by Kat Adams
“She’s not the prophecy any longer.” Leo, aka Captain Obvious, was always the first to point out something we already knew. I sat down on the bed and removed my socks.
“Yeah, I’m still trying to wrap my brain around that one. Who wants another beer?” Rob’s voice grew louder as he entered the kitchen. The sound of bottles rattling when he opened and closed the fridge lifted into the air. “Why would her mom take that from her? She had to know how important it is to her.”
No shit.
“Who cares?” Bryan’s bark surprised me. Judging by the silence that followed his comment, it surprised the guys too.
“I care, dick hole.” Clay’s growl didn’t surprise me. He and Bryan butted heads more often than not.
“I care too.” Leo’s agreement with the air elemental was par for the course. Those two usually agreed on everything.
“What’s up with you, bro?” Rob was closer to Bryan than the other two. My guys paired up, so Rob and Bryan had their bromance, and Clay and Leo had theirs. And all four of them had me. “You’ve been off since you got back from the void.”
“I don’t know if I was ever really there.”
“But you said—”
“I know what I said, Rob. I remember that part. I just don’t remember actually being there.”
There was a long pause before Leo spoke up. “Because you weren’t there, at least not physically.”
I stopped unbuttoning my shirt and rose off the bed, padding over to the door and opening it slightly to make sure I heard every word.
“Is that what happened to your parents?” Bryan asked.
“None of your fucking business is what happened,” Clay shouted.
“It’s okay, Clay.” Leo’s voice was soft, quiet, his tone sad. I’d never heard him sound like that before. I didn’t like it. It hurt my heart.
“It’s not okay, man. Bry is being a dick.”
“He just asked a question.”
“A question he already knows the answer to.”
“I do?”
Another long, long pause.
“Bro,” Rob started. “Leo’s told us this story, like, three times.”
“I don’t remember,” Bryan replied, his tone now laced with tight anxiety. “How is it I can’t remember?”
“The void does that,” Leo explained, his voice even more strained. “At least that’s how it’s been explained to me.”
“By who?”
“My grandparents. My parents told them about it before they completely went insane.” He drew in a deep breath I felt more than heard. “Dark elementals caught and tortured my parents, slipping them in and out of the void without them knowing until one day they just never came back. My grandparents passed on the stories my parents told them.”
Oh, sweet baby Jesus. I had no idea and never bothered to ask, which made me the worst human on the planet. What girlfriend didn’t ask why her boyfriend had been raised by his grandparents?
I totally won the worst girlfriend of the year award. Thank you very much for such an esteemed reward. It’s an honor just to be nominated.
Said no girlfriend ever.
“What’s the big deal, then?” Bryan asked.
“Jesus, man.” Clay sounded even angrier now. “What the hell is the matter with you? His parents disappear on their way to an elemental symposium at Clearwater, and you act like it’s a burden to hear the story? I should kick your ass just for that alone.”
“Chill, dude.” Rob spoke up. “I don’t think he’s faking it. Bry, bro. What’s the deal?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just don’t remember.”
“How’d we meet?”
Bryan laughed, drawing a smile from me. I loved his laugh and wished he’d release the melodic sound more often. “My first day at Clearwater. I’d been granted provisional acceptance, given my family’s past. Everyone was positive the Council had allowed a dark elemental into the academy and avoided me. Everyone but you.”
“At least that memory is solid. The rest…not so much.”
“Wait,” Clay snapped. “Are you telling me our boy Bry’s mind is on a little vacay?”
“Blow me.”
There was a loud crash and a lot of cussing as, no doubt, Clay did exactly what Bryan said and sent him flying across the room.
“I told you to choose your words better, dude.”
“How about I break your face?”
“Ooh, good comeback.”
“Would you guys knock it off? Reed is trying to sleep.”
“Hey, Rob?” Leo spoke up after a long pause. “With all this magically enhanced elemental stuff happening, do you know if the Council still plans to put you guys through a hearing after what happened on that last extraction?”
“They haven’t said,” Rob replied. “But my guess is there won’t be a hearing, not now that they have their hands full with all the tribunals on the students at the academy.”
“We still lost a kid,” Clay pointed out.
“A magically enhanced kid.”
They all fell silent. I was just about to close the door when Bryan’s question stopped me. “Uh, guys? I, um… I don’t remember what happened on the last extraction.”
“What?” Rob barked.
“You’ve got to me shitting me,” Clay added.
Leo didn’t say anything. I imagined him blinking at Bryan in shock.
It was Rob who explained in a sharp, clipped tone. “We were called in to extract a new fire elemental. His element was unstable, angry. I couldn’t control it. Turns out he was magically enhanced and couldn’t handle that much power. He, uh… He didn’t make it.”
“Oh shit,” Bryan stated numbly. “Now I remember. He burst into flames.”
“Yeah. On that happy note, I’m going to get some air.”
The sound of the screen door screeching cut through the thick silence as Rob stepped onto the porch. I thought of going out to him, comforting him as he replayed one of the worst days of his life, but decided to give him his space.
I closed the bedroom door, my lids so heavy at this point, I barely had the energy to drag myself to the bed. I collapsed on the mattress and crawled to the top, dropping my head on the pillow and finding sleep instantly.
The void pulled me in, dropping me smack dab in the middle of a deep hole, which was weird since there didn’t seem to be any top or bottom to the hollowness. It was like an abyss, no beginning, no ending. It just was.
People shuffled around in catatonic states, staring straight ahead, narrowly missing colliding with each other. This time, I didn’t scream and run and panic and all the other things my instincts told me to do. This time, I poked around, seeing if I could recognize anyone. I checked faces, but nobody looked familiar. I jumped in front of people to see if it would send them in another direction and even grabbed one girl by the shoulders, shaking her. No one seemed the least bit fazed someone was in the void with them that wasn’t a zombie.
A bump from behind sent me around. When I recognized him, I sucked in a deep breath and dropped my jaw.
It was Leo.
Holy shiny balls. What the hell was he doing in the void? I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. Hard. He stared straight ahead, completely unaffected by the contact. I shoved him. I slapped him. I punched him. Nothing seemed to register.
Well, fine. I knew one way that always got to him. I grabbed him by the collar, pulling his lips to mine. I called water and pushed my element to him.
Our lips glowed, brighter and brighter. I had to squeeze my eyes shut to protect them from the light. The heat from our connection melted into me, and I smiled.
I quickly lost it when I realized the heat wasn’t from our connection at all. I’d somehow switched my call to fire—not good when touching an elemental without the power to control the same element. I pulled back just as he blinked and locked gazes with me.
And then burst into flames.
I screamed and screamed and screamed as my water e
lemental stood there and burned.
Jolting awake, I jerked upright and pushed my hair off my face. Well, that was even more terrifying than me being alone in the void. I decided then and there I’d drink however many gallons of coffee I needed to stay awake until I understood why I took a trip to limbo land every time I closed my eyes.
If only I could talk to someone who’d actually returned from the void.
You’re an idiot, Katy Reed.
My mom had rescued Bryan, which meant she’d been there. Not only that, she knew how to return from it. I had no intention of sleeping ever again, well, at least not tonight, and jumped out of bed. I dressed quickly.
Knowing the guys would insist on joining me, I decided I’d tell them where I went after teleporting there. It was quiet, so they must all be asleep. I was more than a little disappointed not one of them had joined me in the bed, but I’d get over it. It’d been a blessing in disguise. Now I could sneak away without any of the guys knowing.
I focused on the infirmary and popped out.
7
My teleport landed me next to the statue of Cressida Clearwater, which didn’t surprise me. I thought of the academy’s founder whenever I thought of anything to do with the academy. Cressida had the power to calm me, center me, even though she’d been gone for a very, very long time.
No, that wasn’t true. She wasn’t gone, not in the literal sense of the word. Her essence remained with the school, had become one with the school, to be more exact. I didn’t know who knew that and had never mentioned it in case it wasn’t something she wanted out.
I paused my quest to seek out my mom and ask her about the void, glancing up at the face of the original supreme elemental, the one who’d single-handedly saved our kind from annihilation when she’d fled the Salem Witch Trials back in the 1600s.
“Hi, Cressida. Sorry I haven’t been by to visit. I’ve been a little busy.” I swept the grounds with a keen eye, checking for anyone who might be listening in. It was dark, empty, not a soul in sight. Then again, it was almost four in the morning and the school did have a curfew—a curfew I ignored on a regular basis.
“My mom isn’t dead after all, so that’s kind of big news. She rescued Bryan from the void and is back now, so that’s more big news. Oh, and you probably already know this, but Spencer isn’t a powerful quad after all. He’s a leecher and teamed up with Alec von Leer to kill me, so go me.” I crossed my arms and stuck my hands in my pits to keep them warm. It might get hot during the day, but damn, it got cold at night. “That must have been what you meant when you said things aren’t what they seem.”
A cool breeze swirled around me, causing me to shiver. “Okay, so that wasn’t what you meant.” I sighed, wishing she could just tell me. These one-sided conversations got old sometimes. “Well, good chat. I’m off to talk to someone real.”
Open your eyes.
Not this again. If she wanted to talk to me, I already knew she had the power to manifest. She didn’t have to keep using those same three words as code to see her. “If you have something to say, would you just say it?”
Nothing. No warmth enveloping me to let me know she heard me. Not even a cold wind to tell me she disapproved of my comment. I waved at the statue and shuffled off.
The infirmary was empty when I walked in. I didn’t expect to find Syd here at this hour, but I did expect to find my mom. Maybe she’d already found a place to live. After searching the rooms and coming up empty, I was just about to leave when whimpering stopped me.
Was that Trevor? I figured he’d be released by now.
I turned and searched the rooms again, confused to find them just as empty as when I’d searched them the first time. “Trevor?”
“No,” he whimpered. It was definitely him. “Don’t. I don’t want it.”
“Trevor?” I said a little louder and picked up the pace, hurrying toward the sound of his tiny cries. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Where are you?” I turned in circles. His voice sounded like it came from every direction now.
“I don’t want it.”
“Trevor?” I pushed open a door to a supply closet and gave the space a quick scan. No dice. Where the hell was he? Why wasn’t he in one of the beds?
“Please.” His whimpers grew stronger, louder, more desperate. “Stop. Stop!”
“Trevor!” I ran up and down the halls of the infirmary, panic and worry fueling my speed. He was just a kid. An annoying kid who asked too many questions, but still, just a kid.
“Help!”
I spun around. That came from the opposite direction. How was that possible? I broke into a run and rounded a corner.
And collided with my mom, who seemed just as surprised to see me as I was to run into her. She had grime on her hands and face and sticks and leaves tangled in her messy hair. Was she gardening at four in the morning? “Mom?”
She quickly wiped her hands on her dirty jeans. “Katy? What are you doing here at this hour?”
I’d have to ask about her appearance later. Right now, I needed to find Trevor. “Have you seen a little blond kid running around? About yay high.” I held my hand up at my shoulder. “Big glasses.” I made circles with my fingers in front of my eyes.
She glanced behind her. I did the same, not seeing what she looked for, and refocused on her when she turned back to me. “You must be talking about Trevor. He’s back there in his room.”
“No, I checked. Twice.”
“I just left his room. He was having a bad dream. I calmed him down.”
“Show me.” I didn’t know why I didn’t believe her, only that I didn’t. Trevor wasn’t in any of the rooms. His voice was coming from every direction. Something wasn’t right.
“Are you okay, sweetie?”
“Show me!”
She jumped at my outburst. “Okay, okay. Calm down. I can smell your call.”
Because I was close to setting something on fire. With a deep breath, I pulled it in and hurried after her. She took me deep into the belly of the infirmary and paused outside a door, pressing her finger to her lips before quietly pushing it open.
Trevor laid there, dwarfed by the large bed, his eyes closed as he seemed to be fast asleep. He had a heart monitor on his finger sending signals to a machine that beeped steadily. He looked so peaceful, nothing like how he’d sounded only moments before.
I walked into the semi-dark room and stood next to him, debating taking his small hand in mine. Would that be weird? I didn’t care and rested my hand over his. He was cold, so I grabbed the blanket folded at the foot of the bed and covered him, tucking it in around him.
The movement stirred him awake. When he spotted me, he lit up, his smile so wide, I could pretty much see his tonsils. He grabbed his owlish glasses and slipped them on. “Hi, Katy!”
This was not the same kid who’d whimpered and cried for help. Was I hearing things? Had I imagined the entire scenario? Maybe I was so desperate to play savior that I made up victims when I didn’t have anything better to do. God, I was a hot mess.
“How are you feeling, buddy?”
“Syd said I get to go home today. I could have gone home yesterday, but my mom asked him to keep me one more day.”
Although I understood the want for peace and quiet—and with Trevor around, it was anything but—I’d want to take my kid home and do all the mom things after what he’d been through. Chicken soup. Hot cocoa. Endless hugs.
“That’s good,” I finally said. “Are you excited?”
“For what?” His expression stilled.
For what? He’d just told me he got to go home today. Odd. “To see your mom.”
His grin returned. “Yes! I get to go home today.”
Something…wasn’t right. He was a little nutty in the head, as Clay had said when we’d watched Trevor go through his tribunal, but he wasn’t this bad. “Are you okay?”
“I am now that you’re here to protect me from the bad.”
“The bad? What’s the bad?”
“I’m going to sleep more now.” He removed his glasses and set them on the nightstand before turning from me and curling into a ball. “You’ll protect me, won’t you?”
I swallowed thickly. He was an even bigger mess than me. “Of course, buddy. Get some rest.”
“Okay.”
My heart in my throat making it impossible to breathe, I left the room, silently closing the door behind me. My mom stood there waiting. I swallowed again to push my heart back into my chest. “What happened to him?”
“From the sounds of it, Alec did a real number on him. Poor kid.” She and I walked the halls back toward the entrance to the infirmary.
“How’d you know about that?”
“Trevor and I have had time to get to know each other since we’re the only two currently taking up residence here. The way he explains it, he kept being forced into darkness and back, over and over. It messed with his mind.”
Clearly. “The void?”
She nodded. “I don’t know how many times Alec pushed him to his breaking point, but it had to be several for Trevor to be this incoherent.”
“He does seem to be a little more garbled than normal. Will he recover?”
“I don’t know.”
“What about Bryan?”
“He wasn’t in the void long enough for it to affect his mind.”
Judging by the way his memory faded in and out, I wasn’t so sure about that. “What was that spell you cast on him at the infirmary?”
“A harmless spell to calm him down.” She gave a casual shrug, as if messing with someone’s mind was no big deal.
“Calm him how?”
“By locking away the dark memories.”
“Locking them away? You didn’t remove them?”
She moved farther away from Trevor’s door. “Memories can’t be removed, not entirely. Pieces can be erased, but not the entire memory. A memory spell erases enough of the bad that it’s hard to remember the rest. That’s all I did for Bryan.”
“I think you did more than that. He couldn’t remember something pretty significant that happened to Leo.”