Blood Magic

by Holly Hook

  I had so many questions and no answers. I flopped down on the bed and thought of Dad and where he might be right now, but nothing good came to me and I forced myself to turn my thoughts elsewhere. They drifted to Xavier's blue eyes flecked with purple, the same color as his magic. No wonder he had to wear those sunglasses. I couldn't help but think that it was a shame that he had to hide something so cool.

  I lay there for a long time, waiting for my body to calm down. At last, my muscles relaxed and I could sink a bit into the bed. I closed my eyes and made a silent promise to Dad that I would get him out of whatever he was trapped in, even if I had to go through Thoreau to do it.

  But I wasn't sure if I could--and it wasn't just because an ancient demon baron stood in the way.

  * * * * *

  Xavier had to knock as loud as he could on the wooden door to wake me up.

  "Alyssa. You've been sleeping forever," he said. "Isn't two hours enough?"

  I forced my eyes open to candlelight. Some of the candles were burned down quite a bit. He was right. I'd been lying here for a while.

  I sat up. At least Xavier hadn't burst in without knocking. He had some sense.

  The test. I was supposed to begin.

  "Hold on," I said, dread creeping up into my gut like a black, polluted lake. I remembered Trish's lecture about not having enough...nourishment...before battle. I had the feeling this test wouldn't be some multiple choice or essay thing.

  It wasn't the swinging of swords and weapons that bothered me. I was fine with that. But being forced to show my real nature in front of others...forget it.

  "Don't take too long," he said. "I was trying to let you get a little bit of rest so I gave you an extra half hour. I had the feeling you needed it."

  "Thanks," I said, really meaning it. I could have slept for longer, but now that I was up and rummaging through the closet I felt a lot more refreshed--but still a bit hungry. I shoved the thought out of my mind and instead asked Xavier what time it was.

  "Two thirty," he said. "A.M."

  I was usually awake at this hour so that didn't bother me. I did the math. Dad had been missing for hours now. I remembered the old ravioli on the desk by his office. He might have been taken as early as mid-afternoon, maybe even as far back as lunch time. He'd been gone up to fourteen hours. It was more than enough time for a lot of bad things to have happened to him.

  I grabbed the black tank top and threw on some jeans. I decided to switch to tennis shoes if I was supposed to be training. Once I'd combed my hair and checked to make sure my teeth were still good and filed--they were growing back and getting just a bit too pointy, crap--I opened the door to find Xavier standing there, minus his hat, trench coat and glasses.

  I hadn't seen him fully out of his disguise before. The first thing I noticed was that his magical wood smoke smell was stronger than ever, as if he'd been wearing the coat to hide it all along. The second thing I noticed was that his skin was perfect and his hair really did spill around his ears in that amazing anime-fashion.

  Yes, he was dressed. He wore jeans a lot like mine along with a regular gray T-shirt that wouldn't stand out in a crowd. If it wasn't for his eyes, he looked Normal, if not beautiful. I wanted to touch him, to see if he was real, but I shook my head to snap out of it. He was here to test me and fight with me, not swoon me. And besides, he was too annoying to fall for and I still had a Dad to save.

  “Come on,” he said. “The testing starts in five minutes. We have to hurry.”

  Xavier ushered me down the hall and I followed, feeling clueless and like I was going to make a fool of myself. Or I'd have to let people see things I didn't want anyone to see.

  We walked fast for a long time and Xavier was able to stay ahead of me, mainly because I didn't want to get to the testing for a while. But we made a right down the corridor with the garden smell and passed an archway that almost glowed green with the plants beyond it. I stopped for a second and looked into the large, magical garden that spread out on the other side.

  There was grass in there, even underground, and trees that rose towards lights on the ceiling. But before I could tell where the glow was coming from, Xavier took my arm.

  "That's later," he said. "You'll see the garden if everything goes well. Or not."

  "What do you mean by that?" I asked.

  Xavier let go and walked away. I didn't like the sounds of that or the looks of this. He was avoiding my gaze again.

  Then I saw. There was a wooden set of double doors at the end of the hallway, shut tight, but I caught the scent of blood, laced with metallic adrenaline. I hadn't caught a whiff of that since my last fencing tournament way over in Wayland.

  "Xavier," I said.

  "Yes?" He was tense and distant again.

  "What happens in there? I have the feeling it won't be good."

  "Testing," he said. " It's War Mage law. Anyone we want to bind with has to prove they're worthy to use our magic. Sorry. I didn't mention that but I didn't want you to be nervous right before you went in."

  "So you just, um, left it out," I said. "That's great. I would have liked the choice to go through this."

  Xavier faced me hard. "If I gave you one, would you choose it?"

  I thought about it. "To save my dad, yes. But that still doesn't make this cool. And by the way, someone got hurt in there."

  "A lot of someones have been hurt in there," Xavier said. "Don't worry. Trish is always on hand during these tests." He shifted leg to leg, staring at the door like he wanted anything but to go in there.

  I had to prove myself for both of us. I had the feeling Xavier didn't want to lose his magic, even though I'd want nothing more than to if I were him. But some Abnormals liked being what they were. Maybe Xavier was one of them.

  "That smell," I said.

  "What smell?" he asked, sounding like he was glad to be procrastinating. A bit of light came out from under the door.

  "I don't like it," I said. "It reminds me of something. A year ago. I was at a fencing tournament. My opponent was this little skinny girl and her father was one of those crazy parents who wants their kids to win all their matches. He was just yelling at her to do better before we were supposed to fight, and she smelled like that when I was fencing her. Her dad just kept glaring at her, so...I let her win the tournament."

  "Why did you do that?" Xavier asked. "You can't be doing that now that this is the real thing. You have to win this one."

  "It's just..." I said. I didn't want to say that I knew what it was like to be a loser in the eye of someone who was supposed to love you no matter what. I knew what it was like to try hard to be what they wanted, and screwing up anyway.

  I would not think about that.

  "This is different," Xavier said. "You have to do your best in there and think only of yourself. Your opponent will be some other Abnormal. A werewolf, or something. They're not too bad to fight. Worst case, you'll fight some other type of Mage."

  "What happens to me if I fail this?" I asked. I had to know.

  Xavier looked at the floor. "You get banished right along with me and left to the mercy of Thoreau and his minions. The other Abnormals won't help us find your father."

  "What's with all this banishing?" I asked. "By the way, I'm never going to be cool with what you did."

  "I don't blame you," Xavier said. "But if you succeed we'll be allowed to take a search party to go find your dad. We'll be allowed to do missions and we'll have loads of magical help. We'll also get blessings from all the right people and others will listen to us. War Mages and their battle partners have a high rank here. We can make a difference against Thoreau. A lot of people are too scared to go against him."

  I was in the world's worst selection process. But I had no choice but to go forward. This was the only chance I had to find Dad again. I needed these peoples' help. If I left now, I'd be on the street with nowhere to go.

  And I needed these people to find Dad, like it or not. The quicker I got through with th
is, the quicker I could get out of here and the quicker I could move on with my life. Soon, I'd leave this weird dream behind me and be the girl I wanted to be.

  "You ready?" Xavier asked.

  "I guess."

  He took my hand and squeezed. "You're going to do fine."

  If I were Normal, I might have felt heat rushing to my face, but flushing was something I couldn't remember doing, ever. Xavier was holding my hand in his and even though it was a good luck sort of thing a part of me zinged. He was hopelessly cute on top of mysterious, everything that no Normal should be.

  "Thanks," I said, forcing myself to let go. This was business only. Getting any feelings for this guy I knew nothing about wasn't going to get me anywhere. Once this was over and Dad was back, I was going to disconnect myself from the Abnormal world as fast as I could. This place was no less cruel than the Normal world.

  And then Xavier turned to the wooden double doors, grabbed the metal handle, and knocked.

  It made an official sounding hollow noise, like there was a large space on the other side. Footsteps approached the door, a latch drew back with a scrape, and someone opened it from the other side. The adrenaline smell got stronger.

  My jaw about hit the floor.

  Standing there was Thorne, my fencing, kendo and iaido instructor.

  He was dressed in the same white T-shirt and black shorts that he normally wore to classes and his legs were as hairy as ever. The guy was middle aged and carried a tan like he spent all his time in the sun and not here underground.

  He smiled at me. "It's about time you came down here, Alyssa."

  "What?" I managed. "What are you doing here?"

  "I work here," Thorne said. "I oversee these tests and train fighters."

  "But...you're a Normal. Aren't you?" I asked.

  He nodded. "Not all Normals hate the other people that inhabit this world. Some of us come and go down here. It's a more interesting place to be than up top sometimes."

  My head spun and I faced Xavier again. "Answers," I demanded.

  "Ask him," Xavier said, grinning. "You really had no idea your fencing teacher didn't know what you are?"

  "Did you?" I faced Thorne and glared at him. "You knew?"

  "Why do you think I voted you top out of the junior class?" he asked. "Why do you think I let you join the Iaido Club last year? It's not just because you're good. A lot of my colleagues work with people like you. We've had our eye on you for a long time, Alyssa. There's something special in you."

  I turned away and stood there, crossing my arms. "I can't believe this."

  "Believe it," Xavier said. "Thorne here works for Abnormals Underground. We need people like him to survive down here. Like I said, you've been in our records for a long time. Remember how Thorne here reached out to you as soon as you moved here?"

  I sighed. Thorne had called my house the day we moved in, inviting me to his class. He said he'd heard about me from all the tournaments I'd had and the ones I'd won. This was getting stranger the longer I stayed here, like my life had been some long lie. There wasn't anyone my secret was safe from anymore, especially if the news reports were as bad as Xavier said. Even Janine might know about it by now. Wait. She was the biggest gossip in school. She would know and she'd be shocked that my migraines weren't really migraines.

  "Something special. Me," I said, facing them again. "What do you think that is? I know I'm supposed to be strong and everything, but I'm no different than any of you. There are plenty of people...like me." I wouldn't say it out loud, not in front of anyone. "What makes me different than say, Trish?"

  "You fought a Shadow Wraith," Xavier reminded me. "And won."

  It wasn't a good enough answer for me. "I got lucky," I admitted. "It's obvious I've been tracked by you guys all my life. And trained. Already, without my knowing."

  "You're a fantastic fencer," Thorne said, filling in the gap. "Fantastic. Even your other instructors you've had say so. I've been telling everyone down here about you. You've won two state championships for your age group."

  "That was in Maine two years ago. And there was that one in California when I was twelve. I screwed up the one in Oregon last year." I'd never told Thorne about that, my letting the other girl win for her sake.

  "On purpose," Xavier filled in.

  "We should get started," Thorne said, backing away and opening the door a little more. Behind him, a large chamber lined with straw and lit with wall-mounted torches waited. "Sorry there's no electricity down here. The people upstairs would notice, so it's torchlight if that's okay with everyone."

  I nodded. Something felt missing from this conversation, something the two of them weren't telling me, but I was anxious to get going on this and find out what I was in for. Thorne marched into the room, all confident, and I followed because leaving wasn't really an option. Well, it was, but the price of that was too high.

  And there were bloodstains on the floor. Not huge ones, but not small ones either. People had been injured in here.

  "So I have to fight someone," I said.

  "How did you guess?" Xavier asked, but his nerves were back. I could smell his own metallic fear mixed in with the wood smoke. His heart rate was increasing. I could tell because his entire smell got stronger, wafting from his stressed, open pores.

  My stomach rumbled again.

  If there was anything I'd learned from the botched fight at my house, it was that I needed food right before a fight or I'd be bleeding on the floor with Trish hovering over me, ordering me to drink and chastising me for not embarrassing myself in front of everyone. She might call me an Imposter a few times on top of that and Xavier would get the ultimate boot. I looked around to see if Trish was waiting and I found her standing over on the far side of the room, leaning against a stack of hay bales. She'd changed into a blue dress with white frills, which looked silly considering what she was.

  Thorne faced me and took a step closer. "Alyssa," he said. "This is just like kendo and iaido but without any padded armor. When your opponent gets here, fight as if to the death. It'll be like competition, only with real swords and of course, blood. The last one to go down will be the victor. If you win, Xavier will have permission to link his magic to you, which is no light matter."

  He said that with a straight face as if he'd seen this a million times before.

  "Opponent?" I asked.

  "I'm confident you can handle this," Thorne said. "I arranged a fight with Macy. She's one of the werewolves here and judging by your fighting style, you should have no problem. We just have to wait for Leon to get here for the fight to begin. He's the leader of the Cumberland Abnormals Underground."

  "Leader?" I sounded like a cartoon character.

  Next to me, Xavier shifted.

  Thorne nodded. "Once you and Xavier become bound to each other you will have access to his powers. This is why we have to test you, Alyssa. We can only reserve this honor for those who can show their worth. Again, I'm confident that you can do this."

  I was confused. Wasn't I bound to Xavier already? He'd marked me already with Elsina's help in the magic circle. Trish knew about it. Then again, I was new to this world and wasn't planning on staying in it any longer than I needed to.

  Next to me, Xavier shifted again and looked away from Thorne, almost like he was hiding something. The culture here was weird.

  “Okay,” I said. Xavier's magic could help me get my father back if he could transposition the way he had. We could major break out of places with that, even if it was one use a day like he said.

  There was another knock on the door and Thorne went to answer it. "That must be Macy." I watched as he opened it with a smile, but then the grin fell off his face. He backed behind the wooden door again as the same succubus I'd seen earlier strode into the room, studying me with those black, soulless eyes. The silver scales running down the back of her neck shone in the torchlight. She wore her blond hair short, almost hugging her skull as much as the scales. A tight-fitting tank top a
nd leather pants showed off a perfect figure. She looked every inch twenty-one.

  "Allunna?" Thorne asked from behind the door. "Where is Macy?"

  She turned to him and flashed him a grin. "Leon changed the fight. This girl will be fighting me."

  And she was holding a sword in each hand, each one with a red crystal on the handle.

  They were very, very sharp swords.

  Behind me, Xavier muttered a curse under his breath, a normal one.

  I didn't know whether to be relieved or horrified about who I'd be fighting and whether I'd hurt them. Xavier's warnings about these kinds of demons swirled through my head. They didn't like other women and that was obvious from the way she was glaring at me.

  “Alyssa,” she said in a voice that would better suit a snake. “Take your sword.”

  She tossed me one of the swords and I reached out to catch it, but missed and let it fall to the ground. I leaned over and picked it up, feeling stupid that Thorne had watched that, but he was still standing by the door, checking out certain parts of Allunna with his mouth hanging open. A bit of drool started seeping out around the corners of his mouth. Just her presence was turning Thorne into a lovesick idiot. I glanced at Xavier to find him slipping into a stupor and staring right along with Thorne. Trish shook her head, sighed, and sat down on a hay bale. I was very, very glad I was not a dude.

  I picked up the sword, wanting to wither under that black gaze, but it wasn't as bad as the Shadow Wraith. Thorne shook his head behind her, snapped back to it, and strode over to me.

  “When was your last meal?” he asked, leaning close to whisper into my ear.

  “I don't know,” I said. “The beginning of tonight?” I dared to look away from Allunna to face him.

  “She fought earlier,” Xavier said.

  Thorne swallowed. I could smell the adrenaline pumping through him again. And a McDonald's Frosty. He'd had an Oreo one not too long ago along with a Big Mac.

  “Then you need nourishment before this fight,” he said. “There's still time before Leon arrives." He spoke in a tone that told me he hadn't been expecting this.