Read Online Belligerent (Vicara) by B.N. Mauldin - Free Book Online Page A

with smooth, slippery stones everywhere threatening to trip anyone who didn’t tread cautiously.
    When they reached the summit of the trail, Ryan got his first good look at the villa. It appeared to be made out of black marble and resembled a large, rectangular box. There were no windows, but there was a dome emerging from the back half of the roof covering. Other than the dome there was nothing worth noting on the villa's exterior except for the entrance which consisted of two doors with engravings similar to the ones on the campus's main buildings.
    “It's our home,” Clarisse said with a hint of pride in her voice.
    Pausing at the front doors, she held her wristband to the panel on the wall. An orange light pulsed under the clear plastic and appeared to be scanning the band.
    “Security precaution,” she explained. “Logan will have you programmed into the system in no time.”
    The doors slid open, revealing the interior.
    Ryan was already beginning to relax now that it seemed as if they could come and go from the villa at their own leisure, but he was still certain that living conditions would resemble a prison, especially after judging the cold exterior.
    “This is the foyer.” Clarisse announced as they stepped inside.
    Ryan gasped as he wondered exactly how many times he could be wrong in one day.
    Marble flooring greeted them. A small pool of water about a half meter deep took up a space roughly three meters square with a bridge crossing over the water. Ryan barely noticed all that as he was too busy taking in the sight of the courtyard in the middle of their villa. It was filled with flowers, herbs, and even a peach tree in one corner. Sunlight streamed onto the foliage through the dome, softly illuminating the flowers and leaves. Four benches on the outskirts of the courtyard pressed up against the walls.
    “All the villas have a courtyard because it's normally too cold for us to actually go outside for long periods,” Clarisse explained then gestured to their left. Through an archway Ryan could see what appeared to be a living room. “That's the main room,” she told him. “It's kind of like a game room. We spend a lot of time in there together.” She pointed to the right where there was another archway. “The kitchen and dining room are that way.”
    They crossed over the bridge and into the courtyard. Doors appeared on both sides of the courtyard, symmetrical in their placement. Looking up, Ryan was surprised to see windows facing from the rooms down into the courtyard.
    “Each bedroom has a loft area. The windows look down from there. The rooms on the right are Aria's, mine, Kenkun's, and Daylan's... In that order. The ones on the left are Eva's, Logan's, Mackenzie's, and then yours. Also in that order.” She pointed straight ahead where two doors stood. “Bathrooms are through there. Supposedly the girls' bathroom is the one on the right and the boys' is the one on the left, but-” she made a funny little movement with her hand. “They're group bathrooms, so we tend to just bathe with whomever we like. However, the girls' bathroom must be kept in perfect order at all times. Cause a mess, and we won't allow you back in.”
    “I don't think I'll be going in there anyway,” Ryan said, still bewildered by everything.
    Clarisse shrugged. “I don't tend to go in the boys' bathroom. Too messy for my tastes.” She twirled around. “Your room has already been decorated, but if you want some changes made, you can do whatever you like. Your uniforms are in the closet. Toiletry items have been placed in the bathroom for you, and they're marked by your specialty color to avoid any confusion.”
    “Specialty color?”
    Clarisse nodded. “Each specialty has its own color marker, so that when we're in our uniforms people know what our concentration is. Transportation gets green. I decorated your room as well as I could considering that Shifter didn't want me alerting the others that you were coming.