CHAPTER THREE
Wickerland was vastly different than Rockdale High, Lyla's previous High school.
The classes were divided in two sections.
The first part of her schedule was first, second and third period classes.
The second section was fourth, fifth and sixth period classes.
The first half of her school day would be spent with Mr. Branson.
His classroom was just outside of the hallway that led to both Regina's office and the entrance.
Lyla's stomach clenched as she entered the room.
She quickened her pace and ignored each stare that burned into her body as she made her way to the desk where Mr. Branson sat.
She filled the air pockets in her lungs with false confidence and swallowed to relieve the dryness of her throat.
"Mr. Branson..?" she said shyly. She curled her fingers into the fabric of her jeans as she waited for his response.
Mr. Branson lifted his eyes to hers with a surprised look on his face. His bushy brows arched and he seemed genuinely confused by the sight of her.
"I'm Lyla Daniels.." She murmured. Playing with her thick braid that she had twisted her hair in to that morning.
Her cheeks flushed. She was hoping he wasn't the kind of teacher that made a big deal out of introductions.
"Oh yes! Yes of course!"
She flinched from the sound of his booming voice.
He pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose. The top of his bald head seemed to glisten under the lights of the ceiling, as if he had waxed it.
He looked at her with a gentle smile and she cursed herself for being such an open book.
It was no secret that she dreaded the idea of being presented to the whole class almost as much as she would dread thumb tacks being pressed into her eyes.
To her amazement, Mr. Branson pointed out a seat toward the back of the class and that was the end of their interaction.
She sighed in relief as she made her way through the miniscule walking space between the chairs.
Maybe today wouldn't be as dreadful as she'd thought. It wasn't off to a horrible start.
As soon as she sat down the same chocolate brown skinned boy that Stacy was drooling over turned in his seat.
"You must be Lyla." An attractive smile twisted his lips upward. His amber eyes were flickering with excitement and intrigue.
She nodded her head unable to speak. Her throat felt like it had been welded shut. Not because of his dashing good looks, but because she was hoping that everyone would just pretend she didn't exist.
The boy smiled at her knowingly and once again she wanted to slam her head into the desk for her transparency.
"No worries. The talk will die down in a few days. You'll be fine."
He moved a few strands of his dark braided hair behind his ear that reached just a little past his shoulders.
"Talk?" She gulped.
Standing in front of a classroom filled with seventeen-year-old's wasn't near as frightening as the idea that the whole campus was talking about her.
She hadn't even considered that.
Now her nerves were screaming at her in a chest locking panic.
"Everyone knows?" She blanched.
The boy looked thoughtful as he answered.
"We rarely get transfer students. And when we do they always seem to be guys.. Of course everyone knows about you."
She grimaced, pulling her face into an unpleasant frown. The boy's eyes sparkled with amusement.
"I'm Miles by the way."
A breath taking smile illuminated his face.
Before Lyla could reply Mr. Branson's loud booming voice filled the room, commanding each students attention with it's thunderous sound.
"Lyla!" Dee called out to her from across the hallway seconds after she walked out of class.
The bouncing redhead with a give-em-hell attitude walked beside her as they staggered through the sea of students toward the cafeteria.
After the both of them had their tray's of food, Dee steered her to a long off-white table that was placed beside a large window that displayed a patch of land outside.
As Dee maneuvered spaghetti noodles on to her fork, Lyla caught sight of a name tattooed on to her index finger.
Lyla cocked her head to the side, her inquisitive nature ruling out manners.
"Whose Jay?"
"He's my boyfriend. Hands off newbie." Dee said half jokingly. Even so, her cheeks tinted with a lovely shade of pink.
Lyla wanted to scrunch her face up with disgust. She never understood relationships, nor wanted to be in one.
Who would want to have their heart broken every couple of months by a different guy each time?
She was perfectly happy just reading about romance in novels rather than experiencing it first hand, or admiring a couples glowing faces from afar. She wandered if secretly she was just envious of them. She had never really been interested in a boy before, none have ever sparked her attention.
She cleared her throat and chased the sudden unwanted thought of the boy from last night that popped into her head.
She hasn't even properly met the boy and yet the first time a relationship is brought up his face was printed at the backs of her eyes.
She couldn't decide if what she felt toward him was negative or positive. He didn't seem too nice.
She argued amongst her self for several moments, a really heated debate whether his intentions were honorable or if he felt guilted into it.
"Earth to Lyla?" Dee said snapping her fingers in front of her face.
Lyla wagged her head shaking the thoughts off like a dog would shake water out of it's furr.
"Sorry I got lost in thought. What did you say?"
Dee's brow rose inquisitively.
Lyla quickly fabricated a smile to avoid further questions.
The other girl looked at her as if she were dying to pry open her skull and let all of Lyla's deepest darkest secrets tumble out of her brain. Thankfully, she only shook her head with an amused smile.
"I asked if you left a boyfriend back home. He could come visit on visiting day with your parents."
Lyla felt a cold hand wrap around her heart and squeeze. She couldn't imagine what torment she would feel seeing the other students embracing their parent's and she had no one to embrace.
Except perhaps Rick, but something told Lyla she wouldn't be hearing from him any time soon.
"No, no boyfriend. And My parent's wouldn't be interested in coming." She swallowed.
Dee's eyes softened and then glistened with curiosity.
"What did you do? Burn a school down." She leaned over conspiratorially
Lyla rolled her eyes.
"No." She grumbled.
Luckily, Dee didn't seem the type to press subjects. She shrugged then proceeded to go on about her relationship with Jay instead.
Lyla approached her next class, the one she would be spending the rest of the school day in.
Her palms were damp with a fresh sweat and her heart fluttered.
Her gut instincts warned her that this time she wasn't going to have it so easy. She was going to come face to face with the humiliation that she just barely escaped in Mr. Bransons class.
As if on Que, Mrs. Montez's thick accent startled Lyla as soon as she opened the door.
"Ms. Daniels!" She exclaimed.
She clapped her hands with excitement like she had just been given an immaculate gift.
"Come in!" The bubbly woman invited her inside. Lyla's body went rigid when her eyes caught sight of her fellow classmates.
All but one was staring directly at her, piercing her skin like tiny fishing hooks.
The woman's shining black hair was twisted into a tasteful braid and her brown eyes were vibrating with jubilance.
Lyla's stomach dropped, as if she'd been spinning with a nimble velocity on a Mary-go-round.
She knew Mrs. Montez was going to make the scene she had been dreading all day.
"If I could have everyone's attention please!" The teacher squealed, drawing her students' attention.
Lyla cringed as if there were a dozen baby spiders crawling up her arms and legs. She wanted to fold herself into a ball, tuck herself into a black hole and disappear into another universe.
As if she needed confirmation of the awkwardness that was coming her way, the students' chatter went from hushed to complete silence.
"We have a new family member joining us today."
Mrs. Montez placed both of her hands on Lyla's shoulder's and softly squeezed them as if she were trying to reassure her.
Lyla began to fiddle with the hair tie around her wrist, focusing on the sting as she snapped it against her flesh.
She kept her eyes to the floor avoiding the disparaging orbs that longed to devour her body piece by piece until she was a formless heap of ash.
She wanted to kick herself.
Hard.
Why did her gut feeling have to be right?
"This is Lyla. She just transferred here from San Francisco." Ms. Montez's voice took on one of a professor.
It was like she was giving a lecture on a bizarre foreign species.
"I expect you all to make her feel welcome." She squeezed Lyla's shoulders one last time.
The panic harbored inside of her rushed out of her body like it had been sucked out by a vacuum. Her muscles loosened and her body felt strangely as light as a feather as she realized the worst part was already over.
"Ms. Daniels, you will be sitting next to Mr. Tyler." She pointed out an empty chair at a joined table where the same boy that had checked on her last night sat with his head lowered.
His black as ebony hair had fallen into his eyes, hiding their destructive beauty.
A new more severe nervousness swallowed what confidence Lyla had left.
She was struck with a sudden onset of anxiety, her heart raced causing her to feel jittery and unstable as she drew near him.
But, there was another feeling welling inside of her each step she got closer to him.
Her skin began to feel hot, not just feverish but like her flesh was being kissed by the raging rays of the sun.
Even the very blood that filled her veins felt like it was boiling.
A jolt of uncomfortable heat nawed at her insides, like an army of fire ants.
She was half dazed by the striking young man's presence and half on the verge of fainting because of the agonizing temperature that seized her organs.
The boy tensed as she stumbled into her chair.
But then again she could have imagined it. she wasn't in the clearest state of mind.
She was too absorbed by the alien sensations whirling inside of her like a cyclone.
Finally after a short time the otherworldly sensations slowly faded away.
Lyla was left dumbfounded, This was not her typical symptoms of anxiety. This was something much worse and beyond her comprehension.
She flitted a look sideways when she heard faint movement beside her.
A pair of melted silver eyes that had flecks of white surrounding the pupils illuminated against his black hair.
He was all sharp angles with deep set eyes.
Unsettlingly beautiful.
The air rushed out of her parted lips like water being expelled from a rain cloud. She was heaved under a blinding trance that canceled out the rest of the world.
That was until he narrowed his eyes at her. The corner of his mouth curled into an unfriendly smile that sent arctic chills down her spine.
She snapped her head back to her paper in an instant and gulped.
"For the next few weeks we will be studying social behavior." Mrs. Montez said as she glided to the black board.
Lyla was grateful for her voice, it was a welcome distraction.
"Jesse." She called turning to face the boy and clasped her hands behind her back.
"In the short time that Ms. Daniels has been in this classroom. What have you noticed about her behavior?"
She prepared her right hand to write his answers.
A rafting tension filled the gap between her and the young man. It was radiating off of Jesse in strong fluid currents.
It was strange. She had never felt someone's emotions so strong, like they had become a physical action. The most bizarre thing of the situation was that no one else seemed to notice it, only her.
His eyes were slits of frustration aimed at the teacher and Lyla's cheeks sizzled with apprehension. He didn't want to analyze her, he wanted to pretend that she didn't exist.
She slowly sunk into her chair, hugging herself supportingly. She found that she would like that idea very much at the moment, the part of not existing.
Jesse clenched his teeth then answered in a bone chilling voice.
"I'm sure anyone could guess."
His silver eyes darkened to a cold gunmetal gray.
Lyla was glad that his gaze wasn't fixed on her, just seeing him look at the teacher in that way made her chest feel hollow.
"Indulge me." Ms. Montez challenged him with an equally jarring expression.
Out of nowhere the table jolted beneath her and shifted. if it had been a living thing it would have wailed in pain at the impact of Jesse's foot slamming into its leg.
An un-arming smile decorated his unearthly brilliant face.
" I need to see the nurse. I'm not feeling too hot. "
A flicker of defiance shimmered in his eyes. It was clear He had no intention on doing what he was told.
Lyla's jaw hung open in disbelief as he made his way to the door.
He glanced back at Lyla just before he exited.
Her view flickered back to Ms. Montez that had her arms crossed over her slightly pudgy midsection. Her lips flattened, making a small set of wrinkles indent her skin at the corners of her mouth.
She was obviously not pleased with the young man's behavior .
Lyla frowned.
She couldn't understand why one day Jesse cares for her well being, than the next day he couldn't stand the sight of her.
"Are you feeling better?" Ky said. He was standing beside Ash whom was eyeing the throwing knives made of crystal quartz. They were meticulously set in the wall among the other various weapons Jesse had forged himself.
Jesse sprawled on the ground of the grotto, closing his eyes and holding a hand to his stomach as if he were trying to prevent his guts from spilling over on to the floor.
"Doesn't look like it." Ash muttered. He brought a blade he had removed from the weapons display up by his ear, then tossed it with the speed of sound, it hissed through the air just before pegging the target in it's center.
"Here's an idea. How about you jump into a furnace for three hours and burn yourself alive. That's what being next to that girl feels like." Jesse groaned.
Ash stiffened like a statue. He knew that feeling all too well. He saw flashes of his body bursting into flames as he hit the earth's atmosphere, seeing his flesh melt off of his muscles then bone like a fast progressing wood burner.
He involuntarily shuddered.
It wasn't something he cared to remember.
Jesse wanted to bang his head into the cold hard ground, it was true he lacked sensitivity. He lacked the capacity to form words that would sooth another living soul.
He walked the cosmos for hundreds of years with only Regina by his side. It was hard learning how to for him to know what would affect his friend, it was hard to know how you treated someone when you cared.
But He had developed a sort of love for Ash. He was a unique creature and Jesse respected what he stood for, along with his rather annoying companion.
"Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."
Ash dropped his jaw dramatically and gripped onto his pectorial muscle as if he was holding his heart.
"You do care!" He mocked, a devilish curve of his lips made Jesse smile also.
"Have you spoken to Regina about the girl?" Ky said. He was running his finger over the sharp edge of one of his throwing knives.
"No." Jesse muttered. He propped himself on his elbows and looked heavenward.
"Like it or not we have to protect her. It would probably be wise to gather more information about her."
Jesse cocked his head to the side.
Ash had a point.
"Lock up when your done. An try not to get lost in the realm of in-between." Jesse jeered getting to his feet.
Ash glowered at him and Ky rubbed his smooth jawline.
"We should probably check on the boys back home. How much longer are we going to be here?" Ky said.
Ash drug his bottom lip over his teeth and crossed his arms.
He owed Jesse, he owed him a life time of debt.
"You can leave if you like. I'll be here as long as he needs me." Ash uttered with finality.
Ky grimaced. They have their own city to save, he didn't understand why they had to be here.
When Lyla had reached her dorm room she heard Dee singing off pitch to Sean Mendes.
She involuntarily shuddered. Most pop music annoyed her. She was the kind of gal that liked piano and jazz. Her favorite singer was Norah Jones.
"Hey roomie!" Dee chirped.
She clicked her speakers off and flopped onto her bed.
"No plans with Jay tonight?" Lyla said, untangling her hair from the braid she had twisted it into that morning.
"Nah. He had some things to do."
"So How was your first day?" Dee said sitting Indian style on her bed, dragging a brush through her tight ginger curls.
Lyla felt suddenly queasy. Her day didn't go as terrible as she had anticipated.. but she couldn't stand the hot and cold attitude of Jesse.
But she wasn't going to tell Dee that. She was a fan of personal privacy.
"I guess it's pretty much the same as anyone else's." She gave a one shoulder shrug and begun biting her nails.
After class Lyla had found a run down library that must have been a basement in another life. It wasn't far from the cafeteria, she was thrilled that the school had one. Regardless of how poorly stocked it was.
Dee quirked an eyebrow up with skepticism. It was as clear as glass that she didn't believe her.
Complete relief flooded over her when Dee cut the lamp on her bedside table off and wished her a good night of rest.
Jesse slid on his gear, black pants made from the skin of a Rovendo a creature with the equivalent texture of the skin of the earth's rhino. A creature that lived in the heart of the realm of creativity.
He buckled his weapons belt around his narrow hips an groaned. Before him and the others head to San Francisco, he needed to speak with Regina.
He slid on a leather jacket made out of the same material as his pants and headed out the door.
It was nearly three in the morning, the stillness in the atmosphere made his senses flare with alert. It was a part of him that always existed, a part that was always ready to rise to a fight.
But there was also something calming about the damp air, perhaps it was the soothing feeling a person gets when it rains.
Something purely natural.
"Jesse? I thought you would have left already. You don't have much time before the sun begins to rise." Regina said, opening her door a little wider so he could enter.
"I need to know more about the transfer. There's something strange about her." Jesse said. He was pacing back and forth as if he were waiting on life threatening news.
"Your referring to Lyla." Regina said with a curt nod.
" I felt something off of her as well. she is human, that's a fact. but there's something else too." she murmured, her eyes clinging to Lyla's file that laid open on her desk.
Jesse followed her gaze and arched a brow.
"The girl's mother was murdered a week ago. I suspect Lord Oric had a hand in this tragedy."
"Why? What motive does he have? I'm the one he's..." Jesse's words trailed off. He ran through each detail since Lyla had arrived at the campus.
He blanched and his stomach knotted in to clots of nausea.
Regina's pale eyes filled with alarm at his reaction.
"What is it??" She demanded.
Jesse took a deep jagged breath.
It all made sense now. The bizarre side affects of being near her, the crazy edge of protectiveness he felt toward her. But it shouldn't be possible.
"Remember the way love works for my kind?" The words tasted bitter and sweet at the same time. He found him self staring blankly at the leather sofa against the wall.
An emptiness grew like weeds through his body.
Regina's eyes widened, her mouth forming a miniscule "o".
"Are you sure?"
Jesse gave a terse nod and clenched his jaw, trying to hold back the scream of rage lingering in his throat.
"If this is true, you can't stop it. But, you can prolong the process. Avoid touching the girls skin, that will buy you time."
"Now that I know, I'll leave ash to keep guard. She has to be protected at all costs. Ky will come with me." Jesse said, letting the soldier in him take over.
"Is there a reason You asked Ash to stay behind?" Ky grumbled as they reached a vacant brick house that had police tape marking it to prohibit entrance.
"The new student. Remember?"
He cut his eyes at the boy. Ky wasn't a bad person, but Jesse hardly had the patience for his incompetence. At least he was a good fighter, he would come in handy if there were any trouble.
"We need to go around back. There's no telling whose watching." Jesse said, creeping in the shadows of the structure. He followed it's borders to the back of the house.
A wooden door was set in the ground.
Most likely the entrance of a basement.
Jesse kneeled, pressing his hand to the chain wrapped around it's handles.
His essence seeped out of his hands like blue glittering dust. The chain melted in an instant into a small puddle of silver liquid.
"Is there anything you can't do?" Ky muttered, following Jesse down the rotting steps.
"I can't bring the dead back to life. Although I've never tried. Perhaps you'd like to test the theory?"
Ky scowled and Jesse's mouth twisted.
The basement smelled of mold and decaying material. Soft taps of water leaked from the pipes of the ceiling to the discolored cement floor. There was a pile of boxes in the corner of the area, crumbling into soggy heaps of wet cardboard.
But There was something else too. Something in the air, a familiar scent that usually accompanied creature's from the lower realms. The foul odor of sulfur and rotten blood.
Jesse stopped in the kitchen, his heart soaring in to his throat at the sight of the large stain of week old blood.
He didn't need light, he was able to see just as good if not better at night time than he did in the day.
He followed a hurried pattern of footsteps that trailed toward the middle bedroom.
As soon as he entered he found the clue he was hoping wouldn't be possible. A large black onyx dagger placed next to a bloody out line of a body that was no longer there.
He knelt down, turning the weapon over in his hand. Red stone swirled in angry patterns on the blade. Gleaming with malice.
The unholy mark of Oric was etched in to it's handle, an abominable symbol of his wickedness.
"This is horrible." Ky murmured. His eyes scoured the room.
All Jesse could do was slightly nod his head.
What a terrible thing for a young girl to witness. Aside from her paralyzing anxiety, she held herself together better than most human beings could even dream of.
A deep slithering sound echoed through the small house. Sending waves of cold over the room. Jesse leapt to his feet.
He inched toward the door and slipped down the hall way.
"Damnit!" Jesse hissed in a whisper. He could sense Ky's body stiffen as well.
"What is it?"
Jesse inclined his head toward the kitchen.
There were at least a dozen creatures filling the vacant rooms of the house. They were little like garden gnomes with yellow beady eyes and pale milky skin that was nearly transparent. Scratchy cackles rasped out of their mouths, mischievously taking contents from the abandoned home.
The symbol of their master was sewn into their foreheads, glowing a ghastly red color with black spidering veins.
Obviously Oric wasn't finished with this place.
Jesse knew they had to get out of there. Ky and him were skilled for sure, but they were completely out number.
He latched a hand on to Ky's shoulder and teleported them back to the campus.
Ky leaned over winded, dragging cavernous breaths into his lungs.
Jesse smiled with amusement. He should have warned Ky that teleporting was alot like jumping into a whirlpool, spinning a thousand miles per hour, like falling out of a plane.
"I...really hate you.." he said breathlessly. Earning a crooked smile of satisfaction from Jesse.