Bitter Magic

by Raven Steele

  But this wasn’t what frightened me. It was the wall of dirt, at least ten feet high, rushing toward him from the side. He didn’t seem to see it.

  “Christian!” I yelled.

  Cyrus was off to the side, his hands outstretched as he controlled the moving wall of earth. Next to him stood Jackson and Eira, but no Sophie. Where was she?

  Christian slowly looked up at me, eyes empty. Like the dead.

  I forced myself up and began to run despite the pain. Two Vykens I hadn’t noticed before sprinted toward me from behind Christian. I shot a spray of Light from each palm, hitting them both in the chest. The force of it was enough to knock them back several yards into the side of the school where they fell limp.

  I focused my spray of Light at Cyrus, but Eira produced a wall of ice in front of them that I couldn’t penetrate.

  The moving wall of earth was almost to Christian.

  “Move!” I screamed, but he just stood there, blinking strangely. Why isn’t he moving?

  I was almost to him but realized I still wasn’t going to make it in time. I shot one more blast of Light. It hit Christian and began to lift him into the air. He’ll be okay. He’ll live. I almost smiled.

  Out of nowhere, another wall of dirt rose behind Christian, stopping his body from moving out of the way. He bounced off it and fell to the ground. At the last second, his head raised and our eyes met. I sucked in a breath.

  The rushing wall of dirt crashed down upon him, sending a spray of dust into the air despite the rain. I bolted into the dirty mist and began to dig.

  “No, no, no. Please, no!” I dug fast, reaching into the ground as far as I could. Tears and rain fell from my cheeks. Any second now, I’d feel an arm, a leg, his hair, anything to hold onto. I called to him and prayed for a response.

  Using both my arms, I shoved dirt aside, back and forth, pushing the growing mud away. Upheaved roots and broken tree limbs thwarted my efforts by tearing at my skin and nails.

  I gritted my teeth and swiped my rain-soaked hair from my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt. If I could just find him, I’d give him all of my Light to save him. Oh, Christian, please!

  I continued to dig until something hard crashed against the side of my head. I fell over onto my back and blinked into the rain, but my fingers kept moving through the earth, still searching. Must find Christian.

  A Vyken’s dark form stepped over me, and he held something shiny in his hands. I tried to focus on it, but my head was spinning way too fast. Whether from his presence or the fact that he’d just bashed my head, I couldn’t be sure. The Vyken knelt down beside me and laughed. Jameson. He raised the object; rain slid down its silver edge.

  Even though I was on my back, I kept digging, both hands clawing into the earth and bringing up handfuls of only dirt. No Christian.

  Jameson brought down the knife, but before it could pierce my heart, I rolled to the side. The knife plunged into the ground. I swung my good leg around hard and brought it down on his spine, making him collapse. I scurried onto his back and screamed as I took hold of his head and snapped it back hard. Light filled my arms and hands and spread to Jameson until his head burst into a million pieces, followed by the rest of his body.

  With Jameson no longer under me, I fell to the ground and blinked rain from my eyes. And something warm. A drop of dark blood fell from my cheek.

  I continued to dig. At least I think my fingers were moving. I felt nothing, and I was struggling just to remain conscious. I stopped only when I heard my name. A faint whisper. Christian!

  “Llona.” The voice was louder.

  I raised my head. It was Cyrus, still standing next to the school.

  “Join us,” he said.

  Anger rose inside me, but it wasn’t like before, not dark and demanding. It was only the overwhelming urge to stop the pain and suffering of my friends. To stop anyone else from dying, and to repay what he did to Britt.

  I raised my hand and flung it forward. A single ball of Light, full of every emotion inside me, left my palm, fast and furious.

  Before I lost consciousness, I saw it smash through the wall of ice Eira had created again and continue on its path toward Cyrus. At the last second, he took hold of Eira and jerked her in front of him. The ball of Light hit her between the eyes, and she exploded into dust.

  Chapter 39

  Lights flashed. I opened my eyes and closed them. I was so tired. My body was being carried. I opened my eyes again, but they snapped shut just as quickly. Liam was carrying me.

  “She’s coming to,” Liam said.

  I tried to speak. Christian. Someone had to help Christian.

  “What is it, Llona?” Liam asked gently.

  I tried again. “Christian.” I couldn’t hear my own voice, but Liam heard.

  “They’re looking for him.”

  “Under dirt.” It hurt to speak but not physically.

  Liam paused, listening to my silent pleas. “We’ll find him.”

  A second later, I heard him say to someone else, “Tell them to look under the dirt where we found Llona.”

  Liam continued carrying me.

  “Hang on, Llona,” May’s voice said from somewhere close by. “We’re taking you to the nurse. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

  Lost blood meant I’d need blood. I began to struggle, my eyes fighting to stay open. “No! No blood!”

  “Let us worry about that,” Liam said. “We’ll make sure it’s safe.”

  Before I fell unconscious again, I gasped, “Get Kiera.”

  I wasn’t sure what time it was when I woke, but it was dark. But not as dark as I felt inside. I blinked at the blackened window and tried to figure out where I was. By the tan decor and floral bedspread I knew I was still at Lucent. I rolled over and grunted when pain shot up my leg.

  “You’re awake,” May said. She sat at the foot of the bed. Her left eye was black and blue, and her hands were bandaged.

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, just barely. “I’ll be fine.”

  “What time is it?” I asked, wincing from the pain of speaking. By how tight the skin felt on my face, I knew it must be swollen.

  “Almost midnight.” She sounded exhausted.

  “Where am I?”

  May glanced around with her good eye which was red and puffy, like she’d been crying. “One of the bedrooms. The nurse’s office is just around the corner. She’s attending to others right now.”

  A lump formed in my throat. “How many were injured?”

  “Several Guardians, a few Lizens, and, the last I heard, twelve girls, specifically the ones who were in their rooms when the attack began.”

  I hated asking the next question. “How many died?”

  May paused. “Five Guardians, two Lizens, and three Auras, but six are missing.”

  I rolled onto my back and pulled the covers up to my chin. I was so cold. “How’s Liam? Kiera?”

  “They’re both fine.”

  She placed another blanket on top of me.

  “And Arik and Aaron? Dr. Han?”

  “They’ll survive.”

  “And Sophie?”

  She swallowed. “Still missing.”

  There was still one more person I needed to ask about, but I couldn’t bring myself to say his name.

  May touched my shoulder lightly and said in a quiet voice, “We found him, Llona. I’m so sorry. He didn’t make it.”

  I sucked in air, but my lungs wouldn’t expand fully. My breathing quickened, cold, short breaths, and the whole world began to spin.

  “May?” I gripped her arm tightly, searching for an anchor, something to keep from losing my sanity.

  “I … I don’t know what to say,” she stuttered, and then she began to cry.

  Tears I didn’t know I had left in me joined hers. I stared at the ceiling, gasping for air.

  “I don’t know how,” May said through several hitched breaths, “but we’ll get through this. You’ll get through this.”
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  I tried to nod, but I don’t think I did. How could I get through this?

  A soft knock at the door made me wipe at my eyes. The door opened, and Liam stuck his head in. “Can I come in for a minute?”

  May sniffed and stood. “Of course. I’m going to go get Tessa and Kiera. They’ll want to know that you’re awake.”

  As soon as she was gone, Liam moved to the side of my bed. His dark hair was crusted and matted with dried blood. I also noticed he was limping.

  “You look terrible,” he said. “How do you feel?”

  I didn’t answer him, but my chin quivered when I said, “Why didn’t you help him?”

  He didn’t say anything for a long moment, then, “A choice had to be made.”

  I exhaled. The air barely passed through my tight chest. “I don’t know how to get through this.”

  Liam looped his finger through the chain on my neck. He pulled it out from the blankets and stared at the pendant the chain held. “Christian gave this to you, didn’t he?”

  I nodded.

  “The symbols. Tell me what they mean.”

  I barely managed to say, “Endure to the end.”

  He let go of the necklace. “That’s how you’ll deal.”

  “I don’t know if I can.” Sophie was missing, and Christian was gone. The blankets on top of me provided no warmth.

  “You will. In time.”

  I turned to him. “How can you be so sure?”

  Liam crossed the room to the door and stared out its window into the hall. Finally, he turned around. His green eyes were glassy, like a stone at the bottom of a lake. “A long time ago, Vykens held me captive and made me watch as they killed my parents, my two younger sisters, and,” he swallowed and adjusted his jaw, “my wife. We’d only been married for three days. I know about loss, Llona. I know what it feels like to wish for the worse kind of torture over what you’re feeling right now, but it gets better.” He paused. “Duller, anyway.”

  My eyelids drooped, and my chest felt like it was collapsing within itself. “Why? Why so much sorrow?”

  “I asked myself that same question every day for over a hundred years, and you know what I came up with?”

  I shook my head and wiped at my eyes.

  “Nothing. There’s no reason for it. Horrible, unexplainable things happen all the time.”

  “How do people go on?”

  He looked steadily into my eyes. “They find a purpose. Mine was helping others through the Deific. Doing what I could to make the world less miserable for everyone else.”

  A knock on the door interrupted us.

  When Liam opened the door, Tessa and Kiera rushed to the bed and hugged me. They looked good, no injuries. For that, I was grateful. May stood behind them, her lips pursed together as if she were holding back more tears.

  “Are you okay?” Tessa asked.

  “I will be.” My eyes met Liam’s behind them. “I think.”

  The door was still open, and Dr. Han came into the room. He closed the door behind him.

  “Where’s Sophie?” I asked right away. “Please tell me you know something.”

  Dr. Han looked at Liam, and I noticed the girls had tensed.

  “What?” I asked.

  “The Deific is still looking for her,” Liam said.

  Dr. Han moved next to him. “I’ll admit they don’t have much to go on, but it’s still early. Every man available is helping. We’ll find her.”

  “And Jackson? Cyrus?”

  Liam bristled. “They got away, but we got a few of the other Guardians who had turned. They were the ones rounding up the girls left in the school.”

  Dr. Han moved towards me. “What happened outside the school?”

  I stared at the dirt beneath my fingernails. “Christian fought Cyrus. I didn’t see it though. Only saw Cyrus bury him with a wall of moving earth.”

  I swallowed and nearly choked. “I tried to save him, but he was too far under. Then Jameson attacked me. I killed him.”

  If I had said this last week, I would’ve been thrilled, reveled in the fact, but I felt no joy now. Only sadness.

  Dr. Han rested his hand over mine. “I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to get Sophie back and make sure Cyrus pays for his crimes, but, please, right now focus on getting better. How’s your leg?”

  I shook my head. “There’s so much more to worry about than my dumb leg. It will be fine, but who knows if Sophie or the other Auran girls will be.”

  “Getting them back is our top priority,” he assured. “And, starting immediately, things are going to change around here. The pills, for example. The Deific has already replaced them with a placebo. Within a month, the girls should be back to normal.”

  “Why a placebo?” I asked. “Just cut them off. Tell them everything that’s been going on. Tell them how they’ve all been fooled. Tell them their true potential!”

  “Change takes time,” he explained gently. “We have to ease them into this or no one will believe us. Remember, Llona, this has been the Auran way of life for decades.” He glanced back at Liam, then to me. “But I want your help to change it. I need someone who can help Auras find the strength they once had. I need you, Llona.”

  “To do what?” I glanced at Tessa and Kiera who were both smiling, but May still looked sad.

  “I want you to teach,” Dr. Han said. “This fall I’m going to introduce some new classes. One of them will be teaching Auras to fight. We won’t call it that, of course. We’ll have to be very subtle.”

  “Even after what just happened? Aren’t the Auras, the Council, up in arms about this?”

  “The Council is divided. An emergency meeting has been scheduled to decide how to proceed. With your help, I hope to change their way of thinking. Help them to see the power within them.”

  May rested her arm on my shoulder. “What do you think, Llona? I know you’ll make a great teacher.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  The room fell quiet. I looked again at the dirt on my hands and under my nails. Something on my arm caught my eye, and I was surprised I hadn’t noticed sooner. A white cotton ball covered by a single piece of clear tape. “I was given blood.”

  “It was mine,” Kiera said quickly. “Vyken-free.”

  “What about the rest of it?” I asked, feeling a little relieved. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if I had been given more of a Vyken’s poison.

  Liam answered first. “Most of it was taken, but some of what was left was used on injured girls.”

  “You let them use it?”

  “It happened before we knew what was going on,” Liam explained.

  “Was it poisoned?”

  “We don’t know yet.”

  I sunk further into the bed. “Is there any good news?”

  “What happened tonight could’ve been so much worse,” Liam said. “Sophie saved a bunch of lives by sending girls home. That is the good news.”

  “But there’s still the other threat.” I looked back and forth at Liam and Dr. Han. “I saw it. The Shadow. It was here.”

  Dr. Han tensed. “Are you sure?”

  “There was no mistaking it. It came together from the shadows of Cyrus’s office and formed behind Cyrus.”

  Dr. Han and Liam locked eyes. Dr. Han said to him, “Cyrus is in control of it. This is bad, Liam.”

  “We’ll deal with it tomorrow,” Liam answered.

  I forced a yawn, not wanting to think about anything else bad right now. I just wanted to sleep.

  “Are you still tired?” May asked.

  “Yeah, I think I’d like some time alone. Rest and stuff.”

  “Sure. Of course,” Tessa said. “We’re going to go check with Abigail. See if we can help.”

  They left the room with Dr. Han. Before Liam left too, he came to my bedside. “The next several months, possibly years, are going to be very difficult for you. Just remember, though, that you’re never alone. You still have your u
ncle, your teachers, your friends. And me.” He paused. “We care a great deal about you.”

  I nodded, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t force a smile.

  Just as Liam was about to close the door, I said, “Wait!” He glanced back at me. “Will you stay? I want to sleep but don’t think I can do it alone.”

  He nodded and closed the door. “Of course.”

  Chapter 40

  My eyes opened. The room was bright and light spilled in between the slits in the blinds. It took only a second for me to remember everything. I swallowed hard, unsure how I was going to deal with today.

  “Liam?” My throat was dry, and my body ached, especially my leg, but at least I could move it now.

  Liam moved into my line of sight. “I’m here.”

  He looked the same as last night. Blood caked his matted hair and on the side of his face, and his shirt was torn. I was touched he had stayed the entire time. “Thanks for being with me.”

  “It was nothing. How are you feeling?”

  It took me a moment to answer. “A little better.”

  While Liam spoke, I moved into a sitting position. “I thought of something else last night.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Dr. Han said Cyrus is controlling the Shadow. If that’s true, why did the Shadow, or really Cyrus, save Christian in the tower? Especially if he was only going to kill him later?”

  Liam shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe he wanted you to have more time with Christian, to cause you more pain.” His voice was bitter and full of anger.

  I stared down at the bedspread, remembering Cyrus’s last words. I needed to get stronger, and fast. Before he could hurt me anymore. I thought of my friends. And Jake.

  “What next?” I asked.

  “We hunt down everyone involved. The Deific has already begun. They’ve been questioning the captured Guardians all night.”

  “What about the Shadow?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know anything yet, but we’ll deal with it.”