It wasn’t enough.
Once again, Jun lowered her palms to the floor as she opened her mouth and screamed. She screamed her throat raw. Felt the pulse of her heart as a drum in her ears. With each beat, she poured her loss and the broken edges where her father was ripped away. She felt it when the electricity struck deep, meeting the earthquake fault line.
25
Durant Ave was quiet. Nikolai opened David’s room to find him sitting in front of a computer monitor displaying a chinchilla in a knitted top hat. They were already searching up Jun. But what did they know?
“Why are you looking at pictures of a squirrel?” Nikolai asked, playing dumb.
“Research.” David kept scrolling through the blog and all the various costumes Jun made for her pet.
“Hasn’t been much going on here. If this is the kind of research you’ve been doing, I can see why.”
“You’d be surprised.” David smirked in a self-satisfied way.
“Try me.”
“Sorry, no can do. Roman’s orders.”
Could this guy be any less obvious? But Nikolai could play along.
“I thought we were a team, yeah? Aren’t we all looking for the magician?”
“Yes. But some of us like methods that are more effective than others.”
“Effective how? You’ve found him, then? You’re on his trail?”
“Or her,” David said, scrolling through comments on Jun’s blog.
Nikolai’s hand balled up into a fist, and he forced himself to loosen it. He was too late. Jun was already a target. “You don’t need my help?”
“That’s right. We got a system. And when Roman, Pistachio and I finish off the magician, we’ll all split the reward.”
David was completely suckered into this half-baked serial killing scheme. Was that all it took? Dangle a bit of money in his face, like a mercenary for hire?
Nikolai had heard enough. David was more than happy to implicate himself. But how committed was he to the cause?
“This system you have is legitimate, right? You guys aren’t just going around in an ice cream truck murdering college kids in alphabetical order?”
David got up from the computer and turned, hands clenched at his sides.
Nikolai was hoping to see some remorse, or at least some guilt at being found out.
David showed none, instead cracking his knuckles and shaking his head at Nikolai. “What’s your problem? You have, like, the highest kill rate in all of North America. Is that not enough for you? You’ve got to take this one away from everybody else, too?”
“I’ve never resorted to killing innocents.” This wasn’t a competition. It was supposed to be about taking out the monsters parading about in human form. Keeping people safe.
“Yes. You are so good at finding magicians and finishing the job. And getting all the payout. You know that’s why no one wants to work with you.”
“That’s why you think Roman and Pistachio are hiding what they’re doing?” If Nikolai wasn’t so busy watching David, waiting for him to move, he would have face palmed. “If their methods got reported to the Order, they’d get blacklisted. Do you know what would happen to them without Order protection?”
David scoffed. “It’s all for the greater good. We gotta take down the magicians somehow. Those losers we killed would probably end up dead anyway in the next earthquake if we don’t do anything to stop it.”
Nikolai shook his head. David didn’t get it. He’d try to connect the dots for him in simple terms. “You never stopped and wondered how they managed to get away with this for so long? Pistachio and Roman have been in the business together for years. Just the two of them. You didn’t think it was strange that they had to take on two newcomers to their team? Would you be so willing to help them kill people if you thought maybe you might be next on their list?”
“It’s a dangerous profession.” David brushed away his concern. “People get spooked and quit. Or get injured. You’re just trying to make this mean something since you don’t fit in here with the rest of us.”
“If they’re so willing to throw me out, aren’t you worried that they’ll do the same to you?”
“No,” David scoffed. “Not everyone can get with the program. You obviously can’t.”
“You don’t have to get mixed in with their bullshit.” Last chance. “Just walk away.”
David brought his fists up, elbows in, and swung.
Nikolai tucked in his chin and rolled with the punch. The blow grazed his temple. Nikolai feigned a weak hit, and David came in closer.
The next blow caught Nikolai square in the stomach, winding him, and a meaty arm wrapped around Nikolai’s neck. Stars burst in bright flashes. Stepping back and locking his leg behind David’s, Nikolai turned and threw him to the ground.
Nikolai stopped him from getting back up with a blade between the fourth and fifth rib, just to the left of the sternum. Straight to the heart.
David blinked in surprise at the handle jutting out before muttering, “Asshole.” His eyes widened when he realized where he was hit. Or maybe his reaction came from the catastrophic drop in blood pressure from all the immediate internal bleeding.
Nikolai waited until David fell limp before he eased off, pulling out the knife. He wiped the blade clean on David’s hoodie.
He’d be dead in four minutes. There was no coming back from a wound to the heart.
The rest of Durant Ave was empty, with no sign of Roman.
With a sinking feeling, Nikolai reached for his phone, and one text notification lit up on the screen.
They have my dad.
A weight dropped in the pit of his stomach. Nikolai took a steadying breath and swallowed down the lump in the back of his throat.
Roman was going after the one person Jun cared about—a frail and defenseless old man. While Jun controlled some of the most powerful magic Nikolai had ever seen. What was worse, Roman was drawing her back home. Back to a densely packed suburb surrounded by hundreds of thousands of innocent people.
Nikolai was out the door, running. Jun’s house was in Northern Oakland, a little over two miles away. He could make that in fifteen minutes. Thirteen if he got lucky.
The world blurred by as Nikolai sprinted. Ignoring the warning blinks of the “Do Not Cross” sign. Nearly ramming into two people. He had to move. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he was too late. He crossed about a dozen city blocks and made it most of the way.
The earth shuddered beneath his feet and rocked like waves. His momentum had him crash to his knees and scrape his palms against the pavement.
When he closed his eyes, his second sight emerged—still functioning long after his encounter with Dawson. He could see streaks of black shadow cracking and splintering beneath the shivering earth.
Up and down the street, car alarms were going off and dogs were barking. The asphalt split open, revealing a pit of earth like a gaping maw, ready to devour anyone falling within.
Nikolai braced himself. Shingles toppled from rooftops and glass shattered. He pulled himself up and pressed forward on the violently trembling ground. He had to keep going. Just three blocks away.
Beneath his feet, the earth rumbled as the sidewalk shifted back and forth. Powerlines swayed and snapped, falling to the ground in showers of sparks. Concrete rubble smashed down, creating dust clouds. Screams echoed out from inside houses.
He kept moving, though it felt as though someone had grabbed him and was shaking him without stopping. Above him, trees rattled, and branches and palm fronds fell.
Nikolai ran. He edged away from the corner where two cars collided and avoided a building with cracks running up the side.
Heaving earth knocked him off his balance, forcing him to his knees. He clenched his fist and got back to his feet, forcing himself to focus on his path that swayed and rocked in front of him. He had to stop this.
Nikolai tried to speed up when he saw Jun’s house, but the shaking intensif
ied the closer he got. Step by step, Nikolai pushed forward.
He got to the front door and shoved it open.
There in the kitchen was Jun, with her eyes all constricted. The pupils were sharp points, and a haze of shadows surrounded her.
She looked like any other magician that he had ever taken down.
His job was to protect people who had no defense against the monsters who could rip them apart. Monsters who caused earthquakes. Nikolai touched his index finger to his blade as his stomach tensed, and his breath caught in his chest. His feet felt a weight that had nothing to do with the earthquake.
This was Jun. With her stupid hat and her sarcasm. Jun, who just wanted to knit scarves and eat sushi.
Yes, it was Jun. And she was killing people.
Nikolai stepped into the shadows surrounding her, knife in hand. The shadows parted for him.
Her palms were to the floor, pumping darkness deeper than Nikolai could see. Though strange with tight pupils, it was still Jun. Tear tracks ran down her cheeks. Nikolai pulled Jun to her feet, and the dark did nothing to stop him.
Where her skin touched his, energy pulsed between them, and warmth slid up his arms.
She was such a light and fragile little thing. So easily broken. Sever the spinal cord properly and she would never even feel any pain.
He grimaced, forcing himself to look into her lost and constricted eyes. Decision made.
Nikolai held Jun’s face in his hand and brushed the tear stains away. He leaned in and kissed her—brushing against soft lips and sweetness. The warmth of her touch spread through him, as his heart pounded, and his fingers laced into her hair. Every inch of him burned with the need to press closer, hold her tighter, taste her deeper.
Jun leaned into him, grabbing his waist, kissing him back. Then she blinked and pulled away. Eyes wide. Wide and normal again.
She took a deep gasping breath.
The shuddering of the ground quivered to a halt. The rattling ceased. One lone plate toppled and crashed to the floor. The earth stood still.
“Nikolai?” Jun whispered.
Nikolai nodded, as all the tension released from his limbs and unwound the knot in his stomach.
“My dad.” Jun looked dazed. “He’s dead. They killed him.”
Her lip quivered and she stared into the distance, looking away from the corner of the room where her father lay crumpled. His neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
Nikolai held her, and after a moment, she pressed closer to him.
Sirens wailed in the background. Nikolai heard the echoing thud of something collapsing.
Jun sniffled, and Nikolai held her tighter.
26
Jun frowned at the shadows as she surveyed her roommate. “We can’t leave her like this.”
Suzie paced the dorm room, eyes blackened and drool running down her mouth. Teeth snarling.
The black rabbit gave her a disgruntled look.
“Look, I know she’s an asshole, but I still can’t leave her like this.”
The rabbit pretended that it couldn’t hear her and hopped onto Jun’s bed, settling down on the covers. She was more moody than the white rabbit.
“Can we change her back, just for now? We can always do this” —Jun gestured at her hissing roommate— “again. If we need to.”
The black rabbit cocked an ear up at this and put a paw to the chin, considering. Finally, slowly nodding. She thumped her hind leg against the covers and the sound rang, echoing out. Heavy.
Suzie stopped pacing and rubbed both palms against her eyes.
“Uhh, are you okay?” Jun stepped closer tentatively. One hand reached back toward the rabbit in case Suzie tried anything.
“What are you talking about? Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Suzie glared at her with her usual disdain.
Oh, good. She was back to normal. Cornea white, instead of a demonic void and everything.
“Umm, don’t you have a final now?” Jun asked.
“What are you talking about? My math final isn’t until the morning.”
“Yeah, you might want to check your phone.”
Suzie muttered under her breath. Something, something, Jun’s a pain. Something like that as she pulled out her phone. She froze as she looked at the date and time across the screen. “What the hell! How is it morning already?”
“Yup,” Jun said.
“Shit!” Suzie stuffed her manicured fingers into her mouth. “I didn’t even study. I was supposed to study last night.”
“Yeah, you’ve been out of it all night.”
“My final started five minutes ago!”
“Maybe you should hurry, then,” Jun suggested.
Suzie didn’t even stop to say something rude. Just grabbed her backpack and rushed out the door.
“All right,” Jun said to the dark rabbit who had snuggled into the covers. “That went well. I guess.”
Jun sighed and put on the neon red and blue of her Feelin’ Saucy uniform. For her last shift. The end of an era of cheap pizza. She’d have to say goodbye to her employee food discount.
Jun walked the path to her college cafeteria, but it was different now. Maybe because it was the last time. Maybe it was all of the yellow police tape cordoning off buildings damaged by the earthquake.
Jun shook her head. She didn’t have time to think about the earthquake right now.
“Hey,” Jun said to Alexa at the register.
“Hey, yourself. Ready to be free of this place?”
“Don’t you know it,” Jun replied, grabbing the key to the Crust.
“So, whatever happened to that hot guy following you around?” Alexa asked before Jun could step around the back.
“Oh, him.” Nothing much. He’d just killed some of his teammates for her. And stopped her from going on a massive killing spree. “Uhh. He kissed me. So I guess that means he doesn’t hate me.”
“O-M-G! Are you guys, like, dating?”
“No. It was kind of a heat of the moment thing. During the earthquake.”
“We can work with that. When are you going to see him again?”
“I don’t know.”
“Oh, my God! Jun! Go get your man.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Sure, Jun. You keep telling yourself that.” Alexa laughed.
Her last shift went quick. She had to get creative with her driving, as multiple intersections were still undergoing construction and repair. But she got the deliveries out without incident. When she went to return the keys, Alexa was already off her shift. So that was that. No more inquiries into Jun’s love life. Or lack thereof.
Plenty of time for Jun to change out of her uniform. And get to her Business Analytics class early for the final exam.
Jun slipped into the back row of the auditorium. Silently observing her classmates that filed in. And the ones that didn’t come in. Jun slipped further down in her seat and held her head in her hand.
Rick was studious and dependable. Definitely in the top of her class.
Tom. She had never spoken to Tom. But he seemed like a nice guy. He was always hanging around his clique, always talking about the next Comic-Con or something in his fandom.
Evan. A bit immature. Not the best student. Totally innocent.
None of them deserved to die.
Then there was Bailey. She’d texted him earlier, after she heard word that he was out of the coma. He was okay, considering. They were going to let him make up the final sometime next week.
This is your fault. Jun shook her head. She’d never asked for any of this to happen.
Nikolai walked in. He strode up the stairs to the back row, nodding to Jun as he passed her down the aisle. Plopping himself down three seats away. What was he doing here?
He wasn’t still suspicious of her? Was he?
At the back of the auditorium, at precisely 8 p.m., Professor Cartwright came in. He was in a wheelchair. Grumpier than Jun had ever seen him, with their finals stacked up in his lap. J
un was out of the loop. She hadn’t even heard any rumors that he might be getting out of the hospital soon.
He surveyed the class, which fell silent at the sight of him.
What was he going to say? Updates on his condition? Could he be happy to be back? Did he hear about the kids missing from his class?
“I see that none of you are getting the extra credit.” Cartwright sniffed.
Oh, right. That. The suits and ties—Cartwright’s sexist extra credit policy. Jun wouldn’t have qualified anyway, even if she had come to class in a formal suit and tie. Cartwright had stared blankly at her when she had asked.
With that warm welcome, his teaching assistants started to walk up and down the rows, passing out the exams.
The white rabbit hopped out of her bear bag as Jun took out her pencil. He hopped around her head and did some cartwheels around her desk to cheer her up.
She smiled at his antics, brushing soft fur in-between questions.
Nothing but a hundred and twenty multiple choice questions stood between her and graduation.
Jun read a question and marked it with a C. With none of her usual anxiety.
On to the next. One of those trick questions that Cartwright was so fond of. The type one had to read a couple of times to figure out which answer was the best. Jun remembered this one from her notes. She marked the answer booklet with an A.
She didn’t bother with circling answers in her test booklet that she was less confident about to tally and keep tabs on her potential score. She didn’t fuss with annotating test questions and reading through them two to three times. Jun just answered the questions.
This test was the last thing she needed for her degree.
So why did she feel like it didn’t matter anymore?
Jun finished and waited until a few others turned theirs in. She dropped her test off in the pile and walked out of the room. Done.
Jun drifted off to a familiar looking bench and sat, her head in her hands. Staring at the grass.
Magician Rising (Divination in Darkness Book 1) Page 16
