing robes of some sort, but not her. She wore a pair of glittery jeans and a black and white flowing print shirt.
Beckett gave me a little push farther into the room. “Time for you to learn a little something.”
“What?” I planted my feet. I didn’t have the books for this class, the notebooks, no pens, and no supplies.
She pointed to a chair that sat up against the wall in the very front of the room. “You may sit there.”
My heart rate skyrocketed, and I wasn’t ready for this in any way, shape, or form. Gold smoke began pouring from my palms and I couldn’t stop it.
Beckett brushed his hand down my arm. “Breathe, Astrid, it’s just a class.”
I sucked in a deep breath and blew it back out. A black Louis Vuitton backpack dropped from the ceiling onto one of the wooden desktops. It cracked under the impact and fell to the ground in a heap. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Did I do that?”
Every student in the class watched me with wide eyes.
Beckett chuckled. “Yep.” He patted me on the shoulder. “And now I suspect you’ll have all the supplies you need. Have fun.”
And then I was alone, standing in the front of a class I wasn’t prepared to take, with everyone watching me. Crap! Was this supposed to be fun?
Chapter 8
Beckett
I had to get away from Astrid. Not only was she brave and stubborn, but the way she wrinkled her little nose at things or walked around with wide-eyed wonder was driving me crazy. When Matteaus, the leader of the Fallen, sent me back home I expected to find a new male warlock in the Lockwood line, not this fiery redhead who made me want to kiss her senseless at every turn. I had a job to do, a world to unite, and a mother to save. She was a distraction of the worst kind. The kind I wanted around on a permanent basis. She was too smart and saw things I didn’t want her to see.
If I could just keep myself in check, it would all be okay. All I had to do was keep my distance while training her and making sure she was safe and didn’t give into her warlock side and turn evil. No big deal, simple, piece of cake . . . I am so screwed. Another fire message appeared next to me and I snagged it and crumpled it up.
I changed my direction and marched down the hall toward Headmaster Ridge’s office. While most kids grew up in houses on their family property, I grew up in this school. His office had once been my father’s. I knew this place better than anyone and yet I still hated it here. The fact I was back made me more uncomfortable than ever. Add to that this overwhelming draw I felt toward Astrid and my homecoming was going to be talk show worthy soon. I turned another corner and was standing in front of the office door. I didn’t knock. I just grabbed the handle and shoved it wide-open.
The receptionist was sitting perched on the edge of his desk, leaning into him. They both startled back and she hopped off the desk at the sight of me. Her brown hair was teased two inches high off her head and her dress was so tight it left nothing to the imagination. She pulled her suit coat closed and buttoned it at her waist. Ridge, in all his snootiness, was practically drooling down her shirt.
His lip curled back from his teeth. “Beckett, I could’ve sworn all the years I spent as your guardian we went over the art of knocking.”
“And I could’ve sworn you spent most of those years spending my family money and ignoring me. And perhaps you were a bit more discrete with your long line of conquests.” I held the door open for the receptionist. When she made no move to leave his side, I waved her through.
“Do leave us.” Ridge flicked his wrist, dismissing her. With a huff she hopped off the desk and straightened her shirt. As she marched toward the exit, she narrowed her eyes at me.
The moment she exited the room, I shut the door. As a child I used to play in this office. I ran my toy cars off the edge of the desk, crashing them into whatever village I’d set up. It used to be a room seeped in traditional style, with thick bookcases, an oversized mahogany desk, and rolling leather seat. Now Ridge had turned it into a tasteless gaudy area. The thing about having money was even when it was spent on expensive antiques it was still tacky when they were all jammed into a small office.
I pulled all the notes out of my pockets and dropped then on the desk in front of him. “You rang?”
He ran his hand over his slick hair. “When I summon you, I expect you to show up directly.”
“I think the days of you trying to play my father are long gone.” I walked over to one of the chairs across from the desk and sank down. At Evermore Academy, I held the highest respect for Matteaus and the professors there. But here Ridge and I had our history. He was one of the reasons I left to become a knight in the first place. I had no regrets about leaving this world behind. My only regret was that Ridge never got what was coming to him.
He arched his thick eyebrow at me. “And yet I have his job.”
“A job that has been in my family since the warlocks split from the witches. Funny how you’ve been able to hold onto it. When all you do is mess around with whatever receptionist you hire for the week.” I knew he was the headmaster and I knew I should be more respectful, but with this piece of crap I couldn’t. He was a bottom-feeding opportunist waiting for his chance to strike when people were at their most vulnerable. Like a fourteen-year-old kid with no parents and a lot of power.
He straightened his tie and narrowed his beady brown eyes at me. “Indeed, the council trusts me, and they are the ruling body of our kind.”
Not for long. “Under our laws the warlock council is to be made up of the heirs of the founding families. Not the interim self-appointed members you have now.”
“Nevertheless they don’t believe this girl you’ve brought here is the real Lockwood heir. How could she be? She’s a woman and the eldest heirs are always men.”
“Until now. I’ve seen her power. She is the heir. I’ve never seen a warlock manifest the way she can.” Astrid was something to see, though she couldn’t control her powers just yet. When she did finally get a hold of them, she’d be a force to be reckoned with. Only time would tell whether or not she’d fall to the darkness with in, the way most warlocks did.
“In any case she must be sorted just like every other student here. She can’t attend classes until she does.” The chair creaked and groaned when he leaned back in.
“How is that fair? The other students have months to recover from that ceremony and you expect her to do it in a few days? The ceremony is for determining what cast each student falls in and we already know she can manifest.”
“And only you know this. I’m afraid I’ll need more proof.” Ridge rested his elbows on his chair and steepled his fingers against his lip. “She must do it, tomorrow.”
I curled my hand into a fist. “And if she doesn’t?”
“Then she will be excused from the academy.” His lip pulled up in a smirk. “And let us not forget the missing grimoire. Without it, she can’t take her place as the head of the Lockwood line no matter how much power she wields. And only a Lockwood will be able to find and use the book. If she can’t find it or use it, then we know she’s not who you say she is.”
I jumped to my feet and slammed my fist down on the desk. “You’re a lap dog for the council.”
The smirk dropped from his face. “You forget your place here, Mr. Dustwick. I am headmaster here and you and your little friends have no pull over the warlock world.”
“For now.” On both accounts. We would take our rightful place as the council and unite under Zinnia’s rule. But there were so many things standing between us and that.
“Your arrogance rests in the hands of a teenage girl with no control over her powers and a mountain of challenges to overcome. I think I’ll rest easy tonight. You and I both know if she doesn’t attend this school, go through the sorting, and retrieve the book, she will never be accepted as one of us. Not by the council and not by any warlock. Especially because of her halfling blood.” His chest rumbled with chuckles. “Might as well give up now.”
I stood up straight, looking down my nose at him. “I’ve been up against worse odds.”
“Another thing you’ll have to answer for later.”
I waved my hand, dismissing his words. “Alataris was bound to fall and now Zinnia has risen.” I turned for the door and grabbed the handle, pulling it open. “I believe in Astrid. We will see you at the sorting tomorrow.”
His eyes darkened. “I look forward to it.”
This is gonna be bad, very, very bad. I slammed the door.
Chapter 9
Astrid
Professor Margarite Charles was sharper than any teacher I’d ever had in any class I’d ever taken. She stood at the head of the room and held her hands up. “Now I expect you all to be on your best behavior and welcome all new students, including Ms. Lockwood.”
“Astrid. Please call me Astrid.” I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and glanced at the rest of the class. Everyone was watching my every move like I was a ticking time bomb.
“Very well.” Bluish gray smoke drifted from her hands and the room shifted from a traditional classroom into a stadium type seating with her at the center of the bowl and the students elevated in a slant going out and upward. For a moment I expected her to break out a football and call the teams to the center of the field. Lab tables sprang up on each of the rises and students began to move to each one. I stood motionless, not knowing what to do or where to go. This wasn’t like math class where I sat in my chair, pulled out my notebook, and just wrote down everything the teacher did on the chalkboard. There wasn’t even a freaking board in here.
“Hey. You can come over here.” A guy just to my left called to me.
I sucked in a sigh of relief as I walked over to his table. I dropped my backpack onto the empty stool next to his. “Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank me, thank the Louis Vuitton.” He winked. “It’s exquisite and anyone who has taste like that can sit with me.”
At first glance, I didn’t notice his chic style, but at a closer look, I could tell he was dressed in head to toe Versace. He wore a formfitting gray turtleneck with a black three-button cardigan over it. On the back of his cardigan was an embroidered siren complete with mermaid tail, talons, and fangs. His gray slim fit dress pants made his already long legs appear even longer. His black dress shoes were exceptional and shining. Even his Versace glasses fit him perfectly. They had thick rims that gave his dark brown eyes a mysterious look. When he smiled at me, his pearly white teeth made his ebony skin look even darker.
I grinned at him. If there was one thing I’d learned from growing up in New York it was fashion and labels. I might not be into them all the time, but Tilly would be proud of me in this situation. “Not so bad yourself, Mr. Versace.”
“Don’t I know it.” He bent down and pulled out a small cauldron from the cabinet under the table. It was the size of a larger pot I’d cook spaghetti in.
The professor called over the light hum of the class. “Please place your cauldrons in the middle of the table and get a flame going.”
I didn’t want to be dead weight in this class or any. “Listen, I literally found out I was a warlock last night, so I might not be too much help with this stuff. I, um, I don’t want to drag you down.”
Professor Margarite was suddenly standing across from us. “I trust you have things well in hand, Mr. Ravenwood.”
“Yes, I’ll get her all caught up.” He pulled open a drawer and grabbed a handful of gray sandy powder and threw it underneath the cauldron. Flames burst to life under it and danced up the sides. “I love when it does that, don’t you?”
“Ms. Lockwood since you’re so late in the year and partners have already been established, I’ll allow you to work with my assistant.” She narrowed those green eyes at me. “Don’t take advantage.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I did not want to start my first class off on the wrong foot.
She gave me and apprizing look then turned to the rest of the class. “Now, inside your desk you have all the ingredients you need to make a temporary invisibility potion. Open your books to page 124 and begin.”
I glanced at the backpack I’d accidentally created. There was no way the specific book for this class was going to be in there. I didn’t even know what the book was called. Leo pulled a book from his backpack and handed it to me. “You can use mine for now.”
“You are a lifesaver.” This was the first time since I got here that I felt kind of normal. I opened the book to page 124 and glanced at the list of supplies I’d need and the directions. I might as well have been reading a foreign language. Just when I was starting to feel better . . . one step forward, two steps back. I bit my bottom lip. “Um, Leo, I have no idea what any of this stuff is.”
