CONVICTION OF THE DAMNED: SUPERNO ACADEMY BOOK ONE Read online

  Dari turned and began eyeing up Mikel with approval, voicing her only complaints that he was too grumpy and with Bette and she didn’t go for taken people.

  “You okay Kaida?” Laina whispered, her delicate hands fluttering over my arm as she spotted my bloody knuckles with a frown. I nodded at her, squeezing her hand, and listening to Allie and Dari argue over pineapple pizza instead.

  Pretty soon both the pizzas had been demolished and our little group was settling into their chairs. The bottle of vodka never left my grasp and I sipped it slowly, ignoring the anxious looks from my sisters.

  Unless I started doing shots and dancing on the table, they couldn’t say shit to me and quite frankly I needed the strength to stay calm in this ridiculous new world. I was out of my depths right now and I would cling to the vodka shaped life raft until it killed me. And hopefully it does.

  Dari

  The afternoon had left me reeling, trapped within my own mind as I struggled to adjust to the news that I was some sort of fae creature. So far Tory had been a Godsend with her knowledge of all things Mirane, and she taught us more in fifteen minutes than Ryder had in the entire hour he had been in our apartment.

  It turned out everybody else that was new was invited here this morning to receive their school packs with all the information inside, including their room allocations and a brand-new school sanctioned device called a Portal.

  The Portal was supposed to be like a tablet/phone but made purely for interaction in the school. It was our portal into everything school related. Think maps, a virtual library, shopping and more.

  We even had a Superno version of Facebook called Superbook. The name was cringe as hell and I wouldn’t be posting on it, but it was still nice to know where people would no doubt be talking shit about us if I ever decided to check it out.

  I wasn’t an idiot; we were not like the rest of the new students who were nameless and regular people. My sisters and I were not wanted here by a long shot. Half the school had spent the entire evening shooting daggers at us like we’d eaten their pet cat. The rest had been too scared to come closer than a few feet. It probably didn’t help we had sat with Allie, who from the looks of things terrified half the student population by simply being herself.

  Apart from Allie, only Tory had the nerve to speak to us and stick around. Despite the fact she could have been mingling with other people and having a great time, and not sitting in a corner helping out us losers. By positioning herself with us she had no doubt made enemies without even meaning to, and now she had gained my respect for it tenfold.

  I would have figured that her family ties to Xavier would mean she would want to side with the Heirs and their fans, but so far Tory had made it perfectly clear that her loyalties lay in the furthest possible location to them.

  “When my dad married my mom, his family completely disowned him and me by default.” She said, sipping on a gregariously pink cocktail in her hand that had appeared out of thin air.

  Allie sighed like she had heard this story ten times a day and began rolling a joint in her lap instead.

  “Do you know why?” Laina asked hesitantly, braiding her hair on top of her head until she looked like she was wearing a crown.

  “Dunno for sure. It could be because she’s black, or because she’s a Harpy, either way that entire family was toxic as hell and I'm glad to be rid of them.”

  It was nice to know that even in a completely different realm racism still existed. You could always rely on people to be assholes regardless of their place in the world. I fucking hated racists.

  “Why does it matter if she’s a Harpy?” I asked.

  “Their power is seen as less than a Phoenix’s.” Tory grabbed a napkin off the table and began writing out a list. “Here I’ll show you what I mean.”

  Allie didn’t say anything, but I got the feeling she knew exactly what Tory’s family problems were, and that it wasn’t something she was too happy about. At the mention of Tory’s mom being a Harpy Allie had scowled and refused to let up, clearly having to bite her tongue this time a bit more difficult than usual.

  Without thinking of the consequences, I offered Allie the lighter out of my bra, happily accepting her offer to share the spliff even if we could get caught. I didn’t know if this placed care about things like this, but I wasn’t in the mood to figure it out. I wanted to make friends, and these girls seemed decent enough.

  Chimera

  Phoenix, Seer

  Vampire, Siren, Werewolf

  Minotaur

  Harpy, witches

  Unicorns, medusa

  Pixies, Vole’s

  Tory span the napkin round to show me and Laina what she’d wrote, careful not to raise her voice too loud.

  “This isn’t all of the classes, but it’s the only ones you’ll either meet or hear much of, the rest have pretty much died out or are not really part of society anymore.” Have I really got to learn all this?

  “So each row is similar in power levels to the ones next to it. The top row is the highest-ranking class, and the bottom is obviously the lowest. Of course, most people don’t care who is what, but some family’s still like to pretend that it matters and keep their blood lines pure as possible by only mixing with those of the same class, or same power level.”

  Tory’s father had married her mother who was a lower class and power level which was why he was disowned. Not that I would ever begin to understand the logic of racist people, but it didn’t make sense to me at all.

  “This list isn’t fixed. A lot of times people can be of a lower class but higher ranking.” Tory said. “Or even in my case, where I’m a Phoenix too, but a far lower power level than Xavier. And like I said, power is what’s most important to fae.”

  She also explained how it worked with Ember, who apparently was a Harpy himself. He may have been the lowest class type out of his little gang, but his power was vast. Far beyond what any other Harpy, and even his Heir friends, could do.

  “He was born during a blood moon, so whatever power he was going to be gifted was amplified tenfold.”

  I tried to picture the innocent looking boy being capable of harnessing anything so strong.

  “What can he do?”

  “Ember can basically control plagues.” I could have spat my drink out if I had one.

  “Plagues?”

  “Yeah. Like he can summon a legit plague. On as many people or places as he wants, with nothing more than a flick of his wrists.”

  Luckily, for the world, Ember hated violence. No wonder Kaida thought he seemed nice; he’s a psycho like her.

  “He’s super religious, and he doesn’t believe in harming people or doing shit like that. which is excellent for the rest of us. And no doubt the reason he was allowed to become a Prince still.”

  It also explained why he was so content with being a Prince of nothing. It was a title given to him for being able to wipe out the country. It was nothing more than a token to appease him and give him something to rule, that wouldn’t give him any more power. It was hard not to see why he dismissed his title so much; it was a joke.

  Allie asked if we knew what classes we were, telling us it was completely normal to find out late when we told her we didn’t.

  “I just hope I’m something awesome.” I said. I was never going to be on par with a bird though if I were being honest; surely whatever creature I ended up being would snap someone like Xavier’s little wings off with one bite?

  There were more classes at one point, but each one died out over the years and so the list Tory gave was pretty much the only options we had.

  “Most time’s it’s genetic, but there have been loads of cases where you end up skipping generations and being something entirely random.”

  Let’s just hope I’m not a Vampire or a Vole…

  “Bloodlines can come back again; the Chimera bloodline was supposed to have died out with Queen Carissa, but now look, we have you guys; you carry the trait for it.” Allie chimed
in, as she offered me the joint. “Or you could be a Witch, Laina could be a Harpy and Kaida could be a seer. It all just depends on chance really.”

  Kaida didn’t even lift her head as Allie said her name, far too busy nursing the entire bottle of vodka in her hands. I knew she was struggling with the change of routine, but she couldn’t let herself drink too much. Kaida was volatile on a good day, but when drunk she was completely unhinged. And I said that with love as her sister.

  “What species have died out?” Laina asked.

  Tory thought about it for a moment before settling on three that died most recently.

  “Before the Chimera line ended thirteen years ago, there was maybe sixty years before that for the Hydra class. Before that was the Nymph but were talking over a hundred years. And before that I think there was supposed to be Sphinx’s, but they were apparently around over five hundred years ago. Classes don’t tend to die out too often unless they stick amongst their own races.” I mulled over what Tory said, trying to figure out how we could have been around so much magic but have no recollection of it at all.

  Tory eyed me for a second when I asked, carefully choosing her next words as though she didn’t know how I would take it.

  “You guys lived in this world until you were five when the war happened. We all thought you died like your parents did, but you obviously got sent to the mortal world, and living there for such a long time would mean your memories of this realm were stolen. Magic always fades outside of here as a safety precaution so that the humans don’t come around trying to steal it. Any memories you had of the first five years of your life are gone forever; it’s probably why your magic was dulled, and you don’t have a class yet.”

  The weight of her words hit me like a tonne of bricks and even Kaida began paying attention. If what Tory said was true, then we had grown up for a few years in Mirane and had at one point known our parents too. It explained why Xavier and Novak had insisted we were being reacquainted with each other, and not entirely introduced.

  It also meant that people like the Heirs were already aware that we knew nothing of this world and would have had our entire life stolen from us. The knowledge of that immediately pissed me off; how dare we be brought here without being told any of this? Surely it was something we should have been warned about.

  Ryder really had been a dick today. He hadn’t given us a damn thing except a half-assed explanation about this world and I couldn’t figure out why. Surely keeping us in the dark would only hinder our time here, and make it far more difficult for us to fit in. Unless that’s exactly what he wanted; for us to not fit in?

  ***

  The hours passed slowly as the nerves in my system began rising again. I couldn’t get over the menacing way the Heirs kept staring at us; they seemed to hate us before we even really knew them. I knew they thought we were a threat to their throne but surely they didn’t need to worry until we said we wanted it.

  I just hoped they found out we were only after some of our so-called goldmine of funds sooner rather than later; I was in no mood for childish rivalries, nor did I want to stay at this school any longer than I needed to.

  “I want a drink.” Laina announced suddenly, immediately flouncing to her feet and vanishing towards the bar. Kaida and I were up in a flash, parting through the crowd that hid our sister.

  I didn’t want Laina roaming around by herself and neither did Kaida. Tory and Allie followed behind us, curious at our reactions more than concerned. They didn’t yet know the way Laina behaved when she was alone with her shadows, and I had no intentions of showing them.

  “I got left.” Kaida said, heading over to the left side of the bar before I replied.

  The right side was the busier one and by a bout of misfortune the one without my youngest sister. By the time I discovered Laina I was already late to the party. Three of the Heirs were out of their seats, surrounding my sister with malice in their eyes.

  Caleb had a dark look marring his pretty face as he held his arm around Laina’s slender shoulder.

  “I bet you taste exquisite.” He said, baring his fangs in his mouth. “You smell like flowers and summer.”

  “Get the fuck away from her!” I snarled, jumping into the action without a single care. The Vampiro is dead meat.

  Kaida

  Despite swaying on my feet, I had done a fairly good job of racing towards the fight. I watched Dari jump onto Caleb, getting snatched away by Mikel before she could do a thing. He pinned Dari’s arms behind her back like she was a petulant child behaving badly and despite the earlier bout of peace, I was already back in my usual raging mood.

  Xavier watched Dari curiously as she tried her best to fight out of her restraints. He didn’t say anything, but I noticed her captor snickering away with a smug expression I wanted to cut off his face.

  “Oh don’t be like that Annabella; I just want to play.” Caleb purred. “And she smells so good that it would be rude not to take a bite.”

  Before I could reach him, he leant down towards Laina’s throat, aiming to chomp down upon veins.

  “Bad vampire.” Laina said, her eyes filled with the darkness we knew too well. A barrier of gold flew out over her skin as she scolded Caleb, causing him to bounce off her like she was made of more than flesh and bones. He was flung a few feet away, hitting the deck with a bang.

  The Heirs gasped and Caleb sprung back to his feet with a growl, the few seconds of collective disbelief enough to help me get the upper hand and slip right behind Caleb.

  “Fucking Seer!” He seethed. “She’s a fucking Seer!”

  I didn’t know what that meant, or how Caleb knew what Laina was, but seeing as he had just attacked my sister I had far more pressing things on my mind than being glad someone knew what was up with Laina. I’m going to rip those fangs right out that pretty mouth.

  My face flared red with and without thinking I grabbed the Vampire by his scruff, shoving him against the nearest wall with a bang and bringing my fist down into his sternum. He spluttered at the force of my blow just as Dari broke free too, headbutting Mikel in his nose as she did. His blood began pissing all over the floor and he winced as he corrected the damage.

  Dari yanked Laina towards her and backed away as the crowd around us grew bigger, anticipation for a fight throbbing in the air. Allie walked off, refusing to get involved just like she said she would. Tory hadn’t moved on yet, but I noticed she hadn’t intervened either.

  If she does become friends with us, especially my sisters, I hope she plans to jump in next time; I don’t tolerate disloyalty from anyone.

  “What the hell is wrong with you idiota?” I growled at Caleb, ignoring the fact that he was even better looking up close. It was unfair how someone I had marked for death could look so innocent.

  He smelt of marshmallows and summer, which was ironic considering his skin was cold and smooth like ice. Caleb lifted his eyes and caught my gaze, trapping me inside the depths of his stare and refusing to let me go.

  My usual fear of touch struggled to find its way to the surface at first. It was like he had frozen me entirely the second he was in my breathing space.

  “I'm only taking what I can,” he said back with an angelic smile, before flipping our positions round so he held me instead, my back was shoved roughly into the wall and he leant down towards me, “and I want royal blood.”

  The Vampire shoved his fangs into my neck, and I almost screamed. I was far too used to pain to dare breathe a word of my anguish out loud, but holy hell did it hurt. For what felt like a millennium I was in agony. Partly due to the fact there was actual teeth in my neck, but mainly due to the unwanted feel of a man on my skin.

  As the seconds passed agonisingly slowly the voices in my head quietened down, their shouting quickly turning into a hum of whispers and regret. The bitterness of the pain was quickly replaced by a fiery pleasure that spread across my limbs. I was in my own personal hell right now, but I was damned if I weren’t enjoying one tiny part
of it a little now that there was silence in my mind.

  I could almost hear the yells of my sisters, but they were muffled by the feel of the Vampire venom burning through my veins, igniting a lust in me that I hadn’t felt for a long time. It was the best and worst thing that I had ever experienced in my entire life and as much as I despised the feel of his soft hands gripping my skin, I couldn’t stop myself relishing in it. My head lolled and my eyes fluttered close as a small moan of pleasure left my lips.

  Caleb gripped me tighter, his fingers almost painful in their grasp of my skin. His stone body pressed against my own, adding fuel to my desire as I almost reached out to touch his skin. I knew I would regret my decision later, but in the moment I didn’t particularly care. I was high on Vampire venom and pure unadulterated power for the first time in my life.

  “Caleb stop.” A deep voice said, barely making its way into my ears.

  The edges of my vision blurred, and I felt my body giving way, leaning all its weight on Caleb. Don’t stop. I don’t want this power to stop. I feel like I’m flying. It’s so calm…

  “That’s enough Caleb.” He was yanked away from me with a start, my senses coming back as soon as our connection broke.