Zodiac Academy 4: Shadow Princess

Attention Students!

Tonight is the official celebration of Halloween.

The sun is currently travelling the path of the Via Combusta – The Burning Way – between the fifteenth degree of Libra and the fifteenth degree of Scorpio. On Halloween night, the malefic stars will be triggered by the peak of the sun’s path, bringing on chaos and bad luck. It will also corrupt those on the verge of darkness.

Here are some pointers to get you through the event…

1. The faculty and I strongly encourage you to resolve any feuds you are currently in the middle of and make amends with your enemies. We don’t want any more bloodshed on our hands than is absolutely necessary. Please remember that if you’re bleeding on school grounds it may be better to take an external route to get help rather than passing through buildings to minimise the clean up required afterwards.

2. Those of Orders with predatory inclinations such as Werewolves, Dragons, Nemean Lions and Manticores are advised to refrain from shifting during these hours as those urges will be keener. Eating a fellow student will earn you a sentence in Darkmore Penitentiary and the FIB won’t take Halloween as an excuse.

3. Vampires are encouraged to feed and fill their reserves before the moon rises and the malefic stars come in to play. The Uranus Infirmary will not be stocking any extra supplies of blood for infusions.

4. Stay indoors and away from those who have caused you strife in the past to avoid any resurgence of emotions which may result in an altercation.

5. If students are truly fearful of their dark nature overriding their actions during this time, please speak to Professor Orion who can provide magic-restricting chains to tether yourself in your room until the night is over.

We must all be Fae enough to face this annual astrological event. If not, perhaps you should consider whether your place at Zodiac Academy is deserved.

Yours,

Principal Nova.

I re-read the announcement Principal Nova had sent around the school for the third time and snorted a laugh as I tossed my Atlas back down on my bed. This school was insane. It clearly stated in that message that Halloween was going to make the students violent and dangerous and yet there was no mention of us avoiding the party or of extra staff on call to look after us. Nope. It was down to us to own our inner monsters and keep them on a tight leash or face the consequences. And after the insanity that had come to pass under the influence of the moon during the Lunar Eclipse, I wouldn’t be taking one of these warnings lightly again.

It would probably be safest for us to just stay in tonight, avoid people who had caused us strife in the past…like all the Heirs and all their followers for example. But screw that. Because tonight’s party sounded epic on a whole other scale. And my costume was a stroke of pure, unadulterated genius. I just hoped Caleb could take a joke because if he couldn’t then I wasn’t going to be getting lucky tonight. But that was a risk I was willing to take. Because Sofia was even going to provide the glitter for me. And I couldn’t wait for her to arrive.

I picked up my Atlas again, about to message her to see where she was just as another message flashed up on it. My heart did that annoying half back flip, half wither and die thing it liked to do whenever I saw Darius just as his name flashed on the screen.

Darius:

All Ignis House students are reminded that tonight is the Halloween party in the Earth Caverns. You know the rules by now for an event like this – show up or ship out!

Our whole House will be in attendance and you WILL be in costume.

Any fucker letting the House down will answer to me.

See you on the dance floor!

I bit my lip, remembering the way I’d responded to his last House message and wondering what the hell I’d been thinking to send him that goddamn photo. At least the crazy moon wasn’t at work tonight. My actions would be entirely my own. Although if I was drinking then I had to admit that that probably wasn’t much of an improvement. Drunk Tory did make a lot of very questionable choices. But she also tended to have a fucking awesome time so I wasn’t going to be too hard on her. Shame could wait for tomorrow. Tonight I’d be having the time of my life.

My Atlas pinged again and I looked at the message in surprise.

Darius:

Don’t I get a reply this time?

I frowned, wondering why the hell he might think I’d message him back. I had literally told him to his face on multiple occasions that I hated him, so what the hell was he even thinking?

Darius:

I can see you’ve read that…

Darius:

And that…

Tory:

Stop hassling me, stalker.

Darius:

What, no photos in your underwear tonight?

Tory:

I’m pretty sure it’s your turn to send me something.

Also, fuck off.

I locked my Atlas and tossed it back onto my bed just as a knock sounded at the door.

Darcy threw it open without waiting for me to answer it and I grinned as Sofia and Geraldine followed her in. It was a bit of a squish, but we were determined to all get ready together before heading to the party.

“Holy huckleberry, I’m as excited as a banana with its peel off!” Geraldine gushed as she started heaping pots of face paint and makeup onto my desk while Darcy moved to hang their costumes from the edge of the doorframe which led into my en-suite.

Geraldine had dyed her hair turquoise to match her outfit and it actually looked damn good on her.

“I’ve started a trend with my weird hair colours,” Darcy joked, eyeing my rainbow streaked locks with a grin.

“I don’t think I can pull this off long term,” I replied, running my fingers through my hair and watching as pastel pink, purple, yellow, green and blue layers passed before my eyes. “This will wash out with the counter-dye, but I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.”

“You look utterly spiffing!” Geraldine complimented with a wide smile.

Sofia had dyed her hair a yellowy orange colour for her Nemean Lion outfit and had already back brushed it and filled it with hair spray so that it stood around her head in a mane.

“We’re all going to look amazing,” Darcy said enthusiastically and I nodded my agreement.

My eyes widened as Sofia lifted a huge pot of honest to god Pegasus glitter out of her bag with a grin and I clapped my hands excitedly.

“Are you sure you wanna do full body?” Sofia asked sceptically. “You’ll be washing glitter out of your ass crack for a month.”

“Worth it,” I announced, tugging my clothes off as I prepared to be painted. “I might end up naked with someone tonight and I don’t wanna have weird blobs of un-glittery skin!”

Darcy snorted a laugh and Geraldine’s eyes widened before she turned away to start applying her own makeup.

“Okay. Well I’ve been practicing the spell to make it stick to your flesh. If I do it right, it’ll just feel like an extra layer of your own skin until you use the counter spell to remove it. It won’t smudge, sweat, peel or rub off before then,” Sofia announced proudly.

“Okay,” I grinned excitedly as she moved forward and began painting the thick layer of pink, silver and purple glitter onto every inch of my skin.

“Galloping galoozas, I still can’t believe you’re going to party like a Pegasus right in Caleb’s face,” Geraldine gushed. “You are too daring for your own good my lady!”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied innocently, batting my eyelashes which flashed as glitter caught in the light at the movement.

“You are sure he isn’t going to flip out on you over this aren’t you?” Darcy asked, looking at me with concern.

“Ermmm…” I looked in the mirror as Sofia’s glitter application skills concealed my torso beneath a layer of sparkles and I shrugged. “I mean, what can he really say? I chose to go as a Pegasus. No one says he has to hook up with me while I’m looking like this. And if he did want to and that did kinda prove that he maybe has a bit of a Pegasus fetish after all, is that really my problem?”

The other girls laughed and I waited patiently as Sofia covered my back, the paintbrush cold along my spine.

My Atlas pinged on the bed and Darcy gasped a moment later.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m getting serious déjà vu,” she groaned. “Because it seriously looks like you’re sexting Darius Acrux again.”

“Pfft,” I replied. “Unless one of you has snapped a pic of me having my ass painted and sent it to him, I don’t think so.”

“This time it’s one of him, not you.”

I looked over my shoulder and glanced at my Atlas in her hand then looked away again just as quickly.

“Oh god, please tell me we’re not about to see a dick pic,” Sofia groaned.

“Of course not,” I replied, looking at Darcy again. “Is it?”

“Oh give me a gander!” Geraldine exclaimed. “I do like an eyeful of man meat from time to time.”

“Fuck, Geraldine,” I gasped.  “Man meat?! Seriously, you can’t call a guy’s junk man meat. Or banana drama for that matter.”

“Well what shall I call it then? His long Sherman?”

“No!” I gasped. “Someone help me out here!”

Sofia was pissing herself with laughter and Darcy looked like she was almost crying.

“Dingle dongle?” Geraldine suggested and I cracked up.

When I could form words again, I took my Atlas from Darcy’s hand and glanced at the screen.

Darius:

One new photo.

“It’s not going to be a dick pic,” I said, my finger hovering over the message.

“It is,” Geraldine countered. “I can feel it in my waters.”

“It’s not,” I insisted. “It’s just a…well I don’t know what exactly, but not a dick pic. Probably. Maybe. Like, sixty three percent.”

He wouldn’t send me a dick pic.

Would he?

I tapped on the message and it opened to a picture of Darius with his shirt off, stacked muscles drawing my focus and making me bite my lip as I tried not to look too much. He was wearing some kind of insane costume which consisted of a cape which seemed to be on fire and had flames painted onto his skin around his tattoos and up the sides of his face. He was such an asshole but he really was pretty. Damn.

“Well I’d lick his lollypoppet,” Geraldine cooed and we all started laughing again.

I locked the screen once more and tossed it down on the bed. He wasn’t getting a reply because I wasn’t messaging him in the first place. And I was going to delete that photo…later.

“You should,” I agreed. “Because I don’t want his lollypoppet or his pocket Rodger or his umgo bongo anywhere near me.”

“Perhaps I should. I could start work on collecting the full set of Heirs as notches on my bedpost,” Geraldine joked.

For half a second I almost snapped at her. Like some small, insane, teeny tiny psycho deep down inside of me wanted to tell her to back the fuck off of Darius even though I knew she was only joking. But in that half a second I thought of him as mine and I didn’t want her or anyone else near him. Which must have meant I really was crazy. 

I cleared my throat, dismissing that insanity as I looked back at the mirror to appreciate my ever more sparkling skin.

Sofia finished painting and placed a hand on my stomach, the tingle of magic dancing along my skin at the contact as she cast the spell to stop the glitter from shifting.

“Done!” Sofia announced proudly and I grinned as I moved to look at my sparkle-tastic body in the mirror by my door.

I didn’t even have nipples anymore. I was just one big, glittery explosion of colour. I brushed my hands over my skin and none of the makeup moved one bit. It didn’t even feel sticky, more like wearing a face pack over every inch of my body.

“Maybe I should just go naked,” I joked. “You can’t see anything anyway.”

“Yes!” Geraldine gushed as the others said. “No!”

I laughed, moving across the room to collect my silver underwear and I pulled it on followed by the white dress. It was strappy and short, leaving as much of my glittery skin on show as possible while still covering up the parts that counted.

Darcy had already gotten changed into the little black dress she was wearing as part of her costume and she tied a floor length red cape around her shoulders next so that she looked like a Vampire from the mortal stories. 

Geraldine had pulled on an emerald green mermaid tail skirt complete with sparkly scales and she matched it with a seashell bra which somehow made her boobs look even bigger than usual. Darcy moved to tie Geraldine’s long, turquoise hair in a fishtail braid over her shoulder, clipping little seashells into it as she went.

I grabbed the curling iron and set to work styling my rainbow hair as Sofia changed into the skin tight Lion jump suit she was going to wear to complete her outfit. She only did the zip up half way, leaving her cleavage on show.

Once I’d finished my hair, I placed the golden Pegasus horn hairband on my head and stepped into my stilettos.

Sofia painted whiskers onto her cheeks and Darcy added a drip of fake blood to the corner of her blood red lips to complete her outfit.

“Well bite my begonia and call me a sea urchin, don’t we all look spiffing?” Geraldine exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.

“Can you take a photo of me in my costume so I can send it to my friend?” Sofia asked, handing me her Atlas.

“What friend?” Darcy asked as I took the photo and handed her Atlas back.

“His name’s Phillip, apparently,” Sofia replied as she typed out a message and sent it off.

“What do you mean apparently?” I asked with a frown.

“Oh. Well he’s recently Emerged as a Pegasus but he comes from a pure blood family of Dragons so he’s kinda stuck in isolation, hiding who he is. He’s pretty lonely…I’m just trying to help him as much as I can but really, he needs to get away from his family and join a herd…” She pouted her lips and shrugged. “There’s not much I can do about it while he refuses to do that, but I can be a friend.”

“That’s…really shit,” I said, my brow pinching as I thought of Xavier Acrux. Was there a chance that there was someone else in the same position as him or could she be talking to him?

“Yeah,” Sofia agreed with a sigh.

“Have you seen a photo of him?” I asked.

“Err, well no. Because he’s hiding who he is, so…”

“That sounds dodgy to me,” Darcy said. “What if he’s really some gross old dude, or-”

“He’s not,” Sofia interrupted. “I got his number from a member of his family who wanted to help him. I know he’s hiding who he really is, but I trust everything else about him. He’s just lonely.”

I nodded in acceptance and decided not to voice my suspicions about Xavier. If it was him and he had chosen to hide his identity from her then I couldn’t blame him. He was terrified of his father. So was I for that matter.

“Shall we move our scabooses?” Geraldine suggested excitedly, shimmying her chest so that her seashells clattered together.

“Hell yes.” I grinned as we turned and headed out of the room.

I left all of my shit where it was, not wanting to carry a bag and Sofia took my door key for me as I locked up, placing it in a pocket of her jumpsuit.

We made our way across the school grounds, more students flooding around us dressed in weird and wild outfits as we all headed for the Earth Caverns where the party was being held.

It was cold out but I used my fire magic to keep myself warm as we walked.

Geraldine called out to any Ass Club member she spotted along the way so that by the time we arrived at the party, we were surrounded by a huge group who all greeted us enthusiastically and tried to get as close to me and Darcy as possible.

We headed down into the underground tunnel which led to the main cavern, the sound of a thumping bass drawing us on and a million twinkling lights lining the cave roof, making the whole place look magical.

Geraldine and Sofia headed off to get some drinks as we arrived, but I cut a line straight to the dance floor with Darcy. We started dancing right away, finding a spot between the writhing bodies of the other students and grinning as we fell straight into the rhythm of the music.

Just as the second song started up, a strong arm hooked around my waist and I squealed in surprise as I was hoisted straight off of my feet and carried across the room at high speed.

Caleb dropped me a little way down one of the side passages and shoved me back against the cave wall, sending a spike of pain down my spine as he snarled at me. He was wearing an outfit that left his chest bare and his hair looked like golden leaves beneath the crown on top of his head.

“What the fuck are you dressed as?” he growled, placing both palms to the wall either side of my head so that I couldn’t escape.

“Ow,” I snapped, raising my chin to look him square in the eyes. “What the hell, asshole?”

“I asked you a question, Tory,” Caleb growled.

“A fucking hippo,” I replied. “Can’t you tell?”

“No. Because it looks to me like you’re some kind of weird fetish version of a Pegasus.”

“Well you’d know,” I mocked and he bared his teeth.

“This shit isn’t funny. That’s my reputation you’re fucking about with.”

“Oh lighten up,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Who gives a shit if you want to screw a Pegasus? It’s just a joke, Caleb. I thought you were supposed to be the funny one?”

“Well maybe this isn’t something I want to laugh about,” he growled.

“Why?” I pushed. “Don’t you like it? I’ve covered every inch of my skin in it…”

Caleb’s gaze dropped down over my outfit and he swallowed thickly.

I could see his resolve weakening and I edged closer to him. “How did that rhyme go again? Are you horny for the horn?”

“No,” Caleb snapped, shoving away from me and backing up to put some distance between us. “Just go back to the party, Tory. I can’t be around you tonight anyway.”

“Why?”

Caleb’s lips parted like he had something to say to me, but eventually he just shook his head and shot away again, leaving me alone in the dark.

I scowled after him and headed back towards the lights of the party. A little piece of me was disappointed that he couldn’t take the joke. But a bigger piece of me didn’t give a shit. If he wanted to go and pout in a corner about his precious reputation then that was on him. I had every intention of having a fantastic night dancing with my friends and I didn’t need any men for that.