Auroras Academy

Chapter 6

“How did she get here? Are you sure she knows nothing of Aurorians?” A voice whispers, waking me from a very weird dream.

“Based on her reactions? She has had no prior contact with Aurorains. Her Aunt must have signed her up by accident. It must have been some kind of fluke; she passed our bloodline testing.” My eyes blink open, the voices coming from my right from behind a sky blue curtain surrounding my bed.

“How was she glamorized then?” The first voice snaps, her voice reaching a whisper shout.

“It could have been put on her at birth?” The second voice suggests, his British accent taking on a twinge of helplessness. “It could also be blocking her powers. That’s how she’s never noticed she’s a Aurorain before. I’ve never seen a glamor this strong on someone past the age seven, though.”

My heart picks up as I begin to remember what happened. The vampire, Emily, Stairs. My monitor goes off, then the curtain flashes open.

“Oh my! She’s awake.” The first voice cries out coming from a stout dark skinned lady with a name tag stuck to her breast pocket that said VISITOR across the top and a neatly scrawled Maria under it.

“Calm down, Lynn. You’re OH-Kay.” A middle aged man mouths, annunciating each word slowly. Then he takes deep long breaths, trying to get me to do it with him.

“Where am I? Who are you?! W-what are you?” I panickingly spout out questions the second my hyperventilation slows enough for me to gasp a breath. The man steps forward and I yank myself back, scrambling to the far end of my hospital bed.

“You're safe Lynnon.” The lady soothes pleadingly, glancing at the middle aged man for help.

“My name is Lynn.” I ground out, once again focusing on the not important things. Like seeing teenagers guzzling blood a few moments earlier. At least, I thought a few moments ago. How long have I’ve been out? “And how am I safe when those things are out there.” I wave a frantic hand to the door.

“That’s incredibly rude, Lynn. We’re called Aurorains.” The middle aged male huffs matter factly and I scoff, not caring about his precious feelings.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. Your ‘kind’ tried to kill me! I fell down a flight of stairs. And Emily- Emily!” I cry out recalling Emily refusing to go with me when I tried to help her escape the vampires. I gave up trying to save her and bolted when the vampire came storming into the auditorium, following me. “Is Emily okay?” I ask, flinging my blanket off.

“Woah, you shouldn’t stand up quite yet.” The middle aged man warns. His long cloak swishes around his wrists as he gently rests his hand on my shoulder. I glare at where his long spindly fingers touch my uniformed shoulders. His short beard was peppered with gray and his tan face had wrinkles around his eyes and forehead.

He looked so… human. His fingers even felt warm on my shoulder.

After running from my English class like a maniac, I quickly got lost within the school. Even as I sprinted for my life the vampire easily kept up with me. Eventually, I turned a corner and ran into Clarke. I sighed in relief, relaxing, but he seemed different. His eyes glowed an unusual golden and as he opened his mouth to ask if I was feeling alright each tooth looked sharp and pointed.

I stumbled back, realizing he was one of them too. And stumbling right down a flight of stairs.

“But-“ I protest and just as quickly give up. “How is this happening?” I glanced between the two, I didn’t trust either of them. Even so, they somehow felt like the only way I was going to get answers.

“We don’t know exactly.” The woman comments, defeated. Great, so much for their ‘help’.

“Who are you guys anyways?” I ask, rubbing my hand on my forehead.

“This is Dr. Pelt, the school's Spell Master. And I’m Maria, from Social Services.” The lady states, holding her clipboard to her chest.

“What! Why are you here? Is my Aunt okay?” I yelp, my voice going up an octave.

“I assume your Aunt is fine, despite our troubles reaching her. And Social Services are always called when dealing with what’s your word for it?”

“Aurorians.” Dr. Pelt interjects.

“Yes, Aurorians. There is a special branch that watches Aurorians in Social Services called Seers.”

“Watches?” I question, she doesn’t mean all time, right?

“They watch for outbursts. Like the one you’ve just had yourself.” She gestures to me like “outbursts” occur everyday. I glare back, slumping in my hospital bed.

“One; it wasn’t an outburst, ” I say mockingly, “I was running for my life. And two; I’m not Aurorian. Or whatever.”

“We don’t know that for sure. We do a strict family history search for Aurorian bloodlines before you can be accepted into Auroras Academy. There is no way you can enter without having some Aurorian family history.” The man contemplates, his interjections certainly not appreciated.

“Fine,” I snap, wondering how he got my family history when I don’t even know who my parents are. “Let's say I’m an Aurorian. There is no way I’ve never noticed before?” I threw my hands up in the air and winced at the soreness in my shoulder.

“That’s the thing, a strong glamor has been cast over you, preventing your sight and blocking your powers.” He switches to teacher mode when I stare befuddled at him.

I remember his theory behind the curtain that it was cast on me at birth. Does that mean my birth parents did this to me? Or are they Aurorians too? I never thought about my birth parents much. Not with my Aunt being the best. I could never ask for anything more. Plus I didn’t want to know people willing to cast their baby aside, not even bothering to set up an adoption. I lucked out when my Aunt fostered me as a baby, adopting me a year later.

“Think of it as a veil. Most humans are born with it, some aren’t. These are called seers. They change your perception of the supernatural world so it just seems regular to you.” I nod, understanding it a bit. It still doesn’t make sense why they think I’m an Aurorian when I just have a glamor.

“Most Aurorians have the ability to manipulate the glamor veil, even moving it to the supernatural. We think this happened to you when you were just born.”

“Huh,” This all sounds crazy and my brain has had too much crazy for one day. “Still, I could turn out to be human. Your tests could be wrong?” I ask, praying for the possibility.

“Yes, it is possible your bloodlines never manifest, making you essentially human.”Dr. Pelt agrees but doesn't make it seem like a very probable possibility. However, it’s enough for me. Hope blooms in my chest. There is no way I’m an Aurorian. I’m simply just too plain. Things like this don’t happen to people like me. I’m meant to get some mediocre job, get married, have kids, get divorced, and die. Then my kids will repeat the cycle, then my kids kids.

“Great, then I can go home then?”

“Not quite, I’d like to take that glamor off you to make sure you're not an Aurorian…” The Spell Master trails off, eyes furrowing, deep in thought.

“But?”

“-But removing the glamor could take weeks, maybe months?” My jaw flies open, I’ll surely be killed before then! There is no way a human can survive in a world of supernaturals that long.

“Dr. Pelt is referring to Spontaneous Unnatural Mana Exposure Disorder or S.U.M.E. Disorder. It typically occurs to those not born Aurorians or cursed individuals not accustomed to being exposed to someone else’s mana.” Maria cuts in, tapping her clipboard with her pen.

“Can’t you… make an exception?”

The Social Service worker and Spell Master glance at each other, concerned.

“There is only one symptom of S.U.M.E. Disorder;” Dr. Pelt frowns, pity filling his eyes like he just told me I had the flu.

“Spontaneous combustion.”