After school let out that afternoon, Melly, Madisyn, Lacey, Sophie, and Josh made their way over towards the silver Training building. People were already beginning to arrive, casually making their way down the sloping green hills. The air was breezy, Melly noticed, and it whipped her long brown hair around. By the time they got into the building, Melly's hair was awfully windswept and she was forced to put it up in a messy braid to keep her hair out of her face.

As they seated themselves, however, Melly noticed a new girl that she had not seen before. The girl had fiery, wildly-curly red hair, blue eyes, and a pale complexion that seemed to be almost translucent. Like a ghost.

The two stared at each other, and Melly was unsure how to react. Finally, she had the guts to speak.

"Who are you?"

The girl gave her a toothy, mischievous smile. Her eyes glittered.

"Sloane O'Rourke. You're Melanie Howard?"

"Yes. I've never seen you around before."

"Oh, that's because you haven't," Sloane answered calmly. Melly was confused. "I've been sent from heaven to help you with your Demonstration today."

Melly almost choked on her own spit in shock. So she was right that she didn't look entirely human. She continued to stare, baffled and full of disbelief.

"How?"

"Easy." With that, she pulled out what looked like a thick, silver-banded signet ring that had a large, onyx gemstone and a silver, diamond-studded letter K in a fancy script. Melly only stared at the ring in Sloane's outstretched hand.

"What's this for?"

Sloane rolled her eyes, acting as though Melly was the dumb one. And Melly had to remind herself that she probably was. She was still new to this entire thing and being in Avalon for less than twenty-four hours.

"Training, silly."

"But how will a signet ring help me?"

Sloane looked annoyed. Melly didn't blame her.

"Trust me. You'll know when you get up on the stage."

Melly was still more confused by the minute.

"How —?" She began, but Lacey cut her off.

"Melly? Who are you talking to? Are you just talking to thin air?"

Melly turned, alarmed and amazed that no one else could hear the conversation between her and this Sloane girl. Then Melly forced herself to remember that she had a rare power here at Avalon. She turned to Sloane again to ask her a question, but she saw that she was grinning an up-to-no-good grin that made Melly's heart sink in the pit of her stomach. She turned to Lacey again, who was staring at her new friend in alarmed confusion.

"What? Am I the only one who can really see her?"

Lacey squinted over at where Melly was motioning to. She frowned, looking confused.

"What are you trying to point out to me?"

"I guess that I'm the only one who can see her, then," Melly muttered under her breath, but it was loud enough for Lacey to hear.

"Can you please tell me what you're going on about?"

"There's a girl — rather a ghost girl — sitting in front of us."

"Okay? Why would you tell me this? And why is she even here?"

Melly shrugged, surprised that Lacey didn't think that she was crazy.

"She said she wanted to help me out with my training this afternoon."

Lacey squinted at her. "And how is she doing that?"

Melly opened her palm to reveal the thick, silver-banded, onyx signet ring that had the diamond-studded, silver letter calligraphy K stamped into the middle of it. What she had not expected, however, was to see a look of horror crossing Lacey's features. She looked around, as though she was making sure that no one was eavesdropping in on them.

"She gave you this?"

Melly shrugged. She didn't see what the big deal about a signet ring was — until Lacey gave her the answer.

"It's just a signet ring. So what? There's nothing special about it."

Lacey only shook her head frantically, still looking horrified. Her doe-like brown eyes were wider than normal, making Melly more confused than ever. She didn't understand what the big deal about a signet ring was.

"I don't know how, or where the hell she got this, Melly," she declared in a stammering, wavering voice as she continued to examine the ring in her fingers. "But if they find out . . . . you're definitely going to be dead for sure."

Melly was getting frustrated.

"Care to tell me what you're going on about?"

Lacey waved the ring in Melly's face, staring at her in horrified annoyance.

"Who here do you know has a surname that starts with the letter K, Melly?"

Melly was starting to get frustrated. She didn't see what the big deal was. She huffed.

"I don't understand why you're making this such a big deal, Lace. It's —" Her eyes suddenly widened in realization as the thoughts of none other than Durante Knightley crossed her mind in blurred flashes. She suddenly felt sick and realized why Lacey was making a big deal about this. "Oh."

Lacey scowled at her in satisfaction. "'Oh' is right, Melly. Mind asking this ghost girl where she got it just so that I can know that she's right?"

Without hesitating, Melly turned towards Sloane, who was staring at her with a smug triumph. It made Melly feel sick, but she knew she had to ask for Lacey's sake. The words came out in a tumbled rush as she spoke, shoving the signet ring in the ghost girl's face under her nose.

"Where did you get this?"

The girl continued to smile smugly in triumph as her eyes continued to narrow in on the onyx signet ring in front of her face.

"Where do you think I got it, Melanie?"

"I don't know how you were able to sneak into Dante Knightley's dorm room, but —"

"I'm a ghost, Melanie," Sloane reminded her. "I don't have to break down someone's door just to grab something important that belongs to them to help you out with your Training this afternoon."

Melly's mind spun in shock and disbelief. She couldn't imagine how this ghost girl managed to sneak into the boy's dorm without getting caught. Before Melly could say anything else, a broad-shouldered, bad boy-looking kinda kid who had straw-straight blonde hair and cold blue eyes sat right where Sloane was sitting. The moment he sat down, he sprang back onto his feet, letting out a cry of surprise. All Melly could do was smirk, knowing what caused him to jump in surprise.

"Why is that spot so cold?" he whined in a loud voice for at least those who were nearest to them could hear. Melly rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It shouldn't be cold like that!"

"Glenn, quit complaining. It'll drive everyone nuts," said Lacey in an easy voice.

"Yeah, if you think that's a cold place to sit, then why don't you move?" Melly added bluntly.

Glenn's face turned a bright shade of red, much to Melly's relief. He seemed to take her advice and sat on the other side of the bench. She ignored the glares he gave her, and she continued smirking. Even Sloane, who still sat there, unmoving, looked thrilled that Melly had told him to move if he didn't like where he sat.

"No one ever confronts Glenn like that," Lacey snickered. Melly stared at her.

"Why?"

Lacey rolled her eyes. "Because he's an asshole. That's why."

No wonder he had an annoying attitude, Melly thought to herself in amusement.

"Anyway," Lacey continued and Melly put her focus on her, "you should be careful when you use that thing. You don't know what you're going to find."

Melly raised an eyebrow at her. "If Sloane gave this to me for a reason then I'm sure that it's safe for me to use."

"I'm not trusting anything," said Lacey in a flat, determined voice.

Luckily, at that moment, the instructor, Professor Chamberlain, stood up. The class went silent almost at once as she got to her feet and went to the wooden podium.

"Welcome, students, to your Demonstration lesson. You'll being Angel Blade Training shortly after. For more advanced students, you're welcome to use any of the weapons we have in the weapon gallery for extra, personal strength. Newcomers, you will each be handed a simple Angel Blade for simple demonstrations until next month."

Melly's jaw almost dropped to the floor. An entire month? She didn't think that was possible! With homework piling up so that she could catch up with the rest of her students, along with training with an angel blade and testing her abilities, she wasn't sure how she was going to survive her first semester.

Several students did their Demonstrations. They were allowed to leave the building for a little bit before they came back in to do Training, so Melly did not see them for a while. Sloane still sat there in front of Melly. She continued to give her mischievous smirks, as though she knew something that she didn't. Melly didn't think much of it and pushed those thoughts aside.

"You weren't wrong about Isolde having ice powers, Mads," Melly hummed in agreement as Isolde showed off what she could do with her ice powers. Madisyn looked over at her, giving Melly a look of shock. She looked a little hurt.

"What d'ya mean, Melly? I'm not a liar, y'know."

Melly shrugged. "I honestly don't know what I mean either, Mads. I guess I just thought that ice powers didn't exist, y'know?"

"That's fair enough," Madisyn hummed in agreement.

"Has she done anything major with her powers since she's been here?"

"Oh, definitely."

"Like what?"

"Well last year, we had one of the most brutal summers —"

"I know. It was bad in Savannah, too," Melly agreed. Madisyn glared, making Melly hastily apologize. "Sorry. Got ahead of myself. Go on."

"Well, as I've said, we've had one of the worst Spring weathers here: scorching-hot heat that never seemed to end. We'd practically begged Isolde so that she could use her powers during our triple-digit days. She didn't want to, of course, because what if it got out of control, y'know? But in the end, she obliged and we had snow days when the weather got brutal."

"That must be . . . . something," Melly hummed in agreement as she continued to watch Isolde syphon her powers back into her hands with ease.

Students clapped and cheered. Some even wolf-whistled as Isolde bowed and jumped slightly off the training mat that had been placed at the stage. Next was Sophie's turn. She was graceful, and her sprinting was near-perfect. She was able to run up the walls with ease, doing epic somersaults in between — all while wielding a rounded, sickle knife in the air. By the end, Sophie was sweaty, but she looked quite pleased with herself, and she was grinning from ear-to-ear as everyone applauded.

Next, it was Melly's turn. Sloane still sat where she had been earlier and gave Melly a reassuring look. Melly gave her a tight smile in return, clumsily making her way up towards the podium. She stood right in the middle of the training mat, the signet ring still clutched in the palm of her cold, sweaty hand. Professor Chamberlain spoke directly to her, causing Melly to look in her direction again.

"Remember, Miss Howard," she said through the microphone, "don't expect to be able to complete everything on your first day. It'll take a while for newcomers to tap into their magic system with dedication and practice. All we're doing for now is seeing what you can do so that we can prepare you for later."

Professor Chamberlain went quiet. The whole room was too quiet as she continued to feel all eyes on her, waiting expectantly. With her heartbeat rushing in her ears, Melly took the onyx signet ring in her hand and turned it over and over in her hands. Finally, she felt a tingling sensation shooting through her fingers before she saw it.

"C'mon, Gemma," said a boy of about twelve years' old. "It's not gonna hurt you."

Black tendrils that looked vaguely like smoke curled around him and the girl who could only be his sister. She looked like him — except with blue eyes rather than a dark, chocolate brown color. They were wide with horror and she lost her footing, scrambling away as the black tendrils continued to go around the room.

"Put those away before Mum sees them! Please," the girl, Gemma, pleaded with anxiety-stricken eyes.

The boy sighed. He let his hands fall to his side and the smoking, curling tendrils of smoke faded away. The girl breathed a sigh of relief, the tension leaving her shoulders. The boy rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, Gemma. You know that they're not gonna hurt you."

"Yeah, but what if Mum sees this, Dante?" Gemma insisted, her eyes growing wide and fearful. "I would be terrified if they forced you away from me."

Dante raised an eyebrow. "As long as you don't say anything, sis, then nothing of the sort will happen to either of us."

The girl smiled. "Good. I'll keep that promise."

The scene shifted.

Dante sat at his desk in his London flat room. The same place he'd lived in for as long as he could remember. He sat there, doing his homework, his shoulders hunched over as he scribbled away furiously at a piece of strenuous homework he'd been given the day before. He wasn't interrupted until he heard the sound of running feet and his bedroom door slamming open. Before he could even turn to see who had entered the room, a familiar mane of dark-brown hair, like his, filled his senses. A pair of small arms wrapped tightly around him, and she seemed to be trembling in fear.

This made Dante frown. His sister had never been the one who was scared. Let alone, terrified.

"Gemma? What's going on —?"

"I'm sorry, Dante," the little girl wailed pleadingly, her blue eyes wide like a puppy dog's. "I tried to cover up for you, but —"

"What happened?" Dante's voice was more forceful than he had meant and he cringed internally. The girl flinched.

"I didn't want to tell her, Dante. Really, I didn't. But she kept pushing me. She saw you the other day, practicing magic. She asked me if I knew anything about it, and I couldn't — I couldn't lie to her. Please forgive me, Dante!"

She clung tightly to her brother, terrified. Before Dante could quickly forgive his sister, as he would have done anyway, the door banged open the second time. An angry-looking Mrs Knightley came into view, her face red and furious. Dante tensed, preparing for a slap across the face. Instead, his mother glared down upon him, as though everything was his fault.

"So," she snarled threateningly. Dante only shrugged. "You thought that it would be best to keep a — a Satanic secret from me my entire life?!"

Dante cringed upon the word 'Satanic'. Tears welled in his eyes and his throat became constricted.

"I can't help it Mum —"

"Don't tell me that you can't help it, young man," his mother snarled. "Now the entire Church is going to think that I'm a Satanic worshipper!"

"I was born with these powers, Mum," Dante whispered, eyes welling with tears. Never in his entire life had his mother yelled at him like this. "I didn't discover them until a couple of years ago at least."

"That doesn't make any difference, young man," Mrs. Knightley snarled, pointing a threatening finger at him. "And don't even bother packing; you're out of this house!"

Gemma's jaw dropped to the floor, her blue eyes wide with horror. Even Dante's own jaw clenched tightly in return and he continued to fight the tears back.

"No!" Gemma wailed desperately, clinging to her brother. "Don't do this, Mama! He's my brother!"

"And he's a monster!" His mother continued to snarl. She grabbed her daughter by the elbow and began to tug her away. "Get away from him, Gemma! And you, young man," she added to Dante, who now had tears streaming down his cheeks, "leave. And never come to my face again. You hear me? Out!"

"Melly?" A kind voice interrupted. She could feel someone shaking her shoulder, and her eyes flew open. She didn't know how long she had been standing there. When her eyes flew open, she could see that every single student in the Training center had their eyes on her. Some were whispering amongst themselves, giving Melly side-eyed looks. Professor Chamberlain stood by her side, a look of genuine concern and sympathy on her face, a hand on Melly's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Melly was startled to hear this question. "Of course, I am. Why would I not be?"

"You're crying, dear." Startled, Melly hastily brought her hand to her face and realized that Professor Chamberlain was right. She was crying and she hadn't even realized it. She was so focused on trying to tap into her inner power that she had forgotten where she was. She swallowed, hard. Another wave of tears began to cascade down her already-wet cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you need to go and get some fresh air?"

Melly nodded hastily. "I think that would probably be best."

"Well, you can go on. Someone will call you back in when it's time for Training on the mat."

Melly nodded hastily. She turned on her heel and quickly made her way out of the room. As she passed by the marble bleacher that Sloane still occupied, she gave her a weird look, feeling as though she had been offended. Without another look at the ghost girl, she hastily made her way outside and out into the fresh, cold air of Avalon Academy.

She ignored Lacey as she frantically called out her name as she continued to leave the Training center property and towards the sloping lawns that lead towards the school building.