The Traitor's Crux (The Dark Powers Book 1)

by Jessica Prather

  As foolish as it might be, I say goodbye to Jay and transport to Harlow’s office. She’s still there, door cracked open and light seeping through. Her head pops up from her paperwork as I knock, eyes widening with surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  I look to make sure it’s just us, then close the door behind me, feeling as if this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. And yet, the words roll off my tongue so easily, “I want in.”

  She watches me for a second like she’s trying to decide whether or not I’m joking, then must decide against it as she flicks a finger and the blinds rattle shut. She comes to the edge of her desk and leans against it, motioning towards the chair. “Take a seat, and let’s talk.”

  “I can’t stay,” I lick my lips nervously and glance at the clock. Reed will be calling any minute. “And I can’t let him know, either. He’ll kill them Harlow, and I won’t let that happen. All I know is I want them back. We have to get them back.”

  “We will,” she promises, and I know that she means it. “I’ll do everything in my power to ensure it. You just keep telling Reed what he wants to hear for now. Give him no reason to cause them harm. I’ll take care of everything else.”

  Hope swells in my chest and I nod eagerly, giving her a small smile. “Thank you, Harlow. For this.”

  Her crooked grin seems almost warmer when it appears. “No, thank you for helping me kick some presidential ass.”

  I reach for my transportation device and disappear from the room, her smile the last thing I see.

  ***

  I ARRIVE HOME JUST AS the communicator lights up, flicking on the lights as the secretary gives a very dramatic sigh. “Took you long enough, Ms. Coria we called three times,” she scolds bitterly as I plop myself on the couch in front of her.

  “I think you’ll get over it,” I snap. She glares, but doesn’t say another word as she automatically transfers me to the president.

  “Oh, so you are alive.” He sneers, checking his watch for emphasis. “My secretary was about to have a fit.”

  “I was… gone,” I reply, pulling my cold feet on the couch and covering them in a striped blanket.

  “Well I am an impatient man, Miss Coria, you understand that, don’t you?”

  I nod, chewing on the inside of my cheek.

  “Good. I am glad we’re on the same page. And I hope that you understand why I was forced to kill that girl?”

  “No, I don’t.” It comes out before I can stop myself. I stare at him hopelessly, wondering if I even want the answer.

  He chuckles wickedly, making me want to rip his throat out. “Well, it’s simple. I’ve had eyes on you, just to make sure that you’ve been doing your job. Some of these spells are so tricky—they even got past Ms. Creston. Impressive. Although, it seems your loyalties are a little mixed-up lately.”

  Panic floods me as I let out a lie, “I was only lying to Harlow. Trying to get her to believe me.”

  “She made herself a part of it a long time ago, Miss Coria. When she escaped my prison with many others, freeing them. I don’t take too kindly to that.”

  “What?” She mentioned being locked up with my brother. Why didn’t she take him too?

  “Of course, she did. She’s clever like a fox, I’ll give her that. But Miss Creston and I aren’t through. She will pay the price for what she did.”

  “What does that mean?”

  He guffaws again, amused by his own cruelty, “You’ll see when you hand her over to me.”

  I begin to stammer, trying to find some excuse. “I—”

  “The point is, I know everything you’ve been up to, Kenadee. I know of your little romance with Bryce Coughlin, about your conversations with Ms. Creston, and your newest source of information—the attack. Were you planning on telling me?”

  “I-I was, I promise! I just found out minutes ago—they might not even be able to go through with it.”

  A smile sprawls across his face, “Oh, I’m ensuring that they won’t. We’re taking away their chance. Tomorrow at the funeral for that girl, you’re going to hand Ms. Creston over to me.”

  “W-what?”

  He wants Harlow.

  Tomorrow.

  “You heard me, dear girl. My soldiers and I are already prepared. We know that it will be no problem for you. You’ve had all this time, surely you know how to breach the barrier by now? I only need a few minutes.”

  “It’s not that easy—”

  He holds up a hand, “I thought it might come to this. Your brother is with guards as we speak. One word can end in his death so if you want him to live, you will do exactly as I ask,” I swallow, nodding with tears in my eyes.

  “Yes, okay! Don’t hurt him!”

  “What you must do is simple. Let us in the camp, and we’ll take it from there. If you do as I ask, your family will be spared for now. If you try to cross me, they will be dead, you understand?”

  “What will you do to Harlow?” I ask hopelessly. I think I already know the answer. He’s already proven himself a monster. His vendetta against Harlow is clear—the girl has made a fool of him too many times. Whatever he does to make her pay, it won’t be pretty.

  To my demise, the president laughs his horrible laugh, his smile cruel. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business, Kenadee. Keep in mind, Harlow has tried relentlessly to endanger our mission. She’s lucky I don’t off her the moment I get my hands on her.”

  Fear knots my stomach. I have to come up with a plan. He’s going to hurt Eli if I don’t give her to him. There’s no possible way to get them both out of this. I only have one option. “How do I know you won’t harm anyone else in the camp?”

  “I am not a liar. It isn’t their time… not yet.” He takes a sip of his alcohol and clears his throat, “Consider this a lesson: I am watching you, Kenadee Coria, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that I win. After you hand us Ms. Creston, you’ll find out how to increase your power enough to keep that barrier down for good. Get in my way, and Eli will pay.”

  I nod quickly, “I understand.”

  23 I RAP MY KNUCKLES ON the door of the security building, telling myself for the zillionth time that this is for my family, and that we can save Harlow if the camp goes through with the raid. I can’t save my brother if he’s dead.

  Before I can break down the barrier for Reed, I have to take care of the security system. I had originally hoped that I could use a mind spell to get the guards to take it down, but unfortunately, the spell requires more than their basic magic. It requires dark powers, like mine.

  So, first things first, I need to make sure that the security team won’t be a threat.

  The doorknob jiggles and a guard appears, giving me an annoyed glance-over as he steps out into the hall. “What do you want?”

  “Can I come in?” I bat my eyes for effect.

  His dark brows furrow, “Sorry—I’m the only one on duty, I need to be working, not—”

  He’s too late. I throw my powers forward with all my might. Harlow had taught me only the basics of the mind spell, not the actual aspect of control. I grit my teeth, feeling my magic catch something.

  Caught off-guard, his mind is open. I slip inside, watching as his thoughts and memories go flashing by.

  I nearly laugh with excitement. I did it!

  Smiling sweetly at the guard, I test out my control, “Now, move aside and let me through.”

  He does as I ask, sloth-like movements as I keep a tight reign over his mind. Kicking off my black high heels designated for the funeral, I slam the door behind me. He stands still, too caught up in my magic web to be let free. “You will reset the security spell tonight. No sooner, no later.”

  He gives another obedient nod and moves aside while I turn my attention on undoing the spell around the town. It’s almost like the alarm systems that we used to have in the non-magical world—certain spells or actions can trigger it. I hover my hands over its keyhole and begin to chant. There’s a slight rustl
ing throughout the room, then my magic explodes, coursing through me with raging intensity. I smile to myself as there’s a loud crack and the everything goes still again. Something heavy and cool to the touch lands in my hands.

  A key.

  I focus once again on the keyhole, trying to remember the spell from the grimoire. It was an old one I found at the bottom of my library pile, dusted and grimy, but with a noticeable amount of dark magic spells.

  It had anything a person could imagine, from basic defense spells, to security spells, such as this one, and mind control. I stayed up reading it all night, unable to sleep. Whoever donated it to the library clearly forgot that this spell was in there. I wonder to myself why this is as the key slips inside and the spell comes undone with a dying electric buzz.

  I turn just in time for a door behind me to swing open, a surprised guard gaping at me. I don’t wait a second, putting a defense spell to the test. I pin him against the wall, but he realizes what’s happening. He squirms, making my magic’s grip falter slightly.

  I make my move, dropping him and replacing the former spell with mind control. He sees it coming and raises a hand. The light crackles above as the guard pulls it from the fixture, bright sparks emitting from above. I barely have time to leap out of the way as it strikes the wall behind me with a horrific bang.

  I don’t wait. The mind spell rages from me once more, catching on a single memory.

  I watch it unfold—this guard, a girl, staring back at him with wide-eyes. She smiles coyly, as the guard leans in.

  As I force this memory to replay, the guard’s control lessens. “That’s right,” I whisper, “Just let go.”

  “Let go…” he repeats, letting his hands fall limp at his sides. I move slowly, as if he’s an animal I’m trying not to spook. I sigh, feeling my hands shake with the intensity of controlling both guards at once. “Now. You both will forget all about this. You do not know anything about the camp being raided. It’s a normal, safe day, and you were only doing maintenance on the border. Go back to your work, forget my face.”

  I look back and forth between the guards. They gawk back at me, mouths open. Together, they nod. I clench my jaw, yanking myself away from their minds.

  As they fall to the ground, I reach for my heels and escape into the hall. The funeral preparations have begun.

  ***

  I MAKE SURE NO ONE is watching before I take the running trail through the forest, where Harlow and I usually go for our runs. People are already filing into the church where the funeral service will be held… I can’t be late.

  I come to a stop at an oddly-shaped tree. Harlow would never go past this point, declaring that it was at the edge of camp boundaries. Only leaders are allowed outside the barrier, and she was never willing to let me step through.

  I creep forward until my hands bang against the smooth invisible wall. I take a step back, prying a hair tie off my wrist and tucking my hair back into a ponytail. Once I’m done, I set the book down in front of me.

  This isn’t just any spell. It’s a rare, ancient one. In one of Harlow’s many books that I was required to read for training, I learned that most ancient magic has been replaced. Most modern magic only requires a flick of the hand, the training of the mind, the will to make it obey. Some ancient spells, however, were not changed. Some were simply too powerful to be dealt with, and were cast aside for centuries. Some, for dark magic like ours, are rarely practiced and widely feared because of their brutality, strength, and darkness.

  I flip through the grimoire’s pages until I land on the dog-eared corner that I’d pressed down last night. Standing and shaking my limbs loose, my hands find the invisible wall. The words of the spell begin to roll from my tongue, melodic and foreign.

  Muros frangere.

  Muros frangere.

  Muros…

  I falter for a moment as the barrier seems to quake underneath my fingertips, gentle at first, then growing in its rage. I let out a sigh of relief and continue chanting, angling my head back to watch as the wall begins to light up.

  I’m actually breaking down the camp walls.

  24 I STEP BACK TO EXAMINE my handiwork, nothing but a stretch of highway and forest beyond the city limits. The borders are open. Now, Reed can enter the camp walls.

  Right on cue, my communicator buzzes in the pocket of my dress, the code from Reed telling me that he’s on the trail.

  Giving one final look around, I turn and stumble back to camp, my dress dusty, pantyhose torn, and a new ache in my bones from using so much power. I shouldn’t have risked pushing myself as far as I did, and yet… it worked. I can’t believe that I pulled this off. It’s like the feeling when I surrounded the police officers in the ring of fire. I never knew how intoxicating magic could be, how strong I could feel with these powers at hand.

  The chapel doesn’t sit far from the entrance of the camp. Outside its doors is a sea of black as people mill about, a few heads staring at my ragged appearance. I ignore them, silently thanking the height that my heels give me as my eyes scan the crowd for Harlow.

  “Kenadee! Hey! Over here!” I wince at the sound of Delia’s voice behind me. Before I can slip away, she’s beside me, long neck craned like a swan, long earrings dangling against her bronze skin. “This is so awful, isn’t it?”

  I nod as Tess pops up beside her, giving me a sad smile hello.

  “We should probably go find a seat. It’ll be starting in just a few minutes,” Delia says, then knits her brows together, “Hey, Ken—you okay?”

  “What? Yeah…” I say distantly, “Have either of you seen Harlow? I want to talk to her before it all begins.”

  “You two are buddies now? Consider me impressed.” Delia snickers, “And yeah, she’s right there.”

  Sure enough, Harlow leans in the chapel doorway next to Bryce, shaking hands and passing out programs. She’s dressed up, wearing a lacy black dress and heels, her long blonde curls draping her shoulders. Beside her, Bryce wears a black sweater over a collared shirt, dark hair gelled back neatly. His eyes glance up, but I refuse to meet them.

  “Kenadee?” Tess turns her doe-like eyes on me, “We’re headed inside. Are you coming?”

  I gulp, glancing at my friends, “I’ll be there in a second, okay? Save me a seat?”

  “Harlow?”

  As Bryce ducks around the corner, I reach for her shoulder, catching her by surprise. She jumps, pulling away. When she sees that it’s me, she sighs, “Sorry. I just—I need to get some air. Will you excuse me?” Her voice quivers, just barely as she brushes past, making her way out the door.

  My hand reaches for the communicator in my pocket. They linger for a moment on the button as guilt makes my stomach churn.

  It’s for my family. I have to.

  I click the buttons twice to tell them she’s outside, and stick it back into my pocket before slipping through the front doors. Now, I only need to distract her.

  I follow her out, seeing her blonde head disappear around the corner into the trees. My heel crunches loudly on a leaf, breaking the stillness of the forest. If she hears, she doesn’t reveal it, a cigarette held neatly between two fingers.

  “Harlow?” I call, stepping around to see her face. She doesn’t look at me, but brings the cigarette to her lips, inhaling deeply.

  “Please don’t say anything. I just… I had to get out.” Her voice is a shaky whisper, which scares me. I’ve never seen this side of her, even after invading her head and seeing the memories within. Harlow doesn’t break down. She doesn’t cry. Harlow fights.

  “You wanna walk?” I ask, using my head to point towards the trail. I need to get her away from the building, just in case someone happens to see. She says nothing, but folds her arms over herself and walks in suit beside me.

  “Did you know Alex well?” I ask after a moment.

  Ignoring my question, she catches my gaze on her cigarette and gives a short, humorless laugh. “I know, judge me all you want. It was the only thing a
ble to help me after I escaped. Reed did me in real good. Never knew what a panic attack was until one day I was in a meeting with Bryce. Something triggered me and I lost it. Crying, screaming—all of it. Luckily it was Bryce, but uh—I just couldn’t handle daily life anymore.” She trails off, taking another tearful drag, and exhaling slowly. “I don’t do it a lot, except when I need really it. Tess caught me once and yelled at me about getting cancer for three days straight. I told her I didn’t care. Why should I?”

  I shake my head, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Her blue eyes meet my gaze before she drops them, smothering her cigarette with her foot and snapping her fingers to make its remains disappear. “He got his revenge already. The first time I refused him, he branded me. See this?” She turns around, shrugging off the sleeve of her dress. A large tattoo decorates her shoulder blade, spreading down towards her back. I realize that it moves, a sand timer, full of motion. The bottom is nearly filled, with only about a quarter of sand left in the top.

  “What—” I stammer, confused.

  “It’s my death sentence.” She kicks a rock angrily with her foot, “Isn’t Reed just a peach? He chose it because it shuts my body down slowly. Makes it all the more fun to die. It was your brother, actually, who did it. Reed tortured him, got in his mind, made him give me the tattoo. Reed told me he’ll take it off me if I help him. Since that’ll never happen, I guess I’m a time bomb.”

  “How did you escape?”

  “The first time wasn’t me, but some other powerful wizard that got us all out. Unfortunately, we were all caught and given these beauties for disobedience. Reed has a surprising amount of magic people working for him, thinking that it’ll get them the easy way out. It’s supposed to be a horrible death,” she says, tugging the shoulder of her dress back up.

  The communicator buzzes three times in my pocket: they have eyes on us.