by Ciara Graves
I crossed my arms on the table and stared at her.
“What? You keep growling.”
“You like to talk a lot. Don’t you?”
“Happens. Plus, I’m trying not to panic about my first day here. So yeah. Do a girl a favor and talk about something? Anything?”
I glanced around the hall. “Where’s your new boyfriend?”
“Brogan? Not my boyfriend,” she said quickly. “Just met the guy, but if he was here, don’t worry, I’d be more than happy to bug him, instead of you.”
“Why are you panicking?”
“Nope. I asked you a question first,” she argued. “Answer mine and I’ll answer yours.”
“We’re not kids.”
She tapped her fingers on the table, resting her chin in the palm of her other hand and simply waited.
I grunted, picking at my food again, but those damned blue eyes kept on staring at me until I gave up with a growl and met her gaze.
For a split second, a flash of a memory hit me, and I paused, sensing she felt it, too, but then the moment was gone, and I decided talking to someone who did not know me might not be such a bad idea, after all. That, and my curiosity was starting to get the best of me. If Moran wanted me to get to know her, then I would.
“Nah,” I finally answered. “No home. Aside from this place. No family.”
Rori leaned back in her chair. “What do you mean?”
“Mean my parents died when I was five. Car wreck,” I said, repeating the lie I’d been told for so damned long.
“Shit. Sorry, Chas.” Her hand rested on mine for a second before she drew it back. “But wait, you said this has been your home… since you were five? How is that possible?”
“When my parents died, I was taken in by a close family friend of theirs,” I said, watching my tone. The last thing I wanted was to lose control of my anger and take it out on someone who was just trying to be nice to me. “Sister Agnes. And Moran.” I mentally nodded at myself for not snarling as I spoke their names.
Rori was nodding, but then she stopped. “Commander Moran?”
“The one and only.”
“You were raised by him?”
“And Sister Agnes,” I added. “She’s a priest here. More like a legend, really. You’ll meet her, soon enough. She’s the one in control of all the weapon crafting, supplies, stuff. Essentially anything a recruit needs, she’s the one who gets a hold of it.”
Rori looked at me as if I must’ve had the best childhood. “Is that why he wanted me to get to know you? And no wonder you’re so good at what you do. You’ve been here what, seventeen years?”
“Yeah. And Moran and Agnes were the ones who trained me until I turned twenty-one,” I said, avoiding her first question; that was a mess I was not ready to step into yet.
“Damn. I mean it’s a shitty situation, but I’ll admit I’m a bit jealous. I had no instruction whatsoever growing up. Been floundering. But still. Damn. To lose your parents. Yeah, I wouldn’t trade my mom for that. Or anything.” She was tugging on her braid again, and another flash of memory hit me hard, then it faded away. Of her doing just that and someone scolding her playfully for it… who was it? “You know what? I can’t even find a damned familiar. Think they all know I’m messed up,” she said with a bitter laugh.
“That’s not how familiars work,” I assured her. “You just have to be patient, wait for the right one to come to you.”
“Not very patient.”
“Noticed,” I agreed.
She shot me a look, then grinned.
It helped ease some of my anger, slightly. “Both your parents can’t do magic? You said you had no instruction.”
“Mom’s side had some, back a few generations. And Dad, as far as we know, he never showed any signs of having abilities before he left us.” She said it casually, like it didn’t bother her, but I saw the sadness flicker in her eyes. Then she smiled, and it was gone.
Nice to know I wasn’t the only one around here hiding my true emotions today. Made me wonder why she’d called me out about trying to hide my loneliness and pain from the deaths of my parents. No, not deaths. Murders. They were murdered. My hands curled into fists on the table. I took a deep breath, in through my nose and pushed it out, unclenching my hands and trying to get back to a calm, relaxed state.
Wasn’t working.
Rori’s glance flicked to my hands. “I know I’m not an expert here, but pretty sure keeping anger bottled up is terrible for your abilities. I know it is for mine.”
“Is that why you’re panicking?” I asked, changing the subject before I ended up telling her everything. No one needed to know what Agnes had told me. And that would open up a whole other line of questioning about my parents.
I could tell she didn’t want to answer, but then I reminded her of the deal we made.
“Fine, it’s just… I’m the first mage in my family for generations, and I can’t seem to get anything right. And the announcement Moran made last night, has me on edge. Not sure why.”
“About him taking recruits early? You don’t have to worry about that.” That was a lie. For all I knew, she did need to worry about it.
“You say that, but my gut is screaming that’s not the case.”
Why would she feel that way? From what she said, none of her family had dealings with the Vanguard or Moran. He had to know something I didn’t if he wanted to see her magic was compatible with mine. I already sensed he was going to ask me, especially after the way Agnes yelled about it last night.
If Moran asked, I would join, but I knew Agnes would be upset with me. She’d been so afraid, and it only made me more curious to learn who had gone after my parents and violently ripped them from this world. Ever since she told me the truth, I kept thinking back to the night of the car wreck. I could still hear the screams of my parents, glass breaking, the crunch of metal… but each time, one tiny detail changed. There were others yelling and blood… so much blood…
“Chas?”
I blinked, clearing the grisly thoughts away, to find Rori’s hand holding mine. “Sorry, zoned out for a minute.”
“You know, this is going to sound really weird, and you can just ignore it if you want to,” she said quietly, “but if you need to talk about something, I wouldn’t mind listening. I’m here, I guess is what I’m getting at, just wanted you to know.”
I covered her hand with mine and a burst of warmth shot between us. “I appreciate it, and I’ll keep it in mind. I don’t exactly have many close friends here, none really.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” she said with a small grin.
“Yeah, I’m good at that apparently,” I mumbled, pulling my hand back. “Fooling others and being fooled.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. I have to get going, but I’ll see you around?” I said, not sure why I was drawn to her, or why I was doing what Moran wanted me to.
“Sure, I’ll be here,” she joked. “Hey, Chas? Can I ask you one more thing?”
I nodded and waited to stand.
“I saw three of one Elite team walking around last night; do you know what happened to their fourth? Moran seemed pretty pissed about something when he was talking to them.”
“When did you see them?”
“Last night, before the power display started.”
“Moran might have raised me, but I don’t have security clearance to know everything,” I said, but smiled as I did. “I’m sure there’s nothing we need to be concerned about,” I told her I’d see her at dinner, took my dishes to the stack, and stalked out of the hall.
I was expected to report to my first training session of the morning, but first. I needed to speak with Moran. I wanted to see his reaction when he realized I knew the truth about my parents and I also wanted to know what he was trying to keep from me. I hurried out of the admin building and took the path that would lead me to the official outpost attached to campus. At the meta
l gate, I was stopped, and my ID checked, even though the guards knew who I was. Protocol was protocol.
“You know where Commander Moran is?” I asked.
“Not sure. I think, in his office,” the guard told me. “You want me to call for him?”
“No. I’ll go find him.” I marched on, my anger building with every step I took toward his office.
I nodded to every guard and commander on the way, until I stood outside Moran’s door. Usually, I would knock and wait for him to allow me to enter, but I wasn’t feeling very respectful this morning. I pushed open the door and walked in, ready to let him have it.
I stopped short.
A growl slipped out of my mouth, and I felt ready to be overtaken by my bear form again, as my anger exploded.
“Chas,” Agnes said, standing before Moran’s desk, “close the door.”
I ground my teeth, glaring from her to Moran. His hands were folded on his desk as he watched me closely. I pivoted and made to leave, but he snapped my name, and after so many years of training under him, my body reacted on instinct.
My spine straightened, and I squared my shoulders, standing at attention as I awaited his next order.
“Shut the door, Chas. Agnes tells me we need to talk.”
My hands twitched at my sides, but I finally reached out and shut the door, the click reverberating around his office. “You could start by explaining to me why you lied.” My words came out in a garbled growl.
“You will not shift in my office, Chas,” Moran warned. “Hear me?”
“Yeah, I hear you. Now answer my damned question!” I whipped around to glare at him.
The man didn’t even flinch. Never did. I waited for the fear to appear in his eyes as I’d seen in Agnes’s, but they remained steady, holding my gaze, as though I didn’t look like I wanted to tear him to pieces.
“Your parents were part of an Elite Guard team,” he started.
“I knew that much.”
“As such,” he went on, as if I hadn’t spoken, “they made enemies. Violent ones that hold grudges.”
“Hold? Present tense? So they did get away that night.” I noticed Agnes’s head drop, but kept my gaze locked with Moran’s. “Who were they? What happened? Just tell me the truth, for once, please.”
“You have to swear you will not try to leave campus,” Moran said. “Otherwise, no.”
“You have no right to ask that!”
“Yes, I do,” he replied calmly. “I promised to keep you safe, just as Agnes did, and that oath does not depend on your age. You will remain here where we can keep an eye on you. Swear it, Chas, or you’re walking out of here with nothing.”
Furious, I paced back and forth across his office. Agnes reached out a hand to me, but I shrugged away from her, hating the second I saw the hurt in her eyes followed by guilt. “Please,” she urged, “we’re just trying to keep you safe. Keep you alive. You have to understand… these people, they’re not… they’re monsters. If they figure out you’re alive, if you go after them, you won’t survive.”
“You’ve seen what I can do,” I said.
“And we’ve seen what they can do,” Moran said simply. “As good as you are, you will get yourself killed if you go after them.”
I hunched in on myself, planting my hands on my hips. I would have to lie, and lie well I’d already sworn to get revenge, and one way or another, I’d get it. “Fine. I won’t go after them. Now tell me the truth. What happened to my parents?”
Moran took a deep breath and let it out, the only sign he hated what he was about to do. “The team your parents were part of was tracking down a new threat,” he started. “Magic users were turning up crazed and corrupted. Out of their minds. They were becoming a danger to themselves and others, including innocents. Their task was to understand why this was happening.”
“Only here?” I asked.
“No. All across the world. At first, it was only a few, but then it was as if a plague of corruption was moving through the magical communities.”
I rubbed my forehead and that ache that sprang to life. “How are there no reports on this?”
“We kept it quiet to avoid mass panic. If non-users learned the magical community was under attack, and there was a chance they would be caught in the fallout, what do you think would’ve happened? We hunkered down, sought out those afflicted, and took them away silently.”
“Took them away to where?”
Moran looked to Agnes as she said, “Asylums for our kind. Where they could be looked after.”
“And they lived?”
They both lowered their gazes, and that was answer enough.
“And my parents, they found out who was behind the attacks?” I asked, feeling as if something was constricting my throat as I came closer to the truth.
“They did. The four of them,” Moran said, nodding his head as he stood up and paced to the window. He clasped his hands behind his back, staring outside for a long while. Silence filled the office. Just when I was about to growl at him to keep talking, he hung his head. “I sent them to the location they thought these villains were hiding out. Our recon team asserted there was only four of them in there, at most. They were wrong, so terribly wrong. Two of the team were taken captive, and your parents barely made it out alive.”
I glanced at Agnes, but she refused to meet my gaze. “And?”
“And they knew who your parents were. They came after them on several occasions, so we set them up in a safe house.” Moran faced me and looked his age at that moment more than any other. “I failed your parents that night. We all did. We got a tip the enemy was moving, and we went after them, blinded by hatred and the need for revenge. We pulled most of the protection from the house, but it had all been a trap. They knew where your parents were. By the time we got there…” He swallowed hard and seemed to have to force the words from his mouth. “Your parents were beyond saving. We chased off the enemy. We found you in a hidden safe room.”
I staggered back a step, shutting my eyes as I heard the screams all over again. This time, I focused on those small details and heard Mom yell for Dad, heard glass shatter, and the ground shaking. I remembered an unfamiliar voice yelling in anger and a flash of Mom’s face before she disappeared. It no longer sounded like a car wreck. Now it was more like a storm that had torn through the house, cracked the foundation, and collapsed walls. I sank deeper and deeper into the memory until I felt like I was falling.
Hands grabbed my shoulders and gave me a firm shake. My eyes shot open, and I looked into Agnes’s glowing irises.
“Don’t,” she whispered fiercely, “don’t go back to that night. There’s only pain.”
I blinked hard a few times, chasing the last screams away. “Who attacked them?” I asked, my voice hoarse as if I’d been yelling. “Who are they?”
Agnes glanced over her shoulder to Moran. “Tell him. Tell him everything and be done with it.”
Moran appeared ready to argue.
Agnes yelled his name. “They call themselves the Cleansers. All we know is they’re led by a man and a woman. Two of the most ruthless people I’ve ever heard of,” he uttered, his voice shaking with such raw emotion. “Their followers believe they are the new coming and they will wash away the evils of this world.”
“Evils being what, magic-users? So they’re just another hate group.”
“No, no they’re more than that,” Moran argued. “Terrorist group would be a better description. I don’t know how they’re doing it, none of us do, but they are the reason our people are being corrupted, driven to madness, why we’re finding some stripped of their magic.”
“Wait. What?” I asked alarmed. “Stripped? How do they have that if they can’t perform magic?”
“We don’t know. For the last seventeen years, we have been hunting for them, but they never leave a trace.” He shifted on his feet. “They’re also the reason we have not been able to form a team every three years.”
“How? Why?
”
“To be in a team, the four must be compatible,” Moran said. “In the last five cycles, we have only found three teams total that were able to work together. Our Elite Guard force is dwindling.”
“Which is why you’re looking to recruit anyone you can,” I said quietly. “And the current team here? Where’s Graham, the druid?”
“Infirmary. Under quarantine,” Moran said, shaking his head. “He’s been corrupted.”
“By these Cleansers?” I didn’t understand how this could be possible. There was no way to strip magic from someone unless you used magic. But these people, they were doing it, causing harm… it wasn’t possible. “I want to help.”
“No,” Agnes and Moran said at the same time.
“No,” Agnes repeated. “You are to stay here where you will be safe.”
“I can help,” I insisted. “They need a druid.”
“You are not compatible with them,” Moran sighed. “Or, as much as Agnes might kill me for it, I would’ve already had you with them. However, if we do find that you are compatible with any of these new recruits coming in, then that might just change.”
“That’s it? You just expect me to walk around and act like I don’t know anything about this crisis?”
“Yes. If you don’t then I will drag your ass here to the outpost and you will be training under Farrah, and only Farrah,” he warned, speaking of the druid commander here. “And you are to say nothing to the other recruits. The last thing we need is a panic.”
“Shouldn’t the communities know, so they can keep an eye out?”
“We’re taking care of it,” he promised, but I could see the worry on his face, that whatever safety measures they were taking weren’t enough. “That’s where most of the Vanguard and other Elite teams have been stationed these last few months. We can speak of this more if you wish later. You are late for your training.”
“One more question and then I’ll go.” I wondered why I was even bothering to ask. “Is there something I need to know about Rori Griffith and Brogan Bailey? Why you set them on me?”
Moran’s jaw clenched hard. “Nothing particular. Just a hunch that you may be compatible with them. I suggest you take the time to see for yourself.”