Lesson One: Finding Allies: Monster Academy, #1

By Jaliza A. Burwell

Lesson One: Find allies who are willing to go down with you.

As a Neutral family member, I, Adeelah Rylie Neutral, promise to uphold the peace of all Naturals. When I made that vow, I never knew I'd be put to the test. One event cascaded into another, and before anyone could grasp what was going on, all the Naturals were being dragged out of the darkness. Then, the real challenge began.

I'm expected to pave the way, to find a solution to keep the Naturals safe against the humans who fear too much for little reason. There's just one problem. I'm the black sheep in the family, born broken. I'm not immortal like I should be, and my clock is ticking. But being more human than everyone else doesn't stop me from doing my job.

My peaceful solution? An academy.

My biggest challenge? Surviving until the first day of classes.

At least I have three handsome Naturals who are on my side. I'll just keep the tidbit about me being a broken Neutral to myself. I wouldn't want to make them think I was prey. Even if they keep looking at me like I'll make the perfect dinner. Or would that be dessert?

A/N: This story was previously published in Magic and Mayhem anthology. Only light changes have been made to the story before publishing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jaliza A. Burwell
• Release date: Sep 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393816904

Book preview

Prologue

Breaking news! What you are about to see is not, and I repeat, not suitable for children. Please be sure they aren’t in the room for the duration of this video.

~*~

Three beasts were killed earlier today when a truck drove by the park and shot at the occupants. Two adult males and one young female were announced dead on the scene. Three other young ones are in critical condition.

~*~

Protesters line the streets with signs and guns, demanding to put down the beasts. The White House is about to issue a statement giving them citizenship and the same rights as humans.

~*~

The Purity Party has been gaining support as they fight the White House, demanding that they revoke some of the rights of the beasts.

~*~

There was an explosion today at a community center popularly used by the beasts. Twenty are counted as dead. Another ten are in critical condition and fourteen are still missing. The Purity Party is not claiming to have any part of this, but the bomber is a known Purity member.

~*~

Today, five Purity members have been found hanging on the lawn of the White House. Among them is one of the Purity leaders.

~*~

The eastern coastline has been hit hard by hurricanes and tsunamis. Whole towns on the west coast have been isolated, no one able to get in or out. We have no word from the residents. Japan suffered a severe ice storm despite being the middle of summer. A massive flock of birds attacked Paris, and Belgium was hit with an unnatural fire that took down half the city. It is rumored the beasts have done this in retaliation.

~*~

Earlier in the week, it was announced that the first academy for the Naturals will open in the fall. This place will be a safe haven for Naturals to go to school. The Purists are fighting back on this, but the president has put his full support behind it, along with some of the Naturals’ leaders. A young woman by the name of Adeelah Neutral has been working for the last three years to get the academy open. She will be making an appearance shortly to speak more about the new academy. Stay tuned to learn all about this school for the beasts.

Chapter One

They kept replaying the silly video of me on the TV. There I stood, with my pixie cut white hair, black skin, and stormy gray eyes, righteously telling people how it was going to go down. And I did it all in my cute overalls, showing off my long dark legs. I loved my legs. And my trademark combat boots. They made me feel ready to kick ass.

I was cocky. Still was as I stared at myself. This was everything I had worked hard for; I had the right to be proud. But then, why did I feel like hiding in a closet, away from everyone’s prying eyes?

A woman with a sultry smile and mischief in her eyes raised her hand and the me on the screen nodded at her in acknowledgment. Miss Neutral, you’re only twenty-seven. What makes you think you’re qualified for this position?

I had stared down the pompous female reporter. It seemed like that was all any of the humans cared about. My age. Like it mattered. Not the fact that being something else has given me near-perfect recall. Or that I extensively studied all the Naturals. I knew almost everything about all of them. There were only a handful of people—humans and Naturals both—who could claim that.

I smiled the same way the television me had smiled at the woman, with just an extra layer of sweetness. This was still my favorite part of the interview. I had asked the woman, And you’re only human, what makes you think you’re qualified to question my age and my knowledge?

That had shut her, and everyone else around her, up.

Refusing to give anyone time to throw another question, I had continued talking down to all of them like they were children. Their stupid questions felt like they were. What the Natural community needs is understanding, especially children. Thanks to the Unveiling, they need to feel safe, feel like they have a place to belong. I eyed all of them, making sure they saw my judgment. They took that away from the Natural children after all. The Unveiling and the treatment of all Naturals after that has taken that away. Do your children have to go to school in bulletproofed cars? Do they have to learn how to protect themselves against bullets, bombs, and complete strangers wishing them harm just because they’re a little different?

What about our children? a man in the back had called out. We need to protect our children.

Against what? I had snapped out to the man. What harm have they ever been through at the hands of the Naturals?

That shut him up because there was never any harm done to the humans for no reason.

I had switched back my focus to the woman who had asked the original question, ready to nail my answer through her thick skull. The humans took away the safety our children felt. I am more than capable of giving them what they need: understanding. I know them far better than any of you are willing to even try to learn, and I’ll be able to provide them with all their needs while you continue to throw biased accusations around, condemning the Natural community and our children.

My office door flew open, distracting me from the news. A slim green-haired woman flowed inside, her white dress flowing behind her. She glanced at the TV and rolled her sparkling blue eyes. Are you really still watching that?

I nodded. I would stop if the news stopped replaying it. You’d think they’d have wound down after six months. Leaning forward over my desk and with a huge smirk, I said, I looked hot.

Yes, yes, you are absolutely gorgeous. She laughed and shook her head. Now stop fishing for compliments. I refuse to feed into your god complex.

I wouldn’t have one if they stopped talking about me. It’s like they want to worship me, but their human minds can’t contemplate what it would mean if I were a goddess. They already have one Big Man they adore. I don’t think they can handle another.

Danylynn Brodwynn rolled her eyes. She was my executive assistant and a close friend. She kept me moving forward since I tended to get side-tracked. They would have calmed down if your doors weren’t opening in just a few more weeks. Maybe throw them a bone, update them? You haven’t had another conference since, so they can only overplay this outdated information.

Yeah, I’m not even twenty-seven anymore, I grumbled. So outdated.

Dany smiled at my response.

They don’t need to know anything. This isn’t their business, I said a little more seriously.

She shrugged in that annoyingly casual way she liked to do when I was being obtuse.

I groaned and covered my eyes, throwing myself back into my chair dramatically. Oh! So much work to do still.

Which is why you have me, darling, Dany said. Now, let’s get to work. People are going to start arriving, and I want to make sure you’re ready to receive them.

Snickering, I leaned forward on my desk, resting my forearms on the dark oak wood. Slowly a genuine smile formed. I didn’t have many of those to spare these days.

Dany noticed and eyed me warily. What?

Monster Academy opens its doors in barely five weeks. Soon, this huge plot of land is going to be swimming with kiddies.

She smiled back. Soon. Then she scowled. And stop calling it Monster Academy. You’ll say it to the wrong Natural and get eaten, or to the humans who have persecuted us enough.

I sighed and swiveled my chair as I gave the TV one last glance before finally turning it off. Trust me. That is not an accident I’ll ever make. Before things got dark and depressing, I asked, So, what’s the overview looking like now?

"Well, we were able to combine training and prep into one week. So, this next week, after the key attendees arrive, we’ll