Deadly Truth

by Laney Powell

  Behind me, Jade burst out laughing.

  “When I find out what it is, I will be letting Jake know,” Wendi continued. The fear I saw made her desperate.

  “He likes me just as I am,” I said. “And he knows you’re a thief. He knows,” I stressed. “Do you think anything you could say will be important to him? He saw that you were willing to hurt another person just to be petty. You tried to have me arrested.” I took another step.

  A couple of students were slowing down, listening to the conversation.

  Wendi’s eyes widened as I got closer, and she took a step backwards. The greenish fear around her increased.

  I lowered my voice, keeping my eyes on her. I wanted her to hear me, as much as she could. “That was your one freebie, Wendi. You will never get it again, because if you do, I will make sure you pay for it. Now leave me alone.” And with that, I turned my back on her. I wasn’t going to bother with her anymore. If she came after me again, I would fight it.

  Something more than just my magic changed that night in the garden. I might still be worried, and nervous about things—but I wasn’t going to take shit lying down anymore.

  “Let’s go,” I said, moving between Jade and Thalia. “I’m starved.”

  “Well done,” Jade said. “She’s going to try some shit, though. Just so you know.”

  “I figured as much,” I said. “I’ll deal with it then. Thanks, by the way.”

  “For what?” Thalia asked.

  “For letting me do that alone.”

  “You had to,” Jade said. “Her kind doesn’t ever back off unless their target stands up to them.”

  “But we will beat her ass if she keeps this up,” Thalia said.

  Laughing, we walked into the dining hall.

  Matty, Silas, and Jake were already sitting down and eating. I noticed that each of them had a large backpack, and they looked full. Hopefully that meant we’d be gone from the school for the entire day.

  “What’s so funny?” Silas took in the three of us.

  “Your girlfriend just kicked Wendi Tennyson’s ass without even raising her voice,” Jade said, laughing again.

  Jake looked at me quickly. “Again?”

  “She’s pissed,” I shrugged. “For a lot of reasons, I think. It’s hard to let go of when you’re pissed. But she can do it elsewhere. I’m done with her.” I sat down.

  There was silence, and then Matty whistled.

  “What?” I said.

  “You didn’t see the look on your face,” Matty replied, grinning. “I would take you seriously with that look.”

  “Badass,” Silas agreed.

  “What did she do?” Jake asked.

  “Well, she didn’t pee her pants on the spot, but she looked like she wanted to,” Thalia said.

  All three guys laughed.

  “Good for you,” Silas said. “Not that she’ll stop. She’ll just try to be sneakier.”

  “My point exactly,” Jade said. “See? I’m not just the paranoid one.”

  Silas raised his glass of orange juice in salute to her. “Paranoia can be healthy.”

  “Exactly!” Jade said.

  “Where are you going today?” Thalia asked.

  “Hiking,” Matty said. He smiled at me.

  Our first date had been hiking, and it remained one of the best first dates ever.

  After breakfast, the four of us left together. From over by the far window, I saw the fae students sitting together. Caspian was with them. His misery was palpable, even from this distance.

  But I’d told him what the deal was. He made his choice. I turned away, although I noticed that Silas saw me.

  Matty led the way, and I found that walking with all three of them, once we got away from the grounds of the school, allowed for a great deal more affection. This showed me that they held back, too.

  First, Silas kissed me on the lips. Then Jake picked me up by the waist, and he kissed me as well. Matty took my hand, twirling me around as we walked like we were dancing, which also ended in a kiss.

  Goddess, my body was on fire for them. I wondered what they’d think of all of us together… and it made my cheeks go hot.

  We weren’t headed for the lake where Matty and I had gone. We walked through nothing but woods, but since Matty seemed confident about where he was going, I didn’t worry about it.

  “I thought Silas was in charge,” I said to Jake.

  “I am. I just told the hiking king where we were going,” Silas said loudly.

  We came into a clearing, one carpeted with wildflowers in white and pink and yellow and purple. “It’s gorgeous,” I breathed.

  “I thought so,” Silas said. He looked at me as he spoke.

  The three of them set down their bags and began pulling things out. A blanket, what looked like smaller cooler bags of food, bottles, and Jake had pillows in his bag.

  “How did you fit all of this in there?” I asked.

  “It’s magic,” Matty said with a laugh.

  “I’m not really hungry right now,” I said.

  “Good. I’m in the mood to talk,” Silas said, his tone serious.

  “Okay, talk,” I said. I sat down and curled up next to a pillow.

  I noticed that he glanced at both Jake and Matty. They nodded. Uh, huh. They were getting together and talking amongst themselves. This could be good or bad for me.

  “Why haven’t you told us you’ve been out burning parts of the forest?” Silas asked. “Or don’t you remember?”

  “Why do you ask?” I replied. “I’m not trying to change the subject, but I want to know how you know?”

  “I can smell you,” Silas said. “When I’ve gone to each of the spots, I smell an older demon, powerful, male, and you. No one else.”

  “How many of these spots are there?” I asked.

  “Four,” he replied promptly.

  “I didn’t know that I was actually out of school,” I said, fiddling with my braid. “I thought it was a dream. But I wasn’t sure.”

  “Why?” Matty asked.

  “Because I woke up with blackened hands, hands that were all sooty,” I said. “I got away from him using the dreamscape and some of the lessons I’ve been doing with Madame Karathos. I didn’t think it was happening for real.”

  “What did you think was happening?” Jake asked. He reached over to take my hand.

  “I have thought that he was putting pressure on me, trying to make me crack,” I said. “I have a lot to catch you all up on.”

  “Sounds like it,” Silas said. He was still kind of frosty.

  I got up on my knees and moved over toward him, putting my hands on his shoulders. “I am sorry. The only reason I haven’t said anything was that I was asked by Madame to keep this between us. But I decided after this week that I wasn’t going to keep things from you three anymore. Even though she asked.”

  “Why would she ask you that?” Silas asked. I could tell that my explanation didn’t make him feel better.

  I leaned over and kissed him. He deepened the kiss instantly, grabbing my waist and pulling me closer, with one hand on my butt.

  “Focus,” I heard Matty say.

  I broke off from Silas. “Because she wanted to keep things low key with the Concilium here. And even though I had to kiss you, I can’t let you distract me. I have a lot to tell you.” I stroked his cheek.

  He smiled, and I could feel a lightening in him.

  “I thought we covered this whole idea of not keeping secrets,” Jake said.

  “We did. This wasn’t me,” I said. “I’m going to tell Madame Karathos that what I know, you know.”

  “Does she know about us?” Silas asked.

  “I don’t know, although she did tell me, very intently once that she knew everything that happened in her school. So maybe?” I shrugged. I sat back down, leaning against Silas. I reached for Matty’s hand.

  Jake laid down, putting his head on my thigh.

  And for that moment, I felt like every
thing would be okay. This was how it was supposed to be.

  I shared everything. About Katherine, and how Madame Karathos had kept her hidden. About my growing guilt over the matter. And I told them about Caspian, about all the times I’d had interactions with him, about how he seemed like he was dying of his own misery. About the other night in the garden, and how things had shifted for me magically.

  “Was he the fourth you thought might be part of this?” Jake looked up at me. “I want to talk about the magic, but I want to know this first.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes. I can’t deny that I’m attracted to him, and I thought he would be with us. I talked to him last night—”

  “Is that why he skipped out? That asshole,” Silas muttered.

  I remembered that he and Caspian were on the same rugby team. All three of them had some meeting last night, which was why I’d been alone.

  “Well, he has made his choice. He was mad at me that I wouldn’t tell him the truth, and I said, you’re not in the circle of trust—”

  “You said that?” Jake asked.

  “That’s kind of harsh,” Matty added.

  “I wasn’t that blunt, but it’s true. I have a lot on the line. We all do. It’s not just me. I trust you three. With my life,” I said. “Just because he’s a good kisser doesn’t mean he gets that kind of trust.”

  “That’s fair,” Silas said.

  “Poor bastard,” Jake said.

  I laughed out loud. “And here I thought you guys would be all, No way, not another dude! But you feel sorry for him?”

  “I couldn’t have stopped how I felt about you,” Matty said.

  “Me either,” said Jake.

  “I didn’t want to,” Silas said. “And I knew there was more than one.”

  “You did?” Jake looked up at him.

  “From the get go. I like packs,” Silas shrugged.

  “Let’s talk about the magic part of this,” Matty said.

  I shared in detail, even going over it more than once, what happened in the garden with the red vapor, and how Caspian said he felt a shift.

  “Fae can be really sensitive to the magic around them,” Jake said.

  “Well, I felt it too, and it was like being able to see after being in the dark. That’s not all, either. I can see what’s inside people.”

  “Literally, or magically, or what?” Silas asked.

  “Both?” I shrugged. “Like, I could see that Wendi’s mom is eaten up with ambition, and anger. More like resentment. Wendi is afraid and that makes her angry.”

  “What do you see when you look at Madame Karathos?” Silas asked.

  “She’s older than I thought, but I’ve asked her before, and she won’t tell me,” I said. “She’s good. She keeps a lot of secrets, though. She’s careful about who she lets see her.”

  “Makes sense,” Silas nodded.

  “What do you see in us?” Matty asked.

  I blinked. I’d been waiting for this question, and given what I’d seen, I still wasn’t prepared. I held up a hand.

  “That doesn’t look good,” Jake propped himself up on his elbow.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Olivia

  I took a breath. “I was really nervous to look at you. Any of you. But when I did,” I smiled, and I took the time to look at each of them, “All I could see was good men. You’re caring, and kind, and loyal. You stand up for what’s right, and for those you care about. I see it in each of you. And sex. Lots of thoughts about sex.”

  “Good to know we passed the test.” Silas said as everyone else laughed.

  “I was relieved,” I said.

  “Even about the sex?” Matty teased.

  “Were you worried?” Jake asked.

  “Maybe about you,” Matty told him.

  “Not really. This thing seems to show me all the stuff that people don’t want out there, though. I only want to know the things you want to tell me. I’ve been avoiding looking at people casually, because I don’t want to see their innermost secrets.”

  Matty held up a hand.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Hang on,” he was tapping his chin with his finger. “You said you noticed this after fighting off the garden thing?”

  “The nasty vapor? Yes,” I said.

  “Do you remember what you told me? That your water element got stronger after you learned about your siren side?”

  I nodded.

  “What if what happened with the vapor whatever it was turned on the demon side of things?”

  “Oh, hell,” I said.

  They all laughed.

  Then Matty was serious again. “Demons often screw with humans and supernaturals because they know their true desires. I’d always thought it was because demons loved all the dark stuff—sorry,” he said to me. “But maybe it’s because they can see it, rather than they just wallow in it.”

  “I am the last thing from a wallowing in the dark stuff kind of person,” I sniffed.

  “It would be nice if you did a little wallowing on the dark side,” Silas waggled his eyebrows at me.

  “Stop.” I was so glad to see that he wasn’t upset anymore about the burned-out places he’d found in the forest. He’d hidden it well, but I didn’t like that he’d had to carry the worry. “You think this my demon side? But…” I stopped.

  “What?” Jake said.

  “I like being able to see things. I was floating around on cloud nine after I saw each of you with my new x-ray vision,” I said. “Same with Jade and Thalia. It made me so happy. How can that be?”

  “Not all demons are bad,” Silas said. “Just because you know the biggest jackass doesn’t mean they’re all like him.”

  I thought of the little demon who’d lost fingers when he touched the siren stones. “That’s true,” I said.

  “It’s a gift,” Matty said. “Every aspect of our magic is a gift.”

  “You just have to learn how to use it,” Jake and Matty said together.

  “What the hell?” Silas asked.

  “That would be Elliot Pearson, our dad. He doesn’t see any magic as bad.”

  “Even the uncle?” I asked, recalling that they’d told me they had an uncle who was not on the up and up.

  “Not even him,” Matty said. “It’s the application that makes things good or bad.”

  “I like that,” Silas said.

  “He’d like you,” Jake said. “And he’d love you,” he said to me.

  “So what now?” Matty said. “Olivia’s got the demon aspect to deal with, there are still students going missing—”

  “That girl Frannie came back after two days,” Silas said. “Said she was lost in the woods, hit her head. You can’t miss her. She has a huge goose egg on her forehead.”

  “I didn’t even know she’d come back,” I said.

  “Keep up, Miss Washington,” Jake said mockingly.

  “So that makes, what?” Matty held up his hand. “Four fires around the school, plus the whatever it was in the garden. Then the hellway, which we still don’t know how it hangs on here, or why it shows up, or goes away, or anything. Then three students—Katherine, Nathan, and Frannie.”

  “Don’t forget the two I saw when I first saw the hellway,” I said, remembering. “I didn’t see faces. I don’t know who they are. So that makes at least five.”

  “What do we do?” Jake asked.

  “We have to close the hellway. Not just close it, but get rid of it,” I said. “I think that’s how he’s able to latch onto other students. I also think,” I said as inspiration hit, “That’s how he’s finding me. It’s not the dreamscape, so it’s harder for me to get away.”

  “Maybe,” Silas nodded. “That makes sense.”

  “Why is he choosing the students he’s choosing?” Jake asked. “They all seem to react differently. Is it random? Or are some stronger than others?”

  “That’s another thing to find out. Why did it take so much to get Katherine free of whatever ha
d a hold on her? But Frannie came back in two days? And so did Nathan?”

  “We’re just assuming that the demon has something to do with all the students?” Silas asked.

  “I think it’s a safe assumption,” I said. “Or am I completely off base here?”

  “No, I think you’re right,” Silas said. “Just making sure.”

  “You need to talk to Madame Karathos about understanding your demon magic,” Jake said. “I know that means you have to tell her that you think your demon side woke up, but it will make your life a lot easier if you learn how to use it.”

  “Only for the good,” Matty added. He grinned.

  “I hate this,” I said.

  “I don’t know,” Silas said. “Don’t you feel more together? Stronger? I’ve been getting that from you the last couple of days.”

  “Yes,” I said slowly, thinking. “I don’t feel as scared. I’ve been so afraid someone will find out about me and turn me over to the Concilium. I worried that I didn’t belong here. And now, I feel like I can’t help who my parents are. But I belong here, and I’m not letting anyone boot me.”

  “Yeah, you’re getting tougher,” Matty said. “I like it.” The smile he sent my way made all my insides tingle.

  “That’s because you’re bringing all the parts of you together. I had the same problem. Most shifters aren’t able to practice elemental magic, and it was tough when I was younger. I got a lot of shit for it,” Silas said. “But my dad helped me work with both my mage and shifter side. Once I did, everything fell into place. I think it’s the same for you,” he nodded at me.

  “That makes sense.” I was feeling better. Just because I had demon magic didn’t mean I needed to be snatching souls and burning things down and making people mean. Silas was right. I couldn’t judge all demons on Marbys. There were demons at Darklight Academy and as far as I knew, it was still standing. ‘Still standing’ was not the highest of bars, but I’d take it for now.

  “What did you bring for eats?” Jake asked Matty.

  “You’re already hungry?” Matty rolled his eyes. “You’re like a walking stomach.”

  Jake shrugged. “Still haven’t answered the question.”

  “Look for yourself,” Matty tossed one of the smaller bags at his brother.