Freak

CHAPTER 1

Paris, France

It was late. The school lay blanketed in darkness and shadows, except for one corner of the office block that remained brightly lit, its arching windows spilling yellow stains across the paved courtyard outside.

‘Madam d’Corsay will see you now,’ the Private Secretary to the Principal announced solemnly to the group of four teenagers who sat clustered in the waiting room. She swept the door wide and ushered in the motley group, closing the door with a soft click behind them.

The office they entered was opulent and vast, from its deep-pile burgundy carpets to the gold-filigree detail on the curtain rods. It was unlike any other Principal’s office, but then this wasn’t an ordinary school. The esteemed, and exceedingly secret, Myrddin Academy was where generations of Sorcerers had learnt their trade.

Evangeline d’Corsay, tall and thin, stood at the window behind her immense desk, her back to the room. She addressed the teenagers without turning, her voice calm, despite the fury coursing through her rigidly controlled frame.

‘Three police officers were found strung to the Arc de Triomphe singing Three Little Pigs.’ She spun elegantly on her heels and slammed her hands down on the table. ‘Which one of you turned them into pigs?’

Zachary Carmichael inclined his head, strands of chocolate brown hair falling artfully across his forehead. ‘That would be me.’

Evangeline was unsurprised. Zack was the ringleader, always had been. Peter, Dorian and Zack’s girlfriend, Helena, merely followed in his reckless, self-destructive wake, helpless to shake off the mysterious, troubled enigma that made him so compelling. ‘Would you care to explain why?’

‘I felt like celebrating my birthday a little differently this year,’ Zack responded with a careless shrug. ‘The officers got in the way of our activities.’

According to the reports Evangeline had received, those activities had involved car surfing, fencing with flaming swords at the base of the Eiffel Tower and an impressive display of football on the River Seine – the latter only undertaken by Zack and Dorian, as the other two had yet to master levitating. The general population, no doubt believing them to be the latest masters of illusion, had lapped it up.

She eyeballed each of the teenagers in turn. ‘What is our number one rule?’

‘Never reveal ourselves to the outside world,’ Peter muttered, a guilty flush staining his pale cheeks.

‘Do any of you comprehend the gravity of what you’ve done?’ Evangeline asked coolly. ‘The entire domestic arm of the Agency has spent the better part of the night altering the memories of everyone who witnessed your antics and erasing footage from several hundred phones. Your celebrations would have gone viral on YouTube and put us all in danger. Do you understand that?’

Peter, Dorian and Helena squirmed uncomfortably, but Zack didn’t so much as blink.

‘We’re sorry,’ Helena whispered, her eyes downcast. ‘We didn’t mean any harm.’

‘The three of you will be confined to the Academy for the next month – no excursions into the city. You will also be required to submit a 1500 word essay discussing five examples of Sorcerers who flouted our number one rule and the resulting catastrophic consequences. Any objections?’

‘No,’ Dorian confirmed hastily on behalf of them all.

Evangeline nodded regally. ‘You three may go.’

Rising quickly, they shuffled out of the room, Helena pausing only to trail her hand over Zack’s shoulder in sympathy. He didn’t acknowledge either her or the gesture.

Sinking gracefully into her chair, Evangeline looked steadily at the young man still seated in front of her. He lounged in the chair, not quite slouching because that would be too obvious, but his posture nonetheless indicated a subtle disdain. His face was difficult to read – it had been from the first day he’d arrived at the Academy four years ago. Zack only ever revealed what he wanted to be seen. Would what she was about to tell him put a crack in his façade of indifference?

‘Now that you’re eighteen, your time at the Academy has come to an end,’ she began, stating what he already knew. ‘I believe you have won a highly sought after internship with the Agency.’

Zack nodded.

‘I wasn’t surprised,’ Evangeline acknowledged. ‘Your talent and aptitude for the magical arts is beyond that of most your age. In fact, you are perhaps one of the best we have ever seen walk these halls.’

Evangeline was watching him intently; otherwise she might have missed the slight tightening around his mouth. He wasn’t as relaxed as he would have her believe.

‘Unfortunately, that may not be enough to save you,’ she continued. ‘In light of your actions last night, it has been decided you are not yet ready for the responsibilities of the Agency.’

Zack stiffened, his hands tightening around the arms of the chair. ‘You don’t have the authority to make that decision.’

Evangeline inclined her head. ‘You’re right, of course. The decision was not mine, but the Agency’s. Your arrogance and blatant disregard for the very rules the Agency stands for has called into question your suitability for a role there.’

She watched as he willed his body to relax, reluctantly admiring his ability to control himself to such an extent. ‘That is to be my punishment then,’ he said quietly, almost to himself.

‘Not quite.’ Evangeline straightened in her chair. ‘You’re young and so a certain level of leniency has been applied. Your place will be held for a year and in that time you are to conduct yourself in a manner befitting a member of our race. If you can prove your commitment to the Agency’s ideals, you may still take up your internship.’

Not by so much as a muscle did Zack portray his relief; it was only a brief flicker of his eyes that gave him away – the rare vulnerability gone so fast a causal observer would have missed it.

‘There’s more.’ Evangeline steepled her fingers in front of her. ‘Your influence over many of the younger members at the Academy is too great for you to remain here. You are to return to England.’

Zack’s jaw clenched. ‘There is nothing left for me in London!’

‘You’ll be going to your uncle in the Cotswolds. He’ll be overseeing your year of growth.’

‘The Cotswolds! You cannot be serious!’ he scoffed.

‘Oh but I am,’ Evangeline intoned softly.

He slumped back in his chair with a snort of humourless laughter. ‘You may as well shoot me now, because I’ll surely die of boredom in the country.’

‘Don’t be so dramatic, Zachary.’ Evangeline hid her amusement with difficulty. ‘You’ll have plenty of time to cultivate an appropriate conduct and attitude for the role you’ll hopefully be undertaking. I shall look forward to seeing the new improved you a year from now.’

Zack rose gracefully to his feet, his expression once again smoothly indifferent. ‘I take it I’m to leave immediately.’

Evangeline nodded.

Turning, he strode unhurriedly across the room. His hand had settled on the doorknob before he paused and spoke without looking back. ‘Don’t be too hard on them. I’m a difficult person to say no to when I want something.’

He walked through the door and closed it gently behind him.

‘So you do care,’ Evangeline murmured in satisfaction. Perhaps he would turn out all right after all.

CHAPTER 2

Willsborough, The Cotswolds, England

Only the most dedicated farmers were out of bed when Cataleen McFarlane’s slight frame burst through the tree line, her quad muscles screaming for relief. Ignoring the pain, she kept pumping hard, darting nimbly around cow dung and scattered stones in the hilly pasture

‘Keep pushing,’ she murmured to herself between panting breaths. Her long, reddish-gold ponytail swished from side to side between her shoulder blades, in rhythm with her long stride.

She approached a stile, but rather than break her momentum she sprang onto the lower step, planted one hand on the top post and vaulted over. From her hilltop vantage, the historic village of Willsborough, with its old stone church and narrow, winding lanes, looked tiny and insignificant. It was why she deliberately ran this route; to remind herself of how vulnerable such a beautiful place could be.

Running wasn’t something she particularly enjoyed, but she did it anyway – for discipline, for control. Because without it, Cat didn’t know who she was or what she was capable of.

Unwelcome snippets from the past flashed across her eyes.

…the auditorium windows bursting inwards, showering tiny shards of glass on the students below.

…the terror in her friends’ eyes.

…the confusion and horror she’d felt when she’d looked around at the evidence of her destructive anger.

Shaking her head to clear the memories, she sprinted along the ridge, pushing her body harder than ever before. Most of the kids at school had forgotten why they called her freak… but she hadn’t.

The school day began much the same as always. Heading down the corridor towards her locker, Cat listened with amusement to her best (and only) friend, Rachel, chat animatedly about the latest science-fiction television series she was obsessed with.

Rachel was a geek; there was no denying it. Mousy hair, a thin, angular face and her skinny awkwardness, combined with being one of the school brainiacs, had ensured Rachel stayed at the bottom of the teenage social ladder. Which was a shame, because she was the most loyal, sweet friend a person could hope for.

‘Then there was this really cool bit where…’ Rachel’s voice trailed off and she ground to a stop in the middle of the corridor, her jaw falling open in shock. ‘Oh wow, who is… oof…’

A big meathead of a guy, uncaring of his surroundings, slammed into Rachel’s shoulder. Stumbling forward, she lost her balance and crashed to the floor before Cat had a chance to react. Crouching down beside her, Cat retrieved Rachel’s bag with one hand and helped pull her to her feet with the other. ‘You okay, Rach?’

Her cheeks bright red, Rachel ducked her head to dust off her skirt. ‘Yeah. I guess I got distracted by the new guy.’

Turning to see why that was worthy of a jaw drop, Cat’s eyes collided for just a second with a pair of spectacular golden topaz eyes framed by impossibly long lashes and then the new guy looked away – which gave Cat the opportunity to study the rest of him. Tall and lean with broad shoulders, thick dark brown hair and strong, stunning features, his stance was confident, without the usual slump teenage boys seemed to unconsciously adopt. He was gorgeous, but his expression was distant and he seemed faintly bored.

‘Let’s go,’ she murmured to Rachel, who was once again staring at the boy.

Dragging her friend away, Cat didn’t think about the new guy again until her second to last class of the day and, since she was almost universally ostracized, she didn’t hear any of the rumours swirling about him either.

Sliding into her usual seat in the History classroom, right behind Rachel’s, she hadn’t even had a chance to put her bag on the floor before Rachel was spinning around in her seat with an exasperated look. ‘I don’t know why you insist on sitting alone in the back.’

Cat shrugged and gestured at the space around her. ‘You know I like having the empty seat next to me; it allows me to spread.’

That was only part of the reason. Since Rachel refused to keep her distance at school, it was a small way Cat could protect her from the stigma of being associated with her. It was a futile attempt, but one Cat stuck doggedly to.

‘Yeah, but it would be so much easier to talk if we were sitting beside each other,’ Rachel huffed.

‘Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about today?’ Cat smiled mischievously. As if she didn’t know.

Rachel rolled her eyes. ‘Isn’t he gorgeous?’

‘Moderately so, I guess,’ she teased.

Rachel ignored her, continuing excitedly, ‘His name’s Zack and apparently he’s transferred from some exclusive school in Paris – he’s a bit vague with the details. He’s so mysterious!’

‘Or maybe he’s been in Juvenile Detention and doesn’t want anyone to know. Had you thought about that?’

Before Rachel could respond, Zack entered the room and she was rendered speechless once again.

Pausing just inside the doorway, he scanned the room for an empty seat. His gaze moved over the students and stopped on Cat. For a moment their eyes locked and something flickered in his golden eyes before he blinked hard and slid fluidly into an empty seat at the front of the class.

Cat frowned. One look and her stomach had gone all fluttery, in a way she’d never felt before. It perturbed her.

Notoriously late, Mr Strater finally stumbled into the room, loose papers falling in his wake. Calling the class to attention, he immediately launched into a lecture on hygiene in the Elizabethan Age. Cat didn’t hear a word. Boys didn’t interest her, or at least not enough to risk losing her carefully won control. She’d never been distracted by a pretty face before – not even by Marcus Ward who, until Zack arrived today, was the undisputed hottest guy in school… or so Rachel told her.

By the time the lesson was over she’d gathered herself together enough to act normally in front of Rachel, who still wanted to talk about Zack.

‘I can’t believe he’s in one of our classes,’ she whispered ecstatically. ‘And he’s so studious. His hand was flying across the page for the entire hour!’

‘I take it that means you spent the entire hour looking at him?’ Not that she could throw stones!

‘Me and all the rest of the girls!’ Rachel glanced at her slyly. ‘He seemed to single you out for attention when he walked in, you lucky thing.’

‘That was the empty seat beside me he was looking at,’ Cat hurriedly put in. ‘Not my very unglamorous self.’

Rachel snorted. ‘Oh please, don’t give me that. You’re one of the best looking girls in the whole school and if you didn’t hang around with a geek like me, you’d be living it up with the in-crowd.’

Cat shuddered. ‘Don’t even suggest it! I much prefer flying under the radar and I wouldn’t trade you in for the world, geek or not. Besides, you might be the geek, but I’m the freak, which is much worse.’

Not bothering to contradict her, Rachel changed the subject. ‘Do you want to meet for coffee after school?’

‘Can’t, sorry. I’ve got a stack of research to do for my English paper.’ Her nose wrinkled. ‘When will they learn that dissecting a book takes all the fun out of reading it?’

‘It’s their favourite kind of torture.’

As Rachel wandered off towards her next class, Cat headed towards the computer labs to get on with the schoolwork she actually enjoyed – graphic design.

CHAPTER 3

Tucked away in the far corner of the library, Cat sat in front of her laptop, copious notes spread across the table. One of the advantages of being the school pariah was people tended to avoid her, which meant she always had plenty of space around her.

So her head jerked up in shock when someone slid sideways into the seat beside her, resting one arm across the back. Her eyes clashed with golden topaz and widened in wary surprise. ‘Uh, what are you doing?’

Zack indicated the work-strewn desk. ‘You were so intensely focused, I had to find out what was so riveting.’ He studied the complex artwork on the screen. ‘That doesn’t look like schoolwork.

Cat shrugged. ‘It’s not. I take on freelance graphic design projects to help with my cash flow.’

He tilted his head to the side in a move calculated to disarm. ‘That’s very entrepreneurial of you. I’m Zack, by the way.’

‘I know who you are.’ She returned to her notes, hoping he’d get the hint.

‘And you are…?’ he drawled, surprised amusement dancing in his eyes.

With a resigned sigh, Cat turned to face him. ‘Look, you’re new here, so I’ll give you a heads up. You don’t want to be seen talking to me.’

‘Is that so? Feel like telling me why?’

‘Not particularly.’ Her tone was deliberately discouraging but it had little effect on Zack.

He grinned, his interest piqued. ‘I’d still like to know your name.’

Cat rolled her eyes. ‘It’s Cataleen, but I prefer Cat… it’s less cumbersome.’

‘Cat.’ He drew the word out, testing it, his eyes studying her the whole time until finally he shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, but you just don’t look like a cat – you’re too small. A kitten though… that I can definitely see.’

‘Come again?’

‘I’m going to call you Kitten,’ Zack declared, his mouth quirking into a half smile.

He was baiting her and yet Cat couldn’t stop herself from responding, even though she knew that was exactly what he wanted. ‘You can’t just make up a name for me!’

‘Of course I can, that’s how nicknames come about.’

‘Well you can’t go around school calling me Kitten,’ she quickly pointed out.

‘It’s hardly going to be a problem if I’m not allowed to talk to you, is it?’ he responded with a cheeky grin.

It did funny things to her stomach again, so she wrenched her eyes away from his and reminded herself he was simply playing with her.

‘True,’ she said dismissively and turned back to her notes. He didn’t move and reluctantly she returned her gaze to him. ‘Do you usually strike up conversation with random strangers?’

He shook his head. ‘There was no one sitting next to you in History today and when I walked into the library you were alone. It made me curious.’

‘I see.’ She gestured at the pile of notes. ‘As you can see there isn’t anything of interest to find here.’

Zack rose slowly to his feet, a speculative look on his face. ‘I doubt that very much,’ he said quietly and walked away.

Cat watched him until he disappeared from sight. He liked to disrupt, she decided. Create a stir and then amble, oh so casually, away from the debris. He was going to be trouble.

Zack flung himself down on the couch and moodily flicked through the TV channels, looking for something interesting.

He was bored, just as he’d known he would be. He should have been going through his Agency training now, learning how to go undercover and subtly influence world events without ordinary humans being aware of it.

But he’d had to go and screw it up… because, just as now, he’d been bored and in the mood to shake things up.

Settling on a music station, he tossed the remote aside. The truth was, he’d been bored most of his life. Everything came easily to him – people flocked to him, he’d aced every class at the Academy without even trying and won the perfect job with a few carefully selected phrases he knew would guarantee his success. Didn’t anything require effort? Even the perfect girlfriend had come his way without him trying.

Not that Helena was really perfect. Actually scrap that – she kind of was, just not for him. Only he couldn’t figure out why. She was gorgeous, sweet, reasonably intelligent and willing to do anything he asked. They had loads of things in common and yet… he was still bored when he was with her.

His phone pinged with an incoming message and he glanced at the screen. And she was also freaking needy! He ignored her message – he’d call her later, once he figured out how to avoid fessing up he was back in school.

How he’d managed to let himself get talked into that, he still didn’t know. It hadn’t been the plan… well, his plan at least. Nathan, his uncle, had suggested it as a way of getting to know some of the kids in the area who were around his own age. Apparently it was all part of his ten point blueprint to help Zack adjust his attitude. Easier said than done.

Still, he could have refused. But he hadn’t. Because ever since he’d been shipped off to the Academy he’d envied the outside world, the world he was part of and yet separate from. For so many years, he’d ached to have the kinds of choices teenagers in the real world got to have. And he’d desperately wanted the freedom they had.

Now that he had it, what the hell was he supposed to do with it?

Dropping her school bag on the hall table with a sigh of relief, Cat followed the enticing aroma of roast chicken into the kitchen. Her favourite. Vivien was busy at the bench, quietly humming away to the golden oldies pouring forth from the radio.

‘Hi Gran.’ She dropped a quick peck on Vivien’s cheek, before swiping a carrot from the chopping board. ‘How far off is dinner?’

Vivien smiled and continued chopping the vegetables. ‘Hello, dear. Only about twenty minutes.’

‘Fantastic; I’m starving.’ Cat wandered over to the breakfast bar and settled on one of the stools. ‘I was thinking maybe we should get a kitten or a puppy for you, Gran. In a few months I’ll be heading off to university and you should have some company in the house.’

Laughing, Vivien shot Cat an incredulous look. ‘Are you worried about me?’

‘Yeah, I guess I am.’ She pushed a stray breadcrumb in circles on the bench top. Round and round it went, each circle slightly bigger than the one before. ‘I don’t want you to be lonely when I’m gone, that’s all.’

Putting down the knife, Vivien came over and wrapped an arm around Cat’s shoulders, kissing her lightly on the head. ‘You are the light of my life, my darling granddaughter, but you don’t need to worry about me. I’ve already thought about what I’ll do when you go away to university; I’m going to move into a retirement village with Madeline. We’ve talked about it and she thinks it’s a wonderful idea.’

Her eyes wide with shock, Cat’s head snapped up. ‘But Gran, you’re not that old! Retirement villages are where people go to die!’

Vivien ruffled Cat’s hair. ‘Not anymore they’re not. There’re lots of people my age who live there because it offers them a social network and a variety of activities, like bowls, macramé, bingo and even fortnightly dances. You never know, I might find myself a little romance!’

Cat shuddered. ‘Geriatric love! Please, Gran. That’s not an image I want in my head.’

Smiling indulgently, Vivien returned to chopping the vegetables. ‘There’s a brochure beside my bed if you want to have a look at this place. I think you’ll approve once you see it. And I’ll get a two bedroom unit so you can come and stay when you’re back from university.’

‘With all the other oldies? Sounds like a blast!’ Cat muttered.

Vivien scraped the vegetables off the board into a boiling pot of water. ‘How was school today?’

‘A new boy started. He sounds English, but he’s been living in Paris for a while. How cool would that be?’ Cat propped her elbow on the bench and rested her chin in her hand. ‘He’s so hot all the girls are in a frenzy.’

‘Including you?’ Vivien teased.

‘No, not really. Objectively I can completely appreciate his aesthetic appeal, but I’m not looking for a boyfriend. I’ve got too much other stuff to concentrate on.’

Vivien cleared her throat. ‘And yet you’ve never mentioned a single boy to me before. Why now?’

Cat shrugged. ‘I’m just stating the facts, Gran, not staking a claim. We haven’t had this much excitement at school in a long time – even Rach is in a flap.’

‘Really?’ Vivien exclaimed in genuine surprise. ‘He must be quite special.’

‘Oh, I’m sure he’s got plenty of faults hidden underneath that fabulous exterior.’

CHAPTER 4

Rachel was waiting at Cat’s locker the next morning, yawning widely.

‘Please tell me you didn’t stay up until the small hours watching Star Trek reruns?’ Cat teased.

Propping one shoulder wearily on the locker beside Cat’s, Rachel shook her head. ‘I wish! I just didn’t sleep well. I tossed and turned all night, which is a waste of tossing when I didn’t even have a problem to worry over.’ She yawned again. ‘Did you get all your study done last night?’

Emptying her bag into her locker, Cat refilled it with the books she’d need for her first few classes. ‘Yeah, I did. And in the interest of full disclosure, I also met Zack.’

‘Are you serious?’ Rachel squealed, her eyes widening so far they almost engulfed her small face. She straightened, her fatigue forgotten. ‘Why didn’t you call me last night?’

‘I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. He’s just another guy, Rach.’

‘Just another guy? You are so clueless! Tell me everything. I want a blow by blow,’ Rachel begged, latching onto Cat’s arm.

Cat smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. ‘It’s really not that exciting. He sat next to me in the library, so I warned him it’s better if he’s not seen with me. It was a pretty short conversation – I think he was just avoiding doing homework.’

‘So inside that gorgeous head he’s a bit dim witted then?’ Rachel looked crestfallen. ‘All brawn and no brain?’

Cat patted her hand soothingly. ‘He didn’t come across as stupid – just indifferent.’

‘And that’s it? You told him to get lost and he went?’

She frowned, annoyance colouring her voice at Zack’s highhandedness. ‘Not until he’d given me a ridiculous nickname. But, yeah, then he went.’

‘A nickname already? Gee, he moves fast!’ Rachel was clearly impressed, which only further annoyed Cat.

‘Shhh,’ she hissed, picking up on the heightened buzz of activity around the lockers. ‘He’s coming this way.’

Rachel’s head shot up and her mouth dropped open as she watched Zack stride down the hallway, one hand shoved in the pocket of his pants, the other carrying his books, and, of course, a dozen or so giggling girls following in his wake. As he drew level with Cat he nodded briefly in acknowledgement before continuing down the hall.

Slumping back against the lockers, Rachel expelled an appreciative sigh. ‘Wow. He is divine!’

‘I guess.’ Cat tried to sound uninterested, but it was difficult.