Spearwood Academy Volume Two (The Spearwood Academy Book 2)

Spearwood
Academy

Volume Two
(Episodes 6-10)

I
leap off the boy. It can’t be him. How did he, of all people,
get here? Maverick Hansen, the first guy I ever hit, stands in front of me. His
long ebony hair, with a white streak, in a ponytail. His ice blue eyes see
through to my soul, five-year-old me shakes in her shoes. Before I went to do
homeschooling, I spent every recess under his thumb.  I broadcast my
thoughts. I can’t focus on just him right now. ‘
What are you doing here
?’

 With his arms shifted
into their dragon form, he crawls out of the crater. He shifts back, before his
eyes fall upon me again. Suffocating heat rolls in my chest, the same heat the
moved through me just before I punched him all those years ago. I exhale. Fire
bursts forth from my mouth, illuminating the darkness of the night with an
orange glow. It’s better than screaming, it’s invigorating. I return my gaze to
him again, eyes narrowed. He takes a step back and holds up his hands. “Easy,
Clementine. I’m not here to pick a fight.”

I
snort, a trail of sulfur smoke billows from my nose.
‘Could have fooled me,
Hansen. Was that your way of saying hello?’

“I
was just following orders, I was told to get this on you.” He pulls a necklace
off his wrist. I gaze at it. A crystal hangs from a silver chain.

I
shake my head with disbelief.
‘Giving me jewelry? I didn’t even know we were
going steady.’

His
cheeks flush. “Get your panties out of a twist, Clementine. This can help you.”
He holds up the necklace to emphasize his point.

Silence
falls around us. More people watch us now, not just: the guys. ‘
So are you
going to tell me what that is for? Or are you going to just keep standing there
holding it up like an idiot?’

“I
don’t know what it is for, I was just told to give it to you while you are in
your Dragon form. It was part of my objective for today, so take it and let me
be done.” He tosses it toward me. It lands at my feet. It appears to be a blue
of some kind, but I can’t quite tell, it could be purple. I lean my head down
to get a closer look. A hum fills my ears. It gets louder as I get closer. I
take a step back. Like a circus flea, the crystal jumps after me. It doesn’t
stop until it touches the scales of my talons.

An
instant burning rolls over my body, like none I have ever felt before. I let
out a breath of fire before my body gets smaller and my scales become covered by
skin. It is an odd sensation, one that I can’t describe, but it doesn’t hurt. I
must be changing back, my eyes go to the night sky. The moon hangs heavy, it’s
nowhere near dawn. Why am I changing back I don’t remember a time when I was
awake while transforming back.

My
muscles shake. I return to my human form on all fours. My arms move to cover my
breasts. I sit back on my knees. The crystal falls from my hand and onto my
lap. With one arm still covering my breasts from the view of the audience, my
freehand moves my hair from out of my face. The crystal slips off my lap and
back onto the ground. The sunburn like heat rushes over my body.  I begin
to change back into my Dragon form. I grabbed for the crystal. Like magic, the
transformation stops. With my freehand. I put the necklace on. I don’t want to
risk not having it touch me. Somehow, it is what I’ve been asking for my entire
life. Something to stop my transformations from happening.

The
guys come over to me and Horace hands me the extra pajamas again. I put them on
and glance toward Hansen. Beside him stands the Royal. The guy that proposed to
me the other day, He smiles, like the Cheshire cat.

I
walk over to them and hold up the crystal. “What is this thing? How did it turn
me back?”

The Royal’s
eyes study my face. He smiles, and moves his hand to cup my cheek. I flinch
away from his touch and take a step back. “I told you, my love. I would do
anything for you, to get you love me, even if it means getting a crystal to
cancel out the curse you are under.”

Curse?
What is he talking about? Before I can ask, the sound of dress shoes
clacking
on the cobblestone interrupt my interrogation. Perlow walks up to stand next to
the Royal. His eyes are wide. I can tell he wasn’t expecting to see me in this
form. His eyes travel down to the necklace. The crystal glints in the light of
the lanterns that hang over the archways of the Rose Garden.

“What
is going on here?” He asks, his voice shakes a tad. 

The Royal
tries to touch my face again, a glimmer of happiness in his eyes. I swallow
hard. My heart hammers in my chest. I bat his arm away. “You try and touch me
again, I won’t hesitate to break your hand.”

Perlow
blanches at my behavior. Undeterred, the Royal smiles. “You are so cute when
you’re feisty.” He then turns to Perlow and says, “I was just giving my love,
here, a gift.” He motions to the crystal. “You should recognize it, Perlow.
It’s one of the Gypsy crystals.

Perlow
swallows hard and licks his lips. “Perhaps, Miss Clementine, you should give
that to me.” He reaches for the necklace. The Royal grips his shoulder.  

“Are
you questioning my authority, Perlow?”

Perlow
lowers his hand to his side and makes a white knuckled fist; he looks anywhere
but the Royal. “Of course not, Paden, please excuse me.”

The
Royal arches an eyebrow. “Did I give you permission to use my first name?”

Perlow
grinds his jaw, but says nothing. A strange sadness enters his eyes, they look
straight into mine. “I will take my leave now, but before I do,” he looks at
the rest of the people gathered behind us. Even more people have
gathered.  “Congratulations to all of those who have completed their task
and made it back to Spearwood. The Sun god has blessed you.” Perlow leaves.

The
Royal, or Paden, smiles at me again. “Do you like my gift, my love?” he asks.
He must have enough common sense not to touch me again.

“Stop
calling me that. I’m not your love. I can’t accept this, please take it back.”
I move to take the necklace off, but his hand stops me.

“I’m
sure you have figured out what happens when you take the crystal off. Do you
really want that to happen now? Here, in front of everyone?”

I
narrow my eyes. “I’ve already had to change in front of three people I barely
know, what’s a few hundred more?” I once again try to take the necklace off,
but his hand over mine tightens to an almost painful level.

Through
gritted teeth, he says, “if you won’t accept it as a gift, then accept it as
payment.”

“Payment?”

“Yes,
for choosing to attend the school. Consider the crystal payment for making the
right decision. Come, Maverick. We have things to discuss.”

  
Paden begins to walk away. Maverick turns to me. “Regardless of how we left
things back in Bellingham. It’s good to see you, Clementine.”

Before
I can say anything in return, he walks away in sync with Paden.

I
run my hand through my hair, giving it a tug as my
fingers get stuck in a small knot. Why must they give me more questions than
answers? I’m so sick of everyone being cryptic all the time. It’s like I’m in
one of those path books. I keep choosing the wrong option, but there is no way
to go back and see what the other option lead to.  I stare up at the sky,
this is the first time I’m seeing it through human eyes. It still looks the
same, but it feels different. It’s strange, being on two legs instead of four,
while the moon hangs in the sky.

I
turn toward the guys. They watch me from where I left them. The crowd near them
dissipates.  The action show has finished; the only girl of the school
doesn’t have anything else to give them. I walk over to the guys. I cross my
arms in front of me. I’m still self-conscious over the fact that several, if
not all, of them have seen me naked today. I guess I’m more modest than I
thought. Mirren stands with them, Bullock has not left either. It’s strange,
all of them together.

“So,
that was, interesting,” I say, with a shaky laugh. .

“That
it was,” says Dante. “Why don’t we go for a ride tonight? Dinner attendance is
not required, since not everyone will be back yet.”

Code
for the Cabin. I glance at Mirren and Bullock, are they coming too? I thought
it was a secret place? “That sounds nice.”

Dante
walks off toward the stables. The others follow. I look to Mirren and Bullock,
they hesitate before joining us.  Soon, Spearwood is behind us. I can’t
help but catch the tension in the air. I know it’s because of everything that
has happened, and probably because Mirren and Bullock are with us as well. What
happened while I was talking with Paden? Now they can stomach each other? What
changed?

I
can’t stand my own curiosity anymore. We come to the stables, and wait for the
tired servant to get our horses. I wouldn’t want to work at this late hour. I
pull Dante off to the side, out of hearing distance from the others, and cross
my arms in front of me. “Why are Mirren and Bullock here?” I whisper, just to
make sure they can’t hear.

He
sighs. “Turns out, we might not be as different as we thought we were. I’ll
explain more at The Cabin, but it looks like we’re allies, even if we don’t
like it.”

Looks
like my gut feeling was right. I hope we can all get along. I know I have
issues with the two of them, but I’ll be nice if they are.

Going
back to the group, we stand in a heavy silence. The servant comes back and
leads us to the horses. Maryanne puts her snout into my hands and I give her a
pat. I’m coming
to
really like her.  “Hey girl.
Sorry for waking you up.” She just blinks.
                                                        

Triton
comes over to help me up, but I hold a hand up. “I think I can do it on my own
this time.” He steps back and motions for me to get on with it.

I
put my left foot in the stirrup and use my upper body strength to pull myself
up and swing my other leg over. I smile, I did it on my own. “Those brutal
workouts you put me through have paid off, Dante.”

Dante,
already on his white steed, laughs. “I try, Fire.” He nudges his horse on and
we follow.

Perhaps
it’s the night, but the world has a new aura. The colors, the cool air on my
skin, even the way Maryanne’s strength feels as she walks, have more intensity
than they ever had for me before now. The air, crisp, like after a rain storm
invigorates me.

We’re
moving too slow. I want to move fast. For the first time in years, I’m outside
at night. I didn’t get to fly long, but now I can experience it as a human. My
legs nudge Maryanne into a canter. I lift myself off her, and tighten my legs.
She picks up pace and moves into a gallop. We’re a good two or three miles from
the edge of the forest, she has room to run before we have to slow down.

Dante
gallops with me. “What are you doing?”

“Going
fast!”

Maryanne
goes faster on her own will and I hold on. Her heavy footfalls echo throughout
my body. She’s feeding off my energy, just like I’m feeding off hers. The
others run with us.

“Why?”
yells Dante.

“Because
it’s fun!” I let out a scream of excitement. It’s not as freeing as flying, but
it comes real close. Several of the guys mimic my scream.

The
tree-line is dark in the moonlight, but clear enough that I can make it out. I
ease up on the reins, signaling that I want her to slow down. When she goes
back to a canter, I put my weight back on her. The others slow down with me and
follow behind Dante and me.

“That
was fun, but it doesn’t compare to flying. There’s a rush with being up in the
air that is indescribable,” I say. We enter the forest and into a thick blanket
of darkness. The cat like night vision turns on. No shadows can hide from me
now. . It doesn’t take long before we make it to the clearing; the glow from
the moon gives the waterfall and iridescent aura. The cabin looks even smaller
than the first time I saw it. If I didn’t know better, I would believe there’s
no way it could hold all of us. We tie the horses to the tree and allow them to
have length to feed on the overgrown grass.

Dante
lets us into the cabin and my jaw drops. The place has tripled in size since
the last time. Now, it has to have at least three stories added on. A fire
roars in front of a sitting area. I don’t remember that being here last time.

“Holy,”
says Mirren. He follows in behind me. Obviously, he wasn’t expecting to see
this on the inside.

“I
don’t know about you guys, but I could eat my weight in food right about now,”
says Amr. He goes into a kitchen and opens one of the cupboards.

“Where
did this come from? This wasn’t here last time!” I walk over to the fridge and
touch it to make sure it’s real.

Dante
laughs and plops himself down on one of the small couches. “This place is ever
changing, like King’s
Rose Red
. We could come back tomorrow and there
will be a pool in the library.” My head turns faster than the blood has time to
shift and I go cross-eyed. Did he just say a
Who
reference with King?

“Did
you just make both a Stephen King and
Doctor Who
reference?” I go to the
couch and he moves his feet just enough for me to sit down. As soon as I sit
down, he puts his feet on my lap.  I push them off, but he puts them back.
I give him a mock glare and he sticks his tongue out at me.

“Yeah,
it was,” he says. He tips his head back to stare at Mirren and Bullock, who
stand at the door, like a pair of statues. “
Fais
comme
chez
toi
.” Ah, French, why must they speak French? More
importantly, why do I want him to say it again?

They glance at each other, before they each take a few steps
into the room and find a seat. Well, they’re sitting statues now. 

“Avvi! Heads up!” says Amr. I look back just in time, a glass
bottle flies at me. I catch it without a seconds thought. I have no clue how I
did that. It’s Italian soda, strawberry flavor.

“How did you know I like strawberry best?”

“You tend to eat them last when you get the fruit bowl for
breakfast. You are one of those, eat the favorites last people,” says Amr. He
cuts up something at the counter.

I smile and open the soda.  I never knew he took so much
notice of me before.

“Do you two like each other?” Horace asks, from his place in
the kitchen with Amr and Triton.

I choke on my drink. “Like romantically?”

Heavy silence falls over the room, that’s my answer. I look
at Amr and he looks back at me, our noses scrunch up with disgust, at least the
feeling is mutual. “
Ew
! No!” we say at the same time.

“It be like liking a brother. Just no.” I shake my head.

“Yeah, I like you, Avvi, but not romantically.”

Dante sits up and grins at me. He has that gleam in his amber
eyes. I know what’s going to fall out of his mouth next. “No!” I say.

“You don’t even know what I was going
to say.” He pouts like a child who has gotten their lollipop taken away.

I take a drink of my soda and say, “Yes I do.” I give him a
smirk

He flips his hair.  “No you don’t.”

“You were going to ask me for, the hundredth time, who my
type is and who I like.”

He folds his arms over his chest and lies back again. “Fine,
you did know what I was going to say. Then answer it, Fire.” He stares
unblinkingly, a challenge.

Again, silence reigns.  I sigh, and an evil thought pops
into my head. I smile. “You really want to know?”

“Yes, woman! Why do you think I ask you? For my health?” He
throws his arms up in the air, like he has been trying to work this answer out
of me for hours.

“More like your ego.  Okay, but you have to keep it a
secret, only you guys can know.” I put my finger to my lips. “He has long black
hair—”

Dante sits up again and smirks. “It’s me, isn’t it?”

I roll my eyes. “No.” “He has a sarcastic type of humor and a
God complex. He’s eyes are blue, but sometimes they can turn green.”

Dante makes a face now. “That Hansen dude from earlier?”

I gag. “No! Don’t ever, ever, suggest that again. I’d have to
be out of my mind to ever like Hansen.” I shudder at the mere thought. Hundreds
of childhood traumas come flooding back to me. “Finally, his brother is a god,
the god of thunder.”

“Thor?” asks Horace, from the kitchen.

I smile and nod.

“Loki from
Thor
, or
The Avengers
?” asks Dante.

I can’t hold it in any longer. A laugh bursts forth from me.
“Though, I guess I like Thor, too.”

He nudges me with his foot in the shoulder. “You were
supposed to choose someone from Spearwood.”

“Hey, you didn’t specify. You said nothing about them being a
real person.”

“Then who do you like from Spearwood?”

I smile. “Now, that’s one answer I will be taking to my
grave.”

He smiles now. “I bet it’s me, huh?”

I roll my eyes and shake my head. “Keep dreaming, Casanova.”

Sizzling vegetables and chicken fill the room with
crackles
and
pops.
My stomach rumbles. Between the stress of worrying about the
challenge, and actually doing it, I haven’t thought about food once. Now that
it’s here, I can’t wait to eat.

“Was this survival test bloody?” asks Mirren.

Dante sits up to face the fire at the center of the room.
“Yeah, at least it was for my group. We lost one of the team mates, got stuck
under a boulder during one of the trials. Another got his index finger taken
off by a third year. We got a scroll though, and returned it to the library.
You?”

Mirren shakes his head. We didn’t see anyone and the worse
trial we had was a small avalanche.”

“What about your challenge?”

“The challenge was less for them and more for me.” My arms go
across my chest again. Flashbacks of my panic attack play in my head. My cheeks
heat up. I can’t believe I acted like that.

“What was the challenge?” asks Triton. He walks into our
section of the room.

I give a heavy sigh. “They locked us in a cave. The only way
to get out was if a full dragon moved the boulder that was blocking the door.”
I pause for a second, for them to have a chance to respond, but none of them
say anything. “Seeing as you guys know more about me and this curse I
apparently have, I don’t really have to tell you what happened next.”

“I don’t see how that is a challenge, it doesn’t have
Spearwood’s sadistic humor written all over it,” says Dante

I give a small laugh. “Oh, it was sadistic. How much do you
know about my transformations?”

Triton is the one to shrug and answer, “There’s not a lot
about them, but they are said to be painful.”

“Is that why you keep asking me if it hurts?” He looks away
from me and shrugs again.

“Before today, I’ve only changed in front of one other person,
my father. That was only until the age of six. After that, my transformations
changed. He told me, they went from the scales rising up through my skin, like
yours do, to the skin needing to be removed.” I play with the soda bottle,
making the light from the fire reflect off it and onto the floor.

“It starts out feeling like a bad sun burn. My clothes feel
like burlap. The burning sensation intensifies until it’s a deep itch. I try to
scratch it, but I can never get it. I end up ripping off my skin. Then my
muscles start to grow and shift. Imagine being ripped apart and sewn back
together every single night, with no relief. I never wanted anyone to see me
transform. Tonight, I had an audience for changing into and out of a dragon.
Spearwood got exactly what it wanted.”

“That crystal, where did it come from anyway? I’ve never
heard anything about that in the lore,” says Horace. He comes in carrying a
tray of bowls. Amr follows behind him with two in his hands. He hands me mine
and takes a seat at my feet. Inside the bowl looks to be chicken stir-fry with
brown rice. “Lore?” I ask. I pick around the chicken and take a bite of rice.
It tastes home cooked, thrown together. Not made by gourmet chefs. It’s nice. I
forgot how much I missed this flavor.