Dark Moon - Michael Langdon

Part 14 - Hawthorne Academy

"God, that took forever," I mutter as Michael and I step out of the cab with our suitcases. It is 9 AM, and the California sun is already shining bright.

"You sure this is the address?" Michael asks, looking at the strange field in front of us with a metal spiral structure out front.

I nod, putting on my sunglasses. "Want to see what's up with the metal structure?" I ask.

"May as well," he sighs, slinging his black jacket over his shoulder. I glance over and admire how the sun makes his cheekbones glisten, but quickly turn back to the structure before he can catch me staring. "I saw that," he chuckles.

I turn to see that he's now the one staring. "Face it, pretty boy, I'm not the only one staring."

He chuckles as a man walks out of the spiral. "What are you doing here?" the man asks.

I let Michael talk, knowing that this man is probably one of the misogynistic warlocks. "We didn't know where else to go," Michael says. "We were denied from that coven in New Orleans because our powers were too strong. We don't know of any other academies that can teach us about our powers. You're our last hope."

"You're a warlock, and a witch?" the man asks.

We both nod. "I'm Michael Langdon," he says, extending a hand. The man accepts.

"And I'm Esmeray Neera," I say, shaking his hand.

"Baldwin Pennypacker," he replies. "I'm a professor here. How did you find us?"

"We met each other in LA and discovered what we were together," I explain. "We went to the academy in New Orleans after seeing them on TV, hoping that they could help us, but they turned us away."

"Why?"

"We were too powerful," Michael responds. "They were afraid of us, together."

"Interesting," he muses. "Why don't you follow me; I'll introduce you to the rest of the professors, and I'll allow them to decide whether we shall take you two under our wings."

Michael and I nod and follow him to the spiral. "Is the academy underground?" I ask.

"Yes," he responds. "After those witches went public, we were snuffed out by the townsfolk here. We decided to rebuild, but to do it somewhere that the humans wouldn't expect; underground."

Michael and I nod.

"Tell me, how did you find out about us?" he asks.

"There was a sympathetic witch at Miss Robichaux's who told us about an academy of warlocks in California," I respond, completely coming up with this lie as I'm going. "We researched it and came here after finding out this was where the old academy was. We figured somebody around here would know where you guys went."

"Luckily for us," Baldwin says as we enter a long tunnel-like hallway, "Nobody outside of the supernatural community knows about the academy's current location."

We continue down the hallway until we reach a circular room, then Baldwin uses his powers to unlock a door that leads us into a candle-lit hallway. "If the rest of the council decides to admit you to this school, I will give you a tour later," he explains as we enter an office.

"What is this here?" a tall man with dark hair asks. He is currently sitting in a chair while smoking.

"John Henry Moore," Baldwin starts, "This is Michael Langdon and Esmeray Neera. They were turned away from Cordelia Goode's academy in New Orleans."

"And why was that?" John Henry Moore asks us.

"They were scared of our power," Michael and I both reply at the same time. We send each other a look.