by Hannah Wick
“They put my mum on life support. They say she hasn’t got long left.”
“That sucks. Sorry,” Cassandra said. She leaned in to comfort him. He took a step back, distancing himself from her.
“Don’t be. I am going to save her. I just need more time.”
“If it’s her time to go, it won’t matter,” Cassandra replied, unable to keep her mouth shut.
“It’s not her time to go,” he told her. “And I can’t believe you of all people would say that!”
Devron turned away and headed down the hall. “I’m going to do some research. Don’t follow me. I want to be alone.”
I glared back at Cassandra, shaking my head.
“What? I just stated the truth. I didn’t mean anything insulting by it.”
“He’s our friend. You should have been a little more sensitive.”
“But he is such a dick!” Cassandra retorted.
“You’re supposed to be his friend,” I gasped.
“You’re supposed to be his friend, too.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean? I was his friend. The lights flickered. It was time to change the subject, before my temper got me in trouble. We turned down the corridor into the main hall where people were eating. An announcement rang through the academy’s intercom.
“All students to the main hall immediately.”
I thrust my hands into my pockets and leaned back against a wall, ignoring Cassandra completely. The hall filled up quickly, some students taking a seat, others milling around looking confused about why they’d been summoned. Me, I just wanted to get out of here.
The dean stepped up onto a podium at the front of the hall, and called for quiet.
“Good afternoon, everyone. I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it has come to my attention that some amulets have gone missing from the academy supplies. In light of… recent events, I’m sure you can all understand that it is imperative they’re returned immediately. If you took them, ensure they are returned by the end of the day and no further action will be taken. And if you know who took them, I urge you to come and speak to me – in confidence – in my office. That is all. Thank you.”
Danny headed back towards the dorm rooms, looking embarrassed. As he got to the door, he pulled a stick of sage out of his pocket. I frowned. That guy was doing everything he could do to beat his father. But I wasn’t sure sage would be enough.
Chapter Fourteen
“Hey, Cassandra,” I said when I caught up with my friend on her way to the allotment the following afternoon. “Have you seen Danny lately?”
There’d been no sign of him all day and I was starting to get worried. It wasn’t like him.
Cassandra frowned. “Not really. But I think I might have upset him a little. I’ll speak to him later. I’m sure he’s fine.”
“Did he mention his father at all?” I probed.
She shook her head. “Why would he?”
“Why is he upset, then?” Anxiety churned in my gut. What if the amulet or sage failed? I’d never forgive myself. I should have helped him the moment I was out of the ward.
“He told me he liked me, and I kind of told him I like someone else.”
Devron pushed his way in through the allotment door, holding his phone to his ear. “Please, Dad. I am begging you. Just give me more time. Don’t let her die!”
There was a brief pause. Devron sighed. “Ok, thank you. Don’t give up, okay?” He hung up the phone and walked past me, not stopping to speak.
“Let it go already,” Cassandra said, though the note of resignation in her voice told me she knew that wasn’t an option.
“No. I’m going to speak to the dean. I need to tell her what’s going on.”
“Which is?”
“That someone tried to kill me, and stole the amulets.”
“You know you don’t have a scrap of proof, she’s not going to believe you.”
“She will if we find the amulets.”
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “Just promise that you’re going to let this whole craziness go and let the authorities handle it?”
“That’s not going to happen,” I said. She sighed, but fell into step beside me as I made for the dean’s office, raised my hand, and rapped on the door.
“Come in,” a voice called.
I opened the door and we stepped inside. The dean was sitting behind her desk, with a stack of paperwork piled up on one side.
“Hi,” I said, suddenly feeling nervous. “I’m not sure if you remember me... I came to the academy the day after everyone else.”
“Kiera Thorne? Yes, I remember. How have you been handling the lessons? Any problems?”
I blinked. She had to be joking, right? There’d been nothing but problems since I got here.
“The lessons have been fine,” I started, and then jerked my chin up to meet her eye. “But I need to report an attack.”
“An attack? I heard an accident landed you in the hospital wing, is that to what you’re referring?”
“It wasn’t an accident. Someone hexed that necklace on purpose, and planted it where they knew I’d find it.”
“That’s a very serious accusation,” the dean said. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure!” I snapped, and then remembered who I was talking to. I sucked in a quick breath. “I’m sorry, Crystal. I mean, yes, I’m very sure about this.”
“You ought be absolutely certain before you make this official.”
“Devron found her unconscious,” Cassandra said. “Someone had put a necklace on her bed. We just wanted to make you aware of it, and let the authorities know.”
“I’ll look into it if that’s what you want,” the dean said, as I yanked the door open, halting me in my tracks. “We take assaults on our students seriously.”
“Yes, that’s what I want,” I said.
“Very well.”
Cassandra slipped past me through the door, then paused and lowered her voice.
“You should ask her about your parents,” she said.
“Why? I can’t believe she questioned what happened to me.”
“Look, someone put you in that coma. She can find out who. Now, stop stalling and ask about your parents. If anyone would know, she would. Don’t waste the opportunity. You might not get another chance.”
She hurried off, and I stepped back into the office, shutting the door behind me. Crystal raised an eyebrow at me.
“Something else?”
“I want, no, I need to know what my parents did,” I said. “What happened to me?”
She ran an appraising eye over me, then exhaled heavily and nodded.
“I knew you would ask eventually. And no-one has the right to keep the truth from you. But are you sure you’re ready to hear this?”
I forced the word out through clenched teeth. “Yes.”
“Your parents had been experimenting with dark magic for many years. How they escaped the attention of the authorities for as long as they did, I’ll never know, but somehow they did. Until one of their hexes backfired. But it didn’t hit them, it hit you. When the Ministry detected the shift in magic, your parents were immediately arrested, and you were assigned a social worker to attempt to ascertain how much damage was done.”
“But... how do you know that?”
“They confessed to their crimes. The records are sealed, of course, on account of your age when you were affected. But they were made available to me when you gained your powers, and it was agreed that in light of everything, it was not in your best interest to make you wait until our next intake. We were all deeply relieved to see your magic had not been irreparably damaged by the hex.”
I sank into a chair, letting the words swim around in my head. I couldn’t deny it anymore. Crystal was the most powerful witch at Aurora Academy. She had no reason to lie to me. And that meant...
“They hexed me.” My mind spun. All this time, I thought that it was Vicky that was stunting my magic
. But it had been my own parents, the people who were supposed to have loved and protected me from the moment I was born. I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice. “So, what’s the verdict? Am I evil?”
The dean’s lips quirked up in a small smile. “No. But you’re still learning, you could still be a danger to yourself and others. Your magic has the potential to be very dangerous. Only a small handful of people possess your kind of power.”
“My magic is dangerous? What are you talking about?” I asked.
“We don’t need to get into that right now. Just know, your parents weren’t evil. They were angry and made some poor decisions. You were suffering with night terrors. Bad ones that would wake you up in hysterics. But no matter how much they pleaded, asking people for help and support to give to you... they were turned away.”
“They wouldn’t help me?” I asked, scowling. “What kind of person wouldn’t help a terrified child?”
“Your parents felt the same way. But the truth was, there was no-one who could help you, no-one who had sufficient understanding in that area to safely dispel your night terrors. Your parents didn’t understand that and decided to help them sway their decisions.”
“They gave them my nightmares,” I said, understanding dawning on me. “They hoped that if they experienced what I had been going through, they would change their minds.”
The dean nodded. “That’s right. But it didn’t work, of course, because there was no cure they could offer for you.”
“How come my nightmares have stopped, then? It hasn’t been a problem for years.”
“They’re not gone in the way you think. It is because of the necklace you are wearing.”
I looked down at my necklace, twirling the purple pendant between my fingers.
“It traps the nightmares. That’s why you don’t dream. You simply go into a dreamless sleep.”
“Dreamless sleep...” I thought for a moment as alarm bells rang in my head. That was why I never remembered my dreams? But I always assumed…
“I may be new to this. But, correct me if I am wrong, dreams help to sort out underlying problems with the subconscious.”
“The nightmares get trapped. They get sucked into the amulet. So you wouldn’t have anything to divert your subconscious. So, dealing with whatever issues you have, wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Trapped? It keeps the night terrors in the amulet?” An uneasy feeling stirred in my stomach. I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of a decade’s worth of night terrors hanging around my neck. “What would happen to me if all of those years of trapped terrors got out?”
Nothing good, that’s for sure. Crystal nodded solemnly.
“I’m afraid your parents may have done more harm than good in protecting you from those nightmares.”
“Yeah, me too,” I muttered. I dragged my hands down my face, pulling at my skin. “All right. I’ll worry about that later.”
“Either way,” the dean continued, “I’ll contact the authorities and get them to come down. But in the meantime, I suggest you stay away from strange necklaces and be extremely careful. Do not try to handle this yourself.”
I walked out of the office and caught up with Cassandra, leaning over the railing, looking down at the floor below.
“What do you actually remember?” she asked me.
“I remember Devron leaning over me, shaking me, right after it happened.”
“Yeah, that’s what he told us, too.”
I blinked. “There was also a moment, I thought I saw the door open. But when I looked, there was no one there.”
“Why was Devron there?” she probed.
I blinked. I’d been so focused on what was happening, I hadn’t even thought to ask. “We argued earlier, remember? He said he wanted to say sorry.”
The more I thought about it, it was a stretch that the door would open by itself. Maybe Cassandra was right, maybe I was in over my head and shouldn’t get involved.
But one question burned in my mind.
Who had I upset enough to want me dead?
Chapter Fifteen
When I stopped by the medical ward the following day, I found several healers standing around in one corner. I frowned, trying to see what was going on. In the centre was Devron. His face was scrunched up, and he was waving his hands about, something he only did when he was frustrated. I couldn’t hear much, but I caught snippets of conversation about his mother. Best keep out of the way until he had time to calm down. He didn’t need me intruding on his grief. I was about to leave when a soft light coming from under one of the doors caught my eye. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, if it hadn’t been the supply cupboard.
“Is there supposed to be something glowing in there?” I asked one of the healers who wasn’t caught up talking to Devron.
“Glowing? No, I suppose not. But it’s okay, one of the students goes in there sometimes. It’s nothing to worry about. We know about it.” She paused, her feet firmly rooted to the ground. A lie.
“You know about the glowing?”
“We know about the student. We know why he’s in there. And it’s private.”
I looked at her, alarmed. I stormed to the end of the room and threw the door open.
“No!” the healer yelped, throwing her arm in the way, barring me from entering the room. Past her shoulder, I could see a figure – Danny – standing there with an amulet. It was glowing, and his entire aura had turned black. The sound of footsteps rushed towards me, and a fist grabbed hold of my jumper and yanked me back, almost toppling me over.
The fist turned me round, until I was face-to-face with Devron. He scowled at me, his eyes piercing into my soul. “What the hell are you doing?” he demanded, spitting furiously.
“What the hell am I doing? Me? What about the rest of you? Someone has been draining the other students with glowing amulets. I see something glow under the door and you don’t want to check it out? Someone could have been in trouble there!” I matched his fury, ripping my clothes out of his hands. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Where do I start?” he spluttered. “For starters, what he was doing there was private. He was getting rid of a negative spirit. That guy, your so-called friend, comes here every day with his amulet to help him deal with the ghost. And you just barged in on him uninvited. Have you stopped to consider how bloody rude that is? Not to mention dangerous.”
“That’s the ghost of his father, and he needs help. So, I’m going in there to help him. You should be helping me, not stopping me. And if you’re not interested in helping our friend, what are you even doing here?”
“The same thing as I always do. Getting help from the healers to help my mother. I’ve been sending her some potions I made. You’re not the only one that makes healing potions. But mine are to ease pain and help her sleep.”
I didn’t want to care right now, but I did. It wasn’t like other people didn’t matter. They did. And I really did hope that his mother would start feeling better.
“Do they help?” I asked. While he seemed preoccupied with his own thoughts, I pushed past the healer and swung back the door and reached in, grabbing hold of Danny. I yanked him out of the room, and jumped in front of him. As soon as I pulled him out of the way, he collapsed to the floor. I swallowed hard. I was right, he did need help. I stood in front of him, my arms stretched out in front of me.
“No!” I gritted my teeth. I wouldn’t fail him again. “I am light, I have power, I will have what I desire!”
A light began to surround me, forming a protective shield as I shouted the spell.
“Your darkness is not welcome here, negative spirit—”
The shadow of the father slipped out of the room, and through a vent. I breathed a sigh of relief, and turned my attention to Danny. He laid on the floor, pale.
“We need to get him on a bed,” I said, shaking.
Devron nodded. “All right. But that was still reckless.”
We wrapped Danny’s arms ar
ound our shoulders and hauled him up. Healers rushed to our side, helping us get him onto a bed.
“Where did you learn that spell?” Devron said, eyeballing me. I shrugged off his question.
“I only said the words to the spell,” I said. “Without the ingredients, it’ll come back. All I did was buy us some time.”
Over the next few days, I became obsessed with finding out all I could about fighting ghosts. On top of that, I was trying to find the rest of the ingredients for the spell. I grabbed what books I had, taking them to the medical ward. With the ghost still about, I didn’t want to leave him unprotected, not even with the healers around. It was all my fault. I should have come to help him sooner. If only I’d been there...
I opened the door slowly, listening for any sound of movement, and watching for any shadows that seemed out of place. By my side, Rose paused, and after a moment, I nodded to her and stepped inside. I was sure she was just humouring me, but I didn’t know if the ghost would start to target any of the rest of us now that it had been disrupted. Bad enough my complacency had put one of my friends in danger; I wasn’t going to put Rose at risk, too.
“Why is everything so dark in here?” she asked, opening the curtains.
“Keep them closed,” I said. “If there are any amulets in here, we’ll see them glow better whilst it’s dark.” I looked around the room and peered behind every piece of furniture and under every surface before I was satisfied.
Rose frowned, scanning the room herself. “There’s nothing here. It’s just the healers and Danny. Can I switch the lights on now?” she asked, already raising her hand towards the light switch.
I nodded, and watched as the lights flickered on. “At least, now, I can keep a better eye out for the shadow.”
“You know, you’re acting a little paranoid.”
“If we let our guard down, we might miss something and end up drained like the others. Ghosts aren’t the only thing we have to worry about right now. And I’m not ready to die. You all freaked out last time, remember?”
I sat down on the closest chair beside the bed and opened the book, scanning the pages for the spell.