Note: this story has been published through Self Publishing. Keep in mind that the Wattpad version is only the first draft! For the polished version without the many mistakes, buy a copy!
Where can you order a copy, you ask? Please use Create Space, because they give me more royalties!
Create Space: https://www.createspace.com/4799393
On Amazon (but they barely give me any royalties).
Don't hesitate to message me about where to buy it!
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When I got up on Monday morning and pulled on the first clothes I could get my hands on, I felt Simon stirring in my mind. He was waking up too. It was weird to know such things about someone who was across the building, but I had almost gotten used to it. I could feel him tune in on me, our energy merging and making both of us slightly less fuzzy and more focused. I yawned and started brushing my teeth. In about ten minutes, Simon would be here to leave for the cafeteria to have breakfast with me.
I stumbled into the living room, trying not to wake up Eve while trying to put on my shoes. To my surprise I noticed we had mail. I picked up the heavy envelope. I started when I read the front.
Miss D.J.M. Hollow
Room 302
Strictly personal
I laughed – the address reminded me of the letters Harry Potter had always received in the first book of the series. Of course, I didn’t need a letter to tell me I was a magical creature. My fangs had informed me of that some time ago.
Curious, I ripped open the envelope and pulled out a letter. The paper was undeniably expensive, judging by the heavy material and elaborately printed letters. I sat down on the couch, holding up the letter in the faint light that was coming through the little space between the curtains.
Dear Miss Hollow,
You have been selected to participate in a special program the School Committee is setting up. The Committee follows all students closely from the moment they enter the doors of this school until the moment they come to the end of their Transformation and graduate. After watching your progress in classes and in social matters, the Committee has realized you might be one of those rare students who needs an extra challenge. For this purpose, a special program has been designed for students like you.
The program is only for those who received a letter. For this reason, you need to keep this information to yourself. If the Committee discovers you have leaked information to outsiders, you will be cut from the program. Don’t deny yourself this once in a lifetime opportunity!
The program contains weekly meetings in which your special supernatural powers will be explored and tested. The main purpose is to make you realize your full strength and to assist you in achieving your goals in life.
The first meeting will take place this Friday at 8 p.m. sharp. You will be expected in classroom 1.3B, where you will meet your fellow students and a member of the School Committee.
For questions, please address:
P. Lemmings
Vice-president of the School Committee
Tel.: 867-5309
Frowning, I stuffed the letter back into the envelope and put it in my backpack. How strange… Why would anyone want to include me in a special program? I wasn’t a brilliant student nor did I have powers as strong as, for example, Eros. Besides, what was with the secrecy?
Something about the phrasing watching your progress made my skin itch. Maybe that was why some teachers had been watching me and a few others strangely. Or was I taking this all to literally?
I decided I’d tell Simon anyway. I didn’t want to be part of something I couldn’t tell him about. I tuned in to him and felt him moving closer. I picked up my bag and hurried toward the door, just in time to open it before he could knock.
“That was fast,” he mused, smiling at me. There was something off about his smile though.
“What’s up?” I asked, pulling the door shut behind me.
“Well…” He pulled something out of his pocket and held it up. “I got a letter this morning.”
I gasped. “No way!” I opened my bag again and dug out the envelope. “Me too!”
“That’s what I thought,” he sighed, his face drawn. He looked absolutely miserable. Our connection made me able to feel the extent of his worries, but I couldn’t get down to the source of it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Can you think of anything special about me that would get me a place in this program?” Simon asked, his voice low.
“Well, you’re a fairy, your powers are developing…”
“Yeah, but there are much more powerful fairies than me. Why me?”
“Well, we have this bond…” I added hesitatingly.
“And I sure hope nobody else knows about that.” He shook his head in dismay. “Until I know what it is, I don’t think it’s a good idea for others to know.”
“I agree. But well, what could they want from me? It’s not like I can do anything special.”
Simon laughed. “Dem, you can see auras. You can tell how I’m feeling by the color you see around me. You can tell if someone’s a supernatural and what kind…”
“I can?” I asked, surprised. I didn’t know I possessed that power…
“Of course you can. I mean, you see a glow around fairies, a darkness around vampires…”
‘Yeah, but that’s it,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Nothing major, unless I will be able to tell witches and weres apart from others too.”
“And why wouldn’t your power develop?” he asked. "But all right, let’s say it’s not because of your power. What else can you think of that’s special about us?”
I thought real hard while walking down the hall. What was special about Simon and me? Suddenly, my head snapped up. “No way!” I exclaimed angrily. “You’re not serious!”
“Yes, I am,” he replied grimly. “I think they only want us because we are one of a kind.”
“That stinks,” I said rudely. “We’ll be complete losers in that program. And it’s like… judging on gender or something!”
“I know, ” Simon agreed, surprised at my fierceness. “Shall we attend a meeting?”
“Of course!” I said quickly. “I want to know what this is about. Besides, I’m guessing Eros will be in it too, and we need to keep an eye on him.”
“Right,” Simon realized. “Did you talk to him yet?”
“He accepted our help,” I said, realizing I hadn’t told Simon yet. In all of the stuff going down with the full moon and its aftermath, I hadn’t told Simon about the conversation I’d had with Eros about his powers and us helping him. “He wasn’t graceful about it, but he is willing to practice with us. As long as he’s working with me and you’ll just be there to make sure I won’t be in danger.”
He sighed. “This won’t be fun.”
“Don’t be too harsh on him, he’s not that bad,” I said, remembering the story he’d told me about his dad and the dance we’d shared. “Life left him scarred.”
He laughed without joy. “Oh, and mine has been easy? Yet I’m not an evil monster.”
“Just keep in mind he’s just a guy,” I told him sternly. “No matter how much you dislike him, he needs our help. You said so yourself.”
“I hate it when you’re right,” grumbled Simon. “That’s my job.”
I laughed. “What can I say? You taught me well.”
While Simon and I did research, took tests (Simon aced all of his, while I passed them all with Cs, Bs and even an A!) and goofed around, Christmas was being prepared. Trees where being put up in the hallways and in the cafeteria, lights were being put on the walls outside and mistletoe everywhere. There was an important question we all needed to answer: would we spend the holidays here or would we go home? I didn’t feel like going home at all, where I’d only be confronted with a mother who was still scared of me and friends who I had to lie to. Simon’s whole family thought he was gay and afraid to admit it, so they all tried to fix him up with guys. His parents were both humans and they didn’t understand that being a male fairy didn’t mean he had to be gay. So when I told him I wanted to stay for Christmas, he immediately signed both of us up.
Will and Antwan were staying as well, but they didn’t want to talk about why they weren’t going home. All of my roommates were going home for the holidays. Eve and Paulie were very excited, but Sam was sulky. Her parents were rich and indifferent. They were both werewolves, so they could have taken care of her but they didn’t want to. She didn’t seem to care Christmas season was a time of forgiveness – she seemed to think they didn’t deserve it. I could see her point. I know I wouldn’t be able to forgive my mother if she had sent me here while my vampire father had still been around. I rather liked it here, but of course anyone would prefer living with loving parents.
Eros was on pretty good behavior these days. That is, I didn’t catch him sucking blood anywhere, though I listened carefully whenever I passed a classroom. He flirted shamelessly with me, just like he’d always done. There had been no more talk about his dad, and there was no trace of the vulnerability I’d seen in him. Sheila hated me, his crew whispered around me behind my back and Simon and Eros were becoming more and more irritated by each other, which was undoubtedly fueled by everything that had gone down around the full moon. The balance seemed to be restored.
The research Simon and I were doing on mind control hadn’t brought us very far. We’d read every book Simon owned on the subject and we’d gone through all the books in the library. It was only one week from the Christmas vacation, and Simon and I were sitting in an empty classroom, surrounded by notes we’d taken. I picked up a piece of paper Simon had scribbled on.
Brain damage occurs sporadically – cause?
- Victim's mind was probed too often.
- Mind was entered too deeply.
- Mind control went on for too long.
Resistance to mind control
- Other person around to focus on.
- Strong will.
- Realization of being controlled.
Could a certain “bond” influence mind control?
I’d just scribbled down sentences that were very much alike. We just never found anything we didn’t know already. In the corner of the note, Simon had doodled a girl that was leaning on her hand, smiling dreamily. I smiled, noticing the girl looked a bit like me. In the corner of my note I’d been doodling Simon, his hair hanging in front of his face, his hood up. It seemed like we both really needed a break – this wasn’t getting us anywhere.
We’d already discussed what we could do to find out more about my father. I really wanted to know what had happened to him and what was up with his unreliable state and the compulsion he must have used on my mother. I knew my mother was merely human and the power to control the minds of humans wasn’t that uncommon, but my gut told me there was more to it. The way my mom had talked about it made it seem as if he’d lost control, just like Eros sometimes did. Simon agreed we needed to find out as much as possible, not just because I wanted to but also because it might help Eros. If we were able to figure out whether there were others like him, we might be able to find out what we could do about it.
Simon’s hand on my shoulder made me snap out of my trance. I looked up at him, smiling slightly. His face was serious, but his eyes were kind.
“Shall we call it a night?” he proposed, stifling a yawn.
“Maybe we’d better,” I agreed. “We have an hour until curfew - feel like raiding the kitchen for some chocolate bars?”
When we walked back to his room with our pockets full of chocolate, we were both engulfed in our own thoughts. I was worried about the meeting with our special program group that would take place the next day. I had no idea who else was in it, and I hadn’t even gotten around to asking Eros about it yet. I’d only seem him when he came to provoke me from time to time and it just didn’t seem right to ask him about such a serious matter when he was making sexually inclined jokes. I was glad Simon would be with me – otherwise I wasn’t sure I would have gone through with it.
“Worrying about tomorrow, too?” Simon asked when he opened his door for me.
I rolled my eyes. “Is it really that obvious?”
“No, but I was thinking about the meeting too,” he confessed. “I’m curious to see who else got an invitation.”
“Me too,” I agreed, sighing heavily. “Hopefully they’re not all as all-powerful as Eros.”
Simon grinned. “I’d hardly call him all-powerful, but I get your point.”
When Antwan entered the room and turned on the TV, we quickly changed our subject. We were just discussing whether our Math teacher would ever get a woman to go on a date with him when Will came in and butted in.
“Simon, I forgot to ask you: Antwan and I are planning on having a little Christmas party here on the 26th. You’re in?”
Simon looked surprised, probably not expecting to really be invited. He still wasn’t fully used to being friends with his roommates. They’d lived completely separated from each other for quite some time until I came into the picture.
“Oh, Demona, you’re invited too, obviously,” Will added hastily. “Everyone can bring a date, but you don’t need to be Simon’s date to come.”
“Thanks,” I replied, smiling warmly. “I’d love to come.”
“Yeah, me too,” Simon said happily.
“Great,” Antwan piped up from the couch. “It’s gonna be a blast.”
“I’m surprised you bother to have a party with a ten o’clock curfew,” I considered. “How late does it start?”
“It starts at eight,” Will informed me. “And the curfew for vacations is somewhat looser. You don’t need to be back at your room until half past eleven.”
“Sweet!” I was already planning a few all-day Guitar Hero sessions. “Can’t wait.”
Later in bed, I didn’t want time to speed up anymore. Actually, it would be best if it never became eight o’clock tomorrow. I really, really didn’t look forward to the meeting. I tuned into Simon and found comfort in his steady energy. He was already asleep, but just knowing he was there was enough. I counted on him to be there for me – now more than ever.
“I don’t think we should go,” I told Simon on Friday. “Really, what’s the point?”
It was ten minutes before the meeting and we were walking toward the classroom. Simon just sighed and put an arm around me to keep me from slowing my pace. He didn’t say anything, but I could feel he was nervous too. Really, how could he not be nervous, when we both knew we had no reason at all to be selected. We had no powers whatsoever. No power but the bond we shared and hopefully no one knew about. Not counting my weird aura-thing, which could hardly be called a power since it was practically useless.
“Well, well, well…” a voice sounded behind us. “If it isn’t my favorite girl and her pet fairy.”
“Eros,” I replied without looking at him. “I take it you are going to-”
“A rendezvous with a beautiful werewolf girl?” he suggested lightly. “I wish, but I have no such luck today. This is strictly business, highly confidential.”
Although he said it jokingly, it told Simon and me what we needed to know. He was invited to the meeting as well. Of course he was.
“We know about the meeting,” Simon informed Eros, not looking at him either. “We’re invited as well.”
I snuck a look at Eros when he said that, seeing that he was only mildly surprised. “I figured as much. There is no way the Committee would let Demona out of something like this. And well, I guess it is pretty special to be a male fairy without killing yourself off, so maybe it’s fair for you to be there as well.”
I snorted, pretending I didn’t find his comment at least slightly amusing. It was better than the usual jokes about being gay at the very least. “You know who else will be there?”
“I have a pretty good idea,” he told me mysteriously.
We’d reached the classroom by then, and Eros opened the door for me. “Ladies first.” He even let Simon in with me without making any rude comments about faggots not counting as ladies or anything like that. He seemed to be pretty serious tonight – that is, considering how he usually behaved.
There were two people in the room already. One of them was a short, balding man wearing a weary expression. If I had to guess, I’d say he was a witch. The other was a beautiful fairy with a deep blue glow, illuminating everything around her. Her long brown hair was pulled into a neat bun and her light grey eyes were alert. She nodded at us when we entered, not caring to introduce herself. Eros stepped forward, extending his hand. There was no way he would miss a chance to get to know such a pretty girl.
“Eric,” he introduced himself, smiling slightly at her. “And you are?”
“Aurora,” she answered, accepting his outstretched hand. “I take it you are vamp girl and fairy boy?” she shot at us. Her voice wasn’t sweet or soft like most fairy’s voices seemed to be. Her manner was brusque and almost rude.
“I’m Demona,” I said. “And this is Simon. You might not expect it, but we prefer our real names over unimaginative nicknames.”
She just nodded and leaned back against the wall. It didn’t look like we’d get any more out of her. Eros shrugged and came to stand next to me, ruffling my hair slightly. I smiled, fixing my hair but liking the way he handled me.
The door swung open then and a tall guy with a wary look in his eyes stepped in. The darkness around him told me he was a vampire. He had short black hair and pale, chalky skin. He looked like the stereotypical vampire. He even had his fangs slightly out, like it was normal to show them without good reason. He nodded at all of us and sat down on one of the tables that had been shoved against one of the walls.
“That’s Rennor,” Eros informed me in a hushed whisper. “He’s seventeen and he thinks he’s the king of the world.”
“Ridiculous,” I whispered back. “Everyone knows you’re the king of the world.”
“Exactly.” The corners of his mouth turned up in a mocking smile. “He’s not too fond of me.”
“Who is?” I replied with a smirk.
The door swung open again and this time, I did recognize the person that walked in. A person I hadn’t expected to see here at all.
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Where can you order a copy of this book, you ask?
Create Space: https://www.createspace.com/4799393
On Amazon (but they barely give me any royalties).
Don't hesitate to message me about where to buy it!
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