Zodiac Academy: The Awakening

IT WAS OUR first Friday night at Zodiac and it felt like the entire school had plans. I watched from my floor-length vertical window in Aer Tower as students wound along the paths, laughing and talking as they headed who-knew-where for the evening. Probably somewhere better than here.

Sofia was sat at my desk re-reading her lesson notes from the day while Diego sat against a wall playing some depressing music on his Atlas. Tory was slumped on the bed, looking as bored as me.

“I wish we could go out,” I complained. “I feel like all we ever do is avoid the Heirs.”

“Agreed.” Tory sat upright with a sigh. “Plus they’ve probably got better things to be doing on a Friday night than hunting us down so it’s not like we have to hide tonight.”

“So where can we go?” I pleaded, bouncing on my heels at the idea.

“The Orb?” Sofia suggested, looking up from her Atlas.

Tory threw herself back down on the bed with a dramatic groan in answer.

“We could go off campus?” Diego suggested, killing the morose tune which had made me wanna jump out of the window since he’d started it.

“Off campus?” I asked, my stomach fluttering at the idea.

“How?” Tory demanded, her eyes bright.

“I have a car.” Diego shrugged and I jumped up and down.

“Yes! Let’s go.” I ran forward, grabbing his hand and leaning back as far as I could to make him get up.

He grinned, adjusting his beanie hat as I released his hand. His unusually blue eyes glinted with excitement. “I’ll go get the keys.”

“Give us like….half an hour?” Tory said, springing to her feet and hounding toward Sofia. She pulled her dark blonde hair away from her shoulders and grinned conspiratorially. “Make-over time.”

“What?” Sofia squeaked.

I beamed, moving to the wardrobe where the beautiful clothes Tory had ordered me were hanging.

I tossed out some jeans and tops as Diego shook his head at us and opened the door. “You’d better mean half an hour and not two hours.”

We were so excited to go, we were knocking on Diego’s door twenty minutes later. Tory and I both wore jeans and heels – hers were way higher than mine. I was as clumsy as a brick but the occasion called for the slingbacks and besides, it felt like summer had returned for one last evening before fall and I wanted to go all out for it. The floaty black cami I wore and lacy bralette felt so good after a week in uniform. 

Tory’s deep blue cami was low cut and she had a grin on her face that said she was in party mode. Sofia was smiling from ear to ear, her slim figure looking incredible in a navy maxi dress I’d leant her. She’d kept her school pumps on as I hadn’t had shoes in her size and she’d let us style her hair. It was flicked edgily about her shoulders and her wide eyes looked even bigger now they were painted with eyeliner.

Diego opened the door dressed in a blue flannel shirt and jeans, his beanie hat still in place. His fair eyes bypassed Tory and I, landing on Sofia instead. His mouth hooked up at the corner and she turned bright pink.

I shared a look with Tory and we started grinning as Diego cleared his throat and stepped into the corridor. “Let’s go then, chicas,” he said, leading the way.

We headed across campus and I soaked in the last of the sun as it sank toward the horizon, casting amber tones across the entire sky.

Someone whistled at us and I glanced over my shoulder, spotting a group of guys grinning at our asses. “Hey Vegas, wanna come sit on my throne?” one of them called.

Tory put her middle finger up and I snorted a laugh, turning away from them.

“This school is full of assholes,” Diego muttered, shooting a glare at them over his shoulder.

“What does that make us?” I teased.

“Losers?” he suggested and a laugh escaped me. 

“Well I’d rather be a loser than an asshole.” I shrugged. 

I’d never had many friends in my old schools anyway. We’d moved around too much when we were younger and I’d learned not to get close to anyone after a while. It was always a doubly whammy. Our foster parents would give us up and we’d get hauled out of school and dumped in the next town over. Tory had always dealt with it better than me. But my heart had been on lock-down for years. I didn’t want to get too comfortable in one place, knowing I’d be ripped away from it soon enough. 

We wound down the path toward The Orb and a squeal announced Geraldine’s arrival before I saw her.

“Oh no,” I breathed.

“Don’t tell her we’re going out,” Tory hissed.

“Jiminy Christmas!” She pounced on us and her hair flew about her in a fan – wait, is that blue dye in the end of it???

“Are you going out?” she asked excitedly. “I was just about to catch the shuttle, we can all go together!”

“Er…actually we were just going to The Orb,” I said, feeling a bit shitty about lying.

Her eyes cast down our clothes to our high heels. “Oh, well you look amazing. Maybe I’ll catch you tomorrow? Breakfast at seven thirty?”

“Well-” Tory started but Geraldine waved a hand.

“It’s no bother, see you then your majesties!” She jogged away along the path and I sighed.

“Seven thirty on a Saturday?” Tory huffed. “No chance.”

“Come on, let’s go before she realises we lied.” Diego turned left, swerving past Jupiter Hall and into Earth Territory.

We headed through The Wailing Wood, following a paved path all the way out to the edge of campus. A glint of light caught my eye between the trees and we followed Diego toward it into a clearing.

The parking lot rose up several levels inside a glass dome that reflected the tones of the colourful sunset. I caught glimpses of the gleaming cars peeking out beyond the glass walls and anticipation inched into me.

Diego gained entry to the building by tapping something on his Atlas and the glass door slid open.

Inside, the air smelled like new leather and car fumes. The lot circled up in a perfect spiral and we soon arrived in front of a massive black jeep with tinted windows.

“Woah is this your car?” I asked.

“Um no,” Diego said awkwardly, stepping past the huge vehicle and pointing.

We moved around the jeep and I bit down on my lip as I spotted the beat-up, rusted red hatchback before us. “Oh, well this is great too,” I said, trying to save face.

Well done, idiot.

“At least you don’t have to worry about anyone stealing it.” Tory tried not to laugh and I poked her in the ribs, a giggle escaping me.

“It will get us from A to B.” Diego shrugged, but the crease on his forehead said how embarrassed he was.

“That’s all we want,” I said brightly and Sofia nodded keenly, brushing his arm.

He muttered something inaudible as he dropped into the driver’s seat and I took the passenger one beside him.

Sofia and Tory sat in the back and we waited as it took Diego a couple of painful tries to get the car going.

“If you want, I can take a look at your engine sometime?” Tory offered. “I’m not as great with cars as I am with bikes but-”

“It’s fine,” Diego said through his teeth and the engine roared as if his embarrassment had sparked life into it. 

We circled out of the lot and headed onto the road that led off-campus. We curved around the edge of a jagged mountain, rising up high toward the twilight sky. I caught a glimpse of a huge iron door set into the side of it with the symbol of earth above it and my heart beat a little harder. Students were milling about outside the Terra House and some of them pointed at us, laughing as they noticed the car which was making a loud clunking noise.

I pressed my lips together in irritation. “At least we have a car,” I muttered, but that didn’t seem to cheer Diego up.

The engine protested as he pressed his foot down and we started to gain speed, but not much. I rolled the window down, letting in the evening breeze as the sun said its final goodbye and dropped below the tree line in the distance.

We headed to the furthest regions of campus and finally reached an enormous steel gate, flanked by a fence which stretched off for miles in either direction. A guard nodded to us from a stone booth and the gates swung open as he flicked his hand.

We trundled onto the road and a weight lifted from my chest as we left Zodiac Academy behind.

A night of freedom called to me. And I wanted to make the most of it. No Heirs. In fact, no shitbags period.

We sped along a vast road that stretched on forever, cutting through a thick forest of pine trees which reached up high on either side of us. The moon was rising above them, the shimmering crescent a perfect jewel amongst a bed of stars.

The road soon dropped steeply down into a valley and nestled at the heart of it were the twinkling lights of a town.

“That’s Tucana,” Sofia said, leaning forward to poke her head between the front seats. “I grew up juuuust over that hill.” She pointed to the far side of the valley.

“It’s beautiful.” I smiled as we drew closer and closer to the town then drove through the bustling streets. People sat outside bars beneath the amber light of lampposts, drinking and eating. 

I stared out at the ancient buildings with their weathered stone faces, utterly fascinated by the place. Cafes, bars, restaurants. It was nothing like Chicago. In fact, it reminded me of a holiday brochure I’d seen of Italy once. Everything was quaint, the main streets intersected by cobble alleyways and stone archways. The itch to explore overwhelmed me and I soaked in the buzzing atmosphere as the clamour of voices sailed through my open window.

We were clearly on the main street now and there were people everywhere enjoying the evening. I recognised a few students from Zodiac milling along the sidewalk, but the town was big enough that we’d probably be able to avoid them. The last thing I wanted was to bump into any one of our many enemies from the Academy.

“Pull over here,” Sofia instructed, pointing.

Diego parked outside a restaurant/bar on the corner of a street. The windowsills were painted red and a rainbow of flowers hung from several baskets around the doorway.

“The food here is great,” Sofia said, hopping out of the car.

We followed her onto the sidewalk and I gazed up at a worn sign above the door, naming it as Andromeda’s Place.

We headed inside and a smiley waitress hurried over to seat us. The space was brimming with people and the lights were dim throughout. Low-hanging bulbs lit booths and tables and to one side was a long wooden bar with the Zodiac’s symbols printed all over it in silver.

“Isn’t that Professor Orion?” Sofia asked and my heart lurched upwards.

I located him in less than a nanosecond.

On the far side of the bar Orion was sitting knee to knee with a leggy brunette who looked like beauty on speed.

“Could be.” I shrugged, turning in the opposite direction as I forcibly ignored the strange reaction my body was having to seeing him here. And the raging pit of death in my chest definitely had nothing to do with the Victoria’s Secret model sitting opposite him.

“This way,” the waitress said brightly and we followed her to a table with a perfect view of Orion. It was as if the damn waitress wanted me to stare at him all night. I was too slow to grab a seat facing away from him and couldn’t voice my complaints to the others in case they questioned me on it.

I sank into the seat beside Diego and took a breath.

He’s just a teacher, who cares if he’s here?

You apparently.

I picked up my menu, determinedly eyeing the list of sodas on offer.

“Rum and coke,” Diego ordered from the hovering waitress and she nodded as if that was completely okay.

Didn’t she realise we were freshmen?

“I’ll have the same,” Sofia said brightly, a daring look in her eye. Sofia looked the youngest of us all. Even with the makeup we’d painted on her, she still barely passed for a day over sixteen.

“And for you girls?”

Tory gave me an excited look. “Tequila sunrise?” she asked, seeming to expect the waitress to refuse but she jotted it down without a word, looking to me.

A thrill hummed through me. Tory and I had had fake I.Ds back in Chicago, but even they had failed us occasionally. “Whiskey and coke?”

She smiled and walked away to the bar.

I glanced at the others. “How did we just get away with that?”

“Get away with what?” Sofia asked casually as she perused the food items on the menu.

“Err, the alcohol?” Tory supplied. “We’re only eighteen.”

“And your point being?” Diego asked, looking between us in confusion.

“Don’t you have like…legal drinking ages in Solaria?” I asked with a frown.

“There’s no laws against drinking here,” Diego said with a laugh, lifting a hand to tug on one side of his beanie. “You just have to have the gold to buy it. Which kids tend not to.”

“That’s crazy,” I said as the waitress arrived with our drinks.

“My kind of crazy,” Tory said brightly, taking her cocktail.

I sipped my whiskey and coke and had the prickling feeling that I was being watched. My eyes snagged on Orion and I found he was looking right at me; it felt a lot like looking down the barrel of a gun. My throat constricted and I choked on my drink, placing it down as I tried to rein in my coughing. With a noise like a dying goat, I managed to gain my breath and Tory shook her head at me with an amused smile.

Well that’s just great.

Diego patted my back. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” I said airily, glancing over at Orion and finding he’d returned to talking with his date anyway. Hopefully that meant he hadn’t just witnessed my choke attack. 

What had my horoscope said this morning? Oh yeah, the universe is out of sync with you today. Be prepared to ride out the storm.

I’d ridden the storm all week, so how much worse could it really get?

The waitress returned to take our food orders and I jumped on the opportunity of a distraction, ordering a pizza from the menu.

When she walked away, I took a slower sip of my drink and decided to pointedly ignore Professor Jerk-Face’s presence. But it was pretty difficult considering Tory and I were fairly convinced he wanted us dead.

A group of professors walked in the door and Diego scowled. “Is this the teachers’ hang out or something, Sofia?”

“Er…maybe. I didn’t realise,” she said, her cheeks lining with colour.

Our water Element teacher, Professor Washer was wearing a tight-fitting flowery shirt with way too many buttons undone and a roguish smile. He cast his eyes our way and shot us a wink. I would have guessed he was about forty and looked like he’d spent way too much time crisping himself up under the sun.

“Ew,” Tory hissed and I shuddered.

Our Tarot teacher, Professor Astrum, led him away by the arm firmly and his lips pinched tightly together in disappointment.

“Washer is a total perve,” Sofia whispered then giggled as if she shouldn’t have said it.

“Is that why we have to wear bathing suits that barely cover our asses in his class?” I asked, my nose wrinkling.

“I’d bet on it, chica,” Diego laughed, nudging me in the ribs.

Our food soon arrived and we ate every last bite as we ordered more and more drinks. By the time the waitress cleared our plates, my head was a little swimmy and I’d forgotten all about Orion and hadn’t at all noticed that his hand was currently placed on his date’s knee.

“Shots!” Diego announced, rising from his seat.

“Yes!” Sofia hooted, her hair dancing around her shoulders as she swayed in her chair.

Tory and I laughed as Diego strode away to the bar.

“Oh no,” Tory said suddenly, sinking low in her seat.

“What is it?” I followed her line of sight to the window behind me.

Geraldine was crossing the street with a paper bag in her grip.

“Hide,” Tory begged, grabbing up a menu and burying her face in it.

I pulled my hair over my shoulders, knowing the blue ends were a giveaway but a loud knocking on the window said I’d reacted too late.

“Just ignore her,” Tory hissed as I fought the urge to turn around. Sofia raised a hand to wave and Tory took a swat at her with her menu.

“We can’t,” I said, a pang of sympathy rolling through me.

I couldn’t resist the urge to look and found Geraldine pressed up against the window, her hands cupped around her eyes so she could see in.

I looked away again and Tory stole a glance over her menu. “Shit.”

“What?” I whispered, staring resolutely forward.

“She’s coming in,” Tory said through her teeth.

I fought a groan as Geraldine appeared, grinning from ear to ear as she pranced across the restaurant to our table. “Well bless my cream crackers! I thought you were staying at The Orb?” She looked between us, ignoring Sofia, her face plastered with confusion.

“We changed our minds,” I said innocently.

“Oh.” Her confusion melted into a bright smile. “Well why didn’t you call me?” She dropped into Diego’s chair, placing her paper bag on the table. “You’re going to love these, I just got them made.”

She tipped the bag up and a pile of sparkly silver badges fell onto the table with the letters A.S.S inscribed on them in black. Holy…shit. Does she not realise what that spells? Is she actually going to walk around campus with one of them on!?

“They’re for the Almighty Sovereign Society – aren’t they just the gnat’s pyjamas?!” Geraldine leaned right across the table, pinning one on Sofia’s dress before she could refuse. Sofia gazed at it in abject horror and I drowned my laughter by taking a sip of my drink.

“Wonderful,” Tory said dryly but if Geraldine noticed her sarcasm, she didn’t let it show.

My gut sank as Geraldine pinned one onto her denim jacket and started dancing in her chair.

If the Heirs see those they’re gonna rip her apart.

“Um Geraldine,” I said gently, feeling it was my duty to save her from a host of abuse at the Academy.

“Yes?” she asked brightly, shimmying her shoulders back and forth so the badge caught the light as she admired it.

“It’s just…that acronym, it kinda spells ass.”

Tory snorted into her drink.

Geraldine stared at me for a long moment and I wasn’t sure if she was about to flip out. Laughter erupted from her throat and she petted my arm. “Don’t be ridiculous! No one but you would have noticed that, Darcy.” She shook her head at me as if I was so amusing and my heart floated down to the base of my stomach.

Well I tried.

Diego returned with four bright green shots and frowned as he spotted Geraldine in his seat. She lifted a hand as if to take one of the shots and he moved them out of her reach.

“Isn’t that your gang out there?” he asked, nodding to the window.

Geraldine wheeled around then gasped as she spotted a bunch of the royal supporters walking up the street.

“Oh sweet raisin bran!” She gathered the badges into her bag, practically panting as she leapt from her seat then curtsied at us. “Your majesties, forgive me but I must go.”

“You’re forgiven,” Tory said brightly.

Geraldine checked her watch. “I can be back in one hour! Then we can all go dancing together.” Geraldine shot out of the restaurant before anyone could reply, waving her bag at the group in excitement. I watched for one gut-churning second as they all pinned the ass badges onto their chests.

“Asses,” I breathed in horror. “They’re a group of asses and they don’t seem to realise it.”

“Oh man I can’t wait for the Heirs see those.” Tory started laughing.

“Tory,” I snorted. “You can’t say that.”

“At least it will get the attention off of us for five minutes.” Her laughter descended into fits and I pressed a hand to my mouth as I tried to stifle my own.

Sofia took hers off and placed it on the table with a giggle. “Sorry guys, I won’t be an ass member no matter how much I love you both.

Diego dropped into his seat with a sigh of relief. “Who needs a drink?”

“I do.” Sofia leaned forward, grabbing a shot and swallowing it in one. Before we could lay a hand on the rest of them, she downed them all in quick succession with a wild laugh.

“Sofia!” Diego gasped.

I stared at her in surprise. She was usually so quiet, what had gotten into her?

“Sofia’s a secret party girl,” Tory jibed as Sofia tossed a lock of hair out of her face with a shrug.

“I wouldn’t say that, but I can handle my drink,” she said with a coy smile and Diego stared at her with a frown.

I grinned, rising from my seat. “I’ll get us some more.”

The others nodded keenly and I headed to the bar, moving into the only free gap which unfortunately placed me behind Orion and his date. I was one percent curious about what they were saying and couldn’t help but strain my ears as the woman leant in to speak with him.

“It’s all moving so fast. We should do something about it tonight.”

She squeezed his arm and I tried my best not to hate her.

She’s on a date with a hot guy, why wouldn’t she want to jump him?

Orion cocked his head. “No. It’s too soon. We have to wait.”

My eyebrows arched. Did this asshole actually have an ounce of gentleman in him?

“It will get out of control, Orion. It has to be tonight. I can’t wait any longer,” she begged.

Woah, desperate much?

“That’s not what we planned,” Orion hissed. “If we try to kill them now we’ll draw attention to ourselves.”

My heart slammed into my ribcage. This conversation was not about sex. The girl looked up and her eyes widened as they landed on me. I tried to casually walk away, but the barman pointed at me to get my order and suddenly Orion had hold of my arm. His grip was painfully tight as he dragged me against his thigh. Heat surged everywhere, powerful and terrifying. The scent of cinnamon and something entirely man washed over me, permanently becoming my new favourite smell despite the origin.

“What did you hear?” he growled and I gasped, trying to prise his fingers off of me.

“Orion,” his date warned and he released me.

“I didn’t hear anything,” I insisted and my heart tripled its pace as I darted away, escaping into the women’s bathroom. 

I clutched onto a basin, taking in a shuddering breath, well and truly rattled.

Was that woman in on the plot to kill us? How far did this go? How many people wanted Tory and I dead?

The few drinks I’d had helped keep me calm as I turned over what I’d heard, trying to work out what to do.

The door swung open and I realised with a horrifying clarity I’d just made a terrible mistake. Orion stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him and the lock clicked loudly through the air.

I backed up, my pulse drumming in my ears.

Run.

Scream.

Do something!

I opened my mouth to call out for help but he flicked a hand and the air in my throat halted, refusing to let out any noise.

My heart pounded a frantic tune as I continued to back up until my spine hit the far wall. I raised my hands, ready to force every ounce of magic into my palms to stop him. Whatever it took; I wasn’t going to die here in some bathroom.

“Stay back,” I hissed, my voice only allowing a whisper. He was controlling the airflow in my damn throat!

“What did you hear?” he growled. “Tell me everything.”

His Coercion was powerful and no matter how much practice I’d had with Tory and Sofia, it wasn’t anywhere near enough to throw off his magic. My tongue loosened and I couldn’t hold the words back. “That you’re planning to kill someone. And I know it’s us. You want us out. You don’t want me and my sister ruling Solaria, but you can’t really think you’d get away with killing us in a restaurant do you?” My voice was barely above a whisper and I cursed him for the power he had over me. Fear rattled my heart, but my blood was pounding with alcohol and adrenaline too.

Maybe I could run – get past him. But I knew it was impossible. I wouldn’t make it two steps in the direction of the door before he disabled me.

Attack him then!

I lifted my palms higher, preparing to do whatever I had to to survive. I willed magic to my fingers and they tingled with a deadly heat. Fire had come to my aid. And I would unleash the pits of hell on him if he made one move to hurt me.

Orion waved a hand almost lazily and my arms were suddenly clamped to my sides as he wielded the air around me. 

Oh crap.

“That’s it?” His voice was calmer as if it was entirely normal that he’d be planning my demise.

“Yes,” I spat as my heart crashed into my chest. “Isn’t that enough?”

He blew out a laugh, staring at me for a few painful seconds, his eyes two black holes which sucked at everything I was and tried to swallow it whole.

“Go home, Blue.” He unlocked the door and stepped out of the room, leaving me with a chasm of rage spitting venom in my chest.

I glared at the door for one long moment before marching toward it and heading back into the restaurant. I didn’t look his way as I strode back to the table and dropped into my seat, my pulse everywhere.

“Where’s our drinks?” Sofia slurred with a pout but Tory shushed her, looking at me intently.

“What happened?”

Call it a twin thing, but we could tell when the other was upset. No matter how hard we tried to hide it. Not that I was trying that hard right then.

“Orion,” I said in answer and quickly rattled off an explanation, leaving out the part where my knees had trembled like I was in a grade five earthquake.

Sofia laughed. “Come onnnn, he’s a teacher. You guys are getting waaay too caught up in conspiracy theories.”

Diego shook his head, his expression serious. “They could be right. The evidence points his way.” He shot a glare at Orion and I spotted him leaving the restaurant with his date. Who maybe wasn’t his date after all.

Relief spilled through me as he left and I glanced over at the cluster of Professors on the other side of the room. Of course he wouldn’t have attacked me here in a public bathroom. How could I have thought he would? Because he had his psycho eyes in place, that’s why.

I didn’t know Orion, for all I knew he could be the type of guy who chopped people up in women’s bathrooms on a regular occasion.

“Do you want to go home?” Tory asked me, frowning in concern.

I ground my jaw, shaking my head. “That’s what he wants.”

“Well we can’t do that then,” Tory agreed with a grin and my mood brightened by a mile.

“He’s gone now anyway,” Sofia said, standing and starting to dance to the background music playing in the bar. She started dancing provocatively with her chair and my mouth parted.

“Sofia!” Diego gasped, looking alarmed and Tory cracked a laugh.

Sofia stumbled into the table and knocked over a small vase at the heart of it. Diego cast a gust of air from his hand to direct the water away from pouring all over us.

Tory steadied her, glancing at us. “I thought she said she could handle her drink,” she teased.

“I caaaaan,” Sofia slurred, clutching onto Tory to stay upright.

“It was only a few shots,” I said in confusion.

“Maybe she doesn’t drink often,” Diego said, rising to his feet. “I should take her home.”

“No.” Sofia planted her hands on her hips. “I’m fiiiine.”

Diego looked to us. “I think it’d be best. There’s a shuttle bus that runs back to the Academy at the end of the street. Do you mind catching it home?”

“Yeah that’s fine,” I said as Sofia reached out, trying to grab hold of Tory’s arm while Diego led her away. She quickly gave up and clutched onto Diego instead, looking up at him with dreamy eyes. “Your hat…I like your hat. Can I wear it?” She reached for it and he chuckled as he caught her hand in his, holding it as he led her out of the door.

The waitress appeared, planting two glasses of some bright pink cocktail down in front of us. “From your friend over there.” She pointed at the group of professors and Washer grinned at us, licking his lips and wiggling his fingers. He was jammed up against Astrum who threw us an apologetic smile.

I couldn’t even disguise the disgust on my face.

Tory clucked her tongue.

“Ergh Washer is such a pig,” she muttered, but picked her glass up and held it out to me anyway. “From this point on, this night is going to be about having fun without any creeps.”

I grinned, picking up my cocktail and clinking my glass to hers. “To no creeps.”

She whooped. “To no creeps!”