by Rain Oxford
“What the hell?” Remy asked, reaching out for him.
“Watch it!” Darwin squeaked. “You almost touched me.”
“You didn’t move?” I asked.
“Of course not.”
“You disappeared.”
“That’s impossible. I’m right here!”
“New plan. Henry, you tell the staff to get the kids inside their rooms. The primary goal is to keep the kids safe and calm. Darwin, get dressed and hole up in your room so that no one touches you.”
“But I want to help.”
“You’re invisible and we don’t know why.”
“Okay. I’m going, but if I wolf out like the kids, I’m gonna bite people. I’ll be the ghost wolf.”
“Go!”
“I’m going! You may not see me naked, but I don’t want to be naked in front of the kiddies.” His clothes vanished from the ground. “Oh, and you can find me in Amy’s room. I’m not passing up the opportunity to have invisible sex.”
“We’re working!” Remy reminded him.
Henry and I knew he was joking to distract us from worrying, but he was going to set Remington off if he didn’t stop.
“Darwin, get to safety. Since shifters are shifting, they might attack. We need to separate the kids into three rooms; shifters in one, wizards and fae in one, and throwbacks in one. Get the kids out of the North, too. Then we can decide what to do next.” I grabbed Henry’s arm when he started to walk away to follow my orders. “Remington?”
After a second, she nodded. “We don’t have an auditorium, so get them into the East. Put the fae and wizards in the library, because it’s the largest room.”
Henry looked to me for a moment before getting to work. Remy and I told the teachers and staff the plan, so it wasn’t difficult to round up the students. Unlike during a catastrophe at Quintessence, none of the students here tried to do their own thing.
As soon as the adults had a plan, the kids calmed down. Even the shifter children went with it. Since most of the students and staff were still asleep, it was a slow process and the kids were more confused than panicked. The entire time we worked to keep everything together, my intuition pushed against my nerves, warning me that something was wrong… as if I didn’t know that.
Along with the sigils that were scattered around the property (including the lake and the walls of the mansions) there were also thick, glowing red lines that made a pentagram around the buildings and then disappeared into the distance. We were inside a giant pentagram that spanned the entire property.
* * *
Once the students were secured with adult supervision, the employees demanded answers. Unfortunately, Remington had none.
I touched one of the symbols, and nothing happened. That didn’t mean the students should touch it, but at least I didn’t have to worry about someone bursting into flames on contact.
Henry, Remington, and I decided to walk to the edge of the school grounds to see how far the sigils continued. Even with the early morning daylight, the glowing symbols were ominous.
Unfortunately, Mr. Yuun joined us, and I didn’t have a good excuse for why he couldn’t. “I heard you three were outside when this started,” he said.
“Devon and I were,” Remington corrected.
“I was asleep, like everyone else,” Henry agreed.
“I think the curse woke most of the fae students,” Mr. Yuun said.
“It’s a good idea to question them,” I suggested. Fae were extremely in tune with magic. While wizards could learn to do magic, all fae were born able to do it automatically.
“Where is Dani?” Mr. Yuun asked.
“She got out of here ahead of us.”
“Wasn’t that a little early?”
“She had some important phone calls to take.”
“Did you know this was going to happen?”
“No,” she answered. Mr. Yuun didn’t look like he was going to drop it, though, so she continued. “She was delivering other information. Council business.” We reached the end of the property and stopped. “This is where my father’s ward started, but it’s been replaced with the enemy’s ward.”
We all stared in silence for a moment. There were two lines making a double circle around the school. In the two-foot-wide space between the inner and outer lines were more sigils. The entire school was in a magic circle.
“Who on Earth could break my father’s ward, let alone that quickly?” Remington finally asked.
“The wizard council,” I said. “I just can’t imagine that. Becky would have contacted me if the others were getting out of control.” I regretted not letting Marcus enhance my phone, but there was no use in crying over spilled milk. The voicemail I had gotten still bothered me because I didn’t know if it was some kind of futuristic warning or if it had been a trap.
“They could have stopped her. Besides, maybe you don’t know her all that well. She is Adams’ daughter.”
Grayson Adams, a high standing member of the previous, corrupt council, was the opposite of Becky.
“They’re also the only ones I can think of who can do this,” Remington continued, gesturing to the portals. Then she frowned. “Come to think of it, I don’t think they can. The old council could, but the new members are pretty young.”
“Well, speculating won’t get us any answers,” Mr. Yuun said, stepping forward.
“What are you…” I trailed off when Mr. Yuun stepped through the barrier and vanished. “Fuck.”
“I’ll use the shadow pass to find him,” Henry said.
I scanned the immediate area for anyone watching before nodding. “Do it in the forest.”
Henry, Remington, and I went to the cover of the trees and then Henry closed his eyes to focus. Nothing happened. A moment later, he opened his eyes and frowned. “That’s odd.”
“Maybe all of our magic is affected,” Remington mused. Then she motioned with her hand and a tiny flame formed above her palm. “It’s a little weak, but otherwise---” She was cut off as the minuscule fire exploded. She shrieked, jumped back, and formed a ward… but the energy shield crackled with electricity.
I reached for her automatically to help her, only for a bolt of electricity to shoot from the shield to me. It wasn’t the first time I was electrocuted, but it wasn’t something a person could really get used to. I ended up on my back and the world grew black.
* * *
I was once again in a room. This time, it looked like the living room in a home. There was nothing supernatural about the couch or the coffee table. In fact, the flat screen television suggested it was the home of a human. What wasn’t ordinary was the shadows of children and teens that moved across the walls and floor.
Fire licked at the curtains and across the furniture, but nothing was damaged by it. The same young boy that I saw in my previous vision was huddled on the floor. I knew better than to approach him, though.
“Can you tell me who you are?” I asked. He didn’t respond. “Can you hear me? Do you need help?”
“You have to make her stop.” The voice was that of a child’s, but it wasn’t from the boy.
“Make who stop?”
* * *
I was on my back in the grass. Remington was leaning over me from my right and Henry was on my left in his jaguar form. Remy’s head dropped onto my chest with relief. “Thank gods. I thought I killed you.”
“Rocky would have shown up if it were fatal.” I tried to sit up, but my body was less responsive than I expected. “Maybe it was a little more serious than I first thought, though.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me up. She was impressively strong for her size.
“I’m sorry. I’ve never lost control of my fire or shield like that.”
“I figured,” I said.
“I don’t know why that happened.”
“I do. Darwin’s mother can camouflage things. He turned invisible. Shifters are shifting uncontrollably. You created a little flame and it turned into a bomb.”
&nbs
p; “Our magic is being amplified?”
“To the point of chaos. We have to warn the students and staff not to do magic if they can help it.”
Henry showed his agreement by pushing against me.
“Are you alright?” I asked him.
He nodded but didn’t shift back. I reckoned he couldn’t, but he wasn’t chewing on anyone’s entrails, so at least the cat wasn’t completely in control. Then again, since exposing his parents as the murderers they were and recovering his son, Henry’s jaguar was a lot calmer. His saber fangs always made him look dangerous, though.
“I’ll slow you down,” I said. “I’m going to contact my familiar and catch up in a minute.”
“Are you sure?” Remington asked.
I nodded. I didn’t want her next to me if something went wrong. Even if she knew the real reason I wanted to be alone, she couldn’t let the students down. “Also, check on Kubota. I saw him help get the students inside, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to him.” We really didn’t need to add a shark to our problems. She kissed me and ran. “Henry, you should go with her to protect her.”
He snarled.
“Alright then.” My intuition had saved my life numerous times and could alert me to unseen dangers, but when I was in someone else’s mind or a vision, I was vulnerable, just like when he shifted. Although this wasn’t the case when I was contacting my familiar, I still appreciated his loyalty.
Rocky’s presence was always in the back of my mind, so it didn’t take me long to realize what was wrong. I couldn’t sense her. I focused on her mind to no avail. It was like she never existed in the first place. She just wasn’t there. I pushed my magic out in search of her.
Nothing.
“Something is really wrong.” I pushed my magic into Henry’s mind and easily read his thoughts. He was worried about his son, but he knew the cub was safer than we were. His jaguar was agitated because he could feel something wrong with magic. However, since he didn’t use magic like fae and wizards, he couldn’t tell what was wrong.
We headed back to the East. Remington canceled clubs for the day and warned the staff and students not to do any magic. At this point, the adults had no more control over their powers than the kids.
Most of the shifters shifted, and those who didn’t acted more like their animal forms than usual. The wolf shifters were organized and calm, whereas the more anti-social shifters were edgy and had to be separated. For example, lion shifter Jason stayed in his human form, but he snarled and growled at anyone who came near him. Tasmanian tiger shifter Lindsey, on the other hand, was ordinarily shy, quiet, and nervous, which matched his animal’s characteristics. In contrast to the other shifters, he overcame his phobia-induced anxiety to help the younger shifters stay calm. Fortunately, Kubota showed no sign of his animal nature. Then again, I didn’t know what a shark would act like out of the water.
The fae were affected just as strongly. While wizards could avoid using magic, magic was as much a part of fae as the animal was to shifters. The fae with elemental-based powers had the most trouble. Sam set himself on fire, Vicky froze everything she touched, Eve burst all the pipes in the girls’ bathroom next to the library, and Ashley and Venus created a thunderstorm inside the library that forced us to relocate the students. They weren’t the only ones having problems, though. Amir, whose power was mind reading, couldn’t keep his classmates’ thoughts out of his head and had a breakdown. Aiden, who could drain another person’s energy, had to be sent to a room on the other side of the school to protect the others.
Throwbacks weren’t unaffected, either. They couldn’t control their magic or shifting abilities under normal circumstances. Some of them had no magic or shifting abilities, but they still felt agitated. Willow, the daughter of a forest fae and black leopard, couldn’t do magic or shift. Instead, her black feline ears were always visible through her bright blue dyed hair. Karla, half wizard, half wolf, shifted her teeth and bit Willow. Willow screamed, and a glass vase of wildflowers on a table and the windows of the library exploded. Obviously, she had latent magic.
“We have to separate them,” Remington said.
“Yes, definitely. I suggest we send them back to their bedrooms and slow everything down until we can get more information on what’s going on.”
Remington nodded. “Students, stay calm and try your hardest not to do any magic. If you see anything strange at all, you must tell a teacher or staff member immediately. Teachers and staff, lead them to their rooms and then go back to your own rooms and sit tight until you receive further instructions. Since you won’t be teaching, you need to divide your time between helping us figure out what is going on and guarding the students in the North and West. Also, no one is to go near the glowing symbols.”
She repeated these commands to the shifters and fae groups, adding that the shifters shouldn’t try to shift, even back into their person form. Kubota disappeared sometime during the commotion, so I figured he had returned to his room.
It was sunrise when we got the children into the North and West and returned to the Center. Two dozen teachers met in the center common room to discuss what our plan was, including Henry in his jaguar form and Darwin, who was visible again.
“Right now, we don’t have any answers,” Remy said. “Our main priority is keeping the kids safe. We’re going to have to separate some of them.”
Unlike at the university, the students were grouped together by type of paranormal, so they weren’t as much a danger to each other as they would be if it were a fae, wizard, and shifter per room. I liked Quintessence’s system, however. I wouldn’t have become friends with Darwin and Henry if we hadn’t been roomed together.
It’s a damn good thing there are no vampires here, Ms. Holland thought. I’d only been skimming for trouble and didn’t need to confront her on it, but I made a mental reminder to write it down.
“There’re rooms under the library,” I reminded Remington quietly.
She nodded. “We’ll have to search them first, and even if they’re empty, I don’t know if we should have them that close to Vitalis’s vessel.”
“Good point. Maybe we can block off that area… without magic.”
“Since we’re trapped, we don’t have many choices,” Mr. Yuun said, walking in. We gaped at him.
“You’re alive?” I asked. I glanced at Remy and she subtly nodded that she saw him as well.
“I walked through the barrier and ended up on the other side of the property. I tried it a couple of times. It’s a loop. We can’t get out.”
“Shit.”
* * *
Since Henry’s access to the shadow pass was affected, I wondered if it was demon magic to blame, so I paid a visit to Dr. Martin.
Andrew Martin was a demon, like Langril, as well as a necromancer, chemist, and healer. He was quirky on the good days and creepy on most days. The infirmary more closely resembled an evil villain’s science lab than a hospital room. Shelves covered most of the walls, full of potions, ingredients, utensils, boxes, and books. There was a sink, several randomly placed gas burners, four hospital beds, and metal tables.
Dr. Martin was a scruffy, thin, six-foot-tall, ginger man. He was sitting at a stool, reading a book while a sinister-looking, sulfur-smelling goop bubbled in a beaker a few feet to his right. The beaker wasn’t over a flame, it was just boiling on the counter.
“Hello, Devon,” he said politely, although he didn’t bother to look up from his book.
To my surprise, Kubota was on a medical bed, unconscious. “What happened to him?”
“He requested to be sedated to stop his animal from emerging.”
“That’s good. I remember that Henry used to do that for his jaguar under the full moon. So, what can you tell me about those sigils and that ward? Is it from your world?”
“I’m afraid I can’t help you this time. I have no idea what’s going on, except that it has nothing to do with Dothra or my people.”
“Are you sure?�
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“Dothra’s magic comes from the soul. This is a problem of elemental magic. Try to contact Logan.”
He had a good point, so I headed to my room and tentatively unleashed my magic. Unfortunately, I couldn’t sense his or Flagstone’s mind. I also couldn’t contact Vincent or Ghost. Without much hope, I suggested Remy call Dorian, but she said she’d already tried and he hadn’t replied.
We were on our own.
* * *
Darwin was able to stay visible for a few hours, but he did growl and snarl at other teachers as his wolf’s personality was brought to the surface. This caused Ponni Murali (the science teacher for students aged five to nine) to shift into her snow leopard form and attack. Henry then shifted and broke up the fight before Darwin had to shift. We needed Darwin in his person form, using his human mind to help us with the case.
He wasn’t the only teacher struggling, though. Amelia decided to stay away from the children after she accidentally picked up the panic of one student and spread it to everyone around her. Her magic would have been helpful if she could control it.
Teachers who usually had excellent control were suddenly having as much trouble as the students. Some of the more powerful wizards were doing magic accidentally.
Most of the teachers and staff started avoiding me as soon as they learned that magic was out of control, as if distance could protect them. Remy treated me normally, but there was tension between us. While she wasn’t afraid of me reading her mind, I needed to be careful about everything I said. I didn’t want to accidentally force someone to do something.
Surprisingly, my magic didn’t feel out of control. For the safety of everyone in the school, I decided I had to test it. I couldn’t practice on Darwin because his brain was too dangerous, so I asked Henry if I could test my magic on him. He didn’t hesitate before agreeing.
We went to the lake to be as far away from the students as possible. The lake was set away from the school buildings, inside the forest. We sat on the wooden dock, although it was more like a diving board because no one ever took a boat out on it. It had been used for swimming before indoor pools were built in the West and North. Paranormal teachers were pretty damned adamant that children learn to swim.