Mystic Academy Read online

  Am I dead?

  I think back to see if I can remember the last thing I did. I got into a fight with my dad. I told him…

  My throat tightens.

  I told him that I’d rather die than be there.

  Something hot and sticky runs down my face and I realize I’m crying, but my tears are thick. I wipe my thumbs under them and when I pull my hand back, blood coats my thumbs.

  I’m crying blood. That means there’s definitely something wrong with me, right? But how do I call for help?

  I hear something crunch.

  Is that somebody?

  I start screaming.

  “Help me!” I bang on the lid of the coffin, but it doesn’t make a lot of noise, solidifying the fact that I really am buried alive.

  Oh my gosh. This is my literal worst nightmare.

  But then I hear the sound again. It almost makes a shing sound. And then I hear the sound of something hitting the ground. Is that a shovel? Is somebody digging me out? I listen closer and the noise becomes clearer now. Somebody is definitely digging me out! My heart soars until I realize—whoever is digging me out must be the person who buried me, right? What if this is a serial killer? Oh gosh. What if this was some kind of mind game he was playing on me to mess with me and now the ‘real’ torture begins.

  The lid of the coffin pulls back, making a loud creak.

  This is it. I’m about to die.

  “You okay?” a voice asks.

  It’s a male voice.

  “Are you going to kill me now?” My voice sounds weak, even to my own ears.

  He laughs. It’s a deep, gravely laugh. “First thing you should know, you’re already dead.”

  I sit up in my coffin. He holds out a hand to help me up and I accept it. I mean, he might be crazy and he might be a serial killer, but this coffin is really giving me the creeps and I want out now.

  Once I’m standing, the guy jumps. He jumps eight feet into the air like it’s nothing and lands above.

  “You coming?” he asks.

  That’s when I notice there is another guy standing beside him. I know that I should be studying the way they look right now, just in case I get away. I should explain what they look like to the FBI, right? But I can’t bring myself to do it just yet.

  “Can you help me?” I ask, holding up my hand.

  The other guy—not the one who dug me out—rolls his eyes. “Just jump.”

  Jump?

  Is he insane?

  I do it only to prove to him that he’s an idiot, and I somehow end up jumping really freaking high and landing…

  On top of the cranky one.

  Of course.

  He catches me, stumbling back, but he steadies us. As soon as he knows I’m not going to fall down, he backs away from me like he can’t wait to stop touching me.

  “Nice dress,” the cranky one says.

  I tilt my head to the side, wondering what he means, then I realize.

  Oh my gosh!

  I’m in that dress.

  When I was thirteen, my dad married the step monster and she picked out the ugliest dress for me to wear, while she had Cassie wear a gorgeous dress. I complained about it the whole weekend and I hated it. I haven’t worn it since I was thirteen.

  “I’m really dead, aren’t I?” I ask, then laugh. “Of course she would put me in this dress. It’s one last way to tell me she hates me, even in death.”

  I grab the dress, wanting to pull it from my body. I’m amazed at how easy it is to rip. I pull the fluffy, pink dress off me, tossing it onto the ground. I grin when I notice the black Converse. That I know was my dad.

  One guy laughs and the other one chokes.

  That’s when I realize I’m standing in nothing but my bra and panties in front of these strangers who I have decided are definitely not serial killers. I know I should be embarrassed, but I honestly don’t care. I’m dead. What does it matter?

  “Am I a ghost?” I ask.

  Neither of them say anything. They just continue to stare at me.

  The one who helped me out of the ground is just grinning. He has a nice smile, I decide. I think him and I will be friends. The cranky one, on the other hand, is scowling at me, and I get the feeling he hasn’t decided if he likes me or not.

  “I’m Riley Green.” I hold out my hand to be polite. It’s probably weird to shake hands with people my own age, but I’m going with it.

  “Hi, I’m Asa Ferreira,” the nice boy says, shaking my hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Riley Green.”

  I look at the cranky boy.

  “Cayson Ingram,” he offers, but he doesn’t reach out to shake my hand.

  I drop my own hand to my side. “Well, it’s lovely to meet you both.”

  Cayson huffs, pulling his shirt over his head. He holds it out to me, so I look at him.

  And, okay, maybe I check out his chest and his biceps. Maybe I count his abs.

  2.

  4.

  6.

  Dude’s ripped.

  “Put it on.” He shakes the shirt at me.

  I roll my eyes but grab the shirt, pulling it over my head.

  It smells like him.

  Casyon Ingram smells good. Really good. Like a mix of sandalwood and salt water. He smells like everything I could ever want in a man, and even I acknowledge that’s the weirdest thing I have ever thought, but I’m going to roll with it.

  The shirt is big on me and hangs halfway down my thighs, but for some reason, Cayson looks at me like I’m wearing less clothes now than before.

  I study Cayson closer, trying to find a flaw. I need there to be a physical flaw.

  Cayson has dark brown hair. It’s cut shorter on the sides and longer on the top, but it’s not long at all—just long enough for me to run my fingers through.

  Uhh… stop it, Riley. You can’t think about these kinds of things.

  Cayson’s eyebrows are perfect. Like, truly perfect. Maybe he grooms them? But I don’t know about that. He seems too grumpy and cynical to ever care about his looks. But you never know these days. I wouldn’t blame him for wanting to groom his eyebrows. They’re sexy.

  I resist the urge to smack myself.

  Did I seriously just think that his eyebrows are sexy?

  Cayson’s eyes are a deep, emerald green. When I look into them, I feel like I’m looking into his soul. And Cayson has a good soul.

  The thought almost makes me snort. There is nothing good about Cayson.

  I hope his nose has a flaw. Even if it’s one tiny bump or maybe it’s a little crooked, but nope. I’ve never seen a more perfect nose in my life.

  His lips.

  He’s frowning at me, but his lips are so inviting. They’re not plump, but they’re definitely not thin. I find myself wanting to lean forward and kiss him, just once, so I can see if his lips feel as soft as they look.

  He stands over me by about six inches. I’m 5’8” and have met a lot of guys shorter than me, so I’m glad he’s taller. I could wear heels when I’m with him and he’ll still be taller—not that I’ll ever wear heels.

  “What the heck is wrong with me?” I realize I’ve whispered the words out loud, but I don’t care.

  Cayson raises an eyebrow. One perfectly groomed eyebrow.

  “If you’re done checking each other out, we should probably go,” Asa says.

  Oh my gosh.

  I was just checking Cayson out very slowly. But he was doing the same to me. He was checking me out too! And I don’t know why that excites me, but it does. I have butterflies in my stomach and my heart is…

  Wait a minute.

  I put a hand over my chest.

  “I have a heartbeat. Does that mean I’m not a ghost?”

  Asa laughs his deep laugh, slapping a hand over his stomach.

  “You’re not a ghost. You’re a vampire.” Cayson speaks so calmly that I almost believe him.

  I open my mouth to protest, to call him crazy, to… something. But I can’t deny the r
ightness in the word vampire.

  But that’s crazy, right?

  “Shouldn’t I go home?” I finally ask, looking at Cayson. “My dad is probably worried about me.”

  “Your family buried you a week ago. If you show up back there now...” He shakes his head. “Well, you can’t. It’s not allowed. You can’t see anybody from your old life.”

  I feel a weight lift off of my shoulders. I’ve never felt such relief in my life.

  I never have too see my step monster again?

  Or Cassie?

  I will miss my dad, but… he hasn’t really been a dad to me in a long time.

  “Where will I go?” I ask, now grinning at the prospect.

  “Shouldn’t you be sad about not seeing your family? I expected crying and screaming and maybe a little begging.”

  “I can beg if you want me to,” I say, hearing the seductive tone of my voice. I slap a hand over my mouth. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

  Asa laughs again.

  Cayson even cracks a smile. “It’s a vampire thing. When you first turn you feel very liberated and you tend to say whatever you’re thinking.”

  “And apparently you’re thinking about sex.” Asa is still laughing.

  Cayson glares at Asa.

  “I’m a virgin.” I shrug, realizing I’m just going to go with whatever this is. “I don’t know why I just confessed that to two strange men, but nobody in my old life liked me very much. And that includes my family. Seriously, the farther away from this town I am, the better.”

  Asa is smirking.

  Cayson is frowning.

  These two boys are like night and day.

  I walk between them, neither of them touching me, as we head toward a car that is parked on the side of the gravel path by my grave.

  “Where are we going?” I ask, as Cayson opens the back door for me.

  “Mystic Academy,” he answers.

  “What is that?” I climb into the back seat and look up at him.

  “Vampire school.” He shuts the door and gets in the front passenger seat.

  Vampire school?

  I have so many questions.

  I hope this is a long drive.

  1:30 am

  The jury is still out on whether you’re crazy.

  We end up at an airport which worries me a little bit.

  “Dude, you’re not, like, gonna sell me into sex slavery or something, right?” I ask, looking between Asa and Cayson. “I shouldn’t have told you guys I’m a virgin. I heard those guys don’t like brunettes anyway. Dang… I wish my eyes weren’t blue. I bet they like girls with blue eyes.”

  Asa laughs.

  Cayson just rolls his eyes. “I honestly don’t think I could pay somebody to take you off my hands right now.”

  I blink.

  Was that an insult?

  He and Asa get out of the car and a few seconds later, my door is opened. I get out, but I look at Cayson.

  “Seriously, though. I’m not going to end up in Mexico in some dude’s basement, right?” I ask. “My stepsister is much prettier. She even has blonde hair.”

  “Seriously,” Cayson emphasizes the word, probably trying to make fun of me again. “I doubt your stepsister is prettier than you. And we’re not selling you. We’re going to Mystic Academy. I’ll tell you all about it on the plane. We need to get out of this town before the recently dead girl is spotted.”

  Great.

  Fine.

  Wait a minute… did Cayson just inadvertently call me pretty?

  What is it about this guy that makes my pulse race and my stomach flutter? He doesn’t even act like he can stand the mere sight of me and I’m basically drooling over him. I’m planning out our future in my head.

  I’ve had crushes before—that’s nothing new. I crushed on one guy in my school for two years, then he dated Cassie and I got over him real quick. Especially when I heard the two of them going at in in the room next to mine. But this is different than that and I can’t explain it.

  I follow the shirtless stranger onto an airplane, hoping that my gut feeling is right and that I can trust him—not my smartest move ever, but hey, I did just die.

  Am I really just accepting this vampire story? I mean… I did wake up in a casket. In that ugly dress the step monster most definitely picked out for me. Even in death my father couldn’t side with me and pick out something else. He knew I hated that dress because we fought about it for weeks before the wedding. And then I frowned in every single picture they made me take at the stupid wedding. I think there is even a picture of me flipping off the camera at some point. I was a rebel when I was thirteen.

  “So… what date is it?” I ask.

  “November twelfth,” Cayson answers.

  “November twelfth?” My eyes widen. “The last I remember it was November fifth.”

  “We had to wait until the full moon to dig you up.”

  I take a seat by the window and Cayson surprises me by sitting next to me.

  “How does all this work anyway? I mean… wouldn’t they have embalmed me or whatever they do at the funeral home?” I ask.

  This is by far the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had.

  “I compelled them not to.” Cayson looks annoyed.

  “How did I become like this?” I ask.

  Asa, who is sitting behind us, laughs. “Yeah, Cayson. Why don’t you tell her how she’s a vampire now?”

  Cayson rolls his eyes.

  My mouth falls open. “Wait. You did this to me, didn’t you?”

  He shrugs.

  “You killed me?” I am now yelling, but I’m sitting next to my murderer right now. I go to get up from my seat to do… something… anything… but Cayson grabs my hand to keep me from walking away.

  When Cayson’s skin touches mine, everything else fades away. I can’t even remember why I’m mad at him anymore. All that matters is that he’s touching me. Cayson Ingram is touching me and it’s the best thing I’ve ever felt in my life.

  Mine.

  Cayson Ingram is mine. And I am his.

  He shoves me back into my seat and lets go of my hand.

  Ah, now I remember why I’m mad.

  He killed me!

  “The plane is about to take off.” He reaches over me and grabs the seatbelt, buckling me into my seat. And I just watch as he slowly buckles me in. I’m aware that I’m only wearing his shirt right now. And he’s not wearing a shirt at all. There is something really intimate about this whole thing.

  When Cayson is done buckling me up, he looks at me and for a moment, I think he’s going to kiss me. But then the plane moves and I realize… he was just trying to distract me so I wouldn’t get off the plane.

  He smirks.

  I want to slap that smirk off his face.

  “Will you at least tell me why you murdered me?” I ask.

  The smile falls from his lips. “You’re not dead, technically. I just gave you immortality.”

  Immortality?

  Is he serious?

  My mouth falls open as I look at him. “But why me? There are a lot of girls in my town who you could’ve turned. Why did you do it to me?”

  He sighs, a look of defeat in his eyes. “I didn’t want to turn you. You were just so miserable that your soul literally called out to mine. I followed you around that dark park for three hours hoping you would leave. But you didn’t. You stayed there and I didn’t have a choice. I had to turn you.”

  Tears press against the back of my eyes, but I know from experience that it’s not actually tears. It’s blood. So I hold them back.

  Cayson must see how miserable I am, so he grabs my hand. “When we get into the air, I’ll get you something to wash away the blood under your eyes.”

  I have blood under my eyes and he’s just now telling me?

  No wonder he thinks I’m a hot mess. Because I am!

  Literally the first time I meet this guy, he’s forced to kill me because I’m so miserable that my soul
literally calls out to him, then he digs me up from my grave and the first thing I do is nearly knock him over and then I rip my dress off.

  My eyes widen. “Oh my gosh. Are you taking me to a psych ward? I swear, if my step monster made me go crazy, I will murder her.”

  Asa laughs again, so I flip him off.

  Cayson shakes his head. “You’re not going to a psych ward. However, the jury is still out on whether you’re crazy.”

  I can’t argue that.

  2:00 am

  Capri Sun… er… blood?

  Once we’re in the air, Cayson and I go into a private room in the back of the plane and he grabs a washcloth and cleans the blood from my face. He does it so gently, which confuses me. Which Cayson is the real one? The one who is kind of cruel or the one who does sweet things, like hold my hand when I’m about to cry, give me the literal shirt off his back, and cleans my face so softly? His personality is confusing.

  “Are you hungry?” He throws the washcloth into the sink.

  Now that he mentions it, I’m more hungry than I’ve ever been in my life.

  I nod. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in a week.”

  He smiles and I realize that’s probably the closest I’m going to get to a laugh from the guy.

  The facts are, I haven’t eaten in a week. Because I’ve been dead. Or ‘in transition’ as Cayson explained. I also learned that when somebody is turned into a vampire, their transition isn’t complete until the full moon, which is why they dug me up tonight.

  When I told Cayson it was terrifying to wake up in a coffin, he said he knew the feeling. He also said nobody was there to dig him out and I’m wondering how he got out. I feel bad for him. I can’t even imagine how scary it must have been.

  Cayson walks over to the mini fridge and bends down to open it. I can’t help but notice Cayson has a very nice butt. His jeans aren’t super loose and I’m glad about that. He grabs something from the fridge and turns around.

  “Were you just checking me out?” He raises and eyebrow.