Chapter Twenty-Four
Around the time that Pi was heading into the Eternal City, Aurie entered the practice room. Beyond the glass, the city of Invictus glittered, a moving landscape on fire with life and magic. A giant illusionary dragon soared above the Frank Orpheum theater in the distance, but that's not what drew Aurie's gaze. The field of interwoven slats lay in the exact position that she'd left them just a few weeks ago. She hadn't attempted mendancy since.
Aurie pushed those thoughts from her mind. That wasn't why she'd come to the Spire. The possible events of later this evening brought a warm glow to her face.
As if on cue, she heard a foot scuff, a purposeful noise meant for her. She hadn't heard him enter, but here he was.
"Zayn," she said, his name slipping off her tongue.
His gaze bounced around the room, but eventually came back to her. "How did you get access to this place?"
"It doesn't matter," she said. "We're not staying."
"We're not?"
A few weeks ago he'd reminded her that he'd taken her on a thoroughly unique date in the Undercity—ignoring the fact that they'd both almost died from a horde of magic-eating spiders. It was her turn to reveal something of herself, so she chose the flip side of the city.
Aurie opened the window. A brisk wind billowed into the room, throwing her hair around her face. The latch had been magically held, but was no match for her craftwork.
After slipping off her sneakers and socks, she stepped onto the ledge, hanging on with one hand, swaying back and forth. She couldn't help the sly smile slithering to her lips. The night city was beautiful, but she didn't have time to enjoy it yet.
"You can climb in those, right?" she asked.
Zayn looked down at his dark jeans, black button-down shirt, and stylish boots. He cocked a smile, the boy in him coming through. "I can climb in anything."
"Meet me at the top," she said, pulling herself onto the ledge above the window. Before he'd arrived, she'd cast the necessary spells to make the climb. Her fingers had ridges like gecko fingers, while dime-sized suction cups covered her toes and the balls of her feet.
Zayn leaned out the window, looking up. "Are you sure about this?"
"Are you afraid?"
"Fear isn't a bad thing," he said. "Keeps you safe. Keeps you from doing stupid things."
"It's not stupid if you're prepared," she said. "I know you can climb, or you wouldn't be in your hall. But since you seem to lack the proper motivation, I'll wager you that the first person to the top gets to make the other do whatever they want."
The dare had the expected reaction. She could see the hungry look in his eyes.
"You wouldn't stand a chance," he said.
"I'll see you at the top," she said, and took another pull upward.
"I never said I agreed!" he shouted into the wind.
"Too bad!" she yelled over her shoulder, staying focused on moving upward at a good clip.
This wasn't the first time she'd made the climb. A few weeks ago, she'd gotten frustrated with mendancy and started poking around, hoping she could find a way into Invictus' apartments. She knew the likelihood was nil that she'd actually discover a way in, but it was better than doing something she knew she'd fail at.
She'd climbed the Spire in the hopes of getting a glimpse of his rooms, but the windows were made of black glass. Only after a couple of sessions of exploring did she realize the patrons, and especially the Cabal, would have already tried to get in this way.
The wind was brutal the further up she went. From the open window to the roof was seven hundred feet, give or take a few stories, since she hadn't exactly been measuring. It would only get worse as she went. Her fastest time was forty-seven minutes.
Aurie glanced down to see something dark moving perpendicular to the window. It moved out of sight before she could get a good look at it. She assumed it was Zayn, but it hadn't looked like him. Whatever spell he'd used had made him look hairy, and maybe with an extra leg or arm or something.
Gusts did their best to throw her off, but she'd gotten used to the rising whistle as the wind raced around the Spire and crouched against the glass when it got too bad. Halfway up, her arms grew tired, but there was nowhere to rest, except the roof.
She made the top an hour before midnight, rolling onto her back to catch her breath and reverse the gecko finger and octopus toes. Forty-two minutes. A new record.
The top of the Spire was fifty feet in diameter. A metal tower at the center rose into the clouds with alternating red and white beacon lights warning away low-flying planes.
The clouds were restless like an upside-down sea in a storm. Aurie watched as the gondolas soared far beneath her, tiny lights moving across the sky on invisible wires.
Watching the city made her skin tingle with expectation. For as long as she'd known she could wield magic, she'd wanted to come to Invictus. Not just the Hundred Halls, but the city itself, revel in its shops and sights, breathe the air that always had a hint of ozone about it. When she was six, she'd drawn a map of the city on the wall of her bedroom in crayon. Her parents were mad at first, but when they saw the detail she'd put into the cartography, they let it stay.
"This view is amazing," said Zayn, coming up from behind her.
Once again, he let her hear him, but she knew he could be as silent as thoughts.
Zayn put his arms around her. She leaned into him, resting the back of her head on his shoulder. He was only a few inches taller than her, so he cradled her against him, breath softly exhaling against her neck, bringing gooseflesh to her arms. She wanted him, but was content to wait for the right moment.
"I didn't know this place was up here," he said after a time.
"Not many do. There are names carved into the concrete around the rim, some with years. Students have been coming up here for a long time," she replied.
He pointed to the left, into the fifth ward. The Stone Singer Hall was lit up like a colorful flower. The massive concrete petals were usually open during the day and closed at night, but it appeared there was some occasion happening. It could have been her imagination, but she swore she could hear music rising up through the air from that Hall, even though it was too far away to be possible.
"You can see every Hall from here," he said.
"If you know where to look. I found about thirty-one and then I gave up."
She pulled away and slipped the knapsack covered with buttons off her back. Zayn eyed her curiously, examining and flicking a button reading "I Heart Dusty Tomes" with his fingernail. Ignoring him, she opened the empty sack and after maneuvering her hand around, pulled out a couple of bottles of chilled water.
"Nice trick," he said, poking the canvas with a finger. "I thought that thing was empty."
"It is." She held it up. A mist swirled inside the canvas bag.
He grabbed her arm, jaw dropping. "You've got a portal in there."
"It's not as impressive as you think. Only goes back to a trunk in my room where I left a few things for tonight," she said.
He examined the construction of the miniature portal, forehead bunched, shaking his head as if he were looking at a talking pig.
"We embedded runic switches into a titanium wire frame with obsidian chips creating the scaffolding for the portal," she explained.
"Ignoring how you acquired runic switches, how did you come up with this? You're a second-year initiate. A damn good one, but this is mastery work," he said.
Aurie knew it was good, but she hadn't considered it was that remarkable. The idea for the construction of the device had come from her parents' notes. She and Pi had been working on it in their spare time, knowing it might be useful later. It didn't have much range—the portal could only reach the length of the city—but it was handy.
"Are you done admiring? Or did you forget that you lost the bet?" she asked, lips parted slightly, tongue resting on her teeth.
"Um...I am ready to submit to your wishes," he said, responding with hi
s own playful grin. At one corner, a little dimple formed.
"Good," she said, placing a single finger into his chest. "Jump off the tower."
He had a brief epileptic reaction. "What?"
"Jump off," she said, letting the corner of her grin grow wider. "Or are you afraid?"
He glanced around him, suddenly worried. "I don't understand."
"I won. So you have to do as I say. I want you to jump off the tower," she said, relishing his unease.
At that moment, a gust of wind battered them both, streamers from the clouds whipping past the tower. The smell of a storm brewing tickled her nose.
"Fine," she said, shoving the canvas knapsack into his gut. "If you won't jump off, I will."
Before he could say a word otherwise, she sprinted to the east side, and in one leap, cleared the safety wall. A rush of adrenaline turned her into one big laughing scream as she fell. She knew he had to be freaking out, and the moment she went over the edge, she was too, no matter how many times she'd done it.
After about thirty feet of falling, the safety enchantment kicked in, slowed her descent, then reversed her movement, sending her stomach into her throat, before launching her back onto the roof like a slingshot.
Zayn had reached the edge about the time she came flying back up. She hit the concrete and tumbled onto her knees and side, laughing as if the world was laughing with her.
"What the fuck," he said, face etched with worry. He looked near to tears. "You gave me a heart attack."
She let him help her up. Kissed him on the cheek as a reward before pulling away.
"Let me guess," he said, slowly recovering. "There's a reverse gravity field surrounding the tower."
She nodded enthusiastically. "Your turn."
He didn't seem eager, but he reluctantly handed over the bag. He took off in a northern direction. Aurie quickly grabbed his arm.
"No, not that way," she said.
"Now you're just messing with me," he said.
"No, really. The enchantment's weaker on that side. I'm not saying you'd fall, but let's not chance it," she said.
He backed up and jumped in the same location she had. A string of expletives followed him over, then like a Doppler effect when a car goes screaming past, the curses came back. He landed on his feet like a gymnast after a tumbling pass. Aurie was jealous, since she usually fell.
"I can't believe I just did that," he said, holding his hands out, fingers splayed, as if he were trying to keep the world in one place.
Then before she could approach him, he turned and ran the other way, leaping to the west side, a howl of victory disappearing and then reappearing. He went back and forth a few times before finally strolling up to her, eyes wide, tongue wagging, and generally wigged out from adrenaline.
"I'll never ride another rollercoaster again," he said. "That was sick. Sick, sick, sick. Jump with me."
He reached out to her, and she stepped inside his grasp, bunching the front of his shirt in her fists, latching onto his lower lip with her teeth gently, but firmly. He mewed with enjoyment and tucked his arm around her neck, cinching her closer.
They kissed: sweet, probing, hungry.
While he'd been jumping, she'd pulled a blanket from her room and laid it on the concrete. She pushed him down, straddling his leg, putting her fingernails against his neck.
The clothes came off faster than she'd planned, but she was a victim of her own success, rising to his need. She traced the dark webbing on his chest, nibbling, biting, digging.
She guided him towards her as he quivered with excitement.
"Did...you?" he asked, trying to form the word.
"I cast the proper spells," she said, enjoying the way he was enraptured of her touch.
Once they had joined, there was heat, a slow burn, rising and falling. She was worried he was too excited, but he seemed to catch himself, and they rocked together on the top of the Spire, winds proving a touch of cool air, lasting until the sky crackled with electricity.
They came together, screams lost amid the approaching thunder, collapsed, cradled together, and whispered soft words to each other. It was exactly as Aurie had wanted it.
Propped on an elbow facing him, she traced her fingers across his naked chest, while he kneaded her hip absently. Their feet were tangled, and all seemed right in the world. It was, as far as she could remember, one of the happiest moments of her life.
"What will you do after you graduate?" she asked, trying not to sound needy.
He closed his eyes tightly and shook off the question. "I'd rather not talk about it."
A twinge of jealousy hit her in the gut. Did he have a girlfriend back home when he returned? Was his relationship with Priyanka more than as an assistant? The thoughts were brief, and painful, but she shut them off before they could spiral out of control. Better not to borrow trouble.
His eyes brimmed with sadness, burdens carried with quiet stoicism.
"What is it?" she asked him. "You can talk to me."
"I want to. I really do. I've really been enjoying this," he said.
She kissed him. He didn't quite kiss back. An idea formed, born on the suspicions her sister had confided. She decided to test him.
"Are you worried about the wish spell?" she asked.
He was a better liar than she would have guessed. He acted like it was the first time he'd heard of it, even though she knew better.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
She pushed herself into a sitting position. It seemed rather odd to be naked on the roof of a building having a serious conversation, but it seemed silly to put clothes on now.
"Back when we first met, you mentioned a project you needed help with. You asked about a book called Impossible Magics, but you never asked again about it," she said.
He sat up, crossed his legs, and looked her in the eyes. "I figured since you didn't mention it that Arcanium didn't have a copy."
"Are you sure you're not looking for a wish spell?" she asked, drilling her gaze into him.
The intense focus made him look away. "Of course not."
She decided to drop the hammer. "Then why did you ask Lady Amethyte about it?"
His head snapped around. "No. I don't know how you know about that, but no. That's not what that was about. I told you. There's a project I'm working on. Lady Amethyte was answering some questions for me."
Aurie sighed. "Zayn. There's no reason to lie to me. I know you're looking for the wish spell. You work for Priyanka Sai. I know she put you up to this. I've wanted to believe in us all along, but if you're not going to be honest with me..."
He grew angry, squeezed his hands into fists beside his head. "I'm telling you. It's not what it looks like." He bit his lower lip and shook his head back and forth slowly as if it caused him great pain. "I can't explain why, or what it is that I'm doing, but trust me. This isn't for them."
The way he said it, the way he said them, she knew exactly what he meant. The Cabal.
"Zayn, you can tell me. I'm...well, I like you a lot. Whatever's going on, I can help," she said.
Zayn grabbed his clothes and started shoving his legs into his jeans, the muscles on his stomach rippling.
"No, you can't. I mean, you can, but you can't," he said. "Stop talking about this."
"See!" she said, latching onto his moment of indecision. "I can help. You said so."
He looked at his palms as if he were seeing something there. "No. I shouldn't have come. We shouldn't be doing this. I don't want...I don't want..." He paused, looking straight at her. "I don't really want you. I've been using you. It's a game at the hall. We have to pick a girl and seduce her. Make her believe that we like her."
His words were cold shards of glass against her throat. "You don't mean that."
He stood taller, face slowly hardening into a mask of a person she didn't know.
"Are you really that naive? I told you I'm Priyanka's assistant. You're a second year. Don't you think she knows exac
tly what I'm doing all the time? I needed something from you and now I don't. It's over. You can go back to your pathetic hall."
It felt like ribbons of hot metal were constricting her chest so she couldn't breathe. It took every ounce of self-control not to lash out with magic. He sensed the faez bubbling up and tilted his head in a dare.
"Zayn. What is going on? I don't believe any of this," she said, desperate to return to the feelings she had only a short while ago.
"It doesn't matter if you believe it. It only matters that you leave. Go back to your hall. Forget about me. Worry about your silly contest, and figure out who your real enemy is," he said.
A bolt of lightning slipped past the Spire, blinding Aurie, the instant thunder making her duck. As she cleared her eyes, she realized he was gone.
A void opened in her chest, sucking all her emotions into it. For a moment, she'd thought the old Zayn had been speaking to her, but realized that was only her wishful thinking. She'd been a fool to think they had a relationship.
Aurie stood naked on the top of the Spire, watching the storm cross the city, the tiny hairs across her body attuned to the energy, contemplating where she'd gone wrong. No cathartic rains fell, leaving her agitated, thoughts swirling like the clouds in the sky. Eventually, Aurie realized if she didn't get moving soon, she'd be spotted climbing down when the sun came up.
Clothed and enchanted, she took one last look at the spot where she and Zayn had been together, memories already turning bitter in the hazy light of reality. Life was like that, sweetest before the fall, marbled with fears and laughter. No guarantees that even the brightest moments wouldn't fade away as quickly as looking away from the sun. She began her climb downward, heavy, sad, alert. She wouldn't make the same mistake again.
Chapter Twenty-Five
A headache as big as a dragon was sitting behind Pi's forehead, exhaling flame against the back of her eyes. She lay on the couch outside the contest room with a bag of ice on her forehead moaning softly.
Web of Lies (The Hundred Halls Book 2) Page 18