by D. R. Perry
Light of Equality
Hawthorn Academy Book Five
D.R. Perry
The Light of EqualityTeam
Thanks to our Beta Readers
Rachel Beckford and Mary Morris
Thanks to our JIT Readers
Veronica Stephan-Miller, Rachel Beckford, and Kerry Mortimer
Editor
SkyHunter Editing Team
This is a work of fiction with frequent puns, bad jokes, and pop culture references. All characters depicted are my own creations even if they resemble a pack of Slytherdors with a HuffleClaw mascot at times. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Dragonets are, sadly, mere figments of my imagination and I have no idea where you can get one as a pet.
Copyright © 2020 D.R. Perry
Cover by Fantasy Book Design
Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing
LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
LMBPN Publishing
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Version 1.00, July 2021
(Previously published as a part of the megabook Hawthorn Academy: Year Two)
ebook ISBN: 978-1-64971-909-6
Print ISBN: 978-1-64971-910-2
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Glossary
Thank you!
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Chapter One
"Help!"
A clatter of footsteps sounded in the hall before the speaker turned the corner, arms full of fluffy canine—his poodle familiar, Clementine.
"Darren?" I blinked.
His critter was in big trouble. Nurse Smith cleared his throat, raising his voice.
"Move! I've got an emergency here and need space."
We moved aside, Arick running out of the room and up the hall. Dorian stepped backward until he disappeared through the doorway. Logan and I remained front and center, in full view of the drama unfolding on the cot in front of us. The rest of the unbound critters crowded at our feet, herded beside us by Doris and Ember.
"Her pulse is high, too thready." The nurse looked up. "Did you find her like this?"
"She just collapsed after dropping a cup in the trash for me." Darren's voice quavered. "I don't know what did it. She hasn't been sick."
"Ezekiel!"
The vampire stepped through the door. He took one look at the dog on the cot, then leaned forward, wafting air toward his face and inhaling through his nose.
"She's been poisoned. Neurotoxin."
Behind me, Lena gasped and sniffled.
"Neurotoxin?" My nostrils flared, red tinting the edges of my vision. I knew a magus on campus who wielded that substance: Alex Onassis. My throat choked with anger, and I could say nothing more. The air around me began heating rapidly.
That's right. Get fired up and then find him. Make him pay.
I almost gave in because familiar-based magi had a code. Familiars were off-limits, always. Attacking someone's critter was a heinous act, like harming an infant. I lifted my foot and switched my breathing pattern to suit a sprint, but before I could take off, cold fingers interlaced with my blazing ones.
I looked to my left, expecting to see Dorian. He was an ice magus, after all, and had been nearby last time I checked. But it wasn't the new kid holding my hand. It wasn't even Logan, who'd used his water magic to counter my fire before.
"Chill. You've got to cool it, Aliyah."
"Dylan?" Logan named my savior. He stared down at our hands, blinking. When I copied him, everything looked normal.
"Yeah. It happened in the café. I followed Darren."
I shivered because Dylan's grip on my hand was colder than his air magic, which usually mirrored ambient temperature. The involuntary movement shook me out of my anger, and Dylan's grasp too.
"Administering antidote." Nurse Smith snagged the syringe off a tray Ezekiel held out toward him. "Darren, you have to keep calm. Hold her down."
"Okay."
But he couldn't. Darren trembled, his grip too loose. He paled and doubled over, holding his stomach. Was he picking up on her symptoms? Clementine flailed, nearly bucking off the cot in the grip of a seizure.
I rushed around to the other side of the dog, Ember swooping down in tandem. She dived to the opposite side of the cot, leaning against the poodle’s hindquarters before she could fall off. I reached out, grabbing Clementine by the scruff of the neck with one hand and blocking her back with my other shoulder. After that, I locked an arm around her, pinning her to the cot on her side.
"Antidote incoming." Nurse Smith worked quickly, taking the dog's front paw in his hand and giving the injection with a grace I hadn't imagined he possessed.
She whined, crying and straining against my grasp. Darren, now definitely affected by his familiar's dire state, reached toward her face. Her teeth clicked together, jaw clenching and eyes rolling. He pulled back just in time. The impact of this entire ordeal felled him, and he collapsed into the nearest chair, slumping over and dry-heaving.
Dylan, always quick to respond to rogue bodily functions due to his time in food service, placed a wastebasket under the ailing magus.
"Will she be okay?" Dorian asked.
"I don't know." Nurse Smith shook his head, his forehead a tangle of furrows. "She's not improving as expected."
"This antidote is supposed to react with great alacrity." Ezekiel shook his head. "In magi. But neither of us are experts in extraveterinary medicine."
"Call my grandma."
"The headmaster's already on it." Dylan nodded. "He saw the whole thing upstairs. We just have to wait for her to get here."
Bubbe showed up with one of her levitating animal crates that transported heavier critters too sick to walk. When she was ready to leave, Darren followed, shakily leaning on her arm. Headmaster Hawkins stood by and waited for them to depart.
"I'll want a statement from you, Mr. Kahn, including a list of everyone in the café leading up to this incident."
"I'll talk to my boss. She was manning the counter too." Dylan nodded. "I should get back up there to finish my shift."
"No, I've closed the café down for now." The headmaster sighed. "It shall remain out of commission until it's been swept for evidence and thoroughly sanitized."
"You don't think it was something in the food or drink?" Nurse Smith asked.
"I've yet to rule that out." He sighed again. "But I hope not."
"Mr. Brown said it's a neurotoxin." I raised an eyebrow, taking a deep breath as I went ahead, damned the torpedoes, and stood up to the headmaster. "I hope accidental contamination isn't all you’re ruling out, sir."
"My investigation's details are on a need-to-know basis. You, Miss Morgens
tern, do not need to know."
"What about me?" Hal stood in the doorway, clinging to Faith's arm.
"No."
"You're the headmaster." Hal narrowed his eyes. "Sir."
I wondered what that exchange was about, but didn't get a chance to ask.
"Everybody out of my infirmary." Nurse Smith waved his hands in a shooing gesture that didn't include Hal's father.
Even Zeke filed into the hallway with us, heading up the ramp and into the lobby. He turned down the corridor beside the stairs toward the takeout window. The vampire CNA was friends with Penelope but didn't much like mingling with the rest of the students. I couldn't blame him, with anti-vampire sentiment rampant on campus.
When I turned, I noticed Dorian was nowhere to be found. He'd either faded into the crowd of students milling about socializing or had headed up the stairs without saying goodbye. I asked where he went, but Dylan and Logan didn’t know. Lena stood nearby, back pressed against the wall, shrugging.
"Dinner?" I jerked my thumb at the cafeteria, including the shy girl in my question. She shook her head and made a beeline for the stairs.
"I'm not hungry after all that." Logan sighed. "I'm going upstairs to hit the books, and maybe the showers. See you tomorrow."
"I'm not hungry either, but I could use a cuppa." Dylan beckoned, sauntering toward the cafeteria. "Come on."
Once we were seated with tea and toast, which I insisted Dylan include, I asked him the million-dollar question.
"What's with the super-chilled air?"
"I don't know, but I’m worried it’s the good old E-word."
"You need to do something about that right away." I picked up my tea to keep from fidgeting. The idea that Dylan might also be an extramagus had me on edge for reasons I couldn't define. "If last year taught me anything, it was to ask for help. The headmaster said I should have gone to Luciano about it."
And you're still not telling anyone about me, or asking your crush whether he's got a devil on his shoulder. How interesting.
"Don't worry, I'll learn from your mistake. Watch."
He pulled out his notebook from the lecture, the one that transcribed everything off the magical blackboards. These worked two ways, letting us ask teachers questions outside class by writing them in the book.
"Do you have a pen?"
"Sure." I pulled one from behind my ear and set it on the table. I didn't want our hands touching again, especially not when he could see my face.
"Thanks."
I watched him print out words requesting a meeting with Professor DeBeer immediately. The words faded, typical when the recipient saw the message. A new one appeared briefly, instructing him to report to her office in twenty minutes. At least he'd have time to finish his toast and tea.
"I'm going to nip this in the bud." He grinned. "No secrets, no lies."
"Good." I held the teacup in front of half my face, hoping to hide any awkward expression that might cross it. "Make sure you say the E-word right away. That was my mistake, not telling anybody."
"Well, you've got Luciano, so I can barely blame you. He's not an approachable fellow."
"You'd be surprised if you were in his class. He looks and sounds stodgy, but underneath it all, he’s a big softie."
"How?" Dylan's eyes narrowed. "He's a poison magus. Don't you suspect him? You know, about Clementine?"
"No way." I shook my head. "He taught for decades overseas in very exclusive schools. If he were the type of guy to do stuff like that, his career would've ended ages ago."
"Fair enough." Dylan chewed on a triangle of toast. "But he was in the café right before it happened."
"That doesn't mean anything. Darren mentioned the trash can. I'm surprised the headmaster only asked for a list of people. Familiars have their own powers, and some are natural enemies. Bubbe uses herbs and light or sound to soothe them, but I haven't seen anything like that outside of the academic wing and the cafeteria. That's one reason we have Familiar Bonding, right?"
"Yeah. To make sure their bonds with magi tempers their instincts. I hadn't thought of that."
"Another thing. Those ties go both ways. Our critters influence us, too."
"I just can't imagine any familiar so bad they turn their magus evil. Gale keeps me company and helps just by being here. He’s vain as a peacock but kind when it counts."
“Some people might use their familiar’s instinct as an excuse for bad behavior. Or lean on their critters so much the bond goes sour.”
"I know what you mean. Logan's family is a case in point.” Dylan shook his head. “He lived with you for a week, so you know about their dysfunction. They're awful. I’d hoped they were the exception."
"According to Bubbe, they are. She says very few magi with familiars get as close as the Pierces to outright exploitation."
"I want to ask Logan how he's doing. His parents tossing him out, then calling the cops is madness. But I don't think he's ready to talk."
"It hasn't been that long. Just give him time." I shrugged, mostly at myself. Because there I sat, unable to take my own advice.
"Yeah." Dylan swallowed, then looked at me. "I'm sorry."
"Why?" I blinked.
"Because I feel like a whingy bastard." He stared at the dregs of his tea. "I'm supposed to make grades, become a doctor, and then make money, not talk about feelings. Or start writing poems and playing guitar badly. Noah didn’t write that piece at Open Mic, I did."
"How many people love art, music, and books? It's all because of how those things make us feel. You went out on a limb, catching feelings and showing the world. That takes bravery, chutzpah. Don't put that guitar down just yet. You're not whiny, you just have a heart. I'm sorry for not reaching out sooner."
"I'll stop apologizing when you do."
"Something tells me the devil's throne will get encased in ice before that happens with either of you."
"Butt out, Spanos," Dylan snarled.
"I need to talk to Aliyah about—"
"Sod off!"
I blinked and shook my head, shocked, but maybe I shouldn't have been. The fuse on the powder keg between Dylan and Dorian had to run out sooner or later.
"Yeah, sure, fine, whatever." Dorian rolled his eyes, removed his hands from our table, and walked away, his back making way too straight a line.
"I can't stand that bloody fop." Dylan wrinkled his nose. "I don't know how you tolerate having him around all the time."
"Mostly for Logan." I shrugged. "He makes people laugh, at least."
"He's witty, I'll give him that. And well-dressed, thanks to wealthy parents. But his defining trait is laziness."
"What do you mean?"
"Dorian Spanos can't be bothered to participate in Gym. Has to have a doctor's note. In Creatives, he sat around the entire time watching Grace bust her ass at the sewing machine. And in the library, he sat in the corner conjuring lewd ice pictures on the wall where the Ashfords couldn't see. He's trouble."
"Well, I think Logan likes him. Likes-likes."
"Bollocks."
"The heart wants what it wants, Dylan." I gazed into my tea.
"Don't I know it." He crumbled the last of his toast into his empty cup, then put his plates together. "But mine’s broken. Later, Aliyah."
He knows nothing about your heart.
I watched him leave, passing Tempe Fairbanks in the lobby on his way. She smirked at me and tapped her temple, then turned it in a slow circle beside her head. I rolled my eyes. She turned her back and followed Dylan.
So of course I rose from my seat and bolted toward the doorway, but by that time, both Tempe and Dylan had gone.
Chapter Two
Dorian
Gryphon-Egg Problems
I couldn't handle watching the poodle and her magus. I know, I know. I'm a goth who sees beauty in darkness and knows death was change through tragedy. But I am also seventeen, and staring death in the face like this again would be too much, too soon.
That's
why I ran away from my problems at Hawthorn Academy for the third time in as many days. I'm a coward, I admit it. I wouldn't be any good to my classmates and the new friends I'd made amongst them if the shit hit the fan courtesy of Temperance Fairbanks or anyone else, for that matter. They didn’t know that about me yet, but eventually, they'd figure it out.
Yesterday, I would have told you my secret identity as a scaredy-cat was safe. Until the case of the poisoned poodle, I’d thought Grace was exaggerating, Faith had serious sibling rivalry, and Aliyah was a paranoid extramagus. The only one I trusted on campus was Logan Pierce, but he barely spoke about Tempe in particular or magisupremacists on campus in general. His main concern was his family, and I didn't blame him.
It's ironic that my own folks accepted me no matter what, not that I didn't need it, all things considered. Ironic and lucky, I guess. I was secretly a unicorn in more ways than one. Anyway, Logan's home life sounded like a horror show, and I was worried about Parent’s Night for his sake.
But I digress. That happens to me a lot. I don't know whether it's cowardice or laziness, but I'm all talk and no action. Changing the subject is safest most of the time, but it flies like a hardboiled egg in emergencies. Everyone and Aliyah's actual grandma wanted to act right then, which was why I ran off to find a place to hide.
At the top of the ramp coming up from the infirmary, I saw food service staff with protective aprons, goggles, and gloves on, closing off the café. Even that sadistic Coach Pickman helped. I couldn't hide in there, and I wouldn't want to for fear of neurotoxin contamination, but I needed a place to calm down with Mercy, who I'd tucked under my arm inside my blazer.