Blood Oath (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book Two) (24 page)

He shook his head with amusement, and his chocolate brown hair softly brushed against his brow. "Okay, did you hear that? There’s no iced-out crown, so you can cross that off the rumor list," he yelled over to them, then looked back at me and winked. "Now they can move on to more important rumors. Like the one about the
Elementi
spiking our water with magic to super enhance our muscles." He pumped and flexed his arms like a bodybuilder.

Against my better judgment, I smiled at him. "You’re seriously hilarious, but if I were you, I would start chugging that magic water like crazy because your arms are seriously puny."

Justice chuckled loudly. "Hmm, interesting. Do you know that you’re the first NC that’s not been morbidly afraid of me? Well, except for that one over there." He pointed carelessly over at Brooklyn, who gave him the evil eye.

"I kind of like that. It’s just too bad that you’re off the eligible NC list." He paused, his lips curling into a soft smile before he leaned in close to my ear with his lips practically grazing it. "Because you and I would definitely be fun…together," he whispered.

I couldn’t tell whether he was still joking or serious. My eyes widened as he looked at me with a seriously interested gleam.

Jessica started giggling nervously at something that Troy was whispering to her, which mercifully broke the awkward moment.

Terrence rolled his eyes with exasperation as he looked over at Troy. "Hey Troy! Back off, man. You’re making Jessica super nervous." He gave us a wide, toothy smile. "I think he actually likes her," he whispered loudly.

Terrence jabbed Justice in the side really hard. "Justice, we’ve got to go." He shook his head impatiently. "Class? Remember?"

But Justice and I were not paying him much attention because our eyes were locked in some sort of weird connection stare that I was trying desperately to break. Something in his eyes changed, and emotions that I couldn’t quite read flittered across them, turning them steel gray.

Justice growled low in his throat. His voice was now husky and low. "Bad timing, man—things were just about to get"—he traced a finger softly against my cheek—"real interesting."

I pulled my cheek away from his touch as I cleared my throat noisily. "Very," I answered reluctantly.

Troy winked at Jessica. "See you later."

They all jumped up and started to walk away when Justice stopped and looked over at me wickedly. "I’ll be seeing you…soon."

I actually gulped nervously, which freaking annoyed me to no end. I watched as they walked away with Justice looking around impatiently. Troy and Terrence clapped him on his back playfully as they looked back at me, then strode out of the dining room without a backward glance.

Brooklyn gave Jessica a toothy smile. "I think Troy really likes you," she said in a singsong voice.

Jessica blushed as she blew a strand of blonde hair off her brow. "He seems really…nice."

Brooklyn gave her an incredulous look. "Uh, nice? I love them, but they don’t have the nickname Terrible Ts for nothing. They are always getting in trouble, and under their misguided leader,
Justice
." She looked at me pointedly when she said "Justice."

I pushed away my now-cold pancakes. "Why are you looking at me when you say ‘Justice’?" I asked cattily.

Brooklyn smiled naughtily. "Isn’t it obvious? You were both flirting it up, like, big time, and I think—"

I held up my hand, interrupting her quickly. "What? That’s not even true. We were just talking. That’s it," I responded hotly, maybe a little too hotly.

She held up her hands. "Umm, you’re a little defensive there, something to hide?" She smirked. "Anyway, I’m not the only one who noticed how much flirting was going down between you two. Super CVV was fuming, and I loved every minute of it," she chortled.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Anyway…what was that little jab about me being off the eligible NC list?"

Brooklyn rolled her eyes dramatically. "The NC list is a disgusting NA tradition. Every school year, they have a contest to see who can get with the most NCs—first, middle or end levelers."

I sneered with disgust. "That’s seriously tragic."

"No, what’s seriously tragic is that, every year, NCs fall right into the contest trap hook, line, and sinker thinking that they’re going to get themselves an NA boyfriend out of it—not. And Justice, Terrence, and Troy are the ringleaders of the whole disgusting thing. They go through NCs like water…heartless, those three."

Rosalinda snickered, then continued sipping her second cappuccino.

I looked over at Rosalinda curiously. I couldn’t figure it out, but something about her was very different. Maybe it was just the fact that she had her hair pulled roughly into a ponytail with very little makeup, or the fact that she had a serious aura today.

I asked casually, "So, Rosalinda, where were you last night? You missed a seriously good Gabby Girls Adventure that involved spying and stuff. You would have loved it."

She looked up, startled, with bagel in mid-bite. "Last night?" She fixed an awkward smile on her face. "Nothing, just walking around the castle, trying to get some air. I was a little crazy after having a wicked argument with Papa."

Zora smiled slightly. "That’s cool. We were, you know, just a bit worried about you."

Rosalinda smiled brightly. "I’m okay now; I guess I’ve got to learn how to let some things go and move on with my new life. All I want to do now is just concentrate on being the best
Neophyte
that I can. Isn’t that what’s important?" she asked with a weird glint in her eyes.

Jessica nodded her head enthusiastically as she scoffed down spoonfuls of her now-soggy cereal. "You’re so right, Rosalinda. I mean, we have a new life now, and I think it’s going to rock."

Rosalinda smiled slyly. "That’s putting it mildly."

chapter

FOURTEEN

We walked out
of the dining room and crossed the jam-packed C-Yard rapidly. I held my head up haughtily as some the
Neophytes
pointed and stared at me. I sent a wish to the universe that the whole Akasha reincarnated thing would just die down as the hottest gossip. Otherwise, it was going to be a really long first year.

Brooklyn waved to a couple of NCs before entering an arched entrance leading into a brightly lit hallway with torches anchored to the gray stone walls. They quickly walked into the ultramodern classroom with sun streaming through the windows, across black leather high-backed chairs arranged in an open circle before a podium on a low platform.

A tall, svelte, pretty, redheaded
Circle
with sparkling green eyes strode into class, wearing a knee-length, body-hugging dark blue dress and knee-high black leather stiletto boots.

"Good order, justice, and peace, class." She scanned the room swiftly. "To all my newbies, my name is
Circle
Aceso." She gave me a sweet smile. Her voice was husky. "Welcome to level one of Defensive Magic."

She looked at the class sharply. "And by the graciousness of Athena, I hope that each and every one of you will be fortunate enough to
crest
and make it to level two."

Jessica raised her hand hesitantly. "Um,
Circle
Aceso, what is ‘level one’ and ‘crest’?"

She cracked a picture-perfect white smile. "
Neophyte
Jessica, there is absolutely no need to be nervous. Speak your mind. Be bold. Your voice counts. In fact, it is very important that each and every one of you express yourself strongly, whether right or wrong. No topic is unapproachable, for the nature of Transcendence Hall is that everyone will be at different levels of understanding
Eternal
knowledge." She looked around the class excitedly. "I expect, no, I demand that you be curious, that you ask questions of me and your fellow
Neophytes
. Understand?"

Jessica smiled, then nodded.

"Okay that aside…to crest is to reach the fullest potential of your gifts and powers." She looked around the class as she practically glided up to her desk and picked up four thin laptops and four books. "Now, who will explain levels to Jessica?"

An NC raised her hand quickly, prompting Aceso to acknowledge her.

"Every
Neophyte
will go through levels of training from one to five, and at each level, we will be judged. If it is determined that we are worthy to advance to the next level, then we move on." The NC stuttered nervously through the whole explanation.

Aceso pursed her lips thoughtfully as she walked through the class. "Obviously, you, my
Neophytes
, are in level one. And everything that you will be taught will prepare you to pass this level. However, it’s up to you to learn and study hard. That means taking copious notes, soaking up everything you can from your mentors, and last but not least…study, study, study." She looked at the class sternly. "That means less partying and more studying…got it?"

She passed Jessica, Zora, Rosalinda, and me each a laptop and book.

She looked at us pointedly. "The book is the
Eternal
manual, a collection of all of the intelligence we’ve gathered on the Supernaturals,
Banished
, and
Daemons
—strengths, weaknesses, and habits. I advise you to devour every morsel of information, for someday it just might save your life."

I raised my hand. "
Circle
Aceso? So what happens if you fail to move to the next level?"

Everyone looked around with anxious expressions.

"A ceremony is performed. For NCs, your scarlet pendant will be confiscated, and for both NCs and NAs, your gifts and powers will be extracted. But don’t worry. A memory wipe via an amnesia spell is quite customary. Then you will remember nothing about the
Eternals
or the
Elementi
, and you will be happily returned to the
Normal
realm for absorption into their society. It’s just so much easier and more humane that way," she finished nonchalantly.

I looked at her like she was crazy. Uh, what? Amnesia spell? This was some seriously psychotic stuff.

"Nothing?" I asked quickly. "How do you go from knowing everything to knowing nothing just like that?" I snapped my fingers loudly.

She sighed as if this was a question she’d answered a million times. "Everyone, take a good look at the
Neophyte
on your right."

Everyone quickly did as she asked.

"Now take a good look at the
Neophyte
on your left."

Everyone followed her instructions.

She continued with a bored expression. "I don’t normally guarantee anything in our world, but this one, well, is a sure guarantee. Fifty percent of this class will not make it past level one. It’s up to you to ensure that you are not one of the fifty percent," she stated matter-of-factly.

The class gasped, looking around at each other nervously.

She glided through the class. "Many are called to the
Eternals
, but few are chosen. It would be very wise to remember that."

They all looked at her worriedly as the murmuring picked up.

She clapped her hands together loudly before walking to each of our desks and eyeballing us. "This is the absolute truth of our world. I will not sugarcoat anything, and neither will the rest of your professors and mentors. This is our
reality
." She paused. "Besides, not making it past level one is not the end of your existence. It may be for your involvement with the
Eternals
, but you can still live a very productive and
normal
life."

She sauntered over to the podium and smiled broadly. "So, now that we’ve gotten the level thing out of the way, let’s get on with my well-prepared lesson for today. I’m going to do something just a little different. Just to mix it up a bit, I’m going to let you, my dear
Neophytes
, teach me. I’ll randomly select you, and you’ll run the show." She smiled sweetly. "But as usual, I do expect you to be respectful to one another."

"Today’s lesson is…" She tapped her laptop, resulting in a 3-D image of words hovering in the air.

The Eternals vs. the Banished

And the winner is?

They all smiled broadly nodding with approval.

"Last thing, I’ll be grading you."

They all groaned painfully.

"All right, stop the whining." She clapped her hands. "So, let’s recap the last topic that we covered. Who can tell me all the names of the Royal
Elementi
Conclaves and the associated element that they control and wield?"