New: The Fluke

AVERY HAD BEEN "KIND" enough to wake me up at three-thirty in the evening so I could get ready for class. It was nearly seven hours earlier than Gyn's schedule and I wasn't exactly an early riser to begin with. I supposed I was grateful, though, since it gave me a considerable amount of time to wake up, eat and find my class before it started at four fourty-eight—which was a damn odd time to start at, if you asked me.
"I know I've got the looks of a model," I said to Avery as we got food from the Pavilion, and I tried not to sneeze or gag from the assault of human scent filled my nose, "but don't any witches have manners? It's impolite to stare."
Avery stared at me for a minute, his expression almost disbelieving. "You really think the world of yourself, don't you?"
I shrugged as we reclined on the stone-like bleachers. Surprisingly, they weren't uncomfortable and I wondered if someone had spelled the seats to feel like cushions, because they certainly didn’t feel like the stone they were. "No one else does, so I might as well, right?" I looked around me, meeting the stares of a few of the girls around me and smiling when they turned away with red faces. "But back to my question."
"It may just be because you're hot," Cable ventured, picking at her dinner.
I tore into some bread, eying a particular group of three girls that didn't avert their eyes or seem very nice at all. A faint blackish-purple haze seemed to surround them and, curious as to what it was, I stared back.
"It's because you're a Fluke," Caine pointed out unceremoniously. "That should be obvious."
He was so touchy. I waved my bread at him. "Fluke, Fluke. You all keep calling me that, but I don't exactly know what it is. However—" I glanced around me, nodding in the direction of the glaring trio "—it doesn't seem to be doing me any favors."
"Avery?" Caine volunteered his friend.
"Why is it always me explaining things?" he complained.
"Because you like to talk," Caine said as if it were obvious.
"And you don't?" he shot back.
Cable sighed, long and loud. "I'll tell him." She gave Caine and Avery both a look and I could tell they were already regretful of their disagreement. "A Fluke is an Otherworld with a substantial amount of abnormal power that can't be explained away by their race. They're rare and you're the first of this generation, so everyone's curious. Plus, you're a vampire, so all the girls are going nuts over you. It helps that you're drop-dead gorgeous."
I flashed her a smile, showing my fangs a little. "I know. Thanks." I gestured again to the trio a few rows away. "And them? Any reason they don't like me?" Or why they were given such a wide berth by everyone else. These three chicks were obviously something to be trifled with, or they were more outcasts. If it was the latter, it begged the question of why they hadn't been accepted into this group of outcasts.
"Them?" Cable asked, pointing rudely to the girls with her fork. Her nose crinkled in disgust. "That's Fury Cravorne—she's the one in the red—Penelope Wright—she's the cutesy devil—and Jasmine Carbonate—she's the one with big hair. They're the Cravornites. No one knows what that is exactly, but they're self-important enough to where it doesn't matter."
"Cravorne, you said?" I asked, staring at the girls, but mainly the one in red. "She the Headmaster's daughter?"
"Granddaughter," Caine grimaced. "Cail is her dad, but he's not Headmaster."
"Right," I agreed, thinking back. "He said something like that."
"Yeah," Avery put in, his mouth full of food. "They're like the aristocrats of magic. Their families have all had the best witches in them for generations."
"This generation sucks potions, though," Caine smiled.
Avery grinned. "Got that right."
"Then what's the problem with them?" They just looked like anyone I would have as a groupie.
Fury, if that really was her name, was obviously the leader. In red with Spanish blood, she was a looker with cat-like, brown eyes, curly brown hair that she obviously let run wild and big boobs. She was rather on the small side, but I could tell she was curvy, definitely a head-turner, if not just an out-right slut. You never could tell when a chick wore dark-red lipstick.
Penelope was to Fury's left and was a tiny scamp of a girl. She looked like a seven-year old child, but that couldn't be right since she had some semblance breasts growing. But the attention grabber wasn't her giant blue eyes or the pastel dress, or even her long, pigtailed, turquoise hair, it was the stuffed animal she carried. The plush, fluffy white bear with a velvet pink ribbon was moving. Hell, it wasn't just moving, it was feeding her her dinner. I had never seen anything like it, and it creeped me the hell out.
Jasmine was just as odd. Her hair was the brightest red I had ever seen and piled high on the top of her head in the shape of a strawberry. A really giant strawberry. She wasn't necessarily pretty—more striking than beautiful, if I were to say anything positive—but her long legs in that short pink skirt would draw enough attention. Her skimpy white top helped, too. Everything was covered in strawberries, though. It was slightly frightening how many there were. She was even eating them!
"The problem," Avery answered me, "is nonexistent so far. They don't like us, we don't like them. We wait for them to disrupt and stop them before they start."
"What do they try to do?"
"Enforce the old ways," Cable grimaced, sticking her tongue out at Penelope. The girl merely smiled in return.
"She means that they try their best to get rid of people like you," Caine clarified with a smirk.
Avery elbowed him. "Their parents were the same way. There were more Flukes in their generation. Now they're rare, but that's because we're dying out."
"Are you?" Curious, curious. . . .
"We are, yes," Caine pressed. His face went red and he added rather stiffily, "You're one of us now, too, so you'd better get used to it, vampire."
Avery laughed at my bewildered expression, patting me on the back as Cable ruffled Caine's hair, telling him, "Good boy."
"Don't worry, Basil," Avery told me with a smile. "That's just a way of Caine telling you he likes you."
"I said no such thing!" Caine protested, smacking a fist down on his knee.
I grinned at him, debating on whether or not I should bat my lashed at him. "Really? But I could have sworn that was practically a confession."
His face went redder than Jasmine’s hair. "Confe— To you?! Are you insane? That's gross!"
I glanced at Avery and he winked. I leaned over to Caine and he leaned away, his face panicked and suspicious. I touched his hand and I thought he would crap his pants. "But I like you."
He pulled his hand away and scrambled behind Cable, who was laughing her head off along with Avery. Although I was laughing too, as soon as I had said it, I realized it was true. Not in the teasing sense I had meant it in, but I really did like Caine. He was interesting. In fact, I liked the whole group rather well. Avery was smart and easy to talk to, if not a little too blunt at times. Cable was sweet and innocent and made me want to protect her—unless she was exploding something. Vincent was a little weird, but he wasn't so bad. And Aisling. . . She was hard not to find interesting in at least some fashion. All in all, I found myself wanting for the first time in a long time to get to know people.
That fact had me warring with myself as to whether or not I should apply the brakes before the water got too rough, or if I should just go with the flow and let the tide take me where it would. Either way, I wasn’t too sure where I was going to end up. And, for now, I was content to just be with people who liked my company.
It helped that they didn’t smell bad.

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RUNES III had been just under an hour and I had almost fried my brain trying to keep up with the instructor. Jason Shott was a young man in his thirties with black hair and glasses. He was a little on the skinny side, but he was as sharp as a tack and his work was just as painful. I swear I had never written so many notes in my life—partially because I never took notes, but being the only student in class made it hard to get away with day-dreaming. By the time he dismissed me, I had reviewed everything I had learned in Gyn and been given six new words and their symbols to memorize.
Potions had been easy this time, though finding the classroom had been significantly harder. The teacher, Krista Teller (a short, plump lady with strips of cloth tying back her hair that did not match her clothes), had told me that everyone gets lost around this place, so it was okay. She and I got along great, though half the time I had no idea what she was talking about. She had told me quite firmly that we wouldn't start actually making potions until I memorized what all the equipment was and what its use was for first. I could tell, however, that this class was going to be seriously fun. Krista encouraged my daydreaming and had told me in no uncertain terms that my water control would go a long way in helping.
Element Control was where I was headed now. I had taken the door to the Training Grounds and had almost felt like crapping smiles. The whole area was one big expanse of every type of nature you could imagine. Walking in I could see everything from the parapet of the door and I was in awe. Everything was split in a grid, the borders clear as day and somehow everything thrived in its own habitat without impeaching on another’s. There were mountains with snowy caps next to rolling fields with flowers, sand and rock delivering unbearable heat sitting adjacent to a cool forest with a beautiful stream running right through the middle of it all.
"Amazing, isn't it?"
I jumped at the voice and nearly fell off the landing.
Bloody hell! Everyone in this place moved like a ghost. "Uh. . . Yes, it is."
I glanced up at the man who had come up behind me so easily. He was tall and toned with black hair and black eyes, his voice soothing with its Irish lilt. He was younger than Mr. Shott, obviously, but how young I wasn't sure. His face wasn't all that memorable, but it was a nice, open one. When he smiled, it was with slightly crooked teeth. He was almost . . endearing. "Who are you?"
"Cullen Mason," he said holding out his hand. "Pleasure to meet ya, Basil. I'm your Element Control professor, but don't you worry yourself over formality. Cullen's fine with me."
I shook his hand, feeling a smile come over my face without thinking. I forced it away. I was getting too comfortable already with all of this weirdness. I mean, he was even dressed weird. Didn't anyone ever wear jeans and t-shirts here? Cullen certainly didn’t. Instead, he was in soft half-boots, a white cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up and he was wearing some sort of leggings under that with a long leather belt around his waist to finish it off.
"Ready for class?" Cullen asked, turning and taking one of the ladders down into the woods. I followed, listening as he spoke. "Element Control is exactly what it sounds like:" He landed on the grass with a soft thud and a smile. "Learning to control the elements. Today we're just going to see what you can do—if you can do anything at all."
I followed him as he started through the trees. "And if I can't?"
"Every witch can control the elements," he told me easily. "It's just a matter of figuring out the how-to. Everyone has a strength and weakness, just like the Earth." He stopped and turned to me as we came to the stream. "We'll find both and harness each of them, but it's all about the emotions." He spread his feet and put his hands behind his back. "All right, lad, let's see what you can do."
I stood there, staring at him, unsure. "What exactly do you want me to do?"
"Anything you can," he said patiently. "Try to turn the earth, light a fire, spin water, move the wind. . Nothing is wrong."
I took a deep breath, at a loss. "If you say so."
Well, if he wanted to see what I could do, I would show him. Figuring that I might as well get it over with, I sat down, watching his brows rise in surprise. With curiosity, he watched me, but I ignored him. Instead, I calmed myself and thought about the water around me. It was in the ground, in the air, in my veins. I could feel its coolness as it rushed over the stones of the stream-bed, its power as it washed away the earth. I wanted to be in it, around it, through it. It didn't matter how, really, I just wanted the water.
A low whistle sounded and I opened my eyes. "That's a mighty fine trick you have there."
Water spun around me in slow streams and trickled through my fingers and I smiled at it. "You should see what happens when I'm attacked."
Cullen's brows rose and he grinned. "Should I?" He lifted a hand, his index finger pointed downward. "Let's see, then." He flicked his finger and a rock lifted off the ground, heading straight for my head. My instincts flipped on and instantly the water around me turned into a sheath, forming into my bubble, disintegrating the rock before it even stood a chance.
Cullen walked over to me, pacing back and forth on the other side of the water. "How unique. The water's moving fast enough to harm, yes? I wonder how strong it is. . ." He smiled at me, stepping back and I applauded his intelligent decision to not touch silently. "Don't let that down, now. I'm going to test it."
Almost immediately, rocks and various elements were thrust at my bubble, bouncing off or dissolving against it. I flinched every time something hit it, but I kept the water steady, not that I could or would let it down anyway. I didn't want to get hit by whatever the hell he was pelting in my direction.
"That's a wonderful shield you've got there," he said, his voice muffled through the barrier. "Come out of that, if you would."
"You're done throwing things at me?" I asked skeptically.
"Yes."
"Give me a minute." Focusing my energy, I tried to calm myself. The panic eased slowly, and I wondered if there was any way to calm down faster. Or to just let all of that water go. I had a feeling I would be using my bubble more often around here and it was going to be as frustrating as an unwilling donor to have to wait a half-hour to forty minutes just to drop the damn thing and continue my lesson.
"You're quick to shield," Cullen mused, "but slow to let go." He looked up at me from where he had squatted on the ground, his hand touching the sand where my bubble had just been. It was dry and untouched and I wondered if that meant something to him. "Can you do that with any of the other elements?"
I shook my head. "Not that I'm aware of. But, then, I've never tried before."
Cullen grinned and it was a smile I was sure meant there was a lot of work ahead of me. Which sucked bagged blood. I hated work. But maybe, if I got to play with water every day, work might not be so bad.
"Well,” he said with amusement, “this is the place where you're going to try."