by Priya Ardis
Aurelius tugged on his short beard. “The lead-healer told me Ms. Cornwall had been put under a sleeping spell.”
Matt sat down on a spindly wooden chair. It groaned a bit under his weight. He arched a brow at Aurelius. “Magic was used to lock the door. Magic was used to lock the iron bars. A sleeping spell was put on Gia. I’m sure they tried it on Ryan but her amulet is strong enough to resist small spells.”
“It was a wizard,” I said.
“Maybe. Maybe not,” said Matt. “These are the consequences in selling magic to anyone who pays for it.”
“Now see here.” Aurelius’s face twisted into a scowl. “This is no reason to plug your platform. Selling magic is what keeps our world going. You can’t blame magic. It is not the problem. The ones who use it incorrectly are the problem.”
“Give someone a weapon and they will use it,” Matt retorted. “Selling magic sows the seeds of our own destruction. Why can’t you see that?”
Aurelius and Matt glared daggers at each other.
Vane cleared his throat. “Could we get back to who tried to kill DuLac?”
“Like you care,” I muttered.
Vane arched a brow. “I absolutely care about who gets the sword.”
Matt and I both turned to give him identical looks of irritation.
“There is a traitor among us,” Aurelius muttered. “I need to get the Council together. I will ask for an emergency session. Come up with a plan. If this is a strike against the candidates, more are sure to follow.” He turned to Vane. “However, please, no more lures. The Council will not be happy that you initiated all this.” He made a sweeping gesture at the healing room. “Even if it was not your intention, we cannot risk it.”
To my surprise, Vane inclined his head in acknowledgement.
With a short nod at Matt, Aurelius withdrew from the bubble.
Matt looked at Vane. “What are you holding back now, Vane?”
“You know me too well, brother.” Vane’s lips curved up into a half-smile. He took out an iPad and pulled up headshots of four kids. “These are the latest candidates who have died. Three Regulars. One unknown wizard. Who is missing?”
“Gargoyles,” Matt answered evenly. “They are not sending candidates to the Stone anymore.”
“Because they know we have not sent ours. They suspect we have a reason. And how would they know even that much?” Vane came up to my bedside. He reached out to touch my neck.
I jerked away from him.
“Do you want to know who attacked you or not?” Vane said impatiently.
Jaw tight, I reluctantly swept aside the rest of my hair. Vane pushed down the potato-sack of a hospital gown I wore.
“Tapa.”
The word caught the edges of my hearing. The skin on my shoulder burned excruciatingly. I yelped.
“There is an impression on your skin,” Vane said. “My spell will extrapolate the remaining image.”
My skin stinging with dull pain, I gave Vane a dirty look.
Matt handed me the hand-mirror. “They must have been wearing something that dug into your skin when they tried to choke you. It’s a gargoyle crest.”
I stared at the dull burn, a curvy V inside a circle.
The pit of my stomach sunk deeper. I stared at the emblem. I gave the mirror back to Matt. “I’ve seen this before. On Morgan’s notepad.”
Matt put the mirror down. “The traitor is a gargoyle. They have infiltrated the school.”
CHAPTER 13
THE TRAP
“I caught Morgan doodling it. He acted really strange when I asked him what it was. He tore it out and threw it away.” I looked at Vane. “B-but he’s dead. You killed him, right?”
Vane nodded.
Matt squeezed my hand. “The gargoyle must be another member of the same clan. That would explain why they targeted you especially. Revenge.”
Vane crossed his arms. “Whoever the gargoyle is they will try again. We need to smoke the traitor out.”
I sent him a fulminating look. Smoke. Seriously. “For all I know, you set it this up. You’d do anything to stop a Regular from succeeding.”
Vane arched a brow. “I have little need to go that far. You Regulars are doing an excellent job of failing training all by yourselves.”
“We’d be doing better if you’d train us properly. We should be learning swords.”
Vane pinched the bridge of his nose. “Master the basics. Then, you will be able to advance. That is generally the way of things.”
Matt asked, “What are you planning, Vane?”
“I’m going to find the gargoyle. Then, I’m going to put the beast down.”
Matt nodded, seemingly unsurprised by his brother’s matter-of-fact cold-bloodedness. “We have no idea who it is. How do you plan to get the gargoyle to expose himself?”
Vane’s gaze flicked over the rows of injured girls. “I’ll figure out a way.”
“Meaning as usual you’ve only thought this halfway through,” Matt ground out. “If a single strand of hair is harmed on any of these girls’ heads, I will put you down.”
“You can try.” Vane crossed his arms over his chest and leaned languidly against the hospital partition. “Don’t forget, little brother, I may not be as powerful of a wizard as you but I defeated you once. I can do it again.” He glanced at me. “Besides, you should thank me instead of getting in my way. Until we find the culprit, all of the candidates are in danger. She may be the first but she won’t be the last. He will try to take out all of them.”
Matt’s eyes flashed. “You will not use her as bait.”
“What happened to sacrificing everything? You want me to sit back while the gargoyles exterminate us. We are talking about the fate of this world—”
“Nice try,” said Matt. “We both know the only life you care about is yourself.”
High windows in the hospital let in moonlight. It highlighted the lighter strands of Vane’s hair. He shrugged. “Yes, and I want to protect it. I am quite enjoying myself in this century. I’m not about to allow the gargoyles to ruin it all.”
“We wouldn’t even be in this situation if you hadn’t trapped me in that cave. I could have helped Arthur. If the wizards hadn’t defeated the gargoyles so handily back then, they wouldn’t be so vengeful now. We used to be allies with them.”
Vane yawned. “How long are you going to beat this to death? Arthur doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is what happens next.” Vane strode over to me and pushed back my hair to reveal the ugly bruises on my neck. “And what will happen next is death.”
I made a face. “What do you want Matt to do?”
Vane raised a brow as if startled at my perception. “Just a small favor.”
Matt ground his teeth loudly. “Which is?”
“The gargoyles know too much already. We must root out the traitor now before he can get any more information. Before he learns what Merlin’s grand plan is.”
“They won’t find out. No one knows but me,” Matt said with a tone of satisfaction.
“Feeling vindicated, are you?” Vane voice lowered. “You see he hasn’t told them his grand plan yet.”
Unwittingly, my mouth opened into an ‘O.’
Matt’s cheeks colored. “The Sword is too important—”
“Trust no one but yourself,” Vane said. “Tell me—how did that work out for Arthur?”
Matt let out a low growl. “I made mistakes with Arthur. I am not going to repeat them.”
“Which gives you the excuse to self-righteously hoard what you know,” Vane countered. He looked at me. “Tomorrow night is the All Saint’s Festival in town. All upperclassmen are allowed to go to it. The Council wants to restrict the candidates from going. I want Merlin to convince them it’s safe.”
“Unbelievable,” Matt cried. “You explicitly told Aurelius that you would not use anyone as bait. Are you pathological?”
“Unlike you, I’m a realist,” Vane said. “She’s been targeted. Are you g
oing to sit back while they try again?”
“Now that I know. I’ll be ready,” I said. “I can take care of myself.”
Vane pulled back the partition to show Gia. She was making whimpering noises as she slept. “You may be able to defend yourself, but what about those standing next to you?”
***
Ms. Joseph informed me the next day that our floor had taken extensive damage and it would be weeks before anyone could move back in. However, we had been assigned new rooms—a flat—in the teachers’ residence. I played her message on a hand-me-down iPad.
All of our things had been charred beyond recognition. Gia tried to keep a stoic front, but I could see she was distraught. Matt put in a call to Sylvia. I had been sure he’d know how to contact her and I had been right. When we showed up at the teachers’ residence and opened the door to our suite, Gia gasped in surprise. The spacious one-bedroom residence welcomed us with cheery bright décor. A cozy living area with a fireplace opened to an airy well-lit eat-in kitchen. Beside the kitchen there looked to be a marbled bathroom and a door leading to a huge bedroom. Two trunks had been placed in front of it.
Gia cautiously opened her trunk open and pulled out a gorgeous dress with matching shoes. “N-new clothes,” she stammered. “All different styles. But how?”
“Grey’s Mom got everything together. Matt arranged for it to be brought in.”
Gia stared down at the trunk without moving.
“You don’t like it,” I said in disappointment.
Tough-girl Gia burst into tears. “No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.” She wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. “I don’t know what to say.” She mumbled, “T-thanks.”
I smiled. I could almost see a glimmer of Alexa grin from the corner of my eye. Before I could open my trunk, a knock sounded at the door. The door creaked open on its own. Both of us jumped.
“Sorry, it was open.” Matt stood in the doorway in jeans and a biker jacket. I flashed back to our last day in Boston. My heart skipped a small beat.
Gia let out an audible sigh of relief. She rushed up and punched him in the arm. “Thanks for the trunks.”
“No worries.” Matt grinned.
“I’m going to get some dinner with Grey,” Gia said to me. “Do you want to join us?”
Matt’s dark eyes settled on me. “Actually, I’d like to speak to Ryan.”
Gia shrugged. “I’ll see you later, Ryan.”
Matt waited until the door closed after her to speak. “The Council refused.”
“On their own or did you tell them to?”
“Is there a difference?” he said, not denying it.
“You promised!” I’d asked him to bring Vane’s request to the Council.
“I said I’d think about it. And I did. It’s too dangerous—”
“Vane said I was the most likely target.”
Matt’s jaw tightened. “I don’t trust anything he says and I’m not going to risk you—”
“It’s my choice!”
“No,” Matt said.
My cheeks puffed. “You can’t just say ‘No.’ I’m not a child.”
Matt pinched the bridge of his nose. It took me back for a second. Vane had made the same gesture the exact same way at the infirmary. How could the brothers be so similar and so different at the same time? I wonder if Matt even saw it.
“We just can’t trust him, Ryan,” he said.
I made a sound of aggravation. “I’m getting so tired of this fight of yours.”
“He tried to kill me!”
“You got trapped in a cave,” I burst out. “Vane told me. You and he fought—”
“He attacked me!”
“—your spells got entangled and something happened and boom you were trapped in the cave for a…really long time.” I finished the last bit up lamely, because my math was just that bad.
“Over a thousand years!” Matt’s mouth open and closed. “How does he manage to do this every time? He manipulates everyone to suit him. Why should I be surprised he’s gotten to you?”
I sank down on the sofa. “This isn’t about him or you or me. My family is in danger and I’m not going to just sit back and do nothing.”
“I know that—which is why I am going to do everything I can to find out who the traitor is. There are certain tests I can try. It’s a little tricky because gargoyles and Regulars come from the same genetic parent so it will take a bit of time, but I promise you I will not fail.” Matt knelt down on the floor and took my hand. “Trust me.”
“Do I have a choice?”
Matt squeezed my hand. “Trust me, we will be watching all the candidates very closely. No one will get to you again.”
I arched a brow. “Why do I feel like my cage just got smaller?”
“It’s for your protection.” Matt pointed to the ceiling. “I’m in the flat above. Knock if you need anything.”
“Why are we in the teachers’ residence at all? The other girls are up at the manor house.”
“I want you close.”
I made a face. The statement would have thrilled me a few days ago. Today it only served to tell me how tightly he held my leash. I held up my iPad to show the crack on the screen. Marilynn really did not like me. “Can you at least get me a new one? The Wifi isn’t working. It won’t connect to anything. How am I supposed to get anything done?”
Matt took a miniature book out of his pocket. With a flick of his hand, he enlarged it. The heavy tome that was Basic Elements dropped on the coffee table with a thump. “Here you go. An extra copy. We’re on Chapter 13. I expect you to be caught up on the class you missed.”
“You are too kind.”
A few minutes later, I stood alone in the small living room, barely big enough for one sofa, one chair, and a coffee table. A TV hung on the wall. I stared at the flat’s tiny but surprisingly well-stocked kitchen. Sometimes cooking relaxed me. Today it looked more like a chore.
A knock pounded the door. I decided to ignore whoever it was.
“I know you’re in there,” Vane said through the closed door just before it flung open on its own.
“I know I locked that this time,” I said.
“I am a wizard.” Vane leaned against the doorjamb with tousled hair and a day’s worth of stubble on his jaw. Even in plain black trousers and a simple grey v-neck sweater, he looked mouth-watering. Then he spoke and spoiled the image.
“I ask you to do a simple task and you fail,” he chided. “Obviously I grossly miscalculated your influence on my brother.”
“Bite me.” I strode to the door and swung it back on his smirking face.
He caught it before it could slam shut. “As delectable as that sounds, I need you to focus on the current situation. Our window is short.”
I arched a brow. “What else can we do?”
“You can go to the festival. With me.”
I gaped at him. “How? I can’t even get out of this school.”
“I have a plan,” he said.
I crossed my arms and hugged myself. “How is the gargoyle going to know that I’m going to the festival when no one else is?”
“At lunch tomorrow, tell your little friends that you’re going into town—”
“My friends are not traitors!”
“They might not be, but I wager whoever the gargoyles are using will be listening.” Vane arched his brow. “This is your only chance to get to him first and you know it.”
I arched my brow, mimicking him.
“If he is one of us, he won’t be able to get out of the school either.”
Vane’s eyes went to the black bruises on my neck “Trust me. They won’t waste this opportunity.”
Morgan’s face flashed in my head. I saw his head fall after Vane had decapitated it. The idea that another one of those wanted to kill me made me want to curl up into a ball.
“I don’t know,” I said looking down.
Vane tucked a finger under my chin and pushed
my face back up. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Not at all,” I answered.
Masculine lips curved into a wicked smile. “I think you’re hungry.”
I blinked. “W-What?”
“Come have dinner with me.”
“No,” I said.
Vane rolled his eyes. “Do you say ‘yes’ to everyone else but me?”
“You make it so easy,” I retorted.
“Fine, we’ll eat here.” Vane pushed past me and strode confidently into the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Vane pulled out various items from the mini-fridge below the counter. He lined them up along with a few pots and pans. He grinned at me. “Watch this.”
“Pacika,” he commanded. A small breeze whistled through the kitchen. The food started to move and pretty soon was fixing itself. The salad chopped, the stove turned on and butter poured itself on a pan. A pot filled itself up with water from a miniscule sink and noodles dropped into it. A few minutes later, two plates of shrimp pasta sprinkled with mozzarella sat on the bar just above the counter. A small salad lay beside them.
Vane handed me a glass of something dark. Out of curiosity, I took a tentative sip. Then I took several gulps.
I sighed. “Real ice tea. How did you know?”
He took a bite from his plate. “I spent weeks watching you.”
“I hadn’t realized you watched so closely,” I murmured.
He met my gaze with disconcerting directness. “I’m very thorough.”
I took a long swallow of the iced tea. When I finished it, I couldn’t resist another sigh of appreciation. I started on the pasta. It was scrumptious.
“I’m not going with you,” I said in between taking huge bites.
“Yes, you will. Do you know why?” Vane didn’t wait for an answer. “Because you can’t resist the chance to take care of this on your own. Because you care about the candidates.”
His eyes roved over my jeans and plain t-shirt. “Wear something nice. I understand my brother bought you some beautiful clothes.”
“That was Sylvia—”
“If he says so,” Vane said. Like a typical male, he finished his dinner in less than five bites and headed for the door. “Come get me tomorrow when you’re ready. I’m just across the hall.”