Fractured Truth

by Rachel McClellan

  “I thought all hope was lost,” I said, “but now you’re here, and we still have a chance at stopping Cyrus and the Shadow.”

  Her fingers stopped moving. “I meant what I said before. There’s no calling it back. Only an Aura’s Light, all of it, can trap it and send it back to the hell it came from.”

  A sick feeling twisted my stomach, and I sat on the bed. An Aura was going to have to sacrifice her life.

  “I’m sorry, Llona. I do have some good news. After you left our home with Charlie, my sisters and I cast a spell over Lucent. It’s protected from the Shadow as long as its controller doesn’t step foot on the grounds. That may give you some comfort.”

  It was a thin silver lining. “That is good. And at least he won’t be able to make another Shadow without the three of you.”

  Her fingers twisted at the fabric again. The trim on the gray of her sleeve was hanging by a thread. “Actually he can. If somehow he’s able to find two other witches, all he would need is me as I’m the one who created the spell to make the Shadow. Not even my sisters knew how it worked.”

  Rose stood in front of me, probably waiting for me to say something, but I simply couldn’t think. I felt like the snowball just kept getting bigger and bigger. When I didn’t speak, she walked to my dresser and picked up a picture of May and me. She studied it for a minute before turning around and saying, “There’s one more problem.”

  I threw up my hands. “Seriously?”

  “Cyrus still has the ruby.”

  “Ruby?”

  “It’s what we use to hold the Shadow’s essence.” She must’ve noticed my confused expression, because she continued, “When my sisters and I created what you call the Shadow, we had one purpose: to use its dark energy to do our bidding in times of desperation. However, when we no longer needed it, we needed something strong enough to contain its power. The ruby accomplished this.”

  “So when an Aura eventually uses her Light to destroy the Shadow, it doesn’t really get rid of it for good, does it? It just sends him back to this prison you created.”

  “Yes.”

  I closed my eyes tight as if the snowball had hit me in the face. When I opened them back up, I asked, “Why did you give Cyrus control of the Shadow in the first place?”

  She walked toward the window and peered out of what should’ve been sunlit glass. Instead, it was gray as if another freak storm was approaching. It was probably easier for her to stare across an uncaring and unfeeling great beyond than to have to look at a person and explain how she gave a monster control of an even bigger monster. I would’ve done the same.

  “Cyrus came to us all those decades ago when we were living in England. He was nice at first, even offering us money for control over the Shadow, but we refused. We knew the destruction it could cause in the wrong hands and didn’t want to relive the past. When we didn’t comply, Cyrus threatened our lives. I told my sisters that we needed to disappear, go live in some other part of the world. They laughed at me, insisting that we had more power than him. And at first we did. We withstood his many attempts to get at us, but one night he overwhelmed us with Vykens and fire. Much like he did last night.” She turned back around. “I would rather have died that night than give Cyrus control of the Shadow, but my sisters begged me. They said our survival was more important. And so I gave in. We were there with him, standing over the ruby, as he said the words needed to release and control the dark energy, your Shadow.”

  I finished the story. “And then my great-grandmother killed it, or I should say, sent it back to the ruby.”

  “She did, but then, a couple of years ago, the ruby was stolen from us.”

  “How is that possible?”

  She sighed, and I was about to offer her a chair when she continued. “This is most perplexing to us too. It happened while I was away one early morning fetching supplies. Someone came into our house, bewitched my sisters into telling them about the ruby, how it works and its location, and then left with the ruby all without a single fight. There’s only one being who could hold such power over us—another witch. We thought we were the only ones left, but we were wrong.”

  “I haven’t seen or heard of any other witches with Cyrus.”

  “It was probably a one-time job sort of thing. That’s how most people use witches anyway. We’re not the type of creatures who maintain long-term relationships with outsiders.” She shook her head in frustration. Frost grew on the window behind her. “But it’s not the other witch I’m worried about. With the ruby, and already knowing the words to the spell, Cyrus was able to conjure the Shadow again, which he obviously did. If he manages to kill me and then destroys the ruby with the Shadow freed as it is, it will be his to control forever.”

  “So the ruby can’t be destroyed as long as you’re alive.”

  She came to me, bringing with her a cold gust of wind. “You need to get the ruby back. If something happens to me, there’s no stopping the Shadow.”

  “Will you help us?”

  “I will give you my knowledge, but I’m an old woman, older than any tree on the land and not nearly as strong. I simply can’t fight battles anymore. I don’t have the stamina or the stomach for it.”

  “But you’re hardly useless. You got in here without being seen, you did the cool thing with the temperature, and I’m pretty sure you can read minds.” I stood up. “We need you, Rose. It’s not just your sisters they’ve killed. We’ve all lost people close to us because of Cyrus. Help us destroy him.”

  “How?”

  “Help me figure out a way to get the ruby back.” I paced back and forth again, burning a new trail in the carpet. There had to be a way.

  “I will do what I can,” she said.

  “Before we decide anything, we need to tell the others, especially Dr. Han. He has a lot of experience with these sorts of things.”

  “And I want Charlie there.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “Because I sense he’s more like me than the others. And he’s very handsome.” When I smiled, she added, “I always concentrate better when I have something good to look at.”

  I laughed. “I think we have that in common. Have you eaten yet? They’re serving breakfast downstairs. While we’re waiting for Charlie to arrive, you can visit with Dr. Han. I bet he’ll show you around.” I shrugged. “And who knows? Maybe Lucent will become your home.”

  She gave a small smile and followed me out of the room and to the elevator. I glanced at her, admiring all the cool things she could do. This made me think of something I hadn’t considered before. I asked, “Your house. How come you couldn’t stop the fire? Wouldn’t that have been easy for you?”

  She tightened her mouth as if unsure how to answer me.

  “What is it, Rose?”

  Her eyebrows rose and she shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. Fire,” she says, “witches are powerless against it. Not many know this, but Cyrus found out and used it against us.”

  That explained their hatred of Furies. The elevator doors opened, and I guided her down the long foyer. Her eyes darted back and forth at the paintings on the walls. Most of them were of revered Auras from the past. I didn’t know half of them.

  Rose startled when we reached the entrance to the dining room and stepped back. “I don’t want to go in there just yet.”

  “Um, okay. Just wait here. I’ll bring him to you.”

  I ducked inside. Dr. Han was in his usual seat next to the other teachers. I looked around further. Kiera and Tessa were in the center of the room, and behind them, next to another exit, Liam and the twins were eating while standing up and talking.

  “Liam,” I whispered, knowing he would hear me.

  He turned around.

  “Rose survived. Call Charlie. She wants to tell him everything she just told me. You and the twins are welcome to join.” I glanced away from him and back to Dr. Han.

  He was staring back at me, as if he had seen my exchange with Liam. I motioned
him over. A minute later I was introducing him to Rose.

  “I’m sorry about your sisters, but I’m glad you survived,” he said to Rose. “Let’s go to my office where we can talk further.”

  “She wants Charlie here,” I said. “Liam’s calling him now.”

  Dr. Han raised his eyebrows. “Very well. How about we get you some fresh attire then? And by the time you’ve dressed and eaten breakfast, Charlie will have arrived.”

  “I’d like that.” She looked over at me. “Llona?”

  “I’ve got to go to class, but I’ll come see you later. Make sure you get that tour.”

  She nodded once and turned around after Dr. Han. I walked back into the dining room and snagged Ashlyn out of her chair in passing, and then we both sat at Tessa and Kiera’s table.

  “What are you so worked up over?” Ashlyn said as she adjusted her long sleeve where I had been tugging.

  “This is about May, isn’t it?” Tessa asked.

  Kiera leaned forward on the table, her hands in fists. “We’re going after her, right?”

  I swept my hair back away from my face. “You guys don’t get it. It wasn’t like there were a handful of Vykens or even twenty for that matter. There were at least a hundred.”

  “So what are we going to do?” Ashlyn said. “We can’t just let our friends rot there.”

  “I agree. So here’s my question. How soon do you think we can get all these girls ready to fight?”

  They looked around the room. Kiera was shaking her head sadly. “Months probably, especially the younger ones.”

  “What if we trained for several hours a day?”

  Kiera looked back at me. “If we can get the older ones training hard, then maybe a matter of weeks.”

  “Too long,” Ashlyn said.

  I agreed. “It’s got to be sooner.”

  Tessa and Kiera were silent, both staring down at their plates of half-eaten breakfast. I knew what they were thinking: I was pushing too hard.

  “Look,” I said, “just start training. I’ll be there to help too. We’ll tell the girls what’s going on, and maybe that will help.”

  “You’re finally going to tell them everything?” Kiera asked. “Specifically that Vykens are using our friends as feeders?”

  She’d wanted us to do this for some time, but Dr. Han felt it would be too much for them to handle with everything else. I might’ve agreed then, but not so much anymore. Whether it was the darkness I’d brought to the surface earlier, or the fact that I was tired of hiding things, I said, “Yes. Everything.”

  Kiera smiled. “Good. I think that will help.”

  She moved to stand up, but I stopped her. “There’s something I didn’t tell you guys last night.”

  “What’s that?” Tessa asked.

  “Christian’s alive.”

  Ashlyn dropped a spoon she’d been spinning in her hand. It clattered against a plate, making the rest of us jump.

  “How is this possible?” Tessa asked.

  “Christian’s a Vyken,” I said. The words felt all wrong, like saying the sun was blue and the sky yellow. My stomach twisted into something rotten. “Cyrus bit him.”

  “But we can save him, right?” Tessa asked. “He can be like you and Liam.”

  “It’s too late for that.”

  Kiera placed her arm on mine. “It’s never too late. We’ll go rescue him, along with May and the others. You’ll see.”

  “I wish it was that simple. He’s one of them now.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Tessa asked.

  “Yeah,” Kiera said, “he could be playing them. You know, making them think he’s working with them when he’s really helping us. I can see him doing something like that.”

  Ashlyn was still staring, mouth open.

  “I wish there was still hope, more than you know, but Christian is the one who broke my leg. He was going to kill Liam too.” A hot rage, one that had burned the edges of my mind ever since I realized Christian’s betrayal, ignited throughout me, giving me a dark and foreign strength. And then I said something I never thought I’d say. “First chance I get, I’m going to kill him.”

  TWENTY

  “That’s everything I know,” I said and looked around at all the girls. There were at least thirty of them sitting on the floor in the training room. A few of them were crying. The others were pale and wide-eyed.

  Ashlyn leaned over and whispered, “I think you made some of them wet themselves.”

  “Are there any questions?” Kiera asked. Her voice was gentle, something I rarely heard. Maybe I did go too far.

  A girl with dark hair raised her hand. I remembered her name was Maggie. She was sixteen. “Yes, Maggie?”

  “Why are you telling us this?”

  A girl next to her said, “Because she wants us to go rescue them.”

  “When you’re ready,” Ashlyn said, standing up from her chair.

  I joined her. “There’s not enough time for you all to be ready.”

  “It’s a suicide mission,” Maggie said, her voice rising. Many of the girls nodded in agreement.

  “You guys don’t get it, do you?” I said. “You think Cyrus is done with us? You think he’s making more Vykens because it’s fun?” I let my questions sink in before I added, “Cyrus is coming back, and he’s going to finish what he started. This isn’t just about saving the others; it’s about saving all of us. Our race. The time is now. Are you ready?”

  A couple of older girls in the back stood up. A few more joined her. It wasn’t long until all the Auras were standing, a third of them grumbling, but still.

  We trained hard that day. Mason and a few of the other Guardians, including Alex, didn’t hold back and pushed them to the point of exhaustion. They taught the girls many different fighting techniques, but the one they seemed to excel at the most was tae kwon do. Because of how little time we had, Mason instructed the others to focus on this technique.

  Four groups of girls rotated in, and with each group I had to explain everything all over again. I encountered little opposition. At the end of each class, I instructed them to come back just before dinner so we could focus on using Light as a weapon.

  At one point Dr. Han came by with Rose. She had cleaned up and looked much better but still held sadness in her eyes. It would probably be there for the rest of her life. I didn’t stop teaching to talk to them, but waved and continued working with a young girl. They watched for a few minutes before finally leaving.

  The chimes sounded, indicating the final class of the day. As soon as the girls had exited, Ashlyn made a strange sound with her mouth and fell over backward onto a mat. “I’m exhausted,” she said.

  Kiera tossed a bottle of water at her, nearly hitting her in the stomach. “Drink up, pansy.” She came over to me. “That was pretty intense, but did you see how quickly they were learning?”

  “It’s their Light. It’s helping.”

  Ashlyn sat up. “Can we take a break before we start up again?”

  “Of course. I’m sure it will be a little while until the girls return anyway since classes just ended.”

  But as soon as I said that, a few girls showed up. One of them, a pretty girl with red hair, asked, “You’re still going to train us, right?”

  “As much as you want. Come on in.”

  “What about our break?” Ashlyn said.

  Kiera walked over to her and helped her up. “You go. I’ll work with these girls, but come back soon. I have a feeling there are going to be more of them and soon.”

  She was right. Within ten minutes the room was full and more girls were coming. I tried to hang onto the darkness that kept me strong and emotionless, but seeing all these Auras so willing to learn warmed my soul. Finally they believed in their potential.

  Because there were so many, we took to training them outside, facing the wall surrounding Lucent. I divided the girls into four groups, putting Kiera, Ashlyn, and two other older girls—Jessica and Rylee, who had been t
raining with us since the beginning—to oversee each group. I walked among them, assisting where needed.

  Unlike I did in the beginning, these girls knew how to create a tangible ball of light. The only problem was they couldn’t get it to cause any damage. The moment their Light hit an obstacle, it dissipated.

  “There has to be a force behind it,” I said loud enough for all to hear.

  “But we’re throwing it as hard as we can,” a girl said, clearly frustrated. She looked to be about fourteen. Sweat dotted her forehead. I’d forgotten how much concentration this took.

  “It’s not a physical force,” Kiera said. “It’s mental. You have to want to destroy something.”

  “But I don’t want to destroy anything.”

  Walking as if she were igniting the world on fire, Ashlyn came to her and said, “But you do want to save those Auras, right? Save Valerie? Anna?”

  “Of course,” she stuttered, “but I just don’t know how.”

  “Get pissed.”

  I placed my hand on Ashlyn’s arm to calm her down. “It’s not just about getting angry. It’s about fighting for a cause, a good and just one. That is what your Light wants. This is when it is at its best.” I turned to the others. “All of you line up, shoulder to shoulder, facing the wall.”

  The girls slowly did as I asked, some of them looking skeptical. It took a couple of minutes, but eventually they formed a long line. “Good. Now close your eyes. Come on. I’m serious.” I waited until everyone’s eyes closed before I spoke again. “Now breathe. In and out, real slow. While you’re breathing, I want you to feel the breeze on your skin. Focus on the ground beneath your feet. Good. Keep breathing. Now think of someone extremely close to you. Someone you love above all others. Picture their face. Hear their voice. Feel their touch.” I paused when I spotted Liam and Charlie, who must’ve arrived from the Deific, watching us near the entrance to the school. Rose wasn’t with them, which made me feel a little guilty. I had told her I’d come see her soon. I glanced back to the girls; they all seemed deep in thought.