by Maria Amor
All around her, the wind howled as energy leaked through what Blake could tolerate, as Julia allowed it to pour into and through her. Birds—hawks, eagles, falcons—rode the thermal wind out of the woods and Julia let out a piercing shriek to them, directing the animals towards those fleeing the building in front of her. She heard the panicked screams and yelps, and then—out of the darkness—she saw a red-orange glow start, and then build up.
“Are you really going to take your son down with me?” Julia called out, almost taunting the people—who she was fairly certain were Blake’s parents. She pushed more energy through him, setting off another chain of lightning, another deafening roar of thunder.
Julia smiled to herself again, feeling excited in spite of the danger—maybe even because of it, at least a little bit. She needed to let go of Blake’s hand; she needed to get to the house. They could be doing anything to their captives while she was stuck outside, faced off against Blake’s parents and the few other people who’d accompanied them. Why were they running out of the house, anyway? That was a question that didn’t matter, she told herself.
Julia pulled her hand free of Blake’s as his parents hesitated, and took a deep breath, pulling the energy she’d sent through the air, through the boy next to her, back into her body. She needed to do what she could to just get rid of the obstacles—she didn’t need to actually fight any of these people. Julia brought the wind-aligned energy into her core and focused it, propelling it back out of her body and in the direction of the people outside of the house.
The wind was so strong it nearly knocked her over; but the others were even less prepared for it than she was. Julia bit back a laugh as they tumbled, head over heels, across the lawn, in the opposite direction from her. She directed the wind to lift them up, just a few feet above the ground, and push them, steadily, away from the entrance they’d come out of. She barely glanced at Blake. “You are coming with me,” she said, hearing the command in her voice, feeling a small eddy of her energy reach out to him, pushing his mind the way she was pushing the people who’d tried to come at her, who’d tried to flee the house for whatever reason.
Blake followed her to the entrance of the house; Julia had steadily—but, for the most part carefully—pushed the people she’d seen fleeing away from her until they were so far that it would take them several minutes, even at a run, to intercept her. To her surprise, the door was open; and when she looked in, she saw that there had been an immense struggle there, too: four people emerged from a dimly lit hallway, soaking wet like most of the rest of the house seemed to be
. Julia’s eyes picked out first Tal, then Eliza, then Suzanna...and just as her heart leaped into her throat with worry that Dylan was still trapped somewhere, that her air-aligned friends had turned against him, or he’d been hurt, he emerged as well, half-smiling to himself, blonde hair plastered against his face.
“Thought we heard you out there,” Tal said as Julia hurried to meet them. Blake still seemed to be in a state of shock, and Julia was fairly certain the others outside were in no real hurry to risk the wind tunnel she could create again.
“You were busting yourselves out? Christ—what took you so long?” Julia smiled shyly at Dylan, even as the tart words left her.
“Us? What took you so long?” Suzanna raised an eyebrow and Julia laughed.
“Okay, I’m assuming it’s a long story on both ends, right? And right this second, getting the hell out of dodge is probably more important than finding out who did what when.”
Her friends nodded and Julia turned to look at Blake, trying to think of what to do; they hadn’t planned on more of an exit than just getting the people out of the building—and Julia now realized why. Sometimes, for one of the smarter elemental alignments, you do some stupid things, Jules, she told herself.
“You didn’t crash the van into anything while you were leaf-blowing people around, did you?” Julia playfully scowled at Keyne’s dry comment.
“It should be worth driving,” she said. “Who’s got a license?”
“Right now, let’s just get in and whoever feels up to driving, take the wheel,” Tal suggested. Julia nodded her agreement and they all headed for the door.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
Once more, Dylan stood at Julia’s side as they waited to be invited into the main council audience chamber; and once more, he thought to himself that the girl he’d worked so hard to protect—even while he’d been held captive—looked more formidable than she had any right to.
It had been two weeks since their combined efforts had freed him, Tal, Eliza, Azhar, Keyne, and Suzanna; they had somehow all managed to graduate—though Guthrie had threatened to prevent Julia from walking the stage to accept her diploma if she didn’t issue a public apology—and all that was left, for the immediate future was the trial before the council.
One of the first things that Dylan had insisted on doing as soon as they were on the road from the Andrews’ home had been to contact Julia’s grandmother. Ruth had been involved, behind the scenes, in trying to get Dylan and the rest of the students rescued, and she had started to unravel part of the plot from her own direction; so, when they were able to confirm the members of the council most likely to be involved in the scheme, she’d pounced.
Of course, the Andrews family weren’t without friends on the council, even beyond those who had directly helped them. Julia had entertained members of the council, along with Ewan Crofts and her own grandmother, at her parents’ apartment the weekend before to insist that everything she and Dylan and the other students had to say about the misadventure was accurate.
“I hate that we have to do this again,” Julia muttered to him as they stood waiting for their call to appear. At least this time, Dylan thought, there wasn’t likely to be anyone who was brave enough to attempt to challenge Julia to combat; they’d all heard about her part of the rescue at that point.
In fact, part of the reason he and Julia had been called before the council was that as the conspirators in the kidnapping had been on trial, they’d insisted that Julia had gone against the laws of their kind: using the compulsion ability on Blake, the terrific lightning storm she’d caused, the wind she’d used to knock people away from the house, and more.
They were there as much to defend themselves as they were for the sake of—hopefully—putting the final nail in the coffin for those who’d tried to manipulate Julia and hold her friends captive for petty political power.
“They will see you both now,” the gnome standing watch at the door said. Dylan took a deep breath; he had—physically at least—recovered from the months of captivity, but he knew that it would be a long time yet before he really believed that he was out, that he was free, that there was no threat actively hanging over his head. Just the day before, he’d spoken to Ruth, suggesting that she find someone else to help protect Julia as she learned to control her full abilities.
“I failed. I got snatched up and it took me months to be able to escape—and by the time I did she was already on her way to rescue me. That can’t be what you want in a bodyguard.” Ruth had grinned—truly grinned, shocking Dylan—and shook her head.
“She’s no longer in need of that kind of protection. And if they hadn’t kidnapped the six of you, they might have thought they would do better to kidnap her. At this point, she needs someone who knows that that’s a possibility in a real sense. She needs someone who’s going to be hypervigilant about it. And that’s you.”
The big doors began to open, and Dylan stepped through them at Julia’s side; they had agreed that they were going to appear as equals, as two people united—not in any way romantic, but allied—and that they were not going to back down on any point of their position. Dylan thought privately to himself that it was easier to say that than to do it, but he couldn’t think of anything that would possibly work better.
“Julia Beval and Dylan Kelby,” the gnome announced to the huge, open room full of council members, all seated, all staring
down at them from their positions above the council floor. Dylan felt his heart thud, stutter, almost stop and then restart in his chest, and he reminded himself that Julia and he had faced off against this same group of people before, and come out on top.
“Thank you for joining us.” The same man was in charge of the council as had been the year before, and Dylan tried—and failed—to remember his name. Not that it’s likely to matter right this second; neither of us is exactly his friend.
“Thank you for agreeing to see us,” Julia said in response. “And giving us an opportunity to speak about the situation at hand.”
The woman seated next to the leader spoke next. “The two of you appear today before the council in a dual capacity: as accusers, as well as defendants.”
“Whatever the provocation, they did wrong!”
“There will be silence in the council chambers unless there is a pertinent question to be asked, and then we will follow the standard protocol,” the leader of the council said sharply. “I think we’re all aware that the situation at hand is bizarre—almost unheard of, in at least the last hundred years.” A murmur of agreement shifted around the room, and Dylan almost shivered at the strange, cold sound of it.
“In this instance, I believe that the two young people in front of us have a right to tell their story for the entire council, in regards to what was done to them,” the lead woman said. “And then we can address the issue of how they, personally, handled that situation.”
“This council must remain fair and impartial in matters regarding Guardians,” the lead man said firmly. “I have in front of me accusations that members of this council aided and abetted kidnappings, that they suborned the protection of the School of Sandrine—meant to be a safe haven for our young and for the young of the species we work so intimately with.” Whispers from above, and Dylan took another quick, deep breath. “Those accused of collusion are not sitting in on this meeting—because they are part of the investigation.”
“Now,” the woman said. “With all of that out of the way, let us begin.” She and the lead councilman both gestured for Julia and Dylan to speak.
Dylan began, outlining the night of the kidnapping, explaining everything that had happened—and what he had learned, heard, and been told—from that time until when they had finally gotten free. After telling the story at the school, to Julia, to Ruth, and to some of the council members only days before, Dylan had it down to an art, and he hated that fact. He wanted to put the whole thing behind him—he never wanted to think about it again, at least not in direct terms.
“When Dylan was kidnapped,” Julia began, in her own part, “I immediately insisted on more attention being devoted to his state—and the states of students of my own alignment, also kidnapped the same evening—than was being done.
I was told at that time that everything that could be done, was being done, and to focus on my studies.” Dylan had heard her version of the events almost as many times as he’d rehearsed his own: how she had gotten leads bit by bit, how Blake had appeared in her life, and had led her to the answers she sought, before revealing his own part in the scheme. How Blake had told her directly that the plan had been to move Dylan and the other students out of their prison before Julia could even attempt a rescue; a plan that had failed.
They were asked to leave the chamber so that the council could deliberate, and Dylan was shocked when Julia, as soon as the doors closed behind them, sank onto the bench, trembling slightly, looking exhausted.
“What’s wrong? You’ve already transitioned so it can’t be power surges,” Dylan said, crouching in front of her.
“I’m just…” Julia shook her head. “I never want to have to do this again.”
“You were on fire,” Dylan told her, and she grimaced. Then he understood: she had been lulled into trusting Blake, she had let herself be manipulated by the charming fire-aligned Guardian. She had been betrayed. She—who prided herself so much on her intelligence, her wit, her ability to read people—had been conned. And more than that, Dylan knew: she had started to actually like Blake. She’d told him about kissing the boy in Central Park. They both knew—after the fact—that the kidnapping attempt on them had been fake, meant to give Julia an even greater sense of vulnerability, a sense that she needed someone she could trust.
“I am never going to trust another fire-aligned Guardian for as long as I live,” Julia said. “And they can hold their breath until I’m forty—I’m not going to any more of the stupid parties so that guys like Blake Andrews can hit on me.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
Almost before they knew it, the gnome was there again, ready to let them back into the council chambers.
“We have heard your testimony and considered it,” the lead man on the council said. “And the decision has been made that the Guardians involved will not only lose all authority and wealth that they possessed in their capacity as Guardians, but they will also be stripped of their abilities.” Christ—they can do that? As much trouble as he had—at one point—been in, Dylan hadn’t even been aware that a possibility like that existed.
“They will be required to wear warding materials at all times, under supervision from a qualified, loyal Guardian,” the woman explained. “Their fortune will be distributed amongst the victims.” Dylan looked at Julia in shock; he hadn’t expected either of the last two punishments at all—and he wasn’t sure he even wanted his share of the conspirators’ fortunes.
“Now, we must address the issue of what the two of you did,” the lead man said. “I understand that both of you were under duress—and in the case of you, Mr. Kelby, I believe that any water-aligned Guardian on this council would have done more or less the same as you did. Your actions were reasonable.”
“Ms. Beval,” the woman in charge said. “We have slightly different feelings on the topic of your actions.” Dylan cringed. It’s not fair! They can’t punish her for this. But he knew that he couldn’t do anything about it—not at that moment, at least.
“I would be interested in hearing what you have to say,” Julia said, sounding far more confident, far more collected than Dylan felt.
“Do you contest that you used the compulsion ability against the dean of your school?”
“I did not use it against her,” Julia said. “I used it against the head of security for the school to get the information I needed.” A doubtful murmur moved around the room. “I also used it against Blake Andrews to discover his part in the plot.”
“Do you contest the account—provided to you—of how you acted at the Andrews’ residence, or the fact that you left the School of Sandrine unauthorized, in the middle of the night?”
“I do not contest either of those things,” Julia said. “But I feel that under the circumstances, they were justified.”
“You are a young Guardian, Ms. Beval,” the lead man said. “I can appreciate that the abilities that you have come into present a massive challenge to you—certainly we’re all aware of how difficult your transition was.” Julia scowled and Dylan reached out for her hand instinctively, trying to infuse some of his calmer energy into her even as he began to feel her restless, airy energy rebel.
“We understand that it’s a burden to be aligned with an element that is by nature restless, energetic, forceful,” the woman said. “We have compassion for the fact that you are still trying to learn control.”
“However,” the lead man said, “that does not mean that we can allow someone who has such a limited understanding of ethics—due to her youth—to remain unchecked,” the lead man said. “And of course, there is the fact that you represent a powerful political trophy to so many.”
“Therefore, it’s the decision of this council that you will have two years to find someone who would make a suitable mate for you to bond with,” the woman finished. “By this time two years from now, you will be over nineteen years of age, legally allowed to marry and morally mature enough to make a decision that b
enefits you.” Dylan stared around the council in shock.
“It is our belief that motivating you to do this will prevent future issues of the nature that Dylan and your other friends encountered, as well as providing you with much-needed stability. What do you say?”
“I say that I think it’s a terrible idea,” Julia replied. “I say that forcing a woman to marry within two years, or even to choose someone she wants to marry within two years, is a misogynist’s way of dealing with a complicated problem.” She scowled around the room. “I know I am not going to sway any of you by pointing out the sheer injustice of this, the complete lack of anything approaching modern ethics. You want to force me to marry against my will, so that you will have the comfort of a smooth political landscape.”
“Young woman,” the man said. “You do in fact have a choice. You can find a mate to bond with—and make a commitment to bond at a future time—or you can be subject to binding from the council to protect the entire supernatural community.”
Dylan was so shocked by the verdict that he barely heard Julia’s start of a rebuttal; by the time he came back to himself, by the time he was even able to react and think again, they were no longer in the council chamber. They were outside of it, alone. “What are we going to do about this?”
He looked at Julia. She looked—for just an instant—utterly destroyed by what had just happened to her. A moment later, a look that Dylan had come to recognize, and had missed when he’d been locked away, came over her features: the look that Julia always got when she was about to tear down heaven and earth to get what she wanted.
