Hex Crimes

by Dorie, Sarina

  “I also expect a raise,” I said.

  Who was I now?

  Vega was gone the day after the event, theoretically celebrating the weekend someplace quiet like a graveyard. Or perhaps dancing.

  On Sunday, Josie and I packed up Vega’s belongings and placed them in the tower. We moved Josie’s personal items into our new room.

  The right thing to do would have been to inform Vega ahead of time. But I knew how she could be. For months she’d been finding reasons why she wouldn’t take the tower. I wasn’t going to allow her to threaten me or use me anymore. I wouldn’t allow her to play tricks on me or Josie—like sending Josie to “come to my rescue” with a bunch of arachnids she couldn’t control.

  When Vega returned Sunday evening, she wasn’t happy about having her own room. She accused Josie of purposefully losing her library books, which I wouldn’t doubt Josie would do to annoy Vega, but she accepted the change with relative grace and dignity—after swearing at us for being sneaky, underhanded bitches for ten minutes straight.

  When she finally took a breath for air, I said, “That compliment means a lot to me. I learned from the best.”

  To my dismay, she smiled and bowed. She finally left. That was Vega, always unpredictable.

  My first week with Josie was a delight. My new roommate didn’t threaten me. We shared the space equally. I didn’t have to look at Vega’s morbid decorations. Josie encouraged me to hang up my art. I didn’t live in fear that she would use me for the purposes of evil.

  The worst that happened was the occasional stray spider. I tried to release them out the window, but there were a few times when she wasn’t there that I stepped on them. Usually accidentally.

  I supposed that was my little secret—I was a wicked witch.

  A few times I caught Pinky in our room, sitting on Josie’s bed as they spoke quietly. Each time he left in a hurry, even though I promised I wasn’t going to tell anyone he’d been there.

  I supposed that was her little secret.

  I suspected both these secrets were small compared to the big one I was keeping from Josie. I didn’t know if it was possible to keep it from her. Thatch had always said to safeguard my affinity. But Thatch was a jerk who didn’t have friends—for a reason. Maybe Imani was right that I had friends who cared about me. They would help me if I let them.

  Did I want to be like Vega, distrustful and an island unto myself? I loved Josie, but I didn’t see how I could tell her my secrets when she’d already proven to be a blabbermouth.

  During the second week of November, I hung out with Josie during her breakfast duty in the cafeteria.

  “Miss Lawrence, you’ve got to see!” Imani said, running up to me and tugging on my sleeve. “There’s snow!”

  “The winter Elementia made sculptures in the front courtyard! They’re beautiful!” Greenie said, a fine dust of white power melting into her viridian hair.

  At the end of her shift, Josie and I dressed in our winter coats to inspect the sculptures. I had a lesson in the greenhouse observing Grandmother Bluehorse’s intermediate herbalism classes so I wouldn’t be able to stay long. It had snowed seven inches the night before, enough for students to build snowmen. Some of the seniors called me over to inspect their handiwork. The snow sculpting was so impressive I wondered if I should bring my class outside to make sculptures instead of working on our current projects.

  Students laughed and ran through the white wonderland, shaking snow off trees and flopping into drifts to make snow angels. There must have been sixty students out there. I had a feeling a lot of students would be late to class this morning, especially the ones who were supposed to go to classes in the greenhouses or stables. Even Imani, Greenie, and Maddy, who typically were punctual students who didn’t skip class, lingered outside longer than they should have.

  Thatch stood on the steps of the school, his expression dour. “You have fifteen minutes before class starts. Anyone late will be issued a detention this afternoon . . . with me.”

  Josie rolled her eyes.

  I scooped up a handful of powdery snow and pressed it together. It wasn’t wet enough to make a good snowball, and I had to keep packing it, the warmth leaving my hands as I did so.

  “Professor Thatch!” I said. “Who throws like a girl?”

  I lobbed the ball at him. He turned toward me just in time. Years of juggling had made my aim precise. The ball exploded against his face. He sputtered. White glittered on his eyebrows and frosted his black hair. I fell onto my butt laughing. Josie shook her head at me, but she was smiling too.

  “Son of a succubus!” he swore. “I’ll get you for this, Miss Lawrence.”

  Students giggled.

  “Come play with us, Mr. Thatch!” Imani called. “It’ll be fun.”

  “I don’t play. This is war.” He glowered at me.

  Someone ducking behind a bush threw another snowball. This one struck him in the chest. He dusted himself off. “Whoever threw that is about to receive an hour-long deten—”

  Two dozen snowballs came flying at him from all different directions. He waved a hand in the air. Three feet from his body, the snowballs exploded into an invisible shield.

  “Amateurs.” He strolled down the steps into the courtyard, expression haughty. Snow around him started to melt. “Go to your classes now and escape the consequences of a detention.”

  He was the biggest party pooper ever. I packed another snowball, considering how I could get it through his shield.

  Imani stepped forward. She grinned, her face full of warmth and sunshine. “How about this? I’ll make a bargain with you. Join our snowball fight. If you win, we’ll go to class. If we win, no detentions will be given to anyone.”

  “I see you are learning the rules of this realm well.” He studied her, his dark brows drawing together. Perhaps I saw a hint of melancholy in his eyes, but if I did, it was quickly gone. “I accept the terms of this proposal. I will assign no after-school detentions if you win.”

  I wasn’t certain if I believed him or he would find a way to twist the bargain like a Fae would do to prove a point. I must not have been the only person who doubted his sincerity.

  Hailey peeked out from behind a wall of ice. “If we win, I want you to give me a late pass to excuse me from being tardy to my next class.”

  “Very well,” he said.

  Students whooped and hollered as if they’d already won.

  Thatch’s smug smile told me there was no way he thought he could lose. When I gazed out at the smattering of students taking cover behind trees and snowmen, I could see why. None were Elementia, except for Hailey, and from the way that wall of snow appeared to be melting in front of her, I didn’t see her winning this battle. The only Celestors present were freshmen and sophomores, none with mastery-level magic.

  I shook Josie’s arm. “We have to help the students.”

  She laughed. “Of course we do!”

  “Who will be on my team?” Thatch asked. “The winning team, I might add.”

  No one answered.

  Students projected more snowballs at him. Some of the projectiles probably would have struck Imani with how she stood in between her peers and Thatch. I wished she would have ducked behind a tree and stayed out of the way.

  Thatch could have allowed the snowballs to hit her while her back was turned, but instead he raised his hands in the air and projected his shield forward. The snowballs disintegrated upon meeting the invisible force just on the other side of Imani. I wanted to hate him for being crabby and for all the times he yelled at me and made my life miserable, but his kindness toward Imani melted a fraction of that resolve.

  He gestured with his hands. The snow swirled in an invisible wind. Powdery white flakes pelted everyone except him and Imani. Thatch was too busy working magic to notice the way Imani looked to me and back to him as if suggesting I join the dark side. I shook my head. No way was I siding with Professor Grumpsalot.r />
  Pity filled her eyes. “I’ll be on your side, Mr. Thatch!” Imani said, running closer to him.

  “No! Traitor!” Hailey bellowed.

  Thatch allowed her to join him. I half expected her to throw a snowball at him when she got closer, but she didn’t. She was too sweet and honest for that. It wouldn’t have even crossed her mind to double-cross him. I didn’t know how she would survive being related to a Fae.

  Thatch lifted up his hands, loose powder rising into the air and dropping onto everyone else. I shook the cold off of myself.

  “That’s cheating!” someone said. “You aren’t supposed to use magic in a snowball fight.”

  “There is no cheating when it comes to survival. Use the skills you possess,” Thatch said.

  I aimed a snowball at him, but it disintegrated into his shield. Thatch and Imani were able to throw out through their shield, but nothing could get into it. Our one advantage was that his aim was horrible. Most of his spells involved shaking snow off trees or using wind to blow snowballs back at their throwers.

  “What kind of spell is he using to block us?” I asked Josie.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Ten minutes left,” Thatch announced. “It isn’t too late to go to class.”

  Some of the students slinked toward the stables.

  Hailey kept picking up snow. It turned to slush in her hands. I darted toward her. “Direct your heat energy at them. Melt their snow—but without burning anyone.”

  “Good idea.” She held out her hands, a wave of heat turning the snow into puddles of water all around Thatch.

  Imani laughed. “That is so cool!”

  “Not cool. Hot,” Thatch glowered at me. “Stop helping them.”

  “Why? Are you going to give me a detention?” I asked.

  “You’re being a poor role model. Don’t help them win. They need to be taught a lesson so they’ll go to class.”

  Josie lifted her nose up at him. “Sorry. We don’t want to join the dark side.”

  He stepped forward to scoop up a handful of snow outside of the puddle. This time as snowballs came at him, some of them hit him. Apparently he’d left his ring of protection.

  Thatch strode toward me, a handful of snow levitating an inch above his hand. I tried to run, but he must have used a spell to make my feet stumble. I tripped headfirst into a mound. He yanked me back by the sleeve of my coat and rolled me over.

  He smashed the snow into my face. “I hope there’s yellow snow in there.”

  I turned my face away. “Gross!” I sputtered out snow.

  Someone came crashing into Thatch from the side.

  Josie tackled him to the ground. “Clarissa, help me pin him down!”

  Thatch shoved a handful of snow down the back of Josie’s coat, and she howled. I shoveled snow into his face as he turned back to me. The three of us rolled on the ground throwing snow at each other. Josie and I both tried to pin his arms down.

  “I know your weakness,” she said. “Mwah-ha-ha-ha!” She dug her hands under his armpits.

  If he hadn’t convulsed when she poked him in the ribs, I would never have known. The sound that came out of him was almost a laugh. He was laughing?

  He was ticklish?

  “You fight dirty, Miss Kimura,” he panted. He wrapped his arms around his torso to protect himself. Josie and I pinned his arms there.

  I called over my shoulder at the kids. “Someone, throw a snowball in his face.”

  “No, shove it under his shirt, like he did to us!” Josie shouted.

  A stray snowball plopped into my back. Most of the students had gone back to chasing each other and throwing snowballs without magic farther away.

  Everyone was laughing, even Thatch. I was used to his mirthless laugh. I rarely heard him laugh like he was actually having fun.

  “How about a truce?” Thatch asked.

  That was generous. Amiable. I searched his face for treachery.

  A shadow fell over me. Vega stood above us. A massive length of icicles in a line levitated above her hands, the points aimed downward like a rack of knives. A cold drip plopped onto my nose.

  “Can I play?” Vega asked with a sinister smile.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Ice, Ice, Baby

  “Oh, shit!” Josie muttered.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off the line of icicles floating directly above my face. Movement out of the corner of my eye suggested Josie had squirmed back from Thatch, but I didn’t dare look away from the sharpened points. I was frozen in place, knowing Vega was the homicidal maniac who would drop that jagged weapon of ice on me the moment I turned away.

  The teenagers continued to laugh and shout in the courtyard. No one was paying us any mind.

  Thatch cleared his throat. “Vega.” His voice held a warning in it.

  “How cozy,” Vega said. “Aren’t you lucky, Thatch? A girl for each arm. But not for long.” She pulled her hand backs. The ice dropped.

  Vega stepped out and away, a smug little grin on her face. She turned, not even looking to see if the ice hit its mark. Time felt as though it slowed. Josie rolled away from Thatch, raising her arms to cover her face as she screamed.

  I rolled away, or tried to, but my body moved slowly. The only quick movement was Thatch. He raised a hand. White-hot light shot from his palm. The magical bludgeon blasted upward in an explosion of snow and ice. Steam misted the air. I rolled onto my side and belly. My gaze was riveted on Thatch as I rolled away. He batted his hands left and right, light spilling from his palms as he cleared the debris from the air. He lifted himself onto his side and rolled onto me, arm stretched out over my face to shove an icicle missile aside. His elbow sailed past my face and landed next to my head. He hunched over me.

  If I hadn’t known better, I would have called the action protective.

  My lips moved to form a question, but no words came out. That’s when I saw the sharp shard gliding down past his head toward my eye. I squeezed my eyes closed. I tried to move my head away, but Thatch’s elbow was on my hair, pinning my head into place.

  Heat bit into my temple. When I opened my eyes, I saw Thatch’s hand hovering over my face. Warmth trickled down my cheek. I wiped it away, my fingers coming way crimson. Thatch drew his hand back and studied the blood on the back of it with the detached interest of a doctor examining an especially interesting patient.

  “That piece really wanted blood.” He wiped the back of his hand in the snow. “It got a bite out of both of us.”

  There was a deep gash in his hand across the webbing between his thumb and finger. I probed my temple. Touching it made it sting. He tilted my chin to the side and looked at my face.

  “Is it bad?”

  “You’ll live.” He touched a finger to my eyebrow and swept it outward toward my hairline. His hands were warm compared to the cool air.

  “Psycho much?” Josie shouted after Vega, her voice cutting through the chaos I’d temporarily forgotten. “You could have hurt someone.”

  “That was the plan,” Vega said. “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

  Revenge for what? Making her take the room she’d always wanted?

  I was suddenly aware of how close Thatch was, our legs intertwined. His breath puffed up in clouds of vapor. I’d always thought he was pale, but in the snow, his skin was pink and flushed. His hair was blue-black in this light, like raven feathers. The thought should have disgusted me after all my dealings with the Raven Court, but it didn’t.

  His gaze flickered from my eyes to my lips. He swallowed. The idea that he might be thinking about kissing me sent a shiver through me. My pelvic muscles clenched. Inside, the red ball of light inside me swelled. Desire rose in me. Thatch raised an eyebrow. I pushed those feelings back down, embarrassed he could sense them. It shamed me my affinity had betrayed me.

  My heart pounded against the drum of my rib cage.

  “Imani told me Elr
ic is her . . . grandfather,” Thatch said. “Do you believe him?”

  Such an odd moment for this question. “Um, well, yeah.”

  “And she seems to think his intentions toward the both of you are . . . honorable?” He asked it as a question. When I didn’t answer, he prompted, “Do you agree with that assessment?”

  “I guess. I don’t know. Elric said I need to learn to trust him. People.” I swallowed. My gaze flickered to his lips. I didn’t want to think about kissing him. Students were everywhere.

  “Do you plan on marrying him?”

  “I’m not in love with him.” Saying the words out loud crushed the remaining doubt inside me. Elric was a good person. Maybe I could even trust him. He just wasn’t right for me.

  “OMG. This is awkward,” Josie said.

  “Um,” I said, tearing my gaze away from the gray melancholy of his eyes.

  “Professor Jerkface, get up.” Josie punched Thatch in the shoulder.

  Thatch rolled off me and helped me to my feet. “I beg your pardon. Miss Lawrence is bleeding.”

  “I’m fine. It’s just a flesh wound.” I glanced at his hand. His fingers were still smeared crimson, but I no longer saw a cut. I didn’t know whether he had the regenerative powers of Wolverine or he’d used a magical bandage on himself.

  “True. All you need is a cold compress,” Thatch said.

  Alone on the front steps of the school stood Khaba in his hot-pink tracksuit. I thought he was about to tell the students to run along to class. But his gaze drifted past the frenzy of delinquent students playing in the snow.

  I followed his line of sight, noticing the figure standing in the shadows of a tree along the path toward the greenhouses. A cape obscured the person’s build, but the conical hat hinted that it was one of the teachers who wore a witch’s hat. It might have been Mrs. Keahi or Gertrude Periwinkle, but as the figure ducked out of sight behind a tree, I noticed the beard.

  I was about to comment on Jeb vicariously living through our youthful snowball fight, but Thatch’s voice drew my attention. “Here. Allow me to assist you with that compress.” Thatch shoved a handful of snow into the side of my face. “I hope there isn’t any yellow snow in there. We wouldn’t want you to get an infection.”