Spearwood Academy Volume Four (The Spearwood Academy Book 4) (6 page)

‘Good one,’
Paden’s voice says in my mind.

The other dragons hesitate, not sure what to do with their leader down. I give a snort; smoke billows from my nose. Good, they better leave us alone.

Before I can even land back on the ground, another roar fills the air. I look up; something gold crashes into me. I do a backwards somersault through the air, before righting myself. What the hell just hit me with enough force to knock me back? I focus my eyes on the new dragon and have to take a double take. It’s me. The other dragon is me. That’s not possible.

It breathes a fire flame in my direction. The flame licks at the underside of my belly, as I dodge most of it. It could’ve been a lot worse.

My mirror image rushes at me again. The horns hit me in the chest and rush me to the ground. The earth gives out from underneath me and their horns go deeper into my chest. I try to force a frost flame out and onto their head, but nothing comes out. I have no control over my breath.

They pull the horns out of me. My body follows them, before I land on back again. Blackness rushes in on my vision. No, I have to stay conscious; I can’t fail now.

I
jolt awake with a gasp and grab at my chest. Cool air rushes into my lungs. I don’t like the sensation it brings, as if they’re too tight to allow the full amount of air in. White surrounds me. I’m sitting in a black leather chair. Something about this place seems so familiar. Where am I?

“Relax, Miss Roseman, your lung is still growing its tissue back.

Roseman? The
click
of high heels reaches me, as the person comes into my line of sight. Dr. Quinn greets me with a smile, his face clean shaven and his hair with extra curl to it. “That was one nasty sword wound, Miss Roseman. You should be more careful during sword class. As a healer I can do some pretty amazing things, but I’m no miracle worker.”

Does he still think my mind is warped from before? I can’t believe we lost the battle, and that I’m back in this Sun god forsaken room. How many times are they going to try and manipulate my mind? They can’t do anything to me while I have the protection rune of Algiz on my body. I look to my right wrist; the gold mark remains in place. I’m back in the Spearwood uniform.

Igraine! What happened to her? What have they done to the guys? They better be alive, or so help me I will rain hell down on this place and everyone who follows Roseman or my half-brother Aibek. “I’m not . . .”

“You’re not what
Miss Roseman?
” He emphasis the name and leans his head forward. What is he trying to get at?

“Have you completed the reverse and add process?” calls the voice of Roseman, before he comes around the corner.  His eyes widen at seeing me awake. “Cookie! How are you feeling after that terrible accident in combat class?” Cookie? That’s new.

My eyes narrow. What the hell is he trying to pull over me now? I thought him trying to manipulate my memories the first time was so I and the guys would run off and Amr would take Triton to his parents, where they had Aibek imprisoned. What’s the point of having me brainwashed again? So he can think he has control?

I glance at Dr. Quinn. “You feel great now, right,
Miss Roseman?
I’m a genius at my job, after all.”

He wants Roseman to think that he brainwashed me again. Is he helping me, or himself? I stand. “Of course, Daddy,” I smile. “I feel great. All due to Dr. Quinn’s excellence.” Roseman holds out his arms for a hug. I try not to show my hesitation, as I go into his arms and he places a kiss on my head. My skin crawls. I pull away from him. “I should get going, I have a paper to write for History, and the boys said they would study with me.” Please tell me that worked.

He smiles and gives a nod. Reaching into his inner suit pocket, he pulls out the black card of a P.A. It unfolds to reveal Perlow.

“How may I be of service?” he asks.

“Take my daughter back to the main school.”

“Where are we anyway? This doesn’t look like an infirmary to me.” I hope my act of playing dumb passes his test.

“This is a special infirmary, only for the most important of people.” I give a grin and turn to Perlow. “I’m ready to go now.”

He gives a nod and walks out of the room. “Have fun with your paper,” Roseman calls, as I follow at Perlow’s side.

I have to figure out a way to tell him I’m not brainwashed. That I know about him. I wonder if he knows about how the rune on my wrist works. Do others have magical tattoos to prevent or make things happen? I didn’t know about them until she gave me one.

“I’m sorry you got hurt in combat class today. That doesn’t normally happen.”

I rub at my chest. The tightness in my lung lingers still. “Yeah, feels weird. It pierced me like a
horn.
” Please tell me he knows how I got hurt.

He glance at me and puts his hands behind his back. “Interesting choice of words.”

So he does know. “Thanks. I’ve been working on better description for my English class.” I can’t let anything slip straight out. Everything needs to be code. After all, eyes are everywhere.

We’re almost to the elevator that will take us up to the main part of Spearwood. I need to hurry and communicate with him.

A faint red glow inside one makes me stop. The door is open. I haven’t seen an open door in this place yet. I take peek inside. A gigantic screen projects an image onto a far wall. Triton’s face hovers in the left corner, spinning in a 3D image. Underneath his head reads: P.A.M0209/102005

I frown. P.A.? That can’t stand for what I think it does. There’s no way. The M has to make it something else. My imagination has gotten the better of me, that’s all.

The door closes in my face. I look to Perlow. “That door should not have been opened. Please forget what you saw.”

Did he plan that? How could he have?

I smile and shrug. “I would never divulge any of Daddy’s secrets. Not even about you.” I need soap to wash my mouth out with.

“Thank you.”

We reach the elevator. They open with a quiet
swish.
Here’s my last chance to show him I’m an ally. We get in the elevator, and I wait for the doors to close before I put my plan into action. Dear Sun god, I hope this works.

I scratch at my wrist, pretending that it bothers me. “Do you think there are spiders around here? I think I got bit by something. I probably should’ve had Dr. Quinn look at it, but with all the chaos I forgot. What do you think?”

He leans over my wrist, before turning his head ever so slightly to look into my eyes. He’s close enough that I can make out the green ring around his blue eyes.  He knows, I can tell.

“It’s nothing I would worry about. It should pass in a day or two. It’s not red or anything.”

“Good to know.”

The rest of the journey goes by in silence. He leads me to the dining hall for the Royals. I give him a curious look. “I assumed you would like to have lunch with your fiancé. Was I wrong?”

I grin. “No. Thank you for accompanying me, Mr. Perlow.”

He takes my hand in his and places a simple kiss on the back. As he does so, something slips in-between my fingers. I hold onto it. “The pleasure’s all mine.”

He walks away. I discretely turn my hand over and drop what he gave me into my palm. It’s a chip for a P.A. I wonder if one of the guys will know how to access it at the Cabin. What information could be on it? I slip it into the front pocket of my polo shirt and button it closed.

W
ith Perlow gone, I stand in front of the doors leading to the dining hall where hopefully Paden and Maverick are. They should be there. He wouldn’t have brought me here if they weren’t. What if they’re brainwashed like Roseman thinks I am?  I can’t sneak all of them out of here to see the Sea Witch. It would be beyond impossible to do a second time. Maybe this was Roseman’s plan: brainwash all of us, so he can have easier control and make us work for Aibek’s army
.

I’ll have to act like the Avalon they created before. It won’t be easy, but at least I won’t have to live in the actual Avalon Roseman’s head. 

I run my hand through my hair. It’s straight and clean. I really miss my curls. I give a nod to the servants that stand on either side of the double doors. They bow to me and push them open. 

It’s not that different from the dining hall the regular students use, but it’s nowhere near as grand as the tea garden they took me to for lunch that one day, before everything flipped on its head.

Instead of having a color theme of creams and gold, royal blue and silvers decorate everything. One massive five tier chandelier hangs from the center of the vaulted ceiling. No headmasters of times past line the walls and the chairs look to be a thousand times more comfortable than the ones we get. 

I travel up to the patio. I smile when I see both Maverick and Paden sitting at a table near the corner. With them are the two boys I had lunch with that one day. What were their names? Magnus and Jacob? Yeah, something tells me I’m right. I desperately want to run to Maverick and kiss him. I’ve missed him so much, and we haven’t had a chance to talk since everything happened. I can’t do that though. If I’m suddenly all over my to-be brother-in-law, while the walls are watching. I just hope he knows I’m doing this because I’m faking it; that I’m not actually brainwashed.

I step up behind Paden. His friends Magnus and Jacob watch me with their startling eyes. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I place my chin on his shoulder and give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Hey,” I say.

He stays relaxed in my arms. I frown. Either he’s a really good actor, or he has memories of me actually doing this. Even when my otherself kissed him in the Outcasts’ compound he stiffened up. He’s never been one that was used to physical contact. He barely hugged me when he first left for Spearwood. “Hey, babe. I thought you were going to eat with the others today?” He turns his head and places a quick kiss on my lips. I have to force myself not to jerk back in surprise. Did he really get brainwashed? I glance at Maverick. He stares at us with clenched fists. If he was brainwashed, he wouldn’t be jealous right now. Maybe Paden is just a good actor.

“I am, but I wanted to see if you guys wanted to have lunch with us and then we could go riding. It’s such a nice day, and we don’t have class.” Riding has always been code for the Cabin. That’s what we have to do in order it get to it.

He scrunches up his nose. “I don’t feel like riding a horse right now, and you know I don’t like to eat in the regular dining hall.”

That’s not the response I was expecting at all. “Okay, maybe some other time then.” I unwrap myself from around him. This can’t be happening. They actually got to him?

Paden takes a sip of water before saying, “Doubtful. You know I don’t care to be around your friends. They are all so civilian.”

That did not just come out of his mouth. Now I know they got to him. Apparently he didn’t grow up with them like he did in my last brainwashed memories. A small part of me wishes I knew what he does. The story has changed, and I don’t have the manuscript.

“Oh, right. Of course. I’m going to go now. I made promises to them, and I really want to go riding today.”

“You are free to do as you please. I’m not your master.”

Definitely not the sweet and considerate version I remember being betrothed to. 

I glance at the rest of the table. Magnus and Jacob stare at me with their unnerving eyes. Maverick chews his food, but doesn’t say anything. Perhaps what I saw a moment ago was a trick of my mind: hoping that he was jealous.

I reach the stairs of the patio when a hand tugs on my skirt. I turn to face them. Which pervert in here has the balls to do that?

Maverick stands there. He smiles. “I wouldn’t mind a good ride right about now.”

I smile back. He’s not brainwashed. Thank the Sun god. I have one sane ally and boyfriend. “Awesome, let’s go see if the others want to ride as well.”