by Jami Klein
“About that,” I said, taking a deep sip of the soothing tea. “I had a minor altercation with a witch just now.”
“Oh?” he frowned and leaned towards me.
“I accidentally bumped into her into the hall and she said that our families had been feuding for generations.”
“Ah, that would be Serena Bleak. Yes, the Braggs and the Bleaks do have a history. There was some bad blood years ago about land rights and an investment gone wrong. While there might be some simmering resentment, you shouldn’t worry about it.”
But I did. My father might have been murdered and I had two suspects. Well, two vague ideas. The employee from the candy store or his family could have killed him for revenge or maybe it was a member of the Bleak family propagating a feud.
“She said she knew a Bragg when she saw one. Were there other Braggs here?”
“Just your cousin Delia.”
I nearly choked on my tea. “Delia? Priscilla’s old roommate? The one who died? The one who Stefan Harte killed?” My voice rose with each question. I had a cousin and now she was dead. What other family did I have and didn’t know about?
Mr. Urso gaped at me. “What an awful rumor. Delia wasn’t murdered by Stefan Harte. That boy has his crosses to bear, but he is not a murderer. You shouldn’t listen to rumors.”
“No one wants to tell me the truth. How do I know what’s true and false.”
He gave me a stern look. “You of all people know the answer to that. Do you believe Mr. Harte killed Delia.”
“No.” I had a healthy fear of the ginormous beast he turned into, but as I thought about it I wasn’t at all afraid of him. If I thought he had killed someone, I wouldn’t have offered to bake him cookies.
He nodded, satisfied.
“Then who killed her?”
Sighing, Mr. Urso said, “Her death was a tragic accident. It was investigated by the FBMI and the Jewel Academy and all its students were cleared of any charges.”
“Did her parents accept that?”
“I’m not sure we ever really accept things when our loved ones are brutally and unexpectedly taken away from us.”
It was like he shined a spotlight on me.
“There we go,” he said at last, beaming at his computer monitor. “You can either switch to Mr. Messier’s homeroom class or you can assist the librarian, Ms. Barnes during that time.” He tilted his head as he looked back at me.
“I’ll take the library.” I could do more research.
“I thought you might,” he said and finished his tea. “Ms. Barnes said you were looking at your father’s old yearbooks.”
I nodded. “That was interesting. I’ve never seen his I read his essay on Mind Control Ethics and I swear it was like he was personally talking to me.”
“Good, that’s why Headmistress Magee told you about the them. I hope you continue to read them and they give you some peace.”
“Me too.” I put down my mug and gently lifted a snoring Chumley off my lap.
“Here, I’ll take him.” Mr. Urso held out his arms and I placed the cat in them. “My door is always open. If there’s anything I can do, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“There is one thing,” I said, biting my lip. “I never knew Delia was my cousin. My father never talked about his side of the family. It’s possible, they don’t know about me either. If you think it’s appropriate, could you give me their contact information. Or give them mine? I’d understand if they didn’t want anything to do with me, but maybe they do?” I shrugged.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he said.
“Thanks.” I waved as I let myself out. I had to hurry to my next class, Applied Spellcasting for Beginners.
Chapter Eight
The final bell for the day finally rang and I sprang from my desk like a leaping fawn making a beeline for the opposite side of the highway. I wasn’t waiting around to hear any more stuff about my dad or the run-of-the-mill rumors that seemed to pop up in every corner at Jewel Academy.
Well, spellcraft class was different in a group setting than it had been with my dad. I hated lectures and taking notes and while some of my classes were like that, most had practical hands on practice and watching others make the same mistakes I did made me feel like less of a diamond and more of an emerald or ruby.
Still spending forty minutes melting ice wasn’t thrilling at setting fires, at least come the winter months, it would be useful in clearing the sidewalks.
“There she is.”
It was too much to hope for that it wasn’t me who was the she they were talking about.
“Just like a Bragg to mess with your mind,” Serena Bleak said. She was pointing a bony finger at me and she was with the wolves I had hexed yesterday.
“I can explain,” I said, backing up. “Believe me, that hurt me more than it hurt you.”
“You’re dead,” the big, bad wolf said and charged me.
I ran for it. There was no way I was going to outrun a shifter unless I leveled the playing field a bit. I had just spent the last half hour or so getting rid of ice. It took me a few precious seconds to reverse the spell in my mind. I sent out an artic blast that turned the hallway floor behind me into a sheet of ice. Everybody was slipping and sliding and crashing into each other. It was like bowling for Freshman out there. I used the pandemonium to put more distance between me and the howling wolves. I took turns and corners and hoped they wouldn’t be able to track me by scent.
When I came to a dead end, I knew I was in trouble. I didn’t have time to backtrack. I could hear them in the distance coming closer. I darted into the last door at the end of the hall and slammed it behind me.
It was an art studio and Stefan rose from his chair as I leaned against the door panting in fear. His nostrils flared and he glared at me.
“You never saw me. I was never here,” I said and dove into a wooden cubby. I closed the door behind me and nestled into the turpentine and paint stained smocks. If I was lucky, it would be enough to mask my scent.
In the five minutes they took to catch up to me, I had managed to calm my breathing and realized it was cramped and uncomfortable in here. But then the door of the art studio kicked open and I was deafened by the lion’s roar of rage.
“Yo! Sorry. Sorry. Sorry,” the big bad wolf said, sounding not so tough anymore. “Did a girl come through here?”
“Like he’d even notice,” another wolf said.
“If she did, she’s already dead,” Serena said in satisfaction.
Goddess, what did the Braggs ever do to her personally that she hated us so much. Did she hate my dad enough to kill him? A thought hit me like a paint can thunking on my head. Delia and my father died around the same time. Could they have been together when it happened? I needed to find out more about Delia’s death.
“If you see her, keep her here and roar. She’s in trouble with the pack. You could use a little good will from the wolves. You help us find her and we’ll forgive that little incident from last year.”
“Shouldn’t we talk to Brice about that?”
“Shut up Stewie. Brice will do what I tell him. I’m the alpha.”
Great. I pissed off the Alpha.
Stefan roared and I heard the sound of something smashing against the wall.
“Let’s get out of here. He’s crazy.”
I heard the sound of running feet and the door slamming shut. I wasn’t about to move in case they decided to come back. I figured Stefan would give me the all clear, but he didn’t. After about a half hour, both my feet had fallen asleep. If I didn’t get circulation back in them, I was dead meat.
I opened the cubby and gingerly stepped out, wincing as pins and needles shot up and down my legs. “Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.”
Stefan sat at a large easel and painted a forest scene. It wasn’t full of friendly happy trees, though, but full of hidden creatures and demons. In fact, as I looked around the room all the paintings on easels or stacked up against the wall or counters were e
xquisitely done, but I would see those images in my nightmares. They creatures looked like they were about to jump out of the painting and eat me.
There was one painting though that I stopped in front of and just gaped. It was of a girl that looked enough like me to be my sister. She had longer hair, more silver than blond and an oval face with a solemn expression. She was dead in the picture. I could tell that by her eyes, but I couldn’t tell how she died. There wasn’t a drop of blood on her. She just lay on her side staring vacantly at me.
I took a step back and hit that brick wall again. Whirling around, sure enough it was Stefan standing behind me. He was gazing at the painting with grief stricken eyes.
Swallowing, I took a deep breath. “Is that Delia?”
He flinched as if her name hurt him. He nodded.
“You didn’t kill her,” I said as the realization hit me. “You found her.”
Taking in a deep breath, he nodded.
I turned back to the painting. “Is that what she looked like?”
“Yes.” I heard the lion growl in my head again.
I shot a glance over my shoulder. “Did you say something?”
He shook his head.
I turned to him. “But you thought something, right?”
“Yes.” The growl came again, but his lips didn’t move.
“I can hear you,” I said and pointed to my temple. “You’re speaking to me in my head.”
The lion rolled his eyes again and went back to his painting.
He didn’t believe me. I could sense that. “What happened that night?”
“Black. Fear. Panic. Demon. Witch.”
Images flew across my mind and I staggered back, holding out my hand to ward them off. “What’s a demon?”
Stefan was staring at me funny. “You heard that?” the lion growled in my head.
“More like I was pummeled with images,” I said, rubbing my head.
Leaping to his feet, he took a few steps back.
Huh, I had just freaked out the king of beasts.
“I haven’t spoken since my brother died,” the lion rumbled in my head.
“Do you want to?” I asked.
Stefan sighed. “What’s the point?”
“I get it. It’s easier to be silent and ignored.”
“Except when you’re my size, you don’t get ignored.” He came in close to me. “I can’t believe you can hear me.”
“I’m a mentalist. My powers are weak because of these.” I held up my wrists. “But I can definitely pick up what you’re projecting.”
Stefan grabbed my wrists and with a quick clench of his hands, the bracelets pulverized to dust. Magic roared into me and I sagged. Luckily, he was there to catch me. My whole body felt like pins and needles.
“We’re in so much trouble,” I said. “When they find out I’m not wearing these shackles they’re going to up the protection field. The might as well neuter me.” I refused to panic, even though it was difficult. I was free, but unless I escaped or hid in my room it was only a matter of time before I got caught. I hadn’t realized how muted I was when I was cut off from my magic. I had been invisible to myself as well as to other people.
“Make them think you’re still wearing them.” This time I heard a creaky raspy voice. It wasn’t in my head. It was aloud.
“Stefan, you’re talking,” I marveled.
“You broke the block the demon put on my mind after he killed my brother.”
I wasn’t sure how I did that. Looks like we rescued each other.
“You were blamed for his death.” I still clutched at his arms. I could feel the pain coming off him in waves. I didn’t dare let go of him. I was afraid he’d become lost in the grief and anger again.
“The demon liked that. He liked the rage. He liked that everyone jumped to the wrong conclusion that I was feral. He hated that they locked me up here where he couldn’t get to me. Except he found his way in somehow.”
“Did he kill Delia?”
“I don’t know,” Stefan said. “But I think so. I felt him in the forest. I still smell his foul stench there.”
“That’s where you go every night? You’re looking for him? What are you going to do when you find him?”
“I’m not a child anymore. If I can’t kill him, I can hold him down until someone who can kill him gets there. What I can’t figure out is why he wasn’t gloating over her corpse like he did with my brother.”
“Where did he come from?”
Stefan shook his head. “I think he came from me. But I don’t know how.”
“I can help you,” I said shakily. “I think Delia death and my father’s might be connected. If that’s the case, you and I might have a common enemy.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I say we keep pretending. You that you still can’t speak and me that I’m still shackled to those stupid bracelets. I can tell if people are lying, but they’re not going to like it. Sometimes they can sense my spells.”
“Is that why those wolves were after you?”
“Yeah. It’s a long story. But I need a bodyguard. I need someone that people will think twice before messing with.”
“Me?” he said dryly.
“Yeah. It’s not like you have to follow me around or anything. I think just a few threats here and there would work. Meanwhile between classes, we can figure out if there really is a demon haunting these woods and if somehow he killed Delia and my father.”
“All right, I’m in. It will be interesting to see who’s been lying and covering things up around here.”
I nodded. “If you see me cross my arms, it means someone is lying.”
“Where do we start?”
“Well, how about you walk me home from here and let’s see if that gets the message out. That I’m not a target.”
“Unless it puts a target on you. Maybe my attention will attract the demon. I don’t want your blood on my hands.”
“I don’t mind being bait. If we know it’s coming, the demon can’t spring a trap, right?”
We headed out of the art studio and walked through the corridors of the school. People gaped at us as we passed by.
“Do you think they’d have a heart attack if I held your hand?” I asked.
He just rolled his eyes at me.
We deliberately walked down to where the football team was practicing.
“Shouldn’t you be out there?”
“I’ve been suspended from the team until further notice.”
“Why?”
“I ripped the quarterback’s arm off.”
“I had heard about that.”
“It grew back. He’s a werewolf. But his throwing arm has never been the same.”
“He had it coming,” I said. It was my new motto.
Stefan grunted.
The wolves came to a dead stop on the field and gawked at us. Stefan slung his arm around my shoulder and I gave them a jaunty wave. “Can you take all nine of them?” I asked.
He snorted.
“I hope you don’t have to.”
Stefan shrugged.
As we walked towards the dorms, I asked him, “Were you close to Delia?”
“She was all right. Her coven is a little hard to take. I guess it’s your coven too now.”
“No, I’m too much of a diamond for them with these.” I held up my wrists. Nothing was there. “Oh right.” I concentrated and it now looked like I had them on again.
“Don’t forget those,” he said. “Delia was all right. I wished would have stayed the hell away from Maya and Abigail, joined another coven.”
“What’s wrong with Maya and Abigail? What did they do?”
“Priscilla was never was a real magical threat, but Abigail and Maya want to do rituals nobody should be doing. They like power and don’t care who gets hurt as long as they get the rush.”
“But, everyone seems to think they’re perfect students.”
“That’s because half of the faculty i
s involved with shady practices themselves.”
“How does that go undetected by the Enforcers?”
“The same way that the FBMI and CIA keep their mouth shut about the shady practices of the government. What makes you think supernatural affairs would be any different?” The way he said it, I realized that Stefan was really smart – and obviously, somewhat of a conspiracy nut too. Although, in this case, that might not have been such a bad thing. You’re not paranoid if they really are out to get you.
“I heard she tried to cast a love spell on you.”
“Was that what it was? It failed. She was pissed I just shrugged it off, but what was I supposed to do? I’m damaged goods. I’m nobody’s boyfriend.”
That was a shame. But he had a point. I was pretty much damaged goods too. As luck would have it, Priscilla and the coven were lingering around out front when Stefan and I walked up.
I would have taken great pleasure in the look on her face except I detected actual fear in her mind. She really did believe Stefan had killed Delia. And there was nothing I could say or do to convince her otherwise.
I pulled back my power before she could sense it.
“See you tomorrow morning?”
Stefan nodded.
“Be careful tonight. Roar twice if you need me.”
He smirked and turned on his heel and walked up to the shifter side.
Chapter Nine
I took pictures with my phone of my father’s essays and during the first period, I took pictures of his yearbook photos as well. I also looked up Delia too and couldn’t shake the feeling that she and my dad had been in contact before he died. It had been a couple of days since Stefan and I had made our silent statement and happily Serena Bleak and her band of wolves decided to retreat to their corner and lick their wounds.
Andrei caught up with me one night before I was going to play bait in the middle of the forest hoping that would attract a demon. Was that stupid? Yeah, probably, but I was getting anxious and I thought we could take him, or at least slow it down long enough for the big guns to come in.
I wish I could trust that Mr. Urso and Headmistress Magee would let us solve this our way, but I didn’t think that was going to happen. I was going to ask the demon if he had killed my father. If he hadn’t, well I had a bunch of other theories to fall back on.