Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 10

I jerk awake to an alarm clock going off the next morning and I sit up to throw back the covers and rush to get dressed while Tessa silences the alarm. After pulling on a fresh uniform and tucking my schedule into my skirt pocket, I step over to Tessa's jewelry box to retrieve the necklace my mother had given me, only to stop once I've opened the lid.

It was gone.

Surely I must have tucked it under something, I think to myself as I paw through the contents of her jewelry box.

"Everything okay?" Tessa suddenly mumbles from behind me.

I glance over to see that she's jumped down from her bunk as she sleepily rubs at her eyes, though her hair is still frizzed out around her head.

"I can't find my necklace," I say.

"What?" she abruptly drops her hands away from her face as she fixes me with a stare.

"My necklace," I repeat as my stomach twists at the loss of the trinket.

"I know a finding spell, give me a minute," Tessa says as she steps past me and puts a hand to her temple.

She reaches out her other hand and hovers it over the jewelry box as she closes her eyes. After several moments, she shakes her head in disappointment.

"I'm not sensing anything, whoever took it may have warded it so it can't be found," Tessa murmurs as she drops her hand, "sorry, I can't get through it, I don't know how."

"It's okay, it's not your fault that it was stolen," I mutter as I rub a palm across my forehead. "I'm going to head for the dining hall."

"Can you get me scrambled eggs? The best food is served early," Tessa sighs as she pouts her lip and her eyes take on a dreamy look.

"Of course."

"Great! I'll meet you down there," she says as she spins on her heel and heads for the attached bathroom.

I reach up and touch the place where the necklace would be before I pull on my dress heels and head for the door. Astrid is still curled up under the covers of her black quilt, which has a lime-green sigil printed on it. She doesn't stir as I walk past and open the door.

I step back in surprise when I see that Indigo is standing on the other side, her hand raised and curled into a fist like she had the intent of knocking on the door.

"Where's your necklace?" Indigo asks immediately, her eyes focusing on the spot where it would be.

"Uh, I forgot to put it on," I mumble.

I hadn't told her about my room being raided at dinner last night and I have no idea how I can break it to her that the necklace has been stolen. I also hadn't told her that I may be an Unfamiliar, the pure unbelievable fact making me hesitant as I had been reluctant to say anything.

There's just no way, maybe I did it wrong, I tell myself.

"Well, go put it on," she says, her voice slightly sharper than before.

"Okay, sorry," I mutter as I step back into the room and let the door fall shut behind me.

Tessa glances up at me from where she's exiting the bathroom that is connected to the room, "I thought that you were going to the dining hall?"

"I need your help," I say in a low voice as I dart a look at the closed door to our room, "Indigo is asking where my necklace is and she's probably going to freak if I tell her that it's stolen."

"I see," Tessa says, "I know an illusion spell that might help until we can maybe find it, just...hold still, and don't breathe."

She quickly retrieves her wand from where she's tucked it into her hair as she twirls it a couple of times before she flicks her wrist. There's a soft, electrical snap and I glance down to see that there's now an exact copy of my necklace hanging around my neck. I reach down to touch it, only to have my fingers phase right through it.

"Yeah, just don't let her try to touch it, it's only an illusion," she warns.

"Thank you."

"No problem, now hurry up or the good food will be gone," she reminds me as she pushes me toward the door.

I relent and step back into the hall where Indigo is waiting for me. She glances at the necklace once, satisfied that it's there before she turns and starts walking away from me at a brisk pace.

She doesn't say a word until we're walking down the main sidewalk side-by-side.

"I'm sorry for being short with you, I'm just...I'm just anxious," Indigo says as we approach the dining hall at a more leisurely pace, "how does your schedule look?"

I pull out my schedule from my skirt pocket and unfold it, "I have Mr. Adams for Advanced Algebra for my first class, History of the Mortal and Magical World with Mrs. Wong, and Conjuration Basics with Mrs. Litt and then lunch-."

"Mrs. Litt is nice," Indigo says as she seems to relax and revert to her normal, laidback self.

"I just hope that I can make mom and dad proud," I murmur and look down at the sidewalk to follow her.

"Kara, they already are proud of you, and they're going to be proud of you no matter what your familiar is," she assures me.

The words catch in my throat as the urge to not tell her about my Unfamiliarness rises unbidden.

"What did you get anyways?" she asks and turns her head to look at me as she pushes open the door to the dining hall.

A bird suddenly flies past, one that looks to be a cockatoo and makes a shrill cawing noise as it flies past. I take advantage of the distraction and dart into the hall to get away from Indigo and her question as I leave her behind.

The hall is somewhat busy as I enter, now that I don't have the Draconic tournament going on I take in a bit more of the details of the hall this morning. The walls are made up of white marble and there are carved pillars that frame the narrow, tall windows that rib the sides of the hall. It almost feels like a church cathedral, what with its tall, arched ceilings that have murals of animals of all species painted across the ceiling in bright colors.

The floor is white marble too, which amplifies every tiny noise and whisper within the hall as I walk. There are white octagon tables that would usually be found in a cafeteria scattered throughout the hall and each table has eight, blue plastic chairs sat at them.

Indigo quickly chooses a table toward one corner while I head for the lunch-line on the far side of the hall. I can hear a few giggles as I pass by one of the tables and I glance up to see that Ava's minions are sitting at it, their heads bent close together as they whisper to each other.

I roll my eyes as I turn away from them, only to slip as the floor underneath me is slippery. My feet are swept out from beneath me and I fall backwards hard into a puddle of water that has suddenly appeared. My tailbone smarts painfully as it hits the tiles and my eyes clamp shut at the pain before I open them.

Ava is standing a few feet in front of me, her face twisted up with contempt as she gazes down at me with the same look a cat would give a trapped mouse.

"Watch it, Zen," she spits and strolls past me as a few laughs rise up from the tables around me.

I want to reach out then for control of her familiar, the sensation burning inside of me for revenge. A hand suddenly lays itself on my shoulder and I startle and glance up at its owner. It's Indigo and her cheeks are flushed red with anger as she glares after Ava.

"Ignore her," she mutters.

But in my heart, I know that I can't ignore her for long.

I would get my revenge soon.