by Cheree Alsop
“Vicken’s got this,” I told them.
Vicken put both clawed hands to the wall. A grunt escaped him as he shoved his claws into the haze. With a rumble from deep within his chest, he drew his claws downward to cause a long gash.
Light spilled through the gloomy darkness. Vicken hissed and stepped back as though it hurt his skin. I realized it must have been moonlight from his reaction.
“You’ve got this,” I told him. “You’re almost there.”
Vicken turned his head to look at me. The familiarity of his gaze had been almost completely overtaken by the demon. Confusion warred with determination on his face. I was losing him.
“Keep clawing the wall,” I told him. I rose to my feet. “Break through. You can do this. You can make it.”
Vicken looked back at the claw marks. He looked from them to his hands.
“That’s it,” I urged. “You’ve got this, Vicken. Don’t give up!”
As if his name jarred his mind back into focus, Vicken clawed at the wall with a strength that terrified and amazed me. The crack grew deeper and more pronounced. I glimpsed the main corridor beyond where students and professors from the Academy waited.
But then it vanished. The crack began to close despite Vicken’s efforts.
I remembered Vicken’s mention of Brack’s affinity.
“Brack!” I yelled. “Brack, it’s us! You’ve got to let us through!”
The crack lessened even more. Vicken clawed at it, but he couldn’t get it to widen.
Desperate to get out, I changed my tactic and focused my thoughts on the werewolves. Pushing with all of my might, I said, “Stop Brack. We need to get through. He’s trapping us here!”
The crack lessened for the space of another heartbeat, and then paused.
“That’s it,” I breathed.
Vicken shoved his claws in the crack and pulled. It widened, but barely. He shoved his claws deeper and tried to force it apart. A snarl escaped him as he put his entire strength behind it, but the crack’s movement was almost imperceptible.
I reached Vicken’s side. He looked down at me. I held his gaze, searching for my friend beneath the demon.
“I trust you, Vicken,” I said quietly.
I put my hands to the crack and pushed. After a moment, Vicken’s claws joined me. Together, we clawed, shoved, struggled, and grunted as we forced the crack wide enough to accommodate a single person. The moment we let go, the crack began to close again with maddening strength.
Vicken strained to hold it open. “Go,” he grunted.
I let go and ran to Dara’s side. “Come on!” I told the dragons. I gathered Dara up in my arms and ran back to the crack. Ducking in sideways, I forced my way through. A hiss escaped Vicken as the effort to hold the tear open became too great.
Staring students and wide-eyed professors met me on the other side.
“Take her!” I shouted as soon as I reached the corridor.
Hands grabbed Dara and tried to pull me through, too.
“Not yet,” I told them.
I shoved my shoulders back inside the crack and reached until my hand closed on Vicken’s clawed one. He pulled back.
“I…stay,” I heard him say.
A growl escaped me. “There’s no way I’m letting you stay there,” I replied.
I grabbed his other hand and yanked him forward. The crack closed as I fell backwards. I felt it press against my body, threatening to shut us inside. Hands pulled me from the corridor. Vicken let out a yell of pain as something else grabbed him from the demon realm. With a final yell, I pulled back with all of my might.
Vicken and I fell from the crack and collapsed in a heap on the floor of the Academy.
I looked up to see Brack staring down at us with wide eyes.
“Close it!” I gasped.
The warlock motioned with one hand. The crack above us closed with a resolute snap and then vanished altogether.
“Demon!” someone shouted.
“Start the chant!” another said.
“No!” I yelled.
I pushed to my feet, shielding Vicken with my body. A glance back showed that anything familiar about my friend had vanished to leave a cowering, confused, long-limbed demon behind. My heart fell.
“This is Vicken,” I said as much to convince myself as to warn them.
“Finn, are you sure?”
I looked up to see Professor Mellon and the Headmistress looking at the demon. Mercer stood behind them with the closest thing to a worried expression I had ever seen on his face.
I nodded. “I’m sure. We’ve got to banish the demon from his body. You must know how.”
I looked from one of them to the other in desperation.
First Professor Mellon, then the Headmistress, and finally Mercer shook their heads. The other professors that stood in front of the students lowered their gazes.
“There isn’t a chant for that,” the Headmistress said.
Fear filled me. “There must be something!”
“Finn, look out!”
I glanced back as the demon lunged with his mouth open. Rhett and another werewolf named Cameron tackled him before he could reach me. The other werewolves joined them, pinning the demon down.
“Don’t hurt him,” I said.
“What do we do with him?” Rhett asked, his voice tight as he struggled to keep from being sliced open by one of Vicken’s claws.
I looked around quickly. My gaze landed on the shredded unicorn photograph the demons had destroyed. “The basement. Hurry. Brack, show them where it is.”
They half-dragged, half-carried the spitting, clawing, protesting demon toward the hidden door the warlock opened. The sound of their struggle down the stairs faded to leave a room scented in fear and panic. I turned my gaze back to the professors.
“There must be a way. He sacrificed himself for us!” I pleaded.
Mercer nodded. “We’ll start searching. Where’s Briggs?”
The thought of the professor made my knees go weak. “He, uh….” I glanced at the crack. The fact that I had left his body behind in the demon realm made my shoulders start to shake. “He helped kill Chutka. But the fire…the fire….” I couldn’t force the words out.
A hand touched my shoulder. For a moment, for just a happy, split-reality moment, I thought it was Professor Briggs comforting me.
I turned to see Mercer with understanding in his usually impassive eyes. “It’s alright, Finn.”
I shook my head. “It’s not alright. He died to protect us, and now he’s there and he’s, he’s….”
“He’s not there.”
I looked over at the sound of Alden’s voice.
The Grim met my gaze through the mass of students. They parted to let him through. “He’s home, Finn. He’s where he wants to be.”
I looked from my friend to where Professor Rexus held Dara in his huge arms. His horns dwarfed the girl.
I forced myself to ask Alden the question I was dreading. It was hard to keep the accusation out of my voice. “And what about Dara? Do you have her name, too?”
Alden pulled up his sleeve to show me his bare arm. Relief filled me with such sharpness that I could barely breathe. I must have looked as close to falling over as I felt because the Headmistress ducked under my arm.
“Come on, Finn,” she said. “Let’s get both of you upstairs. We’ll deal with Vicken after we’ve had a chance to check on you.”
I allowed myself to be led upstairs. The sounds of the professors reassuring the students were followed by footsteps. I couldn’t help the feeling that we were leaving someone behind. I closed my eyes to keep back the tears.
Chapter Fifteen
Movement made my eyes open. I lifted my head from where I had leaned my face in my hand and apparently fallen asleep. Eyes met mine. Their violet hue deepened when she smiled. The stark white of the pillowcase was counterbalanced by Dara’s long ashen hair and the hospital gown Dr. Six had dressed her in. The sight of her
awake made me want to smile and cry at the same time.
“Hello, beautiful,” I said.
“I love you,” she replied.
I stared at her. When I had first professed my love, she had told me she refused to give her heart to anyone. She had been hurt too deeply by those she loved, and she refused to put herself in that situation again.
I shook my head, scarcely daring to believe my ears. “You love me?”
Dara’s smile faded slightly. “When Chutka took me, I thought I was going to die. My only regret, the only one, was that I had been afraid to tell you how I felt.” She lifted a soft hand to my cheek. “I’m not afraid anymore.”
I covered her hand with my own and told her, “I love you with all of my heart, Dara.”
She tipped her head when she looked at me. “You’re sad.”
I forced a smile. “I’m happy you’re alright. I’ve been so afraid I would lose you. I haven’t left your side.”
“We won?” she asked.
I nodded.
“But it was hard,” she said, guessing what I didn’t want to say.
I lowered my gaze. “Really hard. Professor Briggs was killed, Uncle Conrad died, and Vicken’s a demon. He sacrificed himself to get us out of the demon realm. The professors and our team have been working nonstop, but we haven’t been able to find a way to free him from the demon form.” I swallowed past my tight throat. “His soul is dying.”
“His soul?” Dara repeated.
I nodded. “Mercer said that a demon is a creature without a heart or soul, which is why it lives to devour fear and pain. That’s all it can feel.” I took in a slow breath and said, “Vicken’s soul can’t survive the demon form. Even now, there’s nothing left of him I recognize.” I couldn’t meet her gaze. “He’s dying, Dara.”
“Maybe I can help,” she replied, rising to a sitting position.
I set a hand on her arm, afraid that she would push herself too far after all she had been through.
“Maybe you should wait.”
She shook her head. “Vicken sacrificed for us. If there’s anything we can do to save him, we need to do it.”
Before I could protest, she rose from the bed. She staggered slightly and looked like she was going to fall. Without giving her the chance to deny my help, I picked her up in my arms.
She smiled up at me. “That was pretty smooth, Mr. Briscoe.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. “I have my moments.”
“Yes, you do,” she agreed as I made my way to the door.
I carried her down the stairs to the main corridor. It was empty at the late hour; only a faint, charred scent remained to tell of the terror we had survived the night before. I stepped through the tattered remains of the unicorn photograph the demons had destroyed and walked slowly down the steps with Dara in my arms. The fact that she let me carry her told of the weakness she kept hidden. Dr. Six had confirmed Vicken’s worry that the demon realm had taken its toll on the empath. I hoped being near the vampire wasn’t going to affect her in a bad way.
I had spent the last day between the door to the basement room and waiting at Dara’s side for her to awaken. The sound of Vicken’s labored breathing beyond told me that he was still in the demon form. When we approached the door, his claws raked the inside with a sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. It set my teeth on edge.
“Vicken?” Dara called out.
The scratching intensified. She shot me a worried look as I lowered her onto the steps. I sat beside her.
“Brack used his affinity on the door. Vicken can’t get out. The last time we opened it to check on him, he nearly removed one of Professor Rexus’ horns. Luckily, Dr. Six was able to fix it. He’s up in the infirmary sleeping off the effects of her crystals. I promised the Headmistress I wouldn’t let anyone open the door again until we found a cure for Vicken.”
The Headmistress had used the word unless, not until, but I didn’t tell Dara that. I was determined to do everything I could to help Vicken if it was the last thing I did.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs above us and Dara stiffened.
“It’s alright,” I told her.
Kiyah appeared. She paused when she saw us, then continued down.
“Back here, huh?” she asked with forced lightness when she lowered to the step above mine.
“I guess I keep hoping being close to him will give me ideas. What about you?” I asked.
Kiyah nodded. Her silver and pink streaked hair brushed her shoulders. “The same. The entire pack is searching. I think Rhett’s read more books today than he ever has in his life.”
That brought a small smile from me. “That’ll be good for him.” I followed her questioning gaze to Dara. “I forget you two haven’t met. Dara, this is Kiyah. She’s one of the werewolves from the Den. She helped save Vicken’s life.” I smiled at Kiyah and said before I could stop myself, “Dara’s my girlfriend and she just told me she loved me.”
Dara laughed and pushed my shoulder. I gave her a lopsided grin.
Kiyah smiled. “Pleased to meet you. Any friend of Finn’s is someone I’ve found worth knowing, especially if you love him.”
Dara threw me a smile. “I do.”
Kiyah nodded. “He deserves it. He’s a good guy.”
I caught Dara’s questioning look and chuckled. “Don’t worry. Kiyah’s feelings aren’t for me.” I gestured toward the door. “They’re for him.”
Dara’s eyes widened. “You love Vicken?”
Kiyah nodded as her smile faded. “I do. With all of my heart.” She glanced at me. “It’s a werewolf thing. I know loving a vampire doesn’t make any sense, but—”
“But the heart wants what it wants,” Dara concluded as she slipped her hand into mine.
Kiyah nodded. “Exactly.” She turned her gaze on the door. “But the vampire I love isn’t in there.”
“He’s there,” Dara reassured her. “I can still feel him.”
Relief made the tension ease in my shoulders. “You can?”
Dara nodded. “I can, but it’s faint. He’s not going to be there long.” The worry showed in her violet gaze when she looked up at me. “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “We’re running out of time and we have no options. Everything the professors have tried has failed. I don’t know what else to do.”
I shied away from the thought of losing Vicken completely to the demons. We had sacrificed so much to defeat Chutka. It didn’t feel fair that Vicken’s life would be sacrificed as well.
Something touched my shoulder. I looked up expecting to see Kiyah’s hand, but she was leaning against the opposite wall with her gaze on the door.
Dara caught my questioning look. “What?”
“Did you touch my shoulder?” I asked, even though doing so meant she would have had to lean across the stairway awkwardly to do it.
She shook her head. “No. Why?”
I frowned. “I felt someone there. It doesn’t make sense.” Something poked my shoulder in the same place. I jumped up. “There it is again.”
I stared at the empty staircase.
“What’s going on?” Kiyah asked.
“Something’s messing with Finn,” Dara replied with confusion in her voice. “But nothing’s there.”
“After everything you’ve been through, I’m not surprised you’re seeing things,” Kiyah said.
I shook my head. “I’m not seeing things, I’m feeling them. It’s like somebody’s trying to get my attention. But there’s nobody there, just….” A thought occurred to me. “Cadish.”
“Who’s Cadish?” Dara asked.
I stared up the staircase. “My mother’s imaginary friend that she brought to life. Nobody else can see him, but I think he’s been helping me since I got here.”
Dara set a hand on my arm. “Finn, you’re not making any sense.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the empath and werewolf exchange worri
ed glances, but I kept my gaze on the stairs.
“It makes perfect sense,” I replied. “My mother helped bring Cadish to life, but something went wrong. One of the moonstones broke and he vanished, but she said he was still there.” I sucked in a breath. “Uncle Conrad told me Cadish was just happy my mother had helped him gain a soul.” My eyes widened and I repeated, “They helped him gain a soul!”
“What are you talking about?” Kiyah asked.
But Dara had risen at my words. She stared with me up the empty staircase. “How did they do it?”
“With moonstones,” I replied. “Lots of moonstones.”
“We’re supposed to get that shipment from Madam Opal. Do you think it’s arrived yet?” Dara asked.
I looked at her and saw the same excitement I felt reflected in her eyes. “I’m not sure, but I’m going to find out!”
I left the girls and ran up the stair four at a time. I burst into Mrs. Hassleton’s office and skidded to a stop at the sight of her sorting through files on her desk.
“Finnley Briscoe, what are you doing in here?” she demanded.
“What are you doing in here?” I asked. “It’s really late.”
“Really early,” she corrected. “The Headmistress is a night owl, remember? I keep her hours.”
“Right,” I replied. “I’m sorry to barge in, but has a box arrived from Madam Opal?”
“You’re asking about mail at this time of the morning?” she said, her tone suspicious. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I don’t have time to explain, but a student’s life hangs in the balance. Did you get the package?”
“Well, yes, actually.” Mrs. Hassleton looked around her office. “It’s here somewhere, I’m sure.”
I sniffed as I looked, searching for the smell of ironwood. Mrs. Hassleton batted me away.
“You and your werewolf kind shouldn’t be in here, Mr. Briscoe. There are plenty of other schools where—”