by J. R. King
Ariahna gasped. “Is that… the Scott wand?”
“A replica; but it’ll serve well enough for my explanation. The wands have been passed from generation to generation. And like the wands, it’s my belief that the curses were meant to be inherited.”
“You mean we have to pass it on first,” Rome said.
“Precisely.”
Danny brushed his hands together, humorously writing off the issue. “Problem solved. Don’t have any kids.”
“It’s not that simple,” Johnny said. “Curses are self-fulfilling creatures. It will happen, whether they’re planning on it or not.”
Rome stared at him hopefully, waiting for a solution. “Then how do we break this thing before it gets out of control?”
Johnny placed the wand safely back into its cradle. “One of a few ways. But seeing as the object in question might be a little difficult to acquire, you’re already down your easiest option.”
“He means you could destroy the wand,” Danny said.
Johnny smiled at the room. It was a look filled with knowing and intent. “You could always end the line?”
Rome eyed him with annoyance. “If I wanted to die, I’d let it run its course,” he said. “Try giving us something we can use.”
“You’re not listening. The way in which you break the curse is entirely up to you, limited only by your ability to problem solve. But I’ll warn you, each method will have its consequences. A ripple effect, if you will. Make sure you choose wisely.”
Aria spoke up then. “We haven’t experienced anything that would lead us to believe he’s in danger. Why should we go around chasing phantoms? And no offense, but what makes you an expert?”
“Curiosity,” Johnny said. “And it’s your curse, not mine. You can believe whatever you want. But death isn’t how it starts, it’s how it ends. Just don’t blame me if things take a sour turn.”
Rome started thinking back on all the strange occurrences: the unexplained knocking, the disembodied howl… then there was the altercation. Rome had never even seen a gun before that night. “…We appreciate your help,” he said.
Danny hurried to follow him back into the main shop, stopping him just shy of the door. “Hey,” he said. “Have you experienced anything like that—like what he was talking about? Ghostly, I mean.”
Rome wouldn’t reply.
“What, you’re shutting me out now?”
“I just think we’re on our own from here,” Rome said.
Johnny came to place a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Why don’t you stay behind,” he said. “We have some things to discuss.” He smiled at Ariahna as she passed. “Be sure to let me know how it goes. I’m curious to see how this one turns out.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
To Bend or to Break
Ariahna entered the classroom as the bell rang, happy that it was Alchemy she had next. After the events of the previous night, she’d been so preoccupied with thoughts that she could barely follow the day’s lessons. This would be a welcomed reprieve. Alchemy was her favorite subject, and one she could perform even without all of her faculties present. She found a seat in the center of the room, reading the board to determine what they would be brewing today.
Twisted Valerian Powder.
It was a simple enough concoction. Her father had taught her how to make it when she was very small. Twisted Valerian was an old recipe adapted from an ancient poison. It could be used to incapacitate even the largest of foes when slipped into food or, in older times, applied to a weapon. Nearly undetectable, unless you knew what to look for, it would lull its victim into a sleep of immeasurable deepness. One they would typically not awaken from for days. She opened her textbook, skimming over the notes.
The remainder of the class filtered through the door, their instructor included, who had been rushing in and out for the past few minutes. Ariahna opened a notebook, searching for something to write with. A hand entered her sight then, silently offering her a pen. She gazed up at Christian with a grateful smile.
“Thanks,” she said, accepting it as he slipped into the seat beside her. She didn’t mind being lab partners with him today. “How have you been? I didn’t see you yesterday.”
“I was a little under the weather,” he said. “Nothing a day’s rest couldn’t fix.” Christian played with the corner of her textbook, smiling flirtatiously. “It’s good to see you’re looking as radiant as ever, though.”
“Careful,” Aria said. “Scarlet’s staring at you.”
“Let her stare. She had her chance.”
The bright classroom with its inviting warmth had been making her feel better, and now so was Christian. His light kind of humor had managed to make her forget all about her troubles, if only for a while. “Are you any good with potions and powders?”
“I bet I could rival you,” he said.
“Oh really?”
The teacher stood at the front of the class, observing the dawdling kids engaging in their quiet conversations. “Come on guys,” Mr. Caldwell said. “The instructions are on the board, and you have a whole textbook to reference for help. You don’t need me to hold your hands.”
Aria took a breath as he moved to take a seat behind his desk. “I suppose we should get our materials,” she said. They stood then, and Christian followed her over to the supply stores. “Did you look at the ingredient list?” she asked.
“I assumed you had,” he said. He watched her sort through containers filled to various levels with herbs and essences and roots. Ariahna handed him a glass canister of whole valerian – their first ingredient. “Do you know what you’re looking for?”
“I do,” she said. “But I’d hate to take over and risk you not learning anything. Here, why don’t you find the fly amanita? It’s unlabeled, but you should be able to pick it out.”
His eyes swept quickly over the shelves, finding the white-spotted, red mushrooms with ease. Christian grabbed a pair of tongs, using them to fish one out of the jar by its stem. He set it on a wooden tray for carrying back to their station. “I thought fly amanita was a hallucinogenic?”
“It is, but it can also be used to induce drowsiness, relaxation, and coma. It has to be detoxified to avoid the worst of its effects.” She set a vial of crushed mandrake root on the tray.
Christian moved out of another girl’s way, waiting for her to pass. “Is this the carrier we’re going to need?”
Aria shook her head. “You use the white powder, not the red.” Without stopping to wait for him, she assembled the rest of the materials and set them on the tray. “The implements should be in the cabinet. We need two paring knives, a mortar and pestle, and measuring beakers.”
“Got it,” he said. Christian gathered the things she had asked for and met her back at their table. “So, did you get an invite yet?”
Ariahna frowned. “An invite to what?”
Christian began cutting the mushroom into thin slices. “It’s this party on the beach. Kind of a ‘last days of summer’ bash. You should go with me.”
“I don’t know,” Aria said. “Parties aren’t really my thing.”
“Come on, I hear there’s going to be live music.”
Ariahna placed the slices into a pot of water, lighting a flame beneath it with a touch and bringing the mushrooms to a nice, rolling boil. She hummed quietly as they started to float.
“I’d really hate for you to miss it,” Christian said.
Aria scooped out a small amount of mandrake, dumping it into the mortar with a dash of the white base. She was about to tell him no when she made the mistake of looking into his eyes.
“Okay,” she mumbled.
“Okay?”
A quick smirk tugged at her lips. “I’ll go.”
Christian grinned. “I knew you couldn’t say no to me.”
Ariahna tucked her hair behind her ear, removing the detoxified mushrooms with a slotted spoon. “Let those sit for a minute,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
&n
bsp; She walked over to the stock shelf, running her fingers along the wood. A tiny corked bottle shimmering with white vapor was what she plucked from the shelf. Scarlet sauntered over to her side then.
“How are things with your new lab partner?”
Aria’s eyes flicked over to Christian. “He’s pretty decent.”
“You’ve never made so generous a comment about me.”
A smile flashed across her face. “That’s because you’re not very good. Maybe if you took me up on my offer of lab practice sometime…”
“Pointless,” Scarlet said. “I’m useless in a kitchen of any kind.”
“We all have our talents… Did you need any help?”
“No, but it seems like you do.” Scarlet crossed her arms, leaning back into the cupboards. “You’re looking a little friendly over there with prince charming. One almost might forget you have a secret boyfriend.” She gazed at her quietly. “I hope you’re not having a change of heart. Honestly, that would be the only way to make a bad decision worse. If you start seeing Christian, I may have to reconsider how smart I tell everyone you are.”
“It’s not like that,” Aria said. “But thank you, for once again expressing your opinion on everything.”
“It’s what I’m here for.”
They parted near the tables, each drifting back to their respective desks. When Ariahna sat down, Christian was slamming the pestle into the stone, grinding the mandrake with unneeded ferocity.
“I think… that’s good.” He didn’t quit, and she had to touch his wrist to even garner his attention. Christian set the implement aside, slouching in his chair as she observed him. She poured the ground root quickly into a glass beaker, checking the measurement against her own memory. “…Are you alright?”
“Fine,” he said.
Ariahna didn’t broach the topic again, instead resuming work. The mushrooms had cooled substantially. She passed a hand above them, watching as they shriveled and dried on the countertop. She set them in the mortar then, working the rounded piece around the bowl and crushing them into a fine powder. “Would you mind peeling a few slivers of valerian?”
He took up the knife without a word, running the blade delicately over the thick brown root. “What is that?” he said. He was staring at the vial she had retrieved from the shelf.
“Slithering mist,” Aria said.
He double-checked the textbook. “That’s not in the instructions anywhere. What are you up to?”
She shook her head in amusement. “I’m just preparing it right. This is a rather weak example of a twisted valerian recipe.”
Christian smiled as he watched her work. She was precise yet artful in her approach. “I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed Alchemy class as much as I am right now,” he said. “And it was already my favorite subject.” He slid the thin slivers of valerian root in front of her. “We should continue being lab partners. We’d dominate the class.”
Aria chuckled. “It’s not a competition.”
“Everything’s a competition.”
The teacher strummed his fingers against his desk. He rose restlessly then, weaving through the tables to observe their work. Mr. Caldwell stopped beside Scarlet and Danny, frowning darkly at the column of smoke their mushroom had begun to emit. “What is this?” he said.
Danny slipped the spoon into the mixture, prodding the sludgy fungus remnants with uncertainty. “We, uh, forgot to boil them first.”
“You put dehydrated mushrooms into the water?”
Scarlet groaned, setting Danny with an accusatory glare.
“We’ll start over,” he said.
“Don’t bother.” He dumped the wet slosh into the trash.
Christian grew uncertain as he came up at his elbow. Ariahna was assembling the last of their prepped ingredients, mixing them carefully in a glass container. His eyes flicked back to her as she uncorked the bottle and dowsed their powder in the quickly dissipating silver fog.
“Slithering mist,” Mr. Caldwell said. His lips folded in discontent as he regarded them.
Christian turned in his seat. “Is there something wrong?”
“No, no. It’s just not what this lesson calls for.”
“It’s the accurate formula,” Ariahna said.
“…So it is.”
He left to continue circulating the room, and Christian shrugged in response. “Don’t mind him, he’s just crabby.”
“It’s okay. I understand where he’s coming from. This is the curriculum for a reason, and I know they don’t get to choose what they teach. Still, I’m not going to make something incorrectly just to fit the school’s agenda. It’s unfortunate that so few of us are actually learning anything that can be applied.”
Ariahna dipped her fingers into the soft grainy dust. The glass clacked against the tabletop as she set it in front of him. “Blue,” she said. She showed Christian her fingernails before continuing to explain. “When crafted correctly, this powder will knock a grown man out for days. And if you don’t take precaution while handling it, it can also tinge your skin and nails. Blue hands point to the poisoner, and blue lips serve as a sign that you were the victim of its effects. Cooked up the way the textbook states, a person might be unconscious for a few hours, if it works at all.”
He picked up the container, shaking the powder inside. “Poisoner, huh? I knew you were a force to be reckoned with.”
A sly smile flashed across her face. “I try.”
“So where did you learn to do that?” he asked.
“My father has an alchemy lab at home. It’s always been a hobby of mine. I used to lock myself in that room for hours, attempting different potions from his books…” She smiled fondly.
Christian stroked a single lock of her hair where it dangled against her back. “Beautiful and dangerous? That’s what I call a winning combination. I’m glad you’re on my side.”
She teased him playfully. “Don’t be so sure.”
Class ended, and they took their time cleaning up the workspace. Christian even put back a few things others had left out in their haste to leave. “I could carry your books for you,” he said, following her out the door.
Ariahna refused politely. “My locker’s not far.”
“Okay. Do you know how to get out to the beach?”
She nodded. “I know the trail.”
***
Rome followed Danny through the hall and into his dorm. He hadn’t really looked at it before, but the room was structured much like his own. He had the same ornate furniture, the same large view. But that’s where the similarities ended. It was much messier, for one. Posters took up most of the walls, and his shelves were packed with more CDs than books. Rome closed the door. “What did you want to talk about?”
Danny took a seat at his desk, crossing his arms over a pile of notebooks. “It’s about to get hectic here. Our little break-in the other day might have seriously cost us our freedom.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I’ve heard whispers that some major changes are coming our way. While everyone is celebrating our lack of government supervision tonight, Richard is getting permission to overhaul the school’s security. We’re talking gates on all the parking lots, additional cronies roaming the halls, enforced curfew…”
“What? It’s not a prison. Even Lincoln isn’t that strict.”
“His daughter doesn’t go to that school,” Danny said. “And you forget that a lot of the kids attending here have some pretty powerful parents. They pay a lot of money to keep them safe. If word gets around that security’s not all it’s cracked up to be…”
A sigh left Rome’s lungs. “Does he know it was us?”
“My guess is no. If he did, we’d be down at Collective headquarters answering some very uncomfortable questions. Anyways, I was thinking we might still have a hand to play.”
“How’s that?” Rome watched him turn towards his computer, opening the copied files they’d retrieved from Richard’s room.<
br />
“I’ve been dredging through this stuff a bit more,” Danny said. “I’m not all that convinced that he’s supposed to have these.”
“You think we can use that to our advantage?”
“Maybe. But it would be a crazy bold move to play.”
Rome crossed his arms, leaning into the wall. He already knew that plan wasn’t going to work. Richard wouldn’t back down. He’d call their bluff, and they’d be in even more trouble than before. A knock came at the door, interrupting his thoughts.
“Who is it?” Danny called.
“It’s Jason…”
“And Matt.”
Danny smirked, swiveling in his chair. “I’m indecent.”
The door opened almost immediately.
“I’m not going to fall for that,” Jason said.
Matt laughed. “Yes you are. He’s lulling you into a false sense of security. One of these days, he’ll be telling the truth.”
Danny leaned back as they took a seat on the end of his bed, eyes flipping from Matt’s sandy blonde hair to Jason’s stocky frame. “Why are you two here, anyways? I thought you’d be getting ready for the show.” He frowned at the guilty look on Jason’s face. “Is there a problem?”
Matt answered. “Our guitarist got expelled yesterday.”
“What? No. We agreed on this in advance. I mean, you’ve already been paid.”
“I know,” Jason said. “We spent the money already, too.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Matt said. “I’m sure they can just DJ.”
Rome folded his arms, shifting uncertainly where he stood. “Maybe I could fill in?”
“Really?” Danny said. “Are you any good?” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I promised Dallas live music, and one way or another that’s what we’re going to deliver.”
Rome was beginning to regret offering.
“Think of the glory,” Jason said. “And the groupies.”
“I don’t know,” Rome said.