by LJ Andrews
Raffi released me, and I rolled onto my shoulder, certain I’d vomit. “Where’d he go? He w-was right there?”
The hooded guy was . . . gone.
“How could you see him?” Dash murmured, breathless.
“What are you talking about?” I winced through the burn of my arms and hands. I wanted to punch something—Raffi would do if I had the strength to reach him. “He was coming right at you.”
Jade stood beside me, but a new blow pounded into my stomach. An unseen hand doubled me over. Jade took my shoulders, but her touch was sharper than a winter wind. I couldn’t look at her, not when my insides were splitting open.
“That’s not possible,” Dash said more to himself than anyone. Students gathered around, Mitch called my name, and tried to shove through the crowd.
“I . . . think that was poisoned or something,” I gasped.
“Jade, handle the students,” Raffi said, ignoring me. “Dash, come on, let’s get him out of here. Meet us at the willow in an hour. Go with Eisha.”
I was vaguely aware someone pulled my arm around their shoulders and helped me stumble off the field. Hopefully they were taking me to the morgue, to make it easy, because I was clearly dying. I groaned when I was tossed into the backseat of a car. The burning so blinding, someone simply needed to cut my arms off.
Time became obsolete. The moment I was tugged out of the back seat of the car and flopped over thick shoulders like a burlap sack, I had no idea how long I’d been slipping in and out of consciousness.
The smells, wherever they were—they were spicy and clean and familiar. A few steps, I knew someone walked up steps, inside somewhere warm and muggy.
Something soft. A couch. A bed maybe. I didn’t even try to understand the mumble of dark voices nearby. The agony had spread from my arms and encompassed my entire body. I trembled, sharp breaths ripping in and out of my lungs, and there was a hazy fear that soon I wouldn’t be able to draw air back in. Death approached for certain. The voices filtered around me as I swayed back and forth, moving somewhere again, then it was over.
Everything faded into syrupy black.
Chapter 10
My brain smashed against my skull. The only explanation for the wildfire scorching behind my eyes. Rubbing the ache raging in my skull, I blinked my crusty eyes open.
Mr. Sapphire stood stern and foreboding at the foot of the bed. His piercing eyes startled me slightly.
Sapphire crossed his arms over his chest, and his coal eyes narrowed. “I thought, just for a moment, you were making some headway. That you were starting to see you didn’t need to turn to old habits when things got hard.”
“What?” I winced at the brightness of the sun.
“Drinking, Teagan! Tattoos. I’ve already called your aunt and explained you’ve been given four demerits. Those aren’t easy to work off. You’ve only got six more and you’re out of here, Mr. Ward.”
I scooted up in bed, my brain returning to hazy focus. What happened? I’d experienced a hangover, but the way my head groaned this morning was something in the realm of boiling alive—but I hadn’t been drinking. What did I do last night? My mind was a blackboard, all my memories the chalk, and someone had tossed a bucket of water against the board. Everything was a jumbled mess.
“Tattoos? I don’t have a tattoo.”
“Oh, yeah? Then what are those?” Sapphire said, pointing at my forearms.
It was then a memory of my arms returned. They’d been dipped in molten rock—that’s what I remembered.
My stomach gurgled as I scanned my skin. Beginning at my wrists on both arms were gilded-green designs. The intricate ribbons of color swooped like calligraphy in an impressive pattern ending at the crook of my elbows. All around my forearms the tattoos curved, swooped, and stained the skin.
“Sir, I . . . I truly don’t remember doing this . . .” What could I say? The evidence was there.
“Of course, you don’t, that’s where the drinking came in. You’re stripped of your room privilege for at least a month, and you’ll have extra duties around the house, two group sessions per week, and no electronic privileges for six weeks.”
“No, Mr. Sapphire.” I didn’t care about the consequences; I was desperate for a flicker of a memory. “I didn’t drink.” Quickly I stuffed the collar of my shirt against my nose, searching for a hint of alcohol. It smelled like sweat and a rancid sort of smoke. “I wouldn’t do that—not to Liz.”
“Well, you did, Teagan,” Sapphire said, albeit a little kinder. “Look, backslides are expected. This was a major one, but all we can do is wipe the slate clean and try harder. Your revoked privileges aren’t to discourage you, they’re to help you succeed.”
“Mitch!” I shouted. “I was with Mitch, he’ll tell you.”
Sapphire sighed and stepped out into the hall, dragging a sullen-faced Mitch into the room. “Mitch, Teagan seems to think you were with him yesterday.”
Mitch eyed me with the same sort of disappointment. “Dude, you skipped school. You left during lunch and said you’d be back later. Just fess up. It’s all good. We’re still cool, but don’t drag me down with you.”
I flopped back onto the pillow, covering my bleeding eyes. Occasionally I would glance at the tattoos. They weren’t normal, no, I’d seen plenty of ink, and these were something on an entirely different level. From my limited experience I knew these would take more than one session, they were that beautiful and complex. They were almost magical.
“Dude you’re fae,” I said behind my arm. “Tell me these don’t seem like something other.”
Mitch shifted on his feet, but didn’t look at me. “I couldn’t say.”
I didn’t believe him, but had no energy to argue. I knew I hadn’t been drunk. I’d done a lot of things, but I was desperate to never see the pain in Liz’s face again. Besides if I happened to be wasted, find the greatest tattoo artist on the planet, my skin would be irritated. Not even a bit of redness or irritation. My skin was smooth to the touch. I considered saying as much, but they wouldn’t listen. Not the way they both looked at me like I was one crack from breaking beyond repair.
“Get up, Teagan,” Sapphire said. “You’ll be moving your things to the front room today.”
“I really don’t think I can move, sir.” I wasn’t prone to begging, not in the least, but this morning I would kiss Sapphire’s bare feet if the man would allow me to stay in bed.
“That isn’t really my problem,” Sapphire responded softly, almost like it was difficult to say. “This was your choice. Now, get up, or we’ll make it five demerits.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. Sapphire stomped out of the room and Mitch shifted around a bit before moving toward my closet. “Come on, man. You can get through it. We’ll get you some coffee and you’ll be fine.”
Reluctantly I rolled onto my shoulder when Mitch tossed me clean clothes. “Mitch, I’m telling you—I have no memories of last night. I’ve partied before, but I always have bits and pieces. Look at these.” I held up my arms. “Are you telling me in a matter of what, an hour, someone did these?”
Mitch shrugged. “You don’t remember anything, but I do. We were eating lunch. You were frustrated Jade was eating with Raffi and you told me you’d be back later. You even asked me to tell Sapphire you went to study and I really was going to lie for you. But by the time I got home you were already sleeping it off. I’ve never seen Sapphire so flustered.”
Mitch sat on the edge of my bed and stared at his hands. “I know it’s not easy being defective. Trust me, it’s not easy being a changeling. We’re outcasts, I get it. But we can be more. There are places that don’t care about bloodlines or clans or guilds. So don’t let a girl distract you from why you’re really here. This is our time to fix ourselves. Don’t waste it, okay?”
I shook my head. My mouth tasted like vinegar. Slipping off the T-shirt from yesterday, I pulled on a long-sleeved shirt and started gathering what few belongings I’d need in my public bedroo
m.
“Here,” Mitch said later, once I’d set up a cot in the front room. He held out a thermos. “Sapphire made this. He said he added a few things that should help your head.”
“Like what?” I grimaced, gagging against the bitter smell.
“I don’t know, I think some meds for your hangover.”
A magical hangover. Look, I’d been drunk before. This was not drunk. This was something else, but no one wanted to hear it.
“I’ll take anything.” The drink wasn’t bad, definitely some kind of coffee, but it had a strange woodsy aftertaste I couldn’t decide if I liked. Soon enough, I praised Sapphire’s name when the silky drink dulled the sparks of heat in my skull.
An hour later, I took a deep breath while the other reforms took free time. Sapphire sat across the office buried in a thick book. My knee bounced while I waited until the click at the other end and Aunt Liz’s voice sent my heart into my stomach.
“Hi, Aunt Liz,” I croaked.
“Teagan,” she said. “Did you sleep it off?”
I winced and barred myself away from Sapphire. “I wanted to tell you . . . I’m sorry.” I’d apologize, though I maintained my innocence.
“I’ve heard that before.” She let a heavy silence grow. Too long. The walls started to crush me. Liz freed a long sigh. You promised me you would follow the rules. That you would do this right, so you could come home. I don’t know why I thought this time I could trust you.”
“Aunt Liz, I really am sorry.” In all my years, I’d never heard her speak so dryly, so angrily. I’d really messed up—even if I couldn’t remember—I had to fix this.
“You know what, Tee? I’m sorry too. I’m sorry you keep looking for happiness in a life that will never bring lasting happiness.”
“That’s not it, Liz—”
“No, I’m not ready to hear your excuses,” she interrupted. “I’m pleased to know you’re safe. I’m over the moon they’re punishing you, and I hope you know I’ll always love you. I have to go, Tee. Your choices are in your hands now. I pray you’ll be good, that you’ll try harder.”
Liz hung up, leaving me sitting stiff in the chair, the phone still against my ear. She’d never hung up on me before.
“She’s upset, Teagan. Just give her a little time. The best way to prove you mean it will be your actions,” Sapphire said.
“That’s what I was trying to do.”
Sapphire glanced to the ground. “Still holding onto the idea that you don’t have any recollection of what you did?”
“Yes, because it’s the truth. I’ve also accepted no one here will believe me, so that’s the last I’ll say about the night.” Sapphire seemed torn—really torn over what I said. Running his fingers through his beard, he stared blankly at a painting of the mountainside hanging behind his desk. I leaned back in the chair, annoyed. “Did you want to say something?”
Sapphire rose from his seat and placed the book on the corner of the desk. “I want you to know I think you’re bound for greater things. You can do this; simply learn to trust your instincts. There will be those who are willing to help you when the time comes, but it’s up to you to trust us and let us in.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind next time I wake up tatted and completely confused. It was nice feeling all the support for that.”
I didn’t ask permission to leave, but Sapphire didn’t stop me either. Upstairs, reforms laughed and cussed and taunted each other as they piled into the large bonus room for popcorn and movies. I was due for lights out on a cot.
“Just letting you know,” Sapphire said a few minutes later. “Jesse will be in my office for his shift.”
“I’ll be extra quiet when I sneak out then.”
“You’ll get through this, Teagan. You will.”
I huffed, feeling less like a man and more like a scolded child. My chest tightened, the spaces between my ribs pitted with each breath.
Never in all my suppressed frustration had I been so hopelessly angry.
Something was happening. Like a link to the chain of what made me who I was. And no one was there to help. No one was listening, and I truly believed no one ever would.
Chapter 11
Mitch treated me much the same, but Graham had topped a high-horse or something and hardly said a word.
He was polite enough, but undeniably agitated over my relapse. I stretched my neck finding a place on the bus. The cot was anything but comfortable, and truth be told, Sapphire seemed upset about making me sleep there this morning. He assigned me firewood duty for the woodburning stove. Firewood duty meant going into the forest. It meant breathing in the air, the trees, the sounds that seemed to be calling to me more and more. I suspected Sapphire gave it to me because he knew of my love for nature and somewhere inside he felt bad for me.
I didn’t want his sympathy. But I was grateful for outdoor chores.
Two days later, I returned to school. In the back of Mrs. Tiddel’s class I rolled up my long sleeves everyone insisted I wear now, inspecting the green swirls.
Dash entered the class, but was absent Raffi and Jade. My stomach dropped.
Dash sat next to me—in Jade’s seat. He looked older than a senior. Almond-shaped eyes, dark hair pulled back behind his neck in a short ponytail. His gaze dropped to the green tattoos on my arm and the tiny muscles in his jaw pulsed.
“Jade won’t be coming anymore,” he said.
I scoffed, copying what Tiddel was writing on the white board about reading assignments. “Figures.”
“I shouldn’t even be asking, but what’s the story with you? What took you away from here?” Dash grumbled.
I eyed Dash with a raised brow. “I’m not from here. I’ve never been here in my life.”
“Right,” he said snidely. “Look I get it, it’s a lot of work concealing identities, but I’m not an imbecile.”
Imbecile? Who said imbecile?
“You really want to know something?” My voice came sharp. The nights of poor sleep, the lack of Jade, and the cryptic way everyone spoke with me boiled to the surface. “Everyone talks to me like I know something. This place is a nightmare. I don’t know what you’re talking about concealing identities, and I don’t know why Ms. Drake is threatened enough to pull Jade from a class with me. I don’t know anything, so just back off.”
Dash paused and studied me, seemingly oblivious that Mrs. Tiddel was completely involved in her lesson by now. Dash hadn’t glanced to the front of the room once since coming to class, yet schoolwork never seemed to be a stress for either Raffi or Dash. “All right, I’ll go with that,” he finally said. “Look, forget about, Jade. There’s a lot of family stuff going on and she needs to take it seriously. She doesn’t need to be dragged into all this.”
I closed my eyes, my pencil pressing so hard into the desk the lead snapped. “That’s what I’m talking about. Dragged into what?”
Dash sneered. “Forget it, Teagan. For everyone’s sake.”
***
I missed the bus. Sluggish all day, it wasn’t really a surprise, but I thought Mitch might tell Wanda to wait.
The trouble was, I didn’t know exactly how to get back to the house.
I was still on thin ice so I should’ve called in to Sapphire. Then again, the afternoon boasted decent weather. A few storm clouds rumbled over the mountains in the distance, but I could make it back in time. Not that getting caught in the rain was the worst thing.
I hurried across the main road, to a forest pathway I’d not noticed before. The general direction of the reform house was to the east, so if I was right, this road would take me in that direction. At least it would be a solitary walk.
Along the road there were old ATV tracks, and tucked in the back were small cabins. I was certain I could live quite peacefully in this part of Wyvern Willows. When the trees thickened, a soft tug urged me to turn down a narrow road that led into the deeper woods. Why not? Sapphire said to trust my instincts. No better time than the present.
Clouds blotted out the sun and the sounds of the forest hushed to a whisper. Warmth spread through my chest, as if the thicket welcomed me. A chipmunk perched on a bough was studying me. No fear, just cocking its little head curiously.
Then out of nowhere I trampled another person.
“Hey, watch it.” Her voice was surprised, angry, and put-out in one shrill tone.
“Whoa, sorry. I didn’t see you. At all,” I said, bewildered.
A woman, probably close to my age, but three heads shorter, glared up at me. “What are you doing here?”
“Uh, I’m walking home.” I made a move to go around her.
“No one comes down here. Not magis, not human.” The girl wore a hood. Her entire body cloaked in dark sweats and ankle-high sneakers. Even her hands were gloved. It wasn’t exactly cold outside. “This road is protected.”
“Well, I guess not very well since I found it.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Yes. How? What do you want? What are you?”
“Which question do you want first?” I shot her a strange look. “I’m just trying to go back home.”
“Where’s home?”
Maybe I could scare her away. I stopped, lowered my voice, and stared directly into her hazel eyes. “Wyvern Reform.”
It didn’t work. She was undeterred, but her eyes did widen a bit. “Well, you should turn around and use the main road.”
“You’re pretty protective about your not-so-secret road, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am and I don’t . . .” Her eyes fell to my wrists where the tattoos showed. Self-conscious, I pulled my sleeve all the way down.
“What are those?” she whispered.
“None of your business.”
“When did you get them?”
“Again, none of your business.”
She gawked at me. “I’m Mini. It’s a nickname, my real name is Agatha, but I prefer Mini. Mini Keeper.”
