New: Revenge

“. . . and you’re taking care of your heart?” Mom’s voice flitted over the receiver. She sounded tired and anxious, and I could hear the bustle of the hospital in the background as she sat in the staff lounge, eating her lunch. I could almost picture myself beside her again, surrounded by all the familiar scents of antiseptic and sickness, of the clean floors and whispers of healing.
I had spent nearly nineteen years of my life in that hospital, so I damned well better be able to picture myself there.
I smiled, tired myself and trying not to let it show in my voice. Mom didn’t need any other worries and the events of the past few months would earn me a one-way ticket back home, out of this life, away from my friends and thrown into something else new. Right now, I didn’t want that.
“Yes,” I lied. “The nurse here is a witch and she knows my problems. She’s particularly good with healing spells, so, no matter what, it seems I’m in good hands.”
“You shouldn’t overwork yourself,” she lectured and I smiled again, knowing what she was going to say before she said it. I had heard it a million times while I lived there in those dreary, sun-filled walls, and it used to irritate me. Now, it spread a warmth through my insides that only a mother could give. “Your heart is still healing from everything we’ve done to it. It’s still fragile and anything could set it off. We don’t know your limitations yet and I can’t be fully confident that it can handle anything remotely normal.”
I scanned the room I was in, my gaze drifting over a few familiar faces. “Trust me,” I said dryly, “it’s so far from normal, it’s not even funny.”
I heard the squeak of a chair over the line and imagined my mom’s back shooting straight as she sat up. “Are you okay? Has something happened?”
“No, no,” I rushed to console her. I dropped my head in my free hand and closed my eyes. “Everything’s fine. It’s just a little drama.”
It was quiet for a moment. “Boys?”
Even though it was whispered, there was a hint of anticipation and eagerness in her tone that made me laugh. “Yeah, actually. They’re a pain in the butt, Mom.”
She laughed and I relaxed. “They are. They really are. But let me tell you, you’re old enough to experiment, to be curious and whatnot and we’ve already talked about sex—“
“Mom,” I whined, my cheeks flushing pink.
“—But,” she continued in the way only a mother can, “just be careful. We don’t know what your heart can take and sex might be too strenuous.”
I had already found out that it wasn’t, but I kept that bit of information to myself. Swallowing down my embarrassment, I said, “Yeah. I know.”
“Good.” I could almost see her nodding on the other end. Her voice dropped again, and almost conspiratorially, she whispered, “Are the boys cute there? Do you have anyone you’re interested in?”
I eyed the three men loitering around the room. “Yes, very, and yes, many.”
She laughed again. “That’s my girl.”
I smiled and, after a few more embarrassing questions and a promise to call back sooner next time, I put the receiver back on the hook, sighing as I looked at the mound of paperwork on my desk.
Running the council wasn’t easy. In fact, things were awkward and hard as hell. The Council room—something I didn't know we had—was silent and full of tension. Things had been like this for a couple weeks and the fact that I was getting used to that was starting to tick my off. We were supposed to be a team, but here I was stuck with the paperwork and problems while Cornelius and Gunner moped on opposite sides of the room. Cade and Jade were the only helpful forces on this council, but they were out running an errand that was taking a little too long, and I was starting to think that Roison had made a major mistake throwing us all together.
I blew my hair out of my face and looked up from the papers I'd been hunched over for almost the entire day before Dr. Anders had decided to call and give me a much-needed break. Now that I had had that break, it was time to straighten some things out. I really needed a haircut, but I knew that that would have to wait. It had easily grown out past my shoulders in the past few months and it was time to do something different with the bob before it got scraggy. It was just a matter of when and where. On top of all the paperwork that Roison had so generously dumped on me before taking off to Lord knows where and trying to keep my boyfriends (yes, I said boyfriends, with a 's') happy, I still had homework I was scrambling to keep up with.
I glared at them in turn. "Are you guys ever going to help me?"
Cornelius—first-kiss stealer and vampire extraordinaire—shifted uncomfortably, tugging at his sleeves in a very dignified, very snooty manner. "Are you asking me, or are you asking the wolf?"
My eyes narrowed angrily. "Does it matter?"
Without blinking, they both answered, "Yes."
I sighed and put my head on the desk in defeat, giving it a couple of good bangs for good measure.
Cornelius and Gunner were complete opposites, both in race and in personality. A vampire and a werewolf were as polar opposite as a pixie and a fairy, and Cornelius and Gunner were at the height of the battle between the two races. Although they both had fierce tempers when provoked, both of them were rather understanding and could be sweet at times. But, damn it all, they were stubborn as hell. All that understanding just went out the window when they were in the same room.
I stood, pushing away from the desk to come and stand in front of it, leaning against the back and crossing my arms as I glared at them.
The room stretched out before me with deep, dark-suede couches on either side of the giant square rug that encompassed most of the floor and a giant coffee table in the middle that was obviously more expensive than anything I would ever own. There were also two chairs in opposite corners, both made of the same dark-chocolate suede as the couches, though significantly more elegant with the wooden trim and deep brass bullets that bolted the fabric to it. The one nearest the door held Cornelius. In his normal black jeans and un-tucked button-up shirt—he had gone for a beautiful navy today—and his weird, sort of uncharacteristic half-boots you would see in a woman’s fall catalogue, he was everything his name said he was: a shadow. I mean, he seriously took dark and brooding to a whole new level. He had dark, almost black hair that had a very charming wave curling the ends ever so slightly—ends that were starting to tickle his eyes. His aristocratically sharp features that would make a model drool made him very imposing when he decided to look down his nose at you, and the icy air about him didn’t help to stop the rumors that he was an unforgiving bastard. The only hint of light and color were his shocking golden eyes. They were like honey warmed over and, once in a while, he would look at me in such a way that I could almost melt into them. But those glances were few and far between nowadays, it seemed. To finish the look, he sported his vamp tattoo that spiked and swirled out of the top of his collar with pride and dignity, dampening the light I could almost see around him.
And Gunner. . . Gunner was Gunner, really. In his usual white button-up with the sleeves rolled up, nice jeans—normally worn and faded and oh, so yummy—and shin-high shitkickers, he was all golden shine and earth. He had cut his hair recently, so the spikes only added four inches instead of the six he normally had, much to my disappointment. I really wanted him to stop spiking it altogether. He had the looks to devastate a girl’s heart even with the scars marring the left side of his hair line, his right temple and what would have been crux of his widow’s peak if it hadn’t been destroyed. Unlike Cornelius’s classic beauty, Gunner was handsomely rugged with rather scary and wide features. His nose was long, his ears slightly pointed and his eyes were long and constantly hardened by the drastic arch of his eyebrows. Those chocolate eyes were currently grumpy and put out, the raccoon tail he had attached to his hair behind his left ear sitting on his shoulder and twitched as he ground his teeth.
"Guys," I said to them, sucking in a breath and plastering a sweet smile on my face. "Could you come here for a second?"
Obviously curious, they both unfolded themselves from their chairs and walked up to me as I unfolded my arms.
"What is it, Pheobe?" Gunner asked. Normally, he called me 'Feathers'—my biological last name and the name of the one-of-a-kind disease that had left my heart smaller than average—but we had started to only do that in private.
I motioned for them to come closer. After sharing a confused look with each other, they bent down to me, still curious.
I grabbed their heads and smacked them together before they had a clue as to what was going on and could stop me.
"Ow!" Gunner exclaimed.
"What the hell?!" Cornelius shouted.
They both were grabbing their heads, squinting-slash-glaring at me. Go ahead, glare all you want, I thought.
I turned back to the desk I was really starting to hate and grabbed some of the paperwork from the undone stack. "Now that you've had some sense knocked into you, get off your butts and help me." Freaking jerks.
A knock sounded and I stopped from going around the desk and sat the papers back on the polished surface to walk back to the door, annoyed but resigned even as two of my boyfriends grumbled behind me. I only opened it a little before it was pushed open the rest of the way and I stumbled backwards to get out of the way.
Cade—boyfriend number three and pureblood pixie—stormed inside in bright-green pants, a clashing of chains and a lot of frustration. Jade was with him, the pixie a little less frustrated, but no less bright with his royal-blue blazer. Both had reddish-brown dust circling around them in a cloud.
Cade flicked his messy, ashy-blond hair out of his eyes that were so green they would put a forest in springtime to shame and glared my way. His dragonfly-like wings hummed in agitation, red dust sparkling around him and pooling at his feet. "This jerk," he said, pointing to the captive held between him and Jade, "is asking for it."
I ignored him for the moment and turned to Jade, the calmer of the two. "Jade, is that him?" I shook my head. "No, wait. First, explain to me why you're wet."
"Would you please let me go now," the boy—the one presumably named Basil—ordered, jerking his arm out of Jade's grip. He tugged his black jacket straight, obviously upset. He, I noticed easily, wasn’t in the least bit wet. It only meant that Roison given me the right paperwork on the right student. It was just unfortunate that she had left before taking care of this.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead and trying to stop the headache I could feel starting. "Cade. . . Did you explain why you were bringing him here?"
Cade froze in a jingle of earrings and chains, his expression turning contrite in an instant and, for whatever reason, I couldn’t be mad at him. "Uh, oops." He gave me a sheepish grin and my heart flip-flopped. "Sorry, Pheobe. It wasn't my fault, though." He pointed at Basil. "He started shooting water at us before we could even speak."
Well, that explained why Jade's brown hair was plastered to his head. It was starting to curl adorably, the normally straight ends beginning to frizz, which meant that he probably took considerable time blowing it dry. I tucked the information away, containing my smile. Colleen would love to see him this way.
"It was a reflex," Basil sniffed indignantly. "And it's just water."
I turned away from them, trying to stay professional and went to my desk, sitting behind it and finishing up the paperwork to transfer him. Basil, I mean, not Jade. And it was my job to explain why so that he wasn't freaking out when Guide came to get him in the morning—well, night, considering this school ran on a nocturnal schedule for the vampires.
"Have a seat, Basil," I told him. I really didn't want to do this, but Roison had asked since she would be gone for a few months, and it was my job. It seemed her father wasn't feeling well, or so she’d said, but I wasn’t sure I believed her. There was a lot about the principal of this school that was still a mystery to even the people closest to her. I suppose that was what made her charming, but it was irritating when you had to step into her shoes and take over. Still, she had left almost a week ago with a flutter and a wave. That left me, President of the Student Council, in charge of the school. Which was total crap. I could barely keep track of my shoes, let alone a school, and why the hell wasn’t it a teacher? It was a question I was sure I wouldn’t get an answer to anytime soon.
As Basil sat in one of the couches facing me, I leaned back in my chair and gathered my thoughts. "Sorry about Cade and Jade. They were supposed to ask you here, not force you."
"Well, they did force me," he said, shooting the two pixies another glare. He was sitting completely reclined on the couch, his arms folded over his chest and his long legs crossed at the knee. I heard a hint of an accent in his voice I couldn’t place and saw the upbringing of someone who had wanted for nothing and got his way every time. All in all, he reminded me of Cornelius in looks and atmosphere—a very mild, very spoiled version—which meant that this wasn't going to go over well. "You need to teach them some manners."
Cade's wings hummed in agitation. "I don't think pelting us with water for asking you to talk qualifies as proper etiquette, either."
The vampire hissed, his blue eyes bleeding red in anger and Cade tensed.
"Alright," I snapped, irritated. "That's enough." I sat up in my chair, flipping through Basil's file. "Look, I didn't call you here because you're in any kind of trouble, but what I have to tell you is important, so listen up." Basil sat straighter as if insulted and I looked him square in the eye. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you're going to transfer."

******************************************************************************

I SIGHED, exhausted as I made my way to the Mess for dinner. This day needed to end and I needed sleep, but I had been through worse than just overwork and had the feeling I would be through worse yet. Even so, that thing with Basil hadn't really gone over too well. Even after explaining that he was being sent to Cravorne Academy for Witches for training to harness more of that water ability, he had insisted that there was some sort of mistake. Of course, there hadn't been, but it had taken an order from Cornelius to get him to finally accept that it was happening whether he liked it or not.
I hated this job even while I was glad to see the changes taking place with the rules I had set in. If I had known it would be so tiring and nerve-frying, I wouldn't have signed up. Be that as it may, it was nice to see that more werewolves and vamps were getting along with each other. Less and less fights—or so I'd been told—had happened since I became Council Head and the Halves were finally finding peace, finally able to walk through the halls without so much fear. I was proud of that fact, but it also made me wonder what was stirring underneath all the new smiles. Some things were too perfect and there were just some rules—like the wolf and vampire inner hierarchies—that I just couldn’t touch.
I sighed again and pushed open the door to the Mess, clutching my books to my chest and keeping my head bowed as people stared and whispered as I walked to my table. Things had changed drastically since I had become the Head, so the stares weren't really surprising, but it was still disconcerting being the center of attention—even if I had been at the center since I had first come to the school. And I hated, absolutely hated, that everyone knew my business. I hadn't known that becoming SCP would mean I'd lose my privacy. But, then, I hadn’t known a lot of things before I had come here. Even as I hated the prices I had paid for my decisions, I couldn’t regret them when the negative only rebounded to me. Not when so much positive had come out of it.
Sighing for a third time, I set my books on the hideously large, round table—which had been upgraded to a giant circle, courtesy of Roison as a present for winning the election—thanking Cade when he pulled my chair out for me. Cornelius and Gunner were at opposite sides of the table, grumpy as hell and emitting wave upon wave of disgruntled boyfriend. After the Basil-thing, I had thanked Cornelius then promptly kicked them out since they hadn't been helping and looked like they weren’t going to. They probably hadn't liked sitting in class for the rest of the period when they could have just sat in the council room and stared at the walls, but they would get over it. That and they probably hated being ordered about by a girl. Being heads of their respective races meant that taking orders was not built in their genetic makeup.
I had to admit, I was grateful to Roison for the new table, though. Tucked away in a corner, the over-sized cafe table was seriously full. Almost too full. The three or four trays of fruit and cooked meat assortments and bowls of the casseroles and side-dishes from the ever-regenerating giant buffet in the back didn't help save space, either. Things had been hectic at first with the seating arrangement, but we had figured it out sooner or later. Later, in this case, but it was working.
With my back to the door, I had Cade on my left and then Cornelius. After that was, surprisingly, Constantine, a white-haired, black-eyed vampire who had hated me up and almost succeeded in killing me until I stuck up for him. It seemed that he had flipped from trying to kill me to respecting me and sneaking me weird glances all the time that had me squirming under the reverent heat. He also smiled now, which was a beautiful thing to behold when you caught it and it was as infectious as his laugh. He was, under the crazy fear of being left alone and almost crippling attachment to Cornelius, a big sweetheart and the most innocent person I had ever met. I was naïve, I knew, but he was had the mentality of a child. Well, the mentality of a child coupled with the brain of a computer and a filing system that compiled the most interesting and vile ways to torture and scare people.
Next to Constantine was Taiyo. This was also a surprise since Constance—Constantine's sadistic twin who sat a table away and watched us with poisonous black eyes—had tortured him and left him scars that could and couldn’t be seen. How, I didn't want to know and Taiyo hadn't said, but the Halve seemed to have taken a liking to Constantine rather quickly. They were complete opposites appearance-wise, what with Taiyo's punk-goth style and piercings, Asian heritage and sarcastic mouth, and Constantine's love for all things white and fluffy, so it was like watching yin and yang walking down the halls. It was weird, but good for them both, I think.
Taiyo's boyfriend, Elliot, was next down the table and directly across from me. This shy, cute pixie without wings was quiet and smart. Except in the mornings, that is. He was hell in Taiyo's pocket in the mornings with that mouth of his, but as loyal and fierce as he was considerate and sweet. With his demure personality and need to be protected, he was a supportive, kind and wonderful friend.
Next to him was my roommate and best friend, Colleen. She was Cade's ornery, sarcastic Halve cousin. Basically a human with over-sized eyes, pointed ears and wings, she didn't sparkle—apart from her clothes and jewelry—and couldn't change her size or fly like normal pixies, but she was someone I couldn't do without. From her short, red hair, to the tips of the worn-out, green sneakers she always wore, she was the irreplaceable rock in my life that wasn’t afraid to tell me to shut up and suck it up when I needed.
Next to her was her almost-boyfriend, Jade. I seriously did not know what was holding those two back from getting together, but we all knew that something was there. Something they really needed to grab hold of and do something with because it was sort of painful to watch them long for each other the way they did, casting each other secret glances we all saw and putting more feeling into a casual touch than I thought was possible.
After Jade was Lexis followed by Hayden. Lexis was like the mother of the wolves, or so the rumors say. I hadn't really spoken to her much, but from what I'd seen, she was a nice, caring and understanding eighteen-year-old that sneaked glances—very obvious glances—at Hayden that weren’t motherly at all. I wasn’t sure if he had noticed yet, but he had certainly gotten used to being taken care of by her. He rarely had to do anything for himself, and just sort of absently accepted her care as if he had been used to it for years. And who wouldn’t want a lithe, tanned, sexy female looking after them? Even I wouldn’t mind. And if anyone needed looking after, it was Hayden. He was rather vague and it seemed he was always lost inside his own head or just his surroundings, watching a little too closely for trouble with eyes I was sure took in more than he ever said—not that he ever said anything but a low murmur I could never quite catch. For a wolf that was twice Lexis’s size, twice as intimidating-looking and two years younger, I wasn’t as scared of him as I was her.
Lastly, on my other side to end the circle was Gunner. Thankfully, he was more pouty than angry like Cornelius was, but he wasn't exactly talking to me, either. Right now, they could go ahead and throw a silent fit, because I'd had enough. I was swamped with council work, homework, regular class work that I missed from taking time out of class to do the said council work, retake tests, the odd requests the students put in the Request Box and having time to each of my boyfriends, that I was literally ready to take an eppe from Fencing Class and stab someone.
Taiyo burst out laughing just as I grabbed some fruit and started munching, pulling me from my musings and snagging my attention. Glancing up, I saw Constantine's normally scary face twist into a handsome smile. Seeing him like that made me smile as well, but it also made me curious about more than one thing.
"Hey, Constantine?" I called, leaning on the table.
His head turned and he flicked his hair out of his face, the long, savagely straight strands falling in a point right back over his left eye and fluttering low on his cheek. I didn’t see a point to the action, but when he turned his smile onto me, I didn’t care. "Yes, Miss Pheobe?"
He had started calling me 'miss' after he'd switched to our side—not that he had been on anyone but Cornelius’s side—but I really didn't know why and was kind of scared to ask. I may not like the reason.
Ignoring the weirdness, I asked, "Not that I don't like having you here, but how come you're not sitting with your sister?"
Constantine froze for a second and I could see he visibly stopped himself from glancing over his shoulder at his twin. Taiyo’s smile faded and everyone was suddenly paying attention to him.
Constance was not welcome here and she knew it, which was probably why she sat a table away with another female vampire I could have sworn I'd seen before, but couldn’t place. After she had sadistically tortured Taiyo as a bargain for saving my life, I no longer had a nice thought or a kind word for her. However, that didn't change the fact that she and Constantine were close. How close was, of course, the million dollar question.
"Well," Constantine started carefully, "I like you guys, and Cornelius is here. . . Constance doesn't exactly feel the same way."
"He rebelled for the first time," Taiyo smirked, elbowing him fondly and, much to our surprise, Constantine blushed. "What's the deal with you and your sis, anyway? Are the rumors true?"
"Rumors?" he asked, his brow crinkling in confusion.
"The ones about you and your twincest," Colleen put in as she grabbed a grape and popped it into her mouth. "They're really juicy. The rumors, that is."
Constantine's face flushed red in embarrassment and he sat straighter, his hands fidgeting under the table. "That's idiotic! Constance and I are siblings."
"You hold hands," Cade pointed out. "And you guys are creepily in sync."
"So?" he glared, his eyes beginning to seep red and I tried not to flinch. "We're all each other had left. What's wrong with being close to family?"
"That's it?" I asked, a little surprised.
"Well, yes." Constantine raised a brow at me, his eyes fading back to a safer black. "Were you hoping for something more?"
"I was," Taiyo put in, a little grumpy. "Reality can be so boring."
Constantine's eyes bled a little red again as he gave Taiyo a martyred look.
"I suppose that rumors are just over-exaggerated imaginations of reality," I agreed, picking out more fruit and wondering if I should eat the chicken leg I saw on the tray. "Speaking of which, have you guys heard anything about SR? I haven't had the time to look in to it."
Gunner let out a low growl and Cornelius shifted in his chair at my jibe, but otherwise stayed quiet.
"I haven't heard anything," Cade said.
"Nothing," Taiyo seconded. Elliot shook his head in agreement.
"Me, neither," Colleen put in. She looked at Constantine. "What about you, vamp boy?'
Constantine frowned. "I didn't know we were looking for information. I could press a few people, I think."
"Uh," I interjected quickly. "Without violent or menacing means, please."
He inclined his head in acknowledgment. "If that's what you wish, Miss Pheobe."
Ignoring the weirdness again, I looked at Jade. "What about you? Anything on them?"
SR, or "Save the Race", was a not-so-secret organization I hadn’t known existed until almost two months ago that consisted of pureblood witches who felt that any otherworlder with abnormal magical abilities was a threat to the race's purity. About the same time our school nurse—who just so had happened to be an SR member—had felt that, though I wasn't capable of anything magical, I was a threat. Supposedly, if I united the races here, the races outside the school would be more tolerant, which also meant that the races would grow. Obviously, that wasn't good for the witches. Somehow. I was still working out the very foggy details.
"Gellen has already told us what everyone knows," Jade answered. "There's nothing else, really. Tully and Mitch will come to check in periodically, but that's the only change."
I sighed, sitting back. Gellen, Tully and Mitch had been the witches who had saved Cade, Elliot and me after we had been kidnapped and taken to a branch of SR. It seemed that there were more than one, and, for some reason, the witch who had tried to save my life when I was in the hospital—the same one that had given me the star burst scar on my forehead—was way up there in status and power and was trying to avidly kill me.
Things were really complicated.
"Alright," I said, defeated and too tired to think anymore. "Keep me posted?"
He nodded. "Of course."
I didn't like knowing I was on a hit list, but there had been no movement, no word and no whisper of SR since Simone had been turned to dust by Mitch. There had been absolutely nothing and I didn’t really expect there to be any other problems. I had bigger issues on my hands at the moment and too many weeds in my garden. Like how, for instance, this Saturday was my first date with none other than Cade. And how, it seemed, no one but him was looking forward to it. He practically sparkled with excitement the closer the day came. It was going to be something else, I was sure, but, honestly, I was just looking forward to not having to sit behind a desk for the day.