Williams hands were bound to the back of the most uncomfortable chair he had ever sat in. He pouted at the administration staff as they carried on with their post-curfew duties, paying him no attention, as though having two E.M.I. officers standing guard next to him was normal.

William sulked at his reflection in the glass. Now that he thought about it, the whole situation made him look bad-ass. He smirked a little. He was cuffed on the back of the head. “Dumbass, you’re going to be charged with assault. There’s nothing funny happening here.” That was the guy to his right. He couldn’t see out of his right eye, it had become too swollen. Seth had nailed him pretty good before the E.M.I. tackled him.

His shoulders hurt and his arms ached. He was pretty sure he was going to be bruised up pretty bad. It wouldn’t surprise him at all if there were great big hand marks along his arms from where the E.M.I. hauled him off.

William had been sitting out on display for at least three hours before curfew. He was sure that another hour had passed since. Tours, investors, and parents had cast him terrified glances, as the school used him to demonstrate that they took the security of their students seriously. Yes, the public was safe from people like him. The wall that separated him from his public prosecutors was a glass pane that could have just as easily have been digitized to show a solid wall, or a view of anything else for that matter.

He was aware what he was being used for. He was being shamed instead of celebrated all because of the size of Astral’s inheritance. That was all going to change soon.

He did the world a favour. That Enhanced low-life got what was coming. She needed to learn her place. It wouldn’t be long before her grandfather would have to choose between his career and taking care of her. It was a no brainer as far as he was concerned. He was sure something would be worked out for her, maybe some little job as a maid to some low-level corporate manager.

He felt dumb for not having put it together before now. Of course she was Enhanced! Her eyes were unnatural. He’d never seen such pale blue eyes… And the way the blue seemed to freckle the iris – it was just weird. In the past year or so, her eyes had a bit of a glow to them. For the most part, he barely noticed, unless he was up close. When he watched her eyes, the way the outer ring pulsed with an inner light, he found himself drowning in emptiness. Alone.

When he was a boy, he had commented on it. His dad took him aside and told him that she had a degenerative disease. She was going blind. He felt bad for her at first. He had asked her: “What it was like to know you’ll never see like normal people?”

She replied with: “How does it feel to know you’re never going to be a real human boy?”

He guessed he could say that they never really got along. They tolerated each other at best. But still, when it came to her, he felt like she was watching him. One false move… Not that he knew what that move was. He didn’t know what he did to make her hate him so much.

When he met her, he had this impression that one day, she was going to end him. She had smiled and introduced herself with a curtsy. She was eight at the time. He was nine. There was no happiness in those cold blue eyes. If anything, the smile she wore was like wolf baring its fangs, while her eyes said: “Oh. It’s you.”

Her first impression of him wasn’t like she had heard about him for years before hand. It wasn’t like when they finally met, he just didn’t measure up to expectations. He got the distinct impression, that she already knew him personally. It was weird to feel so exposed, to feel like his life had been laid out before him for someone else’s eyes. He got the feeling that she knew what he would become.

He didn’t like thinking about it. He liked to think that he was destined for greatness and that she just jealous. He could feel it in in his bones. If only she’d get out of his way.

His face throbbed. He almost enjoyed the pain. The spoils of battle. It had been his first real fight. Sure, he’d lost, but he lost against Seth. He never stood a chance of winning against someone like him. The E.M.I. got between them pretty quick, so Seth wasn’t able to get another shot in. They needed three guys to pull Seth away from him. After the punch everything got a little hazy. He was pretty sure he managed to not pass out. What hurt the most was knowing that Seth hated him.

William frowned. Why wasn’t Seth arrested? He had assaulted William. He should be bound, arms pulled behind his back and stuck sitting in the chair next to him. At least he would have had the chance to really talk to him, to make him see that he’s really not such a bad guy. He wouldn’t press charges though, because he’d make Seth aware that he’d forgiven him, and that Seth should do the same for William.

His dad was on his way from Clearwater, which was a solid six-hour train ride. A notice that William and his belongings needed retrieving had been sent that morning. His day was going to get much worse, but at least he would be free to move.

He cautioned a glance out of the corner of his good eye to the uniformed woman next to him. She seemed normal enough, except the tips of her short blond hair was on fire and the pits of her eyes glowered with a yellow rage. He lowered his head immediately.

From what he could tell, they had brought him to the Administration building. He was probably on the second floor, given the number of people he’d seen before curfew set in. He was sure everything would get cleared up and he’d get an apology for the hassle. Maybe even free tuition so his dad can stop lording the cost of the school over him. He doubted it. He wasn’t the right class person who got free tuition as a reward. The sort of person who by attending the school would improve the reputation or connections that the administration had. He was a nobody, so the best he could realistically hope for was an apology. That wasn’t going to be good enough.

Dread knotted in his stomach. The feeling reminded him of when he was little, when he’d watch the underside of the beds just in case the monster that lived in the children’s ward decided crawl out from the dark places to pay him a midnight visit. It was the same feeling that overcame him now. He watched the floor for a long shadow stretching across the hall. It never would, the lights didn’t allow for that effect. The whole building was too well lit.

For William, the world went quiet. Muted conversations happened in the distance. He heard his father’s quick march, he’d recognize that pattern anywhere. He should have felt relief; the nightmare should be letting go. It always used to in his father’s presence. He was, after all, a Master Hunter of the Red Order.

He struggled to breathe, expecting to see a gnarled hand curl around the entrance to the main hall, promising more terror to come. His father’s steps grew deafening, each step pounding inside his head. He wanted to close his eyes against the pain, but found himself frozen in wide-eyed panic staring at the entryway.

His father appeared, tall and imposing, like Death’s shadow, swathed in black with a red scarf hanging over his shoulders. The scarf dripped with blood that vanished before hitting the floor. Why would his dad wear such a thing?

His dad stopped in front of the window. From deep inside the cowl, two beads of yellow stared William down. He felt like a little boy at the monastery again. He made himself small, or rather, as small as he could while trying to preserve what little dignity he had left.