It turns out that was a good move, since I had found myself locked at the Magistrate headquarters, for several days now.
Phaidra says nothing as she leads me to a familiar room - the very first room where I was seen as a suspected Blood Witch and showed mercy. All but two seats are filled here; both Julian and Adriel missing, having been allowed to go home for Ostara.
I should have known that Adriel wasn’t here. If he was, I would have been broken out of here long ago, rules be damned. He wouldn’t watch this. I know this in both my gut and my heart.
And perhaps it is safer for the both of us that he is not here.
"We have only one more thing we want to test. It is more about your future as a hunter than seeing what you are. This should be nearly painless," Phaidra says, Reyes sitting silent and observant for this one.
Confused, I turn at the sound of chains only to see the guards bringing in someone in so many shackles it’s hard to tell where he ends, and the chains begin.
His scent hits me, and without all the distractions I had when Dru first came on campus, I notice that this is a demon. No denying it.
"You will take this knife and slice your skin. We want you to bleed over his bare skin until he is put down." Phaidra says it as if he is a dog. On some level I know this is a demon, likely one that has been caught doing multiple detestable things.
Even I cannot deny the need to eradicate much of his kind, even if there are a few diamonds in the rough like Dru; which I know I have judged too harshly on personal prejudices. But to be fair, as a witch I have been raised to hate them and to assume the worst of them, which is true most of the time.
But this demon so happens to look like he is just a young boy, younger than me, and there is something sick about the fact I am told to kill him as an experiment.
I hesitate only for a moment before the clanking of the knife as Phaidra throws it at me, making me dodge so that it lands on the floor, letting me know there will be no patience for my bleeding heart.
With shaking hands, I pick it up and walk over to the guards as they force the boy to kneel in front of me.
I don’t think it will take much, which makes Dru incredibly lucky after the stint he pulled back at the academy, to prove to me what I was.
I slice the skin open, letting out a hiss as blood falls onto the boy’s cheek and then arm. I force the wound to stay open. Instantly, he is screaming, his skin burning where my blood has touched like it is being consumed by acid.
I close my eyes as the screams turn to otherworldly squeals and then nothing. I know he is gone, and I turn my back to whatever mess he has left on the floor. I don’t want to see. I will already be hearing the sound of his pain in my sleep for a long time to come.
"Thank you, Miss Graywood. You may leave." It is Daniel that dismissed me, and I can’t even bring myself to look at the others as I force myself to steadily walk out of the room. Eva was there to meet me on the other side of the door, this time.
I am allowed to take myself downstairs where I find a familiar car waiting; the one belonging to Julian’s father.
"Riley, so good to see you again!" Julian says as he gets out of the car to open the back door for me. "I am sorry I won’t get to stay long with you as I have business to attend to, but I am going to take you to where your uncle is staying. He and your cousin and that friend of yours have been put up in a hotel in the city - the best accommodations, to make up for lost time."
He rambles on as I lock eyes with Kagan, knowing I look worse for the wear in my large tee and sweats. And I don’t know what my expression reads like after what I just experienced.
But all Kagan does is reach over and place his finger on the necklace before sliding his hand down my arm and finally taking my hand in his.
Glad for the silence, I am not sure what I could say in front of Julian, I cling to Kagan for dear life as we take the short trip to one of the nicest hotels in Salt Lake.
My phone buzzes at my feet, and I realize my purse is down there. I dig in it and pull my phone out just as Julian is looking for guest parking so Kagan can walk me inside.
I look down and see the text is actually from Kagan, his phone sitting in the hand he isn’t using to hold mine.
Are you okay?
Maybe I can say this way, what I can’t bring myself to say out loud.
No.
What happened in there?
I’m scared.
It’s all I can manage to say. I don’t know if I should tell him.
It's going to be okay.
He squeezes my hand when I read it, and I have no choice but to believe it.
They tested me to see how powerful I was and to prove what I was.
I can’t imagine what that was like, but it’s over now. My father put it to an end, that’s why he’s going back early.
Wow, I should have given his father more credit. I have at least one ally on the Magistrate.
We get out of the car silently as Julian tells us what room we are looking for. We walk hand in hand into the hotel and then the elevator that would lead us up to the floor where my uncle, Vivi, and Jake are staying.
"You don’t have to talk about it right now," Kagan tells me, "But I am glad you’re out of there and I got to be the one to pick you up. Was Adriel there?"
I shake my head.
"At least that makes me feel a little better, but less like I need to punch the guy next time I see him. I scoff at that; as if a witch could get a punch in on an angel.
"There it is." He reaches over and strokes my half smile with his thumb as the elevator reaches the correct floor.
"Thank you," I tell him.
I swing my purse over one shoulder, and he lugs my suitcase in, hopefully containing magically repaired clothes.
It’s Vivi and Jinx who answer the door, and I am more than delighted when she breaks her typical attitude to give me a hug. "We all missed you at Ostara, but it looks like we'll have plenty of time with you now." She whispers the next part in my ear. "And thank you for bringing Jake here."
I should have known they would hit it off.
"Wait, what do you mean?" I ask Vivi.
"Later," she says, eyeballing Jake as we come into the main living area.
"Not about that. Before that."
"Oh, I thought they would have told you at headquarters. A letter came. You flunked out of Paranormal Hunter Academy."
I blink and turn back to look at Kagan in horror.
Did I really just go through all that for no reason?
Chapter Four
"Well, of course you flunked out, you were put in classes meant for a Blood Witch, and you aren’t one. I am sure there has been a simple mix up. They just need to get you in new classes and catch you up to where you should be. I'll talk with my father and get all the kinks worked out, don’t worry about it. You'll be coming back to the academy."
I was shaking my head at him, the whole time Kagan was talking, but he didn’t get the message. My family had no idea yet, just like Jake hadn’t, that I was not a Blood Witch, after all.
Vivi looked confused, and her head turned to meet the eyes of my uncle behind her. Jinx in his arms, he looked Kagan up and down. I know the conversation will be coming later about boys and all that, but I have to get through this first.
My uncle’s eyes turn to me in horror.
I can’t even bring myself to be happy to see him because of the way he is looking at me. "What do you mean that she isn’t a Blood Witch?"
I slap my hand against my head and grumble to myself. I have really stepped in it now. I meant to tell Kagan to just go, so I can handle this family matter. He walks in and makes himself at home, sitting down on one of the two loves seats in the small living area.
Jake is on the bed, watching some lame superhero cartoon and waves at me, giving us space to work this out. He already knows some of what’s going on.
"Sir, I am Kagan Allseed, Julian’s son, from the Magistrate." Kagan holds out his hand
for my uncle Jeremiah to shake. He takes it reluctantly, Jinx vacating his arms. With a leap, he lands on me as I take my seat next to Kagan.
This could get a little messy.
I stroke Jinx’s fur for comfort as he purrs and stays by me dutifully. It’s funny how he used to annoy me to no end. Now, though, I have missed him while he was here and I was locked up at headquarters.
"Yes, we were told that you and your father would be the ones bringing her here after we were told to come check in late last night. I don’t really understand what’s happening, so, if the two of you could enlighten me..."
He looks back and forth between us, glaring. I can’t tell if he is simply confused by all that is happening or if he is also sizing up our relationship. Yeah, I should have seen this part coming. I am probably going to get the boyfriend talk from him later.
I have already overheard his talk with Vivi about that two years ago when she went on her first date. At least, the first he knew about.
Not like there is anything to worry about with her, she isn’t the boy crazy type, and it didn’t work out in the boy’s favor.
"I am here for support and to try to help fill in the blanks, but I think Riley should start here."
Kagan looks at me, and I instinctively grab for the pearls without thinking. I catch Vivi's eyes on them as she stands behind her father, choosing not to have a seat, and her eyes go wide.
Oh, she knows what’s up. She'll be asking me about that later. Oh well, I have to quiz her about what she meant about Jake anyway.
Fair is fair.
"So, I..uh..." I don’t know how to get the words out, and then suddenly, they come tumbling from my mouth as if a puppeteer’s hands are in control. Like my throat is being used to get a freight train from one end of the world to the other, in record time. "I accidentally found out in class a bit ago that I am not a Blood Witch because the school took in a demon. We were fighting, for class, not for real, and some of my blood harmed him, like angel blood. So, I am an Aurora Witch. That’s why the Magistrate kept me over the break, to confirm this, and why I have been failing my classes. Demonology and black magic are useless for someone with the blood of an angel."
I feel like I hadn’t gotten a good breath that whole time. I suck in air as everyone processes the mess, that I just dumped in their laps.
"You're telling me there was an angel at that party that gave you their blood. Why would an angel even do that? They’re not supposed to interfere like that anymore. It’s so cruel and immoral," Vivi says, her arms crossed over her chest as Jinx hisses at her
"Calm down, Jinx, she isn’t insulting me. She’s just confused," I whisper into his ears while I scratch behind them.
My uncle seems to be gathering his words before he speaks. 'The Magistrate wanted to see if you were telling the truth. I thought you said your blood hurt a demon? We weren’t told why you wouldn’t be coming home, just that the Magistrate needed you and we would be accommodated for the inconvenience,” he admits. My stomach sinks, threatening to come out of my body. So, there would have been no way he would have known I wasn’t okay, if I didn’t come back. He never would have been able to come to save me.
If Kagan and Julian didn’t say anything, part of me now wonders how long I would have been subjected to the tests. If I ever would have been allowed to go home or see my family again.
I shiver at the thought but say nothing, even as I catch Kagan glancing my way. How am I supposed to tell him an organization, his father is a major part of, might have crossed the line?
I don’t want to put Kagan in the position to have to take sides. That would be wrong. I need to keep this to myself, until I know more about what is really going on, with the angels and the Magistrate, that has led to this.
"They don’t know for sure it was an angel at the party. It could have been a human messenger, a demon who the angel has allied with, or even a lesser angel whose blood it didn’t belong to. They say they think I have the blood of an archangel or something."
My uncle stands up quickly, a look of fury in his eyes. "An archangel did this to you? Does no one understand what this means? No wonder the Magistrate had a hold of you. If things don’t get on track for you, there may not be a point in going back to the academy."
"What do you mean?" Kagan and I both ask at the same time, and I find it comforting that I am not the only one caught off guard by that statement.
"There is a reason Aurora Witches are no longer made! It has much less to do with the promise angels made not to interfere, once they cursed the demons, and more to do with what it does to a mortal body. Witch or not, you are still a human. If you have the blood of a high ranking angel, your life is at risk! If it's the blood of an archangel, it's practically a death sentence."
The words ‘death sentence’ ring through my ears like a loud gong has gone off in the room, and they sound so similar to what Adriel told me. I can’t help but have his image in my head now. What was all this danger about?
Before now, other than bearing my father’s last name, I was an ordinary witch staying under the radar.
Now, I had gone from being enemy number one, punished by being sent to the academy, to become a pawn in the Magistrate’s war against demons; to an Aurora Witch who could die at the drop of a hat.
Would my life ever be peaceful or normal again?
"I don’t understand," Kagan looks to my uncle for an explanation, and I could hear the worry in his voice.
I want to go back to his room on campus, wrapped up together and forgetting about any of these people. To forget about our responsibilities to them, before I knew what the Magistrate could do to me. Before I knew what Adriel had truly doomed me to.
"Angel blood and mortal blood don’t mix. Angel blood and witch blood share limited similar properties, so a witch who gets the blood of a lesser angel can survive for a long time. Someone with a powerful bloodline, like a Graywood, can survive any angel blood for a time. But it’s about dominance. Like a blood type. If she doesn’t learn to let the angel blood dominate without doing away with her witch blood, then the angel blood will burn up and consume everything with it. It won’t be compatible. It’s painful and a descent into madness," my uncle explains.
All the color drains from my face as I imagine this.
All my frustration and anger with Adriel has now been renewed. Did he know it would kill me? Did he care?
He supposedly loved me, but this didn’t make any sense, then.
"I will see about getting her back into the academy and see if there is a way she can get help with the blood problem. The Magistrate does have an angel, and he was ready to help her in the past. Maybe he can help her now."
Kagan looks at me, and I can see the pain there that he is going to have to rely on someone like that in order to save me. However, he is right, as much as I never want to see Adriel’s face again.
There is no one else that can help me now.
I say my goodbyes to Kagan in a daze, also trying not to anger or freak out my uncle, by going at it in the entryway. He settles for a kiss on the cheek and stroking my pearls as a message so I know he is thinking of me.
I trust him to handle this and to still care for me even when things get hard, once Adriel is around again.
But can I trust myself?
After he leaves, my uncle drops the subject for now, wanting to make up for lost time with a happy evening. So, he goes down to the restaurant in the lobby to get a take out order to bring back up to the room.
I go to lay on my stomach on the bed next to Jake and suddenly feel like the third wheel, when Vivi joins us on the bed, continuously looking over me to smile at Jake.
What have I missed?
“You know, I think I’d like to clean up and change, what exactly are the sleeping arrangements?” I ask, really just trying to get Vivi away, so I can talk to her.
“Oh!” She jumps up, almost tripping over her floor length navy dress, and I eyeball her. She is not the silly, clumsy
type. Something really has gotten into her. “Jake has the pull out, and Dad has this bed. It just happens to be the room with the TV.” She points to Jake and rolls her eyes before showing me a door leading to the bathroom.
“We share a bathroom,” she complains, “but on the other side…” She opens another door that leads into a small but separate bedroom. “We’re in here. Make yourself comfortable.”
“Vivi!” I call to her, holding her back as she tries to leave the room. “I think it’s time you told me what was up with you two.” I nod toward the main room, and she blushes four shades of red.
“Oh, right.”
A meow interrupts us as Jinx comes into the room, and we both let out an exasperated laugh.
He leaps onto the bed, and Vivi makes a point to shut the door and even lock it.
“Okay, so, Jake and I have kind of hit it off. But, if you two are a thing, or you have a crush on him, please tell me. I know we aren’t like besties, but I still wouldn’t do that to you.”
I can’t help but throw my head back and laugh. When I told them they would love each other, this was not quite what I meant. But I guess it keeps Jake close, so why complain?
“To be honest, I have enough boy trouble on my hands right now. Jake is just my best friend. So, not off limits, but treat him right. He’s been through a lot.”
“Oh, I know, he told me about his mother. I feel so bad for him. It reminds me of how Dad felt when he found out about you.” Her eyes are trained to the ground for a moment before she clears her throat. “So, I guess this Kagan guy is part of that boy trouble.”
I nod, showing her the necklace.
“Wow, so what’s the issue, then?”
“The fact that he is only part of my boy problem.”
It takes her a moment, and then I watch as she nods, getting it. “Oh! Oh my, they don't play around at that school, do they?”
I shake my head, not quite ready to specify that the other two happen to be immortal supernatural beings, though I really shouldn’t be counting Adriel, as still in the running. It just hurts my heart to discount him right now. One day soon, hopefully, it won’t anymore. “You have no idea. That place is crazy, but it's where I have to be. Trust me, I wish Jake and I both could just be with you guys all the time instead of being there. It’s necessary; I have to learn about what I am.”
Aurora Witch (Paranormal Hunter Academy Book 2) Page 3