“And ash.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, hurters always smell a little bit like ash. Don’t stand in range again. Maybe you think it’s macho, but you just looked stupid.”
I grinned at her. “It was worth it. I did shield my eyes. This is by far the best date I’ve ever had. We should have gotten engaged sooner.”
She frowned around her chicken drumstick. “How many dates have you had? Never mind. Except that I want to know. Are we dating other people or just each other?”
I forced a laugh as I rubbed my hands on my knees instead of hers. “I have been exclusively dating you ever since our tea party, but since you had your other red-headed boyfriend with you, it’s a double standard. It’s a good thing I’m so open-minded.” I wanted to stand in the middle of an explosion wrapped around Penny for the rest of my life. My heart ached with wanting. “All right. I’ll take the big one, and we’ll save the small one for last.”
“That’s a five meter one but you might want to give it a little more space than that.”
I grinned. “Really? Special effects?”
She nodded and grabbed another piece of chicken. I pressed a kiss to her head before I picked up the large pink hurter and turned back to the large, dark field. The target, the straw man, was dispersed over the field like mulch from the first hurter. Ridiculously satisfying.
“Stay out of range, macho man.”
I nodded at her before I walked off, fixing my slightly askew wolf ears.
Chapter 19
Witch
I sat on the blanket watching Drake walk jauntily away from me, rolling the tennis ball sized hurter in his incredibly complicated hands. He didn’t mind getting exploded, not even a little bit. The back of his pants read, “Just Shaking it.” I bit my lip because he was the most adorable mage in the world with his silver heart embedded cheek and bedazzled behind. And the wolf ears. It was a little bit funny that he’d hesitated about them but had embraced the bedazzlement. I was so utterly delighted with my mage, I didn’t notice the attack until it was right on top of me.
I dove forward, pulling the cloak over me while I landed on the lead box. I fished out the tiny hurter while iron hands gripped my arms, wrapping me up inside of the layers of cloaks so that I couldn’t fight or get away.
The sound of wolves howling filled the air, howls that sent shivers up my spine. That was from my hurter. It had turned out really well. Sound was extremely hard to do much with, but those howls were incredible.
I tucked into a ball while they carried me into the woods. I’d counted seven hands grabbing me so at least four people. Unless some had extra arms. Maybe that was a TMD thing, but how would they make jackets for that? Either way, I would wait until we were in the woods deep enough that no one would see me before Pitch and I got a precise count.
I took deep, even breaths, my body heavy and relaxed until it was time. I slipped my hand out between the two cloaks and found the first wrist. I snapped it. I felt kind of sick at the sound of bones and tendons cracking, but I didn’t have time for regret. I would pay for that later.
I channeled Pitch, stretching into smoke and ash as I slipped out of the cloak, leaving it in their hands. The men wore hoods and ninja scarves, but they were the same men who had tried to talk to me until I’d called Zach. The suits. The TMD. I smiled as I slipped between them, knocking one onto his face after I sort of blew out a knee with one perfectly aimed heel, and then I twisted around wrapping my legs around one’s throat while I gripped another’s throat with my hand. When they fell together on top of me I released the hurter between their bodies, aiming at a tree fifteen feet away. I wriggled beneath the first fallen guy who was moaning, the two guys trying to pull me out from under him when the hurter exploded. I felt the weight of the two guys on top of me as soon as the first shock wave hit them.
I lay there beneath their bodies while wave after wave ripped through them and into me. I pressed into the icy earth beneath three TMD mages.
“Penny!”
It sounded like Zach. He pulled the bodies off of me. They were all unconscious including the fourth guy with the badly broken wrist. I smiled at Zach, patting his cheek.
“Did you see it? Was it cool?”
He rolled his eyes and pulled me into a hug. For a second I stiffened up, because we were still mostly at war, but he was worried and needed to know that I was okay. I hugged him back, kind of delicately.
Drake grabbed my shoulder, jerking me away from Zach. I smiled into Drake’s furiously worried scowl. “Did you like the howling hurter?”
He ran his hands roughly over my whole body, well, most of it before he turned to the men around the clearing. When one of them started stirring, Drake kicked him so hard I heard ribs crack. I flinched and stepped away from Drake. It was like Zach and the Christmas tree.
“Hey, Drake, I don’t really want to watch you beat up unconscious people at the end of our date. Can we not?” I wrapped my arms around my body and started shaking.
I gasped as my wrist shattered and then fell down when my knee went out. Zach picked me up, swinging me up in his arms.
“Drake, I’m taking her in. I’ll be back.” Zach ran, so fast, the world passed in a blur. He must have super boots or something. In practically no time at all, he threw me onto my bed which hurt my knee and wrist and a few other places before he was slamming my door, leaving me there.
I needed to be healed. Drake would probably notice that every injury I had was exactly similar to the ones I’d given the ninja suits. I picked up my phone and called Ian.
He answered it almost immediately. “What can I do for you?”
“Hi. Are you available for healing?”
“I am. Are you in Lilac Stories?”
“Yep.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
I let my phone fall out of my fingers. The mage certainly didn’t waste time with chitchat. I barely had a chance to go over my injuries when a soft knock sounded on my door. I’d have to open it for him. There were some perks to having a Zach mage next door. I hopped to the door and let in Ian.
He smiled all golden as he stepped past me into my room. He smelled like his rosemary shampoo. I closed the door reluctantly and hopped back to my bed.
“Hi. Thanks for coming so fast. I hope you don’t mind. I just thought it would be good if I were all healed before Drake gets back.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What’s he up to?”
I blinked at him. “Beating up unconscious suits from TMD? Zach went to help, or maybe hurt? I don’t know. Start with my wrist. It has several fractures so be gentle.”
He nodded and took my forearm with one hand, running his golden fingers over my wrist with the other. The scent of citrus and sandalwood, golden and musky made me turn my head away from him.
“I’m sorry, does that hurt?”
“It’s fine. Just hurry.”
He continued probing until a warm glow like sunshine spread through my joint. It was the most pleasant healing I’d ever had. Wow. He was very good. Too good. And I did not hate the way he smelled. What did that say about me? I did not like Ian even if I did like the way he smelled. Drake was probably messing with me. It wasn’t a mage’s desire I smelled. That was too weird.
“Anything else?”
I hesitated, but he’d seen me hopping. “My knee. Do you need my skin or can you heal me through my tights?”
He raised his golden eyebrows. “Through your tights would be sufficient unless you want skin to skin contact.”
“No. I don’t. I just wondered. Okay.” I closed my eyes and gripped the edge of my bed while he chuckled and carefully held my knee between his hands.
“Relax. This shouldn’t hurt. Hm. You did a lot of damage to this knee. How did you manage to shatter it so thoroughly?”
“Suit ninjas. Also hurters. Are you finished?”
“Patience, Penny Lane. I don’t suppose you’d hold my forearm while I do this? It would be convenient to get all t
he personal contact out of the way at the same time.”
That was a great idea. I gripped his forearm and let his pain flood me. He wanted to get rid of it. That wasn’t normal. Usually mages cling to their pain if they’d been steeped in it for very long. Ian did not.
I fell back on my bed dizzy with the pain. I’d meant to relieve the bond, not pull so much out of him.
“Anything else?” he asked, eyes bright gold and the scent of smoke mingling with sandalwood.
“Bruising, cracked ribs, that kind of thing. I’m just going to close my eyes for a second.” I wasn’t going to fall asleep with Ian. Except I did.
I woke up in my bed, starving. So was Señor Mort. He was gnawing on my collarbone. He hadn’t quite drawn blood, but there would be some chafing.
I put him in his cage with a nice little snack and got dressed for class. I walked through the halls and it was weird. No one tried to trip me or pull my hair. Where Viney had a two foot radius, mine was three.
I stopped walking, closed my eyes and counted to fifteen. I opened my eyes, but it didn’t work. I was still going to kill everyone. Viney. Had she told everyone about the kind of hurters I could make?
I went to my Worlds History class, sliding into my seat by the wall without looking around at all the hungry stares. I did not need to deal with this. Except that apparently I did.
Wit sat down in the desk next to me, her entourage keeping their distance while she studied me like the hungry predator she was.
I unwrapped a lollipop with shaky fingers.
“Everyone is talking about the hurters you and Drake set off last night.”
“Was that last night? It seems so long ago.”
She laughed, a brittle annoying sound. “Where did you get them?”
I widened my eyes innocently. “Zach. He’s friends with Pitch’s supplier. Speaking of Pitch, your face looks nice.”
She tossed her long luxurious black curls over her shoulder while her peacock blue eyes narrowed at me. “My face isn’t the only thing about me that looks nice. Are you and Drake finally a real couple?”
I tried to look thoughtful. “We’re getting married on Valentine’s Day, so I think that’s a yes.”
She put her hands on either side of my desk and screamed at me, her face turning this horrible shade of persimmon. It totally clashed with her eyes.
I winced slightly as she screamed, on and on and on until Professor Vale came up and clapped her hand on Wit’s shoulder. Wit stood upright, blinking and breathing rapidly. She headed out of class while everyone held very still. I shrugged and pulled out my book.
“What did you say to Wit?”
I looked up at her brunette haired friend. I sucked on my lollipop before I shrugged. “I just announced my upcoming marriage with Drake. I didn’t think she’d get so excited.”
She scowled at me before she spun around and walked off, skirt swishing impressively.
“Psst!” I glanced behind me where a girl with glasses was leaning over her desk, the expression on her face frantic. I leaned over the back of my chair expecting gum in my face or something, but she only passed me a slip of paper that I took with a bright smile.
Drake swore he would never marry.
Okay. I slid the note into my book and focused ahead on the instructor. During Chemistry everyone was staring at me when I came into class, and they just kept staring until the professor came in and stopped beside my desk.
“Penny Lane, congratulations. You’re the first Rosewood student to completely level the throwing grounds. We could go lawn bowling there in the summer.”
I stared at my Chemistry teacher, Professor Pewter who had apparently finally gone completely insane. “That’s nice. It sounds like really good exercise.”
“Do you have a contract with Stoneburrow?”
I hesitated. “We’re still working on negotiations.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “If you are hesitant, there are several other corporations that would be delighted to have you.”
He turned to the front of the class to talk about chemical reactions.
I leaned over to hiss at Rhoda. “What was that about?”
She stared at me. “Are you kidding?”
I glanced around to check then shrugged. “I don’t think so. Would it be funny?”
Her mouth tightened and I remembered that she was the one who had drawn a mustache on Pitch’s poster. Not that I didn’t love mustaches, but still.
“Those hurters were like nothing anyone’s ever seen. It was like you took Pitch’s hurters and mixed them up with the most advanced mage tech.”
“Oh. I was working with Pitch’s hurter maker and Zach. I can’t claim credit for them.”
She gave me a flat look. “Pink hearts? Wolf howls and heart confetti? You can’t take credit for that? There isn’t another witch in the world who would create something like that.”
I blinked at her. That was probably true. I gave her a sickly smile. “I designed them?”
She turned and pulled out her Chemistry book, clearly upset with me, but I couldn’t understand why. Was it immoral to make hurters whimsical? My mother thought so, but I’d thought that Rhoda kind of was with me in the whimsy department. Apparently not.
In my ballet class I was warming up at the bar when Drake came in, my Pas de Deux partner. He grabbed me, picked me up and started spinning me around. His fingers were kind of in my armpits. I squealed and tried not to kick anyone in the face.
Finally he slid me down his body, pulling me against him while his dark eyes gleamed green, his red hair falling over his forehead like lava.
“Drake, you are so beautiful, like a disaster come alive.”
He grinned. “No one has ever described my attributes so aptly. I can still see our names in lightning when I close my eyes. Come on, before Madame berates us most cruelly.”
He laughed and picked me up, spinning me around and tickling me again while I giggled and convulsed. Finally Madame spoke to him firmly, but he kept grinning at me during class. He was so adorable, I couldn’t help but gaze at him as often as I possibly could, drinking him in with my eyes. At the end of class I dragged him out into the hall in my pale pink leotard to kiss him.
He broke away, cupped my cheek and studied my face, eyes seeming to linger on my lips. “Last night’s tree date was incredible. Your hurters are as lovely as you. I adore them. I wish I could be blown up by hurters every night for the rest of my life. I’m so very selfish. I’m sorry that I lost my temper with the men who tried to kidnap you.”
I pressed my lips together, still feeling his lips against mine. “It’s fine. They were really annoying.”
He kissed my fingers one more time before he left, glancing back at me a dozen times before I sighed and headed into the girl’s locker room.
The witch with the beautiful arabesque was in there changing into her leotard. She must have ballet after me this quarter.
“Hello. How are you?” I asked, way too happy. I couldn’t help it. Drake was happy, I was happy, the whole world was happy.
“You’re the only person anyone ever talks about anymore. You’re marrying Drake. You’re the most amazing hurter maker in the world. You’re best friends with Pitch Black. Your lotions are the only things to get for Valentine’s Day.” She rolled her eyes and started working on her hair. Her straight locks went into a bun so perfectly.
“Okay. That does sound boring. I’m sorry.”
She shot me a flat look then sighed. “It’s fine. The trouble with most of the witches in this school is that they are way too busy worrying about whether they’re better than other people instead of focusing on their own goals and growth. I personally have had a very productive year. That’s what education is about, becoming better than your own expectations, pushing yourself to the next level.”
I nodded. “Excellence. I can tell. You’re going to be a real changemaker in the world. My thing is actually survival. I’ve been really surprised at how much fun
it’s been here.”
She frowned at me. “What kind of survival?”
I cocked my head at her. “Ballet. Also mages. Mostly mages.”
She rolled her eyes but smiled slightly. “Too many mages are hard to juggle.”
“I’ve always been a moderate to very talented juggler.”
Chapter 20
Mage
After I stopped beating the suit mages who dared touch my witch, I’d had a conference with Zach and Ian in the hideous common room outside Penny’s room where she lay sleeping in her cat outfit.
“She called you to heal her?” I asked Ian.
He nodded. “It’s apparently what she likes to do with me.”
“And you,” I said, turning to Zach. “How did you know that she needed you?”
“A hundred foot high pink heart sort of draws the eye.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the TMD?”
He shrugged and kind of glowered at me. “Not your problem. She works with me.”
I smiled at him. “I see. It’s not my problem if my date is disturbed by men that you could have warned me about?”
Zach rolled his eyes. “Even if Penny hadn’t blown them up, they wouldn’t have gone far. Anyway, I heard that it was Huntsman who tipped off the TMD about Penny.”
I stared at him. Sooth? He wanted her. What a perfectly brilliant plan to use the Dayside council against its members. I rubbed my forehead. I suddenly felt all those explosions in my bones.
“You look tired, Drake. You need to rest.” Ian put a hand on my shoulder, his golden warmth an offering that I pushed away.
“I’m fine. It’s just this ancient evil that wants to play with me. No problem. It’s fun except not as fun as Penny Lane. I’m really disappointed that I didn’t get to finish our date. We were going to climb trees.”
Zach rolled his eyes. “Yeah, she’s been obsessing about you in a tree for a week. You’ll have to make it up to her, but not tonight. Get rest. You need to clear your head, figure out a plan, and do all that stuff you do.”
I glanced at Penny’s door but Ian laughed. “She’s sleeping with her weasel. He nipped me very nicely.”
Blooming Black: Rosewood Academy of Witches and Mages (Darkly Sweet Book 4) Page 17