Sacrificed: The Permafrost Saga Read online

Demi understood what a suite is now that she had seen one. All the dorm rooms in this "suite" were attached to the common room and living room. It was more or less an apartment where everyone got their own room. She wondered how many rooms there were and then instantly stressed over how many bathrooms they’d all have to share. She was going to go off the rails if there was only one.

  Demi didn’t have a moment to prepare herself before Casey enveloped her in a tight hug. "Nice…to meet you," Demi wheezed out from inside Casey's crushing embrace.

  Casey pulled back with a giggle. "I'm sorry, are you not a hugger?"

  "Not really," Demi admitted.

  Nicole leaned toward her, pulling her attention from Casey. "I'm going to need your ID and your social security card to process, Demi. I'll get them back to you tomorrow when you report for orientation," Nicole told her.

  Demi fished them out of her purse and handed them over.

  "Have a good day, Ladies. We'll see you in the morning." Nicole took her leave, her heels clicking across the fake hardwood floor.

  "So," Casey said, drawing her attention back to her once the door closed behind Nicole. "What kind of music are you into?"

  "Not country and not hard rock. I'm not a headbanger. Also, rap sucks," Demi informed her, then she wondered if any of that information offended the blond.

  Casey made a face. "Fine." She pulled out her phone and flipped the station to soothing alternative rock instead, and Demi's tension subsided a little. "I'd take you on a tour, but this is pretty much it. Your room is the door on the right," she pointed behind her. "The kitchen is stocked. The dorm has its own gym and pool, and you can pay for housekeeping if you want. What are you doing for supper?"

  "I'd like to get settled in before I start thinking about food."

  "Seriously? At this hour?" Casey made an expression like that was the silliest thing she had ever heard. "I have a frozen lasagna that my mom made. I could bake that," she thought out loud.

  By now Demi's attention was drifting. Picking her bags back up, she shuffled them over to the door on the right.

  Suddenly, Casey hopped and clapped her hands together as though a thought struck her. "We could all go out! I'm sure the other tutors would love to get to know you before tomorrow!" She was instantly on her phone, her fingers texting a mile a minute.

  Demi halted her progress and then flinched at the thought of a room full of unfamiliar people. "I'm more of a one-on-one get-to-know-someone kind of person," she admitted shyly.

  "Oh, pish posh," she waved her off. "Come on, we don't bite. Besides, I'll be there to protect you. Everyone is really cool, and I just got the word that there's a really steamy new guy this year."

  Demi couldn’t hide her interest from this, and Casey saw it, misinterpreting Demi’s expression, exploding with more jumping and squealing. "Listen, all I know is that he's coaching Letchen this year and that he's totally amazing."

  He’s the instructor? She thought with shock. Demi suddenly felt the need to sit down. She reached for the couch and leaned on it heavily, trying to calm the swarm of thoughts buzzing in her skull. Was this a good thing? She supposed she'd be able to keep an eye on him this summer, as she'd like to know what his angle is since he seemed a bit suspicious to her. On the other hand, she got the feeling he was following her, and it wasn’t a good idea to encourage a stalker by being alone with them.

  Demi was forced to freshen up before heading out with Casey. Her room was decent sized, and her bathroom was connected to another room. Outside her bedroom window she could see the large lake that the town sat on. The mountains and the setting sun were reflected on the still surface. There were a couple birds gliding over the water, looking for fish to pluck from the depths. She could see why the town decided to honor the Water Goddess, looking at the size of the lake.

  Meeting Casey back in the common area, she saw her zipping on a pair of tall boots and holding onto a jingling mess of keychains. There were so many gadgets on it, Demi had a hard time seeing the key fob to her car, but behind a big pink pom-pom, she spotted it. Casey drove a Jeep; Demi recognized the emblem on the fob. Smiling, Demi decided that her suitemate was harmless even though she came off little overwhelming.

  They entered what looked like a café from the outside, but inside it was more like a bar. It was dark- lit only by strip lights along the underside of the bar, hanging lamps over the half a dozen tables, and the back lights behind all the booze bottles. A small group of people, sitting in the corner at one of the tables, called them over as soon as they spotted Casey walk through the door with Demi close on her heels.

  "Hey guys!" Casey once again squealed.

  Demi was flabbergasted. How did she get everyone to meet up so quickly? Looking at the time on her phone, she noticed that only a half hour had passed since she met Casey.

  Casey proceeded to hug every person at the table, and they hug her right back with big smiles. Most of them were women but the two men on the far side of the table looked comfortable among the girls.

  "Everyone, this is Demi, the new girl," Casey told them and they all smiled at her from their seats. Casey turned to her, "Demi, this is Cici, Polly, Rox, John, Dave, and Lara." She pointed to each person as she said a name and they smiled and give a small wave in response.

  There is no way she was going to remember all their names.

  "Where's the new guy?" Casey asked as she took a seat, her eyes wide with anticipation.

  Demi took the open seat beside her.

  "Dave invited him. They live down the hall from each other, but he might not show," one of the girls said.

  "He looked preoccupied with something," Dave explained.

  "So, Demi, tell us your story," another one of the ladies wondered, and they all lean forward in interest.

  "My story? I-I don't have a story."

  "Sure, you do!" Demi thought it was Cici who spoke that time. "I, for instance, grew up in North Carolina. My family raises mules for mountain hikes and what not. I graduated at the top of my class just to get out. I want to be a doctor and save lives in Africa."

  "And I grew up here in the mountains, but unlike Cici here, I want to take over my father's bank when he retires. For now, I'm learning how to do things on my own so I can take over without any misgivings," the girl to Cici's left said.

  They waited for Demi to respond. "Um…I guess my goal is to be a judge, but if my parents get their way, I'll end up going home."

  Casey looked concerned about that. "Why? It doesn't sound like you want to go back home."

  Demi was all for making friends, but she wasn’t ready to tell them who she was. As soon as people learned of her heritage, they treated her differently. She had experienced it before; she called it the princess syndrome. More than once, boys from other high schools would try to date her like a prize to be won or a game to be concurred.

  "It's a tiny town," she told them, “a couple of hours away. There's no privacy there and it gets to be… too much," she told them honestly.

  They accepted her reasoning.

  "What do you do for fun?" the girl named Rox asked.

  Demi was surprised she was getting their names down so quickly. “Read, mostly," she answered with a shrug. "There's some online comics I follow. Fanfiction too, but my chill zone is either in front of Netflix on the couch or in my reading nook. Honestly, guys, I'm the most boring person."

  "Bull," John said. "I know muscles when I see them, and damn girl, you're ripped. What's your sport?"

  Of course, one of the guys would check out the condition of her body. She rolled her eyes. The way he said it, though, made her wonder if he was gay. "The same as everyone in small towns, Letchen Combat."

  Casey's eyebrows hit her hairline with interest. "Ooooo, I bet you and the new guy will have tons to talk about when he gets here."

  "I don't enjoy it much," she said quickly. "It was a requirement for graduating from my high school." Lies. "You know, for tradition."

  The others looked at her confused and she deflated in her chair. She’d like to keep them from pushing her and Reece together at all costs. She wasn’t there for romance, especially not with him.

  "You do come from a small town," Casey replied in her defense.

  "Blink and you'll miss it," a deep voice said from behind her.

  She froze in her chair, his voice seeming to glue her to it. His scent washed over her, and it was full of notes of cedar wood, sage, and wood smoke. His shadow loomed over her and she saw everyone's eyes shift to his shape. Slowly, she turned around in her chair and saw his powerful figure standing just behind her and he looked down on her in amusement.

  "Are you following me?" she suddenly asked with wide eyes.

  "I could ask you the same," he replied. She could sense everyone's expressions around the table, making assumptions about them that have no foundation of truth. Wondering if she could escape this table and somehow find her way back to the dorm, she sunk down in her chair and scooted to the edge. Maybe when they are all distracted, she could make a break for it.

  John was all too happy to pull up a chair from a neighboring table for the newcomer. The girls at the table gawked in shock at him. He took a seat with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

  "Mop up your drool, Ladies," Casey told them with a smile and everyone bursted out in chuckles, but it was not attraction that had Demi dazed, it was intimidation.

  Just then, a waiter came by to take their orders. Demi requested a cola with a cheeseburger and fries. Most of the boys ordered the same, while the girls chose salads.

  "Do you two know each other?" Casey wondered out loud.

  That was the second time they had been asked that today, but Demi knew the question was coming. She could see it all over their faces.

&nbs
p; "Only in passing," Demi told her, then she shot a warning look at Reece.

  He raised a single brow.

  "She knows Letchen," Dave told him proudly, happy to tell his new acquaintance something new he might find interesting.

  "Yes, Mr. Nagel informed me she would be my assistant," his eyes flitted to the others as they reacted. Casey had the largest reaction; her hand griped Demi's forearm painfully in order to hold herself back. Demi could tell that she wanted to erupt into a fury of questions and theories. Demi shrunk under his gaze when his eyes reached her. "We need to spar soon."

  "I have a feeling you'd have no issue in besting me," she replied.

  "Oh, I don't know, but in that case, I should teach you all I know," he offered with a smirk that she didn’t like at all.

  "I don't think the difference is in skill, but in strength," she deadpanned.

  He laughed and the sound went straight to her toes. She clutched her water glass to hide her discomfort and noticed the water inside getting colder. The glass cracked and she pulled her hand away with a start. A chill in her core started to sear her and suddenly she was quite cold. A shiver ran over her.

  Why was this happening to her? Was she magic? Part god? Was that even possible? Could she be cursed or something? She certainly felt cursed. One thing was for sure, she needed to get it under control before she got someone hurt or she gets herself into trouble.

  Their food came shortly after, allowing her to shove her worries aside. They tried to get Reece's story from him, but he didn’t give much away. His eyes kept flitting to hers and she felt them on her every couple of seconds. A flair of anger rose each time, and she struggled to keep control of the ice that threatened to freeze everything within reach. She occupied herself with eating and listening to the others.

  "At least you're not in a cast this summer, Casey," Cici pointed out with a teasing glint to her eyes.

  Casey smiled. "Yeah, I guess playing in the jungle gym with my students was a bad idea. It came off a week into the first semester last year, but then I got drunk, fell out of bed, and broke my other wrist."

  The whole table erupted in laughter that was so infectious that Demi joined in too even though she didn’t know the whole story.

  "How are you so clumsy?" Lara wondered. "Do you remember the story she told us last summer of her playing a game at a summer camp? Yeah, she was playing capture the flag and ran right into a post, breaking her collarbone! It was like Queen Eira smote her down herself for being so reckless."

  There was more laughter, and Demi couldn’t help but notice the quick smile that flashed on Reece's face.

  "Lara! Who said you could tell all my secrets to the new guy? Now he's going to think I'm incapable of walking on my own," Casey flirted. She didn’t look at the least bit embarrassed. Was she not intimidated by him like Demi was?

  "You have worse stories," the last girl, her name must be Polly, said. "As your roommate last year, I should know."

  "Hush now, Polly," Casey ordered sweetly.

  Demi looked at her phone for the first time and noticed that it was nearly ten o'clock. She still had a lot to do, plus, she was dying to find out what happened in the next episode of the Kdrama she’d been watching.

  "I think I'm going to head out," she told them politely, laying fifteen dollars on the table for her part of the bill.

  "What? No! We've barely learned anything about you!" Casey objected.

  Demi took a deep breath to rein in her annoyance.

  "Besides," she continued, "I drove us here,” she gloated. "You're at the mercy of my timetable tonight."

  Demi pierced her lips.

  "Let me give you a ride," she heard Reece say from across the table.

  She looked up at him. "No thanks; I'm happy to walk. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you." She got up and gathered her things.

  Reece also stood up.

  "Wait, Reece, we still need to get to know you better too!" John objected.

  Reece didn’t say anything, just made his way around the table and his movements reminded Demi of a panther on the prowl. If that were the case, that would make Demi the prey.

  She swallowed hard and her heart raced in discomfort.

  "Reece?" John tried again.

  "No one tells me no," he growled at Demi and his words hit her like a brick.

  She shrunk, but then anger surged in her veins, hot and cold at the same time. "Please don't mistake me as an incapable woman, Reece. I said I wanted to walk. I'll walk."

  His jaw clenched. "Fine," he gritted out between his teeth. "I'll be escorting you back."

  "Why? Your car is here," she pointed out.

  "This is an unfamiliar place for you, and I'd hate for you to come upon some unsavory people," he reasoned.

  "Isn't this a new place for you too?" She argued.

  "It is, but you're a lady," he returned.

  She didn’t like the idea of being alone with him, but he wasn’t giving her much choice and she didn’t want to stay there. The thought of staying made her feel more exhausted than she already was. In fact, the thought of staying freaked her out more than the thought of being alone with Reece. "Alright, fine," she gave in.

  4

  Orientation took way too long and by the end of it, all she left with was a binder full of common-sense rules, the schedule, and a migraine. The program seems easy enough, though, and for that she is grateful. One less thing to stress about. Starting tomorrow at eight, she'll meet with her students one-on-one, have lunch at noon, and then end at five. Letchen Combat training won’t start until eight in the evening, which will give her time to unwind before she needs to be at the gym. Lessons are on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights.

  Thankfully, she had that night off.

  She didn’t go back to her dorm. Instead, she passed her binder off to Casey to take back for her, and then she caught a bus bound for the grocery store. She grabbed some essentials like bread and milk, and then headed back. Casey said that the kitchen was stocked, but when Demi got up that morning for breakfast, she found out that that was in fact not the case.

  As she put everything away, her skull felt like it was expanding, pushing her skull to its limit. Grimacing every time she had to bend down to pull a box from a bag, the sensation got worse. A piercing pain stabbed her when she opened the fridge, the light shinning in her eyes. When she was about done, Casey came in searching for a snack. She looked around amazed and turned to Demi with a huge smile. "Did you organize?" she asked while shoving a cookie in her mouth.

  Demi shrugged. "I thought it would be easier to find the Oreos."

  "Thanks!" She paused to study Demi. "So, I'm on my way out to the salon to get my hair recolored. Want to come with? You could get a haircut too or get your nails done or something."

  Demi thought about her dwindling budget but decided she could at least afford a trim. Then a foreign thought struck her: she looked like a temple maiden, and if she wanted to hide her heritage, then she needed to do the one thing that was forbidden. She followed Casey out to the parking lot while searching on her phone for short hairstyles, knowing that she was contemplating something huge.

  "How can you do that?" Casey asked as she opened the door to her teal, boxy Jeep.

  "Do what?"

  They both climbed in and when the click of seatbelts was heard, Casey clarified, "Look at your phone and walk at the same time."

  Oh. "It's no different than reading and walking at the same time," she told her while trying to rub the migraine away through her temples.

  Casey chuckled "Right. Completely comparable."

  They got onto the road and it wasn’t long until Casey had to fill the silence. "So, what happened between you and Reece last night?" Demi could tell she was dying to know by the way she tilts her head.

  Demi's memory flashed to the previous night and how Reece insisted on walking her back to her dorm. Now that she had time to think about it, was it a good idea to tell him where she lived? He was grumpy the whole time and he wouldn't let her walk on the outside of the sidewalk. He wouldn't even let her lead them.

  "You don't want anyone knowing you hail from a temple," he said while looking down at her, his face unreadable, but his eyes questioning and intense.

  "I have my reasons. I trust you'll honor my decision," she returned icily.