Denouncement

by E A Foley

  “Weird. I’ve never felt that in anyone else before.”

  “Maybe that’s because all of us use magic daily while you don’t. Perhaps our aura is always like that. Anyway, I know you don’t want to talk magic, so I’ll drop it.”

  “Thanks,” Iris said. Silence filled the car while Iris thought about what Thorin said. They didn’t speak until he pulled into the parking lot. “Hawaiian?” Iris asked.

  “Barbecue chicken?” Thorin countered.

  “Sure. I could do that.”

  “Great! I’ve been craving a barbecue chicken pizza all week. Inside or outside?”

  “It’s a nice night. I vote for outside.”

  “Cool. You save us some seats and I’ll go order.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  The pizza was great. Iris and Thorin were soon joined by several of their section mates while Sienna, Zarina, and the clarinet sophomores took the table next to them. The thing Iris looked forward to the most that evening was seeing how the freshmen were doing with the float for the parade the following day. She hadn’t made it to float-building for almost two weeks and was impressed at the progress and detail they’d managed with chicken wire and paper-mache.

  Thorin dropped Iris back at home a few hours later and promised to call her in the morning to assure she didn’t oversleep. Zarina was spending the night at Jaden’s so Iris was going to sleep in her room. That way she wouldn’t wake Aerianna up at the crack of dawn. Picnic Day was a very long day, to say the least.

  Chapter 27

  Twenty hours later Iris was tired, but happily driving a car full of mellos to the evening social. It was a great way for everyone to wind down after a very busy three weeks. She’d volunteered to be the DD for her section this year and nine of them managed to cram in the 4Runner. It was a good thing the windows were tinted so darkly because four of them had to pile in the back. No seatbelt and a bumpy ride were their punishment for not volunteering to drive. Iris didn’t care one way or the other as long as she didn’t get pulled over. She’d ridden in the back of her dad’s car so many times she no longer noticed how bumpy it was.

  They arrived at the social and Iris immediately found a group of friends to talk with. When her conversation partners started wandering off to join this friend or that, Iris looked around for Matt. He’d told her he was coming tonight. She refilled her cup with root beer, headed outside, and took a seat on a picnic table to enjoy the night air. Her ears picked up his voice coming from her left.

  Iris looked around and saw him standing with a group—smoking. One of the senior flutes had her arm wrapped around his waist while his arm draped across her shoulders. It wasn’t an uncommon scene for a circle of friends like that, but it still sent a cold wave of jealousy through her core. And a burst of heat through her eyes. Having no desire to be privy to the scene, Iris went back inside to find someone else to talk to. Matt found her about an hour later.

  “Hey,” he said as he wrapped an arm around her hip. He pulled her to him so he could kiss her cheek. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “I’ve been here for a while,” Iris said. She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice but didn’t think she’d quite managed.

  “You all right?”

  “Yeah. Just tired.” She smiled at him in earnest.

  “I’ll bet you are. Can I get you a refill? What’re you drinking?”

  “Just root beer. I’m DD tonight for the whole section.”

  “Lame. How did you manage that duty?”

  “I’m the only one with a car big enough to fit everyone. And I’m the only sophomore with a car, so, yeah.” She shrugged.

  “Did you get to enjoy yourself last night, at least?”

  “I did. Did you ever stop by?”

  “No. I was trying to catch up with some homework. I am trying to graduate this quarter so I figured I should actually pass my classes in order to make that happen.”

  “Probably a good idea,” Iris agreed. She smiled. Her eyes tingled from Matt’s prolonged contact with her hip.

  “I thought so too. Anyway, you free for some Japanese studying tomorrow? We have that test on Thursday and I want to be completely prepared.”

  “Sure. I’ll call you when I’m free to come over?”

  “Sounds good.” Matt smiled, kissed Iris on the cheek again and went to refill both of their drinks.

  Iris’s mood improved, and she enjoyed the rest of the evening. That was until she had to corral her section back to her car. It was frustrating beyond belief. She’d get a few people outside, head inside to find more, and come back out to no one. When she finally made it home after dropping everyone off, it was well past three in the morning. Being as quiet as possible, Iris entered her room, changed into pajamas, and crawled in bed.

  Too soon her roommates woke her up by singing as they made breakfast. Iris groaned, rolled over, and tried to get back to sleep to no avail. She got up instead and took a quick shower before joining everyone in the living room.

  “Good morning, sunshine,” Aerianna teased.

  “You look like shit, just so you know,” Rozlynd added with a grin.

  “Pancakes?” Violet offered her a plate.

  “Good morning, I know, and yes, please. Thank you,” she added as she took the plate and grabbed the syrup. “You guys are up early.”

  “Yeah. We’re meeting Morrigan at the island today.”

  “Ah. Good to know.”

  “You want to come?”

  “No. I’ll go to my glade instead. Thanks for the offer though,” Iris tried to be cordial. There was no reason to take their heads off this early or yell at them about being done with magic. Especially when they were being so polite. “Besides, I’m heading to Matt’s to study. We have a big test on Thursday.”

  “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us,” Violet added.

  “Thank you. I won’t. What else are you guys up to today? And whose turn is it to cook roommate dinner? Is it mine?”

  “No. It’s Zarina’s. Which is good because we’ve seen her even less than you and with her moving out next year—”

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Zarina didn’t tell you?” Aerianna asked.

  Iris shook her head.

  “Typical,” Rozlynd muttered and shoved more pancake in her mouth.

  “Obviously I missed something. What’s going on?”

  Aeri and Violet looked at Rozlynd, so Iris followed suit.

  “I might’ve commented on how little time Zarina spends here and that she might as well move in with Jaden.”

  “She’s—”

  “No,” Rozlynd continued before Iris could finish her question. “Her parents would never let her. Anyway, she’s going to take over Cirrus’s one-bedroom lease and Cirrus is moving in with Thorin. So are Jaden and Rowen since all of Thorin’s roommates are graduating. I think Zarina said two found jobs and one applied for grad school last minute.”

  “When did all this happen?”

  “Sometime last week. It was really short notice on Zarina’s part, but I think she’s been looking to move out for a while. I guess Thorin asked Gavin if he wanted to move in to cover the last room in his apartment but Gavin said he couldn’t leave his roommates hanging like that. Instead, Zarina talked to Cirrus. You know how nice and accommodating he is,” she smiled at Violet. “Cirrus agreed and told Thorin he’d move in. At least it’ll be nice to have two houses we can talk freely in.”

  “So what about us?”

  “We’re going to do some room shifting—if that’s all right with you. I was hoping to take the master and you and Aeri can fight over mine and Zarina’s old rooms.”

  “Works for me. I can’t afford the master on my own. Aeri, do you have a room preference?”

  “I sort of like Zarina’s room better. It’s a bit bigger, and I’d like to get a larger bed. I’m tired of sleeping on a twin. That cool with you?”

  “Just fine. Does anyone know when all of
this is taking place?”

  “As soon as Thorin’s roommates move out sometime in late June or early July.”

  “Sounds good. So, do I act surprised when Zarina brings it up or just play like she told me already?”

  “I say act surprised. But I’d be sarcastic about it if it were me,” Rozlynd announced. She sounded really bitter.

  “It’s cool that Rowen’s moving up here.” Iris changed to a happier subject in the hopes it would pull Roz out of her funk.

  “Finally, right? I know. I’m looking forward to it more than you could know. We should all go out when he officially moves to Davis.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Iris agreed. She glanced at the time on her cell phone and stood to put her dishes in the kitchen. “Well, I better get going. See you guys later.” She formed and stepped through a doorway to a chorus of goodbyes.

  Iris clicked the speaker button once the phone rang. She grabbed some water and leaned her head against the fridge. She’d tried and failed to turn into a faerie once more. Perhaps she should give it up like she continually told everyone she had given magic up. Learning a new skill didn’t really go in line with what she told everyone.

  Her thoughts turned towards happier things like having her own room soon. It brought a smile to her lips and pushed all the frustrations she’d experienced with magic that morning away. The phone rang for a fifth time. Iris sighed and prepared to leave a voicemail when someone answered the phone.

  “Iris?” A woman’s voice asked. “Hey, it’s Kelly. Matt’s in the shower.”

  “Oh, hi,” she was taken by surprise. “Well, can you tell him I’m free to study for our Japanese test whenever he is?”

  “Sure thing. Bye.”

  “Bye,” Iris said flatly and clicked the phone off. “How could you be so dense, Iris?” she demanded of herself. All her happiness vanished in a second. She felt deflated. Needed a distraction from her own mind and darkening eyes.

  Iris flopped onto the couch, clicked on the TV, and found a mindless movie to try to take her mind off things. Her phone rang fifteen minutes later. It was Matt. Iris had half a mind to ignore him, but she really did need to study for their test.

  “Hey, you want to come over now?”

  “You sure you’re not too busy?”

  “I’m good. See you in a few.” Matt hung up before she could say anything else.

  Iris clicked off the TV, grabbed her already packed backpack and headed to Matt’s. She sat in her car for a full five minutes trying to get her eyes to lose their greenish-brown hue but failed. Deciding it didn’t matter anyway, Iris headed inside. Her guard was up.

  “So, what do you want to start with?” Iris cut straight to study mode. It was safer that way.

  “How about we talk for a second?”

  “I’d rather just study. Vocabulary review work for you?”

  “Iris, I like you. You have to know that, but I can’t have a serious relationship with someone who always seems to be hiding something. I wish you’d let me in more.”

  “It would have been nicer to hear that before Kelly answered your phone this morning. Actually, it would’ve been nicer to hear that before I saw you two hanging all over each other last night.” She didn’t try to keep the bitterness from her tone this time but was happy she kept the volume of her voice steady. She’d only become more upset if shouted. Right now she didn’t want to feel anything.

  “We dated a few years ago. Last night just sort of happened. I would have preferred it if you’d spent the night.”

  “And yet you never said or indicated as much to me. You’re an adult. You can make your own decisions in life and date whoever you want. It isn’t me any longer. If you even consider what we did dating. Now, are we going to study, or should I head to the library?” Her voice was neutral this time.

  Matt stared at Iris for a long time before expelling a great sigh. “We’ll study. And, Iris, I am sorry.”

  Iris’s response to his apology was to open her book and start asking him for the Japanese or English translation of words. The joy of having a private room for the following year seemed a complete let down now. The only silver lining was that she no longer had to form doorways to a public place like the living room.

  Chapter 28

  Iris’s eyes remained brown with flecks of green for over a week. She kept to herself as often as possible and wasn’t even sarcastic to Zarina when she mentioned moving out in a few months. Life seemed a little less jovial for Iris now.

  She stopped caring about expelling all her power quickly as she had nowhere to go and no one to hang out with. Instead, she’d spend hours on end skipping rocks with power while on the island or helping flowers bloom in her glade petal by petal.

  She dreamt about the mansion almost every night but didn’t let the dreams get to her. She no longer tried to analyze them or figure out what would happen next. When Brett showed up at her glade with three weeks left in the spring quarter, Iris had no energy to fight with him.

  “Now I’d believe it,” he told her and sat on the soft ground a few feet in front of her.

  Iris didn’t so much as glance at him.

  “Not even going to ask what I mean?” he inquired several minutes later. “No? All right, then I’ll tell you. Now I’d believe you’re done with magic. What happened to you? You feel like you’ve lost all your drive in life.”

  She shivered as Brett used flows of magic to analyze her power. She didn’t fight him or even react when he sent a small fist of air into her shoulder. Just kept her attention fixated on the flower she was helping bloom in front of her.

  “You’ve lost a lot of power, too. What a shame. Such a waste. Sorry Iris, but this is for your own good.”

  Iris drew her eyebrows together and looked at him in confusion. The dull ache at the nape of her neck that indicated Brett used magic turned into a knifepoint. He slammed the knife deep into the base of her skull. Ripped it back out. Shifted its placement. A second blow expanded to encompass her head. She screamed.

  The pain lessened inside her skull. An intense, pounding headache like she’d never experienced in her life flared to life. The knifepoint dug deeper. Changed. Became fifteen fire pokers drilling into her nerves. Her body convulsed. Iris screamed again. The sound echoed through the silent forest and back to her. Several black rectangles spit people out before vanishing.

  “Is that her?” a man asked.

  “She seems so fragile,” a woman sneered down at her.

  When had she fallen over? Iris tried to think through the pain encompassing her entire body. Her brain wouldn’t work. Couldn’t function. Conversation continued around her.

  “She usually isn’t. I’m trying to ascertain how far gone she is,” Brett responded.

  Iris tried to focus on him. He still sat on the ground near her. Seemed closer.

  “What do you mean?” a different treble asked.

  “That she doesn’t want to do magic anymore?” a high, soft feminine voice answered.

  “Precisely. I don’t think she’s completely lost, but will you get my father, please, Eve?”

  A single dark rectangle formed and disappeared. Five sets of feet came within Iris’s line of sight. She felt more than heard a few others behind her. It seemed Brett had been busy. She made to roll over to see who was behind her. Wondered how many magic users there were in the world and how many of them were in Brett and Mr. Moreno’s little clan. The knife jammed deeper. The pain in her neck and down her spine spiked. Blackness filled her vision while a buzzing engulfed her ears.

  A hand was on her shoulder. It shook her body. Someone said something Iris couldn’t discern. They shook her again. The buzzing lessened a little. Darkness remained. A moist stickiness covered her body. Sweat. It dripped off her forehead onto the soft grass she lay on. Random words filtered through the buzzing to her brain.

  “—should go before . . . don’t want . . . best this way—”

  Iris shook her head. The world spun. She grip
ped the ground in an attempt to stop its movements. Hands held both sides of her head. They grounded her. Gave her a sense of where she was. Iris pushed off the ground with both hands and received help in getting to a sitting position. She bent her knees, placed both arms across them, and rested her forehead on her arms. Willed her roiling stomach not to release all its contents.

  “You went too far this time, Brett.”

  “I realize that.”

  “How many times did you hit her?”

  “Four.”

  “Four? And she’s still conscious? That’s amazing. Did you use the same amount of power as usual?”

  “About ten percent more, actually. Closer to twenty on the fourth. She wasn’t responding the way everyone else does.”

  “Impressive. Iris?” the voice was directed at her now.

  Hands gently grabbed both sides of her head and tilted it up. Iris’s eyes tried to focus on the face in front of her but they couldn’t quite manage. The face was familiar. It spoke.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Like some asshole slammed a knife into my nerve center.”

  “That’s a fairly accurate ascertainment of what Brett did. I’m impressed,” Mr. Moreno told her.

  “I’m so glad I’ve impressed you,” Iris’s voice dripped with as much sarcasm as she could muster. “Now what the fuck do you want? If it’s a fight, I might be willing to oblige this time.”

  “We don’t want to fight you, Iris. We’ve never wanted to fight you. We want you to learn the truth and help us on our way to creating a better future for us all.”

  “That sounds like a bunch of bullshit.”

  “You hit her mind, right?”

  “Second blow, just like always. Should’ve worked.”

  “Guess there’s no point in asking what you did to me, huh? Pretty shitty way to treat someone you want to join you. Like I’ve said before, I’m disinclined. Have a nice day.”

  Iris pulled power into her being, fought off another wave of nausea, and requested a doorway open on the ground behind her. She made to roll back through it but Mr. Moreno held tight to her head. She didn’t have the physical strength to pull away. Was too foggy to make multiple requests at once.