Blood and Water

By Rissa Renae

What do you do when the place you consider home wants to lock you up and throw away the key? June Bae faces down his sophomore year with two possible outcomes: hanging in shackles in a Rose Cross Academy prison, or staring down the tip of demon warlord Elan Zeal's sword.

And to complicate things, June has just learned his uncle

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rissa Renae
• Release date: Mar 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9780994884015

Rissa Renae

Rissa Renae is a regular, American-Canadian country girl with an over-active imagination and a debilitating love of cats. Born in Ohio, she now lives in British Columbia, Canada with her husband Jeff and son Gabriel.

Book preview

Blood

&

Water

Other Works by Rissa Renae:

The Rose Cross Academy Series

Risers & Dreamers

Grimms & Garms

Bane & Butterflies

Blood

&

Water

Book 4 of The Rose Cross Academy series

Rissa Renae

Copyright © 2022 Rissa Renae Tsang

RissaRenae.com

All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are either the product of the author's imagination or are used for the purpose of building fictitious situations. Any resemblance to persons either living or deceased is coincidental.

Renae, Rissa.

Blood and Water / Rissa Renae.

Paranormal—Fiction.

Demons—Fiction.

High schools—Fiction.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-9948840-5-3

Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9948840-4-6

First Edition published March 2022.

Author photograph © Jeff McDonald, http://mcdonaldphoto.ca/

Cover Design Copyright © 2022 Rissa Renae.

Printed in the United States of America.

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO

No matter where, for Jeff and Gabriel.

Contents

The Movie Theatre

Wrong Side of the Mirror

Knock on Wood

Blockbuster

And the Clock Struck Doom

The Price of Freedom

Lockdown Lockup

Mighty Long Fall

What Makes You Human

Unfair Play

A Family Divided

Ante Over

Unamused

In For a Penny

Hello, Mother

Lost

Moon on the Water

Dead Meat

Lo, the Trees Talk

Found

A Light in the Woods

The Cure is Worse

Let the Phone Ring Thrice

Mouse Trap

Sleep Tight

What We Hide

Sow the Wind

Herding Cats

The Best Laid Plans

Sub-terranean-fuge

You’re It

Let’s Play Tag

Down the Rabbit Hole

Guess Who

Knuckle Sandwich

Fade to Black

Third Time’s the Charm

Out of Options

Gone

The Man Left Behind

Neither Here nor There

Nevermore

First Night Effect

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

Cry Me a Swimming Pool

A Spoonful of Honey

Undead Walking

Misgivings

Cat’s Out of the Bag

Squeaky Clean

We Need to Talk

Who Haunts the Haunted

Get Outta Dodge

Sibling Rivalry

Welcome to the Family

Glossary

Appendices

The House

The Movie Theatre

A Man was lost and so terribly so. Here, the winding forest road made for eerie company.

Buttery popcorn permeated dim and tense air. Theatre seats moaned as couples huddled into one another, their faces lit by a wide screen towering before the packed house. Tonight, the latest horror blockbuster entertained their fear.

Sparse pools of yellow light imprisoned patrons in their seats as they watched a car wander along a foggy forest road. Gravel kicked up grey clouds that chased the car further into the dim forest. Here and there, a few white-barked trees with black fissures eating through the bark glowed in the headlights. Ominous music with deep and chilling tones grew in intensity before the title flashed across the screen:

Only When It Rains

On cue, rain pelted the windshield. Soft at first, the gentle tap of rain lulled the audience into a false sense of security. But as the woods grew thicker and thicker, and the gravel road wound tighter and tighter, the music grew more intense.

As the opening credits finished, the vehicle arrived at its destination and four occupants filed out into the elements. A log cabin stood lonely and dark amongst a forest of tall pine and white-barked trees with black fissures eating through their trunks.

Are you sure this is the place? one of the female occupants asked. Coiffed bleach-blonde hair held up remarkably well against the rain.

According to the map, this is the place. The driver aimed a remote behind him and the car’s headlights flashed; in the high beams, a few more white-barked trees shimmered into existence. They moved closer and closer to the car with each flash of the headlamps.

Let’s get inside, another passenger said, hunching in on himself to escape the rain. I’m getting soaked. The four then hurried towards the cabin.

Nervous gasps and a couple of quiet groans rolled through the theatre as a dark shape emerged from the trees and approached the vacant car. A flash of lightning highlighted a tall silhouette with a wolf-like face, and a body like a hairless cat with leathery wings. Dull orange eyes swiveled to the four travelers hustling towards the cabin’s front door.

Locked.

The driver tried a key. No luck. The woman with the bleach-blonde hair hugged her sides and turned to glance at the car. Although the beast glimmered in the occasional flash of lightning, she only wrapped her arms tighter and shivered. I don’t like this place.

Gasps in the audience spread; a couple theatregoers hid their eyes. One woman moaned with impending fear. Seats creaked and groaned as viewers stirred. A few exchanged worried glances.

I thought you said this was a slasher flick, someone whispered.

The beast turned with a snap and snarled at the voice. The growl enacted a few startled yelps. It opened its jaws to reveal needle-like, salivating teeth. A great breath inflated its body, and it roared. Beastly paws with glistening sharp nails swiped at the screen.

Projection fabric split as nails drug through the movie and shredded the cabin scene. Although the characters on screen went about their script unaffected, the beast continued to dig through strips of movie screen before it roared.

A woman in the audience jumped to her feet and stumbled into the aisle. She paused long enough to scream before running from the theatre. Her exodus sparked panic. Soon people were climbing over chairs and each other to escape. Popcorn erupted in one aisle, followed by a geyser of soda in another. Jackets and shopping bags flew as bodies fled.

It’s a nightmare! a man yelled as he climbed atop seats towards the exit.

We can’t all be having the same bad dream! someone yelled.

Once more, the creature howled. Its long, clawed paws swiped for the audience but caught only air. It lumbered forward but tangled in strips of projection fabric. Undeterred, the beast fought, ripping and tearing at anything around it. Backstage rigging and stereo speakers sparked and popped. One last swipe freed the creature of its bindings and it howled its victory from the front of the theatre.

Cries and screams infected the rest of the audience. Many shuffled to their feet and grabbed loved ones.

In harmony to the demon, the wails of people increased. More crawled over seats, some crawled over each other. Couples separated and fled until the theatre came alive with bodies scrambling to escape like rats uncovered from an old mattress.

The demon leapt and landed in the first row. Seats fell to so many pieces as it attacked. White stuffing and red upholstery erupted like shrapnel. It howled at all in attendance before pursuing its prey.

Chapter Break

A teenage boy tugged at an ill-fitting polyester uniform outside the doors to one of the cinema rooms. Within, screams erupted, but he paid them no mind. According to the moniker, the latest horror movie played beyond the double doors.

As he swept up loose popcorn with a manual vacuum, the screams intensified, and a scuffle broke out. He frowned at the doors seconds before they blew open and a woman tore past him screaming. The situation allowed him little time to contemplate what spooked her when the cinema doors flew open again.

People raced by him in mobs, some shouting and screaming, others running as if their lives were on the line. A few shouted at him to run as well. More bellowed wordlessly.

The teen flattened himself against the wall until the stampede passed. Only the ominous music and tense dialogue of the horror movie remained inside. He watched curiously after the spooked crowd as they spilled into the lobby and disappeared around a corner. A ticket puncher down the hall shrugged at him. A shrill whine of violins enacted a woman’s scream.

The movie’s commotion drew him inside. On screen, a bleach-blonde woman shrieked and fled around a corner in a dark and deserted house. On her trail, a burly figure in a clown mask followed. Moonlight flashed off a butcher’s knife.

Other than the actors on screen, no one else occupied the theatre.

Harvey, what happened? someone called over his shoulder.

The teen turned and shrugged. I don’t know. Everyone just ran out yelling and stuff.

Another teen in a similarly ill-fitting uniform trudged down the aisle and huffed. They all ran out? Really? I didn’t think this movie was that scary.

Spilled drinks and popcorn watched the movie among a couple of forgotten garments. Flashes of light from the screen highlighted a jacket in the front row that had been sliced in two as the teens headed back up the aisle.

I call dibs on theatre seven, the other said. He kicked at an overturned tub of popcorn that may have been mostly full when its owner abandoned it. I’d hate to be the poor schmoe who has to clean this place.

Yeah, that poor schmoe is me. Harvey sighed and stopped at the top row. And this was my last clean-up for the night.

Sucks to be you, man. He gave Harvey a patronizing pat on the back before he tossed a wave goodbye and ducked out of the theatre.

Light danced against the walls as the movie continued to play. Low tones in the music hinted at the jump-scares and other horror tropes soon to come. Harvey sighed and bent to pick up a carry tray; an unopened candy bar and an untouched tray of nachos winked at him. He pocketed the candy bar then, after ensuring no one lurked in the dark, helped himself to the nacho’s as he poked at the mess with a broom.

The actress screamed again, but he had seen this movie before. But this time, something in a corner of the house growled low and long.

Harvey glanced up again to the movie and squinted. This wasn’t a creature-feature, at least he didn’t remember there being monsters in this film. He shrugged, snagged another nacho, and swept popcorn into a dustpan.

The on-screen girl cried and moaned in desperation. Right about now, the psycho would have found its first victim.

Once again, something growled, followed by a loud scraping.

This time, Harvey took his broom in hand and marched up to the front. Are there rats in the speaker systems again? He gave a built-in speaker a kick.

The screen erupted, splitting into several pieces. Things poured out he couldn’t hope to comprehend. Things with talons, things with wings, things with long pointed teeth. He dropped to the ground and screamed as paws and feet stampeded around him and filled the theatre.

Outside the doors, the other teen glance up from his vacuum in time to see demons pour from the theatre Harvey was cleaning. He dropped his equipment, screamed, and ran. A thunder of hundreds of feet chased him into the lobby. As he ran, people around him shouted and shrieked. They abandoned their drinks and popcorn and ran.

A grey-skinned demon as tall as the teenager crashed through the lobby after him. Leather wings tipped with hooked claws beat at the air and lifted it atop a condiment stand. The thing howled like a vulture and spread clawed hands wide before it pounced on the boy.

As he screamed, demons poured from the theatres. At first, a handful stormed through the velvet-carpeted hallways. Then dozens. Then droves so numerous that demons clawed at and fought with each other to chase their targets.

Demon dogs composed of exposed bone and sinew ran at their feet. Glowing red eyes swiveled in boney sockets, and their gnashing jaws chewed through movie posters and cashier’s stations.

The front doors burst apart in showers of glass and metal, and demons poured into the night. In a few moments they inundated the cinema’s parking lot and spilled into the city amidst blaring car horns, screaming people, and screeching tires.

Chapter 1

1

Wrong Side of the Mirror

June Bae’s feet left long, sliding trails in the greyish dust covering the ground. His legs had stiffened, and his body had lost the will to go on ever since Johann had taken his powers from him. The only force keeping him on his feet was Petra holding his arm.

Johann Rosenkreuz strode ahead of him with Kingsley Mathews bringing up the rear; they surrounded him in case he decided to retaliate. The thought would normally have made June laugh, but every ounce of strength he had went to keeping himself on his feet. He couldn’t raise his head where it lobbed around his chest as if he were sleep walking. His eyes strained to take in his environment, but he saw nothing.

White.

Harsh, featureless, bright.

Give it a minute. Your eyes will adjust Petra said softly, but despite that fact, her voice bounced around him before coming to his ears.

The whitewash took shape and June found himself in what appeared to be the remnants of a city long since abandoned. June, Petra, and the balance of Dreamer Team One followed a narrow boulevard no wider than a typical residential street. He imagined at some point, this street might have been made of paving bricks. Now, time had left it heaved and broken. Grass and weeds grew through cracks between the bricks and several fissures made the road impassible by anything except foot traffic.

Buildings lined the street in what were once structured and orderly patterns. Time had bent some walls until they curved or jutted out into the boulevard to hide its path into the city. Most of the structures were falling apart. Apartment buildings lay open to the elements and shops now advertised vines and tree roots instead of goods and wares.

At any other point in his life, June would have found the place fascinating. However now, his mind had simply gone numb; numb to the horrific death of his aunt Nabi, numb to the realization of what half of his family was, and numb to the fact his powers had been taken away from him with a simple flick of Johann’s thumb.

Part of him felt like dropping to his knees and weeping right then and there.

Petra’s fingers squeezed his arm and drew his eyes to her.

What happened? She kept her voice low and soft. June, you can talk to me, you know. You can tell me what happened.

He raised his eyes to glare at Johann’s back; their present company certainly didn’t make for pleasant conversation.

Whatever happened, she whispered, you have to let it go. Hold your head up, June, or Johann’s already won.

However, the will to fight had left him—taken away when Johann took his abilities to transmute. This was what ‘normal’ felt like, and it was an empty and lonely feeling. Dreamer Team One might as well have abandoned him in the middle of an unknown, uninhabited town. Nothing remained within him. Just a cold nothingness.

She squeezed his arm again, but he couldn’t muster the strength to glance at her. He would just see those same worried sapphire eyes.

A crash like a cinder block shattering from a fall caused everyone but June to jump. Petra tugged him into a walk well before Johann ordered them to keep moving. Minutes seemed to pass into hours as they walked, turning here or there, and trudging down a side street or an alley. Dust collected on his boots until the black leather had nearly turned white.

June, Petra said after what may have been a lifetime. Say something.

He took a deep breath, but his throat wouldn’t form words. Air squeaked as he tried several times until he found the strength of will to speak. Where are we?

King answered him. The Order calls it the Bastion. I’m sure it means something. This place is a middleworld of some sorts that’s connected by Doors hidden all throughout the world. Each campus has at least one Door that the big shots on the Council and officers of The Order use to travel between academies.

Before you ask the obvious, June, Johann said without turning around, you won’t be taught about the Bastion system until senior year. So, until then, just follow the Guide.

The Guide? June asked.

Johann gave the ground a dismissive wave. A liquid-like silver grout ran through cracks in the sun-bleached asphalt and formed a line that ran ahead of them and disappeared around a corner. He kicked at it, and the grout shimmered as if mercury had been poured through the cracks. Despite the disturbance, the grout never spilled from its invisible trench.

The buildings in this part of the Bastion resembled storefronts long abandoned or severely neglected. Groaning hinges caught June’s ears. As the group continued, a door creaked open, and June squinted to see if he could catch a glimpse of who or what lurked beyond.

Keep moving, eyes ahead, Johann said suddenly. If they know you can see them, they’ll think you want to play. And they play mean, too.

"They who?"

Johann sighed as if he had to explain why water was wet. The things which live in the Bastion, who do you think?

June preferred not to have to think any more than necessary. Although, talking seemed to help his current lack of energy. The more he walked, the more the strength and mental fortitude came back to him. June still felt uncomfortably human—normal. Without his Compass, he couldn’t be certain his powers of transmutation were returning. He glanced sidelong to King bringing up the rear and set his jaw. The underclassman had his Compass and roses, and June meant to have them back.

Although powerless, June found he could still dig into the ornery depths of his soul unhindered. There he found the fight still burned deep, powers or no. He raised his head. If he could divert King’s attention long enough to jump him and get his Compass back, he could duck into one of these side streets and make a getaway. His only hesitation would be leaving Petra, but at least she wouldn’t be alone among her teammates.

After a few moments of silence, June asked. "So, what are they then—the things that live here in the Bastion?"

Their footfalls echoed down a dark alley they passed before Johann finally spoke. "We don’t really know what they are. The Order thinks they may be angelic beings cast out from the Arcadian State. They can’t descend to Earth, so they’re stuck somewhere in between. But they certainly don’t act like angelic beings."

 A shadow moved in a building and June whipped his head around. He caught a whisper of a small figure ducking behind a bend in the boulevard.

Keep walking, King nudged him in the back.

How much farther are we walking? June asked.

Petra patted his arm. It took us three hours to get to Washington, so it will probably take just as long to get back.

Longer, Johann put in. We’re moving against the course of the Moon, so we’re likely looking at a four-hour trek.

Four hours! June’s voice bounced around the shops and skittered down a street. A whisper answered him from a side street, but June couldn’t discern words.

Johann stopped abruptly and turned on him with clenched teeth and fierce eyes. Keep your voice down! he growled under his breath. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, we’re not exactly welcome here!

A whisper followed Johann’s voice. June caught only a few words but discerned the whispers asked, Do you want to be free?

June glanced towards the direction of the voice but found only Petra watching him. A confused frown and a quick glance at their surroundings told him that question didn’t come from her.

Keep moving. Johann spun on a heel and stomped into the city.

Petra urged him on before King had a chance to shove him in the back. June fell into pace with her and placed a hand on hers where it rested in the crook of his elbow. A warm smile greeted him, and he found himself watching her until the buildings lining the streets gave way to a wide lot surrounded by buildings.

Johann raised a fist, commanding them to stop. Before them, a courtyard the size of a city block housed weeds and a few saplings reaching for the skies. Paving stones laid in an unknown pattern held back tall and desolate concrete structures on either side, many windowless or crumbling. June guessed the buildings were probably apartment complexes at some point in the past. Now only shadows and dust inhabited them.

June let his gaze wander but found no signs of life, living or dead. A forgotten bus stop had collapsed decades ago onto a rusted metal bench, but no one waited there. A swing set sporting one remaining swing now broken in two waited patiently for children that would never come to play again.

We’re clear. The Guide’s pointing us to the other side. Let’s go.

June’s first step into the courtyard came with a cold breath down his back and a single word whispered in his ear.

". . . free . . . "

Chapter 2

2

Knock on Wood

Stella navigated the dormitory hallways with her target clear in mind. Tonight—or maybe it was early morning, she had lost track of time—felt odd. She could think of no other way to describe it. Not just because her teammate June wasn’t here, and not because his brother had appeared on campus to enact his two-man-takeover. No, something else wasn’t right. The calm before the storm, so to speak. Something was . . . off.

The long corridors of the dormitory building left few places to hide as she calmly pursued her target. Perhaps this would be easier than she thought.

A head of dark brown hair disappeared into an adjoining hallway. Stella quickened her pace in pursuit. Upon reaching the connecting hall, she peered around the corner. A young girl hopped at being spotted and ducked into a doorway leading to the women’s washrooms.

Keeping her footsteps quiet, Stella rushed down the hall. Using her momentum as a slingshot, she slid into the doorway and into the sterile-tiled nook of the dorm’s toilets.

Inside, Sanja Shan stood pressed up against a wall in the alcove of the washroom entrance. Wide brown eyes flicked to Stella upon her arrival and the girl’s shoulders sank.

Sanja, why are you sneaking around the dorms?

After a brief pause, Sanja let out a long sigh. Her gaze shifted here and there before she dipped her head and whispered. Everyone’s been asking so many questions since the Marshal and the Seneschal arrived on campus.

Stella’s shoulders sank as well. June’s brother, Seneschal Jason Bae, and his partner Marshal Bo Turay had shown up unannounced on campus no more than a few hours ago, and already the two officers had turned the Rose Cross Academy on its head. Many of the professors had been relegated to their offices or their quarters, Headmaster Rosenkreuz had been relieved of duty, and the students had been confined to the dormitories. All of this while June Bae was nowhere to be found.

The rumours placed Stella’s teammate all over the known worlds; from here on campus held in secret and unknown locations, to Below, to the other side of the continent in Washington, D.C. The sheer impossibility of June being in all these places in just a few hours struck her as outlandish, but then again, Stella had seen many such things over the past couple of weeks.

Sanja shuffled back and forth, and her fingers picked at each other. So, um, why are you out of your dorm? The Seneschal confined us to quarters and—

He confined us to the dorms, not specifically to quarters. Stella blinked; exploiting the intricacies of given orders was normally reserved for June. She cleared her throat. I’m looking for someone.

Oh? Sanja stood up straighter, hope in her eyes. Who are you looking for?

You.

Sanja wilted. Me? W-why me?

After a slow breath, Stella pressed her lips into a flat smile and brightened her voice. I wanted to see if you’d heard anything from Petra.

Footfalls in the hallway accompanied by voices sent both girls scrambling deeper into the washroom. Sterile while title echoed their every movement as they hid behind a wall meant to separate the toilet stalls from the swing of the door.

Stella held her breath as the voices passed. They were adults, likely professors. She strained to listen but could only catch a few words of their conversation. They expressed dismay over the sudden appearance of high-ranking officers from the Central Cross and pondered if the visit had been triggered by the unusual rise in stronger demon activity in the city as of late. Past those few pieces of information, the conversations were garbled.

When the voices passed and disappeared into the dormitory, Stella leaned to Sanja. I know it’s not just me, she whispered. There’s more going on around here than the professors are willing to let us know. I just want some answers. And I want to know where June is.

The adults never tell us anything; we’re only first and second-year students. The seniors would know more than us underclass-ers, and some of them act like they know something. Otherwise, campus wouldn’t be turning on itself like this.

Stella shook her head. No, the campus isn’t turning on itself. It’s turning on us.

Us? Sanja jabbed a finger into her chest. "What do you mean us? I have no part of this. I don’t want to be a part of this!"

June’s on my Team; he has a warrant out for his arrest because apparently the Headmaster thinks the recent demonic activity around Vancouver somehow links back to him.

Well, does it?

Stella ignored the question. And you’re Petra’s dorm mate and friend, and Dreamer Team One went to retrieve June, and no one’s heard from them since.

Oh, come on. Sanja pushed away from the wall and thrust her fists into her hips. Although she wore her school uniform, the fluffy pink scrunchy keeping her long brown hair in a high ponytail was hard to take seriously. Are you accusing Petra of being in on this too?

No, I’m not. Stella kept her voice calm. But I think Team One is in danger.

Sanja’s shoulders jerked, and she stood up straighter. What? Why would you think that?

Well, why do you think the Seneschal is here?

The other girl licked her lips but said nothing.

"Sanja, who do you . . . well, maybe it’s easier to ask, who do you not trust on campus right now?"

Without skipping a beat, Sanja answered. Marney and Lydia, that’s for sure.

Stella suspected as much as well. Lydia was the campus gossip. She didn’t spread news, she spread rumours, most of which Stella was certain the junior Dreamer had started herself. Lydia followed—more or less stalked—June, but Stella didn’t think she did so because of a crush, but because he was a source of information. The love-struck teenage act was just that. Lydia didn’t get into Marney’s clique because of good looks and a crush. She was a mole. A snake. She somehow knew everything that went on around campus.

Then there was Marney Evens. Senior Dreamer class president and queen bitch of campus. The girl saw herself as the law and flaunted it without question. Her Dreamer team was strongest on campus, her team took down the strongest marks, and her team ranked the highest in mission stats. Marney and anyone who ran with her would be the first to align with the new Seneschal, now the strongest authority on campus. Under his orders, Marney and her band could impose marshal law on campus.

Stella sighed. Stuff like this only happened in the movies, not on some random high school campus in Canada.

I know, Sanja said as if in answer to the sign. It’s hard to know who Marney doesn’t have acting as her little birds, or who she’s got listening in on the Seneschal and Marshal. Once that happens, most of the campus will follow her like brainwashed goslings just to keep out of her path of rage.

Which is why we need June back here.

Sanja made a face as if she had smelled something unpleasant. Just because June’s the Seneschal’s younger brother doesn’t mean anything.

Have you ever met June? Stella tried not to laugh. He can out-talk almost anything, human or demon. He’ll get to the bottom of whatever farce is going on around here. Until then, you and I should stick together, Sanja.

I still don’t understand why.

We both want them back. I want June back, and I’m sure you want Petra back. They’re both out there, somewhere. They could be perfectly fine and have no idea what’s happening over here, or they could be in danger. And personally, I believe they’re in danger, too. The second-highest-ranking officer of The Order doesn’t just take control of a random campus because his little brother attends classes here.

The other girl drew her shoulders back. I know. I get it. I just don’t want to get caught up in whatever happens around here when the proverbial shit hits the fan. So, what are you suggesting?

We work together; you and me. No one else.

What about our teams?

Stella set her shoulders. I trust Noel.

Well, I don’t.

She cocked her head to the side but resisted the urge to ask about Sanja’s misgivings. Instead, she asked, Do you know there’s a war in Below, one that’s burning it to the ground?

Sanja didn’t answer, but she swallowed hard.

That war is coming here. Stella pointed to the bleached titles at their feet. We’ve already seen the beginnings of that war; campus has already suffered the first attack in that war—a Grimm and her horde of Garms. And now, whatever horde just hit us triggered a Lockdown. You know that’s not going to be the last of what Below can throw at us. It’s going to happen again, I guarantee it. And what do you think will happen when the next attack hits us?

The other girl shifted.

I feel we need June, Stella said. We need him to help stop this, or we’re not going to survive. She worked at her pendent until she dislodged the Compass. I can’t find him; the Compass won’t find him. Either his phone is off or dead and no one will give me the numbers for Johann or King. Dreamer Team One—Petra’s team—went to retrieve June to bring him back for court marshal. I firmly believe that if we lose June, we lose this war. If the Rose Cross loses this war, we all lose. We all die. She paused for several heartbeats. Sanja, we need to get a hold of Petra. We need to get this Academy prepared for what’s coming. We need to stop acting like the teenage girls we are and start acting like the adults society expects us to be. Sanja, we need—

I know! she bit back but shook her head. Although she didn’t say anything, she wrapped her arms around her middle and folded in on herself. I know, she repeated, quicker this time. Demons haven’t attacked established areas in hundreds of years, that’s what my Demonology professor told me. The world is changing and changing for the worst. This isn’t what I expected when I started at the Academy. I thought I’d be exorcising low-level demons from shopping malls and coffee shops, not fighting off dozens of Garms and avoiding getting my soul reaped by Grimms. She raised her head enough to fix Stella with wide, dark brown eyes. Aren’t you scared?

I’m terrified. Stella held out her hand; her fingers shook. There’s a very real possibility that we’re all going to die if Below’s war breaks into our world. I just turned sixteen two months ago. I’m terrified I’ll never see graduation day. But I’m going to fight tooth and nail to get there. I’m going to fight. She laid the hand on one of Sanja’s arms. We all need to fight together and stop fighting each other.

I know, Sanja said again. I know! she yelled. But it doesn’t make it any less frightening! As if realizing she had been yelling, Sanja hunkered down and monitored the vacant bathroom. Petra hasn’t called or texted since last night. I’ve tried texting her, but she hasn’t responded yet.

Stella turned her Compass over and over in her hand before letting it rest on her palm. She gave the object a stern glare. Cross Petra Leonova.

It doesn’t work, Sanja said. She waited as Stella’s Compass remained silent and unmoving. Wherever she is, we can’t find her. Which means we also can’t find June if she really is with him.

Stella closed her fingers around her Compass before letting it settle on its chain around her neck.

Sanja unwound her arms and stood up straight. Her teeth worked at her bottom lip before she asked, What do we do?

"We work with the Marshal and the Seneschal—that’s what