Page 6 of Fortune Academy: Year One
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, fun. Let’s go with that.” Sighing, I let my gaze sweep over the dual moons that glowed down onto us.“Where are we?”
The hunter knelt and wrapped his knife in a cloth. It pulsed with angry red flashes of light. “We’re here.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I can see that, but where is ‘here?’”
He shrugged. “I don’t think I could answer that even if I wanted to.” He tucked his wrapped blade into his cloak and settled onto his knees. He watched me, his glowing eyes searching mine as his lips ticked up on the side. “I figured bringing you to Fortune Academy would make you feel better. There’s color in your cheeks. It suits you.”
I blushed at the compliment, which made me blush even more. I didn’t... blush. Blushing was for people who didn’t get cold like I did or have any control over their basic biological impulses, which I was usually pretty solid on. I rubbed my fingers against my cheeks, hoping that the icy appendages would steal some of the heat, but to my surprise my fingers weren’t cold like they normally were. Instead I felt warm all over... and I wasn’t sure I liked it.
“What’s wrong with me?”
His smirk grew into a full-out grin, making soft dimples form at his cheeks. “There’s nothing wrong with you, but I think it’s best if we get you to Kaito. I promised him that he’d get to fill you in on things.”
I shot up, which I immediately regretted as dizziness swept over me. I rubbed my temples with slow, deliberate circles. “Who’s Kaito?” I squinted one eye at him. “Actually, you never even gave me your name.”
The hunter grunted and got to his feet. He offered me his hand, the one still slightly pink with a new scar that ran completely around his wrist. “Dante.”
Of course, my hunter would have a name like Dante. “I don’t know,” I grumbled, taking his hand and allowing him to help me up. “That sounds kind of intimidating. How about Danny?”
His eyes flashed. “It’s Dante.”
With that apparently decided, he dragged me down the smooth streets that were lined with impressive gardens and even more impressive buildings.
“I bet this place looks amazing in the daytime,” I said, unable to resist the urge to marvel that I was actually in Fortune Academy. “It looks even more amazing than the photos on the website.” There weren’t many, just enough to hint at a stunning infrastructure that would put colleges like Yale or Harvard to shame. While prestige on Earth was built on history, architecture, and tradition, Fortune Academy was built on magic.
Each building glowed with a life of its own, emanating power that sang through my veins. It was as if I’d been suffocating all my life and this was the first time I’d had a breath of fresh air. I drew in a long gulp and sighed.
Dante chuckled and twined his fingers through mine. Maybe that should have felt weird that we were holding hands, but I had a feeling that he didn’t want me running off. I was still his bounty and holding hands was better than him holding me by my scruff like a mutt he’d tracked down in the streets. Whether it was intended to be friendly or not, I decided I liked holding hands with him. There was the faintest trickle of essence that fueled him and seeped into me through our touch. Even if I didn’t completely understand it, I knew this had to be something to do with my supernatural powers. The only way I was going to understand them was if I just went with it.
“Kaito said you’d feel better once I got you here.” Dante straightened as he led me to one of the shorter buildings that glowed with the same golden orange as his eyes. “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s normally right.”
I gave the building a wary glance. Minus the light from its magical aura, I couldn’t see any signs of life through its windows. We reached the doors and they opened with a mechanical swish that sent my hair unfurling over my shoulders. Even though I knew we were in a magical realm, it all felt oddly... normal.
I never liked walking around places at night. It was too quiet, too undisturbed. I like bustle and business, which is why I felt at home at Cindy’s bar. The pang of regret that surged through my chest surprised me. It’s not like I owed Cindy anything. Sure, she took me in, but she’d had her own agenda and plans for me. Never mind the fact that she’d tried to kill me... Jess too.
But without my memories, that bar had been the closest thing I’d had to a home. Cindy was the only person who knew what I’d been through and Jess the only person that I could talk about... anything with.
“Hey,” Dante said, softly bringing me back to the present. “I know this is a lot to take in, but Kaito is a lot better at this sort of thing than I am. He’ll make everything okay. That’s what he does.”
To be honest, Dante was doing a pretty good job of making me feel reassured, even though alarm bells were going off telling me that this Kaito guy was probably the person who was supposed to pay off my bounty. For now, though, I would play along. “You sure he’s going to be here?” I asked. “It seems like the whole place is sleeping.”
Dante tugged me along with him and I followed. “He’ll be waiting up for us. I don’t think the guy ever sleeps. He’s such a workaholic.”
I snorted at that. “And you aren’t?” I eyed the plethora of scars that disappeared under his collar. “Seems like you bring a lot of bounties in for the Academy.” I winced as I said the last bit a little too harshly. Assuming he wasn’t a moron, my tone only said one thing.
Bounties like me.
If he caught on that I didn’t trust him, he didn’t react to it. His utter confidence in bringing me to this Kaito guy made it clear that he felt like everything was going to be okay once I met him. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but I also was more curious to find out than scared about what might happen to me. If I felt like I was really in danger, then I had a trick up my sleeve even Dante wouldn’t be prepared for.
I slipped my free hand into my pocket and turned over an artifact I’d stolen from Jess. She constantly pilfered magical charms from our supernatural guests when they were too busy ogling her breasts. She was so full of herself that she thought I wouldn’t take one from her. It’s not that I’d wanted to steal it, but I didn’t trust Jess with anything more powerful than a toaster oven, so when I found out that she’d swiped a conjuring charm from a warlock studying the demonspawn, I knew I had to make sure to take it from her. She had no business being able to summon a demon from hell, and neither did I, frankly, but if I really needed to make a getaway plan then I was pretty sure summoning a real-life demon would throw any attackers off guard long enough for me to escape.
There was the minor issue about how to get back to Earth when I needed to, but I would tackle one problem at a time. For now, I was in a position of power and I’d be getting answers soon. It’s not every day someone finds a back door to Fortune Academy.
“This way,” Dante said and guided me up a winding row of wide stairs. Our footsteps echoed throughout the open space, bouncing off of marble and expensive mosaic tiles. I tried to imagine this place bustling with students all going to their next classes, bright and excited about their future. I didn’t even know what kind of classes Fortune Academy offered.
“What’s it like?” I asked, immediately hating myself for being so curious, but just the idea of going to school here had me intrigued. “Being a student at the Academy, I mean.”
Dante grinned, his dimples returning and making him look a lot less intimidating. If it hadn’t been for all his scars and his glowing eyes, he would almost look sweet when he smiled at me like that. “I graduated two years ago, so I can tell you that it’s not easy.” He nudged me with his shoulder. “But it is a blast.”
