by T J Kelly
Peony pulled out another light-crystal and handed it to me so I wouldn’t be left in the dark when she left. She was thoughtful like that, and it came naturally to her. I sighed. I still had so much to learn.
I tossed the crystal into the air and imagined an invisible box around it, then floated it right above my head. The crystal followed suit in real life, and there it hovered as I walked out, lighting my path without me having to hold it. Instead, I stuffed my hands in my pockets and slouched out of the arboretum as I headed into the kitchens.
◆◆◆
The lights were on. So much for getting a little quiet time with my tea. Way too many people were awake.
My annoyance melted away when I saw Peter sitting near the table in the middle of the room, of all things eating a teriyaki beef and sprout sandwich with mustard sauce and grilled onions. I recognized it because I had made it earlier. When I lost my appetite, I wrapped it in a cornucopia to keep it exactly the way it was meant to be eaten, with cold, crunchy sprouts and warm beef.
My mouth watered. I was suddenly ravenous. “Welcome back!” I said brightly. I took a step towards Peter, but he held up a hand, and I stopped.
“Don’t even think about it, Rector,” he said around a mouthful of sandwich. He swallowed and narrowed his eyes. “This is great, I don’t care if I stole it, and you can’t take the other half.”
A laugh burst out of my mouth. My best friend was incorrigible. I reminded myself I really only wanted a light snack with tea and headed over to the sink. Peter scooted the other half of the sandwich towards me despite what he said, but I shook my head to indicate he could have it.
“Where have you been?” I asked. I didn't know if he could tell me all the details but it was worth a try. I peeled a banana and ate it while I filled the teakettle with water, then set it on the wood-burning stove to heat.
“Assignment,” he said oh so helpfully. “Here, scoot.” I wasn’t sure how he finished the sandwich so quickly, but he nudged me aside and washed up in the sink.
I tossed the banana peel into the trash. “Wow, what a gentleman.” Peter only winked at me as he dried his hands. He had no shame. I moved around him to check the temperature of the tea water, but he snagged the sleeve of my hoodie, and I stopped.
“Lia, tonight is one of those nights,” he said. I immediately turned and gave him a huge hug.
Tension had stiffened his entire body. It was definitely one of those nights. The ones where he can’t talk about what just happened. And tried to act like everything was normal, but it wasn’t. I tugged on the darkness that was hovering somewhere near his heart, and after absorbing it, he relaxed and stepped back.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said. His eyebrows moved together with concern. “I’m more than capable of handling that little bit of Dark. But you walked in here already off balance.”
Peter’s worried gray eyes looked into mine. I turned away and checked the tea kettle as an excuse to break eye contact. He knew me too well, especially since we spent so much time together in the infirmary after the Taines attacked us last spring.
“It’s fine,” I assured him. “I wanted to brood a little anyway, and too much Light would make it a wasted effort. Mort got back tonight.”
“And that’s bad? Are he and Ged done with their assignment?”
“No, that’s the thing. Mort can’t find him. Uncle Ged’s missing.”
“What the hell? Why didn’t anyone tell me? Where’s Peony? Is she up?” Peter tossed the dish towel aside and started for the door.
“Wait. Peony’s exhausted and already went to bed.” I sighed. Now I ruined Peter’s night on top of everything else. The extra darkness I had siphoned off him swirled around inside me, pressing against my skin. I had to get rid of it before it affected my mood and I started yelling or something.
I pulled the light-crystal Peony handed me out of my pocket. I had made a few just like it in the ring when I was fighting for my company and required to perform a basic Rector spell. Back when Chas had told me the secret to defeating his family’s magic. Which gave me an idea.
Tossing the crystal in the air, unnecessary to work magic but quickly becoming my signature move, I broke the light spell on it and shoved as much Dark into it as I could without making it explode.
The kitchen dimmed around us.
“Whoa, Lia, what a trip.” Peter's eyes were locked on the crystal.
“Right? But it worked. I don’t feel like screaming at you anymore.” I grinned and lowered the crystal to rest on the counter out of the way.
“Well, that’s a relief. Your fits suck,” he said with a lopsided grin on his face. “So fill me in on the details.”
We sat together on the chairs by the stove where my water was steaming. “I don’t know much,” I admitted. “Mort arrived without Uncle Ged and told us he was missing, and then they made us leave. I came across Aunt Peony on my way downstairs and was going to ask her for more details, but she wasn’t up to it.”
Peter understood that was code for her crying and didn’t press me for more information. “Who else was there when Mort arrived?”
“Oh, Reg and Tian are still here. And Harris and Seth.”
“I see,” Peter said. There was something in his voice that caught my attention. “Are they still courting the lovely Lia?”
“Whatever.” I smacked his arm. Everyone wanted to pair me off. I tried not to resent it. They meant well. They didn’t want me to pine away for Chas for forever, but it hadn’t been that long. How many months would it take me to get over being betrayed by the love of my life?
More than a couple.
Peter snorted. He walked to the stove and dropped in the tea bags to steep. “Ged’s gone missing before,” he said.
“That’s what Aunt Peony said. It’s more than that. She was hiding something. She’s scared, for real. I think something bad happened. I’m going to try to get her to tell me about it tomorrow when she wakes up.”
One thing I liked the best about Peter was that I could count on him to take me seriously. My aunt and uncle meant well, but they still thought of me as a kid and tried to protect me from everything. Being attacked and almost killed a few times didn’t help, of course, but that wasn’t my fault. And plenty of grownups get attacked all the time, too.
“I’ll go with you. We can tag-team her until she breaks.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said, grinning. The crystal pulsated slightly. It had turned a strange muddy gray color with swirls of black mist moving around, trapped inside.
“Can you do something with that? I can barely see,” Peter said as he squinted.
He was right. The kitchen light was having a hard time competing with the darkness emanating from the crystal. What would I call that if I made it into a new product? Dark didn’t really glow, so was it an Anti-shine? A Light-sucker?
I was never going to be a good CEO.
Picking up a dish towel, I reached over to drop it on the crystal. The room immediately brightened. “Better?” I asked.
“Totally. Now tell me why you were practically stewing in darkness when you walked in. Was it all because of Ged?”
I sighed. I filled two mugs with tea and handed one to Peter after spooning in a bunch of sugar. He definitely had a sweet tooth. And it gave me time to think before answering him.
“That’s what started it. I’m really worried about Uncle Ged, and I couldn’t get to sleep. It annoyed me when we got kicked out of the room during Mort's report, too. I know I can help. But when I saw Peony crying in the garden, I realized I never even thought about how she was feeling. I was like a selfish little kid, never looking at or seeing somebody else’s pain or point of view.” I couldn’t bear to tell him I didn’t think I would make a good agent. He might think less of me.
Peter sighed and set his mug down. “Quit being so hard on yourself. The Irregulars are new to you. There’s no way to know what’s normal and what’s not. And we see some freaky stuff, so not rea
lizing somebody else is dealing with a bunch of drama happens to us all the time.”
“Yeah, but she’s my aunt and I’m not three years old.”
I rinsed my mug and set it in the sink. Peter set his next to mine, and we wandered out of the kitchen. I headed down the hall aimlessly while he loped along beside me. I could tell he was brooding because there was always a tiny pucker in his lips when he was deep in thought.
“You know you’re too hard on yourself, don’t you?” he asked. He was studying the wristband he was wearing. It looked like one Chas made for us that helped us see in the dark. I still had mine, too, but it was upstairs in a box I kept hidden under my desk in my workshop.
“No, I’m not,” I retorted. “I’m furious at myself, and if you were being honest, you’d admit I was a total selfish jerk. If you’re my friend, you’ll just say that instead of excusing it.” I tried not to allow my self-loathing to leak into my gait, but I couldn’t help stomping as we walked.
“If that’s the case, then fine. You’re a selfish jerk. Better?” Peter grinned at me, and I shook my head, my lips quirking up. I had asked for it.
Everyone was always giving me a pass because I had been an official adult for only a few months, but I was better than that. My whole family created a company that had spent hundreds of years trying to help others. Rectors were raised learning how to problem-solve and find creative new ways to fix issues and see to other people’s needs. Yet I didn’t even think about my aunt once.
As it turned out, shame was something I wasn’t all that great at dealing with. “Not really better after all,” I said, losing the tiny smile. “I’m sorry for being so grumpy. And I’m really glad you’re back, too. Are you going to be here a while?”
We climbed the stairs to the second floor and paused near the window opposite the top step.
“Yeah, I’m done with my assignment. I need to check in with Mort and Peony tomorrow to see what's next but I should be around for a while.”
“Good.” I leaned against the wall, fiddling with the curtain tassels in my distraction. “You better get with them early, because Mort said he will head out first thing to keep looking for Uncle Ged. I also wanted to work on something with you. I’ve been going through some of the oldest spell books I’ve got, and I think you can bridge your magic so you won’t have to draw your spells. I know Uncle Ged was working with you on that, but I found something a little different.”
“Sure, I’d love to. I need a break, anyway. If there isn’t anything urgent pending, I'll ask if I can take a few weeks off and just laze about with you.”
“Ha. I will work you like you’ve never imagined. You might even pick up a few additional elements, too.”
“Really now?” Peter asked. He pulled the curtain fabric out of my hand, probably worried I would accidentally pull the whole thing down. I occasionally had issues with stuff like that.
Laughing, I winked at him. Small crystals lit the halls of the castle, but they were dim. Peter could see the gesture, though, because of his bracelet.
I pushed the rest of the memory about the wristband’s origins out of my head. I was too tired to allow myself to go down that path again.
“Yes, really,” I replied. “Come on, let’s go to bed. I’ve already been up too late, and I want to get an early start. Besides, you look like you’re about to fall over. Didn’t you get any sleep while in the field?”
“Not for the last couple of days. All right, give me another hug. I missed you. I was in a cold, dark place and your hugs are always warm and sunny.” Peter pulled me close, and I felt a tremor go through him. I had been too focused on myself when he got back to sense that. I gave him an extra squeeze and a burst of warmth. His face dropped to my shoulder, making his voice sound hollow. “I don’t know how you keep your darkness from coming through. But thanks.”
I kept my darkness under tight control. Always. Making sure none of it leaked out to harm my best friend in the world was the least I could do. Peter leaned back and patted me on the head. So annoying. I growled at him, and he laughed.
“Night, pipsqueak,” he said.
“Night, beanpole,” I replied.
Peter made me feel better. At least well enough that I could crawl into bed and actually fall asleep. All I had to do was keep the nightmares away.
CHAPTER TEN
I Get Ready
Three days later, and still no word from Armageddon. Peony lost weight and had bags under her eyes, and I didn't know what to do about it. Or about anything. There was nothing solid to go on. We didn’t even know if there was actually anything wrong. It soon became an unwritten rule that we would proceed as normal until we heard otherwise.
And as much as I wanted to focus on my uncle’s disappearance, I had other pressing obligations that were worrying me. Armageddon was supposed to escort me to Rector Enterprises so I could check in. The winner of the trials was prohibited from making any changes to the company for three years after the competition, but it was still mine, and certain ceremonial actions needed to be performed.
Not that I didn't want to go. I spent a lot of time at our headquarters when I was growing up, and it was like a second home. My other home, the manor house in San Francisco, was far too dangerous for me to live in on my own. As an apprentice, I couldn’t anyway. But even a visit was out of the question because of the potential danger. Stopping by my company was at least possible.
“Come on,” Seth said, distracting me from my thoughts. He was waiting at the bottom of the staircase I always used. “We’ve got something to show you.”
“Yeah? Like what?” I couldn’t help being suspicious. Seth and Harris were a couple of real jokers sometimes. I guess their twenty-five percent darkness was the perfect amount to make them mischievous without the occasional flare of cruelty behind most practical jokes.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out, little girl,” he responded. Seth liked to think he was sexy because nobody could figure him out, but I thought it was annoying. And he wasn’t my type, anyway. Being four years his junior and more than a foot shorter put me at a disadvantage that only hard work and a judicious application of charm and sophistication could conquer. If I wanted to. Which, I didn’t.
Instead of going to breakfast, I followed him outside. My stomach grumbled, but I ignored it. I kept up an annoyed, bored look on my face. No need to let on that I was wildly curious. That would only encourage his outrageous behavior. But I did want to know what had gotten Seth up that early.
He led me around the castle until we reached the trees. Not that close to the outer border, but I was still on alert for danger. Just in case.
“Oh, my gosh, Seth. When are we ever going to stop walking? I’m starving!” I said, cringing at the whine in my voice. There was something about his desire to remind me he was older that made me want to act like a little baby around him. I couldn't seem to help myself.
“There you are!” Harris called. We jumped down a low ridge where a small fire was burning in a clearing ringed in rocks. It really wasn’t his fault he was standing right where I had spent the best day of my life with Chas.
Darkness dimmed my eyesight, but I tried to ignore it.
“Hey, Harris. What’s up?” I asked. If I heard the brittle edge to my voice, so could they. Maybe they would chalk it up to me being crabby in the mornings and not because my heart felt like it had just been squashed.
“We’ve been working on expanding our elemental magic, as you insisted, Madam Taskmaster. Look what we figured out.” Harris cleared his throat. He was actually nervous. I focused as hard as I could on him to stop thinking about what a good kisser Chas was. And butterflies. I didn’t want to think about the butterflies Chas had summoned, turning the entire area into a vision of gossamer beauty. It almost killed me to remember.
Harris lifted his hand, and a layer of dirt rose in response. He flicked his fingers and dropped the soil on top of the fire, effectively snuffing it out. He then scooped up a cup he
had on the ground next to him and poured water onto the mound to make sure it was fully extinguished.
“Check this out,” Seth said, grinning proudly as he pointed to Harris. As if I weren’t already looking.
Harris snapped his fingers, and the mud he had made burst into flames. There wasn’t any wood for fuel. The water itself was burning.
“Whoa, cool!” I said. “That’s awesome! Okay, do it again and show me how.”
The two of them laughed. Harris kicked some more dirt onto the fire snuff it again and shook his head.
“It’s Seth’s turn. You can try to trace that.”
I was dying to know how they did it. Not only had Harris used the element of Fire, which he hadn’t developed enough to claim at his Ascension Ceremony, but he also caused the opposite element, Water, to generate flames. That was such a trip.
Seth picked up a stone and pointed to another small fire at the edge of the clearing. I could sense it was burning wood as any standard issue fire did. He then tossed the stone towards the fire, where it hovered above the flames. He made a fist and it sprayed water, snuffing them out.
“Wow!” I shouted.
Seth grinned at me and winked. “Did you catch it?” he asked.
“All I sensed was Fire.” My forehead wrinkled. “How is that possible? Are you cloaking the Water somehow?”
“Nope. We finally worked it out last night. We can use the elements we selected during our Ascension Ceremony to connect to the other elements. Once we got it to work, we noticed that we couldn’t see a signature trace for the new element. So we used Fire to make Water, and nobody can trace the Water.”
“That’s amazing. Seriously, you guys rocked it.” I gave credit where credit was due. It was a fantastic accomplishment. “Okay, tell me how. I need to know.”
