Sorcery and Scholarships

by Ian Isaro

  The real attack was expected in less than a month.

  ~ ~ ~

  Since he had already had enough, Blake was holding a drink mostly for the sake of having something to do with his hands. Though the dance showed no signs of stopping, the tension overall was increasing. He had heard some kind of argument along the edge of the courtyard, a disagreement he thought was between sides. Several of the Darkness students were glaring at the Lights over the crowds.

  Otryad, however, was glaring directly at him. When Blake raised an eyebrow, the other student stepped closer. "Why so serious, Otryad?"

  "Americans!" He muttered a few words under his breath, not in a language Blake knew but obviously curses. "That's my family name, I should be called Temujin."

  That had been a real mistake, but he was happy to blame it on his persona. "I never could be bothered to learn about other countries. Don't tell me you were preemptively angry with me for calling you the wrong name."

  "No. It's because you're reckless. You go wherever the Dark Essence wants you to go, without any thought to control it."

  "Maybe I don't want to." Blake turned fully to stare at Temujin. "So what are you trying to do, my fellow Darkness bearer? You were given an Essence, and you've been benefitting from it ever since. I would have thought you'd take a moral stand some time before being given that power."

  "This is nothing like what I thought it would be." Temujin glared around himself in disgust, then spat on the floor. "They told me this university wanted to control the evil side, prevent it from developing into a war. I sacrificed myself to bind away some of the Darkness, suffered the dreams and the dark urges, to try to do my part. Yet you and everyone else just do whatever you want."

  Things made a great deal more sense now. Blake examined Temujin and the festering Darkness within him. Perhaps the feeling was noble, but he didn't put much stock in nobility. So he gave a crooked grin. "Sounds like that sucks for you. I sleep like a baby. And as for the 'dark urges,' you should probably see a psychiatrist."

  Temujin spat again and stalked away. As he watched him go, Blake's thoughts turned inward, but they were interrupted when Reylin swept up. The vampire seemed to be trying to glide about ominously, but it looked ridiculous in the middle of a party.

  "You made Morissa unhappy."

  Well, that was not what he'd expected a vampire to say. "So you really are a stalker."

  "What did you do?"

  "She can deal with her own issues, and what we said was none of your business."

  Reylin leapt forward and knocked the drink from Blake's hand. No real loss, but he glanced down at it as if troubled. With an angry hiss, Reylin grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him up. "Worthless fool! You're not worthy of her and you're not worthy of the Darkness you carry!"

  "That seems to be a popular attitude tonight." He couldn't help but grin. "You want to try to take it from me?"

  For a moment it looked as if Reylin would bite him, but instead he focused his power. It was different from the hook-like lines of his glamour. Unfamiliar with vampire magic, Blake couldn't do anything to stop it, not that he intended to try. Almost immediately after attacking, Reylin came in contact with Blake's soul.

  The burning red of the vampire's eyes flickered and shadows began to creep along the blood vessels in his eyes. Reylin sagged, but Blake caught him before he could fall. In a direct fight the vampire was probably too strong, but Reylin had no idea what he was getting into. His eyes were mostly dark now.

  Suddenly there was a surge of something from deep within the vampire. It was something more alien than Blake had ever felt. He recoiled from the incomprehensible power and tossed Reylin back. As the vampire dropped, something rippled through the air, narrowly missing Blake. Even a fraction of a second later and... he didn't want to know what it might have done.

  Except that it wasn't gone. It was floating overhead, shifting as if searching for something before streaking down.

  ~ ~ ~

  Something unnatural flashed across a corner of Aki's mind. She was used to sensing strange things around the university, but had never felt anything so bizarre. As she looked around, she had a brief glimpse of something like ripples in the air before it struck her.

  Everything was cold, her life ebbing into the world around her. Numbly she realized it was the same as when she had been attacked in the initiation ceremony. Desperately, she tried to tap into fire, thinking to warm herself. Yet it was fading further away, the world dwindling around her and all her abilities fading.

  Putting everything into one desperate lunge, she reached for fire again. Almost instantly she was beyond it, reaching through realms that matched nothing in her experience. Whatever it was, the single trickle of it she pulled down tore the force apart. All at once the pain was gone.

  Yet the attack wasn't. For a moment her vision was wrong, the bodies around her barely visible shapes and the ground as clear as glass. Around her were fragments of whatever had attacked her, like tangling knots of dark fiber. They twisted, bunching up like squids to push themselves through the air. Just as they turned to attack her, her vision returned to normal.

  So she hit the area immediately around her with everything she had. Ripples flew through the air in all directions, leaving her safe but numb and gasping for breath.

  "What happened?" Edgar was nearby, hovering as if he wanted to help but wasn't sure how to do so. She waved vaguely while she tried to catch her breath.

  "Some kind of... attack. Don't know... what it was."

  There were a few screams, but not close to her. Aki looked up and discovered that several fights had broken out. Otryad was punching at Eron and yelling something and the tension was boiling over into everyone around them. Just when Aki thought it couldn't get any worse, she saw Bianca staring at her in rage.

  An instant later, there was a burning hand grasping her throat. She tried clutching at it and her magic evaporated. Bianca was advancing toward her with a hand raised. "What kind of attack was that? What did you try to do to me?"

  Already drained, Aki was helpless against such overwhelming strength. She desperately tried to think of something that would pacify Bianca and choked out an answer. "I didn't do anything! Something attacked me and I pushed it back..."

  "And you expect me to believe it flew it my direction?" Bianca had reached her now, her real hand grabbing Aki's neck and pulling her to eye level. "What, were you jealous of me? Did you sell your soul to something in the Beyond to try to get back at me?"

  "It wasn't-"

  "Enough. You couldn't have gotten away with it, but I will. If I kill you right here, no one will even question how it happened." Suddenly Bianca's free hand shot up, grabbing Keisha's wrist a second before the blow connected. Aki felt a surge of hope before Bianca sent her flying.

  Blake was there on the other side, but he had barely begun to form something when a solid beam of Light overwhelmed him. It seemed as though it had torn him apart, and Aki didn't want to look, but when the beam faded he struck the ground, smoking but whole.

  The ground hit her back and Aki realized she had been dropped. Bianca still looked angry, but it was no longer a hateful rage. Instead she gazed around at the growing panic and curled her lip. She raised one hand into the air and clenched it. Light flooded down, flattening all the combatants and making those fleeing freeze in place.

  "Party's over." She glared at her captive audience before releasing the power. "All of you, go away."

  They fled. Aki pulled herself to her feet, still worried that Bianca was going to attack. When the other woman turned back to her, there was more scorn than hate in her eyes. "There was something else here, so you weren't entirely lying. I'll forgive you this time, but I don't want to ever see you here again."

  When she stalked away, Aki nearly collapsed. Without the heavy concentration of power it was hard to hold herself up. But then she realized that her friends might be in worse shape and managed to drag herself forward. She didn't se
e Blake, so she limped to help Keisha up.

  "Are you alright?"

  Keisha looked at her blearily, then smiled. "This is why I don't go to parties."

  Despite everything, Aki laughed. It felt good, but the sound died quickly.

  ~ ~ ~

  At the far edge of the palace, most of the lights had been extinguished. There was only a field beyond, stretching until it met the expanse of sky, unlit even by stars.

  Yet where Blake stood it was darker still. He wrapped his body in the shadows, letting himself recover. The blast had taken him very near death and he had never felt more alive.

  Finally, he was able to view everything clearly. The night had forced him to think through many things, to put himself against Temujin and Bianca and all the other ideals. Before the attack, he had taken enough from Reylin's spirit to deepen his own darkness. It was no longer diluted, not after the searing light. Without doubts, it was more truly his than before.

  But the real understanding had come in the moment when he had seen Bianca lifting Aki. One Light threatening, while Keisha's Light moved even faster than he could. They had been useless, except for distracting Bianca enough to come to her senses. What mattered was that now he was sure who he was for and who he was against.

  His memories of going to Juárez were clear again. There was no difference between the brutality there and the pettiness here, just points along a continuum. Too many would die if Darkness ran unchecked, so someone had to take it, lock it out of the conflict. Now he was certain that was what he was meant to do.

  Once, that would have been enough. But the blast had destroyed his contacts and he knew his eyes were blazing red. He had gotten what he wanted, yet he still wasn't satisfied.

  That kept him awake into the night.

  Chapter 13

  Normally Aki would have dreaded the idea of an entire day spent in the library. After last night, she had gotten enough social interaction for a long time and was ready to hide away among the books. She'd taken her things with her so she wouldn't need to come out for any reason. When she needed a break from studying, she wandered the maze-like upper level.

  Her explorations led her to a pleasant surprise. A wall and a shelf made one corner of the building into an out of the way nook, well lit by sunlight from the broad windows. There wasn't anything there, but she'd stolen some cushions from a couch and used them as a seat. To make things better, while looking for more books she'd ran into Keisha and shown her the corner.

  "I don't know if this is helping." Keisha set down her book and stared out the window. "We can't be absolutely sure this is the same group they referenced before, so this could all be irrelevant."

  "Have you found out why they have such a weird name?"

  "It's the Latin roots, like the left handed connection. They say they stand up for the uncommon, the feared, the sinister."

  "Well then, it's already been useful. That name was bugging me." Aki set aside her book as well and lay back so she could see more of the sky. "I looked them up again. For a mysterious evil organization they sure have a nice website."

  "Why didn't we find it before?"

  "Maybe because they didn't want random humans to find it. Emile said that Google hires really top-notch aethomancers, which would explain why I only got lousy sites as an amateur."

  "Send me the link, then. What did you think?"

  "It was mostly boring stuff, the mission statement and all that. The tone was all kind of alarmist. I mean, they stand for some good issues, like the moon sprites, but it's not like there's anyone persecuting them or laws keeping them there. I think they're the kind of people who would rather protest for someone to change things than change themselves."

  Keisha glanced over at her with an odd smile on her face, but didn't say anything.

  "I looked at their forum, though, and the people there are a little creepy. Some of them seemed to want everyone to be not just equal, but exactly the same. The problem is I don't see how any of this has anything to do with the Omphalos."

  "Frankly, I'm worried that Axis is involved in something nasty behind all this."

  "What, you think we'll have to charge into the cafeteria and yell "Soylant green is pixies!" or something?" Aki was about to say more when another of the shivers rolled through her. When her vision stopped shaking she saw Keisha examining her.

  "Are you sure you're alright?"

  "I'm fine. I don't even feel cold, just a little weird." They'd already argued over what they should do about the attack. Other than the occasional trembling she felt better than before, and she wasn't sure she wanted to tell the faculty too much.

  It seemed like Keisha was about to argue the issue again but thought better of it. When she did open her mouth, she spoke softly. "It sounds like Bianca won't face any kind of consequences. As far as the university is concerned, there was a minor conflict and she stopped it."

  "I figured she'd get away with everything. I don't think I've said this, but... thanks for jumping in to help me."

  "For all the good it did."

  "No, really. I think the distraction calmed her down." Aki pushed herself up on one arm. "Blake was there right along with you. Sure you can't give him another chance?"

  "I didn't see him at all, though admittedly I got hit quickly. I understand you get along with him somehow, but that doesn't mean I want to." Keisha got to her feet. "Sorry, but I need to go meet Tierdrial. If I learn anything important I'll tell you."

  Aki waved goodbye and remained on the floor for a while. Eventually she got back to reading, but the book didn't have anything else about the Sinistrals in it. They were an old organization that seemed basically the same over the years. Only the causes changed.

  That meant it was time to put the books back where she'd found them. It was easy to put the history text back via Dewey decimal, but she worried about the other one. Several sections of books were obviously organized according to some system of subjects, but there was nothing on the spine to indicate where each book belonged. If someone threw all the books on the floor, they'd make the librarians miserable.

  Luckily, she found the slot for her book and slipped it back into place. She turned and barely contained a yelp. A guy about her age was standing just next to her. Dark hair hung haphazardly over his face and yellow eyes stared at her.

  "Way to be creepy." Though she said the words, she barely meant them. Her emotions were strangely frozen. Though she searched for some kind of manipulation, she couldn't sense anything. After a moment he smiled.

  "I take it you haven't been here long."

  "This is my first semester."

  His smile broadened, but just as he was about to say something there were footsteps. Dehateh Locklear stepped in between the shelves and folded her arms. "Alair. I think you have work to be doing."

  "So I do." He turned back to Aki and gave her a half-smile before walking away. She stared after him, still feeling oddly numb. By the time he was gone, there were emotions in her head again, most of them confusion.

  "Are you alright?" Dehateh examined her for a moment and then nodded to herself. "Don't spend time around Alair if you don't have to, not at your level of experience."

  "Why? Who is he? Or what is he?"

  That made the professor laugh. "Oh, he's human. He's a security specialist that Axis employs, but he's usually working elsewhere. They must have called him back after the trouble last night."

  His eyes and his smile were stuck in her head. She forced it to clear and instead focused on Dehateh. "Is he dangerous or something?"

  "I'd rather not explain. Just keep your distance." She frowned and glanced down at Aki. "From what I've heard, you were in the middle of the trouble. What was it about?"

  "Just Light and Darkness butting heads. I got caught in the middle of things but it wasn't that serious. The closest I got to any actual danger was when Bianca went after me."

  "She isn't one to hold her friendly fire. Aki, you know that if there's anything bothering
you, you can always come talk to the staff about it, right?"

  "I'll remember that." Aki kept up her smile until the professor left and then leaned against the nearest shelf.

  She couldn't trust the professors, or even feel safe on the campus. This time she had been able to defend herself from the attack, only to be nearly killed by another student. Keisha's suspicions that the university was involved in nasty business were seeming more ominous all the time. Was it too much to ask to go to magic school and learn how to cast spells for a living?

  Putting it that way, it did sound like a little much. But surely she should be allowed to pursue her dreams without being killed for it.

  ~ ~ ~

  Professor Cora finished the lecture and demonstration early, so as usual she sat on the edge of her desk and asked if there were any questions. None came right away, but the students knew she would wait until the hour. Keisha didn't mind, since some of the most interesting discussions had come at the end of class thanks to a perceptive question.

  According to Cora's profile, her full name was Celdriora'tlai, but she'd never mentioned it in class and even the syllabus had the shortened version. She wore her silver hair close to her head, just long enough to cover her pointed fey ears. It was like she was trying to hide the fact that she was fey, though since Keisha didn't know anything about her situation she didn't want to judge. The rest of her attire was always plain blouses and long skirts.

  "Why doesn't your hair float?" Apparently someone else had been thinking along the same lines.

  "You're thinking of sprites. It floats because of their variety of magic, and if it stops subconsciously that means they're very close to death. But that's not a very instructive question, is it?"

  "Could I make my hair float?"

  It might have been a joke, but Cora only smiled and continued. "A Propitiation ritual might be able to make a constant breeze around your head, though you'd want to be careful with that."