by Rain Oxford
Darwin shrugged. “Well, we knew that. Did he give any details?”
“That Remington should go to Quintessence.”
“Remington Hunt will run to safety the day Hell freezes over,” Addison scoffed.
I nodded my agreement. “That about covers it. She went there this morning for business, but she didn’t tell me why. I wonder if Vincent told Hunt. If he did, I wouldn’t put it past Hunt to trap his daughter there. He might have even lied to her to get her there.”
“If that’s the case, who’s going to run Quintessence after Remington commits patricide?” Darwin asked.
People called her an opinionated spitfire, or a bitch if they were brave enough. My ex-wife was a bitch, though, so I disagreed. Regina had been selfish and would scream obscenities at people if they didn’t do what she wanted. She was only sweet when she was manipulating people and had an ultimatum for every occasion.
Remy would meet any challenge with a tongue sharp enough to decalcify a person’s spine, but she never threatened someone if she wasn’t provoked. She was passionate about protecting her students and staff. There was nothing selfish about her and she regularly put others’ needs ahead of her own.
Ignoring Darwin’s reasonable question, I said, “When she does come back, I’m going to visit Stephen’s coven to solve a hunter problem.”
“I’ll get a temp,” Darwin volunteered immediately.
“No, you and Henry should stay. I want to protect the school, but Stephen needs my help and Vincent’s vision could be months away. As long as you’re here, I know there will still be a school standing when I return. Plus, Darwin can contact me from here.”
Henry’s expression was conflicted. He wanted to offer his help as well, but he couldn’t leave his son if there was a chance of something happening.
“I’m going to check in on the classes for the next few days, and have Mr. Yuun and Mr. Murphy do the same.”
“And miss all that paperwork you love so much?”
* * *
James Murphy (the assistant principal of the South) was eating breakfast, so I asked him to keep an eye out for anything strange with the students. He was a scholarly-looking man with narrow, silver-rimmed glasses and styled brown hair. He had an average build with a business suit on under his wizard robe.
He nodded. “Sure.” He didn’t bother to question me since weird things happened all the time. From the original staff, I learned that it was actually a very tame year so far. I mean, we only came close to the end of the world once since I started at the school… so far.
I found Gryphon Yuun (the assistant principal of the North) in the hallway of the North. He was six-five and muscular, and he could glare down an enemy like a shifter, but he was one of the kindest people I knew. I couldn’t call him a gentle giant, though, because anyone who would try to hurt one of his students would wish they were facing a gun instead of him.
Young children were making their way to class, so I waited until they dispersed to talk to him. When a little girl passed us, I frowned, because her books were hovering beside her. “That’s excellent control for a girl that age, isn’t it?” I asked.
Mr. Yuun shook his head. “That’s not telekinesis; Isela’s imaginary friend is holding her books.”
“What?”
“Isela and her imaginary friend, Zoila, take turns doing their homework and holding books.”
“How does an imaginary friend do homework?”
“I have no idea, but Zoila gets better grades. They’re both in therapy.”
“I see. I was going to ask you to keep an extra close eye on the students for a while, just to make sure there’s nothing strange going on, but that might not be practical.”
“Strange is the norm around here,” Mr. Yuun agreed.
* * *
My first few classroom visits were typical. Terri Holland, the history teacher of students fourteen to seventeen, was teaching her class about the roots of elemental magic, so I stuck around. She was a pretty, full-figured, middle-aged woman with silver-speckled, sandy blond hair and chocolate-brown eyes.
“Elemental magic is a powerful branch of magic. A hundred years ago, elemental magic referred to the manipulation of magic, and it still does. However, our philosophers have found that all magic is created by elementals.”
“Philosophers?” I asked. I knew her well enough to butt in, as she didn’t mind at all.
“Magic is subjective rather than scientific, so we don’t have scientists.”
“So divination is made by elementals?” Kaisy asked. “How does that work?”
“You incorporate the elements into all magic. Magic is like invisible energy or a force that you can control. This energy is created by elementals. Thus, all magic is technically elemental. Correspondences, like colors, oils, gemstones, etcetera, are tools to help you control magic.”
“What about the magic we do without any tools?” Leelu asked.
“Psychic magic is what we call magic that uses no correspondences. Mind control, telekinesis, and telepathy. However, the lines are further blurred because divination often uses crystal balls, and all psychic magic can be enhanced with tools like crystals and wands. You can also create fire without tools, so it is technically both elemental and psychic.
“Now, some people consider elemental magic to be limited to manipulating the elements. However, the council’s definition is that any magic that incorporates nature directly is elemental magic.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to have clear labels?” Kenneth asked.
“It’s difficult to label magic due to the complex history of magic. Druidism, witchcraft, Egyptian… There are so many different classifications of magic that are only different because of the culture and religion they were built around. In truth, it’s all the same thing. Magic is based on belief.”
“Why isn’t there an elemental for the soul?” Anderson asked.
“Maybe there is, and we just haven’t discovered it yet,” Ms. Holland said.
“My dad said we should study chaos magic because it’s the best,” Haden said.
“It is not the best by any means,” Ms. Holland corrected quickly. “Chaos magic is unbalanced. It basically has the same goal as all the other magicks; bend the universe to your will. However, it focuses on belief rather than set correspondences and specific tools. It implies that the mind is all powerful and practitioners don’t concern themselves with balance.”
“I want to specialize in elemental magic,” Kaisy said.
“What do you specialize in, Mr. Sanders?” Kita asked.
“I suppose psychic magic.”
“What element is hardest to learn?” Marco asked.
“Can we have elemental clubs?” Jessica asked before I could answer Marco.
“That wouldn’t be fair to shifters,” Kenny, a wolf shifter, said.
“Why don’t we learn elemental magic here like they do at Quintessence?” Marco asked.
“Because they have separate classes for shifters, fae, and wizards there,” Kaisy said.
“Why don’t we?” Jose asked.
“Moving on,” Ms. Holland said. She usually encouraged discussions, but she also had a list of topics to get into during class and she didn’t like to miss any of them. Unfortunately, Jose, Kaisy, and Marco were too busy talking about the university to hear her. “Settle down,” she insisted.
“Hey, shut up!” Jessica said to her classmates.
“You shut up!” Marco snapped.
“Be quiet!” Ms. Holland demanded.
“I’m sorry,” Jose said.
“I’m sorry, too,” Kaisy added.
“So am I,” Marco said.
“Don’t be sorry; be quiet!”
Everyone shouted at once, “We’re sorry!”
* * *
I reached out with my power for a familiar mind. Ghost appeared on my desk. He was welcoming, yet irritated. “Devon Sanders, still using me as a messenger.”
“Sorry, Ghost
. I would absolutely invite you to have tea or something if I did that kind of thing. I need to talk to my uncle. Can you deliver a message?”
“Yes, but be quick. He is about to open a tin of chicken.”
Ghost and Vincent could see through each other’s eyes, but I preferred to use letters. I grabbed the notepad from the nightstand and wrote a quick letter to Vincent, telling him about my visions and the kids, and asking if he knew anything. I barely had a chance to give it to Ghost before he vanished.
A few minutes later, Vincent appeared out of the darkness. Even though he was in his seventies, he looked to be in his forties. He was six-four and trim with short black hair. He looked every bit the wizard, right down to the thin scar crossing from the far end of his left eyebrow to the tip of his left nostril. His left eye was icy blue, while his right was dark purple.
“It’s good to see you safe, Devon,” he said.
“Ditto. I’m sorry to interrupt your… alone time with my mother.”
“She’s in the shower. Besides, anything to do with visions is important. Unfortunately, from your description, I’m afraid I can’t be much help. Both of your visions sound like a dream to me.”
“But in the first one, I spoke to a girl who gave me a name and general location. Would you check into it? Check on Chris Williams in Siloam Springs and listen for reports of missing kids, especially in the paranormal community.”
“I will do what I can, but I cannot use computers. You focus on protecting the school.”
* * *
The next three days were fairly typical, considering the holiday. Even the Halloween pranks stopped, and the students got back to learning. Most of the students got their energy out during the Moon Night celebrations. The first and third nights, when the moon was ninety-nine percent full, were fun, but the night it was a hundred percent was a night to remember.
I felt bad that Darwin couldn’t be with his pack, but he did run with the other shifters. It wasn’t just wolves; foxes, cats, bears, and even rarer shifters filled the forest in their animal forms. It was like a family gathering. Many of the fae danced or played music in the open field.
Wizards weren’t left out, either. They created illusionary displays like fireworks that didn’t fill the sky with smoke, require cleanup, or endanger anyone. They created elemental monsters to duel and turned the lake into an ice skating rink. They would never have been allowed to do this any other time.
Throwbacks were included as much as possible, but most of them stuck close to the teachers for protection. The children who were too young to help were voluntarily mentored by older students.
I wished it was a yearly celebration, because I hadn’t seen anything that brought the paranormal kids together so perfectly before. We were all sad to see it end.
I was even more disappointed that Remington missed it. She worked so hard for everyone, yet she was missing the good moments. I really hoped Hunt was doing something at the university that could help fix their relationship. I knew a lot of her issues with other people were actually caused by the problems between Remy and her father.
* * *
Thursday, November 17
When Remington returned late in the evening, I asked her how her visit went.
“Meh,” was her answer.
“That sounds like it’s hiding a lot. Do you want to talk about it?”
She shook her head. “My father wanted to discuss curriculum matters, and I couldn’t really refuse since he ‘gave’ me the school.” She sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have taken it. I wanted to get away from Quintessence, him, and…”
“Flagstone?”
She nodded. “So why the hell did I think this,” she gestured to her desk, “would be any better? This isn’t away from him. Anyway, I got there and he demanded that I include vampire students.”
“Demanded?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes. “Insisted,” she amended. “You know we can’t have vampire kids here.”
I shrugged. “They make synthetic blood and glass that protects vampires from sunlight. Surely they can make something to protect throwbacks from vampire kids.”
She scowled. “You’re on his side, too?”
“I’m not on his side, no. I’m just wondering if you’re opposing it because he wants you to do it.”
“I’m not that much of a bitch.”
“You’re not a bitch. You’re just overly passionate about being strict,” I teased. She punched me in the stomach, but since she was playing, it didn’t hurt… much. She really sucked at pulling her punches. To protect myself, I wrapped my arms around her and landed us both on my bed. I didn’t do anything else, though.
She lapsed into thought for a while. Finally, she said, “What if he just wanted an excuse to talk to me?”
I kissed her shoulder. “You’re the most important person in the world to him. I think he would discuss grass growing if it meant spending time with you.”
“He’s always there if I want to talk to him.”
“Our lives have been in danger so many times in the past few years. You were kidnapped by John. There’s going to come a day when your father’s not there.”
“That’s not true. My father’s always going to be there.”
“It might be in a hundred years or two, but it will happen someday. I just hope you tell him everything you want to say by then.” I told her about my uncle’s warning. She laughed at the idea of hiding out at the university. “I’m glad Vincent didn’t tell my father. He would have locked me in the dungeon. By the way, my father said he won’t be able to give you lessons for a couple of weeks because of some other meetings he has. He brushed me off when I asked who he was meeting with.”
For a few months, I had been getting “soul lessons” from Hunt every Friday in an attempt to better master my mind control. I was discouraged at first because I didn’t think they were helping me, but he said I was progressing fine. From what I could tell, it was meditating and reflecting on things, so I wasn’t disappointed that we had to miss it.
“Aside from your father, how is the university managing?”
“Without its hero, you mean?”
“No, I don’t mean that.”
“It’s the students who say it. They’re alright. Things have been pretty tame so far. The consensus is that it’s ‘boring’ without you.”
“I guess shit does follow me.”
She shrugged. “It follows all powerful wizards. Magic is attracted to magic, including magical creatures and magical danger.”
“Well, maybe when I go to Stephen’s coven, I’ll draw the danger away from the school. Let me know if anything happens, though. Or if you think something strange might be happening.”
She kissed me. “I can handle it if something does, but it’s nice to have backup. When are you leaving?”
“I figured I would head out there tonight and be ready for hunters by morning.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need my help.”
Remy was exceptional at magic, to no one’s surprise, but I expected that my best tool in this case was my mind control. “I will,” I said.
“Maybe you should take Dorian.” Remington’s familiar was a cat, and although he didn’t do anything wrong, he and Remy weren’t close. She hadn’t intended to call him and was still trying to prove that she could handle the school without anyone’s help.
“I don’t mind if he pops in once in a while, but I don’t think he would enjoy most of it.”
* * *
Friday, November 18
The drive wasn’t fun. The downside to the school being so off the grid was that it took forever to get anywhere. Most of the trip was on backwoods roads. By the time I got on city roads, they were mostly deserted. I reached Stephen’s coven shortly after four in the morning.
Stephen’s territory was vast, so most of his coven members didn’t live at the mansion. The manicured yard I pulled into was deceptive because the mansion was a two-story Gothic monster crouched
halfway up the hill.
I was greeted at the door by a young vampire, who said that Stephen was expecting me. Before he could take me anywhere, however, Marcus pushed him out of the way. “I got this, Joe. He’s my brother.”
Marcus had scruffy black hair, bright blue eyes, and sharp features that made him appear older than his twenty-six years. He was six-foot-tall and athletic in a lithe way. He was a self-proclaimed computer nerd, as well as a paranoid flight-risk. He used to be on the run from his father and would probably never be truly comfortable in the same place for long.
Although we weren’t brothers, I would never correct him. Both of us had witnessed his father kill his mother. When the police failed to protect Marcus, I stepped in.
“Sure,” Joe said. “I’m going to bed early. The new baby cries all day long. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was human.”
“Vampire babies don’t cry?” I asked.
“Not during the day,” Joe answered. “It’s a natural instinct we’re born with to survive. If a baby cries during the day, he could be found by the enemy and killed. Most children lose their sense of daylight around puberty.”
“That seems counterproductive,”
Joe nodded. “Maybe, but the point is, it’s strange that he cries during the day.”
“Could something be upsetting him?” I asked. “Maybe the hunters?”
“The hunters don’t hound us all day.”
“Maybe it’s the shifter day guards.”
Joe was more interested in sleep than discussion, so he left us. Marcus guided me through the halls.
The mansion was modern with high ceilings, blank white walls, and sophisticated furniture that looked uncomfortable.
“What’s the deal with the hunters?” I asked.
“I’ll take you through the surveillance videos, but I’ll let Stephen explain first. He likes that.” He led me into a massive study. Packed bookshelves lined two walls while a fireplace occupied most of a third. There was a large desk, two chairs, a couch, and a coffee table. Books and papers were piled on most of the available space, as well as some esoteric odds and ends. There was a large window on the east wall with light-blocking curtains. Treated glass and films could protect vampires from sunlight, but their eyes were still very sensitive to light.