by D. R. Perry
“Because Umbral Magi can take care of themselves. They don’t need undead blood-drinkers putting their hands all over them to avoid getting hit in the head.”
“You may be right.” I couldn’t shut off the internal Billy Joel soundtrack about how I may be crazy but it just may be a lunatic she was looking for. I did stop the smirk it inspired from touching my lips. “What’s your problem with me, anyway? You don’t freak out about the guys in Night Creatures.”
“They were all turned near the end of the Big Reveal.” Josh bared his teeth. “I know you’ve been operating much longer than that. How old are you anyway?”
“Not really that old. Turned in 1989.” I held his gaze. In a staring match, vampires have a distinct advantage. Biologically , we don’t need to blink. I’d made a habit of it, though, so it took a little focus.
“And how many did you turn in the 90s?”
“None.”
“How about before and after that?”
“None.”
“Bullshit. Vamps always want to turn someone. It’s part of your biology, after all.”
“Still, I haven’t.” I’d almost forgotten that Josh was a sophomore here at PPC. He’d probably taken some kind of Extrahuman Biology class by now. He’d know vampires can only reproduce either by turning people or mating with other vampires. The latter was a long and complicated process.
“How do you manage that when vampires much older than you went on a turning spree all over the world?”
“Because I never got into the business of making and pulling strings like the really old vampires. I was a Psychic first, back before basic focus training got integrated into regular schools. I learned how to control myself before you were even a twinkle in your mother’s eye.”
“Huh. Who trained you, then?” He raised an eyebrow, lifting his head so he could look down his nose at me.
“One of the best Psychics in Providence from back in the 60s.” I hoped I was right. The identity of my mentor was something I must have put in the memory bank and then wiped.
“I don’t suppose you have proof?”
“Ask Professor Watkins. He signs off on all my papers.”
“He’s a Projection Psychic, not the Memory kind.” Josh’s surly tone made me struggle against shooting back some old Star Trek quote at him.
I know. But he vouches for me all the same, and it’s easy enough for you to check. Are you going to argue with an old Navy Seal?”
“Fine. I’ll believe you for now. But you have to admit you’re pretty damn dangerous.”
“So are you.” I put my hands on my hips. “Do you need a lecture about all the Magi and Psychics you dated last semester?”
“I can control myself. My parents are Alphas who expect me to follow in their footsteps.”
“Just like a vampire trying not to get arrested or, worse, has to control himself, or are wolf shifters deadlier than undead blood-drinkers?”
“Point taken.” His concession came through clenched teeth, but the fact that it came at all told me Josh was probably more easy-going than typical Alpha heirs. I didn’t have time to delve into the reason for that but made a mental note that it existed all the same.
“So, can we just agree to disagree now and focus on the truly creepy conspiracy theory that two out of two brainiacs agree on?”
“Not just yet. Still a hatchet to bury.”
“And that is?”
“Maddie.” Josh’s lip curled again. I blinked, surprised he still remembered her after she’d left the room. The amulet would have lost its effect on him once she left. “Don’t be so surprised I remember her. It’s a wolfy Alpha thing. Memory Psychics aren’t the only ones who can trump Umbral Affinity. Faerie magic can do it, too.”
“Ah.” I knew wolf Alphas remembered everyone in their packs. That meant either Maddie had wolf shifter blood somewhere in her family history, or Josh was forming some kind of pack. That gave this conversation more weight than I’d initially thought. Maybe this was a dominance contest with Josh trying to protect a potential pack member or establish a pecking order. “So, what is the problem with Maddie, exactly?”
“Like I said, you’re all over her. You spent time with her before this meeting. Alone time. Touchy-feely time.” He narrowed his eyes. “Explain.”
“We ran from the Grim together. It attacked us in the library basement, just like she said.” I scoffed. “Thought you said you believed that.”
“What else?” Josh would know if I lied. Wolf shifters could smell everything vampires could.
“She kissed me.” I took a deep breath, trying not to lick my lips.
“Don’t let her. You’re no good for someone like her.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s creepy for old vamps to hit on chicks more than half their age.”
“You’re right.” I thought about the first time I saw her smile and how her first thought after the attack had been for me. Someone with that kind of light inside should never have to consider an eternity without the sun. I should back off and give her room to make her mind up about that.
“Huh.” Now it was Josh’s turn to blink. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“You’re the big Alpha on campus here, Josh. I’m not challenging you on that. All I do is jog memories and give advice. You tell me. What should I do about it?”
“Stay away from her.” He barked it like the order it was. No mere suggestion from the likes of Joshua Dennison.
“Can’t really do that, since the Grim seems to be after both of us and we’re all working on this Extramagus thing.”
“Okay, you have a point.” Josh glanced at the shelf with the Djinn lamp. “So, stop rushing to help her. Stop acting like Prince Charming when you’re Count Dracula.”
“Fine. I’ll quit with anything that might remotely resemble flirting. I answered your question. She’s like your pack-mate now, right? So what are you going to do about keeping her in check?”
“Shouldn’t that be enough?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Nope.” This time, I let the corners of my mouth tilt up. Giving in to Josh’s play for dominance over the group had been freeing, lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. All the same, I wasn’t going to play Omega. I’d call things as I saw them even when it wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
“Why?”
“Because Maddie’s strong-willed. And she’s lonely. That’s not something you’re going to understand right away, so let me lay it out for you. She’s spent most of her life with only her parents and maybe her grandparents able to remember her. When I gave her that amulet, she looked at it like salvation. Do you know the first thing she did once she had it?”
“No. Tell me.”
“She followed me downtown and went to a concert.” I looked him right in his reddish-brown eyes. I kept staring, not blinking or indicating in any way that my next admission felt like a knife to the gut. Josh had my support in taking control of the Grim situation. Now, I was about to put my chances with Maddie in his hands. It was the best thing I could do for her, the safest thing, what she deserved. “Right now, she thinks I’m the only guy who will remember her, ever. She doesn’t care that I’m undead and dangerous and twice her age.”
“Huh.” Josh’s lips stretched out in a wide grin that shifted into a bright smile. “I know exactly what to do about that.” He ran a hand through his hair and popped his collar. “Thanks, Henry. You’re not so bad. If all the vampires acted like you, there might be a chance at rebuilding the ties between our people.”
I watched him turn on his heel and stride out of the room. If rolling over for an up-and-coming wolf Alpha would keep Maddie safe from the Grim, I’d do it a hundred times over. Maybe he’d even help protect me in the process. And as much as it’d hurt to watch Josh court the first girl I’d cared for since the Cold War, I knew it’d be less painful than watching her torn to pieces by the Grim or whatever else got summoned. She might end up rejecting him anyway, stubborn as she was.
&n
bsp; There wasn’t a future for someone like her with me. Her own parents were a testament to that. Her mother was still human even though her father had been a vampire for most of Maddie’s life. The approvals board for turning was an endless nest of vipers disguised as red tape. If they hadn’t given her parents approval, they’d be unlikely to grant it to her.
I shouldered the leather jacket that had been my only physical comfort for what seemed like forever. As I headed out of the room, I took one last look at the Djinn’s lamp on the shelf. There was no way to tell whether it was already in use like Blaine and Tony had said. Still, it was tempting to go over and give it a rub, anyway. A few wishes might help us. But I couldn’t risk it. The Djinn might serve the summoner. It also might be Unseelie, which would make its wishes more like something out of The Monkey’s Paw than Disneyland.
I pressed the bottom button on the old-fashioned light-switch, then stepped out of the room. As the door closed behind me, I understood that another portal had shut during my earlier conversation with Josh. The saying about a door closing and a window opening was a crock of bull. Vampires were supposed to shut themselves up in lightless rooms after all. I’d have to just stick with my decision to do what was best for everyone. For Maddie, especially. I already cared too much.
Chapter Ten
Maddie
There wasn’t much to do at the first-floor lounge. I watched the door for Henry, but only Josh appeared. He wolfed down slices of pepperoni pizza from Caserta’s. Ha, ”wolfed.” I didn’t blame him. It was good stuff. Blaine even took a few slices on the road back to Newport.
I listened to Lynn ask Tony way more than twenty questions. He described some other creatures that Summoners could bind. Seelie Brownies were physically weak but excellent spies. They could make bargains with either Unseelie Gnomes or the Seelie Imps who twisted time or made miracles. Pixies did everything through water, with Sprites their airy counterparts. Spites were Sprites morphed into Spectral hounds the Queen had made to counter the King's Grims. Spectral magic was the opposite of Umbral, like fire to water.
I wondered how a cat shifter had all this information about Faerie creatures. Lynn’s left eyebrow would soon get stuck in the upright position if it hadn’t already. I had a feeling she’d figure out what was up with Tony sooner or later.
Later on, Bobby and Lynn walked ahead of me toward our room. She went back down the hall with him after a murmured conversation I tried not to listen to. I went to bed, remembering those risky stolen moments with Henry. I’d been at his mercy, but he’d controlled himself. That had to mean something.
I gazed at the shadowy ceiling, reached out with one hand, made swirls and eddies in what everyone thought was the absence of light. Shadow play was the most common way Magi discovered their children had Umbral talent. Mom told a story of how she used to find shadowscapes above my crib. My earliest memories were of shadows and the other stories Mom told when she thought I wasn’t listening. The sad one about how my aunt died alone because no one could remember her long enough to save her life. Would I end up like her, or like Grandma? Grandpa Joe was a wolf shifter, able to recall her because of their pack ties.
Eventually, sleep turned the shadows into dreams. My alarm went off what felt like a minute later. I got ready for class, then headed straight down to Thayer Street. I wanted to see my friends that morning but needed my thoughts more. The snow from before winter break had melted. It was weird to walk down streets with just an occasional dingy gray snow pile in January. In Vermont, the snow stuck around longer. I stopped at Au Bon Pain for a croissant since I’d skipped the dining hall. I relished the quiet anonymity of interacting with people who wouldn’t remember me even with my amulet. The staff in the cafe had no idea a Summoner was messing with the school down the street.
I was used to Umbral Affinity for the daily minutiae of living. On a contemplative morning like this, activating the amulet to get breakfast would just make me feel like a falcon with wet wings. That reminded me to spend the rest of the walk thinking about my notes. There’d be a test at the end of class today.
I was ten minutes early, so I said the incantation to turn the amulet on before walking into the classroom. Charles and Ian were already there. They passed their notebooks back and forth, getting in some studying I’d neglected the night before. Being chased through the catacombs and then finding a Djinn lamp had put a monkey wrench in those plans. Last-minute studying seemed like a good idea.
“Do you mind some company?” I smiled as Charles and Ian looked up from their work.
“Drag a chair over.” Ian waved at the empty end of the bench. “We’re on device activation, figure it’d dovetail nicely with the activity today.”
“Oh, yeah, we’re making simple gadgets today.” I pulled up a chair and sat.
“Have you ever done that?” Charles ran one hand through his blue hair. “No one else in my family has magic, so I’ve never even seen it done.”
“I made some shadow pictures before. Never lasted more than a few minutes, though.” I shrugged. “It will be interesting, trying to channel Umbral energy in such a bright room.”
“Oh, yeah. Wow. I didn’t think of that.” Ian shook his head, wincing with the movement.
“I’ll manage. It’s about getting the theory in this class, anyway.” I shrugged. “I can always make shadows around a small object with my hands.”
“Yeah.” Charles breathed out a sigh that probably sounded more relieved than he’d intended.
I glanced up to see Nox hurry into the room alone, looking more put together than usual, though her eyes seemed slightly vacant. It reminded me of the time I’d seen Olivia after she had her Adderal. She pulled a jet-black patch of what looked like fur from her bag and tucked it under her shirt, pressing it to her stomach. I blinked, barely able to believe my eyes as it melded with her skin, vanishing entirely. Droplets of water beaded up on her face, smelling distinctly of a dank fen or riverbank. Her hair dampened and increased in volume, taking on that unkempt appearance I’d thought was just her desired look. She dabbed her face with a small gym towel. Her eyes gleamed with an awareness they’d lacked before.
“Sorry about the swamp smell, guys.” Nox’s face reddened a little as she hung her head.
“Oh! I had no idea you were a Kelpie until now.” Ian just barely stopped himself from clapping his hands. “I’ve never met a Faerie shifter before.”
“It’s okay. I usually keep it down on low, but that’s what I get for hitting the snooze button too many times. I’ve been wiped all week. My magic feels sparse. Usually, Unseelie energy’s all over the place this time of year. It’s why I’m taking this class over the inter-session.”
“Huh, what could possibly be displacing seasonal Faerie magic?” Ian chewed his bottom lip.
“Hmm.” I tapped my pencil against my book. “A bunch of Seelie creatures in the area, a Magus who can siphon Fae energy, unseasonably warm weather, a Seelie artifact washing up on the beach. Stuff like that.”
“Wow, you know more than I’d think about that kind of thing, Maddie.” Nox peered at me from under her long, thick bangs.
“I spent most of last night studying magic creatures and energy. Some friends are taking Terminology and Creature Classification.” I smiled, hoping she wouldn’t ask for a list.
“Study buddy osmosis learning, huh?” Nox actually smiled.
“Something like that.” I looked up at the clock, saw it was time for class to start. “Where’s Professor Thurston?”
“Maybe she’s getting things for us to make gadgets out of.” Charles flipped over a flashcard. “Ugh, will I ever remember this coincidence postulate?”
“Which one?” Ian leaned against Charles’ shoulder, picking up the card. “Oh. Coincidence Denial. That’s tricky because it should really be called Coincidence Defiance.”
“How so?” Nox dropped her workbook and pencils on the bench without even looking at them. She headed over to flip over the flashcard, then read off
the back. “One way to attempt breaking a coincidence pattern, Coincidence Denial is the attempt to change a likely magical outcome by repeating the pattern with one or more major changes.”
“That’s a vague and confused way of putting it.” I shook my head. “No wonder you have trouble remembering it. How about thinking of it like lucid dreaming? Instead of waking up, you stay asleep and give yourself a weapon or some friends to fight the danger.”
“So, Coincidence Denial is to recognize the pattern and doing something about it that the last poor sap didn’t get to try?” Charles smiled. “Except I’ll think of The Dark Tower. Like when Roland had the horn at the end of the series, you know next time it’ll be different for him. Thanks, Maddie. That helped me get my brain around it way better.”
“You’ve got lucky study buddies.” Nox turned her head toward the door, but not before I caught the weary look in her eyes. “I think the Professor just walked in downstairs.”
“Thanks, Nox.” I faked a smile. Something was bothering my lab partner. It occurred to me that maybe she’d be helpful if the summoner had Faerie creatures at his disposal. Maybe she’d even know something about that Djinn lamp. I banished the thought. She had her own issues. It’d be insensitive to just jump in asking for help without finding out if she felt up for anything besides classwork.
Nox ran her hand through her hair, giving me a better look at her eyes. They looked bloodshot and a little puffy as though she’d been about to cry. It was awfully early to be that down in the dumps. I wasn’t exactly a morning person, but sleep always sort of reset my emotional state. Either Nox had bad news that morning, or she hadn’t slept. I’d want to talk to her later. Just as I was thinking I should text Lynn and ask her whether a Kelpie might be helpful, Professor Thurston arrived.
“Today’s activity is important but difficult. I don’t expect any of you to succeed at making a permanent gadget. That said, if you can’t understand the principles behind imbuing an item with your particular school, you’re going to have a rough go of things this session.” The Professor set a large cardboard box on the instructor’s bench. It rattled, as though it contained a collection of things. “Come up and get an item to work with.”