by Leigh Kelsey
“Light storm,” Kati shouted, light flaring from the tip of her wand and pushing the wraith back—but not by much. The shadow swarm advanced, pressing on the bright purple of Kati’s shield, forcing her back a step, then two, then three.
She was too tired and growing dizzier, and she couldn’t put as much force into the lunar storm spell as she had when the wraiths had swarmed the bus.
And souls, that put a horrific thought in her mind: what if there were more than one soulwraith here at SBA?
“Ugh, I need to eat,” the wraith whined, distinctly bitchy as she flipped back to her bubblegum teenager form. “That Conrad guy was bland, like a cheap salad. I need a cheeseburger.” She groaned, her eyes flashing with intent hunger as Kati retreated, panting and shivering all over.
Pretty fucked up how casually this girl talked about draining people’s magic and life force. And … Conrad? Fuck, was he alright? Was he dead?
Kati spat the lunar storm spell again, gritting her teeth as she swayed—but another, infinitely more powerful spell joined hers and strengthened her.
Sunshine yellow magic exploded around Kati until the wraith screeched, back in her nightmare form with her many-fanged mouth wide. Her scream rose to piercing decibels until Kati was dizzy and her head pounded—and then the wraith collapsed into mist and darkness, taking the scent of charcoal and strawberry gum with her.
Panting, Kati leant against the closest wall, staring at Iain as her dizziness started to fade, adrenaline making her shaky. The second the soulwraith was gone, he rushed towards her, framing her face with his hands and scanning her expression as Blaze, his silver wolf, rubbed against Kati’s thigh, confirming she was okay too.
“Thanks,” Kati breathed, letting herself relax completely against him. She was fine. The wraith was gone. But if Iain hadn’t been there…
Wait…
Kati frowned up at him, her heart beating faster. “How did you get here so fast?”
Iain was still looking at her intently, scanning her for injuries. He didn’t hear anything off in her voice; he should have. “I’m just lucky I was able to banish the wraith.”
“Iain,” Kati repeated, holstering her wand and wrapping her hands around both his wrists, pulling his hands from her face. “How did you get here so fast?”
He swallowed. It was a momentary pause, but it was enough to give Kati her answer. A sick feeling spread through her stomach like poison as she stepped away. Dolly growled in the back of her throat at both Iain and Blaze despite them both being several times her size.
“You followed me,” Kati said hollowly. “I thought you had paperwork to do. You … you said you had a lesson plan…”
She just stared at him. He didn’t say anything, merely stood there in the sun-soaked hallway with his hands hanging by his sides, looking almost … lost. Blaze sat at his ankles, watching Kati with big, orange eyes. Sad eyes.
“You lied to me,” Kati said in a small voice. “Why? Why would you?” Betrayal was rising in her quickly, closing off her airway and making her sick. He’d lied. To her face. And he’d followed her. “You’re not a stalker, Iain. So why were you following me?”
He lifted his eyes to hers, miserable and despairing. Softly, he said, “You were weak after your necromancy lesson, and you were attacked by wraiths on your way to the school—”
Something didn’t ring true, though, and Kati cut him off, feeling more nauseated with every second. “Where did you get that tonic from?” she asked, her voice dull. Flat. “The one you gave me earlier. Where did you get it?”
It was disjointed, the suspicion in her head, and she hadn’t quite grasped it fully yet, but it was there … it was forming…
Iain shook his head, his eyes pleading behind his glasses. “Why is that important?”
“You said it was rare, that most people don’t even know it exists. Why would you, Iain? You’re just a teacher.”
Except…
She took a step back, breathing fast. “You’re too good at magic, even for a teacher. That spell you used to bind Chen and her cronies when they tried to kill me, that’s not a standard binding spell.”
And she remembered a hazy conversation half-heard while she recovered from opening the window to the underworld earlier. “You’re too familiar with Madam Hawkness,” Kati breathed, and watched it form in Iain’s eyes, the emotion she’d been waiting for: guilt. Apology shone there, too, but she shut it out. “All the teachers know her, but you really know her. I think … I think I heard you talking at my bedside tonight. You were angry…”
“Because a teacher recklessly endangered your life,” Iain said weakly. “I had no idea if you’d be permanently injured because of Mrs Hale—”
“Shut up,” Kati hissed, shaking her head, her chest rising and falling quickly. He’d lied. He’d lied and there was a secret here, something big, she could sense it. Dolly pressed closer, brushing Kati’s ankles in an attempt to comfort. Kati dragged her hands over her face, ignoring the way they shook, ignoring the little stab wounds in her heart—and it finished forming. That horrible thought. It all snapped into place in her head, and everything made sense.
And she was going to be sick for real.
Kati swallowed hard, blinking back tears so she could see his face as she asked, “Are you a gentry?”
Iain paled, and though he didn’t shake his head or nod, the truth was right there in his expression.
“Are you … are you the gentry Madam Hawkness assigned to watch me?” He was. He really was. She could see it in his face. “That’s why—that’s why you’re getting close to me—”
“No,” Iain said quickly, his voice thick with emotion. “Kati, no. That’s not why I got close to you—you were the one who corrupted me in the infirmary if you’ll remember rightly.”
Kati laughed, but she wiped the amusement off her face. This wasn’t the time to be familiar and joking. This was … this was awful. It was breaking her heart. And she’d thought finding out that Theo was a bigot was the worst betrayal she’d suffer through.
“My feelings for you are genuine, Kati,” Iain said, holding her gaze. “I swear to you, they had nothing to do with my assignment—”
But Kati was shaking her head, already walking away, that word—assignment—ringing in her ears.
He was new here last term—because Hawkness had brought him in to make sure no one else got killed like Colen Greensmith. And of course Kati would be the top suspect when others turned up dead. Of course he’d spend time trying to figure her out. She bet Hawkness had chosen Iain so he and Kati could bond over their evil relatives and villainous reputations. It had all been planned.
It had all been a lie.
“Stay away from me,” she choked out as he moved to follow.
Blaze let out a whine, but Kati couldn’t turn back, hot tears spilling down her face. “I don’t want you anywhere near me. Ever again.”
“Kati,” he rasped.
“No. Don’t … don’t try to talk to me again. I’ll see you in class, Mr Worth.”
The footsteps pursuing her halted abruptly, and Kati fled, crying, her heart cracked in two.
BFFs
Kati didn’t go to class the next day. She told Rahmi and Naia that she was sick, and they both agreed that she didn’t look well at all. Rahmi said she’d let their teachers know she was ill, and Naia promised to take notes for her so she didn’t miss out. Guilt wound through Kati’s stomach at their kindness but she wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened yet.
She stayed in bed, the duvet pulled over her bed and Dolly curled up against her, but she was wide awake, staring and thinking and hurting. Souls, it hurt so much.
She’d thought she and Iain had a genuine relationship. An amazing relationship if she was being honest. She’d been quietly thinking they were long term, making silent plans for when she graduated SBA and they could be together all the time. Those futures had burned to ash yesterday
You’ll get over him, Dolly sa
id quietly. I promise, Kati.
How would you know? You’re a dog.
Kati rolled over and ignored whatever she said next.
When the first lesson ended and everyone normally went to lunch, Kati’s bedroom door creaked open and a weight depressed her bed by her ankles, another sitting higher up and earning a squeak when she sat on Dolly.
“Sorry, sorry,” Rahmi said quickly, adjusting her weight. “I didn’t break anything, did I?”
Dolly snorted. I’m no porcelain doll. She paused. Despite what the hideous name you gave me suggests.
“She’s fine,” Kati said, surprised by the rough quality of her voice. She sounded like hell.
“Are you alright?” Naia asked gently, patting the duvet over Kati’s calf.
“Fine,” Kati replied, monotone.
It was silent for a moment, and then Rahmi said, “Mr Worth just pulled us aside at the end of class to ask how you were healing from yesternight. He said … you broke up.”
“We did. Because he’s a liar,” Kati replied, her heart twisting. Fuck, it hurt. When was it going to stop feeling like she was being stabbed in the chest every time she thought about the game he’d played?
“What?” Naia asked, sounding surprised.
“I’ll kill him,” Rahmi hissed. “How do you want it done? Mutilation? Hexed to death? Poison? I could probably brew an eyeball melter if I set my mind to it.”
Kati’s lips turned up fractionally under the duvet. “Just leave him alone for now.”
A horrible thought struck: was he still assigned to watch her? Even now, when she’d told him to stay away from her? It was his job after all, wasn’t it? Monitoring people who could be dangerous.
Kati’s stomach cramped hard. She wrenched sideways, pulling back the duvet and shoving Dolly out of the way as she jumped out of bed, racing for the bathroom and only just making it before bile splashed the toilet.
“Maybe she really is sick,” Naia whispered.
Kati caught Rahmi shaking her head from the corner of her eye before she knelt and gathered Kati’s orange-red hair, pulling it back as she retched again, rubbing her back to soothe the cramping.
“I mean it,” Rahmi said quietly. “You want me to get rid of him, I can make it happen. Not murder, but … I have connections.”
Kati grabbed some toilet roll and wiped her mouth, slanting a look at Rahmi. “Who are you?”
Rahmi sighed, her amber eyes conflicted. “My dad’s pretty high up in the gentry. The rest of my family are, too.”
Bitter laughter bubbled from Kati’s lips. “Then you probably know more about Iain than I do.” She stumbled to the sink and rinsed her mouth, her hands shaking on the porcelain. She really did feel sick, but that was what happened when someone you trusted shattered that trust so viciously and completely.
Rahmi watched Kati with wide eyes, her skin a shade paler and her midnight blue hijab looking almost black against her face. “He’s…”
“Yep,” Kati replied shortly. “But don’t tell anyone. And don’t … don’t get him fired,” she sighed. Kati might be furious at Iain, and she might be hurting, but she knew he dreaded being fired from SBA. Even if he did have job security, just in a different sector.
Bastard for not telling her.
She turned, meaning to bury herself back in her duvet, but Naia trapped her in a hug, and Kati was too weak to protest. Besides, Naia was a good foot taller and athletic as hell. No way was Kati winning any kind of physical fight against Naia Clarke fairly.
She relaxed, hugging her friend back and fighting tears as they stabbed her eyeballs again. “I’ll be fine,” she murmured. “I just need a day to wallow.”
“No,” Rahmi disagreed, that optimistic tone to her voice that made Kati groan or smirk depending on the occasion. Now, she groaned; she wasn’t going to be left to wallow in peace was she? “You need copious quantities of junk food, alcohol, and action films,” Rahmi went on. “Watching buildings blow up can be cathartic.”
Kati sighed, relenting. “Fine. But if you spike my ice cream with any feel-good potion, I’m hexing you, Rahmi Qureshi. And I’m going back to bed while you go to spells class. Just FYI.”
Rahmi pulled Kati into a hug when Naia let go, squeezing so tight that Kati let out an oof sound. “Dolly,” Rahmi said, giving the little black pug a very serious look even as she kept hugging Kati breathless. “You take care of her while we’re gone.”
Dolly let out a yip, disconcertingly obedient.
“And if you need something to distract yourself,” Naia said, going into the living room and digging through her bag. “Here’s my notes from magic theory.”
“Souls,” Kati said, laughing at the ten pages Naia put in her hands. “You never leave a job half done do you, Clarke?”
Naia grinned. “Never.”
“Thanks.” Emotion threatened again as Kati looked at the pages. “I really appreciate it. Both of you.” She smiled weakly, refusing to look up at them because she’d be blubbering within seconds. “I know I’m a bitch sometimes, but I love you guys.”
“We love you, too,” Rahmi replied, squeezing Kati in another hug.
Naia nodded.
“Eat something while we’re gone,” Rahmi said as they headed for the door, and Kati felt a bit lighter at their nagging and support.
“Oh,” Naia said on the threshold, “don’t freak out, but a wraith managed to get onto academy grounds.”
Kati bit her lip. Yet more things she was keeping from her friends, although this was more because she’d forgotten, her fear of the wraith obliterated by her broken heart.
“Conrad Graysun’s in the infirmary,” Rahmi added, and Kati swore. “What?”
“I … I forgot about him,” she breathed, feeling sick for another reason. Could she have helped Conrad if she and Iain hadn’t fought?
Rahmi gave her a look, and Kati gave them the abridged version of last night's events.
“Souls,” Naia breathed, clutching at her neck for a pendant that wasn’t there; she did it a lot, Kati had noticed.
Rahmi just hugged Kati again. “You had a really crappy day, huh? And to think I slept right through it.”
Kati shook her head, sniffling. Soulsdamned emotions. “You should go; you’ll be late to spells and Grant will make you clean the catacombs as punishment.”
Kati spoke from experience.
“You’ll be okay by yourself?” Naia asked, her brown eyes big and concerned behind her turquoise glasses.
“Go,” Kati said, rolling her eyes. “I’ll be fine.”
They made sure she had everything she needed and only then did her friends leave.
Kati collapsed back into bed and buried herself in the duvet, but she did eat something, and the world didn’t seem quite as crushingly bleak as it had this evening when she’d woken up.
The Wise Master And The Plucky Apprentice
The next evening, after a long sleep—or food coma, depending on how you looked at it, after the entire pizza, tub of ice cream, and large bowl of prawn crackers Kati had eaten while watching The Avengers blow shit up and binging The Witcher for the plot—Kati woke early. She just laid there for a long moment, staring, thinking, preparing herself for the day. At least it was Saturday. At least she didn’t have classes.
You’ve got this, Dolly said, nudging Kati’s leg. She’d been unusually supportive lately, but being Kati’s familiar, Dolly could feel exactly how much the truth about Iain had wounded her.
Kati took a deep breath and nodded, hauling herself out of bed and pulling clothes out of her wardrobe—yoga pants, a loose While She Sleeps vest, and a black hoodie. Bundle of clothes in hand, she shuffled towards the bathroom.
Kati told herself to think of the bigger picture, to remember what she was grateful for. Like the enchanted shower that was the perfect temperature and water pressure, letting out steam that eased any aches leftover from two days ago. Like being able to spell her clothes to be fresh-out-the-tumble-dryer warm. Like coff
ee.
Oh coffee, you never let me down.
Kati drank her cup slowly, leaning against a tall, narrow window in the living room, the dorm quiet and still around her except for Dolly gnawing at her hind leg for no apparent reason.
I’m cleaning, Dolly informed her shortly.
Sure, Kati agreed. And she was sure the snarling really added to the personal hygiene.
She ignored her familiar, watching the trees in the distance shudder and bend under the fierce wind outside, a ripple moving through the edge of the silver lake, likely the giant eel coming to the surface to feed. Although what eels ate, Kati didn’t know.
She savoured those quiet, calm minutes, watching the sun sink into the ground, the world hushed and still around it. It helped Kati steady herself, helped her sort through the pain until she found an emotion she could use: anger.
And she knew exactly how she was going to channel it.
The training hall in SBA’s basement was mostly empty when Kati arrived. She’d told Dolly to busy herself elsewhere—she’d chosen to spend the time napping—so Kati was alone when she reached the bottom of the cold stone staircase and paused, not sure where to begin.
A handful of people, mostly second- and third-years, were in the gym attached to the hall—well, cavern was a more appropriate term; there was a distinct Bat Cave vibe to this place—which was visible through a large archway in the far wall.
Bare black rock enclosed the whole place, with racks of weapons and training equipment pushed against the curved walls and in the middle, sunken into the floor, was a coliseum-style arena. Through whatever charm was on the place, it smelled of clean, fresh air, not mildew and stale sweat.
“You look like a little lamb, all lost in the big field,” a dry voice remarked to Kati’s right and she spun to face the speaker, already glaring.
Oh, this was just wonderful. “Piss off,” she told Joshua Salazar. “I’m not in the mood.”
He raised a pierced eyebrow. Any other time, Kati might have flirted with him, but all she wanted was to find a punching bag and beat the shit out of it. Salazar was tall, dark, and dangerous. He brimmed with power, and with his sharp-planed face, sarcastic tongue, and the half-sleeve of tattoos down his muscular right arm, he was tempting.