Second Chance Fate
Page 18
“I’m sorry, but I call BS. If the government wanted to steal your powers, they could do that anytime. Do you know what I think? I don’t trust Strickland. He can’t hurt you inside the wall of the academy because of the dampeners, but what is going to stop him to do whatever he wants outside? He could take your powers himself, or sell you to the highest bidder.”
Listening to him laying my situation out so bluntly raised the hairs on my neck. He was right. Outside these walls, anybody could get to me. I didn’t fool myself to think my powers were strong enough to withstand an experienced magic user’s attack. As if he’d felt my fear, Kiernan put his palm against my cheek and turned my face towards him.
“We won’t let you get hurt,” he whispered before his lips descended. My body lit up at the contact. For a moment, I sunk into Kiernan’s taste of fresh green and damp earth, before I felt Julian’s lips brush against my neck. I exhaled a sigh against Kiernan’s mouth. His lips pressed hard, his tongue begging for access. I opened my mouth a little, my attention split between the two boys.
Kiernan kissed me deeply, firmly, and I melted. Julian’s arm supported my back as I slumped towards the blond boy who plundered my mouth so expertly. Much too soon, the kiss ended. I barely managed to open my eyes, feeling dizzy with desire.
“My turn,” Julian said, his voice hoarser than usual. He turned my head, and I got to enjoy him again. I’d forgotten how he gorgeous he tasted. The difference to Kiernan’s earthiness overwhelmed me. A hint of ozone, layered underneath the cool taste of spring water, seeped into my core. But instead of cooling down the heat, it ratcheted it up.
Julian’s tongue leisurely explored my mouth, while Kiernan’s hand ran down my waist like a firebrand. My stomach swooped at the combination of the elemental scents teasing my nostrils and the two strong bodies bracketing me. The feeling slithered lower past my tummy until I ground my pelvis against the bedcover. It felt good. Way too good. It was so overwhelming that I pulled back from Julian.
“Too much?” he whispered.
I nodded. I felt like a child, but I wasn’t ready to go further with one guy, never mind two. Plus, Slug hadn’t moved and was staring at the three of us with feline fascination. It was weird. Sometimes I wished I could read his mind to see what made him tick.
Kiernan dragged his hand from my waist across my chest, his fingertips feathering across my nipples. His hand lifted off me, and he moved away from me. Julian did the same, scooting into the other direction until I sat between the two boys, not touching either of them. Even though I’d asked them to slow down, my body struggled to adjust to the loss of body heat. I took a deep breath before clearing my throat.
Now seemed like a good time to ask some questions that had bothered me ever since I’d found out I could have several boyfriends. “So how does this work? I mean, don’t get me wrong. I think it sounds great, getting to be with two guys at once, but wouldn’t you be jealous of each other?”
Kiernan was the first to speak, his voice serious. “Not really. Magical folks were never subject to your rules. Even after the witch hunts in the past, we followed a pagan belief system. We’re governed by our own laws, and sex magic has always been part of it. I have two natural parents and one dad who married into the group. In fact, in our world, many magic users live in groups of five.”
What? Had I heard right? Just to make sure, I asked, “Five?”
My voice sounded so incredulous, Julian cracked a smile while Kiernan laughed. “Yes, five. Like the corners of a pentagram. We just naturally drift towards that constellation.”
My mind was racing. How did that even work? Five people in one relationship? Before I could ask, Kiernan ran a finger down my cheek.
“It’s not compulsory, you know. I’m just explaining so you understand that we are used”—he glanced at Julian before correcting himself—”I’m used to seeing relationships with more than two people involved. As long as there is lots of communication and honesty, it works for them.”
I blurted out my next question. As it left my lips, I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. “So when there are five people, do they all have sex with each other? The guys as well?”
Julian didn’t bat an eyelid. “As I said, it’s not compulsory. Every quint has their own rules. If the guys are into it, sure, why not? Some quints have more females than males, some are all males, some are one female and four guys. Whatever works.”
A pleasant shiver, full of possibilities, ran through me. I wouldn’t have to choose between those two wonderful boys. And now that Ms. Farkas knew about my predicament, I might have a chance to keep them both. Leaning back against the wall, I sighed happily.
35
I didn’t have to wait long for the head witch to contact me again. The very next day, a student waited for me outside PE.
“Ms. Farkas would like to see you right away,” she said.
I followed her to the head witch’s office, keeping an eye out for Strickland. Just in case. When I entered the now-familiar room, Ms. Farkas stood by the window. She turned and smiled.
“Thank you, Melanie,” she said, dismissing the girl. Then she gestured for me to take a seat. “I would like you to accept Malcolm’s offer.”
I sat up straight, my mouth dropping open. “What?”
Ms. Farkas grinned. “I’d like you to play along with his plan. I had an idea last night that would catch him in the act, without anybody getting hurt. But for that to work, I need your help.”
I relaxed back into my seat, nodding. Whatever it took to nail the bastard, I was on board.
Now or never. Go. I took a deep breath, trying to get my nerves under control, and knocked.
“Come in.”
Mr. Strickland’s voice sounded gruff. I straightened my shoulders, bracing myself, and opened the door. The teacher’s expression morphed from surprise to see me to irritation.
I swallowed hard. We hadn’t left on the best of terms after our last conversation. I needed to convince him I was serious.
“Mr. Strickland, I wanted to apologize. I thought about your suggestion. I think you’re right. I can’t do this by myself.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing tears to collect on their lower rims. Just before I walked in here, I’d tried to reach my parents yet again. At this stage, I was desperate. I didn’t even know if they were still alive or not. It wasn’t hard to make my eyes water.
Mr. Strickland sat back in his chair, folding his hands under his chin and looking thoughtful. “So what do you want me to do now?”
I dropped my head low and whispered, “I’ll do what you think is best. Just tell me what to do.”
The teacher nodded. “Good. We’ll keep casualties as low as possible, but you realize it’ll be hard to avoid them altogether, right?”
Bastard. “I do. And I don’t care anymore. I hardly know anybody anyway. All I want to do is go home. This is a nightmare.”
My voice broke over the last word. I wasn’t even lying. I did want to go home. I did want to get out of here. I did want to see my mom and dad again.
Strickland squeezed my arm in a gesture of support before turning away. I worked hard to keep the revulsion off my face. He walked to a shelf behind his desk and pulled something out of a box. When he turned back, he held a map in his hand. Carefully, he smoothed out the large piece of paper on his desk.
“Come. Let me show you where I want you to strike.”
As I stepped closer, he picked up a pen and circled several areas around the academy. I recognized the front door of the administration building, as well as the roof of the dormitories. Other areas were classrooms dotted across the campus. All in all, there were nearly twenty places he wanted me to attack.
“Do you think you can strike all these targets simultaneously?”
I shook my head. I didn’t have enough control yet to generate nearly two dozen lightning strikes. “No, but I can hit them within a couple seconds of each other. Twenty targets would take about a minute.”
“I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why not. There are access shafts to the cellar on the front of the building, aren’t there?”
Strickland pointed to the drawings of several thin, rectangular boxes on the outside of the admin buildings. “Yes, you’re right. If you manage to hit them, the power should travel enough to trip the magical generators. Magical power supplies are even more vulnerable to power surges than regular ones.”
That was news to me, but good to know. Another thought occurred to me. “Shouldn’t I destroy the dampeners first? That way I could access my full power.”
Strickland shook his head. “You’ve never had access to the full reservoir of your magical ability without causing damage to yourself. What if you lose control of it? You could literally blow us all to kingdom come. You’re more than capable right now of doing all the damage we need. Let’s deal with your full powers once we’re out of here.”
There was one last detail I needed to know. “When do you want me to strike?”
Strickland stared straight into my eyes, his determination dripping off his words. “Tonight. One o’clock. Meet me outside the Mag-Chem lab.”
I rubbed my hands together, freezing in the cold air. Winter was upon us, and the night was heavy with the scent of snow. Another five minutes later, I was hopping from foot to foot to keep my toes from turning into icicles. Maybe just a little heat. Purple sparks danced along my fingers, making me feel immediately warmer.
“Put those out, girl. Do you want to give our position away?”
I suppressed a squeal at the angry voice in my ear. Strickland was right beside me, his larger body blocking out the moonlight. Why did he keep doing that?
“Sorry,” I whispered.
“It’s time. Are you ready?”
He didn’t wait for me to confirm. “Start with the dormitories as discussed.”
When I didn’t immediately react, he hissed, “Now.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me in the dark. Then I sent a spark towards the dark building to our left. Nothing happened for a moment before the lightning arced and hit the facade. The bang was deafening. A second later, the screams started.
I sent one lightning fork after another, striking the roof, the front door, even through open windows when students tried to get out. Strickland stood next to me, his eyes shining with manic excitement.
“Damn, you weren’t kidding,” I heard him shout over the noise.
Flames were turning the night-sky orange. A girl jumped in panic from the top floor, only to hit the ground with a sickening thud. A dark liquid spread rapidly from under her broken body. She moaned pitifully for some seconds before falling still.
A boy I’d seen in class broke through the burning outside door, his clothes aflame. His hair was singed off, and the side of his face looked red-raw, like hamburger meat.
Thinking of my parents, I pushed on. Next was the guards’ quarters. Some of the men had run outside, and I picked them off with targeted lightning strikes. Lawson shouted and pointed his gun at us, and I blasted him with enough voltage to make him fly backward. His body unnaturally stiff, he lay on the ground, his eyeballs clean burned out of his skull.
“It’s time, Amber,” I heard Strickland shout.
Sending the final lightning bolt towards the admin building, I prayed it would hit the generator cleanly. A massive fireball rolled out of the ground-level ventilation shaft. At the same time, all the lights went off, indicating the power to the gates was down as well.
“Well done. Time to go.” Strickland grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the main gate. I ran after him as quickly as I could. The fire behind us lit the sky and turned it into a hellish vision. The screams and moans of the dying provided a nightmarish background.
Just as we were about to step through the gate, I looked back. Through the veil the teachers and the most advanced students had woven, I clearly saw Ms. Farkas wave and mouth, “Good luck.”
The first part of our plan had worked.
36
The noise followed us as we ran towards the main gate. The screams of the dying and wounded, the roaring of the flames consuming the academy and my friends were the soundtrack to the escape plan I’d hatched with Ms. Farkas.
All I needed for our plan to succeed was to get Strickland to step underneath a large oak tree just outside the main gate. Once we’d passed through the two massive stone pillars that held the iron gates guarding the academy grounds, he strode forward with me following right after. The branches of the tree were clearly visible in the dark, illuminated by the explosions behind us.
Ms. Farkas and her staff were dotted across the property and weaving the images for Strickland’s benefit. Even though I knew it was all one huge smokescreen, the illusion was so realistic, my stomach roiled and tears were running down my cheeks. It added to the lie we wanted Strickland to believe.
We’d gone far enough. How would I lure the teacher to the place he needed to be? He was striding farther and farther away, and I had to stop him. Veering to the left, I pretended to twist my ankle, and with a yelp, I fell to the ground.
“Come on,” he shouted.
I shook my head, crying. “I broke my ankle. I can’t get up.”
Strickland walked quickly towards me, his expression exasperated. “You’re useless. Get up, you stupid little bitch.”
If I hadn’t already known Strickland was a bad guy, the way he sneered as he threw those words at me would have tipped me off. His voice was cold and hateful, as if he was going to strike me. I watched with wide eyes as he came closer and closer.
Just a few more steps, you shit. I’d collapsed right on top of a magic circle, carefully concealed under fallen leaves. If he crossed inside, he’d be trapped until the head witch got to him. He’d be caught red-handed.
But only an inch away from the outline, he stopped. Reaching towards me, he said, “Take my hand. I’ll help you up.”
I pretended to stretch as far as I could go. “I can’t reach. You need to come closer.”
His eyes were as cold as frozen rocks in the winter. “I don’t think so.”
Then he pushed the leaves aside with his foot. The outside line of the entrapment circle was clearly visible. He dragged his toes, digging into the soil, until the circle circumference broke.
In the distance, only a few hundred yards away, people were running towards us. Julian’s tall figure stood out as he put on a sprint.
“Amber!”
Strickland grinned and grabbed my wrist, slapping a bracelet on it. It happened so quickly, I didn’t have time to blink. Sudden vertigo engulfed me. My head spun so thoroughly, I closed my eyes and groaned, fighting to keep my stomach contents down.
When the earth stopped spinning, I opened my eyes. There was no sign of the large building or the mirage of the huge blaze. Instead, we were in a clearing inside a dense forest. I was still sitting on the ground with Strickland towering over me.
“You really thought you were fooling me with your light show?”
The teacher’s voice held so much menace, I struggled to my feet and backed away. “I knew there was something up when you changed your mind so quickly. So I mixed a salve that pierces illusions. Good thing I did, too.”
Without hesitation, I turned and ran. He was going to kill me. I could read it in his eyes. But when I reached the first trees, I slapped into an elastic resistance that flung me right back at Strickland’s feet. Quickly, I scrambled back up.
“Keep trying. The more you tire yourself out, the easier this will be.”
Against my better judgment I asked, “Will what be?”
Strickland bared his teeth at me in a sick parody of a smile. The crazy was shining from his eyes. Whatever he’d planned for me wouldn’t be good.
“Will what be?”
“Why, the draining ceremony, of
course.”
I turned and ran again. Because I’m stupid like that, I suppose. The result was the exact same. The air turned as dense as rubber before rebounding me back to where I’d run from.
I bent over and took deep breaths to fight down my panic. I was all alone with an experienced magic user who didn’t mind killing me as long as he got my power.
My power. I’m going to zap the shit out of the bastard. I raised my hands, willing the white-hot ball of fire sitting below my stomach to travel along my arms, out of my fingertips, towards Strickland. Grinding my teeth with the effort, I flung my hands out. Nothing happened. All I got for my effort was a stab of pain in my gut. I cringed and rubbed my middle to dispel the burning heat.
Strickland threw his head back and laughed. “Sorry, sweetheart. The bracelet on your arm suppresses your magic and turns it back onto yourself. If you keep trying, you’ll literally burn a hole into your belly. I don’t mind. I can still drain you as you’re thrashing in agony. Go right ahead.”
My heart sank. The pain had stopped for now, but I wasn’t keen to repeat the experience. How would I get out of this? I backed away, this time slowly, keeping my eyes on Strickland.
The illusion of the benevolent teacher with his trendy coat and carefully trimmed beard was stripped away. Instead, a man with a crazed expression in his eyes, convinced of his victory, readied himself to kill me in the most painful way I could imagine.
With two large steps, he was in front of me. He gripped the back of my neck as if I were nothing but a wayward child. I scratched at his wrist while trying to kick his legs. If I was going to go down, I would make it as hard as possible for him.
A glow caught my eye as I was struggling for my life. My wrist registered the pain before my brain caught up with what was happening. The thin metal of the bracelet was heating up the more I fought. In pure shock, I stopped moving, and the heat receded.