Shadow Walker (Neteru Academy Books) (22 page)

Within moments they had melted into the aisles and were gone.

“You okay?” Sarah said, rushing over to Tami, with Allie and Hyacinth on her heels.

Tami just fanned her face and slid down the shelf. “He’s the one.”

Sarah felt heat flush her entire body. Was Tami out of her mind? She drew a deep breath, ready to launch into an argument, when a shrill voice made all the girls turn around.

“Heavens to mercy! Goodness gracious!” a short, chubby woman with blue hair exclaimed. Erratic sparks flared from the end of the blue marble wand she was waving about, causing Sarah and her friends to duck with each pass.

Sarah realized immediately that this must be the librarian, Mrs. Hogan. It also occurred to her that they had just been found in a forbidden part of the school. Well, hell.

Mr. Anansi dropped from somewhere unseen, his squeaking an agitated recitation of what had transpired, no doubt.

Mrs. Hogan blinked several times, her small violet eyes shaded by long blue lashes, and her pink cheeks deepening to fuchsia before normalizing to a dusty rose.

“You ladies could have been severely injured!” she fussed, adjusting the powder-blue dress that matched her hair. “Before you go rummaging about in the library, it is vitally important to get a basic orientation.” She let out a peeved sigh and tapped her wand against her small plump palm. “I am Mrs. Hogan, and you would be…?”

“I’m Sarah…and we’re sorry, ma’am. We didn’t know there was an off-limits section.”

“Ah, yes! Sarah the brave, my new work-study student,” Mrs. Hogan said, rushing in close to hug her. “Wonderful instincts. Mr. Anansi reported it all—but the next time you reach into the Shady Path, you must be doubly sure that what you pull out is truly a friend.” She peered at the other girls until Tami finally spoke up.

“I’m Tamara, and these are my friends Allison and Hyacinth.”

“These two ladies don’t have their own voices?” Mrs. Hogan asked with a droll smile.

“Yes, ma’am,” Allie said with a nervous curtsey. “I’m Allison, and she’s Hyacinth.”

Mrs. Hogan shook her head. “So it is only poor Hyacinth who cannot speak, eh?”

“No, ma’am… I mean, yes, ma’am. That’s me, Hyacinth.”

“Nervous child, my goodness. But I dare say you have reason to be, although thankfully you’re none the worse for the wear.” Mrs. Hogan let out a little sigh, and then folded her arms over her ample chest and nodded toward the open door. “Ladies, are you aware of what’s behind that Senior Reference sign?”

When none of them answered, Mrs. Hogan clucked her tongue. “That area is for Upper Sphere students. It contains a tear between dimensions. Guardian warriors must learn how to block dark forces from slithering out of such regions.”

Mrs. Hogan began pacing, using her wand to draw sparkling images as she spoke. “Only a person who is extremely versed in countering demon attacks and building white light barriers should ever enter there. Those are usually our more senior Clair-V students, and even then, we send them in with another strong student who grounds them from the outside of the chamber, and we have an instructor on standby. It is not a place for the uninitiated, as you can literally feel presences touching you in there, even succumb to a temporary possession—which means we’d have to do an exorcism, yada, yada, yada, not pretty. And with all the recent issues we’ve had at the school, we do not want students or faculty going in there until the disappearances have been addressed. Understood?”

Hyacinth immediately began to pat down her body with alarm. “Mrs. Hogan, did anything get on me? Can you tell? I’m not possessed, am I?”

The three friends peered at each other nervously. Mrs. Hogan wrinkled her nose and waved her wand over Hyacinth’s trembling body.

“Hmmm…hard to tell…let me see. You were in there for how long?”

“Only a few minutes,” Sarah said breathlessly.

“Never can tell how long it takes, though,” Mrs. Hogan said, rubbing her chin, and then smiled when tears welled in Hyacinth’s eyes. “You’ll live. But no more shenanigans in my library.”

Hyacinth rapidly nodded.

“Good, then be off. And before you ladies explore another thing, open your PIUs and learn about the danger zones, thank you very much.”

The girls watched the blue matron float away.

Tami glanced at the others. “Just one question. What the heck is a PIU?”

“I have come into the Island of Fire, I have set right in the place of wrong…”

—The Book of Going Forth by Day

T
hey left the library without finding any defensive protections, but at least Sarah felt better now that she’d learned what nexse meant, though not why the being had said it to her.

Now they just needed to find their way to the cafeteria, which was turning out to be easier said than done.

They’d made a complete and frustrating circle twice before getting it right. Between having a seer in their group and using Tami’s expert tracking skills, they were finally able to figure out that the color grid was laid out like the chakra system. The delicious smell and hubbub of activity greeted them before they actually saw the cafeteria. Then all they had to do was enter the flow of hungry students, following along, and being bumped and shoved like she’d seen on old DVDs of salmon swimming upstream.

The hallway madness dumped them out into the mouth of the cafeteria, where it took a moment to get oriented. Rather than utilitarian tables and glass-shielded vats of mass-produced gunk, like she’d expected, it was more like an endless buffet of gourmet choices.

A loud gong sounded and the older students stood still, causing the new students to freeze where they were.

“Es, Es, Hetep, students!” Headmistress Stone called out in the ancient Kemetian greeting while opening her arms, walking stick held high, and bringing the group to full silence. “We shall ask for a blessing over the food that was prepared for the nourishment and health of your bodies, Ashe. We will ask the divine Creator to have mercy over all students, staff and faculty, and to allow you to partake in this wonderful feast with grace, health and thanks, Ashe.”

“Ashe,”
rang out in the cafeteria.

“We do this because there are always dark spiritual forces lurking, and also because to cleanse the food before consumption is wisdom, Ashe.”

“Ashe,”
the student body responded as one.

The headmistress smiled a wise old smile and lowered her ebony walking stick. “Then, my children, enjoy.”

It was as though Headmistress Stone had lifted invisible floodgates. Students grabbed trays and plates and silverware and rushed about in a frenetic ballet. Everyone jockeyed for position to get in line for their favorite food; it was survival of the fittest, pure and simple.

In easy-to-access stations placed around the room, there were salads, breads, hot and cold dishes, make-it-yourself sandwiches and fountains for cold drinks…even a dessert station and ice cream bar near the coffee and tea urns.

But the best thing of all was that her grandmother had not come over to her. They’d simply shared a knowing look. God bless Nana Marlene for staying in character as Headmistress Stone, so that she could be a regular student for now. Later, she would sneak off for a private visit. For now, learning the ropes of the lunchroom without embarrassing oneself was paramount.

As Sarah glanced around she saw multi-armed beings, something like a cross between giant squids and humans, wearing white chef outfits and flipping pans of made-to-order pasta and stir-fry for eagerly waiting students. Must have been some of the Mer come over from Nod, she decided. She tried not to stare, but that was impossible.

Tiny fauns scurried between the tables, wiping down the highly polished wood and keeping order as small Fae sprites made off with crumbs. Nymphs refilled platters, while faeries drizzled nectar and honey over sweet rolls and sticky buns. Burly elves were left to the task of methodically reloading fruit trays on ice and replacing five-gallon drums of juice and water as supplies were devoured by ravenous students.

Faculty had its own clearly designated area in the back, but even in the student section she saw only square tables that seated four and round ones that seated up to ten. But of course there wouldn’t be long institutional benches here. This place had been built for the legislative branch of the then-government, so it wouldn’t look like a military camp. It made sense that it had cushioned chairs and gleaming wood tables, along with the fancy food stations, even if it had been designed to feed a horde of eighteen hundred. With only about three hundred students, maybe fifty faculty and a hundred or so support staff, there’d be plenty of seating.

“Sarah!” she heard a voice call. It was Ayana. She was seated at a table with two other girls. The blond Adonis was there, as well, along with his sleazy friend. Sarah waved back, noticing that Tami was practically swooning, and then they all hurried away to get their food. Sarah was relieved that they had someone to sit with at lunch—even if she hated having to encounter Stefan again. Worse yet was knowing that she couldn’t stand her cousin’s friend—maybe boyfriend?—whatever his name was. The guy was a complete jerk, but the last thing she wanted to do was upset Yaya by making a scene.

She filled a plate and started toward Yaya’s table, then remembered that Jessica, Bebitta and Andrea had said they could sit together at lunch. Man, the lunchroom politics were already underway, and it was only day one. Glancing around quickly and relieved that she hadn’t spotted the Blends crew yet, she kept moving toward Ayana’s group. She was just passing Melissa Gray’s table when Allie, coming up behind her, lost control of her talent and zapped Sarah’s glass of apple juice.

In that split second it was impossible to tell whether Allie had just freaked out at seeing Melissa and her girls snickering at them, or if Melissa had somehow caused the spontaneous energy burst. There was barely even time to react. Sarah jumped back, and the juice, the plate of pasta, her sweet roll and salad all came heading toward her sweater, a huge and embarrassing disaster in the making.

“Reverse!” a voice said, and suddenly everything stopped mid-spill and then righted itself on her tray.

She stared in disbelief and let go of the tray without thinking, but it just hovered there in front of her.

“You gotta hold it,” the voice said, and she looked up to see Wil gracing her with a dashing smile.

She quickly reached out and grabbed the tray. “Thanks,” she said, turning crimson.

“Spaz,” one of the Gray gang muttered.

Sarah didn’t care. The most gorgeous guy in the place had just kept her from making a complete fool of herself. She took a quick sip of juice, and then promptly choked on it.

“Hey,” Wil said laughing. “Go easy. It’s still got a post-spell kick to it.”

Sarah blushed even harder and hurried away. She slid into a seat across from Ayana, who reached over and squeezed her hand. Blond Guy didn’t look amused.

“These are my compound sisters,” Ayana said with a wide smile. “This is Sarah…Allie, Tami and Hyacinth—and these are my BFFs Tina and Darlene.”

“So we don’t get no love?” Stefan said in a sexy rumble, looking at Tami like he could eat her alive.

“Stefan, right?” Sarah replied before Ayana could say anything, giving him the evil eye. “I just never caught your friend’s name.”

“When did you two meet?” Ayana said, then turned to the blond guy, who was looking totally bored, and beamed. “This is Brent.”

Yup, boyfriend,
Sarah thought.

“Yeah…whatever,” he said, taking a slurp of lemonade. “We already met in the library. But here’s the question, Yaya—why do they have to sit here? I thought we decided to keep our table off limits to newbies?”

“Brent…” Ayana said, her tone soft and pleading. “Come on. They’re family.”

Sarah was speechless. Her adored cousin was
pleading
with this guy? She couldn’t believe it.

Tina smiled at Sarah and her friends, and then cut a withering glance in Brent’s direction. “The newbies won’t get in the way of your zombie bopping, so leave ‘em alone, okay?”

“Yeah, Brent, come on,” Darlene said with a slight frown.

“Fine, let ‘em stay,” Brent replied in a bored tone, and then picked up a slice of whole-wheat pizza and began chomping on it.

“Zombie bopping?” Tami looked from Sarah to Ayana.

“Takes skill, babe,” Stefan said with a wide grin. “You ever play?” He leaned closer to her. “Better question is, do you wanna play?”

“Oh, no,” Ayana said, laughing nervously. “Back off, bro.”

“See, Tam? I keep trying to get to know you, but your bodyguards keep coming out of nowhere at me.”

“So what’s zombie bobbing?” Sarah said, trying to divert Tami’s attention away from Stefan and having completely lost interest in her lunch.

“Get up on the lingo,” Stefan said with a low chuckle. “ZBing we called it, and we like to keep the instructors none the wiser, so chill.”

“You need a strong seer navigator,” Brent said, giving Ayana a sexy wink, “plus an expensive board—skate, snow, surf, doesn’t matter, as long as you’ve got the tactical juice to make it go a hundred miles an hour without losing your balance. Then you bob in and out of the trees like they’re the frickin’ living dead. The only thing that keeps you from being roadkill at that velocity is some serious athletic ability—and a beautiful mind.” He held up his pizza, holding the group enthralled. “Without a good seer, you’ll wipe out and look worse than what’s on this green pepper and mushroom slice. We used to play up at my dad’s compound in Big Sur. I’m legendary on the boards—boards run in my family. Before the floods, my dad was the best surfer dude in Malibu. It’s all in the DNA.”

Brent bumped Stefan’s fist, and both guys laughed.

Okay, so now Sarah knew it was official. Her cousin was dating a rich, privileged jock who had a little bit of charm, but not nearly enough to override the fact that he was a cocky, thrill-seeking jerk. What was wrong with Yaya?