Betrayal: An Urban Fantasy Academy Series

by Bob Dattolo

  “Umm, yeah? Four places if I recall. And other bones in my face. My knee. Ribs. Some other things.”

  “Right. And you walked around and rolled around in a wheelchair for hours after that. You didn’t smell like you were in as much pain then as you do right now. Yet you’re in the second year at the academy. You know as well as I do what being vulnerable means. If you could change your scent, I think you would have quickly changed your scent so that you don’t smell like prey.”

  Huh, that’s a good thought.

  He tapped his nose, “I can smell your shock. Your curiosity. If you can change your scent, I don’t know that I’d buy that you can change it so that you hide or alter one and then add others to it all that easily. Now, maybe you can, I’m just not seeing it. So change your scent to hide lying? If you could change your scent, you wouldn’t be in here smelling like that. Now, being able to beat a truth spell? That, I’m not sure about. Maybe.”

  “I can’t answer that either way. I don’t know of any spell that allows you to do that, yet we’re back to not being believed because of the rumors floating around.”

  “Right. They got you coming and going.”

  “And they covered responses from me.”

  “They did. They’re smart.”

  “I can’t win against the rumors then.”

  “You could start your own?”

  “Maybe. Maybe I could. I’m not really sure how to do that, though. Like you said? I don’t really talk to many people. Everyone I wandered up to and started talking with would take everything I said and judge it against the rumors already out there. Even that would make me look bad.”

  “Probably.”

  More silence.

  “Can I hit you with a truth spell?”

  Ookay? “Even if I’m supposed to be able to trick the spell?”

  He shrugged, “Yeah, why not? I have another spell I can try as well. I won’t tell you what that one does, though.”

  “Okay? Go for it.”

  He watched me silently for more than a minute before letting his magic start working. His hair lit up, and I found it a little harder to feel what he’s doing than before. Not horribly so, though. It makes the pathways in my body burn more, just nothing close to what happens when I try to work magic directly. He impressed me by working on two spells at the same time, building for close to five minutes before triggering them.

  Interesting. A spell to see if I’m working my magic or have magic working on me and a truth spell.

  “Okay, they’re set.”

  “Oookay? Now what?” I can smell the nervousness coming from me. It’s not strong, yet it’s still there.

  He smells it too. “Tell me a truth. Any truth.”

  “When I broke free from captivity at Reggie’s, I was found in Florida.”

  Nod, “Good. Now, a lie?”

  “I have a gold idol taken from the mummy’s tomb.”

  That got a small smile. “Good. Now, can you work some magic? You don’t need to do a lot. Just a little.”

  Fucking hell, I knew he’d ask that. It took nearly everything in me to get it to twinge even a little. Which he caught.

  His voice dipped immediately, “Fucking hell. That’s why you smell like that. You strained yourself, didn’t you.”

  Dammit. To. Hell. My eyes closed in defeat, “Yeah. A bit.”

  He sniffed again, “Damn, okay, that’s crazy. More than a bit, too. You smell like you’re fucked.”

  I can’t think of any way to answer that without possibly giving more away.

  He waved off the silence, “Okay, sorry, skip that.” Deep breath, “Do you have any plans to attack people here?”

  “No.”

  “Do you have the ability to hide your scent?”

  “No.”

  “Do you have the ability to trick a truth spell?”

  “No.”

  Another sniff, “Do you have a spell to do either of those?”

  “I’ve never heard of one. Could I create one somehow? I have no idea. I’ve always heard that you can’t do either of those things, so I can’t really tell for sure.”

  “Interesting. You smell like the truth and the spell is indicating truth.”

  “What else do you want to ask me?”

  No response again for longer than I expected, “It depends. Will you answer?” His voice is still low.

  “Umm, I don’t know? I don’t know what you’ll ask me.”

  “What if I wanted you to answer me no matter what I ask you?”

  That’s one hell of a loaded question. “I don’t know? I don’t have a lot to hide for the most part, but I’m not sure I can promise to answer anything.”

  “Hmm, good enough. Okay, you said you were found in Florida?”

  “As far as I know, yeah.”

  “Do you know where?”

  “No.”

  “How do you know it was Florida?”

  “I didn’t at first. It was where I flew out of, though. Miami International.”

  “Is that where you think you lived?”

  “Miami? Or Florida itself?”

  “Either? Or?”

  “I…don’t know? I’d bet nearly anything I lived in Florida. I’m not sure about Miami.”

  “Why do you think you lived there?”

  “Umm, the area? It was like a familiarity? The sea. The sand. The smells. The breeze. All of it sort of combined together. Then there are my memories.”

  “Your memories?”

  “Yeah. I remember being at the beach a ton as a kid. I don’t remember what the beaches looked like, but I have thousands of images of me being near or in the water. No one nearby that I can identify, but being there? Definitely.”

  “Were you guys gone when that ship was saved?”

  Hmm, oh! “The refugee thing?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It happened like a day or two after we were gone. Were you back in Miami at that point?”

  “I was.” He pulled his phone and showed me some pictures of the mages saving the day.

  “You got some good pictures.”

  He pulled his phone back, “Yeah. I was still pissed that I couldn’t find you but seeing that happen was pretty cool.” His phone went away. “Tell me about your inducement ceremony again? You said it was done and you were just hit without warning?”

  My mind shot back to when it happened, “Yeah? I remember being so happy? I had been scared and my stomach hurt from cramps, but it was done. I wanted to see what I looked like with my eyes being different. Then my dad hit me. Or…I have to assume it was my parents. I know I was there with them, but I don’t know if that was him. I can’t even remember what the guy looked like that hit me. Or the woman that was there. I remember the pain and the mortmagi coming in at me.” As the image formed, my brain seemed to fizzle, and I began losing details that I know I had before.

  “You okay? You smell freaked.”

  “Umm, yeah? I was…I don’t know. I remember being beaten and the pain, but now I can’t picture things I saw before.”

  “Like what?”

  “Umm, details? I remember being hit and then pain and then I used to be able to see different things. The hands of the guy coming at me with the mortmagi.”

  “What do you mean, you can’t picture that happening?”

  “Uhh, no? I can still see the mortmagi, just not the hands holding them.”

  “Skip that. Tell me about them. Tell me about my parents.”

  Dammit. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

  “Tell me about what they did to you. How often did they visit? How many times were they there?”

  “Uhh… They were there more often in the beginning. Like every other month. Once they realized that I could heal way more than they expected? That’s when it got crazy bad. And it was bad before that. But once they learned that is when they really started going to town. So the first year? Like six times. Roughly. After that? Once every six months. So like 13 times, basically?”<
br />
  “You described some of the things they’d do to you.”

  “Yeah? They were the worst. It’s sad to say that Reggie wasn’t even remotely the worst out of everyone I was forced to be with. Not even close. He wasn’t the best, but at least he treated me decently. I was a possession, but I was a decently prized one. There were some that were nicer than him. Calmer. Cared more. They’re still on my list, though.”

  “They are? Why?” His curiosity made me pause.

  “Because I was a victim. And I won’t be any longer. Not if I can help it. None of the people that were with me were unaware that I was his. I won’t touch the people that were there once. Even if I run across them. If they were there more than once, though? I have them memorized. Out of all of them, though, your parents? At one point or another they did pretty much everything to me. Cutting. Electricity. Outright breaking bones with a hammer. Your mom loved that part on my hands and feet. She’d do it while your father fucked me, then make me finger her with the same hand or jerk your dad off. Things like that. Once they got through that, though? They had these huge dildoes brought in. They were gigantic. He’d use them on me, ramming them in harder and harder until he’d break my pelvis. Sometimes my legs. Injure my organs like I can’t even explain. So fucking painful. Your mom would whip me or use some of the other things on me. She liked these weighted gloves and would just beat and beat me in the face. Break everything all to hell. Then make me suck on strap-on dildoes until she face fucked me. So fucking painful. She’d make me go down on her, trying to eat her with my jaw broken to hell, all the while your father was destroying me with those things then fucking me. And your mom would whip my back or hit me with whatever toy caught her fancy that day. The worst part was that I had to stay silent. I played along with every other person that came through there. That was part of the deal, so to speak. But with them? They wanted screams. Except as soon as I screamed? That’s when they’d lose control. That’s when the real pain started. Everything up until that point was just a prelude. Things would start going downhill when they lost control. And if I broke too early? You’d think that it’d be better, but it wouldn’t. If they were fresh, they had more energy for the really destructive stuff. So I’d fight screaming. Fight it and fight it and fight it. I never made it, though. I never made it to not scream. They always broke me. Every. Single. Time. Then it’d be weeks of healing to be able to walk again.”

  “What were they doing the last time?”

  “They’d been there for a bit, but they were already working me over. Your father was using one of the huge dildoes on me and your mom was whipping me when I decided I had enough. That’s when I started to try to break free. It hurt so much that I had to scream. Then they went nuts with more hits. Fucking. All of it. Until the screaming stopped, and your mom didn’t understand why I wasn’t screaming any longer. She wanted screaming. Your father didn’t usually talk a lot when he was there. She’d make demands and he’d do. Or answer with grunts. Occasionally, with single words. He actually said two sentences that night. Then…the mortmagi fell out and I broke free.”

  He stared at me for the longest time, “I saw the pictures of what you did to them.”

  Fuck. “I’m sorry about that. I still would have done what I did to get free, but I never intended to hurt you. I wanted to hurt them.”

  Slow nod, then he stood up without warning and walked away, killing both spells on me without looking back.

  Fucking hell. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? I hope it was good, yet I can’t help thinking that it might have been oh so bad.

  Chapter 27

  It’s taking forever to fall asleep from the pain inside of me. Just sooo freaking long. It obviously doesn’t help that the pain inside of me is riding roughshod through my nerves and still feeling like I’m being parboiled from the inside out. Not something I’d recommend for the foolish, that’s for sure.

  Had I known this would be the result, I very well may not have made the attempt to get those things out of Jenny. I hate to say it, but I may not have.

  And, while I was successful, now I have more to work on. Her eyes, for one. If I can heal them, then that’ll be colossal beyond belief. If I can do that, can I do other things? Can I heal other people?

  That could be a business right there. If I can work out a way that doesn’t leave me weak and vulnerable, then I could make huuuge money being a healer. Something that doesn’t really work worth a damn in the magical community.

  Speaking of community, what the hell do I tell the researchers if they call for me and tell me they want to do testing? What do I say in classes? Shifting class? I’m not sure what to do there when my shifting speed is so jacked up. I can play off the long shift time as me messing around, except they’ll all smell that it comes with a marked increase in agony smell. That, right there, will shove me way up the list of people to attack.

  One of my more major abilities is to shift quickly. That means that I can tear out a human’s throat pretty quickly while also being able to get my teeth and claws into things well before anyone else can.

  If it takes me longer? Umm…I have to figure out how to get through this without people learning that. How, though? I can skip classes. That might work. Lord knows enough people do at times. While we’re required to be here, it’s not insanely uncommon to have people skip for various reasons. I could make myself scarce, maybe? Just disappear before shifting and then see what happens? If anyone tries to corner me? Or maybe go out and shift on my own and then come in for class and then escape before shifting back?

  That’s not a horrific idea, it’s just not a great one. I have no idea if shifting again and again will cause more issues with healing the strain. Assuming I can. This will be really, really bad if it’s more than strain. It really will. Then again, if this is the pain of being burned out, maybe it’d be better to go to Mexico and have them strip out my power all together. I’d have to think that would stop the pain. Although it’ll take my ability to shift, too.

  While that part would suck, I don’t know that I can live the rest of my life feeling like this inside. Ugh, I really hope this is just strain and I can fall asleep and wake up feeling much better. I’m not holding my breath, though, you know? That seems foolish.

  The clock has been mocking me for hours as I sit here and try to calm down and come up with possible ways to feel better, to hide my issues with shifting and with magic, to figure out who’s spreading rumors, and how to deal with people. It’s the far side of 3am, and this just shouldn’t be.

  The door opens hard, hitting the stopper against the wall as the dim light from the hall floods in. I’m out of bed before the door rebounds, ready to be attacked, only to find Eva coming in with Tiffany.

  Holy crap, she looks like shit. I really did a number on her nose and cheeks, because the black and blue make her look like someone ran over her face with a tank. Or pretty damn close to it. I have a feeling I broke way more than just her nose. Yet everything looks better that way.

  “Shifting helped?”

  Glares from the girls. Eva has Tiffany’s arm over her shoulder and is supporting her. Now that I smell it, she smells off. Just a bit.

  Holy crap, she went to the infirmary. “Jesus Christ, I broke more than your nose, didn’t I?!” She doesn’t respond as Eva brings her over to the couch and helps her sit. “That has to be it, I don’t think they would have given you medication otherwise. You were able to shift, though? Did you get enough meat?”

  Still no response.

  Eva plugs in several nightlights and turns them on, then changes into PJs. Tiffany is left on the couch glaring at me unsteadily. I’ve never had that happen before, so this is a first. She tries to pull away from me as I crouch near her knee, “Did you get enough meat? I can go get you more?”

  No response from her other than confusion.

  “Why the fuck would you offer that? You’re the one that hurt her to begin with!”

  Eva pushes between us, trying t
o shove me over backwards. While she’s larger than I am, I’m much, much stronger than she is, so she doesn’t manage to do it. Instead of fighting for position, I move back to my bed and sit, “I offered because I never wanted to get into it with her. I warned her. I warned you. Dominate others all you want, don’t try to dominate me. Had she let me leave the shower area, I never would have done that. So my offering to get her meat? Think of it as a small peace offering. I won’t say no to a challenge from her if she wants to make it and I’m not trying to sway her not to make it, but I’m offering anyway. I’ve been hurt before and no one would help, how big of a bitch would I be if I didn’t offer to help someone?”

  “Go fuck yourself, freak. You go near her again, and I’ll stab you in the fucking throat while you sleep.” She shocked me by pulling a rather large knife from I don’t even know where. “You come near my bed again, and I’ll do the same thing. I’m not your prey. Either is Tiffany. You’re gonna pay like nobody’s business when she’s healed.”

  Hmm, “Interesting. So you’re saying that my best course of action is to cave in her skull right now and feast on the goo inside? Interesting.” I stood, getting her arm to come up with the knife. Her eyes went crazy wide as terror wafted from her. “Let’s see. You threatened to kill me while I’m asleep. That means that I need to attack you while I’m awake. I can do that. Here’s the thing, I’m more than willing to risk you killing me to do it. I go for you and take out the threat, then go for her and take out her threat. All kinda allowable since you just threatened me for both of you.” She paled as I smiled, “Didn’t think about that, now did you? Put the fucking knife away and help her. Did you get her enough food?”