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

by Juliann Whicker

  It took me a minute to say words. My voice seemed to be lost along with my mind. “Telenovelas with Missy. It’s Tuesday.”

  “No Szechuan chicken?”

  I shook my head. “Zach is bringing Mexican Indian food. It’s supposed to be awful.”

  He smiled. “That does sound awful.” He glanced away and sighed. “Missy could use a break. What about the hotel? The three of you, a handful of guards to protect her from Narcollo, that might work.”

  I nodded when he smiled at me because I didn’t seem capable of doing anything else.

  “Perfect. I’ll talk to Zach and bring over Missy in a few minutes.”

  A child’s scream came from the room and Drake turned, his attention shifting off me for a moment. I could feel the absence of his gaze, the weight of it. He ran through the white heavy doors and I followed close behind, coming out in the room where chaos reigned. The furniture was toppled over, and all the humans were apparently shut in their individual rooms, all except for the one who had raised Lulu. He was behind bars reading a newspaper while a kid, maybe seven, maybe ten, who could tell those things, hit the bars with his fists, screaming at him in a language I really should learn. Darksider.

  He turned his bright black eyes on Drake then shifted to me. He lifted his hand, pointed a finger and cursed me. Of course, nothing happened, but it wouldn’t have even if Drake hadn’t grabbed me and pulled me behind him so he took the brunt of the curse. Honestly, I had a protection spell. He’d cast it so he had to know about it. Why would he protect me instinctively? Maybe it was that he wanted to get cursed. That made some sense, but also made absolutely none.

  “The next time you try to curse my witch, I’ll rip you and your army apart. Sit down!”

  The child sat beneath the force of Drake’s words or a spell he cast that I couldn’t see. Drake’s hand was still on my forearm, his fingers digging into my skin. There would be bruises. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, the back of his neck sweet and delicious. Would he mind if I took a tiny nibble? I hadn’t had dinner yet.

  As though he could hear what I was thinking, he let go of my arm and took a step deliberately away from me, towards the kid.

  The human behind bars cleared his throat. “Miss Lane, welcome to the party. This is my son. He doesn’t currently have a name, taking a strong dislike to the one I gave him.”

  I inhaled sharply. This little bundle of furious psychosis was the Necromancer human’s son? Interesting didn’t begin to cover it. I shook my head and stepped closer, holding out my hand to the child.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. I do hope you don’t reanimate the corpses here. The humans would be very upset.”

  He drew his eyebrows together before he hesitantly shook my hand. “What are you? Are you really a witch? You’re too pretty to be a witch.”

  I smiled brightly. “I am not a very good witch. I’m a Daysider, part human, part Darksider, one hundred percent inane. Would you like a lollipop? I have blueberry, black cherry, tiramisu, and pecan crunch.”

  “Pecan crunch?” Drake asked, one beautiful eyebrow raised.

  My heart pounded even as I tried not to notice him. “New flavor. You wouldn’t like it.”

  “Of course I wouldn’t. I hate lollipops like I detest all inanity, but you know how much I love things I hate. Give me one.”

  I hesitated then searched in my bag, coming up with a handful that Drake stole from me, tucking it into the inside pocket of his jacket, a jacket that looked black, but there was something about it, an energy. Was that my jacket? I shook my head and dug around for another handful to give to the child.

  He took them in his shaky fist. “Are they poisoned?”

  “Hm? Oh, good question. No, I don’t poison lollipops. Do you want me to lick them first?”

  Drake growled and stepped closer to me. “You aren’t going to lick anyone’s lollipop Penny Lane.”

  I turned to look at him and inhaled when I saw how close he was, the sparks of green in his dark eyes. “Not even mine?”

  “Particularly not yours.” His gaze fell to my lips and my knees went wobbly.

  “I’ll have a lollipop,” the human, Carl said in a rational voice that did not belong in my world.

  I turned and handed him one absently. The child was already devouring all of his, tasting one and then another then back to the first and crunching it up like he was starving. That’s when Zach arrived with the Indian Mexican. He set up at a table like seeing the little monster in rags wasn’t anything new. He nodded at the human Necromancer behind bars and asked Drake, “Are you staying to eat? It’s terrible.”

  With that high recommendation, how could anyone refuse? Drake glanced at me then at the child. “Penny shouldn’t be here.”

  Zach scoffed. “Penny’s perfectly safe. There’s nothing he could do to hurt her worse than we already have. What about the human, Missy?”

  “She’ll be in her room.”

  Zach nodded. “Here, take her a plate, Penny. Which room, Drake?”

  Drake told me a number and I took the Styrofoam plate from Zach filled with a pink sauce over chicken and rice. I sniffed it. Didn’t smell terrible. I went to Missy’s door, knocking while my heart pounded from Drake being so close. My arm still throbbed from him touching me.

  She peered out and blinked at me. “Oh. I didn’t expect you.”

  I held up the plate. “I should have called. Do you have a phone? I brought dinner, Mexican Indian from in town. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t made by any witches. Also, can we hang out in your room and maybe watch stuff all night? I mean, if you’re tired I get it, but I thought it would be fun to have a slumber party.”

  She stared at me with her one gray eye before she slowly nodded and gave me a slight smile. “All right. That sounds fun. I have an extra pair of pajamas.”

  “Nice. Okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  She nodded again and closed the door, taking the food out of my hands like she trusted me not to poison her or feed her morsels. I turned around and met Drake’s eyes. Was he watching to see Missy’s reaction to the Darkside visitor?

  “So, sir, you’re here visiting your father? Were you brought up in Darkside? My mother was. She preferred it to Dayside even though she was a Daysider.” I sat down at the table and smiled at Zach when he checked my food for poison. The curry burrito was seriously weird. Sweet and spicy, savory and messy at the same time.

  The boy nodded. “He’s my dad, but he’s not human. How can a Necromancer master be human? I ran away from home when my mother tried to feed me to him.”

  I blinked at him and Zach put a bite of the pink chicken in my open mouth.

  Zach nodded at the kid. “Makes sense. I ran away from home when my mother skinned my cat and put it into a soup.”

  I gasped and covered my mouth suddenly feeling nauseous. “Why would she do that? That’s horrible.”

  He raised his eyebrows at me. “Witches are crazy. Everyone knows that. Don’t tell me that your mother never tried to eat you.”

  I wrinkled my nose at him. “Of course not. My mother didn’t even try to eat Poppy, and she was…I mean, my cat.” I glanced at Drake and then away. I couldn’t remember what he knew about Poppy. Every time I looked at him, he was staring at me with those eyes, dark and fathomless, hungry.

  “So your mother took in strays instead of eating them? Interesting. How long are you staying in Dayside, Necromancer?” Zach asked the kid.

  He ate steadily for a long time before he lifted his pink-sauced face. “I can’t step throughside yet. I’m stuck until the mage lets me go.” He jerked a thumb in Drake’s direction.

  Drake said, “Do you want to return to Darkside so soon? Maybe you should enjoy your visit here, eating regular meals, wearing actual clothes, and of course, learning an assortment of spells that will keep you alive.”

  He glared at Drake. “You want me to stay in this place?”

  Drake hesitated. This wasn’t a place for feral Dar
kside children, not with the vulnerable humans. “There’s a school for children your age. A few schools. I could sponsor you.”

  Zach elbowed Drake. “You’re broke. I’ll sponsor him. Do you have any interest in tech?”

  The child stared at Zach for a long time before soberly shaking his head. “No. Are you a tech mage?”

  Zach nodded and pulled out a little gizmo that he flipped into the air. It let off some sparks, a bright flash of light then went dark in his hand. “I am.”

  He frowned and looked from Zach to Drake. “But I know you. You’re the green mage.”

  Drake shrugged. He wasn’t looking particularly green at that moment, not with his red hair all mussed and deliciously waving over his perfect skull. He had a beautiful skull. “I have been called that, yes.”

  The child turned his eyes on me. “You’re the one he wants. I’ve never seen hair like that. Is it real? It is.”

  The room was quiet for a few moments while I struggled with what to say to that compliment. “Who wants me?”

  He took a big bite of curry burrito. “Sooth. I worked for him before the mage took me away. Why does he want you so much? Maybe he wants to eat you.”

  I stood up while my stomach churned and body trembled. “Maybe. It was so nice to meet you. I hope you figure things out soon.”

  I went to Missy’s room, glad when she locked the door behind me, the lock sparking magic barriers that should keep even a mage out.

  I sank down on the gray chair feeling torn apart. Drake. He was there on the other side of the door, talking and laughing like nothing had changed, like everything hadn’t been ripped apart.

  “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “Turn on something sad, Missy. I’m going to cry and I want to blame it on the movie.”

  Chapter 31

  Mage

  Seeing Penny was like being dipped in a pleasant bath of nitric acid. All of my nerves awoke, aching for a brush against her skin, her hair, any fleeting part of her that I could grasp. I leaned back on the chair, ankles crossed on the table as I ran the strip of paper I’d stolen from her curls through my fingers.

  “Are you lovesick?” The baby mage asked.

  I glanced at him. “What do you know about lovesick mages?”

  The baby mage shrugged and glanced at the human behind bars who studiously kept his attention on his newspaper. He’d been reading all the back issues since the day he’d been taken to Darkside. He was catching up on world events the old fashioned way that he understood.

  “I know about lovesick sorceresses. He started aging and she started losing her mind with worry, feeding him bits of herself to keep him alive. Maybe I should have let her have me. It would have made her happy, but now she’s dead.”

  The Necromancer’s pet, Carl folded his newspaper and cleared his throat. “Sebastian, you did the right thing.”

  Sebastian snarled at his father. “What does that mean? ‘The right thing’. You say that as though you didn’t betray her love.”

  “It isn’t love when it is harmful, it’s something else, something worse than hate. Darksiders are right to fear what they know as love. It destroys more than anything else.”

  Sebastian glared at his plate. “She gave up everything for you.”

  “She did not. I gave up everything. Her choice to use you to save me was the final outrage. It is a parent’s duty to protect their children above all else. She would sacrifice my freedom, your life, but what did she ever risk? Did she leave Darkside, leave her world to raise you in Dayside where you would have a chance at fulfilling your potential? Did she ever offer me freedom? I was her slave and you were her slave’s child, both of us disposable. Yes, I killed her. It’s a tragedy to be free and miss the chains, but love breaks us.”

  Zach sighed. “I second that. I fell in love with a witch. It almost killed me.”

  I nodded at the memory of Zach dangling from the Christmas tree, trying to hang himself to death. What a stupid way to try to kill yourself. “Love makes you very stupid, but sometimes it also makes you strong.”

  Zach stared at me. “If you can’t protect her, you’re right to give her up.”

  I rubbed my chest. I ached for her, so close, behind that closed door. I could get through it in spite of the spell. “Right. I agree, Sebastian, right hurts.”

  I stayed there with Zach through the night. I couldn’t leave Missy and Penny alone with a dozen mages and Zach to protect them from one baby Daysider.

  “Drake,” Zach said when the lights were dim and Sebastian was curled up asleep on the couch.

  “Mm?”

  “Are you going this year?”

  I knew what he was talking about. Nothing else happened this time of year, March, the waters of March, other than my mother’s annual memorial. My father would be there. My real one. I liked Sooth better than him.

  “Maybe.”

  Zach sighed. “You should go. Take a break. She’s been working so hard to avoid you. Every time she sees you, she falls apart. The thing that worries me is that she’s not coming to me to be put back together. She’s withdrawing mostly. She lets Lester study with her as long as he doesn’t bother her too much. I thought she’d be in my bed weeping and getting drunk every night. I got a lot of really good alcohol and snacks, but she’s not turning to me. I don’t know if she’ll marry anyone else. I don’t know if she can.”

  I closed my eyes while raging happiness swept through me like flame, but it left behind only ashes. She loved me, but she had to marry a mage before her eighteenth birthday so that he could protect her after her mother’s spells lost their strength.

  “She’ll marry another mage. She almost married Lester. She might find another mage like that, someone random, unexpected, unexplainable. That’s fine as long as she’s safe.”

  He gripped my wrist, blue eyes burning. “It’s not fine. She belongs to us. No other mage will touch her.”

  I pried his grip off me. “Her safety is much more important than anything else. Pitch’s safety. We’re her guardians. However much it hurts.”

  And it hurt. Being master over a bunch of Darksiders wasn’t exactly pleasant, either. They seemed to think that gave them license to fight with whoever they wanted to fight with. Business was a mess. For some reason, Darksiders were reluctant to renew contracts with an army that couldn’t seem to help fighting on the wrong side. It was cleanup, everything going backwards, trying to unwin battles fought, restore domains dismantled, and the cost was high at a time when Dayside business was in shambles. In other words, I had time for neither mooning over a girl or taking a trip to mourn my mother. At the same time, I needed some information from my father. He would know more about the Huntsman protective mantle, what I could expect from it.

  I spent a week not touching Penny, focusing on work and studies, only taking a few moments away to watch Penny dance with Ian. He knew how to bring out the absolute best in his partner, and she shone.

  I growled and stalked down the hall, glancing at Lester as I passed. He’d made a habit of taking up her evenings, not in any overt way, but still, he was there, solid and devious.

  “Lester. I’m sure Zach has threatened you enough. I’m curious, though. You have no intention of taking a witch. Why the interest in Penny?”

  “Having an ally appeals to me.”

  I raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Nothing to do with her rabbit lingerie?”

  His eyes glinted. “To me she represents possibilities.”

  I frowned at him. That’s what Mitch said. “Indeed. The infinite possibilities of madness that Penny represents. Be cautious, Lester. If she could get under my skin, it’s possible for her to get underneath yours. And you have so much more skin than I do.”

  I stalked away from Lester, jealous of the nights he spent beside Penny, inhaling her, hearing her breathe, seeing her face buried beneath the gloriously tangled curls. I needed distance, perspective. I needed to see the face of a mage who let love ruin his own life and every oth
er life around him.

  Two days later, in the wee hours of the morning, I got into my dark green SUV. It smelled like her. It felt like she was close, so close that I could have heard her heartbeat if I listened hard enough. I turned the radio on loudly, cranking the volume on a classic piano concert that Penny would never listen to. She was the least musical person I’d ever met. She had no idea what class and culture looked like. How could I love a witch like that? How could I help it?

  I drove two hours to the airport where Stoneburrow kept their experimental jets. If I were going to bother flying somewhere, I would make it useful. I parked on the side of the enormous airfield after passing through their security checks. I’d let them know I was coming. The jet should be all ready to give me a demonstration of what it could do. Stoneburrow hadn’t altered its behavior towards Huntsman unlike several other families who had cancelled contracts and renegotiated deals as soon as they smelled blood in the water. I didn’t take it personally. That’s what I would have done.

  I climbed the ladder, walked into the roomy interior and settled down with my laptop. I had business to do.

  Before we took off, I thought I heard something, a thumping in the cargo hold, but that was probably the crew loading up the plane. The island destination wasn’t anything you could step Throughside to get to. It was protected with barriers like Penny’s mother’s house. Penny. I gritted my teeth and focused on the merger that might not happen. Finally, the engines roared to life and after a few more minutes, the jet started circling, getting into position on the runway. A few minutes later I heard another thud. Was there an animal in the cargo?

  I pushed the little blue button with the Stoneburrow crest engraved on it. A charming human came out of the front. She’d come earlier, asking if I needed a drink and I’d been very specific about wanting no company.

  “Excuse me, is there live cargo on this plane?”

  “Other than us?” she asked with a blinding smile. She reminded me a little bit of Penny Lane, saying something inane just to irritate someone.

  “That’s right, other than us.”

  She blinked her heavily mascaraed eyes at me. “I’ll check.” She went back towards the cockpit. I sighed and closed my laptop. I should have taken care of it myself in the first place. Perhaps it was a wicked Creagh catching a ride. I got up and pressed a code into the keypad until the door swept open to the cargo area. It was drafty and dark until the lights automatically blinked on, and there on the metal floor was a pile of red-gold hair. I stared at the quivering mass of the most valuable gold in the world until she jerked and hit her head on the floor. That was the sound I’d heard. The curse must not like her flying in planes very much.