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The beach got populated quickly. A bunch of boys and girls hovered around GC, Paz, and I, and I smiled politely. And fakely, I might add. I didn’t know most of them, and frankly, because I knew they didn’t want to befriend me because they genuinely liked me, but because I was Morningstar’s daughter, I wanted nothing to do with them. I thought about what Pandora had told me. Treat it as an experiment. Yeah, right! See what being on the other side is like. Fake, and boring, and unpleasant. I briefly wondered whether they liked Lorna and Pandora for who they were. Most likely, they feared Lorna because she was a powerful, vengeful mage, and envied Pandora because she was Satan’s daughter. How can they like this life?! They will never kno
w if their friends are for real or not. I felt bad for them. I looked over at Pandora, who was giggling with Kitty and Sheba, and wondered if she knew. She must have known how fake this whole thing was, she wasn’t stupid. It must be harder for them to step out of their comfort zone and change something, I thought. Humans don’t get stuck in their comfort zones for more than a couple of years. These people… I threw a glance over the beach, at the students around the campfires, and the ones making out up on the hill. They can be stuck in their comfort zones for centuries. For the first time, being human made me feel like I had something they didn’t have – the capacity to change, adapt, and face the unknown with the least amount of resistance.
Sariel made his appearance. I couldn’t tell what he was dressed as because his wings were spread wide around him, covering his whole back and coming over his shoulders to protect him from the cold. He got himself a mug of mulled wine, blew into it, and just observed the party for a while. He was alone. Lorna had completely given up following him since he’d saved my life and gotten puked on. He’d been very lonely lately, but he didn’t seem to mind it. I ignored him at first. I wonder where Francis is… They were usually together, although they didn’t talk much. A few minutes later, when I saw Sariel sneak into the cave, my heart started beating faster, and my senses sprung into high alert. I pushed myself away from Paz.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“Too much wine,” I said distractedly. “Nature calls.” I pushed my empty mug into his hands and walked away, pretending I was headed toward the trees up on the hill. I need to ask him. I need to know. Why had Sariel led me to finding the caves and Francis’s secret? He hadn’t thought I’d live to tell the story. Not that I told anyone… The last thing I needed was to cause a panic by spreading the rumor that a tentacled monster slept under the Academy, and Francis fed it people once in a while. No big deal… Just once in a while… I sneaked after Sariel when I was sure no one was looking.
I found them in the main cavern, surrounded by stalagmites, flickering candles, and that rusty, warm water that made the air damp and heavy. Sariel had brought Francis a beer, and they were both drinking in silence and staring at the well. I approached them carefully, my eyes fixed on the low stone fountain. It had almost been my doom a couple of months ago, and I wasn’t going to let it out of my sight. Just in case a bunch of tentacles decided to spring out in search of a juicy morsel.
“Mila, come join us,” Francis said, not taking his eyes off the well. He’d felt me. But how? What were his special powers? What was he? Was I ever going to find out? Was I ever going to be brave enough to ask the question?
Sariel stiffened at his words, which meant he hadn’t been aware of my presence. That gave me courage. I sat down on the stone ledge, between them. It was as if all three of us were silently watching over the Great Old One’s slumber. At least, that was what I thought we were doing.
“You don’t like the party?” I asked. Neither of them was wearing a costume. Sailor Moon sitting between an archangel with his wings spread out, and a totally normal-looking guy. We were a sight to behold.
“I’ve never been into parties, to tell you the truth,” Francis said. Sariel simply sipped his beer.
“What are you into, Francis?” There was just a tiny bit of sarcasm in my voice. “What do you like? What are your hobbies?” Who are you?
He shot me a confused glance then shrugged. “You know, the usual. I like to read. Russian classics, mostly. I play video games sometimes…”
“Sure you like to read. That’s why you took up Literature recently.”
He sighed. We were all silent for a few minutes, then Sariel turned to me.
“Why are you here, Mila? Why aren’t you with your boyfriends?”
“Because I feel like something has changed,” I said in a low voice. “And I want to know why. I’m trying to understand. Since you’ve all found out who I am, I’m the popular one, and you’ve become so isolated.” I was mostly talking about Sariel, and I was sure he knew. “You used to laugh, and have fun, and be in the center of attention. At my expense, sure, but I’m sure that if you really wanted to pick on someone now, you’d find a target. So, what changed, Sariel? What’s up with you?” I looked into his silver eyes. For a moment, I expected him to avoid my gaze, but he held it, instead.
“You know what.” He looked over at Francis quickly, then back at me, shaking his head as if to say that Francis didn’t know his secret, and this wasn’t the time and place to talk about it.
I nodded. Okay, it wasn’t like we were out of crucial things to discuss.
“Last year, before the finals, you created an illusion that led me here, into this cave. You made it look like Francis wanted me to follow him. You almost got me killed that day.”
“I know it was you who stole my scythe at the Yule Ball and replaced it with another, so I’d make a fool of myself in front of everyone,” he said in a tight voice. We were still holding each other’s gaze.
I laughed. “Seriously? That was your revenge for… my revenge? I merely made you mess up the choreography. It was all in good fun. A lot of people laughed. I just wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine. Didn’t feel that great, did it?”
“You made me hurt Paz,” he hissed. “But I guess you don’t care. You weren’t together back then.”
“Paz healed just fine. I don’t think you give a shit about a tiny scar on Paz’s face. Tell me, Sariel, what did your parents do to you after Christmas? Was it that bad that it made you want to sacrifice me to Francis’s god?”
His jaw tightened and his whole body tensed so hard that his beautiful wings trembled.
I gave him one last murderous look, then shot to my feet and turned to face them both. I crossed my arms over my chest and took Sailor Moon’s well-known power stance. Hip popped slightly forward, back straight, chin up.
“No more secrets. I’m done with you and all this mystery,” I told Francis. “Since you saved me from Yig’s slimy tentacles, you’ve been avoiding me...”
“I didn’t think you wanted anything to do with me...”
“Let me finish! You’ve been avoiding me and following me around at the same time. Why? What’s your deal, Francis Saint-Germain? What do you want from me?”
He looked down at his feet. I huffed and turned to Sariel.
“And you… You tried to kill me twice last year, and now you saved me. You sit behind me in Literature, in Psychology, in Geography… I don’t get you anymore. You hated me when I was Mila Lazarov, and now that I’m Mila Morningstar… what? What’s happening? What are you actually doing?”
