Page 14

14

The Dealio Sucks, Yada Yada Yada, But …

I was already lying awake in my bed when the alarm went off at 7:00 a.m. the next morning. Despite our initial excitement at the amenities our new house offered, we’d dispersed early the night before to be alone with our own thoughts. I’d soaked in the deep tub of my ensuite bathroom until the skin of my fingers shriveled. I’d examined the problem of our newfound immortality and the iron hold Magnum had on us from every angle I could think of with no new results. I’d finally succumbed to sleep, to get away from my burdened thoughts as much as to rest.

Now, Bobo lay beside me, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his feet in the air. I woke him with some belly rubs before sliding out of bed and getting ready for the day.

What exactly did one wear for their first day at, uh … supernatural school? Would I be dying today? Did I need to think about blood getting on my clothes?

“God,” I muttered aloud to myself, “I can’t believe I’m considering that.”

When I trudged out to the kitchen—Bobo prancing happily beside me—I discovered my friends already there, their expressions equally haunted.

Griffin silently pressed a kiss to my cheek before popping an everything bagel into the toaster, possibly for me since those were my favorite.

“Wow, look at us,” Layla harrumphed as she clutched a mug of coffee in both hands. “We’re depressing.”

Brady poured himself a glass of what appeared to be fresh orange juice. “It’s not us who’s depressing. It’s everything else.” With a full glass, he gestured to the elegant extravagance that surrounded us.

Layla snorted. When he snapped his incredulous gaze to her, she asked, “What? It’s kinda funny is all. This place is amazing.”

“Yeah, but—”

She waved dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know. Let’s not beat a dead horse, ’kay? I think we need to turn this all around.”

“How so?” Brady asked, pouring himself a second glass. Dude could chug.

Layla’s brows rose and she seemed to force a peppy smile onto her face. “Let’s flip this thing around. We’re here anyway. We know the dealio. It sucks, yada yada yada, but …” She leaned her waist against the marble island. “There’s also some sweet cool stuff here.”

Brady opened his mouth. She cut him off with another dismissing wave.

“I get it, Brade. We all get it. But if we make the best of the things we can make the best of, then maybe we can at least have a little fun while we’re busy having the not fun part.”

Brady walked by with a bowl of cereal; she snagged a frosted shredded wheat biscuit and popped it in her mouth while he spun on her with murder on his face. She didn’t even really like shredded wheat, but she did love bugging the ever-loving crap out of her brother.

With a grin, she chomped away happily and noisily while Brady fumed and stomped to the far end of the dining table from her to enjoy his cereal in relative safety.

Layla swallowed and smirked. “I say let’s show them by having a freaking blast.”

“Not sure how that’s gonna ‘show them,’ genius,” Brady grumped.

“Why yes I am, thanks for finally recognizing my brilliance, brother. Took you long enough. And we show them by at least taking away any control they have over our reactions.”

Griffin slid a plate in front of me; it held a toasted everything bagel slathered with cream cheese. I smiled up at him. “Thanks, Griff. You’re the sweetest.”

“No, he’s buttering you up to get some later,” Layla said. “Or in this case, cream cheesing you up.”

I ignored her. Sometimes it was the better option. Griffin doting on me every so often wasn’t anything new.

Griffin popped another bagel in the toaster. “We can’t control what happens to us. That much has been blatantly proven over the last several months. But we can control how we react, what we do in the face of the challenges.” He glanced at Layla. “I can get on board with that.”

“Me too,” Hunt said. “Only ’cause moping around for the next who-knows-how-long might actually drive me crazy.”

Bobo jumped back in through the doggie door in the kitchen and ran to his bowl stand; he looked at me expectantly when he found it empty. I started to push my chair back, but Hunt shook his head.

“I got it.”

I smiled at him as he scooped some food into the bowl. “Thanks for being such a good Bobo daddy, Hunt. He loves it.”

Hunt hmmphed and tossed the empty can into a sleek stainless-steel bin. “It’s my pleasure. He’s the only one who’s always been real with us.”

Around a mouthful of cereal, Brady said, “What’s that say about us? That we can only trust our dog? Not even our parents .”

Our dog . I smiled on Bobo’s behalf and licked some cream cheese off my finger until I caught Griffin’s stare following the path of my tongue. Heat flushed my insides and I forced myself not to look at him so Layla wouldn’t get on our case all over again.

Layla tsk ed at Brady instead, jabbing her finger in his direction. “Nope. None of that. I already told you.”

He snorted. “And what? You think I’m just gonna do what you say? Like that’s ever gonna happen. I’m not your bitch, Lay.”

“Then quit acting like one.”

Brady’s spoon clunked against his bowl right as the buggy pulled up into the driveway.

Brady stood, jabbing his finger right back at Layla. “You’re lucky we got interrupted.”

“Oh, really? ’Cause what, Brade? What? You’ve got me shivering in my boots.”

“Girl,” I said with a shake of my head, “you’re wearing sneaks.” I chuckled. “Maybe give him a break while we get this all sorted.”

“The day I give Brady a break is the day I’m freaking dead.”

Apparently hearing her own words, she frowned.

Brady swept past her, heading toward the front door on this level—a sliding barn-door style I freaking loved. Over his shoulder, he called, “Someday, you’re gonna learn to think before you speak, or you’re gonna end up swallowing your feet whole. And we both know your feet stink to high heaven.”

Before the twins could fall into even more squabbling, Fanny called out, “Knock, knock,” on the other side of the door. Brady turned toward us just to roll his eyes before sliding it open.

In yet another floral maxi skirt and blazer, Fanny stalked past him and into the kitchen-dining area we currently occupied.

“Good morning, everyone,” she trilled, then paused as if expecting a response none of us were in the mood to give her. She’d revealed a tad too much Magnum-love for our liking. She scowled briefly. “I’m here to guide you through your orientation at the Institute for the Advancement of Immortals.” She beamed as if we should be equally excited. Perhaps she even expected applause.

I stuffed another bite of bagel into my mouth and watched her.

She openly huffed, then reached into a satchel she carried across her body and pulled out five new iPhones, the latest model, still in their boxes. She lined them up on the table for us.

“Ummm, what’s this?” Layla complained even as she reached for the lavender one and slid it toward her. “I thought we were getting back our phones.”

Fanny smiled at us, but I wasn’t buying her friendly act anymore. “It was decided that these would be better for you.”

“You mean, better for Magnum,” Brady corrected.

She blinked at us, holding her smile. “Yes. You’ll be able to use these phones to communicate with each other, with me, and with personnel on campus. It’s been decided it’s better to make a clean break with any other friends or connections from Ridgemore at large.”

“‘It’s been decided,’” I parroted bitterly.

“As promised, you’ll want for nothing while you’re here.”

“Except for our freedom,” Griffin said, moving to stand behind me. “That’s not on the table, now is it?”

Fanny smoothed her fingers along her hair. “That depends on how you view ‘freedom.’”

“Oh, you know, the usual way,” Griffin bit out.

She merely plastered a tight smile across her face. “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

As if she were customer freaking service.

“Yeah,” Brady said. “I need an RF detector ASAP.”

Fanny actually had the gall to look surprised. “Whatever for?”

“Uh, to scan for listening devices to make sure we have some privacy?”

“Oh.” Fanny chuckled, waving a hand at us. “There’s no need for that.”

“Yes, there is,” Brady insisted.

“You’ll find listening devices in every room of the house, along with each of your cars, even the unfinished ones. You’ll also be monitored in every room on campus.”

I blinked at her.

“Well, that level of honesty’s new,” Layla muttered, topping off her coffee.

Fanny nodded. “You’ll find Magnum to be very forthcoming if you give him the chance.” Her eyes gleamed with hero worship. “The many microphones and cameras—”

“Cameras?” Brady interjected.

“Yes,” she said, but one of her eyes twitched for a moment, making me think it had been a slip. “The surveillance is for your protection as well as ours.”

“Doubt that,” Layla said. “We’ve never been less safe than since we met Magnum.”

“True that,” I said.

Though it didn’t need adjusting, Fanny smoothed her hands down her jacket. “This school is about to be filled with students of all sorts with a vast range of capabilities we have too little idea about. You all may be able to survive death, but these students, some of them are quite skilled at causing it. Trust me when I tell you, you want the security Magnum affords you.”

A chill ran over my skin and I sat up ramrod straight. “Are these new students going to be used to … kill us?”

Her eye twitched in a tell, before she hastily replied, “Magnum has not yet informed me of his plans for you.”

“Lie,” Layla snapped, voicing my own thought. My girl was definitely in a pointing mood today, as she now aimed her rigid index finger at Fanny. “You just flat-out lied to us.”

The assistant didn’t deny it. She merely tilted up her chin in defiance.

Layla pressed, “What kind of supes are coming?”

Fanny just stared back blankly.

“Shifters? Vamps?”

“Layla,” Brady started. But then Fanny’s eye twitched again. Brady leaned back in his seat with a whistle. “No shit …”

“Dayum,” Layla breathed. “That’s gonna be awesome. What else? What other powers?”

“I’ve neither confirmed nor denied a single thing.”

“Yeah, you have,” Brady said. “Never play poker with your boss. He’ll take you for everything you have and add it to his stuffed vaults.”

Fanny huffed, then scowled for good measure. “I personally will not be referring to anyone in the student body of this fine institute as a supernatural or a ‘supe,’ and I highly recommend you don’t either.” Her frown deepened. “As far as I know, there is no such thing as a vampire or a shapeshifter. I’ve not once heard Magnum use those terms. The new students will be blessed with unique gifts , with special abilities . They are imbued with skills from beyond this world. They are not caricature-like paranormal creatures . For goodness’ sake, this is reality, not fiction!”

“Just like I said,” Brady interjected. “I told her this wasn’t a book. We’re not living in a damn movie.”

“Precisely,” Fanny said.

Undaunted, Layla’s eyes still sparkled. “Hmmmm. We’ll see.”

Fanny snorted. “This is a waste of my time. We have to get going. You’re to meet with the scientists first. They’ll perform an examination to get a preliminary baseline reading on each of you. Then we’re to meet with your instructors. First, those who’ll teach you”—she paused to curl her lips in apparent disapproval—“ninja skills. Next, those who’ll nurture your minds.” The latter was apparently sufficiently dignified for her; the sneer vanished. “Finally, we’ll get all the supplies you need and get you ready to begin your training first thing tomorrow. Now …” She cast a sneer at Layla in particular. “Is there anything else I can help you with before we set off for the day?”

“Yes,” Hunt answered right away. “We want the titles to our cars, even the incomplete ones, so that when we choose to leave, we’ll have no problem taking them with us.”

“Of course,” Fanny said a little too easily, too graciously.

The lack of titles was the least of our worries in leaving this place, but kudos to Hunt for thinking of it. The more we had lined up in our favor ahead of time, the better.

Without warning or apparent reason, the dishware atop the table began to rattle.

Bobo whined, rushing to my side, where he placed both his snout and paw on my lap. Griffin’s hand landed on my shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Brady asked, pushing to his feet.

“Nothing,” Fanny said, too breezily. “Nothing at all, I’m sure.”

Then Brady’s spoon began to clink against his bowl. Layla scooped up her mug from where she’d set down her coffee, clutching it close.

The large panes of glass all over the house began to vibrate.

“You sure it’s ‘nothing’?” Griffin pushed.

Fanny chuckled, but the sound was breathy, unsure, and a bit alarmed.

I stood too, and Bobo pressed against my legs. Hunt, Layla, and Brady huddled around Griffin and me.

The light in the kitchen began to flicker.

“Okay,” I snapped at Fanny. “What the hell’s going on?”

“I’m sure everything’s fine,” she answered, her voice an octave higher than before. “But we may want to take cover, just in case.”

Before any of us could so much as take a step to do so, a loud and unmistakable KABOOM shattered the campus’s quiet.

The entire house shook. Dishes and silverware rattled loudly in the cupboards and drawers, and a fine dusting of plaster rained down from above.

The five of us crawled under the massive table, dragging Bobo under with us.

Fanny lay sprawled out on the floor, squawking, “What was that?”

“How the hell should we know?” Brady snapped back. “We were just asking you that!”

“Not you,” Fanny snapped back at Brady. “Hush so I can hear.”

I placed my hand on the floor. The shaking seemed to be slowing.

“And is he locked up now?” Fanny asked someone.

“Holy shit,” Hunt breathed. “She’s chipped.”

I jerked a stare at him, then Fanny. She didn’t have her tablet or phone out, nor had I noticed a comm on her, and I’d looked in her ears specifically.

“Who’d be insane enough to let someone do that to them?” Layla whispered.

As one, all of us, even Bobo, studied Fanny.

Her hands were pressed against the floor as she spoke to the air around her. “Well, then take him out! Get him locked up!”

The shaking settled even more.

“Yes, yes, I’m on my way,” she told the invisible person on the other end of the chip in her head. “Yes, I’m with them. But they can make it to the labs on their own. I showed them the way already.”

She paused as if listening. “No, they’ll be fine.” Then she stared angrily at us, as if we were at fault in whatever the hell chaos was going down now. “They’ll go straight there. Uh-huh. On my way, but don’t wait to get security there. Tranq him if you need to. Keep dosing him till it works.”

As if nothing untoward had happened, Fanny rose from the floor, dusted off her flowered skirt, hitched her bag higher, then walked to the window-wall with a view down to the drive where the buggy was parked. I glanced toward it too. Don was standing beside the cart, looking anxiously up at her.

She glanced back toward us. “You’re to go directly to the labs, nowhere else. They’ll be waiting for you there. When you’re finished, someone will be there to escort you to your next appointment.”

She powerwalked to the door, and with it already opened, she added, “And hurry. I don’t have time today to deal with your bullshit.” She stepped out and slid the door shut behind her.

On the other side of the door, she muttered, “I don’t have time to deal with his bullshit either.” She surely wasn’t referring to her precious Magnum. “No, I’m not talking to you, Fred. Give me an injury and destruction update.”

She walked down the small hill to the buggy, hopped in, and Don took them down the drive.

The five of us looked at each other, and without a single word we dropped everything and raced toward the garage level, Bobo on our heels. Ordinarily, I’d leave him at home. But not when some majorly sus shit was going down like this.

We piled into Bonnie in record time and Brady had us peeling down the driveway after the buggy while it was still in sight.

They didn’t want to tell us anything? Fine. That was on them.

But we weren’t going to live with anybody’s lies any longer. As best we could, we were going to play Magnum’s game by our own rules.