Darkbeam Part II

by Adrienne Woods

  She gave me another warm smile. “I can still help in other ways, Blake.”

  I frowned.

  “I think it would help you immensely to talk about the darkness. I can also give you advice.”

  “Advice won’t help with this type of darkness.”

  She cleared her throat. “Blake, I saw Tabitha earlier. She didn’t tell me what happened, but she isn’t a clumsy person. Are you taking your anger out on her?”

  I heaved out a breath. “I’m sorry. It will never happen again.”

  “It doesn’t help if you apologize to me. She’s the one who needs to hear it.”

  I nodded.

  “Look at me,” she said sternly.

  Reluctantly, I looked into her blue eyes.

  “If you ever lay a hand on her again, I will alert the authorities. We all carry darkness inside us, but it’s our actions that counts. I know you are not this type of person, but you cannot take your anger out on others. There is a gym, and we have professors that can help you. If this behavior continues, Master Longwei will put you under like a beast if that is how you want to be treated. Do you understand?”

  I swallowed and nodded.

  “Now, is there anything you want to talk about?”

  I shook my head.

  She tilted her head. “Nothing?”

  “No, nothing.”

  “Well then, I’ll see you again next week.” She smiled softly and nodded toward the door.

  Once the door shut behind me, I leaned against the wall and blew out a breath.

  Irene had never treated me like that before.

  The bell rang, signaling the start of classes, and I groaned. I wasn’t in the mood for Pheizer, so I decided to ditch and headed to my room instead.

  Perhaps if I stopped going to her class, she’d forget about the entire “a dragon always knows” business.

  I also wouldn’t have to see Tabitha. Seeing Tabitha might make me lose my shit again, and I couldn’t take my anger out on her.

  I went back to class during Transformations and tried to lay low. Everyone was staring at me, which meant rumors of what I had done to Tabitha were spreading.

  I cleared my mind as the class continued. Edward had one of those voices that could lull you to sleep in an instant, and it was a struggle to keep my eyes open. The second the bell rang, I was out of my seat and leaving the Coliseum.

  That sweet scent assaulted my senses once I was back in the hall. I stopped in my tracks and looked around, but I only saw professors and students around.

  I noticed the new professor and locked eyes with her.

  “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” she snapped haughtily at me.

  I rolled my eyes and walked on.

  The smell disappeared.

  Was the Hippogriff one of the new students? A first year?

  It wouldn’t surprise me. I didn’t pay them any attention Then again, I never paid attention anymore.

  The darkness was making me colder, more isolated. But it was better for everyone that way.

  I took out my Cammy. I was worried about Lucian and needed to hear his voice. But his Cammy went straight to voicemail.

  “Call me, please. I need to know if you are okay. Something weird is happening, Lucian. I could use some advice.”

  I ran my hand through my hair.

  Paul wouldn’t have pulled any of this if Lucian was here.

  What did that say about me?

  Was I becoming weaker the darker I came?

  Just then, Master Longwei’s voice came over the speaker.

  “Blake Leaf to my office, please.”

  Dread filled me.

  I knocked on the door.

  “Enter,” he said.

  I gulped and opened the door.

  He gestured toward a chair, and I sat down, preparing myself for a lecture about beating Tabitha.

  “We’re short a Warbel coach this year,” he said while distractedly rifling through a stack of papers.

  I frowned.

  “I know you’re not allowed to play, but the rules say nothing about you not being allowed to coach a team, Blake. Are you interested?”

  “In coaching a Warbel team?”

  “Yes. I think it would be a good outlet for your frustrations.”

  I smiled in relief. “Sure, let’s try that.” The words came out with a bite of sarcasm, which was not what I had intended. “That’s not what I meant. Sorry.”

  “Apology accepted. Now, I’m sure Irene spoke to you about the other incident.”

  I nodded tightly.

  “Good. Don’t think I won’t put you under if I have to, Blake. You can be glad Tabitha isn’t pressing any charges. I advise you to stay away from her.”

  “I don’t think you need to advise me on that, sir. Tabitha’s usually the one who struggles to stay away from me.”

  My reply didn’t impress Master Longwei in the least. “That doesn’t give you a reason to treat her that way, Blake.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”

  “That’s no excuse.”

  I nodded.

  “What stress have you been under?” He steepled his fingers on top of his stack of papers.

  “I’ve been worried about Lucian. Worried about keeping the school safe. I’ve just been worried about everything.”

  “Do you feel that it’s your responsibility to keep the school safe?”

  I shrugged. “It’s what’s expected of me.”

  “No, Blake. I’m the one who keeps the school safe. I appreciate your help, but it’s not your responsibility, son.”

  I nodded, biting on the inside of my cheek.

  “About Lucian. He is fine. We spoke last week. He hasn’t found Tanya yet but he did enter the Acker woods.”

  Knowing that he was inside there made me uneasy.

  “Warbel practice starts on Thursday. You can choose your team then.”

  “Thank you, Master.”

  “It’s your last chance, son. Use it well.”

  “I will,” I said as I left his office.

  I hated the disappointment in everyone’s eyes when they looked at me.

  I wasn’t an abuser.

  Was I that dark now? I didn’t even know myself anymore.

  At least now I knew Lucian was still alive—or had been last week when he’d spoken to Master Longwei.

  Apart from that glimmer of good news, I now had a new excitement swirling in my chest.

  Warbel.

  I might not be on the team, in the thick of things, but coaching was still pretty amazing.

  I’d barely touched my dinner when that familiar churning started in my stomach.

  It pissed me off that she was awake and walking around, with no serious injuries at all. Even her cuts and bruises had healed.

  I finished my meal quickly and got the hell out of the cafeteria. Being around her was not good for me.

  Paul wasn’t in the room when I got there.

  I was glad he wasn’t there to grate my nerves, even though I had to keep a closer eye on him.

  I fell asleep before Paul came back, but he was in bed when I woke up.

  Down at breakfast, Jeff and Susan sat down at my table, surprising me.

  “Are you ready to choose your team tonight?”

  “It’s not until Thursday,” I said.

  Susan laughed. “Funny.”

  I frowned and shrugged, going back to eating my breakfast. I’d barely taken a bite when Tabitha plopped down next to me.

  Groaning inwardly, I got up and left. It seemed like I’d never get to eat in peace again. Master Longwei wanted me to stay away from her, and that was exactly what I planned to do.

  “Hey, wait up,” she called from behind me. I didn’t turn to look at her, so she grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

  “I know you don’t like it when I ask if you are okay, but you can’t be mad at me for caring, Blake.”

  “Tabitha, I beat you. More than once
. Doesn’t that bother you?”

  “Blake, I know that was the darkness. Besides, you’ve already apologized like a thousand times. It’s over.”

  I narrowed my eyes.

  “Don’t look at me like that. Yesterday, with the daisy, and the chocolate, and that sweet song.”

  “Sweet song?” I scratched my head. Then I thought of Susan’s comment and I froze.

  “What day is this?”

  “Thursday,” she said with a shake of her head.

  The last thing I remember was going to bed Monday night. How did I lose two full days?

  This had Paul written all over it. “I need to go. I’ll see you later,” I muttered.

  I was going to kill him.

  Paul wasn’t in my room when I burst in. I grabbed my journal and flipped through the pages, but there were no new entries. Nothing about the daisy or the song.

  I closed my journal and stuffed it under my pillow.

  Why was Paul doing this?

  I mulled it over, trying to make sense of what happened. The only connection that came to mind was the Hippogriff’s scent. Whenever I smelled it, I lost time.

  I went to the Warbel grounds at six. Dragonia’s Warbel grounds weren’t anything like the crevice but the pristine green field and towering stands were still mesmerizing.

  Gregory, Edward, Bill, and Milne all shook my hand and welcomed me to the coaching team.

  I’d give them all a run for their money. If I couldn’t play the game, I’d just teach my team to kick serious ass.

  Gregory called his team to one side—since his team had won the previous year, he got to keep all the members—and the rest of us stood in a row, looking over the remaining members.

  Edward blew the whistle, settling everyone down in the middle of the field to be briefed.

  Everyone had already gone through the brutal two-week tryouts. I already knew who I’d be selecting for my team, and I couldn’t wait to see how they’d perform.

  Becky, George, Sammy, and the boy that liked Sammy were among them.

  “This year, we’ve added an extra team. Blake might not be able to join a team, but the rules don’t ban him from coaching.”

  Many players cheered, and I chuckled at their enthusiasm.

  “You think he’s going to be easy? I feel sorry for his team,” Edward joked in his brisk Irish accent.

  Laughter rippled through the group gathered before us.

  “The teams will be chosen like usual. Professor Gregory will keep his winning team, and the rest of us will each choose a player, one at a time.”

  “Not fair,” someone piped up.

  “Then beat their asses and change their fate,” Milne added.

  Milne wasn’t very fond of me, not after what had happened the last time the academy was under attack.

  “You’ll have to show your coach everything you’ve got. There are a lot of you this year and only eight will get a spot on the field. So the last week of tryouts are the most crucial. Keep it clean, and always remember to have fun. Especially you Blake,” Sir Edward said.

  Everyone laughed.

  It’s a fun sport, not life and death.

  I couldn’t help that I was so competitive. It was how I was built.

  “My first player is Struas,” Edward said.

  The fifth year beamed, clearly overjoyed to be on Edward’s team.

  After Milne chose his first player, it was my turn.

  “George,” I said after waiting a beat. He was fast and wasn’t scared. It didn’t matter if he was a slave or not.

  “Oh, are we going with the King of Lion mission survivors?” Milne asked, and the way he said “survivor” ticked me off.

  “You have your team, I have mine,” I said.

  Edward laughed. “I’m sorry to break your team up, Blake, but I choose the princess.”

  Arianna got up. “Sorry, Blake.”

  “Take her, she wasn’t a strong team player, anyway.”

  “What?” Arianna snapped and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  Milne chose again, and then Bill.

  I’d thought they would take Becky, but she was still available. With George on my team, she was a key player, otherwise George would just be distracted. “Becky,” I said, and she skipped to George’s side.

  Edward chose again and Sammy went to Milne. Bill chose next and I had to choose another. I chose from what I knew, what they showed me during my years here.

  Finally, the teams were made up.

  There were still a few people left, but they didn’t make the cut. Sir Edward apologized and encouraged them to keep up the hard work to make a team next year.

  “Maggots,” I said.

  “What?” George asked.

  “You’re Maggots until you’ve proven to me that you are better than that. We have plenty of training to do. You will attend each and every practice and arrive on time. I’m booking the arena early in the mornings and at nights. We have a lot to prove. Don’t disappoint me. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at six sharp.”

  They stared at me in disbelief as I turned around and left.

  This was going to be fun.

  When I got the room, blind rage coursed through me when I saw Paul.

  I wanted to strangle the truth out of him, but I had no proof that he was behind my lost time.

  I kept quiet as I got into bed, but I stayed awake until I heard him snore.

  In the morning, I hurried to the Warbel grounds, excited for the first practice.

  My team arrived just seconds after me.

  One look from me wiped the excitement off their faces, and I made them run a few laps. It didn’t matter that the sport was played on raiders; my team needed to be fit, and they needed to be fast.

  Then I tested the humans on their raiders.

  Becky was reckless, but she showed me everything I knew she would. A few others fared well enough, but Becky was the best, and I pushed her the hardest.

  George didn’t seem too happy about it, but he couldn’t say anything.

  It was either keep his mouth shut or leave my team.

  I was aiming to break them. Once they were broken, I could build them up to what I wanted them to be.

  It was clear as day that they despised me after the first hour of training, and I doubted many of them would turn up at the evening practice. I wanted to cull the weak.

  When my stomach churned during breakfast, I looked up and saw that Elena seemed to be withering away in front of my eyes. I should have been rejoicing, but I couldn’t.

  “What you staring at?” Tabitha asked, then followed my gaze to Elena. She scoffed. “She’s just looking for attention now that Lucian isn’t here.”

  “She’s looking really thin,” Susan added.

  Tabita giggled. “Maybe Paul likes his girls skinny. I’m sure Lucian is far from her mind.”

  Why did she look so frail?

  I directed my hearing to her group as I continued eating, pretending that I didn’t care.

  I didn’t want her to suffer like this. I wanted her death to be quick.

  Suffering meant that the higher power could still jump in and take over.

  Sammy was worrying over Elena because she hadn’t been eating, and she insisted on taking Elena to Constance.

  I forced myself to tune them out again. This didn’t concern me.

  “Oh my word, they say Elena is Ascending,” I heard one of the students saying.

  “The freak seriously belongs here?” Tabitha asked, looking at me. I didn’t say anything. “Blake, are you listening? Are you even here?”

  I looked to her, pretending to pay attention. “Sorry, what is it?”

  “The freak, she’s in the infirmary Ascending.”

  “Really?” I shrugged and walked on.

  We moved to the cafeteria, but Elena wasn’t there.

  She’d just gotten out of the infirmary, and now she was back. If she Ascended, it was only a matter of time before anyone saw her fire and acid an
d other abilities.

  When that happened, my life would be over. Not only that, Professor Pheizer’s gloating would drive me up the wall.

  I grabbed some food as I listened to Sammy’s conversation.

  “I don’t know, Becky. Constance thinks she is Ascending, but it’s nothing like she’s seen before. Like how she’s not eating. She told Constance that everything tasted off.”

  The Black Villain. My acid was one of my first abilities. Everything had tasted off for about three weeks. She only had it for a few days.

  I pushed my food around on the plate.

  “What is on your mind? You’re driving me insane,” Tabitha huffed.

  “Nothing, just worried about Lucian.”

  “No word from him yet?” Tabitha asked.

  I shook my head, and shifted my hearing back into focus on Sammy’s conversation.

  “She said she heard Paul’s voice again last night. She said he was angry at someone.”

  I was always angry and irritated. It wouldn’t surprise me if my thoughts were hostile.

  Dammit, how did she hear my thoughts when I never got a peep from her?

  “I have to go,” I said as I got up. I took my full tray and put it in the clearing zone.

  I needed to breathe.

  The beast rumbled heavily in my chest.

  He knew he couldn’t kill her, I knew that, too. I couldn’t even go have it out with Paul and tell him what a shit job he was doing.

  I pulled off my shirt and a couple of girls nearby swooned, but I ignored them as I took of my pants and shifted, jumping into the sky in one fluid motion.

  “He can just leave whenever he wants. That is so cool.”

  I sped to the nearest mountain.

  I need to breathe normally again.

  Kill, kill, kill. The beast’s words pounded into my skull relentlessly. The darkness wanted to pull and push and tear me apart.

  The trees around me sprouted tiny green leaves, the scorch marks from my previous outburst almost entirely healed, but they wouldn’t stay that way. I let go, my fire engulfing everything around me in flames. I didn’t care about the trees, didn’t even want to plant new trees.

  A wail tore through me. The beast was scared.

  If Elena Ascended, I was done.

  I would change the way George had changed. He’d hardly been able to hold on for a month before he’d fallen under the Dent.