Reveille (The Hybrid Disasters, Book One)

Chapter 14: Season Of The Witch

Lolly was relentless. By the time Monday rolled around, I was both mentally and physically fatigued. She ran offensive and defensive drills with me for four straight hours on Saturday and Sunday morning. Then she spent the remainder of the weekend grilling me on the week's worth of catch-up notes and assignments the instructor of the class had provided us with on Saturday morning. We'd just returned from the gym to shower and change for breakfast, and at our door we found a pile of books, handouts, and lesson notes stacked nearly as tall as Lolly.

At the top of the stack was an itinerary for the first six weeks of the course. Week one of the course focused on the basics of the Supernatural Community. The class had already extensively reviewed each known supe and their primary attributes. I was fascinated to discover there were five known dimensions in existence. The first was the Material Plane, or the human world as I knew it. The other four dimensions were the Elemental Planes of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air. The Elemental Plane of Fire was often likened to what humans referred to as Hell, because, out of all the Elemental Planes, the Plane of Fire was the one which humans were the most acquainted with. Opposed to the other Planes, the Plane of Fire's inhabitants more commonly frequented Earth and likewise interfered with human life; therefore, its representation throughout history rang more accurately. Essentially, all myths and legends derived from the Elemental Planes, even the human narrative of Heaven bore origins from the Plane of Air, but unlike the Demons of Hell, Angels did not exist— only Harpies, who were birds that could take human form.

The Material Plane was the only connection between the other four dimensions, as our world was made up of elements from each. Each of the Elemental Planes housed a variety of their own distinct inhabitants, commonly referred to as Elementals, but each Plane was commanded by one, powerful Elemental caste, known as "The Thrones." Fire Thrones were Demons, Air Thrones were Djinn, Water Thrones were Tritons (which I learned were powerful piscine humanoids likened to mermen), and Earth Thrones were Faeries. Now, I understood why Fib bowed to me that night in his Pawn Shop. He mistakenly thought I was a full-blooded Faery, and as an Elemental of the Plane of Earth, Fib would have been subservient to me. I was basically royalty to him. Or so he thought anyhow.

Lolly grilled me all day each day until any thoughts outside of week one's course-load ceased to exist. She told me I wasn't allowed to fail because she believed she would get kicked out of the program if I flunked out. I tried to convince her that wasn't the case, especially after she began threatening me with midnight study sessions when I got answers wrong, but she wasn't hearing it. Thankfully, I was able to absorb enough information for her to let me sleep Sunday night.

Lolly and I walked into our first class Monday morning with contradicting emotions. She was thrumming with excitement whilst I was teetering with nervousness. As soon as we stepped through the doorway, sixteen pairs of eyes blatantly scrutinized our presence. The remaining pair welcomed us warmly. Those eyes belonged to our instructor, Mr. Wilkes.

"Lolly, Addy, thanks for joining us. Please take your seats at the end of the last row," Mr. Wilkes directed.

I sighed in relief as we made our way to the back of the room. At least in the back, I wouldn't have to feel every set of eyes bore into the back of my head. I knew what they were all thinking. I didn't belong here. Neither of us did.

"Alright, class, let's get back to our discussion—,"

"How is this even remotely fair?" a female voice seethed from across the room. My eyes shot over to the offended person. She was a pale, pretty girl with long dark hair twisted into two, distinct braids. I was instantly reminded of Christina Ricci's role as Wednesday in The Addam's Family. The resemblance was uncanny.

Mr. Wilkes frowned. "Trixie, the decision to put these two in the program is well above our heads. Clearly someone believes they deserve to be here. It's our duty to welcome them and train them as best we can; otherwise, we put our entire organization at risk."

"The organization puts itself at risk in the hands of an adolescent and an abomination," a deeper voice cut across the room. Snickers erupted immediately.

My eyes locked with the owner of the voice. His stark white hair and unusually sharp facial features made him handsome in an unconventional way. He sat across from the Ricci twin. I could tell from his slouched posture that he was tall. He was also lean but not in a fragile way. There was a mysterious strength about him. I was almost certain the girl was a Witch, but him... I couldn't quite place his caste. His piercing blue eyes narrowed under my observation.

"ENOUGH," Mr. Wilkes roared. The lights in the classroom flickered, and everyone immediately gave the instructor their undivided attention. I squeezed Lolly's shoulder briefly for reassurance. Our agent training had officially begun.

After class was dismissed for the day, Lolly and I stayed behind to take the exam the rest of the class took last Friday. The first week, the week Lolly and I missed, covered all 192 known supes, to include their strengths, weaknesses, known habitats, estimated populace, group preference, known enemies, and known allies, if any. We had four hours to take the exam. Lolly only needed two. I still had seven questions left at my five-minute warning.

"Time," Mr. Wilkes announced. I got up and handed over my paper sullenly.

"No need for the gloom, Miss Harper," the teacher remarked. "It's only the first exam. If you didn't do as well as you hoped, you'll have other opportunities to make it up."

I smiled weakly. "Thank you, sir."

"Also, please do not take the nasty remark Mr. Summers made to heart. The students feel cheated by you and Miss Ward's appointment to the program. Prove yourselves equal, if not better, and their attitudes toward you both will change."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Again. Thanks," I said again awkwardly.

"Best get going. The little wolf has been waiting outside the door for over an hour. I'm betting the pizza she brought you has gone cold," Mr. Wilkes smirked.

My eyes lit up. I just realized it was eight at night, and I was starving. I rushed to exit the door. Sure enough, Lolly was passed out on the floor with her back against the wall. The styrofoam to-go container sat on her lap.

I giggled and nudged Lolly on the toe of her boot. "Wake up, sleepyhead. I finally finished." Lolly opened her eyes and yawned.

"Well, I didn't quite finish, but the time did," I admitted.

"I'm sure you did great," Lolly grinned. "I brought you cafeteria pizza." She held up the box, and I grabbed it, offering Lolly a hand to stand.

"I don't even care if it's cold. I'm starving." I took out a limp slice and shoved it in my mouth as we walked back to our room.

By the time we reached our floor, I had finished all three slices of cold pizza. I thanked Lolly for being so considerate.

"No problem," Lolly shrugged. "No one likes the after-hours ready meals," she declared in a very serious tone. "No one."

We were about to enter our room when I caught a glimpse of Lyric entering the stairwell at the end of the hall.

"Go ahead inside," I directed Lolly without taking my eyes off the entrance to the stairwell. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Surrreee you will," Lolly purred. I was about to remark, but Lolly puckered her lips and made kissing sounds as she shut the door.

When the door closed, I made my way toward the stairwell. I knew my cheeks were flushed the moment I caught sight of Lyric, but they reddened even more so after Lolly's display. Last I spoke with Lyric, his mood had dampened substantially when Donny was brought up. I knew assumptions were tricky things, but if there was even the slightest chance his sour attitude was a result of jealousy... I shook my head. I didn't need to have these thoughts. Besides, Lyric was way, way out of my league. From the very moment I realized I was undoubtedly attracted to him, I knew I never stood a chance with him from a romantic standpoint. This glimmer of hope growing in my stomach needed to stop. I had to stop reading into things. It wasn't fair to him, or Donny, or me.

I opened the door that led to the stairs and whispered Lyric's name. After a few seconds and no response, I stepped through the door. Several sparkling particles bombarded my vision. All senses began to drain. The last thing I recalled was two silhouettes easing me to the ground.