Bloodline Secrecy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 2), Lan Chan [readict TXT] 📗

“Hi, Lex,” she said. Her tone was the kind people use when they speak to a bereaved person.

“Hi.” I sounded exactly like a bereaved person. “Could I speak to Basil?”

“Sure, honey.”

She went to get him. His soft, round head appeared in the glass. “How is she?”

“Much of the same. Anyone who doesn’t know her would think she’s just another human. She doesn’t remember any of the details about her actual life. Just that she had one. I was there at lunch time. They gave her some Arcana fruit but it didn’t jog her memory.”

“I don’t understand. Why doesn’t she freak out at the idea of supernaturals?”

“It’s hard to make an assumption. My guess is that the demon was inside her for too long. It must have left an impression. She’s confused about which world is more real to her at this point.”

“So Jacqueline was telling the truth,” I said. “Some humans can’t handle the fact that the supernatural world exists.”

“Your grandmother isn’t just another human. She was possessed. It…changes people.” He reached out to touch his side of the glass. I pressed my finger against his. “How are you doing?”

“Great,” I said. I sniffed. “I have to go. I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”

I ended the connection before he could say anything more. Diana and Sophie had gotten really silent.

No way was I hanging around here in the awkwardness of it. “I’m going to the library.”

“Wait,” Sophie said. “I’ll come with you.”

“I’d rather be alone.”

I was out the door and down the staircase before she could drag on her shoes. The familiar Gothic spires of the library rose up above the ornamental lawn. At this time of night, not many of the conference rooms were being used. I asked Jem to find me some books on demon possession. They weren’t exactly enlightening.

Most of the information was more of the type of stuff I’d learned in Demonology 101. It was about the demons themselves rather than what happened to the humans the demons possessed. It was like we were an afterthought.

I didn’t get back to the dorm until well after midnight. This routine went on for a week. I lost track of days. Now I slept in well past the beginning of the first classes. That was fine by me. When I finally dragged myself out of bed, it was to go to the Grove. The nymphs weren’t impressed that I was late, but they had sensed my mood and left me alone.

The training I did with them lasted until after lunchtime. Instead of going to lunch, I swung by Jacqueline’s office.

Professor Mortimer was already in there, so I had to wait outside. The door opened fifteen minutes later. Professor Mortimer did a double-take when he saw me. “Hello, Alessia.”

“Hi.”

He hesitated. I thought for a second he would give me a hard time about missing class. Instead, he paused and looked straight through me. “That dead language you wanted me to look up,” he said.

“Beg your pardon?”

He fished a crumpled piece of paper out of his back pocket and handed it to me. I recognised the copy he’d made of the circle from inside my nightmares. “I had to dig into the guarded archives in Seraphina, but I believe it’s Angelical.”

“I don’t know what that is.” At this point, I didn’t really even care.

“It’s the language the seraphim once used to converse with each other. They no longer speak it aloud because it would destroy the minds of the beings in this realm to hear it.” Perfect. Lucifer was making circles using a language that would kill me if I heard it.

Jacqueline’s door opened. She waved me in. Professor Mortimer nodded at me and left. I didn’t even have the wherewithal to thank him.

“Your professors have reported that you haven’t been to class for over a week,” Jacqueline said. I took my usual seat in front of her desk. “I know you’re going through a difficult time at the moment. But you’re only hurting yourself by stifling your learning. I’d hate to see all the hard work you’ve put into your classes go to waste.”

“Can we talk about the job?” I said.

She didn’t miss a beat. I didn’t expect anything less. “The job was predicated on the fact that it wouldn’t interfere with your schooling. That seems to be a moot point.”

I pushed my chair back and got up. There was nothing more to say.

“Lex,” she said. “I know you’re angry.”

“Can you remove this tracking mark on my hand?”

Her cheek twinged slightly. “That’s not how things are done here.”

“I don’t really care about how things are done. Can you remove the mark or not?”

“Are you sure you really want to do this?”

“One hundred per cent.”

She sighed. Walking around the desk, she sat down on the corner in front of me. “I’m sorry we concealed the truth from you,” she said. “One day, I hope you’ll understand why we felt it necessary.”

I looked at the pattern in the carpet. “What can I do?” she asked.

“You’ve done enough. All of you.” I turned my head up and looked out the window. “I’m assuming once I’m gone, I’ll be cut off from the MirrorNet as well.”

“If this is what you really want, you can always move to Rivia. But if you want to remove all ties to the supernatural world, we can’t allow you to have contact.”

“Okay.” I stared straight ahead as she placed her hand over mine. The back of my palm tingled as the tracking mark was removed.

To call what I did when I got back to my room packing was a complete overstatement. I didn’t want to take anything that I’d obtained while I was at the Academy. Unfortunately, I’d come here with basically nothing. The satchel I’d brought with me had been kicked under the bed. The canvas was covered in so much dust it was more grey than tan. I was in the middle of smacking the dust