by R L Medina
Sleepiness overcame me quickly, and though I wasn’t any closer to real answers than I had been before, I crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep.
“Rose.” Grayson’s voice startled me awake.
I shot up and threw off my covers.
He hovered in front of my bed, looking so real. My heart twisted at the sight.
“Grayson! Where are you? Are you okay? Why haven’t you come sooner?”
Concern shone in his blue-gray eyes. “I’ve tried, but it’s been hard to cast.”
“Grayson, where are you? We tried to locate you, but no one can find you. Give me a hint. Something.”
He shook his head. “Don’t come after me, Rose. Focus on Luna Negra. They’ll be coming after you again. You need to be ready. You need to—”
“Wait. What do you mean don’t come after you? What is going on Grayson? You know I’m not going to just leave you like that.”
“I’m fine. I just want you to focus on what’s important.”
Anger curled within me. How could he say that to me? Weren’t the sacrifices he had made enough? I didn’t want him to play hero. Did he devalue his own life so much?
“What’s important is getting you back. You promised you would do whatever it took to come back, Grayson.” My voice cracked, the emotions overpowering me.
He smiled sadly at me, blue eyes ripping a hole in my heart. “I’m trying, Rose. But you need to accept that I might not be coming back. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m not important right now.”
“Stop. Just stop. You don’t get to decide this, Grayson. This is not… I’m not giving up on you.”
His hand wavered in front of me. His attempt to touch me through the spell. I reached for him but felt nothing but air.
“This isn’t me giving up, Rose. I’m trying, but you need to stop worrying about me and worry about yourself right now. You’re in more danger. You have to destroy the coven before—”
“Shut up, Grayson. I know what I have to do about the witches. I’m more concerned about you.”
He glanced around, the fear on his face unnerving me.
“Rose, please. Listen. Don’t trust anyone. Stop trying to find me. I think I know who it is. The wizard. I haven’t seen his face, but I think it’s someone we know. It’s—”
Just like that, he was gone. Vanished.
I stared at the empty space he’d been in. “No. Wait! Grayson!” My voice echoed in the room.
But he was already gone. I hugged my knees to my chest and stared at the wall. Numbness filled me as I replayed his words. Moonlight streamed in the wide window, casting an eerie glow on everything.
You need to accept that I might not be coming back.
No. The Hell I would. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—accept that. I’d lost too many people in my life and I wasn’t going to lose him too.
He’d been about to tell me who the wizard was, but something had happened. Why was he cut off? Was he okay?
Fear crept over me. I waited, desperate for him to reappear, but he didn’t. I spent the rest of the night in a fitful sleep, crying on my pillow.
I couldn’t lose Grayson too. I had to find him. His words replayed in my head.
I might not be coming back. Stay away.
There was no chance of that. I would find him and Brady too. We’d get them both back.
“Concentrate, Miss Vasquez.”
Cassiano’s cranky old voice echoed in my head. Tío had been reluctant to let us return to school, but Tía Teresa had sided with us, using whatever magical sway she had over him to convince him it was in our best interest.
It was sword lessons and training time, but I couldn’t get Grayson off my mind.
What did he mean? Who was the wizard? Why did he want me to stop looking for him?
A ball of fire shot towards me, pulling me out of my thoughts. I shouted a chant and held up my sword to block it. My shoulders relaxed as it dissipated into the air.
I met Cassiano’s narrowed eyes.
He grunted before sending another ball my way. I blocked it again, just in time before he launched a whole volley of them.
They were coming too fast to stop them, so I used my glowing sword to save myself, bringing it up in a wide arc to create the protective shield. The heat of the fire brushed my skin. Not able to stop destroy them, they bounced off my invisible sword barrier and fell to the ground.
Flames erupted on the gym mat. Water was quickly ejected from some hidden mechanism to douse them.
Cassiano shook his head at me. “You should have stopped those. If this gym weren’t proofed, the fire would have spread.”
I sighed. “I tried.”
“Not hard enough.”
Irritation spread through me. “Sorry. I’ll do better next time.”
He studied me. “You’ve been placed on arrest, did you know that?”
I stopped short, letting my sword slip down. “What?”
“Your privileges have been revoked. You’re not allowed to leave campus under any condition unless personally pardoned by the headmaster himself.”
His words rang in my ears. Was this my tío’s doing or had the headmaster tried to stop me from nosing around too much? Did he know that we knew the truth about Brady?
“Why have you been placed on restriction? What have you done now?”
I bristled at Cassiano’s patronizing tone. As if he weren’t the least bit surprised to hear that I’d screwed up yet again. Like he expected it from me.
“You’re my mentor. Shouldn’t you know?”
His lip curled. “A choice, I’m regretting more and more.”
I huffed. “Yeah, like I had any choice in the matter. I didn’t ask them to pair me with you.”
“Your punishment. Does it have anything to do with Mr. Chapman?”
My heart twisted at the mention of Grayson. You have to accept I might not be coming back.
Cassiano frowned at me. “Is that what this is about?”
“Why haven’t they found him yet? Is anyone besides me even looking for him?”
He shrugged. “The witches are crafty—”
“The witches don’t have him,” I insisted.
He stared at me. “Why do you say that?”
I hesitated. Though he was my mentor, I hadn’t really warmed up to him, but what if he could help me? He was a skilled GRIMM after all. Even if he was a jerk.
“Grayson came to me. In a dream.”
“Grayson? Grayson Chapman?” Surprise sounded in his voice.
“Yeah. He said he found the wizard.”
Cassiano scoffed. “Nonsense. There are no more wizards, Miss Vasquez.”
“That’s not true. There is. My mom even mentioned a wizard in a letter she left for me.”
Interest shone in his gaze. “Your mother knew a wizard? Are you sure she wasn’t making up stories? She did turn out to be a traitor after all.”
My hackles rose. Everyone loved throwing that word around when it came to my mom. As if I should be ashamed that she’d left their cultish organization and stupid rules. Though I didn’t agree with all her life choices, I couldn’t fault her for wanting nothing to do with the GRIMM.
“She said the wolves would help me.”
“Los Reyes?”
I blinked at him in surprise. “You know about them?”
He grunted. “They run a drug ring among other things and consider themselves the kings of Malibu. Of course, I know about them. The GRIMM aren’t completely oblivious to what goes on.”
“Hmm.” I didn’t offer my snarky opinion on his statement.
Ignoring me, he frowned. “Why would the wolves help you?”
I averted my gaze and shrugged in response. Grayson warned me not to tell anyone—especially the GRIMM—the truth. I doubted Cassiano of all people would overlook something like that. My werewolf parentage.
“They couldn’t help me, anyway. They don’t know where the wizard is.”
“There are no
wizards. The last one was killed by the GRIMM ages ago.”
I sighed. “Yeah, that’s what everyone says, but Grayson is being held hostage by something. Something stronger than witches.”
Cassiano studied me but didn’t offer any more input. Frustration filled me. Either the GRIMM were too stupid to help, or they were refusing to. I didn’t know which, but either way I was stuck on my own. A new thought popped into my mind.
I turned to my mentor. “Do you think the headmaster could be the wizard?”
He laughed. “Headmaster? That idiot?” He snorted, “Unlikely.”
My lip twitched at his response. So, even Cassiano didn’t like him? That was news to me. Again, my doubts swirled around me. He said Brady was in rehab, but that wasn’t true. If Brady was with Luna Negra and the headmaster was the wizard, why wouldn’t he be going after his son?
Gloria said the wizard would have more power.
“Miss Vasquez?” Cassiano’s annoyed tone startled me.
I blinked at him.
He snorted and shook his head. “Clearly, your mind is elsewhere. Yet again. You are dismissed for the day. We will pick up lessons tomorrow. Try not to get into more any trouble until then, yes?”
Without waiting for a response, he waved me to the lockers and turned to lock up the weapons storage. I swallowed my disappointment and headed for the showers.
Cassiano was no help, and neither were the others. I needed to talk to Gloria and her coven. They had done more to help than anyone else so far. But how the Hell was I going to get the headmaster’s permission to see her?
Unless he didn’t know the truth about Brady, then maybe he would be willing to let us help find him. He was a grade A dick alright, but even villains loved their sons, didn’t they?
Once I was dressed and ready for class, I sent Shiloh and Javi a message to meet me before class started. I needed to tell them about Grayson’s visit. Maybe they could help me come up with a plan.
Shiloh, the amazing person that she was, met me outside the classroom with a giant, steaming cup of coffee. I hugged her in thanks and took off the lid to blow on the hot liquid. The rich aroma filled my lungs and made me sigh.
Javi, gripping his own cup of java, showed up minutes before we were supposed to enter the class. We stood off to the side as the other students streamed past.
“What is it? What’s the emergency?” my cousin prompted, his voice still rough from sleep.
Or maybe lack of it, judging by the bags under his eyes.
“It’s Grayson. He came to me again. In the dream walk or whatever. He was trying to tell me who the wizard is, but he got cut off.”
Shiloh’s eyes widened and Javi ran his fingers through his hair. I didn’t tell them the part about him begging me to stop looking for him. If my cousin knew Grayson had warned me away, he wouldn’t be willing to help me find him.
“Well, shit.” Javi shook his head.
“That’s helpful.” I shot a flat look at him.
He shrugged. “What do you want me to say? I mean, that’s crazy. How do we even know it is for sure the wizard? What if it’s something else?”
“Like what?” Shiloh frowned.
He shrugged again. “I don’t know. Gloria said it could be a fae or another extraordinaire. Maybe it’s tricking him into thinking it’s some wizard.”
I opened my mouth to argue but stopped myself. The fairy-elf. The dark princess we’d met on Halloween. She’d taken the vampire queen and had hinted at Grayson’s shadow magic. Could she be the one that had taken him? A chill ran up my spine. I didn’t want to imagine that creep holding him hostage. There was something off about her.
The bell rang for class, making me jump.
“We can do some more digging at lunch. I’ll scour the library and we can talk to Gloria. See if they were able to locate Brady.” Shiloh nodded at me.
I blew out my breath and followed her and Javi into class. I sank down next to them, my mind still reeling at Javi’s theory. Was the wizard just a myth? A cover up for something darker?
The conversations of the other students drifted around us as we waited for the professor.
Javi yawned, giving me the glorious view of his cavernous mouth. “I’m so not ready for this practice test. How can they expect us to study when,” his eyes darted across the room, “stuff is going on?”
I groaned and dropped my head onto the desk. A practice test? I was so behind on my work, I didn’t even realize that’s what we were doing in class.
Javi slumped in his seat and sighed. Shiloh patted his hand, sympathy written in her blue eyes. “It’s only a practice test. There will be plenty of time before the real thing and I’m happy to help you study.”
He sat up and waggled his eyebrows. “Like last time?”
Her face turned crimson. I pretended to gag, trying to block out the images of her with my cousin.
Gross.
Before I could voice my disgust, Professor Johnson marched in with her walking cane. The room fell quiet as she took roll call, her dark eyes scanning the room.
Class dragged on and try as I could to concentrate on the questions before me, my mind went back to Grayson and Brady. How could the academy expect us to study and take tests when war was coming? When students were freaking missing?
“Time is up. Bring your papers to my desk, please. Don’t forget to put your names.”
I looked down at my nearly blank page and shook my head. Whatever. They could fail me, I didn’t care.
Picking up my paper, I stood to take it to the professor. I grabbed it too quickly, cutting my finger in the process. A hiss escaped me as a thin red line appeared. I froze as a small blob of blood pooled.
Images flashed before me. The stone altar. The witch’s crazed eyes. The knife. Blood. My blood spilling out. Ash. Dead.
A wave of nausea hit me. The room spun around me. Voices blurred together and heat spread across my skin.
I swayed on my feet, bracing myself on somebody’s desk before I could fall.
What was happening to me?
7
“Miss Vasquez? Miss Vasquez?” Professor Johnson stood in front of me, concern in her eyes.
“I—uh sorry.” My cheeks flamed as I realized everyone was staring at me.
Javi and Shiloh stood, ready to come to my side. I gave them a reassuring smile.
The professor’s dark eyebrow arched at me. “Are you alright?”
I snorted at the question, making her eyebrow shoot up higher. Flushing, I shook off her worry.
“Yes. Sorry. I got a paper cut.” I cringed as the words escaped me.
Murmurs of derision echoed behind me. A paper cut? Way to sound like a complete idiot.
“Where?” the professor asked, glancing down at my hands.
I followed her gaze to my finger. It was gone. The blood. The cut. Healed completely. Now I looked even more like an idiot.
“It’s fine. I’m fine. Here’s my test.” I held my paper out to her.
My heart raced, still in shock. She took the paper and gave me a worried look. Though she didn’t say it, I could see her judgment. I’d given her pretty much a blank test back.
I turned on my heel and sank back down into my seat, face on fire. What did they expect from me? It wasn’t like I’d been a star student back at my old high school either, but GRIMM Academy was like high school—no catholic school—on steroids. Minus the religion, but with an extra dose of history and mythology. They were freaking crazy with their expectations and rules.
When class ended, I was ready to bolt. Shiloh and Javi followed after me, cornering me outside in the hall.
“What the Hell was that about? A paper cut?” Javi asked first.
I flushed. “I got a paper cut. The blood… I don’t know. It just brought back memories.”
Shiloh gave me a sympathetic look and Javi’s face sobered. I looked away, not wanting to see the pity in their eyes.
“Do you want me to heal it?” Shiloh asked
tentatively.
I held my hand up to her. “It already healed. Look.”
She smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Maybe that’s your affinity. Healing magic. Remember what happened at… with the plant?”
Javi frowned. “That’s not how we do things, Shy.”
Shiloh shot him an annoyed look and met my gaze. “People, well GRIMM, prefer the term practice or study. You can dedicate yourself to a certain type of magic above others and become skilled in it, but I still think some people have a natural talent or affinity,” she gave my cousin a pointed look, “for a certain type of magic.”
“You mean like… Santi… with the sha—”
“Shh,” Javi cut me off. He glanced around at the students walking past and glared at me. “We can’t talk about that here. Got it?”
“Sorry. You guys have so many rules of what you can and can’t talk about. What you can and can’t do. And none of it makes sense.”
“The rules are there for a—”
“A reason. Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean they’re not stupid,” I finished for him.
He scowled at me. “They’re not all stupid.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Once again, I’d offended him by bad mouthing his precious GRIMM. How could he not see the hypocrisy? The double standards and inequality?
“We have to get to our next class. Let’s meet at break. At the café?” Shiloh suggested.
“Sure,” I agreed halfheartedly.
I watched them go and turned on my school tablet to look up my next class. I groaned inwardly. I didn’t want to sit through another useless class. I wanted to learn more about my supposed healing ability. I wanted to talk to Gloria and find out where Brady was. I wanted more information about the elf-fairy and the shadow magic. I also wanted to talk to the headmaster. We’d warned Tío about what the witches had uncovered, and he said he would report it to Brady’s dad, but I wanted to talk to him myself. See his reaction and determine if he had anything to with Luna Negra. And if he was the mole?
My fist curled. Then I’d find a way to expose him. Make him own up to what he’d done.
His words echoed in my mind. You know nothing.
My lip curled. Well, I was about to find out everything.
