INTEGRATION (Bonfire Academy Book Two) (Bonfire Chronicles) (20 page)

O
nce Audrey and Viola arrived for their sleepover, I went to find Ryker. Faustine assumed I was heading over for a clandestine meeting with Jagger, so I let her believe it. After what Henri had said earlier, I wasn’t even sure that I would actually find Ryker. He had, after all, disappeared during his Initiation test.

I wondered what had caused him to wander. It couldn’t have been Faustine. She’d been the picture of calm and serenity all afternoon. I had texted him to let him know that I was on my way up to his room, but received no reply. Once I got to his door, I hesitated. If Faustine’s father hadn’t spoken to Ryker already, things would be very awkward. I knocked softly.

The door swung open. “Hey! Come on in.” Ryker stood to the side to let me through. Like Jagger, he emitted strong pheromones. I could see why girls went nuts over him.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

He took me by surprise. I hadn’t expected him to be all prepared for lift-off. “Your uncle got hold of you?”

“He sure did.” Ryker laughed. “Right in the middle of my Initiation test today. And when my uncle calls, I have to go immediately. I bet they’re going to move me to that containment lab Faustine has to use.”

“No doubt. Henri was called by whoever was testing you. So, what happened?”

“Not a lot. I sped over to see Uncle Spencer. He was with Faustine’s father. I wasn’t told much, just that they wanted me to wander you over in time for dinner. So if you’re ready, I’ll take you. Who’s with Faustine at the moment?”

“She’s having a sleepover with Audrey and Viola.”

“The new vamp twins?’

“Yes, they seem nice.”

“You trust them?”

“You know the rule—trust no one. But I really don’t have any reason not to. Just to be safe, I did ask Martha to join them when she could.”

“Good. I’m all set if you are. You know what to do.”

I did, having wandered with Ryker before. It was a mind-blowing experience. I shut my eyes and felt him put his hands on my shoulders. Next, I felt as though I was encircled in a comforting blanket of warmth. The floor beneath my feet disappeared, and we were on our way. Though the pressure pushing down on my eyes prevented me from peeking, I could see a red glow through my eyelids. I enjoyed the feeling of total relaxation while being transported to our destination.

When I finally felt the solid firmness of a floor, I opened my eyes. It took me a while to adjust to the dim, spooky lighting.

“Gas lamps?” I asked.

“Yes. Welcome to my home, Cordelia.” King Sebastian extended his hand, which I shook. “Ryker, you may head back. I’ll make sure Cordelia is transported home once we are done.”

“If you’re sure,” Ryker said. “I don’t mind coming back.”

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of it,” King Sebastian replied firmly. After Ryker disappeared, King Sebastian turned and started walking, “Please follow me. Dinner will be served in the dining room. I expect you’re feeling disoriented; wandering will do that. You are at my mansion in south London.”

I walked beside him, admiring the extravagant, if a little gauche, mansion. I heard clattering noises as we approached the dining room. I gasped when we entered the room. Two six-foot chandeliers illuminated the huge room. The ceiling had to have been at least twenty-five feet high. I was gobsmacked by the amount of food on the huge, oblong teak table that dominated the room. Platters of meat, fruit, and vegetables were scattered all over the middle section of the table. I didn’t count them, but there must have been at least thirty upholstered chairs surrounding it. Perhaps he was having people over later. However, only two settings had been placed on the table—beautiful Aynsley China in a red and silver pattern.

King Sebastian walked over and pulled out a chair. “Please, sit.”

As I lowered myself onto the seat, he slid the chair forward, then sat down at the other setting. Immediately, three smartly dressed waitstaff entered the room and proceeded to pick up the various platters and bring them over to us. I skipped all but the meat one. We ate in silence.

Once we were done, King Sebastian leaned back and said, “Okay, Cordelia. Let’s try to make sense of what’s going on.”

I nodded. “I’m hoping you can tell me what you picked up on in Mason’s room. Why did you send the Tracker team away?”

King Sebastian studied me a moment. “You’re right. I did pick up a scent, a familiar one, which is why I wanted to investigate it myself. I haven’t been able to confirm anything as of yet.”

“Well, who did you think it was?”

He shrugged, obviously not caring to share any more. “I asked you to London because of your story about Quinn. He’s your boyfriend, right?”

“Yes.”

“And he was supposed to be watching over Faustine. But you say that he’s disappeared? I’m concerned that Frau Schmelder didn’t contact me to let me know. I could have her brought here, if we feel it might help.”

“Brought here? Like now?”

“Yes, I can have one of Spencer Darley’s unit pick her up. But let’s talk a bit more first. Have you heard from Quinn at all?’

“No, not a word.”

“What’s the school doing about it?”

“I don’t know that they’re doing anything. He seems to have left of his own accord, with Frau Schmelder’s permission, though I now think that she wasn’t herself when she gave it.”

“You think she was possessed by an old female demon?”

“Yes, that’s what my brother said.”

“But she’s herself now?”

“Yes, as far as I know.”

“And she still hasn’t done anything, as far as you know. Do you know if his parents have at least been told that he’s no longer at the school?”

“No. I was asked not to contact them.”

King Sebastian sighed. “Looks like you’ve been getting the runaround. We need to know what the headmistress is doing about the situation. We can’t just have a student go missing from the school. You must be worried sick.”

I nodded.

“Spencer is over at King Alfred’s residence, just around ten minutes from here. Let’s head over there. I believe the rest of the council is at his house as well, so we can discuss this with them if we need to. It would be handy to have your father join us, but let’s talk to Spencer first. Did you say that you think Quinn flew to New York?”

“Yes.”

“We may also have to contact the New York sovereigns, in that case. But first steps first. Ready?”

I was more than ready, relieved that we were finally doing something to find Quinn.

“Dad, I’m done.” A petite blond girl about the same age as Faustine peeked her head through the doorway.

“Ah, good. I was about to check in with you. Kismet, this is Cordelia. Cordelia, this is my daughter, Kismet.”

Kismet smiled shyly and walked over to shake my hand. As soon as our hands touched, I was surrounded by a feeling of euphoria and felt light-headed, full of… I couldn’t describe it…all things good, a soup of love, kindness, beauty, and warmth. I smiled into her surprisingly dark, translucent eyes.

“Hello, nice to meet you.” Her London accent was oddly comforting, flowing naturally from her pleasingly wide mouth. She was breathtaking, her almost-black eyes set off by straight, platinum hair that curled at the tips. I looked into her eyes again, wondering what kind of paranormal she was, obviously not a full demon by the color of her eyes. How many hybrids had King Sebastian fathered? I wondered how Faustine would react when she met all of them.

“Cordelia is a friend of Faustine’s at the Academy,” King Sebastian explained.

So he’d told Kismet, but not Faustine.

“Oh, that’s awesome! Tell me all about her! I’m dying to meet her. I’m heading to New York soon; maybe I’ll meet her when she moves back there.”

I nodded. “Faustine’s awesome. You’ll really like her.”

“Kismet,” King Sebastian said. “Cordelia and I have some urgent business to attend at Alfred’s. I know I was supposed to drop you off at your mom’s house, but she’s at Alfred’s as well. So why don’t you come with us? I think McKenzie is visiting; you can hang out with her while we get on with the boring stuff.”

“Awesome! I haven’t seen her in ages. Did she bring Harry?”

“I wouldn’t think so. And Mac’s just here for the night, so we’ll have to make sure not to keep Alfred too long.”

I listened, storing away all the bits of information I could. Sebastian had a daughter whose mother also sat on the council. I’d have to try to guess which one.

We slid into the limo that pulled up in front of the main entrance to the house as soon as we stepped outside.

“Kismet, let me have a look at your trig homework while we drive over.”

She took out a red folder from her backpack and handed it to her father, who proceeded to go through various math sheets with her, an obvious ploy to prevent me from engaging her in further conversation.

I sat quietly, watching them. They seemed extremely close, and he was totally into helping Kismet with her homework. Maybe I was mistaken; maybe it wasn’t a ploy at all. Perhaps he always went over her homework with her. I was bursting with curiosity and had to hold back from interrupting them. I wanted to find out more about her, but I had to be careful not to overstep and piss off the king. He was my only hope to find Quinn. And as happy and friendly as he seemed, especially around Kismet, I knew that beneath the surface resided a fierce and unpredictable demon.

Shortly afterward, the chauffeur turned into the driveway of a magnificent, very English-looking country estate.

King Sebastian leaned over me and pulled the car door shut when I tried to open it. “Just a moment. You need to clear one obstacle before we go in.”

Kismet giggled and pointed. “Here they come.”

Although I noticed a girl in a maid’s outfit walking down the path from the house, my eyes were drawn to the enormous black Doberman pinscher running in front of her, baring his killer fangs.

“O-M-G, yikes…” I mumbled. I didn’t like dogs of any kind, but that one was in a league of its own. “Is that a shifter?” I asked, hoping that it would turn into his or her human form before it got to the car.

The beast launched itself at the car, jumping up to my window, growling its head off.

Kind Sebastian laughed. “That’s Cleo, Alfred’s dog. She’ll be fine in a moment. All you have to do is crack your window a bit and shout, ‘Cleo, boggsy-woggsy.’ Then exit the car and pat her stomach a few times. She’ll be your friend for life.”

I threw him a look. As if! There was no way I was getting out of the car to be ravaged by that beast.

“I don’t think Cordelia believes you, Dad. I’m going to get out and see if I can get Cleo to calm down a bit. She always reacts like this to strangers. She really is a gooey lump of love once you get to know her. Watch.” She opened the opposite door and stepped out, closing it behind her. The dog bounded over to the other side of the car and showered her with drool. I looked at the house and wondered aloud if I could make it across the lawn to safety while the dog was busy.

“Not worth it, Cordelia,” King Sebastian said. “She’ll eat you alive, unless you transform, and even then, she’ll have a fair go. Now, crack your window and shout, ‘Cleo, boggsy-woggsy.’ Just do it; trust me.”

“Why can’t you just have it taken away?” I asked. “Why do I have to deal with this?”

“Cleo roams about the house freely. It’s just easier to get this over and done with. I promise that she is a bundle of love. Go ahead.”

I wasn’t sure that I could, but I opened the window half an inch. Cleo must have heard me—or worse, smelled me—as she came rushing toward my door, growling. I coughed and said the ridiculous words. She stopped snarling and cocked her head, eying me suspiciously. I said it again. She lay down and rolled onto her back.

“Out you go, Cordelia,” King Sebastian said, leaning over to open my door, then practically pushing me out. “Rub her tummy.”

I walked over and knelt down, scrunching my nose at the smell. I gently rubbed her tummy. She stretched out her legs, seeming to enjoy the attention. Feeling that I had done enough of that, I stood up and glared at King Sebastian, who was chuckling away to himself.

“Can we go inside now?” I asked.

“Yes. This is Finna, King Alfred’s housekeeper.”

I nodded at the woman, not willing to endure the touch of anyone else’s skin or fur for a while.

“His Highness is inside,” Finna said, “along with the rest of the sovereigns. We’ve been waiting for you to join us, but we weren’t expecting the girls.”

“Sorry, I should have called ahead. Who called the meeting?”

“Queen Nora.”

“Another incident at the docks?”

Finna nodded, and we followed her up the path to the house.

As soon as she opened the door, McKenzie flung herself at Kismet and then gaped at me. “Cordelia! What are you doing here?” She came over and hugged me.

“I have some business to discuss with Cordelia,” King Sebastian interjected. “I’m glad to see you here, McKenzie. Still enjoying school?”

“Yes, I am, but it’s nice to have a night away. I’ve missed Alfred.”

“And how’s your boy?”

“He’s good!”

“Mac, could you hang out with Kismet while I talk to Alfred?”

“Sure, I’d love to catch up with you, Kiz. It’s been ages! Cordelia, you coming?”

“Ah, I need her for a while,” King Sebastian said, “but you girls have fun. I’ll come and find you later, Kismet, and I’ll let your mom know that you’re here.” He took my elbow and ushered me out of the entryway and down a long corridor.

I heard raised voices in the distance. We walked into a room full of unhappy-looking beings, all glaring at each other. I recognized the man at the head of the table from Faustine’s Initiation commencement—King Alfred, McKenzie’s hubby. I also recognized the man beside him—Spencer Darley.

All eyes were on me and then turned questioningly to King Sebastian.

King Alfred stood up, his snow-white skin almost gleaming under the flickering candles that lit up the room. He raised his eyebrows at King Sebastian.

“Alfred, this is Cordelia. I asked her here tonight. We have a problem that may require your attention.” He paused and looked around the table, nodding at everyone individually. “All of your attention.”