Bitter Magic

by Raven Steele

  “The Fury?”

  “Uh-huh. And he took some blood.” I walked to the rack he’d been looking at.

  Tessa followed. “What would he want with Auran blood?”

  “Good question.” I read the name on the rack. “Not an Aura. Another Fury.”

  “Who?”

  I met her gaze. “May.”

  * * *

  “Why would May’s blood be in here?”

  “Probably the same reason they have ours.” I followed Tessa out of the room.

  “Let’s just get out of here,” she said. “We’ll figure it out later.”

  I locked the door and closed it. “I feel sick.”

  “Look,” Tessa said when we reached the front door.

  I peered out the glass door. Dr. Han was walking toward Chadni Hall.

  “Let’s follow him,” I breathed.

  Both excitement and fury raced through my veins in a fevered heat. I was reveling in this, but which part of me? Was I rushing after him to hurt him or to stop him from potentially hurting Auras? My emotions were too big of a mess for me to discern the truth.

  As soon as he turned the corner, we opened the door and jogged to catch up.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea,” Tessa said. “The last person I’d want to mess with is a Fury.”

  I peeked around the building just in time to see him open and close the front door. “Come on.”

  Tessa made it to the front door then stopped. “I’m not supposed to go in this entrance.”

  “Oh brother, come on.” I opened the door.

  “Seriously. I can’t. You better hurry. He’s getting away.”

  I glanced inside and then back at Tessa. “I’ll see you soon,” I said and ducked inside.

  Dr. Han was stepping into an elevator. I waited until I saw which floor he stopped on and then headed for the stairs, racing up them until I reached the fourth floor. I opened the door just in time to see a door at the end of the hallway closing. It had to be him.

  I walked quickly, yet casually, down the hallway, passing by Sophie’s office. So far the offices were empty. All the teachers must be in class.

  When I reached the door Dr. Han had gone through, I paused. What now? Bust down the door all gangster-like and say, “Give me back my best friend’s blood?” I so needed spy lessons or at least find better movies to watch.

  I turned around and headed back the way I came, feeling stupid for even coming this far. I needed a plan.

  Just as I walked by the elevator doors, they opened. “Llona?”

  I stopped mid-step.

  “What are you doing?”

  I whirled around and thought quickly. “Hi, Sophie. I was looking for Ms. Crawford. I wanted to talk to her about my grade.”

  Sophie placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled. “What are you talking about? We don’t give grades here.”

  Of course you don’t. “Right. I mean I just wanted to see how I’m doing in class. I don’t feel like I’m grasping everything.”

  Sophie studied my face. Finally she moved away. “Ms. Crawford’s in class. You should know that because that’s where you should be too right now.”

  “Oh … is it? I feel like that’s not right. You’re confused. Or maybe I’m confused. I’ll just—” I couldn’t stop babbling as I backed up to get away.

  She stopped me. “While you’re here, Llona, why don’t you come with me?”

  “Where?”

  “I was just on my way to visit with Cyrus and welcome him back. He’s finishing up a meeting.”

  “Um, that’s okay. I really should get back—“

  She nudged me forward. “I insist, Llona. It will only take a few minutes.”

  I forced a grin. “Would love to.”

  But when Sophie knocked on the same door Dr. Han had gone through, my smile became real. This couldn’t be any more perfect.

  Sophie opened the door. Cyrus’s office was really more of a library. There were a couple of huge mahogany desks sitting opposite each other, and every wall was lined with wooden shelves. The books within them appeared very old. I would’ve loved to explore them, but I just then realized I wasn’t alone.

  Standing next to the desk on my right was an extremely handsome man who looked to be in his fifties with a streak of gray in his dark hair. A navy blue suit fit him well, but it might’ve just looked that way because the man standing next to him looked completely out of place. He was shorter than the first and was wearing a tan polo shirt and wrinkled black pants.

  Dr. Han stood on the other side of the room, and next to him was Christian. Christian smiled at me, but there was sadness in his eyes. I had hurt him. Deeply. It pained my heart.

  “Welcome back, Cyrus,” Sophie said. She walked forward and hugged the tall, handsome man.

  This surprised me. I expected Lucent’s president to be much older from everything I’d heard about him.

  Sophie turned to the shorter man next to him; he startled under her gaze. “And you too, Jameson. We’re all very glad you’ve both returned safely.”

  “It’s good to be back,” Cyrus agreed.

  Sophie glanced back at me, and I thought she was going to introduce me, but a knock at the door interrupted her. I turned around to see Jackson standing in the doorway with Spencer.

  “You wanted to see me, Sir?” He was addressing Cyrus, but at the last second, he caught my eye and winked at me.

  I averted my gaze and looked at Christian, whose eyes no longer held sadness, but confusion and anger.

  “Hello, Jackson, Spencer. Yes, I wanted to see you. Can you give me a minute first? We have a visitor.” Cyrus’s dark eyes settled on mine, and I had a difficult time looking away.

  “Cyrus,” Sophie began, “this is my niece I told you about, Llona. She is Laura’s daughter.”

  Cyrus stepped forward at the same time Jackson closed the door. “I was very fond of your mother, and was sorry for her passing.”

  I nodded but just barely. The air in the room was thickening, shifting as if it were filling with smoke. My mouth fell open, and I looked around, but no one else seemed to notice the change.

  “Are you enjoying Lucent Academy?” Cyrus asked me.

  “Um, yes. It’s—”

  The room grew hot, so hot. My lungs began to burn, and the world around me began to tilt. I took a step toward Christian, my eyes flashing to his. His body tensed as if he knew something wasn’t right with me.

  Next to him, Dr. Han frowned as he glanced from me to Christian.

  Cyrus moved closer. Jameson moved with him, and I sensed Jackson and Spencer coming up behind me.

  “It’s what, Llona?” Cyrus said.

  The suffocating sensation grew, and my chest squeezed tight. Sweat glistened my skin in response to my racing pulse. It was a familiar feeling, one I never thought I’d feel inside Lucent, and it terrified me.

  A Vyken was in the room with us.

  Chapter 21

  I met the eyes of everyone in the room. No, not here, please, not here.

  Now Dr. Han was coming toward me. Who? Who is it? I couldn’t pinpoint which direction the sensation was coming from. Why were my senses so dull?

  My legs finally gave out, but Christian was there to catch me. “What’s going on, Llona?”

  “A Vyken,” I whispered.

  “Here?”

  “What’s the matter?” Cyrus asked from behind him.

  “Llona?” Sophie asked.

  My vision blurred as everyone closed in on me. A Vyken was only feet away. Focus! Who is it?

  “Christian?” I begged. Danger was all around us. I could feel it as surely as I could feel Christian’s hands against me. Why couldn’t anyone else sense it?

  And that’s when Cyrus reached for me. I yelled, “It’s him! He’s a Vyken!”

  Christian didn’t question. He reacted so quickly that I didn’t even notice where he’d come up with the knife in his hand. He slashed downward on Cyrus’s arm and was about to str
ike again when the knife’s handle turned a fire red, thanks to Dr. Han.

  Christian cried out and dropped the blade. As soon as it hit the floor, Jackson tackled him to the ground.

  “What in the world is going on?” Sophie cried.

  I frantically looked around the room, still trying to locate the source of my distress. Jameson was attending to Cyrus’s arm, Jackson was still wrestling with Christian, and then there was Dr. Han who was staring down at me like he wanted to turn me as red as he had the knife.

  I would’ve said something, but the room was still spinning, and I couldn’t get the words to form properly.

  “Get her out of here!” Cyrus growled through a clenched jaw. He was bent over and holding his hand over his arm.

  Sophie took hold of my arm and literally dragged me from the room and shoved me into the nearest empty office. I didn’t think she was that strong. She slammed the door. “What in the devil was that, Llona?”

  With every breath my head began to clear. “I … I don’t know. There was a Vyken.”

  “A Vyken?”

  I nodded. “In the room. I think it was Cyrus.”

  Sophie laughed. “That’s absurd! He’s been our headmaster for decades. Don’t you think we would’ve known?”

  “Someone in that room is a Vyken,” I mumbled.

  “Do you hear yourself right now?” She shook her head, her brows pulled so tightly together the lines in her forehead looked like an accordion.

  I said nothing as I thought back to the way my body had reacted. It was the same as when I was with Mr. Steele or around the other Vykens, but stronger. And yet, how could a Vyken be in the room with all of us without anyone knowing? It didn’t make sense. Maybe the Vyken half of me was throwing off my senses.

  “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” With each word she punched the air with her finger inches from my chest. “You’ll be lucky if Cyrus lets you stay at Lucent, but Christian? He was already on probation.”

  My head snapped up. “Probation? Why?”

  Sophie clicked her tongue. “I don’t have time for this. You go back to your room, missy, and we’ll finish this chat later. I need to tend to Cyrus.”

  She whirled around, disrupting the air in the small room so violently, papers on a nearby desk fluttered across a desk.

  I dropped into the nearest chair, my mind reeling. Had I really sensed a Vyken? And if I hadn’t, if I was wrong, then that meant Christian just knifed the most important person at Lucent Academy.

  I groaned and flopped my head into my hands. I was really screwing up his life.

  A door slammed in the hallway. I looked up just in time to see Christian walk by.

  “Christian!” I called.

  He turned around, his eyes darting from me to Cyrus’s closed door. Very quickly, he pulled me back into the empty office and closed the door.

  The suddenness of it surprised me, and I said, “Christian, I—”

  “Are you okay?” he said, breathing heavily through his nose.

  “Me? How can you ask that?”

  “I can’t believe it. Cyrus a Vyken?” He was staring at me with such trust, such loyalty, that I felt even sadder. There wasn’t a thing in this world he wouldn’t do for me.

  “Didn’t you sense anything?” I couldn’t have been the only one.

  “I wouldn’t. Not if he’s drank an Aura’s blood recently.”

  Hearing him say that out loud about the president of the Academy … It sounded crazy.

  I glanced away from him and shook my head. “You shouldn’t have done that, Christian. It was too impulsive.”

  “But you said he was a Vyken. Is he or isn’t he?”

  I closed my eyes and breathed in. “I’m not sure. Everything just started spinning, and I couldn’t make sense of it.”

  He grabbed my hand. “Are you ill?”

  I jerked it away. “Think about what just happened. You may never be a Guardian again. Ever!”

  His face grew red as he responded to my own anger. “I don’t care about that anymore! Don’t you get that?” His jaw muscles bulged, and he rolled his shoulders like he was trying to relax. In a much gentler voice he added, “What’s going on, Llona? I know there’s something you’re not telling me.”

  I pursed my lips and stared at the ground.

  He reached up and pressed his palm to my cheek. “Please, Llona. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it. Just talk to me.”

  I leaned into his hand; his touch warm and inviting calmed my nerves. The world felt right when he touched me, like I was normal, like nothing had ever changed me.

  He dropped his hand to my shoulder, then trailed it down to my hand, where he held it. “What you said before, about us needing time apart. You didn’t really mean it,” he paused, “did you?”

  I met his worried gaze. “I need some time. Please, that’s all I can say right now.”

  “Are you in some kind of danger?”

  I shook my head. “I should go.”

  His hand tightened on mine. “Talk to me, Llona.”

  “Let go, Christian.” I kept my voice gentle but firm.

  He stared at me for what seemed like a very long time. He slowly let go. “I’m here for you. Always.”

  “I know.” I moved to the door and opened it. “I’m so sorry.”

  As I walked away from him, down the long hallway to the elevator, I resolved to make things right, to expel the demon from me once and for all.

  I stayed in my room the rest of the day, trying to figure out what had happened in Cyrus’s office. I kept going over the events in my head, tried to slow them down, hoping to find an answer. The more I thought about it, the more I knew there had been a Vyken in that room. But was it really Cyrus?

  A knock at the door made me sit up. I went to it and opened it just barely. My heart lifted a little when I saw May. “Hey, come on in.”

  May walked in, holding a lunch bag, and closed the door. “You look terrible.”

  I puffed my cheeks and blew out air. “Rough day, for sure.”

  “Maybe this will help.” She handed me the bag. From inside, the smell of turkey on rye wafted outward.

  “Thanks,” I said, my mouth watering.

  “So about before with Ashlyn. Sorry she was so rude. I let her have it after you left.”

  “You didn’t need to do that.”

  “Of course I did. You’re my best friend, Llona.”

  I stared at her, thinking. Whatever was happening at Lucent was a lot bigger than I could handle. I needed help.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?”

  “We need to talk.” I paused “And not just you. Let’s get Kiera and Tessa too.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Like a secret meeting?”

  “Yes, an important one.”

  “I’ll go find Kiera, and I just saw Tessa downstairs.”

  “Cool. I have something to show you guys.”

  Ten minutes later all four of us were in my bedroom. I closed the curtains to give us more privacy even though we were several stories up.

  “This is a little weird,” Kiera said, glancing around suspiciously.

  “Just wait,” I scoffed. “It’s about to get weirder. Have a seat.”

  Tessa sat on the floor, joining the others. “Does this have anything to do with what happened earlier today?”

  “Yes, and there’s more.”

  “What happened earlier?” May asked.

  Tessa and I locked eyes. “Something bad is going on at Lucent.”

  “Like what?” Kiera asked.

  I reached into my backpack and pulled out Britt’s diary. “It starts with this.”

  “What is it?” May asked, taking it from my hands.

  “It’s a diary. I found it hidden behind a brick in the closet.”

  “Whose?” May and Kiera said at the same time.

  I turned to Tessa, the girl who knew Britt the best out of us. “Britt
’s.”

  Tessa shook her head. “I don’t think you should be reading that.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I’m glad I did.”

  “Wait,” May said, “who’s Britt?”

  I glanced at Kiera. Her mouth was open, and the color had drained from her face.

  “I knew her a little,” she said. “It’s the Aura who used to be in Llona’s room.” Kiera brought her knees to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them.

  “Where is she now?” May asked.

  Kiera stared beyond me. “She died.”

  May gasped. “How?”

  I waited for Kiera to answer to see how much she knew.

  “Nobody knows. They found her in her room.”

  “In this room?” May clarified.

  “Yes.”

  May turned to me. “That explains all the ghost jokes then.”

  “Did you know her very well?” I asked Kiera.

  “No, not really. I mean, she was nice and all, but toward the end she started getting into trouble a lot, causing fights, arguing with teachers. I thought we would be great friends because of her rebellious streak, but she wasn’t interested in friendship or anyone. It was really sad. She died alone.”

  The room grew quiet for a few seconds before May asked, “What does her journal say?”

  I sucked in a deep breath and on my exhale, I told them the truth about Britt’s death, including how she had been attacked by a Vyken.

  When I was finished, Kiera was the first to speak. “That can’t be true. Vykens aren’t anywhere near Lucent.”

  “I wish that were true, Kiera.”

  May looked up from reading an entry in the journal. “So the Vyken bite made her more aggressive.”

  I nodded my head, while also avoiding her curious stare. “Britt started feeling angry all the time and wanted to hurt others.”

  “I remember,” Tessa whispered.

  Kiera slumped against the bed. “What did she do about it?”

  “It became too much for her. She couldn’t stand the way she was feeling, and she couldn’t control it either. She finally killed herself.”

  Kiara gasped and pressed her hand to her mouth. “That is so awful! I wish I would’ve known. Maybe I could’ve helped her.”