Tobe stared at me for a while, narrowing his amber eyes, while I listened to the variety of noises coming out from the glass boxes around us. He then exhaled, and nodded, as if having made his assessment of me.
“You’re an orphan,” he concluded, prompting me to look at Alton, who shrugged in return.
“I didn’t tell him anything about you,” Alton replied.
“How did you know, then?” I asked Tobe, narrowing my eyes at him.
“I can read people. It’s my gift. And it’s written all over your face. The longing, the sadness, the desire to belong. That, and the fact that you said your foster parents gave you that medallion,” Tobe replied with a smirk.
“Ah, dammit,” I groaned. “Sorry, I just had one of those ‘duh!’ moments.”
My brain wasn’t operating at full capacity anymore. It was overloaded with new information, and more questions popped up with every step I took, making it more and more difficult to concentrate. Basic details were starting to escape me.
“But you are different.” Tobe smiled. “I mean that in a good way.”
“In a good way, eh?” I said.
“You remind me of someone I once knew,” Tobe continued. “It’s in the way your eyes glimmer when you look at these monsters. And in the amount of power soaring through you. It’s rare.”
“What power? I was just classified as a Mediocre,” I replied.
Tobe frowned, then stared at Alton in disbelief. “How can that be?” he asked.
“Adley tested her. It was clear,” Alton said. “Harley is Mediocre. But, as I’ve said, it doesn’t make her useless.”
“I find those results hard to believe,” Tobe replied, shaking his head, then shifting his focus back to me. I was still as skeptical and confused as before, but I couldn’t ignore the sliver of hope that Tobe’s disbelief had given me—that maybe there was more to me than so-called magical mediocrity. After all, nobody wants to go through life labeled a Mediocre.
“Adley wants to do another Reading later on, anyway,” Alton said. “We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, however, Harley has been classified as a Mediocre and will be treated as such.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, crossing my arms. I couldn’t help but feel a little insulted.
“Limited access to magical knowledge. You’ll learn about spells, but you won’t be taught how to perform the powerful stuff. We don’t want to risk getting you or others killed by mistake. Mediocrity doesn’t mean literal weakness, but rather an inability to perform stronger spells without losing control over them,” Alton replied, pressing his lips into a thin line.
I had to admit, there was a certain disharmony looming over their heads, as I looked at them. On one hand, the coven seemed nuts about its rules and regulations, and yet they couldn’t keep their Bestiary under control. One gargoyle alone could have killed a lot of people before getting captured again. I didn’t even want to think what would happen if more of them got out.
At the same time, they were worried about me accidentally hurting or killing someone if I tried using a spell that was well above my Mediocre level. But it wasn’t like I knew any spells, and I doubted I’d get to the big stuff within a month’s time, anyway.
At first glance, the San Diego Coven came across as a bit of a bureaucratic nightmare, with very little of the mystical charm I’d expected to see in a place like this. Lots of rules and locks on glass boxes, sure—but not enough control over its most dangerous corners.
Despite the contradictions, I couldn’t ignore my interest in this place. Even if it was just for a month, I was becoming more and more determined to make the most of my time here.
Soak it all up like the redheaded sponge that you are.
“Come, Tobe, it’s time we go to the Main Assembly Hall,” Alton said, and walked past me toward the exit at the far end of the aisle.
Tobe nodded and followed, and I stayed close behind him, once again marveling at his size and hybrid features. Any other person would’ve probably screamed and fainted by now, but there was something about Tobe that I found oddly comforting. It felt as though I was in the presence of an old friend.
“What do you want me to do, then?” I asked.
“You should attend as well,” Alton replied, without turning to look at me. “You’re a part of the coven, even if it’s only for a trial period.”
“For now,” Tobe added with a half-smile, which looked kind of endearing and weird at the same time, on the face of a freaking lion.
“The matter of the Bestiary concerns you, too,” Alton said. “Besides, it’s time you meet some of the other magicals you’ll be working with.”
Ah, yes. Those magicals probably included the ones I’d seen in the living quarters. The way-too-cold platinum-haired guy, the girl with black curls and chocolate eyes… and Wade. Ugh, I was going to see Wade again. It had been so nice and calm and quiet since he’d left us.
I was curious, though. Particularly about the Bestiary issues. From what I’d understood and from what I could also feel from him, Alton was worried about the Mage Council, the big kahunas of the magicals, and their reaction to a gargoyle escaping from the Bestiary. I had a feeling that I’d get a lot more information from this meeting in the Main Assembly Hall.
A young coven trying to reform itself. A Bestiary that was simply too big and complicated to control. Alton had his hands full already. He certainly didn’t need me to put up a fight and make things even more difficult for him.
Frankly, I didn’t want that, either. The month trial was my best way forward—for now, at least.
Chapter Eleven
My brain was already overloaded with new information. As I set foot inside the Main Assembly Hall, however, I understood that a lot more was coming my way. Thankful that I’d yet to get the urge to turn around and just run away as fast as I could, I stayed close to Tobe and Alton as the gathering crowd parted before us.
The Hall was huge and rectangular, with more of the coven’s signature dragon statues cast in bronze stretching between the marble floor and the high ceiling, flickering chandelier lights reflecting off their wings.
Flames burned bright in wall-mounted torches as a couple hundred witches and warlocks moved to the center, in front of a wide, circular podium. All eyes were on me, for some reason. I wasn’t comfortable with all that attention, and it was becoming more and more difficult to shut out the flood of emotions chipping away at my self-control. All those people were looking at me, wondering what my presence there meant. I recognized the wariness, the suspicion, and, in some cases, the disdain. It was as if they didn’t need another magical on the premises, an idea further cemented by an overall air of competition between them.
I recognized the looks they gave each other, the confident half-smiles and arrogant smirks. The athletes back in my high school did the same whenever a competition was about to begin.
Seven tall mirrors with frilly bronze frames were mounted on the floor at the back of the podium, their surfaces rippling as if liquid. Something told me those weren’t regular mirrors.
Large paintings of various witches and warlocks—or so I thought, at first glance—were hung on the wall behind the podium. Judging by the clothing styles and brush strokes, they belonged to different periods, some going as far back as the 1100s and even earlier. Their eyes seemed to peer into my very soul, and I really didn’t like that vibe, given what I was already experiencing as an Empath in a room full of people.
“Harley, I need you to stay by Wade’s side for now, while I make some announcements,” Alton told me, pointing at Wade, who was among the first people to reach the podium.
“We’ll get to speak more afterward,” Tobe said, giving me a soft smile. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”
There was something so sweet and heartwarming in the way he said that, it almost smothered my growing anxiety. That state of mind quickly dissipated, unfortunately, once I moved to stand next to Wade, whose forced wari
ness and struggled reserve were quick to get on my nerves.
I watched as Alton and Tobe went up the podium stairs, where a microphone mounted on a tall stand awaited, before looking at Wade, who gave me a rushed sideways glance and a brief nod. He was trying so hard not to pay attention to me, while his emotions screamed at me. I found it ironic, though—the more he tried to hide, the better I could read him, and the more noise it made in my head.
“You know, you can’t really hide your emotions from me,” I said, gritting my teeth, as I felt a migraine coming on. Wade’s head snapped around, and he looked at me with raised eyebrows.
He’s going to try and play it cool, just wait for it.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replied.
There it is.
“Are you serious?” I shot back. “Listen, the more you try to hide, the louder it gets in here,” I explained, pointing at my head.
“How good is your… radar, anyway?” he murmured, his brow furrowed.
“Right now, it’s off the charts because of all the people.” I sighed. “I’m not good with crowds. They make me hypersensitive. And for some reason, the more you try to keep me out, the better I feel what you feel. And, Wade, it’s okay to be wary of me. I totally get it. I’m still getting used to this ability, and I’ve never had to deal with people knowing that I can feel them. But you should just let it go. Whatever you’re feeling, just feel it. I’m not going to pay attention, anyway. There are so many feelings going through me right now, I can barely focus.”
He seemed to relax a little, and, as suspected, the avalanche of emotions coming from him seemed to fizzle down a bit. There were about two hundred souls left around me, each feeling something different, and not all of it was aimed at me. As I lost my spot at the center of their attention, other emotions came through.
They were all eager to find out what Alton had to say. Some were worried. At least forty of them were in love, half of their crushes currently in the room and just one third reciprocating. Ten were extremely tired, and two were confused and in desperate need of their families. I had a feeling the latter were new arrivals in the coven, too. The overall picture was exhausting, like hundreds of paint tubes simultaneously stepped on, the colors blobbing out in a tiresome mish-mash, spread across the canvas of my already-worn-out brain.
“They’re exhausting, aren’t they?” Wade said slowly, watching me as I took a few deep breaths.
“For lack of a better word, yeah,” I said. “But it’s a little better when they’re not paying attention to me. They’re like bullhorns, in a way. When they’re pointed elsewhere, they’re still loud, but tolerable. But when they’re pointed at me, it’s just… excruciating. Not sure that makes sense.”
Wade shrugged. “It kind of does. I have to deal with them on a daily basis, so I can relate, sort of. Let’s just say I understand what it’s like when they don’t pay attention to you.”
I stifled a chuckle as Alton took center stage, tapping the microphone twice.
“Hi, hello, everyone!” He smiled, his voice echoing loud and clear throughout the assembly hall.
My gaze wandered around the place, and I was able to recognize some of the faces I’d already seen, including the chocolate-eyed girl and the platinum-haired guy, farther to my right. O’Halloran and other uniformed instructors were in the front row to my left, along with Adley de la Barthe and the preceptors, as well as a few other elder magicals I didn’t recognize. Adley’s gaze wandered across the room and settled on the platinum-haired guy for a second, enough for my heart to pound with something strong, akin to love. I’d felt it in others plenty of times; I could easily recognize the butterflies and the ache of longing. Whether the platinum-haired guy reciprocated those feelings or not was a mystery. Either way, not my business.
Tobe stood quietly behind Alton, his broad back reflected in three of the rippling mirrors.
The murmurs in the crowd died down as we all listened to what the director of the San Diego Coven had to say. I was still processing the fact that I was inside a freaking coven, surrounded by witches, warlocks, mythical monsters, and a ton of… well, a ton of magic.
“As mentioned in my message request to have you gather here at this hour, there have been some new and unexpected developments with the Bestiary,” Alton said. “For the purpose of avoiding panic and unnecessary concern, however, we’ve held off on telling you all about what happened. Now that the problem is contained, it’s time for you to know that seven days ago, one of the gargoyles in the Bestiary escaped.”
He paused, allowing the collective gasp to rise from the crowd, and nodded at Wade, who straightened his back with beaming pride in response.
“Wade Crowley, one of our exceptional warlocks, was quick to go after the beast and return it safely to its glass box.” Alton smiled, then looked at me, and I froze, almost hearing heads turn as people suddenly paid attention to me. “He had help from a new, yet unexpected member of our coven, whom you will all be introduced to shortly.”
Oh, God.
In hindsight, I was thankful I didn’t have any telepathic abilities—like hearing thoughts. Dealing with a tidal wave of emotions was one thing, but having my brain bombarded with a flurry of random words and thoughts? Ugh, I would’ve ended up hospitalized and heavily medicated for sure.
“I want you all to be more vigilant, going forward,” Alton continued, drawing the audience’s focus back to him.
Only as I let out the nervous breath I’d been holding did I realize that I’d gripped Wade’s hand, squeezing tight for some kind of comfort. I looked down, getting visual confirmation of our unexpected physical contact, then up at him. Though his expression remained stoic, he was shocked. I could feel it.
When did I take his hand, though? Did I just black out when they all looked at me, or something?
“Sorry,” I murmured, instantly letting go. My palms were clammy. I rubbed them against my jeans and focused on Alton once more.
“We’ve added a security detail to the Bestiary in order to assist Tobe,” Alton said, “but we have yet to identify how the gargoyle got out in the first place. Tobe’s magical abilities are raw, and, frankly, it is up to all of us to ensure that further incidents do not occur. If they do, I trust you all know what to do, as you’ve all been given your full Bestiary induction.”
The magicals in the crowd nodded in response, prompting Alton to smile and bring his hands together in an enthusiastic clap.
“Now! I know we’re all still getting used to the idea of a Bestiary in our coven, but it is for the greater good. Given the high percentage of Mediocrity in this place, we can at least excel at looking after the Bestiary that fuels our entire society,” he added.
“Yeah, it’s a bang-up job we’re doing so far,” a young warlock said, somewhere behind me.
I looked over my shoulder and identified him quickly, based on the smirk which accompanied his statement. He was about as tall as me, and quite handsome, too, with short black hair and piercing blue eyes. He had the cutest dimples, and that triggered a warning inside me—the good-looking ones were usually jerks. Case in point: Wade Crowley.
“That’s Garrett Kyteler, pompous jerk extraordinaire,” Wade muttered, following my gaze. “If ever you need a contrarian to paint the coven in an ugly light, he’s the guy you want to talk to.”
“I don’t know, you seem to be doing a pretty good job yourself, if you ask me,” I shot back with a smirk. He took it seriously, and I felt he was genuinely offended. For some reason, I didn’t like making him feel that way, so I quickly brushed over it, shifting the focus back to cutie-pie Garrett. “If he hates this place so much, why doesn’t he just leave, then?”
Wade shrugged. “He doesn’t hate it. He just doesn’t like it.”
“Is there a difference?”
“There is when you’re part of a coven,” he replied. “He’s been in two other covens before this. I don’t know how he ended up here, but it wasn’t because of hi
s exemplary track record. He’s an excellent warlock, highly skilled in his craft, but his demeanor can be difficult to handle. He messed up something at some point. You don’t get sent to the San Diego Coven for high points.”
“What points? And how come this coven is like detention to magicals?” I asked, getting more confused the more Wade talked.
“I’m guessing Alton hasn’t told you about the point system. You’ll find out soon enough, but, in short, your performance and actions create points, which go into the coven. At the end of the year, a line is drawn, and the top five performing covens in the States get substantial prizes, mostly in cash and artifacts. As for the ‘detention’ part… I don’t know, it’s always been like this. Alton is trying to change that, but with the characters we’ve got in-house right now, it doesn’t look like he’ll succeed.”
Alton was still going on about their efforts to improve the coven when Garrett spoke up again.
“With all the Mediocres in this joint, I must say, you’re quite the dreamer, Director Waterhouse.”
Alton responded to Garrett’s remark with a dry smile and a shrug. “Well, then, Mr. Kyteler, perhaps if you spent more time actively involved in actual coven work instead of bragging to your parents over Skype about how good a job you’re doing here, we might get ahead a little faster.” Alton’s sting was deep and painful.
Chuckles erupted from the crowd. I got a quick look at Garrett—he was fuming, but there was nothing he could do, other than cross his arms and scowl at Alton. I had mixed feelings about Garrett at that point. On one hand, the more I looked at him, the more handsome he got. Given how little socializing I’d done in my lifetime, and now that I was suddenly faced with people with whom I could be myself, my hormones were starting to loosen up a little. On the other hand, he seemed obnoxiously arrogant, although the animosity that Wade displayed toward him made Garrett even more interesting. I was officially intrigued and abstaining from a final verdict—other than the fact that he was really cute—for the time being.
Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven Page 12