Forbidden Boys

by Chantal Cross

  The insults continue to fly quicker than the spells, the two of them unwilling to surrender. Soon, however, their back and forth bickering fades into background noise, my mind is too preoccupied with more pressing thoughts. Thoughts of Lucien.

  Beneath us, Lucien’s moving large, fallen stones out of the way from where a once impressive archway stood. Lucien moves the debris effortlessly. His fast hands and deft fingers make light work of the tasks he’s been given. The principal element of this image? He’s topless. It’s not really hot enough for him to strut around with his chest exposed, but no one is in a hurry to stop him.

  His muscles glisten with sweat as he moves. Even from all the way over here, I can make out the definition of his body. The way the lines of his abs quiver when he moves a new piece of rubble is hypnotic. My mouth waters as I watch him. A warmth inside my core spreads out from my center, the longer I observe his efforts. The heat courses through my veins, exploding along every inch of my nervous system, sending my senses into overdrive as I find myself consumed by a desire for him.

  There’s something about Lucien that the other boys don’t have. A smoothness to his rough edges. I know the girls say he’s a bad boy, that to fall for him is one of the most idiotic mistakes to make, but how can I ignore that? He’s practically half-naked in front of me, subjecting me to torturous delights while I am immobilized up here. I’m totally distracted by his sexy beauty, and he doesn’t even notice. Or maybe he does, and that’s why he acts like this? I’m not sure which I want to be true.

  The heat in me rises, my palms become sweaty as I hazily look through veiled eyes… the room begins to swim in front of me, though I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or reality… I begin to feel weightless.

  “What the hell—!” Seth is panicked, though his voice sounds far away. Did he move? He must have moved. Dreamily, I turn to look at him. Just as my lock eyes onto him, Gabriel rebounds off the rafters and begins plummeting down below.

  Instantly I come to, the commotion inside of me quiets while I launch myself into action. Without a moment’s hesitation, I throw myself down after Gabriel, hoping that I’ll have enough time to grab him before he slips out of reach. I almost lose him. But luckily my hand clamps around his in the nick of time. However, the weight of him is greater than my own and my body starts to tumble over the edge of the scaffolding. I'm falling with him. A scream rages up my throat and out of my mouth, only cut short by the sudden contact of Seth’s hands as he claws at my forearm.

  We’re dangling.

  The three of us are dangerously close to losing what little purchase we have on the upper rafters. But that’s the least of our concerns when a rupturing scream penetrates the air. My head fuzzy is from the confusion. It takes me a while to see the cause of the screams. When I find it though, my heart skips a beat. The stone Lucien was moving minutes ago is now on the ground, a crater expanding from its impact point, it’s full weight resting on where he stood.

  More shrieks soar up into the rafters. Tight, inky rings blot out my vision the longer I try to focus on the scene below.

  9

  Ebony

  “Everyone, stay where you are!” Professor Glaw bellows over the din. Immediately, everyone falls into hushed whispers.

  The dust is still swirling in the air, but it seems that no one is too badly hurt. Wincing against the pain in my chest, I blink through the grime to look at Seth. His arms are wrapped around me, his back having taken the full brunt of our impact as we’d hurtled towards the ground.

  I don’t remember falling.

  I remember reaching for Gabriel and then Seth grabbing me, but how we went from dangling up there to this remains a mystery to me. It’s as if my mind has erased it entirely. Remembering Gabriel, my eyes look back towards the timber framework above. To my relief, Gabriel’s nestled in Ivora’s fairy wings. Even though they’re not as large as angel wings, they’re still pretty strong if they’re capable of holding the weight of an extra person. If it weren’t for the excess adrenaline igniting within me, I’d be impressed by her quick thinking.

  Wait, if we’re okay, then who screamed…?

  Craning my neck to look over my shoulder, I see Lucien nursing a mangled looking arm, the bones beneath his skin poking out at awkward angles. There’s blood too, though it’s more its scent I pick up rather than being able to see it, much to my relief. I don’t have the stomach for gore.

  Now that I’m able to see that everyone is okay, including myself, I feel less tense as I unfurl from Seth’s grip. His movements, however, aren’t as nimble as mine. As he struggles to his feet, he clutches a hand to his ribs, his face twisted in an expression of pure pain.

  “Are you okay?” I tentatively ask. I want to help him in some way, but other than taking him to the infirmary, I don’t know how to. Vexation comes mingled with his pain as he regards me, making his features unrecognizable.

  “You’ve done enough, Ebony.” I’ve never heard Seth sound like this before — he’s withdrawn from me, his speech cold. Over the years, I’ve annoyed him, much like friends annoy each other from time to time. However, never has he sounded so unfeeling. Wanting to make it right, I step closer to him. “Ebony, leave it. I’m not in the mood for your apologies right now.” Seth’s voice is labored as he staggers away from me.

  “Seth, I-I didn’t mean to hurt you—”

  “Then why did you go for Gabriel? He’d have been fine. He is fine, just look at him!” His anger builds while he jabs a finger up at Gabriel and Ivora. Gone is the idleness Gabriel teases him for, leaving instead a man who is bristling with emotions. It’s out of character for him, to the point where it makes me uncomfortable. Yet I know I’m the reason for it, and so I don’t throw my words back at him.

  Ivora’s dainty feet gracefully land next to me, momentarily drawing my eyes away from Seth. Her wings release Gabriel, a look of satisfaction on her face at having saved him. Amazingly though, instead of being grateful for her intervention, Gabriel looks antagonized by it. My eyebrows meet in the middle as I try to understand why everyone is being so standoffish — yes, an accident just happened, but nobody is dead. We’re all alive and, for the most part, we’re all okay.

  Sensing Gabriel’s upset, Ivora reaches out to touch his arm. However, he snatches it away and fires her a venomous look. The way she peers back at him is unpleasant to witness, the rejection she’s forced to deal with causing her pain as well as anger. “Gabriel, what’s wrong, I was only trying to help.” Ivora tries to reason.

  “Yeah, well I had it under control before you interfered.” He snaps back at her. At first it looks as if she’s going to take his ire, but as she absorbs her words, I notice a shift in her. Even though I don’t say it, I’m pleased she’s realized how unappreciative he’s being.

  “You ungrateful ass! If it wasn’t for me you’d have been painting the floor with your insides right now.”

  “Like hell I would — I had it under control,” Gabriel says.

  “If by control you mean falling to your death.” Ivora hisses, her eyes narrowed into sharp slits. If looks could kill, Gabriel would be in the middle of a painfully slow death right now. In my opinion, he should count himself lucky. He’s escaped death twice today, once of which he’s unaware of.

  Hoping to move away from more finger pointing, I look to Professor Glaw for help. Her face is stony as she examines our group from the corner of her eyes. I find it curious that she isn’t stepping in. She’s usually so helpful, eager to give me advice whenever I want it, so what’s changed? Before I can hazard any guesses at why this is, more squabbling breaks out.

  “And as for you,” Gabriel adds, his words aimed at Seth now. “Why are you being such an asshole to Ebony! If she hadn’t have reached out for me, I’d have fallen.”

  “You wouldn’t have because I caught you,” Ivora explains, though her tone is less than calm.

  “Will you all just shut up!” Lucien snarls. Each of us is taken aback by his sudden outside. T
his is becoming one big mess, the racket is too much for my head to handle; the pressure is building, and I feel too trapped by these raging emotions to run away from it. “If anyone is to blame, it’s Ebony—”

  “What did I do?” I cry, shocked that Lucien’s joining forces with Seth at a time like this. He stands opened mouth in complete amazement at me, though it’s not admiration he wears. Lucien is livid. His sexiness is unable to hide the true extent of his outrage as he circles back for another attack.

  “You can’t be serious, Ebony. Your magical mishap nearly crushed me with a stone, and you have the nerve to ask what you did?!” He sounds hysterical, a hint of bewildered humor laced with the incredulity of it all.

  Feeling ganged up on, I’m not sure who I can turn to for help. Once more, I look to Glaw for guidance, but she’s now tending to other students while we argue amongst ourselves. I hope she comes back soon because the idea of dealing with this is more than I can stand. I need to get away from here, from all of them. Even Ivora feels like an enemy to me at the moment, but she’s not suggested any ill feelings towards me.

  “I didn’t mean to — I don’t even know what I did, it just happened. Lucien, you can’t think I’d intentionally hurt anyone… that’s not me at all, surely you know that…?” I’m imploring him to see reason, but his face is indifferent to me.

  The loneliness molding to my shape is a welcomed, albeit unpleasant, friend to feel by my side again. Just when I think change is starting to happen for the better, something happens to make it worse. Or should I say, I do something to make it worse. It’s always me and my stumblings. Nothing I ever do is meant in a malicious way; it’s as if part of me is evil somehow. I’m vile and wicked, but in ways I’ve yet to discover, and so it leaks out of me at the most inopportune moments.

  As I think this, I recall the weird vision I experienced when I bit into the apple. The way that haunting face had distorted as it had entered my vision with its own eerie gaze. It had transformed before my eyes from beguiling beauty to sinister hell-spawn, all while its features remained creepily similar to my own.

  Deflated, I allow the pressure to smother me. I stand there, a target for everyone to take aim at. Upon seeing my sense of defeat, Seth’s duty to protect me comes into play, as if only now he remembers he’s meant to be there for me and not against me. As much as I want to be pleased, his help just signals further descent into madness as the others rage on.

  “I swear to God if you don’t shut your mouth, Lucien—” Seth says.

  “What will you do, Seth, huh? You’re too lazy to do anything!”

  “Will you all stop bickering like this, there’s no need,” Ivora says.

  “Keep your nose out of matters that don’t concern you.” Gabriel spits at Ivora. I should interrupt, stop them in some way. But the idea of throwing myself back into the middle of it all is too depressing to think about.

  All of them, save Ivora, are ready to blame me for every mistake ever made, and thanks to their successful chastising, I’m beginning to believe their accusations.

  A wet sensation causes me to blink at the tip of my nose. The red smudge there is an unexpected distraction, but one that frees me from the bonds of my mind. Then another flash of crimson flies past my face, narrowly missing my nose. It takes a few minutes to process, but realization eventually catches up with me.

  To my horror, Gabriel, Seth, and Lucien have come to blows. Physical, bloody blows. Looking on in disbelief, Ivora exasperatedly throws her arms up as she refuses to be a part of this circus any longer.

  When another spattering of blood coats the ground, it’s neither myself or Ivora who steps in, but Profession Glaw. Using magic to halt their fists, she breaks up the fight with nothing more than a simple spell and a steely gaze. All three boys cast their eyes to the ground as she glowers at them.

  “I’ve had enough of this for one day. Everyone else, go back to your assignments,” She calls out to the other, less rambunctious students. “As for you lot, you’re coming with me straight to the headmaster’s office.” Begrudgingly, we move to her will. Our bodies respond as if dragged along by magic. Given how vexed Professor Glaw is with us, it probably is magic making us move towards our impending doom.

  10

  Ebony

  “What the hell was that?” Lucien hisses in my ear.

  I shrink closer to Gabriel and say nothing. Gabriel places a hand on my back and shoots Lucien a withering glare.

  “I wouldn’t talk to her right now if I were you,” he warns Lucien.

  “I wouldn’t talk at all if I were any of you,” Professor Glaw snaps without looking back. I clamp my lips shut even though I’d yet to say anything since she made us follow her. I hadn’t been to this part of the school, but oddly, I know where we’re going.

  The wooden double doors that lead to the headmaster’s wing are ornately carved with scenes of dancing dryads, nymphs, fairies and other creatures. The wood is painted so beautifully that the engorged fruit on the carved trees look good enough to eat. My gaze immediately wanders to the plump red apple.

  I look away just before the doors open.

  “Kashton?” Professor Glaw calls out. Her voice echoes off the rafters high above us. Gabriel, Seth and I cluster together and I take their hands in mine and squeeze. I’ve never been in trouble in my life. I can’t believe I’m in the headmaster’s office less than two months into the school year.

  Cordelia’s right about me. I have something bad inside of me. I should’ve been working harder to keep it under control. Now I’ve gotten Gabriel and Seth in trouble too. Not to mention that Lucien is sure to hate me forever now.

  That’s probably for the best. The things I feel when I look at Lucien or stand too close to him are dangerous. It’s exactly what Cordelia’s been trying to warn me about all these years.

  “Kashton!” Glaw shouts.

  A young man, only a few years older than me by the look of him, comes out of one of the many doors leading to the headmaster’s rooms.

  “What’s this?” His brow furrows.

  My mouth drops open, but I quickly close it. His cornflower blue eyes lock on mine. Something like recognition lights up his expression, but that’s not possible. If I’d met him, I’d certainly remember.

  “These four will be meeting with the Headmaster concerning the damage done to our construction,” Professor Glaw explains with a tight smile. For a moment, she reminds me of Cordelia.

  “Right,” Kashton nods. “I’m sure he’s expecting them.”

  “Oh, he is.” Professor Glaw says knowingly. “If you’ll excuse me, I have my own class to teach.”

  She ignores the four of us as she turns on her heel and strides out of the foyer.

  “How long are we to wait for the swing of the Headmaster’s ax?” Lucien asks with his usual careless swagger.

  “He’ll call you in momentarily,” Kashton answers Lucien without looking at him. His gaze doesn’t leave mine.

  “When he does, would you stow that attitude of yours?” Gabriel snaps at Lucien.

  “Why should I? I’ve done nothing wrong,” Lucien replies.

  “You punched me in the face,” Seth chimes in.

  “After a building fell on me!” Lucien gestures to his arm. The makeshift splint isn’t holding up well.

  “I have three cracked ribs. You don’t see me whining about it,” Seth shot back.

  “I’ll happily give you a few more to add to your collection,” Lucien snarls.

  “Back off.” Gabriel rolls his eyes. “I’d hate to have to bash in that pretty face of yours. Actually, that’s a lie. I’d love to do that.”

  “You only got a hit in last time because I repeat, a building fell on me!” Lucien looks over his shoulder at me.

  I want to defend myself, but I stay out of their argument. Anything I say will only add fuel to the fire.

  “Are they always like that?” Kashton appears at my side. His voice is soft and soothing compared to the arguing of t
he others.

  “As far as I can tell,” I reply.

  “Your aura’s all over the place. Are you well?” Kashton says.

  “My what?”

  “Aura. Don’t you know what that is?” When Kashton smiles, a dimple appears in the left corner of his mouth.

  “I haven’t covered it in my classes yet.” I struggle to make sure my words come out in the correct order.

  “Allow me to enlighten you.” Kashton closes his eyes and a tiny ripple of magic flutters through the air. Something shimmers around Kashton’s body, like an iridescent second skin.

  “This is an aura,” he explains. “We all have one. Usually, it’s invisible until activated. Some people always see them, but most of us need instruction to read them. You’re always projecting an aura, whether you want to or not. The trick is controlling it. You’ll have an opportunity to learn about that later in the year.”

  “Can you tell me a little about it now?” I want to reach out and touch his aura.

  “My, my.” Ashton smiles, approvingly. “Aren’t you hungry for knowledge.”

  “That’s why I’m here,” I smile.

  “Aura’s flash different colors with different emotions,” he continues. “Different colors mean different emotions for different people. There’s not a color chart or anything like that.”

  “Of course not,” I smirk. “That would be too easy.”

  “Exactly. Magic loves to be complex and ever-changing,” Kashton agrees. “That’s what makes studying it so difficult. The rules and patterns you’re learning now will be completely different in one hundred years.”

  “Really?” This surprises me. I never realized how little I knew about the nature of magic until now. “Why?”

  “It’s easier to understand if you think of magic as a living creature that shares your energy. It has its own needs to fulfill. It’ll change its behavior to meet those needs,” he explains.