Bitter Magic

by Raven Steele

  Ms. Ravitz read my mind. “Girls over eighteen can wear what they want within reason. Now please sit down so we can get started.”

  I moved to the only desk available in the middle of the classroom. As soon as I sat down, the girl in front of me turned around, eyeing me with her green eyes. Her blond hair was pulled back into a French braid. With sharp cheekbones, and lots of makeup, she looked much older for her age.

  I was about to smile at her, when her small mouth opened and said, “Sorry we’re not good enough for you.”

  The girls around her giggled.

  “What? No, that’s not what I—”

  “No talking please,” Ms. Ravitz said. “Please open your book to page eighty-seven. Llona, you’re a little behind, so I want you to try and catch up during the next few weeks, okay?”

  I nodded, wondering if this was how all my other classes were going to be.

  It turned out it was. Sophie had crammed as many classes as she could into my schedule. Most of them were with younger girls except for PE, Advanced Light Techniques, and Auras and their Guardians.

  I was looking forward to PE, but when I got there, the teacher, Ms. Haddy, handed me a manual and told me to read. I stared at it in total shock. A manual on physical education?

  While Ms. Haddy and the rest of the girls began aerobics, I sat down and skimmed its pages. Basically all it talked about was how not to be better than others and how being competitive was wrong. We were all equal, the book said. We should support each other and always work together. Right.

  I opened the cover and searched the publication information for a date. 1941. I couldn’t help but wonder what Auras were like before then.

  The day finally ended. I was in my room reading a history book, or really, trying to distract myself from remembering the nightmare, when I heard a knock on my door. “Come in.”

  The same Lizen girl who served me at meal times entered my room. Her brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, and her aqua-colored eyes matched the shimmer of a thin strip of scales that ran from the top of her right temple all the way to her chin. It was actually pretty cool looking.

  The girl wrung her hands together, and she looked everywhere in the room except for at me. She was almost my height and, if I had to guess, a little younger than me.

  “I’ve come to see if you need any fresh towels,” she said.

  “I don’t think so, but thank you for checking.

  She bowed her head and turned to go.

  “Wait!” I called after her.

  She turned around. “Yes?”

  “What’s your name?”

  She hesitated. “My name?”

  “Yeah. I’m Llona and, as you probably already know, I’m new here.”

  “Yes. I know. My name is Tessa.”

  “Do you like it here?”

  “It is satisfactory.”

  “Do you ever go out?”

  “Out?” She finally looked at me. “Out where?”

  The hopelessness in her eyes created a pit in my stomach. “Out. You know, to the library, movies, mall?”

  She shook her head. “Our appearance would not be accepted.”

  I sat up straighter on my bed. “Of course it would. Believe me, I’ve seen stranger.”

  “You have?”

  I nodded. “I met a guy once whose entire face had been tattooed blue.”

  A saw a spark in her eye, but as soon as it appeared it was gone. “I must return to my duties.”

  “Okay. Thanks for stopping by.”

  She turned to leave, but I stopped her again. “Wait, Tessa. One last question.”

  “Yes?” She kept her hand on the door.

  “Does it smell like blood in here?”

  Her face turned ghost-white, and I thought she was going to pass out. Before I could get to her, she was already out my door and rushing down the hall.

  Chapter 7

  The next couple of weeks passed quickly. When Christian had said I was behind, he wasn’t kidding. I didn’t know a thing about Auras. Most of my class time was spent trying to look up terms I’d never heard before like resplendent and ebullient, or other times I was scrambling to look up certain events in our history just so I could follow a conversation.

  There was so much to absorb that by the weekend, I was numb. But it was probably good that I was busy. Whenever I was around others, my temperament was short, and I often snapped at people. It took all the strength I had not to get into fights with the other girls, even though they hadn’t really done anything to me. This gave fuel to the fire that I really was a freak. Sometimes I found it easier to just stay in my room where I wouldn’t have to worry about the anger that seemed to come out of nowhere.

  Christian had tried to get together with me several times, secretly of course, but I always found an excuse to stay away from him. This hurt a lot, but every time I saw him, even in passing, I was reminded of my nightmare, of the pain I’d seen in his face, the blood on his stomach. If there were even a chance of something bad happening to him because of the way he felt about me, then I wouldn’t risk it. He meant too much to me.

  At least I had his letters. I should’ve asked him to stop, but I couldn’t. Every day Christian had somehow managed to leave one under my pillow. I suspected Tessa had something to do with it.

  I picked up the most recent one and read it again:

  Llona,

  I saw you today, but you didn’t see me. You were outside with May at lunch and it took every bit of strength I had not to go to you, scoop you up, and carry you away. I need to see you and soon. Can you meet me tonight? Jackson and I have been patrolling every night and haven’t come across another Vyken. Jackson said it doesn’t happen often, so, if you think you can get away, come at 2:00 a.m. on the south end of the wall. I’ll be watching for you.

  Can’t wait to see you,

  Christian

  I folded the note and clutched it tightly. I couldn’t avoid him forever. Maybe I could think of something to say or do to make him not want to be near me. I wished he could see inside my head, feel the darkness lurking there. That would be enough to drive him away forever.

  Because I had too much to do, I skipped the outing the girls were going on to Coast City and stayed in my room, even missing lunch. It was well into the afternoon when I heard, “Can I come in?”

  I looked up. May stood in my open doorway.

  “Please do,” I said. “I’ve been going crazy with this stuff.” I tossed my book to the side.

  May sat on my bed, staring at a stack of papers, my homework. “I’ve barely seen you all week. Not even at meals.”

  “I’ve been eating in my room or the commons area while I study. How do you like Dr. Han?”

  Her face brightened. “He’s amazing! I can’t believe how much I’ve learned. Watch this.”

  She swirled her hand in a complete circle until a ball of fire appeared in her palm.

  “Whoa! That is awesome.”

  She blew it out. “Right?”

  “What are your other classes like?”

  “Not as good as the class with Dr. Han. There are only a few other Furies, so our classes are small, and the other girl and two boys are a few years younger than me.”

  “Boys? Where do they stay?”

  “With the Guardians just outside the gates in Waverley Hall. Do you like your classes?” she asked me.

  “Most of them are okay. It’s PE I can’t stand.” I stretched my legs out.

  “Really? I thought that would be your favorite.”

  “Not here. All we’re allowed to do is either run, aerobics, or dance. Nothing competitive. It sucks.”

  “Running is competitive.”

  “Not the way we do it. We have to run in strict formation. I can barely stand it.”

  May laughed. “How stupid!”

  “I know.”

  May picked up one of my books and flipped through its pages. “How about you put off studying for one night and come hang out i
n my room? We’ll watch a movie or something.”

  I didn’t hesitate. “I’d love to.”

  I needed a distraction before 2:00 a.m. came.

  “Too bad we can’t invite Christian,” May added. She saw him the day after I had and was super excited to have someone from home at Lucent. She spoke to him quite often. “I mean, unless you believe everything Sophie said, which I think is just crazy, you guys are meant for each other.”

  I stared down at my homework. “I don’t know.”

  “He asks a lot about you,” May said. “I think he suspects something’s up.”

  “I just need some time to sort things out, you know?”

  May nodded. “Maybe the dance next weekend will help you figure out what you want.”

  I lifted my eyebrows. “Dance?”

  May grinned. “I forget you weren’t there. The other morning Sophie announced that one of the all-boy schools from Coast City is coming for a summer dance. I can’t wait! I bet they’re gorgeous.”

  “Sounds like fun,” I said and meant it. Maybe that’s just what I needed to get my mind off Christian. I stood and grabbed a blanket to take to May’s room.

  On the way to her room, May asked, “Are you sleeping any better?”

  I had confessed my sleeping problems to her on my second day at Lucent. “Actually, it’s getting worse. I can’t fall asleep before four in the morning.”

  “How do you get up for class?” She opened the door to her room.

  “I don’t know. You’d think I wouldn’t be able to, but surprisingly it’s not that hard. I think I might just give up on sleep all together.”

  “Why don’t you talk to the nurse about it? Despite her weirdness, she seemed nice enough.” May turned the television on and tossed some pillows onto the floor.

  “Maybe I will. Speaking of weird . . .” I told her about Tessa and how she had almost passed out when I asked her why my room smelled like blood.

  “What did she say?”

  “Nothing. She just turned around and ran off. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had a chance to talk to her since.”

  “That’s odd, but really, Llona, I don’t smell anything.”

  “I guess it’s just me,” I said, making a mental note not to bring it up again.

  While the movie started, I contemplated telling May about what had happened with Christian the night we arrived, specifically about me fighting the Vyken, but decided against it. No point involving her in my “crime.” Besides, it would probably scare her to know that a Vyken was so close to the school. I knew she was still having her own nightmares about Mr. Steele. Just last week I’d heard her screaming at two in the morning. I’d gone to her and insisted on staying in her room until she fell asleep. No, I wouldn’t worry her.

  At ten o’clock the bells chimed, indicating that it was time to turn out the lights. I glanced over at May who was already asleep.

  Very quietly, I turned off the TV, tucked her in, and left the room. The halls were dark and empty. I could hear voices from within a few of the rooms, as girls were still awake, enjoying the weekend. And by the smell of it, a couple of them were painting their nails.

  I picked up my history book and began to read, but by midnight, I needed a major break. I only had a couple of hours before I was to meet Christian.

  My apprehension grew. Over and over I practiced what I’d say to him. “We need some time apart. It’s best for everyone.”

  I dropped my head into my hands. That sounded so stupid. He’d see right through it.

  I stretched out on the bed and shook my hands. My muscles tingled like they normally did when it was a full moon. I stood and crossed my room to the window, but when I stuck my head out and looked up, the sky was black. No moon. Strange.

  The forest’s dark, uneven silhouette against the night sky made it look like a sleeping monster with spikes on its back. It was a monster I was drawn to. It had taken all the strength I had to avoid the forest since that night with Jackson and Christian, despite the fact that we had encountered a Vyken.

  I quickly closed the window and moved back, but even as I did so, I knew my attempt at staying away was futile. It had been too long, and my burning hunger to be a part of the darkness needed to be satiated.

  In one motion, I was climbing out the window and sliding down the pipe against the brick building. I headed straight for the shed, and this time easily jumped to its roof and over to the top of the wall.

  I inhaled deeply. The smell of pine and something else tickled my nose. I jumped from the wall, landing on the ground, and breathed in again. Blood. Fresh blood. Not like the odor in my room. And it was everywhere, all over. Somehow, I was smelling the lifeblood of every creature in the forest.

  What was happening to me?

  I glanced behind me, back to where the sleeping Auras lay. I should be with them.

  The cry of an animal escaped the forest’s grasp. I could no sooner ignore it than a lion could spare its prey. Something inside me, dark and foreign, needed to feel its life in my hands.

  I sprinted away from Lucent. My muscles hummed with Light’s energy but also with something else. A new strength like nothing I had ever experienced before. It craved power, strength and, I sucked in a quick breath, violence.

  The temperature inside the forest dropped a few degrees cooler. The cold and the darkness pressed against my skin, as if it were trying to get inside me. I fought it for just a moment, before I finally gave into it.

  This is when my whole perspective changed. I was no longer looking at the darkness; I was inside it, an actual appendage, like the forest was one giant organism. I could feel the night’s pulse. Its musical beat pulled creatures from their holes, from their caves, from all the black crevices that protected them from day’s light. Here in the blackest of black, hidden beneath the shadows of the old trees, creatures ruled the forest, and I was a part of them.

  I stopped abruptly, my heart pounding, palms sweating. Horror gripped me. What was going on? I slumped against a tree and reached up to the two little holes in my neck. They felt swollen.

  My sensitive ears perked. Not far away two voices spoke.

  Swallowing the fullness in my throat, I welcomed the distraction and headed in their direction. Maybe it was Jackson or Christian.

  I moved as quickly and quietly as I could through the thick brush. Peering around a tree, I listened closely. I no longer heard voices talking. Instead, I heard the faint sounds of something moving in the forest toward me.

  Ducking behind a bush, I spied through the branches just as a Vyken appeared, at least I think it was a Vyken. My body had reacted but not by much, sort of like I’d spun around a few times. I didn’t take the time to wonder why this was; I was too busy focusing on his human-like appearance. If he looked normal, which he did, he must’ve had an Aura’s blood recently.

  I inhaled deeply, my whole body filling with hot and intense rage. The Vyken passed by me, unaware of my location just twenty feet away. I moved out of my hiding place, my footsteps as quiet as his, and with each step, my anger grew. Whatever was happening to me was because of a Vyken. I had killed two before and felt confident I could do it again if given the chance.

  I really wanted that chance.

  Chapter 8

  “You look lost!” I called, and I smiled when the Vyken visibly jerked at the sound of my voice.

  He turned around. His face was narrow with a long thin nose and high nostrils that were flaring—unless this was his permanent expression. I didn’t plan on letting him live long enough to find out.

  His mouth opened, revealing a growing set of fangs. “You’re the one that’s lost, Riding Hood. Didn’t your grandmother tell you to stay away from the woods?”

  “In the version she told me, it was the girl who slayed the big bad wolf. Cut the dirty beast from muzzle to meat sac.”

  I liked how tough I sounded, how powerful it made me feel, but as the Vyken circled around me and I realized how tall he was, I wo
ndered if I’d made a mistake—an awful impulsive move that might have severe consequences.

  Too late now.

  The Vyken looked toward Lucent. “If it wasn’t for your foolish behavior, I’d guess you were an Aura.”

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

  “Do your little Light buddies know you’re out here picking a fight?”

  I snorted, then laughed. “You think any of them would come out here in the dark?”

  There I go again. Why was I bashing my own kind like I was better than them?

  The Vyken scowled, forcing his nostrils up to an impossible length. “If you aren’t an Aura, then what are you?”

  I brought my fists up. “What does it matter? Just fight me already!”

  “You want death?” He took two steps toward me.

  “Yes. Yours.”

  He laughed. “You couldn’t kill a rat.”

  In one leap, I cleared the distance between us and kicked him in the face. He stumbled backward, startled, but quickly regained his composure.

  “I don’t have time for this,” he growled. He attempted to connect his hardened fist with my face, but I easily dodged it. I swung my leg around toward his back, but he was ready. He ducked and used both hands to shove me into a tree.

  I gasped as air exploded from my chest. While I sucked air back in, I created a tight ball of light and tossed it at him. It cut through his jacket and into his side.

  He doubled over. “What the—”

  Rushing him again, my earlier anger now turned to jubilation. I was actually enjoying this!

  In my mind, I calculated my next move, sure it would end the fight in my favor. I was about to execute the plan when he caught me off guard. Faster than I could blink, he appeared behind me, and a hairy, cold arm wrapped around my throat.

  I frantically reached behind me in an attempt to get at his face, but he leaned away. Unable to reach his head, I placed my hands on his arm and ignited them with Light. He cried out, but instead of loosening his grip, he tightened harder, making the Light sputter until it died.