Initiation (10 page)

S
itting opposite Jagger in his office, I felt an overpowering urge to touch him. I wanted to run my fingers through his spiky hair, down his smooth cheek, under his shirt and up his chest, and…

“Cordelia, focus.” Jagger interrupted my X-rated thoughts with a leering grin. “So?”

“So?” I had no idea what he was talking about. When we sat down, he’d asked Faustine how she was. Then, I blanked out to daydream.

“Are you happy to have Octavia represent you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“What about you, Faustine? Frau Schmelder told me that you had some reservations. What are they?”

“Not really.” She shrugged. “I guess it’s fine, if Cordelia thinks so. What’s so good about Octavia?”

“She’s a vampire. Not that that’s what makes her so good,” Jagger quickly added. “But she’d just finished law school when she was turned. She’s in her Enrichment year, and is well versed in our rules. She’s very sharp. You’ll see when you meet her. She’ll go over the case with you tomorrow morning.”

“Isn’t her being a vamp going to be a problem?” Faustine asked.

“No. Not at all. But in any case, you won’t be left alone with her.”

“That’s good.”

“Octavia will talk to both of you. You’ll have to tell her, in detail, exactly what happened.”

“Can’t she just watch the surveillance video? I’m really fed up with telling the story again and again. Seems like we’ve done it about a million times already,” Faustine complained.

I knew exactly what she meant.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Jagger replied. “Octavia has already watched the video, but she needs to hear the story, first hand, from both of you, but separately. The shifters are meeting with their reps tomorrow. The trial has been set for the next day. The trial will take place in the Justice Auditorium. It’s in the new part of the buildings. The student council will hear the case. The council consists of twelve members, including the president, which is me. I’m going to have to recuse myself because I’m a key witness. So, the remaining eleven will hear the case, discuss the evidence, and deliver a verdict and potential punishment.

“You two will be expected to recount what happened, and then you’ll be questioned by the shifter’s reps. Faustine, although you’re expected to take the stand, you don’t have to. Cross-examination can get nasty, and Octavia will probably have you sit out unless you absolutely need to testify. I’ve already spoken to the other council members about that. They’re okay with it, since you’re so young.”

“Quinn said that we can’t use the surveillance video as evidence,” I grumbled.

“Yep. That really sucks, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Octavia will talk to you some more about that in the morning. Any questions?”

We both shook our heads. Faustine probably had about a zillion more questions, but she was most likely as fed up as I was. I had a zillion more questions myself, but we needed a break.

“Okay, great. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Octavia will meet us here at ten. Sorry to be rushing you out, but I have to get to ski practice.”

“Oh, can I go?” Faustine asked, her eyes bright with hope.

Jagger glanced over at me, his eyes narrowing.

“I think it’s a good idea,” I said.

He probably hadn’t expected me to say that, but an evening on the slopes would be great for Faustine. It would totally take her mind off stuff. She’d had a horrendous start to the school year, so she could do with a break. Besides, skiing was her passion, and she wanted to be part of the team.

Jagger nodded. “I guess that would be okay. It’s just the Integrates and above skiing tonight. The Initiates won’t be joining us for a month or so, which is why I didn’t invite you in the first place. But I guess you’re a special case anyway. So, as long as Cordelia supervises you, you’re welcome to tag along. We won’t be doing any beginner stuff today, just hitting the slopes hard, full power.”

“Sounds like fun!” Faustine rubbed her hands together.

Jagger laughed. “Okay, let’s go. I’ll give you a ride in my Range Rover.”

We arrived at the Bonfire Academy ski chalet fifteen minutes later. There were already a few cars in the parking lot.

Jagger got out of the car and gazed up at the slopes. “The others are already up there, waiting. So hurry up and get changed. I’ll meet you up top.”

Faustine and I stepped into the yellow-painted wooden building, which was far enough away from the main campus to have survived the fire. We went straight to the girls’ locker room. The large room was sectioned into four main areas: showers, ski equipment, dressing area, and lockers. I went over and unlocked my locker. My gear was still as I had left it before the fire.

“Faustine, we need to get you suited up. There’s a selection of stuff over there.” I pointed to a rack on the far side of the locker room. “Those are the Academy’s ski uniforms. They’re new, so just choose your size, try it on, and then it’ll be yours for the rest of the season. Take this locker.” I opened the door to an empty one. “You can stash your stuff in here.”

After dressing, we took the ski lift to meet with the others.

Quinn skied over and kissed me. “Hey, babe. You didn’t mention you were coming skiing.”

Jagger invaded me instantly, and my body shook as it tried to counter his reaction of pure wrath. I disengaged from Quinn abruptly, feeling lightheaded from fighting Jagger. “Um. I didn’t know, Quinn. Faustine wanted to come when Jagger mentioned that he was heading out to ski. Anyway, it should be fun. Are we skiing in twos? I guess I’ll be paired with Faustine.”

“Wrong,” Jagger said. “It’s going to be fast and a little dangerous out there tonight. Some parts of the runs are pitch dark, plus most of the pairs are planning to off piste, as usual. I think it’s best if Faustine is paired with a team member.”

Awesome. Then I could head off with Quinn.

“Faustine, you’ll ski with Quinn, and Cordelia, you’ll be with me.”

“If it’s all the same to you, can we switch, Jagger? Let me spend some time with my girlfriend.” Quinn put his arm around me.

“Actually, it’s not all the same to me. I’m heading off first, and Faustine will need to be right at the back, so no one runs her over. So stick with her, Quinn. I’ll take charge of your
girlfriend
. She’ll be safe with me.”

I could feel his disdain.

“Okay, let’s get ready. Here’s the sequence. I’ll go first with Cordelia. Sienna and Jewel, you’re up next.”

The twins waved at Faustine.

“Patrice and Delam, you’re next.”

Delam sniffed in Faustine’s direction. Typical vampire. Patrice showed no interest. She was a demon-witch hybrid. They were rarely sent to the academy, as the witches preferred to train their offspring themselves, but Patrice had been a challenge. Her demon blood was dominant, and the combination made her frighteningly powerful.

“Delam, she’s off limits,” Jagger boomed. “Go anywhere near her and you’re off the team. Forever. Have you fed?”

“Yep, but it smells delicious. What is it, exactly?” Delam was practically drooling.

“
It
is Faustine, and never mind what she is, it’s none of your biz. Stay. Away.”

“Okay, okay. Keep your lederhosen on.”

I thought I heard Jagger actually growl. “Change of plan. You and Patrice will ski off first. Ahead of me.”

Delam chuckled. “Fine by me. Fresh snow!”

“So, it’s now Delam and Patrice, Cordelia and me, Sienna and Jewel, Dorothy, Elvis and Sven. Then bringing up the rear, Faustine and Quinn. Quinn, no off piste with Faustine, obviously.”

Quinn sighed. “Obviously.”

Faustine looked unhappy.

“What’s up?” I asked her.

“Well, there’s no need to baby me. I off-piste ski all the time. I’m really very good. I’ll show you.”

“Have you skied using your paranormal powers?” Jagger asked softly.

She shook her head.

“In that case, stay on the runs. Just for now. It won’t be long until you can join in fully. Safety first, though. Okay? Promise you won’t try anything stupid.”

Faustine rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”

Jagger nodded. “Okay, we’ll regroup at the chalet, then feed and go again. Delam, Patrice. Assume your positions.”

They skied past the start of the run to the other side, which had a ledge with a sharp drop off. They brought their skis onto the ledge, balancing precariously.

Faustine gasped. “They aren’t planning to jump off the cliff, are they? It goes straight down! They’re gonna kill themselves.”

Before I could reply, Delam and Patrice bent their knees and launched themselves down the side of the mountain. I peered over, with Faustine gaping next to me, and watched them slide down the side of the mountain, sparks literally flying off the backs of their skis. When they hit a curved section, they spiraled into a triple loop, and then I lost sight of them.

“O-M-G!” Faustine gaped at me. “What the heck was that?”

“That’s extreme skiing, paranormal style.” I laughed. “
That’s
your competition!”

“I can’t ski like that! Maybe I should join a local human team. St. Moritz is bound to have–”

“Don’t be silly!” I admonished. “You can totally ski like that, probably better. We just need to help you tap into your demon powers, that’s all. No worries.”

“Cordelia. Ready?” Jagger waved me over to the edge of the cliff.

“Sheesh, you’re launching off there as well? I’m sure as heck not!” Faustine said resolutely.

“You’d better not! See you at the chalet. Steaks await!”

I skied over to Jagger and positioned myself next to him.

“Do you know how to do the basic sequence?”

“Yes.” Quinn had taught me during one of our afternoons of messing around on the slopes.

“Okay. Ready?”

I nodded and slid my skis over the cliff so that my feet were at the very edge. I carefully shifted my weight forward, until I was in perfect balance. Then, at Jagger’s command, I bent my knees, and we were off.

I let my demon instinct take over completely, as we hurtled down the side of the mountain, my body in a low crouch. The wind pounded against my helmet, and I had a hard time keeping my head from tipping back. My muscles had obviously not completely recovered from the assault. Normally, this run would have been no problem for me.

As we hit the first curve, I looped once and hit the mountainside again. That part of the slope had an incline, a sharp one. We darted from side to side, cutting each other off, and then hit another ledge and sashayed off it into more single loops. When we hit the slope again, we continued darting across one another. I felt totally exhilarated and happy.

Until Jagger pounded right into me. I fell on my bottom, careening down the slope with Jagger on top of me. Then me on top of him. We slid until we reached a curved section, and managed to stop before we came to the edge of the next cliff.

“What the fuck, Jagger?” I knew he hadn’t bumped into me by accident. He was way too experienced a skier for that, and we had just been doing the very basic sequence. Heck, even Faustine might have managed that, just on human fuel.