Blooming Black: Rosewood Academy of Witches and Mages (Darkly Sweet Book 4)

by Juliann Whicker

  “This is palladium zinc. What would you do with this?”

  “It gives hurters a little extra kick. I’ve smelted all my other trophies, but I kept this one for sentimental reasons. I know you want it. You can have it if you swear in blood that you’ll let me marry Drake. Do we have a deal?”

  He glared at me. “Pitch’s first trophy? What else do you have of hers?”

  He sounded so ridiculously possessive of someone who was me.

  I rolled my eyes and dug into my trunk for the powders I’d mix into nice moderately powerful hurters. “At home I have my first suit, not the first one, that was completely incinerated in my battle with Solid Dark. Do you remember that fight? That took a long time to recover from. I still won, though. And Lit was unconscious at the end so she couldn’t claim it was her.” I sighed. “I am such an egotistical monster. Never mind. I’ll just have Drake run over you with his soccer mom car if you try to mess with this marriage. Give it back.”

  He stared at the cup, turning it upside down and around in his hands. “Why didn’t you tell me you were Pitch? If you were trying to marry someone, all you had to do was tell me.”

  I studied the pink sparkles in my hand instead of looking at him. “Pitch was locked away. I couldn’t handle her. Anyway, I’m not Pitch. Pitch is a very small part of me that comes out to play sometimes. You’d be disappointed if you went into a marriage expecting Pitch night and day and got…” I gestured to myself.

  “So Pitch doesn’t exist.”

  “Pitch is part of me. She wants to bite you. Often. She also wants to cut a mustache into your face to match hers.” I shook my head. “She does not want to know if you can grow facial hair, that’s me. I think. It’s hard to tell. She’s inside now, all the time. Poppy used to try and get Pitch to come out to play. Pitch was her favorite. That’s why you remind me of her.”

  “And I hurt you more than anyone else.”

  I nodded.

  “Except Pitch.”

  I shrugged. “That’s not her, not really. It’s the empathy. Come and help me with this. Also, throw that trophy back in the trunk.”

  “Not a chance. I’m going to sell it online for millions of dollars. It’ll pay for the next few cores you explode.” He pulled it close to his chest and when he put his hands down the trophy was gone.

  I sighed. “That’s so nice. I love magic tricks. Now swear in blood like you did with the hurter secrets thing.”

  He raised an eyebrow and leaned over his knees to study me. “I’m not going to mess with your marriage with Drake, even if the contract didn’t let you work with me. Did it? Did you make a clause about working with mages and witches?”

  I shook my head and held out my hand. “Give it back or I’ll Pitch you into next week. It was a trade, not a gift.”

  He gave me a fake smile that didn’t even try. “Did you make a clause?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes.”

  “Then I swear to allow you to marry Drake Huntsman.” He cut himself and started bleeding on my hand, dripping blood on the floor.

  “So gross. Small cut, Zach. Small.”

  He grinned and stroked his hand, sending shafts of blue over his skin. “You like real magic or tricks? Lars knows magic tricks, the non magic kind. I wonder what Drake would do to him if you asked him to teach them to you.”

  “Drake likes Lars. Drake seems to like all the mages. Except Jackson.” I focused on my hurters, but my mind was in Darkside with the mage I’d skinned and the other one, the one with one gold and one blue eye, Mitch.

  “How are you going to find him?”

  “I’m not. He’s in Darkside. I can’t touch him there.”

  “You own a few mages who happen to be remarkably good at ripping people apart.”

  I glanced up at him. “Would you consider—”

  “No. I want to make you unhappy, make you suffer for being Penny instead of Pitch.” He cocked his head and studied me. “Just kidding. I mean I’m not, but I’d love to rip apart a mage who worshipped Lit instead of Pitch. I’m a rabid fan, you know.”

  I nodded and bit my bottom lip. “Still?”

  He glanced away. “Don’t let Ian sleep in your bed again or I’ll seduce all of your Chem girls plus Viney. She wouldn’t ever let Ian heal her so you’d just have to stare at her broken face forever.”

  “I wasn’t even there. What do you have against other mages? Whatever. It’s a deal.” I grinned at him and got out my needle, filled it with my swirling miasma of sparkling filler and started on the mostly set shells. Zach couldn’t stop me in spite of him owning me, not after that bloody oath. His blood was still on the floor, but I couldn’t clean it up until I was finished with this batch.

  When Zach put his hand on my hip, I exhaled while the aching grew and then shifted into something comfortable and crackling. I leaned against his chest while I worked, his strength and energy soaking into me.

  “Did you ever kiss Poppy?”

  “She kissed me with red hot pokers once. Is that what you mean? Pitch came out after that.”

  “Poppy kissed Pitch?”

  “I don’t usually remember when Pitch gets angry. She’s not really a kissing person.”

  “Kiss of death.”

  “Pretty much. Do you think that Drake would be unhappy about Pitch? He’ll probably do something terrible that makes her angry, and then he’ll realize his mistake. Maybe I should tell him. It’s not fair for him to marry me without knowing what I am.”

  “You shouldn’t worry about being fair. Drake needs a devious and psychotic witch to keep him in line. Although, it seems like what he wants is a soft, sweet, delicate witch he can utterly consume. Don’t worry, Penny. There are many sides of Drake you haven’t ever seen and mostly likely never will. He has a monster inside of him that would make Pitch look like an angel.”

  “An angel of death.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at him and he gave me a wild Peter Pants grin.

  “Pretty much. So, do you want me to tell you what I’ve found out about your Darksider mage?”

  “Signore?”

  “The one you’re hunting. You’ll have to give me something in return.”

  “I already gave you my trophy.”

  “Ask me what I want. And make it sound good.”

  “What do you want, Zach?”

  “That was terrible. You’ll have to work on it. I want you to help me with my mech suit.”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything, but I think your nerve sensors aren’t as sensitive as they should be. Is that what you mean?”

  He snorted and pulled away from me. “No. I mean imbuing it with energy.”

  “That much tech gets messed up when I apply my energy to it. You’d have to start from scratch, work with the raw materials in process until it goes live. That actually sounds really fun.” I set down my needle and took off my gloves. I turned to Zach and crossed my arms. “Now, tell me about the mage.”

  “He wants to meet you.”

  I stared at him. “You’ve talked to him?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been texting Jackson. Apparently this Mitch guy wants to find out from you about Poppy’s death. He was sure that you killed her. Apparently you convinced Jackson that you thought he killed her, so now it’s a mystery that you both want to solve. He thinks that you can help each other.”

  I fell forward against his chest, staring at his nose while everything in my periphery went dark and crackling. “He thinks I’m going to help him?”

  “He wants to help you.”

  I hissed and jerked away from him while the room spun warningly around me. “Yes. Tell him that I would love to help him. I would adore the chance to meet him in the flesh, every drop of soft, delicate flesh.”

  “That does sound pleasant. That reminds me.” He waved his hands around flourishy and pulled a pair of pink gloves out of the air.

  I gasped half from the magic, half from the fact that I knew exactly where he’d gotten the skin for those
gloves, and it hadn’t been at the store. “You made Jackson’s skin into gloves. Do they fit me?”

  He nodded, eyes glittering with barely held back energy. “I did a very nice job on them, steeping them in spells and energy.”

  I shivered and stepped away from him. “Is Jackson okay?”

  “Of course. You healed him. Don’t do that again.” His eyes were hard when he said it.

  “I’m not going to skin Jackson again. Probably.”

  He got up and walked over to examine my hurters. “You know that I was talking about healing a worthless mage like him. This batch is set. You should have me deliver these while you get ready for the tourney. If you heckle Viney, she’ll probably throw this at you.” He grinned at me.

  “Don’t tempt me. I’ll be so busy drowning in the perfection of Drake Huntsman, I won’t even notice Viney’s abysmal technique. At least not much. Seriously, how can peers be so bad?”

  He snorted and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and showed it to me. “What’s this?”

  I stared at the terribly drawn image. “Um, a car? A guy? Some feet? Terrible perspective. All wrong. I’m sorry if this is your new thing. You should stick with tech and video games.”

  “That’s what I thought.” He nodded at me. “The thing about this mage, Mitch, is he was raised in Dayside without magic. That’s where he met Lit. Now he’s back in Darkside and has magic. Lots of magic. He might be able to help you if he doesn’t rip you apart.”

  “I would love his help. His screams, his blood, yeah, I’d really like that.” My voice came out like a hiss and Zach looked darker except for his bright blue eyes.

  “I’ll arrange a meeting.”

  He left carrying my hurters and leaving me with Pitch’s not so quiet whispers in my head. The mage would pay in blood.

  Chapter 14

  Mage

  The tourney was lovely. No idea what happened other than Penny sitting beside me in her heavy cloak, her hand in mine, clinging to me like we were in a car. She’d signed my contract. She would marry me and see me every day.

  Afterwards I walked her to her room, missing her bare feet so I could carry her.

  “Goodnight,” she murmured before she kissed me, so soft, slow, sweet that my knees went weak.

  “Dream of me.”

  She nodded and slipped inside leaving me standing like I’d been hit by a mac truck. I shook my head and turned away. I had things to do. I had to figure out the mess in Darkside. Of course I did, but it was so much more interesting to stare at Penny Lane. I reached into my pocket, pulling out the location spell.

  Hopefully this would not end up in the loss of a limb. I concentrated on everything I knew about the Subtle Sorcerer, his men, Jasper’s uncertain signature and the misdirection spell over my men.

  The paper blazed with flame and burned a hole into space and matter, opening up a trail that I followed, chasing that spark that stayed just out of reach. It was like running through a worm’s body, darkness all around and the scent a bit icky. I was an idiot to trust a Darksider mage who wanted to destroy me. I’d about decided to step out of the wormhole and figure out things from there when the spark burned another hole in space and time letting me out on the side of the road, thick woods on either side before it flickered out.

  I spelled myself quickly for defense and vision along with a few other things. I scanned my surroundings. I knew this road. I knew these woods. I left the pavement and headed towards the gate I had a key for. My fingerprints and eyescan were the keys. I walked the grounds of Huntsman manor. Apparently, I was my own wicked sorcerer. Was that possible? Anything was possible, but somehow I doubted it. I adjusted my cuffs and couldn’t help but notice how exquisitely the coat moved. It was a work of art and the best part of all was that I still felt like I carried Penny with me.

  I searched the grounds thoroughly but saw no one other than the usual guards. They would notice anyone who wasn’t a Huntsman. I had so many spells on me the moment I entered the grounds, protection, strength, rejuvenation, even faster brain synapses. I headed for the house, letting the branches crackle beneath my feet. They may as well know I was there.

  When I got to the foyer, I wiped my feet before entering the well-polished hall. “Jasper?”

  I heard a rustling from the library, but not a Jasper rustle. I stopped walking. My father was here. My father, who had abandoned me and society when I’d returned ruined from Darkside, was at Huntsman manor, resuming the mantle of authority he’d dumped on me so long before. He’d come right after the Creagh attack. The Creagh hadn’t attacked since.

  I’d shown him my chest. He knew that I owned Penny, that she owned me. I would be wonderful bait after he’d finished using me and my armies to get what he wanted. What did he want?

  I closed my eyes for a moment. It wasn’t possible. Huntsman was impossible to breach. Generations of powerful mages had made certain of it. But this sorcerer had been able to deceive Jasper and steal an army. Why not deceive all of Dayside and steal a whole world?

  I walked up the stairs towards the library trying to channel my most arrogant, indifferent personality. I had several to choose from. He’d dressed me in gems. Were they what had thrown me off, made me unable to discern which side I was fighting on? I walked right in the door and headed for the bar. I noticed right away the difference in liquor. Instead of the usual sharp liquors, there was a motley of mellowed, golden ales and whiskeys.

  “Do you want one?” I asked, not looking at the man sitting in front of the fireplace in his boating clothing. Maybe he’d murdered my father. I felt very close to nothing about that, which proved the sort of mage I was. This monstrous mage was a better father than mine. That was sort of humorous.

  “You haven’t been in Darkside for a few nights.”

  I turned and carried my glass over and sprawled into the chair opposite him. “You know that I have to balance business with pleasure. I’m not sure which is business and which is pleasure. It’s so pleasant to slice through Darksiders.”

  “The girl? Did she accept your contract?”

  I finally met his eyes. My eyes looked back at me. It was an extremely good glamour. He didn’t look broken, though. I should have realized he wasn’t my father immediately. “She did. Congratulate me. Are you going to come to the wedding? We’re having it at her mother’s house.”

  He smiled a dry smile that made my stomach curl. That was not my father’s smile. That was the smile of someone who knew how to manipulate the world and never get caught. It was also the smile of a mage who was going to find his betraying witch and rip her apart.

  “I’ll make time for it in my busy schedule.” He waved his hand in a gesture towards the fire where he was relaxing as though he had nothing at all to do. “You’ve done excellent work. I was examining the books and it seems that Huntsman Inc. has thrived in your care.”

  Another thing. My father didn’t give that sort of compliment. He gave semi-compliments, but they were always detailed. He would have said, ‘The merger between the aircraft productions facility and Huntsman required finesse.’ So many other things now that I was paying attention. The way he lounged, like he was actually good at lounging, not like my father who never was still if he weren’t asleep, my father who had searched Darkside with his armies until he’d found me, never resting until he’d pulled me against his chest, only to turn his back and never look at me again afterwards.

  “Naturally. I’m your most gifted progeny. How long are you going to look over my shoulder until you’re satisfied that I’m not running the machine into the ground? If you’re going to stay for awhile, why don’t you take over more business aspects so that I can have some free time?”

  “What would you do with more free time? Would you go to Darkside to battle the sorcerer?”

  I shrugged and tossed back the glass of golden whiskey. It burned beautifully. “Certainly. Tell me about him. You’re still here so I imagine he’s a more significant problem than I thought.”


  His eyes flickered with something, amusement maybe. “Oh, he’s a terrible monster. He’s become more powerful with every conflict. It’s as though he can turn every obstacle to his advantage.”

  “He sounds magnificent. Perhaps he’s taking interns.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “This is serious.”

  I raised my hand and the bottle flew across the room and into my hand. I’d need a bottle. “If it gets too serious, I can always follow in your noble footsteps and abandon my family, my fortune, my name. Tell me, what does the sorcerer want? Can we give it to him or is he after something more amorphous, domination of worlds or something like that?”

  He studied me for a long time while I drank and didn’t notice the way he was taking me apart. “I have put a great deal of thought to the matter. He wants the girl. Since you belong to her, he’ll want you as well.”

  “Will he? It’s so pleasant to be wanted. Tell me dad, how shall we defeat him? Any more magical gems to give me?”

  “You’re upset.”

  I smiled blandly over the beautifully cut glass. “I am. I’ve been fighting on the wrong side of the battle. Can you imagine? You’ve been deceived. You should have stayed on your yacht.”

  “Watch your tone. I’m still your father.”

  I stood up and tossed back the glass. “Am I your son? Look at you. A Daysider mage who can’t even tell which side you’re fighting. What makes you think that mother didn’t find another mage to sink her teeth into?”

  He stood slowly, fury infusing him like my father couldn’t even begin to contain. Here we go. “You will apologize for defacing your mother’s memory.”

  “Why? You’ve slept with how many human women since she died? You didn’t even wait for her corpse to cool before you were looking for a diversion. I know you can’t stand to look at me, the one who killed her, but maybe you could have trained me a little more carefully so I had the slightest idea what to do with a witch who loves me.”

  He inhaled sharply. “She loves you?”