Bitter Magic

by Raven Steele

  His face was inches from mine, and his hot breath steamed my neck. Long fangs extended further in his open mouth and his head drew back like a cobra preparing to strike. A burst of red exploded behind my eyes, and I felt myself losing consciousness.

  I was about to throw my head back as hard as I could in hopes of breaking his nose, when his body was jerked away from me. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

  I thought it might’ve been Christian, but then I heard a deep and unfamiliar voice say, “You’ve made your last mistake, Kull.”

  The Vyken, Kull, stood and brushed himself off. “Liam. I heard you were around.”

  “I see you’re still getting yourself into trouble,” the other man, Liam, responded.

  Kull glared at me. “I didn’t start this fight.”

  Liam stepped between us to block Kull’s view of me. “Do you expect me to believe that?”

  When my vision cleared, I looked up. Liam was tall with broad, muscular shoulders and a chest to match. He looked young, early twenties maybe, with short black hair and strong features, but his powerful presence suggested he was much older.

  “Believe what you want,” Kull snapped. “I was only defending myself.”

  Liam studied Kull for a moment. “Why are you out here?”

  “Why are you out here?” Kull countered.

  Liam straightened, making him appear even taller. “If you don’t answer, you know what I’ll do to you, right?”

  Kull’s eyes flashed to the forest and then to Liam, as if judging the distance. He blinked once and bolted for the nearest group of trees. Liam reached behind his back and unsheathed a weapon. He whipped his arm forward, releasing a crescent-shaped blade. It sliced through the air until it struck Kull’s neck, cutting his head cleanly off his body.

  While the dust of Kull’s body exploded, Liam turned to me. His dark eyes regarded me steadily. The look was so intense, air caught in my chest. This man had power, power that ignited fire in my veins.

  When he finally spoke, I expected to hear sympathy, maybe an, “Are you all right?” but instead I got, “You need to get back to Lucent.”

  I opened my mouth to speak but coughed instead. My throat still ached from being squeezed. Barely louder than a whisper, I gasped, “Why’s that?”

  “Auras don’t leave the school.”

  I stood and cleared my throat. “Who said I was an Aura?”

  “Please. You reek of Light,” he paused and looked me up and down, “and something else. What’s wrong with you?”

  I was about to deck him when I realized my head was spinning, but faintly, like I’d stood up too quickly. My eyes widened. “You’re a Vyken!”

  His jaw flexed. “I haven’t been called that in a long time.”

  “Why? Is that too nice of a term?” I lowered into a defensive position in case he attacked, but he was back to eyeing me funny. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  He shook his head with a puzzled expression. “There’s something wrong with you. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

  “There’s something wrong with me? You’re the monster.”

  “So you say.” He glanced behind me. “You need to go. It’s not safe.”

  I snorted. A Vyken telling me it’s not safe? “Don’t you want to kill me? Drink my blood so you can suck all the precious Light right out of me?”

  “That’s what you automatically assume, isn’t it?”

  I took a step toward him, my nerve endings alive with fevered energy. “Why wouldn’t I? That’s what you suckers live for.”

  For the first time, his calm expression cracked. He closed the distance between us until I could feel the heat of his body warming mine. My pulse skipped a beat.

  “If you are so anxious to die,” he said, his breath feathering across my neck, “I would be happy to oblige, but right now I have more important things to do than deal with a confused Aura.”

  With one downward sweep of his arm, his whole body twisted, then swirled as if he were turning into a small tornado. In a burst of wind that ruffled my hair, he was gone.

  “I’m not confused!” I called after him in no particular direction.

  I stood alone in the quiet forest, wondering what I’d just seen. A Vyken who can disappear like wind and pass up the chance to kill an Aura? It just didn’t happen.

  I turned around and walked back to the school, keeping my head on a swivel in case any more Vykens appeared. So much for that being a rarity. Someone had lied to Christian, and I couldn’t wait to find out who. Not only that, but what Liam had said shook me up. How could he have known I felt confused?

  When I was almost to the wall, I heard, “What are you doing out here?”

  I glanced over in time to see Jackson jogging toward me.

  “Hey,” I said and kept walking.

  “I can’t believe you came out here again after what happened.”

  “Believe it.”

  “Could you stop walking for a second?” he asked.

  I stopped and turned around.

  He startled at my appearance. “What happened to your face?”

  I reached up to feel a swollen cheekbone. “Like you said, it’s not safe out here.”

  Jackson grabbed my arms. “What happened? Did a Vyken attack you?”

  “I attacked it.” I shrugged him off and started walking again.

  “You did what?”

  “I attacked it,” I said, louder this time.

  “What were you thinking? You could have been killed!”

  “Still breathing.”

  He stopped following me. “I’m going to have to report this.”

  This got my attention, and I whirled around. “Please don’t say anything. I’ll be more careful next time, I promise.”

  “Why do you keep coming out here anyway?”

  Now there’s the real question of the day. It took me a long moment to answer. “I don’t know. It just feels so stuffy in there.” I nodded my head toward the school. “Know what I mean?”

  “But that’s where you belong. You’re safe and protected there.”

  “I don’t need protection.”

  He reached up and touched my cheek lightly. “Obviously you do.”

  I pushed his hand away. “You should see the other guy. What’s left of him anyway.”

  “You killed another Vyken?”

  “Um, technically, no, but I distracted him long enough so another Vyken could kill him.”

  Jackson eyed me skeptically. “What?”

  “Twisted, right? But I’m telling the truth. This other Vyken came and killed the one I was fighting. And then he sort of, well, he turned into this crazy wind and disappeared.”

  Jackson stiffened. “What did you just say?”

  “Which part?”

  “The Vyken wind part. Actually, just start from the beginning. What exactly happened?”

  I told him about my fight with Kull and how Liam had shown up. “After Liam insulted me, he just disappeared, literally.”

  “That’s not possible,” Jackson said.

  “It’s very possible. It happened right before my eyes.”

  “You mean you think you saw it,” he corrected.

  “I know what I saw.” I folded my arms to my chest like a defiant five-year-old. “Christian would believe me.”

  I glanced down at my watch. Not much longer until we were supposed to meet.

  “Of course he would.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Let’s just say that Christian would say anything to get in a girl’s pants, even an Aura’s.”

  I stepped toward him, rage once again surging inside me. “You don’t know him.”

  “Don’t I? I only trained with him for three years. How long have you known him?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “That’s what I thought. You can’t possibly know what Christian is like. He was one of the biggest screw-offs, caring more for girls than our sacred duty to th
e Auras.”

  “I don’t believe you. Christian takes his position very seriously.”

  “Is that why your friend—Tracey, right?—ended up dead and you almost died too?”

  I slapped him hard.

  Jackson closed his eyes briefly and clenched his jaw. “I guess I deserved that. Look, all I’m trying to say is you don’t know Christian well enough to be singing his praise. What happened out in the forest with the Vyken turning to wind just can’t happen, even if Christian tells you otherwise.”

  We stood next to the wall in silence for several moments, me looking toward the inviting forest and him looking at me.

  Finally Jackson said, “I know you’ll probably hate me, but your safety comes first. I have to report this.”

  “Do what you have to do.” I walked away, my hands clenched tight.

  Christian and I would have to meet up another time. I didn’t dare risk getting him in trouble too. Besides, I didn’t want him to see me this mad.

  Chapter 9

  “Are you all right?” May asked at breakfast. She sat next to me along with another girl with dark hair almost matching May’s, but it was longer. I’d seen her in some of my classes.

  I stopped stirring my scrambled eggs. All I could think about was what had happened with Liam last night. Had I made any of it up? Had I finally lost my mind? “I’m fine. Late night studying is all.”

  “Again?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Aren’t you tired?”

  “A little.”

  “Are you taking your vitamins?” the other girl asked, eyeing the little blue pill next to my plate. “Oh, by the way, I’m Kiera. I’ve seen you around.”

  “Hey,” I said and picked up the vitamin. “A super pill. Wouldn’t that be great?” I popped it into my mouth and swallowed it.

  “I forgot to tell you,” May began. “I’m in your PE class now. You’re in it too, right, Kiera?”

  Kiera smiled and nodded.

  “Really? How come?” I asked.

  “Dr. Han rearranged my schedule. I think he could tell I was getting bored not having kids the same age in any of my classes.”

  “That was nice of him.”

  May pointed at my face. “Why is your cheek so red?”

  “Is it?”

  When I’d gotten back last night, my cheek had been swollen and colored a deep purple. I was afraid I would have to make up a story about falling down the stairs or something, but by this morning it had almost healed.

  “Hey, Llona,” Ashlyn interrupted from the next table over. “Any ghostly visits lately?”

  Twitters of laughter from the girls around her accompanied her words.

  “Hey, Ashlyn,” I mocked. “How about cluing me in on your stupid joke?”

  “Just ignore her,” Kiera said. “She’s like that with everyone.”

  The room grew suddenly quiet and all eyes shifted behind me. I turned around to discover the source. Christian. My heart somersaulted into my ribs, and I gripped the table. He was with Jackson and another Guardian, heading toward the teacher’s table. Several of the girls openly ogled in their direction.

  The guys did stand out, especially Christian. He was taller than the other two, his hair longer, messy just past his ears. He glanced at me, the corners of his mouth threatening a smile.

  “Wow,” May said to me, her voice low. “You’re all aglow.”

  I blushed and quickly looked down. Right now my heart was overpowering my mind.

  May nudged me. “Maybe you can set me up with one of his friends. They’re not so bad either.”

  I forced myself to take a bite. I will not look up. I will not look up.

  “Hello, Llona.”

  I looked up. Christian was standing next to me. May had to look away to keep from laughing..

  “You look well,” he said, then paused, furrowing his brow. “Your cheek. What happened?”

  Instinctively, I touched it. “Ran into a wall late last night.”

  Christian tensed. “That must have been some wall.”

  “It was. It kept me from going somewhere important.”

  He reached up, as if to touch me, but stopped himself. “Are you okay?”

  His eyes, always full of concern, bore into mine. I nodded.

  Jackson appeared next to him and patted Christian on the back. “You ready to go?”

  Jackson stopped when he saw me. “See any more spooky wind, Llona?” He exaggerated the words with his hands, wiggling his fingers through the air.

  Christian looked from Jackson to me. “What are you talking about?”

  “One day Llona will tell you. Come on. Let’s go.” He laughed and walked away.

  Christian’s gaze returned to mine, his lips pursed, like he didn’t want to go. I decided to help him out since everyone was starting to look at us strangely.

  “I better get going too. Those twelve-year-old girls in my history class get mean if I’m late. See you in PE, May.” I held my hand out to Christian. “Good seeing you again.”

  He took hold of it firmly, securely. I wondered if anyone else could feel the heat passing between us.

  “I’m sure we’ll see each other again,” he said.

  I reluctantly let go and walked away, feeling both happy and sad. Before I stepped out of the dining room, Sophie caught my eye, and I almost stumbled. It was her expression that did it. She was watching me leave and smirking, as if she knew something I didn’t.

  I raised my hand to wave, but the second our eyes met, she turned away. I shook my head. I would never understand that woman.

  When I reached Denelle Hall, I ducked into my classroom to sit in the back. If I sat anywhere else, one of the girls would complain that they couldn’t see over my freaky head. Their words not mine.

  I pushed Christian from my mind and opened my history book to page fifty-nine. I had found something in it over the weekend that didn’t make sense, and I wanted to ask Ms. Ravitz about it. As soon as she came in, I raised my hand.

  “Yes, Llona?”

  “I have a question.”

  Ms. Ravitz erased the whiteboard from a previous lecture. “What is it?”

  “Um, well, I was wondering if there are any other Auran history books?”

  “Of course. There are many.”

  “I mean, any before this one.” I held it up. “The earliest date I can find is 1909. What about our history before that?”

  “They’re in storage to keep them safe.”

  “Can I see them?”

  Ms. Ravitz tilted her head and smiled at me sympathetically. “They are too fragile for your fingers.”

  The other girls snickered.

  Ms. Ravitz waved them silent. “If you really want to, you can see them, but you have to have special permission from Cyrus. We treasure our past, but really all you need to know is our history after P-Day. Can someone tell me when that was?”

  A girl with a long brown ponytail raised her hand. “Yes, Emily?”

  “P-Day was on April 13, 1939.”

  I leaned over and whispered to another girl. “What’s P-Day?”

  “Preservation Day,” she whispered back.

  “And why is that date important?” Ms. Ravitz asked.

  Emily smiled. “Because that’s the day the Council decided to preserve the Auran race. They restructured all the Auran schools and organized the Guardian watch program.”

  “Good, Emily. And it’s important to note that our very own Cyrus was a part of that great event.”

  That name again. It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d heard it before. I raised my hand again and said, “Who’s Cyrus?”

  Ms. Ravitz shook her head in frustration like I should know this. “Cyrus is the President of Lucent Academy and the head of the Council.”

  I nodded, remembering now how Sophie had mentioned his name on the first night.

  Ms. Ravitz continued, “You haven’t met him yet because he’s visiting Ellie Academy in Ireland.”r />
  I’d heard of Ellie. It was one of the three Auran schools. In addition to Lucent there was also Ruddy Academy in Australia. Three council members resided at each one, making up the traditional nine members. I wondered how often Cyrus visited them.

  Another thought came to mind. I raised my hand again.

  Ms. Ravitz sighed and said, “Yes, Llona?”

  “If Cyrus was around for P-Day, wouldn’t he be like a hundred years old?”

  Emily blurted, “How do you not know any of this?”

  “Be kind, Emily,” Ms. Ravitz said. “Llona wasn’t raised like the rest of you. Her parents didn’t teach her our history.”

  I wanted to shout that they had, but it was very different from what I was being taught now. They taught that Auras had fought to rid the world of Vykens not hide from them.

  “Llona, Cyrus is a Geo, which means he can manipulate the earth’s crust. It’s quite a special gift to be able to move boulders, dirt, and trees the way he does. And because his kind was made from the earth, they can live for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, Cyrus is the last of his race. Vykens hunted and destroyed his kind almost two hundred years ago. He was afraid the same would happen to Auras, and that’s why he helped establish P-Day.”

  “Oh,” I said.

  “Any more questions?”

  I shook my head, feeling very stupid. Why hadn’t my parents told me any of this?

  I kept my mouth shut the rest of class. That is until a Lizen girl opened the classroom door and handed Ms. Ravitz a note.

  Ms. Ravitz looked up at me. “Llona? You’re needed in Ms. Edevane’s office.”

  “Right now?” I wondered why Sophie would want me in the middle of the day.

  Ms. Ravitz looked down and read the note again. “Looks that way.”

  This can’t be good. I gathered my books and left the room.

  I took my time crossing the campus back to Chadni Hall. After my encounter with Jackson last night, I had a pretty good idea what Sophie was going to talk to me about.

  After I took the elevators up to the fourth floor where all the teachers’ offices were, I knocked on Sophie’s door.

  “Come in,” I heard her say.

  I opened the heavy oak door and was surprised at how dark the room seemed. She must’ve had the lights turned low. Strange for during the day, but then again, everything Sophie did seemed strange to me.