INITIATION by Imogen Rose (Bonfire Academy Book One)

Chapter Two

I strode over and held out my hand. The young girl sitting next to King Sebastian was gorgeous–a beautiful red-highlighted brunette, with a wide mouth, perfectly arched eyebrows, and a slightly upturned nose scattered with small freckles, one of which sat at the very tip. She was very young, so I was slightly taken aback when she gripped my hand in a very firm handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Faustine.”

Her eyes danced, and her pink-glossed lips twitched into a shy grin. “Nice to meet you, too, Cordelia.” She let go of my hand abruptly and turned to her father. “Dad, I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

I sat down opposite them, watching the exchange in fascination. Seeing the different personas of King Sebastian, and how quickly he could switch between them, was enthralling. Every time he glanced at or spoke to his daughter, he got kind of mushy, and as soon as he talked to Frau Schmelder, he was the intimidating demon king.

 “Hon, Frau Schmelder is going to make sure you have a nice time here. Isn’t that so?” He glared at Frau Smelt.

“Certainly, Your Highness!” She reassured him, sounding flustered. “You don’t need to worry at all.” She turned to Faustine, who wore a bemused look. “Faustine, your father tells me that you ski. We have an excellent ski team. Would you be interested in trying out?”

Faustine’s eyes lit up. “Yes! I love to ski. And I love snowboarding. I’ve never been in a competition, though.”

“No worries there,” The Smelt purred. “We’ll get you settled in, and then introduce you to the team. They’ll be delighted to meet you.”

Delighted? I zipped my mouth. It wouldn’t be sensible to contradict the headmistress at the best of times, but to do it in front of her visitor would be totally insane. However, she had to be aware of the nature of the team. They were a fiercely competitive bunch, consisting of the school’s best skiers. I scrutinized Faustine. She was almost half the size of most of the members. And she was half human… To think that she could even begin to hold her own on that team was just plain stupid. She’d get eaten alive. Perhaps literally.

However, the mention of skiing had her looking at me expectantly.

“I’ll introduce you to the captain. His name is Jagger. Are you interested in any other activities? Music?”

“I play the cello.” She became somber again. “And I can play the piano and guitar, but not well.”

“What about theater? Dance? Art? Other sports?”

She shrugged. “Done plays and stuff at school. I did ballet and hip-hop classes. I can swim and play lacrosse, and I did a bit of kickboxing.” She pursed her lips. “But, what I really want to do is ski.”

“Well, let’s get you settled in, and then I’ll take you over to the peaks.”

“Awesome!” She rubbed her hands together and beamed at her father.

“Well, it seems you are ready to get going.” King Sebastian gave me an appreciative nod. “I need to discuss a few things with Frau Schmelder before I go, but I will be back in a couple of days to check on you. And if you need me for anything, call me. I will come immediately. Okay?”

“Yes, Daddy. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I can’t wait to see my room! And go skiing. Will you come skiing this weekend?”

“Absolutely.”

“What about Mom? Can she come as well?”

He took her hands in his and squeezed them gently. “Hon, you know she can’t. You won’t be allowed contact with any humans, not even your mom, until you graduate. You can call her, though. Anytime you want.”

Her eyes welled up. Poor thing. It was probably the first time she had ever been away from her mother.

I went over and put my arm around her, pulling her in for a hug. “Faustine, it’ll be okay. Think of me as your big sister while you’re here. You can come to me for everything. You can even camp out in my room for sleepovers if you want. I’ve got an extra bed.” It suddenly dawned on me why I had been treated to that room.

She perked up, and then got out of her seat. “Bye, Dad.”

He rose and enveloped her tightly in his arms. I could see that he struggled to keep his own emotions in check. Faustine was truly precious to him.

Waggling her finger at the door, Frau Schmelder indicated for me to leave. I held out my hand for Faustine, which she grasped.

“Faustine, go with Cordelia. I’ve already had your luggage put in your room,” The Smelt said.

“Bye, Dad,” she said again, clearly fighting back tears. She stood on her tiptoes for one last kiss before I pulled her out the door with me. It reminded me of a kindergartener’s first day at school. The separation anxiety could easily have resulted in a moment of Honey, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Silly, of course. Faustine was at the academy for a reason.

I led her through the hallways and up the stairs toward my room. She was quite a Chatty Cathy once she got started.

“Cordelia, Dad said you’re a demon. Are both your mom and dad demons?”

“Yes, they are. I gather your mom is a human?”

“Yes. I’m really going to miss her.” Her voice broke.

“Do you have any sisters or brothers?” I asked, quickly changing the subject.

“No, I’m an only child. I have a best friend, though, who lives with us. Her name is Neave. She’s a witch. I wish she could have come with me.”

“Well, witches don’t usually come to the Academy, unless they’re hybrids, of course.”

“What’s a hybrid?”

“That’s when you have a father and mother who are different, like you. You’re a human-demon hybrid.”

“Oh. Is that good or bad?”

“Neither. You are who you are, and what you need to do here is figure out exactly what you are capable of, and learn to control it.”

“Yeah, that’s what Mom and Dad said. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“Yes, I have two brothers and five sisters.”

“Wow! Big family. Do you like that?”

“It’s good most of the time, but we fight a lot.” I laughed thinking about my family. We were the only demon family I knew of that were nuclear, in that we had one set of parents and were full siblings. I guessed that was because Mom and Dad had synched when they were very young.

“Are they at the Academy?”

“No, it’s just me here at the moment. All the others, apart from my younger brother, have already graduated. My younger brother, Pascal, will start here next year, so you’ll get to meet him then.”

“Is this your last year?” She sounded forlorn at the thought.

I squeezed her hand. “Yes, but we have a long year of fun ahead of us. Let’s pop into my room before we go to yours. I’m just going to pick up my cell–I forgot it up there–then we’ll get something to eat. I bet you’re ready for a snack. How about a nice slice of steak?”

She rubbed her hands together.

Steak, also known as demon ice cream, was more than just a heavenly snack. It was a necessity. Steak kept us human. It obviously didn’t need to be steak, any meat would do, but a nice succulent bit of steak really hit the mark. Faustine had gone quiet, her mind probably totally drooling over images of sizzling steak.

I unlocked my door and led her inside.

“Hey, babe.”

I followed the voice to my bed and met the intense red eyes of Quinn. My boyfriend.