by Raven Steele
“Hey,” a voice said.
I spun around and smiled, my shoulders dropping. “Christian.”
“What a scene,” he said, glancing around. “Everyone’s pretty anxious to get out of here, aren’t they?”
A girl rushed by us, flinging her backpack over her shoulder. It barely missed me. “I know. Lucent’s never done anything like this before. The girls seem excited, but every once in a while, I see a flash of fear in their eyes. They’re scared.”
“Are all the girls leaving?” Christian asked.
“Most of them. What are the Guardians up to?”
“Come see for yourself.” He pulled me toward the window. A sliver of sun had found its way through the clouds and was shining bright, reflecting off a few of the car windshields. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. When they did, I saw a bunch of Guardians loading bags for Auras into the trunks of their cars.
“You’ve got to be kidding. Can’t we do anything for ourselves?” I dropped my head into my hands. “How did we let ourselves get so wimpy?”
“I think that was the point but don’t worry. We’ll change things.” He entwined his fingers into mine. The heat it produced reminded me of last night. Warmth spread to my core.
“Let’s get some lunch,” I blurted so I didn’t say what I really wanted, which was ‘let’s head back to my room and do things to each other to make us forget that it might be our last day at Lucent together.’
By his heated expression and the way he was rubbing between my fingers, he was thinking the same thing.
We both smiled, then laughed knowingly. He pecked me on the cheek. “Later.”
“Llona!” a voice called.
I turned around. Abigail stood near her office, smiling big. “My phone’s free. Do you want to use it?”
I stared at her, trying to understand what she was saying. There was so much to do.
“So you can call your uncle. I bet he’d love to have you home for a week.”
Jake. Just the mention of him made me homesick.
“Call him, Llona,” Christian encouraged. “It might make you feel better.”
He was right, of course. There wasn’t a person alive I’d rather speak to right now. “Thanks, I’d love to.”
I ducked into her office and picked up the phone. Jake answered on the third ring. I relaxed into Abigail’s chair at the sound of his voice. “Man, I miss you.”
“Tink? Is it really you?” he said. “I was beginning to think you forgot about me.”
“Never.”
“I figured I’d hear from you today. So when are you coming?”
“You got the notice then.”
“Of course, but I’m surprised you called. I figured you’d be on the first flight out as soon as you heard. I can’t wait to see you. Heidi and I already have some awesome things planned.”
“I’m not coming, Jake.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, then, “How come?”
“I need to stay here. You know, take care of stuff.”
“What stuff?”
“School stuff.”
“You don’t care about stuff.”
“This stuff I do.”
“What’s going on, Llona? I hear it in your voice. You’re scared.”
I swallowed. “I’m okay. Christian’s with me.”
“That makes me feel a little better, but do I need to speak with Sophie?”
“No, not at all. It’s nothing like that. Really, I’m fine. But how are you? And tell me everything. I really miss you.”
Jake and I spoke for twenty more minutes. After I hung up, I felt better. And worse. Better because Jake had made me laugh, and I really needed that, and worse because I wanted to go home, and that made me feel guilty.
By the end of the day, about a hundred girls remained, and about half of those would be leaving tomorrow. I wished it were more. Through all the commotion, I occasionally caught sight of Sophie. She was on the phone mostly, talking with parents, arranging rides and flights.
May found me in the lobby. “Kiera’s already at the meeting. You ready?”
I nodded and followed her over to Risen Auditorium. I remained by the door, waiting for Liam and the others to arrive while she continued toward the Fury training room.
The sky had mostly cleared and the sun was just setting, changing the sky to a deep purple color. I hoped it was dark enough for Liam. I hadn’t thought about that when I’d chosen the time. I guess he would’ve told me on the phone if it were a problem.
It wasn’t long before Liam arrived wearing a black baseball cap, sunglasses, and a long trench coat. He looked ridiculous, but I knew it kept him sheltered from what little light remained. The twins walked behind him. They looked even bigger in the light. They said hello as they passed me.
Liam stopped at the door, frowning. “Why are you alone?”
“The bigger question is why do you look like the neighborhood pervert?” When he didn’t smile, I said, “Everyone’s inside. I was waiting for you.”
“And the Auras?”
“The ones who are left are outside near the track field. Sophie set up an outdoor movie.”
“How about the Lizens? Where are they?”
“Sophie gave them the night off. They should all be inside Lambert House.”
“Good. Let’s get started.” Liam waited for me to go first before he closed the door behind us.
I moved into the training room and looked around. On the left of the court, May and Kiera sat on a long bench against the wall. Both looked deep in thought. Near them, more toward the middle of the room, Christian and several of his Guardian friends spoke quietly. To my right, Liam was shaking hands with Dr. Han, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Ms. Crawford standing next to him. She was glancing around nervously and fidgeting with her hands, especially when she saw the twins.
But where was Sophie? It was almost six—maybe she was late?
I waited a minute before I cleared my throat. Everyone turned and looked at me. I suddenly felt very small in the great big room. I met Christian’s gaze. He nodded at me encouragingly.
“First, thanks for being here,” I said to the group. “Seriously. I can’t imagine going through this without your help, so thank you. Secondly, I guess everyone knows why we are here.”
I paused to gather some courage to say what needed to be said. “In just a few days’ time, the school’s going to be attacked by Cyrus and other Vykens. Thanks to Liam and his group, we’ve learned that Cyrus has a facility where he plans on keeping Auras. The ones still alive, anyway.”
The group broke out in cries of disbelief. I let them wrap their heads around what I’d just said and turned to Liam. “Where’s Sophie?”
He glanced around. “I don’t know. One second.” He walked over to Ms. Crawford. Over the commotion I heard him ask, “Where did Sophie go?”
“She went to see Cyrus. I told her to wait for Llona, but she said she couldn’t wait anymore.”
A lump formed in my throat so quickly, I stopped breathing. My eyes slowly turned toward the exit. Before I realized what I was doing, I was moving forward. And then I was running.
Chapter 36
Christian called my name, but I was already out the door. I ran fast, past the clock tower that chimed six o’clock, and into Chadni Hall, not slowing for anything, even Christian, who was still calling me and trailing behind. I took the stairs three at a time until I was on the fourth floor. I could tell by the smell of cinnamon that Sophie had just passed by here.
Christian finally reached me, panting heavily. “What’s going on?”
I shushed him and pointed to Cyrus’s open office door. I could hear Sophie’s voice saying, “Cyrus, I’m glad I caught you before you got too busy.”
I hurried down the hall and into the room, hoping I could casually take her back out, but the moment I entered the room, I knew it was going to be a lot harder than I thought.
Three men and two women were
talking to Cyrus near his desk. Just as they looked up at me, a wave of nausea slammed into me. Not humans. Vykens.
I stumbled to Sophie, who was just inside the doorway, and gripped her arm. “Dr. Han’s looking for you. A girl is injured.”
Sophie touched her heart. “Is it bad?”
“No, but he needs your help.”
Christian moved behind me, keeping his steady hand on my lower back. I glanced back at him gratefully, but frowned when I noticed how it looked like he’d stepped beneath the shade of a tree. Why was it so dark in here?
I looked up nervously, searching for the Shadow, but if it was here, it had disguised itself with the other shadows in the room.
“Tell Dr. Han I’ll be there shortly. I need to talk to Cyrus first.” She turned back around, not giving me the chance to say more. “Cyrus, I need to speak with you alone.” Her eyes darted to the others in the room. “Who are these people?”
“I’m so glad you stopped by, Sophie,” he said and set down the pen in his hand. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you, but with all the excitement today, I just couldn’t find the time.”
“Talk to me about what?” When she tried to move closer to his desk, I held her back, earning me a nasty look from her.
The five other Vykens eyed us dangerously. I hoped Sophie would notice.
Cyrus smiled. “There’s been a terrible misunderstanding, dear.”
“I would agree,” she said.
“I didn’t mean to get upset with you this morning, it’s just that I had something else planned for this week.” He glanced at the others. “I was going to tell the students today that we’ve had some teachers transfer from Ellie Academy who will be introducing new classes to the curriculum.”
Sophie furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t you have told us?”
“Honestly, I didn’t think they would be coming until the fall, but then I received word from Ellie that it would be much sooner. I meant to talk to you about it yesterday but I lost track of time. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
I rolled my eyes. His stories were getting ridiculous. “Don’t listen to him, Sophie. He’s lying.”
“Be polite, Llona,” she snapped.
Cyrus looked at me, innocence radiating from his light blue eyes. “I’m not sure why you say things like that, Llona. I’m beginning to think you really are a disturbed, young Aura.”
He turned his attention back to Sophie. “I have the paperwork right here if you’d like to see it. It bears Professor Hurley’s signature.”
Sophie took a step, but I tightened my grip more. “Don’t do it.”
She brushed at my hand. “Let go, Llona.”
“No. Dr. Han’s waiting,” I said. “It could be more serious than I think.”
“I think it is,” Christian added. Every muscle in his body flexed, and his hand was no longer pressing on my back, but was gripping the material of my shirt into his fisted hand. I could tell by the way his gaze kept darting toward the open door that he knew what I knew: there was no way we could fight this many Vykens. Our only chance was to run.
Sophie narrowed her eyes at us. “I don’t think you’re telling the truth. There’s no injured girl.”
“Just come with us,” I urged. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“No.” She jerked her arm away from me so quickly, I lost my grip. “It’s you who are the liar, Llona. I know you’ve suffered a lot but you have to start facing reality. I’ve known Cyrus for decades. He’s not trying to hurt anyone here.”
“Well said, Sophie,” Cyrus said and grabbed a folded up paper from off his desk. He stood up and came around to the front of his desk. “Now if you’ll just come read the letter, this whole matter can be put to rest.”
“Please,” I begged, trying one last time.
She shook her head and took a step toward Cyrus’s desk. “I did as you asked and sent students away so we can shore up the Academy’s security, but that’s where it ends. I just can’t accept the other.”
She pushed my arm away and went to Cyrus. When she drew near, he extended his other arm as if to embrace her. Just before she reached him, his gaze shifted to mine, and he grinned a wicked smile.
“Sophie, no!” I yelled and darted for her.
She glanced back at me at the same time as Cyrus’s hands struck forward and took hold of her head. He wrapped her up like a snake, his hand cutting off her airway.
I ignited Light in my palms, and Christian stepped forward, lowering into a defensive position. The other Vykens did the same.
“You try anything, and she dies,” Cyrus growled. He no longer had the face of a wise, old teacher. It had been replaced with cruel eyes and sharp lines.
Sophie’s eyes bulged from the pressure on her throat. She tried to speak but only a gurgling sound escaped past her lips.
Christian’s head swiveled around the room, and I knew he was trying to think of a way to get us out safely. I, on the other hand, was willing to do whatever Cyrus wanted if it meant he’d let Sophie go. I extinguished the Light in my hands.
“Llona,” Christian whispered.
I briefly looked at him, at the sadness bleeding in his eyes.
“We need to go,” he said and began to tug me backwards. “We’ll come back for her, I promise.”
“Actually, Christian,” Cyrus said, “You need to go. You weren’t invited to this party.”
The Vykens in the room began to fan out.
Christian pushed me to the side as if to protect me, but all it did was separate me from him. Two of the male Vykens, and one female, attacked him at once, but they weren’t fighting him, they were shoving him out of the room. He tried to fight against them, even managing to land a few good blows, but it didn’t matter.
Every fiber of my being wanted to help him, but I was too afraid that if I did, Cyrus would hurt Sophie. The door slammed shut, leaving the two males outside with Christian.
“Christian!” I yelled and ran to the door, but the female Vyken stopped me by gripping my arms. Her hands were freezing and growing even colder until my skin began to sting and burn.
I yelped and glanced down. My arms were turning blue.
She chuckled low, revealing a row of yellow, broken teeth. That’s when I recognized her. The Vyken who had chased me into the water and who had caused ice to form beneath her footsteps. But she looked normal now with long black hair and dark eyes, everything but her yellow teeth.
“That’s enough, Eira,” Cyrus snapped.
The Vyken, Eira, let go of me and returned to Cyrus. Sophie’s face was the same shade of blue my arms had been seconds ago.
“Please let her go,” I begged.
From out in the hall, Christian called my name. His voice was followed by the sound of something crashing into a wall. I prayed it wasn’t him.
Cyrus barely released his grip and nuzzled his head next to Sophie’s. “I won’t do that. She’s my insurance.”
“For what?”
“To ensure you embrace your new identity. Embrace your Vyken half or she dies.” Sophie’s eyes shifted to Cyrus and then to me. “That’s right, Sophie. Your sweet niece was bitten. What do you think of her now?”
Sophie, her hands hanging on to Cyrus’s arm as if to keep her upright, choked out, “Please help me!”
I glanced around the room. Eira stood directly next to Cyrus, watching me closely. The other two Vykens stood to the left and right of me. I had never felt so helpless in my life.
“How?” I asked her, my eyes pleading.
“Join me,” Cyrus interrupted. The secret door in the wall behind him began to open. “You’ve been a pet project of mine for some time now. I must have you.”
I exhaled a hitched breath. “Why me?”
He began to back up toward the opening, dragging Sophie with him. “It’s no fault of your own really. I’m just fulfilling a promise.” He glanced down at Sophie and ran his nose up the length of her cheek. “Besides, Llona. You’re one o
f us now.”
“I’m nothing like you. I am an Aura.”
Cyrus tilted his head. “Then why aren’t you with them now trying to save them?”
I stared at him, trying to process what he’d just said. Cyrus motioned his head to the back wall. The Vykens around me obeyed his silent command and moved behind him until they disappeared into the opening of the wall.
“I’m going to give you some time,” he said, “to think about what side you’re on. Meanwhile, she and I are going to spend some quality time together.”
When Sophie struggled against him, he raised his fisted hand and punched the side of her head. She fell limp in his arms.
“Bastard!” I yelled and moved to attack him, but my foot caught on something and I fell hard to the ground. I glanced back to search for the source only to find a long, thin stretch of a shadow retreating back into the corner of the room.
I scrambled backward on my bum, toward the door, realizing I didn’t know what I was up against.
“Time’s running out,” Cyrus teased. “Your poor friends.”
I glanced at the door and then back at Sophie in frustration. How could I help them both?
The shadows in the room began to shift, left and right, growing longer and longer until they detached and fell from the ceiling in long wispy strips while others slithered out from beneath the furniture. They all moved in the direction of Cyrus.
A cold chill raced up my spine when the shadows came together behind him, forming into what looked like the shape of a tall man wearing a long cloak. In Cyrus’s arms, Sophie’s hair floated and twirled, and her skirt billowed as if the shadow’s movements had stirred the air.
“I feel sorry for you, Llona,” he said. “You’re going to suffer so very much.
Chapter 37
I didn’t let him say anymore. I was already out the door and running down a hallway covered in ash and, gratefully, no blood, which meant Christian lived.
The stairwell was empty, and I raced to the bottom, practically stumbling down most of the stairs. Find Christian, save the girls, get Sophie back, I thought over and over.
