Page 14 of Mortal Shift
“I—uh—I shouldn’t be here. It’s all a mistake, and I just need her to clear it up.”
She seemed to consider for a moment, then shrugged again. “It’s your funeral.”
“I really hope not.”
“This way.” She led me along the corridors, pausing every so often to look at me like she wanted to say something, then hurrying on. I followed her for long enough that I was starting to wonder if she was lost, but then she took a sharp right and led us into a short corridor that ended in just one door—a huge oaken door etched with dozens of symbols, every one of which seemed to send a shiver through me. I swallowed hard.
“Thatdoor?” I said, turning to raise an eyebrow at my new friend—and finding myself utterly alone. Great. Some friend. I moved hesitantly along the truncated corridor, then raised one hand, and tapped lightly on the imposing wood. The sound bounced back at me, amplified in the confides of the short hallway, and I winced.
I wasn’t entirely sure I imagined the snarl from beyond it.
“Come,” a voice snapped, carrying clearly through the thick wood. It did not sound at all welcoming, or like it wanted me to come. In fact, it sounded quite a lot like it would prefer me melt into a pile of semi-sentient goo rather that step inside. Which probably meant I was in the right place.
For a moment I considered turning and heading back the way I came. And then I remembered my mom, locked up who knew where, and straightened my spine. I sucked in a deep breath, grabbed the handle, and pushed it open.
The office beyond was vast and unwelcoming. The floor was made of bare stone tiles, most of them etched with more symbols like the one on the door. The walls seemed made of sheer, rugged rock, like the entire chamber had been fashioned from the inside of a cave, and the rest of the academy simply added onto it. There were no windows in any of the walls, but high above my head—as in, twenty foot plus—there was a large circle of glass set into the ceiling, allowing light to trickle down. And sitting half in light, half in shadow, was the room’s single occupant.
She sat behind a huge, rugged stone desk that seemed to grow out of the floor itself, and I wondered if the slab of rock was hewn from the same stone as the walls. I’d never seen anything like it before, and frankly, looking at the desk was far preferable to looking at the person behind it. Her features, as best I could make out as the shadows played across them, were stern, and her lips pressed into a tight line. Her eyes seemed wholly black—trick of the light, I was sure—and her dark hair sat in carefully sculpted waves around her face, in a style that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the 70s. She was wearing crimson red, though I could only see her upper body and couldn’t quite make out if it was a top, or the upper half of a dress. It clung to her body, leaving her throat and shoulders exposed, and drew down in a sharp V, revealing her creamy white skin. And everything about her screamed danger.
A shiver ran through me as I stepped across the threshold and into the daunting space, and another as the woman raked her gaze over me.
“Yes?” She arched an immaculate brow, not bothering to rise to her feet. She did, however, lift one hand, and a slam sounded behind me. I jumped and whirled around to see the door had shut. Great. I was trapped in the creepy office with the creepy woman. I was starting to think Zane had been on to something when he warned me to stay away.
“Did you come here for a reason, girl, or do you just intend to stand there gawking, wasting my time?” she demanded, her voice sharp as it cracked through the taut air.
Ugh, get a grip, Cali, I chided myself.She’s just a person. Probably.
“I’m Cali Ellis,” I said, and then hesitated. I hadn’t really thought this far ahead. “Um, I’m here by mistake.”
The shadows flickered across her eyes and her mouth tightened. “Do you mean to imply thatIhave made a mistake?”
I swallowed. “No. I just mean…”
“Then you mean that my staff, acting on my orders, has made a mistake?”
I was starting to think this whole conversation was a mistake, but what the hell. It wasn’t like things could actually get any worse for me, right?
“You see, I’m just a… a human.”
“I know who you are,” she said, her voice utterly devoid of any emotion.
“You do?” My shoulders sagged in relief. “That’s great. So you know I don’t belong here. You can send me back, right?”
“I know that you are the mate of Cole Bryant, heir to the Iron Shadow pack, and that the council has degreed you shall attend Darkveil Academy. Therefore, you shall attend Darkveil Academy.”
“But… I’m a human!” I protested.
“And a tiresome one at that,” Astor intoned. “I am very aware of your inadequacies, Ms. Ellis, and they’re no concern of mine.”
“No concern of yours?” I struggled to maintain control of my lower jaw. “You’re the…domina or whatever, of course it’s your concern! If I’m supposed to be one of your students, it’s your job to protect me, and— Wait, did you just say inadequacies?”
“Yes, inadequacies. I think that is abundantly clear.” She raked her eyes over me again coolly. “And as for my job, it is to prepare you for life amongst the supernatural, along with every other student here. Those who are not strong enough to survive have no place in our world, and therefore, are no concern of mine.”
“And you think I’m not strong enough to survive,” I surmised.
“No.” Her eyes glittered coldly. “Iknowyou’re not strong enough to survive, and I resent my time, and the time of my staff, being wasted on your tuition.”
“You’re wrong,” I ground out. “I’m as worthy as any other person out there.”
