by D. R. Perry
“Leaping Luna, get out!”
“That’s what we’re doing.” I stepped under Henry’s arm as he held the door for us. Josh had to go around. He didn’t look too happy about that.
“So, do you believe this story about a Grim?” He crossed his arms, stopping just inside the door.
“Yup. Saw them myself less than an hour ago.” I smirked at Josh’s incredulous blinking. “I was in the library when they attacked and everything. And they trashed the heating system down in the basement.” I walked down the hall, pausing to wave at Blaine, who was by the stairwell.
“Well, there’s one good thing about another Grim attack, anyway.” Henry’s voice echoed down the hall.
“What could possibly be good about something like that?” Josh trotted to catch up with me.
“It can’t attack again for another five days,” Blaine answered, figuring out in seconds what it took Henry and me a whole conversation to grok.
“Any ideas on what the Grim is after, Trogdor?” Bobby punched Blaine in the arm.
“Two of them, actually. Maybe three.” Blaine waved to Lynn, who was at the elevator. We all squished in and she pushed the button for the basement.
I found myself crammed in the back corner. I felt the weird stomach-hitching that comes with vertical movement, and then the elevator made a soft bing. The doors rolled back.
I hadn’t been in the dorm basement before. There was laundry on the fifth floor where I lived and the odd hours I kept between diurnal and nocturnal classes meant they were always available when I needed them. Lynn led us to an old wooden door. She pulled out an equally old iron key and turned it in an antique brass lock. The doorknob was old fashioned with a big cut-glass grip. When Lynn opened the door, the whole crowd of us stood there for a few moments just staring.
The basement lounge was one of the few rooms on campus that hadn’t been redone when Headmistress Thurston opened Admissions to anyone. Previously, only Magi and a few types of Psychics could apply to PPC. This was a room for them. I walked in first, feeling instantly at home in the space. All the wood paneling was real, not printed press-board from the 1970s and not whitewashed like the rest of the building. The floors were wood parquet, variegated boards making a meticulously laid herringbone pattern. Built-in shelving lined one wall even though all the books were old Reader’s Digest condensed volumes. Six wing-back chairs sat in a semicircle with small tables between them. I chose the chair in the middle, opposite the door.
I watched as the others entered the room more sedately than I’d have expected. Even Josh looked around in clear fascination. I couldn’t blame them. This room was like a time capsule, a look back at what PPC used to be like, beautiful and needlessly exclusive. I could see why there’d been some resistance in the magical community when Henrietta Thurston diversified the school, even though I thought she’d made the right call.
“How did you get the key, Lynn?” My question snapped her out of her reverie.
“Jeannie. She said we’d better respect this place like the antique it is.” Lynn glanced at Josh.
“Yeah, yeah.” Josh sat down near the door. “I know how to respect people, places, and things. I’m not the son of two Alphas for nothing, you know.”
“Just quoting Jeannie.” Lynn took the seat on my left.
“She’s the RA.” Bobby shrugged and sat next to her.
“For the rest of the year, at least.” Blaine sat on the other side of the room.
“Sorry I’m late.” Olivia stood in the doorway, a turquoise blue robe wrapped around her pajama-clad frame. Her platinum hair stood out starkly against it. Tony gestured at the seat he’d been about to take. She sat down, grinning up at him wearily.
“You’re a real trooper, Olivia. Thanks.” Tony sat by Blaine.
Henry shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then ambled over to the last available chair between Blaine and me. Once seated, he glanced at the dragon shifter instead of me.
“So Maddie, let me see this Umbral Affinity tome again.” Blaine raised an eyebrow at me.
I pulled the book from my bag and watched Blaine’s mouth stretch in a wide, toothy grin reminiscent of a crocodile. I waited until he grasped the binding before I let go. Henry pressed back in his seat as we passed the book.
“You had this with you in the library?” Blaine flipped through it absently.
“Yes. I’ve had it on me since you guys finished taking notes.”
“Okay. Remember those ideas I mentioned outside?” Blaine’s eyebrow quirked.
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I’m brainstorming here.” Blaine looked around the room. Lynn pulled out a notebook and nodded. Blaine nodded and continued. “The lounge got attacked. Tony and Henry were there. So were Maddie’s amulet and this book.” He patted it.
“Wow.” Tony leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “I didn’t even think a Grim could be after an item.”
“All by themselves, they’re not.” Blaine flipped to the back of the book. “But the book and the amulet aren’t regular items. They’ve both got Psychic energy and Magic energy, plus some other things in common.” He handed back the book.
“Of course.” Henry ran a hand down his face, almost as though wiping away his neutral expression and replacing it with wan sadness. “Me, their owners, and an Extramagus.”
“Tell us more, my fine fanged friend.” Blaine leaned back in his seat.
“This book belonged to Dahlia, another Umbral Magus I knew. A group of us found out about an Extramagus who was trying to get turned so he could lose his magic limit. We were hiding the vampire he’d captured after some of our other friends broke him out. The Extramagus caught us, though. Dahlia died taking him out.”
“Wait. I heard of a guy trying to rule the world right before the Big Reveal.” Olivia shivered. “He was a nutcase. Read a little too much Lovecraft way too seriously if you ask me.”
“Yes, same guy.” Henry closed his eyes. “He could do any school of magic, but the more he mastered, the worse his asthma got. He’d spent twenty years tracking down the oldest, most powerful vampire he could find, then he kidnapped that vampire’s wife to make him agree to the turning. She’s who we rescued. Me, a Null Magus, an Air Magus, and Dahlia.” Henry tapped his pinkie, his brow furrowed. “No, I guess there really were only four of us.”
“There were only a few ways to get a binding contract back then.” Tony shook his head. “It’s one reason people don’t like owing favors to Faeries.”
“Yeah. He had a relative who’d just tithed to the Sidhe Queen sending ransom notes disguised as contracts back and forth.”
“Wait. A Seelie backed this guy?” Josh’s eyes went round and wide. He blinked.
“Yup.” Henry sighed. “According to Extrahuman law at the time, everything was by the book. That’s why the older Magi didn’t help. Seelies love the Old Law.”
“Are you serious? They wouldn’t help stop Magus Mussolini?” Lynn leaned forward, nearly jumping out of her seat.
“You have to remember that not everyone thought Magi rule was a bad idea. Just a handful of us with nothing much to lose stood up to the guy. No respectable Magus would have dared break the Old Law like that.” Henry sighed. “Times were different back then.”
“You have a point, even if I’m not technically supposed to listen to it yet.” Josh shrugged. “Whatever. I like a good story. Go on.”
“Anyway,” Henry continued, “After Dahlia died, I brought her book back here. Her fiancé, Neil, said it was what she wanted. Bequeathed in her will and everything. That’s all I remember. But I didn't know it happened until Maddie got it back at the start of inter-session.”
“So, I think whoever sent this Grim either wants the book, the amulet, or Henry.” Blaine shrugged. “Maybe all three.”
“But why send a Grim? Isn’t that a little excessive and pointless considering how destructive they are?” Olivia scratched her head.
“The fact that it’s a
Grim just hints at a bigger picture.” Blaine took a deep breath, then blew smoke trails out of his nose. “The stuff that happened last semester was excessive, too. Do all of you know about that?”
“I think I need a little filling in.” Josh steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair.
“Basically, someone dropped snow on Providence, and then a load of ice on my head.” Lynn fluttered her hand in front of her. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
“Wait. Someone can make a snowstorm and drop ice?” Josh’s forehead crinkled.
“Has to be an Extramagus.” I shook my index finger at his nose, pretending it was a rolled-up newspaper.
“Well, yeah.” Now it was Josh’s turn to scratch his head. “But aren’t Magi one-trick ponies, like Psychics.”
“We are, except when we’re not.” I winked. “An Extramagus can do more than one school, but there’s always a drawback. An illness, or a limit on when or where they can use their extra powers.”
“Like how the guy in Henry’s story had asthma?” Josh rubbed his chin.
“Right.” I nodded. “Most Extramagi are born that way. Usually, they come from families with a long line of different schools in the same family and a bit of Faerie or shifter blood thrown in for good measure.”
“How many families are like that in Rhode Island?” Lynn had a pen and notebook out, ready to make a list.
“Hold on a minute there, brainiac.” Blaine held up his hand. “It’s an Extramagus with a PPC grudge. Magic families from all over sent their kids here. He or she could be from anywhere. That’s not the best way to narrow it down.”
“Well, how else then, Trogdor?” Lynn rolled her eyes.
“List magic families with Summoners, maybe?” Blaine smirked.
“It’s not magic.” Henry shook his head. “Summoning’s Psychic. It’s just the creatures they call that are magical, usually Pure Faerie.”
“Back to square one, I guess.” Bobby shrugged. “So the Extramagus can’t even be calling the Grim.”
“Hmm.” I put the book back in my satchel and got up to pace. It always helped me think. “What about Mind magic? Doesn’t work on Faeries, or long-term on shifters or Magi, but could an Extramagus control a Psychic?”
“You know, maybe one could.” Blaine sat up straight. “I did a project on Mind magic artifacts. They were a thing back in ancient Greece.”
“This sounds complicated.” Olivia cradled her head in her hands. “Should we take this to Headmistress Thurston?”
“Probably. But again, it’d have to be someone she’d listen to. Like someone from Campus Police.” Lynn leveled a glance at Josh that was almost a glare.
“Cool it, Frampton.” Josh’s lips twisted into something like the second-cousin of a grimace. “I’m sold. There’s only one problem here. It’s just a matter of finding something to convince my mom and dad.”
“So you’ll help?” Blaine grinned. “Tony owes me some money now.”
“Yeah. I’ll help you find something to help you with.” He scratched stubble so light it was nearly invisible. “If you think Headmistress Thurston will believe you, go ahead and talk to her. I’d advise against telling her where you got your information from, though.”
“Why? She seems approachable.” I leaned on a bookcase.
“For you, maybe, since you’re a student. If you can find a way to bring it up theoretically in class, go for it. But she clams up like crazy outside of a classroom setting.
“You know a lot about her.” Bobby raised an eyebrow.
“She’s my Godmother.”
“Oh. Wow.” Blaine rolled his eyes. “Someone here’s an even more fortunate son than me. I might have a silver spoon, but Josh Dennison’s got a magical Godmother.”
“Please, no alpha-hole one-upmanship while I connect the dots.” Lynn shook her head, scribbling down notes on her paper. “I need to hear myself think in here for about five minutes, mmmkay?”
“Whatever Lynn needs to get her brain in gear.” Bobby leaned back in his chair.
The room was silent except for Lynn’s pen. I felt something like a goose walking over my grave. The Grim couldn’t attack again right after busting up the library. Still, something nagged at me like crazy. I glanced around. Henry spun a coin on a string. Bobby folded his hands over his belly. Olivia blinked at Tony, who peered at a speck of nothing just over my head. The toe of Josh’s boot wiggled, as though he wanted to tap his foot but didn’t dare piss Lynn off.
I shut my eyes, trying to focus my attention on whatever bugged me. It was behind and slightly to my right. I stood, keeping my eyes closed and felt my way along the bookshelves. The energy was close, but higher. I stood on my toes and reached up with my left arm. My fingertips traced a fine and fuzzy layer of dust. And then my touch met cold metal. I opened my eyes just as a brass oil lamp tipped off the shelf I’d knocked it from.
“Eek!” My arms flew above my head, making a circle. The lamp clanged to the floor. I heard a low, angry growl from Josh’s direction.
“You okay?” Henry’s voice was right in my ear.
I blinked, glancing around. I was on the opposite side of the room, looking at the entire half-circle of wingback chairs. Six pairs of eyes blinked at me, the faces housing them tilted up higher than usual to gaze at me. My feet dangled in thin air. Arms supported me under my shoulders and knees.
“Um, Henry?” Of course, it was Blaine opening his big mouth first. “Didn’t your mother teach you that it’s not a good idea to meddle in the affairs of Magi?”
“He’s not meddling in my affairs.” I cleared my throat, glancing from Henry’s face to the ground. “He just kept that lamp from knocking me out.”
Henry put me down. I smoothed out my skirt and straightened my top. I was less mussed than after our adventure in the tunnels earlier. Henry put his hands behind his back and stood up straight. He didn’t move or even look at me. I didn’t have to wonder why. Josh glared like a basilisk, his upper lip curled back in a sneer.
“Lamp?” Bobby blinked and looked around. “What lamp?” He wrinkled his nose. “Wait. I smell old oil.”
“Yup.” Tony got out of his chair and strode across the room to where I’d been. “This old thing was hiding up there on the shelf, I think.” He pulled a long scarf out of his pocket and wrapped his hands before touching the lamp. Then he looked at me. “It's not dusty. You touched it. Well, crap.”
“Yeah, but just barely.” I looked down at my left hand. It seemed normal enough, no purple polka-dots or nails growing at an alarming rate. “Why? Is that a bad thing or something?”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Tony shrugged. “You won’t know until something weird happens.”
“Awesome. Because nothing weird is already happening to me.” I rolled my eyes. “What is that lamp, anyway?”
“Djinn house.” Blaine peered at the lamp once Tony put it down on a table. “They’re imprisoned Faeries.”
“Are they, um.” Bobby took a deep breath and looked around. “Seelie or Unseelie?”
“Dude, don’t worry about saying either of those words around anyone here. None of us are in either of those Courts. It’s all good.” Tony shrugged.
“Oh. Okay, then.”
“Anyway, there’s no way to tell which flavor until the Djinn comes out. Which, hmm.” Blaine examined the lamp. I watched ruddy scales cover his hands. He picked it up, turned it over, and shook it. The lid stayed affixed. “It’s in service already. We can’t even talk to this Djinn until either its term is up or whoever it’s serving decides to fess up.”
“Well, we should leave.” Tony had packed up his things faster than I could track. “Put that damn lamp back on the shelf. We shouldn’t talk around it.”
“Wait, you think this lamp is spying on us?” Josh blinked, then turned his head to stare daggers at the lamp instead of the vamp.
“Better safe than sorry, especially since we’re dealing with a Summoner.” Blaine sighed and shook his head, getting up to
return the lamp to the shelf. “My parents have the biggest hoard in this hemisphere, and even they don’t want a Djinn’s lamp. Too risky, according to Mother.”
“Oh, for goodness' sake, let’s just go already before Cat Man has kittens.” Lynn waved her hand over a head still bent over her notebook. I recognized the beginning of her bossiest tone, which it seemed we needed just about then. “Trogdor’s right. Olivia, go get some sleep. I’ll have something for you to do tomorrow. And Blaine, can you go back to your parents’ library? Make a list of things Summoners call up and send it along. All the Summoning books are on reserve all of a sudden.”
“Will do.” Blaine shouldered his backpack. He opened the door for Olivia, then followed her out. Tony watched them go, an inscrutably catlike expression on his face.
“I’m going to order a pizza.” Bobby stood up and stretched. “We can have it in the first-floor lounge. By the time it gets here, we’ll want a break.”
“Maddie, I need to go upstairs and get more books. A lot of them.” Lynn put her notebook and pen down on top of the already substantial stack of books. “Help a girl out.”
“Sure thing.” I followed her out of the room, realizing I’d be leaving Henry and Josh alone in there. Not the best idea, maybe, but it probably had to be done. Twenty years of bad-will between vampires and werewolves would just hang around like a rotten smell until they cleared the air.
The tension in the room was palpable as I reached out to shut the door behind me. The two men stared at each other, looking like negative images, dark-haired Henry clad all in black and blond Josh in a white t-shirt and acid-wash jeans. I hoped they wouldn’t trash the room and give Jeannie a reason to go all bear-form on them once they got done with their chat.
Chapter Nine
Henry
“Okay, Wolfenstein, out with it.” I had to tilt my head up just slightly to glare directly into Josh’s eyes.
“You touch another mortal in my presence again, we will have a problem.” He put his hands on his hips.
“I didn’t see you rushing to help.” I raised an eyebrow.