Fractured Truth

by Rachel McClellan

  The Shadow’s force above me was starting to shrink. So was I.

  “Uh-oh,” I heard Kiera say. “Sophie and Abigail are coming.”

  I didn’t dare glance over for fear of losing concentration, but those around me were looking to my left.

  “You must stop this, Sophie!” Mrs. Crawford called.

  I haven’t even begun. Sophie’s voice was in my head, and by the reaction of the Auras around me, they’d heard the same thing.

  A stream of Light shot by me, barely missing my shoulder.

  “Light her up,” Ashlyn said.

  In my peripheral vision, I saw Kiera raise her hands. “No! Llona said we can’t harm Sophie or she’ll lose her grip on the Shadow. All we can do is block her Light to protect Llona.”

  Kiera turned suddenly and blocked Light that was heading right for me. I fell to my knees.

  “Llona!” May’s voice. She came to my side. “Llona, please don’t do this. There has got to be another way.”

  Kiera walked backward toward us, keeping her eyes on Sophie, and said over her shoulder, “How much longer is this going to take, because Sophie’s coming, and if we can’t harm her she’ll be able to walk right up to you and kill you.”

  I wanted to answer, but I was so tired. Every ounce of strength was flowing from me and into the Shadow. I almost mentally called out to Liam then but thought better of it. He should stay busy helping the others.

  Kiera must’ve noticed how tired I was because she said, “What’s wrong with her?”

  May said, “She’s dying. It’s the only way to kill the Shadow.”

  “What? That’s crazy! You can’t do this, Llona. There’s got to be something we can do.” She looked up at the Shadow trapped in my Light. “What if we add our Light to it? Then you won’t have to use all of yours.”

  “Try it.” It was Dr. Han’s voice from behind me. I wondered how long he’d been standing there.

  “Everyone direct your Light to the Shadow,” Kiera called.

  Sprays of Light turned upward, igniting the darkness with a brilliant white. The Shadow didn’t react any differently. It still continued to stretch and pull as if trying to escape.

  After several seconds, Kiera asked, “Is it working?”

  By the familiar sharp pain in my head, I knew it wasn’t. Blood trickled from my nose, and I sunk farther to the ground.

  “Ah, how sweet,” Sophie said. She didn’t sound that far away. “Trying to save precious Llona, but don’t you remember how she hated you all? She thought she was so much better than Auras.”

  A flash of Light came toward me, but a ball of fire put it out. I wasn’t sure if it was Dr. Han or May who had thrown it.

  There were sounds of a scuffle. I could barely hear it over the growing humming in my ears.

  “Let me go!” Abigail called.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Mrs. Crawford said. “Take her inside and lock her up.”

  “What do we do about Sophie?” Kiera asked. More Light sounded through the air, but it was blocked again.

  “You won’t do anything to me,” Sophie said. “I’m going to walk right up to her and finally solve that pesky hair problem of hers by cutting off her head.”

  I heard Dr. Han’s voice next, but my hearing was so messed up now I couldn’t decipher his words. My vision too began to blur.

  A cool palm pressed on my back. Liam’s touch. If he was talking, I couldn’t hear him.

  Liam? I thought.

  The words came back to my mind: I’m here.

  Take care of May.

  I promise.

  I thought my next words to him would hurt, but they didn’t. They gave me peace. I love you.

  I love you too.

  There was a lot of yelling behind me. Sophie was probably getting closer. Would this be over by then? I hoped so because I never wanted to go through this again. Death had become my frequent visitor ever since Mr. Steele came into my life. He had given me my first taste of Death. Yet I had survived.

  Through my blurry vision, I saw a Lycan toss a Vyken into the air. Flames burned bright behind them. I wondered if it was Petros. This made me think of his words about finding solutions to our problems in our past.

  Words appeared in my mind: This is the end for you. It was Sophie.

  Her figure appeared in my peripheral vision. She was almost to me. I sensed Liam nearby too. He wouldn’t let her touch me, that much I was certain, but the second he tried to hurt her, my power over the Shadow would be gone, and we’d be back to where we started. This had to end tonight.

  I thought of Mr. Steele again, of the way I had killed him: borrowed light mixed with my own. I’d done the same thing when I was trying to escape from the warehouse and had to turn invisible.

  Light could flow into me.

  And it could flow out.

  I pushed a thought to Liam. Don’t move.

  A plan quickly formed in my mind, and if it worked, the Shadow would finally be trapped in the Ruby that Dr. Han still possessed.

  Sophie’s voice invaded my mind again. I hated your mother. She may as well have murdered Llona with her own two hands. I wish she could be here to watch you die the way I watched Llona die.

  I slowly lowered my left hand off my right. Light continued to flow from me, but not as fast as before. There wasn’t much left.

  It’s time for a new Auran race to rise. One that will be worshipped for their power! Sophie raised her hand above me.

  I made my move then. With my right hand still spraying Light up at the Shadow, I made a pulling motion with my left hand in Sophie’s direction and concentrated on sucking the Light from her. It was a difficult task, trying to concentrate on two things at once, especially when I was so weak.

  At first I didn’t think it was going to work. Sophie’s hand was coming down toward me. In her grip she held a dagger. The shiny silver of the blade reflected the fires in the distance. Liam moved toward her as if to stop her, but then her whole body jerked like someone had kicked her in the gut.

  Light, just a trickle at first, escaped her body from her stomach, and I pulled it into me. The second I felt the new surge of energy, I inhaled, finally getting my first deep breath in a long time. But as much as I wanted to, I didn’t hang onto it. Instead I rerouted it back out of my body and up to the Shadow.

  My biggest fear was that the Shadow would detach to protect Sophie, but so far it wasn’t moving, other than to continue to diminish in strength, whereas I wasn’t anymore.

  I tugged harder, taking more of Sophie’s Light.

  “What are you doing?” she gasped.

  I heard her voice, crystal clear. Although I could barely hold my arms out, my vision and hearing cleared.

  “It’s working!” May said. She was somewhere behind me. The sounds of battle seemed to have died down, and I wondered if we finally had the upper hand.

  “Keep doing it!” Kiera cheered. Others offered words of encouragement. It gave me strength.

  Sophie dropped to her knees while I rose to my feet. “Don’t do this, Llona. Please. I didn’t mean any of it.”

  “You called this creature into existence,” I said. “Now you can send it back.”

  Her face twisted into an ugly scowl. “You little witch! This isn’t over. There are others—”

  I jerked my hand into a tight fist, accelerating the rate in which Light fled from her body. She fell to the ground, sucking in what little air she could.

  I glanced up. The Shadow was almost gone, a writhing blackness shrinking to nothing. My gaze lowered to Sophie. “Maybe now you can finally find peace.”

  Between shallow breaths, she said, “There is no peace for people like us, Llona. There is only pain.” She chuckled uncomfortably, like the movement hurt her ribs.

  I looked away from her then, feeling an incredible sadness. She could’ve chosen to find joy in life. It was all around her if only she could’ve let go of the pain. Instead, she entertained it, and that pain had turned int
o anger, which turned to hate. And when you hate, the world becomes a dark place. Eventually, that darkness rotted her soul.

  There was no more Light to take. I realized it the moment I fell to the ground.

  “Llona?” Liam was leaning over me. May was next to him.

  “I’m okay,” I said. “Just tired.” My eyes closed to the sounds of cheering in the background.

  Sophie was dead, and the Shadow was gone, trapped in the ruby where it belonged.

  FORTY-SIX

  I didn’t dream. I probably wouldn’t for a very long time. time. I woke up almost an hour ago but kept my eyes closed, listening to the different conversations of people who had come in and out of my room. My body was exhausted, as was my heart and mind.

  From what I could gather it was early afternoon. May and Liam were the constants in the room. They didn’t speak much. Sometimes I’d hear May cry.

  Aaron was dead. Robert had killed him.

  Many Auras had also died. And Guardians. Alex was one of them. So many deaths. I couldn’t help feeling like it was partially my fault. Did I miss signs that Sophie was bad? Should I have tried harder to get closer to her? I wasn’t that nice to her when I first arrived at Lucent. Maybe there was something I could’ve done to soften her heart.

  This made me think of her last threat. She had said there were others. I hadn’t let her say more. I didn’t want to know. There would always be others in the world who wanted to destroy goodness.

  Like Vykens.

  After I trapped the Shadow back to its ruby prison, which now belonged to the Deific in a secure facility, Vykens scattered. Their numbers were greatly reduced, but they were still out there, hiding, probably plotting their next move.

  I needed to open my eyes, to wake up, but then what would I do with my life? I didn’t want to stay at Lucent, not right away anyway, but I didn’t feel ready to join the Deific either. I needed time. And so did May. We both needed to heal.

  There was the cure. If it was out there, I needed to find it. It could help Christian. And Liam.

  Liam.

  I would miss him the most. He would understand. I opened my eyes.

  “Llona?” May came to my bedside and took my hand.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” I said. The forlorn look in her eyes weighed on my heart. “I’m fine, really. But how are you?”

  She shrugged.

  Liam was there too, standing close. “How did you know to do it? The trick with the light.”

  “Something Petros said to me. I thought of it at the last second.”

  “Remind me to thank him later.”

  It took me a second, but I managed to sit up. “How’s Arik?”

  “You know about Aaron?” Liam asked.

  I lowered my gaze, embarrassed. “I’ve been listening to conversations for a while.”

  May’s chin quivered. “Arik left with Charlie for a while. He said he’d come back later today.”

  “I’m so sorry, May. Is there anything I can do?” I squeezed her hand.

  “He died saving my life.”

  Liam said, “He was a good man.”

  I squeezed May’s hand. “The next few days are going to be rough with funerals and such, but we’re going to get through it together, okay? Like we’ve done before.”

  She nodded.

  “And when it’s over, we’re going to get out of here. Just like I promised.”

  It was an understatement when I said the next few days were going to be rough. People flew in from all over the world to mourn with us; many of them were supernatural creatures, half I didn’t recognize. They filled the halls at Lucent, suffocating an already suffocating place. There was one funeral after another. For days. By the end, everyone looked numb.

  I was in Dr. Han’s office, a bag packed at my feet. He was talking to Mrs. Crawford about Abigail. They’d relieved her of her duties at Lucent and banned her from ever returning. Maybe one day she might realize how her actions harmed others, but the last time I saw her she was still angry, thinking Auras had done her wrong.

  Dr. Han changed the conversation. “We’ll close Lucent for one month. The Council agreed it would be a good idea. People need time to grieve, and we need to get this school back in order.”

  “But it’s so much time,” Mrs. Crawford said. “Wouldn’t it be better to keep the girls busy?”

  Dr. Han looked at me. “What do you think, Llona?”

  “They need time. And when they come back, they will be stronger for it.”

  “Will you be coming back?” she asked.

  “Eventually.”

  She nodded as if she understood. “We’ll miss you.”

  “The girls will be just fine without me. There’s nothing left to teach them.”

  Mrs. Crawford took me by the shoulders. “They’ll miss you, not your teachings.” She gave me a hug. I would miss her something awful.

  “Lucent can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done, Llona,” Dr. Han said. He too gave me a hug. Our first. When he released me, he said, “Take care of May.”

  “I will.” May had stayed in her room for most of the funerals, except for Aaron’s. It was all she could take. I walked to the door.

  “Stay in touch, Llona,” Mrs. Crawford called.

  “I will.”

  I walked down the main hall and past the dining room, remembering how uncomfortable I’d felt the first time I came here. Everything about Lucent Academy was foreign to me, the girls, the teachers, but I didn’t feel that way anymore. Lucent was my home.

  Last night Kiera had thrown a farewell party for May and me. We said our good-byes then. I preferred it that way. I was really going to miss seeing them, especially Tessa. At the last second, I’d almost invited her to come with me and May, but thought better of it. She was already moving on with her life, and I shouldn’t interrupt that.

  I was almost to the front doors when I heard my name. I turned around. Ms. Hady jogged toward me. What now? She hadn’t spoken to me for days.

  She stopped in front of me but didn’t say anything right away. Her jaw was moving back and forth like she was trying to get something out of her mouth.

  “What do you need?” I asked.

  “To say sorry.” The words came out fast. “I was cruel to you because I was afraid.”

  “Forget about it. I understand.”

  She glanced down at the bag in my hand. “So you’re leaving?”

  “For a while.”

  She pursed her lips together.

  “What?” I asked.

  Her face reddened. “I was hoping you could teach me a few things about how to use Light.”

  I chuckled. “That’s something I never thought I’d hear. Ask Kiera or Ashlyn. They know as much as I do.”

  She hugged me suddenly. “Thank you. For everything.” Before I could say anything back, she let go and hurried away.

  I stared after her until she disappeared around the corner. Things at Lucent were going to be so different. I probably wouldn’t recognize it when I returned.

  Pushing open the door, I squinted against the glare of the sun. As soon as my eyes adjusted, the first thing I saw was Liam, reminding me again of how good he looked in the sunlight. I hoped the blood I gave him lasted awhile.

  He was at the bottom of the steps, talking to May and Arik.

  “I still can’t believe you guys are leaving,” Arik said when I joined them.

  I glanced at May. “It won’t be for too long.”

  “Six months,” she said. “At least.”

  “Whatever it takes.” I figured it would take at least that long. First we both wanted to return to Utah for a while to visit family. Jake and Heidi said they had a big surprise for me. My guess was she was pregnant. After that it was off to Thailand. The Andaman Islands weren’t far from there.

  “I wish you’d let us help,” Arik said. “Finding that cure might be a lot harder than you think.”

  “If there is a cure,” Liam added.

>   I looked pointedly at him. “I’m going to find it, and it’s going to help you.”

  And me and Christian. I knew he was thinking it too, but he didn’t say anything. I never said good-bye to Christian when the Deific came to take him away. They said they’d keep him safely locked up. I didn’t want any more memories of the monster he’d become.

  “I don’t need a cure. I’ve lived like this for centuries and will continue to do so.”

  “Here we go again,” Arik said under his breath. “Walk you to the car?” he asked May. She nodded and headed to our rental parked not far away.

  I huffed, not wanting to have the same argument we’d had for the last several days. “I’ve felt your burden, Liam. You mean too much to me to let you suffer like that.”

  “Then let me go. I’ll find it.”

  “We need to do this. May and I.” I took his hand and smiled gently. “But we’re coming back. Besides, we have unfinished business. That kiss. I’ll never forget it.”

  He pulled me into a hug and moaned. “This is going to be hard.”

  I hugged him back and breathed him in. It was going to be hard, but it was necessary. I’d depended on Christian for so long and then Liam. I needed to know that I could survive on my own.

  Liam let me go. “Charlie told me to tell you good-bye. He wished he could be here, but his hands are full with trying to track down Vykens.”

  “I heard a bunch of adult Auras are helping him.”

  “They are. And he said he’d love to have you join too, when you’re ready.”

  “I’d like that.”

  We walked to the car.

  “You know you can call me anytime, right?” he said.

  “I know.”

  “For any reason.”

  May rolled down the passenger window and called out to me from the driver’s seat. “You ready?” She really wanted to get out of here.

  “Be right there.” I gave Liam another tight hug. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” He held me for a few seconds before letting me go. He opened my door. “Be safe.”

  I slid into the passenger seat. “I will.” He closed the door and stepped back. I watched him for a few seconds, wanting to memorize how he looked in the sunlight.