Knowing I shouldn’t eavesdrop on the exalted protector of the Codex, I did the opposite and listened in. When it came to respecting authority figures, I liked to do the exact opposite—it made for a better plot twist if you asked me.
“I can sense it, too.” I recognized the female voice. “Do you know why?”
“She’s become distant.” Wilder.
My heart lurched, sending a painful zap of electricity through my body. I was frozen in place, knowing I should leave while the going was good, but too afraid not to. They were talking about me. Me and the giant hole I’d dug myself into. I’d be stupid not to think others had noticed, least of all Greer.
“What aren’t you saying?” she demanded. “What are you keeping from us, Wilder?”
“Nothing. She’s pushed me away. I’m just as in the dark as you are.”
“No, you’re not.” There was some rustling and her voice came again. “You know she has feelings for you.”
I almost died on the spot from an acute case of utter humiliation.
“And what do you want me to do about it, Greer?”
My heart stopped beating and I almost lost it. Nothing, I thought to myself. Neither of you will do anything. God forbid you alienate your only lead on Arondight.
“You should do what your conscious and heart dictates. I won’t—”
“You know how I feel, Greer,” he interrupted. His voice had taken on a husky tone, and I was unable to stop myself from peering through the crack into the room beyond.
I was just in time to see Wilder wrap his arms around Greer and kiss her. He held her in the passionate, unbearable, wild way I’d dreamed he’d hold me.
It was then that I saw the troll doll on the table beside them, watching their passion unleash. My troll doll. The same one Wilder had given me.
I peeled away from the door and walked down the hall, everything inside me numb. My heart had ceased beating, my Light had frozen into a violet lump, and my hope had been shattered.
I thought Wilder and I had something special, but I hadn’t tried to connect my Light to anyone else. What we did at the Necropolis probably wasn’t special at all. It was all Arondight and nothing to do with me.
It was always about that stupid sword. In that moment, I hated it.
I turned a corner, putting distance between me and the scene of the crime. I knew it. I knew it all along, and so did Wilder. I was the one too stupid to see how it was going to end. He’d always love her.
It seemed the angsty high school do-over had come full circle. There was always the guy who broke the girl’s heart, but unlike the Hollywood happily-ever-afters, this story was going in another direction.
I had another destiny and I had to face it on my own.
“Scarlett?”
I turned, my heart lodging in my throat. My hand reached for my arondight blade, but it wasn’t there. I had nothing to worry about, though—it was just some nerdy librarian.
Aiden looked me over, his expression full of concern.
We were standing in a part of the Academy I hadn’t seen before. A hidden corner full of musty curtains, paintings with creepy eyes that followed you around the room, and furniture that was covered in huge white sheets.
“Are you following me now?” It came out a little harsher than I intended and when he flinched, I melted. “I’m sorry, I…” I trailed off, knowing anything I had to say would sound lame.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “You seemed a little out of sync before, and now…”
If I was out of sync with my internal operating system before, then the whole thing must’ve crashed after what I’d seen. I’d never had a more brutal reality check in my life.
“Being a teenager was bad the first time,” I replied with a shrug. “And the second time isn’t much better, either.”
“There’s a metaphor in that.”
“Something about leaving the past where it is, I suppose.”
Aiden grinned and nodded.
“You’re so awkwardly happy,” I said, watching him closely. “What’s with that?”
“If I knew, my parents would’ve beat it out of me as a child and I’d be at some Sanctum cutting down demons with an arondight blade, instead of burying my nose in a book.” He drew in a deep breath, his long, rambling sentence really taking it out of him.
“It’s not weak to play to your strengths,” I retorted. “Not every battle is fought with a sword.”
He looked me over with a skeptical eye. “Why are you at the Academy again? It seems like you’ve got all the training you need to go out there and battle the Darkness.”
“I got the wrong type of education, I guess,” I replied, sidestepping his question. I liked Aiden, but there were things about mine and Wilder’s presence that needed to remain a secret. “They don’t exactly teach kids how to use their magical powers in public school. Then there’s the alternate history, which is a whole other kettle of fish.”
“Ah, it certainly is fantastical to an outsider, I guess. Magical swords, demons, King Arthur, Lancelot…”
“Did it really happen like the human stories?” I asked. “Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot?”
“The ultimate love triangle,” Aiden mused. “It certainly is a tragic story. Guinevere was bound to a king she’d never met, but she fell in love with the man sent to protect her on the journey to Camelot.”
The only thing I could be certain of, was the fact that the story wasn’t getting a repeat performance.
“What is this room?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Just a disused sitting room,” he replied.
I narrowed my eyes, my suspicion rising. “How did you know how to find me?”
“I saw you walk this way.”
“Oh…” If there was anyone altered by Human Convergence in this place, it wasn’t Aiden. At least, I didn’t think so.
“Are you happy, Scarlett?”
His question blindsided me and I stumbled over my thoughts before they ever reached my mouth.
“I guess I’m just uncertain of my position amongst the Naturals…” I replied. “I’m having an identity crisis.”
“These things take time.” He looked me over and must’ve sensed something more was awry, but he didn’t press. Instead, he just shrugged and asked the perfect question, “Are you hungry? I’m going to get some dinner. I hear there’s a lamb roast tonight.”
9
I never bought into the depressive heartbreak spiral that people always went on about.
Ugly crying into a pint of beer and falling into a gutter on the way home, drunk dialling the guy who’d ripped out your heart and squashed it in the palm on his hand—those were all alien scenarios to me that belonged in the movies.
I’d always been tough, never showing anyone how I truly felt, but now I was all grown up. I was supposed to roll with the punches. Move on. Come to terms with the fact that Wilder loved Greer, not me. It wasn’t meat to be.
Yeah, so I was never good at doing what I was ’supposed’ to do. It felt like I had nothing to lose, which meant I was in the mood for some major anarchy.
Today was the Spring Equinox—the moment the sun crossed the celestial equator, or the imaginary line in the sky that marked the spot where the planet was divided into northern and southern hemispheres. It didn’t sound that exciting, but the Naturals seemed to think of it like a miniature religious holiday. Not as important as the Solstices, but their version of a bank holiday. The only difference was that we didn’t get a day off from classes. To counter it, the cool kids had organised their own party out in the woods.
I walked across the Academy grounds, the night sky stretching above me. A million pinpricks of light began to emerge the farther I moved from the artificial glow of the manor. It was a nice feeling being away from the city with its noise, pollution, and demon infestation. Still, the habits I’d picked up at the Sanctum hadn’t quite left me.
It seemed like a good idea to stash my cold iron dagger—
the one I’d smuggled into my room—inside my boot. In case of emergencies, of course. It rubbed awkwardly against my ankle, letting me know I’d grown soft over the last few weeks. Man, I missed my arondight blade.
Moving into the trees, the Academy disappeared and I had the eerie feeling of being alone in the wilderness, but a light ahead signalled that I was on the right path. So this was where the students had their secret parties? It was deep enough in the forest that the light was shielded from any wandering eyes of the Academy, and the noise was absorbed by the trees and a few tricks they’d placed around the party zone.
I could see various groups of Natural teenagers around a bonfire, laughing and dancing to music, and some were even doing tricks with their Light. A boy did a triple backflip from a standing position, making the others around him laugh.
I was just stepping into the clearing when Trent spotted me.
“Hey, Scarlett!” he called. “You came!”
I stood beside him and shoved my hands into my jacket pockets. “Of course I came. I need an outlet.”
“Hey, thanks again for the other day.” He smoothed down his shirt and cast a shy glance across the clearing to where I suspected Kayla was standing.
“It was your first and only ‘get out of jail free’ card,” I warned. “But I can see you listened to something.” I raised my eyebrow as I looked him over. “You got dressed up. Told Kayla she’s pretty yet?”
His cheeks heated so much that I could see the flush in the warm half-light of the bonfire.
“You want something to drink?” he blurted.
“Kayla needs an alpha male, Trent. Shy is only cute for so long with a girl like her.”
“Can you stop talking so loud?” he hissed, shoving a can of lager at me.
I turned the can around so I could read the label. It was cheap, but it was beer. Total contraband in these parts. “How did you get this?”
“You don’t think we have ways of smuggling stuff onto the grounds?” He made a face. “I’m going to need one or two of these if I’m going to tell Kayla how I feel.”
“What ways?” If someone could smuggle in beer, then it wasn’t much of a stretch to smuggle in a mutation, either.
“That’s a trade secret,” he declared, wiggling his eyebrows.
I snorted and cracked the top of the illegal alcohol open, knowing I’d get it out of him sooner or later. He obviously wanted me as his wing-woman.
“Scarlett!” Kayla was waving at me across the bonfire. “Scarlett, come here!”
I gave a pointed look at Trent. “Now’s your chance, big shot. Step one, tell her you think she’s pretty.”
“Shut up,” he grumbled as we rounded the fire pit.
Someone had hooked up a beat-up iPod—by the state of it, the thing was a relic—to a speaker, and it was playing a random shuffle of music—rock, pop, electro, hip hop, and more. The dulcet tones of Eminem belted out across the forest telling us how we had to lose ourselves in the moment. If only…
Kayla was sitting on a fallen log with her usual group of hangers on, Trisha and Maisy. A few other students were hanging around, and I’d even started to remember some of their names—Max, Andy, Fiona, Rhiannon, Grant, and Harriet.
I sat on the log amongst the popular kids, wondering how my life had led me here.
“Maisy thought you weren’t going to come,” Trisha said as I wiggled my arse into a comfortable position.
“Trisha,” she whined before she turned to me. “All I meant was that we’re so much younger than you. I thought you’d be bored.”
I made a face. There they went with the ageism again.
“I wouldn’t miss seeing how Naturals like to party,” I declared. “I missed out on all this stuff growing up. I only got the human version.”
“They don’t teach you how to slay demons at regular school?” Trent said with a smirk, making everyone laugh.
“Your parties aren’t that much different than human ones, though,” I said. “Apart from the Light thing, you’ve got all the markers.”
“What markers?” Trisha asked.
“Music, booze, and hormones.”
Everyone started to laugh again, which was more of a reaction than I ever got at their age. I’d have to be invited first, but the only parties I’d ever gone to in high school were the ones I gate crashed. Did this mean I was in?
“I bet they didn’t do this at your human parties,” Trent said, holding out his palm. A burst of silver Light manifested, shooting up into the air and exploding into little fireworks.
Kayla grinned at him, batting her eyelids. “You’re so good at that.”
“Tricks are Trent’s thing,” Maisy told me. “He’s always figuring out new things.”
I was starting to see that, but tricks weren’t going to get him far with a demon. I supposed I couldn’t blame them for having some fun. What was the point of having bad arse powers if you couldn’t make a little firework every now and then?
“Hey, can you show me how to do that?” I asked, elbowing him.
“Yeah!” Trisha cried. “I’d kill to see some purple fireworks!”
“I didn’t even know we could do shite like this,” I said. “It’s all work, responsibility, seriousness, life or death out there.”
“We can do tons of things,” Trent declared. “You’ve gotta know your limit, though. If you push too hard you can eat into your soul.”
“And that’s bad,” Kayla finished for him.
“I’ve been soul sick before,” I told them, much to their shock. “I didn’t know what I was doing and…” I trailed off, not knowing how much I should say.
“And what?” Kayla demanded.
Everyone was staring at me and it was a strange feeling being the centre of attention. I wasn’t sure if I liked it.
“I got into a fight with a demon,” I explained. “I didn’t have anything else to fight it with, so…”
“No way,” Trisha whispered.
“You maxed yourself out fighting a demon?” Trent asked, gaping at me.
“I didn’t kill it, I mean, I couldn’t with just Light, but… Wait…” I glanced around the little huddle of students, “have none of you seen a demon before?”
“Well…” Kayla began.
“I saw one junior year,” Maisy stated.
“My sister is at the New York Sanctum,” Trisha added. “She tells me stuff if she can.”
Wow. This school was more messed up than I realised. I supposed when they did finally see one, they’d hopefully know how to spot it and finish it off.
I decided taking a long draught of my cheap arse beer was better than going down that rabbit hole tonight. I was here to blow off some steam, not add to it.
Elbowing Trent again, I asked, “Okay, how do I make these fireworks?”
He gave me a crash course, explaining how he shaped his Light, careful to tell me not to use too much juice. I was well-known for throwing Masters across the classroom, so the last thing we needed was an indigo forest fire.
I cracked my knuckles and assumed the position. “Okay, wish me luck.”
I held out my hand and called on my Light, trying not to be too heavy-handed. I formed the little sparklers in my palm, then willed them to fire.
Purple sparks fired into the air and exploded into hundreds of little stars. They floated gently to the ground, fading as they went. Everyone turned to watch, pointing at the spectacle.
“Wow!” Kayla clapped. “You’re so good at it, Scarlett!”
I watched my Light sizzle and pop, my eyes wide. It was beautiful and I wondered why no one ever took the time out to marvel at the gifts we’d been blessed with. There was so much darkness out there that we couldn’t lose sight of the things we were fighting for.
After a while, the group splintered off, and I wandered around the bonfire saying hello to the other students. They were mostly seniors, but a few juniors had snuck out to enjoy a little contraband. I received a few wary glances, but no one was i
n a hurry to hide from me. It wasn’t like I was going to tell on them—I needed this party just as much as they did.
I could really see the parallels now that I’d been on both sides of the teenage divide. Things were easier for the kids who were a part of the in-crowd and anyone outside of it was doomed to be miserable. Man, I really hated this hierarchy of cool bullshite.
I’d just finished my can of lager when Trent sidled up beside me.
“I thought you’d be in a bush with your tongue down Kayla’s throat by now,” I said.
“Scarlett,” he moaned. The firelight flickered across his anguished face and I was having a hard time not feeling sorry for the kid.
“What? Where is she? I thought this was going to be the night you told her.”
“I don’t know how to say it.”
“There isn’t one way to say anything,” I replied, slapping him on the shoulder. I wasn’t sure if I was the right person to give him advice right now, but at least someone had a chance at a little romance. “You just tell her with whatever words you can.”
He sank onto a tree stump and took several deep breaths. “I just need to work up some courage.”
I sat on the ground next to him, watching the fire flicker and spark. I couldn’t even tell Wilder how I felt about him, and now he’d gone and rekindled his love affair with Greer. She was more his match than I’d ever be.
I ground my teeth together. She’d even had the audacity to thank me for making Wilder care again. She was all like, thanks for doing all the work and opening his heart for me, Scarlett, now we can go make Natural babies together. Excuse me while I went and threw up.
I was so clueless about everything. It wasn’t just Natural stuff. I mean, I was too stupid to realise I was manifesting magical powers. How could I miss that?
I glanced at Trent, who looked like he was about to do a giant nervous poo.
“Hey. What’s it like to manifest?” I asked. “I mean, like really go through it.”
He shrugged, obviously glad for the distraction. “It’s different for everyone. Some people get really sick, others don’t really feel anything. Sometimes kids accidentally blow things up. It can be triggered by a traumatic event or it could be a hormonal change. Kids can manifest anywhere between eight and nine, right up until fifteen or sixteen. The later you get your Light, the less likely you’ll come here, though.”
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