Stolen Magic (Aurora Academy 1)

by Hannah Wick

  “What are we doing to do about Devron?” Cassandra asked.

  It was a good question, and one I didn’t have a great answer for. “I’m going to bind his powers.”

  “That’s crazy!” Rose said. “It would make more sense to let the authorities deal with him.”

  “There’s no time.”

  Danny stood watching, and I couldn’t help but notice that he hadn’t said anything.

  “What do you think?” I asked him. I could use some insight right about now. Was I being hasty? Blinded by my anger at the man I’d thought was my friend?

  “I think that there isn’t going to be a better plan. Not in the time we have. Do you know how to bind him?”

  “Uh…”

  “You are going to look into it though, aren’t you?” he prompted.

  “Yes. I’ll be looking into it. I’m heading to the library now.”

  “I’ll come with you,” he said.

  “And me,” Cassandra said.

  We looked at Rose, and she rolled her eyes.

  “If you want to get yourselves killed, then I suppose I’d better help you. At least death is preferable to taking any more exams.”

  Silver linings, right?

  Chapter Twenty-One

  A loud shrill noise ripped through the hall, making my hair stand on end.

  I jumped and spun round. It was the unmistakable sound of someone screaming. Someone in pain. I shared a panicked look with the others, then took off at a sprint, aware of them pounding along behind me as I raced to the source of the scream, research be damned. We’d just have to wing it.

  I peered into the canteen through the viewing panes set into the door. Devron was standing in the centre of the room. Around him, several students lay groaning, others unconscious. I shoved open the door.

  “You again?” Devron snarled.

  “Did you really expect me to quit so easily? You’re not harming anyone else.”

  Rose, Danny and Cassandra stood beside me, hands clenched.

  “You guys can leave now,” I called out. “We’re going to end this.”

  “North, south, east, west…” I said, but before I could finish the incantation, a table flew towards me, knocking me to the ground.

  “Your spell won’t stop me.”

  “We’ll see about that,” I muttered. We held our hands out towards him.

  “North, south, east, west,” I said, again.

  “Fire, water, earth, air,” Rose chanted.

  “Enchantio absorbulite!” Devron shouted.

  I pushed my friends out of the way, taking the direct hit. The spell tossed me aside like I was made of paper, and I hit the floor hard. I wiped my nose on my shirtsleeve. Blood. I gritted my teeth. I grunted, climbing to my feet. It was going to take more than that to stop us. I held out my hand, throwing out a small weave of magic to restrain him from using his own powers.

  “I’ve got you,” I growled. “Give it up.”

  “No, you haven’t,” he sneered. “You’re too weak. I can still beat you.”

  With that, he raised his hands and started chanting.

  “Life and Death, we live as one, do my bidding until the deed is done!”

  Lights flickered. The air stilled. Then the ghost drifted along the floor until it filled the room. Something was different. Cold washed through me. Its eyes were red.

  “What have you done?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

  “I found your ghost, and bound it to me. My very own puppet.”

  “You can’t do that!” I spluttered. “It’s dangerous.”

  “Not to me. Just to anyone who gets in my way.”

  His lips twisted into a savage grin, and he raised one hand, sending a table smashing through one of the canteen’s tall windows. He leapt out after it… leaving us alone with the shadow.

  The horror dawned on me. I had absolutely no idea how to beat it.

  I swallowed hard. Witches made up spells all the time. And I was a witch, right? I raised my head, gathering every ounce of courage that I could summon.

  The spirit rose up, circling us like a dark cloud. It swirled up, filling the room with darkness—thick and foreboding. It seemed to suck the air from the room, like a vacuum. Then it dove straight towards Rose.

  “No!” I screamed. I launched myself towards her, trying to shove her from its path. I was too slow. She groaned, her gaze transfixed to the floor, where her shadow twisted and writhed.

  “Rose?” I whispered. “Rose? Speak to me…”

  Rose jerked her head up and turned towards me, looking back with a blank expression. Her eyes glowed red.

  She lifted her chin with a jerking motion, and threw her arm out to one side.

  “Motio,” she intoned.

  The knives from the canteen flew towards us. Towards Danny. Cassandra pushed him out of the way.

  I shot my arm up, screaming, “Scatter!”

  The knives diverted, crashing into the walls behind us. One flew astray, straight towards Cassandra, and embedded itself straight into her stomach with a sickening squelch. She screamed, falling to the floor. Blood leaked freely from the wound and the surrounding blade.

  Danny stood rooted to the spot, his face sheet white. “Shit, what do we do?”

  I glanced in his direction. “Stay with her!” I told him. “No one else is getting hurt.”

  “Rose, you need to fight it! If you can hear me, you need to tell the spirit to leave!” I called out desperately.

  “Come back to us,” Danny pleaded.

  “Rose, you’re loved here. Please, come back.”

  “She can’t hear you,” Rose said in a dead tone. “Now, you will take my place in the spirit realm.”

  “No!” I shouted. “Motio!” My word sent a dozen spoons flying towards her. I didn’t want to hurt her. I just needed her distracted.

  “How do we summon spirits from the spirit realm?” I asked Danny, my voice shaking.

  “A spirit board.”

  “Can you get one?” I asked. Rose took a step towards us, pulling my attention.

  “Lumen Dercarium!” I shouted, raising my hands. A light shield burst into existence between us. The ghost wouldn’t be able to get through it, and nor would Rose, not while she was possessed. Her head jerked round and her eyes fixed on Cassandra where she lay on the floor, defenceless. Shit.

  She took a step towards her and I darted between them, using my shield to block her path. She peeled her lips back in a sneer, and turned her eyes to Danny.

  “You can’t protect them all,” she said calmly.

  “Watch me.”

  “The spirit board won’t work,” she said.

  “Really? Because a spirit board is a gateway to both worlds. If someone can summon a spirit, we can send one back. And if it really wasn’t going to work, you wouldn’t be trying to stop us.”

  “Reducto,” she snarled.

  The shield I was casting wavered. My eyes widened. How was that possible?

  “What the…?”

  “Reducto,” she said again.

  I felt my shield weaken further, and poured more energy into the spell, my forehead creased with concentration.

  “I can’t hold her for long. Get the spirit board. Hurry!”

  Rose snarled again, and I felt a crack start to form in my shield.

  “Lumen Decarium!”

  Light blasted out of my hands and slammed into her, forcing the spirit out of Rose’s body. She collapsed to the floor. I stared at my hands in shock. What the hell had happened to my shield? I couldn’t worry about it now. My arms shook with effort as I gathered my shield again, using it to drive the spirit back.

  Danny flipped over a menu, scrawling hastily on the back of it. A homemade spirit board. Good thinking. I just hoped he didn’t screw up the runes.

  “Hurry, I’m not sure how much longer I can hold out for.”

  “Done!”

  “Put the glass on the board, in the centre.”

  He laid
the board out and placed the glass face down.

  “No, wait!” I said. I sucked in a breath. If I was wrong about this, we were screwed. “It needs to be upright. We’re sending the ghost to the spirit realm, not summoning one.”

  He grabbed the glass and flipped it over.

  “Now, put the candle beside it. As soon as the ghost gets close enough, we’ll light it.”

  I lowered my hands, and readied myself to say the spell.

  Please, let this work… We were only going to get one shot.

  As the spirit got closer, I felt my nerves stretch to breaking point. It had to be close enough for the spirit board to grab hold of it. Almost… almost…

  “Let me do it,” Danny said, approaching me. “It’s my father. It should be me who ends it.”

  I looked at him, and thought for a moment. “Are you sure?”

  He nodded.

  “All right. When I give the signal, send him back.”

  He nodded, and squared his jaw, a fierce intensity I’d never seen before in his eyes.

  “Okay.”

  My shield flickered. It could fail at any moment...

  “Now!” I screamed.

  Danny stepped forward, holding a lit candle out towards the ghost.

  “Life and death, beyond the veil. I send you back.”

  The ghost screamed, and rose up before hurtling towards me. I leapt back, threw my hands out and called for the light shield again.

  “Lumen Daricarium.”

  Danny’s focus didn’t waver.

  “Life and death, beyond the veil. I send you back.”

  The glass started to spin on the spirit board. The spirit’s scream of rage transformed into a howl of pain, and the board started to suck him in.

  Danny stared, transfixed, at the ghost in front of him.

  “I know you were a mean drunk,” he told it. “But when you were sober, you were my father. You were my dad.”

  Then the ghost disappeared into the spirit board’s glass.

  I sucked in a breath, then threw a glance at the shattered window. Devron was long gone. A whimper of pain reminded me I had more pressing concerns. I rushed across the room, dropping to the floor beside Cassandra. Blood was flowing freely from her wounds, and her face had gone pale.

  “She needs help,” I said. Movement caught my eye: Rose peeled herself from the floor and shuffled over to us, her movements pained.

  “Get help for them and the others,” I told Danny.” I’m going after Devron. I’m not letting him get away with this.”

  Rose stared at me. “Are you kidding me? We just got our arses handed to us back there!”

  “I can do this.”

  “No, Kiera,” Danny said. “You’re not strong enough. We need to get the authorities involved. You’ve put your life at risk too many times. Next time, we might not be able to save you. You have a family to go back to. Don’t throw that away.”

  “We all have families to go back to, that's why I have to do it. What about the students who may not survive? They have families too. It's not just about us anymore. It's about them. All of them.”

  “You can't fight him, Kiera,” Danny said. I shook my head. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

  “I can deflect his powers. It will work. I just have to get the amulet away from him and as soon as I break it, it'll be over.” Even to my own ears, I sounded desperate. I grimaced. Desperate or not, I had to do it.

  Danny crouched down beside me, lowering his voice.

  “Kiera, you could die.”

  “I know.” I avoided his eye, casting another glance at the shattered window instead. “Get help for Cassandra. I’m going to end this, once and for all.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I stepped out into the grounds, seething. When I got my hands on him, he was going to regret hurting my friends.

  …Or he was going to kick my arse. It could go either way.

  The clouds loomed above me, swirling around like angry spirits. The wind howled and whistled, clearing a path before me, and the temperature plummeted. I squared my shoulders and started forward, searching the foliage for signs he’d come this way. I had to find him before he cornered some other unsuspecting victim, and did to them what he’d done to my friends. Cassandra– No, I couldn’t let myself be distracted right now. I had to believe that Danny would find a way to get help for her.

  I strained my ears as I crept forward into the woods. A slight rustling from the leaves. I froze, but there was nothing to see. It was just the wind. I continued forward. I was getting closer; I was sure of it. But if I was wrong… A bright flash of light caught my eye, driving the thought from my mind. What else would be causing a flash of light this deep in the trees, but magic?

  I carried along the narrow game track, taking care to step over the fallen twigs. I didn’t need Devron hearing me coming. But it worked both ways – it would be harder for him to sneak up on me, too. Small mercies. I stopped for a moment, scanning my surroundings. The path looked untouched. Had he not come this far? Maybe I should turn back. Another glint of light caught my attention further up. I took a deep breath. No. I had to go forwards. Swallowing my fear, I pushed on.

  I stepped from between the trees into a small opening, and stopped, scanning the area. A light flashed in the corner of my eye. I snapped my head around, and groaned.

  “Dammit!” I cursed. I stalked over to a large tree, and grabbed a string dangling from a branch, yanking it free. I held the string in front of my face, watching a shiny disc spin from its cord. I tossed it to the ground. It must have been the reflection I was seeing. I’d wasted my time coming out here, and Devron could be anywhere!

  I cast around, frustrated. It was getting dark, the sky blotted out with heavy storm clouds.

  Wait. If the sun wasn’t out… where did the light come from?

  Cautiously, I pushed into the cluster of trees, my heart pounding. There was no sun to create the reflection. We were far enough from the academy that no-one would look for us here. And this was the perfect place for an ambush.

  Which meant, somewhere in the trees, Devron would be waiting.

  “Devron!” I called. “I know you’re out here.”

  “Tut, tut.” He emerged from the trees, a smile on his face. “You seem to have run out of friends. I hope the ghost didn’t make too much of a mess of them.”

  “What happened to you, Devron? This isn’t you.”

  The mocking smile fell from his face and his lips peeled back in a snarl.

  “This is me. This is what happens when the world forces you to watch someone you love die a slow and painful death, and refuses to lift a finger to help. Well, now I can help. And you’ve brought me everything I need.”

  “I… what?” I heard the uncertainty in my own voice. He barked a harsh laugh.

  “What, did you think you found me without any help? Did you think you found me all on your own?”

  That was exactly what I’d thought… and now I was wondering exactly how far out of my depth I was.

  “Stupid witch. I lured you out here...” He pulled the amulet from under his shirt, and the amber stone shone brightly. “And your lifeforce will give me everything I need to bring her back.”

  Chills ran the length of my spine, but I squared my shoulders.

  “It’s over, Devron. You can’t bring her back. And I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else.”

  I stretched my hands out, palms down facing on the floor.

  “Velox argentum!”

  In front of my eyes, the ground around his feet began to soften and his feet sank into the solid mud like it was wet cement.

  “Surge sursus,” he said, and the ground pushed him back up to the surface. He stepped out of the mud and it flaked off like dry sand. I hadn’t expected it to hold him for long, but I had hoped it would hold longer than that.

  He took another step towards me, and raised his hands, chanting softly.

  “Ventus et involvent.”

&n
bsp; Something snaked across the ground, cutting through the dirt. I leapt back, staring down in horror. What was that? Some sort of snake? I gasped. No, not a snake. A root. It struck out at my leg, twisting itself around my ankle. I screamed, kicking it away, but it struck at me again. I staggered back, grabbing at a tree as I fought to keep my balance. Something moved behind it, shooting out of the dirt and wrapping around my ankle. I struggled against it but they kept coming, twisting and coiling around each leg. The more I fought, the more they ravelled around me until they were waist high. Shit. If I didn’t do something soon, they were going to crush me. I grabbed at the tendrils, digging my nails in to try and pry them off of me, but they just squeezed harder. I swallowed a cry of pain as they bit into my flesh.

  “Why are you doing this?” I said, desperately seeking Devron’s eye. “We’re friends! I just want to help you.”

  “See kitten? That’s where you went wrong. We were never friends.”

  “I cared about you.” I said.

  “That's funny coming from you. That's real funny. If anything, the only one who cared about me was Cassandra. Poor, sweet Cassandra.”

  “You’re a monster,” I growled.

  “No,” he said. “I’m a hero. I am doing this to save a life. The only monster I see is the one trying to stop me. You.”

  I was wasting breath I didn’t have. I grappled with the roots, trying to force my fingers between them and my skin so I could get some leverage. Something flashed in my hand, and the root jerked like it had been… hit by lightning. I stared at it as it withdrew, a blackened mark where my palm had touched it. How the hell had I done that? And how was I going to do it to the root wrapped around my other leg?

  Devron recovered from his shock before I could answer either of those questions, and rushed me, knocking me to the floor and pinning me there. He held something in front of my eyes, and I froze. The amulet.

  “Do you realise how easy this is? I could just say two words, and your world would be over.”

  “Do it, then!” I snapped. “Stop whining about how bad your life is! You think you’re the only one who has problems?”

  He took a deep breath, moved the amulet to my face, and jammed it against my chest.

  “Enchanto–”