Fractured Magic (The Shadow Portal Book 1)

by N. M. Howell

  “You wear it well.” Raina felt a little uncomfortable with the conversation. “You seem… close to Derek.”

  “Oh, well, you know how it goes. Danny is his father’s son. Always flying overseas on business. A girl gets lonely.”

  Raina’s discomfort crept up into anxious range. It must have showed.

  Trini laughed, loud enough to echo off the coarse walls. “You humans! Jealous much? So emotional. What a riot.”

  Raina was a little taken aback. Mostly because she could remember a time when she had that same condescending attitude toward humans. Had she ever expressed it so openly?

  “Ever since the portal fell, people have gone a little Fae crazy. It seems like now, everyone’s a Glow-Getter, a Moth-Boy or a Faerie Mary. I haven’t been able to buy a drink for myself. I guess it goes to your head when you’re the flavor of the month.”

  “Uh-huh,” Raina murmured, distracted by the spaces Trini led them through.

  “Anyway, because this place is in Central Park, we had to have public spaces. When the Light Fae built their portal, the theory was: better to ask forgiveness than permission. Although, really, even though only they could go through the portal, the space was open to anybody.” Trini sashayed through a doorway. “This is the public exhibition area, which is a permanent display.”

  The two of them walked a wide hall lined with cases. Everyday Fae objects sat behind glass. With the disappearance of her race, apparently every hairbrush and button held value. Seeing such mundane artifacts on display as if her people truly were a relic of the past made her stomach clench that much more.

  They turned, entering a cube of a room, walls lined with paintings and photos. Raina froze in place, mouth growing dry. A history of humans and Fae was written on a metal plate beneath the massive painting that hung before her. Fighting the instinct to run, she found herself locked in a staring contest with her parents, standing tall side by side, dressed in the traditional regal costume of the Light Fae.

  If she hadn’t felt nauseas before, she sure did now. She forgot how to breathe.

  “Sure, it’s not much to see. The real stuff is in the museum proper. You get an audio tour with the price of admission.” Trini pointed to a ticket window down a short corridor. Trini linked her arm through Raina’s and lurched her forward, completely oblivious to the explosion of emotion happening within her. When the painting was out of sight, she regained her ability to exhale and followed Trini as she led her past the endless sea of exhibits. “On the other side of the museum are the dorms. I work security there, and on the grounds.”

  “Dorms?”

  “Well, duh. We running a university here. Students have to stay someplace. And New York is expensive. Not that the dorms are cheap or anything.”

  It made sense. Apparently, people from all over the world visited and attended the academy. Raina puzzled it over. “Why does the school need security?”

  “This is the Big Apple. You get all kinds of weirdos here. It’s okay for people to walk around the public areas in the daytime. But at night, when the moon comes up, this places locks down. Security is insane.” Trini gave her a wink. “If you’re thinking about hanging out to hook up with a Shadow Fae hottie, better think again.”

  Again, Raina fought the urge to vomit.

  “Take it easy, Friend,” Trini misread her expression. “We’re not all that tough on night visitors. If anyone gets too aggressive, we call in the NYPD. We have friends on the force.”

  “Oh, okay.” Raina offered a shrug, aiming for indifference but sensing she came across a bit awkward. She sure felt awkward. Among a thousand other feelings she couldn’t quite get in check.

  Trini traced one of her many bracelets with her finger. “Oops. Gotta clock in. I’ve been late five times this week, and it’s only Tuesday. My boss’ll chew me a new one. See you ‘round. Friend. Make yourself at home. Oh. And take my advice. If you want Derek to treat you like a princess, wrap that butt of yours in a tight micro mini.” She winked a heavily-mascaraed eye before leaving.

  “Thanks.” Home. Princess. The words fell like blows. She was only a few hundred yards from the portal. From the gateway to Oreálle. With the portal destroyed, she might as well be on the moon, for all its closeness.

  Raina looked around. She was completely lost in the maze-like public space. A man in work clothes pushed a broom. For a moment, Raina thought she recognized him. His face didn’t register her, so she moved on. She was here for a reason. She needed to learn a way to get to the portal. As much as she doubted the legitimacy of the Dark Fae’s university, she had no other leads.

  She’d started an online application countless times, but never had the courage to hit send. Now that she was here in person, he couldn’t chicken out. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as painful as she thought. The whole place was a farce, after all. Following the hall that Trini had taken, Raina set off to find the admissions office.

  5

  After half an hour, Raina was still lost in the strange human structure, circling back to where she started, passing the broom-pusher again. A feeling stole over her, one she had come to recognize over the past few years. Fatigue born of hunger.

  She wondered if Derek was still standing outside like a doofus, eating both of their brunches. Raina took a turn, finding herself in another room with gut-wrenchingly familiar paintings. Who was the real doofus? She couldn’t even find her way around a public space designed for humans.

  Finally, she found a corridor she believed was near the entrance. A display offered maps of the complex. She took one out, studying it. A bright red star marked her location on the map. The admin area was just around the corner. No problem.

  When she turned a corner, eyes on the map, she collided with a man coming from the other direction.

  “I’m so sorry!” she said. “I was looking at the map. I’m a little lost.” Her voice caught in her throat. The man she had bumped into was Dark Fae. Tall and dark-eyed, of course. Although his features were brutal in the Dark Fae way, they were also pleasant in the manner of a rough sculpture. Especially when he smiled at her.

  “No apologies necessary. The space was designed to get people lost.” His voice was deep, melodious. “Perhaps I could escort you.”

  “Um. Yeah. Sure.”

  He held her eyes for what seemed like a long time. Finally, he said, “Where am I escorting you?”

  Idiot. She felt the sensation of her inner glow brightening in response to his presence, and at once, felt the lack of it. There was no choice but to maintain her masquerade as human. “I was looking for the admin area.”

  “Are you a new student?”

  “Uh...” She dropped her eyes to the linoleum. “No. Not yet. I’m trying to register.”

  “Not a problem.” He extended his elbow. “Come with me.”

  Fighting down her apprehension, she took the Dark Fae’s arm. “Thank you.” She eased somewhat when she saw the physical contact didn’t trigger any sort of recognition of her identity from him. Her magic truly had disappeared just that much.

  He smiled again, throwing his dark, heavy features into a bright expression. “My pleasure. My name is Jax. I’m an instructor here.”

  The corridors of the academy and university were far more standard than the maze of the public museum. Raina had only been a left turn away from the main hall.

  “Have you worked for the university for a long time?” She attempted small talk. No easy feat after spending five years conversing only with yourself and imaginary voices in mirrors.

  “I don’t work for the university, but the academy. It’s something of a gateway for humans to experience magic. The university only accepts adepts. Ninety-nine percent of academy graduates are not truly adept.” He had a teacher’s voice, one that projected off the walls. Raina liked the sound of it. “Sorry, short answer, I’ve been working for the academy since it opened.”

  Raina decided to try and gauge the Dark Fae’s sympathy. “Do you think it’s a little—”
She searched for a word that didn’t express her true feelings. “— off to put this building over the site of the portal?”

  His thick brow lowered at her question, mouth drawn down. “The prevailing view is that this place was constructed to honor the Light Fae. Or Bright Fae, is the politically correct phrase now. However, putting what is essentially a profit-making venture on the grounds of a devastating loss… I love the work I do here, but this was probably not the proper site for the complex.”

  She found herself surprised, perhaps a little delighted, to find empathy in a Dark Fae. Though not enough to mask her distaste, given what his kind are. What they did. Yet his response confused her and only made the attack on the portal that much more of a mystery.

  “Here we are.” Jax opened a door to a large empty room.

  Raina peered at the desks in dismay. Jax caught her expression. With a smile, he opened the pass through and stood at the other side of the counter.

  “I guess I can play administrator for the time being.”

  “Really?” Raina eyes him, waiting for any hint that he was joking. When none came, she offered a smile. “Thank you.”

  “Again. My pleasure.”

  Raina expected him to type a password into the computer. Instead, he dragged over a heavy book bound in blue leather and set in on the counter between them. With an odd gesture of his right fingers, he made a quill appear. Raina did her best to look startled. She had seen the quill up his sleeve.

  “Name?”

  “Uh…” She stuttered out the name Derek had given her. “Rainara.”

  “Pretty,” Jax murmured. “Bit of a Fae ring to it.”

  The quill poised expectantly over the tome. He lifted his eyes to hers, raising his brows.

  Right. Idiot. She thought quickly. “Rainara King.”

  She cursed under her breath. King? Really?

  Jax scribbled. “Address?”

  Did she really want to give her address to a Dark Fae? These are the people who destroyed the portal, tried to assassinate her. What choice did she have? “I have a temporary place in Chinatown.”

  “Let me put ‘residency requested.’”

  Jax asked more personal questions. She wished she had prepared a human dossier that sounded half-way believable, but she hadn’t expected to be ushered into the school right off the bat. She stumbled through the questions any human could tick off without thinking, feeling like a fool.

  She needed an excuse.

  “I’m sorry, but I’ve been told how impossible it is to get accepted here. And you’re just signing me up on the spot. I guess I’m just pretty nervous.” She paused. “Excited, I should say.”

  He nodded. “You must be thinking of the university. They won’t take human admissions unless they are academy graduates. And, as I’ve said, the majority of those would be rejected out of hand. A person applying blind would certainly be rejected. As far as your acceptance into the academy, there is a caveat.”

  Raina swallowed through the growing lump in her throat. There was always a catch. “What is it?”

  “I teach a course, History of Magic 101. It is the least popular class in the whole academy. They tell me it is the driest, most boring batch of lectures to ever grace a classroom. I’m lucky if I can get enough sign-ups to actually justify the class. Consider your registration a bribe.”

  She relaxed, even feeling a natural smile spread over the tight muscles of her face. “I’m sold. Sign me up.”

  He scribbled some more, eyes on the book. “Pretty girl like you might bring in some additional students.”

  If Raina had the capacity to blush, she would have. She couldn’t find any words. Was he flirting with her? “I, uh…”

  This wasn’t her most eloquent day for speech, that was for sure.

  “You must have interests in other magical classes.” He reached under the counter and handed her a class catalogue. “They fill up fairly quickly. Better make some fast decisions. Welcome to the Academy of Fae Magic.”

  Jax held out a long, slender hand and Raina took it, feeling a tingle in the touch. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me. The Tuition Department will come for you sooner or later.” He gave her the up-and-down. “They can help you with financial aid, if you need it.”

  If anyone needed financial aid, it was Raina. “That might be a good idea.”

  “Well, that was the easy part.” Jax lifted the pass through and walked out of the office.

  “Easy part?”

  Jax led the way deeper into the academy. “Next comes the assessment. We need to determine your capacity to perform magic.”

  There came that chill again. Raina trundled after him, unable to breathe.

  He squinted at her. “Don’t’ worry. It’s all pro forma. It’s surprising how many humans have some Shadow Fae lineage in their bloodline. Even a few humans have a strong propensity for magic. It’s a fairly simple test.

  Simple for a human, maybe, but Raina was a full-blooded Light Fae. She’d been suffused in magic for nearly her whole life. What had she just gotten herself into? The silently cursed herself for being such a blithering idiot, not taking the time to think this through. Had her wits left her along with her magic? Along with her home?

  She wanted to run, to get the hell out of this Dark Fae dungeon before they could discover her identity. Would they keep her here, locked up in the basement, deciding when and how to execute the last of the Light Fae? Or would she be put on display like the rest of her kind’s relics?

  “Rainara?” Jax folded his arms. “You okay?”

  Her breath came hard, heart racing. She thought she would pass out when a shouted word echoed in the hall.

  “Next!”

  6

  “Easy, Rainara.” Jax put a steadying hand on her arm. He leaned close, whispering in her ear. “Relax. This is mostly a gimmick. When you tell people they have an affinity for magic, it bolsters their ego, makes them more eager to learn. Deep breath, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  He gave her a wink, and she tried to smile back.

  Still, she jumped when the woman shouted again. “Next! C’mon, Jax, what are you waiting for, Elfnacht? Get your pupil in here. I gotta go to lunch.”

  Jax urged her into the room. Raina took it in. An examination table crouched in the center of a clinically white room. Shaking, she decided to take the risk. Maybe they would just pronounce her incredibly adept for a human. It might knock off some money for the tuition.

  “Jeeze Louise, girl, get your butt on the table.”

  “If you want, I’ll stay with you through the assessment,” Jax said.

  Raina nodded. She found his presence steadying, solid. Was she actually crushing on a Dark Fae? Her whole life, she considered the race inferior to the Light Fae. This man put her at ease, gave her a feeling of safety, even though she was at the epicenter of Dark Fae victory. Still, what better place to learn more about their motives? She sat on the examination bed.

  “Okay, girly, let’s get this over with. What’s your name?” The assessor was a Dark Fae woman, her features a caricature: snub nose, sharp bones, pointed chin, skin tones smudged with the yellow-greens and blues of the race. Rail thin, she held out a scepter in bird-like claws.

  “Rainara.” Raina took the scepter. Its intricate design put it far outside the human aesthetic, although it was not nearly as finely formed as Light Fae objects.

  The woman dropped her shoulders and cocked her head at an angle. “Both hands?”

  “Right.” She put both hands on the haft, a braid of dozens of strands of gold, each end swirling and winding into a texture that formed the head of the ornate staff.

  As she gripped the gold, a symbol glowed to life on the assessor’s forehead. The deep purple light fell on Raina. She expected to experience something, but no sensation registered on her skin. Raina recognized the illuminated glyph. In the Light Fae language, it meant healer. But in Dark Fae, the symbol meant inquisitor, torturer. At least,
as far as her understanding of the Dark meaning of Fae glyphs went.

  Raina took a long, slow breath. Once upon a time, when the portal was open, casting a simple Phaze of Disregard took no more effort than breathing. Now, she trembled inside, trying to generate a shield against the assessor’s probing. It took all of her concentration.

  “Why so tense, girly?” The assessor scowled at her, then smirked at Jax. “You collect nervous novices like old ladies collect cats.”

  Silently, Raina thanked the gods that the woman put so little effort into the assessment.

  “Okey-doke, no Shadow Fae presence in your aura. That’s a strike. In my opinion, anyway.” The woman shrugged. “Lots of depressing pink and gold.”

  The woman passed her hands through the air between them, eyes intense. Raina recognized the gestures as meaningless, perhaps a show to convince humans she was performing some kind of seeking ritual. In a few seconds, the assessor took the scepter back.

  “Sorry to tell you, but you’ve got nada magic in you, girly.” The woman gripped the catalogue from the examination bed where Raina had laid it. “I suggest you sign up for Pre-Magic Studies, but only because we don’t offer Pre-Pre-Magic Studies. Hopefully, if you pay enough attention and work hard, you might learn some basic magic. I don’t hold out much hope, though.”

  “Ernella.” Jax chided her, arms folded.

  The assessor rolled her eyes. “Get outta here, I’m late for lunch. Don’t let the door hit your asses on the way out.”

  They exited, the door slamming as they stood in the hall. Jax lifted his shoulders in a sympathetic shrug.

  “Thanks for staying with me.”