“Confess.”
That single word reduced the men to tears. They blubbered their way through stories of theft and attempted murder. The one with a broken nose barely made sense, but it didn’t seem to matter. As they spoke, the need to make them pay for each crime increased until I felt bloated with it. I reached out and put my hand around the first one’s throat, lifting him off his knees. I felt no strain.
“Randall Aaron Walker, your wicked confessions have guaranteed your place in—”
“Megan, stop,” Adira said.
Rage boiled inside me at being interrupted. She touched my shoulder, and my stomach twisted. My hand slipped from around the man’s throat, and I landed on my back. I blinked up at the stars, confused and no longer fury angry, just angry.
Eugene’s face appeared above me.
“What are you?” he asked.
“Pissed off,” I said, getting to my feet.
Adira stood on the sidewalk, not far from me.
“Some kind of angel?” Eugene asked, still watching me.
The complete absurdity of his guess distracted me from Adira. I stared at the filthy boy in disbelief.
“What? No way. What kind of angel has fiery eyes?” I asked.
“The one who beats the crap out of the guys who’ve been dealing to my parents for the last four months.”
“That life is done now,” Adira said.
Ignoring me, she nodded toward the house attached to the front lawn on which I stood.
“Everything in this house now belongs to you, Eugene.” She handed him a key. “Clean yourself up. Sleep. Megan will be here in the morning to pick you up for your first day at Girderon Academy.”
“Not a chance in hell,” I said.
First, I was still mad at her for talking this kid into coming. Second, I was still mad at her for stopping me mid-asskicking. Third, I would not let her continue to mistreat the humans in Uttira.
“You wanted the humans to attend the Academy.”
“Yeah, but not on the first day here. You need to give Eugene time to understand what this place is. First, he meets Ashlyn. If he decides to stay, he then decides when he’s ready to attend the Academy, or if he’d rather homeschool for a while.”
“I really don’t mind,” Eugene said. “I like school. Saying it’s an Academy makes it sound fancy. Fancy wouldn’t be bad after the last few weeks I’ve had.”
“I get it,” I said, turning to him. “I really do. But you need to talk to Ashlyn first. I won’t throw you to the wolves—literally—by sending you to Girderon without you understanding the most disturbing truth about this place.”
“And what’s that?” he asked.
“All those legends you thought weren’t real? Well, they are. Werewolves. Mermaids. Giants. Magic. It’s all here. And it’s not rainbows and pixie dust. The Council brings humans here so those very same creatures of myth can learn to control their impulses.”
“Impulses,” he said slowly. “Like making bad guys confess? That doesn’t sound so bad. Personally, I think you should do more of it.”
“We’re not all the same. Some have impulses to eat you.”
He paled slightly, but I didn’t regret telling him the truth. He needed to understand that he’d only traded the type of danger he was in; he hadn’t left it behind. And, I thought he was beginning to get it based on the way he looked down at the key in his palm.
“Yeah. If you think talking to this Ashlyn is a good idea, I’m okay with that,” he said after a moment.
“All right. I’ll ask her to come over tomorrow night. It’ll give you some time to settle in and really think about what you saw tonight.”
“That’d be good.”
He started toward the house then looked back at us.
“I think I’m dreaming. I’m not sure if it’s good or bad yet.” He glanced at the house then back at us. “Am I going to die if I walk into that house?”
“That house is probably the safest place in Uttira for you,” I said.
“Megan is correct,” Adira said. “Nothing can harm you in that house.”
He nodded and started toward the door. Without a word, he unlocked it and slipped inside. Adira and I watched the lights go on one by one.
“I controlled myself in that alley. Well, before those three men showed up. There were at least twenty other people I could feel, and I didn’t do a thing about it.”
“But you did for Randall Walker.”
“You heard them. He and his friends were way more wicked. There was no way I could have just let them walk away. I mean, that’s my purpose, right? To punish the truly wicked.”
“It is. However, a fully developed fury doesn’t need to strike the wicked for a confession.”
“Well, I didn’t know that. Maybe if you’d told me, I wouldn’t have hit him.”
“Did I have to tell you how to use your mind and your eyes to pull a confession from them? No. Yet, you somehow managed to do that.” She gave me an understanding look that made me want to throat punch her.
“I know this is frustrating for you,” she continued. “But, to keep the world safe, you need to remain in Uttira until you learn who and what you are, and you are able to control your instincts.”
She reached out again and put her hand on my shoulder. A second later, we stood outside my house.
“Good night, Megan.”
Then she was gone again. I stood there stunned.
“I don’t believe this shit. That wasn’t even a test. She just wanted to know if Eugene would work. Fucking unreal.”
The renewed scent of smoldering grass sent me inside where I wouldn’t start things on fire.
Are you avoiding me?
I groaned after reading Oanen’s latest text and flopped back on the couch.
“Why must you keep texting me?” I mumbled, already tapping out my next message.
If I’m avoiding you, I’m doing a poor job of it. Aren’t you supposed to be paying attention or something?
I can’t when you’re not here. I worry about you.
You need more interesting hobbies. Now, pay attention to whatever session you’re in.
I’d rather you tell me why you didn’t come in today.
I already told you. I hate people.
Adira asked if I saw you.
Adira can go pet a honey badger.
Seriously, that woman could go sit on a pole. I refused to listen to her and her dumb rules anymore. The Academy was a joke and a complete waste of my time. I wasn’t learning anything there. Nothing I’d actually use once I left this place. I was tired of playing games and planned to stay on this couch until I rotted. No more recruiting new humans. No more babysitting existing ones. They could all suck it.
I set my phone on top of the small pile of papers on the end table, not wanting to see Oanen’s reply. Nothing was going the way it should, and I wasn’t in the mood for anyone, not even him.
After waking up feeling just as angry as when I’d gone to bed, I’d resolved to find my mom myself. Since coming to Uttira, well over a month ago, I hadn’t received a single bill in the mail. Not one. Yet, I still had power, cable, and a working cell phone. Those bills had to be going somewhere. So, I’d done a little research and started calling around to look for information that might lead to my mom’s current address or phone number.
However, my super sleuth skills had nothing on Uttira’s impenetrable closed network. Calling the cable company had redirected me to the grocery store. Calling the power company had redirected me to the grocery store. And, calling the cell phone carrier number within the app on my phone had…redirected me to the grocery store. The woman working the day shift there probably hated her life now after that third call. She hadn’t been able to tell me anything other than the Council takes care of all the orphans in Uttira. Fat lot of good that did me. If I couldn’t track down my mom from inside Uttira to call her and couldn’t leave Uttira to find her in person, I was royally screwed. Without her help, I had no chance of controlling whatever the hell was going on with me.