Hell in a Day

CHAPTER ONE

     Slumping back into the stiff chair beneath her, Avery Winters cast an eye around the office she spent so much time in during the school day.  Plain white walls and the discolored yellow carpet were bare of any pictures or potted plants.  The only thing in the room that held even a smidge of personality was the enormous, maple wood desk with a shiny silver nameplate proclaiming the office to belong to a J. Neil.

     Principle Neil wasn't a happy man by anyone's standards.  He hated his job and he hated Avery.  Her days usually started and ended with the big man screaming at her for whatever she had done on that particular occasion.  It wasn't very hard to rile him up and Avery took delight in seeing Neil turn a ghastly plum color.  It wasn't even second period yet and already she was waiting for him to waddle in and begin the screaming session.  This time, Avery had filled the Head Girl's locker with pink gelatin, nearly a hundred little cups of it had gone into that locker and had all tumbled out as soon as she opened it.  The janitor was still out in the hall mopping up the mess.  Not only was Bethany now the laughing stock of the school, at least until Avery's next prank, but her pretty blond hair was now stained pink in places thanks to the excess amount of dye that had gone into the mix.  Normally, Avery wouldn't have given anyone a shred of proof that she was the mastermind behind it all-even though everyone already knew-but Bethany Little wasn't nicknamed the Head B***h for nothing.  The little skank had paid someone to spray paint Avery's locker a disgusting shade of Barbie pink.  It was only fair that Avery get a little bit of pink revenge and let the Head Girl know exactly who she had messed with.

     Maybe she shouldn't have left the note mixed in with the Jell-O, but she would have gotten yelled at anyway even if it hadn't been Avery who had pulled the prank.  Hell, Principle Neil still believed Avery had painted her own damn locker pink because of some ridiculous reverse psychology bullshit.  

     The door swinging open cut into Avery's thoughts, revealing a giant of a man she didn't recognize.  He strode in like he owned the place, swung up Neil's nameplate and plunked it into the trashcan before he took a seat at the overly large maple desk that dominated the small white room.  His black hair was graying at his temples and his piercing gray eyes pinned Avery to her seat.  The first thing out of her mouth-"Who the f**k are you?"-had his already thin mouth tightening and white lines appearing along his square jaw as he clenched his teeth.

     "Ms. Winters, I'll not have such disrespect from a child who can't even go five minutes without doing something foul."  He was being overly formal with her, and considering that it was more than obvious this man had read her file, it was a little strange that his expression and tone was as blank as a board-like he was mocking her on some strange level.  He answered her question anyway: "I am your new principle, Harvey."

     Avery raised a perfectly plucked, black eyebrow and let her curiosity leak into her blue-violet eyes.  She may be the school's top prankster, but she was still a girl who liked to look good.  Avery's straight black hair had sky blue highlights and hung perfectly around her heart-shaped face, her makeup was dark and dangerous and her left ear had nearly fifteen multicolored hoops adorning it.  Today, she was wearing her knee high, lace up boots over black skinny jeans and a black leather halter top.  She looked bad a*s and had the attitude to go with it.  "New principle? What, did old Neil finally get sacked?  Its about time too, he was getting complacent as all f**k."

     Swinging her legs up onto the corner of his desk, Avery pulled at the leather fingerless glove she wore on her right hand to make sure her pentagram tattoo was fully hidden.  Witchcraft was an ancient family secret and while the public knew about magic and accepted its existence, witch hunts still occurred just as frequently as when the magic community had come to light.  Harvey looked like a man who didn't take well to anything outside of his realm of normalcy and Avery was reluctant to find out if magic was outside that circle.  

     His eyes locked onto hers, sending a chill down her spine, and slid to her glove.  His eyes lit up like he had hit the jackpot, as if he hadn't been sure of what he had until just that moment.  Something wasn't right about this man, his very presence sent unease crawling over her skin and raising a red flag.  As suddenly as the sense of danger appeared, Avery's need to flee made its presence known.  Her boots slipped off the edge of his desk to land with a heavy thud and she came to her feet.  "If you're just going to say the s**t I already know and can recite, I'mma go."

     She hadn't even taken a step when he rose to his feet in a single motion and covered the floor in ground eating strides.  Avery backed away, towards the door and hoped like hell nothing serious was about to go down.  

     Harvey stopped three feet from her, cornering her against the door.  "Avery Winters, heir to the Winters' Grimoire and Landchester's top troublemaker.  A very interesting mix, considering how uptight your family is.  I would have at least thought that capturing both you and your mother would have been much more difficult, seeing how watered down my bloodlines are.  But even the powerful become, what did you call that fool Neil?  Complacent?  Yes, that's it.  Complacent, so sure that your magic would be able to protect you and yet you don't actively wield your so-called all powerful spells.  Did you know some of the lesser families are beginning to think that your family lost its touch and its Grimoire?  No ancient spells that must be protected at the cost of the Guardian's life."

     Avery paled, no one knew that she was the heir to the Winters' Grimoire, not even her parents.  It was a personal thing, when the Grimoire chose its next Guardian and no one would know even when she took her place unless she told them.  The only reason the current Guardian knew what she was, was because her Uncle had been there when the Grimoire's magic slid over her and into her heart.  He'd smiled, winked and continued cuddling his baby girl.  But what really bothered her was the fact that Harvey had mentioned something about capturing her mother.

     "What the f**k?  Who the hell are you?"  Avery could feel her heart hammering away inside her chest, trying to escape.  Fear made her desperate, made her want to scream out for someone to help her.  She kept her mouth shut though because Avery was pretty damn sure that this man was not who he said he was, that anyone who tried to help her would get hurt.  She didn't wait for his reply, but reached for her magic.

     Avery let the fire of magic burn inside her chest, spurred on by her terror inspired heartbeat, for as long as she could stand before pulling on the ball of fury energy and shaping it into something useful.  Fire burned through the veins of her right arm for what seemed like eternity before the summoning was complete; a long, medal pipe-still hot to the touch-sat in her palm.

     Swinging it up, Avery never got the chance the hit solid flesh.  It was yanked from her hands and thrown across the room, but that's what Avery had wanted.  Had known would happen.  The pipe was meant to be a distraction and it was; Harvey's steel eyes were no longer on her, instead he was cursing her out as he clutched his blistered hand to his chest.  Moving rapidly, Avery swung the door open even as she was throwing herself across the threshold and into the outer room.

     The office receptionist, Kelly Saint, was slumped forward at her desk and blood soaked the papers she'd been working on before someone had whacked her across the head.  The woman was breathing, but that was the only thing Avery had time to see before she was out in the hall and racing down the hall.  It wasn’t long before she was stumbling onto a more horrific sight.

     The janitor was in the same predicament as Saint, only he wasn't breathing.  Blood mixed with pink mush, soaking the floor and splattering the walls.  The elderly man’s jeans were saturated, the wooden end of his mop shoved through his gut.  Empty eyes staring accusingly.

     Avery had seen dead bodies before, some members of her family practiced black magic and had often killed small animals to fuel their spells.  But never had Avery seen a dead human being before that moment, causing her to falter in her steps, the scream that had been lodged in her throat ever since that moment in the principal's office finally torn from her throat as she slid in the pink mush on the floor and landed on her a*s.  Bile rose in her throat, burning her nose as Avery gagged.  Classroom doors swung open as teachers raced out into the hall in answer to her terror.  The closest, Mr. Soloman, was the first to reach Avery and realize what exactly was going on.

     Harvey had been halfway down the hall when she’d slipped, retreating as he realized how outmatched he was even though every single adult in the building was purely human.  Soloman had Avery up off the floor and swung over his shoulder even as an alarm rang through the air, running back to his class and slamming the door shut.  In a voice that brooked no argument, Mr. Soloman ordered all the students in the room into a corner away from the doors and windows.

     Avery had begun to shake even before her history teacher had hauled her up and by the time he set her down, lowering her to the ground when her legs wouldn't support her, she was full out sobbing.  He didn't try and ask her any questions, just ushered her over to the others.  No one said a word, even when Avery curled into a ball and continued to sob.  The adrenaline had left her system, taking her courage with it.

     Gentle fingers ran through her hair, trying to calm her down.  Others just laid comforting hands on her, she even felt the only other witch in the room trace a calming rune on her ankle.  All were careful not to touch were blood had gotten on her when she fell.  When Avery managed to slit her puffy eyes open, she met Bethany Little's terrified blue eyes.  Her hair was up and wet, the pink almost gone.  

     She must have used the locker room showers.  It was a strange thought to have given the situation, but it helped to calm Avery further.  The gelatin was the one and only prank Avery regretted pulling since she had started pranking the humans.  It had cost a man his life.  

     When she could breathe normally again and her sobs had died down to unnoticed tears sliding down her cheeks, Avery sat up and let Bethany and the girls around her hug her.  It was surreal to say the least.  Avery had never been popular with anyone, preferring to keep to herself and the two other witches in the school.  But in that moment, nobody seemed to care that she had humiliated them all at least once.

     Mr. Soloman crouched in front of her and whispered the question she'd been dreading.  His voice was gentle compared to his usual gruff, take-no-prisoners tone: "What happened out there, Ms Winters?" 

     Sucking in a breathe, Avery stuttered out what had happened.  She tried to keep the little bit of composure she had regained, but seeing the horror in Mr. Soloman's eyes and the pale faces around her had her facade cracking.  Gulping in as much air as she could, Avery lifted a shaky hand and pulled off her glove to show him her palm.  The one with the star tattooed on it.  Shock mixed with horror and disgust already showing on his face, but when she realized the last two emotions weren't directed at her, Avery wanted to hug him.  She ignored the few gasps from the girls behind her.

     The intercom came on before she could say anything else and the vice principle’s voice announced the all clear, that students would be sent home within the hour and that school was cancelled for the rest of the week.  It was Tuesday.

     An officer came into the room, showed his badge and ID to Soloman and then to Avery.  She wasn't really paying attention and with tears still streaming down her face, everything was slightly blurry.  Avery caught something that sounded like "Need to question her on today's events..." and "Her father is already on his way..."  She couldn't help it when her shoulder's sagged in relief that soon her dad would be there to handle everything with a confidence that Avery would never be able to match.  He'd know what to do about everything.

     Soloman told his students to remain in the room as he guided Avery out into the hall, keeping his body between her and the men working over the janitor's body.  He kept his hand on her shoulder, squeezing when Avery began to shake once more.  He stayed with her the entire time that she was with the police until her father arrived to take his place.

     Travis Winters was a tall, wiry man with black hair turned white from a spell gone wrong.  When Avery was little, he used to tell her how he and his friends got into so much trouble-casting spells to mess with humans.  He'd told her how one of his friends couldn't aim a spell to save his life and, instead of the quarterback it had been meant for, the spell had hit him instead.  His mother, the more powerful out of Avery's grandparents, had been able to remove all of the effects except one and his hair was snow white from that day on.  He was the one to help her make all of the Jell-O.

     When he tucked her into his side and told the police that they could talk to her another day, Avery started to sob again.  It didn't take long for him to realize that she wasn't going to stop, so he swung her up into his arms and carried her to the car.  By the time they arrived at the big house they and several members of the Winters family called home, Avery was dozing off, so he had carried her inside and tucked her into her bed.

     Jax, Avery's four year old sister, and her older cousin crawled into the bed with her.  Avery fell asleep sandwiched between the two and every time she woke up screaming, Hex would hug her and sing her mother's favorite song.  "...until the sun rises once more, we shall dance to the magic of the night forevermore...”