by Ann Denton
The first door on the left held Tee, Aaron, John, and Tammy. They were separated from the mage students, who were considered less of a threat. But since these four had fighter training, we had taken additional precautions. Tony and Larry often dropped by with Power Limiting Spells to try and reduce their ability to attack, particularly Aaron’s ability to sing. They were also chained up and watched twenty-four-seven by a guard. We could never be too cautious.
I didn't have Larry's or Tony's permission to cross the threshold, so I simply shoved the door open and sat down in the hallway behind the glowing turquoise line, crisscrossed my legs, and stared at them through the open doorway. The bursar's offices were all interior rooms with no windows, so the four of them were huddled against the back wall while all the office equipment and furniture were shoved into a corner to give them enough space to sleep.
Tee looked annoyed as she raised a brow and fluttered her fingers at me. "If it isn't my ex-friend-slash-captor. Come to feed me poison again? What did you call it? Coughing?"
I frowned slightly. "Coffee. And it’s not poison. You used to love it. Come on, Tee, you know I'd let you go in a heartbeat if I could."
"Right," she said in a singsong voice. "It's those fleabag mutts—I mean mates—of yours who won't let us go."
I sighed and rolled my eyes but didn't argue. I just looked at each one of them instead.
They were a strange crew, all lined up in chains and sitting against the wall. Tammy was the tallest, an elf who was willowy thin, and she kinda looked like a Twizzler in foil. Followed by Aaron, a siren, who was—for all intents and purposes—normal human sized, like me. Then John, the gnome, who was barely two feet tall, and finally Tee, a pixie who was a mere six inches on a good day.
"Where are you keeping us, anyway?" Tee asked, glancing warily all around. She was literally in a small white room with a desk and filing cabinet. Nothing fancy. "One cave to another."
"This isn’t a cave, Tee." Pity filled me. "It’s an office."
A look of panic flashed through Tee's tiny eyes. "She's doing it again, Aaron! She's fucking gaslighting me! That’s not even a word."
"No, baby, no," he cooed, looking just about as frantic as she did as he gazed at her. "You're just having trouble remembering, that's all. The fucking shifter’s pet mage wiped your memory, love. Do you recall that part?"
Tee nodded quickly. "Yeah, I remember that part. I just don't remember anything he wiped... obviously."
I bit my lower lip. "Actually, I have a theory."
"Do tell," Tee said, rolling her eyes. She shook her head and glanced over at Tammy, as if Tee thought I was the crazy one.
"You know how normal memory wipes cause humans to forget magic?"
Tee merely blinked.
"Well," I continued, "I think in your case, it caused you—a magic user—to forget human stuff."
"Undo it," Aaron demanded from his seat, chains rattling as he leaned forward to stare at me. His dark eyes gleamed and I could tell he was tempted to use his siren song on me. But he didn’t. Not when Tee might get hurt if he did.
At least, those were the thoughts I imagined I saw flicker through his features as he ground his teeth together.
I gaped at him. "You know as well as I do that memory wipes are permanent..."
"Then spell me too!" Aaron cried, his eyes wide and expression determined. "If that's what it takes, fine, but you need to fix this!"
My brows furrowed. "Dude, how would that fix anything? It won't make Tee magically remember shit; it'll just make you both clueless."
Aaron nodded vigorously, his chains rattling as he moved. "Exactly. And that'll fix everything."
"No," John, the gnome, protested. He stood, his chains giving him just enough room to put a small, squat hand on Aaron’s shoulder. "Don’t."
But Aaron shrugged him off. "I can't stand feeling so mentally and emotionally separated from her. It's driving me insane!"
Tee gazed over at him with sympathy in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, baby. I didn't mean to get spelled." Her wings fluttered but she couldn’t take flight with the Movement Restriction Spell.
"Don't you dare blame yourself, pixie pie. It's their fault. But they're going to fix it. Right, Aubry?"
"Yeah, Aubry," John added in his squat, grumpy gnome-tone. "Aren't you some sort of a fated mates expert, now? Surely you know how much pain Aaron's in?"
I leveled him with a flat look. "I never claimed to be an expert, John."
Tammy scoffed. "Definitely never said you were one."
I wanted to laugh and cry at the same moment. Their attitudes and demands reminded me so much of myself when the guys had first taken me. They knew I didn’t want to kill them, or I would have already. But, unlike demanding pho, what Aaron wanted was so much more heartbreaking. He wanted to lose so much of himself in order to be with Tee.
"Agree, Aubry," Aaron demanded impatiently.
My mouth fell open. "You're insane."
"Yes!" he shouted, eyes going wide. "That's what I've been telling you! It's driving me mad!"
I hesitated, realizing that even if I wanted to, I couldn't ask Larry to spell the siren... not yet, anyway. "I have a few questions for you first, Aaron."
He shook his head and clamped his mouth shut. "I'm not telling you a goddamn thing until you spell me."
"If I fucking spell you, your memories will be gone before you even answer my questions!"
Aaron glared at me. I glared right back. I hadn't become chief enforcer by being a naive little shit. "You want a staring contest? Because I’ll wipe the floor with your ass like those kittens-versus-thugs staring contests on Key and Peele."
"Agree to spell me immediately after," Aaron bargained, eyeing me skeptically, "and I'll answer your questions."
"Truthfully?" I asked with a scoff. Part of me wondered if I’d trust him even if he said yes. But it would at least be more information than I had before.
Tammy interrupted, "Aaron, don’t."
Aaron glared even harder at me, not even bothering to look at her. "Yes. Truthfully."
Part of me was worried by his answer. His one-track mind and utter determination to lose his memory. Were mate bonds really that intense? Would I go crazy if something happened to Bodie, Easton, or...
I cut that thought off in the middle and sighed at Aaron. "You seriously want to lose all memory of humanity? This is like, half of your life... gone. Wiped away. Vanished."
Pain lined his eyes in pink rims. "It's what happened to her. If she's expected to get through it and move on, then I want to be right there with her. We'll get through it together."
My heart ached like it did whenever I watched The Notebook. That movie twisted me up and left me pulsing with love and heartbreak at the exact same time. Somehow, I knew I'd feel the same way about my guys if we were in their shoes. Because, somehow, I could feel that pain already, even vicariously.
I let out one last sigh of reluctance before nodding. "Deal."
The relief that crossed his face was nearly palpable. It lightened my own heart to know that he and Tee would be good again. That, if nothing else, they'd have each other.
But... I thought of my situation with the guys and the shifters... What if we didn’t just need each other? What if we needed something more? Something... else... in order to make this right?
My stomach sank, a bubbling mire of acid and desolation and sadness. I didn't even want to think about what might need to be done. Not if it was going to hurt as much as Aaron and Tee were hurting.
"Well, ask away, traitor," John goaded, tottering his head pompously and flipping me off with his stubby fingers.
"John, you're about this close to getting shot in the dome." I pinched my thumb and forefinger together until there was barely a space left in between.
He scoffed. "Wouldn't hurt. It'd just ricochet off my head and lodge into the wall or something."
"I know," I retorted with a smirk. "But it would still give me the satisfaction of shooting
your dumb ass."
He rolled his eyes and glared at the pile of furniture, where Tammy had already been staring, deciding this whole thing was far too boring for her precious elf sensibilities. Bitch.
I suddenly heard a door opening, and voices filtered in from the lobby, muttering back and forth. The door shut, and the voices grew louder as they slowly approached. I remained silent, watching curiously as Bodie and Easton entered the bursar’s office carrying a… body.
What the fuck?
I stood and walked toward them. "Guys…?" I asked curiously as they shuffled along. Bodie had the cadaver’s arms while Easton carried his legs. The dead weight almost sagged to the floor in the middle.
"Oh, uh, hey, Aubry," Easton said, smiling sheepishly. In his nervousness, he accidentally dropped the corpse's leg to rub the back of his neck. The weight of the dead guy's leg dropping jerked his arms out of Bodie's grasp, and his whole body hit the floor like a sack of potatoes. I could see the dead guy had been ten-ringed.
"Fucking hell! What are you doing?" I hissed, stepping closer.
They knew the rules! No killing the students! And by the looks of his Mag-Sorgin hoodie, which I could see now that I’d stepped closer, he was most definitely a student. If Larry found out... and he left... Drake would flip his lid and rain down fire and brimstone on this entire operation. It would not be pretty.
The two of them scrambled to pick the dead guy up.
"It's nothing, Buttercup," Bodie insisted as they quickly shuffled around the corner. "Just an accident."
"A what?" I whispered harshly.
"An accident? Yeah right," John scoffed from his spot in his room. With the door open, the four prisoners could all clearly see what was going on.
I ignored the gnome. I knew as well as anyone that accidentally killing someone was totally a thing. But Bodie? He was a murder machine. It was pure instinct for him. It had probably been a knee-jerk reaction that he couldn't control.
I sighed and listened as they shuffled around the office, out of my view. "Where are you putting that thing?"
"Uh..." Bodie didn't seem sure.
"The printer room?" East didn't seem sure either, but since he'd given an actual example, Bodie freaking ran with it.
"Yeah, the printer room! Don't worry, Buttercup, we'll move him out of here as soon as we can. Larry was just getting too close to sniffing him out."
I blinked. "How old is this body? I'd rather not smell him, either."
Easton chuckled nervously, and I heard the sound of another door opening. "Just a couple days. No worries."
There was a thud, followed by a dusting of hands, and finally a door shutting.
I narrowed my eyes and turned back to the chained-up prisoners. All four of them were looking at me now. Staring. Judging.
"Oh, fuck you guys!" I snapped. "As if MPs are any better."
"MPs?" Tammy asked with a scoff. "You even sound like a gangster now."
"Well, considering my mates are shifter mafia warlords, I suppose that officially makes me the Bonnie to their Clyde, huh? May as well get used to it." It was my new reality. I moved my glare from Tammy onto Aaron. "You still want to make a deal? Tell me why Triton fucking Vale attacked us last night."
At first Aaron's lips remained sealed.
"Aaron Dirkman," I threatened darkly, "You answer my questions truthfully, or there will be no memory wipe. You and Tee will just have to remain on separate pages of the same book for the rest of your godforsaken lives. And you know I’m the only reason you all are still alive right now."
I conveniently failed to mention Larry’s peaceful proclivities. These MPs attacked us, and unlike the students, they weren’t innocent. If I couldn’t get any information out of them, then I might have to reconsider just why the fuck we were keeping them.
The siren’s eyes snapped back to mine, a mixture of fury and fear swirling in their darkened depths. His jaw ticked, his lips pursed, and finally, he started fucking talking. "Triton had been greenlighted to head an operation in the event that mine failed—which it did. Thanks to you and your criminal mutts."
My gaze drifted over to Tee. "I thought you were tailing Triton because the council suspected him? Why would they approve a mission for him if they knew he was the one starting the fires?" Part of me wondered if she’d remember her investigation. Then again, it had nothing to do with humans.
Tee raised a sassy little brow. "Well, ya see, Princess, I was never able to report back to them with my findings. Because—like my mate, here—you and your pets kidnapped me."
So the council had no evidence that Triton was guilty. Then, once Aaron failed to stop us, they were left with no other choice. But why Triton? He wasn't an MP, he was a councilman.
I asked Aaron as much.
"Because Triton volunteered," Aaron replied matter of factly. He might've tried to shrug, but it was difficult to tell beneath the mountain of chains.
I glanced out the window into the dazzling sunshine as I tried to collect my thoughts. Triton had volunteered because of his vendetta with Drake. He’d become hollow and bitter, consumed by it, which made me sad as much as it made me furious. And I still didn’t even know exactly what had happened with his parents. But what did all this mean?
"What exactly has the council permitted him to do?" I asked. "One attack? Multiple?"
Aaron shook his head solemnly and something in his gaze shifted. He was almost... forlorn looking. "Aubry... Triton's already tried and failed, too. The next step is Doomsday."
My mouth went dry. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Aaron shook his head softly. "The council won’t be made a fool of. They can't afford another failure. They're going to rig the game. They're going to ensure that they win."
"How?" I asked, though I wasn't actually sure that I wanted to know.
"Picture... an atomic bomb. But magical."
A mountain collapsed on top of me and a million stones crushed my soul. No. Fuck no. My eyes went wide. Pretty sure my heart stopped beating. They were going to bomb the school? Kill us all? Just like that? The picture of it happening played through my mind. I could see the newsreels, imagine how they’d twist the story and say we’d done it ourselves. Motherfuckers.
Tee glanced fearfully between Aaron and me. "What's a bomb? What does atomic mean? Guys! What the hell are you talking about?"
No one answered her.
I swallowed hard and stood to leave, but I heard the sound of the door opening once more in the lobby, so I paused. At first, I thought it was Bodie and Easton leaving, but then I heard Larry's telltale voice.
"Oh, hey, guys," he said, apparently to my mates.
"Uh," Easton stammered.
Yep, they were definitely still there.
"Hey, Larry, what's up?" Bodie asked, quickly covering up Easton's obvious nerves.
"Nothing much. Just printing off some ingredients for a spell Tony and I are about to try. Accidentally sent it to the wrong damn printer." Larry smiled at them, then his eyes found mine. "Morning, Aubry. Beautiful day. After such a dark night, I can't help but think this is a good sign."
My heart sank at his chipper demeanor, but I tried to put on a smile. Oh Larry, if only you knew. Things were about to go from bad to worse. To hell in a mother fucking hand basket.
"Uh, why didn't you just resend it to the right printer?" Easton asked, taking a step toward the printer room door to block it.
Larry scratched his frazzled, salt and peppered head and chuckled. "Guess I didn't even think about it. Technology and I do not usually get along. I'm a little too old-fashioned for it."
Larry made to move past Easton, but my bear shifter sidestepped and continued blocking. "Larry, I actually really need your help on... something. First."
Larry paused and cocked his head, intrigued rather than suspicious. The poor gullible old man. "Oh yeah? On what?"
"On..." Easton looked like he was absolutely wracking his brain to think of an idea. "A new special weapon
I'm designing. See I have this idea for a special barrel with a special shaped potion bottle... Actually, how about I draw it for you?"
East put his arm around Larry's shoulders and led him over to a desk where he grabbed a pen and paper and started sketching.
Bodie shot me a wide-eyed look and whispered, "I gotta move this thing. Make sure he stays distracted."
I was still shell-shocked by Aaron’s revelation and I wasn’t thinking straight. I reacted to Bodie’s request on autopilot. I took one step away from the prisoners' room and Aaron lost his mind. "Aubry! Don't leave! You promised!"
I shot him a look that said, 'Calm down, dude. Hold your tits.' Then, I decided on a plan that would kill two birds with one stone. "Larry, I'll grab your paper for you while Easton shows you his drawing. I actually need to head to your chemistry lab next anyway, to see about another Memory Wiping Potion."
Larry smiled brightly. "Oh wonderful, thanks for grabbing that. But... um... a Memory Wipe Spell? Are you sure they wouldn’t rather have a Fireproof Spell or something? I did a really good one for El Fuego once. After the last Memory Wipe, I don’t think I should…"
I jerked my head toward the prisoners' room. "No. I’m sorry. It has to be a wipe. Tee's mate wants it. Aaron wants to be on the same wavelength. Says it's driving him insane she can’t remember anything from the human world."
Larry nodded solemnly and looked over at the open door of the office-turned-prison. His face filled with sympathy. "Oh yes. Mate bonds are strong and serious magic. I feel awful that the potion didn't work right. That was never my intention. Of course, I’ll whip up another batch to help her poor partner cope."
"Thank you," Aaron shouted into the hall.
"You're welcome!" Larry shouted back.
What… an odd fucking exchange. But that was Larry for you. Dumbledore’s less competent brother, who was good at heart, despite appearing to cater to assholes.