by HDA Roberts
Neither of my parents had taken too well to a practical knowledge of Black Magic. But then, nor had I, really. It both terrified and excited me, which was bad and confusing all on its own. I wanted never to see anything like it ever again, and yet I also wanted to dive into it, feel all that power coursing through me. I wanted to see what I could make it do...
This wasn't good.
Cathy arrived a little later, and she texted me that she needed help moving. I dropped what I was doing and made my way over to Curie, where I found Cathy outside next to a pile of suitcases. I touched her shoulder and she turned. Her eyes softened and she was suddenly in my arms, her lips on mine. Tension I didn't even know I was holding drained out of me as I held her.
"Missed you," I said after the kiss came to its end and we stood together, her forehead against mine, our eyes closed.
"Missed you more," she replied softly.
"Hey!" said a very irate fatherly voice, "Get your hands off my daughter!"
I looked up just as Warwick Campbell grabbed my lapels and threw me bodily away from Cathy. I staggered back and fell, banging my hip on the gravel and twisting my ankle.
"Daddy, no!" Cathy squealed, running for me.
She didn't make it. He, very gently but very firmly, picked her up by her biceps and put her down behind him. Damn, that guy was strong! He picked her up like she weighed nothing. He then hefted me up by the jacket and shoved me against the car.
I let him. It wasn't charity, or ethics; I just knew my Cathy, and she'd be feeling torn right now. The best thing I could do was let Campbell bluster himself out. Doing anything else would only make it worse in the long run, and I was going to need him to tolerate me eventually.
"Come near her again, and they won't find what's left of you," he whispered menacingly.
When you've been roared at by demons, nearly been eaten by ghouls, had your face cut up by fanatics and your body holed by death magic, the threats of a chef aren't that intimidating.
"Meaning?" I asked calmly.
"What?" he asked, obviously confused. I do believe that he was under the impression that he was the dangerous one in this conversation, the poor lamb...
"I'm asking exactly what you plan to do to me. I assume from the tone of your statement that you intend murder?"
I think that the sheer banality of my tone threw him and he stepped back. Cathy looked like she was torn between crying and laughing.
"What? No, I'm not going to... what's wrong with you?" he said.
"Depending on who you ask, quite a few things," I replied. Cathy did laugh this time; Campbell turned to glare and she stopped.
"You leave her alone, understand me?" he said.
"You know, I would, but the problem is that... well I'm not sure I can live without her anymore," I said.
Cathy smiled at me, a little tear in her eye, which she cuffed away.
Campbell saw, and his expression softened.
"Oh," he said, clearing his throat. He turned to Cathy, "You like him, don't you Sweetheart?"
Cathy nodded.
"Juliana said..." Campbell began, "she told us that he'd been taking advantage."
Cathy's face instantly contorted in rage, "She said what?!" she barked.
Campbell stepped back from her fury, sensible man. Cathy wasn't to be messed with when she was really mad.
"Matty would never... he couldn't... how could she?!" she said, starting to pace, her face going red.
"Cathy, breathe!" I said, moving over so I could hold her hand while she calmed down, rubbing her back in that automatic gesture that helped her relax. Campbell blinked as he saw this. Cathy's face slowly returned to its normal colour, and she relaxed by degrees.
"I hate her, I hate her!" she said.
"No you don't," I replied, "we can't hate our siblings, no matter how much of a pain they are. That's why they are so much of a pain."
"Shut up," she said half-heartedly.
"Yes, Miss Cathy."
She laughed and leant her head against mine again.
Her father coughed to remind us that he was still there, and she pulled away.
"Alright," he said, "it would appear that there's been something of a misunderstanding. But that doesn't change the fact that your grades have taken a nosedive in the last few months, and that is unacceptable, young lady."
Cathy looked down.
"So, if I am going to tolerate whatever this is, you must agree to stop letting it get in the way of your work! A-levels are just around the corner, and your whole record gets taken into account when letters of recommendation are being written!"
"Yes, Daddy," she said softly.
I knew that tone. That was her 'I'll agree now and do whatever the hell I want when you're not looking' tone. I loved that tone, it promised naughty things.
"I'll come back in a few," I said, backing away.
"Oh no, I'm not done with you," he said.
Rats.
I turned around again.
"You obviously have feelings for my daughter. But if you hurt her, there's nothing that will keep you safe from me," he snarled.
"Mister Campbell, the only way anything hurts your daughter is if it's stepping over what's left of me. I'd certainly never hurt her."
He looked at me very intently for a long minute and then nodded.
"Alright, you can go," he said, waving generally at me and turning back to Cathy.
I waved my phone at her and vanished around the corner.
Whatever was going on took a while, but I eventually got a text telling me I could come back. Cathy was waiting for me, and her uninhibited hello was well worth the sprained ankle.
She apologised profusely for her father, and spent what was left of the day making it up to me. Next time I'd let him stab me if this is what a shove got me...
The first day of term was... interesting to say the least.
That was the day that Darius Hellstrom was declared First Shadow.
"What that now?" I asked, quite baffled, when Bill told me the news.
"I know. He's been going around telling everyone. Has a ring and everything, calls it the 'Black Signet', how pretentious is that?" Bill said.
"That's impossible," I replied.
"And yet, here we are," Cathy said.
"No, I know Archons. I know their Magical signatures. He's not an Archon," I said, "someone's playing silly buggers."
"Well, if it's not Hellstrom, then who is it?" Bill asked.
"Damned if I know, but it's not him," I said.
"You got something to say, Subject?" said that voice, that ugly voice, with that disgusting power of his oozing against my senses.
"Nothing at all, Lord Shadow," I said, my voice filled with sarcasm as I turned to look at him. He was standing nearby, almost preening in self-satisfaction. He genuinely believed he was the First Shadow, I wondered who'd been whispering in his ear?
"You'd be better advised to show a little respect for your betters," he said nastily.
"I do. You're just not one of them," I replied.
"I am your Archon!" he said, stomping his foot, "You will respect me!"
"I already have an Archon," I said, "and I respect her because she earned it, not because she commanded it. You want respect? Stop acting like a whiny child."
"I'll have you locked up for this! They'll take you to the Farm!"
I snorted, I couldn't help it.
"Run along, 'Lord Shadow'," I said, "I'm sure that the rest of the school's Shadowborn are just waiting to sing your praises."
"I'm the Archon of the Dark," he said menacingly, Shadows curling around his feet, "I'm not scared of some peasant sheep-son."
I turned to look at him.
"Learn to be," I whispered, letting my own shadows come out of the dark patches, far more, and far denser than his, "or wish you had. And it's Archon of the Deep, not Dark, you twit."
Don't ask me how I knew that, but I did.
Two men stepped from the sides of the di
ning hall. They were dressed in black suits, wearing sunglasses. I cast Mage Sight. Wizards both; one Air, one Space, both strong. Neither a big problem.
Oh, we were gearing up for something fun...
"For heaven's sake, Mister Graves, the term hasn't even started yet!" Hopkins snapped from the direction of the door.
Hellstrom's shadows petered out. I had to send mine away, I was in that kind of mood.
"Sorry, Miss Hopkins," I said.
"I think you'd better come with me, we need to discuss your behaviour towards dignitaries," she nodded her head towards the door and I followed, Bill and Cathy sniggering behind their hands.
She led me out into the square between the dining hall and the Chapel.
"I'd imagine you have questions," she said, the faintest hint of a smile on her face.
"One or two," I said with a raised eyebrow.
"He declared himself. Publicly. He said that he was the First Shadow, and challenged anyone else to come forward and prove him wrong. Naturally, the real one didn't, because he's a tool, and now we're thoroughly in the shit, because everyone thinks Hellstrom's the real deal, and denying him would cause some serious political problems if the real one isn't around."
"Then tell me who the real one is, and I'll administer the necessary kick up the jaxie!" I said.
"If it were a matter of doing that, I'd do it myself!" Hopkins said, throwing her hands up in exasperation, "How to explain this... the Ugly Duckling. He or she goes through life thinking he's a duck. He's lived like a duck, he's grown up with ducks, and he thinks he's one ugly duck. Now, if I were to go up to this duck, a duck who's known nothing but ridicule and subordination, a duck that doesn't have the self-confidence to know that he's not a duck, and tell him he's a swan, then he either wouldn't believe me, or he would, but in not finding out for himself, losing something in the discovery, do you understand?"
"If you'd dumbed it down any more, I might have taken offence, but yes, I get it," I said with a half-glare that just made the cow smirk at me, "Can't you at least tell me who it is so I can nudge him in the right direction? I can be subtle."
She grunted loudly, throwing her hands up at the sky, "No," she said, "I can't tell you."
"Can you at least tell me if he's likely to take very much longer? This is starting to get stressful. And why does Darius suddenly have bodyguards?"
"Because his mother wanted to protect the new First Shadow," Hopkins said with a sneer, "It's annoying."
"Does this mean he gets to wear the white hood?" I asked with a grin.
"Over my dead body! And he sits in the Seat under the same conditions."
"If you're unwilling to tell him to piss off, then how do you intend to stop him?"
"We said there had to be a confirmation ceremony in a few months. He can't take the seat until then. Hopefully the actual idiot will pull his thumb out by then," she said, almost muttering.
"Hey, I thought I was the idiot in your life, I'm starting to get jealous."
"Just... just... shut up!" she said, looking like she was about to blow a gasket, "Go do something useful before I throttle you!"
"Yes, Miss Hopkins," I said with a grin.
I left her to her fuming.
That first day was otherwise rather pleasant. In deference to Cathy's father, I tried to get her to work a bit harder. However, she was very uncooperative and supremely persuasive in her attempts to distract me. Something she whispered in my ear was so dirty that when Bill overheard even a little bit of it he got nauseous enough to go green. I went red and followed her to a convenient bush, all thoughts of working very gone.
After dinner, the three of us were sitting in the Big Square, chatting.
"All I'm asking is that you tone it down a little," Bill begged, "It's like watching my brother and sister at it, and it's affecting my appetite for so many things. I saw Sheila Tanner in a tank-top this afternoon and I got nothing because all I've got where my dirty mind used to be is pictures of this!"
Cathy grinned evilly, but seemed to relent before she could do anything indiscreet, "Well, I suppose I could take it back a tiny notch," she said with a shrug.
"Thank you," he said with a sigh.
"Hey, Graves!" Hellstroms again; I felt both of them this time.
"Oh what fresh hell is this?" I said, making Cathy snigger.
I stood to face them. It was the siblings, the Shadowborn and his bodyguards.
"What?" I asked, not very politely.
"You've been spreading lies!" he said, rounding on me, "You've been telling people I'm not the First Shadow!"
"No I haven't!" I protested, "You're not, but I haven't been telling anyone that."
"You're a lair!" he said, stepping towards me.
I locked him in a Stasis Spell before he managed another step.
"Yes, definitely the First Shadow," I said, shaking my head.
"Let my brother go!" Maria hissed, calling Earth Magic, an orange glow surrounded her.
"I will," I said, putting up my shields and calling my shadows, "but you need to know this first. He's not the First Shadow. He could never be the First Shadow. Even if he was, the other Archons would never tolerate the Black in such an unstable Magician. They'd kill him."
"You shut your mouth! How the hell would you know? You're not even from one of the Old Lines, you're just some Sheep that got lucky! You're destined for nothing more than Black Magic and an ugly end. My brother is going to be a king! He'll live forever!"
I stepped back, my face falling.
Oh, damn me, how did I not see this? How did I not understand?
"This is all for him," I said quietly, "You know what's happening, and you think this is his last chance before he goes Shaadre and you lose him forever."
That's why his mother had been so adamant, that's why Maria was so protective.
"My brother is the First Shadow," she said, her voice quivering, "and First Shadows don't turn into Shaadres!"
She was so certain, so desperate. It was something I understood all too well.
"Alright," I said quietly. I released Darius and stepped back, I bowed briefly, "Apologies, Lord Shadow."
He started, glaring, but he walked away. I hoped that things were alright, but I was fairly certain that the damage was done. The other Shadowborn already doubted him.
Yep, damage already done.
I knew because Maria sucker punched me square in the face the next morning and broke my nose. I went flying back into the notice board, cracking my head off the wood before falling to the ground, at which point she proceeded to kick every part of me that she could reach, screaming all the while.
"You son of a bitch! You ruined everything! Darius was in! Everyone believed! If it takes everything I have, I swear that I'll take everything you love from you, just like you've taken him from me!"
It hurt. A lot. I let her do it. I wasn't inclined to make her life any harder.
Cathy, though...
If you thought I was protective of her, that's nothing compared to how protective she is of me, apparently.
I heard what can only be described as a high-pitched battle cry, and my little Cathy slammed square into the second-strongest Magician at the school, slamming her into the wall. Cathy landed a series of punches on Maria's chest that drove all the air out of her lungs and left her gasping. Before Hellstrom could rally, Cathy darted around behind her and kicked her hard between the legs, drawing a strangled squawk from the Magician (it turned out girls don't like being kicked there, either, who knew?).
"Come near my boyfriend again, and I'll end you, bitch, understand me?" Cathy snarled, glaring down at Maria.
Maria glared right back, her hands between her legs.
Cathy cocked back her fist, "I said, do you understand?"
Maria nodded, and Cathy came over to me, helping me up.
"My hero," I said with a proud smile, she blushed and held my hand, walking me away.
"What was her problem?" Cathy asked.
"I don't know," I said, my voice sounding strange through my broken nose, "but being me, I feel safe assuming that it's something I did."
She snorted, "Sounds about right," she said, kissing me very gently on the cheek.
"You know, you were kind of a badass, where'd you get such an Amazonian streak?" I asked her.
"The only person who gets to manhandle my Matty is me," she said, rounding on me, "I saw that bitch laying into you and just saw red."
"Impressive," I said, "more than a little sexy, actually."
She chuckled, "You said the same thing when I read a passage from Winnie the Pooh."
"Just the way you were talking about honey made me want to spread it on something," I said with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.
She laughed, and we walked off, thinking the matter closed, just another skirmish in the eternal cold war between me and the Hellstroms.
We were wrong.
Chapter 19
It was about four days later. I was sleeping soundly in my bed in Kimmel House. It had been a busy week, but with some effort (and what can only be described as sexual bribery) I'd managed to get Cathy back to work, and her scores had improved slightly, and mine were getting a bit better, too.
All in all, I was in a good frame of mind and optimistic when I'd gone to be. I should have known it couldn't last.
Danger! The presence again, whispering urgently into my mind.
High One, danger! The heart is in peril!
Like I've said, it wasn't actual words, but that was very definitely the message.
"What?" I asked, groggy from sleep, not really getting it.
The precious one! She's in danger!
That got my attention, and I was suddenly very awake, darting up in bed.
The Elemental hadn't gone. I could still feel him there, waiting, eager.
Protect! My response was instinctive, I sent the command on reflex, and I felt him draw on my energy even as I was calling my shadows. Suddenly he was elsewhere, across the school, at Curie House.
Oh God, Cathy...
I didn't bother opening the window. My shadow cocoon simply smashed right through it and pulled me into the air. I was moving so fast...