In Vendetta House (The Vendetta Series #1)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I count five motorways, one private jet plane flight, what seems like a boat ride, four explosive arguments and then three more motorways before we arrive at this Vendetta House.
"I told you to take the right! The right, goddammit!"
"I asked you if I should take the left. You said right! How was I supposed to know you meant right not right-right?"
The two imbeciles at the front had been arguing like that for the entire thirty-two hour trip. This is so not pleasant.

I glance at Aunt Nelly. She looks away. My paralyzer had worn off just an hour ago. After I threw open the door and tried to jump out, they put me in handcuffs and had a very secure seatbelt over me. I am in a sour mood, to say the least.
"Nearly there!" she chirps cheerily.
"This is kidnap," I state, "You have absolutely no right to do this."
"Actually," she says, "This is perfectly legal."
"Yeah, right."
"No, really. There's a section of American law off-limits to normals made by the Cambion council that says it's perfectly legal to train Cambions without consent."
Cambion council? Now we were starting to sound like the vampires in that movie. Next she'll be telling me the council are called the Volturi.

"Really now? And could I see this section of law?"
"It's off limits, Ariel."
"You said off limits to normals, I'm not a nor-"
"We're here!" she cuts in.
I sigh. Way to change the subject. I turn to look out the window, wincing at the cramp in my neck. At least I could feel my neck now; my legs and arms still feels like a comatose jellyfish.

"Oh my god!" I exclaim as I see the house, my pouting momentarily forgotten. Vendetta House seems more like a gigantic mansion. It doesn't look like the ancient haunted house I had been expecting to see. Instead, the outside wall is a pearly white, lined with shiny steel. All the wooden planks on the roof are neat and tidy, nothing out of place. If anything, I've learnt to never compare something's outside façade to what happened inside, seemed pretty relevant for this house. You never would have guessed this isn't a normal privately-owned country house if not for those thin bars outside the windows.

"This place is huge!" I say to Aunt Nelly, "I thought you said it was a house, not a freaking castle."
Aunt Nelly rolls her eyes. "There're only about 55 rooms in total. 30 bedrooms, 20 classrooms and 5 common rooms. We have about 40 kids and 20 teachers and house nurses so you'll have a roommate. Both have a responsibility of waking each other at eight in the morning for classes, understand?"
I let out a huge sigh of disappointment. Great. We'll be learning. And here I thought being kidnapped might be an excuse for no more school.
The mini-van we have been cramped in for far too long finally comes to a stop outside a two-storey fence.

"Is a fence this high really necessary?" I ask, an edge creeping into my voice, "I mean, aren't the giant spikes at the top a bit of an overkill?"
"Keeps you kids in, doesn't it? No one leaves or enters the house without full security."
She shoots me a glance as if she knows what I'm planning. "Now come on! Everyone has been notified of your arrival. You get to meet all your housemates."

Housemates? I beg to differ. More like cell mates.

My pout returns as I stumble a little, making our way up the path to the front doors. Aunt Nelly links her arm through mine for support. I'm half tempted to shake her off as I know she's really just trying to keep me from running.
"Now, while you're here in Vendetta House, a control anklet is necessary."
"A control what? You can't be serious, right? I've been kidnapped, dragged to a prison and now I have to wear a control?"
Aunt Nelly gives me a look as we reach the giant doors. She enters the code to five keypads. What kind of a door needs five keypads?
"It's not a mind-control device, Ariel. It's simply something that helps you... not use your powers."
"Fantabulous," I remark. "Do I get to choose what size it's in as well?"
"Don't be so dramatic." The doors finally give a loud click and she swings it open. "Home sweet home!"

My eyes bug as I enter the main entrance room. It looks like something out of a high school movie cast. I assume Aunt Nelly had gathered everyone into this room preparing my arrival. Doing a quick count, I'm surprised to find there really are more than 40 something kids laughing on the sofas or sprawled on the floor. What's more surprising is everyone has rainbow-colored highlights in their hair. I guess the colors were what Aunt Nelly meant by Physical Alterations. Red, Oranges, Yellows, Greens, Blues, Indigoes and Purples. But then I realize something. Everyone only had one color in their hair. Not all of them.

Great, I'm a freak of all freaks. An anomaly of all anomalies. An outlier of-

"Attention everyone!" Aunt Nelly calls across the room, interrupting my train of thought. She doesn't even have to raise her voice, everyone turns their gazes onto her immediately. And then on me.
I cross my arms and meet their eyes with a level-headed gaze.
"-our second spirit-seer in this house."
Huh? I glance at Aunt Nelly and realize she had been talking this whole time. She smiling at me now, gesturing at my hair.
"Go on Ariel, they want to see what mental power you'll be fighting against."
"Uh..."

A girl at the front of the crowd snorts, tossing her flat-ironed, green-streaked, dark brown hair over her shoulder. I'll bet my left arm that's Miss Popular of Vendetta House.
"She's probably just another pathetic animal-whisperer," she says.
"Hey!" several purple-streaked kids shout in protest.
A girl beside her tugs on her sleeve.
"Courtney, stop it!" she hisses.
Courtney tosses her hair over her shoulder again. God, that girl is seriously going to get a neck seizure one day.
"Whatever. I'm just saying, purple is the most common color, it's not like she could be a rare one."
A rare one? She's talking about us like w're an endangered bird species!
"Courtney..." Aunt Nelly warns.

She saunters over, and I fight the urge to run. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have been worried. I guess finding out you're not completely human after eighteen years kills a few points of self-esteem.
She reaches for my beret and I take a step back. I know I am perfectly capable of pancaking her face but who knows what weird powers those green streaks held. "Don't touch me," I hiss, hoping to come off as menacing.

It probably hadn't come out as well as I had hoped. Courtney gasps. "Oh! The little girl has a voice! Come on. I just wanna see what you're made of."
I blink at her. Little girl? I was 5 foot 8. I was not little.
Everyone has directed their full attention to Courtney now, as she stares me down, proving her place as Queen Bee on the new kid. "Admissions for this place closed two years ago."

I roll my eyes, my nerves diminishing slowly. The more this girl talks, the more I realize she isn't a threat. Is she for real? Admissions? Did that mean some people actually signed up for this place?
"Look," I snap. "I suggest you shove off because at the moment, you look like the pathetic one."

Courtney looks outraged, which she shouldn't be considering that was a completely mediocre comeback, even for me. She practically seethes, and holds her hand up in a stop gesture.
I don't know what she is doing until Aunt Nelly yells, "Stop it Courtney, this instant, you are forbidden to use abilities!"
Her green streaks are starting to glow. 

"Courtney!" Her friend is dragging her back by the arm. She has jet-black hair, complete with dark indigo streaks. "Stop it!" she hisses quietly. "You'll get kicked out!"
Courtney tries to shake her off and stares at my feet. The ground trembles. Something begins to nudge out, but Indigo-Streaks beats her to it. She stares at my beret: her face a picture of immense concentration, her streaks glowing. As Aunt Nelly realizes she's reaching for her powers too, she marches forward in attempt to stop her.
Too late. With a sudden flick of her wrist, my beret goes flying off my head and lands by her feet.

"Hey!" I yell in protest. There's a sudden, sharp sound. A zaaaaaaaaaap and Indigo-Streaks crashes to the floor, clutching her ankle in pain. I race forward to help her, even if she did just magically whack my beret off a few seconds ago.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
She has tears streaming down her face. That zap must have really hurt. A silver chain sits around her ankle with a indigo buckle. This must have been the control anklet Aunt Nelly was talking about. Nasty.

I raise my head at everyone just standing around.
"Can we get some help here?" I snap. Nobody moves. They're all staring. Not at Indigo-Streaks, at me. "Hello?"
I look at Courtney. Even she is staring at me dumbfounded, with slight rage churning in her eyes.
Then, I realize what had them all shell-shocked. They could all see my hair.