Pride X Familiar ReVamp (Pride X ReVamp Book 1) (12 page)

I sat back down on the chair I’d vacated.

Caprice studied me for a moment. “I have some analgesic cream in my apartment that might help. I’ll loan it to you.”

I pressed a palm to my ginger face. “Ah, thanks….”

“On second thought, I’ll just give it to you.”

I gave her a surly look.

Her voice was as flat as her expression. “There are four of them in total.”

“Huh?”

Caprice inhaled deeply. “I said, there are four in the group. That was number one.”

“Number one what?”

She held up four fingers for me to see. “Message number one. I’m sure messages two, three and four will follow.” She patted her cheeks. “That’s why I’ll just give you the cream.”

I glared at her. “Don’t bother. I’ll buy my own on the way home.” I turned away and looked out the window. “Besides…it doesn’t really hurt that much.”

I wondered how hard the other girls were going to hit me.

So far I was getting the message loud and clear.

I needed to atone for offending Prissila Ventiss, the Princess of the Third Year student body.

Then Caprice said something that actually sent a chill down my spine.

“Getting hit by Aventis girls is one thing, but getting struck by Aventis males is another.” She was studying me carefully. “You should prepare yourself for that eventuality.”

“What do you mean?”

Caprice sighed. It sounded as flat as her tone. “The Princess has many ardent male followers. Your antics are sure to have offended them as well.”

She dabbed at her lips with a paper napkin.

“However, you won’t be able to rely on your Fragment when the time comes.”

There was nothing I could say to that.

I knew exactly what she meant.

Use of Fragments without express authority from the Pride was prohibited. The situation would have to be dire in order for a Familiar to call upon their Fragment. Using them against high school students was a no-no. I was going to have to rely on my training if Prissila’s followers decided to express their grievances with their fists.

“I’m in trouble,” I muttered.

Caprice nodded. “When the time comes, give me a call.”

“Huh? Why? This is my problem.”

Her face betrayed no emotion. “It’s my problem too.”

I shook my head at her. “I reap what I sow, remember?”

This time her gaze hardened. “You’re my partner. We face our problems together.”

My mouth fell open. A heartbeat later I closed it quickly. A sense of shame welled up inside me. “Sorry.”

Caprice shrugged faintly.

The need to change the subject was overwhelming. “Caprice, what are your thoughts on the matter regarding Cee Cee?”

“Cee Cee? Oh, you mean them.” She put her utensils down. “I agree with the Countess. It’s disappointing to think Familiars are working with them.”

I frowned. “Who’s the Countess?”

“Simone,” Caprice explained. She sipped her diet soda.

I had no idea why she drank the stuff. Considering the after school training we were subjected to, it was unlikely she was going to gain weight from drinking a regular soda.

I glanced away for a moment.

Come to think of it, I’d never seen a fat or overweight Aventis.

I glanced around the cafeteria, looking for a heavyset student and not finding one.

Caprice’s voice garnered my attention. “I don’t relish the prospect of having to face Familiars in battle again.”

I planted my chin on a palm. “I guess knowing that Familiars are working for the enemy doesn’t help our case very much. The Primogens and the Prides are just going to trust us even less.”

“True.”

I looked out the window. “I wonder what other Fragment Cee Cee has in its possession?”

“I’d like to say it’s not for us to worry over,” she said softly, sipping the last of her soda and then placing the cup on her tray. “But I fear we’ll be the ones on the receiving end of those Fragments.”

I harrumphed under my breath. “You’re probably right.” I glanced at her. “Have you spoken to Arisa?”

“No.”

“I get the feeling she’s avoiding us….”

“Arisa has her own troubles to attend to.”

That may be, but I was starting to feel she’d cut us high and dry. In fact, I felt like she’d dropped us into the hands of the Student Council.

Into the hands of Simone Alucard Raynar.

The lunch bell sounded.

Time for afternoon classes to resume.

I caught a glimpse of Haruka leaving the cafeteria second floor in the company of two girlfriends.

I pushed past the empty feeling in my chest.

How could I have been so stupid to think that I was over her?

#

(Caelum)

I was slapped Wednesday and Thursday.

But on Friday, the fourth of the Princess’s girlfriend’s chose a different delivery method.

She kneed me in the groin.

Then she left me cavorting in pain on the cafeteria floor, in full view of the seated student body.

I had decided to face my punishment in an open, visible environment.

My hope was that the Princess’s male followers would not take action if they perceived I was suitably punished by her girlfriends.

I rocked on the floor for a half minute but came to a stop when a girl squatted down beside me, close to my head. Her posture gave me a clear view of what her skirt was hiding.

White and lacy, with a French cut.

I looked up at the girl’s heart shaped face and almond eyes. “Girlz Pride?”

She nodded.

My pain was slowly easing. “You…you wore them…for me?”

She nodded.

I swallowed past the pain in my lower body. “Why?”

“Congratulations on surviving to the end of the week,” she said in monotone.

I choked back a sob, then another. “Caprice…I’m so…I’m so touched.”

She nodded and made a little ‘humph’ sound.

I squirmed a little closer for a better look.

Suddenly a palm-slate blocked my view. Caprice held it close to my face.

“We’ve been summoned,” she stated softly.

I tried peeking around the palm-slate at the treasure between her thighs.

Caprice blocked my every attempt.

I sighed in defeat and read the message.

REPORT TO THE STUDENT COUNCIL ROOM – THE COUNTESS.

I sat up gingerly, holding back a pained groan that welled up in my throat. “Why does she call herself the Countess?”

Caprice stood up. “Count Dracula. Countess Alucard. Something along those lines.”

I accepted the hand she offered and rose to my feet with her help. “Oh, I get it now….”

We had to hurry. Afternoon classes would resume in twenty minutes.

We arrived at the Student Council room a few minutes after leaving the cafeteria, and the doors opened for us before Caprice could knock on either of them. I realized the corridor was being watched from inside the room.

Just how extensive were the surveillance systems inside the Academy? Did they spread to every nook and cranny in the school grounds?

The Countess was waiting inside. She was lying sideways on the president’s desk, her head propped up on one arm. She smiled and gave the two of us a little wave.

I caught the scowl on Caprice’s face before she grew expressionless once more.

The three other occupants were Severin Kell, Maya Khayman, and the other girl I’d met at the beginning of the week.

Rina Sayen.

She was slender, with a long black hair tied into twin ponytails. She had pleasant features. In a word I would call her cute enough to make a guy’s heart skip when she smiled.

She looked embarrassed to see me, whereas Maya didn’t even glance my way. The latter’s expression was as frosty as an ice comet.

As for Severin Kell, he simply nodded at our arrival. Clearing his throat politely, he said, “I’d like to thank all of you for coming. We’re short on time so we’ll begin right away.”

He then waved his pen remote like a sorcerer.

The lights in the room dimmed, and the holovid projection system came into play.

I crossed my arms and studied the images that appeared.

It looked like a collection of buildings of various rectangular dimensions. Some were wide, others taller. Walkways and bridges connected the buildings to each other. As the image slowly rotated I noticed it was possible to get from one building to every other building by using these bridges.

Maya sounded confused. “What is this? A new commercial block being planned inside a habitat?”

Severin shook his head faintly. “No, this is one way to represent our Academy’s information network.”

I laughed. “This is the school’s computer network?”

“This is one way to look at it. These buildings represent domains and sub-domains. The floors can be considered levels of data storage. Databases, files, folders, all of it represented as rooms, cabinets, shelves, lockers, and so on.”

I studied the collection of buildings and noticed one of them lacked windows and floors. It resembled a featureless black box. There was a single bridge connecting it to a larger building.

I pointed at it. “That black one—the one that looks like a box. What’s in there?”

“We don’t know.”

I looked at Severin, and spared the Countess a glance. Now she was sitting on the edge of the desk, swinging her legs slowly. “How can you not know what’s in there? It’s your network, isn’t it?”

“It’s our Academy’s network. However, we’re not responsible for it. We didn’t design it, and we don’t maintain it. Nor are we in a position to make changes to it.”

“Huh?”

Severin enlarged the area around the featureless building. He focused on the point where the lone bridge connected to the black wall. Seven doors stood like dominos on the bridge, as though to prevent access to the black building.

He said, “These doors represent the seven security layers that prevent access to this part of the network. So far, five of them have been breached. Based on past experience, we expect that Crescent will have little trouble getting through the last two doors.”

I shook my head, feeling frustrated by the questions beginning to well up in my head. “I still don’t understand how it’s possible that you don’t know what’s in there?”

Severin sighed. “I said it before. We don’t run the network. We have very little authority over it. That includes the way it is protected, and what people choose to put inside.”

I pointed at the black building. “But can’t you just ask someone what’s in there?”

“We did but they’re not telling us. In fact, we’re not getting any support from the network administrators nor any answers from the private consulting firm that implemented this security model.”

Maya asked, “Why not?”

The Countess slipped off the desk and walked over to Severin.

Student Council President and Vice-President stood almost shoulder to shoulder. They regarded each other for a short while before facing us. It was Severin who answered Maya’s question.

“Everything the Student Council is doing here…is not sanctioned by the members of the Prides responsible for managing the Academy.”

I heard the mixed reactions from my fellow Familiars.

The Countess said, “The Powers-that-be are aware of the problem, but they’ve chosen to leave us out in the cold. They’ve chosen not to involve us in the matter. As a result, we’re not able to get any support from them.”

Severin added, “Everything we’ve done has been without express approval. This includes enlisting the help of various trusted clubs within the Academy, and bringing the four of you together.”

I asked guardedly, “Then why do it?”

Severin answered, “Because it’s our Academy, and the Student Council has a responsibility to ensure that our Academy is safe, and that its students and teachers are not placed in harm’s way.”

I muttered bluntly, “That’s rather benevolent of you.”

Severin arched his eyebrows at me.

The Countess cut in smoothly. “However, while we don’t have their express permission, the Powers-that-be haven’t done anything to stop us except refusing to answer our questions, and refusing to supply us with the resources we request.”

I frowned. “That’s a little odd. It’s like they’ve put you in a box but are letting you run around freely inside it.”

Severin and the Countess looked bemused at my remark, then shared another long look.

The Countess shrugged. “I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

Severin looked uncomfortable but appeared to agree. “To all intents and purposes, the Powers-that-be have decided that there’s little we can do about the situation. So for now, all we can do is wait and see how they react to the four of them being brought together.”