Entranced (4 page)

“Oh, of course.” My dad collects my bags and wheels them with him as he heads off with Jax toward a set of gliding doors.

My mom drapes an arm over my shoulder as we follow them. She continuously tells me that everything is going to be okay as we make our way through security and outside to a small plane with a portal stairway pushed up against it.

“Call me every single day and night.” She hugs me good-bye, squeezing me so tightly I swear my lungs are going to burst.

“I will,” I promise, fighting back the tears.

Eventually, I move away from her arms and say good-bye to my dad. He makes me promise the same thing as my mom before reluctantly letting go. Then I climb the stairs to the plane, waving good-bye to them before ducking inside.

The plane is smaller than I expected with only ten seats, four of which are occupied by three men dressed in dark suits and a woman sporting a collared shirt. They all look at me with annoyance when I walk up the aisle.

“Great, just what we need,” the woman says to the man sitting beside her. “A Keeper to corrupt the Academy.”

The man shoots me the death glare when he notices me eavesdropping. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, you can stop insulting my entire family.” I refuse to be intimidated by a guy who’s probably never fought a day in his life. “If your Academy is corrupt, it has nothing to do with the Keepers.”

“You speak highly of a group you’re no longer a part of.” The woman’s eyes narrow on me. “Alana Avery. That is your name, right? Daughter to Alex and Gemma Avery, who from my notes, are fairly high up in the Keepers’ circle, and granddaughter to Julian Lucas, a very powerful Foreseer.”

I hesitantly nod, wondering where she’s going with this. By the way she sneers, I’m guessing it’s not going to be pretty.

She leans toward me. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret. All of that may have mattered, but no one at the Academy gives a shit who your parents and grandparents are. In fact, it might be beneficial for you to keep that information to yourself.” She shifts back, crossing her legs. “Keepers are nothing but barbaric animals who fight first and think second. Trying to brag only makes you look equally as ridiculous.” With that, she starts lightly chatting with the man about where they should have dinner when we land.

Stunned by her rudeness, I wander down the aisle away from them. I’ve always known most Keepers and Guardians don’t get along, but I’ve never heard a Guardian be so blunt about their hatred for Keepers.

I take an empty seat toward the back, buckle my seatbelt, and stare out the window, watching my parents walk back into the airport. I feel lonely already, and we haven’t even taken off yet. How much worse is it going to get?

“It’ll get easier.” Jaxon plops down in the seat beside me.

I blink my attention from the window. “What will?”

“Leaving your family behind,” he says, fastening his seatbelt. “I’m guessing this is probably your first time away from home.”

“I’m only seventeen. Most kids my age are still living with their parents.”

The tolerant smile he gives me makes me feel like a child. “Not most Guardians. Most of us leave our families around fifteen or sixteen to attend the Academy.”

“How old were you when you went there?”

“Fourteen.”

“You were only
fourteen
? That’s … well, really sad.”

He simply shrugs. “I got my mark at fourteen. It’s not really that uncommon in
our
world
.”

I frown at the “our world
”
reference.

“You were a little late getting your mark.” He reaches for my neck, grazing his fingers across the mark there and causing me to lose my mind for a second and shiver.

His mouth curls into a smirk, and I jerk back, pointing a finger at him.

“Okay, since we’re supposed to be partners or whatever, I need to lay down some rules.” I ignore the amusement dancing in his silver eyes as I continue. “The first thing you should know about me is that I’m not really cool with people invading my personal space or putting their hands on me without permission. Got it?”

He nods, his lips twitching to turn upward. “If that’s what you want.”

“It’s what I want.” I sound hesitant, though. “And second, I need to know what your deal was the other night.” I twist in my seat, bringing my leg up to rest my chin on it. “How did you know about my plan to off Anastasiya?”

His jaw clenches. “How could I not know about it when you and your little friend were blabbering about it so loudly the whole room probably heard?”

“No, we were actually talking pretty quietly, and the music was too loud for your little superpower wolf hearing to work. I know you don’t read minds, so fess up. How’d you know?”

His brow cocks. “How do you know I can’t read minds? Maybe I have Wicca in me. Did you ever think of that?”

My gaze hastily travels over every ounce of his flesh showing, but his arms and neck are about all I can see.

He reclines back against the armrest and gives me an amused look. “I can take my shirt off if you want to get a better look.”

I resist an eye roll. “Or you could just tell the truth.”

He drags on the anticipation for a few seconds longer before surrendering. “Look, I’m not a witch, okay? And I didn’t overhear you, but I can’t tell you how I knew about your stupid plan.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “It wasn’t stupid. I knew what I was doing.”

“You’re not a Keeper or a wolf or a vampire; therefore, it was stupid to think you could kill a vampire as powerful as Anastasiya,” he says matter-of-factly.

Anger simmers under my skin. “Don’t pretend me being weak is why you stopped me. You only did it so you could kill her yourself, but what I don’t get is why a Guardian would kill Anastasiya. I didn’t think they killed at all, just found the person who committed the act.”

His brows pull together. “What’re you talking about? I didn’t kill Anastasiya.”

“Um, yeah, you did. I saw you on the roof or, well, the wolf you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Well, then, it was a wolf who coincidentally had the same silver eyes as you.”

His lips thin as he presses them together, no longer looking irritated, but disappointed. “You may have seen a wolf with silver eyes, but it wasn’t me.”

I pick up one of my bags I tucked under the seat. “Then who was it?”

He shrugs indifferently. “How would I know?”

“You sure look like you know.” I unzip the bag and reach inside to grab a bag of licorice. “And whoever it is, I can tell you’re disappointed in them.”

“Are you sure you’re not just a Guardian?” he questions with suspicion. “You seem like you know more than you should.”

“Did I ever say I was just a Guardian?” I take a bite of a piece of licorice then smile at him as he eyeballs me with distrust. “Relax, wolf boy.” I face forward and prop my feet up on the seat in front of me. “I’m not a Foreseer. My grandfather is one, though, and he sometimes does favors for me, so keep that in mind whenever you feel like lying to me.”

He’s silent for long enough that I think I’ve won the argument, but then he grins maliciously. “Before you start worrying so much about me, I’d worry about why Vivianne Monarelle seems so interested with you.”

I nibble on the end of the licorice. “Who’s Vivianne Monarelle?”

He nods his head toward the front of the plane at the woman who insulted me. She’s watching us with interest, and when she sees me looking at her, she glares at me.

“She’s in charge of new recruits at the Academy and pretty much runs the training classes. If you get on her bad side, she can make your life a living hell, and with how pissed off she looks right now, I’m guessing you already have. So, good luck with
that
.” He gets up and goes to sit up front.

I turn my attention to the window, but I can feel Vivianne staring me during takeoff. Once we’re in the air, though, I’m too distracted with freaking the fuck out to care about her.

I’ve traveled with my grandpa Lucas through a crystal ball before and transported with my aunt so many times I can recite the transporting spell on cue. I even once fell through a portal Jayse’s little sister set up as a trap for us when we made her mad and ended up landing in a tree outside the Keepers’ castle. None of those forms of transportation are as terrifying as zooming through the sky in a plane controlled by a person.

My fingernails dig into the armrests as the plan jerks, and my muscles are wound so tightly my body aches.

“Never flown before?” Jax plops down in the seat beside me again about thirty minutes into the flight.

I shake my head. “How much longer until we land?”

“About six more hours.” He grabs a chip from a small bag he brought with him and pops one into his mouth.

“
Six
more hours of this?” I bite down on my lip as the plane gives another jolt. “Is it going to shake the entire time?”

“It might. It depends on if the storms clears.”

A deafening breath escapes me. “This is going to be the longest six hours of my life.”

Jax considers something before standing up and leaving me to panic on my own. A minute later, he returns to the seat with a bottle of what I think is water.

“Take a sip of this, and you should be able to sleep through the entire flight.”

“What is it?” I stare at it distrustfully. “Vodka or something?”

“A sip of vodka wouldn’t knock you out, Alana.” He sets the bottle on my lap. “It has Otium in it.”

I pick up the bottle and lift it closer to my face to get a better look. Up close, I can see the small flakes of lavender floating around in the clear liquid. “Otium, huh?” I glance at him. “How’d you get this?”

“My grandma’s a witch and taught me how to make it,” he replies with a half-shrug. “I keep it on hand when I’m on long flights.”

“How do I know if it’s Otium? What if you’re trying to poison me?”

“And why would I want to do that?”

“I don’t know.” My breath catches in my throat as the plane bumps around. “To keep me quiet about what I saw at the Black Dungeon.”

He slants forward, catching my gaze. “I promise I’m not trying to poison you. I’m just trying to help you get through the flight in peace.”

He seems honest, but I’m still undecided whether I want to dope myself up with a Wicca herb that will knock me into such a deep sleep nothing will wake me up until it wears out of my system. But when the plane jerks again and the captain warns everyone to keep their seatbelts fastened, I quickly twist the lid off and take a swig.

“Thanks…” I manage to get out before I black out.

“Alana, can you hear me?” my grandpa Lucas calls out through the darkness. “Please say you can hear me. I need to talk to you … God, I need this to work.”

I can hear you,
I think to myself.
But where are you?

“Alana!” he calls out, his voice echoing around me. “Please, answer me.”

I’m right here!
Grr… I internally growl at myself in frustration. I can’t seem to say anything aloud, no matter how hard I try. Where the hell am I? I can’t see a damn thing, can’t feel my legs, my arms, my mouth … Maybe that’s the problem.

“I thought this would work,” he mutters. “I don’t understand.”

Taking a deep breath, I slide my feet forward, forcing myself to walk blindly into the darkness. “Grandpa …” I force my voice out. “I’m … right … here.”

“Oh, thank God,” he says in relief.

I hear the soft pitter-patter of footsteps heading toward me. I don’t see him when he reaches me, but I feel his presence nearby.

“I’m glad I was able to meet you here,” he says, sounding much closer now.

“Where exactly is here?”

“In one of your dreams.”

“You’re in my
dream
?” My surprise swiftly wears off as I remember my grandpa is a Foreseer. “Is this a new Foreseer thing, being able to enter people’s dreams?”

“We’re technically not supposed to,” he admits. “But I needed to take the risk.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to tell you something important.”

“You know, texts work great for that, too, and it’s way less creepy.”

“I couldn’t text you this … I can’t have any sort of trail that’ll lead to what I’m about to tell you,” he says in that ominous tone again. “If anyone finds out …” He trails off.

“Grandpa, you’re scaring me,” I admit. “Before I left, you were acting so strange, and then you show up here … Please tell me what’s going on.”

“You’re in danger,” he whispers, his voice sounding farther away. “Oh no … I need … more time …”

“Why am I in danger?” When he doesn’t respond, I cry out, “Grandpa, you’re scaring me. Please, just tell me why you think I’m in danger.”

“Because … they’re …” His voice fades in and out. “Coming … after you … I’m … sorry.”

“Grandpa!” I shout, my voice echoing around me as I run forward into the darkness. “Please tell me who they are.”

As the stillness sets in, I begin to panic. Minutes, maybe hours tick by, and I start to fear being trapped here forever when I feel myself slipping back to reality. Right as I’m about to wake up, I feel something cold pressed into my palm, and a single word whispers through my thoughts.

Electi.

I force my heavy eyelids open and blink away the dizziness swimming in my brain while trying to get my bearings. I’m still on the plane, but the shaking and jolting has stopped. I look out the window at the darkness blanketing the airport and then at the empty seats around me. We’ve landed, and everyone has vacated the plane, including Jax.

“Gee, thanks for waking me up, guys.” I stretch my arms above my head and yawn before collecting my bag from under the seat and getting to my feet.

Thoughts of the trippy dream linger in my mind as I make my way up the aisle and off the plane. I blame it on the Otium. While I’ve never had it before, witches’ potions can have strange side effects, like the time Jayse and I accidentally ate suckers his mom laced with Rabidus Primula to use for a Keeper mission. Jayse and I ended up losing touch with reality and running back and forth across the field for ten hours straight until we were so exhausted we passed out.

Still, as I find my way into the quiet airport, I can’t shake the feeling of how real the dream felt, that my grandpa Lucas really did show up to warn me I’m in danger. But in danger from what? An Electi? Because I’ve never heard of them before, and growing up with Keepers who hunt practically every paranormal creature that exists, it seems like, if they existed, I’d know.

Maybe it’s not a creature, though. Perhaps it’s something else.

While I wait for my suitcases to show up at the baggage area, I end up sending my grandpa Lucas a text, just to settle my worry. Between how small the airport is and the time nearing ten o’clock, the place is almost empty, so I sit down on the floor and search on the Internet for what electi could be, but I come up with zilch.

“You’ll ride with me to the academy,” Jax appears by my side out of nowhere.

“Where is everyone else?”

“They had to go downtown for a meeting.”

“Okay.” While I’m not thrilled to be riding with him, I’m glad I won’t be riding in a car with Vivianne.

“And fyi, you talk in your sleep,” Jax says. “You say really strange stuff too.”

I slide my phone into the pocket of my jeans. “Good to know.”

He sits down beside me and fiddles with a leather band on his wrist. “I feel sorry for your roommate.”

I frown. “I have a roommate?”

“Everyone new does.” He gets to his feet as the conveyer belt buzzes on and reaches for a large duffel bag. “I had one when I first started at the Academy.”

“How long have you been going there?” I stand up to grab one of my suitcases.

He slings the bag over his shoulder. “Almost five years.”

“So, you’re almost nineteen.” Disappointment washes over me. “How long do we have to attend the Academy? I thought it was only for a year.”

“It all depends on where you’re placed. If you want to be a permanent investigator, then you have to put in a lot of time. Otherwise, you’ll be put on another job like cleanup, which sucks balls.”

“It sounds like it sucks balls.” I internally cringe at the idea of having to clean up dead, mangled bodies. “Is that what you do? I mean, are you an investigator?”

“I’m not one yet. I actually took a little time off.” He frowns at that then quickly clears his throat. “But, yeah, I’m back now, and I’m working my way up to becoming an investigator … starting with training you.” He motions at me to follow him as he strides for the exit doors.

I totally notice how he breezed over my question about him being at the Black Dungeon. He may think I’m going to drop this, but he’s so wrong.

“Training me?” I quickly hurry after him as he exits the building. “I thought we were partners.”

“I just said that in front of your dad to make him feel better about the situation.” His gaze sweeps the road in front of us and the carport to our right before he veers left down the sidewalk. “I know how proud Keepers need to feel, and it seemed like he’d be prouder if I told him you were my partner.”

I wheel my bags with me as we hike toward a black car parked near the curb. “So, I’m not your partner, then.”

“Technically, I guess you are, but it’s not the same as if you’d actually graduated and are an investigator. I mean, you’ll go on jobs with me and everything, but only to learn how we work.”

“Sounds like a blast,” I say flatly, jerking on my suitcases when a wheel gets stuck in a pothole.

He rounds the back of black car and pats the trunk. Moments later, it pops open. “Doing what we do takes a lot of mental work, Alana.” He drops his bag into the trunk then grabs mine from me. “It’s not just learning how to fight and jumping in. You have to memorize every creature, learn their traits, what makes them tick so that, when you show up at a crime scene, you’ll know what to look for.”

Something dawns on me then. Jax knows a lot about creatures. Perhaps he knows what electi means or is.

He heaves my suitcases into the trunk then walks to the side of the car, tipping his head back to glimpse at the sliver of moon in the sky. “Climb in. We have about an hour’s drive to the Academy.”

I open the door to get into the backseat of the car. “Hey, Jax, can I ask you a question?”

He casts me a wary look from over the car roof. “You can ask, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll answer.”

Sighing, I ask, “Have you ever heard the term electi?”

“Why?”

“I just heard the word once, and didn’t know if it meant something or if it was something,” I answer as nonchalantly as I can. “You just mentioned how much a Guardian has to learn about the creatures we’re hunting, so I figured I’d ask and see if you knew.”

“How do you know it’s a creature?”

“It’s just a guess.”

“Well, you guessed wrong, and if I were you, I’d forget the word.” He ducks into the backseat of the car and slams the door.

I shake my head. What is with everyone making threats? I’ve been a part of the Guardians’ world for not even twenty–four hours and have been warned twice to keep my mouth shut about stuff. Is this what it’s going to be like for the next year? God, I hope not. I’ve never been one to just drop stuff.

Heaving a sigh, I slide into the backseat. Once I get my seatbelt buckled, the driver, an older man with startling silver hair, drives forward, starting the beginning of a very long and awkward car ride.

Jax is clearly upset with me and decides to do the brooding, silent-guy thing. I try to distract myself with my phone, but the farther into the hills we get, the shittier the signal becomes.

After about half an hour of mind-numbing silence, I scoot forward and prop my arm onto the console. “I just want to say that you have amazing driving skills, dude. Back there, when you took that corner at sixty, that was impressive.”

He presses back a smile. “I’m just doing my job, ma’am. I’m under the instruction to get you to the Academy by eleven-thirty, and not a minute later.”

“What happens if I’m late?” I ask curiously.

“Then I lose my job,” he replies, shifting gears.

“That’s crazy,” I say. “I mean, what’s the big deal if I’m a few minutes late?”

He shrugs, gripping the wheel. “That’s just how things work around there. The Guardians like everything to run in a timely manner.”

“Then they’re not going to like me very much.” I rest my chin on my fist. “I’m always at least five minutes late for everything. Call it a curse. Call it laziness. But I can’t seem to break the habit.”

“By the end of training, you will,” Jax interrupts. “Either that, or you won’t make it to the end of training.”

I twist around to look at him. “Why? Are they going to kick me out for being late?”

“It’s been known to happen a few times.”

“Well, then, I’ll make sure to be late all the time.”

“You act like you want to get kicked out.”

“I just want to go home”—I lift my shoulders—“and back to my life.”

He slides forward in the seat, getting so close to me his knee presses against my hip. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but that isn’t your life anymore. The Academy is.”

“I never asked for this life. I was supposed to be a Keeper. That’s the life I was always planning on having, so it’s going to take some time to get used to this whole Guardian thing.”

“You need to get over it. You belong to the Guardians now.”

I open my mouth to tell him I belong to no one, but snap my jaw shut as the car enters a gated area surrounding a red brick building that seems to stretch for miles.

“It’s different than what I expected,” I say as the headlights cast across flowers trimming the dirt driveway and a ‘Welcome, New Students’ banner above thick double doors at the front of the building. “It’s less we-study-dead-bodies-in-here and more hey-come-on-in-and-have-a-cup-of-tea.”

“It’s a school, Alana, not a mortuary.” Jax opens the door as the cars comes to a stop. “We don’t study dead bodies in here.” He lowers his head to hop out, throwing a smirk over his shoulder at me. “We’ll be doing that in the building by the cemetery out back. We use that place so we can run the temperature low to keep the bodies nice and fresh without freezing out the school.”

I scrunch my face in disgust, and he chuckles as he hops out of the car, leaving me to wonder if he was kidding or not.

After we collect our bags from the trunk, I say good-bye to the driver then follow Jax inside the school.

“It’s quiet in here,” I remark as we walk down a desolate hallway lined with glass cases.

“That’s because you’re one of the first to arrive.” He takes out his phone and glances at the screen before putting it away again.

I notice that inside the cases are tons of framed newspaper clippings with headlines about solved murders. “What newspapers are those from?” I wonder. “Not any from the human world, right?”

“Like the Keepers, humans no nothing of our existence,” Jax says as he pulls open a heavy door at the end of the hallway. On the other side of the door is another long hallway lined with more doors.

Jax lets me walk in first then swiftly takes off like a man on a mission. I haul my suitcases behind me as I trudge along behind him. We pass shut door after shut door and finally stop in front of the second to the last one labeled Avery/Clarkford.

“Your roommate won’t be here until probably Monday.” He drops his bag on the black and white checkered floor and reaches toward me.

Startled, I step away from him. He gives me an annoyed look and grabs ahold of my arm. As his fingers wrap around my wrist, I shiver again from his touch then shake my head at my reaction. What the hell is wrong with me? Seriously, it’s not like a guy has never touched me before. I’ve kissed a few even.

“Why’re you trying to hold hands with me?” I ask. “I mean, you’re cute and everything, but you’re too brooding for my taste.”

I feel like an idiot when he flattens my palm against a small pad above the doorknob. The pad lights up, and then the door lock clicks open. He lets go of my hand, gathers his bag, and backs down the hallway.

“We both know I fit your taste. It’s why you keep flirting with me.”

“I’ve never flirted with you,” I argue, but he simply chuckles and turns his back on me.

Well done, Alana. Never call a cocky guy cute. Now he’s never going to let it go.

I blow out a breath before pushing the door open and stepping inside the dark room. Flipping on the light, I see that the room consists of two wooden dressers, two twin metal beds, and a small window.

“This room is so … depressing,” I say to myself as I close the door.

I don’t bother unpacking, and sit down on the bed to text Jayse and my grandpa. When none of them answer right away, I lie down, crossing my fingers that I can fall asleep soon. Part of me is hopeful my grandpa Lucas will pay me a visit in my dreams again. Then maybe I can ask him what the hell electi means. That is, if he learned to dream walk. Maybe the damn thing was just a dream. My mind has other ideas, though.

The moment I rest my head on the pillow, my senses are buzzing, my thoughts racing. By the time I doze off, the sun is rising over the hill, and I end up falling into a very disorienting sleep, but I manage to catch a few bits and pieces of the dream.

“Please, Alana,” my grandpa pleads. “Please, don’t let them find it, even after I’m gone. Keep it safe. It’s why I gave it to you: because I know it’s safer with you than anywhere else.”