by Lan Chan
I sucked in a breath. “You’d need a million lifetimes to read all these.”
“Nonsense,” Basil said. “I bet I could get through these in just under a century.”
“Do you really want to be stuck in that body for another century?”
“Good point.”
Like most of the rest of the Academy, the library appeared deserted today. “Where is everyone?” I asked. Here and there were one or two students, but for the most part, we were alone.
“Most of the students choose to spend their weekends outdoors,” Kai said.
“We were outdoors and I didn’t see anyone.”
“We’ve only scratched the surface of the area surrounding the Academy. You haven’t even been into the billabong or the Fae forest.”
“I might have been to the billabong if Adam hadn’t stopped me. But you already know that, don’t you?”
He opened the door to what looked like an office. He kept his expression neutral but his grip on the doorknob was white-knuckled. The feeling was mutual. I didn’t want to be in here with him any more than he wanted to be hanging out with me on a Saturday.
When he shut the door behind us, a silvery light raced around the frame. Kai and Basil acted like it was nothing. Basil hopped up on the square table while Kai sat down on one of the four chairs. I sat opposite him but my attention was still on the light around the door.
“It’s a magical seal,” Kai said. “It stops anyone from being able to eavesdrop on us.”
“Why does a library have this kind of facility?”
“It’s soundproof. You’d be surprised how popular these rooms get around exam time.”
I could just imagine. Especially if your roommate, like mine, happened to be a snorer.
“So what’s this all about?” Basil asked. Somebody had left a moth-eaten book about the properties of crystals on the table. He leafed through it. He was pretty dexterous for somebody who didn’t have fingers. If he really put his mind to it, I had a feeling he’d be more than able to open the dorm door and leave. The question was why he hadn’t tried to do it yet.
“My grandmother told me you’ve been hearing voices,” Kai said.
I braced my elbows on the table and tucked my fists under my chin. “Is she your actual grandmother?”
He frowned. “She might be a couple of greats past being my direct grandmother. But I don’t see what that has to do with anything. The voices?”
“I’ve told her everything I know.”
“Are these voices the same as the one you heard when you tapped into the Ley lines?”
I thought about that. After a moment, I shook my head. “These other voices feel like they’re abstract. Like they’re just floating around and I happen to be there to pick them up. The voice I heard in the abyss, that’s what I’m calling it, that was specific to me.”
Kai turned to Basil. “You said her great-grandmother was a famous hedge witch.”
Basil turned another page. “I said she was a great hedge witch. Not a famous one.”
“What’s the difference?”
“The difference is that you’re not going to find her name in there.” He pointed outside the room to a display case of books, one of which was a huge tome with a thick brown leather cover. The Book of Beasts. Sophie had a newer edition of the book. We had unsuccessfully tried to look up Basil in there.
“Why not?” Kai asked.
“Because Hilary didn’t want to have anything to do with the magical community,” Basil said.
“She was an outsider?”
“Just the fact that you’d call her that is a perfect example of why she chose to stay away.”
“That’s impossible. All magical beings are brought into the fold or their magic is nullified so they can’t hurt humans.”
Basil laughed. I was still getting used to his patched face not aligning with the expressions and sounds he made. No wonder there were horror movies about dolls that come to life. “Beings from another dimension might be able to be detected,” Basil said, “But a witch of the Earth dimension would be impossible to find if she wanted to disappear.”
I didn’t know what possessed me but I couldn’t help the name that came out of my mouth. “Soul Sisterhood,” I breathed.
They both looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I’d read up on them as well while I was sick. Apparently when the seraphim and other supernaturals came through the dimensional barrier, they hadn’t counted on the Earth having its own magical defence system. The entity known as Gaia had imbued her essence into her own warriors. A group of women who would become the first in a broken line of slayers. Not just demon slayers, either. They didn’t discriminate between the demons or the other supernaturals. According to the supernatural historians, Gaia was greatly weakened after the Dimension Wars ended. She disappeared altogether a century ago along with her warriors.
Centuries on, they were a scary bedtime story supernatural parents told to keep their kids in line. The bogeyman of the bogeymen, I suppose.
“So let me get this straight,” Kai said. “You don’t know what you did to deserve this punishment, you don’t know exactly what it is about her bloodline that makes her magic so potent, and you can’t tell us anything about her great-grandmother that might point to us being able to figure something out?”
Basil stopped turning the pages. He closed the book in one swift movement without glancing down. “I know one thing,” he said. “Alessia is not a demon. No Hastings woman would allow that.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Do they teach you nothing at this Academy?” Basil said. “How many demons have you encountered who can bring life to anything?”
Kai leaned back in the chair. It made a creaking sound that spoke of the weight of his muscle. “It’s Demonology 101,” Basil kept going. “No demon from another dimension is able to reap what the Earth has to give.” He pointed at me. “She’s a hedge witch. She kicked your manticore’s behind in the trials using Earth magic. Your angel blade doesn’t hurt her. I don’t know how much more conclusive proof you need.”
If I’d known Basil would come out swinging for me, I would have brought him out of seclusion a lot sooner. Kai, however, was unmoved.
“That doesn’t explain how she’s so strong.”
Basil rounded on him. “Explain to me how a Nephilim of Raphael’s bloodline, a healer, managed to hold off the hordes of the Hell dimension on his own for hours until backup arrived?”
“Who told you that?” Kai leaned forward. The legs of his chair touched back down on the ground. His green eyes flashed irritation.
“Nobody needed to tell me anything. The mirror network is quite extensive. There is gossip flying around all over the place.”
I could have kicked myself for not thinking to pry sooner. Kai’s attention slid from Basil to me. He was obviously not impressed with the idea of me knowing his secrets. Well tough. We were in here and I was being interrogated so two could play at that game. Hold on a second, why were we in here and not in Jacqueline’s office?
“You don’t have official permission to question me, do you?” I asked.
“I don’t need permission -”
“Ah yeah, you kinda do.”
“No, I don’t. I have a duty to protect the Academy –”
I stood up, pushing my chair back. “This isn’t about the Academy, though, is it? It’s about whatever personal vendetta you have against the demons for the loss of your family.” There it was. That same shroud of obsession that descended over him whenever his family was mentioned.
“I get it,” I said. “I’d do anything to protect the people I care about too. But I’m so done with being called a demon because guess what? I’m a bit worried about what I can do too. But instead of helping me, you’re just trying to find ways to suppress my ability because you’re such a control freak.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Basil, we’re out of here.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice. Is there a
Western Romance section in the library? I have a lot of catching up to do.” I suppressed a smile at the thought of my protector reading Western Romances.
We left the prince in the office, quietly seething with the vein in his brow twitching. “He seems upset,” Basil observed.
“Don’t worry about it. That’s just his normal face.”
It turned out there was a section for pleasure reading, and there were more romance novels than anything else. Who knew supernaturals were just as obsessed with happily ever afters as anybody else?
I didn’t need a library card. Like the mirrors, I simply passed the back of my hand over the scanner and it beeped. “Your borrows have been registered,” the mirror voice said. “You will receive a reminder when the due date is close. Have a bewitching day!”
“Creepy.”
I had a feeling Sophie would be up and waiting for a blow by blow. She practically ripped my arm off she was clutching on to it so tightly when I told her I’d blown Kai off.
“You did not say that to him!”
Basil interjected on my behalf. “Yes she did. Though now that I think about it, that might not have been such a great idea. He’s arrogant, yes, but he also has a reason to be. Maybe you shouldn’t antagonise him anymore.”
“Excuse me? You’re the one who called him out on his obsession.”
“Yes, but I’m not the one whose very presence seems to drive him crazy.”
I wasn’t sure why but my face flamed at the comment. Sophie dissolved into a bout of laughter. I was saved from further humiliation when the sound of bells ringing interrupted us. Sophie jumped up off the bed.
“It’s the mirror,” she explained. Picking it up, she tried to activate it but the glass stayed opaque. “I think it’s for you.”
I accepted the mirror with tentative fingers. The mirror unlocked when I touched it and Kai’s face appeared. I resisted the urge to turn the mirror around to show Sophie in case it was an active call and not a message. A second later, I was glad.
“Blue,” he said. The pause said it all.
“Kai.”
His brow creased just slightly.
“I told you,” Basil whispered to Sophie. “He gets insane just looking at her. But he can’t seem to stay away.”
I glared at them both. They turned around, showing me their backs like that was some kind of appeasing gesture. I could see their chests vibrating and knew they were laughing at me.
“Alright,” Kai said, drawing my attention back to him. His jaw was clamped tight. “I’ll teach you to fight.”
“Oh well thank you so very much, your royal jackass. But I’d rather learn from someone who doesn’t look like they’d prefer to rip off their fingernails with pliers.” Nobody said he didn’t drive me nuts as well.
His eyes narrowed. “Be in the Grove after your last class on Monday.”
The screen went dark and then it turned back into a reflective surface. “Mirror mirror on the wall, who do I want to kill most of all?”
It didn’t answer. All I heard was the sound of Basil and Sophie’s raucous laughter.
29
Every class on Monday flew. Now that I wasn’t so concerned about being a demon in disguise and an angel blade wasn’t dangling over my head constantly, I found the classes fascinating. Though I’d had a bit of time off, the reading I’d done while in the infirmary helped me to catch up.
Cassie gave me a bright smile, but Maddison sneered when I walked into class. “So you didn’t die then,” she said.
“Don’t worry, if I do, I’ll be sure to come back and haunt you first.”
I was pretty sure she made an obscene gesture at me but I didn’t turn around in time to see it. Her friends snickered, though.
“Ignore them,” Cassie said. I took solace in the fact that she was able to let it go. I had enough problems with bullies my own age. The last thing I needed was more conflict. Professor Mortimer let me sit out of the practical exercises in Arcane Magic in favour of me reading through the book he’d given me on the basics of magic circles. The class was noticeably absent of one indigo-winged Fae.
“Glad you’re not dead,” Adam said when everyone got up to begin the practical portion of the lesson.
“I’m sure you’d be the first to tell if I did die,” I snapped.
The sharp tone took him aback. But he recovered quickly even if his cheeks turned a shade of pink.
“Hey,” he said, reaching for my arm as I tried to get past. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep the secret. But we don’t take that kind of thing lightly around here. I have a duty to protect this place and the other students.”
I wasn’t sure if it was the physical contact or the actual apology that had me relenting. “It’s fine,” I said, trying to inject a smile into my voice. “I understand.”
“Friends?”
I laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
He gave me his trademark grin that seemed to illuminate this section of the room. The light feeling in my chest lasted until I turned around and caught Kai staring at us. Where Adam’s presence was bright, Kai’s aura seemed to leach the light and oxygen from the room. I could feel my nostrils flaring as something akin to adrenaline pumped through my veins.
“I don’t know why everyone suspects me of being the demon,” I said to him. “You’re the embodiment of the prince of darkness.”
He seemed to find this amusing because he smirked and went back to drawing the not-that-perfect circle on the floor. If only Fred could see this.
At four in the afternoon, my mood had turned sour. I stomped into the Grove where earlier in the day I’d gotten an earful from the purple nymph for being negligent. They were nowhere to be seen. Dropping down on the grass in the clearing, I tucked my head in between my knees and tried to take long, calming breaths.
“Problem?” Kai’s voice came from in front of me.
“No.”
“Is that why you look like you want to tear your hair out?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Blue.”
“Shut up! Are we going to do this or not?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. He’d changed into sweats again. They were navy with a matching Academy T-shirt. Was there any colour that didn’t make him look like a demigod?
I wished I had the ability to teleport so I could always appear daisy fresh. As it was, I was sweat soaked and surly from another bout of getting my ass kicked. This time it was Diana who dealt it. At least she hadn’t tried to stab me in the end. That much I could be grateful for.
“I think not, considering the mood you’re in.”
I got up as though to leave. “Sit your ass back down,” he said.
I don’t know why I complied. That annoyed me so I started ripping out blades of grass. He crouched down in front of me, his eyes tracking the destruction to the lawn. “Bad day at the office?”
I remained silent. “I’d stop doing that unless you want to incur the wrath of some pissed-off nymphs. Believe me, the screeching and acorn throwing is the tip of the iceberg.”
My hands stilled. I glanced around for somewhere else to channel my rage but it was too peaceful. It occurred to me there was a reason he wanted to meet here and not inside one of the specialised training rooms.
I’d learned that there was even a room of suspended reality where the older students went to hone their fighting skills. The surroundings and opponents could be selected based on the lesson or the skill of the fighter. Judging by my current circumstances, I was nowhere near ready to be in that place.
“What happened?” he asked, bearing his weight down on one hand splayed on the grass.
I took in the powerful yet elegant lines of his body. I’d never had the displeasure of seeing him in a fight, but there was no disputing the well-honed muscle that sculpted every inch of him.
“Blue?” his voice snagged.
“I’m never going to be strong enough to be any good in a fight, am I?”
“Weapo
nry and Combat not going so well?”
I sagged. “I’m making a really good punching bag. But that’s about all I can claim at the moment.”
“You’ve barely had any training.”
“How do you train someone to fight a creature twice their size with ten times their strength and speed?”
He glanced between us. That was just about the physical disparity between us. But I wasn’t even thinking about him. Ever since he’d put the notion in my head, I couldn’t help wondering about the difference between the demon voice and the actual demon in the cavern. I hadn’t been physically present that time. But if I was, and that thing had come at me, I’d be dead meat in less than ten seconds.
“Now you know how your friend feels.”
“What?”
“That pale kid with the thick glasses.”
“Fred?”
He shrugged as though Fred’s name wasn’t important. “He’s a light mage who’s scared of his own shadow. His circle work is rubbish. And yet he shows up to every class and is always in the library reading. It sucks not to have the natural advantage. Boo hoo.”
“Like you know anything about not having an advantage.”
He leaned forward and glared at me. His face was pressed so close I could see the flecks of gold that made his eyes even greener. “You wanna see the advantages I’ve had?” he said, voice rough. “Let’s go.”
Before I could even utter a word of protest, he had reached out and teleported us to a room I didn’t recognise. I wasn’t a high-magic user but even I could feel the pulse of something not of this world in the air around us.
The walls here were made of a gleaming white marble gilded with gold. “Where are we?”
Just as I spoke, a Nephilim popped into existence not far away from us. He flew up to the ceiling and then out the door. “We’re in the Nephilim archives,” Kai said. He led me on foot through one great hall after another.