by Lan Chan
And then the worst part came. Six bodies lay motionless on the ground. All of the demons disappeared. The lights came back on in quick succession. More people streamed into the intersection. A pair of teenage girls walked right past. One moment their lives were normal. The next, everything changed.
The image faded along with the drawn-out screams of the girls below. The city softened at the edges and morphed into that grassy field that filled my heart with sick dread. Jacob scuffed at the grass with his boots.
His smile was forced like something a clown painted on because he’d forgotten what real humour should be. While I stood motionless, Jacob stepped into my personal space. He held the palm of his hand an inch away from where he’d stabbed me.
“That was just the beginning,” he said. “You are his, your blood knows it. Sooner or later, you’ll return to him.”
I finally jerked aside when he reached up and tried to place his hand on my forehead. “Resist all you like. I’ll be seeing you soon.” He snapped his fingers. Fire ignited at the site of my wound. I shot up in bed and doubled over screaming.
Sophie scrambled out of her bed. The floor was a mess of broken, pulsing arcane circles. “Lex?” She rubbed at her bleary eyes as she stumbled onto my bed. I had rolled into a foetal position, protecting my abdomen as a hot lance of pain dragged through me. A cough burst from my throat. Pressing my face to the blanket, I let it out. Sophie jumped off the bed to switch on the Fae lantern.
“What’s going on?” She returned to kneel by the base of the bed where I had almost landed. I felt her intention to place a comforting hand on my back, but something made her hesitate. Maybe it was the gasping, groaning sounds I was making. Maybe it was the way my magic kept sparking in haphazard bursts. Maybe it was because I was sobbing like a dying animal caught in a trap.
The world might as well have been a gaping void because I couldn’t see through the pain. Every atom in me was on fire. Just when I thought I might pass out, the slow creep of pain reached the chamber where my pools of magic resided. Where the sweep of magic from the bond had once intertwined with mine, it now sat reserved in the corner. Darkness blossomed like ink stains behind my eyes. It soaked my vision until I blinked, and the light was gone.
My skin was numb where Sophie’s hands touched me. I heard her panicked scampering and then the smack of her palm on glass before she wailed. “Kai!”
There was a pop like air being sucked into a vacuum. Strong, warm arms cocooned me. “Blue.” His voice was a deep scrape of sound. “Let me in.”
It wasn’t even a choice. My will was mush. As soon as he commanded, I sank into his embrace. The bond kicked in. It lathered cooling angelfire over my soul, throwing up a barrier against the pain and allowing me to think.
Slowly, the shaking subsided. Kai slid out from around me and I was laid down on my side. After a lifetime of laboured breathing, the world decided it would stop spinning. Somebody lifted my left eyelid. Sophie’s lined brow was prominent.
“Kai?”
“He had to leave.”
“How long?” There was light sneaking through the crack in the blinds.
“Three hours.”
The worst one yet. A few seconds more and I could push myself into a crouch. Where my mouth had been pressed, blood decorated the blanket.
“Holy shit,” Sophie gasped. Something cool and wet pressed against my cheek. I leaned into the damp cloth and inhaled the herby scent of Sophie’s healing concoction. It was a grounding spell. One that played on my sense of smell and dragged me back from the brink of hysteria. Salt, vanilla, burnt orange peels, and coconut. All of the smells that her relatives used to cleanse the compound in Zambia. I breathed in deeply, letting the pleasant memories wash away the lingering pain.
Sophie dabbed at my tear-streaked face. We sat there breathing deeply. Somehow, I imagined I could hear her heart beating almost as frantically as mine. I let my head slump onto Sophie’s shoulder.
“What happened?” she asked.
Her frown burrowed deeper as I detailed the nightmare. “The Academy has wards. I don’t understand how he can get to you in here,” she said. We both glanced towards the broken circles at the same time. “Crap.”
“I think what should and what is are becoming a little murky,” I said. “At least when it comes to Lucifer’s reach.”
“Then we need to find a way for you to block him out. I thought you expelled Lucifer from your thoughts for good?”
Her focus flicked to where I was rubbing my abdomen. Self-conscious all of a sudden, I sat on my hands. “Lucifer is subject to the free will clause just like all the seraphim,” I reminded her. “Jacob isn’t.”
“He’s just a mage,” she insisted.
“We don’t know what he is besides the current ruler of Hell while Lucifer is contained.”
She stuck her legs out straight in front of her. “One thing’s for sure, we can’t just keep letting him walk into your head whenever he feels like it.”
“I don’t know if we have much of a choice.”
“What about the bond? It might be able to lock him out.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. Sophie shifted so we were facing each other. There was metal in her gaze. “I get that you need time to figure out what’s going on between you and Kai. But you’re breaking apart. If his healing ability can help you, then stop being stubborn. This is who he is. You’re only getting preferential treatment because he’s in love with you. If anybody else was Lucifer’s scion fighting to keep their magic in one piece, he would do the same.” She actually slapped me in the shoulder when I hesitated. “I said stop it. You’re not being weak by accepting help.”
I wanted to tell her that weakness was the least of my worries. But we both knew my options were limited. And something she said shone a light in the darkness. For all his moronic behaviour, Kai wasn’t a tyrant. If I wasn’t me, he would still heal me. Therefore, the issue of the bond was negated. I could still refuse it and not be subjected to the pain. While we sat there ruminating, the first bell for assembly rang.
“Go on,” I told her. “I’ll catch up.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
She took her time getting ready in case I changed my mind. After she left, I didn’t bother checking to see if I could reach Kai through the mirror. The bond furnished me with details of his current whereabouts. No mirror could reach into the human world.
I scrubbed damp palms against the blanket. Kai.
There was no learning curve. It was like the bond instinctively knew that I needed to get in contact with him. The world in front of my eyes rearranged into an image of Kai standing atop the same building from my nightmare. I held my breath but the flashing of red and blue lights against the walls of the city told me everything I needed to know. Kai loomed over the scene as police and emergency services scrambled to make sense of what had happened.
I was too late, he sent me. The depth of his regret echoed through the bond.
You can’t save everyone, I sent back, even as the first hot tear slid down my cheek. If I hadn’t been useless with paralysis, I could have done something. I could start doing something now if I would just get out of my own way.
Okay, I sent him. You’ve got a deal. We train. Only training. But you have to back off.
He turned in my direction if not in the same physical space as me. I’ll keep up my end of the bargain, Blue. Let’s see if you can keep yours.
I was regretting it already.
9
Feeling like death but knowing I would be missed if I didn’t go to assembly, I forced myself into the bathroom and splashed water on my face. Both my eyes were puffed up and there was blood caked to my chin. Deep breathing could only do so much, but I clung to the meditative practice like my life depended on it.
By the time I used Gabriel’s Key to teleport to the assembly hall, everybody was seated. Luckily, I had focused on Sophie when I began the teleport and came through just down the aisle where she
was sitting. You could tell she’d been late too because she and Diana were only a dozen rows from the front. We were third-year students now, but we’d still never be the cool kids. Rather than squeeze through all those bodies, I teleported right onto my seat. Trey sat directly in front of me. His big head completely blocked my view.
“You okay?” Sophie asked. I shook my head but gave her a resigned smile. She put an arm around my shoulders. I sat there wondering if I would ever be okay again.
In my peripheral senses, an aching awareness of the bond tugged at me. It tried to force my head to turn to the front rows on the far right of the hall where Kai’s immutable presence throbbed. He was already back from the human world.
Right at the front of the seats in our row, I spotted Isla’s dark hair. She and the Evil Three were also turned in their seats. “What’s all the ruckus?” I asked.
Trey wiggled in his seat, a feat now made difficult by his ever-expanding frame. The beaming smile he shot me could only mean one thing. “Take a look at the House board.”
Casting my attention to the wall behind us, I saw what had gotten everyone so jazzed. In smaller writing below the title of each house, there had always been a plaque with the name of the House Captain.
Trey’s name now replaced Max’s. Without looking, I reached out and squeezed his arm. Kieran had taken Bradley’s position. As I watched, Isla’s name appeared for Obsidian House.
An unsportsmanlike whoop went up in the front row. “Hell yeah!” Isla screamed.
“Isla,” Jacqueline’s voice called from the stage. “Contain yourself.” She fixed the sleeve of her steel-grey pants suit. “Students, welcome to the new year.”
The whole student body erupted in applause. “You will note the structural changes to the Academy remain in place. In addition to these changes, I want you to make yourselves aware of the upgraded security measures and the new evacuation procedures. Please be reminded that while both campuses are now in closer proximity, the rules about student behaviour and propriety remain the same.”
I snorted. Tell that to your Supernatural Special Integration class.
“As you might also be aware,” Jacqueline continued, “Professor Eldridge has been seconded to the Dominion prison for the time being. In her place, the elite guard and the board have sent us replacement teachers. Those of you in the senior Weaponry and Combat classes, please make sure you extend the same level of respect and conscientiousness to Mr. Pendragon and Mr. Jackson as you did to Professor Eldridge.
“No doubt some of you will have noticed the upgraded security and the addition of new guards to the rotation. If the attack on the Academies had any silver lining, it is that we are now better prepared for the unexpected.”
My grip on the back of Trey’s seat turned white with unwanted memory. Dread at the prospect of facing Professor Mortimer bubbled in my chest. Sometimes, I woke in the middle of the night with Bran’s murder fresh in my nightmares. The world turned soft at the edges as my breathing became laboured. Sophie’s dark hand came down on mine. She laced our fingers together. The small comfort dragged me out of my momentary grief. I mouthed a silent thank you.
Up on stage, I’d missed part of what Jacqueline was saying. “...have been preparing for war, it is no longer feasible for us to remain defensive about what might be coming. To that end, some of you may hear that students are now being allowed to leave campus to participate in assisting with the protection of our world. Those of you who have been given permission know who you are. The rest of you, I ask that you remain vigilant.”
She cleared her throat once more. The back of my neck was burning from peer inquisitiveness. I rolled Gabriel’s Key around my finger, so the teleport stone wasn’t so noticeable. It wasn’t smart to broadcast to everyone that I had a ring that would allow anybody to go anywhere.
“Congratulations to those who were voted House Captains,” Jacqueline said. “I know you will do everything in your power to follow in the footsteps of those before you.” She shuffled in her spot. “Please note, this year’s senior end-of-semester trials will be overseen by the elite guard. I have, however, received the utmost assurances that they will not be in similar vein to the Unity Games. And finally, the committee for the Solstice Ball is recruiting new members. If you have a particular interest, please see Celeste Goodwin.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sophie make a face. I took it she wouldn’t be volunteering for the ball committee any time soon.
Jacqueline had just dismissed us when Alex appeared out of nowhere at the edge of our row. Class wouldn’t begin for another twenty minutes and the rest of the students were taking the downtime to catch up on gossip.
Alex crooked a finger at me. What now?
“Jacqueline wants you to meet Emily,” he said. Was it bad that I had forgotten about the girl? I thought we would meet in Jacqueline’s office, but Alex began marching towards the stage.
“Ahh, was she here at assembly?”
“Sure was. Jacqueline thought it might be a good way for her to get a feel for how things work.”
“Right.” A courtesy I was never afforded on account of being stuck inside a celestial jail cell. We reached the front of the stage. It was unnerving to witness the sea of faces from this side of the room. Isla gave me a Cheshire grin as I stalked past. Please Gaia let my vote not have been cast in vain.
This close to the front of the stage, the blaring awareness in the bond reignited. It niggled at me like a Chinese water torture device, one annoying droplet at a time.
Kai’s here! it kept insisting. The scent of him tried to infiltrate my olfactory senses. The sound of his voice whispered down my spine like a caress.
Everything around me bleached of colour in his presence. Kai was the sun that cast the rest of the world in shade. As a result, everything in his general direction was a blur in my senses. There was a flash of pure white near him, but I wouldn’t allow my attention to settle on it.
Doing everything I could not to look at him, the jittery nerves in my gut turned to surprise when I noticed Declan and Nora at the edge of the front row near the professors. Both of them were in matching dark suits. They looked like accountants. Did the human branch of the Council get a rebrand while I had been distracted?
I waved at Nora. “Hey! I didn’t know that you would be here.”
Jacqueline appeared beside me. “We thought it might be best that Emily had some moral support on her first day.” It was only then that my attention fixed on the girl sitting with her hands demurely clasped in her lap. The effects of my Kai blackout had spilled over to her because she’d been speaking to him a second ago. She had on a white skater dress that served as a pure complement to her golden hair and clear blue eyes.
“Emily,” Jacqueline said, “this is Alessia. She’ll be your guide for the year.”
“Lex.” I offered her my hand and tried not to dislocate my jaw at the dumbstruck look on her face when she turned away from Kai. A shadow crept over her serene expression when she spotted me. Her pupils dilated as her eyes bugged out of her head. She swallowed hard.
My arm was getting tired. She was going to leave me hanging.
It occurred to me that the assembly hall had gone preternaturally quiet. Great. I had a couple hundred spectators as I was being publicly snubbed. Just as I was about to drop my arm, Emily scrambled back in her chair and screamed.
She practically jumped in Kai’s lap as the world around me shifted. The assembly hall melted away and in its place was the great grassy expanse that always preceded a prophetic vision.
10
My heart leaped into my throat. It took me precious seconds to spot the differences in this vision to the ones I’d been subjected to previously. In this iteration, the grassy field was less artificial. There were dips and mounds in the terrain as well as various weeds growing amongst the grass itself. As I watched, the landscape shifted once more. Trees and shrubs erupted from the ground and materialised from mid-air.
I
n the canopy of the enormous trees, a rope and wooden walk bridge connected to raised platforms. Interspersed around them were guard towers. I would know this place anywhere. The Reserve.
Once the flora was in place, the animals came out to play. Birds darted from amongst the branches. Squirrels jumped through the air and disappeared in the brush. When the first shifter melted out of the shadow of the forest, I stepped back.
At the head of the procession was Durin. His face was a distorted amalgamation of man and bear. His lower jaw protruded out, displaying finger-length teeth. Patches of black hair erupted from his chest and made him look like he’d been in a fight with a chainsaw. Big red welts marked his skin where the change had taken place but hadn’t quite transitioned smoothly.
My heart continued to thud unevenly as more shifters spilled out behind him. Alastair, a monstrous lion head on his straining shoulders. Max - copper eyed and foaming at the mouth. Trey with his tiger stripes carved into his skin with a knife rather than from the shift. My breath hitched as a massive figure darted out in front. It halted just two feet from where I stood, man and beast in a state of unbearable flux. The tanned hide and furry crown had me stepping back.
Charles. Thrashing was just about the only thing he could do as part of his body shifted, reformed and shifted again. The sound of bones snapping and tendons tearing made my stomach revolt. Interspersed with it was the strained keening of a soul that was on the brink of turning rogue.
Charles lashed out with a pawed fist that I was too slow to evade. My muscles contracted, bracing for the impact, but all that happened was his paw sliding through me. Where I had thought I was the focus of their ungodly march, I now turned to find another being in my place. All of the breath left me.
At the centre of the enormous clearing that sat at the edge of the treeline was me. Not this version of me but one that was steeped in a fireball of blue and black light. My dark hair was scraped back and tightly braided. Morning Star’s hilt protruded from behind me, the leather strap of its holster crossed over my chest. Hugging my thighs were two hunting knives. A smaller set was buckled to the side of my leather boots. Suffice it to say, I was looking pretty badass.