Daniel, my stepfather, had been kind, of course. But only in the confines of the estate, where he’d kept us, his secret family. He visited once or twice a week, bringing small gifts and laughter, creating an illusion of safety. But I knew now that he would have spurned us in public, because as soon as the rumors started, he’d cut and run.
“You all right, luv?” the tram guard asked.
I blinked and looked away. “I’m fine. Just eager to get going.”
“Speaking of going…Maddox, why are you still here?”
“Caw, come on, Chester, can’t a bird get warm?Caw!” He leapt off the chair and back out of the window, gone in a flurry of black feathers.
Chester heaved his body up from his seat and stomped past me to the door. “Come on, then let’s get you off.” He held the door open for me, letting in a gust of icy air. “Few rules for you.” He overtook me as we stepped onto the platform, leading the way to the tram. “This here tram is warded. You stay inside, you stay safe. They can’t see you, but you can see them. Ignore them. To be honest, it’s been pretty quiet the past few weeks. Hunters been keeping the hot zone clean, so it should be a mundane ride. Just stay in yer carriage.”
Hunters…that’s what I’d be once I convinced them to remove the block on my power and let me enroll. Not that Iwantedthe damn job. If job was what you could call it. There was no pay, merely obligation and the chance to get your face ripped off by the Horrors and Echoes that were drawn to this region like moths to a flame. But if I wanted my powers—and a chance to find theLibra Veritas—then I’d have to submit to the process. I’d make a point to remind them of the terms of theArcanum Lex—the fact that they needed me alive. Heck, I might avoid being a Hunter and land some kind of admin role instead, something that would allow me to begin my search for the book of truth… And I was getting ahead of myself. I needed admission first.
I tucked my hands into my jacket pockets to warm them. Thank Trinity for felt lining.
“Talbot’ll meet you at the Border House,” Chester said.
“The Border House?”
“Doubles as the end of the line. It’s the messenger quarters and houses ports to the Academy buildings.”
The tram door opened as we approached. “In you get,” Chester said. “Donotdisembark until you reach the Border House.”
“I’m no fool, Chester.” I climbed into the carriage, where it was markedly warmer.
“You should be there in just over an hour, way before the storm hits. It’s not due till tonight.”
“And a storm is bad why?”
“We don’t run the tram during a storm—it messes with the wards. Academy is all right, though. They got the steeple that conducts and converts the lightning. Fabulous invention.”
I turned to face him. “What about you? What about the guardhouse?”
He smiled. “Oh, don’t you worry about me. I have me protocols. I’ll see you soon, no doubt.”
The doors slid shut, the tinted glass darkening the world outside. My pulse spiked at the woman staring back at me, almond eyes, sharp cheekbones, a pointed chin. Fuck, I did look like my mother.
The tram rumbled to life. We slid away from Chester and the guardhouse, pulling away from the platform and out of the wards.
Power pricked my skin—the tram wards activating, no doubt. I took a window seat and set my bag on the floor, settling down for the ride.
The beach receded, the sound of the sea fading as we slipped into forestland. Trees sprang up on either side, tall, dark, and menacing, blocking out the late afternoon sun. The tram was a lone metal snake, slithering through this deadly forest that housed all manner of monsters.
Horrors and Echoes—that’s how they were classified. But the details were unknown to me, a secret that would only be revealed if the Academy accepted me. What I did know about the Academy was that it played a vital role in keeping the rest of the world safe. My home education with Mother had delved a little into the history of this place. It had been built as a bastion to house Hunters, warriors tasked with culling the Horrors that didn’t belong in our world. Monsters that had come from another place. But the details of where and how were shrouded in conjecture and rumor and mystery. Maybe once I was admitted, I’d get to know the truth of it all.
There was no denying the shiver of anticipation in my belly, not all due to the verbal battle and resistance that I was certain awaited me in thePerculiari Petitione. Like hell would they let me into the ranks of the Arcanus without a fight, no matter what theLexsaid. I was, after all, an Onyx.
I’d spent all my life among humans and supernals like Bunty and Carlisle—Arcanus without affiliation to any coven—skimming the outskirts of society while the magic users who I should have been able to count on for support pretended I didn’t exist. I’d worked with other kinds of supernals too, Therianthropes and Haematophages who preferred not to be drawn into the politics of shifter packs or high society.
Carlston Town had been a haven of anonymity. For a while, I’d convinced myself that my heritage didn’t matter, that it was a hindrance, but now… Now it would be a hook, a weapon, an ally in getting what I needed, and no one would stand in my way.
They couldn’t. Not legally. Unless there was something I’d missed.
I’d find out soon enough.
The rumble and squeak of the tram faded into background noise as I allowed myself to relax into the leather seat. This wasn’t so bad.
Did the Hunters at the Academy use this tram when they went on leave? Did they get leave? Did the students training to be Hunters go home for holidays?
