Page 10 of Misfit Monsters (Pack of Outcasts #1)

Jonah

W hen I step into the administration meeting room, Peri ducks her head where she’s standing before the curved table. Her petite but curvy frame tenses just slightly, the way it always does when she sees me.

Because she’s afraid of me.

Pretty much every shadowkind at the academy either fears me or resents me—or both.

As soon as they find out my unique purpose here, as soon as they realize I’m one of the few humans with powers to rival their own, there’s a shift in the way they look at me.

Something hardens in their eyes, whether stiffening like steel or going distant and glassy.

With Peri, it’s worse than most. Her fright isn’t based on hearsay—she’s experienced the snare of my sorcery firsthand. And she hasn’t switched to being angry about the assault on her mind like many beings do.

It’s as if she’s bracing herself, trying to shore up courage in case I inflict my magic on her again.

Unfortunately, today she has good reason to be scared, just not of me. Out of the six people who’ll be deciding her fate, I’m probably the least of a threat.

As I take my spot behind the table, Albumin stalks in. The vampire positions himself at the far end, and the meeting can begin.

When Shanty clears her throat, I can’t stop my gaze from darting to the empty seat beside her. The place where Rollick would sit if he’d joined us.

The demon who founded this school should weigh in on matters as serious as this. He’s been away much longer than usual.

Pearl is his closest associate here, or at least the one least afraid of badgering him when she wants answers, and all she’s been able to say is that he has “personal matters” to attend to. I hope Quinn, the human woman he’s devoted to, is all right.

If it wasn’t for her—well, for both of them, but mostly her—I’d have died at age three.

Of course, I can’t say for sure that Rollick would have decided in Peri’s favor even if he were here. Every expression around the table is solemn, even Pearl’s, despite the succubus’s usual bright energy.

Shanty fixes her solemn stare on Peri. “Periwinkle, do you know why you stand before us?”

Peri’s head bobs lower in a nod. A soft glow wavers through her striking teal hair: flickers of a sickly yellow that matches her anxious stance and a deep maroon that might be shame.

Her voice comes out quiet and strained. “I hurt people. Other shadowkind. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—I tried not to.”

Toni speaks up in her usual crisp tone. “You don’t deny it, then? The wave of dark energy that swept through the school came from you?”

Peri’s mouth twists. Her pained expression looks so wrong on her sweet face. “I wouldn’t lie. That’s how it happens. If I get too happy, light bursts out of me. If I’m upset…”

Darkness.

We exchange glances around the admin table. None of us has ever seen a power quite like what Peri displayed this morning.

Shadowkind are at home in the darkness. It’s where they can escape.

But something about the shadows that exploded out of this innocent-looking being scraped against the essence of those who were closest. One of the students described it as sandpaper wrenching over his skin, another as a deep searing as if she was burning.

And it was over in a matter of seconds. How much permanent damage could Peri do if her power kept going?

“You were upset,” Pearl repeats in a softer voice than her wife’s. “Can you tell us what happened to bring you to that point?”

Peri stares down at her hands, which she’s twisted in front of her. “It was a lot of little things. I was in self-defense class and had trouble with the exercises. Some of my classmates poked fun at me, and others were annoyed. I saw a hunter net, and it reminded me?—”

Her words hitch to a stop. My throat constricts at the anguish that’s clear on her face.

“It reminded you of what?” I can’t help prompting.

Her arms come up to hug herself. “I was caught in one before. Obviously I got away. It shouldn’t bother me. I tried to stay calm.”

Toni frowns at Gnash. “You were teaching the class. You didn’t notice that she was getting agitated?”

The tiger shifter scowls back at her. “The students always hassle each other. You know that’s part of the training. I didn’t see anything that looked like reason for concern.”

“And yet here we are,” Albumin says in a detached tone.

As Gnash aims his scowl at the vampire, Shanty taps the tabletop. “But her power didn’t burst out in class. It happened a minute or two after dismissal, didn’t it?”

Peri shoots her a tight little smile. “I tried to get away from the things that were bothering me. It—it didn’t work well enough.”

Al tsks his tongue. “Here only a few days and already terrorizing her fellow students.”

Peri’s head droops even lower.

My reply tumbles out of me. “She has only been here a few days. She’s barely had a chance to learn how to control her powers. And we didn’t realize they could harm shadowkind, or we’d have been taking more precautions to begin with. That’s partly on us.”

“We have to consider the safety of all the students,” Toni says.

Pearl makes a dismissive sound. “Everyone was fine with a little time to recover—no permanent damage done.”

“This time,” Gnash growls.

Peri’s shoulders hunch, and my throat constricts. I remember her coming into my classroom a couple of days ago, smiling with Fen, so pretty in her contentment that it was hard to drag my gaze away from her.

“She cares about her fellow students,” I say. “I’ve seen her doing her best to support them. She’s already formed a positive relationship with Fen. ”

Gnash lets out a faint snort. I know he doesn’t think very highly of the naiad, but he doesn’t argue with me.

Shanty studies Peri. “Would you be willing to attend daily one-on-one tutoring sessions to see if we can get your errant energies under control?”

Peri’s head jerks up. “Yes, of course. Sign me up! If I didn’t have to worry anymore… I promise, I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

I don’t know how anyone at the table can doubt her sincerity.

But then, a sincere monster can still be a monster, whether they like it or not.

Gnash still looks disgruntled. “We’ll need to discuss the situation further amongst ourselves. If you stay, it’d be with a severe warning. We won’t tolerate more outbursts like this.”

Peri nods frantically. “I understand.”

Shanty motions to the door. “Please wait while we make our decision.”

Peri hurries away, with a slight wobble to her gait that sets me on the alert. Was she injured?

She keeps going without incident, so maybe it was just a nervous twitch. She clearly hates the idea of being banished to the shadow realm.

It’s hard for me to imagine her bright presence consigned to the endless darkness my shadowkind mentors have described. That place might have created her, but I can’t say she belongs there.

The moment the door has closed, Gnash turns toward me. “You shouldn’t be soft on her just because you feel guilty about dragging her here.”

I wince inwardly. “That’s not why I was defending her. You can see that she means well. She isn’t trying to be a threat.”

Toni rubs her temple. “In some ways, that could be worse. If she can be this destructive even when she’s trying her hardest not to be…”

All right, it’s a little horrifying to think what Peri could do if she wanted to hurt someone.

Pearl swats her wife’s arm. “We have to give her a real chance to master her powers. Lots of beings can’t figure it out on their own.”

“But lots can’t smother a whole hallway in searing darkness in an instant.” Shanty turns to Gnash. “What were your impressions of her in class?”

“She was clumsy but gave the exercise a good effort,” Gnash admits. “More than some of them that’ve been here longer and should know to take the lessons seriously. And she showed spirit when the other students were hassling her. If it wasn’t for the explosion of shadows, I’d say she has promise.”

I give him a pointed look. “She still does. It’s obvious she hasn’t interacted with other shadowkind very much. She’s still finding her footing, but she’s very committed.”

Shanty squares her shoulders. “All right. I think we should give her another chance, taking far greater precautions. And of course her badge will be updated to warn her classmates. We didn’t start this school to abandon difficult cases at their first stumble. Any significant arguments?”

Albumin sighs but doesn’t say anything. Toni dips her head in acceptance.

“Good.” Shanty brushes her hands together. “Meeting adjourned. I’ll let her know the verdict—and start her first one-on-one session. I should handle those personally.”

I head out of the meeting room with tension still coursing through my body. It sends me toward the exercise room.

I change into my workout clothes quickly, stretch, and decide to start with the rowing machine. The rhythmic back and forth is weirdly relaxing at the same time as it kicks my ass.

That machine is also one of the least social options, which can be a plus. I keep a casual attitude walking through the exercise room, but I’m starkly aware of the glances that flick my way—and then avert, sometimes with a sidle farther away from me.

The shadowkind students and staff who come to work out their physical bodies chat with each other plenty. But I’m not only one of the rare humans in the mix—I’m one of the few we warn our students against in class.

My sorcery doesn’t call attention to itself when I’m not tapping into it. I could if I wanted to, though, and that’s all they need to know.

And even though I had my powers passed on to me by my sorcerer parents… the fact that they could wield sorcery means someone in my bloodline most likely murdered shadowkind to consume their essence, paying for the power with innocent lives.

I prefer not to think about that aspect of my distant history… but I doubt any shadowkind who’s aware of how humans gain sorcerous skills ever forgets that fact.

I settle into the rhythm of the machine until the ache I was waiting for prickles through my muscles.

Most shadowkind come into being with at least slightly superhuman strength.

If one of my missions outside of school requires a physical fight rather than one of magic, I want some chance of holding my own.

The whir of the machine fills my head. I’m heading into minute twenty-three when someone drops a weight into its rack too abruptly.

The clatter jolts through my nerves. A memory flashes behind my eyes: a shadowkind creature crashing through a window and landing on the floor with a clacking of its vicious claws.

I flinch, and the handle slips from my fingers. It smacks into the head of the machine.

Forcing myself to inhale slowly, I slide over to retrieve the handle. Did anyone notice my lapse?

A surreptitious glance around suggests not. I try to lose myself in the rush of exertion again, but my mind can’t quite detach.

Maybe it isn’t just the instinctive reactions to my sorcery that set me apart. Maybe my past means I’m putting up barriers I’m not even aware of.

Because I know too vividly that not all shadowkind creatures are innocent.

It’s been a long time since a horde of very literal monsters slaughtered my birth family and kidnapped me. It was only a brief fragment of my life that they kept me captive before Quinn and Rollick came to my rescue. I barely think about it anymore.

That doesn’t mean the dreams have stopped, though.

I grit my teeth and push myself even faster.

When I came to the school, I told myself the students would adjust to my presence.

That we’d find a way to accept and even welcome each other.

After all, I grew up surrounded by shadowkind.

I know plenty of them aren’t like the brutal fiends that destroyed my first home, just as I’m not like the sorcerers who develop their talent by destroying other beings.

Somehow, six years into my tenure here, the harmony I imagined hasn’t materialized.

At what point do I accept that it never will?

When my shirt is sticking to my back with sweat, I peel myself off the rowing machine. As I debate whether to move on to weights or the treadmill next, one of the shadowkind support staff slips out of the shadows a few steps away from me.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Jonah. Rollick’s sending along a being who’s been disruptive at one of his clubs. You should oversee the transfer in case there’s major resistance.”

Here I am, back in the role of jailer.

That’s what I signed up for. That’s the one thing I can do for the school that no one else can.

So I force a smile. “Let me take a quick shower, and I’ll meet the retrieval team at the car.”