by Jessica Gunn
Jaffrin and Derek exchanged quick, quiet words while White Flame looked on, staring at us with blank faces.
Finally, Jaffrin dismissed Derek and stepped back onto the platform. “Please excuse the interruption. It seems as though one of my top teams has run into a situation. I need to dismiss those in attendance.” Jaffrin looked at us briefly. “It’s Krystin.”
“The Daughter of Alzan?” the lead female White Flame demon asked. “What is wrong?”
Jaffrin, for the first time since the elite guard of Aloysius had entered the room, gave them a sharp look. With an even sharper tongue, he said, “That is none of your concern. Everything is being handled. Ben, please take your team and go upstairs. You are dismissed. Derek will fill you in and I will join you shortly.”
I swallowed hard, sweat slicking my brow. What’d happened to Krystin in the short time she and Shawn had been gone? She hadn’t looked good at the demon bar, but neither had he and the call wasn’t about him. At least he’d checked in with me once.
“Okay,” I said and practically jumped out of my chair, Rachel and Nate right behind me, and ran up the grand hall’s steps.
Derek stood outside of the door, a grave look on his face. “The healers are with her now, but I don’t know that there’s much they can do.”
My stomach dropped, my breath caught. “Healers?”
Derek nodded, then gestured toward the staircase at the other end of the hall. We followed him to it as he filled us in. “Her magik’s been twisted, much worse than the flare she was recorded to have a few weeks ago.”
“That wasn’t a true flare,” Nate said. “Her magik was tainted by an outside source. When the elemental magik combined with her ether-based power, her body revolted.”
Derek nodded as we proceeded up to the second floor to the quarantine chamber.
“That’s pretty much what the healers think happened tonight,” Derek continued. “I don’t know a lot about magik. They’ll fill you in. I need to be downstairs at the front desk in case anything else happens.”
“Are the local news stations still covering the earthquake?” Rachel asked.
Derek said, “Yes. And the other Circles are all calling. Their Leaders want to talk to Jaffrin, not realizing that the Ether Head Circle is still here.”
“They didn’t seem fazed by the news,” Nate said.
Derek shrugged. “That’s none of my business. I’m strictly the messenger. That’s my job. Now, go. I’ll be downstairs in case anything changes or you need to tell Jaffrin something before he’s done in there.”
Derek was gone without another word.
I rushed into the room ahead of Nate and Rachel and found Shawn on the outer side of the glass. Inside the chamber, Krystin lay on a cot with two healers standing above her, their hands hovering over her abdomen.
“How is she?” I asked Shawn.
He turned, his expression grave. “Giyano did something to her back at the demon bar. Pumped his magik into her or something. Her body shouldn’t be able to withstand it. She should be dead right now.”
Fear crept into my heart and strangled my throat. My lips moved, but no words came out as I stared past Shawn into the chamber where Krystin lay motionless. I’d only known her for a few weeks. Pretty much hated her for the first couple days. But now, after going after Shadow Crest together, I couldn’t imagine her not being a part of this team. I couldn’t imagine not having the feelings for her that I did.
“I don’t understand,” I said finally. “From day one, I’ve always been told ether and elemental don’t mix. Except with the Power. With Riley.”
“That’s supposed to be a universal truth,” Rachel added.
Shawn shook his head. “Thought so, too. Guess not.”
Nate shifted his weight from foot to foot. “There is a hypothesis that since there was no guarantee that both the Son and Daughter of Alzan would both have the same type of magik, that you two might be exempt because you share the same power.”
Shawn’s jaw clenched. “Even if that were true, it doesn’t explain why Giyano is doing this to Krystin. It seems like he has some sort of an interest in her wellbeing, as twisted as that is.”
“He did save her earlier tonight,” said Rachel. “Sort of. And he stepped in to help us save Riley back in Shadow Crest’s lair.”
Rage flashed red hot inside me. I slammed my fist on the glass, startling the healers inside the chamber. Too bad the action didn’t startle Krystin awake. “This is ridiculous. Giyano is a bastard and a traitor.”
“I think I know why he did it,” Nate said, looking at Krystin. “Tonight at least. And this isn’t the first time. He screwed with her magik before, remember? Her flare? And then he did it again in Shadow Crest’s lair. I felt her ether-magik darkening then. Now…” His eyes widened. “It’s bad. Even if it saved her life and the lives of everyone in Boston, it’s bad for her.”
My rage bubbled over, exploding like a geyser. “You knew?” I wheeled around on one foot. “Are you kidding me? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Nate held up his hand. “First of all, she said it was a one-time thing, so I’d given her the benefit of the doubt. Obviously, that wasn’t the truth because for the demonic magik to have progressed this severely, tonight’s events at the cianza aside, she’s had to have seen Giyano more than once. Second, it’s not like you asked.”
“You went behind my back, behind the entire team’s back, to hide something important from me.”
Nate lifted an eyebrow. “You mean like how you went behind the team’s back to take on solo missions and not tell anyone until Rachel caught you red-handed?”
My teeth ground together painfully. “That’s different.”
“Is it?”
Rachel walked up to the glass, watching the healers work. To no avail, it seemed. “I have to agree with Nate. You should have said something to the rest of us.”
“Fine.”
I looked at Shawn again, noticing for the first time in the past few minutes that he was wearing a crystal around his neck. One like the crystal Krystin’s mother had used to bind Riley’s powers.
“How long has this been going on for?” I asked Shawn.
“She started having issues almost right away,” he said. “Krystin got better when we arrived at her mother’s house but declined shortly after.”
I pointed to the crystal around his neck. “Did her mother bind your powers?”
He looked down briefly, then up again. “I asked her to. I don’t need my magik to fight—I’ve spent enough time without it. Having us both near a cianza with the Alzanian magik, even if it’s dormant within me, doesn’t seem like a good idea either.”
“Won’t change who and what you are,” I said. “That’s why Krystin doesn’t go to the city’s center. Her magik’s dormant, too.”
“Doesn’t mean anything,” Nate said. “I’m pretty sure I know what Giyano’s goal was tonight, and all the nights preceding this one where he forced his magik into her. And it’s the same reason Shawn’s okay. Or at least more okay than Krystin.”
“Than Kinder, too?” I asked. “Kinder also seemed unaffected by the cianza.”
“I think those with the Power don’t sway cianzas,” Nate said.
“Then what do you think about Giyano?”
Nate’s eyes hardened as he focused again on the healers. One had ether wrapped around their hands, a bright blue pulsing glow. Whatever they were doing didn’t appear to be working, and suddenly, I doubted there was anything that could save Krystin after all. But if Giyano had protected her from that water wraith demon, from Lady Azar, and now from the cianza and Kinder, he couldn’t have been trying to kill her… right?
“I think,” Nate said as he put a hand on the glass. Ether formed around his hand, glowing a pale yellow. “I’m pretty sure Giyano was trying to balance out Krystin’s magik.”
Because that made sense. “What would that do?”
“Think about it. On her own, Krystin probab
ly affects the balance on the cianza. That’s a given.”
“It’s why we removed her family from the city almost twenty-four years ago,” said Jaffrin, coming in from the hallway. “We were worried about her young magik being wild. Until the Blackwood witch side was bound or tamed during childhood, we couldn’t risk it.”
“And when she got older and closer to obtaining the Alzanian magik, you put her almost directly on top of the cianza?” I asked. “That doesn’t make sense, Jaffrin.”
His eyes narrowed on me. “It does considering the amount of protection that goes into keeping Cianza Boston balanced. The Fire Circle is based in Boston for a reason, Ben. Darkness has always used the city as a hub and so must we—to keep both they and the cianza in check. If we weren’t here, it’d tilt. And with Lady Azar and Shadow Crest taking an interest in both Riley and other operations in the city, adding Krystin to your team was a strategic decision.”
My stomach churned. “You knew?”
Jaffrin’s eyes met mine. “That Lady Azar was about to follow through with her plans? Yes. But we didn’t know her plans involved Riley. We didn’t know he had the Power.”
“But you knew she wanted to get to Alzan this whole time?” Rachel asked.
“It was the likeliest of scenarios, yes,” Jaffrin said as he focused his gaze on Krystin and the healers. “She wants the throne and to do that, she needs to oust Ammon. And since Ammon is the more stable of the twins, we’d prefer him over her if possible.”
“Which is why the Ether Head Circle so willingly let White Flame into our Headquarters,” I mumbled under my breath. “Naturally.”
Jaffrin nodded. “It’s a tenuous relationship at best. And Shawn and Krystin’s role regarding Alzan does not help matters. We were never sure when the Son and Daughter of Alzan would show up, just that they eventually would. The prophecy isn’t exactly specific in that regard.”
“And now Krystin’s in there about to die because of what Giyano did,” I said.
“No, again guys, I’m saying I think he saved her,” Nate said. “Regardless of this other crap. His magik inside of her balanced her out and stopped the cianza tremors from getting worse.”
“Until Kinder showed up,” Rachel said.
Nate nodded. “Yes.”
Shawn turned from the window and settled his gaze on Nate. “Giyano didn’t dive for me. I’m a witch. And part of that prophecy. But he gave magik to Krystin.”
“Which shouldn’t even be possible,” Jaffrin added.
No. It shouldn’t be. “He’s had an obsession with Krystin since she joined the team. That’s why it looked like he was saving her.”
“He was,” Nate said. “Kinder’s magik affects the cianza because even though the Power allows her to take abilities into herself, we don’t know that the magik actually leaves. Shawn, your magik is half-good and half-evil, essentially, no matter how you look at it.”
“Ember witch,” Shawn said. “That’s what I was thinking. Being a witch puts me on the Powers’ side, but the origin of my magik…”
“Evil,” Nate said. “Krystin’s a triple threat—a Hunter, a witch, and the Daughter of Alzan. If Giyano hadn’t been working his demonic magik into her, she’d have overwhelmed the cianza. He was trying to balance the nature of Krystin’s power. To neutralize it as best he could.”
“Except Krystin’s more powerful than Giyano,” Rachel said. “Supposedly, anyway.”
Shawn shook his head. “Not yet.”
I looked to Jaffrin, who stood with his arms crossed. What did he make of all of this? “Was this Giyano’s plan all along? To risk throwing elemental magik into her system, knowing it’d almost kill her, to… make her magik part-demon?”
He lifted his arms the slightest bit, as if he didn’t see the logic in it either. “I don’t know, Ben. That’s what it looks like.”
My fists clenched tight and my short fingernails dug into my palms. If Nate was right, if this had gone on for a lot longer than tonight, if she’d hidden this from us—from me—I didn’t know what I’d do. But everything Nate had guessed, everything Jaffrin agreed with, told me it was the truth.
“Krystin didn’t look too surprised to see Giyano there,” I said. “Or that he’d done what he did.”
Shawn shook his head. “No. She knew exactly what he was doing. She told her mother everything. Her mother confirmed the dark magik within her, by the way.”
“She got that mark on her hand weeks ago,” Nate said. “Right after Giyano attacked you guys outside the Guild. Remember?”
I nodded, rubbing my own hand in the spot she still wore his mark. We’d thought it was a tracking spell. How wrong we’d been. “So what now? We wait for Giyano’s magik to kill her?”
“I don’t think it will,” Jaffrin said as he rubbed his chin. “I think Nate’s right. If that’s the case, we’ll try to do what we can with the ether-shapers until she comes to. Until then, I’ve other matters to deal with.”
Like Kinder and whatever agreement the Ether Head Circle and White Flame had agreed to.
“Let me know when she wakes up,” Jaffrin said before leaving us on quick feet.
As soon as he was gone, my ability to hold myself together snapped. I seethed, heat lapping at my neck and cheeks. This had gone on for weeks before anyone had known. Anyone other than Nate, who’d done nothing.
I spun on him. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Nate didn’t budge. “Like I said, you were preoccupied. And I thought it’d only happened once.”
Once. If only. But even that would have been too often. My fists clenched again. I shoved them into my pockets before I swung at anything. “You said she must have gone to him willingly if she was able to withstand his magik this time, right?”
“Yeah,” he said slowly. “That’s the only explanation, given the ferocity Giyano showed about the whole cianza thing.”
Krystin had willingly gone to Giyano. To have her magik turned, or for another reason? It almost didn’t matter. Giyano had stolen my son, orders or not. Giyano had been responsible for so much of my pain, and the pain of every member on my team. Including Krystin herself.
And still she’d sought him out.
The betrayal stung, and in a span of five minutes I’d gone from worrying about Krystin, from having feelings for her, to utter disgust. But I planted myself in the closest chair and stood watch while the healers worked anyway. Because I was this team’s leader. And I’d lead her until she woke up and explained herself.
Then, whatever was between us, it’d end. For good.
THE DAY PASSED in slow monotony. The ether-shaper healers did what they could. Nate had even jumped in at one point. But in the end, Krystin’s fate was her own. She’d wake up if she wanted to wake up. If she didn’t, she’d take this whole plane of existence with her in death.
Dammit, Krystin. Don’t be that stupid. Or selfish.
I rested my elbows on the top of the chair beneath me. I sat in it backward, staring at the cot where Krystin still lay. Her condition hadn’t changed, which was both good and bad. Nate and Rachel had wanted to stay with me—Shawn too—but I’d sent them all down to the training center to blow off steam and help train whatever new Hunters were down there. They, like me, needed something to do while we waited for Krystin and the answers I hoped she’d give. But unlike me, they weren’t forced to sit here and do the waiting.
No, that was reserved for me alone.
I leaned backward and stretched, my back popping in thanks. That was when I noticed Krystin’s hand move beneath her. She sat up slowly, her eyes closed until she held her head with one hand. She groaned.
My stomach flip-flopped, but I held my ground. I wasn’t standing from this chair and I wasn’t going to rush to the quarantine chamber door and check on her either. Not until I knew for sure the extent of damage Giyano had done, or whose side she was really on.
Maybe Krystin was a Darkness plant in the Fire Circle. Maybe she really was the Daughter of Alzan
, but she was out to use the power for Darkness. But if Giyano really hated Lady Azar as much as he seemed to, I didn’t see why Krystin would band with him to play ball for Lady Azar’s father.
Krystin’s gaze flitted from her legs to the cot she sat on, then to the wall of glass separating us. “What happened?”
I swallowed hard. Please tell me she remembers. “I think you know.”
Krystin looked down at her hands and her eyes went wide. The black, inky veins on her left arm ran all the way up to her collarbone. “Giyano. Oh, my god. The cianza. Ben—”
I straightened my back but didn’t otherwise move. As long as the speakers worked so we could hear each other, there was no reason for me to leave this chair. “It’s fine. He chased Kinder off and the tremors stopped.”
“But Shawn and I, the Alzanian power…”
I shrugged. “Turns out that’s not really a thing when Giyano steps in to balance your magik out.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Pointing to her veins, I said, “His magik, Krystin. We know. Nate told us he’s trying to poison you with his magik because the Son and Daughter of Alzan can withstand some of both magik types, but not a ton of it. Nate thinks that in poisoning you, Giyano kept your prophesized power from tipping the cianza completely. So in a way, I guess you have Giyano to thank for the cianza not blowing.”
And the fact that Shawn had gotten the both of them out of there when he had. And that Kinder had run. Dammit. We did owe a lot of things to that bastard.
My stomach roiled at the thought. I’d never owe that demon anything.
Krystin’s eyes met mine again, but not for long before she looked away. “Ben, I can explain.”
I chuckled darkly. “I hope so because I was only waiting until you tried to explain yourself—to humor you, mostly—before telling Jaffrin I want you off this team.”
Krystin jumped as though the words had been a physical blow. Good. I hoped she enjoyed that whiplash as much as I’d enjoyed mine earlier. “Excuse me?”