Black hair, light-colored eyes that I knew for a fact were green. Ryanne, one of the Sisters Eeire. An unsettled feeling of anxiety flooded me, mixed with a thrill of excitement. I tried to squash the thrill part but damn, she was pretty. Immediately, I felt guilty, looking away from her. I had thought about her occasionally over the last several months, but I honestly never expected her to be here. She had told me she would be attending this program, but what did that mean for me? Ryanne and her three sister witches knew I wasn’t just a regular warlock with weak powers, not since I had squared off with them in a back alley not far from where I was now sitting. But I wasn’t ready for everyone to know just how different I was. College was supposed to be a chance to start over, wasn’t it?
“A few of you fall outside either of these categories and so you will audit both classes to broaden your understanding of the other world you’ve found yourselves a part of.
“Tuesday and Thursday evenings, the entire group of you will spend some time with me. We’ll be discussing the recent events in Washington and across the planet and what it means for each of you. The supernatural races have been exposed, permanently, to the normal world. Demons have gotten the greatest exposure, but weres and vampires are out as well. Witches and psychics won’t be far behind. How will governments and societies respond? How should you conduct yourselves? Who do you tell, and when do you hide your abilities? We will analyze all of these topics and more, using both oral and written techniques.”
There was a smaller collective groan at that.
“In just a bit, we’ll adjourn to the dining room for dinner. I think you’ll be pleased at the quality, variety, and quantity of food that we have here for you. I’m quite confident it exceeds anything that any of the colleges provide. The dining area is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with snacks available at any hour for those with accelerated metabolisms. Your ID cards also work at either college in any of their eateries for those times when you are stuck on campus between classes.
“Speaking of classes, in the next few days, please introduce yourselves to Malcolm Tessitori, our in-house counselor and liaison to the colleges. He is the one who will help guide your college careers and facilitate your schedules and classes. “
The bald guy stood up and waved.
“Tomorrow is Sunday, the day before classes start. You can spend it as you wish, but I would suggest finding your classrooms on campus and picking up your books. They are all bought and paid for, but you will need to visit the college bookstore and show your ID to get them.
“Next to last, let me introduce our on-site medical specialist, Dr. Rosewell. She is a gifted general practitioner with years of experience at Oracle. Please, please see her if any of you experience any change in health.
“Finally, I’m going to turn the floor over to one of our sponsors for a few words on behavior.”
Beside me, Caeco suddenly stiffened, as if startled, then almost instantly relaxed. Her reaction and my instant awareness of it were the only reasons I didn’t crap my pants when an iron hand clutched my shoulder. Almost as fast as Caeco, I knew who it was, maybe by the aura of power or the steely feel of the hand. The real issue was that I was dead certain that absolutely no one had been behind us when we sat down.
“That’s my cue. Sorry for the scare, but I wanted to get a covert look at the group. Kind of hard to do these days. I’ll chat with you two after,” said a soft voice, one I recognized immediately. That’s when the most famous man on the planet stood up from the empty seat behind us and started down the stairs to the floor below.
Chapter 2
Chris Gordon stepped lightly down the rows, reaching the bottom before the rest of the kids fully understood who was among them. Wearing jeans, running shoes, and a loose-fitting green long-sleeve t-shirt, he nonetheless commanded attention.
He hugged Gina, then turned and looked at the audience, who were either stunned or excited or both. He seemed edgy, not nervous or anxious, but there was something there, an undercurrent. He smiled as he looked around the room.